Part 2: Fourteen days...

Christmas Day was spent relaxing on the boat, spending time with the family. Seeing as this was our first Christmas with Spider Dave and Jessie, we made sure to spoil them a little.

Jessie with her own camera.

I designed personalized cards for all the gang.   

A selfie!

Spider Dave with his walky talky. 

Seeing as Fat Dave did not seem too concerned about his duck hat, we decided to torment him a bit with a few more pictures. Spider Dave was up for the task!

 Boxing Day was spent at Toulon, France where the weather was wonderful!

Some found it a bit cooler than others. All thought it was better than Canada.

Ange went dress shopping. Mom was not impressed with her choices.

We finished off Boxing Day with an amazing sunset.

 Barcelona, Spain was the next destination.  We all visited the Sagrada Familia together and went up the two towers (something new for those who had been there before).  The church is just as spectacular the second time.  We also got to see a bit of the progress in construction from April.

The exterior on the Nativity side.

We all walked down from the towers.  The staircase is a bit scary considering there is a large hole down the centre that looks like it could hurt if you took a wrong step and fell.

Mom and Dad on their audio tour.

The exterior on the Passion side.

The roof.

 We split into groups after the Sagrada and some went to Casa Mila, an apartment complex also designed by Gaudi (who designed Sagrada Familia).  It did not disappoint!

The roof of the complex.

This is Ange in an archway.

Arthur in an archway.  

The audio tour was more like a treasure hunt where one had to be very perceptive to find the numbers that dictated what to listen to on the tour. Here you will find the Number 8 sign.

You may remember from my previous Barcelona blog that the boys bought some slingshot toys that eventually ended up caught up in a palm tree.  We went back to see if they were still there.  Yep, one was!

 After Barcelona, it was on to Valencia, Spain. It is a very pretty little city with a beautiful garden and some old buildings.

An early morning break at a fountain.

Ange waiting for the others to finish exploring yet another church.

The boys went missing for awhile.  This was a bit concerning because they had the kid's stroller.  We eventually found them waiting for coffee like this.

Uncle Dennis trying to take a picture of a poinsettia tree.

We came across a playground.  I think the big kids had more fun than the little ones!

Uncle Dennis found some bubbles that kept him occupied for about 30 minutes.

We were entertained watching him for about that long!

Back on the boat to watch us sail away!

This is Jessie being a monkey.

After a long day, we were all excited to hit our spot at Tankards.  Unfortunately, it was occupied so we had to sit beside our usual area. 

I can't explain this one. 

Someone's dumb face always ruins a picture.

Our next place was Cagliari, Italy (or how some pronounced it, Calgary-a).  It was a very pretty town but there was not much to see.  I think most of us were just happy to get off the boat after a few days of rough seas.

Cagliari.

We somehow lost 4 members of the group walking from the ship.  We did eventually meet up at this viewing point which was a great place for pictures.

The original Five.

A beautiful sea-side town.

A picture of the gang.

 Back on the boat, Shea had a surprise for everyone. He went full nautical for one dinner!

Ange enjoying the getup! Complete with the nautical themed pashmina afgan. 

Fat Dave was less impressed because it took away from his slick hair and popped collar.

Back to Tankards!

I stole Fat Dave's squirrel hat.

It's been awhile since we took a selfie!

Dumb Dave!

Fat Dave finally found the bowling alley!

The competition was intense with the final score being 4 points apart.  

Shea had this great idea to order every drink on the menu throughout the cruise.  Here is a drink that did not agree with him!

Part 3: Fourteen Days...

After being rocked all day on the boat thanks to high waves, it was time to celebrate New Year's Eve.  I cannot remember a time where I spent New Year's with the family.  We have always done our separate activities and then met up on New Year's Day for Chinese takeout.

A little surprise from our favourite server Ronnie who reserved our spot.

Jessie all decked out ready to celebrate!

Thanks to Jessie, a trend started!

It really caught on!

Spider Dave and Jessie teaching Fat Dave how to play a game.

Great conversation was had by all!

We were all ready with party hats.

What pretty crowns!

Everyone had a great time.

Some a little more than others...

Who invited Elf to the party?

Lonny made a triumphant return after a little cat nap to bring in the New Year with everyone!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Sisters! Insert Secret Sister Song here!

 Our first stop of 2015 was Palermo, Sicily.  Because of rough seas (and a meter of snow in Turkey), we did not get to port until noon.  That just meant a bit more time to recover from the New Year's festivities!

The rough seas as we head to port.

Uncle Dennis is done with all this family time! Time to jump ship.

Palermo is a very dirty place. This is the only picture I took there. No one was impressed with this port.  

 The best part of Palermo was that we all set out to explore the city at different times, yet we all managed to meet each other throughout the day and boarded as one big group!

Back on board, in our spot, we decided to finally return Dumb Dave's dumb duck hat after 5 months. We got Ronnie involved in the act and he was a perfect accomplice in returning this prized possession to Dave.

Ronnie bringing drinks and a hat!

Dave and his hat as one! Ange is not impressed. She wanted to never give the hat back.

 Our final stop on the cruise was Naples.  I hate Naples.  I hated it last year and I still hate it today.  I had big plans to go to Capri that day but a leg injury prevented me from walking. The parents got to go though and saw some wonderful sites.  So, if you ever find yourself in Naples, go first to Pompeii then to Capri.  Never stay in Naples!

Shea and I did venture a bit into the dirty city that day.  We made a stop at Castel Nuovo. It is the most ghetto museum/art gallery I have ever been to.  The employees smoke right beside the artwork. Nothing is explained. The building is falling apart.  Basically, it's the perfect museum for Naples!

An old roof in the museum.  It also doubles as a smoking room!

Under the castle are some Roman ruins, complete with buried bodies.

Because of the rocky waves from the cruise, walking on a glass floor really messed with my brain and how it processed the environment around me. 

Naples did supply us with a new hat for Dumb Dave. Ange was not impressed.

 Shea had somehow stolen the dumb duck hat so once again, I was returning the thing.  You would think Dumb Dave would be a bit better in protecting his prized hat.

This time we got the wonderful cabin staff to return the hat via a towel animal. 

Ange making the most of our last night on the boat.

One final party in our spot!

 Like all great things, the cruise holiday had to come to an end.  We all went our separate ways from Rome.  Some had quick flights back to other parts of Europe. Others had connecting flights back to Canada. Some luggage made it. Others did not. But all were sad to say goodbye to a fantastic Christmas that was far overdue.

Time to go home. Boo!