Trip to the Mediterranean

So many of you have been hassling me to post about my trip, so here it finally is.

Jason and I were so excited to go on our cruise to the Mediterranean and the trip didn't disappoint. we flew into Venice, Italy, spent a day there and then got on our cruise ship that night. Venice was everything I had imagined it to be. The water streets and buildings were so cool. We took a water taxi and were able to see many of the sites. Venice is truly a city for the romantic and it was my favorite stop on our trip. Our first port on our cruise was Debrovnik, Croatia. We loved this port, it was beautiful. Croatia was once formally part of the Republic of Yugoslavia and in 1991 the country claimed their independence. Many of the historical buildings displayed evidence from the war. It was amazing to see the city rebuilt. Debrovinik is becoming a very popular tourist attraction in the summer months and our tour guide told us that Tom Cruise spent time there last summer. Our next stop was in Kusadasi, Turkey. We began the day with a tour of The House of Virgin Mary and then Ephesus. Ephesus was really interesting. It was cool to see the most ancient city in the world and the site of Christian Shrine. St. Paul once preached and wrote Ephesians at Ephesus. We spent the rest of the day shopping. Kusadasi is known for Carpets (rugs) and cheap shopping. We found the Turkish people to be a little pushy and kind of rude, so we didn't do much purchasing. Our next port of call was Santorini, Greece. The city of Santorini sits upon rock from an old volcanoe. As we approached the docking area I thought that there was snow upon the mountain but, then realized it was white houses spread across the mountain top. The lost city of Atlantis was once said to be swallowed by the sea at this site. We took boats into the island and then we had a choice to either climb 580 steps or ride Donkeys to the top. I chose to ride a Donkey and Jason of course chose to climb. I was seriously questioning my decision after about 10 seconds on the donkey. I feared for my life. There was no organization, it was all about getting as many people to the top as fast as possible. PETA would reprimand these donkey herders (or whatever you call them) for methods of disciplining donkeys. Each time they would whip my donkey, it would take off on a galloping sprint (my childhood memories of the farm and getting bucked off the horse were very vivid). Once we got to the top we rented ATV's and explored the city of Santorini. This was by far one of my favorite days. Our last port was Corfu Greece. This site was pretty as well and we wished we had more time to explore more of this city. We had such as great time with great friends. This was an experience I will never forget. We missed our kids a lot and we were so grateful for all the help with our kids.