Most Memorable Vacation

September 2008, I traveled to the Mediterranean with my two friends Connie &
Sandy. Sandy's husband Rusty also went with us. We went to Barcelona spent a day there and then boarded a cruise ship for seven days. We went to Malta, Naples, Rome, Florence, Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo and back to Barcelona. It was the most wonderful trip I have ever taken. We went to so many fabulous places in such a short time. Connie and I flew first class which was awesome. When we arrived in Barcelona we stayed up all day so we would be able to get a good nights sleep. We were so jet lagged. We took a tour bus around Barcelona to see all the sights. Connie kept nodding off and I would poke her in the side to wake her up. I was wired so I wasn't even tired. We met up with Sandy and Rusty on the cruise ship. Our rooms were right next to each other which was very conveinent. Our first stop was in Malta which was a vert intriging place. I felt like we went back in time. It was so magnificent. The next stop was in Naples where we had a private driver, Marcello. He was a trip. He would talk and then laugh at his own jokes. He was a great tour guide and took us to so many amazing spots. We started in Naples, Sorrento, then drove up the Amalfi Coast. He took us to a small quaint village for a wonderful lunch. The Italian ladies prepared us the most fabulous meal. After lunch we drove from the Amafi Coast to Pompei. Wished we had more time to spend here as it was such a fascinating place with so much history. The day went by so fast. Our next destination was Rome! OMG...Rome was wonderful!!!! We had a driver named Mauricio and he was a flirt. As he said, "I love my Italian women!" We went to the Coloseum, the Forum, Michelangelo Square, the Spanish Steps,the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, stopped for lunch at small cafe. Then we went to the Vatican which was so amazing. Next we went to Pisa and Florence. Our diver was Venicio. The leaning tower of Pisa was quite unique and we all posed like we were holding up the tower. We went to Florence and it was beautiful. The Arno river runs along the town and there are so many beautiful buildings. It was along day of sightseeing and walking thru the town. The next day we took a bus tour that went to Nice, France and it was so charming. We would have liked to stay there longer, but it went on to Monaco to see where Prince Ranier and Princess Grace had lived and to the church where they are buried. Then on to Monte Carlo. I did not care for Monte Carlo as it is where the incredibly rich live. Our last day we arrived back in Barcelona and Sandy and Rusty were heading to Amsterdam. Connie and I were taking a bus to the airport or so we thought. Our ticket for the bus was printed incorrectly and we were on a bus that was headed to Monserrat which is in the mountains. We asked as we got on the bus if it was going to the airport and they said yes and took our ticket. After we went thru the town we asked again if it was going to the airport the tour guide said yes (like she getting annoyed with us). After awhile the bus is heading out of town and the people around us noticed we were concerned and told us that this bus was heading to Monserrat in the mountains and would not get to the airport till 1:30. Our flight was leaving at 1:00. Connie blurts out, " Susan do something!" So I jumped over her and ran to the front of the bus and told the lady that we needed to get off this bus and get a taxi back to the city. She finally realized we were on the wrong bus. She called ahead and arranged for a taxi to pick us up and take us back to Barcelona. She left us in the lobby at Monserrat with our luggage and told us a taxi would be there soon. Our taxi arrived within minutes and he only spoke Spanish and we only spoke English. He helped us get our luggage in the taxi. I said Como se yama? He said Roberto and then started speaking in Spanish. I told him that was all the Spanish I knew. Connie told him aiport pronto, then leaned over to me and said whatever you do don't ask how much till we get there. I started digging thru my purse pulling out all the euros I could find. I had forty euros in bills and kept finding coins. We finally pulled out about 65 euros between the two of us. He drove so fast down the mountain it was kinda scary. Then when we got to the hiway he drove like a bat out of hell and I thought we were going to die. Our cab we had when we arrived in Barcelona took credit cards, but not this one. We got to the airport at 12:00 and had 1 hour to get on our plane and not sure if they would let us on. The taxi driver wrote on his hand 80 euro and now we were shit out of luck. Connie said do you take american money? He gave us a look!
He pointed to his watch and pointed to the airport. I stuffed what money we had in his hands and he helped us get our bags and shooed us into the airport. If I get the chance to go back I will find him and give him more money. Looks like I will be going to Barcelona for a confernece in June. Connie and I ran into the airport anfd frantically ran to the Continental counter. As we approached the counter, the ticket agent in her Spanish accent yelled "Why are you late?"
Connie yellled back, "Because we were on a frickin bus to Monserrat by mistake." The girls behind the counter started to laugh and they all grabbed our bags stamped them thru and told us to hurry and run as our gate was at the other end of the terminal. Now that was a sight to see two middle aged women running thru the airpot in Barcelona. We barely made it. We finally got on our plane and we had the same steward that was on our flight out and he asked how our trip was? We told him get us a drink and we will tell you all about it. We were really in a panick while it all happened. Now that we look back, it was pretty funny.