Hines Happenings: 10th Anniversary Cruise! Part 1

So I know I've just been sitting around doing nothing for the last six weeks (or not), but it has taken me too long to get this post done.

Philip and I actually made it to our 10th anniversary still married and took a Mediterranean cruise in September to celebrate! :)

We flew through London to Barcelona, Spain, where we had a day to see the sites before we boarded our ship, the Norwegian Epic. Our favorite thing in Barcelona was Parque Guel, which was designed by Gaudi. We loved it because it was free, there were lots of places in it to walk to, and the view from the top was fantastic!

Here's Philip in London with ALL of our luggage. :)

The view from the top of Parque Guel. The tall structure on the mid-left is the Sagrada Familia, the famous Gaudi Cathedral.

After boarding the Epic on Sunday afternoon, we had the evening and all the next day to just relax and enjoy the ship. I think Philip's favorite things were the hot tub, water slides and unending sources of protein. Mine was the balcony in our room.

Check out those water slides! There were three and they were really fun. :)

The whole ship...it was rather large.

Our first stop was in Naples, or as the locals call it, Napoli. We had a little bit of excitement (ok, a lot) meeting up with our tour group that morning, but once we got past that little bump, we had an amazing day. Both our guides that day were fantastic, the weather was great and the sites were terrific. First we went to Pompei and took a tour.

Outside Pompei's city walls

I think this was the courthouse

Street off the main square

Hanging out by the oven where I belong. :)

Cast of a poor soul trying to get clean air to stay alive in 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius

Following our time in Pompei, we headed south of a driving tour of the Sorrentino and Amalfi coasts. They were just beautiful. We also took a boat ride from Amalfi up and down the coast a ways to see it from the water. This was quite possibly the highlight of the whole trip.

Town of Amalfi

WAY high up...so beautiful!

The next day we ported near Rome and drove in. We saw a lot that day, but definitely missed seeing many things that we would have liked to have seen. And so it goes when you only spend 6 hours in a city the size of Rome! We did, however, visit the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Plazza Novonna, the Pantheon, and Vatican City (we went to St. Peters, but sadly didn't have time to see the Sistine Chapel). I must say I did not love Rome (too crazy and crowded!), but certainly would take the opportunity to go back some day to take the time to see it "right." I really appreciated it for the incredible history of the place.

Outside the Colosseum