Adam, Danielle (all the way from Chicago!), Jordan and Sarah (who gave up going back to Hong Kong for me) I love you guys so much! :)
It was also nice to relax and not have to worry about school.
So after our break, we left on new years day for New Orleans. It was the first time that I've been there since after Hurricane Katrina. It was sad to see so much of the wonderful city in ruins.
Our GPS kept trying to make us go down a road that had been completely destroyed.
That night we went to Copeland's for dinner. It was so yummy.
The next morning we went to see the French Quarter and we were able to go to Cafe Du Monde before getting on the cruiseship.
Part of the French Quarter
Local street performers
Part of Bourbon Street
The wonderful goodness (I forgot to take a picture of the beignets but we were so hungry that we inhaled them)
After eating we got on the ship. Our room wasn't really ready yet so we went around and explored the ship a bit.
Our ship, the Norwegian Spirit
We liked this sign :)
The pool deck
We had fun just chilling and relaxing. That night we went to dinner with Drew's coworkers from Homeshield Pest Control. We were able to go on this cruise because he was one of the top 5 sellers this summer with them.
That night we just wanted to relax so we toasted with the drink Sarah got us. It was this yummy sour apple non-alcoholic drink. You just dilute it with water and drink.
She got it for us in Spain. :)
The next day was just a day at sea. Drew and I made sure to sleep in and relax. And I got seasick for the first time in my life. Blech. That was not fun. But we were able to see a bit of the ship and just relax. It was fun to come back and see that we had a towel animal waiting for us!
An elephant! He was so cute. :)
After coming in we just chilled and watched Planet Earth before passing out.
The next day was Costa Maya, Mexico. Drew and I decided not to book an excursion so we just got off the ship and explored the little shopping town. It was a bit pricey, but then we went out a ways to look at the Mayan Jade Museum. Which basically was a warehouse with pictures of information on Mayans and Jade and then a huge room for you to buy things.
But knowing Spanish helps and Drew was able to talk them down on some lovely earrings for me so I have little jade earrings now. :)
We also bought a few towels since we realized we didn't have any beach towels and we also got some salt and pepper shakers.
These might be my favorite things from the trip. Maybe.
There really wasn't much to do so we came back, ate, and watched some more Planet Earth. It was still chilly enough that we weren't really all that inclined to go swimming in the pool. So we went into the hot tubs. But they weren't that much of an improvement. They weren't heating up very well. :( Oh well, we were still having fun. And the next day we had ruins!
Our next port of call was Belize City, Belize. We were booked to go on the tour of the Altun-Ha ruins.
It was so exciting!
Oh the things I could write about this sign because of my classes in development...
So first off... our tour guide. She was... interesting. She was a wonderfully kind Marenite woman. However, she cannot hold a tune to save her life. Neither can she tell jokes. We had a 45 minute ride to the site with her singing songs whenever she could not think of random facts to tell us. And by the end of the ride we were tired of hearing the, "it's un-Belize-able!" jokes.
... After hearing it about 30 times that day, you'd get tired of it as well.
However, it was fun to get there and at first we thought it was just a tiny mound next to a little giftshop that had "Discounts today only!"
this was next to 
So we were a little apprehensive, and then we walked further in and actually saw some amazing ruins! It was cool so see the layout of the 4 temples, each facing the cardinal directions. There were also faces on the different structures. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. :)
Ooh
Proof that we were there :P
One of the faces
The big one! We went to the top of it. :)
A face on the big temple
A different view
The whole complex
My amazingly attractive husband. :)
After exploring a bit we then went to the shops and got a really cool Mayan mask carved out of limestone and we got a few magnets for the fridge. Overall a successful day.
One the way back I took pictures as Drew passed out. Poor kid, he was so tired in the heat and going on the bus knocked him out.
teehee
It was interesting to see the countryside go past. There were quite a few schools on the way.
This was a typical house, it's raised up to avoid flooding.
Nice schoolchildren who waved as we went past
So overall it was a fun day. We loved exploring the ruins and seeing what Belize had to offer. After the ride we explored the little shop area and that was nice because we had a coupon for a free bag with a shirt purchase at this store that sells really awesome products that add color in the sun. Drew got a neat shirt with lizards and our bag had a sunset over a beach. :)
We came back and enjoyed a lovely dinner. It's a shame that I didn't get any pictures of the dining areas. We certainly went during non-peak hours, but I guess by the time we got there we were so hungry that we didn't care. That plus we were just having a good time relaxing and being with one another. It was great to be able to connect with one another and not have to worry about school or work. It was nice being on vacation. :))
Once again, we went back to our room and watched Planet Earth. I know, it's dorky, but it was so much fun! The best part is that by the time we're done watching an episode, we're ready to just pass out. Great buy, seriously. :)
Oh, and we got another towel animal.
A bulldog!
More to come when I have time to finish updating.
No comments:
Post a Comment