Barcelona, Spain

 Our final stop was in Barcelona... or bar-th-elona as the Spaniards say. I guess they lisp the c with the accent mark... I don't know what its called :) 

We took a bus tour to see all of the major sights in the city. Unfortunately, Barcelona is a huge city with a lot to see so we weren't really able to get off of the bus and explore- just look from afar. And we were all very tired!

 This is an old Olympic arena

 

 There were the most beautiful markets in Barcelona. Look at that produce :)

 They had the most interesting crazy architecture in this city... it was all about ultra modern mixed with very old style.. the old style reminded me a little of Boston.

 There were all of these street performers who had the most awesome costumes. They legitimately looked like statues and would jump out and scare people. We've seen some since in Denver and they are seriously lacking!

There is a famous architect from Barcelona- Gaudi. He lived around the turn of the century and was this crazy creative guy that dreamed big! Below are some pictures of his work. The Sagrada Familia, his famous cathedral that is not finished yet, and the Park Guell that is chock full of his creativity.

Our last stop of the day was dinner at a flamico dancer show. This show was one of the coolest things we saw. There was a live band and the dancers really went for it. The food was good but the show as the serious kicker. We were all just in awe of this show.

 Some of us walked back to the apartment we had rented for the night, we really enjoyed our stroll through the city.

The next morning, we woke up and got a delicious tortilla for breakfast. A tortilla in Spain is a potato, egg, and tomato quiche type thing on some delicious crusty bread. After that, it was off the airport and back the USA. We had such a fun, unforgettable vacation!

Monaco, Nice and hanging around on the cruise ship

Our second to last stop was in Monaco. However, there really isn't that much to do in Monaco except go to the casinos and gamble.... so we found out there was a bus to Pebble Beach in Nice, France that took about 45 minutes- so we hopped on and made our first appearance in France! 

We spent the morning at the beach which was beautiful. The name 'pebble beach' was a little deceiving because the pebbles were really large flat rocks... they were really pretty but not so comfortable to sunbathe on :) This part of the Mediterranean was so beautiful, everything was really well kept and modern. Monaco was especially nice. 

On our way back to the ship we stopped for some authentic French pastries like croissants, and pain au chocolate and baguettes. YUMMMM! They were sooo good. There were also a million little shops by the beachfront that we stopped at. This was a really fun stop... and now I really want a pain au chocolate.

We have a million pictures of everyone hanging around the cruise ship. There were 9 of us altogether and I think we shocked people with the size of our group. We got to eat delicious food- there were pizza and ice cream bars, buffets 24 hours a day and then every night there is a 4 course meal... We also worked out every day so we could feel okay about gorging ourselves on really rich food! 

Exhibit A: Steve ran 6-7 miles every day so he could eat as much dessert as he wanted. He had a particular affinity for souffles. In this picture he finished his own and then ate everyone else who ordered a souffle leftovers! What a guy :)

We did a lot of swimming and sunbathing... 

 There were two formal nights so we all got dressed up and enjoyed a fancy dinner

 

Annie had the MOST lux accommodations of all of us... a pull down bunk right above Brent and Sandra's bed... hehehe

 There were also many very competitive games of mini golf

And about a million breathtaking sunsets!

Florence and Pisa

Our final stop in Italy was in Florence/Pisa. We had to take another long train ride to get to these places so we didn't have tons of time in either but saw the major stuff everyone talks about...

This is the Duomo- a church with the craziest facade I have ever seen in my life.... covered in carvings and sculptures

The doors to the baptistry at the duomo picturing famous biblical scenes

The inside of this church was rather austere compared to other churches we saw. However, this was my favorite church that we visited because we had this awesome tour guide who really drew you in to the tour and the history of the church... Look at those arches!

At a sculpture garden in Florence

An unfinished Michelangelo... This was another beautiful sculpture like the Pieta

The famous leaning tower!

We had to take these pictures of course

This was one of my favorite stops in Italy... if you're going there definitely check these cities out!

Rome!

 Our next stop was Rome! The port for Rome is actually like a two hour train ride away from Rome so we didn't have very much time in the actual city at all. We were there on a Sunday so we did not get to see the Sistine Chapel- however we did get to go inside the Vatican City and see St. Peter's Basilica and the Colosseum. Both were awesome!  

Inside the Vatican

I couldn't help but laugh at these awesome uniforms the Vatican Guards have to wear....

Jesus and the twelve apostles on the top of St. Peter's Basilica

The Pieta by Michelangelo - I loved this sculpture of Mary holding Jesus after the crucifixion. It was behind bullet proof glass so you didn't get a really good look at it but beautiful none the less

I guess some Popes have themselves preserved in wax after they die and then their bodies are displayed in St. Peter's forever. This was legitimately one of the creepiest things I've ever seen though...

The Dome of St. Peters

We walked to the very top of the St. Peter's dome up a million stairs in these crazy stairwells that were teeny tiny and eventually you had to move up the stairs at an angle because you were up so high in the dome! It was sooo crazy!

We finally made it to the top!

The Pope's residence- visible from the top of another dome we trekked up to

And the reward for our labors... the most wonderful pistachio gelato!

Another shot of the top of St. Peter's

On the roof of St. Peter's- you can the sculptures of Jesus and the apostles in the background

After St. Peter's we headed over the Colosseum

a panoramic shot of the inside of the Colosseum

This building- though I can't remember what it is- was made from granite that was taken from the Colosseum after it was no longer in use... I guess the whole outside and inside of the Colosseum was originally covered in beautiful granite that was bit by bit taken and used elsewhere in Rome to build other magnificent structures... pretty funny huh?