Travel - Our Favourite Pastime

Celebrity Reflection - February 2018

Our Itinerary 
Day   1   Fort Lauderdale, Florida  
Day   2   At Sea
Day   3   At Sea
Day   4   Puerto Limon, Costa Rica   
Day   5   Colon, Panama  
Day   6   Cartagena, Colombia  
Day   7   Cartagena, Colombia                   
Day   8   At Sea
Day   9   George Town, Grand Cayman  
Day   10  Cozumel, Mexico  
Day   11  At Sea
Day   12  Fort Lauderdale, Florida  

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Thank you Mom & Dad for bringing us with you on this fabulous cruise!  

Awesome Things:
Celebrity Reflection

• Easy flight to Florida
• Warm weather
• Reading our books outside
• Sail Aways
• Great Food (escargots, Indian, buffet & dining room)
• Chai Latte Every Day
• Large Accessible Stateroom
• Abdul our stateroom attendant moving the sloth around, interacting with other towel animals
• Super Bowl outside in the middle of the Caribbean Sea
• Resting to "My Favourite Murder" podcast
• Music Production
• Happy Hour with Mom & Dad
• Being unplugged and able to escape from internet, social media, news & ALS
• Sun, fresh air in February, feeling warm and getting back to nature

Limon, Costa Rica

• Greenway Private Wheelchair Accessible 6 in 1 Tour 
• Miguel & Marco
• Cahuita National Park, Rainforest & Beaches
• Banana Plantations
• Coastal Drive
• The Tortuguero Canals
• Bats
• Boat Ride with our amazing Captain Carlos
• Travis as wildlife spotter
• Dream come true seeing many sloths in the wild, up close and demonstrating behaviours in their natural habitat
• Lizards in trees
• Birds
• Surprising Raccoon in tree
• Blue Butterflies
• Chocolate Coffee Beans
• Costa Rican Fruit
• Authentic rice & beans lunch with incredible Costa Rican brown "salsa", felt more like a mild hot sauce, delicious!
• Drinking Silver Costa Rican beer and watching the ocean while Mom & Dad went on a jungle trek
• ​Travis buying me a sloth
  

Colon, Panama

• Panama Canal (half-price ticket for disability)
• Watching Panama Documentary on Netflix before trip.  Part 1:  Ownership switching from US to Panama  Part 2: Expansion
• Perfect timing, as we arrived a giant cargo ship with 8000 containers was entering the locks
• Outside observation deck with announcer describing all that is happening in the locks
• Watching the doors built in Italy close behind the ship

Cartagena, Colombia

• Port with beautiful flamingos, toucans, anteaters, monkeys, kitties, parrots, deer, peacocks
• Completely Accessible port
• Fresh mango juice
• Dinner at La Mulata, delicious, affordable, authentic food, friendly staff
• Tours by Locals Wheelchair Accessible Tour with Daniel and Pedro
• Authentic lunch at La Cocina de Pepina
• Ceviche
• Grilled Marinated Eggplant
• Charm of Old City
• Castillo San Felipe de Barajas Fort
• ​Market in the soldiers dormitories
• Harbour
• Beach
• Vibrant beautiful city

Grand Cayman

• ​Driving a jeep around the island
• East End
• Conch Fritters

Cozumel

• Seeing the twelves and watching them do maintenance while drinking a beer and eating nachos, reminiscing about the "good ole days"

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Summerland - August 2017

Set on the Okanagan lake in British Columbia, Summerland Resort is an idyllic spot.  It was a very special time, bonding with Keith, Tania, Kate, Malcolm, Karma & Rolo, before Kate goes to University this fall!

Awesome Things:

• Being met at the airport by Keith Kate & Malcolm
• Staying in the room next to my family!
• Playing President, Hearts & Canasta
• ​Ben coming to spend a day at the pool with us
• Tania's Greek Shrimp, potatoes, Thai, buffalo cauliflower
• Cousin chefs making spontaneous blueberry soufflé together
• Perfect Weather​
• Peachfest
• Making the most of our summer
• Nielli's massage
• Debbie, Kayla, Darryl & Michelle coming to visit
• ​Michelle's caught & canned smoked salmon
• ​Keith & Michelle's polite pool throw-in
  
• Egg's Benedict not once, but twice!
• ​Cherry Orchard in Naramata
• Fruit Stands
• ​Views & Landscapes
• Keith's fresh fruit pancakes

• Eagles
• ​Hedges
• ​Mondays at the pool
• Spending time with family
• 54-40
• Hypnotist, "I can't find my bum!"
• ​Swimming in Lake Okanagan in Penticton
• Travis cooking with Kate & Malcolm
• Lakeside Vineyard Bench Bubbles 
• Forest Green Man Lavender Farm
• Hillside Vineyard, Brie, air show
• Red Rooster Viognier
• Best tasting Peaches
• Lake Okanagan
• Theo's Greek Restaurant
• Rolo & Karma
• So proud of my amazing family
• Ultimate Canadian Vacation in Summerland!

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Scandinavia & Russia Cruise - August 2016

Awesome Things:
London

• M&S
• Fortnum & Mason, Welsh Rarebit, Tea, Jessica, Emily, puzzling w/ Sebastian, Elizabeth 
• Coral, Megan, Sherryn, Jamie's Italian, walking through London
• Family meeting each other
• Sunny Weather
• Wolseley Breakfast, caramelized grapefruit, tea
• Flowers, cake, wine, fruit in room from Geoff & Juliet
• Shallow accessible bath
• Staying in Mayfair
• South African High Commission and Canada House both in Trafalgar Square

Copenhagen, Denmark

• Capital of Denmark since 1417
• A Viking fishing village
• Kings Garden
• Rosenborg Castle, military drills
• Strøget - One of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in the world
• Espresso Cart
• Herring & Burata Caprese lunch
• Pride festival in City Hall Square
• The not so famous mermaid statue

Stockholm, Sweden

• Encompasses 14 islands on an extensive Baltic Sea archipelago 
• Hop On Hop Off City Tour
• Vasa Warship, 1628, history tour, impressive restoration spraying every 20 minutes for 17 years, Vasa puzzle!
• Archipelago Sail away
• Swans
• Fighter Jets flying overhead
• HoHo boat straight back to the ship

Tallinn, Estonia

• Medieval capital founded in 1154
• Old Tallinn
• Wheelchair accessible Viewing platform on Toompea Hill
• Kalamaja Clean city
• The Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin (Dome Church), 1233, w/ family crests and beautiful organ
• Baltic Chain; in 1989 2 million people held hands to form a human chain across the 3 Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania to create "The Chain of Freedom"
• Chocolate 
• Maarja our incredible tour guide with Tallinn Shore Excursions & Jüri our driver 
• Passage of History
• Colour of buildings
• Song Festival Grounds Amphitheatre, every 5 years 25,000 choir
• Great vibe
• Old square. Town Hall Square and market
• Juniper hot plate, smells delicious
• Lunch @ Komeet with view of KGB hotel, beetroot salad
• Estonians getting excited  = "not bad"
• Town Wall & Towers

Celebrity Eclipse

• Captain Leo from Greece the voice from above: Life is Beautiful
• Travis Galley Tour
• Travis not having to cook
• Calm Baltic seas
• Accessibility 
• Indian Food
• Buffet
• Fish & Chips
• Stars of St. Petersburg show "Moroshka" a troupe of dancers, singers & musicians with a Balalaika guitar, Russian cultural entertainment
• Itinerary of ship all new countries!
• Olympics
• Sky Lounge panoramic sail aways
• Mom & me couples massage so relaxed that the boys beat us badly in Canasta!
• Sit down Eggs Benedict breakfast
• Library
• Balcony view
• Steve Larkins Mercury Rising, a salute to Freddie Mercury & Queen
• Relaxing reading our books

St. Petersburg, Russia

• St Petersburg designed as the "Amsterdam" of Russia with canals
• Hermitage: Peacock Clock still working, feat of engineering, given to Catherine by one of her "favourites",  staircase, private tour!  Rooms, surprises, paper maché, extra leg picture, Rembrandt, DaVinci
• Church on the Spilled Blood (Church of the Resurrection)
• Peterhof Gardens & fountains, gravity-fed water system
• Peter the Great, the joker setting fountains off on people
• View at lunch at Moskva Na Nevskom in sunshine
• Architecture
• St Isaac's Cathedral, 4th largest cathedral dome in the world
• Nevsky Prospekt, St Petersburg's Main Street
• Rainbow Tour Guide Elias eborkow@rainbowrussia.com
• Sunshine
• Shipbuilding
• Russian language and writing
• St. Petersburg Sail Away with lighthouses

Berlin, Germany

• Lunch @ Schwarzwaldstuben, bulldog
• Reichstag, fire conspiracy theory
• Squares overwhelming sense of history
• History lessons, 3 Reichs, Prussians, Kaiser
• Brandenburg Gate, announcement of the Wall coming down
• Cobble stonework representing where the Berlin Wall stood, Wall remnants
• Dense forest in the middle of the city
• Konzerthaus
• Bebelplatz, Nazi book burning memorial
• Memorial to the German Resistance
• Free University
• Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe design by Peter Eisenman
• Stasi Tower to watch the Wall Tower guards
• Driving 160km on the autobhan
• Merkel living normally

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Sandals Grande Antigua - January 2016

Awesome Things:

• ​Leaving cold Ottawa in January arriving to beautiful sunshine
• ​Dickenson Bay Beach
• ​Feels like home
• Room, Balcony & View
• Friendly staff
• Cats at the Resort
• Don's Visit
• Reading books on the beach
• Day Tour around the Island, seeing things we haven't seen before

• Floating in the pool
• Gardens, flowers, landscaping, beautiful
• Watching other weddings while reminiscing about ours
• Bubble Jet Bath
• Eating outside
• Eleanors Blackened Mahi Mahi
• Watching the Blackbirds at Barefoot Café
• Travis carrying me in & out of the Ocean
• Feeling like I have a normal body when floating in the saltwater
• Sushi at Soy, amazing
• Spending time with Travis, relaxing

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Tuscany - October 2015

• Podere di Pomaio - one of the most beautiful places on Earth, Family owned Organic Vineyard with 800 year-old Villa
• View of Vineyards, Arezzo & Gorgeous Sunsets
• Calzette "Little Socks" - Pomaio's resident cat
• Wood Oven Pizza, breakfast pizza
• Playing cards and drinking wine in front of the fire in the villa
• Napping & Reading
• "Pam" - Italian Grocery Store
• Italian Feast at Pomaio with Etruscan Cheese, delicious deep fried veggies & deep fried sage, First Pressed Olive Oil, homemade pasta, Tiramisu, and so much more!
• Montepulciano Wine Tour with Tour Guide Andrea, visiting Tenuta Valdipiatta, Poliziano and Talosa Vineyards
• Lunch in the Sunshine in Front of Il Duomo

Awesome Things:

• Meeting best friends at the airport in Florence
• Andy's Party Bus
• ​Hilton's Executive Suite Happy Hour with Gorgeous Views of Florence (Thank you Heather!)
• Florence Taxi Driver Joy Ride with views of Pitti Palace, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce
• Sitting outside having dinner in Florence at Ristorante Natalina with best Pasta Gorgonzola ever
• Lunch in Arezzo in the Piazza Grande at Logge Vasari while Nona makes homemade pasta

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Southeast Asia & Japan - April 2015

Awesome Things:

Diamond Princess

• Spending time with family
• Large accessible stateroom with balcony
• Relaxing and watching two amazing & moving movies; "The Railway Man" & "The Imitation Game"
• Food, especially the Arrabiata
• Trivia game shows
• Canadian Captain Todd McBain
• Australians
• Don not smoking
• Travis not cooking
• South African Art Director & 30,000 years of Art History in 30 minutes (really 90 minutes) Cave Art to Pop Art
• Learning Japanese "Kon Ban Wa", "Genki-des'"!
• Celebrating Mom & Dad's Anniversary
• Mango Sorbet

Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)

• Crossing the street is an adrenaline rush
• Ben Thanh market & Phō lunch, flowers in the market, lacquer handicrafts, weasel poo coffee
• People
• War Remnants Museum, interesting seeing the propaganda and different perspective, also the helicopters & tanks, but Agent Orange photos totally disturbing
• My first visit to a Communist Country
• City Hall
• Notre Dame Church
• Independence Palace; The Northvietnamese army tank crashed through the gate during the Fall of Saigon
• US Embassy, where the last Americans were taken away by helicopter on the roof

Da Nang

• Driving through the mountain tunnel (6 1/2 kms)
• Embroidery Art
• Han Market
• Dragon Bridge
• No Homelessness, everyone given jobs & a place to live
• China Beach
• Marble Mountain
• Lady-Buddha, made of all white marble and is 72 meters tall, she is the protector of sailors
• Cham Museum Statues
• Linh Ung Pagoda with bonsai and marble sculptures in courtyard
• Manicured bushes
• Coconut fisherman boats

Phuket, Thailand

• Andaman White Beach Resort, romantic and private
• Andaman Sea & beach, sound of waves
• Room on beach with gorgeous view, outdoor shower & plunge pool
• Fresh juice delivered daily
• Travis carrying me into the sea and floating on our backs
• Geckos
• Food - 3 restaurants; Tom Yam Thai, Coconut Terrace and The Beach Bar & Pizzeria, all delicious
• Round the Island Tour; Big Buddha, viewpoints, fruit stands, crazy electrical wires
• Weather & palm trees beautiful
• Sunsets
• Aphrodite Cabaret Ladyboy Show
• Phuket Noodles

Singapore

• Flowers in airport
• Meeting up with Phi Sig Alum Steve Dufresne at Raffles Hotel & enjoying Singapore Slings
• Hotel Royal Plaza on Scots Street, the amazing lobby & buffet
• Meeting family in an exotic location
• Orchard Rd Shopping
• Street Art
• Lush Greenery all over city (country?) crawling up the underside of concrete bridges (oh how that would beautify Montreal!)
• Unique architecture
• Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour (HoHo) & Singapore Flyer
• Botanical Gardens especially the National Orchid Gardens & Cool House & our lizard king friend
• East Coast Lagoon Hawker Market
• Marina Bay Sands Hotel (looks like a cruise ship on top)

Hong Kong

• Kowloon to Hong Kong Star Ferry
• HoHo bus - skyscrapers, markets, Cat Street, Sky 100
• Legoland
• The Victoria Peak Tram (the fastest, steepest, highest funicular I have ever been on).  They took great care of me in my wheelchair and let me on first!
• Dim Sum
• Maritime Museum
• Harbour Cruise
• Mom & Dad meeting up with Wayne Lee
• Train station clock tower
• Symphony of Lights Show

Taiwan, Taipei

• Taipei 101, the 2nd highest skyscraper in the world, and the steel pendulum sphere that makes it earthquake proof
• Architecture
• Changing of the Guard at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, it was like a dance and fight scene all at once
• Tea Sets
• Landscaping
• Lungshan Buddhist Temple dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy

Japan

• Diamond Princess built in Japan
• People waving

Kagoshima

• Green Tea
• Chiran Peace Museum, Kamikaze (Tokkō) Pilots letters to home, lanterns
• Chiran Gardens and Samurai Houses, Sata Naotada's Garden, stone arrangements and trees manicured to accompany mountain
• Japanese Carp swimming in water channel along sidewalk
• Mount Sakuramima erupting just as our tour guide mentioned that it erupts 440 times per year
• Sail-Away; incredible drummers, families coming to wave goodbye, drummers chanting, waving flags, running, & singing alongside ship as we sail off

Osaka

• Tugboat welcome water display
• Arriving into port with band playing and people waving
• Cat Café, especially stubby legs kitty
• Incredible friendly and helpful people despite language barrier
• Giant lego giraffe & ferris wheel
• Sake & authentic sushi
• Kimonos
• Tempozan Harbour Village
• Chikko Koyasan Temple & local teaching Don Buddhist practices

Tokyo

• Tsukiji Fish Market, largest in the world, where Travis bought 4 handmade steel Japanese knives with his name engraved in Japanese from a 5th generation, 18th century shop called Masahisa
• Sushi restaurant in the fish market
• Oysters, BBQ Scallop with secret butter sauce, sashimi in the market
• Uppudo fresh Ramen
• Tempura at Ginza Tenkuni
• Hotel Gracery Ginza and the amazing location
• Feeling of safety, nobody locks up their bikes
• People only cross at crosswalks when they have green!
• Locals walking us places
• Architecture
• HoHo bus, greenery on terraces, Skytree Tower, building of Olympic site, Death Star media building, everyone waving
• Imperial Palace Gardens, swans and cherry blossoms
• Flash mob on Chuo-Dori street in Ginza
• Travis watching Jiro, 3 Michelin star chef of Sukiyabushi, watch movie "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"
• High tech toilets with privacy settings

Loved this city, I could totally live here

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San Francisco & Napa Valley February 25 - March 4, 2015

Awesome Things:

• San Francisco being extremely accessible
• Customer Service
• Sunshine
• Pet Friendly Hotel
• Hop On Hop Off Bus
• Murals/Artwork
• Fisherman's Wharf
• Inescapable Alcatraz
• Sea Lions
• Oracle - America's Cup Boat
• Chinatown (largest Chinatown outside of Asia)
• Z & Y Chinese restaurant, Hot & Sour soup
• Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge
• Haight Ashbury
• Architecture
• Crooked Lombard Street
• Hog Island Oyster Company
• Muir Woods
• Ocean, Sand Dunes & Waves

Sonoma & Napa

• Travelling with Best Friends
• Alice Waters' "Chez Panisse", "You have sunshine coming from your table" quote from the waitress
• airbnb Sonoma Cottage w/ firepit
• Sunflower Café Breakfast with Monster Mimosas
• Champagne Tasting at Sigh
• Wine Tasting at Passaggio with random hailstorm and story of "Unmarked" label
• Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc
• Truth or Dare
• Napa Valley Wine Tour with George 1) Keever (fire drama & amazing cab sauv)  2) Allora with Caesar the wine cat 3)  Cliff Lede with stories of Margaret Keane and "Big Eyes"
• Lunch at Auberge du Soleil, sunshine & gorgeous view

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Sandals Grande Antigua - September 27 - October  5, 2014

• Mimosas for breakfast with beautiful views
• Café de Paris with incredible coffee & ice cream
• Sushi
• Beautiful grounds with flowers everywhere & fire pits at night
• Hobie Cat
• Candlelight dinner on the beach
• Swim up pool bars
• Showering and napping after a day in the sun
• Reading our books

Awesome Things:

• Having the same room as our wedding with a 4 poster bed, jacuzzi and view of our wedding gazebo
• Spending our 5th year wedding anniversary on the beach where  we were married, wonderful memories throughout
• Mystic II Catamaran, snorkeling and seeing a reef shark and giant sting ray
• Perfect beach with soft sand, amazing weather and turquoise water
• Luxury Cabana
• Couples Massage
• Island cats everywhere
• Travis's new pair of Maui Jims
• BBQ Beach Party
• Not waking up to an alarm
• Winning at Canasta
• Eating lunch with our feet in the sand
• Staff with a sense of humour
• Lovers Game Show
• Celebrating Don's birthday with Don on his actual birthday!

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Las Vegas - Labour Day Weekend 2014

Awesome Things:

• Girls dream weekend with Heather, Tania & Brittany
• The Cosmopolitan gorgeous suite with balcony view & then the Penthouse!
• Bellagio Fountain
• Cirque-du-Soleil; The Beatles Love @ the Mirage
• Portofino tasting menu @ the Mirage
• Alizé tasting menu @ the Palms, 5 hour dinner!
• Bouchon @ the Venetian
• Olives @ the Bellagio
• Butlers & Liquor Fairies
• Girls Dance Parties

• Blue Ribbon sushi & fried chicken @ the Cosmopolitan
• Pool Parties
• Ice Bucket Challenge Vegas Style
• Surprise Veuve from Annemarie & Travis
• Random mix of people
• Laughing, crying, singing, dancing
• Limo to Helicopter landing in the Grand Canyon
• Grooving to Top Gun in the Heli
• Flying over the strip to "Viva Las Vegas"
• Wicked Spoon best breakfast buffet ever @ the Cosmopolitan

• And...sorry folks, it stays in Vegas!!!

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Niagara-on-the-Lake & Niagara Falls - August 2014

Awesome Things:

• Canadian Wine Country
• Treadwell farm to table cuisine
• Surprises & birthday royalty
• Heirloom tomato salad
• Sunshine & eating outside
• Sharing a suite with Heather & Andy at 124Q
• Family & honouring papa Smith
• Peller Estates tasting menu & wine pairing
• Toasts

• Ravine Vineyard
• Presents for everyone
• Childhood photo books

• Stunning Niagara Falls
• Rainbows
• Funicular showing up right when you need it
• Stunning suite with gorg views of the falls
• Turning all the lights off and watching fireworks from your room
• Hornblower boat trip & getting soaked
• Dinner with a view of the falls

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Kikomun Creek - June 2014

Awesome Things:

• Bucket List:  Camping with Travis in Canada with Keith, Tania, Kate & Malcolm
  
• Kate & Malcolm such lovely teenagers
• The Rockies
• Campfires
• Sleeping in a tent
• Turtles
• Ice Cream
• Canasta, Euker, President
• Humzingers
• Oscar Meyer Bologna Song
• Catapulting Meteorites at the US border

• Headz up
• Lake Kocanusa
• Campsite #85 
• Shopping in Kalispell, Montana
• Café Jax, Eureka, Montana
• Free Pizza
• Beach Day
• Hammocks
• Dads & Uncles being shot at with airsoft guns by Malcolm
• Karma & Rolo chilling by the fire
• Crab Legs
• Veggie dogs (okay so everyone else says Oscar Meyer, Viking & Cheesy wieners)

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Mediterranean Cruise - May 2014

Our Itinerary:
May 10:  Depart London, Southampton
May 11 - 13:  At Sea
May 14:  Barcelona, Spain 
May 15:  Corsica (Ajaccio), France 
May 16:  Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy  (Tarquinia Catacombs)
May 17:  Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy (Cinque Terre)
May 18:  Genoa, Italy (for Milan) (Portofino)
May 19:  Marseille (Provence), France 
May 20:  At Sea 
May 21:  Gibraltar, Great Britain 
May 22 - 23:  At Sea 
May 24:  London (Southampton), England 

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London Highlights & Awesome Things:

• Travis spending time with Coral, John, Megan, Jason, Hannah, Mikaela, Rachel, Sherryn, Daniel & Katie in Harpenden
• Spending time with Geoff, Juliet, Richard, Emily, Rupert, Jessica & Hugo @ Zedel's
• Fish & Chips
• Tower of London
• Mayfair
• Jamie Olivers; olives on ice & espresso martinis
• Thames river cruise
• Bus tour with history of London

Cruise Highlights & Awesome Things:

• Playing Canasta
• Indian Food
• Galley Tour & Chef's Table
• Happy Hour
• Mercury Rising (Queen Tribute Band)
• Mini-Suite with bathtub, walk-in closet & balcony
• Montreal Canadiens beating the Boston Bruins
• Dancing in the club with Travis
• British Trivia
• Mother's Day Massage with Mom
• Fantastic Staff from the Philippines, Italy & Budapest
• Reading our books
• Travis not having to cook
• Daniel's Italian Plate

Barcelona

• Bus Tour in the Sun
• Architecture; roof tiles resembling Dragon scales
• Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia under construction since 1882

Corsica (Ajaccio)

• Beautiful Port
• Market
• Mussels in front of the ship
• The no. 5 bus to the beach is "how you say...irregular"
• Napolean's birthplace

Civitavecchia 

• Tarquinia
• Catacombs
• Dario
• Etruscan lunch
• Olive oil
• Etruscan Museum with erotic vases
• Gelatto
• Weeping Madonna

Marseille

• One of France's oldest cities
• Largest port in the Med
• French wine
• Old port

Livorno 

• Cinque Terre
• Andrea our fabulous historian guide
• Lemon Festival
• Pesto
• Cats
• Boat ride
• Train ride
• Landscape; houses, vineyards, churches on cliffside
• Leaning Tower of Pisa

Genoa 

• Most beautiful port
• Lighthouse
• Portofino
• Boat ride
• Santa Margherita
• Focaccia
• Scenery
• Coffee in the sunshine
• Paparazzi chasing stars
• Monastery

Gibraltar 

• Barbary Apes
• WWII Tunnels
• Europa Point
• The Rock
• St. Michael's Cave
• Airport Runway with road passing through it
• Unique
• The Pillars of Hercules
• All religions welcome

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Mexico - February 2014

• Shopping in Playa del Carmen
• Not knowing what time or day it is
• Tricycling with the family through the jungle
• Mayan Ruins at Cobá
• Mayan Honey Bees
• Mexican Monkeys
• Snorkelling in the Lagoon at Akumal
• Ceviche & Seafood Platters

Mexico Highlights & Awesome Things:

• Spending time with Keith, Tania, Kate & Malcolm
• Sailing with Travis
• Playing President on the Beach
• Swimming daily in the Ocean
• Jacuzzis
• Cool, soft sand
• Unlimited drinks & beach service with Yara
• Coaties
• Iguanas soaking up the sun
• Kitties all over the resort, basking on the statues
• Reading on the beach
• Drinking Fresh Coconuts
• Special Cheesy Fondue Dinner with Kate & Malcolm
• Harvest Moon
• Chill Out outdoor dining on our last evening
• Grand Riviera Princess & Grand Sunset Princess

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New Orleans - January 2014

Galatoire's

New Orleans Highlights & Awesome Things:

• Being there with your best friends
• The Roosevelt
• Sazeracs
• Beignets and the best café au lait at Café du Monde
• "All that Jazz" Po'Boys at the Verdi Marte
• Brass Band at Preservation Hall
• Zeta Psi @ Tulane University
• Streetcar through the Garden District
• Drinks at The Columns
• Walking Tour of the Garden District with experienced tour guide, including the historic Lafayette Cemetery
• Fritzel's European Jazz Pub
• Hurricanes in the sunshine at Pat O'Briens
• Oysters with Rodney at Desire
• Napolean House for Lunch
• Galatoire's for lunch (jacket necessary - classy!); sit downstairs and ask for Imre as your server, reservations necessary
• Bourbon Street, Jackson Square and walking the French Quarter day & night!
• Haunted Walk
• K-Pauls Restaurant
• New Orleans School of Cooking
• Commander's Palace tasting menu & wine pairing

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Italy - November 2013

Tuscany

• Surprising Heather & Andy at the airport with roses & sausage
• Our 800 year old Villa on a Vineyard at Podere di Pomaio with the brothers Marco & Iacopo
• Marcopo our Tuscan kitty
• Best Friends, Fires, Cards & Sunsets (and a little wine)
• Arezzo & Piero della Francesca's Frescoes
• Siena and the Piazza del Campo
• Vineyard tour of Castello D'Albola in Chianti
• White Truffle at Osteria di Giovanni (Thanks mum2! xo)
• Wine Tour at Podere di Pomaio and 1st pressed olive oil

Venice

• Vaporetto (water bus)
• Water for streets, canals & bridges
• Visit with Uncle Geoff
• Gondola Ride
  
• Ducal Palace
• Bridge of Sighs
• Peggy Guggenheim Museum
• Rialto Bridge
• City as a Labyrinth

Italian Highlights & Awesome Things:
Rome

• Colosseum
• Palatine & Roman Forum
• Trevi Fountain 
• Trajan's Column
• Pantheon
• Piazza Navona with Bernini's Sculpture
• Largo di Torre Argentina:  Roman Ruins of Pompey's Theatre where Julius Caesar was killed (et tu Bruté?), that is now a Cat Sanctuary, yup you heard right A CAT SANCTUARY!  How great is that?
• Spanish Steps
• Vatican:  St. Peter's Basilica & Sistine Chapel
• Italian pizza, chocolate, gelato, risotto, pasta, tomato

Florence

• Santa Maria del Fiore "el Duomo" & Baptistry
• The market with belts & bags
• Il Papiro; beautiful stationary store
• Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise"
• The Uffizi with an astounding collection of Renaissance Masters
• The Accademia with "David", absolute perfection
• Ponte Vecchio
• Palazzo Vecchio
• Santa Croce with the tombs of Michelangelo, Dante, Ghiberti, Machiavelli & Galileo to name a few
• Pitti Palace
• Santa Maria Novella

Naples

• Mount Vesuvius 
• Pompeii
• Travis's Birthday and Auguri Birthday Cake
• Napoli Pizza best pizza in the world

Positano

• Lemons
• Seafood
• Gorgeous cliffside dwellings
• View from our Terrace

Places We've Lived

Carol:  Richmond, British Columbia - Montreal, Quebec - St. Sauveur, Quebec - Whistler, British Columbia - Banff, Alberta - Cape Cod, USA - Bristol, England - St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles - Toronto, Ontario - Ottawa, Ontario

Travis:  Durban, South Africa - Auckland, New Zealand - St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles - Melbourne, Australia - Ottawa, Canada

Places We've Traveled

 Carol:  Canada - England - Wales - Austria - Holland - Ireland - St. Maarten - France - Antigua - St. Kitts - St. Barths - Anguilla - Saba - New Zealand - Fiji - Barbados - St. Thomas - South Africa - Namibia - Zimbabwe - USA - Guatemala - Jamaica - Italy - Mexico - Spain - Corsica - Gibraltar - Thailand - Singapore - Vietnam - Hong Kong - Taipei - Japan - Denmark - Sweden - Estonia - Russia - Germany - Dominican Republic - Turks & Caicos - Costa Rica - Panama - Colombia - Grand Cayman

Travis:  South Africa - Swaziland - Lesotho - New Zealand - Singapore - St. Maarten - England - Australia - St. Kitts - St. Barths - Nevis - Anguilla - Saba - Antigua - Fiji - Canada - France - Barbados - St. Thomas - Namibia - Zimbabwe - USA - Italy - Mexico - Spain - Corsica - Gibraltar - Thailand - Singapore - Vietnam - Hong Kong - Taipei - Japan - Denmark - Sweden - Estonia - Russia - Germany - Dominican Republic - Turks & Caicos - Costa Rica - Panama - Colombia - Grand Cayman