Corfu, Greece

 I was put on a medication that was supposed to help with my CRPS, it was working, my pain levels were lowering, and my symptoms were also slowly receding.  One of the symptoms is discoloration in my foot.  When we first got the diagnosis, the discoloration was noticeable over my entire foot, and up part of my leg.  When we left on the trip, it would only show up on my toes, and the underside of my foot.  So I was a little concerned, when after getting back from Bari, I found that my foot was discolored up to my ankle.  I talked to our friend on the ship, who was also a PT, and he told me I was probably over doing it.  (insert a childish whine here.... but I'm on a ship, cruising and seeing the world.....)  So we made the decision, that Corfu was only one, of three stops in Greece, it was very early in the morning, and we were only going to be there for four hours, so instead of waking everyone, we would skip it.  I know, I know, why on earth would you skip a stop on a Mediterranean cruise.  Well, I need my foot to be healthy, and I need to be happy, and this ended up being a wonderful decision.  We did however, get to see a little bit of Corfu from our room window.

The kids, especially Davin, loved the windows.  They were large enough that he could lay in them and watch the ocean.  Every morning, and every night we'd find him there, just watching what was out the window.

It turns out, that the Squok club was perfect for little girls, around the age of 7.  Tayzia loved it, and she spent almost the entire day there playing.  It was perfect.  At one point I took Rylissa to the pool so she could swim.  Since Davin was adamant that he would not be going near the water, Tim stayed behind with the boys.  The ship had a library, so I stopped and picked up a book, and I read, while she swam.

After cleaning up from swimming, we took a walk around the ship and found a little play area.  It was completely deserted, and so our kiddos ran around and played in the castle, and on the ship.  We stayed for maybe 15 minutes, because this was on the top of the ship, and it was cold! (probably why it was deserted!)

When we packed for the cruise, we made sure the kids had their 3DS's (Tayzia left hers in the car, which we discovered well after the ship left Venice) and Tim and I had our Kindles.  We didn't think about how to entertain the kids in the down time because everyone we talked to raved about kids club, and how the kids would love it so much they'd never want to leave. I guess our kids are weird, because Tayzia was the only one who truly loved it, and never wanted to leave.  The other kids never wanted to go.  So, I would highly suggest making sure there is some kind of toy, or device for each kid, because my Kindle was commandeered by Davin, and Tim's was used by Tayzia for most of the trip.

During our cruise they held two formal nights.  This night was our Welcome Gala, and the dress code was Gala/Formal.  Of course not everyone is going to pack their finest when they're travelling, but we knew it was coming, so we tried to pack something that was at least good enough for church, with something to add some extra flair, like jewelry or scarves.

I love this kid.... look at that face!

We were definitely not the most fancy dressed family there, but I think we blended in fairly well. The dinner was extra special that night.  They had fancy menus that were rolled like a scroll, and a special dessert menu.  There were candles, and the waiters were in fancy tuxedo like outfits.  The food was always pretty fancy, but tonight there was extra flair put into it, and the captain offered everyone sparkling wine, as a gift from him, to us.  We of course didn't partake of that part.  I had the prime rib, and TWO desserts.  Seriously, they had the tastiest cheesecake.  I wish I had ordered another one, it was that good!

Before you judge, by seeing a DS at the table, please understand that dinner is close to two hours long, on a good night.  There are 7 courses to go through, and that is only for the adults.  The kids menu is two courses, three if you have kids that eat.  They would bring the kids food out first, and by the time we hit our second course, they were finished with everything but the dessert.  To keep them from running wild, and going crazy, they were distracted by electronic delights.  We were happy, they were happy, and I'm pretty sure the waiters were happy as well.

Every grouping of rooms has a room steward.  Similar to a hotel maid, except so much cooler.  Our stewards name was Jose, and we loved him.  He would come into the room at least three times a day to make the beds and do a general once over.  He would also sneak in during the time we were at dinner and leave me a bag of ice for my foot.  Every time we saw him in the hall, he would smile at us, and say hello, or good night.  He was super friendly, and we really liked him.  After our dinner, we came to the room and found these rosettes on our bed.  I'm sure all the stewards did this, for all the rooms, but I don't care, it made me smile, and he put effort into it.  We really liked Jose.