With the whole cruise ship at our disposal, we went immediately to our stateroom and showered and unpacked our backpacks. I used the hair dryer and full length mirror happily. We went and got lunch at the burger counter, but took it into the Horizon Court where there is air conditioning to eat. We got a soda pass for Bryan, and I drank lemonade.

The difference between the last few days (especially the night train) and here is extraordinary . Just to be in an air conditioned room is amazing, and a first for our lodgings on this trip. All of the "normal" amenities feel like pure luxury. Our own bathroom, mirrors long enough to see my hair in, the refrigerator... all these things are simply wonderful. Besides that, the feeling of familiarity and the use of English are refreshing. After locking our bags together in storage areas, and constantly being mindful of the possibility of pick-pockets, it is relaxing to feel secure about our belongings (without having to carry them on our person).

Having cleaned up and eaten, it was time for a nap. Though the night train had provided more rest than expected, we were still tired. (Bryan especially because he didn't fit as well on the makeshift bed.)

When we woke up, we dressed for dinner and started walking around the ship to get our bearings and see what was different about this boat from the one we were on last year. Then it was time for dinner. As always, the wait staff treated my allergy with care and attention. The Head Waiter in our area, Francesco, seemed more thorough in his questions about what I could and couldn't have, and full of new ideas about how the staff would be able to accommodate my dietary needs. It turns out, he had five other people with lactose intolerance last week, so he is already in the swing of things. He even brought me a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. When I expressed my delight he said, "You look like you never had a dessert before. You're so surprised. We will make a surprise for you each night." I was surprised. I don't usually get anything chocolate until the end of the cruise, and then only by special request. As Bryan said, "You win."

After dinner, we returned to poking about the ship. We took a picture to show we'd made it onboard. Then we meandered down to the theater and took in the last half of a classical music show put on by the Venice Chamber Orchestra. It was quite entertaining! You could tell they were having fun with the music. And during the last piece, the conductor walked off stage and the orchestra started goofing around with squeakers they had placed beneath them. It was too funny! :)

I really want to see more of Venice tomorrow, so we have set an alarm and are going to walk back into town and see what we can see before we must be back on board at noon.

We had talked about wanting to travel Europe together since before we were married, but with me being in school and not working full time, it just never really happened. Then in 2008, Mer's family took us on a cruise. We never thought of ourselves as cruisers, but we were really surprised at how much we enjoyed it. A big part of that was how well they took care of Merilee and her milk allergy. So, a couple of years later we went with my mom and Mer's parents on an Alaskan cruise and again had a great time. So, what does that have to do with Europe? Princess sends us ads in our e-mail pretty regularly. It is fun to look at them and daydream. Well, I was looking at one and floored at how cheap a Greek Isles cruise was, something like 50% off. (Due to instability in Greece and another cruise ship sinking in the area we think.) I showed it to Mer and said, "wouldn't that be fun?". She asked how cheap it would have to get before we would just go, we talked it over and set our price. Then it dropped again and again until the deal was too good to pass up. Airfare to get there was more than twice the cost of the cruise itself. So, we started doing the math and figuring how much time we could afford on either side of the cruise. And so, our trip was born.