Just a quick update to let you all know that I made it to Italy...safe, sound, and extremely jet lagged!! (thanks to the lady behind me who kept kicking my seat in the plane, insuring I would get no sleep for 7 hours...but...I'm not BITTER!!!!)
I will have a detailed blog shortly...with pics...but for now, I'll just let you all know I made it here, and am completely overwhelmed by the beauty of Venice!!
My itinerary for the next 12 days is as follows:
Sun: Venice
Mon: Split, Croatia
Tues: At Sea
Wed: Pereaus (Athens), Greece
Thurs: Istanbul, Turkey
Friday: Istanbul, Turkey
Sat: Mykonos, Greece
Sun: Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey
Mon: Santorini, Greece
Tues: Katalokolon, (Olympia), Greece
Wed: At Sea
After that we do another 12 days...some different ports....each one more amazing than the one before!! I keep pinching myself---it's so awe-inspiring here!
Thanks for following my journey....I hope pics can do it justice!
If you've had a chance to view the recent video...here's a little blurb to go along with it! As the video explains, Mom had NO idea I was home from Mexico...it was the perfect chance to sneak up on her and surprise her with....nothing less than an Elvis bobblehead...something NO home should be without...right??!!! lol
Friday morning, April 18, I awoke...my last full day on the ms Oosterdam, ready to book a San Diego hotel where I would stay for a few days before leaving for my next contract in Italy. I got a call from Human Resources, asking when my flight out of the country was scheduled. "I'm not flying out....I'm just planning to stay here till I fly out to Europe, " was my reply. That set off a string of calls to head office in Seattle, and in the end, we all learned that, due to immigration laws, I had to fly home, even if just to touch Canadian soil, then I could return.
Well....a vacation at home sounded better to me at that point, than sticking around the U.S! So...long story short, I asked them to just fly me home, and fly me out of Toronto to Italy.
I'm soooo glad how that worked out, because it's given me a chance to spend time with my sis, Angela, and also, to write, direct, produce, and c0-star in the latest flick, "Surprising Mom"...lol
So...Surprising Mom....that was a blast....as were the six days I had back home, most of which I spent crashing at Ang & Ted's...catching up on movies, catching up with my online friends, and even relaxing at my old digs, the church loft (empty till May 1--how convenient was that??!!)
Upon watching the youtube vid, some of you might be wondering ..."Why an Elvis Bobblehead"....??? Glad you asked.... I spend a month in California before my last contract....the bobblehead was my Mom's only request, when I asked what sovenier she wanted me to send home! I did send it to my sister's...thinking I would not be home for another 6 months. Anyway...Hollywood Blvd is now missing one Elvis...he lives on though...with my Mom!! :-)
I'm signing in to what some have called "the best blog website EVER!!!"....and now have NO choice but to keep everyone updated on my adventures...or....misadventures!
I hope you will find the blogs-to-come to be entertaining, informative, and inspiring.
Please bear with me as I navigate new waters here! I have a HUGE backlog of blogging to do, which will include pics, video and journals from the past year of traveling and singing with Holland America Line.
I can't remember how many airports I have napped in, how many DC-10's I have smuggled peanuts from, or how many times I have pinched myself in disbelief at the strange and wonderful places on this planet that I have been blessed to see over the course of one year. BUT....I do remember that breathless anticipation mingled with understated panic that I felt exactly one year ago, when I set out on this crazy new journey!
I will try to do justice to the scenes, sites, and sensations that sum up all of the experiences of living and entertaining on a luxury ocean liner, zip-lining above an Alaskan rainforest, parasailing over Bahamian islands, snorkeling the crystal waters of the Caribbean Sea, and just simply soaking in the raw beauty of creation...a true playground for the imagination!
I will begin with the present---spending a short vacation at home before heading to the Mediterranean for 6 months---- and work my way back into April of 2007, where it all began with me quitting my day job, sub-letting my loft, and heading for the high seas.
I'm thrilled to have you all along for the voyage, if only through cyberspace!. So.... buckel up (or, in this case, grab your life vest!!) and hang on! It may not be smooth sailing, but I promise, you won't be bored!
