Day 39 – June 7, 2010 – Corfu, internet and “Get Down Tonight”

Today, I got off the ship with nurse Wanda to show her the fantastic internet spot that we found last time in Corfu. Wanda’s also South African and was really excited to try the Rooiboos tea that we had two weeks ago at Café del Arte. After the shuttle ride and short walk there, it was such a treat to sit down in the café on a very warm afternoon, knowing fast internet awaited us! I had LOTS to catch up on and even though the only person I knew would be awake to catch up with via Skype was Mom, it was still a much needed chat! The time zone difference is really becoming quite an annoyance!

We got some tea and biscuits, set up our workstations and went to town, haha. I managed to get all of my travel plans to Paris figured out and with some motherly advice was finally ready to purchase. Turns out you have to have Rail Europe passes mailed to a physical address outside of Europe, so I hit a deadend after literally two weeks of researching, planning, changing my mind a million times, and finally settling on plans. I figured that I would just go on Saturday in Venice to the train station and tell them what I wanted to do and find out what my options were for buying in person. The internet is so fantastic for just about everything, but there are times where a real person can most likely cut your time in half by simply telling you what you need to do.

OH! So, the plans are…………. Wait for it………

I leave the ship on Saturday the 26th and spend one last morning and afternoon in Venice. I’ll check my luggage at a storage place across from the train station for 5 Euro a bag and go out and about until 3:20 pm when I collect my bags and board a train to Milan, Italy! It’s about 2 ½ hours away on the express train and I’ll begin to process my time on the Gem….yeah, right. Just before 6 pm, I’ll arrive in Milan and check in to a hotel close to the train station (hopefully! I have yet to book one….) and head out for fun and frolic in the FASHION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. YESSS! I don’t even know where to begin, but I’ll be using some free internet somewhere in the next week to research as much as I possibly can about this (new to me) city. I’ll stay the night in Milano and spend the ENTIRE following day exploring the sights in the city alllllllll the way until 11:30 pm when I board an Artestia Night Train to PARIS! YEAH! It’s about an 8 ½ hour trip, so that’ll be perfect for my sleeping needs and I arrive around 8 am to the Paris Bercy train station. Don’t ask me what’s happening from there, but that’s all in my friend Taylor’s hands. I also purchased my flight home (which I’ll be reimbursed for) from Paris-CDG to Washington-Dullus DIRECT on Thursday, July 1, 2010. Hallelujah!
I also got to chat with Dylan D. Dog today via Skype and that was awesome. He’s looking good after a grooming and said he missed me. OMG! There is a REALLY popular European comic book called “DYLAN DOG” and I die every time I pass by it. It’s soooo crazy!

Once back on the ship, I had to eat and get ready for work…. “Get Down Tonight” was tonight and I also had to fit our Cruise Director and Asst. Cruise Director in 70s costumes for the Disco Party they host after the shows. FUN!