It was a late day for our arrival into Gibraltar today. We pulled alongside the pier in the heart of the city just before 1:00 p.m. and based on HAL's requirements we "gotta be back on board" by 10:00 p.m. We had decided that thisport-of-call (Deb was the port expert here) was going to be a self- guided walking tour. The strategy was to get a shuttle taxi (2E each) to get us into the main square (Casements Square) as quickly as possible and then get ourselves ov...

Yesterday (Day 5) was our first "sea day" so generally it's a relaxing day and it allows us a chance to get acquainted with the Eurodam and to start the prep work for the first formal night onboard. The day started the same as it usually does, breakfast in the Lido. Breakfast was actually good for a change – another plus for HAL over some of their competitors. We got together with T&J so that we could pick out days for our “specialty restaurants&...

QUEST FOR FIFTEEN I can't believe that it’s Day 4 already. We got packed up from the apartment well ahead of schedule and headed downstairs to meet our driver. After two days here at the Arenula Apartments, we have figured out the best way to use the "world’s smallest elevator" to our benefit for the checkout process. Our driver was to arrive at 11:00 a.m. so by 10:30 we were down in front, munching on some croissants with all ten pieces of luggage...

We got going early this morning. We left the apartment by 08:30 with Tom as tour guide - Rome was "his city". It's 2:50 in the a.m. as I write this and my legs, feet and back are just recovering from all the walking (a total of 13.41 kilometers walked for the day). It was really quite comical to see Tom and I waddle through the passages of time - I think that we need to realize that we are just not in our early 40's anymore. It's hard to list all the sights tha...

We we've arrived in Rome safely. Other than a luggage issue with a couple of bags everything so far has gone smoothly. Tom's bags looked like they were dragged through the dirt and my large main bag had the lock ripped off which damaged the zipper assembly. With claims filed we headed out to find a cab to take us to our apartment. The question is, how much do two people need to pack for a 35-day trip. Some might say that you should pack minimally and others migh...