r u ready.....

as i was going through all the pictures from our cruise i realized this is going to be a long one. so i think i am going to break down all the pictures into sections. that way you don't have to keep scrolling for miles. so here we go.

we started our trip by taking a flight from Frankfurt into a town right outside of Venice. then headed into Venice the next day to get on board the ship. the town that we stayed in the night before was not so great. the town, Mogliano Veneto, itself wasn't so bad. but our hotel was awful. now i know you aren't supposed to expect a lot when staying in a hotel in Europe. i know this. i have been to many in our travels since living in Germany. i am a budget traveler but this took the cake! a few hi-lights: the carpet had bleach stains, the bed felt literally like sleeping on rocks, the tv had one channel, the "mini bar"had nothing in it not to mention the fridge wasn't even on, the hotel was in the GHETTO. thank goodness i had my husband with me! lets see the night attendant did not speak a lick of English (not a big deal but the ad online said they did), we had to pay upfront with cash because the card machine didn't work and the next morning the non-included breakfast was almost $30 for a bowl of cereal and some yogurt. ok done complaining. just wanted you to have a visual of how we started our little trip. i don't know about you but thing s never go smoothly for me. not really whining just stating a fact. i don't know if its a money thing, or a me thing or what. maybe its that i have high expectations? i don't know. just wondering if anybody else feels this way? food for thought.....

now on to more fun parts of the trip. it was a 7 day cruise and after we left Venice we headed to Dubrovnik, Croatia. i have to say i had no real idea what this area was like. i was so pleasantly surprised. it was so beautiful! Dubrovnik's main area is inside a wall.

its right on the water so that was beautiful and the buildings are awesome to look at as well. as we have traveled around Europe i have started to notice a certain dichotomy happening. the battle between old and new and rich and poor. these places are so old but yet technology and money are pushing them to become more modern and fast paced.

i wish that these places could just stay locked in time and not feel the push but here we come, me included, searching for souvenirs and wanting to invade their space to try to catch a glimpse into their way of life. as if that only takes a day! *..... i just realized here i was complaining about a hotel when really i should be happy to even go to Italy and all these places in the first place. spoiled American: party of 1.........*

anyway i feel so privileged to be able to see so much of this awesome world. even if its just for a day. i hope that even though we are constantly invading peoples way of life and making our world smaller that i, me personally, don't push too hard, or speak so loud like and obnoxious American, or at least ASK if they speak english or here's a novel idea actually learn some of their language!

sorry for all the deep thought but i just was thinking out loud there for a minute. so i hope you enjoy the pictures and i hope that it sparks interest in you as it does in me to really look at people and respect there cultures and way of life and realize that no matter where you live people are the same everywhere.

*just had to show this. can you guess what this is?