April 15, 2016 Civitavecchia, Italy
Most of the ship disembarks today after the first seven days of the cruise. We are staying on for the next 12 days so we booked a tour to Umbria. Apparently there are 500 people staying on for the next cruise. We met our guide, Luca, at the gate around 8 am. Joe booked this tour for us through Viator. Unfortunately we had to be back on the ship by 3 pm so our time was a bit tight. There were only eight of us on the tour the rest of our group stayed on the ship and in port for the day. We had a nice drive through the country side with stops in Orvieto and Civi di Bagnoregio. James and I visited both these towns last year. Orvieto means "old eye". The hilltop town is located on top of a hill that was an important valley for protection. It is on the main passage from Rome to Florence. The exterior of the gothic cathedral in Orvieto is stunning. We decide not to go inside because our time was limited. I did go to my favourite leather shop and showed a lot of restraint by not purchasing anything. If you want to see a real place that looks like it is out of a fairy tale, visit Civi di Bagnoregio. It is a dying town with only a handful of people living there and it is sliding off the cliff but it is magnificent. To get to the hilltop town you have to cross a bridge that is quite steep. Once you conquer the bridge you are rewarded with the cutest medieval village. There are shops, restaurants, hotels and of course a church. We looked around a bit and then had a gelato when we crossed back to meet Luca. We were back to the ship on time but we still don't know why we had to be back so early. The ship didn't sail until about 6 pm. The ms Amsterdam was domed beside us. This is the Holland America ship that does the world tour. I heard second hand that the people on the Amsterdam were invited to for the Koningsdam. As we were setting sail there was a lot of horn honking and cheering back and forth between the Amsterdam and Koningsdam. James and I toured the spa on the ship and decided to purchase the thermal suite package. I'll try and take some photos for a future post. It is the perfect way to end an evening.
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gNaples April 14
Before Mount Vesuvius got all angry and erupted in 79 AD Pompeii was considered the Las Vegas of its time. Wine, prostitution, olives, anchovies and olive oil were the main industries. Herculaneum on the other hand was considered the Beverly Hills where the rich and chic lived in beautiful homes. We went to Pompeii. Our guide Carmine, from Mondo Guide, met us at the port of Naples (Napoli). There were 17 of us on the tour so we had a tour van and we were off. First was a stop at a cameo and coral factory. We had to watch a video about cameos so we could use the free toilets. I had no idea cameos were carved from shells. The toilets were nice too. Pompeii is incredible. Before we left for the trip we watched a program about the eruption so we knew that the lava didn't kill/cover the city. The lava didn't even reach the city. It was buried by about 20 meters of ash and lava/pumice stone pelting down with toxic gasses. We only walked through a small portion of Pompeii. It's huge! We walked the streets where there were stores of all kinds, homes, gymnasiums, bath houses and we visited one of the 25 brothels. There were sex menu board frescoes painted on the walls so the men could choose what they wanted. There were 35 bakeries in Pompeii and they found 81 pieces of carbonized bread. They stopped excavating in the 1980's there are still two large areas in Pompeii that are buried. They are leaving them because things will stay well preserved the way they are underground for future generations. Or maybe until someone pays for the excavation? Mount Vesuvius is still an active volcano so it will erupt again. The last eruption was in 1944. Our guide lives in Pompeii and he said with modern technology they should have enough notice to leave Pompeii before it gets dangerous. I stress the word SHOULD. Everyone in Pompeii has volcano insurance. Pompeii was bombed in WWII and we saw the remains of a shell today. We had pizza and beer for lunch. The pizza (Margherita) was delicious. Lots of places in Italy still have siesta from 1-5 pm. We did not have a siesta although some of our group fell asleep in the van on our scenic drive. After a scenic drive of Naples we toured the archeological museum. In the museum are the artifacts recovered from Pompeii and Herculaneum. There are the most amazing mosaics that would have been on floors, bronze statues, marble statues and lots of every day tools (cooking, vanity set, jugs, vases) and instruments for doctors and dentists. It is really fascinating to see these things from almost 2000 years ago and how many of them look the same as what we use today. The marble mosaics are outstanding. The pieces of marble are so tiny and some of the finished pieces/pictures are huge! We could have spent a whole day in the museum, but we had to get back to the ship. Sail away was beautiful as we toasted Mount Vesuvius in the distance. Today we learned that Italian gesturing with one hand means - what do you want?Gesturing with two hands means -what the hell do you want? It's always good to learn a new language. We've also learned that in Italy wine is food. And a meal without wine is called breakfast (sometimes). April 12, 2016
The ship cruised very slowly in to Katakolon this morning and at 11 am we were able to get off the ship. Katakolon was a small fishing village until the cruise ships started coming (there were three ships in port today) and now it is a small town with a lot of tourist shops. Today though, we were headed to Olympia. We booked a tour though Olympic Tours and they are excellent - I highly recommend them if you are looking for tours in Greece. We have booked three more tours with them. The ride to Olympia is about 30 minutes and we learned about some of the history and culture along the way - especially related to the Olympic Games. The country is going through a hard time now but they are staying positive and optimistic. Olympia is preparing for the next torch lighting ceremony which will happen on April 21 for the summer games in Brazil. Did you know the torch is lit with a parabolic mirror and the sun hitting it at noon? It is. Did you know St.Nicholas is the Saint for sailors? Every port town will have a church called St. Nicholas. Ok that's all the questions I have for now. The museum at the ancient Olympic site is fascinating. Olympia was built as a scared place. It was a place that people would make a pilgrimage to in order to honour the gods. The first Olympic Games started in 776 BC as a way to unify the greeks and stop the warring. Every four years they would call a sacred truce and the wars stopped for a month. Often they would realize they were "brothers" and stop fighting for some time. The olympics stopped in 393 AD when Christianity was introduced and the games were deemed pagan with too much idol worshipping. In the ancient games athletes participated in the nude to display the beauty of the physical, mental and athletic body. There was only one winner - no silver and bronze- who got to wear the wreath. If a man (the games were only for men) won three times, a bronze statue would be made to be on display in Olympia by his home community. The modern games began in 1896 and as you know, the athletes wear clothes. And there is a silver and bronze medal. In the museum are amazing marble statues that they recovered. Greek mythology is fascinating and I wish I could remember more from my university days (about Greek mythology). Outside we explored the ancient Olympic site. The Judas trees are blooming so there are hits of purple throughout the site. We saw the temple to Zeus which originally had a 36 foot high statue of Zeus holding a 6 foot gold statue of Nike (goddess of victory) in his hand. That would have been something to see! We saw the site in front of Hera's temple where the torch is lit and of course we raced in the stadium. The distance is 600 feet for one length from the start of the marble marker to the end. A stadium or stad means 600 feet. If an athlete or country was caught cheating, their punishment was to build a bronze statue of Zeus that would be displayed at the entrance to the stadium. They would be publicly shamed as everyone entered the stadium and looked at the statues. I believe there were 16 Zeus statues (they don't exist now). It was surreal being at the site. Kind of one of those - I'm actually here moments. After visiting the site we had a huge traditional Greek buffet lunch followed by Greek dancing. Unfortunately James and I didn't get to partake. We lost his mom at the ancient site and spent the time looking for her. We eventually found her (whew!) but missed the lunch. We returned to Katakolon and looked around a bit. We will be back here in a week or so. Corfu April 12, 2016
i have internet so I will try to catch up on a couple posts. We arrived in Corfu with no plans. The 12 of us were standing around wondering which direction to go in when a couple cab drivers approached us. They offered a tour of the island and over to the palace so we decided to go for it. Great decision! Our taxi driver was excellent. Two of the cars of did a three hour tour and the other car did a two hour tour. We were on a three hour tour which started with a drive across the island to a great look out point and down to the area where many people vacation. The top industry in Corfu is tourism (high season is May - October) and second is olive oil production. There are a lot of olive trees...and cypress trees. Today I learned how to determine the difference between male (skinny) and female (fuller) cypress trees. And that olive tree can live to 1000 years. Corfu is the greenest Greek island as it gets more rain in the winter. Our driver talked about the economy and how you don't want to lose your job because they are hard to get. He said it as a fact, not as a complaint in any way. All the people we met were very friendly and helpful. Then we drove over to the monastery where I saw way more feline inhabitants than people. The Orthodox Church was very dark with lots of mosaics. We drove across the island with the Greek tunes turned up. Our driver told us about the history of the island back from the time when the Venetians ruled (I think they occupied the island for 400-500 years). The buildings in the old town have a strong Venetian influence. Then the French occupied for awhile and finally the British. The British built roads and water systems. Corfu was never occupied by the Turks like the other Greek islands. They are happy about that. We ventured over to the palace. The Achilleion Palace was built in 1889-91 by Elizabeth, the Empress of Austria. She had a great admiration for the Greek mythological hero, Achilles, hence the name. And all the Greek statues in the gardens. It was used as a hospital during WWI and by the Italians and Germans in WWII as military headquarters. In the 1960s it was turned into a casino - Greece's first casino. We were dropped off in the old town and we looked around a bit. The buildings do look Venetian without the canal. James and I walked back to the ship. It was a nice walk along the water with interesting sites. We were back in time for 4 o'clock happy hour in the Crow's Nest and then a burger at The Dive In. The ship had a service call in Sarande, Albania so a few of us decided to take the tender over in the evening. We noticed that Sarande looks very clean but there were very few women out. There were lots of groups of men - young and old (in suits), but hardly any women of any age. We thought it was odd. We walked along the water for a bit and stopped in to have an Albanian beer. Five beer cost €10. I thought it tasted wretched but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I'm not a beer fan. James drank mine. The Koningsdam looks stunning at night all lit up from a distance. We boarded the ms Koningsdam on Friday and had a sea day to explore her. She is stunning! Classy and modern - the decor, furniture, new food and music venues, technology...There have been a few glitches being it's the first sailing but nothing major. The staff have been over the top friendly and helpful. All of the have come from other ships. I will write a full post about the ship another day. I am trying to get a blog up before we sail away from Dubrovnik.
Dubrovnik is amazing! We spent most of our time touring the old town and walking the city wall. The views are spectacular! Clay tile red roofs as far as you can see. Our friend Joe was our tour guide today and he was fabulous. The city was heavily bombed and damaged in the 1990's but a lot has been restored and the restoration work continues. Some Game of Thrones and Star Wars have been filmed here. It totally looks like King's Landing here, but I didn't see any dragons or swords. After we walked/climbed the wall we sat in the sun for lunch/drinks and looked around. Back on the ship we are waiting to leave port and sail toward Corfu. We are all doing well and having a great time. Yesterday we visited a marble quarry but last night I swear we slept on a marble bed, with matching pillow. The beds in this hotel are not the best! In fact they are horrible.
Part of our group ventured to the Vatican today but I've been twice so decided not to go. Mom, dad and I walked around and visited Santa Maria degli Angeli. This church was Michelangelo's last architectural work and it was built inside the Roman walls of the Baths of Diocletian. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to the angels, and to the Christian slaves who died building the baths. We poked around at some shops - Europeans have a lot of inexpensive fashion choices - and stopped for coffee/tea. After the Vatican tour group returned we walked over to throw our coins in the Trevi fountain. It was busy, of course, and really hot. Thank goodness Lyn and James have deodorant. We stooped at a restaurant to get what we thought were a few appetizers but ended up costing us €90! We wanted to try a sample of deep fried artichoke, a specialty of the restaurant we were told, but it cost up €37. Ugh! This evening we ate our way through Trastevere with our delightful guide Anna from Eating Italy Food Tours. We did the Twilight Trastevere tour which I highly recommend if you are going to be in Rome. We learned a lot about the Trastevere area and ate a lot of fabulous authentic food. Including deep fried artichokes (twice in one day). We had the most delicious street food, porchetta, biscotti, cheese, pasta and we drank wine in an ancient wine cellar that is not open to the public. The cellar is part of what once was a Jewish synagogue dating back about 2000 years. We also learned the difference between real and fake gelato. The real stuff is very good! All of the places we visited take great pride in their "craft" and many are family run businesses that are second or third generation. One of them had their 93 year old mother taking the money. Trastevere is a very interesting neighbourhood and very old. It was considered the immigrant area and it's where Julius Caesar had a little fling with Cleopatra. More recently Lady Gaga walked over the oldest bridge. Some Travestevereans brag that they have never crossed the bridge/Tiber to step foot in Rome. The rest of our group arrived late this afternoon. Tomorrow be board the brand new ms Koningsdam. I'm sure the beds and pillows will be softer. Do you like clean teeth and cakes that rise? You can thank marble dust for that. Do you know why churches are cold. It's because marble stays cold. This morning we had a fascinating trip to a Carrara marble quarry. Kind of like where Fred Flintstone works but a little more modern and people were wearing work boots.
We checked out of our hotel in La Spezia and headed out to Carrara where there are 25 km of mountains with pure white marble at the top. Our knowledgeable guide, Diego, shared some interesting facts with us on the drive up the mountain. Once we reached as high as we were going, we visited the museum to see artifacts gathered from the mountains. The marble quarries of Carrara have been active since the first century BC started by the Romans. There are 175 quarries in total and in the area we are in there are 30 quarries. They used to only be able to cut 7cm by hand in an entire day. Technology has made it easier to excavate and transport it now, but is still a lengthy process. The marble of Carrara is unique, it is pure white inside and outside. The quarry we went to is called Michelangelo and he personally chose marble from the quarry for some of his famous pieces including The Pieta and Moses. The quarries are efficient and do not waste. The marble dust is made in to toothpaste and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Also the best concrete is made from marble stones. The tour was fascinating. As you drive around this area of Tuscany you can see blocks of marble ready to transport. All of these are bought and paid for. Marble doesn't come out of the mountain until it is purchased. And if you want to buy marble, it's not cheap. €5,000 for one tonne. One cubic meter is about three tones so €15,000. The biggest exports are to North America, China and Arab nations. Next on the agenda back to Tuscany for more food and drink. Driving through the Tuscan country side is stunning - hills, vineyard, olive trees, cypress trees... We arrived at the beautiful agritursmo family farm in Montecarlo di Lucca. On this sunny afternoon we were greeted by the sound of many birds chirping and our effervescent hostess Antoinella. We were escorted to the wine cellar for lunch but first we learned about the wine, olives, olive oil, vinegar and other products they produce. We were served home made pasta (that was divine), four different wines followed by bruschetta, bread, salami, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and we topped it off with biscotti dipped in sweet holy wine. So delicious! We took a group photo with Diego and started our four hour trek back to Rome. We checked in to Hotel Sonya and met up with Aunty Mary Lou, Uncle Rick, Karen and Monte. We went for a quick bite to eat at an Irish pub (seems odd) and out waiter told us he fell in love with a Canadian from Regina the week before (do we know her?) He said he is even willing to embrace winter for love. Easy for someone to say who has never experienced a Canadian prairie winter! After breakfast we walked to the waterfront,which is across the street from our hotel,to catch the boat to the Cinque Terre. The boats can fit hundreds of tourists eager to visit the 5 lands of the national park which cover 12 km. As we were leaving La Spezia our guide pointed out Georgio Armani's yacht. It stands out in the marina - it's all black. Stylish. Porto Venere was our first stop. The houses are painted different colours so the fisherman could pick out their home from a distance. It was pretty quiet in the village when we arrived. We walked the quaint street to the cathedral at the end. We climbed to the top for the best views -stunning. We visited the cathedral at the top and mom and I lit a candle for Garth.The sidewalk that we took on the way back along the water was built by the romantic poets who frquented here - Byron, Keats, Yates...They loved visiting and I can understand how they would have been inspired by the village and scenery. Before we had to make our way back we spotted some deodorant for James and Lyn. Whew! We got back on the boat to Vernazza where we had time to walk around and have a drink. There was a market on when we arrived and we saw the opera singing flower seller that is in one of the Rick Steves videos about the Cinque Terre. He wasn't singing when we saw him but maybe if you buy something you get a song?! Then on to the largest village (population 1500), Montersosso. The villages are picturesque and the total population is 5000.The people of the Cinque Terre are also protected. They don't pay taxes and Unesco will pay them if they don't make as much money as they did the year before. It is very important that the people stay otherwise the villages will become ghost towns. It seems all the tourism has ensured that won't happen. Our guide told us the local specialties are anchovies (caught fresh daily), mussels (also caught daily) and wine. We had lunch in Monterosso with some Cinque Terre wine. I had gnocchi with pesto - delicious! Others tried the seafood. We were able to find a store with lemoncello tasting. We wandered around before heading back to Le Spezia on the train.We were able to see some of La Spezia on the walk back to the hotel. All in all a beautiful day in the Cinque Terre. Another spectacular day! We started with breakfast at our hotel and we were off at 8.30 for San Gimignano. San Gimignano is a wonderful hilltop town with towers...and lots of shops. As an aside, there are 8,000 hilltop towns in Italy all from medieval times - after the fall of the Roman Empire and before the Renaissance. I am happy to support the Italian economy by purchasing leather goods - especially when you can meet the people who create it. We learned that Italy has produces the highest quality toothpicks. We didn't find any toothpicks to buy. We didn't look that hard. San Gimignano is so cute and the area surrounding it is stunning. Tuscany is so beautiful - even the air has a rustic camp fire smells to it. Tuscany has strict rules protecting the landscape - new construction is not allowed. Apparently you can't even add or take down a tree. We learned that only 8% of Italy's economy is tourism. 70% is from small family businesses. With that in mind we went to visit a family farm and vineyard in the Chianti region for wine tasting and snacks. The farm is called Tavernelle Val di Pesa. The business has been run by the family for three generations and they grow grapes, olives and grain. We did a short tour and sat down outside on the patio for tasting. It wasn't really tasting because the 12 of us has 8 bottles of wine. That's a lot more than a taste! Sitting outside at a Tuscan farm/vineyard with the sun shining, drinking wine and eating delicious meats, cheeses, bread olives and bruschetta...it doesn't get any better! Locals drop by to fill their jugs with wine for 1.50€ per litre. Crazy! After drinking and purchasing ( how can you go wrong at 3-9€ /bottle?) a lot of wine we headed to Pisa. The four marble buildings in piazza dei miracoli (square of miracles) are amazing but of course we are all there to see the leaning tower. The most known monument in the world according to our guide. I've seen a lot of photos of the tower but it is different in person. It's brilliant white marble that looks so spectacular and strong - except for the whole leaning thing. We did the obligatory holding up the tower photos. Oh, both James and his mom are on the hunt for deodorant. Lyn thought she found some in a store...but it turned out that what she picked up was only shaped like deodorant and was for something entirely different. Something a little more intimate. I had to stop her before it got to the till. No one wants arm pits that are lubricated and may warm or tingle. We did have a good laugh! We are in La Spezia tonight. We are having a great time on this tour. There are only 12 of us and it's such a great group of people. On the serious side there is a higher police presence at tourist attractions since Paris and Brussels. I guess that's a good thing. Off to dinner soon. Ciao! Zero sleeps! |
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