In case I haven't told you...because I haven't told you...my newest life adventure has taken me to Tokyo, Japan for the next year. I am starring in the opening cast of a show called King Triton's Concert at Tokyo Disney Sea. The list of "firsts" for this experience could go on and on; I am living in Asia, learning to be an aerialist, moving from the ensemble to a leading role, lip-syncing an entire show in Japanese, living in my own apartment, making a healthy salary....
This job. Well, it is hard on your body, hard on your mind, hard on your personal life. BUT, the hardest things in life often end up being the most rewarding or the most growing. There are so many times that I have already felt the need to pinch myself and make sure that I am taking in all of the amazing experiences that are "my job." The first of these came in my first break through while harnessed and suspended in our aerial strength training. Since then, the breakthroughs have continued to come...two steps, forward, one step back...just keep swimming.
Another "cloud nine moment" came during the costume fitting. Seeing myself in the wig, makeup, fin, and seashells, with the lighting--I was Ariel. I never felt that way about Aurora.
The latest and greatest moment to take my breath away was flying with wind in my hair, over the 700 seat Mermaid Lagoon Theater on what is currently the wold's most complex rigging system. Flying--an unrealistic dream--is my reality.
A quick cone with Ivo after
a port morning Princess Gathering
This one's kinda like Funchal, Madeira -- an island that is technically part of Portugal. Mallorca is an island that is technically part of Spain. We visited this island twice, both times being on the only two 4-day cruises in the Mediterranean. All of our other cruises in the Mediterranean were a minimum of seven days. What a 4-day cruise means is, cast members have to pack as much entertainment into four days as the other cruises held in seven days. These short cruises also mean a much different cliental porting out of Barcelona than that to which we had grown accustomed. In short...4-day cruises were dreaded. I'll leave it at that.
Because of the little time we spent here, I don't really have much to tell about Palma. But if nothing else, it was beautiful!
Beautiful Emma and bustling Palma
This pastry shop is famous for a reason!
Dancing on the Ring of Kerry
Believe it or not, we've finally finished all of the Mediterranean ports from my contract with Magic 30 on Disney Cruise Line. After our summer in the "Med," as we called it, we had a break in our contract where the Magic underwent a massive makeover in a 5 week renovation known as a drydock. During this time, I met one of my best friends, Bria, in Ireland;
Exploring the Ring of Kerry with this Irish Beauty, Bria
my sister, Victoria, in Turkey for a few weeks;
What a happy reunion this was!
and my ship roommate, Carissa, and her Portuguese boyfriend, Rodolfo, in Portugal; then headed back to Cadiz, Spain to re-embark on the Magic for the remaining three months of my contract.
Cherishing the last sunset from land in Cadiz, Spain
Much to our surprise, the ship was still in the "has to get worse before it gets better" stage. Our floating home was unrecognizable inside. There were contractors everywhere and they were anything but gentlemen. Unfortunately, they were with us for the transatlantic back to Florida, and as a result, my fellow cast members and I tried to avoid the crew mess like the plague.
"Are you sure we should be re-embarking yet?"
Because there were no guests on board and most of our rehearsal/performance spaces were still undergoing renovation, there really wasn't anywhere to go but our postage stamp cabins. That is, unless you had a hardhat and loved being catcalled and whistled at. This was when I learned the true meaning of cabin fever.
Goodbye Europe! See ya real soon.
But in the end, the overall outcome was a beautiful updated interior of the Disney Magic. The ship definitely had its problems from cut corners, but hey, at least it looked nice, right?
Here's a little glimpse of my cabin in case you are curious what they are like. No one likes seeing themselves on camera, butI suppose I'll deal with it for your benefit.
Not quite as picturesque as others, but an excursion to
Ephesus was the real attraction.
Here I was in Turkey, just over an hour from my sister's home in İzmir, and where was she? Why, in the United States of course. As a matter of fact, she was home visiting the United States the entire summer that I was in the Mediterranean. When I returned to the other side of the world to sail the Caribbean, she had then flown back to Turkey. Ironic.
Just a little "In your face" moment in Kuşadası
We ported twice in Kuşadası, both times near the end of the summer. By August, I was already missing Victoria, so being in a place where I felt she should have been definitely made me very emotional. The first day, I got off in port alone and walked through the city just for the sake of being of the ship.
Mantıand çay--feeling authentic
Restaurant owners in tourist areas in the Mediterranean always try to incessantly coax passerby's into their restaurant, but I felt this even more so here in Kuşadası. It may have been because I was a woman alone, it may have been because I simply said "hello" in Turkish and that was a tourist novelty, but I finally sat down and had the meal I was looking for.
One owner was persistent on my eating at his restaurant despite their not having mantı, the meal I had my heart set on. When I told him this was why I wouldn't stay, he told me he would make the well known dish for me regardless. He had to go to his friend's neighboring restaurant to get the ingredients, but either way, he made sure to make what I asked for!
Well, I learned for my second port day, when you are already missing someone so severely, going off alone in a country you've only ever been to with them is probably not the best remedy for loneliness. Kristine helped with that and we explored the bazar together the second time in the port of Kuşadası. With Kristine's Mexican genes, we had a fun time confusing vendors as to where we were from...they think she's Mexican, they think I'm Turkish, and they would never speak to us the most obvious tourist language--English.
Picking up the pilot--view from Deck 4
Fun Fact: When coming in and out of ports, a local pilot is aboard to steer the ship out of port. Once safely into open waters, the pilot literally jumps from the moving ship back onto the moving pilot boat and they head back to port.
Mykonos was absolutely stunning and straight out of a post card or travel magazine. The water was bluer than ever and the little villages were as alluring as you'd imagine.
Just off the port, there weren't an abundance of options beyond browsing the quaint shops and sitting down to a meal.
--side note: You know, working on the sea and not being too keen on seafood has its difficulties.--
Cruisin with the top down!
During the first of our two ventures in the port of Mykonos, Kaila, Frankie, Erica and I all rented a car and decided to get outta town. Thank goodness we had Kaila, who knew how to drive a manual car! I'll learn someday.
Channa lounging like a princess at Paradise Beach
We drove the winding and steep country roads to Paradise Beach, on the other side of the island, and what a paradise it was! Maybe a bit overtaken by the young and the restless (aka, partying crew members from one ship or another), but the view was breathtaking. Our time was cut much too short, with work calling us back to the ship (some earlier than others), but it was definitely worth the adventure! This was the only time we rented a car while in Europe. Why does something so mundane seem so exotic when you are in another country??
Carissa and me, attempting to stay fair in the Mediterranean sun
Mykonos Port Day Number Two was spent with Carissa and Rodolfo. We walked the seaside port town and explored all of the beautiful and quite side streets.
Traveling "alone" in Europe does one of two things--You have the time of your life and live every moment up; or you ponder the things you have, the things you don't, and the things you dream to make a reality one day. I rotated between these feelings throughout my time with Disney Cruise Line.
Just look at that water!
Happy Independence Day from onboard the Disney Magic!
What to say about Athens? We came here twice and all the tourist attractions are a bit of a hike from the port. The first time in port, we, along with the rest of the ship, stuffed into a couple taxis and headed to the Acropolis. My, what a dusty, crowded, hoooottt, day we were in for! But what a sight!
The second Athens port day, a handful of us headed to a destination overlooking the entire city of Athens. What an expanse! To be honest, I don't really remember where it was, but I remember the view! We could see the olympic stadium, the Acropolis, and the Temple of Zeus. Another sweltering day, but...that's the Mediterranean for you in July and August!
A view of the Acropolis from a vista overlooking the city
The Temple of Zeus
Hey Diego and Emma! See you at the Acropolis!
Kaila: Worried about getting tan!
Emma: Worried about tan lines!
Frozen lemonade while waiting to get into the Acropolis!
Here it is! The Parthenon!
We got pretty snap happy when we arrived at the Parthenon. These are just a tiny fraction of all the photos we took. What can we say? Photos are our job--literally!
Kev, Frankie, Kaila, Emma, Kaleigh, Kristine, Caroline, Diego
The first of these came in my first break through while harnessed and suspended in our aerial strength training. Since then, the breakthroughs have continued to come...two steps, forward, one step back...just keep swimming. 
