Well, I finally have unburied myself after returning from Europe. My DH and I were gone 2 weeks and had a ball. We first went to Barcelona. Beautiful town and the achitecture of the city amazing. Antoni Gaudi was a famous architect there and his influence is everywhere. The church he started is amazing. The people were so friendly and the food was fantastic. We spent 2 days there then went to Nice France and Antibe. Cannes France was ok but Nice was very nice. I was surprised at how much the Italians have influenced the French in that area. Apparently that part of the country was under Italian rule for years. Enjoyed the old city of Antibe' I was impressed with the art there.
Florence was our next stop. We had a great time there. There was a parade in honor of the Alpanians and the streets were packed. The churches there were not nearly as elaborate as those in Rome but they were beautiful. The streets everywhere were small and it would be easy to get lost there. The food was fantastic and the wine was devine.
Rome was busy. We got to see the colosium and I was surprised at its size. I had pictured it bigger. The Vatican was amazing. Its beauty was unsurpassed anywhere. It was amazing to see the works of Michelangelo there as well as so many other famous artists. I was a little taken back by the Pope's in the glass coffins. They are dressed to the hilt and a mask over their faces. The material the mask is made from depends on their status. We had lunch sitting at a sidewalk cafe in front of the Vatican. The Bacilica was huge....WOW.
Naples was our next stop. I think the Amalfi Coast was our favorite place. We loved the villages that grew up the cliffs and the simple style of their lives. We stopped at a wood inlay factory and saw some of the most beautiful furniture I have ever seen.. Pompei was another fantastic place. I was impressed with the homes they have unburied. They would have been considered beautiful homes today. It was established in 600 BC and was covered with lava in 59AD. The homes have beautiful murals on the walls and marble floors that any of us would love to have in our home. The town was much bigger than I had imagined. They even had a brothel. It was evident by the porn paintings on the wall and all the cubby holes for their clients. They have been ultrasounding the lava while they are uncovering the city and if they find a hollow spot they punch a small hole and fill it with plaster,let it set and then chipthe rock away. The plaster is then in the shape of what was there such as a person or an animal. They have unburied so many artifacts there and have so much left to do.
Venice was a fun city. We went to Murano and toured the glass factories there, their showrooms were gorgious. Burano was another island of Venice that is well known for their handmade lace. I enjoyed it because it was smaller and seemed less touristy. All the homes are painted a bright color. They are mainly fisherman there and supposedly the bright colors of the homes help them to see their house in the fog. They are all apartments and each apartment was different colored so one building could be 5 or 6 different colors. We took a ride in the moonlight on a gondula and had champagne and was accompanied by a musician. It was very romantic and we kissed under every bridge as instructed by the locals. Had a great time. We spent a day just walking through the town seeing the lifestyles of the locals. We then went to split Croatia. Beautiful country but The people were rather distant. It was the only place we went that people did not smile much. I am not sure why but it was odd. We enjoyed the old part of the city. They have just recently gained their independence and that may be part of it. Apparently tourism is something new there. We did go to a local market there and I could have just stood and watched the people there all day. Very busy and the produce looked devine.
Malta was our last stop. We visited Medina, which is known as the silent city. Very old city built in the 1300's and protected by the knights. IT was expected that the first born male would marry and have a family, the 2nd male would be a priest and the 3rd male would be a knight. No questions asked. All the cities in Malta are surrounded by high thick walls to protect them from invaders. We visited the 3rd largest dome in the world. It had a German BOmb dropped on it during the war but the bomb did not go off. It went through the dome and landed in the church with over 300 people in it and no one was injured. They have a replica of the bomb in the church today. It was a beautiful island and Valleta was the capital and was also very pretty. I was impressed that there was no graffiti on the walls. Everywere in Europe the grafitti was overwhelming.
My DH did great, it was like he never had AD. It truly was a trip of a lifetime!

Sandi D - Sounds like a wonderful trip. I always thought I would love to visit Venice. I am so glad it all worked out for you and your husband and
that you went while you still could.

Glad to have you back. You have been missed.

Sandy D. thank you for sharing your special trip. It made me feel great that you both were able to enjoy the trip.

SandyD, we honeymooned in Amalfi coast and stayed for a week in Positano and Capri 15yrs ago. My DH promised to take me back to the mediterranean for our 10th anniversary. We did the sister trip itinerary to yours it seems except not Croatia and did Athens and Santorini. i wish you could have done Santorini, what serenity and beauty. They say the god Zeus, chose Santorini as his own home..need i say more? The places you describe could be written from my own memories. we did it all to from Barcelona to Greece. i must say if anyone can do any of these cruise itineraries its a must in my book and i have traveled extensively the world many times. I am overjoyed you were able to enjoy this trip of a lifetime with your husband. like me, someday looking back this will be a huge treasure vault of memories...divvi

Thanks for sharing, Sandy..

For those interested, there's a good historical novel, Pompeii, by Robert Harris. Someone passed it along to me somewhere on my journeys, and I passed it along afterward, but it gives a good feel of what it must have been like to live through that...

I second Santorini, Divvi. I LOVED being there, rented a car and drove all over for three days alone. And Sandy, I didn't hear anything about being pickpocketed in Barcelona, so that must have been, in itself, a reason to love it!! By any chance, were there the cat acrobats on the Ramblas?

What a joy for you and for your husband to be able to continue to share these experiences. My DH did very well when we cruised Alaska in August with our daughter, sil and grandies. Hoping that he hold up in january when we go to Belize and hondorus with friends from Florida. We always took lots of cruises so I'm hoping it'll feel familier, especially since we'll be on the same ship. Congratulations too, on going.

That's great! I'm glad that you had a sensational...wonderful...happy...fantastic excuse for not posting.

Gracias again, Divvi..I copied your note in Spanish and have it with the Doc's letter. I LOVE flamenco..dancers, music the whole thing. We do have a good city tour for one part of a day to get us squared around, so should be able to take in as much as we want.
Thanks for the suggestions..all gratefully received.

Glad to have you back, Sandy D. Do you have a professional comment on coconut oil?

Kathi, I'd tell you to have a great time, except I am pea green with envy.

divvi, what exactly do you mean? You surely wouldn't think of not posting ???!!!

Well, yes, but don't we all? That's why we don't (shouldn't) give personal info, like real names.

Don't you dare stop, you hear me? I count on you. WE ALL count on you!

Joan's place has been our lifeline and will be our lifeline as long as we deal with this disease, and then we stay for the friendships we have made, and the love we now feel for each other. I, too, am always logging in and out throughout the day - just making certain that no one has taken a serious turn for the worse. This IS our life - for the time being. Divvi won't stop typing - I'll go down to Texas and beg if need be!

Kathi, please post details upon your return!

you will do fine and just relax. remember like the dog whisperer says natures way of communicating is thru your actions not words:)we project energy and thats what is absorbed= relax and think positive ! divvi

Hola from the Atlantic,

We are on the ship now, and have had some "interesting" times. I do have the letter from G's Doc, but haven't needed it so far. However, he had zero clue what to do to get thru security. I truly hadn't anticipated that as he was fine in March when we last traveled. Our flights were great for the most part...upgrading to Busniess across the water was fantastic...he did just great. From London to Barcelona we had to go coach which was okay for the 2+ hour flight until a dozen hearty party guys from the UK boarded to go to Barcelona for a stag party...no question how the flight went after that. G was okay..I WAS THE UPSET ONE. I think the term is drunk and disorderly! Oh well, we made it..hotel was extremely nice and Barcelona is lovely, but G didn't want to walk or really go anywhere, so we were fairly hotel bound except for a two hour period when I managed to get turned around and totally lost. Best time I had in the city!!! Met many gracious folk who didn't tell me I was a dummy, but tried to direct me. FInally found the hotel and G had been taking a nap so he didn't know I was amongst the missing. Really was a good time.

He is having a hard time on and off on the ship...it is a bit rocky and he is having a hard time getting around, but so is everyone else. We had a cooking demo from Jacques Pepin and his wife this morning...charming couple, and great fun, but afterward G was upset as we looked for a terrace table for lunch and he actually pushed me in front of one and all. This and several other things have made it clear to others that he has a problem, and we are becoming the the local pariahs. Oh well...maybe this too shall pass. I discussed unacceptable behavior with him, and he swears it won't happen again (until next time!). A tour of a village on a Portuguese Island is on for tomorrow. Hope it goes better than going thru the Casbah in Tangiers yesterday. Peddlars were awful, and he lost it there too....in front of 35 other tour folk. Oh well. Tomorrow is another whatever....having a fairly good time regardless...

Kathi.
I hope you are doing okay. My DH and I are going on a cruise in January and I have some trepidation. Luckily, we are going with friends who are very good with him. Once he adjusts to the ship I think he will be fine. We have been to the Caribbean many times, so I will limit the tours. I am looking forward to the food and entertainment, the sun and relaxation. I hope he can relax, also. I have found that he is really at his best at home. I know this will be our last cruise.

Kathi37- I wish you the best on your cruise. I hope things mellow out for you and you can enjoy yourself. I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of the trip..Bring back great memories and lots of pictures!

Thank all of you for your kind words and support..I think I am feeling a bit of pressure from those around us at the moment. G wants to be his old self..tonight he asked if I felt he was different at all as he only felt his balance was different...Hello? He is either totally in denial or truly has no clue..I don't know which would be worse. Right now I want to sit down and just bawl, but won't..what's with this stiff upper lip thing? He truly wants to help (did the wash today before I could catch him..new red shirt with all his white t-shirts) A pink tinge doesn't seem to bother him. I feel I am just not doing anything right..truly attempting to mellow out with all of this..we have many ship days coming up before Miami, so things should even out. I surely don't want to discourage anyone with trips in the future as this may be all we have. G keeps talking about returning to Barcelona as he enjoyed it so much ???

Time to finish another book as G is in bed again at 8:00 pm. Madiera Portugal in the morning..YEA for the sunshine and perfect weather we have had....thanks one and all..

Kathi, please remember, the most important thing is to live for the moment now! If it bothers you too much, see if the purser can make up the cards for you that say that your "husband has a disability and please be patient" for you to hand out to those giving you funny looks.

Most restaurants on the ship will allow you a table for two if you request it and give your reason why. That should help unless he WANTS to be at a large table.

Personally, pink t-shirts in the Med sound perfect! You can always bleach them when you get home. <grin>

They really DO forget that they have AD. It's not denial as much as it is forgetfulness. I know that it must be difficult (and I'm hoping that my husband holds up for our cruise in February), but as long as he will follow your directions, and not try to leave the room without you, then you can cope and still have fun...be sure to drink a glass or two of wine to mellow out each evening!

I hope my cheerleader speech helps some....if not, here is a hug! (((HUG))))

...which proves that you type slower than I do. And my mother wondered why I took typing in high school!

I also had that problem with cruising in the mid stages with DH. he would say off the wall non funny comment in the elevator and do that awful laugh thinking it was so funny-didnt take long for folks to void us too-and when at dinner at a table for 8. sad some of the people changed tables so i opted to get one with just table for 2. people like to exchange chitchat and the days activities in the evening at dinner and my DH just didnt fit in.i still had a good time with our little romantic table and it made those looks less stressful..just go with the flow, have some notes made up like suggested! kathi and try to enjoy yourself! divvi