August 13, 2011 Med - Mickey's Marauding Mates

[janetfk]

So if I am counting right that makes 14 DD's and 6 DS's + Janet's 2 C for a total of 22 C at the meet.

Make that 15 DDs and 7 DSs
Ours are boy (8) and girl (nearly 3)! I didn't realise that I was not more specific

 

[kerrykerr]

Three weeks to go!

 

[DoeWDW]

Oooo, martini tasting, wine tasting....sign me up!!! Looks like we'll all know exactly where to find each other. LOL!!!

Jeff, that pool looks wonderful! I'm wishing I lived a little further west because a trip from Harrisburg/Hershey to Pittsburgh is just a bit too far for a swim.

My plan to beat the 100+ degree heat wave this weekend - stay in my air conditioned house and plan out our port adventures. I don't think we're booking any through Disney either. Rome is a bit daunting to me but DH has given me a short list of 3-4 things he wants to see so I think I can put something together that allows for a lot of time at sidewalk cafes and gelati stands.

 

[mikki.young]

Talking of transfers - did we decide what time I need to tell them to pick us up from the cruise terminal Annie? I think I have said 9am but he will be wanting to confirm next week and I have a feeling we will want it a bit later? What do you think?

Any late sitting people know the answer for us?

 

[west&east]

Make that 15 DDs and 7 DSs
Ours are boy (8) and girl (nearly 3)! I didn't realise that I was not more specific [/QUOT

My DS is also 8. We are traveling with another family that has a 9 year old boy as well. They will have tons of fun!

I've been checking Weather Channel and the forecast for Barcelona, Italy, etc., for this week looks fabulous. Barcelona has highs in the upper 70s forecasted. Yes, in Farenheit. Maybe its wishful thinking that it will stay that way. As long as its not heat indexes in the 100s I'll be happy. It is 11am and already up to 90 here in Charlotte.

 

[Anal Annie]

Our pool's water has been hovering between about 84 and 90 for the last few weeks - depending on how cool it gets at night. The good news is we don't have to use the heater at all! And so long as it stays below 86 or so It is still refreshing when it is 110 heat index!

We have been checking the weather and it sure seems like they are seeing the same kind of heat we have here in the States. It wasn't really bad last year - even in Tunisia - and the only time we really felt the heat was waiting in line at the Vatican. Sorrento was pleasant, Florence was rainy and cold! It looks like Barcelona is San Diego weather - upper 70s and sunny all the time - it was a bit hotter than that last summer. Rome, Naples and Florence have all been in the 90s. We of course are starting our trip in Greece and Athens has been near 100 almost every day for weeks. At least it won't be a shock to us since it's been so hot here!

UH OH..upper 70's is sooo cool (I am cold below 82-85). I haven't been checking the weather in Europe AT ALL - I might be in trouble as I thought it would be more similar to HERE so I was packing a lot of sleeveless cool tops. I will freeze in the 70's!! OY!! What have I done?! Do I really need to go shopping again for tops with some sleeve to them?! I guess I'd better check on Paris too huh since I was hoping to pack for those few days in our carry-ons!?! Crap!! Another kink in my plans!!

I'm definitely up for martini tasting. I also want to do the wine tasting.

Doreen -It's 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather is to improve a bit over the weekend but it still won't be very warm. My goodness the heat you are having is unbelievable. We hardly ever get very hot weather here.

As much as this 100+ heat index is killing me now I would DIE if it were in the 60's here in July!!

I hope they offer the tastings at times when I can go (ie SEA DAY)!! The last time I went to the Martini Tasting on the Wonder it was at like 5:00. Very poor timing IMO because there were several people there who had early dining...so they rushed thru it & we basically SLAMMED 5 small martinis in 30 minutes!! I went on an empty stomach and was definitely BUZZED!!

Make that 15 DDs and 7 DSs
Ours are boy (8) and girl (nearly 3)! I didn't realise that I was not more specific

I don't think you ever said what your kiddos were 'cuz I was trying to keep track whenever I edited the first post of the thread to add new peeps!! It's OK...I will edit your bio!!

Three weeks to go!

Only TWO weeks from today for us before we head to Paris!!

I am realllllly freaking out now as I've not been working on the trip at all!! I emailed that rstransport place again the other day that I had booked in Paris for our transfers (pre-paid too BTW) and they haven't answered me!! Grrrrr. I hope we don't get left stranded!! I AM worried. I just wanted to let them know that our flight arrival time had changed a bit and wanted to reconfirm the ressie plus I still need to give them a time to pick us up from Disneyland to go into the city...I guess I will email them one more time before I REALLLLY flip out!! They were recommended on the DLP planning board. And someone else here on our thread said they used them before (was it Mallenbeadle / Jon?!) What do I do if they don't answer me???? This scares me since I paid $230 months ago already for these 3 transfers. Thoughts anyone??

Talking of transfers - did we decide what time I need to tell them to pick us up from the cruise terminal Annie? I think I have said 9am but he will be wanting to confirm next week and I have a feeling we will want it a bit later? What do you think?

Any late sitting people know the answer for us?

I think we're supposed to be off the ship between 9:00-9:15. Jeff has cruised the most - maybe he has an idea of the average time?!

Make that 15 DDs and 7 DSs
Ours are boy (8) and girl (nearly 3)! I didn't realise that I was not more specific [/QUOT

My DS is also 8. We are traveling with another family that has a 9 year old boy as well. They will have tons of fun!

I've been checking Weather Channel and the forecast for Barcelona, Italy, etc., for this week looks fabulous. Barcelona has highs in the upper 70s forecasted. Yes, in Farenheit. Maybe its wishful thinking that it will stay that way. As long as its not heat indexes in the 100s I'll be happy. It is 11am and already up to 90 here in Charlotte.

We got lucky yesterday morning for the Divisionals meet - it was a little cloudy early so that helped with the heat until about 10:00. Setup was at 6:00 so we got most of it done while it was still in the 80's. But by afternoon we were BOILING again. I even broke down & took my big floppy hat that I bought to bring on the cruise. I really am not a hat person & hadn't worn it yet 'cuz it's WHITE & I just KNEW I'd get it dirty if I wore it. It DID help tho a little bit I think to keep my face & neck shaded. But I am finding it funny that everyone said the Med was soooo hot and that we'd NEED hats but yet 70's is cold to me and not hot at all. I really am confused now on what to pack. I didn't realize Barcelona was cool too.

Anyway, DS only qualified to swim the backstroke but he had an AWESOME swim!! Soo happy & proud of how great he swam. He had a great start (the private lessons we did paid off) and he dropped 1.46 second - which I think is a GREAT drop at this point in the season for a 50 meter swim. He actually looked like he was racing hard. He finished in 9th place overall in our division for the 13/14 boys. We had the Divisional picnic after the meet at our team reps house and although it was hot it was a great (if not LONG, LONG) day. The coaches went around during the middle of the night Friday night to all the Divisional swimmers houses & left these great personalized posters for them to bring to the meet and they left messages with sidewalk chalk in the driveway (part of ours got washed off tho by the sprinkler system). I had no idea that was the tradition for Divisionals but it was a really fun surprise to find. And we almost missed the poster 'cuz they left it on the front porch & we never use the front door - but it just happened that since it was sooo hot we were taking a larger cooler than normal so DH went out the front door with it to take it out to my truck. I took over 400 pics that I am now sorting thru to get uploaded for the girl who's working on the team DVD presentation. I really need to learn how to make these myself so I can do one after our trip!!

(The big green thing in the poster is a Torpedo!)

OH, and I DID manage to get a few pics of Jack Conger - but he was really hard to catch!! He is only 16 but he is about 6' 2" and his dive is incredible. He literally doesn't come up until 1/2 way across the pool. Then he does his flip turn and again, he stays under for 1/2 way in his dolphin kick. So he really spends most of his swim underwater. THEN, when he IS on the surface he barely breathes!! LOL... His backstroke looked like he was out for a leisurely swim - totally effortless - but his other strokes weren't really all that pretty. Although he's reallllly fast, to be honest tho I think because he swims for RMSC which is all about speed & power but not much on technique he could be even better if he was with a club that focused on technique more. (Just my completely non-professional Mom opinion.)

 

[janetfk]

My DS is also 8. We are traveling with another family that has a 9 year old boy as well. They will have tons of fun!

I've been checking Weather Channel and the forecast for Barcelona, Italy, etc., for this week looks fabulous. Barcelona has highs in the upper 70s forecasted. Yes, in Farenheit. Maybe its wishful thinking that it will stay that way. As long as its not heat indexes in the 100s I'll be happy. It is 11am and already up to 90 here in Charlotte.

Great! He will be so pleased to have some boys of a similar age around!
The weather in Europe at the moment is ... variable. Some days hot, others pretty chilly. I'd definitely suggest packing at least a fleece or two, and some jeans for the colder days/times of day!

 

[Anal Annie]

Great! He will be so pleased to have some boys of a similar age around!
The weather in Europe at the moment is ... variable. Some days hot, others pretty chilly. I'd definitely suggest packing at least a fleece or two, and some jeans for the colder days/times of day!

A fleece or two and JEANS?! OH NO, NO, NO!! Are you kidding?! If I wanted to wear winter clothes I'd have booked the Alaska cruise!! Nope! This will not do for me!! I seriously was planning to pack for upper 80's & lower 90's. That is all I shopped for!! That is all I have room for in our luggage!! I guess I'd better be paying more attention to weather.com & accuweather.com etc. And I think I need to look at a MAP of Europe and compare to where we are in the US!! I was seriously expecting similar weather to ours for the entire trip!!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

OMG... LeeAnn! I just checked the weather... Barcelona and Villefranche are 76 degrees! All the other ports are low 80's!

A fleece or two and JEANS?! OH NO, NO, NO!! Are you kidding?! If I wanted to wear winter clothes I'd have booked the Alaska cruise!! Nope! This will not do for me!! I seriously was planning to pack for upper 80's & lower 90's. That is all I shopped for!! That is all I have room for in our luggage!! I guess I'd better be paying more attention to weather.com & accuweather.com etc. And I think I need to look at a MAP of Europe and compare to where we are in the US!! I was seriously expecting similar weather to ours for the entire trip!!

 

[mikki.young]

Annie - London is about New York latitude. Paris similar but tends to be warmer than London as does Barcelona which is way south. I am not planning on fleeces but will take a lightweight cardigan. Maybe an umbrella?

Great pictures by the way! Impressive swimming too!

 

[Kels Sem]

LeeAnn - I have a friend who is in DLP at the moment. I'll see her next saturday so I will ask her what the temp was like. We still have a couple of weeks to go so it could get hotter. I think the hottest ports will be Naples & Rome. I won't be packing fleeces either but will pack a couple of cardigans, I was thinking more for the ship than being out and about.
If I hear any weather reports I will keep you posted.

 

[Kels Sem]

I have a weather app on my iPod.
The temps list for this week until friday are
Paris - 70-75
Barcelona - 72-77
Palma - 79-84
Nice - 73-75
Naples - 79-83

But as I said there is still time for it to get a bit hotter

 

[mikki.young]

I probably shouldn't admit it, but those sort of temperatures on the ipod sound about perfect - in the 100s I may melt!

 

[MallenBeadle]

Hi all

Apologies for not having been on the boards much over the last few weeks - life has been very hectic & planning the holiday has been a task that I've never quite gotten round to! Work has been crazy as have kids social diaries in the run up to the summer break - they've had school stuff, Brownie camp, dance shows and choir concerts as well as 3 out of the 4 of us having birthdays in June so June/July have passed in a blur tho slowing down now as they start second week of school hols.

LeeAnn - just to confirm that we're still up for the DIS meet on the first day. RS Transports - as I said a while back we always use them for DLRP transfers. Never really rated their website tbh, so all our bookings were arranged by phone. If you're stressing about your booking, I would just call them - the website says phone number is +33 (0) 6725 74812 and that they are available 6.30am to 11.00pm Paris time (I think this is 6 hours (?) ahead of you). We've never had any problems meeting them but always had specific instructions (what terminal, which floor etc) & a number to call them on.

Cheryl - I can sympathise with the chicken pox situation - when we took DD1 to Australia she developed it in Perth (our first stop) so we were quarantined by Qantas which resulted in the whole trip being reorganised - not fun

Anyway, must get back into trip-planning mode - looking forward to seeing everyone on board in 20 days time

Jon

 

[Kels Sem]

I probably shouldn't admit it, but those sort of temperatures on the ipod sound about perfect - in the 100s I may melt!

They sound perfect to me as well. I don't want it any hotter, DH can suffer from really bad headaches when it's super hot.

 

[luke]

Yep the temperatures are pretty much the norm for the med (I lived there for a year and although the summer could reach the high 30s they weren't THAT common) and are pretty much ideal

 

[west&east]

What is everybody planning on actually doing/ seeing in Barcelona? We arrive Thursday afternoon pre-cruise and leave Sunday morning so we have 2 full days plus. We do have a good friend that lives there that will help being a guide, but I need to have some ideas of priorities. Anybody doing a day trip outside of Barcelona?

 

[mikki.young]

What is everybody planning on actually doing/ seeing in Barcelona? We arrive Thursday afternoon pre-cruise and leave Sunday morning so we have 2 full days plus. We do have a good friend that lives there that will help being a guide, but I need to have some ideas of priorities. Anybody doing a day trip outside of Barcelona?

We are going off to the Dali museum for the day. We saw the one in St Petes beach and were amazed at all the different styles he had done (and that there was a Dali museum in St Petes beach!). Sagrida Familia is a must as is Case Batlo (sp?). Magic fountains are popular but I am not sure how much more impressive than Disney fountains they will be. Probably going to use the hop on hop off bus but not totally decided yet. We have a half day tour booked to help us get our bearings.

 

[Anal Annie]

Annie - London is about New York latitude. Paris similar but tends to be warmer than London as does Barcelona which is way south. I am not planning on fleeces but will take a lightweight cardigan. Maybe an umbrella?

Great pictures by the way! Impressive swimming too!

I am bringing both mini umbrellas and ponchos (just like for Disney)!

I have a weather app on my iPod.
The temps list for this week until friday are
Paris - 70-75
Barcelona - 72-77
Palma - 79-84
Nice - 73-75
Naples - 79-83

But as I said there is still time for it to get a bit hotter

I don't want it to be hot like it's been hot HERE lately but I WOULD like to see 80's so I can wear all these clothes I bought!! I know I've read a million times how hot the Med is in the summer & I read comments from some that said they wouldn't go in the summer bcuz of the heat. Well, so I guess their idea of hot and mine differ by about 15 degrees!! So in my mind I was thinking upper 80's / low-mid 90's so I bought all sleeveless tops except for a couple that have short sleeves to wear into the Vatican or Cathedrals. And I wanted to plan beach time. I don't wear a bathing suit below 75/76 degrees so those temps put a kink in my plans for Villefranche & possibly Monterosso. Hopefully a beach day in Palma will work out if it doesn't cool off any more than that. I don't have backup plans for those ports if it's cold. My bad I guess.

SOOOO, DS had a day camp this week so after I dropped him off I went to Target for like 2 hours looking for cheap clothes with some longer sleeves.. Spent a small wad on crap I didn't really want to have to buy. Was thinking that I could leave the tags on it & bring it & then if I don't end up wearing it I could return it. I suppose if I can leave extra room for sweatshirts this cold weather thing would be a good reason to buy DLP & DCL sweatshirts! Outside of the 3 pair of capris I am bringing for dinners I was only planning to bring 2 or 3 pairs of casual capris. But now maybe I need to plan to bring 5 or 6 pair. Now I need to inventory my capris to see what combos I can come up with!! I am getting really concerned now tho about our weight & keeping to 1 checked bag pp. And now what warmer clothes to pack for DH & DS too?! This info. is REALLLLY messing me up!! I thought I was all set on what I was bringing. I guess I could leave that dumb hat I bought at home huh?

Hi all

Apologies for not having been on the boards much over the last few weeks - life has been very hectic & planning the holiday has been a task that I've never quite gotten round to! Work has been crazy as have kids social diaries in the run up to the summer break - they've had school stuff, Brownie camp, dance shows and choir concerts as well as 3 out of the 4 of us having birthdays in June so June/July have passed in a blur tho slowing down now as they start second week of school hols.

LeeAnn - just to confirm that we're still up for the DIS meet on the first day. RS Transports - as I said a while back we always use them for DLRP transfers. Never really rated their website tbh, so all our bookings were arranged by phone. If you're stressing about your booking, I would just call them - the website says phone number is +33 (0) 6725 74812 and that they are available 6.30am to 11.00pm Paris time (I think this is 6 hours (?) ahead of you). We've never had any problems meeting them but always had specific instructions (what terminal, which floor etc) & a number to call them on.

Cheryl - I can sympathise with the chicken pox situation - when we took DD1 to Australia she developed it in Perth (our first stop) so we were quarantined by Qantas which resulted in the whole trip being reorganised - not fun

Anyway, must get back into trip-planning mode - looking forward to seeing everyone on board in 20 days time

Jon

Jon - I don't have an international calling plan on our phone so I have only been communicating with rstransport by email. And that way I had (wrongly) figured I had written documentation as backup - but now I see that doesn't do me any good if they don't respond to me. They responded well before I PAID!! I am going to email them again today & express my concerns that nobody responded. If they don't answer this time I don't know what I'll do. When you call them do they have someone who speaks English??

Glad you are still planning to come to the DIS meet!! Good to know - glad you checked in with us!!

Yep the temperatures are pretty much the norm for the med (I lived there for a year and although the summer could reach the high 30s they weren't THAT common) and are pretty much ideal

DOH!! I guess I should've clarified the definition of "hot" with you before I went shopping!!!!

What is everybody planning on actually doing/ seeing in Barcelona? We arrive Thursday afternoon pre-cruise and leave Sunday morning so we have 2 full days plus. We do have a good friend that lives there that will help being a guide, but I need to have some ideas of priorities. Anybody doing a day trip outside of Barcelona?

That's nice you have someone to show you around! We are coming down from Paris on Friday. I think we land around 11:15. I didn't really make any firm plans for that day since I don't know what time we will get to the hotel. I am just planning to take a taxi from the airport. The Sagrada Familia is supposed to be about a mile walk from the Novotel so we'll see how we feel. Since it doesn't sound like it's going to be too hot to walk maybe we'll walk over there. We will need to find some tapas or something for lunch. There is also a shopping center across the street from the Novotel so I might go in search of some booze to bring on the ship!! And one reason I picked the Novotel was because they had a rooftop pool. So I suppose if it's warm enough maybe we'll decide to just relax & hang out up there for a little while before we clean up for dinner. We are staying in Barcelona 2 nights after the cruise as well so I thought perhaps on that first day we might just do the HOHO bus or something. Then I was thinking of going to Montserrat on Sunday, our last day. From what I've read that sounds like it's a pretty full day to go there & back. Our flight leaves SUPER early on Monday (like 7:30) so we'll need to get to bed at a decent hour that night so not planning anything exciting for that last evening other than dinner...

 

[luke]

Right now it's hotter in Sorrento than it is in DC, and it's nearly 8:30pm in Italy...
I think you're worrying is unjust about the weather...