Gowdy Getaway to Europe

Whew! We're back, but I needed a few days to get back in the groove of things, back to reality, and rest from a world-wind adventure.

Europe owes us nothing! It is our newfound love. Nine days across six cities in four different countries. Europe embraced us with its rich history, breathtaking scenery, beautiful architecture, culture, and cuisine. One memorable experience that I couldn’t have ever imagined.

The perfect setting and experience as we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. For each anniversary, we’ve never exchanged gifts, but we do look for new experiences to indulge in, and traveling abroad has always been our gift to each other - still creating those ‘first time’ moments.

This was our first time traveling this far away and first time in Europe. So we both were very excited, yet very nervous. I did a bit of research after we booked the trip, received a ton of guidance from my sister (European guru), and recommendations from coworkers who had previously traveled to the spots we were going.

THE FLIGHT

It actually wasn’t that bad, despite a crazy and long traveling journey to reach Europe. We woke up at 6 a.m. Thursday to start getting ready, as we had a 12:15 p.m. flight from Atlanta to JFK airport in New York. Had a 4-hour layover, then at 6:30 p.m., flew from JFK to Barcelona, arriving at 8 a.m. Friday morning. Mind you, Spain is 6 hours ahead. We did a full 24-hours going from car to plane to ship. We slept a good bit during the second flight and Delta fed us very well with dinner, several snacks, and drinks along the way. Soon as we landed in Barcelona, we headed straight to the port and boarded on our MSC cruise. I’ll share that ‘first time’ experience with that cruise line in the next blog post.

Six cities in four different countries, here we go!

STOP 1: MARSEILLE, FRANCE

We did our own self-guided city tour here, just walking the streets and stumbling across hidden jewels of food spots and shopping. It was considered the pedestrian area, ideal for taking a stroll and taking in the scenery through one of the oldest parts of the city.

Saw the Bleu de Chin statue, a sculpture paying homage to all the workers of the port of Marseille. Walked up and around the Cathédrale La Major - a 'whoa' moment to its massive size and architectural details.

We made it to their Centre Commercial Centre Bourse - a 3-story shopping mall. We both walked out with our own new French souvenirs - coats! We did not come to Europe prepared (trying to keep our luggage underweight, despite having six bags in total) and the wind and cold slapped us right into buying the proper fall gear as we anticipated doing a lot of walking and sightseeing around the cities. "You goin' learn today!"

Looking in different eateries to find lunch, that was our introduction to all of the board menus written in languages we couldn’t read. Being mindful not to travel too too far out and keeping track of time (we were NOT missing that ship), we ended up grabbing lunch at a small kiosk in the city park - simple and sweet.

STOP 2: GENOA, ITALY

The architecture! Oh my goodness - each and every intricate detail etched in stone. Not only here, but all of the cities we explored. Walking through history with many buildings carrying the Venetian Gothic style.

We walked around, did a lot of shopping, and hung out in the historical Piazza De Ferrari, the main square of Genoa. Despite the rain, we enjoyed Genoa.

STOP 3: CIVITAVECCHIA, ITALY

Civitavecchia was our least favorite stop overall. Perhaps it was the rain combined with the cold, while we did our own leisurely exploring, that made us want to quickly get through it and hurry back to the ship.

This particular day, we slept in a little late, so when we asked if we'd be able to go to Rome, we were told there's a high risk we'd miss the ship coming back, because the port was an hour and a half away from Rome. So three hours commute time total going and coming back via taxi, not to include the little bit of time we would have to walk around and explore through Rome, etc. We don't play Russian Roulette with the cruise's embarkment time to sail off. I would like to go back and specifically visit Rome and see the Colosseum. There's also a quaint family-owned Italian restaurant across from the Colosseum that was recommended for us to try out - next time!

STOP 4: PALERMO / SICILY, ITALY

One of our favorite stops was Palermo and Sicily and we both agree we'd love to come back. Soooo much to see and do here and the shopping was chef's kiss. It's very lively, refined, yet rich in history. And there still seems to be remnants and reminders of the mafia era in Sicily. Fun fact for movie buffs, if you're a fan of The Godfather movie, Sicily is the home base for where they filmed the movie. Another reason I'd love to come back and tour The Godfather home.

We walked through the historical Quattro Canti landmark in Palermo. It's officially known as Piazza Vigliena and considered the center of the historic quarters of the city, with four octagonal sides with three large scale statues placed in the center of each side. A sight to see.

We stopped by the Politeama Theater and the Teatro Massimo en route to the ancient Vucciria marketplace. The Vucciria marketplace is the oldest local market in Palermo, flanked with fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, street food, and an assortment of various other goods.

Can't travel all the way to Sicily without searching for some authentic Italian pizza and gelato. We found both! And they were oh so good!

I think we did well over 10,000 steps walking around Palermo and Sicily, but it certainly didn't feel like it. So much to see. Have to also note, late November in Palermo, the weather was perfect for us. Sunny and the high's were in the low 70s.

STOP 5: VALLETTA, MALTA

Another one of our favorite stops. Beautiful and breathtaking views every where you turn.

As one of our last stops on the cruise, we did the Panoramic Island Tour excursion across Malta - a half-day tour of the island where we first stopped at Wied iz-Zurrieq, famous for its beautiful natural arch, where lives the famous Blue Grotto. Absolutely beautiful! There was the opportunity to take smaller boats down into the caves, which I really, really wanted to do, but I didn't have my sea sick medicine with me at the time, so that was a no go. So we took in all the views, climbed up the watchtower where they used to spot for pirates, and visited a few cafes along the sea pathway.

Next, we drove to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, checked out all of their colorful boats, and market, where we bought a lot of souvenirs for our family and friends.

Lasty, we drove to Vittoriosa, an old fortified city that the Knights Hospitallar made their first Maltese home in 1530. Here, you can really see the rich history throughout Malta. You could still see the shrep metal remenants on walls from bomb explosions during World War II.

STOP 6: BARCELONA, SPAIN

Art, culture, traditions, cuisine. Barcelona has it all and this was easily one of our favorite stops as well. Weather was nice and sunny with temperatures in the low 70s. At night it got cool enough to warrant a jacket. We stayed at the W Barcelona for one night - perfect beach front setting.

Since we had some time to explore, we walked along the beachfront just to sightsee and check out some of their local eateries. When asking the hotel's front desk concierge (and even 1 or 2 taxi drivers) about the safety in Barcelona, they all said the same thing - just watch out for pick pocketers. Otherwise, it's safe to walk around freely.

Two places came highly recommended for us to visit - the Central Square (aka Plaza de Catalunya) and the Sagrada Familia. However, we only had time to vist one. By day eight of the trip, we were tide, not tired, but tide. So we chose to take a taxi to go see one of Barcelona's most famous landmarks, the Sagrada Familia. Designed by architect Antoni Gaudi (last name pronounced same as our last name Gowdy), we just had to check it out. Its massive, uniquely designed, complex configurations draws the crowds near and far to see it up close. What's crazy is that it started being built in 1882 and it's STILL very much under construction.

This is just a quick glimpse into our travels through Europe. So much more that I can't even put into words, simply because it was a feeling and experience throughout each step, that we were intentionally present for. We would love to go back, and maybe next time, even bring the kids. As our daughter told us soon as we returned, she's been wanting to go to Italy her whole life - her whole 10 years of living. First, can you even spell Italy? Let's start there.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS & LESSONS LEARNED:

• We recommend purchasing the Global cell phone package (if that's an option with your phone carrier). My husband did it for his phone (we have Xfinity), but I didn't do mine and now we have an extra $150 added to our phone bill because of roaming charges I incurred. No extra shopping for me for awhile! I don't know what we were thinking to not get that package for both phones. Take that as a lesson to get your phone plan in check before leaving.

• We would recommend converting at least $500 over into Euros. It's easier and saves you more money in the end to avoid all these conversion costs when purchasing items. However, using a credit card is more secure.

• My sister recommended we use the Sightseeing 'hop-on-and-off' bus at each city stop and we did for a few locations. Just make sure to track where the pickup/dropoff locations are and don't lose sight of the time. It's a quick and easy way to get around the city and see a lot. If you save your receipts, you're likely to get 10% off future hop-off bus trips even if it's in different cities.

• Make sure to bring a European travel plug converter. Didn't have any issues on the cruise using standard U.S. electric plug in. However, the hotel in Barcelona of course had nothing but European outlets, so the travel converter came in handy for us to use in order to charge our phones.

• It's excellent if you can speak Spanish, Italian, or French. But certainly not mandatory in order to navigate through the cities or to enjoy yourself. Most likely, your tour guide, waitress, hotel concierge, taxi driver, etc. can also speak English. We only ran into that issue one time at a restaurant, so my husband and I had to point to pictures off the menu in order to "say" what we wanted to eat.

• We didn't, but my sister (again European guru) told me to bring a food translator dictionary. Forgot to buy one, but it most certainly would have come in handy.

• Taxis are abundantly available everywhere. Cab hood sign is green if it's available to grab. Be sure to ask if it's metered vs. flat rate. Meter is better.

• Wear comfortable shoes! There is A LOT of walking. Even if you do excursions, they typically all involve a lot of walking, standing, or hiking. At one stop, we did 9,500 steps and the following day, we did 13,300 steps.

• Lastly, be present in the moment. I have more photos and videos than what I've shared online. Took a few moments to capture at each spot, then phones put up to absorb what we could and to look around. Didn't want to miss a beat. I'm always in awe of HIS beautiful creation when I get a chance to see it from various sides of the world. Take it in!

Feel free to drop a comment or question below about the trip. If you've been to any of these places, what was your favorite memory or what are some recommendations that we should try the next time we visit?