When in Rome...

Our first stop was Rome, one of the places that Chris and I have always wanted to visit together. We woke up early and headed to the "Stardust Lounge" to wait for our tour number to be called. Try to picture an immensely crowded room, filled with anxious cruisers, all of whom just know that THEY will be the ones who missed their tour! It was quite comical actually! Anyway, our number was called and we were soon herded to the buses. Our tour guide, bless her heart, seemed to have done one too many tours of Rome and wasn't just the most enthusiastic lady we've ever met. Thankfully, she's the only one who seemed to be this way, as all of our other guides were unbelievably helpful & kind. But, we did get to see all the major sites. The Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and many of the arches that leave their mark throughout the city. We then headed to Vatican City and the beautiful St. Peter's Basilica. It was so fun to look out and see the same view that the Pope has each time he speaks from the church steps. We stood in a seemingly never-ending line (there's a picture of us standing in it on the left), but eventually made it inside the most spectacular church we have ever seen. The sheer size of it is enough to move you, but add to that the beautiful mosaics, sculptures, writings and design, and it just simply takes your breath away. We saw Michelangelo's "pieta`", which is now my most favorite work of art. It just leaves you speechless when you see it in person. We were also impressed with the 9 foot tall letters around the dome that had this message: "you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ...I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven....". Such magnitude and grace. I just can't explain how beautiful it was.

We ended our tour there, did a little shopping in St. Peter's Square, and (of course) had some wonderfully delicious gelatto before getting back on the bus. The day was everything that we hoped it would be!

Cruise Tidbits

Much to our dismay, we are steadily getting back to our daily routine here in England. Gone are the leisurely mornings, the relaxing days by the pool, and the delightful midnight chocolate buffet! Yes, sadly, we are back to the grind...but at least we have pictures and made memories that will last a lifetime.

I think the best way to write about this trip is to cover a different place every day. We got to see and experience so many amazing things that if I tried to write about them all tonight, I'd be here til next week!! So, first just let me say that our cruise line (Norwegian) was just awesome! We flew to Barcelona early on a Sunday morning and then caught a cab to the port. Now THAT was an interesting cab ride!! Our cabbie got lost and actually had to pull over and look at one of those gigantic maps on the side of the road. He also didn't speak a WORD of English. He knew less English than Chris and I know of Spanish, so we quickly knew we were in for an adventure! We understood about 3 of his words..."andale" (hurry), "cinco" (five...we're still not really sure why he was screaming this), and "oh" (as in "oh, oh, oh", which he said over and over and over again!!). We really couldn't help him at all because we were too busy laughing in the backseat, really hoping that we didn't miss the boat!

The ship was just incredible. There were two swimming pools, 12 restaurants, a spa, a fitness center, a huge theatre, a casino, & so much more. It was overwhelming when we first boarded, we didn't stop getting lost until our 3rd day at sea! I played Bingo (those of you who know me, know that I'm a huge bingo fan) and won about $70! We also played Blackjack and won a little money there too! BUT, the thing that I'm most proud of winning is the bottle of champagne that we won while playing the Newlywed/Not So Newlywed Game! We were competing against 4 other couples, one of which had been married 64 years! We also did a Murder Mystery Dinner. We'd never done one of those before, and it was actually really fun. Chris ended up being the "murderer", and completely fooled everyone all night...pretty funny! We also got to see some wonderful performers. Magicians, singers, dancers and even a Cirque du Soleil type act that was unbelievable. They really turned the ship into something spectacular!

More tomorrow :)

Cheers!

This is why I love working with children!!

So, I went to work today and in my class we were talking about cities and states. Here's just a just one excerpt of our 30 minute discussion....

Me: "So Caleb, what city and state were you born in?"
Caleb: "Mississippi"
Me: "Okay, that's the state, but do you know the city?"
Caleb: "Uhhh, Mrs. Duncan (insert very exasperated little face here) I was a baby when I was born, how do you expect me to remember what city it was in?"

LOVE IT!

Anyway, we're obviously back from our WONDERFUL cruise. I still have trouble putting into words just how amazing this trip was. Don't worry, pictures are coming soon! We're still trying to get acclimated to being back at home...not having someone cook for us, not having constant entertainment, and not having a pool to lounge around by all day long. And that was just on the boat!! We're thankful to be home safe, and to have had the opportunity to explore some of the most beautiful places on earth. What a blessing that was :)

Istanbul or Bust!!!

So, Chris and I leave tomorrow morning for our 12 day cruise, and I am so excited that I can barely stand it!! A friend (a very, very sweet and wonderful friend) is picking us up at 5 in the morning and taking us to the airport. Our first stop is Barcelona, Spain where we'll board the ship and head to Italy. I am almost overwhelmed at the fact that we're actually going to be in Italy in 2 days. So fun!! Traveling there has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl, and being able to actually go now with Chris is just almost unbelievable!! We've already picked all of our "excursions" (did I mention that I am a little obsessive about planning things??), and I'm most looking forward to our Wine Tasting Adventure in Tuscany. I think Chris is most looking forward to climbing Mt. Vesuvius...funny how our tastes are just a little bit different :) Our next stop is Athens, Greece. (I'll let y'all know how that goes since I've heard a rumor about a few tiny fires somewhere in that vicinity!) Then it's on to Dubrovnik, Croatia where we'll be visiting a coastal yachting village. Then we head to Izmar & Istanbul, Turkey. We've heard such wonderful things about Turkey that we decided to stay an extra 2 days there at the end of our trip! I think Istanbul is going to be just amazing. I can't wait to go to the Beylerbeyi Palace, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market!! It is going to be such a fantastic experience, something that we never even imagined that we would be doing! We'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and we'll let y'all know how it was when we return :)

Totally 80's!!!

So...how do you like our new look?? The above picture is of me and my friend Meredith before our Totally 80's party!! The wives here get together every month as a group to go over the "schedule", snack on some fabulous food, and just catch up on each other's lives. Each month is a different "theme", and this month was a tribute to a decade of tight-rolled jeans, insanely high hair, leg warmers, & (my favorite) jellies!! Our friends Mhari & Emily went down to High Street and purchased some RAD clothes & accessories to complete our look. The funny thing is, we could all go out in Newmarket and completely fit in with the regular pub crew!! The party was great...complete with fondue...and though we didn't win a prize for "best dressed", I think we were definitely rockin' the 80's spirit! See for yourself....Emily, Mhari, Me, Kelly & Meredith...mmmm, side pony-tails & spandex tights should definitely come back in style!!The wives...We have 2 Madonna's & a Flash-dancer in the front row!!

Deep in the HEART of Texas

Chris and I just arrived back in England after a much needed, and wonderful trip back to Texas. We started off our trip in San Antonio to see Chris's dad (Mike) become the new Knight Commander for Kappa Alpha Order. We drove down with Grandmama & Aunt Dianne on a Thursday morning, making sure to stop at all of our favorite fast-food spots! Gotta love Chick-fil-a! The hotel was incredible, and was right on the Riverwalk. Our room was amazing (thanks Mike!!) and we had fun lounging by the pool, catching up on sleep, and spending time with the family. There were all kinds of activities for the wives and family members...a riverboat lunch (complete with fab Mexican food!), a beautiful brunch, a shopping trip, and a tour of the churches in the area. At night we both got to enjoy a mini-rodeo, awesome bar-b-que, a silent auction in a beautiful old train station, and of course the banquet honoring Mike which was just gorgeous and so much fun!

We left on Sunday morning and headed back to Arlington for a visit with the rest of our families. I got to accompany my mom to her new job, which she LOVES, and see her in action. It was so fun to see her so happy, and so excited about what she is doing now! I also went to NRH2O with my dad, Carlotta, Amy and the kids...which is a MUST if you haven't been before. It was hot, and the kids were ready to leave after just a couple of hours, but I had a blast chasing Landry through the "Splashatory", and racing him, my dad and Amy down the slides. What could be more fun than a water park in the summertime?? Chris and I also got to visit with some great friends while we were back in Tejas. We met three other couples out in Dallas at Cuba Libre (yummy!), and then headed over to the Old Monk to chat and catch up. We capped off our night at John & Erin's house where Chris and John played Wii. Needless to say, the Wii is now a MUST HAVE at the Duncan household!! I visited the Modern Art Museum with my dad and got to see the amazing Ron Mueck exhibit. I highly recommend checking it out if you have a chance! Chris spent lots of time by the pool, and scoping out all the electronics stores that are so lacking here in England! On our last night in Arlington, we invited some other friends and family over to my mom's house for a cook-out. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, swam and laughed at all the stories that always come out when we all get together. It was a great way to end a great trip! Chris and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who love and support us no matter how far away we are. It is always hard to leave again, and we are already looking forward to making the trip out to Texas again, and then Mexico for John & Erin's wedding in December!! Til next time...cheers!

Updates and Pictures....

So...a lot has happened since I blogged last! Chris & Jason flew in an Airshow in Duxford, which was pretty cool! I took a video with my camera; however, I'm not savvy enough to know how to upload it onto the blog yet, so you'll have to be patient until Chris can help me. I took a few pictures, but if you've ever taken Airshow pictures, the planes turn out looking like little flies on a big piece of blue paper....not exactly frame-worthy material, but here is one just so you can see that he actually DID fly :) I went with the Wendy, her girls, and Miss Meredith (as Cara lovingly calls her). The announcer guy even gave a little "shout out" to Meredith's upcoming bundle of joy!! It was pretty cool :)
Then, last Friday we went to a Hawaiian Luau! Everyone pitched in, brought some food, and we all had a great time. It turned out to be a gorgeous night in England (haven't seen much of those lately), so we got to stay and enjoy our friends and their families. I love going to things like that...especially since we're so far away from our extended families back Texas. Getting to spend quality time with the amazing people here really makes it feel like home. It was unreal how many children there were...there were bouncy castles, a surf machine, and lots of land for them to run around and play on. It's so fun to see everyone having such a good time and relaxing...I love summertime!!

I'm happy to say that I'm still working out :) I've been inspired by my dad who has suddenly taken up running and biking! Sadly, I'm not sure I can keep up with him....but it sure is a good motivator!! When we go back to the States tomorrow (woohoo!!! Texas here we come!!), hopefully we'll have some time to run together. I'm going to have to do SOMETHING b/c Chris and I have already started mapping out where we want to go to eat while we're home. The list is long (and not so healthy), so I might running a lot more than I had planned!! We're so excited to be going back, 8 months is a long time to not see your family! I actually conquered my normal procrastination syndrome and packed this afternoon :) So, by this time tomorrow we'll be back in the States...well, in the air over the States, but that counts too!!

Til then...cheers!