A Dream Come True: Cruising the Med with my mom and my 5 year old son

[Ana~n~Joseph]

*While I was planning my trip, I didn’t find many trip reports about traveling to the Med with a young child. There were lots with older children but things are always a bit different with the little ones. After much thought, I decided to write my own in hopes that maybe it can help someone that may be wondering if they are absolutely insane about flying to another continent with a 5 year old to get on a Disney ship  . I’m going to include our entire journey and it will probably be a bit lengthy, but I hope it helps at least one person. Thanks for reading.*

INTRODUCTION

It all started with a promise. When my mom was diagnosed with stage 3B ovarian cancer in 2010, I told her that when she was done with treatment we would go to Europe together. It was something she had always wanted but we hadn’t had a chance to do. I even told her I would take my son (who was 1 at the time…her 1st grandson). I printed off a picture of the Magic and posted it on her refrigerator…she laughed and thought it was cute. Well, four years later I was able to make true on my promise. It took longer than I wanted it too but I’m so thankful that she has remained healthy enough to go on this adventure with us. We are truly blessed.

WHO ARE WE

Our traveling group is small. It’s just myself, my DS and my mom. DH stayed back as he was in Dubai for 3 months and traveled to Brazil for 2 weeks earlier this year so he is done with traveling for the year (or so he says).

Me: 31, mommy to my awesome son JJ and a HUGE Disney lover. This would be my 5th DCL cruise as well (woohoo, I made it to GOLD!)

JJ: DS who recently turned 5. We called this trip his “5th birthday celebration”. He’s really just the greatest kid in the world. This was also his 5th DCL cruise.

“Mom”: My sweet mom, 71 years old and cancer survivor/fighter. She loves to travel and this was her 3rd DCL cruise.

Here are our beautiful faces:

OUR PLAN

Disney Magic, 5 night Med Cruise, August 11th-16th.

We plan on arriving to Barcelona a few days before and departing Barcelona the day after the ship gets back. Since I was traveling with my mom and my son, I knew I had to take things slow but I still wanted to get the most of this trip. So here’s the plan:

Thursday – Depart Houston via United Airlines
Friday – Layover in Frankfort, Germany – arrive in Barcelona, Spain @ 3pm
Saturday - Barcelona
Sunday – Barcelona
Monday – Embark Disney Magic – 5 night Med Cruise
Tuesday – Villefranche (on our own port adventure)
Wednesday – Pisa (EasyPisa with DCL Port Adventure)
Thursday – Civitavecchia – Rome (RomeinLimo)
Friday – Sea Day
Saturday – Disembark - Barcelona
Sunday – Depart Barcelona / Arrive Houston @ 4:30pm

While in Barcelona we will be staying at the Hotel Colon. On our last night (after we disembark the ship), we will be staying at the BAH (Barcelona Airport Hotel).

 

[jedijill]

What an awesome gift for your mom! Congrats to her for beating cancer and getting to enjoy this adventure with you and your son. You have a beautiful family!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip.

Jill in CO

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Departure Day / Day 1

On Thursday, August 7th, 2014, the day finally arrived. Even though our flight didn’t leave until 6pm that night, we were filled with anticipation. I stayed home all day (usually I work half-day on travel days) and my son and I enjoyed our morning together. At 1pm I picked up my mom and at 2:30 we were off to the airport.

It was an easy traveling day as the lines at IAH were not long at all and we breezed through check-in and security. We sat down at Wendy’s for a quick lunch and were quickly on our way to our gate. It’s really not easy entertaining a kid at the airport for 2 hours but we managed and shortly it was time to get on that flight. Woohoo!! JJ was not thrilled that he didn’t have a window seat but he survived. This particular United plane was set up in a 2-3-2 configuration so no window for any of us.

This wasn’t JJ’s first rodeo with a long flight. We flew to Dubai earlier this year to see daddy and that was a 15 hour flight. He was a champ through that one and I expected him to be the same way this trip (and he was!). He ate his (yucky) United dinner, watched a few shows and slept for about 5 hours. He woke up as we were approaching London and in the middle of a medical emergency on the plane. Thankfully, the pilot scratched the emergency landing as the patient was doing much better (she was blessed to have two doctors and a nurse on board who really did an amazing job) but it was still a bit scary to watch it all go down.

Before we knew it, it was time to land in Germany for our layover. I had studied the airport and definitely thought we had plenty of time. Our layover was technically 1 hour and 45 minutes but with the medical emergency on board, a team of paramedics had to board the plane before we could do anything and well, that put us a little bit behind. Then the plane had to park on the opposite side of where we needed to be and well, that put us A LOT behind. Long story short, we made it to our gate with some fast-walking skills with 10 minutes to spare. My friends, that is not an easy task with mom and JJ but we managed. It was so close though I had really given up hope and really thought we were going to miss our flight to Barcelona.

We were on a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Barcelona and it was the loveliest of flights (after a minor meltdown by JJ because of not having a window seat again...we were actually across the isle from each other but thankfully a sweet young couple offered us their seats together so I could sit next to JJ). Even though the flight was 1 ½ hours long, we were given a nice sandwich with drink and JJ got a kids pack with candy. The service was 200% better than United and the sandwich was the best food I had during all the flights. Yay Lufthansa! Next time, I’ll just use them and leave United out of the equation.

We finally arrived in Barcelona and we were ecstatic (and exhausted). Immigration and customs were a breeze and we were out in no time. I had asked Hotel Colon to arrange for a pick-up for me and sent them all my information weeks in advance so I was shocked when I couldn't find the driver. After a phone call to the front desk (and a little arguing with the guy who didn't believe me) we established that the driver had left without us because he had the wrong flight time. Oh well, so is life, taxi it is! I was leery about taxi drivers in Barcelona as I had read some not so great things but we got lucky. The driver was extremely nice and we were at our hotel in no time. It also cost me about 1/3 of what I had been quoted for the private transfer so my wallet was already happy!

We checked in to our hotel and it was lovely. It was so charming, I was in love. I guess it’s important to point out that mom and I speak Spanish so that made things A LOT easier. We had a lovely “Triple” room on the 2nd floor and we were immediately shown to it. The service at this hotel was excellent, the bell staff were the greatest guys and so helpful. As we had been traveling all day, we were exhausted but wanted to eat and stay awake a little longer to try to alleviate the jet lag.

We stepped out of our hotel to a beautiful plaza right in front of the Catedral de Barcelona. I immediately fell in love with the city.

We went inside the church to look at it and it was beautiful. Oh so beautiful!!! We didn't stay long as we were starving and it was already approaching 5pm so off we went to find a spot to eat, and to be honest, we stopped at the first place we found.

At this point, JJ was exhausted. He fell asleep at the table but woke up to eat his tapas and drink his juice. Thankfully, this tapas bar was located directly across from our hotel. We got back to our room, got ready for bed and passed out.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Day 2 – Barcelona

We were truly blessed…we slept all night and woke up at 10am!!!! OH MY GOSH!!! We were not supposed to sleep-in that late!! Oh well, we were all rested and renewed and it was totally worth it. Hotel Colon is located in a very central location and there is a HOHO stop right down the street from it. We decided to make that our day today and we hopped on the Red Line.

JJ was so excited to be on a HOHO bus, it’s been his dream to ride one. He saw them in Dubai and kept asking but we decided to skip it there but I was so glad we were able to do it here. We didn’t know where we were going to get off so we just sat down for the ride.

As we went through our drive, we made our way to a beautiful area and a gorgeous building which ended up being the Palau Nacional. The National Palace is home to an art museum and sits atop Montjuic. I could already sense the amazing views from here so we decided to get off. After a quick drink and a snack (Barcelona was very hot!), we went for a walk around the area. It was beautiful and the views it provided of Barcelona were breathtaking.

We eventually found ourselves at the foot for the Magic Fountain (we were really looking for a restroom for mom and they sent us this way when in reality there was one inside the museum).

We made our way back to the Palace (through lots of stairs…thankfully they were escalators) and JJ asked if we could go inside. I warned him it was an Art museum and he was even more excited to go inside. The best part was, it was FREE!

JJ loved going inside and checking out some of the art. He chose the Gothic Art hall (yep, I let him choose which way to go ) and we walked around for a good hour just admiring some of the work (and finding all the fire alarms along the way, my son is obsessed with those )

After venturing to the gift shop (and coming out with a new book about Castles that’s written in Catalan…again, his choice …haha), we saw the Museums Café and Restaurant so we stopped there for lunch. It was lovely, inside a beautiful hall that was being set-up for a private function, and it offered a good selection of pastries, petite sandwiches, coffee, drinks, etc. Apparently, behind the Café is a full-service restaurant. The Museum also offers a Roof-Top viewing areas for what I imagine are even better views!

We decided it was time to walk back to our HOHO stop but first I had to thank JJ for picking such a great spot to see (remember, he’s the one that wanted to go inside the Museum).

The HOHO bus arrived shortly after we got to the stop and we were off to continue our journey. We completed the entire Red Route and we were back to our starting point.

After a quick break, we decided to head to Gothic Quarters where we found some cool stores, the Ramblas and to Plaza Catalunya to do some more exploring (and find a place to eat). Ramblas reminded me of a busy NYC street and it really didn’t catch my attention. I don’t get the fuss is all about, maybe I missed something? We made it to Plaza Catalunya and that’s where JJ fell in love with “the birds”. We spent quite a bit of time chasing them, following them, and even feeding them. The happiness on his face when one finally ate of his hand was priceless.

He would eventually become a pro at this. As we headed back down the Ramblas, we pretty much stopped at the first restaurant we found. Not the greatest choice but it was starting to get late and we were hungry. The only thing Joey wanted to eat was “seafood” so we ended up with a Paella to share and some “pan con tomate” (my favorite food now!).

With full bellies, we were directed by one of the guys in the restaurants to a different street in order to avoid Ramblas at dark. We walked down the Av. Portal del Angel and it really was a lovely street and definitely not as crowded as Ramblas. It also dead-ended at the Cathedral so we were right next to our hotel. Before heading in, we stopped for some ice cream, because, why not?, we are on vacation!!

Even though we had a very late start, I thought we had a really successful day. We had plans to visit Sagrada Familia and Park Guell the next day so off to bed we went.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

What an awesome gift for your mom! Congrats to her for beating cancer and getting to enjoy this adventure with you and your son. You have a beautiful family!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip.

Jill in CO

Thanks so much, Jill!

 

[Quellman]

I love this trip report for a few reasons. Great back story, cute kid, Europe. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Day 3 – More Barcelona

After a restless night for me it was time to continue our adventure in Barcelona. It was Sunday and we had plans to go to Sagrada Family and Park Guell. I had pre-bought our tickets online and I had them printed and ready to go. We headed to breakfast to what would become our favorite little “café” in Barcelona. It’s located directly across from Hotel Colon and it was referred to us by one of the hotel’s concierge/bell-hop guys. I think it’s called Taverna dell Bisbe so if you’re ever in the neighborhood, def stop by. It was good with great friendly service and relatively inexpensive (of course, like anywhere in Barcelona, eating inside is cheaper than eating in the patio).

(picture of Taverna from previous morning)

After our lovely breakfast, we were off to get a taxi. There is a taxi stand conveniently located across the street from where we were so it was super easy. Before getting into any taxi, we always asked for an estimate of the cost. The driver quoted us 7Euro and I think it ended up being 9 which was totally worth it. We were at Sagrada Familia before we knew it. Our tickets were for 11:30am and after admiring this amazing structure from the outside, we were let in at 11:15am (I was allowed in, others were told to wait….I think it may have had to do because of the young child ).

The outside of this church is truly magnificent. It took my breath away. The day we were there, there were a few stands set-up across the street from the church selling souvenirs and other trinkets. There JJ found his “fan” and oh my did that fan come in handy the rest of the trip. Have I mentioned it was REALLY hot?? And I’m from Texas, yall!!

We toured the inside of the church which was really pretty but to be perfectly honest, I didn’t think it did the outside any justice. I was a little let down by it actually. Is that bad? After checking out the inside of the church we ventured over to the museum. It was interesting but the building where it is housed has no AC and therefore it was really hot in there. We quickly high-tailed it out of there and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.

When we got back, JJ begged me to let him go feed the birds again. Mom was reluctant because she didn’t want to make the walk again (it was probably a 8 minute walk) but eventually she agreed to go. We had tickets for Park Guell for later in the day so we had plenty of time. We used our new “secret” path to get to Plaza Catalunya so as to avoid Ramblas and it worked out great. The Plaza was relatively empty at this point so JJ had all his bird friends to himself. There are multiple stands around the park that sell “bird food” so we got him a small bag and he went to town with it. He was so happy again.

After feeding the birds we walked back and decided to grab lunch at our new favorite place. My mom can be a picky eater so once we find a place we like, we usually stick to it. And honestly, the food was really good so no complaints from me. We had a lovely breakfast, took a short break at the hotel and then headed out to Park Guell via taxi.

I really had no clue what to expect, I just know that it looked pretty and I wanted to check out more Gaudi stuff. The Park is located on a hill, in a lovely neighborhood. It was really cute and I want to live there (haha).

We were there a few minutes early but they were already lining up people with tickets for our time frame. We got in line and waiting about ten minutes. Getting inside was a little chaotic and of course someone needed the potty which meant 1. Finding a potty and 2. Getting in another line to use a potty … oy vey!! Remember, it was H-O-T (I can’t stress that enough). Once potty was used and bottle water was bought my people were happy so off we went to explore.

I really don’t think we saw half of the park but at least we got some “touring” in and we got some great views of Barcelona as well. I’m really glad we went to see it but it will probably not make my list next time I’m in Barcelona.

We made our way out of the park (once you leave, you can’t come back) and hopped on a taxi to head back to the hotel. We were going to get back with time to spare to make it to mass that evening so mom was happy. As a good Catholic, she was really looking forward to it. We took a quick break and freshened up a bit before heading to church. It was a lovely ceremony (although hot… once again, no AC….so thankful for JJ’s fan!!!) and I must say, JJ had never behaved so nicely in church before. He was either exhausted and was half asleep or he was really intrigued by seeing the “old-fashioned” confessionary. We were seating right next to them and they were in use so I think he was wondering what those people were telling the priest.

When mass was over, we made our way back to the Plaza. It was lively with a group of guys playing a piano and singing – it made for a nice atmosphere.

When we first arrived, JJ had noticed some white bicycle looking things parked next to our hotel and he really wanted to get on one. When we asked, the front desk person had told us that it was a bicycle program that Barcelona was trying to implement for its residents but I think he got confused but these turned out to be “TrixiCabs”. I finally asked the guys that were standing around and they offered to take us for a spin. 15Euro for a 30 minute ride. Sold!! JJ was so excited!!! This was right up there with the birds.

We went on a ride around some of Barcelona’s beautiful streets and we ended up inside the Parc de la Ciutadella. Our driver was super nice and he told us we could get out and take a picture if we wanted so we did.

Next time I’m in Barcelona I plan on checking this park out a little more. Looks like an awesome place for a picnic and some park fun. It is also home to the Zoo. Our driver eventually made his way back to the TrixiCab stop (conveniently located next to our hotel) and we were back home. Funny note: halfway through the ride, mom was certain that we were being kidnapped. The driver took some tiny streets around an “artsy” neighborhood and she thought we had been gone for a good hour – the ride was exactly 28 minutes.

Since this was our last night in Barcelona we wanted to have a nice “good-bye” dinner so we chose the hotel’s restaurant. The restaurant had a lovely patio and a beautiful indoor seating area as well. We got there right at opening and waited a few minutes to be seated but for a while, it was just the three of us.

Of course going to a “fancy” restaurant with a 4 (almost 5) year old can be a little tricky at times. I’m a worrier and of course I want him on his best behavior, thankfully he was and he made sure to eat all of his paella (his request). He also ate all of his dessert. The waitress swore he wouldn’t like it because it wasn’t “kid friendly” but this kid will try anything and he ended up loving it.

So after a nice family dinner, it was time to go pack and get ready for our exciting day tomorrow. JJ was counting down the hours until it was time to get on the ship!

 

[heaven2dc]

What a lovely TR! Your son is absolutely adorable! For a little one his age he truly is having a grand time in Barcelona (and so smart!). I loved his suggestion on taking the "trixicabs".

You picked a perfect place to stay - and so nice you found the perfect restaurant too!

 

[WDWLinda]

I'm loving your TR - your son is adorable (I love the pic of him surrounded by his bird friends!) and you seem to have a laid back but organized attitude. It's so nice that you followed through with your promise to your Mom and I'm glad she's all better and seems to be enjoying the trip.

Keep posting!!

Thanks,
Linda

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

What a lovely TR! Your son is absolutely adorable! For a little one his age he truly is having a grand time in Barcelona (and so smart!). I loved his suggestion on taking the "trixicabs".

You picked a perfect place to stay - and so nice you found the perfect restaurant too!

Thanks so much!!! And thanks for reading

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

I'm loving your TR - your son is adorable (I love the pic of him surrounded by his bird friends!) and you seem to have a laid back but organized attitude. It's so nice that you followed through with your promise to your Mom and I'm glad she's all better and seems to be enjoying the trip.

Keep posting!!

Thanks,
Linda

Thank you so much!!!!

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Day 3 – Barcelona/Disney Magic

We woke up feeling refreshed and quickly got ready to get our day started. We went to our favorite spot one last night to have our breakfast and then walked around a little. I’d decided to head to the port at 11:00am so we had plenty of time and didn’t have to rush. We ventured into some of the Gothic Quarter streets, did a little shopping and made sure JJ sent out his first postcard to his class.

We went back to our room and had the front desk call us a cab. We were ready to head to the port!! The cab that picked us up was a nice SUV, it even had a booster seat for JJ but of course it costs more but whatever, I just wanted to get there. The drive was probably 15 minutes and we were there before we knew it. Oh the sight of the ship makes me so happy and JJ was thrilled. “Mommy, it’s my ship!!!!”. This was JJ’s 5th cruise so he was really excited, really, really excited. And he was even more excited that Avengers Academy was an option on this specific ship. The cab driver parked and called a porter over. He was super nice and quickly took our bags away.

We stood in a short line to get into the building. They checked our passports and DCL books and we were quickly ushered in. We briefly went through security and then proceeded to the check-in area. Although the terminal was “busy”, it wasn’t packed and everything was moving swiftly. We stood in line for 3 minutes and then it was our turn. Woohoo!! We were almost there. We checked-in and of course mom wanted to check out the store (Btw, there’s a liquor store, a souvenir store and I think a duty-free perfume store too. There’s also a small food stand! Port Canaveral could certainly learn from Barcelona here). She bought herself something and JJ was just dying to get on the ship so we quickly moved to the next area….the official boarding area!! We stood in line again but this time to take our boarding pictures and off we went!!

The Disney Magic welcomes, Mom & JJ! Isn’t that the greatest feeling? I always tear up a little when I board. When I go with mom and JJ, I always let them go together and ask the DCL cast member to announce it as “Tita & JJ” (Tita is what JJ calls my mom, instead of grandma or nana…it’s a Costa Rican term we use). He loves it. He acts super shy but inside I know he’s jumping up and down.

We immediately made our way up to Cabana for lunch. The place was PACKED but we were eventually able to find a table. JJ is not the most patient person in this planet so this is never an easy task but we made it. Once every one was settled we got our favorite foods and sat down to enjoy our lunch. I really couldn’t believe we were finally on this ship on our way to see some amazing places, I was so ready to get this trip started!! After lunch, the rooms had been opened so we went to check out our stateroom. Since this was JJ’s birthday trip, I had paid for DCL to decorate his room and I knew he was going to be thrilled.

He started jumping up and down and then he said “at what time is my birthday party?” I almost died laughing. OK, fine, I’ll admit it, the kid is a tad bit spoiled. I told him this entire trip was his birthday party and well, he didn’t grasp that concept entirely so I told him we would party later. While mom got some rest, JJ and I decided to go on an adventure and explore the ship. We had been on the Magic prior to its remodeling so we were excited to see some of the changes. We walked over to the kids area and I decided to register him for the kids club. I had pre-registered online but I still needed to pick-up his band so we went to do that.

He was thrilled when he saw the Avengers stuff and kept asking where Captain America was. There was an Avengers Academy later that evening and he started counting down the hours. I was a little hesitant because JJ has NEVER liked the kids clubs before. He lasted 15 minutes in the Dream’s kid area last year and that was it so I didn’t have much hope but Avengers was enough to lure him in.

We went back to our room to pick-up mom as I had noticed that there would be a Flamenco presentation on Deck 9. Mom loves Flamenco so I knew this was right up her ally. We found a table, ordered a smoothie and enjoyed a lovely Flamenco show. The dancers were amazing and mom was in heaven.

I was really excited DCL added this type of entertainment. It was a lovely touch of Spanish culture. Mom was so excited she begged me to take a picture with the dancers after the show.

Before we knew it, it was time for the Drill and the Sailaway Party. Mom stayed in the room for the party as it was super hot but JJ and I have never missed a party so off we went and we ended up front row..woohoo! Our tradition since our 1st cruise is getting a nice fruity drink before the show and of course, the tradition continued.

The party was great and got us super excited for what was to come. Does this party ever get old? I don’t know, it gets me every time.

We heard the lovely ship horn and we were on our way! Villefranche would be our first stop!

Time was going by too fast and it was time to get ready for dinner already!! I wish time would slow down a little when you are on the ship, it really does fly by. Our first dinner would be at Lumiere’s.

We met our servers and they were super sweet. Sutipong and James were great. Pong was the server and James the assistant server. My son was in love at the end of the night as Pong and James finished every dinner service with a magic trick or two for him. JJ thought they were A-MAZING. We enjoyed our nice dinner although I must be honest, the food wasn’t that great this time. It was fine but not anything to write home about. Regardless, we had fully, happy bellies and JJ behaved like a perfect little angel (Avengers Academy was on the line here after all …hehe). We finished dinner with Mickey Bars and back up we went as JJ was ready to transform into his alter-ego…..Captain America Jr!

“I’m ready to go NOW” so off we went to drop him off. I was a nervous wreck. I really didn’t think he would last more than 20 minutes…..he lasted 1 ½ hours. He hung out for a little bit prior to Avengers Academy and stayed throughout the entire program. In the meantime, mom and I went to walk around then sat down to watch that evening’s show. Please don’t ask me which one it was, I totally forgot. We left early when my Wave phone rang but what we saw we enjoyed.

When I picked JJ up he was over the moon. He had a cape, he had colored pictures and he had met CAPTAIN AMERICA! “Mommy, Captain America came for my birthday!!!”. Yes, it’s all about you, my little sweet pea!! We had rehearsed what to say in case he wanted to leave and when I picked him up he said "mommy, I told the lady, I'm ready to go now can you please call my mommy"....he's so cute!!

It was late and we had our first port of call tomorrow, Villefranche, so it was time to go to bed. We had no major plans for this port so we could sleep in and that we did.

 

[jedijill]

There are so many Aww moments in this update. My favorite is how excited your son is to meet Captain America! What a thrill for him!

Jill in CO

 

[WDWLinda]

He. is. the. CUTEST. little guy!!! Did a lot of kids dress up for the Avenger's Academy, or just those lucky enough to have a mom who knows how to pack?

(bet I can guess what he's going to be for Halloween!)

Linda

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

There are so many Aww moments in this update. My favorite is how excited your son is to meet Captain America! What a thrill for him!

Jill in CO

OMG, he was over the moon. And then he said "mommy, Captain America had red boots on today and I didn't have red boots on today, you forgot to buy them"

 

[jedijill]

OMG, he was over the moon. And then he said "mommy, Captain America had red boots on today and I didn't have red boots on today, you forgot to buy them"

He is adorable!

Jill in CO

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

He. is. the. CUTEST. little guy!!! Did a lot of kids dress up for the Avenger's Academy, or just those lucky enough to have a mom who knows how to pack?

(bet I can guess what he's going to be for Halloween!)

Linda

Hi!! He was the only one dressed up that I saw. For Become Iron Man later on in the cruise, there was one little boy dressed up as Iron Man (and of course JJ dressed up as Captain America...it will become his "Thing" for the rest of the cruise). He got a lot of attention around the ship, I don't think they are used to seeing little boys dressed up!!

He was FOR SURE going to be Captain America for Halloween...... until he saw Guardians of the Galaxy in the movie theater two weeks ago on his birthday. Now he wants to be Rocket.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Day 4 – Villefranche, France

While I was doing my research for this trip, I came to the conclusion that staying in Villefranche would be the best decision for all of us. That would allow us to sleep-in and move at our leisure. We had an early morning port adventure in Pisa the following day and of course, our big day in Rome so the more rest we could get, the better (not for me but for JJ and mom). I looked into doing a half-day trip to Monaco but to be honest, Monaco never really captured my interest so I decided to give the lovely town of Villefranche a chance. It was hard researching as there’s not much out there about Villefranche but what little I did find was useful enough. I bought the Rick Steves Med Port book a few months ago and went off by what he said. He is a big fan of Villefranche and thinks it should be given a chance.

After waking up at our leisure and having a lovely breakfast at Cabanas, we venture down to Deck 1 for tendering. I was so curious what tendering would entail and it was such an easy process that I worried for no reason. Mom had images of some tiny boats taking her and she was a little worried but once she saw the nice size boat parked next to our ship and the fabulous ramp connecting the two, she was at ease.

The trip to shore was less than 10 minutes. It also provided some beautiful views and I was already with Villefranche (I fall in love easily …haha). I immediately felt like I had made the right choice. A nice little French town by the water, what could go wrong?

When we arrived, DCL had two of their photographers out taking pictures so we took advantage of that. I had pre-ordered the CD for the cruise so I wanted to get as many pictures as possible. I’m so glad I did this, the pictures of the three of us together all came from DCL.

As we exited the terminal, we immediately walked into an outdoor market. A few vendors were set up in their tents selling a bit of everything, candy, perfumes, soaps, clothes, jewelry, etc. Mom immediately stopped and decided she needed to buy a perfume because what’s more French than that? She made her purchase and off we went to continue our journey.
To be honest, I didn’t have a concrete plan. I couldn’t, I really couldn’t find much besides “walk up the steps and find the church and a fort” so that’s what we did. I figured the best way to do this was just to start walking and see what we found along the way. In my head I had dreams of gelato and finding a lovely French restaurant and sipping on some French wine and well, it sorta worked out that way. The bad part was the heat and walking uphill was a bit rough but we made it.

Going up the steps and exploring the narrow streets was truly lovely. I could really see myself in this small town and just immersing myself in the culture but in the meantime we were just looking for this church and we found it! On our way up we saw a lot of people struggling with the heat and also with the strollers. VIllefranche is definitely not stroller friendly!

We explored the church a bit as it was small but really charming and then we continued our adventure. It led us through more narrow streets and eventually a tiny grocery store where mom decided to buy some more stuff. She always likes to buy food items from places she visits - of course they have to be products made there.

We headed back down again towards the water and decided we wanted to get some ice cream. There was a small, super cute ice cream place when we first left the ship so we decided to go there. It also serves as the stop for a small “tour train” that runs through town. Mom and JJ both sat down to have an ice cream and I decided to try a frozen drink they had. I can’t remember the name but it was cold and refreshing so I was happy to drink it. JJ asked if he could ride the train and mom really wanted to do it too so we decided to hop on and see more of this town.

The train wasn’t expensive and it provided us a nice tour of a part of town we hadn’t seen. It drove us all around the Fort and provided us with breathtaking views of the ship as well. It also took us down to the “beach” area which is really small and truthfully, really far. I had plans to walk to the beach but in my head it was a lot closer. Once I realized how far it was, there was no way mom and JJ would walk there with the heat. Total ride time was 30 minutes and we were back at the ice cream place before we knew it.

It was getting close to lunch time and I was determined to eat in France. Mom thought we should have gone back to the ship to eat but I was going to get my French food no matter what…haha…I was on a mission!! We eventually sat down at a small café, Les Palmiers. It had decent prices (the restaurants by the water were REALLY expensive) and free Wi-Fi so we went with that. JJ was non too pleased at first, but he got over it and was eventually very happy with his bread and veggies that he ate off my salad. The restaurant was right next to the market area so at one point mom even got up to go buy a necklace while we waited for our food.

I didn’t take a picture but I ordered a goat cheese salad. To this day I still dream of this goat cheese salad. Oh my gosh, goat cheese!!! It was SO amazing. Mom got a Caesar Salad…..I was sad but then again, she’s not an adventurous eater. The food was good, wine was great, bathrooms were clean and we left happy. Just FYI, their Wi-Fi never worked for me and the service was terrible but I feel like it was very “French”. Don’t get me wrong, I love France and everything French but the guys working there just didn’t seem too excited about us. Maybe it was the kid, I don’t know.

We decided to head back to the ship at this point and after a quick stop by the candy tent, we were off. JJ had big plans of going to the pool and mom had plans of resting in the room. As soon as we got in, I ordered my favorite All Hands on Deck and coffee for myself and mom and got JJ cookies and milk and everyone was happy. Afterwards, JJ and I headed out to the pool deck for a little pool fun.

He had a blast and we were out there awhile. He loved playing in the pool and also in the new Splash area on the Magic. Once the pool started getting more crowded with older kids, I decided it was time to go. Some of the kids were being a bit rough but the lifeguard seemed ok with it.
After watching a few cartoons, we got ready to go to dinner which was at 6:15pm. Today we had Animators Palate and I was so excited to see the “show”.

Our Servers told JJ that Mickey had a surprise for him for his birthday and JJ totally believed it. When Mickey came out he was so excited and kept waving at him to come over. Once the show was over he said “mommy, Mickey didn’t stop by my table” …again, a little spoiled (we are working on it!). They also brought out the special birthday dessert and sang happy birthday to him. Pong finished off our night with a “special” magic trick for JJ

We finished off our evening with another Flamenco show and a little dancing of our own.

We had an early morning wake-up call the next day so off to bed we went. We were scheduled to meet for our “Easy Pisa” excursion at 8:30am!