Cruisazy

A Visit to The Doge’s Palace in Venice, Italy This post is part of a continuing series about a Mediterranean Cruise I took with my thirteen year old daughter in the fall of 2012.  After wandering the city of Venice for several hours, we visited The Doge’s Palace. Overlooking the Grand Canal, Doge’s Palace was the seat of the government of Venice until it came under Napoleonic rule in 1797 and then in 1866, a part of Italy.  Before then, the palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice. Today the … Continue reading →

Venice, Italy: A Few First Impressions This post is part of a continuing series about a Mediterranean Cruise I took with my thirteen year old daughter in the fall of 2012.  Today I am talking about Venice! You’ve seen Venice in movies, pictures and books all of your life, but still, there is nothing quite like stepping onto a boat in the Grand Canal and taking in the magical beauty of this place. It is no wonder that Venice is such a well-loved destination.  The floating city lives up to all its hype.  You cannot help but take one million … Continue reading →

Who wants to go to Cozumel? photos by Whitney Loibner I am so in the mood for a little beach getaway.  How about you? We are going skiing this month, which will be so much fun, as usual. But still, I am a wee bit jealous of those who are heading south for Spring Break instead. When we went on our Girls’ Cruise a couple of years ago, we went to this wonderful place in Cozumel called Nachi Cocom.  It was the most perfect beach day you could imagine.  Everything was wonderful.  The food, the chairs, the drinks and of … Continue reading →

    If you are planning a Mediterranean Cruise in the near future, you should know, The Port of Dubrovnik, Croatia is worth the price of your entire cruise. So make sure it’s on your ports of call when you book. Settled on the Adriatic Sea coast of Croatia, this little gem of a port city is one of the greatest examples of a preserved (and oft-restored) medieval city. Old city walls completely surround the Old City.  Just over a mile long, you can walk the entire distance of the walls, which is the very best way to see the … Continue reading →

I am continuing a series of posts about a Mediterranean Cruise I took with my thirteen year old daughter in the fall of 2012.  Today I am talking about The Lovely Port of Olbia, Sardinia, Italy Olbia is on the northeastern side of the island of Sardinia.  There are several lovely beaches there, or so we heard. It sounds ridiculous to me now, but after three days in Barcelona, followed by stops in Monaco, Tuscany and Rome, we were so sleepy. Also, we enjoyed being on the Carnival Breeze so much that we took in as much of the nightlife … Continue reading →

I am continuing a series of posts about a Mediterranean Cruise I took with my thirteen year old daughter in the fall of 2012.  Today I am talking about our One Glorious Day in Rome! (The Port of Citvitavecchia) First stop in Rome, The Colosseum. Pulling up to the Colosseum was one of those surreal moments you dream about when you are planning a trip to Europe.  We glimpsed it from our bus and then our guide let us off enough away that we could take in its full scope before getting closer and going in. I had Mary Polly … Continue reading →

The Cruise Port Livorno was the next stop on our Mediterranean Cruise.  Livorno is on the western side of Italy and from the port, one can access Pisa, Florence or any number of hill towns in Tuscany. Our original plan was to take one of the excursions to Florence, but the one we chose was canceled at the last minute so on an impulse, we jumped on an excursion called The Essence of Tuscany. This was one of those fortuitous decisions that made me later wonder if perhaps a little travel angel had guided our journey. Because the entire day … Continue reading →

Perched atop cliffs, overlooking the Mediterranean sea was our favorite stop in Monaco, the Musée Océanographique. What is funny is that I probably would not have toured it if I hadn’t had Mary Polly with me.  The Musée Océanographique dates from 1901 and was the brainchild of Prince Albert I. Jacques Cousteau was even the director of the museum for several years. We wandered all around the stunning building taking pictures before entering. We loved these mosaic floors in the entryway. This kind of beautiful detail was found all over the museum, which made the building as much a marvel as … Continue reading →

In September of 2012, my daughter, Mary Polly and I went on a Mediterranean cruise on the ship, the Carnival Breeze.  This post is about our first stop. Cruise Port: Monaco. We had attended our cruise director’s lecture on the highlights of the cruise port Monaco and he was not lying when he told us that at the first glimpse of the port, we would be dazzled by its old world elegance. The sun was shining in through our little porthole windows when we woke up.  We waited in our room for our cue that we could leave the boat. … Continue reading →

In September of 2012, my daughter, Mary Polly and I went on a Mediterranean Cruise.  This post is all about the unbelievable boat that took us on this fabulous trip, the Carnival Breeze.  We boarded this ship in Barcelona, Spain. Last year at this time, I had already booked our Mediterranean cruise on the Carnival Breeze, and I was doing lots of searching for information about this ship and particularly, about the stateroom that would be our home for twelve nights. From our first moments on the Carnival Breeze, we were blown away by the boat.  It was magical to … Continue reading →

Mary Polly drew Amy James‘ name out of my giveaway basket!  Congratulations to Amy, winner of the $150 Country Outfitter gift certificate!  I can’t wait to see what boots you pick out! And just for fun, here’s a little collection of some of the pictures I took while wearing my Country Outfitter Ariat Legends in Europe! Boots in Barcelona, Spain Boots in Monte-Carlo, Monaco Boots in Monte Carlo, Monaco Boots over the Mediterranean Sea Boots in the Colosseum in Rome, Italy Boots on the Carnival Breeze Boots in Venice, Italy Boots in Venice, Italy Keeping my boots dry in Venice, … Continue reading →

  Barcelona was the first stop on my trip with Mary Polly to Europe in September.  We spent two nights there, exploring this beautiful city before boarding the Carnival Breeze for a 12 Night Mediterranean Cruise. Read all about our first day in Barcelona here.  Our second day in Barcelona started with a quick stop for pastries and coffee near our hotel.  We were off early on the Metro to see the works of Antoni Gaudi, starting with Park Guell. We wandered the forest paths of Park Guell, a space I imagine to be a welcome bit of peace in … Continue reading →

  Barcelona was the first stop on my trip with Mary Polly to Europe in September.  We spent two nights exploring this beautiful city before boarding the Carnival Breeze for a 12 Night Mediterranean Cruise.   Mary Polly and I arrived at the closed metal doors of Santa Maria Del Pi Cathedral in Barcelona in a state of complete delirium.  We were, in fact, looking for the Barcelona Cathedral, a 14th century Gothic church just a few blocks away from this one. However, after flying all night and wandering the city with our luggage, we actually could have left Barcelona … Continue reading →

What to Wear on a Mediterranean Cruise hello, Whitney here, posting for Alison today while she’s away on vacation. I took these pictures of her and Mary Polly as they were packing for their trip and thought they would be a perfect way to link up with Lindsey from the Pleated Poppy for WIWW. This is in fact what Al and MP are wearing as they cruise the Mediterranean and today as they walk the streets of Venice.  

  Mary Polly and I are off today! We are heading out on an adventure of a lifetime!  A Mediterranean cruise! Here’s to seeing new places, to all kinds of unknowns, to tears and laughter and to making memories! I have lots happening here at the Chino House while we’re away, and I will be so excited to share all about our trip when we return, but if you want to stay up to date on our adventures, you can follow us on twitter, facebook and instagram! Wish us well! Adventure is out there! PS Don’t you love my new … Continue reading →

What to Pack for a Mediterranean Cruise Mary Polly and I leave tomorrow for our Mediterranean Cruise and we are all packed!! We have deliberated a lot about what to take to Europe with us. In general, if I am flying somewhere, I really like to travel light, but we are also trying to have a little fun with our wardrobe.  I know that having a lot of luggage is a pain while traveling, but the wonderful thing about cruising is that you only have to get all your luggage to the boat once. We will wake up in a … Continue reading →

What to Wear to Dinner on a Cruise One of my favorite parts of our girl cruise last year was dressing up for dinner. At first I wondered what to wear to dinner on a cruise, but then we planned it all way ahead of time at our cruise meetings. Also, I should mention that both Whitney and Sarabeth did a beautiful job covering our dinner attire on their blogs when we returned. But it was so much fun that I love to look back at these pictures.  Also, Mary Polly has been going through past cruise pictures to plan … Continue reading →

This is the fifth in a series of posts about a super fun birthday cruise that was planned by my friends, Sarabeth and Rhonda.  Read the the other parts here: part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4. The Story of 12 Women Who Went on a Cruise, Part 5: Cruise Kareoke One of the many pleasant surprises for me on our cruise was how much we enjoyed Kareoke. We would wander around the ship after our late dinner, popping into the different bars.  Eventually we would make it to the Kareoke lounge and stay for a few songs.  … Continue reading →

This is the fourth in a series of posts about a super fun birthday cruise that was planned by my friends, Sarabeth and Rhonda.  Read the the other parts here: part 1, part 2, and part 3. The Story of 12 Women Who Went on a Cruise, Part 4: On the boat! photo by Whitney Loibner Part 4: Embarkation There is really no way to describe that first glimpse of your cruise ship. I mean, I’ve been amazed by boats before.  I remember when my uncle bought a brand new ski boat after we had spent years of weekends on … Continue reading →

This is the third in a series of posts about a super fun birthday cruise that was planned by my friends, Sarabeth and Rhonda.  Read the first here. And the second here. The Story of 12 Women Who Went On a Cruise, Part 3: Road Trip to Our Cruise Port The day finally arrived for us to leave!  Lots of us put our kids on a bus that was going to Kids Across America (a camp in Missouri) early that morning. Then around 10am we met at our church (NOTE: This was NOT a church trip!).  Whitney and I had … Continue reading →

This is the second in a series of posts about a super fun birthday cruise that was planned by my friends, Sarabeth and Rhonda.  Read the first here. (@whitneyloibner‘s instagram) The Story of 12 Women who went on a Cruise, Part 2: Cruise Meetings OR How I went from being a Cruise Skeptic to a Cruise Addict We booked our cruise at the end of February to cruise in June, so we had three meetings between booking and cruising. Rhonda called the first meeting to discuss details. Some gals were not so much in favor of cruise meetings.  Others felt … Continue reading →

The Story of 12 Women who went on a Cruise: Part 1, The Planning OR How I went from being a Cruise Skeptic to a Cruise Addict In the winter of 2011, I was strongly encouraging two of my dearest friends to follow through on a dream they had about something that is near and dear to my heart… A trip. The longing for travel is embedded in my DNA, from my grandparents I suppose, and then most recently, my father.  It’s just part of who I am to always be longing for the next adventure, to want to get … Continue reading →