Disney 2020 -Our arrival and Animal Kingdom Bonus Day

Sunday – our arrival was great!  We picked up our rental, drove to a Walmart 3 minutes from the Animal Kingdom Resort and picked up our food we had ordered earlier in the week (BEST grocery pick up ever!) and arrived at our resort.  Our room was not ready yet (it was only 1:30pm) but the kind folks at Kidani Village brought our luggage in and stored our cold food for us!  How many times can I say we love Disney!

We hoped back in the car and drove 5 minutes to Animal Kingdom for our Bonus day…a few hours in the park on arrival or departure day that are pure joy because there is no plan!!!!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

We walked right into the health check, got our temps taken and then through a metal detector and two out of three of us with backpacks got snagged for a bag check.

EVERYONE was wearing a mask and I seriously only saw a handful of people not wearing their correctly.  There are hand sanitizing stations everywhere you turn and physical distancing measures everywhere you look!  Disney has done a great job from what I see so far!!!

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Kilimanjaro Safaris loading area.

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Taking pictures on the move is tough, but I wanted to show you the distancing measures on Flight of Passage.

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The queue at Expedition Everest

Then we were off!!!  We hit Pandora land and Flight of Passage, had one of the most up-close encounters with giraffes, rhinos and a sassy ostrich I have ever has on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and had a blast on Everest!  The longest we waited was at Flight of Passage and that was MAYBE 30 minutes!

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“Africa” at about 2:30pm on Sunday

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The park was dead!  I am in heaven!!!  BEST TRIP EVER!!!!!

Disney 2020 – The Airport Experience.

The adventure has begun!!!   Sunday we were up at 3:30am to drive to Boston.  To say we were bright eyed and bushy tailed might be an exaggeration, but we were ready to go!!!!  We snuggled the animals goodbye (we have an amazing lady that stays at our house and watches the animals while we are away that was arriving in daylight morning) and jumped in the car.  Off we went.

Sometimes we do take the bus to the airport (C&J is our local bus) but yesterday was supposed to be their first day back up and running and with 5 people traveling, it was more cost effective for us to drive ourselves to Pre-flight and shuttle in.

The shuttle ride was efficient and safe.  The red curtains add a little fun to the trip.

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The Airport – Boston

Boston Logan was a breeze because it is still a ghost town.  This summer I have been in Terminals A and B and they are the same crowd wise from what I have seen.  When we brought my daughter to the airport July 1st to fly to Washington state to see grandparents, it wasn’t any different.  There are very few flights happening and many of the shops and such are closed.  This means you have to be extra prepared with TSA approved snacks and such, but it also means fewer people to dodge and very short lines!

The waiting areas are well maintained, very clean (I’ve never seen cleaner bathrooms anywhere) and physical distancing is encouraged by taping off certain seats in the waiting areas for one person, two people and small groups that might be traveling together.  EVERYONE was masked and overall, I had no trouble feeling safe.

The Flight – Delta

I have flown a few airlines in my days….and Delta is on the top of that list.  Note, I fly economy – not first class (someday, maybe once!), so my assessment is the treatment of us regular folk:)  Seriously, though – I love Delta domestically and internationally and will choose them above all others if they are an option!  Yesterday’s flight solidified my experience with them even more!

Because we were a unit of 5 people, we sat together (Char, myself and her friend to 3 seats, Kelly and Kelton to 2 seats behind us- I moved across the aisle from the girls once seated and no one was there).  Family units DO sit together, but otherwise, strict physical distancing is in effect and maybe 30% of the plane was booked.  Best flight ever!!!

We were offered a personal cleaning wipe when we got on board and were told the strict cleaning protocols provided by Delta (very impressive), all the onboard attendants were kind, courteous, helpful and masked properly, and halfway through our flight we were offered a small sealed bag with more sanitation gel, a bag of cheezits, a granola bar and a small water.   I cannot imagine being in a space where I would have felt safer with strangers around me.

The Airport – Orlando

Our arrival was hairy!  Not the flight part – that was great – but the walking off the plane to so many people in one place part.  Really, it was just because there was a plane boarding and it looked like a pretty full flight so there were a lot of people that were NOT physical distancing, but after we held our breath, kept our head down, and dodged the people, all was smooth sailing!  hahahaha

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Orlando Airport

Really – is wasn’t that bad, but so different than what we have been used to!  We headed out to were we thought we collected our car – which has changed because of COVID – so you know – it is always good to pack extra patience!

Off we headed for our Disney adventure!  Check back in for our Bonus day at Animal Kingdom!!!

Celebration at Sea – Cadiz, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal

Our last two stops on our amazing Mediterranean journey.  In Cadiz, the kids stayed on board the Anthem while Kelly and I did a little exploring!  It was a windy day but we found time to sit and enjoy fabulous churros and hot chocolate!

 

Our last stop was Lisbon, Portugal!  We didn’t know what to expect in Lisbon but LOVED every inch of this hilly city!  We explored Jeronimos Monastery, Castelo de Sao Jorge, learned about the cork industry a bit (you can find anything and EVERYTHING made from cork in Lisbon) and marveled at this beautiful bitter sweet last stop of our adventure!

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One of my favorite all time pictures!

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Jeronimos Monastery

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The courtyard of the Monastery

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Char and Sable being sassy.

 

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Beautiful crucifix at the Monastery.

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We found some beautiful peacocks on the way up the hill towards the Castelo.

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Castelo de Sao Jorge

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We loved the coloring on this fellow!

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My princess of the Castelo walls.

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Making the Anthem of the Seas our home for 16 days was an amazing way to see the Med and I recommend it to everyone!!!

Social Distancing – Day 155

Coronacation continues…how surreal this summer is.  I keep thinking of the Bananarama song Cruel Summer.  It seems to fit.

It hasn’t all been cruel, of course – and I like to focus on the positive – so I’ll tell you what we have been doing since June 24th!

Gardening – lots and lots of gardening!   It amazes me every time I have a garden how quickly vegetables (and weeds) grow!  We have had a great harvest in green beans, zucchini, lettuce galore and I feel like we will be soon overrun with cucumbers!  My tomatoes are coming along nicely as well!

As for the rest of the garden – some things are doing great – I need to harvest my lavender soon but it has been so hot out in the mornings that I want to wait.  Speaking of hot – I think we have had a REAL summer here!  Super-hot days – we have had our pool heater off for almost a month and still the pool is 91 degrees!

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Exploring at home.  Hamilton House, South Berwick, Maine

We were able to do our annual camping trip to Long Lake.  I treasure this week long vacation every year and this year was no different!  We enjoyed great family time, amazing food, fabulous weather, tons of boating (skiing, tubing and trips to town for ice cream) and made memories to last a lifetime and hold us over until next year!!!

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Our home away from home.

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Two tubes, twice the fun!

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Pine Island, Long Lake.

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Storm closing in.

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What 17 year old boys do early in the morning.

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We made some cool masks!

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Drive-bys with the Songo River Queen.

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Making new friends!

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The 2020 crew – I love these people!!!

It’s been 155 days in some type of isolation because or COVID-19.  Boy, this world is a weird place!  My daughter starts high school in September.  My son begins his senior year and in a week we are going to be in Disney.  Trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in this strange season is a challenge, but still this point on our timeline has offered us quiet times of contemplation and opportunities to do something new.  Let’s see what good can come out of this cruel summer.

Celebration at Sea – Malaga, Spain

I fell in love with Spain in Malaga.  That should be a song….but it happened!!

Malaga is a gorgeous Mediterranean city with large seaside pedestrian ways, a state of the art cruise ship port, magnificent history and a liveliness that features flare, fun and fantasy.  It was hands down a wonderful surprise and I cannot wait to go back!

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Such beautiful architecture!

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The gardens we saw everywhere were stunning!

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I love these trees with purple/blue flowers!

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We did our first Segway tour!

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In Europe, I guess they believe that an 8 year old is able to safely ride a Segway!

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My people on a gorgeous old walkway!

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In Malaga, the fortress/castle is call Alcabaza. It was STUNNING!

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The walls of Alcabaza

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Gardens of Alcabaza.

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Arab influences can be seen all over this beautiful city.

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My beauty.

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Stunning view from the fortress walls.

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Our ship in the distance.

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Celebration at Sea – Marseille, France

I am a Francophile.  I love all things French!!!  I really enjoyed Marseille – I had it imagined in my mind with lavendar all over and very romantic….while it was beautiful, I was a little disappointed.  But that’s ok – it was a great day of exploring!!

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I love the Parisienne architecture!

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Basilique Notre Dame de-la-Garde

 

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Marseille Cathedral

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Inside the Marseille Cathedral

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A nice square for lunch.

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And a yummy lunch!

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Notre Dame de-la-Garde on the harbor.

Celebration at Sea – La Spezia

So you’re thinking, La Spezia?  Where is that?

La Spezia, my adventurous friends, is in northern Italy – and this port is the gateway to (longer) day trips to Florence, Pisa and for the Smith family, Cinque Terre.

Ah, this was one of our favorite days!  The night before we went online and found a place to rent scooters for the next day in La Spezia.  We got off the boat and started walking.  We found the scooter rental place just as it opened, signed our life away, and rode off into the sunrise….pretty framatic, but let me tell you…..the non-Itlaian speaking Smiths taking directions from the friendly scooter guy was comical.  We got out helmets (Char rode with Kelly and Kelton rode with me), got some sort of directions towards Cinque Terre, and off we went.

Have I told you how much we love adventure?  Adventure brings us closer.  It challenges us.  It makes us think “outside the box” and forces us to rely on eachother.  Because of all these things, we grow personally and grow closer together.

Cinque Terre will forever be one of my favorite days ever!  We are always very aware of our land time while cruising – while I would love more time to explore, being left behind isn’t a great option!  This trip, we only explored two of the five villages; Manarola and Riomaggiore.  I guess we will have to go back!  Check it out!

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Our chariots for the day!

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I just love this view!

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Sable along for the adventure!

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They always find the cats!

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Ancient, winding streets.

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Wine terraces.

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Walking room only!

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Hold on tight to those cliffs!

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The village just waking up.

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Stunning views from the sea –

Celebration at Sea – ROME if you want to!

ROME!

For any amature (or mature) historian, Rome is the place of dreams!

Our gorgeous ship docked in the nearby seaside port of Civitavecchia.  This port is a good hour or more outside of Rome, and since we work on a budget, we didn’t take an excursion to Rome; rather, we got to the train station and figured out how to get round trip tickets to Rome and off we went.

To spend only a partial day in Rome is kinda crazy, but we did it and it was amazing!

And HOT!  Wowzers, was it hot!

We decided to do the Hop On Hop Off buses that traverse the city and they were, for the most part, useful (not so much in Barcelona).  We visted the Colosseum (got tickets ahead of time – a MUST) and Roman Forum/Palatine Hill and also went to Vatican City – but NOT for a tour – we didn’t know if we would have enough time.  We DID, however, have pizza near the Vatican – isn’t that a must?

Here are some pictures from our day!

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The Hop On Hop Off bus ride was a blast!

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Sable really got into it!

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This photo looks like a postcard but I promise I took it – It looks like everyone is social distancing!

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Sable loved Rome!

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The Colosseum was really stunning!

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The picture quality is lacking but it is because it is SO HOT and the air quality was not great. The Roman Forum area.

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Amazing architecture.

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Char and Sable with St. Peter’s in the background.

Celebration at Sea – Villafranche Sur Mer (Nice and Monaco)

Villafranche-sur-Mer was our thrid stop on our fabulous trip!  Here, we had to sit in the bay and be “ferried” into the port.  Once on land, we could hang out in Villafranche-sur-Mer (famous for their parfumeries) or head east to Monaco or west for Nice.  We figured out how to catch a bus andhead headed to Nice.

This was the first time we left the kids on the ship.  They wanted a break from “all the old stuff” and we didn’t think there would be a TON of things the kids would like in Nice, so they stayed aboard in the kids club and enjoyed some kid time.

Kelly and I enjoyed some adult time and when we arrived in Nice after a short bus ride, we decided to rent scooters for the day!  What an adventure that was!  Here are some of our photos!

Here are our picutres from Villafranche-sur-Mer

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The view of our ship from our ferry.

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First selfie of the day!

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Close to land!

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A beautiful harbor.

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Near the harbor in Villafranche.

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Fabulous old streets to explore.

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Wow!

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Breathtaking!

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Life on the Med!

Nice!

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Nice harbor…some fancier boats.

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Another selfie!

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At the sea with our scooters!

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From the hills – we had no idea where we were going – we just went!!!!

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Gorgeous tree lined sidewalks!

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The kids and I near sunset. Reunited!

Next stop, ROME!!!!!

Celebration at Sea – Barcelona

Barcelona was our first port in Spain – and again, I had no expectations of what we might see!  We do not book excursions through our cruise ship or other venues – we tend to wing it!

We got off the ship and started exploring!!!

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Char and Sable always have the best time!

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Sagrada Familia….you’ve gotta see it!

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The light is just breathtaking!

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Char liked it!

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This made Char’s day!

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AND Kelton’s…

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AND Kelly’s!

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Barcelona Cathedral

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You could get to the top and take a picture – amazing views!!!

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Kelton meets Christopher Columbus?

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One of my favorite pictures!

Next stop…Villafranche sur Mer, France.