SU Greek Isles Incentive trip 2019 - Greek Isles Cruise - Day 2!

So, many of you know that since Mother's Day this year I was having a horrible flare up of my Autoimmune disease.  By far the worst I've had in the five years since we moved to Arizona. After lots of blood work to rule out any thing else going on - I was at the point I was not sure I could do the Incentive trip.  We finally made the difficult decision to go on Prednisone - so I could do the trip!  But that stuff messes me up lol.  So we decided not to book any excursions - but to go, relax, do what we could and enjoy every moment - and that's exactly what we did!  

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Day 2 -

Got up after a great night's sleep (but with the wet towels on lol) and started the day with a lovely breakfast at the Sheraton Roma - as much Cappuccino as we wanted (those of you who know me, know that I was in HEAVEN!

The food is lots of breads, proteins and fresh veggies and fruit - everything was so fresh and yummy!  The croissants were especially yummy and served with many fruit jam choices - they are stone-fired - slighty crispy on outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside.

It was super hot out - over 95 degrees and extremely high humidity.  Paul and I decided to do the on and off tour of Rome after taking a bus into the city.  Including stops at the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum and more.  We were able to get off at any stop, spend as much time as we wished and then back on to the next.  At a few stops the bus was full, and there were so many people trying to get on because of the intense heat.  I really felt sorry for many - and heard that there were a lot of cases of heatstroke in the city.

At the Vatican the lines were especially long (up to two hours to get inside), but we were able to walk the grounds and get amazing pictures of the architecture.  Saw many street vendors and artists along the way.

This is the area we walked along -

Stopped in the heat for a water, fan and gelato break -

 We saw headless performers -

and performers in red high heels -

Awesome entrances -

The Colosseum was stunning -

Statues amazing -

We walked down along this river area and across a footbridge to get lunch at a sweet little restaurant -

Got ushered up to the upper room - which was soon full of people - who all seemed to know each other - whether they were there together or not.  Lots of laughter and chatter!

Just look at this beautiful window and ceiling, the shadows the light casted were amazing - I was mesmerized.

Simple lunch of sparkling water, Salmon/mozzarella salad and a simple tomato pasta - with a side of crusty bread.

This was the placemat -

Then more touring - the streets in many areas were very narrow - and our bus would just go down it with inches to spare.   Lots of areas were a white knuckle ride as we zoomed up to small vehicles, swerved around double parked vehicles and narrowly missed scraping walls, cars or even taking out pedestrians.

But the places we went were worth it - beautiful fountains with history that was so interesting -

And political buildings - there was a lot of trash around - and everyone was blaming the government -  just like home :)

The one thing that really surprised me was all the graffiti - it was everywhere - one second you are looking at magnificent works of art - and the next this -

Got back to the hotel late afternoon, and after another nap - we once again ate dinner poolside and relaxed. Bread, wine, seafood pasta and lambchops.  It was a bit cooler with a breeze and we sat there for a couple hours before saying goodbye to Rome.  Tomorrow - we get on the ship - bus leaves hotel at 7:30AM, so we need to pack!

 

Stop back in a few days for Day 3 of our amazing adventure!  ~Maureen

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SU Greek Isles Incentive trip 2019 - Greek Isles Cruise - Day 1!

So we are home from our wonderful trip - exhausted, fulfilled and feeling blesssed - what an amazing experience.  Just as I did last year, over the course of the next couple weeks I will be blogging a journal of each day of our trip - and in between some FUN, CREATIVE stamping ideas - so hope you follow along!  I want to share this experience with each  of you!  This trip is a huge achievement as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! Only 445 demonstrators from across the world earn this trip and our number of worldwide demonstrators now exceed 56,000!!! That's about .7 percent - crazy huh?  Each year we can earn the trip between October 1 to September 30th and I'm well on my way to earning Maui in 2020 thanks to all my amazing TEAM and customers.   The trip includes an all expense paid trip for two! Stampin' Up cetainly pampers us with a hospitality room filled with candy, display boards, we get to spin the wheel daily for prizes and it's a great place to meet up with other demonstrators or talk with staff.  Every evening after coming back to our cabin after dinner - we are greeted by a pillow gift - and they were wonderful! You'll get to see them as you go through each day :)  SOOOOOOOO, here we go - 
Day1 - 

We were up and ready for the shuttle to pick us up at 5:30 AM on July 4th - arrived down at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix around 8:40 AM and got to the gate just as our plane was loading.  So no time for even coffee (although I had a quick cup at home and some eggs before we left).  Here we are on the plane - ready for an awesome adventure!

We arrived in Charlotte, NC a few minutes late - 5:30 PM - and our next flight to Rome boarded around 6PM - so we hustled - I'd like to say ran, but I don't do that lol - but we moved quickly as the gates were far apart.  We got there and they were delayed a few minutes - but not enough time to grab that cup of Starbucks - so no coffee again :(  I've got to plan more time for these airport sessions.  This leg of the flight from Charlotte, NC to Rome, FIUMICINO, ITALY took 9 1/2 hours - so we arrived there at 9:30 AM + 1 day (local Rome time) - July 5 with the time zone changes.  At the airport it was 93 degrees and high humidity.  After figuring out customs and trying to find out way out (no one spoke English) - we met up with another demonstrator (and new friend) Kim Wilson and her hubby who we had been on the plane with; and made it to the area for the hotel shuttle.  It took a few trips back and forth to find the area - and everyone was so hot - and when the shuttle came, it was too small and we needed to wait for another larger.  Needless to say we were hot and exhausted - but eventually did arrive at the Sheraton, got checked in and immediately got lunch around 2:30 PM.  We had had nothing but plane food since leaving home on the 4th.

At every meal in Italy there was a basket of crusty bread and oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping to start each meal.  And as you can see above - I immediately ordered a cappuccino - which was AMAZING!  You can also see the bottle of water on the table - in Italy you pay for water at each meal - between 2 and 4 Euro a bottle - and you can order still or sparkling.  They don't give you ice, unless you ask, and are usually a bit confused about the request.  And although the water is cool, it is never cold.  But it still hydrated us - and we needed it.  I also had the cheese platter below for my lunch as I was hoping to take a nap and did not want anything heavy.

Paul got a Club sandwich which was very interesting, as it was three layers of bread as an American club - but it was layers of  bacon, chicken salad and slices of eggs.  He said it was okay but would not order again lol!

After lunch we did nap - it was very hot in the room, and the air conditioning barely kept it cool.  We ended up showering and then throwing wet, cold towels on us to help us sleep.  But we were so exhausted - didn't wake till about 7 PM.  Then we walked the grounds a bit, chatted with other demonstrators, and ended up having a late dinner poolside at the hotel.  Here I am - showered and slicked back hair, no make up, sparkling water and happy!

At dinner I had a coffee macchiato - it was a hot drink  - but they served it in a drinking glass.  I didn't mind at all  - once again, it was yummy!

Since we had eaten a late lunch we decided to just go with pizza for dinner.  We asked the waiter to recommend something delicious and spicy and we ordered a Norcini Pizza.  It came to the table and looked flat and bland and we were a little worried.  But let me tell you - that was the best pizza I had ever had - it was fire roasted, lightly sauced, a little cheese and each slice had a dollop of spicy Norcini sausage paste that you spread down the middle before eating.  We loved it so much that we really wanted to order another - but restrained ourselves :)

We relaxed and enjoyed the cool evening air by the poolside - no one is in a hurry  - so we tried not to be either.  Got back to the room about 10:30 PM - showered again, more wet towels and sleep - good thing we were still tired!  Come back later this week for Day 2!  ~Maureen

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