Olbia, Sardinia, Italy - Nov 7, 2009

Victoria, Gozo, Malta - Nov 5, 2009

The next day after we docked in Valletta, the ship left at 8:00am, and sailed north to the Maltese island of Gozo. From there, we anchored at 10:00am. We had another amazing day out in the Gozoan capital of Victoria. Our friend Ilona joined us!

Valletta, Malta - Nov 4, 2009

I have been to Valletta many times and it is one of my favorite cities I have seen so far! Brendan had never been, so I planned a full day out: lunch, a visit to the Palace of the Knights of Malta, a ferry boat ride to Sliema, and then a harbor cruise! We both had to be back to work at 7:00pm, but being we had an "overnight" in Valletta, we went back out at night and had a delicious late dinner at a steak house on the water. Here are a few highlights of out day!

Brendan Comes Aboard!

Brendan joined the ship on Nov. 1, 2009 in Athens, Greece!  After being apart 4 weeks, we were reunited.

 

Sevastopol, Ukraine - Oct. 29, 2009

My grandparents were from Kiev and it has always been a dream of mine to visit Ukraine. Here are some photos of my day in Sevastopol.

Sinop, Turkey - Oct. 28, 2009

Trabzon, Turkey - Oct 27, 2009

 

 

Batumi, Georgia - Oct. 26, 2009

Sochi, Russia - Oct. 25, 2009

Istanbul, Turkey - Oct 22-23, 2009

Here are some photos from Istanbul.

Katakolo, Greece - Oct 20, 2009

Photos from today.

Dubrovnik, Croatia - Oct. 16, 2009

 

Rhodes, Greece - Oct. 12, 2009

Some photos from Rhodes.

Haifa, Israel - Oct. 9th, 2009

 

Jerusalem - Oct. 8th, 2009

 

Jerusalem - Oct. 8th, 2009

Photos from Jerusalem:  At one of the Stations of the Cross, in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulture, and at the Western Wall.

Pyramids at Giza! Oct. 6, 2009!

Some photos of our crew tour to Giza and the Pyramids!

Leaving Tomorrow!

Flying out to Athens tomorrow -- wanted to say goodbye to some of you that I did not get a chance to speak with individually.  Take care and I'll be seeing you soon.

Heading Back to Sea!

After giving it a go on land for a while, Brendan and I are heading back out to sea. Our time away from the ship really showed us how much we missed our life of travel. I fly out to Athens, Greece on Oct. 2, 2009 (Brendan will be joining me on the same ship a few weeks later). We'll be cruising the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and Western Europe for two months before heading to Florida. From there, we will be sailing through the Caribbean Sea to South America, and on through the Amazon River! I will do my best to update my blog along the way, bringing you photos from our travels. Keep in touch, and happy trails to all of you.

Over the course of the next four months, we will be heading to...

• Greece
• Egypt
• Israel
• Turkey
• Albania
• Croatia
• Italy
• Russia
• Georgia
• Ukraine
• Tunisia
• Malta
• France
• Spain
• Portugal
• Dominican Republic
• Aruba
• Grenada
• French Guiana
• Brazil
• Barbados
• Dominica
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Antigua and Barbuda

...and more!

Again, I'll keep you posted with photos along the way...

My Birthday

For my birthday, Bren and I took a day trip down to Mt. Rainier National Park...

On Land

We decided to settle on land for a while -- we rented an apartment in Seattle's Belltown.

Photo of the view from our bedroom balcony window...

Vancouver, B.C.

Bren and I headed up to Vancouver for a few days for our one year anniversary! View from our hotel room's balcony!

At the Capilano Suspension Bridge

Back Home

We arrived back in Seattle Feb. 4, 2009!

Everglades National Park!

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Back on Land

Brendan and I disembarked the Westerdam on Feb. 1, 2009 and are staying in Ft. Lauderdale for a few days before heading home to Seattle.

Photo of our ship sailing away without us!

Charlestown, St. Kitts and Nevis - Jan. 29, 2009

Gustavia, St. Barths - Jan. 28, 2009

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - Jan. 22, 2009

This was my first stop in the Dominican Republic. The DR shares about half of the island of Hispaniola with Haiti; Santo Domingo is the capital of the DR.

San Juan, Puerto Rico - Jan. 20, 2009