Day 15: Going Home

And finally, it was time to go home. (I should point out this was actually day 16. I didn't count the first travel day, because it was just waiting around and flying and then recovering at the bed and breakfast. Actually, so that makes it day 17. Wow).

We had a wake up call to make sure we were up, finished packing, and then headed to the buffet for one last breakfast. I don't believe I had an omelet that day, but there was still plenty of good stuff to eat.


Our 'butler' and stateroom attendant, Ivan and Hussein (Ivan pronounced Eee-vahn). The butler made the beds and did turn down service at night, and got us anything we needed. The stateroom attendant emptied the trash and cleaned the bathrooms. This was Ivan's last trip, as we was cutting short his contract to go home and spend time with his wife, who was expecting their first child very soon after that.

We went back to our stateroom and waiting for them to call our boarding numbers. Kevin made the announcement, and that was the last I heard of him (didn't get to see him). We shuffled along with the other people in our departing group and walked off the ship.


Our cruise director, John. He was such a fun guy, and made everyone feel special.


I feel bad. I'm pretty sure this is Phil, the hotel director. I do know he was always a very pleasant gentleman and very nice.

The cruise director is in charge of entertainment and everything relating to the cruise portion of the ship. That makes him one of the most important men on the ship. The hotel director is in charge of everything that would be like a regular hotel - so mainly everyone's lodging.

We gathered our luggage from the luggage carousels (they had us leave our big luggage outside our door the night before to be off-loaded). We got our bags and put them on our shuttle bus and then drove away to the airport. Goodbye Azamara Journey.

Now, when there are roundabouts, which are very prevalent in Europe, they are usually good things that I enjoy so much more than regular intersections. They eliminate the need in most cases for stoplights. However, in Barcelona, they had a huge roundabout with stoplights all along the way. We basically had to make a left hand turn, but had to go through about five stoplights along this roundabout to do it, and each light was red. So annoying.


The sunrise was so beautiful that morning. I wish I could have got out of our bus and taken some more. This doesn't do it justice.

Traffic was bad, but we finally made it to the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave soon, and we weren't sure we were going to make it in time. Funny enough, the Benicia couple that we met earlier was on a different flight, getting home a couple of hours after we did. Anyway, when we expressed concern, they told us that if it got to crunch time, they would call for all passengers going to Frankfurt. We made it in time, went to Frankfurt (where I spent my last few euros on a Frankfurt magnet, so I can say I've been to Germany), and then made the long flight home.

This flight, unlike the flight there, was all during the day. I liked the movies they were playing, and stayed up almost the whole time. I was very glad when we finally made it home, and waited until my friends could pick us up.


Sunset outside the San Francisco airport. See, we even have nice sunsets here.

And we made it home, had something to eat, and rested, until my mom left the next morning to go home to my dad.

It was such a great trip. What a beautiful world God has given us. Probably the only time I'll get to go to the Western Mediterranean with my Mom. Not that I wouldn't mind going there again real soon, but I think I'd first like to see the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece, Israel, etc) and South America, if I get to go on a cruise anytime soon.

If anything else about the trip catches my attention and I want to share, I'll definitely post it here, but for now, that's the end of my trip report. Thanks to everyone who's read them and to those who have left comments. I hope it was given you a glimpse of the wonderful trip I got to experience and the wonder world we have.

Should I or shouldn't I - I need your input

I'm trying to decide if I want to buy a house.  There are a lot of good deals on houses, including this one in town that I like (2 bedrooms, nice big back yard, deck, very large kitchen and large living room, and a couple of houses down from a family I really like in the second ward).  They are either fixer uppers or have some quirk about them.  But I think it's a good time to buy as I think (betting on?) home values to start rising in a few months.  The problem is I own my condo, but it's value now is less than I owe, so I would definitely have to rent it out if I bought a house.  Even if I rent it out, with the homeowners association fees (over $300), I'd be renting it at a loss, but I think the rental fee would cover my new mortgage and then some.  And of course with the tax write off of the new place, I think that could cover utilities and property tax.  But still, it'd be tight, especially if my condo didn't rent out (but I think it would).  Oh, and to get the down payment, I'd have to almost wipe out my savings.

But I really want a house.  I feel really cramped in this condo and want my doggies to have a yard to run around in.  So what do you think?  Is it a good gamble, or should I hold? I want to sell off my condo when the market turns around (reference the $300 HOA fees).