sea | What Kat Likes

Sardinia Beach

Sicily Sunset

Day 3- Every evening we were on the sea, only to arrive in a new city each morning. After one whole day on the Mediterranean Ocean I woke up to find myself in Olbia, Sardinia.

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus) and an autonomous region of Italy… The island has a Mediterranean climate along the coasts, plains and low hills and a continental climate on the interior plateaus, valleys and mountain ranges… Sardinia is one of the most geologically ancient bodies of land in Europe. The island was populated in various waves of emigration from prehistory until recent times.

To be honest, as gorgeous as Sardinia was, the weather was SUCH a disappointment. I was looking forward to beach time in particular and it was sort of ruined by cloudy skies and cold raindrops. I didn’t allow this to entirely crush my experience though. I thoroughly enjoyed the endless ocean view and the Italian coffee. The water in Olbia was rather still and a clear turquoise hue… breathtaking! The only good thing about the weather was that it allowed me to enjoy the moment without so many distractions. The beach was not busy, only with the typical beach vendors bothering you every 3 minutes asking if you wanted to buy selfie sticks or a “Rolex”. Haha! After 3 hours on the beach the sun started to peak through the grey clouds, BUT that was also the end of our tour and we had to load ourselves into the bus to head back to our cruise ship. Too bad, so sad. At this point, I was hoping this wasn’t what to expect for the rest of my cruise vacation.

Just me and Sardinia

So Alone in Sardinia

Essentials

Forever21 Dress

Flash Tattoos

Sunglasses by Forever21

Endless Ocean

A round of Romme

Solemn Beach

Sandals by Forever21

Bag by H&M

Full of Energy on the beach

Backless

Jump!

Sardinia Beach

To make the day end on a good note I decided to reserve a spot at the A La Carte Sushi Restaurant, which I was craving so badly! I devoured every sushi roll and sashimi on my plate… Oopsy! Twice, throughout the dinner, I was complimented on my heels, which I was totally flattered by. You can find these custom made Valentino inspired heels, for more than half the cost of originals, at Catwalk Connection. Ciao Sardinia!

Valentino Inspired Shoes

Heels by Catwalk Connection

Day 4- I didn’t visit the city of Palermo, Sicily at all this day. I knew that many of the ship’s guests would leave to join city/bus tours and I wanted to take advantage of the ship’s 12th deck… aka, the pool deck. After an unsatisfying day in Sardinia, I NEEDED as much sun as possible, and with no interruptions from it! I spent a good 6-7 hours in the same spot, waking in and out of sun tanning consciousness, & I has the entire pool all to myself. THIS is my THING. I spend most of my summers laying out and relaxing in the sun… wearing SPF, of course. I was in vacation heaven!

The ship was equipped with it’s own German brewery so, of course, I had to taste test their German Brauhaus restaurant for dinner. It was spot on! I had the typical German schnitzel while my husband inhaled Schweinshaxe, another one of my fav German dishes. As the ship was about to sail to our next stop, I couldn’t help but notice the most amazing sunset I ever saw. That is how I expected to spend and end my day in Palermo!

Selfie

Jeans by Zara

Sicily Sunset

Brauhaus Dinner

German Schnitzel

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Day 1- June 14, 2015 began the first day of my 10 day cruise… yes, 8 cities in TEN days! It sounds exhausting, and at times it was, but SO worth it. It is not very often I, or a good handful of people, have the chance to see these mind blowing cities especially in that kind of time frame. I am so very blessed and beyond grateful!

Waking up on Day 1, I was so full of excitement and anxiety because I just wanted to be on the cruise ship already… BUT like most travel days, it’s usually stressful and this one was no different. I literally traveled by every form of transportation possible to get to Palma De Mallorca, Spain and some more than once. Taxi, Train, Bus, Plane… and then FINALLY, Boat! Again, so worth it. You should have seen my face when I first caught glance of the cruise ship, delightfully named AIDABlu. I was like a kid entering through the gates of Disneyland for the first time! WHAT A SIGHT and what a relief to have finally made it! If you are not familiar with Mallorca, it

is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the largest island in the Balearic Islands archipelago, in Spain… The capital of Mallorca, Palma, was founded as a Roman camp called Palmaria upon the remains of a Talaiotic settlement… The climate of Mallorca is a Mediterranean climate , with mild and stormy winters and hot, bright summers. – Wikipedia

So, there I was on the AIDABlu after two thirds of my day travelling from Germany. The ship was buzzing with cheerful German tourists. In my mind I compared them to the townspeople of Whoville… ya know, from the movie How The Grinch Stole Christmas? Haha! I immediately noticed that the majority of the cruise guests were ages 50+ and/or families. No complaints from me but if you’re looking to have a “Bachelor/Bachelorette” type vacation, I do not suggest the AIDABlu or even possibly cruise vacays.

Approaching sunset, the crew members began to top table, after table, after table with flute glasses and fill every glass to the rim with colored champagne. This meant it was almost time to set sail! After a quick toast, which was muffled through the ship’s surround sound speakers, the tables of champagne filled glasses were swarmed by the now “Black Friday” tourists. I waited until there was cleared space to quickly reach in for mine. And then off we sailed, to the tunes of Enya’s- Sail Away. They played this song through the loud speakers every time we left a port. It made me laugh every time too. I spent most of the night inspecting each deck of the ship and then preparing my room for a cozy night’s sleep, in fear that I might experience sea sickness. Thankfully that didn’t happen at all my entire trip!

Cards on the train

Safety First

My Room

Deck 10

Watermelon

View while eating

Anytime Bar

Glowing Nails

AIDABlu

Glowing Nails

Champagne

Champs

Mallorca

Day 2- To keep things short, Day 2 was a sea day travelling to our next destination (Olbia, Sardinia). I spent this day trying to figure out what tours to do for each new city I visit and, OF COURSE, tanning as much as possible. This was something I didn’t get to do much this past year while living in Germany. There is a lack of sunshine throughout the year, which is something I am not used to considering I am from Texas where there is practically 10 months of summer.

Bikini by Catwalk Connection