Rome and Pompeii

 Rome is an amazing city because of all of the history there.  We only had a couple of days to spend in Rome but it was hardly enough. 

 The Colosseum was probably the kids' favorite part of Rome.  It was huge.  It is a wonder that they constructed it without modern machinery.

 Enjoying some Italian pizza.  The best pizza in all of the places we ate in Italy was in Pompeii though.  It was AMAZING!

 We stopped off at another country while in Rome--the Vatican City. 

 The museum was incredible and taught our children many anatomical lessons!

 We passed a McDonalds and knew that we would have to stop there for lunch.  It was a hit!

 

 Pompeii was another fun day trip.  We took the train down for a short visit.

 Mount Vesuvius blew in 79 AD covering the city and some of its inhabitants. 

 Two thousand years ago they were way more advanced than I ever gave them credit for.

Worn grooves in the rock road from wagons.  They made walking a bit tricky sometimes.

Abby Road??? No, Pompeii!

Our Cruise

 After living on an island for a year that has no elevators, the kids were crazy about getting to use them.  We had to assign them days that they were responsible for pushing the buttons.  It was great drama if someone pushed the button when it wasn't their day!!

 We went to some great shows.  Some were more exciting than others.  One night some opera singers performed.  It was great for adults but the kids struggled through it.  Nick asked why these people keep yelling in different languages.  Someday they will appreciate it!

 This was the kid's room.  They were happy to have their own room and we were happy that they had their own room!!

 Megan made a new friend on the first day of the cruise.  She was from Brazil. 

 Some nights we got all fancied up for dinner. 

 

 We celebrated Nick's 11th birthday on the cruise.  The waiters brought him a cake and sang to him.

It was a fun, relaxing time.  I am already looking forward to our next trip! Curtis will groan when he reads that!!

Genoa

 Genoa, Italy was our first stop.  The city boasted of the largest Aquarium in Europe so we went to check it out.  The walk was lovely.  They say that Genoa has recently worked to improve their look from their old port town appearance.  It was bright and beautiful. 

 I doubt this was Europe's largest Aquarium but it was nice all the same.  We had a pleasant day exploring Genoa and the Aquarium.

Barcelona

 Barcelona was a grand and beautiful city.  We jumped off the boat and explored the city on foot.  It was clean and friendly. 

 I love all of the tiny streets of Europe.  They are filled with shops, people, and life.  We loved exploring the city and seeing where each street would lead.

 Barcelona's great cathedral.  It was beautiful.  The amount of work that went into these old buildings is amazing. 

Casablanca

 Our most anticipated stop was in Casablanca, Morocco.  We were all excited to go to Africa.  Caleb wants to let everyone know that he was the first one off the gangway to touch Africa!  He is very proud to be the first Brown child to be in Africa.

We hired a tour guide to take us all around the area.  We stopped at the beach to collect some shells and touch the "African waters."

 He are the kids with our tour guide, Muhamed.

  The largest graveyard in the country.  It was huge!

 We went to the old town part of Rabat, a city about an hour away from Casablanca.  This part of town dates back many centuries.  It was a mixture of Spanish and Arabic architecture. 

 A famous mosque that was never completed because the king died.  It was going to be grand.  While we were there, we heard them calling for their prayer time.  It was like something out of a movie!

 We stopped in at a rug maker business.  The women sat and made rugs for 8 hours a day.  It would take between 3-6 months to make a rug by hand, depending on the size of the rug. Wow!

 The tomb of some of the kings and princes of Morocco.  It was beautiful inside.

 More tombs.  They like to honor their kings!

 Another great mosque.  It is the third largest in the world and the western most one.  It was incredible.  Our tour guide shared all about his muslim faith.  It was fascinating.

Here is the last French building made while still under the French control. It is now the French Embassy.

 It was a long and tiring day.  It was a great experience and no, we didn't trade Megan for any camels... even though we thought about it!