Cruise - Part 2

Day four of our cruise we were in Athens, Greece. Last minute, we booked a tour through the cruise. We didn’t want a repeat of the Naples fiasco with all the trouble we had getting around the city. They didn’t have many tour options left, so we booked one that was designed for a “leisurely” Athen’s experience. This meant the average age on our tour was about 102. From the comfort of our cruise bus we saw a few of Athen’s sights, including the Acropolis, the remains of the Temple of Zeus, and the Olympic stadium. The picture shows Em and I at the base of the Acropolis, an ancient temple to the goddess Athena. We also stopped in an area of Athen’s called Plaka for about an hour. Here we walked around, bought some souvenirs for back home, ate a very delicious gyro and also got some more gelato. It was a nice day, so it was fun walking around Athen’s for a bit.

Once back in the boat we settled into our usual rhythm. Em went to the gym while I read. We then headed to dinner, the piano bar, the disco, and called it a night.

Day five of our cruise we were in Rhodes, an island that is part of Greece. Rhodes is a beautiful island. It is clean and the people are very friendly. The picture shows the island of Rhodes. Notice the large wall that surrounds a large section of the island. For Rhodes, we had booked a tour excursion through the ship that would allow us to use the beach facilities at a local luxury hotel. However, it rained for 10 minutes right before we were suppose to leave, so they cancelled the excursion. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The sun came back out within 20 to 30 minutes and Em and I found our way to a public beach. So, we got to the beach anyways and saved a hundred bucks or so. At the beach we met another couple from the cruise ship, Kevin and Victoria, who were on their honeymoon. Em and Victoria spent the time talking about planning a wedding. It was awesome. Also, I am officially on vacation now because at the beach I got a sun burn on my nose. For dinner, Em and I decided to try out one of the specialty restaurants they had onboard. We went to Portofino’s an Italian restaurant. It was very good and the service was top notch. I had a veal dish and Em had lamb chops. Baaaaa.

Day six of our cruise we were in Kusadasi, Turkey. The area that we docked was very beautiful. The streets were clean and had these great mountain vistas. We had good weather again, so it was also pretty warm – in the high 70s or so. We had booked an excursion to see the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephsesus is a short 20 minute ride or so from the cruise port terminal. We went via coach bus. Our tour guide dispensed some interesting information about the history of Ephesus and about Turkey in general as we drove there. You can tell the Turkish government is doing a lot to promote tourism in their country. They license all of the tour guides. They also give little gift packages and a bottle of water to everyone who booked a tour. Overall, I think their efforts have paid off. I would recommend taking a beach vacation to the city of Kusadasi.

The site of Ephesus itself was interesting, but Em and I enjoyed it more just for a chance to see the Turkish countryside than the ruins themselves, which have lost their luster at this point. One interesting part about the ruins is that it had some really well preserved frescos. The picture of Em and I has a backdrop of the theatre of Kusadasi. The tour was only about 3 and a half hours long and left early in the morning, so we were back on the boat in time for lunch and to sun bathe for a few hours.

Before dinner we played a game of name that nineties tune, which we didn’t do so well in. After dinner we went to a lounge to watch a “Finish that Lyric” game, which was fun.

Cruise - Part One

The first day of our cruise started with an uneventful ride to the cruise port terminal in Citevecchia. We hired a shuttle service to take us on the approximately 90 minute drive. For some reason, the company sent a large van for just the two of us. Even the Roman driver was uncomfortable navigating the extremely narrow streets of Trastevere, the area of Rome which we stayed in. On the ride we got to see some more of the Italian country side. Upon arriving at the cruise port terminal we checked in without any problems and soon we were in our cabin. Both our cabin and the ship are very nice. The Royal Caribbean ship, the Navigator of the Seas, is probably nicer than any of the Carnival ships we have been on.

After exploring the ship and having a few drinks it soon was dinner time. Our table consists of a Mexican American couple, Fernando and Adrianna, who are nice but we have little in common with, and a Russian couple, Vlad and his wife – I don’t know here name. They are most notable for the things they do not do, namely speak English or drink vodka. Having a couple at the table who speaks very little English can be a bit awkward at times. Particularly cringe worthy is when Adrianna tries to explain things to the Russians using extremely slow baby talk and hand gestures. You can tell they hate her.

After dinner we found the ship’s piano bar, which is run by a talented guy named Kory. Kory is the kind of kid who has never missed a drama class or a drink in his life. One of his catch phrases after applause is “Thank you! I love yoouuuu for loving meeeeee!” Em and I spent the first night (and many others) at this bar enjoying the music, his antics, and some drinks.

On the next day of our cruise we were docked in Naples, Italy. The city of Naples is, in a word, disgusting. The city is dirty, completely over congested with traffic, and full of people trying to sell you non-operational iPhones. We got approached three times walking a block. After a harrowing trip to the train station on foot and via smelly bus, we caught a train to Pompeii. Pompeii is an ancient Roman town that was buried in ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted nearly 2000 years ago. The ash had the effect of preserving the town very well. Even the mummified remains of some people remain, trapped in the same position they were in when the ash cloud hit. The picture shows me praying in front of an alter at the temple of Apollo. The picture of Judge Emmy is at Pompeii’s court room. A panel of judges would sit on the platform behind her. Overall we both enjoyed Pompeii but we realized that we had probably seen enough sites of ancient ruins for one vacation. Unfortunately, we had already booked a tour in Turkey to see a similar site. The last picture is a shot of the island of Capri taken from our balcony. In hindsight, we wished we had taken the ferry to Capri instead of the train to Pompeii.

Day three of our cruise was a sea day. Unfortunately, while it was not rainy, it was much too cold to sunbathe. We read our books, had some drinks, and ate at the buffet. Em worked out – I drank more. That’s pretty much it.

Vatican City

On our last full day in Rome we headed to Vatican City. Since we enjoyed our tour around the Coliseum and Roman Forum so much, we decided to book a tour for around the Vatican as well. We headed out on a beautiful morning but before we got there the rain clouds moved in. We were caught without our rain coats or umbrellas, so we had to duck into a Souvenir shop to grab a couple of more cheap little umbrellas.

After a bit of lunch, we met up with our tour group and headed into the Vatican. Our tour guide was an Irish guy named Russo, an archaeologist by training, who seemed to know everything there was to know about the Vatican and Rome.

The Vatican Museum is an absolutely enormous museum. There is no way you could see and appreciate all of the artwork there in a single day, so Russo walked us through the most famous parts of the Museum as well as some of his personal favorites. The piece with the most interesting story we saw was “Laocoon and his Sons”. This statue was lost for around 1500 years. It was then found 500 years ago, but it was missing an arm. The arm was then found only about 100 years ago!

Of course, we also saw Michaelango’s Sistine Chapel, which contains what has been my favorite piece of artwork that I have seen on the trip – “The Last Judgement”.

The last major stop of the tour was St. Peter’s basilica, which is the grandest building we have ever stepped in.

St. Peter’s is the largest church in the world by a considerable margin. The basilica is 550ft tall, making it the largest building in Rome. You could comfortably place the Statue of Liberty inside the basilica. It is hard to give a sense of the extreme size and opulence of this building. Legend has it that the main alter of the building is placed upon the exact spot where St. Peter himself is buried, deep underground. Oddly enough, this is one of the very few legends that is likely true, as determined by archaeological excavations that were done only about 60 years ago.

We finished the day with a dinner out at a fancier restaurant called Arco Antico. We both ordered the tasting menu which was an enormous amount of food.

Rome - Day Two

Sunshine! Our second full day of Rome brought the first periods of extended Sunshine we have seen since the beginning of our trip. Excited to not have to hide under an umbrella, we headed towards Rome’s ancient sites of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. We got there to find that the lines were ENORMOUS. Whatever, at least it was a nice day. We got in line and started to wait. Just a few minutes in, a person walks by the line asking if anyone would like to take a tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum for just 8Euro extra over the cost of admission. In addition to having a guide, we also got to skip the lines. That was a no-brainer for us, so Em and I signed up and were soon in the Coliseum.

The Coliseum is an amazing site – perhaps our favorite of the trip so far. The guide was great and explained all of the usages of each part of the building. The stage of the Coliseum is now missing, so you can look down and see all of the rooms and buildings that were directly underneath. These rooms were used to store the animals that they fought as well as where the Gladiators waited.

Next, we headed over to the Roman forum and Palatine hill. These are the sites of more ancient ruins, including what was once an enormous palace for an emperor named Domission. Very little of it remains today. An interesting rule of thumb is that if a building was a church, it is very well maintained today. Otherwise, all of the other buildings were gradually dismantled over the years to provide either marble or bronze to build churches, or to provide brass and metal to build cannons.

In the roman forum we saw all sorts of cool ruins and such. However, two favorites of mine were the spot of Julius Ceasar’s funeral and also a column that was called, in Latin, the “center of the world”. In ancient times, every Roman road had a marker that told you how far away you were from this column. This column is the reason we have the saying “All roads lead to Rome”. At one point, all roads did.

After sightseeing we got lunch at a restaurant and sat outside and people watched. We then headed back to the hotel to grab our Kindles and read outside a bit at Trastaverte Square, which is right around the corner from us. We also had our first taste of gelato, Italian style ice cream. It was really tasty, but I couldn’t tell much of a difference from regular ice cream. For dinner we actually headed back to the restaurant we went to the first night since it was so good. Em wanted what I got the first night and I wanted to try some true Italian style pizza. The pizza was very good and had a very thin crust. After a couple of bottles of wine, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

Rome - Day One

First full day in Rome was another rainy day. Shocker. So we donned our rain coats and umbrellas and headed out to see some sites. Today, we basically just walked around and saw some of Rome’s more famous fountains, squares, and the Pantheon. I have to write about each of our days in Rome in just a few minutes, so I’ll make these ones brief.

Here we are at Trevi fountain. Trevi fountain is a famous fountain made during the Renaissance. It is said if you toss a coin in the fountain you are guaranteed a return trip to Rome.

Here we are at the Pantheon. The pantheon is an amazing building. It’s really large with extremely ornate sculptures inside. It also holds the tomb of a king and the tomb of the famous Renaissance painter Raphael.

Em and I also walked down the main shopping street of Rome – which is very difficult with an umbrella considering how narrow the sidewalks are. Em wanted to get some Italian sneakers, but had no luck. However, we did indulge and get some Italian leather jackets. On the left you can see my Italian alter-ego, Jaybucksalo MacInnasconi, wearing the Italian leather jacket and slugging back a bottle of wine.

The Road to Rome

We spent the next day travelling to Rome pretty much all day. Flights from Paris to Rome were very expensive, so we had a connection in London before flying direct to Rome. From our Paris hotel door to our Roman hotel door, it took us a good 9 hours to make the journey, arriving at around 6:00PM Friday night, just in time for dinner. We didn't do much in Rome the first night other than go out to eat at a restaurant right near our hotel. We got some truly awesome pasta. You can see me reviewing the menu on the right. We didn't take a video of us ordering our dinner, but I'm pretty sure it looked like this:

To make the rest of this post brief, I'll just jot down our first impressions.

1. The stereotype about Italians speaking dramatically with exaggerated hand gestures is actually understated. It's like the Italians think they are going for an Oscar every time they open their mouth. It's hysterical. When we first arrived in Rome, the driver we had arranged to pick us up was arguing with another driver in his company. About what, I don't know since it was in Italian. However, given the tone of their voice and their body language, it appeared that nothing less than the fate of the world was at stake.
2. Rome is covered in graffiti. I bet if you stood still outside for a few minutes you would get spray painted on.
3. The food here is terrific. The pasta in particular is awesome.
4. A Roman would drive his car/scooter around inside your house if you let him. You should see the "streets" they drive on around here. They are no wider than a hallway inside your house, plus they have 3 million tourists on them. It's absurd. Picture Quincy Market on a busy summer afternoon. Now, shrink the street by 300% and throw in a bunch of taxis driving right down the middle. That's every Roman street you walk on.
5. Romans know less English than the French, who in turn know much less than the Dutch. However, everyone in the restaurant industry speaks enough English to take your order. Also, the Romans are better about translating their menu into English than the French.
6. You have never seen a person beg for money until you have witnessed an Italian beggar in action. I promise. You have also never seen a person with more afflictions than an Italian beggar. These people would have you believe that they are cross eyed, thalidomide babies who shake uncontrollably and have two club feet. They kneel on the street all day and literally cry for money.

Paris - Day Three

On our third and last full day in Paris we had booked a tour to go see the Palace of Versailles. This is the building that Louis XIV had built to chill out in. After our typical breakfast of orange juice, coffee, and a croissant we headed over for a third and final time to Notre Dame to try to get up to the towers. We arrived to find the line manageable and got in place. However, after waiting for about 30 to 40 minutes we hadn’t moved much at all and realized we would have to leave in order to catch the bus to Versailles on time. Zero for three on attempts to get into the towers of Notre Dame. We struck out.

The ride to Versailles was a quick 30 minutes or so. Soon, we found ourselves in front of its gilded gates. We toured through the palace seeing some really incredible sites, including the hall of mirrors, King Louis XIV bedroom, and the palace’s gardens (in the rain, of course). You can see the golden gates of the palace in the picture and the video below shows the bed chambers of the French queen.

After riding back to Paris, we headed back to the hotel to relax a bit. For a lunch time snack, we ate the cheese that we bought in Holland with some French bread. Very delicious. Next, we headed off for the Eiffel tower – our last sight seeing stop in Paris. I was really struck by the enormous size of the tower. We got tickets to go up to the second stage of the tower. After looking at the sites for a bit, we headed down. While pretty, it was also pretty cold up there. The picture to the right is us at the second stage of the tower - we didn't go all the way to the top because it would take more than an hour. We also didn’t want to wait for the lifts to get down, so we walked down all 43 flights of steps, which didn't take long at all. As we did, we passed some brave souls who were trying to walk up the stairs - something we agreed to never try. We then headed to our final Parisian dinner. I again enjoyed a steak and Emmy was very adventurous by ordering squid. Again, we both enjoyed the dinner but were not overwhelmed.

Full, we dropped into a Piano bar for a few final French beers before retiring to our hotel room. We were entertained by this Frenchie, who was very funny. After the unenthusiastic applause that followed each of his performances he would say, without fail, "Thank you, Paris! I love you, you're beautiful!".