it started as a 10 day cruise
It just so happened that a province away, my mom was looking at the same Holland America brochure that I was and was also intrigued by a 10 day Mediterranean Cruise. We decided to put a deposit down and started to explore other pre or post cruise destinations. We were all together for Christmas 2011 in Canmore and were poking around the Holland America site and thought - hey, why don't we stay on the ship and do the next cruise to the Baltic? So we did.
The 10 day cruise became 22 days with three days in Rome pre-cruise. The trip was amazing! 19 cities in 15 countries (including the two smallest countries in the world). All the ports were interesting, we had the right balance of sea and port days, and we had perfect weather almost every day. The ms Eurodam became our home for 22 days and we didn't want to leave. |
our itinerary - may/june 2012
May 7 - flight to Rome
May 8 - Rome, Italy. Getting our bearings. James fell asleep at dinner. In a restaurant. May 9 & 10 - Rome, Italy. Toured the Colloseum, Forum, Palentine Hill. Rode the HoHo bus. Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Vatican & Sistine Chapel tour, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiori, gelato & delicious food. May 11 - Rome to Civitavecchia. Embark the ms Eurodam. May 12 - Monte Carlo, Monaco. Excursion to Eze & Nice, toured the palace, walked around. Heard the Heritage Grand Prix but could not see it. May 13 - at sea May 14 - Barcelona, Spain. Segway tour, Boqueria market, palace, La Rambla May 15 - Alicante, Spain. HoHo to the castle, walked around town, saw too much skin at the beach, enjoyed spicy sausage paella and sangria in the sun. May 16 - Gibraltar, British Territory. Took the tram up to the rock, admired the apes, walked around town. May 17 - Lisbon, Portugal. We Hate Tourism Tours - went to Sintra, Quinta da Regaleira, Cabo de Roca, Cascais, Navigator monument, ,monastery, Belem pastry, drive up the hills. May 18 & 19 - at sea May 20 - Brugge, Belgium. Toured the chocolate museum, had waffles, did a canal tour, tried to see Michaelangelo's Madonna & Child, charmed by the city, bought chocolate, tried some beer, had another waffle and fries. May 21 - Amsterdam, Netherlands. Canal tour, flower market, tasted some cheese, toured the Anne Frank House. So emotional. Had a drink and fries, walked through the red light district. May 22 - at sea May 23 - Copenhagen, Denmark. Saw the Little Mermaid statue, Amalienborg Palace, changing of the guards, Carlsberg brewery, parliament area, old harbor area for expensive drinks, walked the stoyet, had a danish. May 24 - Warnemunde/Berlin, Germany. Day trip to Berlin saw Charlotenberg Palace, Kaiser Wilhem Memorial Church, Tiergarten, Brandenberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his kid out of, Reichstag, Holocaust Memorial (Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe), Topography of Terrors, area of Hitler's bunker, Opera House, Humboldt University, Museum Island, Neuewace Memorial (fallen soldier) and of course the wall. May 25 - at sea May 26 - Tallinn, Estonia. I love Tallin! We explored the Old Town and its churches. Had delicious hot chocolate and pastries and saw a festival going on. May 27 & 28 - St. Petersburg, Russia. Two days of seeing all the sites - Winter Palace & Hermitage, Peter/Paul Fortress, Church of Our Saviour on the Blood, St. Issac's Cathedral, boat ride, Pushkin town, Catherine's Summer Palace & Gardens, Peterhof gardens/fountains May 29 - Helsinki, Finland May 30 - Stockholm, Sweden May 31 & June 1 - at sea June 2 - disembark in Amsterdam, flight home |