Barcelona SOS Mediterranean Greek Isle Cruise w/Paris and Copenhagen Review

My favorite.

On our way to and at the Eiffel Tower.

We liked this apartment building on our walk to the Tower.

Four more for good measure.

Wow! What a great review! I am sad that "our" trip is coming to an end. What a wonderful family, those children were very obviously raised right!

Thanks!

Wow! What a great review! I am sad that "our" trip is coming to an end. What a wonderful family, those children were very obviously raised right!

 

Thanks!

Thank you so much!!!! I am a little sad myself but am now planning an Africa trip and an Asia trip! :D I have decided we shall take a big family trip every 3 years and this would become tradition. Of course I will take smaller less expensive trips every year but it is the big ones that get me excited to plan!

Thank you, I have and am definitely trying.:confused: Luckily my daughter is doing well so far at University.

We had decent sleep and the pace of the past weeks were catching up with the kids. Aren't they supposed to have more energy than me?:eek: I of course was biting at the bit to leave this hotel and horrified by the thought that we would have to go back over to the metro by the Hotel Albe to get to Versailles and then again to go to the airport in the evening. So what did I do?.........Call Hotel Albe and spoke with Christine.

She was nice enough to allow us to leave our luggage there for the day.:D I could not be happier and rushed the kids to hurry. Originally I wanted us to be at Versailles by 9:30 and that did not work out at all! Cai was brave enough to take all our luggage down the death trap for us. We grabbed a taxi outside back to the first hotel. The taxi fare this time was completely different and actually a little more than doubled. I don't think he took the quickest or most direct way but C'est la vie! We were back at Hotel Albe!

We dropped off our bags and took the RTR to Versailles. We were just in time for the train and the ride took about 30 minutes. Versailles is the last stop on this line so no need for us to pay attention on the ride. We took in the scenery and I looked over my journal. The walk to the palace is about 15 minutes from the train station and very easy to find as you just follow the crowds. We got there about 11:30. A big difference than 9:30! The line was snaked throughout the entrance. That is with the pass.:(

I knew this would happen! It was also overcast and I hadn't brought my hat but I did have my umbrella. I tried to stand in the shade for a bit by security but they were not having it. I was not happy and since it was my children's fault for not getting their act together to get there on time I decided they would wait in the line while I sat on a bench on the other side. The quickly obliged as they knew I was right and very upset about having to wait. I knew we had to be inside by 1:30 if I wanted to do some other things before we needed to leave for the airport to Copenhagen.

Luckily we made it inside around 1:15 and I was so glad my boss made me put this on the list of things to see. We really enjoyed it. For those who are also going to visit there is a Laudee store inside with no lines like the on on Champs-Elysees. We tried to see the gardens but our pass did not cover the gardens and I wasn't sure we would have enough time to justify the extra cost. So it would have to be next time as I would love to come back and spend a full day.

We only had to wait about 5 minutes for the next train back to St. Michel. On the train ride back we saw a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. It was a welcomed surprise.

Now back at St. Michel I wanted to find the Shakespeare Bookstore go up the Notre Dame tower and catacombs and also some souvenir shopping. We stopped to ask Christina how to get there. I didn't realize it was literally 2 blocks away the entire time. There was also many shops, bars, restaurants and a theatre on the way. It was like we discovered a whole new place just be going in the opposite direction.

We quickly found the bookstore and I bought a Shakespeare book from the late 19th early 20th century and a canvas bag. Then we went across the bridge to the catacombs. It was really interesting to learn how the landscape that we were standing on had changed through the years. It was also included in the pass. We then went to climb the Towers but they closed the line 30 minutes before closing time. Bummer!:( That just gives us more time to shop. Both Cai and Ciera finally found souvenirs they liked and could pack. I also found a beautiful silk scarf for my mom and the book and bag were for my step-dad. I also bought a couple of macarons for myself!

We then quickly headed back to pick up our luggage and Caroline told us where we could get the lift for the metro. I profusely thanked her and told her we should see her again and we were on our way. As always the train came about 2 minutes after we got there and the ride was only about 15 minutes before we had to change to the airport train. I felt it was quite expensive for the airport train in the scheme of things but it was quick.

Before we headed to the metro Cai got a Gyro he had been dying for the whole time we were in Paris. Once in the airport Ciera and I got a bite to eat. They had this one machine that looked like a soda machine but it charged your devices for free. We were very impressed. We were back on Norwegian for the flight into Copenhagen.

Our flight was uneventful and we landed around 11:15 pm. The great thing about Copenhagen is that most people speak English and at that time of night I really needed someone to speak English.

Pictures to come and then our small window in Copenhagen and the flight home.

I have no clue why that last picture posted. I don't even have it in my photo album.

One of the bars/restaurants.

So we left off landing in Copenhagen and that airport is big. The airport is modern and clean as well, at least the part we were seeing that night.

The plan was to grab a taxi to the hotel as I really hadn't planned for Copenhagen.:confused::eek: I wasn't sure if the taxis took cards , euros etc. I asked an airport employee and they told me how much I should expect to pay from the airport to the hotel. With this information I decided I needed to just get some money out of the airport atm.

On the way to the atm we ran into another American mother/son traveling team who also just arrived. The son was in his early to mid twenties and he wanted to take a cab to their hotel but his mother was insisting they take the train. After speaking for a few moments they were off to the train station and we were off to the taxi stand.

There was a line for the taxis but it moved very quickly. We hopped in ours and headed to the hotel. I was a little anxious as at first the driver didn't seem to immediately know the location and what kind of place did I pick. He then confirmed he knew the street but didn't remember this particular hotel.

On the way we had a slight detour due to roadwork but only about 3 minutes out of our way. None the less the meter, I was keeping a watchful eye, was creeping up and up and going beyond the amount the gentleman at the airport told me it should be. Luckily this taxi took cards as well as I had only taken out a bit over the amount I thought it would cost. *sidenote* The atm at the airport gave only 4 selections for krones and there were big differences between the amounts.* We soon reached our destination only 2 blocks from Tivoli Gardens and the train station. Now I was excited......but that only lasted a few moments as for some reason the driver couldn't get the meter to work correctly for the card amount. So we had to drive to an atm so I could get krones. Crisis averted!

I booked the Omena Hotel. It is very different than your typical hotel. There is no reception at all. They email you a code to get into the building that is also used to get into your room. Checkout is noon and your code is no longer any good. Leave it to me to try this out for my first trip to Europe. We put the code in the first door......and it worked! Then there was a second security door and it worked again. Lastly we get to our room and we are in!!!!

The room had a fridge, microwave, kettle and coffee maker. I did note it didn't have a/c but the weather was cool and we opened the windows. The only thing is that with the windows open you need to keep the curtains open and you can into the building across the street and vice versa. The bathroom was nice but had a slight smell of mildew or mold and you could see that they had either fixed or was fixing a water problem but with the door closed you couldn't smell it in the room and it was so slight it really didn't make using the bathroom a problem. I would definitely stay here again because it was comfortable, the beds and fluffy duvets were the best and we didn't want to get out of them the next morning, it is so close to everything, and it was inexpensive.

We only had until 1:30 the next afternoon, not even a full 24 hours, so the original plan made that night was to get to Tivoli Gardens when it opened and stay until we had to leave. Unfortunately it doesn't open until 11 am and it didn't make sense to pay for only 2 and a half hours. We decided to just walk around and take in some of the culture. First we would grab a walk and go breakfast at one of the many 7-elevens around and drop out bags off at the locker hold at the train station.

Right after coming out of the 7-eleven we ran into the mother/son team from last night. We wound up talking for a good twenty minutes. They told us of their train experience and they happened to have stayed around the corner from us. They had visited London first and were going on a cruise from Copenhagen. We talked about our cruise and our days in Paris.

After we walked the half block to the train station and found the time we needed to be back to get the train then we put our luggage in the locker. Then we headed out to explore. We were ale to do about a square mile before we had to head back to the station. We made the train just in time. I believe it only took 15 minutes to get to the airport.

We unfortunately only saw a smidgen of Copenhagen. What we saw was definitely a city vibe and reminded me a little of people in New York going to work and biking. We definitely saw street performers and fruit/vegetable stands and shopping. It has definitely wet my appetite to go back and since Norwegian has a direct flight from Florida for very cheap that I will return for a long weekend or longer by next summer.

Our flight was on time, our carry ons were never weighed and the flight had empty seats so Cai sat in a row by himself in front of us. We arrived back to Ft. Lauderdale just under an hour early but had to wait an hour on the plane because the immigration room was full. Originally I was going to book another flight from there to Tampa and we only had a window of an hour and a half. Glad I didn't as it took us a total of 2 hours after we landed to get out of the airport. I rented a car for the 3 and a half hour drive home but I decided to spend the night in a hotel in Palm Beach and get a fresh start in the morning.

I hope this review made you smile , laugh and provided you with great information. We enjoyed every experience very much and would do it over again in a heartbeat. Now on to trying to plan the next cruise, and our next big amazing trip to Africa in 3 years.

Last of the pictures to follow soon.

You rock Ayasha.:)

Love your review. Leaving Friday for 7 day Greece & Turkey on the Splendor of the seas. I love the pictures of Santorini. I am really leery of the cable cars, but would not want to miss what you saw. I really think I will skip the mules, they are even more scary. I do hope your kids appreciate what you are doing, a lot of our kids never get to experience travel like this.

Thanks for taking the time. It was fun vacAtioning ( in my mind) with you.

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WHAT A FANTASTIC MOMMA YOU ARE.

I'm so sad your review has come to an end, it was so so enjoyable. And you're making me look at flights to Paris - I so need to go back after seeing your photos!

Looking forward to seeing the pictures of Copenhagen and maybe you can write a little more about your flight home or what was in the mail when you got their, who cares, hell make up a story, anything, I just don't want it to be over!

over????? NNNoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! How am I supposed to live without new pictures to blow me away? When's your next cruise? and please promise to take a gazillion pictures and show them to us!!!!!! Africa sounds stunning as well --- heck if it's not a cruise tell us where we can find THAT review as well!!!!! Thank you so much for having written this! It was a feast for the eyes and I think I'll go back many times to daydream with those fantastic pictures of yours! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!

Stef

Hi Ayasha,

Thanks for your wonderful review. It took me back to that wonderful cruise on the Serenade of the Seas in June, which seems such a long time ago now!

It was great meeting you and maybe we'll meet again on another cruise sometime! All the best to you and your family.

Margaret and Geoff xx

All good things must come to an end, but thoroughly enjoyed reliving our adventure and your extension. Beautiful pictures!!!

Haven't been on lately - George is not well, and we've been catching up on MD visits. Until he is well, can't "sub for cruise money."

Braeden made the football team - tight end/wide receiver.

God speed and hope our paths cross again.

Thanks for the great TR! Your photos really make me excited for planning our next trip! I think we're going to do a land only trip - splitting the trip between London, Paris & finishing in Amsterdam.