Our final port day was spent with our new friends from New Jersey. We had a nice big van with our driver Nichola, who had nerves of steel. The drive to Pompeii was quick and we were there for 8:30 opening. It is so interesting to see. Th city was buried completely by an eruption in 79ad. The layout and architecture of the city were stunning. We could see the walls of the houses with frescoes and paint colours still visible. It was a little gruesome and disrespectful to see the casts of the people who died but it did prove how suddenly the eruption happened. The brothel was interesting, with pictures of each act so if one did not speak the language it could be chosen by pointing!
To get to the little town of Ravello we drove up into the Monte Latteri mountains. Narrow winding switchbacks with breathtaking views of both the mountains and the ocean. Such contrasts, many Mercedes cars, and then we would round a curve to see a burro tied up in front of a small house. Everywhere are grapevines, Nichola said that most rural people make their own wine. The region is also known for lemons, the base for Lemoncello, which is a delicious liquer. Princess makes it on some ships so we got a taste for it! We stopped for lunch in Ravello, at a little local place where Mama served us the most delicious feast of hot zuccini salad, crusty bread, gnocchi, canneloni (Alene would have loved it!) fettucine, Tiramisu, all accompanied by vino rossi and ended with clementines from her garden. It was one of the meals that will set a high standard for any future Italian food. The ambience was pretty terrific, also. Ravello is picturesque and quaint, full of cafes, shops and with a central square looking up on the terraced vineyards in the mountains.
The Amalfi coast is rightly famous as a beautiful drive. It is another switchback, hairpin turn, white knuckle, hide your eyes TREAT! The views get better around every corner and the sea is azzura (my Italian spelling may be off). We stopped for a little look at Amalfi but sadly Ellie fell and injured her ankle so we had to get back to the ship.
In all it was a good day despite injury and a little rain at Pompeii. We will be saying goodbye to the Star Princess and some good new friends. I expect we will keep in touch, we hope to meet again on some future cruise.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Athens
Another totally full day--up way before dawn and not back to the ship until after dark.
Busride to the Acropolis. Climbed up the stairs and path--there is an elevation gain for sure! The Parthenon, the entry gate, the temple are just amazing. There weren't too many people there so we had a good look around. It is roped off and there is a lot of restoration work going on, but it doesn't take much imagination to reconstruct it yourself. Athens is spread out below, all around and as far as the eye can see. Magnificent.
To the Plaka area for shopping--we helped out the Greek economy a bit! As we were getting ready to leave, a bunch of University students held a protest march through the area going to the Parliament buildings which are close by--that delayed us for a bit.
Buffet lunch of really good Greek food, then an hour long busride down the coast to the Temple of Poseidon. The seascape is striking; there's not much vegetation and lots of rock--and lots of beautiful homes and apartments overlooking the ocean along the way. Another smaller but still amazing defensive position and temple--again, it didn't take much imagination to conjur up a Greek Trireme out in the bay guarding the harbour...
Tomorrow is a sea day, then Naples.
Busride to the Acropolis. Climbed up the stairs and path--there is an elevation gain for sure! The Parthenon, the entry gate, the temple are just amazing. There weren't too many people there so we had a good look around. It is roped off and there is a lot of restoration work going on, but it doesn't take much imagination to reconstruct it yourself. Athens is spread out below, all around and as far as the eye can see. Magnificent.
To the Plaka area for shopping--we helped out the Greek economy a bit! As we were getting ready to leave, a bunch of University students held a protest march through the area going to the Parliament buildings which are close by--that delayed us for a bit.
Buffet lunch of really good Greek food, then an hour long busride down the coast to the Temple of Poseidon. The seascape is striking; there's not much vegetation and lots of rock--and lots of beautiful homes and apartments overlooking the ocean along the way. Another smaller but still amazing defensive position and temple--again, it didn't take much imagination to conjur up a Greek Trireme out in the bay guarding the harbour...
Tomorrow is a sea day, then Naples.
Ephesus
We docked at Kusadasi, Turkey, a nice little port town, at about noon after the run down the coast from Instanbul. A short bus ride took us to the top of the ruins at Ephesus.
This was an ancient Greek port town. Think Letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Think 250,000 people, with running water to their homes and a sewer system as well. Think the second biggest library going, after Alexandria. Think the place where Antony and Cleopatra spent their honeymoon. Think an amphitheatre seating 14,000 people, with perfect acoustics way before electronics--and a few smaller ones seating only 1,000 or so. Think hotels public markets and public baths and latrines and treelined marble pathways as wide as a city street connecting all the areas of the city. Just totally amazing--takes your breath away.
Back to Kusadasi and a visit to the market area and a nice Turkish kebab and a beer, then back to the ship.
It was 22C today--the guide said she was amazed at the way the warmth was carring on into the fall/winter.
This was an ancient Greek port town. Think Letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Think 250,000 people, with running water to their homes and a sewer system as well. Think the second biggest library going, after Alexandria. Think the place where Antony and Cleopatra spent their honeymoon. Think an amphitheatre seating 14,000 people, with perfect acoustics way before electronics--and a few smaller ones seating only 1,000 or so. Think hotels public markets and public baths and latrines and treelined marble pathways as wide as a city street connecting all the areas of the city. Just totally amazing--takes your breath away.
Back to Kusadasi and a visit to the market area and a nice Turkish kebab and a beer, then back to the ship.
It was 22C today--the guide said she was amazed at the way the warmth was carring on into the fall/winter.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Exotic Istanbul
Up at the crack of dawn to see that we were docked in the middle of the Bosphorus surrounded by the city of Istanbul. We booked an all day tour that took us to: 1) A carpet huckster. Nuff said...no carpets for us! 2) The Grand Bazaar, a massive shopping area full of gold, silver, knock-off purses, andd 22 Euro T-Shirts. Spent no money there! 3) The Blue Mosque....WOW, it was almost as beautiful as the Alabaster mosque in Cairo. Our guide was not as good so we were less impressed, I think. Still it was a massive, stunning, and working mosque. 4) Next to Ayasofya or Hagia Sofia, which is a museum but had been a mosque and a church. Also very massive and beautiful. 5) A boat trip down the Bosphorus, which combined sightseeing and a true Turkish lunch....including Turkish Delight (Quite good, too). The sights were amazing, the river is lined with palaces, large homes, nightclubs, schools and ruins. 6) Topkapi Palace, the former home of the sultans. Very large, interesting and had a display of the sultans treasures that was magnificent. What a day...Istanbul is a very ancient, modern, cosmopolitan, contradictory city. It was clean and people were well dressed. The traffic was crazy but occasionally they obeyed the traffic signals!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Khios, Greece
A nice lazy day at sea, crossing the Mediterranean to Greece. Wonderful, and needed after Egypt!
This morning, we anchored at 8AM just off Khios. A beautiful site from our room--the port, the city rising up into the hills to the tops of the mountains wrapped in clouds. It was rough seas, so tendering took time to set up and we didn't get to shore till about 10:30, after a rock and roll ride in. We didn't have a tour planned, so we just walked with friends up and down the seaport's main streets. Even though it was Sunday, lots of establishments were open and we poked about. A nice lunch--Greek Salad, a Greek sampler plate, a Greek Beer and Ouzo--overlooking the harbour. A generally lazy day, but our first taste of Greece--so, now, we're ready for the rest of the Greek stops--we have tours booked for both.
Tomorrow is Istanbul; we're on a tour. As I type this in the Internet room, I'm right beside a porthole on deck 5--so the sea is rushing by--we're doing about 22 knots or roughly 40kph--about 4 meters below the window. Fortunately, it is not too wavy!
The photo people are going to print a picture of Sophie for us--thanks for sending/posting all the pictures!
This morning, we anchored at 8AM just off Khios. A beautiful site from our room--the port, the city rising up into the hills to the tops of the mountains wrapped in clouds. It was rough seas, so tendering took time to set up and we didn't get to shore till about 10:30, after a rock and roll ride in. We didn't have a tour planned, so we just walked with friends up and down the seaport's main streets. Even though it was Sunday, lots of establishments were open and we poked about. A nice lunch--Greek Salad, a Greek sampler plate, a Greek Beer and Ouzo--overlooking the harbour. A generally lazy day, but our first taste of Greece--so, now, we're ready for the rest of the Greek stops--we have tours booked for both.
Tomorrow is Istanbul; we're on a tour. As I type this in the Internet room, I'm right beside a porthole on deck 5--so the sea is rushing by--we're doing about 22 knots or roughly 40kph--about 4 meters below the window. Fortunately, it is not too wavy!
The photo people are going to print a picture of Sophie for us--thanks for sending/posting all the pictures!
Egypt (2 of 2)
Up early in the morning and had a wonderful breakfast. The hotel was pretty nice, even the internet was not working--but we were only there for about 10 hours total.
Over from Giza to Old Cairo, where we saw the oldest Christian church in Africa, and the oldest Synagogue in Egypt. Both still functioning. Both very near the site where Moses was found in the basket in the bullrushes. A very interesting openminded discussion between the Jewish and Catholic people on the tour and our Islamic guide about the many similarities and points of difference between the 3 faiths.
Then to the Museum of Antiquities. An older but magnificent building with 2 floors just crammed with exibits and artifacts. They desperately need a new building--the current one is overcrowded and old--and one is under construction. Once the new one is done, they are hopeful that England will give back the Rosetta Stone and France the Head of Nefertiti. The gold jewellery, the stone carvings, the items of daily life, and so on--just amazing. (No, we did not see the Hollywood depiction of a mummy!)
Then, another buffet lunch beside the Nile and the 3 hour trip back to Alexandria. We stopped in front of the brand new Library of Alexandria--already the largest in Africa--and just across the harbour from where the Lighthouse of Alexandria stood.
Back to the ship through the downtown of Alexandria--a mix of old and new. At that point, just about everyone on our tour was exhausted from the information and sensory overload, so we mostly all missed the sailaway.
The above words don't do justice to what we experienced. The ancient is magnificent, the current, not so much. All wonderful and different and we're both very glad we have been able to see it.
Over from Giza to Old Cairo, where we saw the oldest Christian church in Africa, and the oldest Synagogue in Egypt. Both still functioning. Both very near the site where Moses was found in the basket in the bullrushes. A very interesting openminded discussion between the Jewish and Catholic people on the tour and our Islamic guide about the many similarities and points of difference between the 3 faiths.
Then to the Museum of Antiquities. An older but magnificent building with 2 floors just crammed with exibits and artifacts. They desperately need a new building--the current one is overcrowded and old--and one is under construction. Once the new one is done, they are hopeful that England will give back the Rosetta Stone and France the Head of Nefertiti. The gold jewellery, the stone carvings, the items of daily life, and so on--just amazing. (No, we did not see the Hollywood depiction of a mummy!)
Then, another buffet lunch beside the Nile and the 3 hour trip back to Alexandria. We stopped in front of the brand new Library of Alexandria--already the largest in Africa--and just across the harbour from where the Lighthouse of Alexandria stood.
Back to the ship through the downtown of Alexandria--a mix of old and new. At that point, just about everyone on our tour was exhausted from the information and sensory overload, so we mostly all missed the sailaway.
The above words don't do justice to what we experienced. The ancient is magnificent, the current, not so much. All wonderful and different and we're both very glad we have been able to see it.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Egypt (1 of 2)
The last few days have been a blur--a good, very good blur, but nonetheless...
Sea Days--wonderful and relaxing. We are enjoying our Balcony immensely--sitting out there quietly enjoying the Mediterranean coast by. We had a Formal Night--everybody got dressed up and it was great.
We sailed into Alexandria a bit late, because of fog, but our group tour met on time and off the ship we went. We met our guide (Eslam) and driver and piled our luggage and ourselves into the 11 passenger van and off we went towards Giza.
The drive down was interesting in a few ways. Eslam was a young Egyptologist who had just got engaged and really knew his stuff--he gave us an entertaining and brief history, geography, sociology, etc. of Egypt. Our driver was wizard--just suicidal enough to get us safely down the roads, which were not too bad--better than Winnipeg's in the springtime, but were filled (think rush hour) with traffic going faster than the speed limit--considered to be a suggestion--and piloted with drivers more suicidal than ours. They have a bad accident rate here. Lots of dints and scrapes in the vehicles--most drivers have their side mirrors folded in (or broken off) because they don't use them anyway--just beep and go into the nearest space that appears, big enough or not. And the countryside--a mix of sand and irrigated land and people and homes everywhere in walled off or hedged-off lots. Some pollution in the cities but not too bad otherwise. As a 3rd world country, it is "messy", though, in most respects.
After about 3 hours, we left the rolling sandy landscape and got into some more rough stuff and then the pyramids appeared. Totally marvellous. We climbed about 15meters up the Great Pyramid on a path towards the original entrance--which is now blocked to tourists. After some time clambering around, we got back in the van and drove around the other 2 big pyramids to a bit of desert and a camel ride. They are big and when they get up with you on their back, it is a bit of a ride. We were on them for about half an hour--I have a lot more respect for T.E.Lawrence (of Arabia). It was a real Wow time to be riding camels looking at the pyramids. Then, a walk to the Sphinx, which is really quite a mysterious masterpiece in its own right.
After lunch at a buffet place, we went first to an outdoor museum exhibit with a large statue of RamsesII at the site of the ancient city of Memphis and then to Saqqara, the site of the first "step" pyramids in a complex. Here we went into a royal tomb which had heiroglyphics throughout on all the walls. A few joined rooms, all empty and small, and underground--but not under a pyramid. But 5000 years old...!
We checked into the hotel and then went for an evening supper cruise on the Nile. Sadly, it was rather tacky.
Back to the hotel where we begged and borrowed a computer with Internet Access so we could find out that our newest Grandchild, Sophie, had just been born, less than an hour before. Welcome to the world, Sophie!
Sea Days--wonderful and relaxing. We are enjoying our Balcony immensely--sitting out there quietly enjoying the Mediterranean coast by. We had a Formal Night--everybody got dressed up and it was great.
We sailed into Alexandria a bit late, because of fog, but our group tour met on time and off the ship we went. We met our guide (Eslam) and driver and piled our luggage and ourselves into the 11 passenger van and off we went towards Giza.
The drive down was interesting in a few ways. Eslam was a young Egyptologist who had just got engaged and really knew his stuff--he gave us an entertaining and brief history, geography, sociology, etc. of Egypt. Our driver was wizard--just suicidal enough to get us safely down the roads, which were not too bad--better than Winnipeg's in the springtime, but were filled (think rush hour) with traffic going faster than the speed limit--considered to be a suggestion--and piloted with drivers more suicidal than ours. They have a bad accident rate here. Lots of dints and scrapes in the vehicles--most drivers have their side mirrors folded in (or broken off) because they don't use them anyway--just beep and go into the nearest space that appears, big enough or not. And the countryside--a mix of sand and irrigated land and people and homes everywhere in walled off or hedged-off lots. Some pollution in the cities but not too bad otherwise. As a 3rd world country, it is "messy", though, in most respects.
After about 3 hours, we left the rolling sandy landscape and got into some more rough stuff and then the pyramids appeared. Totally marvellous. We climbed about 15meters up the Great Pyramid on a path towards the original entrance--which is now blocked to tourists. After some time clambering around, we got back in the van and drove around the other 2 big pyramids to a bit of desert and a camel ride. They are big and when they get up with you on their back, it is a bit of a ride. We were on them for about half an hour--I have a lot more respect for T.E.Lawrence (of Arabia). It was a real Wow time to be riding camels looking at the pyramids. Then, a walk to the Sphinx, which is really quite a mysterious masterpiece in its own right.
After lunch at a buffet place, we went first to an outdoor museum exhibit with a large statue of RamsesII at the site of the ancient city of Memphis and then to Saqqara, the site of the first "step" pyramids in a complex. Here we went into a royal tomb which had heiroglyphics throughout on all the walls. A few joined rooms, all empty and small, and underground--but not under a pyramid. But 5000 years old...!
We checked into the hotel and then went for an evening supper cruise on the Nile. Sadly, it was rather tacky.
Back to the hotel where we begged and borrowed a computer with Internet Access so we could find out that our newest Grandchild, Sophie, had just been born, less than an hour before. Welcome to the world, Sophie!
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