In less than a month’s time, the boys and I are headed down to Disney World for 10 days. It is winter break for the boys and Princess Weekend for me. The Princess Half Marathon was my first RunDisney event back in 2015. Since then I have ran Princess 3 times, Wine and Dine 3 times, Marathon weekend once and in April, I will be running the Star Wars races. Nothing compares to a Disney race. The entertainment on the courses is fantastic, the crowd support is amazing and I get to run down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. It does not get more magical than that.
This year, as I mentioned, Robbie and Nicholas are coming with me. We are making a vacation out of it. At first, it was only Nicholas, but then Robbie decided to tag along. Both kids have been very blessed, in that Disney is a place they both have been to many, many times. Each trip is different and fun in its own way. With Robbie approaching the end of high school, I don’t know how many more of these trips he will take with us. With that being said, I have thrown in a few “extras” this trip, to really help make it a trip to remember. I booked a couple of the dessert parties, Early Morning Magic at Toy Story Land and After Hours at Animal Kingdom. Plus, we have lots of fun dining and plenty of days in the parks.
As I was planning this trip, it got me thinking. As we watch our children grow up, we always think about the “first time” they do something. We capture their first steps, first word, first trip to Disney, etc., but do we think about or capture the “lasts”. For example, when was the last time they held your hand crossing the street or the last time you went away as a family before their got too busy living their own lives. So my goal for this trip, as it was for our trip last summer to Europe, is to take it all in. Be present in the moment and enjoy these two special boys. I am blessed to be their Mom and I want to hold on to these days, their childhood, for as long as I can.
Today’s adventure takes us to the French Riviera. When we first booked this trip, the place was I most excited about was Rome. Though I loved it, the French and Italian coasts stole my heart. Simply breathtaking.
Villefranche is a charming fishing village on the Riviera. It is located in between the city of Nice and the country of Monaco. We left the ship early, took a tender, and caught a bus to our first stop, Monaco. Along the way, we saw a beautiful coastline. Though a lot of the bus rides were a bit long, Adventures by Disney goes out of their way to make us comfortable. The busses all have reclining seats and air conditioning. Each day, James and Dusty had plenty of water and snacks for us. We really could not ask for more. As we made our way to Monaco, were told a bit of the history. It is the second-smallest country in the world (Vatican City is smaller). It is notorious for tax havens. As one of our guides said, “It is where the shady go to get sunny.” It is also known for the annual Formula One Grand Prix. Upon arriving, the bus parked next to the Oceanographic Museum. Though we did not tour the museum, we took in the views and snapped some photos.
We walked through a beautiful garden that is paid for and maintained by the royal family. We continued to St. Nicholas’s church. If you remember, before Meghan Markle, Grace Kelly was America’s princess. St. Nicholas’s church is where she married her Prince, Prince Rainier, III. It is also where the royal couple is buried.
After exiting the church, we continued walking through the streets to the Palace. We toured the Palace (no ac!!!), but no pictures are allowed inside. We did get a coupled of good shots in front of the Palace and overlooking the harbor.
After leaving the palace, we had a bit of free time. We shopped and had a crepe. Later, we met up with the group and drove to Monte Carlo. It was interesting to see the streets of the Grand Prix. We were told that to dock your boat in the harbor for the Grand Prix; one must pay 50,000 Euros per day for a minimum of 3 days. Yikes! I guess we won’t be doing that any time soon. LOL! The next stop was lunch. We enjoyed a great lunch on the rooftop of the Fairmont Hotel, overlooking the water. The food and atmosphere were excellent. We had a little bit of time to explore, but we chose to hang back at the hotel and enjoy the views. We also got to know a bit more about our fellow adventurers. It was a lovely afternoon. About an hour or so later, we were off to the village of Eze. Since this post is long enough, I will continue this trip report in the next couple of days. For now, au revoir!
Our first stop on the cruise was Marseilles, France. Marseilles is the 3rd biggest city in France and the largest port. Once the boat docked, we boarded a bus and drove to Les Baux-de-Provence. Les Baux -de-Provence is a commune in France (what we call a town here in the US). It has been named one of the most beautiful villages in France. It certainly lived up to that description. It is a picturesque village, perched on a rocky hilltop. It reminded me of the village in Beauty in the Beast.
At the top of the town are the ruins of a 13th century stone fortress. Lavender fields surround it. The show, The Amazing Race, was filmed at that very spot. It has many historical buildings, such as a hospital, church, chateau, town hall, houses, etc. The views were gorgeous. The village has been restored and is just so charming. There were many craft shops selling Provencal products and goods. I bought some lavender satchels and cookies from this amazing bakery.
We left the village and headed to lunch at a local restaurant. The restaurant was closed to everyone but our group of 40. The adults were seated in one section and the kids in another section. The restaurant was warm and cozy. It was like being in someone’s home for dinner. After lunch, we went to Carrieres Des Lumieres. Carrieres Des Lumieres is an abandoned limestone quarry that featured over 2,000 digital images projected on the surfaces. The photos were of Picasso’s work. It was amazing.
Of course, the day is not complete without heading back to a wonderful dinner on the ship and a photo or two with the characters.
As you can see, day 2 was full of adventure. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip report over the next couple of weeks.
Last summer we went on a trip of a lifetime. We spent ten days cruising the Mediterranean Sea. We sailed on the Disney Cruise Line and booked all our excursions through Adventures by Disney. It was an amazing trip. I wanted to share our experience, just in case one of you may be looking to book this adventure.
On July 4th we flew to Barcelona and stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar. It was a 5-7 min walk to the beach and across the street from a mall. We spent some time touring Barcelona on our own and seeing a lot of the local sites. Upon arrival, we went straight to the beach and stuck our toes into the Mediterranean.
The next day we did a city tour and visited Monserett, the home of the Black Madonna. Barcelona is a beautiful city. There was so much we did not see. I look forward to going back some day. Monserett was gorgeous. It was a must do for me and did not disappoint.
On Saturday the 7th, we checked in with the cruise line and was told to also check in with Adventures by Disney. We went over and met James and Dusty. They were our Adventure Guides. We liked them right off the bat. They handed us our gift (duffel bag), some information about the welcome reception and took our picture.
In addition, gave us a new boarding number.. number 1!
We got settled on the ship and went over to the reception at 5:30. There were appetizers and drinks served. We received our name tags, lanyards and our first pin of the trip. I loved receiving the pins. I am not a pin collector, but love the fact that these are unique to this trip. Dusty and James gave us an overview of the cruise and then our navigator for the next day. For those that don’t know, a navigator is basically your interinary for the day. You will receive one from the cruise line each day, but ABD also has one specific to ABD. It told us when and where to meet in the morning and what time we would be back. It also told us if a specific dress was required.
Oh I forgot to mention, this time around we were sailing on the Disney Magic. This is our 8th Disney cruise, but only our second time on the Magic. Our very first cruise was on the Magic and it holds a very special place in my heart. Since, this was not our first cruise, we took it easy that night. We had a great dinner and off to bed we went. With Adventures by Disney, the days are early and long. Tomorrow’s adventure… Marseilles, France.
I did something that changed by life. I became a marathoner! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would run a 5K, never mind 26.2 miles. However, when I saw that it was the 25th anniversary of the Disney Marathon, I just had to run it. It was hard, humbling, tiring, exhilarating and fun all at the same time. At mile 16 my IT band started to give me trouble. I began to panic. I had 10.2 miles left to go. What was I going to do? My good friends, Maria and Maura were tracking me. They noticed I had slowed down a bit. They, along with my friends Erin, Kim and my sister Jen, reached out to me. They encouraged me to keep going. They were with me every step of the way until the finish line. In fact, Erin met me in Epcot, right before I crossed that finish line.
I remember running around Epcot, passing all the countries and thinking I was really going to do this. All the training miles, early morning workouts, blisters, chafing, blood, sweat and tears were worth it. As I rounded the corner, heading toward Spaceship Earth, I heard the song “How Far I’ll Go” from the movie Moana. I lost it. I knew how far I would go to accomplish my goal and I did just that. Crossing that finish line was amazing. Though I have no desire to run a full any time soon, I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment. It is true what they say
“Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself you can learn in 26.2 miles. – Lori Culnane
Hi and thanks for stopping by! My name is Heather. I live outside of Boston, MA with my husband Bill, my 17-year old son Robbie, my 13-year old son Nicholas, my yellow lab Bauer, and our two cats, Tek and Oreo. I am an attorney and online health and fitness coach.
For a while now, I have wanted to start a blog. I have had a lot of change in the last six years. At the age of 40, I started running. I had always wanted run and finally took the plunge. What started as running for exercise, soon became signing up for races and running for bling! Two years later, I lost my 61 year old Mom to cancer. She went quickly and her death rocked me to my core. She was the center of our family and the loss is felt each and every day. Losing her in the way we did, made me realize how short this life truly is. Her death has helped shape many of the decisions I have made over the last 4 years. I have pushed past my comfort zone and have tried and done things I may not have had the courage to do, if not for losing her so young. I became an online health and fitness coach. I ran my first marathon! I have traveled more places with my family. Speaking of family, I can hardly believe it, but I have one child almost done with high school and another one that will be there in no time. There has been so much going on over the last few years, and so much more to come, that I find myself growing and discovering who I am outside of motherhood. I look forward to further self-discovery and sharing it with you all along the way.
