November 18, 2011
Efe, Ephesa, Ephesus was founded about 3,000 years ago and has an impressive collection of ruins. Only about 15% of the city has been excavated in the last 100 plus years and at the rate it is taking will take up to 3,000 more years to complete. The findings are spectacular.
Ionian Greeks settled this part of Asia Minor as early as the 10th century B.C. They founded cities, and rapidly became an important commercial zone. Man of the earliest Greek philosophers and thinkers lived her along the Ionian coast, and not in mainland Greece. The conflict that led to the Greek-Persian Wars began here.
St Paul preached against the multi-breasted goddess Artemis with mixed results and wrote his Letter to the Ephesians, which, by all accounts remains one of his finest works. St. John likely wrote his Gospel here and part of the Book of Revelations may have been started in Ephesus before he was exiled to Patmos.
Ephesus requires walking long distances over extremely uneven terrain. The ships tours specify that it is not a suitable tour for walkers and is not wheelchair accessible and advises people who need assistance to take a different tour or bring someone to assist them. That said we board our bus and watch while several quite elderly people have a very difficult task of getting down the gangway of the ship and even more difficulty getting on the bus. This will designate the tone of the tour that follows.
Our guide is a very informative man named Hasim. He is very personable and explains that Kusadasi itself has a varied history with a few buildings of note. Castillo de Santa Catalina, a Genoese castle dating from the 13th century, was later used as a base by the pirate Barbarossa and his brothers.
There is also a large Caravansary built in 1613 by the Turkish governor Mehmet Pasha. Originally designed as a haven for passing merchants and their camels, it has now been renovated as a luxury hotel.
The local bazaar has grown to be rivaled in Turkey only by the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. The entire town is a center for tourists and makes its living from this.
Three important cities lie in this area. Smyrna, Sardis, and Pergamum. Smyrna my be the birthplace of the poet Homer. Since Homer’s Iliad is about the siege of Troy, it is significant that Smyrna is little more than 200 miles from ancient Troy. He was certainly familiar with the local tales and legends of the epic siege, on which he based his work.
East of Smyrna was Sardis, Capital of the kingdom of Lydia. The first metal coins were probably minted here. Lydia conquered Ephesus ands established itself as a regional power.
Pergamum was once known for a huge altar honoring Zeus. The altar was discovered by German archaeologists a century ago and is displayed in a Berlin museum today. Pergamum also had one of the greatest libraries of antiquity, with more than 200,000 volumes. The only greater library was at
Alexandria in Egypt.
One of the ancient world’s medical centers was the Asclepeium there, known for healthy spring water, massage, mud baths, and herbal cures. The great 2nd-century physician Galen was a native of Pergamum.
A visit to Ephesus will put you in touch with some stunning ruins. There is an Odeon, or small theater, with a capacity of 1,400. It was also used for public meetings. The impressive Library of Celsus stands at the foot of the main street. The interior was were designed to display 12,000 scrolls in niches, which protected them from humidity. Across the street is the local bordello with underground access from the library for those needing to be discreet. The Temples of Domitian and Hadrian are impressive, and the Great Theater (which is still in use) seats 25,000.
Harbor Street, also known as the Arcadian Way, connected the port with the center of town. Beautiful colonnades on both sides and marble pavement probably made a dazzling impression on visiting dignitaries. It was one of
the rare ancient streets to be lit by lamps at night.
A distance away, you can see the ruins of the massive Temple of Artemis,
which was several times larger than the Parthenon. There were temples here as early as the 7th century B.C. This one was completed about 430.
Ephesus, even in ruins is awe-inspiring. The Ionians lived well and wisely. Even by today’s standards of luxury we must tip our hats to these imaginative people.
We love to travel. People tell me I should be a travel agent because of all the things we do,the places we go, and the money we save. Our grandaughter,Sophia,tells everyone that we are on a "field trip" while we are gone, thus the name. I hope you find helpful, interesting information about different locales, ideas on how to get the most for your money, and be entertained in the process. Welcome. Connie
Thursday, December 1, 2011
KUSADASI/ The Virgin Mary House
November 18, 2011
We are up early and have asked for room service since we have a tour that begins at 8:45 am to the Virgin Mary House and the ruins of Ephesus. We have been on this tour before but decided to do it again so that Dominick can see it.
Our bus leaves more or less on time ( you will understand better once you read about Ephesus) and we head into the mountains to see a small rock house that was built on the ruins of an original foundation declared by the Vatican to be the final residence of the Holy Mother. The Turks also revere her as the mother of a prophet and are dedicated to preserve and care for this site. Several years ago there was a great forest fire in this area. It is believed that the Virgin intervened and saved the local village as the fire was headed toward it while they were saving this little shrine from destruction. And the story goes that with prayer the wind died and the fire died on it’s own sparing their homes.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus charged John with the care of his mother, Mary. It is thought that he brought her to the mountains above Ephesus for her protection since it was not known if there would be retribution sought against her after the resurrection. This little house is very stark and you get an instant reverence when you walk thru. The lines are never short but today we actually go thru within a matter of 10 minutes or so. In the main season people stand for an hour or more just to walk thru this tiny treasure.
We fill a bottle with holy water from the taps where Mary washed her feet and hands. Last time we were here I filled a bottle and took it home to distribute to my YLI group as a memento of the 75th Anniversary of the Institute. I also have given some to family and friends before having surgery or other medical procedures and feel it has helped them to heal quicker.
Our time at the little house comes to a close and back on the bus we head down the mountain to the ancient city of Ephesus.
We are up early and have asked for room service since we have a tour that begins at 8:45 am to the Virgin Mary House and the ruins of Ephesus. We have been on this tour before but decided to do it again so that Dominick can see it.
Our bus leaves more or less on time ( you will understand better once you read about Ephesus) and we head into the mountains to see a small rock house that was built on the ruins of an original foundation declared by the Vatican to be the final residence of the Holy Mother. The Turks also revere her as the mother of a prophet and are dedicated to preserve and care for this site. Several years ago there was a great forest fire in this area. It is believed that the Virgin intervened and saved the local village as the fire was headed toward it while they were saving this little shrine from destruction. And the story goes that with prayer the wind died and the fire died on it’s own sparing their homes.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus charged John with the care of his mother, Mary. It is thought that he brought her to the mountains above Ephesus for her protection since it was not known if there would be retribution sought against her after the resurrection. This little house is very stark and you get an instant reverence when you walk thru. The lines are never short but today we actually go thru within a matter of 10 minutes or so. In the main season people stand for an hour or more just to walk thru this tiny treasure.
We fill a bottle with holy water from the taps where Mary washed her feet and hands. Last time we were here I filled a bottle and took it home to distribute to my YLI group as a memento of the 75th Anniversary of the Institute. I also have given some to family and friends before having surgery or other medical procedures and feel it has helped them to heal quicker.
Our time at the little house comes to a close and back on the bus we head down the mountain to the ancient city of Ephesus.
A DAY WITHOUT SANTORINI WAS A DAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE
November 17, 2011
The captain has decided the winds and seas are not conducive to tendering in Santorini so we have had to skip this port and are heading directly to Kusadasi (Coosh-a-daa-shee), Turkey. We will arrive at 6pm and overnight there.
We are disappointed not to see what we have been told is the most beautiful of the Greek Isles. It will have to wait for another time and will give us an excuse to do a similar itinerary.
In order to accommodate the crew scrambles to change gears and create things to do on an unexpected sea day. They throw in line dancing, a bridge lecture, golf chipping, and an extra bingo. We lounge around and the guys
decide to go to the gym and steam room before we meet for lunch in the main dining room. So a lazy day at sea.
The captain has decided the winds and seas are not conducive to tendering in Santorini so we have had to skip this port and are heading directly to Kusadasi (Coosh-a-daa-shee), Turkey. We will arrive at 6pm and overnight there.
We are disappointed not to see what we have been told is the most beautiful of the Greek Isles. It will have to wait for another time and will give us an excuse to do a similar itinerary.
In order to accommodate the crew scrambles to change gears and create things to do on an unexpected sea day. They throw in line dancing, a bridge lecture, golf chipping, and an extra bingo. We lounge around and the guys
decide to go to the gym and steam room before we meet for lunch in the main dining room. So a lazy day at sea.
Patmos, Greece
November 16, 2011
Today is quite cool and the wind is blowing. Once outside in the tender I wish I had indulged in bringing a hat to keep my head warmer. But I talked myself out of several items trying to be more conservative with the packing. I have a feeling that we will need warmer clothes this year compared to the crossings in 2009 & 2010. The weather is a little more wintry than we have previously experienced.
Patmos is only 13 miles square in size, but has a long rich history. In 1981 the Greek Parliament declared Patmos a “sacred island”, second only to Mount Athos in religious standing. It was here that Saint John was exiled in the days of the Roman Empire. Humble places like Patmos were often used as places of exile for political prisoners, or for those who disturbed “public order”, which usually meant stepping on the toes of someone important.
The earliest inhabitants were the Mycenaeans, nearly 35 centuries ago. They were followed by Dorian and Ionian Greeks, and after the exciting days of Greece’s golden age, it passed easily under the control of Rome. After the decline of Rome, Patmos was abandoned because of raids by Saracen pirates. Then Venetians occupied the island in 1207 as part of their Duchy of Naxos. The Turks followed in 1537 and remained a Turkish possession until 1912, when it was captured by the Italians, and finally joined Greece in 1948.
During the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Domitian, Saint John had been preaching the Gospel at Ephesus, and was exiled to nearby Patmos in the year 95. But Domitian died the following year, and was succeeded by the humane Nerva, who released him; John returned to Ephesus, and died
there sometime during Trajan’s reign. During his 18-month “sabbatical” on Patmos, he composed the dramatic Book of Revelation, a prophetic work that speaks of the final times, and encourages believers to hold fast under persecution.
Today the island is a pilgrimage to Christians seeking the location where Saint John wrote his Book of Revelation.
We alight in what looks and feels like a small village but is actually quite large since it is built into and up the rocky terrain. We have decided that we will not fight all the others today and just walk around visiting the small shops near the port. My first order of business is to acquire a cap for my head. Then we go in search of wine, souvenirs and whatever else catches our fancy. Dominick is infatuated with the loose dogs and cats that wander, lounge and generally seem to own the place. He can’t believe that no one is upset when they are loose.
After a few hours we have had enough and head back to the ship. The wind has been cutting and we are all chilled. We set sail for Santorini in a few hours so time to get a bite of lunch and possibly watch a movie or should we take a nap? Oh my, what hard decisions we shall have to make.
Today is quite cool and the wind is blowing. Once outside in the tender I wish I had indulged in bringing a hat to keep my head warmer. But I talked myself out of several items trying to be more conservative with the packing. I have a feeling that we will need warmer clothes this year compared to the crossings in 2009 & 2010. The weather is a little more wintry than we have previously experienced.
Patmos is only 13 miles square in size, but has a long rich history. In 1981 the Greek Parliament declared Patmos a “sacred island”, second only to Mount Athos in religious standing. It was here that Saint John was exiled in the days of the Roman Empire. Humble places like Patmos were often used as places of exile for political prisoners, or for those who disturbed “public order”, which usually meant stepping on the toes of someone important.
The earliest inhabitants were the Mycenaeans, nearly 35 centuries ago. They were followed by Dorian and Ionian Greeks, and after the exciting days of Greece’s golden age, it passed easily under the control of Rome. After the decline of Rome, Patmos was abandoned because of raids by Saracen pirates. Then Venetians occupied the island in 1207 as part of their Duchy of Naxos. The Turks followed in 1537 and remained a Turkish possession until 1912, when it was captured by the Italians, and finally joined Greece in 1948.
During the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Domitian, Saint John had been preaching the Gospel at Ephesus, and was exiled to nearby Patmos in the year 95. But Domitian died the following year, and was succeeded by the humane Nerva, who released him; John returned to Ephesus, and died
there sometime during Trajan’s reign. During his 18-month “sabbatical” on Patmos, he composed the dramatic Book of Revelation, a prophetic work that speaks of the final times, and encourages believers to hold fast under persecution.
Today the island is a pilgrimage to Christians seeking the location where Saint John wrote his Book of Revelation.
We alight in what looks and feels like a small village but is actually quite large since it is built into and up the rocky terrain. We have decided that we will not fight all the others today and just walk around visiting the small shops near the port. My first order of business is to acquire a cap for my head. Then we go in search of wine, souvenirs and whatever else catches our fancy. Dominick is infatuated with the loose dogs and cats that wander, lounge and generally seem to own the place. He can’t believe that no one is upset when they are loose.
After a few hours we have had enough and head back to the ship. The wind has been cutting and we are all chilled. We set sail for Santorini in a few hours so time to get a bite of lunch and possibly watch a movie or should we take a nap? Oh my, what hard decisions we shall have to make.
Embarkation Day - Pacific Princess - Piraeus, Greece
November 15, 2011
Fotis has sent a colleague, Chris to pick us up from the Hotel Apollo and deposit us at the ship. He has a private tour to Delphi which of course pays him more money than our small E30 transport, so we are happy he has a full day ahead. He has instructed Chris to call him so he can talk with Tony and wish us bon voyage and thank me again for the referrals I had sent for fellow passengers to use him for touring and transport. We have promised to let him know what day next year we will be in Athens so he can take us to Delphi for the day. I will post on the Cruise Critic boards and see if we can fill a few 17 passenger buses for him and his colleagues.
The weather today is a little clearer than yesterday. There are small patches of blue sky trying to peep thru all the clouds, and it looks as if it wouldn’t take much coaxing to make the rain start in earnest again.
The trip from Athens to Pireaus is uneventful except for the really cute shoes I spotted in a store window. Chris offered to park so I could shop but Tony was quick to refuse and “thank” him for offering. Dominick chimed in with the fact that I had lots of shoes already, but I explained that a girl can never have too many shoes. And I quoted him Eleanor Roosevelt who is credited with saying, “Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world.” Don’t cha’ just love it?
Our arrival is timed for around noon and we are able to get through check-in and drop off our totes in the room and head for the dining room by about 1:15. Princess has begun closing the dining room for lunch on all port days to save money so we will take advantage of today because on this leg we will only have three sea days that they will actually serve a dining room
lunch. The rest of the time we will be forced to use the buffet or to eat in port. We are not great fans of the buffet on any ship. Our attitude is, if we wanted to serve ourselves and jockey for position to do so we can do that at home.
This ship is set up differently than the larger Princess ships, with only one dining room, no open dining, and two fixed dinner seatings. We are in the first seating which begins at 6 pm. But before this we will start our unpacking, meet our cabin steward, tour the ship, attend muster drill, and
settle into our home for the next 31 days.
Our Stewardess is Milagros, from Philippines. She has worked the ships for 20 years and has been with Princess for 16. She has just returned from leave where she spent 3 months with her 4 year old granddaughter so we share stories and she is very pleased that we have brought Dominick for her to spoil.
Dominick has already drawn the attentions of passengers and crew alike and has had to explain his presence, his homework assignments, and the fact that he is traveling for 31 days at the age of 11. The little girls in the spa have embarrassed him with attention. Not that he didn’t love it but he was a little flushed at all the attention. He is very adaptable and interacts with adults easily, joking and showing his terrific sense of humor.
We are shown to our dinner table and get acquainted with our tablemates for at least the next 12 days. Klaus is a German living in Canada. He is very formal with his speech and seems to feel more comfortable talking with Tony and Dominick than with me. We learn he is an only child, has never married and has been left quite well off by his parents. He has homes in both Germany and Canada. He travels extensively and plans to spend all the money to keep the “government” from getting it. He is an engineer and we assume retired since he is quite a bit older than us. He wears his father’s shoes. I know this sounds crazy but it seems his father never wanted to travel and he worked very hard and made a lot of money and then died without ever having enjoyed the fruits of his labor. So Klaus wears his shoes when traveling and tells his father, “Okay, you have been here and here and here.” I think it is very sentimental of him. So he has won a place in my heart.
Our other companions are a couple from Australia. They are Lloyd and Cheryl. She is a year younger than us and he is a few years older. They have 5 daughters and are raising their 8 year old grandson. They are very outgoing and I know we will enjoy their company. However, they leave us in Rome since they have already been traveling for almost a month.
Our service staff are two young men from Philippines, Timothy is our waiter and Starskey is his assistant. We all make the instant connection but are told Hutch abandoned ship. They are instantly taken with Dominick or “Dom” as
they insist on calling him. They both make sure that he has all he wants as is typical of the Asian culture where children are indulged greatly.
We will arrive in Patmos first thing tomorrow and we have no specific plans. We will await the weather report before making our way ashore
Fotis has sent a colleague, Chris to pick us up from the Hotel Apollo and deposit us at the ship. He has a private tour to Delphi which of course pays him more money than our small E30 transport, so we are happy he has a full day ahead. He has instructed Chris to call him so he can talk with Tony and wish us bon voyage and thank me again for the referrals I had sent for fellow passengers to use him for touring and transport. We have promised to let him know what day next year we will be in Athens so he can take us to Delphi for the day. I will post on the Cruise Critic boards and see if we can fill a few 17 passenger buses for him and his colleagues.
The weather today is a little clearer than yesterday. There are small patches of blue sky trying to peep thru all the clouds, and it looks as if it wouldn’t take much coaxing to make the rain start in earnest again.
The trip from Athens to Pireaus is uneventful except for the really cute shoes I spotted in a store window. Chris offered to park so I could shop but Tony was quick to refuse and “thank” him for offering. Dominick chimed in with the fact that I had lots of shoes already, but I explained that a girl can never have too many shoes. And I quoted him Eleanor Roosevelt who is credited with saying, “Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world.” Don’t cha’ just love it?
Our arrival is timed for around noon and we are able to get through check-in and drop off our totes in the room and head for the dining room by about 1:15. Princess has begun closing the dining room for lunch on all port days to save money so we will take advantage of today because on this leg we will only have three sea days that they will actually serve a dining room
lunch. The rest of the time we will be forced to use the buffet or to eat in port. We are not great fans of the buffet on any ship. Our attitude is, if we wanted to serve ourselves and jockey for position to do so we can do that at home.
This ship is set up differently than the larger Princess ships, with only one dining room, no open dining, and two fixed dinner seatings. We are in the first seating which begins at 6 pm. But before this we will start our unpacking, meet our cabin steward, tour the ship, attend muster drill, and
settle into our home for the next 31 days.
Our Stewardess is Milagros, from Philippines. She has worked the ships for 20 years and has been with Princess for 16. She has just returned from leave where she spent 3 months with her 4 year old granddaughter so we share stories and she is very pleased that we have brought Dominick for her to spoil.
Dominick has already drawn the attentions of passengers and crew alike and has had to explain his presence, his homework assignments, and the fact that he is traveling for 31 days at the age of 11. The little girls in the spa have embarrassed him with attention. Not that he didn’t love it but he was a little flushed at all the attention. He is very adaptable and interacts with adults easily, joking and showing his terrific sense of humor.
We are shown to our dinner table and get acquainted with our tablemates for at least the next 12 days. Klaus is a German living in Canada. He is very formal with his speech and seems to feel more comfortable talking with Tony and Dominick than with me. We learn he is an only child, has never married and has been left quite well off by his parents. He has homes in both Germany and Canada. He travels extensively and plans to spend all the money to keep the “government” from getting it. He is an engineer and we assume retired since he is quite a bit older than us. He wears his father’s shoes. I know this sounds crazy but it seems his father never wanted to travel and he worked very hard and made a lot of money and then died without ever having enjoyed the fruits of his labor. So Klaus wears his shoes when traveling and tells his father, “Okay, you have been here and here and here.” I think it is very sentimental of him. So he has won a place in my heart.
Our other companions are a couple from Australia. They are Lloyd and Cheryl. She is a year younger than us and he is a few years older. They have 5 daughters and are raising their 8 year old grandson. They are very outgoing and I know we will enjoy their company. However, they leave us in Rome since they have already been traveling for almost a month.
Our service staff are two young men from Philippines, Timothy is our waiter and Starskey is his assistant. We all make the instant connection but are told Hutch abandoned ship. They are instantly taken with Dominick or “Dom” as
they insist on calling him. They both make sure that he has all he wants as is typical of the Asian culture where children are indulged greatly.
We will arrive in Patmos first thing tomorrow and we have no specific plans. We will await the weather report before making our way ashore
Monday, November 14, 2011
Athens Part Deux
Our day in Athens started with a cold blustery wind that rivals that of March in the Yukon. Well, not quite that bad I guess but we were looking for any shelter from the wind we could find all day long. Add to that mist, sprinkles, and pouring rain and you have a pretty good idea what we were determined to endure for our day here.
Just before 10 am we left the Apollo Hotel, a modest six story building wedged between Karaiskaki Square and several blocks of businesses in what used to be a very nice part of the city. Now, however, it is the neighborhood that houses a great majority of the illegal immigrants that swarm Greece's borders, causing great concern for a country already lacking jobs for their own citizens and having one financial crisis after another. The area is safe enough, especially during the day. We have been cautioned not to wander off the main streets at night though. This hotel is very clean and a bit on the sparce side. We have paid around $160 for 2 nights in a triple room (three twin beds) including breakfast. If you are looking for something affordable and friendly this is the place for you.
One block up from the Apollo at Karaiskaki Square we catch the HOHO bus and start our adventure to show Dominick as much of Athens as one day will allow. Because the weather is very iffy today the young man who sold us the 24hr ticket deducted the cost for Dominick which was E8. Our tickets were E18 each. We feel that for the cost of these HOHO buses it is well worth the price to get a good overview of your location. We have also done this in Rome and when you save your ticket you are given a 10% discount for all the other cities. We will use this discount in Rome and Barcelona and maybe in Funchal.
We get off at the Acropolis and head for the beginning of what will be well over 100 steps by the time we get to the top. First we need tickets, so off we go to the admissions booth. Because we are not from the European Union (EU for short) we pay the full price of E18 per person, however, Dominick is free. Yeah! They really believe in encouraging their young to become knowledgeable about art, history, and culture in general. I wish that Dominick's teachers had been as enthusiastic as the teachers we have encountered here. And that we as a nation took as much interest in teaching our children about their history instead of the milktoast versions of "Social Studies" that are the norm these days. Enough of the soap box, I digress.
The way is paved in marble and can be treacherous when wet. Even on this wet blustery day the place is packed with tour buses and individual groups from everywhere imaginable. One group in particular catches our attention since none appear to be younger than in their mid seventies. Most have canes, some have walkers and all seem to be wandering behind a tour guide using head phone sets to give her narrative so everyone can hear. We are continually trying to avoid their movements since they have a hard time walking over the uneven ground. We have a hard time walking over the uneven terrain with the wind gusting and practically lifting us off the ground.
Although Athens is a bustling modern city, it still holds the Acropolis and all of its history high enough for everyone to remember where Democracy began.
The core of the city is built on a lofty hill with steep sides, providing excellent defenses. Protected by a ring of low hills and two rivers, Athens was far from isolated.
Very early in history, Athens gained attention for a strong sea trade and the wealth created by it. Commerce itself convinced the Athenians slavery was not profitable during the first centuries of its life. As a matter of fact escaped slaves found their way to Athens and were welcomed as a steady influx of labor.
Through Greek eyes, the unique traits of Athens created a special relationship with both Poseidon, god of the sea, and Athena, goddess of wisdom. Athena's owl was a frequently used symbol of Athenian coins and her olive tree, signifying peace and harmony, commonly appears on decorative works.
Technically dedicated to the goddess, Athens did not want to neglect the powerful god of the sea, which dominated their commerce. So they decided to perfectly combine tribute to the two by hedging their bets with the construction of the Erectheion on the Acropolis. Shrines to Poseidon and Athena share the same temple building.
The Acropolis is actually the mountain of marble where this temple and the Parthenon are constructed. We tend to refer to the Parthenon as the Acropolis. Greeks will be the first to correct you as they take their history very seriously and who can blame them. After all this monument can be directly related to our modern form of govenment.
We spend about an hour exploring this ruin. But the wind is chilling us to the bone and we must decend to try and find protection from it and the rain that started as fine mist and has turned into something a bit stronger but not yet actual rainfall.
Just as we finish our decent and we are making our way to the HOHO stop th bus comes. What timing! We are thankful not to have to wait, and gladly climb aboard for our short ride to the Plaka, which is the main shopping area for this part of the city. We spend a few hours walking thru and Dominick purchases a few mementos as gifts for those at home. He is very selective to find just the right thing for each person and spend his money wisely. We stop for a nice lunch which consist of meatballs, rice, salad, what we call french fries, tziki with fresh pita , and a glass of house red that totals E20. A short walk and a cold wait and back on the bus to warm up before our next stop.
We stop next at the National Archaeological Museum to specifically show Dominick the collection of bronze knives, swords, and spear heads. It is quite impressive and we are impressed with the attention and interest he shows in all the exhibits. Our entry here costs E7 per person and once again Dominick is free. He was very interested in the statues and pottery from 2800-2500 BC which surprized me. But it was nice to see I have a grandchild who seems to appreciate history as much as I do. After carefully going through the exhibits we discover the rain has increased a bit when we exit. This time we have to wait almost 30 minutes for the next bus and the wind is hard to evade.
We arrive back at the Apollo around 5pm, take a short nap and head out for dinner around 7pm. Our destination is just across the street and down a block to the "Alexander the Great" restaurant that has been recommended by more than one local today. Our meal including two entries that we share, bread, 1 litre of house red and baklava for dessert. Very good food and good friendly service. Our bill comes to E54 including tip. Not bad for a very enjoyable meal.
Back to the hotel and Dominick calls his mother for a good night and we turn out the lights about 11pm. We are tired but happy that we have seen everything we intended for this day. Tomorrow we leave for the ship and the beginning of our ocean voyage. I'm tired! Good night.
Just before 10 am we left the Apollo Hotel, a modest six story building wedged between Karaiskaki Square and several blocks of businesses in what used to be a very nice part of the city. Now, however, it is the neighborhood that houses a great majority of the illegal immigrants that swarm Greece's borders, causing great concern for a country already lacking jobs for their own citizens and having one financial crisis after another. The area is safe enough, especially during the day. We have been cautioned not to wander off the main streets at night though. This hotel is very clean and a bit on the sparce side. We have paid around $160 for 2 nights in a triple room (three twin beds) including breakfast. If you are looking for something affordable and friendly this is the place for you.
One block up from the Apollo at Karaiskaki Square we catch the HOHO bus and start our adventure to show Dominick as much of Athens as one day will allow. Because the weather is very iffy today the young man who sold us the 24hr ticket deducted the cost for Dominick which was E8. Our tickets were E18 each. We feel that for the cost of these HOHO buses it is well worth the price to get a good overview of your location. We have also done this in Rome and when you save your ticket you are given a 10% discount for all the other cities. We will use this discount in Rome and Barcelona and maybe in Funchal.
We get off at the Acropolis and head for the beginning of what will be well over 100 steps by the time we get to the top. First we need tickets, so off we go to the admissions booth. Because we are not from the European Union (EU for short) we pay the full price of E18 per person, however, Dominick is free. Yeah! They really believe in encouraging their young to become knowledgeable about art, history, and culture in general. I wish that Dominick's teachers had been as enthusiastic as the teachers we have encountered here. And that we as a nation took as much interest in teaching our children about their history instead of the milktoast versions of "Social Studies" that are the norm these days. Enough of the soap box, I digress.
The way is paved in marble and can be treacherous when wet. Even on this wet blustery day the place is packed with tour buses and individual groups from everywhere imaginable. One group in particular catches our attention since none appear to be younger than in their mid seventies. Most have canes, some have walkers and all seem to be wandering behind a tour guide using head phone sets to give her narrative so everyone can hear. We are continually trying to avoid their movements since they have a hard time walking over the uneven ground. We have a hard time walking over the uneven terrain with the wind gusting and practically lifting us off the ground.
Although Athens is a bustling modern city, it still holds the Acropolis and all of its history high enough for everyone to remember where Democracy began.
The core of the city is built on a lofty hill with steep sides, providing excellent defenses. Protected by a ring of low hills and two rivers, Athens was far from isolated.
Very early in history, Athens gained attention for a strong sea trade and the wealth created by it. Commerce itself convinced the Athenians slavery was not profitable during the first centuries of its life. As a matter of fact escaped slaves found their way to Athens and were welcomed as a steady influx of labor.
Through Greek eyes, the unique traits of Athens created a special relationship with both Poseidon, god of the sea, and Athena, goddess of wisdom. Athena's owl was a frequently used symbol of Athenian coins and her olive tree, signifying peace and harmony, commonly appears on decorative works.
Technically dedicated to the goddess, Athens did not want to neglect the powerful god of the sea, which dominated their commerce. So they decided to perfectly combine tribute to the two by hedging their bets with the construction of the Erectheion on the Acropolis. Shrines to Poseidon and Athena share the same temple building.
The Acropolis is actually the mountain of marble where this temple and the Parthenon are constructed. We tend to refer to the Parthenon as the Acropolis. Greeks will be the first to correct you as they take their history very seriously and who can blame them. After all this monument can be directly related to our modern form of govenment.
We spend about an hour exploring this ruin. But the wind is chilling us to the bone and we must decend to try and find protection from it and the rain that started as fine mist and has turned into something a bit stronger but not yet actual rainfall.
Just as we finish our decent and we are making our way to the HOHO stop th bus comes. What timing! We are thankful not to have to wait, and gladly climb aboard for our short ride to the Plaka, which is the main shopping area for this part of the city. We spend a few hours walking thru and Dominick purchases a few mementos as gifts for those at home. He is very selective to find just the right thing for each person and spend his money wisely. We stop for a nice lunch which consist of meatballs, rice, salad, what we call french fries, tziki with fresh pita , and a glass of house red that totals E20. A short walk and a cold wait and back on the bus to warm up before our next stop.
We stop next at the National Archaeological Museum to specifically show Dominick the collection of bronze knives, swords, and spear heads. It is quite impressive and we are impressed with the attention and interest he shows in all the exhibits. Our entry here costs E7 per person and once again Dominick is free. He was very interested in the statues and pottery from 2800-2500 BC which surprized me. But it was nice to see I have a grandchild who seems to appreciate history as much as I do. After carefully going through the exhibits we discover the rain has increased a bit when we exit. This time we have to wait almost 30 minutes for the next bus and the wind is hard to evade.
We arrive back at the Apollo around 5pm, take a short nap and head out for dinner around 7pm. Our destination is just across the street and down a block to the "Alexander the Great" restaurant that has been recommended by more than one local today. Our meal including two entries that we share, bread, 1 litre of house red and baklava for dessert. Very good food and good friendly service. Our bill comes to E54 including tip. Not bad for a very enjoyable meal.
Back to the hotel and Dominick calls his mother for a good night and we turn out the lights about 11pm. We are tired but happy that we have seen everything we intended for this day. Tomorrow we leave for the ship and the beginning of our ocean voyage. I'm tired! Good night.
The 2011 Adventure begins...
Athens, Greece November 14, 2011
Our day started early in Northern California on Saturday, November 12. We were at the airport by 8:30 am, thanks to Clint. He took us before he went to work so we didn't have to leave the truck for them to pick up later. Dominick was as antsy as a cat on a hot tin roof with his excitment over this trip. I have to admit that I know exactly how he feels. Even though this is our third year to do a similar journey I was anxious to get going all of the past week. This is the first big trip we have taken since last year. Dominick posted to his Facebook from San Francisco and will post again from Athens and hopefully many of our other ports. Some of his friends from school still don't believe he's going on this trip and I guess we can't blame them. For an 11 year old this is pretty unusual. Excuse me I have been corrected...he is 11 3/4. We lost a day somewhere at over 60,000 feet between Chicago and London. So we literally slipped from the 12th to the 14th with little conscience thought, except that we were TIRED!
We actually got a good nights sleep after a very long and bumpy flight from the states to London. Our plane was a little late and we had just enough time to make our connection to Athens. London has "improved" Heathow since the last time we flew thru there in 2009. They have completed Terminal 5 but you have to go by air train to the other section of Terminal 5, go back thru security and then over to your gate. So once again you can't get there from here. I haven't figured out why these airports make more congestion and work for security by making you go out and come back in just to change from one concourse to another when they could have secure transport between. We had to do the same in San Francisco because one the International Terminal only holds certain airlines and the rest are in the next concourse which is not connected. If they were smart they would have consulted me before doing this and I could have saved them millions of dollars because in each of just these two airports they are now adding on ways to accomplish this. Oh well, it is like I have said before they should always consult a woman for the most efficient way to set these things up.
We have just finished breakfast and the guys have gone to the roof to see if they can get a view of the Acropolis thru the clouds and mist with a little breeze blowing. We are waiting until 9 am to leave the hotel and find the HOHO bus as that is how we have decided to spend our day. We will visit the Parthenon and as many other sites as we have time for today. The Acropolis Museum is not open today but the archaelogical museum opens at 1:30 pm and we will try to go there as I think Dominick will enjoy the weapons display they have. It is very enlightening as to the materials and different ways people used in ancient times to kill each other. Like most 11 year old boys our grandson is infatuated with weapons, blood, guts and all things warmongerish. (Is that even a word?)
Dominick is in the room doing homework assignments he brought with him. He did some on the plane and we are encouraging him to do some each day in hopes he will not have to spend all his days at sea getting everything ready to turn in as soon as we get back home. He has lots of Math and he has been assigned the task of reporting on this trip. We bought him a notebook to use as a journal and are encouraging him to draw sketches and write down everything that he considers important. Tony has gone back to check on him and read for a bit before we get out and about.
We have also brought along a "Flat Meghan" for our great niece so she can share in our adventure. She had actually made one herself but it didn't arrive in time so I had to improvise with a picture of her that I printed from her mother's Facebook page. So it will work and I will save hers for our next trip and do it over again if she wants me to.
This has been a very long, wet, blustery cold day so I will give your history lesson tomorrow when my brain is functioning better. Good night for now.
Our day started early in Northern California on Saturday, November 12. We were at the airport by 8:30 am, thanks to Clint. He took us before he went to work so we didn't have to leave the truck for them to pick up later. Dominick was as antsy as a cat on a hot tin roof with his excitment over this trip. I have to admit that I know exactly how he feels. Even though this is our third year to do a similar journey I was anxious to get going all of the past week. This is the first big trip we have taken since last year. Dominick posted to his Facebook from San Francisco and will post again from Athens and hopefully many of our other ports. Some of his friends from school still don't believe he's going on this trip and I guess we can't blame them. For an 11 year old this is pretty unusual. Excuse me I have been corrected...he is 11 3/4. We lost a day somewhere at over 60,000 feet between Chicago and London. So we literally slipped from the 12th to the 14th with little conscience thought, except that we were TIRED!
We actually got a good nights sleep after a very long and bumpy flight from the states to London. Our plane was a little late and we had just enough time to make our connection to Athens. London has "improved" Heathow since the last time we flew thru there in 2009. They have completed Terminal 5 but you have to go by air train to the other section of Terminal 5, go back thru security and then over to your gate. So once again you can't get there from here. I haven't figured out why these airports make more congestion and work for security by making you go out and come back in just to change from one concourse to another when they could have secure transport between. We had to do the same in San Francisco because one the International Terminal only holds certain airlines and the rest are in the next concourse which is not connected. If they were smart they would have consulted me before doing this and I could have saved them millions of dollars because in each of just these two airports they are now adding on ways to accomplish this. Oh well, it is like I have said before they should always consult a woman for the most efficient way to set these things up.
We have just finished breakfast and the guys have gone to the roof to see if they can get a view of the Acropolis thru the clouds and mist with a little breeze blowing. We are waiting until 9 am to leave the hotel and find the HOHO bus as that is how we have decided to spend our day. We will visit the Parthenon and as many other sites as we have time for today. The Acropolis Museum is not open today but the archaelogical museum opens at 1:30 pm and we will try to go there as I think Dominick will enjoy the weapons display they have. It is very enlightening as to the materials and different ways people used in ancient times to kill each other. Like most 11 year old boys our grandson is infatuated with weapons, blood, guts and all things warmongerish. (Is that even a word?)
Dominick is in the room doing homework assignments he brought with him. He did some on the plane and we are encouraging him to do some each day in hopes he will not have to spend all his days at sea getting everything ready to turn in as soon as we get back home. He has lots of Math and he has been assigned the task of reporting on this trip. We bought him a notebook to use as a journal and are encouraging him to draw sketches and write down everything that he considers important. Tony has gone back to check on him and read for a bit before we get out and about.
We have also brought along a "Flat Meghan" for our great niece so she can share in our adventure. She had actually made one herself but it didn't arrive in time so I had to improvise with a picture of her that I printed from her mother's Facebook page. So it will work and I will save hers for our next trip and do it over again if she wants me to.
This has been a very long, wet, blustery cold day so I will give your history lesson tomorrow when my brain is functioning better. Good night for now.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
What a gorgeous sunny day!! And what a lovely picturesque island, Madeira. Madeira’s mystery begins in beauty, but the enigma is enhanced by suggestions that it may be the remains of the “lost continent” Atlantis. Famous for its Madeira wines, as well as delicate embroideries and laces, Madeira has a fascinating and rich history. It is the site of remains of 16th and 17th century forts and the 15th century Cathedral of Santa Clara. Grapevines were introduced in 1419. Madeira wine is one of the oldest of all fortified wines. The British occupied here in 1801 and 1807 and became enamored of the wine. It is said that the Duke of Clarence actually drowned in a vat of it!
We have no scheduled tour here and take our time leaving the ship to go into town. We get lucky and share a cab with two crew members into the town center. From there we walk down a few blocks and purchase tickets for the HOHO bus. Climbing on we head to the upper open deck and find seats at the very front for an unobstructed view. This bus will take us all over Funchal proper and up to the fishing village of Camara’ de Lobos on the eastern end of the island. Starting in town we zig zag back and forth, up and down and around seeing ancient buildings, monasteries, nunneries, the embroidery factory, world famous Blandy’s Wine Lodge, and the cable cars to Monte. Up and out of the city we head into the countryside along the coast to Camara’ de Lobos. On the way we are treated to the site of banana farms, grape arbors, and persimmon trees interspersed together and terraced into the side of steep rocky mountains. In fact almost everything more than a few blocks back from the coast is chiseled and terraces into the rocks. Verdant, lush, green with splashes of bright colored blooms this is almost like a tropical setting in the Carribean. We ride the HOHO one complete circuit then get off to buy tickets for the cable car to Monte.
Monte is only 4 miles from Funchal, but nearly 2000 feet higher up. Islanders enjoy their “life in the slow lane”. Hiking and swimming are popular sports, but the high mountains are also used for an unusual sport (originally, the wicker sled ride was a necessary form of transportation). Utilizing traditional craft, wicker “sleds” are used for joy riding down the islands steep terrain. We ride the cable car round trip, hop back on the HOHO and head straight for the famous Blandy’s Wine Lodge, where we buy several bottles of really good, really cheap wine.
Earlier in the day we had asked several different locals for recommendations for a local place to have dinner and unanimously the answer was Santo Antonio in Camera‘ de Lobos. At 6:30 the four of us hail a taxi and head for the food! We are not disappointed! With a nod to the Brazilian Bar-B-Q we experienced in Rio last spring the food is served family style and the meat hangs on long spits from hooks built into the table. We indulge in chicken, beef, and T-bone steak served up with fries and something similar but tastier than polenta, a corn mixture fried and cut into bit sized squares that is like eating cream style corn as finger food. Local Sangria is our beverage choice and the guys order two different desserts to share. At the end of the meal our bill for everything totaled E55. And our taxi driver waited for us for 2hrs and charged E45 for the round trip from the ship. We are now fortified for our seven day crossing beginning day after tomorrow afternoon.
The next day we hop back on the HOHO and buy several more bottles of wine to sustain us on our crossing.
Ah ...homeward bound.
We have no scheduled tour here and take our time leaving the ship to go into town. We get lucky and share a cab with two crew members into the town center. From there we walk down a few blocks and purchase tickets for the HOHO bus. Climbing on we head to the upper open deck and find seats at the very front for an unobstructed view. This bus will take us all over Funchal proper and up to the fishing village of Camara’ de Lobos on the eastern end of the island. Starting in town we zig zag back and forth, up and down and around seeing ancient buildings, monasteries, nunneries, the embroidery factory, world famous Blandy’s Wine Lodge, and the cable cars to Monte. Up and out of the city we head into the countryside along the coast to Camara’ de Lobos. On the way we are treated to the site of banana farms, grape arbors, and persimmon trees interspersed together and terraced into the side of steep rocky mountains. In fact almost everything more than a few blocks back from the coast is chiseled and terraces into the rocks. Verdant, lush, green with splashes of bright colored blooms this is almost like a tropical setting in the Carribean. We ride the HOHO one complete circuit then get off to buy tickets for the cable car to Monte.
Monte is only 4 miles from Funchal, but nearly 2000 feet higher up. Islanders enjoy their “life in the slow lane”. Hiking and swimming are popular sports, but the high mountains are also used for an unusual sport (originally, the wicker sled ride was a necessary form of transportation). Utilizing traditional craft, wicker “sleds” are used for joy riding down the islands steep terrain. We ride the cable car round trip, hop back on the HOHO and head straight for the famous Blandy’s Wine Lodge, where we buy several bottles of really good, really cheap wine.
Earlier in the day we had asked several different locals for recommendations for a local place to have dinner and unanimously the answer was Santo Antonio in Camera‘ de Lobos. At 6:30 the four of us hail a taxi and head for the food! We are not disappointed! With a nod to the Brazilian Bar-B-Q we experienced in Rio last spring the food is served family style and the meat hangs on long spits from hooks built into the table. We indulge in chicken, beef, and T-bone steak served up with fries and something similar but tastier than polenta, a corn mixture fried and cut into bit sized squares that is like eating cream style corn as finger food. Local Sangria is our beverage choice and the guys order two different desserts to share. At the end of the meal our bill for everything totaled E55. And our taxi driver waited for us for 2hrs and charged E45 for the round trip from the ship. We are now fortified for our seven day crossing beginning day after tomorrow afternoon.
The next day we hop back on the HOHO and buy several more bottles of wine to sustain us on our crossing.
Ah ...homeward bound.
Cadiz/Seville, Spain
Cadiz stands on a peninsula jutting out into a bay. Named Gadir by the Phoenicians, who founded it as a trading port in 1100 BC, it was later controlled by the Carthaginians before it became a thriving Roman port. It fades during the Visigoths and Moors but came back into prominence in the early 16th century as the launch point of journeys to the “New World” of the Americas. Sir Francis Drake later raided Cadiz in the struggle to control trade in America. The city was one of few in Spain able to withstand a siege by Napoleon’s army.
Today however, we will venture out from Cadiz port about an hour or so to Sevilla. Upon arrival we are apprised of all the orange trees. However these are not orange trees as we know them, but inedible ones that are bitter and only used to make marmalade. The Seville orange is world reknown and most of the marmalade sold in England comes from Spain.
Angeles (Ong ga lace), our guide, meets us at a park like area to lead us through a visit to the sites of the 1929 World’s Fair, the old city outside the walls of Reales Alcazres “the Alcazar”, and of course the palace itself. These and the ancient custom of bull fighting are among just some of the sites and stories of Sevilla or Seville. The fair site is extremely well preserved and each of the buildings and venues are in use today. The entire site is covered with exquisite hand-made tile work in every conceivable design and color. The plaza of the main area is enormous and contains several bridges representing the different “states” that existed at the time along with their coats of arms done in tile on the steps and tops. All of the handrails, light post, planters, plant urns, and benches are covered in tile or made from ceramic. In most cases each tells a story of some kind relating to the history of Spain through the centuries. On our way back to our bus we traverse a small park whose central site is a huge tree surrounded by a statue depicting the Three Stages of Love from first blush to the final aged finale with inclusion of cupid in his different forms. Because the tree continues to grow it is necessary to cut the surround on occasion and add expansion sections to it. This entire area is covered with horse drawn carriages taking people site-seeing. Most of the customers are locals and wedding participants with brides and grooms dressed in beautiful native garments. Angeles has decided we will walk the old Jewish ghetto outside the walls first. Here is a maze of winding, uneven cobbled alleyways jumbled together with convents and private homes and businesses crammed together. No cars can come into this area unless there is a garage for them to park in. The properties with garages are the most expensive and valuable in the whole city. We follow Angeles closely because getting lost in here would be very easy to do. She stops to show us a street so narrow it is called the “kissing street“ since it is possible to stand on a balcony on either side of the street and kiss across with no problem. An average sized person can stand in the middle and place their hands on the houses on each side of the street. Finally it is time to enter Reales Alcazres “the Alcazar”. Reales Alcazres is a palace similar in style of the Alhambra but not near so elegant, is much smaller, and sadly beautiful considering the creator Peter I of Castille (known as “Pedro el Cruel”). It took 30 years to complete the most magnificent parts of the complex using a combination of wood, elaborate stucco, and magnificent azulejos (hand painted tile), and lavish gardens. At the end of our time with Angeles I go back to the main exit where I spotted a man creating watercolor. He and his wife are very elderly, but his little paintings are exquisite and I buy one plus a tiny bookmark depicting the “kissing street”. Now we have a few free hours and it is time once again to find FOOD! We spot what appears to be a target rich environment down a side street that looks familiar since we think we might have passed this way during our old city walk. It is called Dona’ Lina and is very small, cramped, and very busy with local traffic. Oh Yeah! We find a tiny table for 4 and wedge ourselves between other tables to get seated. No one minds moving over a bit here, a bit there so we can sit. It is all done with little fuss and many smiles and thanks in both Spanish and English. We order tapas once again since this menu boasts items not seen in other ports. Deep fried anchovies again,
potatoes, chorizo, pork, fresh bread to die for, Sangria, and for dessert a platter of mixed flans. I personally don’t care for flan or custard but the others said it was wonderful. Sated once again it is time to meet our driver and head back to Cadiz and our ship. Tonight we have a Halloween costume party and I have found a fan, castanets, and a rose embroidered shawl to transform myself into “The Lady of Spain”. Tony will be my OPEC oil executive with the help of one of my caftans and a napkin filched from the Lido Restaurant tied with a long scarf. David and Susan are Dorothy and the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz fame. Your need to understand that Susan is 6 feet tall in her stocking feet and with the Ruby Red Slippers she made, stands a statuesque 6’3”. They won the costume contest and we came in second in a game of wrap a mummy with toilet paper. Hey!, don't laugh it netted us a free bottle of champagne!
Today however, we will venture out from Cadiz port about an hour or so to Sevilla. Upon arrival we are apprised of all the orange trees. However these are not orange trees as we know them, but inedible ones that are bitter and only used to make marmalade. The Seville orange is world reknown and most of the marmalade sold in England comes from Spain.
Angeles (Ong ga lace), our guide, meets us at a park like area to lead us through a visit to the sites of the 1929 World’s Fair, the old city outside the walls of Reales Alcazres “the Alcazar”, and of course the palace itself. These and the ancient custom of bull fighting are among just some of the sites and stories of Sevilla or Seville. The fair site is extremely well preserved and each of the buildings and venues are in use today. The entire site is covered with exquisite hand-made tile work in every conceivable design and color. The plaza of the main area is enormous and contains several bridges representing the different “states” that existed at the time along with their coats of arms done in tile on the steps and tops. All of the handrails, light post, planters, plant urns, and benches are covered in tile or made from ceramic. In most cases each tells a story of some kind relating to the history of Spain through the centuries. On our way back to our bus we traverse a small park whose central site is a huge tree surrounded by a statue depicting the Three Stages of Love from first blush to the final aged finale with inclusion of cupid in his different forms. Because the tree continues to grow it is necessary to cut the surround on occasion and add expansion sections to it. This entire area is covered with horse drawn carriages taking people site-seeing. Most of the customers are locals and wedding participants with brides and grooms dressed in beautiful native garments. Angeles has decided we will walk the old Jewish ghetto outside the walls first. Here is a maze of winding, uneven cobbled alleyways jumbled together with convents and private homes and businesses crammed together. No cars can come into this area unless there is a garage for them to park in. The properties with garages are the most expensive and valuable in the whole city. We follow Angeles closely because getting lost in here would be very easy to do. She stops to show us a street so narrow it is called the “kissing street“ since it is possible to stand on a balcony on either side of the street and kiss across with no problem. An average sized person can stand in the middle and place their hands on the houses on each side of the street. Finally it is time to enter Reales Alcazres “the Alcazar”. Reales Alcazres is a palace similar in style of the Alhambra but not near so elegant, is much smaller, and sadly beautiful considering the creator Peter I of Castille (known as “Pedro el Cruel”). It took 30 years to complete the most magnificent parts of the complex using a combination of wood, elaborate stucco, and magnificent azulejos (hand painted tile), and lavish gardens. At the end of our time with Angeles I go back to the main exit where I spotted a man creating watercolor. He and his wife are very elderly, but his little paintings are exquisite and I buy one plus a tiny bookmark depicting the “kissing street”. Now we have a few free hours and it is time once again to find FOOD! We spot what appears to be a target rich environment down a side street that looks familiar since we think we might have passed this way during our old city walk. It is called Dona’ Lina and is very small, cramped, and very busy with local traffic. Oh Yeah! We find a tiny table for 4 and wedge ourselves between other tables to get seated. No one minds moving over a bit here, a bit there so we can sit. It is all done with little fuss and many smiles and thanks in both Spanish and English. We order tapas once again since this menu boasts items not seen in other ports. Deep fried anchovies again,
potatoes, chorizo, pork, fresh bread to die for, Sangria, and for dessert a platter of mixed flans. I personally don’t care for flan or custard but the others said it was wonderful. Sated once again it is time to meet our driver and head back to Cadiz and our ship. Tonight we have a Halloween costume party and I have found a fan, castanets, and a rose embroidered shawl to transform myself into “The Lady of Spain”. Tony will be my OPEC oil executive with the help of one of my caftans and a napkin filched from the Lido Restaurant tied with a long scarf. David and Susan are Dorothy and the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz fame. Your need to understand that Susan is 6 feet tall in her stocking feet and with the Ruby Red Slippers she made, stands a statuesque 6’3”. They won the costume contest and we came in second in a game of wrap a mummy with toilet paper. Hey!, don't laugh it netted us a free bottle of champagne!
Barcelona, Spain
This city’s history has much to do with invasions and conquest. Its history dates back to 988 when Barcelona won independence and identified more with being Catalonia than Spain. By the 1400’s Catalonia was linked with other regions of Spain and this lasted until the 1700’s. Today, the Catalan people still consider themselves independent and not part of Spain.
We meet our new partners in crime, David and Susan and the other couple on our Florence excursion, Dick and Helen on the pier. Our guide, Xavier (Ha vee air), a young man that is Catalonian and is very knowledgeable about Barcelona and probably their most famous resident Gaudi (Gow dee’). Our goal today is to see all the major sites, especially those of Gaudi. We start with a drive around the city with a little history. Then stops at several structures designed by Gaudi. He was such a prolific designer that there is actually a book of just the buildings he designed in and around Barcelona. Our first stop is at Parc Guell, originally intended to be a housing development designed by Gaudi for the very rich. It was to have a total of 60 homes and actually be a complete city within its’ walls. Whimsy is the order of the day as are all of Gaudi’s designs, with swirling undulating walls, tile work, and the telling of what seems to be fairy tales. Walt Disney could have received part of his inspiration for Disneyland from Gaudi, such is the fantasy quality of his designs and work. His most visible work of course is Catedral de la Sagrada Familia (Holy Family
Cathedral). He did not intend it to be a church, but typical of Gaudi, it became an obsession. Begun in 1882, is was far from finished when he died in 1926. The last 8 years if his life he worked almost exclusively on it. It is still incomplete and the estimate now is that it will be another 25 years before it is done. Gaudi was a man well ahead of his time-he even used recycled materials and his work today would be considered very modern. He never married and had no children. He is said to have told his mistress in his early years, when she said she wanted to get married that he “was too busy”. He said that decision haunted him in his later years as he died old and alone.
At the end of our tour Xavier drops us at Las Ramblas, the famous promenade, the infamous tourist trap of Barcelona. We venture forward and off side streets in search of real food. Our goal is a local eatery with few or no tourists, no English on the menu, good house wine and homey atmosphere. After rejecting a few we find our target, a tiny doorway leading past a bar to a widening area in the back. The owner speaks only a few words of English and we a few in Spanish. Using this and sign language we manage to order a variety of his house specialties that we have left to his discretion. The food continues to arrive and finally covers every available table surface. Deep fried anchovies, chicken, pork, beef, potatoes, salad, empanadas made with vegetables and meat. An entire table of “tapas” or “little plates”. Beer and red wine, coffee and a
bottle of cognac with instructions to drink all we wanted. Two hours later, our bellies and brains saturated we ask for the bill. Our host sits down at the end of the table and begins to figure on a piece of scrap paper with a short stub of a pencil that was whittled to a point, probably with a pocket knife. Evidently Tony looked like the man in charge or possibly more understanding of the offerta (offer) of E25 per person. The proprietor asked if we thought that a fair price for our feast. We all agreed and he said “are you sure?”. Our yes reply brought handshakes and many thanks as he insisted on pouring more cognac in each of the coffee cups. I asked to buy my cup as usual and he presented it to me with a flourish. After another round of handshakes, adios, and gracias we departed with full stomachs, light heads and memories of a special day indeed.
We meet our new partners in crime, David and Susan and the other couple on our Florence excursion, Dick and Helen on the pier. Our guide, Xavier (Ha vee air), a young man that is Catalonian and is very knowledgeable about Barcelona and probably their most famous resident Gaudi (Gow dee’). Our goal today is to see all the major sites, especially those of Gaudi. We start with a drive around the city with a little history. Then stops at several structures designed by Gaudi. He was such a prolific designer that there is actually a book of just the buildings he designed in and around Barcelona. Our first stop is at Parc Guell, originally intended to be a housing development designed by Gaudi for the very rich. It was to have a total of 60 homes and actually be a complete city within its’ walls. Whimsy is the order of the day as are all of Gaudi’s designs, with swirling undulating walls, tile work, and the telling of what seems to be fairy tales. Walt Disney could have received part of his inspiration for Disneyland from Gaudi, such is the fantasy quality of his designs and work. His most visible work of course is Catedral de la Sagrada Familia (Holy Family
Cathedral). He did not intend it to be a church, but typical of Gaudi, it became an obsession. Begun in 1882, is was far from finished when he died in 1926. The last 8 years if his life he worked almost exclusively on it. It is still incomplete and the estimate now is that it will be another 25 years before it is done. Gaudi was a man well ahead of his time-he even used recycled materials and his work today would be considered very modern. He never married and had no children. He is said to have told his mistress in his early years, when she said she wanted to get married that he “was too busy”. He said that decision haunted him in his later years as he died old and alone.
At the end of our tour Xavier drops us at Las Ramblas, the famous promenade, the infamous tourist trap of Barcelona. We venture forward and off side streets in search of real food. Our goal is a local eatery with few or no tourists, no English on the menu, good house wine and homey atmosphere. After rejecting a few we find our target, a tiny doorway leading past a bar to a widening area in the back. The owner speaks only a few words of English and we a few in Spanish. Using this and sign language we manage to order a variety of his house specialties that we have left to his discretion. The food continues to arrive and finally covers every available table surface. Deep fried anchovies, chicken, pork, beef, potatoes, salad, empanadas made with vegetables and meat. An entire table of “tapas” or “little plates”. Beer and red wine, coffee and a
bottle of cognac with instructions to drink all we wanted. Two hours later, our bellies and brains saturated we ask for the bill. Our host sits down at the end of the table and begins to figure on a piece of scrap paper with a short stub of a pencil that was whittled to a point, probably with a pocket knife. Evidently Tony looked like the man in charge or possibly more understanding of the offerta (offer) of E25 per person. The proprietor asked if we thought that a fair price for our feast. We all agreed and he said “are you sure?”. Our yes reply brought handshakes and many thanks as he insisted on pouring more cognac in each of the coffee cups. I asked to buy my cup as usual and he presented it to me with a flourish. After another round of handshakes, adios, and gracias we departed with full stomachs, light heads and memories of a special day indeed.
Cartagena, Spain
The history here is long and rich indeed. The city is on a site selected by Hasdrubal, brother-in-law to Hannibal of elephant fame. In 219BC Hannibal brought his armies (and elephants) to Iberia and captured Roman-allied Saguntum (Sagunto). It was the Second Punic War (Carthage vs. Rome) and even though Hannibal was initially victorious, the war ended with his decisive defeat at Zama near Carthage in 202BC.
We are off on our own to discover this beautiful town. At the dock we meet up with Trevor and Frieda, our dinner mates and decide to tag along with them for a bit.
I happen upon a 2E store. Reminds me of our $1 stores back home. 10E later I leave with a bag containing earrings to go with my Halloween costume, 2 bracelets made of polished stones and beads, a suede cowboy hat for Lee Anne to wear with her summer dresses and a nickel silver cuff bracelet that looks quite expensive. I receive comments on the cuff every time I wear it.
Cobbled streets, Roman ruins, even relics from the Phoenicians all contribute to the long and rich history here. We trek through winding wide avenues and small alleyways in search of nothing in particular. We are just enjoying the excellent sunshine and mild breeze blowing in from the harbor.
Trevor and Frieda take in a church and a mass. We decide to make our way to Plaza de San Francisco (San Francisco Square). On our way we happen upon what appears to be an archaeological dig in the middle of an old residential area. We can see through the fence what appears at first to be caves. Then on down, alleys and building walls well below what is now street level appear. It is not until later that we understand what we are seeing.
After leaving the square we happen on Trevor and Frieda again and get to hear about the beautiful cathedral they visited. We join them for a cup of coffee at a quaint sidewalk cafe where I obtain a coffee cup from a very friendly waiter who even brings me a bag to put it in. Afterward we continue on our leisurely stroll of Cartagena with no direct destination in mind.
We arrive at the Museo TeatRomano de Cartagena (Roman Theater Museum). This theater was built in the late 1st century BC and still retains its’ excellent acoustics. One can speak in a normal voice from anywhere inside and be heard with concise clarity. Small parts have been restored to what the original probably looked like to help the visitor imagine what a wonderful place it must have been. Now we realize that the excavation we saw earlier is actually part of this city during Roman times. This was the most well spent E4 (senior price - regular was only E5) we have ever spent and we were extremely happy we had decided to see it.
We start heading back to port and stop at a whardfside bistro for a cool drink since the day has turned out quite warm. There I offer to purchase another coffee cup but the manager is a young man who seems to think that all American tourists will pay anything for what they want. He started his price at 20E!! Then to my misfortune Trevor decided to try and help me negotiate by saying I might pay 10E! Trevor and I have now come to an understanding, He will not help negotiate prices and I will not threaten to make Frieda a widow. For the rest of the trip we laugh about this incident. I declined to purchase the cup by the way.
On the way back to the ship there are an abundance of tall palm trees. While looking at them we notice that the stumps of the removed fronds are different colors and comment on why this was. We speculate that perhaps they paint them with something to prevent disease or leaking sap of some kind. Later we discover they are not painted at all. In fact it was parrots in a riot of colors perched on the stubs of the removed fronds. There were hundreds of them!
We are off on our own to discover this beautiful town. At the dock we meet up with Trevor and Frieda, our dinner mates and decide to tag along with them for a bit.
I happen upon a 2E store. Reminds me of our $1 stores back home. 10E later I leave with a bag containing earrings to go with my Halloween costume, 2 bracelets made of polished stones and beads, a suede cowboy hat for Lee Anne to wear with her summer dresses and a nickel silver cuff bracelet that looks quite expensive. I receive comments on the cuff every time I wear it.
Cobbled streets, Roman ruins, even relics from the Phoenicians all contribute to the long and rich history here. We trek through winding wide avenues and small alleyways in search of nothing in particular. We are just enjoying the excellent sunshine and mild breeze blowing in from the harbor.
Trevor and Frieda take in a church and a mass. We decide to make our way to Plaza de San Francisco (San Francisco Square). On our way we happen upon what appears to be an archaeological dig in the middle of an old residential area. We can see through the fence what appears at first to be caves. Then on down, alleys and building walls well below what is now street level appear. It is not until later that we understand what we are seeing.
After leaving the square we happen on Trevor and Frieda again and get to hear about the beautiful cathedral they visited. We join them for a cup of coffee at a quaint sidewalk cafe where I obtain a coffee cup from a very friendly waiter who even brings me a bag to put it in. Afterward we continue on our leisurely stroll of Cartagena with no direct destination in mind.
We arrive at the Museo TeatRomano de Cartagena (Roman Theater Museum). This theater was built in the late 1st century BC and still retains its’ excellent acoustics. One can speak in a normal voice from anywhere inside and be heard with concise clarity. Small parts have been restored to what the original probably looked like to help the visitor imagine what a wonderful place it must have been. Now we realize that the excavation we saw earlier is actually part of this city during Roman times. This was the most well spent E4 (senior price - regular was only E5) we have ever spent and we were extremely happy we had decided to see it.
We start heading back to port and stop at a whardfside bistro for a cool drink since the day has turned out quite warm. There I offer to purchase another coffee cup but the manager is a young man who seems to think that all American tourists will pay anything for what they want. He started his price at 20E!! Then to my misfortune Trevor decided to try and help me negotiate by saying I might pay 10E! Trevor and I have now come to an understanding, He will not help negotiate prices and I will not threaten to make Frieda a widow. For the rest of the trip we laugh about this incident. I declined to purchase the cup by the way.
On the way back to the ship there are an abundance of tall palm trees. While looking at them we notice that the stumps of the removed fronds are different colors and comment on why this was. We speculate that perhaps they paint them with something to prevent disease or leaking sap of some kind. Later we discover they are not painted at all. In fact it was parrots in a riot of colors perched on the stubs of the removed fronds. There were hundreds of them!
Valletta, Malta
Our day in Malta was spent in the company of Vivian and Bob (our cohorts from Katakolon) and another couple from Canada, Coreen and Ken. We met them on Cruise Critic also and have teamed up to share a van and driver for the day. Coreen and Ken are on this trip to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Just newly weds compared to us.
We step off the ship and directly in front of the gangway is Ronald our guide and the van for our outing. We start with a short driving tour of Floriana and Valletta before heading for the ancient capital city of Mdina located at the highest point on Malta. Before reaching Mdina we stop for a scenic view of where we have been. Here even though at quite a distance we can clearly see the Mosta, the round domed church which is the third largest unsupported dome in Europe. The largest is St Peter’s in Rome, the second is the Hage’ Sophia in Istanbul and the Mosta is third. We have now been privileged to see all three. During WWII a bomb was dropped thru the dome during mass. As God would have it the bomb bounced three times before
embedding itself in the floor without exploding. The dome was repaired, the hole in the floor was not and it now contains a replica of the bomb.
Mdina is a walled medieval city that is very beautiful. Now days most of the buildings house shops geared toward the thousands of tourists who visit each year and features Malta glass shops, and of course shops selling Maltese crosses and replicas of the infamous Maltese Falcon and many restaurants. It is easy to get lost in the maze of narrow streets that wind serpent like around and through each other. But eventually you find your way back to the entrance and over the moat bridge. You can hire a horse drawn cab but the easiest way is just to walk. The horse drawn cabs are only allowed to enter Mdina if both the cab and the horse have rubber shoes so as not to damage the cobbled streets.
After leaving Mdina we drive on some of the worst roads we have encountered on our trip. We discover that we are driving on what was the British runway. Evidently they didn’t care about dips and rolls and potholes for the planes landing and taking off. I imagine this is what a stagecoach felt like in the old west. Yee! Ha! Podna!!
We head out for the Dingli Cliffs and some spectacular views of the opposite side of the island. From there it is Blue Grotto time. Tucked into a small fishing boat with an 8hp Evinrude outboard we venture into the ocean along the cliffs. In and out of small niches in the lava rock and then into the main cave of the Grotto. The water here is iridescent blues and greens, we assume caused by the lava rock. It is so clear you can see the bottom even out of the main source of light. Personally I think it was a rip-off at E7 per person but you don’t know till you have been there. The rest of our little band was very impressed so I more or less hmm’d and hawed also and kept my own council.
At 1pm we enter the Hypogeum, a series of caves scooped from solid rock in the middle of the city that was created in excess of 5000 years ago by pre-historic man as a necropolis. Over a period of 1000 years over 7000 souls were interred in these underground caves. They were discovered by accident at the turn of
the last century and are still being studied. There are several of these on the island.
The tour is in close quarters and if you can’t climb stairs don’t go. It was very interesting to see some of the paintings still visible on the ceilings and walls. And the outside of some of the chambers are carved to resemble monoliths that can be found above ground. This was all accomplished using only tools made of rock, flint and bone.
We say goodbye to Ronald and re-board our ship. Time for a quick nap before dinner.
We step off the ship and directly in front of the gangway is Ronald our guide and the van for our outing. We start with a short driving tour of Floriana and Valletta before heading for the ancient capital city of Mdina located at the highest point on Malta. Before reaching Mdina we stop for a scenic view of where we have been. Here even though at quite a distance we can clearly see the Mosta, the round domed church which is the third largest unsupported dome in Europe. The largest is St Peter’s in Rome, the second is the Hage’ Sophia in Istanbul and the Mosta is third. We have now been privileged to see all three. During WWII a bomb was dropped thru the dome during mass. As God would have it the bomb bounced three times before
embedding itself in the floor without exploding. The dome was repaired, the hole in the floor was not and it now contains a replica of the bomb.
Mdina is a walled medieval city that is very beautiful. Now days most of the buildings house shops geared toward the thousands of tourists who visit each year and features Malta glass shops, and of course shops selling Maltese crosses and replicas of the infamous Maltese Falcon and many restaurants. It is easy to get lost in the maze of narrow streets that wind serpent like around and through each other. But eventually you find your way back to the entrance and over the moat bridge. You can hire a horse drawn cab but the easiest way is just to walk. The horse drawn cabs are only allowed to enter Mdina if both the cab and the horse have rubber shoes so as not to damage the cobbled streets.
After leaving Mdina we drive on some of the worst roads we have encountered on our trip. We discover that we are driving on what was the British runway. Evidently they didn’t care about dips and rolls and potholes for the planes landing and taking off. I imagine this is what a stagecoach felt like in the old west. Yee! Ha! Podna!!
We head out for the Dingli Cliffs and some spectacular views of the opposite side of the island. From there it is Blue Grotto time. Tucked into a small fishing boat with an 8hp Evinrude outboard we venture into the ocean along the cliffs. In and out of small niches in the lava rock and then into the main cave of the Grotto. The water here is iridescent blues and greens, we assume caused by the lava rock. It is so clear you can see the bottom even out of the main source of light. Personally I think it was a rip-off at E7 per person but you don’t know till you have been there. The rest of our little band was very impressed so I more or less hmm’d and hawed also and kept my own council.
At 1pm we enter the Hypogeum, a series of caves scooped from solid rock in the middle of the city that was created in excess of 5000 years ago by pre-historic man as a necropolis. Over a period of 1000 years over 7000 souls were interred in these underground caves. They were discovered by accident at the turn of
the last century and are still being studied. There are several of these on the island.
The tour is in close quarters and if you can’t climb stairs don’t go. It was very interesting to see some of the paintings still visible on the ceilings and walls. And the outside of some of the chambers are carved to resemble monoliths that can be found above ground. This was all accomplished using only tools made of rock, flint and bone.
We say goodbye to Ronald and re-board our ship. Time for a quick nap before dinner.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal
According to fanciful legend, Ulysses established Lisbon. Scholars and less romantically inclined observers argue that Phoenician sailors were probably the first settlers - at least they were the first to be documented. Later, explorers led by Vasco da Gama, departed from Lisbon in search of a route to India. Instead, they discovered new lands. Sailors under command of Pedro Alvares Cabral reached Brazil.
In 1755 the majority of Lisbon’s buildings were completely destroyed by a massive earthquake that they continue to talk about today. In 1834 all of the monasteries and convents were ousted with the extinction of the religious orders and they were all confiscated and sold off to private owners.
We have scheduled another tour with Top Day Tours for today. We consist of six plus Antonio, our guide. On our agenda is an overview of Lisbon with its ancient now defunct monasteries, and the towns of Sintra and Estoril. In old Lisboa we encounter steep narrow cobbled streets that are barely wide enough to accommodate our vehicle without scraping the sides of buildings on either side. In some cases pedestrians must turn, back against the wall to avoid our side mirrors. Antonio is not as forthcoming with historic information as our other guides have been. He rushes almost willy nilly from one place to the next with little explanation until both Michelle and I begin to throw questions at him. Some he gives grudging information about, others he just says “it’s a building, nothing to know about it.” Oh boy, this is gonna be a
fuuun day. He seems more interested in showing us all the five star hotels and the million dollar plus condos.
Finally he stops so we can take a few pictures at the top of a boulevard overlooking the city and the sea. It appears to be some kind of commemorative, possibly for Portuguese independence, mind you I speak even less Portuguese than I do Spanish or Italian, but how would we know since all our Antonio says is it’s a good place for pictures and views, nothing more. I have spotted a very old woman and her husband selling dishtowels and other souvenirs on the sidewalk just up from us. Antonio doesn’t look very happy when I approach and start looking at her offerings. He has already said he will take us to a shop in Sintra for our shopping. Still, I like to buy early and at a reasonable price and in most cases have found that local sidewalk vendors off the beaten path and not in a storefront have better bargains. So I buy embroidered dishtowels for E1 each and return to the van. Now it has become a challenge to see how much information Antonio will give without verbal cues. He keeps asking what we want to see and do. We keep telling him we want to see his country and learn as much as we can in this one day that we have. We tell him we consider him the professional and will put ourselves in his hands. He doesn’t want any part of it so he asks again what we want to see and do, but he could take us here or there he says. Ooookay, well we will get it figured out I’m sure by the end of the day. And if not, Lisbon will be here next time and Antonio will not make a very good tip today. Mr Passive/Aggressive will not get the best of us!
That decision made, off we go to Sintra, another cobbled partially walled town that has great architecture and beautiful scenery ranging from gently rolling hills to steep rocky mountains with chasms of sheer rock covered in trees that cling to life by sheer terror and determination. Our ultimate destination here is Parque e Palacio da Pena (The Park & Palace of Pena’) built between 1842 and 1854 by Don Fernando II on the site, purchased in 1838, of one of those “abandoned” monasteries I mentioned earlier. The palace is located at the crest of a small mountain, surrounded by almost 85 hectares of historic gardens that transformed a barren hill into the first Cultural Landscape listed by UNESCO in Europe. The road leading to Pena’ is steep and winding so we ask to stop so we can take a few pictures of the castle. Antonio is very willing and starts to pull to the side of the road. Suddenly he makes a decision! Turning into a driveway leading to what looks like a private home, but is now a five star hotel, he says he knows a great place to get pictures of the castle! Antonio, you may have almost redeemed yourself! The Tivoli is the epitome of a French villa with sculptured lawns, secret gardens with maze-like hedges, and stone arches leading to shade covered benches with views through the arch of the castle atop the mountain. WOW!!! what a great vista point. We get some wonderful pictures before we head out for the top of the mountain and the castle.
Ever heard the saying about having more money than taste or brains? Pena’ Palace, is a five story testimony and the perfect example of opulent overkill using every architectural style and embellishment available, put together by a delusional child with telekinetic powers and a bad temper. ZAP!, a gargoyle! WHAM!, a Moorish arch! BAM!, a turret! WHOOSH!, a tile encrusted arch leading to a tiny courtyard! POW! Knights in armor on handmade 4in x 4in tiles covering an entire wall next to another wall covered in tile depicting acanthus leaves, next to an adjacent wall with tile depicting geometric patterns! You get dizzy taking it all in because your eyes are bouncing around like a ping pong ball in a spinning dryer. Why would someone build something like this you ask? Simply because they can. Don‘t get me wrong. I love this place. It is said that it is the “finest example of 19th century Portuguese Romanticism and the integration of natural and built heritage“. And remember my motto-(or at least one of them) “There is nothing wrong with more.”
After our visit we remind Antonio that we wanted to locate a place to buy tiles from the area, to which he says that we didn’t want to stop in Sintra before and we reminded him of the crowds and traffic. So, almost begrudgingly, back to Sintra for shopping we go. Antonio bypasses several places Michelle asked to stop at saying he knows a better place that will be one stop shopping just up the street. Uh oh, sounds like code for commission paid environment. We agree to meet back at the van in 30 minutes and everyone scatters to the four winds much to Antonio‘s dismay.
I am not going to even talk about the overpriced tourist trap restaurant by the sea we were taken to for lunch. We moved on, without a meal, to the “Portuguese Riviera” city of Estoril. Estoril is the Portuguese equivalent of Monte Carlo. It was the home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor until they became too friendly with the Germans during WWII and were relegated to the Caribbean. Here live the very rich and famous. They also have a casino and yachts. That said, the town is still picturesque and has many beautiful historic homes and buildings.
On down the coast we go back to Lisbon and finally our ship. All day we have been seeing colorful roosters on dishtowels, key chains and all kinds of other souvenirs. We asked Antonio what it represented and got one of the famous non answers about it represents Portugal. Finally we find a local who is willing to tell us the Portuguesa rooster is a good luck symbol. So I buy one for my charm bracelet and we get on the ship in just enough time to head for dinner. We are starving since we have split only a small fish empanada and a beer the entire day since the lunch location didn’t work out. Ummm… dinner was wonderful.
P.S.- Antonio didn't make out well today with tips or a free lunch in the expensive restaurant he took us to.
In 1755 the majority of Lisbon’s buildings were completely destroyed by a massive earthquake that they continue to talk about today. In 1834 all of the monasteries and convents were ousted with the extinction of the religious orders and they were all confiscated and sold off to private owners.
We have scheduled another tour with Top Day Tours for today. We consist of six plus Antonio, our guide. On our agenda is an overview of Lisbon with its ancient now defunct monasteries, and the towns of Sintra and Estoril. In old Lisboa we encounter steep narrow cobbled streets that are barely wide enough to accommodate our vehicle without scraping the sides of buildings on either side. In some cases pedestrians must turn, back against the wall to avoid our side mirrors. Antonio is not as forthcoming with historic information as our other guides have been. He rushes almost willy nilly from one place to the next with little explanation until both Michelle and I begin to throw questions at him. Some he gives grudging information about, others he just says “it’s a building, nothing to know about it.” Oh boy, this is gonna be a
fuuun day. He seems more interested in showing us all the five star hotels and the million dollar plus condos.
Finally he stops so we can take a few pictures at the top of a boulevard overlooking the city and the sea. It appears to be some kind of commemorative, possibly for Portuguese independence, mind you I speak even less Portuguese than I do Spanish or Italian, but how would we know since all our Antonio says is it’s a good place for pictures and views, nothing more. I have spotted a very old woman and her husband selling dishtowels and other souvenirs on the sidewalk just up from us. Antonio doesn’t look very happy when I approach and start looking at her offerings. He has already said he will take us to a shop in Sintra for our shopping. Still, I like to buy early and at a reasonable price and in most cases have found that local sidewalk vendors off the beaten path and not in a storefront have better bargains. So I buy embroidered dishtowels for E1 each and return to the van. Now it has become a challenge to see how much information Antonio will give without verbal cues. He keeps asking what we want to see and do. We keep telling him we want to see his country and learn as much as we can in this one day that we have. We tell him we consider him the professional and will put ourselves in his hands. He doesn’t want any part of it so he asks again what we want to see and do, but he could take us here or there he says. Ooookay, well we will get it figured out I’m sure by the end of the day. And if not, Lisbon will be here next time and Antonio will not make a very good tip today. Mr Passive/Aggressive will not get the best of us!
That decision made, off we go to Sintra, another cobbled partially walled town that has great architecture and beautiful scenery ranging from gently rolling hills to steep rocky mountains with chasms of sheer rock covered in trees that cling to life by sheer terror and determination. Our ultimate destination here is Parque e Palacio da Pena (The Park & Palace of Pena’) built between 1842 and 1854 by Don Fernando II on the site, purchased in 1838, of one of those “abandoned” monasteries I mentioned earlier. The palace is located at the crest of a small mountain, surrounded by almost 85 hectares of historic gardens that transformed a barren hill into the first Cultural Landscape listed by UNESCO in Europe. The road leading to Pena’ is steep and winding so we ask to stop so we can take a few pictures of the castle. Antonio is very willing and starts to pull to the side of the road. Suddenly he makes a decision! Turning into a driveway leading to what looks like a private home, but is now a five star hotel, he says he knows a great place to get pictures of the castle! Antonio, you may have almost redeemed yourself! The Tivoli is the epitome of a French villa with sculptured lawns, secret gardens with maze-like hedges, and stone arches leading to shade covered benches with views through the arch of the castle atop the mountain. WOW!!! what a great vista point. We get some wonderful pictures before we head out for the top of the mountain and the castle.
Ever heard the saying about having more money than taste or brains? Pena’ Palace, is a five story testimony and the perfect example of opulent overkill using every architectural style and embellishment available, put together by a delusional child with telekinetic powers and a bad temper. ZAP!, a gargoyle! WHAM!, a Moorish arch! BAM!, a turret! WHOOSH!, a tile encrusted arch leading to a tiny courtyard! POW! Knights in armor on handmade 4in x 4in tiles covering an entire wall next to another wall covered in tile depicting acanthus leaves, next to an adjacent wall with tile depicting geometric patterns! You get dizzy taking it all in because your eyes are bouncing around like a ping pong ball in a spinning dryer. Why would someone build something like this you ask? Simply because they can. Don‘t get me wrong. I love this place. It is said that it is the “finest example of 19th century Portuguese Romanticism and the integration of natural and built heritage“. And remember my motto-(or at least one of them) “There is nothing wrong with more.”
After our visit we remind Antonio that we wanted to locate a place to buy tiles from the area, to which he says that we didn’t want to stop in Sintra before and we reminded him of the crowds and traffic. So, almost begrudgingly, back to Sintra for shopping we go. Antonio bypasses several places Michelle asked to stop at saying he knows a better place that will be one stop shopping just up the street. Uh oh, sounds like code for commission paid environment. We agree to meet back at the van in 30 minutes and everyone scatters to the four winds much to Antonio‘s dismay.
I am not going to even talk about the overpriced tourist trap restaurant by the sea we were taken to for lunch. We moved on, without a meal, to the “Portuguese Riviera” city of Estoril. Estoril is the Portuguese equivalent of Monte Carlo. It was the home of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor until they became too friendly with the Germans during WWII and were relegated to the Caribbean. Here live the very rich and famous. They also have a casino and yachts. That said, the town is still picturesque and has many beautiful historic homes and buildings.
On down the coast we go back to Lisbon and finally our ship. All day we have been seeing colorful roosters on dishtowels, key chains and all kinds of other souvenirs. We asked Antonio what it represented and got one of the famous non answers about it represents Portugal. Finally we find a local who is willing to tell us the Portuguesa rooster is a good luck symbol. So I buy one for my charm bracelet and we get on the ship in just enough time to head for dinner. We are starving since we have split only a small fish empanada and a beer the entire day since the lunch location didn’t work out. Ummm… dinner was wonderful.
P.S.- Antonio didn't make out well today with tips or a free lunch in the expensive restaurant he took us to.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Civitavecchia, Italy
The ship provided shuttle took us through the port to Fort Michelangelo. We spent the day exploring this bustling city.
Civitavecchia means “Ancient Town”. Evidence shows that people lived here before history was ever recorded. This port city was built by Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd Century and became one of the most important cities of ancient Rome. The Middle Ages brought a final period of general lawlessness to the Mediterranean region. The port was sacked and burned several times in the 15th century.
Once again we had rain showers and a brisk breeze, so our first order of business was to replace the umbrella we broke in Venice. We found a tiny souvenir shop that was advertised on every street corner from the time we got off the shuttle. Frank’s Place carried a limited number of Italy souvenirs, 6-8 different local wines, a few books and one umbrella that Frank discounted for me since we bought a bottle of wine and a Book with DVD of Rome. His prices were less than most of the other souvenir kiosks we find on our travels and Frank’s English was that wonderful lilting sing song of Italy. Frank thanked us sincerely and extracted a promise that we would stop in next year when we came back through. The wine by the way was excellent.
From there we walked up several blocks and cut back in toward the center of town. Here we found a large open air market containing some of the most beautiful fruits, vegetables and flowers we have seen to date. Persimmons as big as Tony’s fist in the brightest hot-yellow-orange, small aubergere eggplants the perfect size for stuffing or breading and frying in olive oil, dazzling gerbera daisies in myriads of colors mixed with sunflowers, button and spiked chrysanthemums, leather fern, carnations, roses, banana leaves, and more, in bunches small and large. I was so tempted to purchase a mixed bunch for our cabin onboard, but I could see Tony looking at me like I was crazy so I resisted the temptation. We continued out the other end of the huge tent into a square we hadn’t known was there. Here was even more of what we had just seen in the open with individual market umbrellas over the stalls. Next to this was a semi enclosed tent building that held permanent shops for meats, cheeses, butter, olives, sun dried tomatoes, plastic tubes of tomato paste, dried red chile peppers woven onto ropes, and a plethora of other food stuffs. Alas, we are not allowed to bring any spices back into the country that are not sealed in airtight packages. But the smell is wonderful!
The outside corners contained small shops selling sweaters, scarves, blouses, and other manner of clothing. Most of it in sizes that might accommodate my arm or leg with the help of numerous safety pins and an abundance of stretching. A few steps past this market and across a narrow cobbled street is an equally huge flea market with everything from duct tape to underwear. Here I purchase several pashminas for just a few Euro each. I bought some last year in Rome and everyone loved them. Such pretty and inexpensive souvenirs that pack wonderfully!
We venture back downhill toward our beginning point. We follow our noses, once more, to a small leather shop on the corner before the main street. Here I purchase a wonderful classic leather tote/purse for E35 that is soft and pliable and will probably outlast me and get passed on to Sophia. I purchase a second one for Lee Anne as a birthday present.
We make a stop for a cup of coffee and free WiFi before heading back to the ship. And of course our server is down at home. So much for saving a few bucks from our onboard plan. On our way we spot a phone center and decide to call Annie instead of the usual email. For E.60 cent connect fee and E.10 cents per minute we can call and talk for a few minutes. It is 3 am at home but she is glad to hear from us and we assure ourselves that “all is well on the Western Front” for a grand total of E1.
Back onboard we get comfy and warm with another cup of coffee and our books on the Lido while we watch the new passengers board and start learning their way around their new home for the next 18 days.
Civitavecchia means “Ancient Town”. Evidence shows that people lived here before history was ever recorded. This port city was built by Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd Century and became one of the most important cities of ancient Rome. The Middle Ages brought a final period of general lawlessness to the Mediterranean region. The port was sacked and burned several times in the 15th century.
Once again we had rain showers and a brisk breeze, so our first order of business was to replace the umbrella we broke in Venice. We found a tiny souvenir shop that was advertised on every street corner from the time we got off the shuttle. Frank’s Place carried a limited number of Italy souvenirs, 6-8 different local wines, a few books and one umbrella that Frank discounted for me since we bought a bottle of wine and a Book with DVD of Rome. His prices were less than most of the other souvenir kiosks we find on our travels and Frank’s English was that wonderful lilting sing song of Italy. Frank thanked us sincerely and extracted a promise that we would stop in next year when we came back through. The wine by the way was excellent.
From there we walked up several blocks and cut back in toward the center of town. Here we found a large open air market containing some of the most beautiful fruits, vegetables and flowers we have seen to date. Persimmons as big as Tony’s fist in the brightest hot-yellow-orange, small aubergere eggplants the perfect size for stuffing or breading and frying in olive oil, dazzling gerbera daisies in myriads of colors mixed with sunflowers, button and spiked chrysanthemums, leather fern, carnations, roses, banana leaves, and more, in bunches small and large. I was so tempted to purchase a mixed bunch for our cabin onboard, but I could see Tony looking at me like I was crazy so I resisted the temptation. We continued out the other end of the huge tent into a square we hadn’t known was there. Here was even more of what we had just seen in the open with individual market umbrellas over the stalls. Next to this was a semi enclosed tent building that held permanent shops for meats, cheeses, butter, olives, sun dried tomatoes, plastic tubes of tomato paste, dried red chile peppers woven onto ropes, and a plethora of other food stuffs. Alas, we are not allowed to bring any spices back into the country that are not sealed in airtight packages. But the smell is wonderful!
The outside corners contained small shops selling sweaters, scarves, blouses, and other manner of clothing. Most of it in sizes that might accommodate my arm or leg with the help of numerous safety pins and an abundance of stretching. A few steps past this market and across a narrow cobbled street is an equally huge flea market with everything from duct tape to underwear. Here I purchase several pashminas for just a few Euro each. I bought some last year in Rome and everyone loved them. Such pretty and inexpensive souvenirs that pack wonderfully!
We venture back downhill toward our beginning point. We follow our noses, once more, to a small leather shop on the corner before the main street. Here I purchase a wonderful classic leather tote/purse for E35 that is soft and pliable and will probably outlast me and get passed on to Sophia. I purchase a second one for Lee Anne as a birthday present.
We make a stop for a cup of coffee and free WiFi before heading back to the ship. And of course our server is down at home. So much for saving a few bucks from our onboard plan. On our way we spot a phone center and decide to call Annie instead of the usual email. For E.60 cent connect fee and E.10 cents per minute we can call and talk for a few minutes. It is 3 am at home but she is glad to hear from us and we assure ourselves that “all is well on the Western Front” for a grand total of E1.
Back onboard we get comfy and warm with another cup of coffee and our books on the Lido while we watch the new passengers board and start learning their way around their new home for the next 18 days.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Kotor, Montenegro
It is a short sail from Dubrovnik to this picturesque town farther down the coast in the tiny country of Montenegro. We have decided to dub this “field trip” Land of the Walled Cities. So far we have had walled towns at each of out ports of call with more to come. Each has been amazing.
All of these countries were feudal in the middle ages and therefore their fortifications were extensive. In addition this part of the world was forever on the move to expand and explore with one kingdom, fiefdom, or tribe trying to conquer and subdue their neighbor even if that neighbor was a continent or two away.
Kotor was no exception to any of these, so, the fortifications made sense if they were to preserve any independence. As we look from our balcony we see 1350 steps leading zigzag up an almost sheer rock mountain to a fort overlooking the bay. This bay is twenty two miles deep and the city of Kotor lays at the very end.
Once again we see lovely homes, walls, streets, roads and docks made of rock. Today we have chosen to stay onboard as it is pouring rain again and we must tender into this port. If the rain stops for a period later we might decide to venture ashore. Then again the view is quite lovely and the ship is oh so quiet and calm with most of the passengers shoving, pushing and all around jockeying for position in line and on land to “get their monies worth”. Some days we just defy the crowds and choose not to participate and we have all the deck chairs, hot tubs, pools, and saunas to ourselves. We win, neener neener !!
No one knows exactly when Kotor was founded. The name is Greek meaning “wells” but there were residents here long before Greek settlers arrived. It is one of the best preserved medieval cities and was designed with dual purposes : aesthetic beauty and an attempt to thwart invaders. Its main fortification was a wall, 3 miles long, 60 foot high, and 45 feet thick! Needless to say it still exists.
All of these countries were feudal in the middle ages and therefore their fortifications were extensive. In addition this part of the world was forever on the move to expand and explore with one kingdom, fiefdom, or tribe trying to conquer and subdue their neighbor even if that neighbor was a continent or two away.
Kotor was no exception to any of these, so, the fortifications made sense if they were to preserve any independence. As we look from our balcony we see 1350 steps leading zigzag up an almost sheer rock mountain to a fort overlooking the bay. This bay is twenty two miles deep and the city of Kotor lays at the very end.
Once again we see lovely homes, walls, streets, roads and docks made of rock. Today we have chosen to stay onboard as it is pouring rain again and we must tender into this port. If the rain stops for a period later we might decide to venture ashore. Then again the view is quite lovely and the ship is oh so quiet and calm with most of the passengers shoving, pushing and all around jockeying for position in line and on land to “get their monies worth”. Some days we just defy the crowds and choose not to participate and we have all the deck chairs, hot tubs, pools, and saunas to ourselves. We win, neener neener !!
No one knows exactly when Kotor was founded. The name is Greek meaning “wells” but there were residents here long before Greek settlers arrived. It is one of the best preserved medieval cities and was designed with dual purposes : aesthetic beauty and an attempt to thwart invaders. Its main fortification was a wall, 3 miles long, 60 foot high, and 45 feet thick! Needless to say it still exists.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Dubrovnik, Croasia
From the time we sailed out of Venice through the Grand Canal until we docked in Dubrovnik it rained. Then almost like one of the Gods smiling the clouds and wind and rain retreated and our day in this lovely place was perfect.
This medieval town boasts a walled city that has survived just about anything one can imagine. Richard the Lion Heart was here during the Crusades along with conquerors from almost ever other era of history and yet Dubrovnik not only survives but flourishes within its natural beauty. Beauty that is polished and clean and unassuming. We couldn’t get over the fact that unlike other ancient sites we have visited, this one is CLEAN!!! No litter anywhere. It was a bit eerie at first because it seemed almost too perfect.
Picture if you will the landscape of, The Sound of Music, and Heidi minus the snow. A walled city that defies the reality of the Serb war in the early 90’s. All the streets are cobbled stone. From one corner to the next are open air cafés, tiny stores tucked into niches in the walls, local vendors set up along outer walls, churches with quiet, cool, dark interiors that give shelter from the noise of the tourists who flock here. The main attraction in the walled city is to climb the many steps to the top of the wall and then walk the wall that encircles the town. We were with our dinner mates Trevor and Frieda thankfully, so we didn’t walk the wall but we did walk completely around the entire city and that was enough. My short little legs were very tired since I usually end up taking 3 steps to everyone else’s one in order to keep up. Ah such are the challenges of a short fluffy person.
We found a local craft and farmers market taking place in one of the courtyards in the center of town. As we came around the corner the smell of lavender engulfed us. Evidently the harvest had recently taken place because there was everything imaginable containing lavender. Offerings included lavender infused olive oil, lavender sachets, lavender wands, lavendersoaps, even lavender liqueurs. The last of these were a little off putting to me but others were buying them. Dubrovnik also offers embroidery and other handmade items such as crochet, and olive oil with different herbs and flowers to scent and season. I purchased a tiny bottle of cherry liqueur and a small pinwheel patterned doily that reminded me of one Grandma Recupero had made for me 40 years ago. That and a postcard were my only souvenirs of this little kingdom by the sea.
We were in this port until midnight and some of the other passengers were returning to town for a concert in the evening. Not us, our day was complete and it was time for the hot tub and a lounge chair to put ones feet up. And maybe a nap before dinner? Hmmm… why not.
This medieval town boasts a walled city that has survived just about anything one can imagine. Richard the Lion Heart was here during the Crusades along with conquerors from almost ever other era of history and yet Dubrovnik not only survives but flourishes within its natural beauty. Beauty that is polished and clean and unassuming. We couldn’t get over the fact that unlike other ancient sites we have visited, this one is CLEAN!!! No litter anywhere. It was a bit eerie at first because it seemed almost too perfect.
Picture if you will the landscape of, The Sound of Music, and Heidi minus the snow. A walled city that defies the reality of the Serb war in the early 90’s. All the streets are cobbled stone. From one corner to the next are open air cafés, tiny stores tucked into niches in the walls, local vendors set up along outer walls, churches with quiet, cool, dark interiors that give shelter from the noise of the tourists who flock here. The main attraction in the walled city is to climb the many steps to the top of the wall and then walk the wall that encircles the town. We were with our dinner mates Trevor and Frieda thankfully, so we didn’t walk the wall but we did walk completely around the entire city and that was enough. My short little legs were very tired since I usually end up taking 3 steps to everyone else’s one in order to keep up. Ah such are the challenges of a short fluffy person.
We found a local craft and farmers market taking place in one of the courtyards in the center of town. As we came around the corner the smell of lavender engulfed us. Evidently the harvest had recently taken place because there was everything imaginable containing lavender. Offerings included lavender infused olive oil, lavender sachets, lavender wands, lavendersoaps, even lavender liqueurs. The last of these were a little off putting to me but others were buying them. Dubrovnik also offers embroidery and other handmade items such as crochet, and olive oil with different herbs and flowers to scent and season. I purchased a tiny bottle of cherry liqueur and a small pinwheel patterned doily that reminded me of one Grandma Recupero had made for me 40 years ago. That and a postcard were my only souvenirs of this little kingdom by the sea.
We were in this port until midnight and some of the other passengers were returning to town for a concert in the evening. Not us, our day was complete and it was time for the hot tub and a lounge chair to put ones feet up. And maybe a nap before dinner? Hmmm… why not.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Corfu, Greece
Corfu is one of those places that seems like a small village instead of a bustling seaport. We decided to walk around and soak up the local color. Once again crumbling buildings with vine draped balconies, worn and warped shutters that are in varying stages of closed, open, gaping, barely cracked open and/or covered with beautiful handmade curtains to let in the light and air but keep prying eyes out.
The downtown area and walled old town are quite a distance from the port and taxis are very expensive even if you share. We heard tales of drivers changing the amount of the fare after discovering 4 people were riding instead of two. So rather than argue we walked around the neighborhoods near the port.
The atmosphere was relaxed and quiet. We visited tiny local markets with fresh fruits and veggies for sale plus a meat market filled with chickens, beef, veal and tenderloin, all ready to be cut and wrapped at the customers request. Of course, being near the port there was an abundance of pizzerias, coffee shops and restaurants all boasting what they think the average tourist will want. We on this windy but sunny day, however, were more impressed with the little open air places a few blocks inland. Here, it seemed all the local old men were gathered round tables with their dogs at their feet discussing whatever old men with dogs who live on Corfu discuss every morning at their local coffee house. We figured they were probably speculating on how strange we were to be walking around taking pictures of abandoned factories and broken tiles and shutters. But what they don’t know is I have a motive for wanting pictures of all this stuff. I just haven’t quite figured out exactly what yet. But give me time and I will have an epiphany I am sure.
After a few hours my legs were starting to get tired so we reversed our course and headed in the general direction of the sea. It didn’t take us long to get back where we had started from.
We were surprised that there were no vendors hawking their wares outside the port entrance so we ended up shopping in a very reasonably priced duty free shop just before boarding the ship. Here we bought kumquat jelly, olive oil, soap, several other gifts and the worst bottle of red wine I think I have ever tasted. In the past we have had very good luck purchasing inexpensive local wine, but this was an exception. I can’t even give the excuse that it was only E5 since we have had E5 wine that was quite palatable. So, lesson learned? Don’t buy E5 wine in Corfu at the duty free store.
The downtown area and walled old town are quite a distance from the port and taxis are very expensive even if you share. We heard tales of drivers changing the amount of the fare after discovering 4 people were riding instead of two. So rather than argue we walked around the neighborhoods near the port.
The atmosphere was relaxed and quiet. We visited tiny local markets with fresh fruits and veggies for sale plus a meat market filled with chickens, beef, veal and tenderloin, all ready to be cut and wrapped at the customers request. Of course, being near the port there was an abundance of pizzerias, coffee shops and restaurants all boasting what they think the average tourist will want. We on this windy but sunny day, however, were more impressed with the little open air places a few blocks inland. Here, it seemed all the local old men were gathered round tables with their dogs at their feet discussing whatever old men with dogs who live on Corfu discuss every morning at their local coffee house. We figured they were probably speculating on how strange we were to be walking around taking pictures of abandoned factories and broken tiles and shutters. But what they don’t know is I have a motive for wanting pictures of all this stuff. I just haven’t quite figured out exactly what yet. But give me time and I will have an epiphany I am sure.
After a few hours my legs were starting to get tired so we reversed our course and headed in the general direction of the sea. It didn’t take us long to get back where we had started from.
We were surprised that there were no vendors hawking their wares outside the port entrance so we ended up shopping in a very reasonably priced duty free shop just before boarding the ship. Here we bought kumquat jelly, olive oil, soap, several other gifts and the worst bottle of red wine I think I have ever tasted. In the past we have had very good luck purchasing inexpensive local wine, but this was an exception. I can’t even give the excuse that it was only E5 since we have had E5 wine that was quite palatable. So, lesson learned? Don’t buy E5 wine in Corfu at the duty free store.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Malaga, Spain
Malaga was already established when Phoenicians reached Spain. Historians say they came from Tyre and Sidon 50 years after Troy was destroyed in 1184 BC, however archaeological evidence reveals no permanent coastal settlement until almost half a millennium later.
The Moors invaded Andalusia in 711 AD. They stayed for over 700 years until Ferdinand and Isabella reclaimed their land around 1492.
There are three buses today. We board our bus after a slight delay. Seems the port authority waited for our ship to clear before they would allow the private tours to enter. And our ship was late docking. Our driver is Jose’ and our bus guide is Debbie from England. From the beginning we knew this would be a different tour than we have had, since there was a total of 18 in our group and some were already complaining about getting a late start. Debbie explains that today is the beginning of a holiday weekend and with the possibility of heavy return traffic we will plan to leave Granada by 2:15 for arrival at the port by 4:30. Immediately we have protests that we are getting cheated out of almost an hour of our tour time because the tour company was late picking us up and the fact that we are not required to be back on board until 5:30 for a 6pm sailing. Next comes a statement from a gentleman that as many of us as there are the ship will wait if we are late. At this point I had bitten my tongue as long as possible. I informed the gentleman he didn’t know what he was talking about since we were on a private tour and the ship is only held for ship sponsored tours. There was finally agreement from others and he admitted this was his first private tour and perhaps he might be wrong. But he and his wife continued to complain about getting back so early. All this before we ever got out of Malaga!!! Let’s get to the fun part people!!!
Today our adventure is to Granada for a tour of the Alhambra (red place), one of Moorish Spain’s most familiar monuments. Our guide is Patricia’ (Pah tree see ah) another redhead with wonderful knowledge to share with us. Our “ah ha” moment today is the meaning of having cypress trees planted at the entrance to your home. One represents drink, meaning that you are welcome to stop to refresh yourself. Two is for food and drink. Three is for food, drink, and lodging. However if there are none, don’t stop because you are not welcome. All rightey then...remind me to plant cypress next to my front porch, but, in pots, so depending on how my day is going I can add or remove part or all of the invitation.
The complex includes the Royal Palace of the Arabic Kings and the Granadan Alcazaba (fortress). Built by Ismael I and modified by Muhammad V the stronghold and grounds are remarkably preserved. The gardens alone require the services of 68 gardeners to keep them in top form. Tile work and inlaid and carved wood ceilings are the order of the day along with Moorish arches, grille work and of course balconies. Fountains, every conceivable plant and topiaries grown into walls and carved like arched courtyards are around every turn. Walkways and courtyards are paved with inlaid geometric designs made from white and black rock laid flat and on side to roll and undulate in and around stairs and ramps. It is more than I can describe here because my eyes and camera were never still for the entire three hours we toured. At the end of our time Patricia’ told us we had walked almost 5 miles and climbed between 300-400 steps. Whew!!! It rained lightly off and on throughout our tour but the beauty of this place makes the weather forgettable.
Debbie announces that we will go into Granada for a brief time since there were complaints about not getting time in the city. This starts another debate with the same couple who were being “cheated” before. Now they have decided they don’t want to walk in the rain and want to stay on the bus. Debbie says sorry, no can do, everyone’s gotta get off. We are smiling hugely at Debbie as we jaunt down the mountain into Grenada.
We need sustenance! Down the hill and into the city of Granada we go. We are
given a bit of free time to explore and find lunch. Susan, David, Tony and I choose a quaint little restaurant just as they let us off the bus at the intersection and tell us what time to be back. Meson’ Gregorio resembles a tiny French or Italian villa with plastered walls, tiled roof and wonderful smells emanating from inside . It was established here in 1955. Good choice we think. Downstairs is a bar, upstairs the dining room. We tell our waiter we would like to once again sample so we order three different meals and he brings us salad and plates for sharing. We order a bottle of red wine and end up ordering another. Our meal is wonderful. We have chosen ham croquettes, pork tenderloins, salad and a meat and cheese board. He also brings a plate of deep fried anchovies or sardines. We don’t know which but they were very tasty.
Time to head back to our bus and listen to complaints about the lack of choices on where to eat and not having enough time and no menus in English and the rain. We are laughing and joking as we board and make sure we described our meal and the two bottles of wine in minute detail, with wide smiles full of both sarcasm and much joviality. Ahhhhh, that second bottle of wine really made the difference in the atmosphere of our return trip.
The Moors invaded Andalusia in 711 AD. They stayed for over 700 years until Ferdinand and Isabella reclaimed their land around 1492.
There are three buses today. We board our bus after a slight delay. Seems the port authority waited for our ship to clear before they would allow the private tours to enter. And our ship was late docking. Our driver is Jose’ and our bus guide is Debbie from England. From the beginning we knew this would be a different tour than we have had, since there was a total of 18 in our group and some were already complaining about getting a late start. Debbie explains that today is the beginning of a holiday weekend and with the possibility of heavy return traffic we will plan to leave Granada by 2:15 for arrival at the port by 4:30. Immediately we have protests that we are getting cheated out of almost an hour of our tour time because the tour company was late picking us up and the fact that we are not required to be back on board until 5:30 for a 6pm sailing. Next comes a statement from a gentleman that as many of us as there are the ship will wait if we are late. At this point I had bitten my tongue as long as possible. I informed the gentleman he didn’t know what he was talking about since we were on a private tour and the ship is only held for ship sponsored tours. There was finally agreement from others and he admitted this was his first private tour and perhaps he might be wrong. But he and his wife continued to complain about getting back so early. All this before we ever got out of Malaga!!! Let’s get to the fun part people!!!
Today our adventure is to Granada for a tour of the Alhambra (red place), one of Moorish Spain’s most familiar monuments. Our guide is Patricia’ (Pah tree see ah) another redhead with wonderful knowledge to share with us. Our “ah ha” moment today is the meaning of having cypress trees planted at the entrance to your home. One represents drink, meaning that you are welcome to stop to refresh yourself. Two is for food and drink. Three is for food, drink, and lodging. However if there are none, don’t stop because you are not welcome. All rightey then...remind me to plant cypress next to my front porch, but, in pots, so depending on how my day is going I can add or remove part or all of the invitation.
The complex includes the Royal Palace of the Arabic Kings and the Granadan Alcazaba (fortress). Built by Ismael I and modified by Muhammad V the stronghold and grounds are remarkably preserved. The gardens alone require the services of 68 gardeners to keep them in top form. Tile work and inlaid and carved wood ceilings are the order of the day along with Moorish arches, grille work and of course balconies. Fountains, every conceivable plant and topiaries grown into walls and carved like arched courtyards are around every turn. Walkways and courtyards are paved with inlaid geometric designs made from white and black rock laid flat and on side to roll and undulate in and around stairs and ramps. It is more than I can describe here because my eyes and camera were never still for the entire three hours we toured. At the end of our time Patricia’ told us we had walked almost 5 miles and climbed between 300-400 steps. Whew!!! It rained lightly off and on throughout our tour but the beauty of this place makes the weather forgettable.
Debbie announces that we will go into Granada for a brief time since there were complaints about not getting time in the city. This starts another debate with the same couple who were being “cheated” before. Now they have decided they don’t want to walk in the rain and want to stay on the bus. Debbie says sorry, no can do, everyone’s gotta get off. We are smiling hugely at Debbie as we jaunt down the mountain into Grenada.
We need sustenance! Down the hill and into the city of Granada we go. We are
given a bit of free time to explore and find lunch. Susan, David, Tony and I choose a quaint little restaurant just as they let us off the bus at the intersection and tell us what time to be back. Meson’ Gregorio resembles a tiny French or Italian villa with plastered walls, tiled roof and wonderful smells emanating from inside . It was established here in 1955. Good choice we think. Downstairs is a bar, upstairs the dining room. We tell our waiter we would like to once again sample so we order three different meals and he brings us salad and plates for sharing. We order a bottle of red wine and end up ordering another. Our meal is wonderful. We have chosen ham croquettes, pork tenderloins, salad and a meat and cheese board. He also brings a plate of deep fried anchovies or sardines. We don’t know which but they were very tasty.
Time to head back to our bus and listen to complaints about the lack of choices on where to eat and not having enough time and no menus in English and the rain. We are laughing and joking as we board and make sure we described our meal and the two bottles of wine in minute detail, with wide smiles full of both sarcasm and much joviality. Ahhhhh, that second bottle of wine really made the difference in the atmosphere of our return trip.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Katakolon, Greece - (Olympia) Home of the Original Olympics
We met our tour partners Vivian and Bob Pai just before 8am and left the ship together to find our guide for the day. I had made arrangements with George at 'Taxi Katakolon' for him to find us a driver since he was already booked by someone else on our ship.
George is a very nice and personable man and he met us to introduce us to our driver Denos or Demos.
We headed out for the archaeological site at Olympia as soon as we got to the port entrance. This turned out to be one of the best decisions since we beat all the tour buses and had a good portion of the site to ourselves before the crowds hit.
The site is much larger than we expected and covered a few square miles. We tackled it in no specific order other than to avoid the few private and semi-private tour groups that had also decided to get an early start.
The site is among trees and is shaded in most places other than the competition field which reminded us greatly of Circus Maximus in Rome. This field is rectangular rather than oval but the rest of the area is very similar.
About the time we had finished with the site and decided to head for the museum several large groups were coming in so our timing had been almost perfect.
The museum is very modern and not as large or as extensive as we had expected. It’s contents were reminiscent of the small museum at Delos, containing statues, earthen jars, glass and of course partial statues that had decorated some of the buildings and temples. The site itself had been tumbled by a massive earthquake which accounts for the lack of intact pieces.
There was a moderately large collection of swords and knives made from gold, silver and bronze. Our grandson, Dominick, would have been intrigued by the shapes and sizes of some of the pieces.In total we spent a bit over two hours at the site and the total cost for entrance fees to both the site and the museum was E9 on a combination ticket. There is another museum dedicated to the history of the Olympic games that is free entry. Vivian and Bob went thru it and said it was quite interesting.
We stopped for about 30 minutes in the village of Olympia and I bought some olive oil and spices along with a few post cards to make into a collage.
We had intended to visit a local winery at George’s recommendation however he informed us that he had called them to say we were coming and they told him they had tour groups totaling 300 plus so he recommended we skip it which we did. Instead we had a scenic ride to an amphitheater and to a beach resort and took some nice pictures. We also rode thru the town of Pirus (sp) where George and Demos live.
Lunch was at a local Greek restaurant and we asked the owner to make us up a sampler of his dishes so we could try a variety of things. Bob and Vivian agreed they wanted that also. We had a very filling lunch of calamari soup, beef steak, chicken, meatballs, and salad. We are beginning to think that all lunches in Europe are E25 per couple. If we keep this up we will be hitting an ATM in short order.
By this time we were all tired and asked Demos to return us to the ship a bit
early. The total for a full day car and driver was E120 per couple. We felt we got our money’s worth without all the tourist traps.
George is a very nice and personable man and he met us to introduce us to our driver Denos or Demos.
We headed out for the archaeological site at Olympia as soon as we got to the port entrance. This turned out to be one of the best decisions since we beat all the tour buses and had a good portion of the site to ourselves before the crowds hit.
The site is much larger than we expected and covered a few square miles. We tackled it in no specific order other than to avoid the few private and semi-private tour groups that had also decided to get an early start.
The site is among trees and is shaded in most places other than the competition field which reminded us greatly of Circus Maximus in Rome. This field is rectangular rather than oval but the rest of the area is very similar.
About the time we had finished with the site and decided to head for the museum several large groups were coming in so our timing had been almost perfect.
The museum is very modern and not as large or as extensive as we had expected. It’s contents were reminiscent of the small museum at Delos, containing statues, earthen jars, glass and of course partial statues that had decorated some of the buildings and temples. The site itself had been tumbled by a massive earthquake which accounts for the lack of intact pieces.
There was a moderately large collection of swords and knives made from gold, silver and bronze. Our grandson, Dominick, would have been intrigued by the shapes and sizes of some of the pieces.In total we spent a bit over two hours at the site and the total cost for entrance fees to both the site and the museum was E9 on a combination ticket. There is another museum dedicated to the history of the Olympic games that is free entry. Vivian and Bob went thru it and said it was quite interesting.
We stopped for about 30 minutes in the village of Olympia and I bought some olive oil and spices along with a few post cards to make into a collage.
We had intended to visit a local winery at George’s recommendation however he informed us that he had called them to say we were coming and they told him they had tour groups totaling 300 plus so he recommended we skip it which we did. Instead we had a scenic ride to an amphitheater and to a beach resort and took some nice pictures. We also rode thru the town of Pirus (sp) where George and Demos live.
Lunch was at a local Greek restaurant and we asked the owner to make us up a sampler of his dishes so we could try a variety of things. Bob and Vivian agreed they wanted that also. We had a very filling lunch of calamari soup, beef steak, chicken, meatballs, and salad. We are beginning to think that all lunches in Europe are E25 per couple. If we keep this up we will be hitting an ATM in short order.
By this time we were all tired and asked Demos to return us to the ship a bit
early. The total for a full day car and driver was E120 per couple. We felt we got our money’s worth without all the tourist traps.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Monte Carlo, Monaco
The sovereign Principality of Monaco lies in the hills above the Mediterranean Sea smack dab in the middle of the French Riviera. Home of the Grand Prix, Princess Grace and the legend of James Bond’s Casino Royale this tiny piece of real estate can boast the priciest in the world. In order to enter the Monte Carlo Casino you pay a cover charge and if you wish to gamble in the evening a tux or evening gown is required. In fact all the large casinos maintain dress codes. Monaco is also the most densely populated country in the world touting 42,000 per sq mile. The entire Principality is only half the size of New York City’s Central Park.
We tender in this port and the walk from the tender dock out of the marina is long and filled with yachts of all shapes, sizes, colors, origination points and price ranges. All of them expensive. Here owners have their yachts lifted from the water on a regular basis for cleaning or moving. But then if you can afford to moor here a small matter of having your boat moved is a mere pittance.
We finally get past the Monte Carlo Yacht Club and try our hand at finding our way around. It doesn’t take us long to discover we are in the shopping part of town with names like Hermes’, Prada, Ferragamo, and others, vying for our attention. I am looking for a 'treasure' not a scarf that will cost me a full year of my poor little pension. Sooo… always the mindful wife who saves my wonderful husband oodles and gobs of money I duck down a couple of little side streets and find a wonderful boutique featuring all manner of home décor. In fact so much of it, I have to keep repeating my look round, as I see different treasures with each new sweep. Bonjour!!! This is my kind of store!! It follows one of my mottos - “More is always a good thing and the more there is the better time you have finding a treasure”. It doesn’t take long to find what will make very nice mementos. The proprietress is very French “tres chic” with obviously dyed Strawberry Shortcake red hair, and tiny hot purple framed designer half glasses perched on the tip of her nose allowing her to read price tags and still converse with her clientele over the top. She switches from French to English with utmost ease. I am sure this is a courtesy since I am her only non French speaking customer. She gift wraps each of my purchases with flair, in happy red paper and a wisp of white ribbon with a bon vivant little sticker advertising the name and address of the shop. Now, won’t I feel “tres chic” when the recipients of these little treasures see Monte Carlo, Monaco on the tag?
Time to head back since this is a very short port day. Adieu, Monaco.
We tender in this port and the walk from the tender dock out of the marina is long and filled with yachts of all shapes, sizes, colors, origination points and price ranges. All of them expensive. Here owners have their yachts lifted from the water on a regular basis for cleaning or moving. But then if you can afford to moor here a small matter of having your boat moved is a mere pittance.
We finally get past the Monte Carlo Yacht Club and try our hand at finding our way around. It doesn’t take us long to discover we are in the shopping part of town with names like Hermes’, Prada, Ferragamo, and others, vying for our attention. I am looking for a 'treasure' not a scarf that will cost me a full year of my poor little pension. Sooo… always the mindful wife who saves my wonderful husband oodles and gobs of money I duck down a couple of little side streets and find a wonderful boutique featuring all manner of home décor. In fact so much of it, I have to keep repeating my look round, as I see different treasures with each new sweep. Bonjour!!! This is my kind of store!! It follows one of my mottos - “More is always a good thing and the more there is the better time you have finding a treasure”. It doesn’t take long to find what will make very nice mementos. The proprietress is very French “tres chic” with obviously dyed Strawberry Shortcake red hair, and tiny hot purple framed designer half glasses perched on the tip of her nose allowing her to read price tags and still converse with her clientele over the top. She switches from French to English with utmost ease. I am sure this is a courtesy since I am her only non French speaking customer. She gift wraps each of my purchases with flair, in happy red paper and a wisp of white ribbon with a bon vivant little sticker advertising the name and address of the shop. Now, won’t I feel “tres chic” when the recipients of these little treasures see Monte Carlo, Monaco on the tag?
Time to head back since this is a very short port day. Adieu, Monaco.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Pisa and Florence, Italy
The day started with a rain shower and cold cutting wind. We are apprehensive to say the least. We disembark and find our guide Elizabetta awaiting us. She is a perky redhead with uncontrolled curls, soft brown eyes, elfin chin, Georgia peach complexion, a ready smile, and terrific sense of humor. She is from Pisa and loves her job. She lives about 10 minutes from the leaning tower and I told her that next time we came we wanted to stay with her. She took my jest in stride and said why not! She speaks English with that same lilting accent I adore to hear and starts right in with information about our port, Livorno.
Developed in the 16th Century it flourished thanks to the Medici family. In 1590 Ferdinand I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, made it a free port and opened it to all religious and political refugees. In this city you will find small churches with several different altars and confessionals representing the different orders who shared the building so as to be able to support their preferred priest and/or sect. The city was badly damaged during WWII.
Our first stop, Elizabetta’s hometown of Pisa, is very close to Livorno so we are there in a matter of about a half hour. On the way she gives us commentary and history.
Our first view of The Leaning Tower is from the highway. The sun is shining by this time and we are looking forward to a beautiful day for this adventure. The pictures I have seen of Pisa do not do justice to the actual site. First the entire base of the tower is recessed down about 10 or more feet. It is constructed of white marble and is very stark, smooth, clean and beautiful. The cornices, arches, columns and carvings stand out in deep relief. My expectations were surpassed indeed.
The cathedral and baptismal are massive and also impressive but the definitive highlight here is the tower.
Onward now to Firenze, Fiesole, Florentia all have been the name for Florence. There was no Florence in the Etruscan world. Their hilltop city of Fiesole, the most powerful in their realm, served as the kingdom’s capital. After the Roman community of Florentia was established just eight miles away in 59 AD, Fiesole thrived. Florentia expanded as river traffic increased and roads were built linking it to the Roman capital. It was a “normal” Italian city until local merchants banded together behind local political figure Cosimo de’ Medici (MEH dee chee). The Medici family continued to lead and control Florence until the last male heir died in 1737. This family did not come from royalty they married it. Their fortune was made in the trade and production of the finest of wool. The family’s legacy is a surfeit of art and elegant architecture.
We have about an hour drive to reach the outskirts and then perhaps another half hour to reach our first stop overlooking the city to take wonderful pictures of Brunelleschi’s Duomo, Ponte Vecchia, Santa Croce, and the Jewish synagogue at the center of the city.
Elizabeth brought us here first so we could get pictures with the sun at our back for the best effect. Smart girl our Elizabetta.
Upon leaving I ask to see the home of Galileo, which is quite near, up an extremely steep narrow street that a regular tour bus could never come close to. I hop out, while she turns around, and take several pictures of his door and balcony. Imagine! I am standing at the front door of one of the most famous men in history. Is it here that he developed some of his theories about the moon, stars, sun, planets, and the galaxy? Not far away is an ancient observatory he used and it is still in use today. This stop helps me complete the journey started in Rome last year at a little known basilica in Piazza della Repubblica. Galileo was instrumental in designing its floor and apse that contain a meridian line and an astrological clock that has stayed within mere seconds of Greenwich time over a period of several centuries. Perhaps being a bit silly I touch the door and wonder who else might have passed this way over the centuries, Michelangelo, Da Vinci? My pictures complete and Elizabetta holding up traffic for me, I hop back on and away we go bumping over the cobbled street back down the hill.
Back down the hill we go, crossing the Arno River to the central historic area of Florence. Here we get an up close view of the subjects of our hillside photos.
The Florence Bishopric was reassigned from San Lorenzo to the 16th century Santa Reparata Church during the 17th century. The older structure was enlarged and modified until Sienese architect Arnolfo di Cambio began his Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Saint Mary of the Flowers) on the same site in 1296. It took 173 years to complete. Dominating a double square (Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni), it is the 4th longest cathedral in the world and has capacity for 20,000 people. Lorenzo Ghiberti began the stunning bronze doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in 1403.
Before we go to our museum stop we spend a few hours wandering thru the Ponte Vecchia (old bridge) area with it’s expensive jewelry shops crowded and stacked one on top of another across the Arno. This most famous bridge by the way was the only one in Florence that was spared during the devastation of Florence in 1944.
We seek sustenance since it is past our usual lunch time. Down a side street, around a corner and down an alley we find a doorway marked Bar Lambertesca. Inside are locals eating, no one speaks more than a few words of English and we know this is the place for lunch! Through a combination of our limited Italian, lots of smiles sign language, and their few words of English we order a pizza, sandwich and bottle of house red for a total of E8.50. We think the lady charged us for glasses of wine instead of the small bottle we consumed but no she assures us. I wrap the empty bottle in the paper placemat from the table to take home and use for holding vinegar as I did with one from our restaurant in Rome last year. We take our time eating our little feast and watching Florence pass by. Time to reconnect with our Elizabetta and the rest of our group.
Florence has more than 30 major museums. We will have time to visit only one, Galleria dell’ Accademia, to see David. This is Florence’s most famous work and they continue the age old feud with Rome to keep them from taking him.
He is magnificent! Muscle, sinew, blood veins that actually depict the purples of flow. Nail beds, knuckles, you can imagine the whorls of fingerprints and the underlying bone of cheeks and skull. Only the eyes are not lifelike but then you remember you are looking at one single block of Carrara marble. In the same room are the four unfinished Slaves the artist meant to adorn Pope Julius II’s tomb at St. Peter’s Basilica. There are also paintings by masters, however they are rendered almost unimportant and invisible in the shadow of David. He dominates the entire long rectangular room. Michelangelo began his human sculptures at the abdomen and never made smaller patterns beforehand. It is said he could look at a block of marble and see the finished carving. This statue originally stood in the Piazza della Signoria but was moved to the Accademia in 1873 to protect it. There is a replica in the Piazza and many don’t realize they are looking at a copy there.
We are running short on time and we have a 90 minute drive back to Livorno so we scramble back to Elizabetta to complete our tour driving past Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Uffizi, Santa Maria Novella Church and Opera del Duomo. These wonderful landmarks have to wait for our next visit.
We say tearful goodbyes at our ship. Our Elizabetta hugs me tight and is very humble in acceptance of our praise for her wonderful tour. We inquire if we can specifically request her again next year and she says with humility that she has no other repertoires. I tell her we will love a repeat and she blushes
prettily with a promise to find at least one new thing to show us. Arriviederci Italia…Goodbye.
Developed in the 16th Century it flourished thanks to the Medici family. In 1590 Ferdinand I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, made it a free port and opened it to all religious and political refugees. In this city you will find small churches with several different altars and confessionals representing the different orders who shared the building so as to be able to support their preferred priest and/or sect. The city was badly damaged during WWII.
Our first stop, Elizabetta’s hometown of Pisa, is very close to Livorno so we are there in a matter of about a half hour. On the way she gives us commentary and history.
Our first view of The Leaning Tower is from the highway. The sun is shining by this time and we are looking forward to a beautiful day for this adventure. The pictures I have seen of Pisa do not do justice to the actual site. First the entire base of the tower is recessed down about 10 or more feet. It is constructed of white marble and is very stark, smooth, clean and beautiful. The cornices, arches, columns and carvings stand out in deep relief. My expectations were surpassed indeed.
The cathedral and baptismal are massive and also impressive but the definitive highlight here is the tower.
Onward now to Firenze, Fiesole, Florentia all have been the name for Florence. There was no Florence in the Etruscan world. Their hilltop city of Fiesole, the most powerful in their realm, served as the kingdom’s capital. After the Roman community of Florentia was established just eight miles away in 59 AD, Fiesole thrived. Florentia expanded as river traffic increased and roads were built linking it to the Roman capital. It was a “normal” Italian city until local merchants banded together behind local political figure Cosimo de’ Medici (MEH dee chee). The Medici family continued to lead and control Florence until the last male heir died in 1737. This family did not come from royalty they married it. Their fortune was made in the trade and production of the finest of wool. The family’s legacy is a surfeit of art and elegant architecture.
We have about an hour drive to reach the outskirts and then perhaps another half hour to reach our first stop overlooking the city to take wonderful pictures of Brunelleschi’s Duomo, Ponte Vecchia, Santa Croce, and the Jewish synagogue at the center of the city.
Elizabeth brought us here first so we could get pictures with the sun at our back for the best effect. Smart girl our Elizabetta.
Upon leaving I ask to see the home of Galileo, which is quite near, up an extremely steep narrow street that a regular tour bus could never come close to. I hop out, while she turns around, and take several pictures of his door and balcony. Imagine! I am standing at the front door of one of the most famous men in history. Is it here that he developed some of his theories about the moon, stars, sun, planets, and the galaxy? Not far away is an ancient observatory he used and it is still in use today. This stop helps me complete the journey started in Rome last year at a little known basilica in Piazza della Repubblica. Galileo was instrumental in designing its floor and apse that contain a meridian line and an astrological clock that has stayed within mere seconds of Greenwich time over a period of several centuries. Perhaps being a bit silly I touch the door and wonder who else might have passed this way over the centuries, Michelangelo, Da Vinci? My pictures complete and Elizabetta holding up traffic for me, I hop back on and away we go bumping over the cobbled street back down the hill.
Back down the hill we go, crossing the Arno River to the central historic area of Florence. Here we get an up close view of the subjects of our hillside photos.
The Florence Bishopric was reassigned from San Lorenzo to the 16th century Santa Reparata Church during the 17th century. The older structure was enlarged and modified until Sienese architect Arnolfo di Cambio began his Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Saint Mary of the Flowers) on the same site in 1296. It took 173 years to complete. Dominating a double square (Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni), it is the 4th longest cathedral in the world and has capacity for 20,000 people. Lorenzo Ghiberti began the stunning bronze doors of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in 1403.
Before we go to our museum stop we spend a few hours wandering thru the Ponte Vecchia (old bridge) area with it’s expensive jewelry shops crowded and stacked one on top of another across the Arno. This most famous bridge by the way was the only one in Florence that was spared during the devastation of Florence in 1944.
We seek sustenance since it is past our usual lunch time. Down a side street, around a corner and down an alley we find a doorway marked Bar Lambertesca. Inside are locals eating, no one speaks more than a few words of English and we know this is the place for lunch! Through a combination of our limited Italian, lots of smiles sign language, and their few words of English we order a pizza, sandwich and bottle of house red for a total of E8.50. We think the lady charged us for glasses of wine instead of the small bottle we consumed but no she assures us. I wrap the empty bottle in the paper placemat from the table to take home and use for holding vinegar as I did with one from our restaurant in Rome last year. We take our time eating our little feast and watching Florence pass by. Time to reconnect with our Elizabetta and the rest of our group.
Florence has more than 30 major museums. We will have time to visit only one, Galleria dell’ Accademia, to see David. This is Florence’s most famous work and they continue the age old feud with Rome to keep them from taking him.
He is magnificent! Muscle, sinew, blood veins that actually depict the purples of flow. Nail beds, knuckles, you can imagine the whorls of fingerprints and the underlying bone of cheeks and skull. Only the eyes are not lifelike but then you remember you are looking at one single block of Carrara marble. In the same room are the four unfinished Slaves the artist meant to adorn Pope Julius II’s tomb at St. Peter’s Basilica. There are also paintings by masters, however they are rendered almost unimportant and invisible in the shadow of David. He dominates the entire long rectangular room. Michelangelo began his human sculptures at the abdomen and never made smaller patterns beforehand. It is said he could look at a block of marble and see the finished carving. This statue originally stood in the Piazza della Signoria but was moved to the Accademia in 1873 to protect it. There is a replica in the Piazza and many don’t realize they are looking at a copy there.
We are running short on time and we have a 90 minute drive back to Livorno so we scramble back to Elizabetta to complete our tour driving past Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Uffizi, Santa Maria Novella Church and Opera del Duomo. These wonderful landmarks have to wait for our next visit.
We say tearful goodbyes at our ship. Our Elizabetta hugs me tight and is very humble in acceptance of our praise for her wonderful tour. We inquire if we can specifically request her again next year and she says with humility that she has no other repertoires. I tell her we will love a repeat and she blushes
prettily with a promise to find at least one new thing to show us. Arriviederci Italia…Goodbye.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
We are cruise people. We love cruises. Some people say they don't think they could spend 30 or 40 or 100 days on a ship. Not us, we love it! We love days at sea. We love days in port. We love ports we have been to before. We like being treated like we are special. We like trying new and different food and drinks and activities we have never dreamed we could attempt much less accomplish.
We took our first cruise in 1980 with a group of friends and friends of friends. We were 29 or 30 and figured we would need a large group to help keep us entertained. We were innocent and niave and didn't have much money so we booked the cheapest inside cabin in the bowels of the ship for a week in the Caribbean. We saw the San Souci Palace in Haiti, El Morro in San Juan, a rum factory in Dominican Republic and Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas. It cost us $800+- per person and took us a year to save and pay for it. We loved it!
For one reason or the next we didn't go again for almost 20 years. In 1999 we decided to go to the Mexican Riviera for our 30th wedding anniversary. By this time we had a bit more money so we booked an ocean-
view stateroom. WOW! did we ever think we were royalty. A window! That one cost us about $1000 for both of us. The prices have continued to go down compared to other things through the years.
Now we are up to balconies and swear to never go back. We have now sailed a total of 22 times all in balconies except for those first 2. We love having our own private little haven to view sites entering or leaving port. We have seen the inside passage in Alaska twice this way. The Grand Canal of Venice, a good portion of the Caribbean, and ports up and down the coast of Mexico from Cabo to Acapulco to the Panama Canal. We like to have a glass of wine before dinner or watch dolphins and fish as we traverse the oceans.
We are cruise people.
We took our first cruise in 1980 with a group of friends and friends of friends. We were 29 or 30 and figured we would need a large group to help keep us entertained. We were innocent and niave and didn't have much money so we booked the cheapest inside cabin in the bowels of the ship for a week in the Caribbean. We saw the San Souci Palace in Haiti, El Morro in San Juan, a rum factory in Dominican Republic and Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas. It cost us $800+- per person and took us a year to save and pay for it. We loved it!
For one reason or the next we didn't go again for almost 20 years. In 1999 we decided to go to the Mexican Riviera for our 30th wedding anniversary. By this time we had a bit more money so we booked an ocean-
view stateroom. WOW! did we ever think we were royalty. A window! That one cost us about $1000 for both of us. The prices have continued to go down compared to other things through the years.
Now we are up to balconies and swear to never go back. We have now sailed a total of 22 times all in balconies except for those first 2. We love having our own private little haven to view sites entering or leaving port. We have seen the inside passage in Alaska twice this way. The Grand Canal of Venice, a good portion of the Caribbean, and ports up and down the coast of Mexico from Cabo to Acapulco to the Panama Canal. We like to have a glass of wine before dinner or watch dolphins and fish as we traverse the oceans.
We are cruise people.
Monday, February 7, 2011
When in Rome...How 2 can spend 6 days for $1000
When we decided to go to Italy for the first time in 2009, we booked a 33 day Transatlantic cruise. The cruise line offered a one night hotel stay in Rome including transfers from the airport to the hotel and then to the ship on embarkation day. So we thought we would go a few days early and get some extra time to see the eternal city up close and personal. I excitedly called to get information from the cruise line. "It's okay, just breathe", I told myself as I graciously thanked the young lady on the other end of the line. Tony, my husband, could tell by the look on my face and the open gape of my mouth that one of two things had just happened. Either I was in "sticker shock" or a village some where had just found its lost idiot. For a few minutes after telling him the cost I was afraid he might have a seizure . At the same time, I was about to cry while thinking, there goes my only chance to see Rome. The cost you ask?... a whopping $479 PER PERSON for ONE night!!!
I decided to do some research and see if there was a way to spend a few days in Rome and save some money in the process. After thinking about what we considered the 'must do' things this is the list we came up with.
1. The Vatican Museum 6. The Pantheon
2. The Colosseum and Forum 7. The Spanish Steps
3. Piazza Navona 8. Pizza
4. Trevi Fountain 9. Galleria Borgese
5. St. Peters Basilica 10. Sistine Chapel
We figured we would need a minimum of 4 days before we boarded our ship for the Med and then transatlantic back to Ft. Lauderdale. My first need - a place to stay. I like http://www.hotels.com/ and have fairly good luck with them. We stayed at Flaminio Village Bungalow Park,Via Flaminia Nuova 821, Rome, 00189 Italy 866-539-0036. This is a campground that also offers several sizes of bungalows on a very large property. We paid less than $35US per night and that included breakfast. No TV or phone and limited
WiFi for a fee. But clean and adequate. Here is their website. http://flaminio-village-bungalow.h-rez.com/ I got a better price from hotels.com than the pricing on the site. And please remember we were there in November which is the low season. These lodgings were great for the price, however, we wouldn't stay there again because a few days we spent up to 2 hours a day traveling to get to the main part of Rome where all the major sites are located. But because of the money we saved on these accommodations we were able to stay for six days. There is a restaurant on premise and that is where we took most of our evening meals. Dinner was an average of E45 each night including wine. We packed a light lunch of boiled eggs, croissants and fruit from the breakfast bar. We would occasionally purchase a piece of pizza on our daily outings if we wanted an extra snack. We drank water from bottles we brought with us from the bungalow that we filled at the open faucets that are all over Rome. All of the water comes from the mountains thru the ancient aqueducts and is very safe for drinking and tastes like expensive bottled water . This alone probably saved us E50.
We used public transportation and had a wonderful time mingling with the locals on the trains, buses and metro. Use common sense the same as you would in any large city you are not familiar with. Don't dress like a tourist and watch your pockets and you will have a once in a lifetime experience blending in. We speak very little Italian, but between our few words and their little bit of English and sign language and lots of smiles we did just fine. We purchased 2 Roma Passes each for the six days since each is good for 3 days public transportation and includes free entry into the first 2 venues on each pass plus discounts on many others. Using the pass at venues you get to bypass the ticket lines which can take an hour or more at certain sites depending on what day of the week it is. And the price of entry at the first 2 venues almost covers the cost of the 3 day pass. That means your transportation is practically free! Here is the website.
http://www.romapass.it/english/index.html We also felt the 48 hour pass on the Hop On Hop Off Bus was money well spent allowing us to get acquainted with the area and get dependable transport between
sites. There are three to choose from. We would not recommend the yellow one as it is mainly for Christian sites. The green and red are almost identical in routes. They offer the most circuitous routes nearest the popular sites We chose the green.
We saw 8 of our ten 'must do' items plus the Scavi Tour (the necropolis under St Peters), which was spectacular, a Rome By Night Tour that was fun fun fun, and spent one entire afternoon on a quest to find a keyhole through which the dome of St Peters was visible only to be driven there that same night on the Rome by Night Tour. We still laugh about that one. If you look at the pictures on the left you will see through the keyhole both during the day and at night. My advise is to reserve and purchase as much beforehand as possible. We bought our Roma Passes (picked up in the airport before we exited), Scavi Tour, and our hotel in advance. We reserved tickets for Borgese Gallery a few days before we wanted to go since they fill up quickly. The Scavi Tour should be booked thru the Vatican scavi@fsp.va several months in advance. You will be assigned a day and time during whatever days you say you are available since they only allow a maximum of 250 people a day, and each group is limited and for a specific language. We also reserved a driver to pick us up at the airport and then take us to the ship six days later. All of this including souvenirs came to around $1000+/-US. Compared to $958 for one night at a hotel and transport to the ship we had an adventure we will always remember. The best part was we were not slaves to a schedule. We have plans to go back again to see some of the things we didn't have time for, but we have been told you can never see all of Rome. I would love to try. How about you?
I decided to do some research and see if there was a way to spend a few days in Rome and save some money in the process. After thinking about what we considered the 'must do' things this is the list we came up with.
1. The Vatican Museum 6. The Pantheon
2. The Colosseum and Forum 7. The Spanish Steps
3. Piazza Navona 8. Pizza
4. Trevi Fountain 9. Galleria Borgese
5. St. Peters Basilica 10. Sistine Chapel
We figured we would need a minimum of 4 days before we boarded our ship for the Med and then transatlantic back to Ft. Lauderdale. My first need - a place to stay. I like http://www.hotels.com/ and have fairly good luck with them. We stayed at Flaminio Village Bungalow Park,Via Flaminia Nuova 821, Rome, 00189 Italy 866-539-0036. This is a campground that also offers several sizes of bungalows on a very large property. We paid less than $35US per night and that included breakfast. No TV or phone and limited
WiFi for a fee. But clean and adequate. Here is their website. http://flaminio-village-bungalow.h-rez.com/ I got a better price from hotels.com than the pricing on the site. And please remember we were there in November which is the low season. These lodgings were great for the price, however, we wouldn't stay there again because a few days we spent up to 2 hours a day traveling to get to the main part of Rome where all the major sites are located. But because of the money we saved on these accommodations we were able to stay for six days. There is a restaurant on premise and that is where we took most of our evening meals. Dinner was an average of E45 each night including wine. We packed a light lunch of boiled eggs, croissants and fruit from the breakfast bar. We would occasionally purchase a piece of pizza on our daily outings if we wanted an extra snack. We drank water from bottles we brought with us from the bungalow that we filled at the open faucets that are all over Rome. All of the water comes from the mountains thru the ancient aqueducts and is very safe for drinking and tastes like expensive bottled water . This alone probably saved us E50.
We used public transportation and had a wonderful time mingling with the locals on the trains, buses and metro. Use common sense the same as you would in any large city you are not familiar with. Don't dress like a tourist and watch your pockets and you will have a once in a lifetime experience blending in. We speak very little Italian, but between our few words and their little bit of English and sign language and lots of smiles we did just fine. We purchased 2 Roma Passes each for the six days since each is good for 3 days public transportation and includes free entry into the first 2 venues on each pass plus discounts on many others. Using the pass at venues you get to bypass the ticket lines which can take an hour or more at certain sites depending on what day of the week it is. And the price of entry at the first 2 venues almost covers the cost of the 3 day pass. That means your transportation is practically free! Here is the website.
http://www.romapass.it/english/index.html We also felt the 48 hour pass on the Hop On Hop Off Bus was money well spent allowing us to get acquainted with the area and get dependable transport between
sites. There are three to choose from. We would not recommend the yellow one as it is mainly for Christian sites. The green and red are almost identical in routes. They offer the most circuitous routes nearest the popular sites We chose the green.
We saw 8 of our ten 'must do' items plus the Scavi Tour (the necropolis under St Peters), which was spectacular, a Rome By Night Tour that was fun fun fun, and spent one entire afternoon on a quest to find a keyhole through which the dome of St Peters was visible only to be driven there that same night on the Rome by Night Tour. We still laugh about that one. If you look at the pictures on the left you will see through the keyhole both during the day and at night. My advise is to reserve and purchase as much beforehand as possible. We bought our Roma Passes (picked up in the airport before we exited), Scavi Tour, and our hotel in advance. We reserved tickets for Borgese Gallery a few days before we wanted to go since they fill up quickly. The Scavi Tour should be booked thru the Vatican scavi@fsp.va several months in advance. You will be assigned a day and time during whatever days you say you are available since they only allow a maximum of 250 people a day, and each group is limited and for a specific language. We also reserved a driver to pick us up at the airport and then take us to the ship six days later. All of this including souvenirs came to around $1000+/-US. Compared to $958 for one night at a hotel and transport to the ship we had an adventure we will always remember. The best part was we were not slaves to a schedule. We have plans to go back again to see some of the things we didn't have time for, but we have been told you can never see all of Rome. I would love to try. How about you?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Ahhhhh…Venice, Italy
October 16, 2010 - We were up and off the ship around 8 am. Our first order of business was to take the people mover from the dock area into the station for the vaporettos to St Mark’s Square. We found the ticket office and exchanged our voucher for tickets. These boats are like city buses only on water. Everyone uses them and they are the least expensive form of transport. Our unlimited use ticket cost us about $20 US each for a 24hr period.
We boarded the vaporetto at Piazzelle’ Roma. I was rather giddy with the idea that I was at last in Venice, one of the places I had dreamed of all my life. It was almost as exciting as my first views of Rome had been.
Everything is in a state of decay. But the most poignantly beautiful decay I have ever witnessed. The foundations of all the buildings are covered with lichen and moss and barnacles. Rickety bridges spanning small canals allow residents to cross from one building to the next. Interspersed are bridges made of stone and marble. The pier posts for tying up the gondolas and innumerable boats along every walkway and side canal are rotted and worn at water level. Yet still strong enough to be of use. Walls of houses are mottled with crumbling brick and stucco as the wavelets of water rolls in marching fashion against them with each passing from the vaporettos, tronchettos, ferries and private motor boats. And yet, what you most remember is bougainvillea and ivy draped balconies, window boxes highlighting worn wooden shutters of all colors, with all manner of geraniums and other blooms spilling over the edges, iron grille work with Asian, Moorish, Egyptian, Turkish and so many other styles of architectural influence combined into an almost solid wall of structures along the water’s edges. It is difficult to tell a local business from a five star hotel, restaurant, or private home because not much is marked to help define each from its adjoined neighbor.
We finally reach the floating station at St. Mark’s and the vaporetto disgorges it’s contents of tourists from every locale imaginable, the locals on their way to work, and even school children on a cultural outing with their teachers and assistants.
Doges’ Palace We have reservations for the Secret Passages Tour at Doges’ Palace so we don’t tarry because the vaporetto ride has taken a bit longer than I had originally anticipated. We find the office easily after employing the help of a local vendor in St. Mark’s. Our Italian is very limited and they take pity on us like you would with a small child needing guidance.
Our voucher is once more exchanged for tickets and we line up on a bench to await our guide and the rest of the members of our tour. This tour is to last about 1hr 15min and is limited to 20 people with an English speaking guide. Our guides’ name is Chiesa or in rough translation Cynthia. She is very charming and her narrative helps to bring this huge cold building life. We begin by climbing two sets of stairs, each with golden opulence painted and applied to the frescoed ceilings. These are the last pictures we will be allowed to take inside the building.
To have been the center of justice this place is very austere. The offices of the Doges’ and his committees are a series of very tiny interconnected rooms. The Doges’ himself was chosen to hold office for his lifetime but he was an old man before he was ever selected and he could be impeached and removed. This did happen once. The example served well as not another Doges’ ever took advantage of his position. This sector of government investigated major crimes and through out the courtyard and building there were boxes built into the walls for the depository of complaints and accusations. The one requirement was, that if you made a complaint you were required to sign your name to it and if the complaint proved false you were then prosecuted and sentenced. So it was a very honest form of justice.
Once tried and sentenced bribery was a recurrent theme in the treatment of prisoners depending on their status in life. The more you could pay the better off you were. And in most cases the sentences were shortened for good behavior. There was a short period when torture was used to gain confessions but it fell by the wayside and the Venetians were enlightened early on that torture didn’t work in the pursuit of justice.
The most famous prisoner in the palace was Giacomo Casanova, the well known lover. He was actually imprisoned for tempting the daughter of a wealthy Venetian. The main problem was he enjoyed tempting nuns. He was sentenced to 10 years but served only a matter of months before his escape thru the rafters and out the front door the next morning. Ironically he made his escape on October 31st. He fled to other parts of Europe for the next 10 years and actually came back to Venice and was pardoned.
He wrote an autobiography of sorts extolling all of his adventures even his escape from the prison at the Doges’ Palace. The tale was a best seller in his time, however, no one knows exactly how much is truth without embellishment.Murano, Burano, TorcelloOur next scheduled activity is a trip to the three islands in the Bay of Venice.
We made our way from St. Mark’s down to the ticket kiosk and once again exchanged our voucher for tickets. We still had over two hours before this boat would depart so we asked the agent to recommend a local spot for lunch. He sent us down a small alley/street for a E12 lunch that was very hearty local food. Two courses plus either dessert or coffee. First course (of course) was pasta. A huge serving that was a meal in itself. We are beginning to learn that in most cases we can share one lunch or dinner and it is more than we can eat. We did this last year in Rome so we should have remembered. Second course was a small platter of mixed fried fish which included shrimp and calamari. We chose coffee since we were both stuffed. I have started to collect small coffee cups from the restaurants we eat in as mementos of our travels. I have had coffee this past year in Napoli, Istanbul and Brazil on various mornings at home, so I asked to buy the small cup at our lunch in Venice. The owner and his wife thought I was just another crazy American tourist I am sure but the wife offered it to me for E1 and the husband said take it at no charge. So Tony left a E3 tip to compensate. So now I will have coffee in Venice whenever I want. Time now to walk three bridges farther down the canal and board our vaporetto for the “Three Islands.”
Murano is famous for its glass. The glass forges are numerous and the locals who live on the island are very proud of their craft as they should be. Their infamy is hundreds of years old. However, the prices are outrageous!! For a small nondescript frog or turtle the price of E38 caused us to bypass most of the items. These items were of about the same quality as the glass animals we used to get at the LA County Fair when we were children for $1. Guess simply because it is on Murano the price is inflated. I did find some small pieces of glass candy for E3 each that will make very nice ornaments for the grandchildren on the Christmas tree and serve as a memento. Our stop here was about 35 minutes and then we were off to Burano on a different vaporetto with a different guide.
The island of Burano is very picturesque with houses painted in bright almost Caribbean colors. It is famous for its handmade lace. We watched a very old woman ply her needle to make a small swatch about the size of my hand. This one piece will take up to a month to complete. I purchased a handkerchief with “R” embroidered in the corner and lace work around the edge for E7 and then an appliqué showing the canal and a gondola for E10. Next we are off to Torcello. This island was the beginning of Venice itself. The church located here is the first and oldest in Venice. There is not much else on the island now other than a few farm houses and the church and museum. The church is covered with scaffolding for renovation so maybe the next time we come we will visit again to see what progress they have made.
Just as we are ready to leave and head back to Venice it began to rain and continued so for the next day and a half, but that didn’t stop us from our next scheduled adventure… a gondola serenade.Gondola Serenade and dinnerWe venture back past St. Mark’s umbrellas in hand, night falling rapidly and with vague directions. We have over an hour to find our next destination, however everything looks completely different at night so it was a stroke of luck that I had asked for the later time of 7:30 instead of 6:30 because as we discovered “you can’t get there from here”. We had to wind over, around and through several streets, bridges, a sea of umbrellas with tourists attached looking as lost as we are, to find Santa Maria del Giglio, the location of our very damp gondola ride with serenade. There was a total of 3 gondolas on this little adventure. The first held 6 wet souls, the second 4 and the two young men who would sing for us, and ours was the third with 4 plus our gondolier.
There was one tense moment when we first drifted into the Grande Canal directly into the path of an oncoming vaporetto. Needless to say I was a bit nervous about the possibility of the gondolier yelling “abandon gondola!”. As the saints evidently knew I was repentant of any and all offenses I might have committed in my life and that my grandchildren would forever be scarred with the knowledge Nanya and Papa got run down by a vaporetto while on a gondola serenade in Venice, they went around us. But it was a close call.
Our ride and serenade lasted about 40 minutes and our young singers were excellent. As we went under little bridges the lost tourists with umbrellas would stop to take pictures and listen to the young tenor and his partner with the concertina. I encouraged them to throw money but finally realized that since they had been too cheap to pay for a gondola serenade themselves they were not going to help defray our costs. Oh well.
As luck would have it the restaurant where we were to have dinner was right next to the gondola stop. Restaurante del Giglio is a small elegant hole in the wall with low ceilings of ancient worn smooth beams, offered us another 2 course meal that began with (of all things) pasta for me, lasagna for Tony. We ordered a small carafe of wine and water. Good wine by the way. Second course for me was grilled sole and for Tony scaloppini, both were excellent. And I finally had gelato. OMG!!! Lemon gelato is to die for!!!
We finished off the wine and headed around the corner to hop the vaporetto back to Piazzelle’ Roma and our ship. We finally arrived back in our cabin around 10:30 pm and fell into bed exhausted but very satisfied with ourselves for conquering Venice on our own.
We left the following day at noon headed for Dubrovnik, Croatia. I have to admit I found myself thinking of the third Indiana Jones movie where they are racing around the Grande Canal and out into the Bay of Venice when we started our departure at the end of our short sojourn. And I caught myself repeating Indy’s comment of “Ahhhhh…Venice” with a quirky knowing smile on my face. Ahhhhh…Venice.
We boarded the vaporetto at Piazzelle’ Roma. I was rather giddy with the idea that I was at last in Venice, one of the places I had dreamed of all my life. It was almost as exciting as my first views of Rome had been.
Everything is in a state of decay. But the most poignantly beautiful decay I have ever witnessed. The foundations of all the buildings are covered with lichen and moss and barnacles. Rickety bridges spanning small canals allow residents to cross from one building to the next. Interspersed are bridges made of stone and marble. The pier posts for tying up the gondolas and innumerable boats along every walkway and side canal are rotted and worn at water level. Yet still strong enough to be of use. Walls of houses are mottled with crumbling brick and stucco as the wavelets of water rolls in marching fashion against them with each passing from the vaporettos, tronchettos, ferries and private motor boats. And yet, what you most remember is bougainvillea and ivy draped balconies, window boxes highlighting worn wooden shutters of all colors, with all manner of geraniums and other blooms spilling over the edges, iron grille work with Asian, Moorish, Egyptian, Turkish and so many other styles of architectural influence combined into an almost solid wall of structures along the water’s edges. It is difficult to tell a local business from a five star hotel, restaurant, or private home because not much is marked to help define each from its adjoined neighbor.
We finally reach the floating station at St. Mark’s and the vaporetto disgorges it’s contents of tourists from every locale imaginable, the locals on their way to work, and even school children on a cultural outing with their teachers and assistants.
Doges’ Palace We have reservations for the Secret Passages Tour at Doges’ Palace so we don’t tarry because the vaporetto ride has taken a bit longer than I had originally anticipated. We find the office easily after employing the help of a local vendor in St. Mark’s. Our Italian is very limited and they take pity on us like you would with a small child needing guidance.
Our voucher is once more exchanged for tickets and we line up on a bench to await our guide and the rest of the members of our tour. This tour is to last about 1hr 15min and is limited to 20 people with an English speaking guide. Our guides’ name is Chiesa or in rough translation Cynthia. She is very charming and her narrative helps to bring this huge cold building life. We begin by climbing two sets of stairs, each with golden opulence painted and applied to the frescoed ceilings. These are the last pictures we will be allowed to take inside the building.
To have been the center of justice this place is very austere. The offices of the Doges’ and his committees are a series of very tiny interconnected rooms. The Doges’ himself was chosen to hold office for his lifetime but he was an old man before he was ever selected and he could be impeached and removed. This did happen once. The example served well as not another Doges’ ever took advantage of his position. This sector of government investigated major crimes and through out the courtyard and building there were boxes built into the walls for the depository of complaints and accusations. The one requirement was, that if you made a complaint you were required to sign your name to it and if the complaint proved false you were then prosecuted and sentenced. So it was a very honest form of justice.
Once tried and sentenced bribery was a recurrent theme in the treatment of prisoners depending on their status in life. The more you could pay the better off you were. And in most cases the sentences were shortened for good behavior. There was a short period when torture was used to gain confessions but it fell by the wayside and the Venetians were enlightened early on that torture didn’t work in the pursuit of justice.
The most famous prisoner in the palace was Giacomo Casanova, the well known lover. He was actually imprisoned for tempting the daughter of a wealthy Venetian. The main problem was he enjoyed tempting nuns. He was sentenced to 10 years but served only a matter of months before his escape thru the rafters and out the front door the next morning. Ironically he made his escape on October 31st. He fled to other parts of Europe for the next 10 years and actually came back to Venice and was pardoned.
He wrote an autobiography of sorts extolling all of his adventures even his escape from the prison at the Doges’ Palace. The tale was a best seller in his time, however, no one knows exactly how much is truth without embellishment.Murano, Burano, TorcelloOur next scheduled activity is a trip to the three islands in the Bay of Venice.
We made our way from St. Mark’s down to the ticket kiosk and once again exchanged our voucher for tickets. We still had over two hours before this boat would depart so we asked the agent to recommend a local spot for lunch. He sent us down a small alley/street for a E12 lunch that was very hearty local food. Two courses plus either dessert or coffee. First course (of course) was pasta. A huge serving that was a meal in itself. We are beginning to learn that in most cases we can share one lunch or dinner and it is more than we can eat. We did this last year in Rome so we should have remembered. Second course was a small platter of mixed fried fish which included shrimp and calamari. We chose coffee since we were both stuffed. I have started to collect small coffee cups from the restaurants we eat in as mementos of our travels. I have had coffee this past year in Napoli, Istanbul and Brazil on various mornings at home, so I asked to buy the small cup at our lunch in Venice. The owner and his wife thought I was just another crazy American tourist I am sure but the wife offered it to me for E1 and the husband said take it at no charge. So Tony left a E3 tip to compensate. So now I will have coffee in Venice whenever I want. Time now to walk three bridges farther down the canal and board our vaporetto for the “Three Islands.”
Murano is famous for its glass. The glass forges are numerous and the locals who live on the island are very proud of their craft as they should be. Their infamy is hundreds of years old. However, the prices are outrageous!! For a small nondescript frog or turtle the price of E38 caused us to bypass most of the items. These items were of about the same quality as the glass animals we used to get at the LA County Fair when we were children for $1. Guess simply because it is on Murano the price is inflated. I did find some small pieces of glass candy for E3 each that will make very nice ornaments for the grandchildren on the Christmas tree and serve as a memento. Our stop here was about 35 minutes and then we were off to Burano on a different vaporetto with a different guide.
The island of Burano is very picturesque with houses painted in bright almost Caribbean colors. It is famous for its handmade lace. We watched a very old woman ply her needle to make a small swatch about the size of my hand. This one piece will take up to a month to complete. I purchased a handkerchief with “R” embroidered in the corner and lace work around the edge for E7 and then an appliqué showing the canal and a gondola for E10. Next we are off to Torcello. This island was the beginning of Venice itself. The church located here is the first and oldest in Venice. There is not much else on the island now other than a few farm houses and the church and museum. The church is covered with scaffolding for renovation so maybe the next time we come we will visit again to see what progress they have made.
Just as we are ready to leave and head back to Venice it began to rain and continued so for the next day and a half, but that didn’t stop us from our next scheduled adventure… a gondola serenade.Gondola Serenade and dinnerWe venture back past St. Mark’s umbrellas in hand, night falling rapidly and with vague directions. We have over an hour to find our next destination, however everything looks completely different at night so it was a stroke of luck that I had asked for the later time of 7:30 instead of 6:30 because as we discovered “you can’t get there from here”. We had to wind over, around and through several streets, bridges, a sea of umbrellas with tourists attached looking as lost as we are, to find Santa Maria del Giglio, the location of our very damp gondola ride with serenade. There was a total of 3 gondolas on this little adventure. The first held 6 wet souls, the second 4 and the two young men who would sing for us, and ours was the third with 4 plus our gondolier.
There was one tense moment when we first drifted into the Grande Canal directly into the path of an oncoming vaporetto. Needless to say I was a bit nervous about the possibility of the gondolier yelling “abandon gondola!”. As the saints evidently knew I was repentant of any and all offenses I might have committed in my life and that my grandchildren would forever be scarred with the knowledge Nanya and Papa got run down by a vaporetto while on a gondola serenade in Venice, they went around us. But it was a close call.
Our ride and serenade lasted about 40 minutes and our young singers were excellent. As we went under little bridges the lost tourists with umbrellas would stop to take pictures and listen to the young tenor and his partner with the concertina. I encouraged them to throw money but finally realized that since they had been too cheap to pay for a gondola serenade themselves they were not going to help defray our costs. Oh well.
As luck would have it the restaurant where we were to have dinner was right next to the gondola stop. Restaurante del Giglio is a small elegant hole in the wall with low ceilings of ancient worn smooth beams, offered us another 2 course meal that began with (of all things) pasta for me, lasagna for Tony. We ordered a small carafe of wine and water. Good wine by the way. Second course for me was grilled sole and for Tony scaloppini, both were excellent. And I finally had gelato. OMG!!! Lemon gelato is to die for!!!
We finished off the wine and headed around the corner to hop the vaporetto back to Piazzelle’ Roma and our ship. We finally arrived back in our cabin around 10:30 pm and fell into bed exhausted but very satisfied with ourselves for conquering Venice on our own.
We left the following day at noon headed for Dubrovnik, Croatia. I have to admit I found myself thinking of the third Indiana Jones movie where they are racing around the Grande Canal and out into the Bay of Venice when we started our departure at the end of our short sojourn. And I caught myself repeating Indy’s comment of “Ahhhhh…Venice” with a quirky knowing smile on my face. Ahhhhh…Venice.
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