The blogs begin

I'm sitting at a desk in the beautiful St. Regis in Rome. Things have finally settled down enough here that I can post at least one of the blogs I have already written from the cruise. So here goes!

Venice:

How do you make someone’s dream come true? Well, I suppose it’s different depending on the person’s dream. And some dreams are easier than others. I’m blessed. I really am. Because my dream was a tall order, and my husband not only decided to foot the bill, but he carried my luggage and stuck me on a plane.

Those of you who read my blogs know I’ve been many places. But I’ve always felt that going to Greece had to be special, like it was the final step in my travel journey. I thought once I got to go that it would be the end of my traveling days. We’ll just have to see about that.

After laying over in JFK and Rome, I met up with my sister in Venice. We caught a cab out to the port and promptly passed out in our stateroom. Jet lag is a killer, and Karalyn swore up and down she wouldn’t get it. Since I’m writing this blog days after our arrival, I can confirm that jet lag is still kicking both our butts.

I wish I could say that Venice was a dream. It wasn’t. We ended up being there before 10 in the morning, and all the really good shopping was closed. It was fine, but Venice really is a city for lovers. It’s all about romantic restaurants and gondola rides in the moonlight. So K and I wandered around, took our pictures, and got back on the boat to go back to the ship. That was that. That was Venice.

Today’s lesson: Don’t underestimate the effect messing up your schedule can have. 17 hours in airports and a jump ahead in time can feel like crashing into a brick wall when it finally catches up to you.