Ciao Europa!

I arrived safely to Southampton yesterday and today is another day at sea….groan. We’re on our way to Vigo, Spain and should arrive on Monday morning. I’ve also returned to my shared cabin which is a big bummer – it was really nice to have my own space.

I had a very nice day in Southampton. The weather was beautiful. It was 72 – so far, their warmest day of the year! I met up with one of my friend’s mom, Val, who just so happened to be visiting her relatives in the neighboring town of Portsmouth. We walked along the old wall that was built to protect the city from French invaders during the 100 years war and also walked down the pier from where the Mayflower sailed to the Americas. There was a celebration happening for the launching of the world’s largest cruise ship, The Liberty of the Seas, which is part of Royal Caribbean. It made my ship look small, but made the Queen Elizabeth II look like a tiny little tug boat. We had lunch at a local pub and I tried a Shandy (sp?) – a mix of beer and sprite. It was surprisingly good and very refreshing. Val took some pictures and a video that she’ll share with my parents when she returns to Colorado. It’s been very nice having familiar faces greet me along the way and remind me of home!

My itinerary for this cruise is very nice. I’ll be in Vigo tomorrow, and then Lisbon, Barcelona, Cannes, Rome, Naples, Corsica, and Gibraltar. Time to go pass some more time at sea….