ITALY!!!!!

Mike and I went to Italy for this years State Farm trip. We went on a Mediterranian cruise. It was a trip of a lifetime. The most ironic part was that it happened to be the same exact ship we went on to Bermuda. The same staff and everything. The funniest part was that a lot of the staff remembered Mike and I. The ship was amazing! Some of our close friends also qualified so that made it extra fun to have them there! We landed in Rome and went straight to the ship, so we didn't get to see much of Rome. Our first port was Sicily.
Sicily- We took a tour to the top of Mt. Etna. An active volcano that happened to errupt the night we left. We could see the lava flow in the dark leaving the port! We brought home some lava rocks and some local strawberry honey (soooo good), and some soaps that are really good for your skin.
Malta- It was amazing. Some of our friends had hired a private tour guide, so we tagged along and got a VIP tour of the city. The city was where some a lot of films are made including The count of Monte Cristo. So we got to ride under the grotto that the treasure seen was filmed in. It was amazing. The water was sooo clear. You could see the sand at the bottom. We also went through ruins that date back to 3100B.C. It was incredible.

Dubrovnik, Croatia-which was our favorite! It was gorgeous. The whole town looked like a postcard. There was a wall built around the whole city that we walked along. It was sooo hot. It was record setting temps. while we were there. It was like 101 with 100% humidity! We were soaked by the time we were done. So to cool off, we decided to take a dip off some cliffs in the Adriatic Sea! It was totally dark and kind of freaky, but it was so fun. We ate the best food, especially the gelato. I think I gained 8lbs. just because of that!
At Sea- The first full day at sea just happened to be my birthday! It also happened to be Sunday. We got together with other LDS members and had a testimony meeting. It was amazing! It lasted for 21/2 hours. It brought to life the hymn Master, the Tempests is Raging! Mike reserved the Captains table for our group to sit at for dinner. He had the chef make my favorite dessert from the Bermuda trip just for us. They also brought out a Birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday in Phillipino. It was so sweet!

Pompeii and Sorrento- We docked in Naples which was a yucky city so we took tours to the ruins of Pompeii and the city of Sorrento. It was amazing that the city was completely covered in minutes when Mt. Vesuvius errupted. Because of the gases and ash, it even preserved some of the bodies running to taking cover. The one I have pictured was actually pregnant (you can see her tummy if you look closely) The whole experience was incredible. Definitely a must see! We ate pizza in Sorrento which is the birth place of pizza-it was soooo yummy. That night Mike and his friend TJ rocked karaoke with the funniest version of Bohemian Rhapsody. I almost wet my pants. One of these days I'll figure out how to put it on You Tube!
Florence and Pisa- We drove through some Tuscan countryside to get to Florence. It was amazing, I almost cried! Florence was so crowded. We managed to do some shopping and see a lot of museums and Cathedrals. We didn't have five hours to wait in line to see the actual statue of the David... But we did see the replica outside. I think I saw enough statues of naked men to last a lifetime... You've seen one, you've seen em all! We then went to Pisa. It was crazy to actually be there. It almost didn't seem real. I've seen the tower a million times in text books, but to see it in person was awesome. It was amazing to see just how much it is actually leaning! It doesn't even look real in our pictures. We had to be super careful when we were there, because there was a lot of gypsies. While we were there we got some pastas and of course some olive oil.
Needless to say it was the most amazing trip ever. It was my dream trip! The next time we go there, I want to see the backside of Tuscany and Venice! It was so sad to go home, especially since we had to fly back like 11 hours. We then had to leave for my family reunion the same day we got back. It was crazy! Jet lag and all!