On Second thoughts!!?

Hopefully now that spring has sprung and while we are still waking up to frosty mornings and low temperatures there is a feel that spring is in the air...and thoughts have turned to holidays here in our household...

After hearing comments like '... last summer was the worst ever....', courtesy of Darrelle and while I could put it down to teenage attitude I did empathize to a degree as... last summer was on the whole devoted to the at times seemingly insurmountable task of trying to toilet-train a little guy who could not care less and who looked like he was not going to be able to attend preschool at the end of autumn...!!!!!

So, the ensuing cabinfever coupled with the 'worst summer weather ever?!' meant we decided to break away and just go and visit with friends at the end of August only to discover that our small boy had come out in spots and chickenpox confined us to base once more...We forgive you Alex...!!.

However... this led to the general consensus that we NEEDED to organise a holiday for this summer now that our baby days are behind us.... staying at home is NOT the same as getting away together somewhere.... Darrelle's suggestion was anywhere... Declan suggested Bulgaria... I was agreeable... Declan offered to pick up some brochures on Bulgaria the following day after work.... I came home and they were all looking at brochures.... no Bulgaria in sight....

And so..... 

We are so excited..... all of us... as usual of course me more than anyone else!!!!  Having taken our first cruise on our honeymoon, followed by another a few years later and than a third with Mam and Dad and my brother Alfred and Michelle, his wife we are now excited at the thought of going with the 'wee ones'.... Darrelle, Elena and I have taken many virtual tours round the ship... don't they say that the planning is sometimes as good as the 'real thing'!! 

And so, having done the Caribbean we are now heading for the Mediteranean and all the culture it has to offer....

Declan had the idea that it would be good to start throwing in money into a big 'water bottle' and see what we can come up with.... It actually is a great idea as they are all very enthusiastic and doing their bit although I think Elena is not adverse to putting other peoples' hard-earned cash in.... !!!

Not unlike todays ruthless Irish government and their cuts and income levies we have imposed a 'levy' on them every week and they each are contributing a set amount from their allowance every week...! I love the innocence of the little ones who still do not have a value on money and Elena especially does not begrudge any amount and is a very willing donor....

This is how we are doing so far.....

One of her first 'ports of call' had to be the next door neighbours house to announce our plans and they of course reminded her of the fate of the 'Titanic'... Luckily I had already had that conversation with her when she started her usual questions such as 'Will the ship sink?'.. so she was ready for them and replied that we were not going near any icebergs!

And then ... Yesterday ... this was the news.....(need to keep this from the small girl..!!!.)

Dramatic video footage of the moment a killer 26ft high wave smashed into the side of a cruise liner in the Mediterranean has been released.


http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=18454563

The amateur footage shows the ship in heavy seas before a monster surge strikes the side of the vessel.
Smashed glass, debris and seawater flood into the public lounge in the Louis Majesty, causing chaos.
It was a monster wave... it smashed all the windows. Everything happened so quickly.
The accident left two tourists dead, injured 14 and forced the liner to dock in Barcelona for repairs.
Most of the 1,300 tourists on board have asked to end their cruise holidays early and head back to their home countries following the tragedy.
A German woman passenger said: "It was a monster wave... it smashed all the windows. Everything happened so quickly."
Images filmed by a passenger showed screaming people fleeing, as a wall of water crashed through a window and then swept into a lounge area, knocking over furniture.
"We didn't know what was happening, if there were dead or injured, only that we were going back to Barcelona," an Italian passenger said.
One 64-year-old woman was in "very serious" condition, a spokeswoman at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron Hospital said.
Spanish media said the woman's legs were broken in the accident. A 59-year-old man was also taken to hospital with multiple injuries.
Louis Cruise spokesman Michalis Maratheftis said there would be no investigation.
"This was a natural, unforeseen and unpredictable phenomenon because we are talking about three big waves, higher than eight metres, striking the vessel," he said.
"This is not an incident which we could have prevented, therefore there will be no investigation."

Bulgaria anyone????