Today I have a very special WIAW planned.  You can’t talk about a European vacation without talking about the food. 

And let me tell you … I ate more than my fair share of delicious treats on this trip.

If you’ve ever been on a cruise before, you know that you can pretty much eat all day long, if you so choose.  On our cruise, I tried to typically stick to just three meals a day, but I also had no problem enjoying the occasional extra snack!

This is just a sample of some of my meals on the ship. 

Breakfasts would usually consist of some type of croissant (usually stuffed with a cream cheese mixture or Nutella! ), Belgian waffles, or pancakes.  I’d also have a side of hash browns and fruit .   One morning I also had an omelet special ordered, and that was delicious!

We rarely had lunch on the boat, because we were out exploring the various cities.  But when we did eat on the boat, I either had a couple slices of pizza or a turkey burger.

And those cupcakes?  Well the ship had its own cupcake shop, so of course, we had to try a couple on our very first day.  I had the peanut butter cup cupcake.  It was good, but nothing super amazing!

During the day, we would often work up an appetite while exploring the various cities.

As you can see, pizza was a popular choice for us.  The pizza on the bottom left was from Barcelona, and it was just OK.  But those other two pizzas?  Those were from Rome (top left) and Capri (bottom right), and they were absolutely incredible.  We just ordered simple margarita pizzas both times, but the flavor was anything but simple!  On our last day in Barcelona, I ordered pasta in a sauce made of olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flake.  It was also delicious.  I ate that entire bowl, and probably could have eaten a second bowl, if given the option!

My sweet tooth is no secret to any of you by now.  So does it really surprise you that we got gelato on four different occasions during the trip?  I didn’t think so.  And that chocolate beignet (from a bakery in Toulon, France)  was probably the best thing I ate all week.  We sat outside the bakery and paired our beignet with small cups of coffee.  Heavenly.

Each night on the cruise, we would return to our cabins after a day of exploring, get cleaned up, and head to dinner. 

And I looked forward to dinner every. single. day.

This is just a small sample of the appetizers and entrees I enjoyed on the ship.  Appetizers ranged from crab cakes, to quiche, to delicious soups.  Dinners included rack of lamb, roasted chicken, and seafood ravioli, just to name a few.  And there was not one meal that left me disappointed!

And of course, every dinner was topped off with an incredible dessert.  I ate tiramisu, lemon meringue pie, chocolate bread pudding, coconut cake, and much more!  I think that bread pudding was my favorite, though.  So decadent and rich!

We also enjoyed a few drinks on our trip.  Drinks included margaritas or mango coladas by the pool, sangria in Barcelona, wine in Tuscany, and a fresh watermelon margarita in Capri, Italy.  That watermelon margarita needs to be recreated at home, stat!

And finally, I have one more meal to share.  On the way back to the states, we were incredibly blessed to get to fly business class.  Which meant we had bigger seats, softer blankets, and freakishly good airplane meals!

The appetizer included some type of coconut Thai soup, grilled shrimp, and quinoa.  I also had a pretzel bun with butter.

The main course was chicken with some type of onion compote, mashed potatoes, and sautéed vegetables.

And for dessert?

Ice cream sundaes!  I requested raspberry sauce and whipped cream on mine, but you could choose from a variety of toppings.

We also got warm nuts, warm chocolate chip cookies, mimosas, and sandwiches before we landed.  I eventually put my camera away, because I think I was embarrassing Brandon with my incessant picture taking.

I will probably not get to fly in business class again for a very long time, so I enjoyed every single second of that indulgent experience!

————

Now this month’s WIAW is not just about food.  It’s also about fitness.  And believe it or not, I did manage to get in plenty of exercise on this trip! 

First of all, we went to the gym on the ship on five different days.

We didn’t go because we felt like we had to … we just wanted to . We got in a nice routine of getting up around 7:00, going to the gym, getting breakfast, getting cleaned up, and then heading out to explore.  It worked for us.

We also walked.  Like, a lot.

And on our last day in Barcelona, we went on a 3 hour bike tour of the city.

Let me tell ya, I wasn’t thrilled about the bike tour at first.

I haven’t ridden a bike in almost 20 years, so trying to ride one while dodging slow moving tourists and fast moving cars wasn’t exactly my idea of a “good time.”

But after about an hour, I got used to it and was able to relax enough to enjoy the views.

Not too shabby, huh?

———–

Question for ya …

How do you handle eating/working out when you’re on vacation?

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten this week?

When’s the last time you’ve ridden a bike?

(Spin class bikes don’t count!!)

Thoughts on the finale of The Bachelorette?

He was my favorite from Day 1.  That’s all I’m going to say about that.

* And stay tuned later this week … I have lots more pictures from our trip to share!