I'm sad as I write this, we are now leaving the last port before we dock for the end of the cruise in Venice. The cruise is not over, but the port visits are and this is probably the last entry. Tomorrow is a sea day and we arrive in Venice on Thursday afternoon and as busy as I will be with one tour after another, I doubt I'll write that night and then I'll be off the ship early on Friday morning for one more tour and then a trip to the airport where I'll get a shuttle to my hotel for a day in Venice and then leave for home the following morning. This has been so much in so short a time, a feast for my eyes and mind, but exhausting all the same. Time flies on a busy trip like this one and so many emotions are stirring inside...
But, now to the day in Greece...we arrived in the port city of Pireaus, again my spelling may be off, but we took the drive into Athens, what a crowded busy city it is! On one busy one way street, one of the typical little cars came the wrong way down the street to avoid the traffic!! There wasn't even a look of concern as he approached our large tour bus, he just pulled around us, I would have sworn he wouldn't fit, but he did and he proceeded the wrong direction!! That was the first time I've seen anything like that! People just park their cars and leave them when they want to and there was one parked in the middle of a turn and a man was out yelling at traffic as cars had to back up because they couldn't get through. Amazing that we didn't see one accident the whole day! So after an interesting, to say the least, drive, we made our first stop at the Temple of Zeus. Incredible sight, the large columns that are still standing. I decided not to stand and listen to the tour guide, she was quite dry and boring, and I walked around getting pictures of the magnificent remains. So amazing and so ancient! I asked a couple of people to take my picture with the ruins behind me and I think that people should be forced to take a photography class before boarding the ship for a trip like this, in all but one picture the people got more of the cement and gravel ground than the columns behind me. Very much like the picture of César and I at Nordkapp, such a disappointment. I should have said something or made a point of checking, but I believed that people would know how to get a picture in a famous place with famous ruins. Wrong, Mitzi! So I will know from now on to be specific! Oh well, at least one picture came out. From this location we could see the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Stunning on the hill in the middle of the town.
After this stop we went to a hotel to have refreshments, tea and a plate of Greek cookies and pastries, nothing exceptional like I had in Mykonos, but nice. We drove down Amalea Avenue, named after the first Queen of Greece, who was from Bavaria. We drove through the city and finally went to the pedestrian walk below the Acropolis. I snuck into a gift shop so I could bring home a small statue of Athena and purchased a couple of other little souvenirs and told them about my Greek friend in Houston and they gave me a religious magnet to give Mary. Again, such big hearts they have in Greece! There were so many people and it was so different than the relaxing beautiful setting in Mykonos.
We saw very large plants in a little truck in front of us and the guide explained that the gypsies drive through the streets with a loud speaker announcing the sale of plants so housewifes can come out and choose one for a small cost. We passed many important buildings and at one there was a big ceremony to place wreaths at the site of the grave of the unknown soldier. It was quite a production and I was sorry we couldn't stop and watch the whole event. There were Greek soldiers in their holiday white skirts and they looked quite important. She explained that all of the guards had to be 6'2" so that they matched when standing at their posts AND they had to have nice legs since they wear 'minis', as she put it! Who'd have thought about that?? And I will admit that they did look quite nice standing at their posts! Again there were stray dogs, but I was assured that they are cared for and indeed they did look better than some in other places. So different than in the United States! And there weren't more than a few at each place we visited and they were calm and happy, it seemed.
I did enjoy the information that the tour guide gave us, when I was listening. Do you know where the name Marathon for the races came from? Sometime in the BC years, there was a war between Persia and Greece called the Marathon war and when the war was over one man was sent to give news of the war and he ran all the way to Greece, said 'we have won the war' and collapsed and died. Ever since there have been marathon races to honor this young man. This guide also shared many important things that Greece gave to the world and said that the rise of Christianity was the one thing that created the fall of Greece. She said that the schools of Plato and Aristotle helped to revive the Greek influence in about 600 AD.
And so my visit to Athens and Greece is over for this trip. What a wonderful experience and I know that someday I will be back in Mykonos for a longer visit. What kind people and the most beautiful place! Maybe I need to start learning Greek for that visit! I've already written César and although he said he would love to go with me, he reminded me that Greek is one language he doesn't speak! Oh well, I'm sure we would be fine anyway! I told him to start learning it now! And I do have my new Greek friend there and many people spoke English.
Ah, my dreams!
And now we head to Venice, the promised highlight of the trip. Sailing into Venice is supposed to be the most incredible sight of the entire cruise. This is the reason César wanted me to take this cruise, and although he had seen it more than once, I will be sad that he is not with me, this is the one thing he wanted to do with me, he wanted to be with me when I saw Venice for the first time since it is supposed to be such an incredible experience. But he is busy back in Portugal in school and working and is just glad that I will get to see it. And so, Venice awaits!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Turkish Delight-Part 2
Kusadasi, pronounced Kush AH das, was a delightful surprise!! Much more comfortable than Istanbul and the tour guide was wonderful. In fact we exchanged addresses! Now I have a friend in Turkey! We arrived at the port an hour late, the dock was not available in time, so we arrived in the afternoon for a change and many people were out on their balconies watching the amazing way the captain got this giant ship into what seemed like a very small area to dock. Then we left for our tours. By the way, we were in Asia today, the part considered Asia Minor.
This is a small village by comparison. Our guide told us the crime was %0, (that is how she said it and I thought that was cute) and everyone was friendly and it certainly seemed that way on our trip today. Very comfortable! There is a statue of the first president of the country on the hill in front of where the ship docked. She told me that he was a very good man, loved by all like our George Washington. He became the first president in 1938, not so very long ago! I don't understand a lot of the history of this era, of the Ottomans and Romans and Greeks, but will be interested to learn more when I am home.
We left and headed up to the hills towards the house where the Virgin Mary was supposed to have been when she died (I think). We did not go all the way to the house, it is a long, rough road our guide told us, but we went to a beautiful statue of her that was a gift from France, she compared it to the Statue of Liberty they gave us. On the way we passed and were able to take pictures of the famous, ancient city of Ephesus, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. We saw parts of it for miles and she said there is much more to be excavated. It is hard to imagine it was started about 100BC and was active until about 300AD. I have some amazing pictures of the city remains from the hilltop and from inside the Ephesus museum. I actually touched a piece that is believed to be from the year 200AD! Can you even imagine?! What a thrill it was to see so much that is from so long ago!! We passed the Greek amphitheater that is still the venue for famous people, and she listed many who had performed there. A smaller one was in the city of Ephesus, a Roman theatre she told us. So many facts it is hard to remember them all!
When the president took over the country he arbitrarily moved the Greeks who were living in Turkey to Greece and the Turks who were in Greece to Turkey. Men actually just showed up at the homes and people were forced to leave immediately with their children a few of their belongings and their money and they were taken to homes in the other country. So if you were Greeks in Greece, you suddenly lost your neighbors who were Turks. Our guide told us it was the hardest on the women to leave their friends behind. She said people still visit the other country and find the homes of their grandparents. Imagine?? In a way it reminded me of the stories I heard in Poland and Estonia. So sad for so many but she said many believed it was the right thing to do.
After visiting the fascinating (by the way we were told the derivation of the word fascinating while standing in the bordello section of Pompeii-look it up, fascinating!), museum, which by the way did include some remnants of the ancient city's section 'of love', we proceeded to a little mountain village. It was very pretty and we were able to have a wine tasting but I decided to pass on that, the road was curvy and I didn't need anything that might add to my tendency for motion sickness! I had the delicious apple tea instead! I had asked the guide where I could purchase turkish delight, you know I have to try a food in each country! She walked to a little market in this village and bought a box for me and a box to share with all the people on the bus. You see she said their big celebration starts tomorrow, the end of Ramadan and it is a time to celebrate with everyone so she wanted to give us a gift. Most people loved it and I will enjoy my box of treats too!
After that village we were told we were going to another village, which in fact was a large carpet making store. I loved seeing the women sitting around actually weaving the elaborate Turkish rugs! We even saw how they get the silk from the cocoon and although I felt terribly sorry for the worms inside, the whole process is very interesting! We actually watched the silk being taken from the coccoons (?) and made into the thread for weaving!! And then we once again saw the amazing carpet demonstration while eating a nice place of cookies and drinking apple tea. Our guide had told us that this was a very good place to buy a rug because they are very fairly priced and this shop and weaving school was owned by the government. So yes, I am now the proud owner of a very small square of Turkish rug, all silk! I'm crazy, I know that, but it is beautiful. And it is a design that could only be used for the sultans before 1928...so I am sure I will feel like a sultana every time I see it hanging on an old wall in my home, paint peeling, metal showing, but an authentic Turkish silk rug will be hanging there! I liked this place much better than the one in Istanbul, and the young man spoke wonderful English and shared such interesting information. Even the colors of the rugs have meaning and along with the patterns tell you which part of Turkey they are from. I don't have all of that information about mine yet, I have to email the salesperson to get that. It is a deep rich turquoise with other colors in the design. Absolutely beautiful!!
We returned to the ship and I enjoyed looking at a few souvenirs, but nothing much was interesting enough to buy. So I am coming home with a few things from Turkey, a bookmark, the tiny pretend rug, 2 pashminas-one casual and one dress, and my authentic Turkish rug! AND the memory of a wonderful experience today and a new Turk for a friend! This is a delightful place in Turkey to visit! (Now I probably know the source of the candy name.)
A wonderful day in Kusadasi, Turkey!! And now I'll have a nice dinner and a good night's sleep and awaken tomorrow to explore Athens, Greece! Adventures abound...
This is a small village by comparison. Our guide told us the crime was %0, (that is how she said it and I thought that was cute) and everyone was friendly and it certainly seemed that way on our trip today. Very comfortable! There is a statue of the first president of the country on the hill in front of where the ship docked. She told me that he was a very good man, loved by all like our George Washington. He became the first president in 1938, not so very long ago! I don't understand a lot of the history of this era, of the Ottomans and Romans and Greeks, but will be interested to learn more when I am home.
We left and headed up to the hills towards the house where the Virgin Mary was supposed to have been when she died (I think). We did not go all the way to the house, it is a long, rough road our guide told us, but we went to a beautiful statue of her that was a gift from France, she compared it to the Statue of Liberty they gave us. On the way we passed and were able to take pictures of the famous, ancient city of Ephesus, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. We saw parts of it for miles and she said there is much more to be excavated. It is hard to imagine it was started about 100BC and was active until about 300AD. I have some amazing pictures of the city remains from the hilltop and from inside the Ephesus museum. I actually touched a piece that is believed to be from the year 200AD! Can you even imagine?! What a thrill it was to see so much that is from so long ago!! We passed the Greek amphitheater that is still the venue for famous people, and she listed many who had performed there. A smaller one was in the city of Ephesus, a Roman theatre she told us. So many facts it is hard to remember them all!
When the president took over the country he arbitrarily moved the Greeks who were living in Turkey to Greece and the Turks who were in Greece to Turkey. Men actually just showed up at the homes and people were forced to leave immediately with their children a few of their belongings and their money and they were taken to homes in the other country. So if you were Greeks in Greece, you suddenly lost your neighbors who were Turks. Our guide told us it was the hardest on the women to leave their friends behind. She said people still visit the other country and find the homes of their grandparents. Imagine?? In a way it reminded me of the stories I heard in Poland and Estonia. So sad for so many but she said many believed it was the right thing to do.
After visiting the fascinating (by the way we were told the derivation of the word fascinating while standing in the bordello section of Pompeii-look it up, fascinating!), museum, which by the way did include some remnants of the ancient city's section 'of love', we proceeded to a little mountain village. It was very pretty and we were able to have a wine tasting but I decided to pass on that, the road was curvy and I didn't need anything that might add to my tendency for motion sickness! I had the delicious apple tea instead! I had asked the guide where I could purchase turkish delight, you know I have to try a food in each country! She walked to a little market in this village and bought a box for me and a box to share with all the people on the bus. You see she said their big celebration starts tomorrow, the end of Ramadan and it is a time to celebrate with everyone so she wanted to give us a gift. Most people loved it and I will enjoy my box of treats too!
After that village we were told we were going to another village, which in fact was a large carpet making store. I loved seeing the women sitting around actually weaving the elaborate Turkish rugs! We even saw how they get the silk from the cocoon and although I felt terribly sorry for the worms inside, the whole process is very interesting! We actually watched the silk being taken from the coccoons (?) and made into the thread for weaving!! And then we once again saw the amazing carpet demonstration while eating a nice place of cookies and drinking apple tea. Our guide had told us that this was a very good place to buy a rug because they are very fairly priced and this shop and weaving school was owned by the government. So yes, I am now the proud owner of a very small square of Turkish rug, all silk! I'm crazy, I know that, but it is beautiful. And it is a design that could only be used for the sultans before 1928...so I am sure I will feel like a sultana every time I see it hanging on an old wall in my home, paint peeling, metal showing, but an authentic Turkish silk rug will be hanging there! I liked this place much better than the one in Istanbul, and the young man spoke wonderful English and shared such interesting information. Even the colors of the rugs have meaning and along with the patterns tell you which part of Turkey they are from. I don't have all of that information about mine yet, I have to email the salesperson to get that. It is a deep rich turquoise with other colors in the design. Absolutely beautiful!!
We returned to the ship and I enjoyed looking at a few souvenirs, but nothing much was interesting enough to buy. So I am coming home with a few things from Turkey, a bookmark, the tiny pretend rug, 2 pashminas-one casual and one dress, and my authentic Turkish rug! AND the memory of a wonderful experience today and a new Turk for a friend! This is a delightful place in Turkey to visit! (Now I probably know the source of the candy name.)
A wonderful day in Kusadasi, Turkey!! And now I'll have a nice dinner and a good night's sleep and awaken tomorrow to explore Athens, Greece! Adventures abound...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Turkish Delights...
...not! I have to say that I am not impressed with Istanbul at all, other than the fact that I am in Turkey! We had a nice tour guide, but it seemed that the whole time he was selling us on Islam, not the way I wanted to spend the day here. Luckily I didn't meet the British couple until I returned from the tour who told me that there was a bomb here a month ago. I just wasn't comfortable here. I was on the bus before the tour and the guide started discussing our politics and upcoming election with me. I have yet to visit a country where someone doesn't have an opinion! I am amazed at the way American politics must effect the world, it is a surprise how much knowledge people seem to have. But back to Istanbul...
We went to Sophia mosque, named after a Sultana. It was a little harder for me to understand and hear this guide so I did not learn as much as I have been learning. The mosque is quite famous and is now a museum and was filled with many people, tourists. It is Sunday here so many people were quite sad that we are missing the Grand Bazaar, but we did have an interesting time in the Turkish rug store. I was sitting on one of the fancy divans having rugs thrown on the floor for my inspection as I sipped apple tea in a small delicately shaped glass cup. That was quite fun and the men were charming, but I decided I really didn't need an all silk 2x4 turkish rug that cost $1800!! Even though it did include shipping and insurance! I almost bought a small one, but they didn't have the colors I liked, but it is a memory I will have for a long time! Who would have ever dreamed I would be sitting under one of those canopies inspecting Turkish rugs!? Not me! And don't despair, I did quickly purchase a tiny souvenir rug for 5 euros on the walk back to the bus, something tells me it isn't real silk! And it is about 3 inches x 5 inches. Perfect for the classroom!
After the rug store experience we drove across a suspension bridge that took us to Asia. I guess it's not a bad day when you've been in 2 continents! We took a walk to a scenic point and I had the choice of turkish coffee, water or a coke so I had a good old American coke standing in Asia! Okay, not a bad way at all to spend a day! We drove back to the ship with a few hours left and I asked about going back into town and the guide actually discouraged us from doing that, so I decided to follow his suggestions, and of course was glad later when I heard the bomb story. We have all but 2 passengers aboard now and are about to sail for Kusadasi. So everyone is safe and we are on our way.
I asked our guide, nickname Ali, about trying Turkish delight and he said to wait until tomorrow, I will find a place where it is good for sure. I hope so, I would hate to leave Turkey without a taste. I have a feeling I will enjoy tomorrow, it is a smaller place and people say it feels safer. I guess I am not going to Epsesus after all, one of the ancient cities. Oh well, I've seen ancient this trip and on others, so I will survive!
Some people who were in Rome have a wonderful story to tell. They were in St. Peter's square and noticed a lot of movement and before they knew it the Popemobile drove in and the Pope got out and waved to everyone!! People, even those who aren't Catholic are thrilled with this unexpected event. I'm a little jealous, I would have loved to have gotten to see him too! He did address some school children who were there from Poland and then did a short service, in Italian. That would have been even better than eating the spaghetti in Florence!
Food on the Emerald, still wonderful! The sandwiches at lunch thing must be daily here and now I'm quite used to the options and enjoyed a couple of nice combinations with a little fish and chips in honor of my British friends! I met another lovely British couple at lunch and we chatted for a couple of hours and enjoyed it. I have met many wonderful people on this trip, however I never see them more than once! I really like the lady from Spain who is traveling alone and we speak Spanish when we speak. Her english is wonderful, but what good practice for me! She lives about 5 minutes from Mijas, the beautiful place I visited in Spain last fall so I know how lovely her village is.
Well, I am headed to the top deck to hear the man talk about all that we will see as we leave Istanbul, one of the busiest ports in the world. Right now there are 4 ships docked in a row along the dock, so it will be interesting to see how we get out from between them.
So Istanbul will soon become part of my past and I will look ahead to Kusadasi and whatever adventures await me there!
We went to Sophia mosque, named after a Sultana. It was a little harder for me to understand and hear this guide so I did not learn as much as I have been learning. The mosque is quite famous and is now a museum and was filled with many people, tourists. It is Sunday here so many people were quite sad that we are missing the Grand Bazaar, but we did have an interesting time in the Turkish rug store. I was sitting on one of the fancy divans having rugs thrown on the floor for my inspection as I sipped apple tea in a small delicately shaped glass cup. That was quite fun and the men were charming, but I decided I really didn't need an all silk 2x4 turkish rug that cost $1800!! Even though it did include shipping and insurance! I almost bought a small one, but they didn't have the colors I liked, but it is a memory I will have for a long time! Who would have ever dreamed I would be sitting under one of those canopies inspecting Turkish rugs!? Not me! And don't despair, I did quickly purchase a tiny souvenir rug for 5 euros on the walk back to the bus, something tells me it isn't real silk! And it is about 3 inches x 5 inches. Perfect for the classroom!
After the rug store experience we drove across a suspension bridge that took us to Asia. I guess it's not a bad day when you've been in 2 continents! We took a walk to a scenic point and I had the choice of turkish coffee, water or a coke so I had a good old American coke standing in Asia! Okay, not a bad way at all to spend a day! We drove back to the ship with a few hours left and I asked about going back into town and the guide actually discouraged us from doing that, so I decided to follow his suggestions, and of course was glad later when I heard the bomb story. We have all but 2 passengers aboard now and are about to sail for Kusadasi. So everyone is safe and we are on our way.
I asked our guide, nickname Ali, about trying Turkish delight and he said to wait until tomorrow, I will find a place where it is good for sure. I hope so, I would hate to leave Turkey without a taste. I have a feeling I will enjoy tomorrow, it is a smaller place and people say it feels safer. I guess I am not going to Epsesus after all, one of the ancient cities. Oh well, I've seen ancient this trip and on others, so I will survive!
Some people who were in Rome have a wonderful story to tell. They were in St. Peter's square and noticed a lot of movement and before they knew it the Popemobile drove in and the Pope got out and waved to everyone!! People, even those who aren't Catholic are thrilled with this unexpected event. I'm a little jealous, I would have loved to have gotten to see him too! He did address some school children who were there from Poland and then did a short service, in Italian. That would have been even better than eating the spaghetti in Florence!
Food on the Emerald, still wonderful! The sandwiches at lunch thing must be daily here and now I'm quite used to the options and enjoyed a couple of nice combinations with a little fish and chips in honor of my British friends! I met another lovely British couple at lunch and we chatted for a couple of hours and enjoyed it. I have met many wonderful people on this trip, however I never see them more than once! I really like the lady from Spain who is traveling alone and we speak Spanish when we speak. Her english is wonderful, but what good practice for me! She lives about 5 minutes from Mijas, the beautiful place I visited in Spain last fall so I know how lovely her village is.
Well, I am headed to the top deck to hear the man talk about all that we will see as we leave Istanbul, one of the busiest ports in the world. Right now there are 4 ships docked in a row along the dock, so it will be interesting to see how we get out from between them.
So Istanbul will soon become part of my past and I will look ahead to Kusadasi and whatever adventures await me there!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
It's Greek To Me!
Mykonos, totally enchanting! Another favorite place, another place I will return to! It doesn't look real, so much like all of the pictures of Greece, and yet, so unreal. It truly is all white with blue accents and the beauty and peace touches one as you look at the town on the side of a mountain. I found myself smiling from the time I walked off the ship until I headed back. Yes, I am sure, once here is not enough! And the people were the kindest so far! I purchased things in 3 shops and in each the people could not have been kinder and each gave me a personal little gift, so touching! I really didn't believe that such a place existed!
I wandered through the narrow streets made of large stones and looked in awe down each little street and up narrow, tiny staircases. We had been told there there were very few street names and that was quite true! I was on a mission, I have always loved the koularakias that mom's lifetime friend Mary baked for us, so I was going to try a Greek cookie in Greece. I have never received directions like I did in this beautiful little town...go to the other side of the square and ask someone where the bakery is, I did that and the very kind man said go to the red coke machine and turn right and go a little way and ask another store owner where the bakery is, I did that and chatted at length with a very nice girl who said, go to the 2nd right and go down the street, you will smell it! And that I did!! I walked into a small store with large metal baskets filled with loaves of bread, cookies, a variety of pies and other delectable treats. I watched in amazement as many Greek people, men and women, young and old, walked in, grabbed something or a few things and went up to pay for it. One man told me everyone gets breakfast there every day, it is the most popular bakery in town. I could see that!! The koularakia were different, rather than small twisted cookies, which they did have, the official ones were in great big circles and covered with sesame seeds. I purchased a few things and went back to the shop with the very kind girl and by then I'd tasted some things and had to go back and buy more. The girl, with a name I can't spell or pronounce, was so kind and we ended up exchanging addresses, she doesn't have an email or a website for her family store. What kind people I met the whole morning!
I walked out of her shop and gasped, looking into a store across the little street from her was a pelican, easily almost up to my shoulders!! He just stood there and my new friend laughed and said she hoped he didn't visit her shop, he doesn't like to leave when he goes in! He is the island mascot. And truly, you will see that it was almost up to my shoulders, she took pictures of me petting him!!! His feathers were so soft and his bill so absolutely beautiful, I NEVER would have dreamt I would ever be close to a pelican! I had no idea of the size and gentleness of that bird! Delightful, as was everything else in Mykonos!! I just couldn't quit smiling, really! I wandered through more streets and saw beautiful sights, some kitties and a couple of dogs, some people painting things white and sweeping and setting up shops. Such an incredible beautiful experience!! The little village, the gift stores, the many little cafes and restaurants along the streets and square, so much to enjoy! It was just too short a time to be in Greece!
I paid a taxi driver to take me to the beach and wait for me to put my feet in the Aegean Sea. I'm not sure how many seas that makes now, but it was so clear and what rich colors!! They told me that there is a large family beach and around the corner from that one is a topless beach, down from that one is a nude beach and past that is the gay beach!! As the girl told me, there is something in Mykonos for everyone!!
The setting was totally different than anything I've seen, but had things in common with so many other places I've been. The houses on the hillsides reminded me of the Amalfi coast, but they are much easier to get to. The blues and whites reminded me of Antarctica, the windmills-although so different-remind me of the Netherlands, and on and on. The joy and thrill of seeing the world!! Greece! What an enchanting place to spend a day! On the shuttle on the way back to the ship there was the most incredible hotel with a gorgeous pool and you could see inside the rooms to a elegant bed and I asked the person at the ship the name of the hotel and yes, I think I will figure out how to get back to spend a week immersed in the peace and beauty of Mykonos! Building is going on and I know it is not a cheap place to live or visit and too far from home to even consider buying something, but surely a week would be do-able!!
The departure of the ship was delayed because someone needed to be moved from the ship to the hospital. That is the kind of thing I worry about on these trips, but I just can't stop traveling in anticipation that it could happen. I'm sure that person had someone to help and hopefully will be fine and able to enjoy the beauty at some point.
I didn't find Zorba the Greek, although I will say the the Greek men were handsome and kind, who knows if I will meet Zorba the next trip!
For now, I still smile when I think of the beauty and uniqueness of the place we just left...and tomorrow we will be in Istanbul and I am going on a tour again and will be in Asia...the excitement just doesn't end!! This is feeling like so many of the trips I was on last year, when I would be smiling in the morning when I saw César, so excited about what I was about to see, and still smiling when I returned at the end of the day to share what I had seen. I guess one is never too old to enjoy new things! I only wish there were someone here to share my excitement with. I suppose there is, I am sharing it with all of you who are reading my blog!
Save those pennies for travel, so worth it! Until later....
I wandered through the narrow streets made of large stones and looked in awe down each little street and up narrow, tiny staircases. We had been told there there were very few street names and that was quite true! I was on a mission, I have always loved the koularakias that mom's lifetime friend Mary baked for us, so I was going to try a Greek cookie in Greece. I have never received directions like I did in this beautiful little town...go to the other side of the square and ask someone where the bakery is, I did that and the very kind man said go to the red coke machine and turn right and go a little way and ask another store owner where the bakery is, I did that and chatted at length with a very nice girl who said, go to the 2nd right and go down the street, you will smell it! And that I did!! I walked into a small store with large metal baskets filled with loaves of bread, cookies, a variety of pies and other delectable treats. I watched in amazement as many Greek people, men and women, young and old, walked in, grabbed something or a few things and went up to pay for it. One man told me everyone gets breakfast there every day, it is the most popular bakery in town. I could see that!! The koularakia were different, rather than small twisted cookies, which they did have, the official ones were in great big circles and covered with sesame seeds. I purchased a few things and went back to the shop with the very kind girl and by then I'd tasted some things and had to go back and buy more. The girl, with a name I can't spell or pronounce, was so kind and we ended up exchanging addresses, she doesn't have an email or a website for her family store. What kind people I met the whole morning!
I walked out of her shop and gasped, looking into a store across the little street from her was a pelican, easily almost up to my shoulders!! He just stood there and my new friend laughed and said she hoped he didn't visit her shop, he doesn't like to leave when he goes in! He is the island mascot. And truly, you will see that it was almost up to my shoulders, she took pictures of me petting him!!! His feathers were so soft and his bill so absolutely beautiful, I NEVER would have dreamt I would ever be close to a pelican! I had no idea of the size and gentleness of that bird! Delightful, as was everything else in Mykonos!! I just couldn't quit smiling, really! I wandered through more streets and saw beautiful sights, some kitties and a couple of dogs, some people painting things white and sweeping and setting up shops. Such an incredible beautiful experience!! The little village, the gift stores, the many little cafes and restaurants along the streets and square, so much to enjoy! It was just too short a time to be in Greece!
I paid a taxi driver to take me to the beach and wait for me to put my feet in the Aegean Sea. I'm not sure how many seas that makes now, but it was so clear and what rich colors!! They told me that there is a large family beach and around the corner from that one is a topless beach, down from that one is a nude beach and past that is the gay beach!! As the girl told me, there is something in Mykonos for everyone!!
The setting was totally different than anything I've seen, but had things in common with so many other places I've been. The houses on the hillsides reminded me of the Amalfi coast, but they are much easier to get to. The blues and whites reminded me of Antarctica, the windmills-although so different-remind me of the Netherlands, and on and on. The joy and thrill of seeing the world!! Greece! What an enchanting place to spend a day! On the shuttle on the way back to the ship there was the most incredible hotel with a gorgeous pool and you could see inside the rooms to a elegant bed and I asked the person at the ship the name of the hotel and yes, I think I will figure out how to get back to spend a week immersed in the peace and beauty of Mykonos! Building is going on and I know it is not a cheap place to live or visit and too far from home to even consider buying something, but surely a week would be do-able!!
The departure of the ship was delayed because someone needed to be moved from the ship to the hospital. That is the kind of thing I worry about on these trips, but I just can't stop traveling in anticipation that it could happen. I'm sure that person had someone to help and hopefully will be fine and able to enjoy the beauty at some point.
I didn't find Zorba the Greek, although I will say the the Greek men were handsome and kind, who knows if I will meet Zorba the next trip!
For now, I still smile when I think of the beauty and uniqueness of the place we just left...and tomorrow we will be in Istanbul and I am going on a tour again and will be in Asia...the excitement just doesn't end!! This is feeling like so many of the trips I was on last year, when I would be smiling in the morning when I saw César, so excited about what I was about to see, and still smiling when I returned at the end of the day to share what I had seen. I guess one is never too old to enjoy new things! I only wish there were someone here to share my excitement with. I suppose there is, I am sharing it with all of you who are reading my blog!
Save those pennies for travel, so worth it! Until later....
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sailing...Sailing...over the ocean blue...
Yes, finally it is a sea day, a day to relax and enjoy the comfort and wide variety of activities on the ship! I thought that 9 hours of sleep would be enough, but I just looked in the mirror and my eyes are quite red so I think I will rest them soon.
My day started with a little breakfast and a couple from Toronto joined me and shared that this is their first trip to Europe and their first cruise. They love it! I was happy to see another large spread of sandwiches for lunch today so I was able to try a couple of different types. Very nice lunch! I was joined by 2 couples from Toronto! Seems this is Canada day. They have taken many cruises and were quite delightful to talk to. As it seems often these days, the conversation turned to politics. I think it is interesting to hear what people from other countries think of ours right now, and to learn about theirs. I had a lesson on a democratic republic when I was in Barcelona from César about Portuguese politics and that was interesting too. I watched the lecture about Mykonos and decided that I really do want to see the beach, so I will have to be brave if I want to go there! I am not on a tour, all of them were strenuous except for the beach tour, and I didn't want to be at the beach for 3 hours with no shops or anything around. There are only 40 taxis in the small town so I don't know if I will be able to get one to get to the beach to put my feet in the sea. I'll try. The island looks incredibly beautiful from the pictures and I am now quite excited about going there. This is the island where Hercules slayed the giants, quite historic! The man at the tour desk told me that it is a very easy and safe place to get around alone, so I should be fine on my own.
Tonight is formal night and after the nice dinner I will either go to the musical show or go to watch the movie under the stars tonight. I've never watched the movie, it is a very large screen out by the pool and they put cushy cushions on the chairs and pop popcorn and cover you with a blanket to watch the movie. It gets cool and that would be great for me!
Yes, this is a do nothing kind of day. I planned to sit on the deck and read but with my red eyes, I think I'd better rest them for a while longer. So this isn't an exciting post, but be assured it is a much needed rest day!
And tomorrow, Greece for my first time!!
My day started with a little breakfast and a couple from Toronto joined me and shared that this is their first trip to Europe and their first cruise. They love it! I was happy to see another large spread of sandwiches for lunch today so I was able to try a couple of different types. Very nice lunch! I was joined by 2 couples from Toronto! Seems this is Canada day. They have taken many cruises and were quite delightful to talk to. As it seems often these days, the conversation turned to politics. I think it is interesting to hear what people from other countries think of ours right now, and to learn about theirs. I had a lesson on a democratic republic when I was in Barcelona from César about Portuguese politics and that was interesting too. I watched the lecture about Mykonos and decided that I really do want to see the beach, so I will have to be brave if I want to go there! I am not on a tour, all of them were strenuous except for the beach tour, and I didn't want to be at the beach for 3 hours with no shops or anything around. There are only 40 taxis in the small town so I don't know if I will be able to get one to get to the beach to put my feet in the sea. I'll try. The island looks incredibly beautiful from the pictures and I am now quite excited about going there. This is the island where Hercules slayed the giants, quite historic! The man at the tour desk told me that it is a very easy and safe place to get around alone, so I should be fine on my own.
Tonight is formal night and after the nice dinner I will either go to the musical show or go to watch the movie under the stars tonight. I've never watched the movie, it is a very large screen out by the pool and they put cushy cushions on the chairs and pop popcorn and cover you with a blanket to watch the movie. It gets cool and that would be great for me!
Yes, this is a do nothing kind of day. I planned to sit on the deck and read but with my red eyes, I think I'd better rest them for a while longer. So this isn't an exciting post, but be assured it is a much needed rest day!
And tomorrow, Greece for my first time!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Long and Winding Road...
What a day! This title could just as well have been, MAMA MIA!! I knew the drive along the Amalfi coast was supposed to be beautiful but the treacherous part I didn't really know. Today had to be the best yet, and I don't think it can get any better than this!!
I was on the bus at 7AM to be sure that I had a front seat so I wouldn't have a problem with motion sickness on the long and winding road of the Amalfi coast drive. If you have never seen that part of Italy I suggest you look it up online. It was the most gorgeous place I could imagine, definitely my favorite part of Italy! The terrain was spectacular, beyond anything I could have imagined! Houses that were 3, 4, and 5 stories high that the residents have to climb many stairs up or down to get to, were amazing. I'm not sure pictures can do justice to what I saw. I was on the wrong side of the bus so I didn't get as good of pictures as I wish I could have on the other side, but I think they will still show the incredible trip! Steep mountain cliffs dropping right down to the crystal clear emerald and bright blue waters! From the top of the cliffs I could see the rocks below the water, it was that clear! And the homes, incredible. Yes, I know now why the Amalfi coast drive is one of the most beautiful in the world. It wasn't an easy drive in a large bus, we had to keep stopping, honking when rounding corners and taking up the one lane many times. There are traffic people to help monitor and control the busses at strategic points and I'm sure that if I weren't used to mountain driving I would have been terrified! I just trusted that Giuseppe would get us through safely, even though the tour guide told us it was his first day and he could only see with one eye! She was hilarious and the day was filled with interesting facts, fun stories and jokes and adventure. After the 2 1/2 hr. treacherous drive she told us a story about a bus driver and a priest dying at the same time. The bus driver was sent straight to heaven and the priest to hell. The priest complained and St. Peter talked to the boss and went back and said, "When you preached your sermons, everyone slept, when the bus driver drove on the Amalfi coast, everyone on the bus prayed, so he did more for us than you!"
We drove for 4 hours before we stopped for lunch at a seaside restaurant in the town of Amalfi. Lunch left something to be desired, I was disappointed with the plain spinach canollis and the pressed chicken breast with a little cheese and marinara sauce on it. But nothing is perfect and the rest of the day was incredible!! I ate lunch with a lovely lady from Spain who works at a hospital as a dietician and spends 2 weeks of her vacation each year taking a cruise. She agrees with me that it is the best way to travel alone!
We did stop at an inlaid wood factory and had a demonstration of how that is done, truly amazing! I did purchase a purple inlaid music box, much less expensive than the lavendar leather purse I passed up the other day. And will bring me such good memories of the best day ever!
After lunch we had another hour of the magnificent drive on the Amalfi coast and then got to the 'motorway' to get to Pompei. To be honest, I was so excited to see the place I had taught about for so many years, I got little sleep last night. I just kept imagining what it would be like to stand in that ancient city. After the 11 hour tour today, I am beyond exhausted and am sure I will sleep well tonight and into tomorrow which is a sea day. And when rested, I will be overwhelmed by what I experienced today!
But back to Pompei and my incredible adventure...did you know that Pompei was built beginning in 600BC? And the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that covered it in ash was in the year 79AD. Everything is left the way it was found although many things were taken and put in museums and many other things are behind bars in a large area that you can look at. Yes, I stood in the middle of a 'city' that existed 2000 years ago!! We toured the remains for almost 2 hours straight and as tired as I was, I was not going to miss a minute or a detail of the tour! We saw houses that the noblemen lived in, and houses of the street peasants. We saw the temple of Apollo and the temple of Zeus. We saw the bronze cast of the man, dog an dchild that were found when the remains were unearthed from under about 60 feet of ash. We saw pictures on the walls and the arena where the gladiators were trained. And the stories moved me to tears at times. It has been estimated that 15000 people were living in Pompei at the time of the eruption and to this point only 1000 bodies have been discovered, making one wonder what happened to the other people...did they die trying to escape, or in other places from the air they breathed? We will never know. In the middle of the tour the sky got dark and the thunder started. Our guide told us it was Vesuvius and it did seem possible, although we knew it was just a good old fashioned thunderstorm, what timing! We walked a while in the rain and finally a rainbow came out over the ruins of Pompei, what a meaningful experience, rain and all! We saw the brothel part of the city and since the girls were brought in from Greece and didn't speak the same languages, there were pictures painted on the walls so the men could simply point to what they wanted. Those paintings are still in amazing shape today, no pun intended. There were phallic symbols around and the guide explained that they are the symbol for abundance and good luck. She said that since they can't wear them on a necklace for good luck in this day and age, it has changed to be the horn shape that they can wear. The signs of the ancien buildings was more exciting than all the stories I have read to the kids over the years. It was the hardest to believe that it was all real and everything was over 2000 years old! Standing in the past was thrilling!
There were a few dogs around the ruins, and they weren't in too bad of shape, but didn't look the healthiest. Evidently there was a documentary that one of the passengers had seen about the 'dogs of pompei'. Our guide explained that each guide in Naples, about 40 or 50 of them, donates $10 a month to their care. A security person at the ruins collects the money and gets them the veterinarian care they need and their food. They were sweet and calm and I loved seeing them there. They loved the attention, but didn't seem sad at all. One small lab with some fur missing in places was playing with a cashier one of the food places with a towel and it was so cute! They aren't ignored at all. Of course I donated money to their care, how could I not when I thought of my spoiled little boy home playing in his swimming pool and being adored by all of his temporary keepers.
After returning to the ship from the 11 hour tour, I was not the only one dragging to get on the ship. I noticed a crew member who looked familiar on the shore when we returned who I believe is the manager of the tour department. I went up and asked her if she was on the Crown Princess in the Baltic and she said she was on the Dawn Princess in Mexico and at that time she remembered me and remembered that I was a friend of Hernan's and we'd been introduced. She even remembered the story of how Hernan and I met on the Grand in Europe last year, and said she would take good care of me since I'm alone. I am not sure what that means, but it was nice to find a 'friend'. I'll look forward to seeing her again. How nice to run into someone I know this far from home!
I am headed to bed for a nice rest and since tomorrow is a sea day I am sure I will spend it leisurely! Ahhh, the joy of travel!
Once again...ciao for now!
I was on the bus at 7AM to be sure that I had a front seat so I wouldn't have a problem with motion sickness on the long and winding road of the Amalfi coast drive. If you have never seen that part of Italy I suggest you look it up online. It was the most gorgeous place I could imagine, definitely my favorite part of Italy! The terrain was spectacular, beyond anything I could have imagined! Houses that were 3, 4, and 5 stories high that the residents have to climb many stairs up or down to get to, were amazing. I'm not sure pictures can do justice to what I saw. I was on the wrong side of the bus so I didn't get as good of pictures as I wish I could have on the other side, but I think they will still show the incredible trip! Steep mountain cliffs dropping right down to the crystal clear emerald and bright blue waters! From the top of the cliffs I could see the rocks below the water, it was that clear! And the homes, incredible. Yes, I know now why the Amalfi coast drive is one of the most beautiful in the world. It wasn't an easy drive in a large bus, we had to keep stopping, honking when rounding corners and taking up the one lane many times. There are traffic people to help monitor and control the busses at strategic points and I'm sure that if I weren't used to mountain driving I would have been terrified! I just trusted that Giuseppe would get us through safely, even though the tour guide told us it was his first day and he could only see with one eye! She was hilarious and the day was filled with interesting facts, fun stories and jokes and adventure. After the 2 1/2 hr. treacherous drive she told us a story about a bus driver and a priest dying at the same time. The bus driver was sent straight to heaven and the priest to hell. The priest complained and St. Peter talked to the boss and went back and said, "When you preached your sermons, everyone slept, when the bus driver drove on the Amalfi coast, everyone on the bus prayed, so he did more for us than you!"
We drove for 4 hours before we stopped for lunch at a seaside restaurant in the town of Amalfi. Lunch left something to be desired, I was disappointed with the plain spinach canollis and the pressed chicken breast with a little cheese and marinara sauce on it. But nothing is perfect and the rest of the day was incredible!! I ate lunch with a lovely lady from Spain who works at a hospital as a dietician and spends 2 weeks of her vacation each year taking a cruise. She agrees with me that it is the best way to travel alone!
We did stop at an inlaid wood factory and had a demonstration of how that is done, truly amazing! I did purchase a purple inlaid music box, much less expensive than the lavendar leather purse I passed up the other day. And will bring me such good memories of the best day ever!
After lunch we had another hour of the magnificent drive on the Amalfi coast and then got to the 'motorway' to get to Pompei. To be honest, I was so excited to see the place I had taught about for so many years, I got little sleep last night. I just kept imagining what it would be like to stand in that ancient city. After the 11 hour tour today, I am beyond exhausted and am sure I will sleep well tonight and into tomorrow which is a sea day. And when rested, I will be overwhelmed by what I experienced today!
But back to Pompei and my incredible adventure...did you know that Pompei was built beginning in 600BC? And the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that covered it in ash was in the year 79AD. Everything is left the way it was found although many things were taken and put in museums and many other things are behind bars in a large area that you can look at. Yes, I stood in the middle of a 'city' that existed 2000 years ago!! We toured the remains for almost 2 hours straight and as tired as I was, I was not going to miss a minute or a detail of the tour! We saw houses that the noblemen lived in, and houses of the street peasants. We saw the temple of Apollo and the temple of Zeus. We saw the bronze cast of the man, dog an dchild that were found when the remains were unearthed from under about 60 feet of ash. We saw pictures on the walls and the arena where the gladiators were trained. And the stories moved me to tears at times. It has been estimated that 15000 people were living in Pompei at the time of the eruption and to this point only 1000 bodies have been discovered, making one wonder what happened to the other people...did they die trying to escape, or in other places from the air they breathed? We will never know. In the middle of the tour the sky got dark and the thunder started. Our guide told us it was Vesuvius and it did seem possible, although we knew it was just a good old fashioned thunderstorm, what timing! We walked a while in the rain and finally a rainbow came out over the ruins of Pompei, what a meaningful experience, rain and all! We saw the brothel part of the city and since the girls were brought in from Greece and didn't speak the same languages, there were pictures painted on the walls so the men could simply point to what they wanted. Those paintings are still in amazing shape today, no pun intended. There were phallic symbols around and the guide explained that they are the symbol for abundance and good luck. She said that since they can't wear them on a necklace for good luck in this day and age, it has changed to be the horn shape that they can wear. The signs of the ancien buildings was more exciting than all the stories I have read to the kids over the years. It was the hardest to believe that it was all real and everything was over 2000 years old! Standing in the past was thrilling!
There were a few dogs around the ruins, and they weren't in too bad of shape, but didn't look the healthiest. Evidently there was a documentary that one of the passengers had seen about the 'dogs of pompei'. Our guide explained that each guide in Naples, about 40 or 50 of them, donates $10 a month to their care. A security person at the ruins collects the money and gets them the veterinarian care they need and their food. They were sweet and calm and I loved seeing them there. They loved the attention, but didn't seem sad at all. One small lab with some fur missing in places was playing with a cashier one of the food places with a towel and it was so cute! They aren't ignored at all. Of course I donated money to their care, how could I not when I thought of my spoiled little boy home playing in his swimming pool and being adored by all of his temporary keepers.
After returning to the ship from the 11 hour tour, I was not the only one dragging to get on the ship. I noticed a crew member who looked familiar on the shore when we returned who I believe is the manager of the tour department. I went up and asked her if she was on the Crown Princess in the Baltic and she said she was on the Dawn Princess in Mexico and at that time she remembered me and remembered that I was a friend of Hernan's and we'd been introduced. She even remembered the story of how Hernan and I met on the Grand in Europe last year, and said she would take good care of me since I'm alone. I am not sure what that means, but it was nice to find a 'friend'. I'll look forward to seeing her again. How nice to run into someone I know this far from home!
I am headed to bed for a nice rest and since tomorrow is a sea day I am sure I will spend it leisurely! Ahhh, the joy of travel!
Once again...ciao for now!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Arrivederci Roma!
"Welcome to public computers" was exactly what the internet cafe administrator told me when I said that I wrote in my blog for 30 minutes and when I clicked on 'publish post' it was all lost!! Not the answer I wanted to hear, but I guess there wasn't much more he could say. So he is crediting my account and I will try to remember all of the pearls of thought that were in the first draft!
Today was a calmer day and I believe I am now caught up with my sleep! I took a long nap yesterday, slept all night and slept most of this morning and now feel like I'm on the right schedule. I had a very nice lunch in the Horizon Court, one which I haven't seen on any other ship. There was a large variety of sandwiches, hot and cold, on a variety of breads and rolls. It was a lot of fun to make my selection and I didn't have enough time to try more than one, so it was a big decision. Yes, the food on the Emerald is the best from all the ships I've been on so far.
After lunch I went out to get on the tour I had scheduled. I was going to the countryside here and then to an olive oil farm. The drive through the countryside was not like the other trips, the land was much browner and not as lush. They are in between crops right now, the tomatoes and melons have been harvested and some melons are left in the soil to fertilize it for next year. The artichokes are growing, and soon they will have the fennel and asparagus growing also. Our driver told us that there is even an artichoke festival in the spring when it is time to harvest them. It was an interesting tour, as they all are, filled with fascinating information, along with some not so fascinating information. You can make your own decisions about which is which!
Civitivecchia is the port for Rome and was built by one of the ancient popes, back in the day when they were allowed to have families. The port has a castle like structure with a crest of 6 clovers, representing his family of six. Long, long ago! This area was settled by Etruscans, who were the tie between Greeks and Romans in ancient times. There were many, many churches in the middle ages, 40 in a very small area, along with many hospitals and hospices. My first thought was that they must have had a lot of sick people. But then the guide explained that they were named for the word hospitality, and were the places where people on their pilgrimages would rest. Rome was a major destination for pilgrimages, as was Santiago de Compestella in the early times. We drove through some cypress tree lined roads that were beautiful and quite a contrast to the dry terrain. There were some eucalyptus trees and some grapevines too, although the grapes have been harvested. Olives will be harvested at the end of October and in November.
I learned how olive oil is made, not what I had thought. The olives are crushed, pits, skin and all and made into a paste. Then the paste is spread about 2 inches thick on a huge disk, and several disks are prepared this way. Then they are put into a press and pressed and what comes out is the extra virgin olive oil, the healthiest of all with almost no fat. The 2nd pressing provides the regular olive oil, not as healthy as the first press because more fat from the paste is found in it. I thought there were 3 levels of olive oil; extra virgin, virgin and regular, but today I was told there are only 2 presses. Interesting??
We took a short walking tour of Tuscania and it was a beautiful walled village. We stepped into the courtyard of a very old home, it was beautiful and had an old cement tub that was where the wash was done. I was suprised that there were several cars in there, on the old cobblestone streets. Lovely, short walk into ancient times with a magnificent view! This was because people had to be able to see all around to protect their town. After the tour of the village we drove to the olive oil farm.
I was sure this was the one that was visited by my friend in the spring but found out that there are 4 different farms that the tour goes to so there is no way for me to know if it was the same or not. We were given many samples of foods made with olive oil and had their homemade wine. I don't drink as you know, however I think I can't say that much longer. I've had sangria in Barcelona, a nice French pink blush wine at lunch in France, and a mix of merlot and chardonney today in Italy. Maybe I do drink! The food was delicious and plentiful and represented samples of Italian specialties. I found out that bruschetta is pronounced with a k sound for the ch, see, there is always something to learn on a trip! I did purchase a couple of things from this organic farm, and not the wine!
Artichokes, prepared the Roman way, have the heart cleaned out and anchovies, mint and garlic are added to the middle, it is drizzled with olive oil and cooked in a little water for a long time at a low heat. I think I will try it and see how I like that! There are other alternatives too, it is one of the favorite dishes in Italy, another fact I never knew.
Arrivederci is an interesting word and the guide was excited to tell me the exact meaning so I will pass that on. Arrive (again) veder (to see) ci (you). And when we pulled away from the docks I thought to myself, arrivederci roma, I will see you again!!
Tomorrow is a long day, a trip on the Amalfi coast and a tour of Pompei. All the years I read books and taught the children about Pompei I never, ever dreamt I would visit there in person. I am so excited to say the least!! Mt. Vesuvius, just keep sleeping!!!
Ciao! for now...
Today was a calmer day and I believe I am now caught up with my sleep! I took a long nap yesterday, slept all night and slept most of this morning and now feel like I'm on the right schedule. I had a very nice lunch in the Horizon Court, one which I haven't seen on any other ship. There was a large variety of sandwiches, hot and cold, on a variety of breads and rolls. It was a lot of fun to make my selection and I didn't have enough time to try more than one, so it was a big decision. Yes, the food on the Emerald is the best from all the ships I've been on so far.
After lunch I went out to get on the tour I had scheduled. I was going to the countryside here and then to an olive oil farm. The drive through the countryside was not like the other trips, the land was much browner and not as lush. They are in between crops right now, the tomatoes and melons have been harvested and some melons are left in the soil to fertilize it for next year. The artichokes are growing, and soon they will have the fennel and asparagus growing also. Our driver told us that there is even an artichoke festival in the spring when it is time to harvest them. It was an interesting tour, as they all are, filled with fascinating information, along with some not so fascinating information. You can make your own decisions about which is which!
Civitivecchia is the port for Rome and was built by one of the ancient popes, back in the day when they were allowed to have families. The port has a castle like structure with a crest of 6 clovers, representing his family of six. Long, long ago! This area was settled by Etruscans, who were the tie between Greeks and Romans in ancient times. There were many, many churches in the middle ages, 40 in a very small area, along with many hospitals and hospices. My first thought was that they must have had a lot of sick people. But then the guide explained that they were named for the word hospitality, and were the places where people on their pilgrimages would rest. Rome was a major destination for pilgrimages, as was Santiago de Compestella in the early times. We drove through some cypress tree lined roads that were beautiful and quite a contrast to the dry terrain. There were some eucalyptus trees and some grapevines too, although the grapes have been harvested. Olives will be harvested at the end of October and in November.
I learned how olive oil is made, not what I had thought. The olives are crushed, pits, skin and all and made into a paste. Then the paste is spread about 2 inches thick on a huge disk, and several disks are prepared this way. Then they are put into a press and pressed and what comes out is the extra virgin olive oil, the healthiest of all with almost no fat. The 2nd pressing provides the regular olive oil, not as healthy as the first press because more fat from the paste is found in it. I thought there were 3 levels of olive oil; extra virgin, virgin and regular, but today I was told there are only 2 presses. Interesting??
We took a short walking tour of Tuscania and it was a beautiful walled village. We stepped into the courtyard of a very old home, it was beautiful and had an old cement tub that was where the wash was done. I was suprised that there were several cars in there, on the old cobblestone streets. Lovely, short walk into ancient times with a magnificent view! This was because people had to be able to see all around to protect their town. After the tour of the village we drove to the olive oil farm.
I was sure this was the one that was visited by my friend in the spring but found out that there are 4 different farms that the tour goes to so there is no way for me to know if it was the same or not. We were given many samples of foods made with olive oil and had their homemade wine. I don't drink as you know, however I think I can't say that much longer. I've had sangria in Barcelona, a nice French pink blush wine at lunch in France, and a mix of merlot and chardonney today in Italy. Maybe I do drink! The food was delicious and plentiful and represented samples of Italian specialties. I found out that bruschetta is pronounced with a k sound for the ch, see, there is always something to learn on a trip! I did purchase a couple of things from this organic farm, and not the wine!
Artichokes, prepared the Roman way, have the heart cleaned out and anchovies, mint and garlic are added to the middle, it is drizzled with olive oil and cooked in a little water for a long time at a low heat. I think I will try it and see how I like that! There are other alternatives too, it is one of the favorite dishes in Italy, another fact I never knew.
Arrivederci is an interesting word and the guide was excited to tell me the exact meaning so I will pass that on. Arrive (again) veder (to see) ci (you). And when we pulled away from the docks I thought to myself, arrivederci roma, I will see you again!!
Tomorrow is a long day, a trip on the Amalfi coast and a tour of Pompei. All the years I read books and taught the children about Pompei I never, ever dreamt I would visit there in person. I am so excited to say the least!! Mt. Vesuvius, just keep sleeping!!!
Ciao! for now...
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Under the Tuscan Sun
Yes, most of the day was spent 'under the Tuscan sun'. We left the ship and the wind was cold and of course I loved it, but it appeared to be a cold, cloudy day. The tour guide assured us that indeed the Tuscan sun would appear and the day would be beautiful, and she was right, the day was beautiful and very pleasant, none of the sweltering heat you hear about here in the summer!
I took the tour into Florence and was in for quite a treat. Riding along I decided the name for today's blog and only a short time later our tour guide told us that we were going to be about an hour's drive from Cardona, the setting for the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Life is Beautiful", the latter of which I haven't seen yet, but will when I return home. Today I did something different, I tried to take notes because there are so many interesting facts that I forget from each trip. My idea to write the interesting things on the back of a post card is a good one, but one which I never get around to, so today I boarded the bus with note paper from the ship and have some interesting bits of history to go along with the day. My spelling may be incorrect, so keep that in consideration and don't hold it against me! I am trying to do my best in foreign languages. Today I became an expert at bonjourno and grazie, such an international girl now!
We took a drive through the Tuscan countryside, one of 18 areas in Italy, and the rolling hills covered in cyprus trees, olive trees, and grape vines looked exactly like the pictures!! With beautiful old buildings on the hilltops. It all seemed like I was driving through a movie set! We stopped along the way at a leather shop, where we were told that the prices were quite reasonable and that it was the same leather that Prada, etc. put their names on. Yes, I bet they do and I did resist the little lavender purse that cost 200E, which would be $300! Beautiful and the leather was so soft, but alas, I didn't need a $300 purse...in purple!! So I settled on a very inexpensive lavender coin purse. When I asked for one of the nice bags, the man behind the counter had quite a lot to say to the saleslady and I told him that I assumed he was saying I didn't spend enough to get a nice bag, but since I was a teacher, relatively speaking, I did! He smiled that I had figured out his Italian speech and said not to tell anyone my secret. My goodness, a bag, yes just a paper bag, is a secret!! Whew, I'm in Italy I guess! I think I may have spent enough to cover the little bag actually! And people wonder why I save bags, now I know, they are more valuable than I ever knew!
After the leather shop stop, we went to a beautiful overlook to see the city of Florence where we were headed. Absolutely thrilling, to look out over the roofs of the city, the city that is so important in history. Did you know that America is named after one of it's ancient citizens, Americo Vespuchi? He was a member of the ruling Medici family and went to map the new world with Columbo. (One time I asked César why Columbus was called that in America if his name was really Columbo, and in his special way of seeing things, he responded with, "How would I know, you are the American!") I never did find out the answer to that! Florence is the city where the author of Pinocchio lives and we passed the church where he was buried. I'd hoped to find a small Pinocchio to bring home, but I didn't. DaVinci painted the Mona Lisa here, in Florence, and it was one of his favorite paintings so he took it everywhere with him. He traveled to many places and spent his last years in France, where he died, and that is the reason that the famous painting is hanging in the Louvre! Quite interesting I thought, along with the fact that the guide told us that the background of the painting is of the Tuscan hillsides, I can't wait to find the picture and check that out!
So down from the hills we traveled and were dropped off outside of the main part of the city and walked the few blocks to get to the town. Unfortunately we didn't have time to see everything, so I had to decide whether to head to the Pont Vecchio bridge, the only remaining original bridge, or to the center where the duomo and the statue of David was. Well, you know me, and seeing David, the 17 ft. high statue, had my interest! So I missed the photo opportunities at the bridge, although it is said that if you don't have any friends you can stand under the arch for 30 minutes and you will have a new friend...although it was also explained to us that ladies would stand there and the men sailing by would often appear on the bridge to be their 'friends'. Maybe I should have chosen that direction after all! Next time... I went into the square and took many pictures of the replica of David that is now the only one in the square, the real one was inside with a wait so I settled for that one. Many statues fill the square, some more impressive than David we were told. I wandered up and down the quaint cobblestone streets and enjoyed the different feel of the town, different from other places I've been. I stopped for a gelato and loved the way it was displayed in the shops! Wait until you see the pictures. It was good, but I didn't pick a good place I think and I enjoyed it, but hope to try more before leaving Italy. I had a little time and stopped into a little cafe in the square and wanted to look at Italian spaghetti. Looking was not enough and before I knew it I was eating a bowl of spaghetti and pesto linguini. I have to say America does not know how to make spaghetti! The flavor was so incredible, soft and a slight flavor of cheese, that I wished I could bring home lots!! The pesto linguini was also a soft flavor, but delightful and this not hungry person ate every piece of pasta! Delicious and I will be sampling this any chance I get! We boarded the bus for the 1 1/2 hr ride back to the ship. I was glad that I wasn't leaving on the next tour immediately when we returned, the trip to Pisa, maybe that will be for next time too!! I did see Pisa on my last trip here from the highway so I feel that I've seen it and there is so much more to do in this area!
I returned and enjoyed a nice long nap and am on my way to dinner now. Tonight the show is "Revolution" a tribute to the Beatles. I can guarantee you that everyone here remembers the Beatles! Right now they are making announcements for the crew members that are not back on the ship for our sailing. This is a big deal and on 3 of my other cruises I knew Louise, the person in charge of the crew, who made these announcements for the crew members who have not returned. I'd love to hear her voice now, she is from Scotland, but she is currently working on the ship that is going to Hawaii. I know none of the people on this ship and I'm sad and a little bit lonely. I'd become used to seeing someone I knew or at least someone César or Hernan knew to chat with. César does think one of his friends from the South Pacific is in the shops so I will look to see if she is here sometime. For now, I will meet new people. As I write this blog I am near the center of the ship listening to the beautiful piano music. When I read these entries I will remember the music which is so beautiful, on that white grand piano, that it can bring tears to your eyes. I'd even had a little hope that my drunk piano player from another cruise might be on this ship for entertainment, but he is not.
Good night and until tomorrow, smile and plan a future of travel!
Postscript - I just finished dinner at the any time seating, meaning you are always at a table with new people. Tonight was delightful, among the 8 people there were two ladies from England who are retired 'head teachers' and when I inquired as to the meaning of that, I was told it was the equivalent of our principal. Interesting to talk to them and compare retirements. At 39 years they receive only 1/3 of their salary for the rest of their lives. At 40 years they receive 1/2 of their salary! In Colorado we are much luckier! And one of the ladies has been to a garden party hosted by the queen twice, what an interesting event that sounded like! Both ladies have worked with the Girl Guides, the original organization that became Girl Scouts in America, but only one has been invited to this event. The invitation comes from the Lord Chamberlain and a follow up call is made to assure the invitation was received. They must wear a large garden party hat and tiny sandwiches and tiny cups of tea are served and they have to stand around holding them, there is no where to sit! They do receive a list of how to act too!! One of the ladies took time off of work to go to the castle to see her friend go into Buckingham Palace for the party. Such a cute story, I wanted to share it! Imagine, I just had dinner with a lady who has been in the presence of the queen! Such interesting people to meet!!
I took the tour into Florence and was in for quite a treat. Riding along I decided the name for today's blog and only a short time later our tour guide told us that we were going to be about an hour's drive from Cardona, the setting for the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Life is Beautiful", the latter of which I haven't seen yet, but will when I return home. Today I did something different, I tried to take notes because there are so many interesting facts that I forget from each trip. My idea to write the interesting things on the back of a post card is a good one, but one which I never get around to, so today I boarded the bus with note paper from the ship and have some interesting bits of history to go along with the day. My spelling may be incorrect, so keep that in consideration and don't hold it against me! I am trying to do my best in foreign languages. Today I became an expert at bonjourno and grazie, such an international girl now!
We took a drive through the Tuscan countryside, one of 18 areas in Italy, and the rolling hills covered in cyprus trees, olive trees, and grape vines looked exactly like the pictures!! With beautiful old buildings on the hilltops. It all seemed like I was driving through a movie set! We stopped along the way at a leather shop, where we were told that the prices were quite reasonable and that it was the same leather that Prada, etc. put their names on. Yes, I bet they do and I did resist the little lavender purse that cost 200E, which would be $300! Beautiful and the leather was so soft, but alas, I didn't need a $300 purse...in purple!! So I settled on a very inexpensive lavender coin purse. When I asked for one of the nice bags, the man behind the counter had quite a lot to say to the saleslady and I told him that I assumed he was saying I didn't spend enough to get a nice bag, but since I was a teacher, relatively speaking, I did! He smiled that I had figured out his Italian speech and said not to tell anyone my secret. My goodness, a bag, yes just a paper bag, is a secret!! Whew, I'm in Italy I guess! I think I may have spent enough to cover the little bag actually! And people wonder why I save bags, now I know, they are more valuable than I ever knew!
After the leather shop stop, we went to a beautiful overlook to see the city of Florence where we were headed. Absolutely thrilling, to look out over the roofs of the city, the city that is so important in history. Did you know that America is named after one of it's ancient citizens, Americo Vespuchi? He was a member of the ruling Medici family and went to map the new world with Columbo. (One time I asked César why Columbus was called that in America if his name was really Columbo, and in his special way of seeing things, he responded with, "How would I know, you are the American!") I never did find out the answer to that! Florence is the city where the author of Pinocchio lives and we passed the church where he was buried. I'd hoped to find a small Pinocchio to bring home, but I didn't. DaVinci painted the Mona Lisa here, in Florence, and it was one of his favorite paintings so he took it everywhere with him. He traveled to many places and spent his last years in France, where he died, and that is the reason that the famous painting is hanging in the Louvre! Quite interesting I thought, along with the fact that the guide told us that the background of the painting is of the Tuscan hillsides, I can't wait to find the picture and check that out!
So down from the hills we traveled and were dropped off outside of the main part of the city and walked the few blocks to get to the town. Unfortunately we didn't have time to see everything, so I had to decide whether to head to the Pont Vecchio bridge, the only remaining original bridge, or to the center where the duomo and the statue of David was. Well, you know me, and seeing David, the 17 ft. high statue, had my interest! So I missed the photo opportunities at the bridge, although it is said that if you don't have any friends you can stand under the arch for 30 minutes and you will have a new friend...although it was also explained to us that ladies would stand there and the men sailing by would often appear on the bridge to be their 'friends'. Maybe I should have chosen that direction after all! Next time... I went into the square and took many pictures of the replica of David that is now the only one in the square, the real one was inside with a wait so I settled for that one. Many statues fill the square, some more impressive than David we were told. I wandered up and down the quaint cobblestone streets and enjoyed the different feel of the town, different from other places I've been. I stopped for a gelato and loved the way it was displayed in the shops! Wait until you see the pictures. It was good, but I didn't pick a good place I think and I enjoyed it, but hope to try more before leaving Italy. I had a little time and stopped into a little cafe in the square and wanted to look at Italian spaghetti. Looking was not enough and before I knew it I was eating a bowl of spaghetti and pesto linguini. I have to say America does not know how to make spaghetti! The flavor was so incredible, soft and a slight flavor of cheese, that I wished I could bring home lots!! The pesto linguini was also a soft flavor, but delightful and this not hungry person ate every piece of pasta! Delicious and I will be sampling this any chance I get! We boarded the bus for the 1 1/2 hr ride back to the ship. I was glad that I wasn't leaving on the next tour immediately when we returned, the trip to Pisa, maybe that will be for next time too!! I did see Pisa on my last trip here from the highway so I feel that I've seen it and there is so much more to do in this area!
I returned and enjoyed a nice long nap and am on my way to dinner now. Tonight the show is "Revolution" a tribute to the Beatles. I can guarantee you that everyone here remembers the Beatles! Right now they are making announcements for the crew members that are not back on the ship for our sailing. This is a big deal and on 3 of my other cruises I knew Louise, the person in charge of the crew, who made these announcements for the crew members who have not returned. I'd love to hear her voice now, she is from Scotland, but she is currently working on the ship that is going to Hawaii. I know none of the people on this ship and I'm sad and a little bit lonely. I'd become used to seeing someone I knew or at least someone César or Hernan knew to chat with. César does think one of his friends from the South Pacific is in the shops so I will look to see if she is here sometime. For now, I will meet new people. As I write this blog I am near the center of the ship listening to the beautiful piano music. When I read these entries I will remember the music which is so beautiful, on that white grand piano, that it can bring tears to your eyes. I'd even had a little hope that my drunk piano player from another cruise might be on this ship for entertainment, but he is not.
Good night and until tomorrow, smile and plan a future of travel!
Postscript - I just finished dinner at the any time seating, meaning you are always at a table with new people. Tonight was delightful, among the 8 people there were two ladies from England who are retired 'head teachers' and when I inquired as to the meaning of that, I was told it was the equivalent of our principal. Interesting to talk to them and compare retirements. At 39 years they receive only 1/3 of their salary for the rest of their lives. At 40 years they receive 1/2 of their salary! In Colorado we are much luckier! And one of the ladies has been to a garden party hosted by the queen twice, what an interesting event that sounded like! Both ladies have worked with the Girl Guides, the original organization that became Girl Scouts in America, but only one has been invited to this event. The invitation comes from the Lord Chamberlain and a follow up call is made to assure the invitation was received. They must wear a large garden party hat and tiny sandwiches and tiny cups of tea are served and they have to stand around holding them, there is no where to sit! They do receive a list of how to act too!! One of the ladies took time off of work to go to the castle to see her friend go into Buckingham Palace for the party. Such a cute story, I wanted to share it! Imagine, I just had dinner with a lady who has been in the presence of the queen! Such interesting people to meet!!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Lavender Fields Forever!
Back in France, once again! And I'd been looking so forward to experiencing the lavender fields that are prevalent in all the pictures I have seen of Provence, France!! So the excitement this morning was once again the thrill that I experience in so many places I visit! The reality of being on the other side of the world was exciting and I was ready to see the real thing. Unfortunately, no one had ever mentioned that the lavender fields in the Provence pictures are actually all taken during the short 2 week blooming period that happens sometime in June and/or July!! Some said it was longer or can be different in different fields, but the fact remained, that no lavender remained anywhere to be seen!! Lavender fields are not forever! The best I could do was see the flowers, dried out and in the rare souvenir stores that were open. Monday is not a day to be in the little villages it turns out, most stores are closed! So the visit to Provence was not the thrill I'd expected, but as with everything, there are positives too!!
I took the full day trip that promised to show us the most beautiful villages in Provence, and they were indeed lovely! The countryside and architecture was quite different from the other parts of France that I have seen and I enjoyed the new views. The villages were on the sides of mountains and the drive was lovely. We were in the Luberon mountains and visited the villages of Luberon and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and stopped to admire and photograph other villages such as Bonnieux and LaCoste (not the shirts). We drove past a village where Albert Camus lived, the author who wrote "The Little Prince" and we were near the castle of Monte Cristo, the setting for the French author's famous book, "The Count of Monte Cristo". There was a slight problem with the tour, the guide continually mixed up her left and right, but just about the time you figured it out and when she said left, you looked right, that would be the time she was correct! Very frustrating way to try to see a place, but no one is perfect! And I did spend the day in France!! I tried to recall my French, but muy rather than tres, and Grasias rather than Merci kept coming out. At least these were some of the nicest French people I've come across and they worked with our english. We had a lovely lunch in a small village where the hot food was hot and the cold was cold, a nice meal! We had time to wander and shop and as always I enjoyed seeing the local things. The trip was the full day and after perusing the items in the shops in the terminal, I embarked back on the ship, changed and headed to dinner. Now I will be heading to bed, I'm exhausted!!
Dinner on the ship was wonderful and I was brave and went to the anytime dining alone. I sat with some nice couples and a single man from England who told the men that he was on this ship to find a woman and isn't even getting off at any of the ports! Doesn't sound like my kind of man at all, even though the age would be quite appropriate. So after an incredible dinner, I sit here reminiscing and considering the lovely rest I am facing. Interesting, I've only been in France and the word lovely is constantly in my thoughts, must say a lot about France and my love of this country!
Tomorrow we will be in Livorno, the port city for Florence and my tour will be most of the day in Florence. My first visit there promises to be quite interesting and I will see more things that I've never imagined I'd ever see in person!! A new experience awaits, and my 3rd country in as many days awaits also.
Tomorrow I will remember to take kleenex since it appears that toilet paper is not a staple in the public toilets, though with past experiences I'm just glad there are toilets, although none have seats on them! I will also remember to put in my hand santizer and my lip balm. The weather is cool and pleasant so far, but the sun is hot and my lips chapped. Travel, so much to remember, so much to experience!!
Until tomorrow...
I took the full day trip that promised to show us the most beautiful villages in Provence, and they were indeed lovely! The countryside and architecture was quite different from the other parts of France that I have seen and I enjoyed the new views. The villages were on the sides of mountains and the drive was lovely. We were in the Luberon mountains and visited the villages of Luberon and L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and stopped to admire and photograph other villages such as Bonnieux and LaCoste (not the shirts). We drove past a village where Albert Camus lived, the author who wrote "The Little Prince" and we were near the castle of Monte Cristo, the setting for the French author's famous book, "The Count of Monte Cristo". There was a slight problem with the tour, the guide continually mixed up her left and right, but just about the time you figured it out and when she said left, you looked right, that would be the time she was correct! Very frustrating way to try to see a place, but no one is perfect! And I did spend the day in France!! I tried to recall my French, but muy rather than tres, and Grasias rather than Merci kept coming out. At least these were some of the nicest French people I've come across and they worked with our english. We had a lovely lunch in a small village where the hot food was hot and the cold was cold, a nice meal! We had time to wander and shop and as always I enjoyed seeing the local things. The trip was the full day and after perusing the items in the shops in the terminal, I embarked back on the ship, changed and headed to dinner. Now I will be heading to bed, I'm exhausted!!
Dinner on the ship was wonderful and I was brave and went to the anytime dining alone. I sat with some nice couples and a single man from England who told the men that he was on this ship to find a woman and isn't even getting off at any of the ports! Doesn't sound like my kind of man at all, even though the age would be quite appropriate. So after an incredible dinner, I sit here reminiscing and considering the lovely rest I am facing. Interesting, I've only been in France and the word lovely is constantly in my thoughts, must say a lot about France and my love of this country!
Tomorrow we will be in Livorno, the port city for Florence and my tour will be most of the day in Florence. My first visit there promises to be quite interesting and I will see more things that I've never imagined I'd ever see in person!! A new experience awaits, and my 3rd country in as many days awaits also.
Tomorrow I will remember to take kleenex since it appears that toilet paper is not a staple in the public toilets, though with past experiences I'm just glad there are toilets, although none have seats on them! I will also remember to put in my hand santizer and my lip balm. The weather is cool and pleasant so far, but the sun is hot and my lips chapped. Travel, so much to remember, so much to experience!!
Until tomorrow...
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Mitzi-César-Barcelona
Yes, it is true, Mitzi and César met once more, this time in Barcelona for another exciting, though horribly short, world adventure.
I left Denver, flew to Atlanta, had a 2 hour layover and then boarded the plane to fly directly to Barcelona. I was expecting a 7 hour flight, but was suprised to learn that it would be almost 9 hours! I sat next to a kind special education teacher from from Atlanta and although he slept most of the time I was only able to sleep a short time. I arrived on time and it took almost an hour to get my luggage and at that time César was supposed to be arriving in the same terminal. If he would have had luggage he would have appeared right where I was, but I knew he was traveling without any. I was expecting a great reunion, but time passed and he never appeared! I was thinking he was not going to be joining me and it was no surprise that the longer I waited, the sadder I got. Finally I figured out how to use my cell phone and called him and he told me he was out of the baggage area and by a Relay store, so I immediately exited the baggage area and went to the store and no César. I was accompanied by the Princess representative because it was time for us to board the shuttle to the hotel. We couldn't find each other so he told me to put my hand in the air. So there I stood, waving my hand in the air, along with the Princess rep waving her Princess sign in the air and he said he couldn't see us, so we kept waving. I still laugh at the thought of what we must have looked like to everyone! (Reminiscent of door 18 in Paris)Finally he found a sign and he was in the wrong terminal at the furtherest point away from us, in front of a different Relay store!!! So his trek to where I was continued and the shuttle left without us. There were a few more lost moments and finally, probably an hour later, we met on the sidewalk, near the taxi stand!
Not the grand welcoming reunion I had anticipated! But he was in Barcelona and we were finally together!! He had quite the story of his journey and may have just been more exhausted than I was! But that is another story. We were together and the wonderful Princess rep called a taxi for us and we had a very nice taxi ride to our hotel, enjoying the time we had to be together, not with the big group. We arrived at the hotel, about 2 blocks from Catalanya Plaza, settled in and then headed out. We were both exhausted and enjoyed a short walk on Las Ramblas, watching all the people watching all the people! Such activity and what a fun place to be! So different from anywhere else I've been! We walked for a while and ate some fruit and pastry from the Bocadaro. We stopped at an outside table and ordered tapas from a busy restaurant. They were not very good and we decided we didn't like tapas!! We then returned to the hotel for a nice long nap! I think we could have both slept all night, but we had places to go and sights to see!! We showered, and headed out, our first stop, the magic fountain in the Plaza de Espana. What a beautiful, incredible experience!! We both loved the water and light show we witnessed, along with the hundreds of otherpeople there! What a sight, I highly recommend this stop, which only functions from 8-11PM!
After seeing most of the 1/2 hr. show we had a very hard time finding a taxi to get to our flamenco show and dinner which began at 10PM...when in Spain, live like the Spaniards!! Dinner was good, however it was all cold so it was hard to enjoy the dishes that should have been served warm. I had a sangria with dinner, it was good, but didn't come close to the Sangria César's father made for me in Portugal. And then came the flamenco show...I chose the club that was #1 on tripadvisor.com and was expecting something quite different than we saw! Flamenco appeared to be a combination of a very loud yelling sound with some very serious looking dancers that lasts for a very long time!! I am sure there had to be a story we didn't understand, but after 2 hours of the yelling and entertainment we were happy to return to our quiet room about 2AM! I wanted to go out but César insisted I was exhausted and we needed to sleep. I think I probably fell asleep midsentence saying I wasn't tired and we should have gone out and that was about 3AM. Guess I was exhausted!
We woke up and were still exhausted but it was our last day in Barcelona, already! We hadn't had a lot of luck with traditional Spanish food so we decided to have a continental room service breakfast before venturing out. We waited a while but quite a feast was finally delivered. There was fruit I'd never seen before, but thoroughly enjoyed it all, along with a wide variety of rolls and pastries. After finishing that we headed out to see Barcelona! We took a taxi to Sagrada Familia and enjoyed the tour of that famous landmark and then toured the city on a red line tour bus. What a beautiful city it is!! We had a late lunch at a small restaurant on Las Ramblas and I had paella and it was delicious!! We took our last walk down the famous street to return to the hotel and then collected our luggage. Having César take care of us was really nice, the taxi drivers and other service people didn't speak much English and his spanish was invaluable!! We took a taxi to his bus, where he would catch the bus to the airport and he made sure that the driver knew exactly where to take me to get the ship and we said another goodbye. It doesn't get easier because who knows when we will meet again. So we drove away and my heart was very sad...
Now I am on the ship, I've seen a wonderful spanish folklore show and am heading to dinner, alone. I will miss the company of my personal tour guide, but the excitement starts tomorrow morning early when we arrive in Marseilles, France. I will be taking a whole day tour of the Provence region, my first time there!
So Jenny, you are right, Barcelona rocks!!! And now my solitary adventure begins...
I left Denver, flew to Atlanta, had a 2 hour layover and then boarded the plane to fly directly to Barcelona. I was expecting a 7 hour flight, but was suprised to learn that it would be almost 9 hours! I sat next to a kind special education teacher from from Atlanta and although he slept most of the time I was only able to sleep a short time. I arrived on time and it took almost an hour to get my luggage and at that time César was supposed to be arriving in the same terminal. If he would have had luggage he would have appeared right where I was, but I knew he was traveling without any. I was expecting a great reunion, but time passed and he never appeared! I was thinking he was not going to be joining me and it was no surprise that the longer I waited, the sadder I got. Finally I figured out how to use my cell phone and called him and he told me he was out of the baggage area and by a Relay store, so I immediately exited the baggage area and went to the store and no César. I was accompanied by the Princess representative because it was time for us to board the shuttle to the hotel. We couldn't find each other so he told me to put my hand in the air. So there I stood, waving my hand in the air, along with the Princess rep waving her Princess sign in the air and he said he couldn't see us, so we kept waving. I still laugh at the thought of what we must have looked like to everyone! (Reminiscent of door 18 in Paris)Finally he found a sign and he was in the wrong terminal at the furtherest point away from us, in front of a different Relay store!!! So his trek to where I was continued and the shuttle left without us. There were a few more lost moments and finally, probably an hour later, we met on the sidewalk, near the taxi stand!
Not the grand welcoming reunion I had anticipated! But he was in Barcelona and we were finally together!! He had quite the story of his journey and may have just been more exhausted than I was! But that is another story. We were together and the wonderful Princess rep called a taxi for us and we had a very nice taxi ride to our hotel, enjoying the time we had to be together, not with the big group. We arrived at the hotel, about 2 blocks from Catalanya Plaza, settled in and then headed out. We were both exhausted and enjoyed a short walk on Las Ramblas, watching all the people watching all the people! Such activity and what a fun place to be! So different from anywhere else I've been! We walked for a while and ate some fruit and pastry from the Bocadaro. We stopped at an outside table and ordered tapas from a busy restaurant. They were not very good and we decided we didn't like tapas!! We then returned to the hotel for a nice long nap! I think we could have both slept all night, but we had places to go and sights to see!! We showered, and headed out, our first stop, the magic fountain in the Plaza de Espana. What a beautiful, incredible experience!! We both loved the water and light show we witnessed, along with the hundreds of otherpeople there! What a sight, I highly recommend this stop, which only functions from 8-11PM!
After seeing most of the 1/2 hr. show we had a very hard time finding a taxi to get to our flamenco show and dinner which began at 10PM...when in Spain, live like the Spaniards!! Dinner was good, however it was all cold so it was hard to enjoy the dishes that should have been served warm. I had a sangria with dinner, it was good, but didn't come close to the Sangria César's father made for me in Portugal. And then came the flamenco show...I chose the club that was #1 on tripadvisor.com and was expecting something quite different than we saw! Flamenco appeared to be a combination of a very loud yelling sound with some very serious looking dancers that lasts for a very long time!! I am sure there had to be a story we didn't understand, but after 2 hours of the yelling and entertainment we were happy to return to our quiet room about 2AM! I wanted to go out but César insisted I was exhausted and we needed to sleep. I think I probably fell asleep midsentence saying I wasn't tired and we should have gone out and that was about 3AM. Guess I was exhausted!
We woke up and were still exhausted but it was our last day in Barcelona, already! We hadn't had a lot of luck with traditional Spanish food so we decided to have a continental room service breakfast before venturing out. We waited a while but quite a feast was finally delivered. There was fruit I'd never seen before, but thoroughly enjoyed it all, along with a wide variety of rolls and pastries. After finishing that we headed out to see Barcelona! We took a taxi to Sagrada Familia and enjoyed the tour of that famous landmark and then toured the city on a red line tour bus. What a beautiful city it is!! We had a late lunch at a small restaurant on Las Ramblas and I had paella and it was delicious!! We took our last walk down the famous street to return to the hotel and then collected our luggage. Having César take care of us was really nice, the taxi drivers and other service people didn't speak much English and his spanish was invaluable!! We took a taxi to his bus, where he would catch the bus to the airport and he made sure that the driver knew exactly where to take me to get the ship and we said another goodbye. It doesn't get easier because who knows when we will meet again. So we drove away and my heart was very sad...
Now I am on the ship, I've seen a wonderful spanish folklore show and am heading to dinner, alone. I will miss the company of my personal tour guide, but the excitement starts tomorrow morning early when we arrive in Marseilles, France. I will be taking a whole day tour of the Provence region, my first time there!
So Jenny, you are right, Barcelona rocks!!! And now my solitary adventure begins...
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