Y’all, let me be honest for a second.

I spend a seriously sick number of hours planning trips that might not ever even happen.

Just last week I did a ton of research for a camping trip to the Isle of Skye that we canceled because of A) rain and B) grumpy teenagers.

Since we’ve moved to Europe, I’m all THE WORLD IS AT OUR FINGERTIPS!

And Taido is like, Honey, we don’t have to fit all three years of traveling into our first three months here.

But still.  There are worlds to discover.

Sometimes I plan that we will all six take a ferry to Ireland and climb Benbulben.

Other days I focus on smaller excursions with just one or two of the kids.  You know, the happy ones.

Or I think that if I can get one of those teens alone on a long and winding road that they will soften a little and enjoy the ride.

But sometimes I dream about getting away…with just girls.

Ok not sometimes. A lot.

I have some girlfriends. And I miss them.

I’m pretty sure they miss me too.

Most of them have NEVER BEEN TO EUROPE. (Gasp!)

So when the apartment rental website, Go With Oh, announced that they were doing a blogger contest and the prize would be one of their European Apartment Rentals, I very quickly made the jump to APARTMENT IN PARIS + MY GIRLFRIENDS = HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Ok, maybe not happily ever after, because we all know that I will start planning the next trip as soon as I get home, BUT, remember that time that I went with 11 of my besties on a cruise to Mexico?

Let’s all just stop for a minute and imagine transplanting that crazy mess to Paris, shall we?

Movies could be made from the material we would create.

I can see it now.  Mercedes + Stormy Take Paris!

We would definitely need this gorgeous apartment.

It would hold six of us, which honestly, is about all I could get to invest in the plane tickets.

We would go in February or March when tickets are cheap and the museums are empty-ish.

We would roam the city streets, most certainly get lost, have adventures and laugh hysterically.

If this sounds like more fun than you can possibly stand and you want in on this Paris party, leave a comment telling me so!  Who knows?  Maybe we’ll make it happen whether I win the apartment or not.

But it would certainly help, yo!

Photos of Paris Apartment from Go With Oh.  Photo of the Eiffel Tower, from Backpacker Steve.

The post Meet Me In Paris? appeared first on Alison Chino.

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.

(Note: Being at the very bottom of the Carnival Breeze had it’s advantages on port days, as the exit was just around the corner from our room (1215).  We didn’t have to wait for the elevators or climb the stairs after long days of sightseeing.  We could pop right in and out of our room.)

The port of Monaco is U-shaped, and all the places you want to see are set into the edges of this enclave.  The Old Town, referred to as Monaco-Ville is on the southern side of this U (to the left of our boat as we exited or the port side), and the famous Monte-Carlo casino is on the northern side (to the right of the boat or the starboard side).

As soon as we got off, we began to climb towards Monaco-Ville along this curving (sometimes steep) path to the Palace Square.  There were buses and excursions that would take you all around, but we walked.  The whole town of Monaco is very walkable if you are in reasonable shape, and you get to see so much more.

I was so glad we found this stone pathway, because the views all the way up were so lovely.

The path winds through old ramparts, lookouts and terraces.  We were both squealing around every corner, Look at this!

The whole country of Monaco is like a fairytale.  The second smallest country in the world, bordered by France and the Mediterranean Sea, it is ruled by Prince Albert III under a constitutional monarchy.

Monaco boasts the world’s highest GDP (and is well known for being a tax haven), which for us meant the cleanest streets I have ever seen, perfectly maintained grounds, and zero crime.

We wandered in and out of pastel colored alleys up the hill until we reached the Prince’s Palace Square.

We sat at the top taking in the views and the morning sun for a while before going to tour the palace.

We bought a combination ticket for the Palace, the Napoleon Museum and the Aquarium (Palais du Prince, Musée des Souvenirs Napoléoniens et Archives Historiques du Palais and Musée Océanographique).  It cost 30 euros for both of us, 1 student and 1 adult.

We toured the Prince’s Palace first.  There is a changing of the guard every day at noon, just like in London.  We enjoyed the tour of the inside and of the Napoleon museum (where they have his actual hat), but none of it compared with the views from the Palace Square.

The Port de Fontvieille is on the southern side of the palace square, which is the only part of Monaco we didn’t walk through.  So pretty though!

We exited the square just across from the Palace to see the Cathedral next.

The Monaco Cathedral is the final resting place of the Grimaldis, the ruling family of the Principality of Monaco.  Prince Rainier III, Princess Grace (wife of Prince Ranier III), Prince Louis II (grandfather of Prince Ranier III), and Prince Albert I (father of Prince Louis II) are among those buried there.

We enjoyed walking through the building and finding the names of the famous rulers of Monaco.  Princess Grace‘s part of the vault was covered with flowers.

Our very favorite stop in Monaco was the aquarium, the Musée Océanographique.

It is perched right on top of cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean and is as amazing on the inside as it is on the out.  I have so many pictures from this stop that I’m going to save it for its own post.

But we definitely loved it and spent the bulk of our morning and into the afternoon touring it.

By the time we finished with the aquarium, it was well after lunch and we were only halfway back down the hill to our boat.  We knew we wanted to make the trek up the other side of the port to see the famous casino, Monte-Carlo, but it had warmed up a lot and we were hungry.

So we decided to go back to the boat for lunch and to change clothes.  I think Monaco is the only port on our cruise where we could do this, and it was so nice.  Being our first stop on the cruise, we were also carrying more than we needed to, so we could readjust and throw off a few things.

The boat was not leaving Monaco until 7pm, so we had plenty of time after lunch to explore Monte-Carlo.

In the hot afternoon sun, we headed back out.  This time we climbed from the starboard side of the boat.  The walk up the hill (also the Grand Prix, I believe) was intense, and Mary Polly would tell you that we walked way too much this day, but again, I really loved seeing the port this way.

We were always looking back as we got higher and taking pictures of the Carnival Breeze, which dwarfed all the other ships in the port.

We approached the Casino from the back.

From this side, it overlooks the sea.  We sat on the stairs behind the Casino and rested from our climb, before we walked around to the front and found a gelato stand, something we did at every single cruise port.

The front of the Monte-Carlo Casino is impressive.  You have to be dressed up and 21 to enter, which we knew ahead of time, so we didn’t try to go in.

We walked the grounds around it, took more pictures, enjoyed our gelato and then walked back through the city.

We loved this chapel and the ruins in the walls behind it.

The stones along this road were my favorite ones we saw all day.

More walking on lovely streets.

When we finally got back down to our boat, we were both beat.

We sat outside on the concrete dock, and watched while several people actually swam in the sea just off the dock.

Mary Polly dipped her toes in the water, but it was too cold for us.

Sitting in the sunshine by the sea was the perfect way to end our dreamy day in Monaco.

The post Snapshots of Monaco appeared first on Alison Chino.

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 the lake with boats that only sometimes started up.

I was so excited for him to take us all out on its maiden ride on the Arkansas River.  As we filled up the seats and rode up and down the river, I imagined myself laid out with my sister in the front of that boat all summer long.

My daddy schemed every minute he could for us to get away to beautiful Lake Ouachita during my junior high and high school days.

It’s a full moon tomorrow night.  Can you skip school?

Those were common words at the Loibner household.

I can’t decide if Daddy was just anxious to take me away from my current sketchy scene as much as possible or if he was just glad I was finally old enough to drive the boat so he could ski.  Either way we both loved to sneak away and I always felt my heart skip a beat at the first sight of the boat.  And the water.

However, none of my stolen weeknights away on Lake Ouachita prepared me for the sight of a cruise ship.

When we stepped outside the hotel in Mobile last summer after breakfast, we could see it.

The Elation.

It was GI-NORMOUS!  We were all giddy at the sight.  Still, I am astounded at just how big cruise ships are!  I had read how many people were going to be on this boat and I had wondered how in the world they were all going to fit.  Then I saw the boat, and it was just way, way bigger than I had ever imagined.  I still feel a little dumbfounded by it.

8 of the 12 of us had never before been on a cruise ship.  The anticipation and enthusiasm just kept building as we headed over to the cruise terminal and got in line.  We all wore our swimsuits under coverups and carried on bags with our beach towels.  Our travel agent had warned us that we might not get our rooms and luggage until late afternoon, but not to let that stop us from getting on the boat and getting the party started early.

We all got through the embarkation lines at different times.  Whitney and I made it on somewhere in the middle.  We entered the boat off a long, hot ramp and into a chilled lavish lobby full of bright colors, round leather couches and tall glass elevators.  I felt like a little girl and I wanted to get in that elevator and ride up and down until I had seen it all. However, someone with an Australian accent was telling us via the loudspeaker to proceed to the Lido Deck where lunch was being served.  (Incidentally, we now all pronounce Lido Deck with an Aussie flare.)

When we found our way to the Lido Deck, we were greeted by Elle and Skeeter who were carrying fruity umbrella drinks and grinning ear to ear.   We squealed when we saw them.

photo by Whitney Loibner

We practically ran all around the deck checking everything out, oohing and aw-ing at the perfectly lined blue deck chairs.  We took a gazillion pictures, texted our families and yelled over and over again, We’re on a cruise!

The excitement was beyond contagious.  Each time another pair of us came through the doors out onto the deck the rest of us would yell,

Hey!  Look at this!  Isn’t it amazing?!?  We’re on a cruise!

This went on for approximately four hours.  I am not even kidding.  We were just so excited.

We pulled out our towels and claimed a bank of twelve chairs and then found all kinds of wonderful things for lunch.  Hey look!  You can just walk right over there and get a hamburger if you want!  Or if you don’t want, you can have a salad.  You can wait an hour and eat when you get hungry.  Whatever you want!

We jumped in the pool, slid on the water slide, drank more umbrella drinks and took more pictures.

Sometime after 4pm the Australian gal came back on and told us we were about to leave port and that the Sail Away Party was happening on the Lido Deck.  Sail Away Party is just a fancy way of saying the ship is about to leave.  I think they call it a a Sail Away Party so you will be more excited.  And you know what, it totally works!  The ship’s big horn blew and suddenly everyone was yelling,

We’re moving!  Look the boat is MOVING!!!

Like we had expected to just stay docked in Mobile forever.  We were AMAZED I tell you.

There was all kinds of fun music and silly party games happening.  Some joined in.  Some watched.  But we all laughed.

You could feel it in the air, that wonderful light-hearted anticipation,

This is going to be the MOST fun!

Next up: Karaoke Time!

The post Caribbean Cruise Notes: On the Boat appeared first on Alison Chino.

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 matching shirts.  Sarabeth surprised us all with feather extension clips for our hair that she and her very talented daughter, Elizabeth had made.

We all squealed as we picked out feathers to match our hair and outfits.  Then we circled up, said a prayer and took a picture before we loaded up in 3 cars to head to Mobile, Alabama.

Two hours down the road, we made our first stop at a restaurant about which Rhonda had heard wonderful tales.  I later learned it has also been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

It did not disappoint.  We all LOVED Rhoda’s.  We also loved Rhoda, her husband and her daughter.  One of us even changed her cruise name to Rhoda while we were there.

The hamburgers and the fried pies were out of this world.  And the tamales.  I could get in my car right now and drive the two hours just to taste them again.  Out. Of. This. World.

We filled up the place, not just because it was small but also because we were becoming a presence.  The 12 of us.  Between spouting opinions, shouting out cruise names and laughing VERY loudly, we began to be somewhat noticeable.  Plus we just kept exclaiming, We’re going on a cruise!!  And then we would all yell Whoop! Whoop!

Somehow this Whoop! Whoop! chant sort of evolved.  What began as one or two people saying, Woo Hoo! here and there started to sound like a pack of siamangs calling back and forth to each other all over the cruise ship.  By the end of the cruise our wait staff Whoop Whoop-ed us as we came into dinner, which thrilled us to no end, but back at Rhoda’s, we were still whooping in smaller tones.  However, I could say peach fried pie to any one of the other 11 girls this very minute and she would definitely give me a Whoop! Whoop! with a hand in the air.

After Rhoda’s we had our first conflict.  And that my friends, is a miracle.  We were pretty far into this adventure already as a group of 12 opinionated Southern women and we were just now having our first conflict.

The gist of the conflict was this:

To stop or not to stop.

And more specifically, to stop to shop or not to stop and shop.

This conflict simply stems from some of us doing road trips with people like my father who are not above handing you a can to pee in so that he doesn’t have to make an extra stop and others of us doing road trips where when their mama said,

Ooh, honey, there’s a cute little antique store right there!  Let’s turn around and go back.

well, their daddy would actually turn around and go back.

In recent years, I travelled with a family who did not fuel their car and go to the bathroom at the same stop where we ate lunch and so we had to stop about 30 miles later to take care of those things.  This behavior was completely baffling to me.

My daddy would no sooner turn the car around for a surprise outing than he would pay 50 cents more for a 12 pack of diet coke at the grocery store when it’s on sale for less at the drug store.  It’s just nonsense.

So, you can guess which side of the conflict I fell on.  However, we all decided to stop at the first shopping destination.

Because we were on vacation.  Relaxed.  Not in a hurry.  Playing nice.

The first shopping stop was  a home furnishings store that was only about 10 minutes from where we ate lunch, which is not even far enough down the road for a refuel I tell you.  We all 12 went in.  But in less than ten minutes, eight of us were back at the front of the furniture store.

As an aside, I should mention that none of us had packed light for a week full of fun in the sun, so we had no room for furniture anyway.

In some way I don’t really remember, the eight of us who were not meandering around the furniture store managed to load on up in two of the three cars and start on down the road.  We weren’t leaving the other gals really.  Just getting on down the road bit.  They had yet another stop they were hoping to make to purchase special kinds of flip flops so we thought maybe we’d head on in that direction.

Only somehow we miscommunicated (12 women.  A miscommunication.  No!) and our two cars went one way and the third car ended up leaving the furniture store and taking a different route.  Apparently there’s more than one way to skin a chicken.  Or drive to Mobile.

However, much to the delight of the ladies in the third car, who were smarting a bit at being left behind at the furniture store, even though in their extra hour there they did not purchase even a candlestick, much less any real furniture, we were soon stopped in stand still traffic because of a wreck.

Of course, we only KNOW we were stopped because of a wreck because after we had been sitting for some time, Mercedes (I am using her cruise name to protect her identity) and I got out of our car to see if we could walk up and over a hill to see what the problem was.  I’m not sure why we thought this was a good idea but we all just got tired of waiting.

So we walked for a while on the side of the road, passing the other car of cruise ladies.

We’re just going to see what the problem is.

Now it was June.  In Alabama.  On the interstate.

We did not anticipate how hot it was.  So after about 100 yards, we looked like we were dying.  After we walked about a half a mile, we were able to tell that it was a wreck and they were starting to get the traffic shuffled over to the median so cars were slowly beginning to move.

We turned around to walk back, and by this time we were beyond hot.  Strangers began to offer us rides.  Mercedes looked like she might keel over right there on the median. She was hoping we could get to the car and get to a service station quick for a drink.  And maybe some ice cream.

Soon, we saw Stormy’s car which was travelling a few hundred yards in front of ours and was just beginning to merge into the lane of traffic that was starting to move.  We thought we’d just hop in with her and catch up to our car at the exit ahead, so we headed for her car.  But she waved us away.  She would not even let us in!

We totally thought she was kidding but then she locked the doors and pulled on ahead and away from us.

Later she explained that she felt that she was just getting her car rolling and she was afraid that if she stopped for us she would miss her opportunity to get into the line of moving traffic.

This of course did not stop us from teasing her mercilessly all week about it.

If you are ever in a tight spot, don’t count on Stormy to help you out.  She would not even pick her friends up from the side of the road!

We finally made it back to our car and soon we were in an air conditioned service station guzzling cold beverages and eating jamocha almond fudge ice cream.

Once back on the moving road, we conferred with the third car to see how much time we’d lost.  We figured out that they were just enough ahead of us to make their flip flop stop and still arrive in Mobile just ahead of us.

Thank heavens for that.  I did not want to stand between Isabella and her flip flops.

But we were done stopping.  Mobile, here we come.

It was beginning to get dark as we all came into Mobile.  And somehow car number 3 took a wrong turn and moved from being first to the hotel to last.  Once a meanderer, always a meanderer.

By 8pm we were walking from our hotel to a restaurant around the corner and we were all tired and famished.  We split plates of shrimp salads and seared tuna.  We had drinks and laughs and all the days’ crazies were smoothed away.

Soon we were giggling in our hotel rooms.  We crammed six of us to a room so we’d only have to get two rooms at 20 bucks each.  Mercedes prank called the other room just as I was drifting off.

Then we laughed for 30 more minutes.  Snickers and giggles finally turned to snores. I dreamed of summer camp and laughing with friends until late at night.

The next thing I remember was Elle coming in the room with cups of coffee for all of us and when she opened the door she said,

Y’all!  I have seen our boat!

Next up: We actually get ON the Boat!

The post Caribbean Cruise Notes: Road Trip to Our Cruise Port appeared first on Alison Chino.