Our Mediterranean Cruise started and ended in Rome. We decided we would take the train there, tack on 3 days after the cruise in Cinque Terre, and then take the train back. There were a lot of firsts for me on this trip – first cruise, first overnight train, and most port visits were a first. When booking the night train, I decided to pass on the “sleeper car” and just get a couchette. I envisioned this “couchette” as a mini-couch, although it was pictured like a chair. So, I figured best case, it folds out into a little couch so you can lie flat and, worst case, it just reclines a bit like an airline seat. Either way, we have done plenty of overnight flights by now to survive on a little reclining seat. So, I booked it. Well, were we surprised! There were 6 of these chairs in a cabin. We only had 2, so the other 4 were strangers. The chairs did NOT recline and had microscopic lumbar support. The bottom and back were connected and they did slide out. But, the headrest was fixed to the wall and didn’t move when you “extended” the chair. So, if you did want to try to slide the chair out (which we discovered was even more uncomfortable), then your head was resting on the bare wall. If, by some miracle, you managed to fall asleep, it wouldn’t be for long. The train personnel came by 3 or 4 times throughout the night to check your tickets (every time they changed shifts, I’m guessing). And, heaven forbid, someone in your cabin leave their seat. Then, they came by again and asked if that seat was free (the train was full and many people without reservations were sleeping in the hall or dining car). It was absolutely crazy and I felt as if I was traveling in a 3rd world country! There was no air conditioning, but that wasn’t too much of a problem since it wasn’t too hot that day/night. But, I can only imagine that packed train in the middle of July! Ugh! But, on the positive side, we made all of our connections and arrived safely in Rome. The first thing I did was stand in line at the ticket desk to see if I could upgrade to a bed for the ride home. No such luck – the return train was also fully booked. So, we got to start our trip out knowing that another wonderful night like the one we just barely survived last night lay ahead of us! *sigh*
Saturday, May 10
Our train got into Rome at around 10:30am (oh, no breakfast served on the train either – so we were STARVING when we got off). We had originally planned on leaving our luggage at the train station in Rome and doing a bit of sightseeing before boarding the boat. But, by now, we were just ready to get on the boat and begin our trip. So, we headed straight to the boat (took a train from downtown Rome to Civitavecchia, the port town, then walked ~10 min. from there to the port, where a shuttle bus was waiting to take us to our ship). We sailed on the Carnival Freedom, built in 2008 and one of Carnival’s latest and greatest ships. It has 13 decks, 7 bars/clubs, 6 restaurants, a library, almost 3000 guest capacity (and another 1000+ for crew), 3 small pools, 5 hot tubs, gym, full-service spa, mini-golf, half of a basketball court, and more! It was huge and really amazing. The gaudy Las-Vegas-style decorations weren’t my taste (especially the scary, glowing floating Statue of Liberty heads in the buffet room), but it was still impressive none the less. When we booked the trip, we just got a TBA (to be assigned) room, since we were going to get an interior room anyway. We were assigned an interior room, but it was near the front of the boat and on one of the top decks – which is supposed to be good. Anyway, we liked it and it was close to all of the action. It was a nice size, slightly bigger than some of the other hotels rooms we’ve had in Europe, with the token tiny shower. 
We spent the first day on the ship unpacking our bags (not exactly enough space to have 6 bags lying out – we emptied them into the closets/drawers and stored the bags under the bed) and wandering around our new floating home. Given my past experience with boats, I was a little worried that I would get motion sick during the trip. The first time the boat pulled out of dock, I definitely felt “funny.” I wouldn’t say sick, just funny because my balance was off. Paul said that it just took a while to get used to. He was right, because by the next day I only felt off balance on land! Anyway, the whole trip was pretty smooth and I didn’t get sick at all. That night at dinner, we were scheduled for the “late” dinner which started at 8:30pm. We decided that was going to be too late and asked the maitre d’ to move us up to the early seating (6pm). The next day, we had a great table for 2 (most are for 6), right by the window, at the early seating. Sweet!
The itinerary for our trip was first in Rome (Italy), then Naples (Italy), a day at sea, Marmaris (Turkey), Izmir (Turkey), Istanbul (Turkey), a day at sea, Athens (Greece), Katakolon (Greece), a day at sea, Livorno (Italy), and then back to Rome for a full day and night. I’ll break the trip up by day.
Sunday, May 11
We had heard that Naples was a city to miss: big, congested, and dirty. I might have liked to have seen it anyway, but with only one day in port we had to set priorities and Pompeii beat it out (by a landslide!). One of the main reasons we decided to do a cruise was to see Pompeii and Athens (and after doing more research, we picked this one because of Istanbul). We had booked 2 shore excursions with Carnival, but ended up cancelling the second one. So, this was our only excursion that we did with Carnival – at all of the other ports, we just explored on our own. The excursion really was nice and convenient. They took everyone into the main lounge and assigned everyone a number based on what excursion you had purchased. When they called your number, you disembarked the ship and got on a big bus with the same number. Our excursion included a trip up Mt. Vesuvius and then onto Pompeii. We boarded the bus and got the very front seats – so we had a great view out the front window. We got a little bit of history about Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii during the drive from our local guide. Mt. Vesuvius is a volcano that erupted on August 24, A.D. 79 blanketing the towns and 1000s of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum. Pompeii was buried 10′ deep, while Herculaneum was buried under 75′ of ash. This volcanic eruption is the first to be described in detail. The ash preserved and protected Pompeii against the elements until future archaeologists unearthed this snapshot in time. The volcano continued to erupt every century until A.D. 1037, and then it was dormant for 600 years until it erupted again in 1631, killing another 4000 people. During the rebuilding efforts, the ancient ruins of Pompeii were discovered on March 23, 1748. Wouldn’t people learn, you’re thinking? Evidently not. Today’s population around Mt. Vesuvius is about 3 million, which is potentially catastrophic in the area of such a dangerous volcano. The last major eruption occurred in 1944, but activity may start up at any moment. The bus took us as far as it could, and then we hiked the rest of the way to the rim of the volcano. I had seen a volcano before when I was in Hawaii about 15 years ago (oh my gosh – 15 years ago!), but this was Paul’s first. It was really cool because, like Mt. Kilauea in Hawaii, Mt. Vesuvius is still an active volcano. So, it was smoky and steamy inside the crater. The hike up also gave us a great view of Naples below. You could also see the old lava flows from the last eruption, now sprouting grass and flowers. After our volcano stop, we reboarded the bus and headed to Pompeii. Of course, as with any purchased Carnival excursion, we had the mandatory visit/tour of a store/factory. In this case, it was a Cameo factory. Thankfully, they combined it with a bathroom stop. They gave us just enough time for everyone to use the facilities and then we were on our way. No sales pitch, no tour, just a potty break. I was pleasantly surprised at how this DIDN’T drag on.
Pompeii was everything we’d thought it would be and more. First, it was such a large area. We were there for about 2-3 hours and only had time to see one part of the excavation area (granted, it was the largest part). The most impressive thing was the sheer size of the excavation. It differs from Rome in that when you are in the ruins of Pompeii, you’re surrounded by them. You can’t see the postcard stand, the street, traffic, grocery store, subway stop, etc. like you can when you’re at the Colosseum (which is a ruin-oasis in the middle of a huge city). In Pompeii, you can walk from the ancient wine bar, to the ancient brothel, to the ancient living quarters, etc. The streets were also used as gutters, so they had raised blocks at each intersection to help people safely (and cleanly) cross the street. When they excavated the bakery, they found a loaf of bread in the oven. The preservation of the site is unbelievable. We didn’t have to go to the museum, which is where many of the small artifacts (like the bread) have been moved to. But, they did have a few artifacts on the site. We saw a few of the casts of the people they found. It was so sad. Many people did escape the eruption, but it was the women, children, and slaves who were left behind to take care of the homes. So, these made up most of the people that were found. We saw one cast of a slave. You could tell he was a slave by the type of loin cloth he was wearing (yes, there’s that much detail). You could just read the pain on his face. There was another with a woman covering her face, one of a dog with its legs bent at impossible angles (the chain still around its neck). It was so heartbreaking, yet fascinating to see such a literal snapshot of time. There were also still paintings on the wall. One of the more “colorful” murals was inside the brothel, which displayed the “menu” that the women there could offer – very early Kama Sutra, if you will. The customers, many of which were international and may not speak the local dialect, could then just point and order. It was also interesting to see so many Pagan symbols, since Christianity wasn’t around yet. There were phallic symbols engraved on the road in front of some of the houses. This was their version of a lucky horseshoe – it was meant to symbolize the life it brought into the world and to bring the occupants of the house good luck. There were snakes intertwined on a painting near the street, meaning there was a hospital in town. The snakes were thought to represent health since they “regenerated” their skin every season (and they’re still used in our pharmacy’s symbol today!). It was a great tour and an amazing place. I think you would need a full 2 days to just see all of the Pompeii ruins. But, after our 3 hours or so, it was time to head back to the boat. At dinner, we found out that our new waiter (for the 6pm seating) was VERY insistent that Paul get a full bottle of wine. When we explained that I don’t drink wine, he said he’s save the bottle and bring it out night-after-night, so it doesn’t go to waste. But, you didn’t really save that much (glass vs. bottle) for it to be worth having the same wine every night. So, Paul asked him to recommend something by the glass. But, Mr. Waiter was very insistent, asked for our Sign-and-Sail card (think ship-only credit card), and he would just pick something out for us. When he showed us the BOTTLE he was going to suggest, Paul just said, forget it… I’ll have this glass. He wasn’t very friendly with us for the rest of the cruise (yes, his tip was reduced). The next night Paul ordered a different glass of wine and the waiter said, “see, you should have gotten the bottle.” *sigh* We just let it go.
Monday, May 12
The next day was our first day at sea. After breakfast, we were going to go hang out on the pool deck. I was getting ready to put some sunscreen on and asked Paul if he wanted any. He said, “No… I need to get some sun.” This is where I made the worst decision of the whole trip (can you see it coming?). I thought, yeah, I need some sun too. I’ll just lay out for a little bit and then come back down to the room and put sunscreen on. I told Paul when I was laying out, that it was his job to keep an eye on me and let me know if I was getting red – even a little bit. A little while later (well, it turned out to be over an HOUR later!), I asked Paul if I was getting red because my legs and chest were feeling a little warm. This is where Paul made the worst decision of the whole trip. He said, “No. I think you could use a little more.” Later that night, I was lobster red and couldn’t move my legs or arms. I went through the entire bottle of aloe that we had brought on the trip and by the end of the cruise; my entire non-bathing-suit-clad body had peeled at least once. In the areas where I got really burned (my left shoulder and thigh), I peeled twice. It was really painful and completely stupid. I felt like such an idiot. Paul got burned and peeled too, but he wasn’t nearly as bad as I was. Luckily, we hadn’t already booked and paid for something the next day – so I was able to use that to recover a bit. Since this was our first day at sea, it gave us a chance to try out some of the stuff on the boat. We also had a meeting with the “Cruise Critic” forum. This is a chat forum that I had been reading/writing on for the past couple of months. I had met a few other people that were going to be on this cruise on-line and we had set up some excursions together. So, it was nice to finally put a face with a name after weeks of exchanging e-mails! That night, we had our first formal night. This is where everyone goes to dinner all dressed up and they serve fancier food than normal (i.e. lobster and prime rib were on the menu). I wore my black dress and sweater (to cover up my stupid burn) and managed to survive my first night.
Tuesday, May 13
The next day my burns were still getting hotter. We had made port in Marmaris, Turkey, which is right across the water from Rhodes, Greece. This was the “beach” stop of the trip. We were only in port for about 6 hours that day and it made planning any excursion that wasn’t directly in that area almost impossible. I stayed on the boat, indoors or in the shade, for the entire day. Paul did wander into port and walked up and down the beach. He said it was a nice beach, but nothing special. I think he was just saying that so I wouldn’t feel like I missed something. Anyway, I stayed out of the sun and read a book. I think the sunburned peaked this day and the aloe finally started kicking in. The rest of the trip was painful, but not as bad as those first couple days.
Wednesday, May 14
The next day, we went to Izmir, Turkey. I had already pre-arranged for a minivan to pick us up and 2 other couples that we met through Cruise Critic, Chris & Rick and Vanessa & Michael. Vanessa & Michael have a son, Christian, but he stayed back on the boat. Evidently they have a great kids care program on-board and he really seemed to love it. Anyway, the minivan was right there to pick us up and the driver took us to see the day’s sights. We started out with a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary and then went to Ephesus. Ephesus was really the main attraction for the day, but Chris is a secretary at her Catholic Church and really wanted to see the House of the Virgin Mary. When we got to Ephesus, they recommended we see it first. So, we hired a guide that would take us through Ephesus, he joined us in the van, and ended up being our guide at the House of the Virgin Mary, too. According to traditional Christian beliefs, this is the house that Virgin Mary lived in after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. She was brought here by Apostle John. In 1812, Sister Ann Catherine Emmerich, a German nun, visualized the journey of Apostle John and Virgin Mary from Jerusalem to Ephesus. The sister, who had never traveled anywhere else, vividly described the house and it was recorded. The actual house matched her vision to a T! The house is also sacred to Muslims, since Mary is the most mentioned woman in the Koran and the Muslims recognize her to be the mother of the Prophet Jesus. The house became a Catholic shrine in 1896. Besides the house itself, which is a fairly small, 3-room building, there are also 3 fountains of water, which are believed to be holy water and can be drunk by anyone. Our fellow traveler, Chris, had brought lots of little bottles to fill up with water and take back with her. The spring water is believed to have healing properties. There was also a wall full of what looked like shredded paper. It was actually a prayer wall where you could write your prayer/wish on a slip of paper/cloth and tie it to the wall. After that short visit, we headed off to Ephesus.
Ephesus was established as a port on the mouth of the river Cayster and was one of the foremost cities of the world for its being on a strategic trade route in Anatolia. It seems as though Ephesus has always been a “center” of something. Once it was the trade center of the ancient world, a religious center of the early Christianity and today, a unique tourism center. The city was founded by Androklos, the son of Kodros, the King of Athens. According to legend in the year of 10 BC, Androklos was searching a location for establishing his own site, as he was fleeing the Dor invasion of Greece. He was leading one of the migration convoys. It was predicted by an Apollon oracle that a fish and a boar would show the location of the new settlement. Days later, parallel to the oracle’s prediction, while frying, a fish fell down from the pan, irritating a boar hiding behind the bushes. The feared boar escaped immediately. Androklos followed the boar and established the city of Ephesus, where he had killed the boar. It was absolutely packed the day we visited. But, we saw almost all of the ruins, including the famous library, which is the most intact / restored ruin on the site. We also took a tour through the Terrace Houses. The houses were where the rich and important people of Ephesus lived, on the terraced hillside, while the main city (government area, marketplace, etc.) was located in the valley. The oldest of the houses were built in the first century BC, and most of the houses were restored in the second century AD. The houses seemed plain from outside, but inside there were living and dining rooms opening to the hall, on the ground floor, and bedrooms and guest rooms, upstairs. The houses were heated (using clay pipes running through the walls and under the floor) and had cold and hot water. The tile mosaics were very impressive, colorful, and well restored. And the marble plating on the walls were all cut from the same piece of marble. We spent the entire day out and about exploring Ephesus and that area. We made it back to the boat just in time (an hour before departure) and were starving. We had skipped lunch, so we headed straight to the “Lido” deck to grab a snack before dinner.
Thursday, May 15
Next, we went to Istanbul. After doing some research and talking to a few colleagues who had visited Istanbul, this was quickly becoming one of the most anticipated stops of the trip. We got into port a little late (about 9:30am, instead of the planned 9:00am) and it was absolute mayhem. The Queen of England was visiting that day and the port was absolutely packed. Plus, there was no real parking area (or if there was, it was blocked off by the Queen’s security), so we had a really hard time finding our minivan. I had arranged a similar trip as the day before. A driver was supposed to be waiting for us, just like in Izmir. But, since there was no real waiting area, he was just driving around and we didn’t know exactly what to look for. We were traveling with the same people on this day, but this time, Vanessa & Michael’s son, Christian, joined us. We finally spotted our driver (Thanks, Rick!) and piled in to the van. We wanted to hit the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, and be back on the boat by 7:00pm. We had a full day ahead of us.
We started the day off at the Blue Mosque, which is famous for its beautiful domes and semi domes, nice courtyards, and six slender minarets. I was really looking forward to seeing all of the blue tiles inside. But, honestly, I thought it was just as beautiful (if not more so) from the outside as from the inside. The multiple domes and semi domes were amazing and the 6 minarets were different than anything we had ever seen before. The Blue Mosque was founded by Sultan Ahmet I, who ordered Architect Mehmed Aga to begin construction in 1609. The whole complex was completed in 1616. The location of the mosque is just opposite of the splendid Church of Hagia Sophia as it is trying to compete with it. That is actually true because Architect Mehmed wanted to construct a bigger dome then Hagia Sophia’s but he could not succeed. Instead, he made the mosque splendid by the perfect proportion of domes and semi domes as well as the splendid minarets. There is an interesting story of the mosque; Sultan Ahmet I wanted to have a minaret made of gold which is “altin” in Turkish. The architect misunderstood him to say “alti” which means “six” in English. So, he built it with 6 minarets (the same number of minarets as the mosque of the Ka’aba in Mecca – which was supposed to have the most!). However, when the architect realized his mistake, he was shivering, asking “Am I going to be beheaded?” But, Sultan Ahmed I said no because he liked the minarets so much. Instead, the Sultan paid to have a 7th minaret added to the Ka’aba in Mecca. When we were ready to enter the Blue Mosque, we had to remove our shoes and carry them with us in a plastic bag. The interior was completely carpeted and the walls were lined with more than 20,000 handpainted tiles and 200+ stained glass windows. And although there supporting wires for all of the chandeliers seem to detract a bit, it really was beautiful inside.
From there, we walked to the Church of Hagia Sophia, through a nice garden. There was a fountain there, which made for a great picture of the Blue Mosque, when looking back. Although the Hagia Sophia was not as breathtaking as the Blue Mosque, it holds more historical significance. Architecturally, the grand basilica represented a major revolution in church construction in that it featured a huge dome which necessitated the implementation of new ideas in order to support the weight of this dome, a feat which had not been attempted before. The dome, which became universal in Byzantine church construction, represented the vault of heaven. In the days when there was no steel used in construction, large roofs and domes had to be supported by massive pillars and walls. The dome of Hagia Sophia was supported by four piers (the solid supports from which the arches spring), each measuring about 118 square yards at the base. Four arches swing across linked by four pendentives (the parts of a groined ceiling springing from the pillars). The apices of the arches and the pendentives support the circular base, from which rises the dome pierced by forty single-arched windows admitting light to the interior. The church itself measures 260 x 270 feet; the dome rises 210 feet above the floor and has a diameter of 110 feet. The nave is 135 feet wide, more than twice the width of the aisles, which measure 62 feet. As for the building history:
- Hagia Sophia stands on the site of an earlier basilican church erected by Constantius II in 360, some 30 years after Byzantium had become the capital of the Roman Empire.
- This church was burned in 404 and rebuilt by Theodosius II in 415, only to be again destroyed by fire in 532.
- The present structure, which is entirely fireproof, was built in 532–37 by Emperor Justinian from designs of his imperial architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus.
- As a result of severe earthquakes, the dome collapsed in 558, but it was rebuilt by 563 on a somewhat higher curve.
With the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Hagia Sophia became a mosque, and in subsequent years all the interior figure mosaics were obscured under coatings of plaster and painted ornament; most of the Christian symbols elsewhere were obliterated. The four slender minarets, which rise so strikingly at the outer corners of the structure, were added singly and at different times; the crescent supplanted the cross on the summit of the dome, and the altar and the pulpit were replaced by the customary Muslim furnishings.
It was about now when we heard our first “call to prayer.” This had to be one of our favorite parts of Istanbul. They play a loud chant over many speakers 5 times a day, to call all Muslims to stop what they’re doing, turn towards Mecca, and pray. It was eerie the first time we heard it, but absolutely amazing. We listened to it in awe as we headed for lunch. We wandered across a great little place for lunch. They served us buffet style (we didn’t really order anything except drinks – the food just appeared) and we made our own chicken wraps (think of a Gyro, only with chicken instead of lamb). So, after a filling lunch, a quick shopping break, and a few postcard purchases, we headed to our last major stop of the day – the Topkapi Palace.
Topkapi Palace was more than just the private residence for Sultan Mehmed II and his court. (When he captured Constantinople in 1453, he found the palaces of the Byzantine Emperors in such ruins as to be uninhabitable – so he built his own!) It was the seat of the supreme executive and judiciary council, the Divan and the training school, the Palace School. In the First Courtyard, there were a hospital, bakery, arsenal, a state mint, a part of the treasury and the Outer Service. It was open to public. The Second Courtyard was open to people who had business with the council. The Third Courtyard was reserved to the Sultan’s household and palace children. The Fourth Courtyard was exclusively reserved for the Sultan’s use. We toured the entire grounds, including the Harem area and the treasury. The treasury contained an 86-carat diamond (yes, EIGHTY SIX), which was surrounded by 49 brilliant-cut diamonds. It was one of the most beautiful stones I’ve ever seen. Amazing. The grounds of the palace were immaculate. We found ourselves only about two-thirds of the way through the grounds when it was time to go. We radioed to the rest of the group (Chris & Rick had brought walkie-talkies!) and told them to go ahead to the Grand Bazaar and we would just meet them there. We finished our tour of the palace and even had time for Paul to sample a Turkish coffee and me a Turkish tea. The Turkish tea just tasted like good, brewed tea. I think the “cream tea” in England is still at the top of my Tea list. Paul enjoyed the good, but very strong, coffee. We weren’t disappointed, because, as promised, there was a nice layer of sludge in the bottom of the cup of coffee. This is because they don’t filter their coffee. Paul was on a caffeine high for the rest of the day. We walked to the Grand Bazaar and were there long enough to be happy we hadn’t spent the last hour there. It was super crowded and very easy to get lost in the winding stalls. There were banners and ads draped from the ceiling. Every shops had their goods (many of which were the same shop-to-shop) piled from floor to ceiling – all of them ready to make a deal with you. In nothing short of a miracle, we actually just ran into the rest of our group, who was shopping in a stall an aisle or two off the “main drag.” They showed off what they bought and we headed back to the van. We got back to the boat with time to spare and wished we would have gone to the spice market. But, with traffic (and the Queen in town!), you just never know how long it will take to get where you’re going. Anyway, we all headed to the Sushi bar for a snack (I think I had sushi about 4 times on this trip! Yummy!) and Paul and I joined Chris and Rick at their table for the late dinner. We were sad to leave Turkey. It was an amazing country and we wish we could have seen more of it. Everyone there was so friendly and willing to help. We didn’t feel like we were constantly being ripped off, either. Okay, so we may have been ripped off, but at least we didn’t FEEL like we were being ripped off. We really enjoyed our time there and were happy that we picked an itinerary that exposed us to such a great country.
Friday, May 16
The next day was our 2nd day at sea. After 3 days in a row in port, we were ready for a break. We read our books, ate, slept, lounged by the pool, etc. This was also the day that I had scheduled a “couple’s massage” for Paul and I at the spa. By now, my burn was touchable (all except the worst spot on my left arm). So, I was happy that I had been liberal and religious with the aloe applications. The massage was really nice. This was Paul’s first massage and, although he enjoyed it, I don’t think it does as much for him as for me. My masseuse said I had the most stress than anyone else on the cruise. I replied that I was probably one of the few that was still working! (As you can imagine, the average age of the cruise was 60+). But, the massage was nice and we followed it up with some time in the sauna.
Saturday, May 17
Finally, we started our stops in Greece. We went to Athens to see the Acropolis – with the Parthenon being the highlight. I had not pre-arranged anything for this trip. Paul and I were just going to take the train into the Acropolis. Vanessa, Michael, and Christian as well as a new couple, decided to join us. We ended up taking a couple cabs to the Acropolis. This was much more expensive than the train (which is basically free), but we did beat all the crowds. We got there just as they opened and saw the Parthenon and the rest of the Acropolis ruins with only 20 – 30 other people. By the time we left, there were hundreds making their way in – most following behind a Carnival sign! So, we felt smart and good about our taxi purchase. We did end up taking the train back, so the round trip cost was offset a bit. The Parthenon was just like all of the postcards. You couldn’t get too close to it, though, because it was roped off and part of it was under construction / renovation. It was the centerpiece on the big rock of Acropolis, which literally means “high city,” and was a temple built for the Greek goddess Athena, the protectress of Athens, in the 5th century BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art. It’s regarded as an enduring symbol of ancient Greece, of Athenian democracy, and is one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments. We spent the whole day traipsing about Ancient Greece to see all of the ruins. We walked from the Acropolis to the Ancient Agora (most famous another Doric temple, Hephaestus), to the Roman Agora (not much left), through the famous shopping district of Plaka (lots of the same stuff), to the Temple of Zeus (very cool because you could stand right next to it and get a feel for how BIG these structures were), and finally through the National Gardens to Syntagma Square (Constitution Square). We picked up a group of Japanese tourists at the Temple of Zeus. ONE person came up to me and asked how to get to the subway station. I told them of the only one I knew of close by (at Syntagma Square – the one we were going to). I gave him directions and sent him on his way. Then, as he was leaving, I said… well, we’re going that way anyway, you can just follow us if you want. So, we take off and he follows – along with about 10 others!! It was pretty funny. Anyway, we got them all safely to the subway station (for free!). We still had a few minutes before we had to leave, so we looked around Syntagma Square for a bit. We saw the Greek Parliament and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The metro station there is also a little mini-museum, which we spent some time exploring. Eventually, we had to catch our train and head back to the boat.
Sunday, May 18
The next port stop by was Katakolon. This was a tiny port with basically no other traffic other than a couple other cruise ships. The town was pretty small too. The main reason for this stop was that it was only an hour or so from the ancient Olympia ruins – where the first Olympics were held. We had originally planned to take the train there to see the ruins. But, after spending all day looking at ruins in Athens, we were up for an alternative. The day before, we had talked to a really nice Greek lady working at the Hard Rock Cafe store. We had said that we were a little sad we didn’t get to see any of the beautiful Greek islands while we were here – the ones that are always pictures on the postcards. We told her our next stop was Katakolon and asked her how the ruins compared to the ones in Athens. She said they weren’t as good – not nearly in tact and not nearly as impressive (which was also confirmed by others on the cruise that went there). So, we had decided then that we would try to do something different in Katakolon. We were going to try to head to the island of Zakynthos to see Shipwreck Beach, another postcard perfect spot. Katakolon looked pretty close to this island and we figured they’d have boats running out to the island, if not all day long, at least some in the morning and afternoon. But, when we saw the small port we doubted that we’d find that. We asked one of the Carnival Cruise guides (she was a local from Katakolon) and she said the only boats that head out to Zakynthos leave from Kyllini, which was about an hour taxi ride away. So, we ruled that out – just not enough time – and asked her what else she would suggest. She said that although the eastern Greek islands get all the attention, the islands on the west (where we were) have the best beaches. She said we should just go beach hopping! That sounded like a great idea. We walked across the street and rented a 4-wheeler from this motorbike shop. They gave us directions to a couple beaches. The first one was kind of dirty. There were bottles and trash everywhere. Plus, it obviously wasn’t groomed, so seaweed was everywhere. We decided to try out the second beach. It was tiny, but much cleaner. We were about to head down to the second one (we parked up on a cliff near by) when we saw it… an absolutely beautiful, groomed, wide, sandy beach. There were lounge chairs and umbrellas and what looked to be like hotels near by. We figured it would be a private, hotel-only beach. But, we asked a local and they said, nope – it was public. So, we hopped back on the 4-wheeler to try to find our way over to it. Believe it or not, we did. We walked on the beach and saw that it was, indeed, open to the public. You could even use the hotel’s pool for a fee. The bathrooms were great, they had a nice bar and food area (where we ate lunch), and the beach was great. We ate lunch and listened to the water. We walked up and down the beach (too cold to swim) and really enjoyed it. We spent the rest of our time just hanging around that area until it was time to get cleaned up and head back. We rinsed off our feet, hopped on the 4-wheeler, and headed back to town. On our way to fill up the bike, we were passed by 2 or 3 big Carnival busses, on their way back from Olympia, I guess. We just laughed and were SO glad we chose to do something different. After filling up the bike, we took a run near the beach that was right near our boat. This one allowed 4-wheelers on the beach, so we just rode up and down the coast. Then, we returned the bike and got back on the ship. When we met up with some others from the cruise later, they said they had seen people out on bikes and even a 4-wheeler (that was us!) and wished they would have skipped the ruins. I’m sure the ruins were great and Olympia is one of many great historic places in Greece, but every once in a while, you just need a beach break!
Monday, May 19
This was our 3rd and final day at sea. We just lounged around the boat. We did find the arcade and spent about $10 on air hockey, gun-shooting-hunting games, car racing games, etc. It was fun! That night was also the 2nd formal night. By now, I wasn’t quite as embarrassed about my sunburn and could wear my sleeveless dress. Dinner was nice, but our waiter still wasn’t overly friendly. I think each time Paul got a GLASS of wine, it just rubbed salt in the wound. Anyway, we had a nice time and I really enjoy the relaxation time of the sea days. Oh, we also saw a few shows while we were on the boat. I don’t remember which days, but we saw a magician (who did this really cool hand shadow puppet act), a thing honoring the Beatles (great music, of course), and this rag-time act. They were all really good and they had a full house most nights.
Tuesday, May 20
The next day, we stopped in the Livorno port. This is near Florence and Pisa and, if you’re willing to drive a bit, the Tuscany area. I was never sure what we would do in this port, even from the moment I booked the trip. We’ve been to Florence twice, Pisa once (once is enough), and Tuscany once. We would have liked to have gone back to Tuscany, but the only practical way to get out there was to go on the Carnival excursion, which was just too expensive. We were going to tour the little medieval town nearby, Lucca, and had even booked the excursion. But, we decided early on in the cruise (the 1st or 2nd day) that we could do any excursion cheaper than what Carnival was charging… so, we had cancelled that one. We were just going to play it by ear. Well, now we had arrived and it was raining and yucky weather. So, we were happy we didn’t already have a commitment. We ended up spending the day on the boat, reading, sleeping, and eating – typical vacation stuff! We said if the rain let up, we would at least go into the port town. But, it never did. It stayed nasty the whole day. Given the great weather we had had all trip, we couldn’t complain. That night we said goodbye to most of the staff because that was our last night on the boat. The next day, in Rome, we would head to Cinque Terre.
Wednesday, May 21
We arrived back in port in Rome the next day. Technically, the cruise didn’t end until tomorrow. The boat would be available all day today and tonight, as a floating hotel, and then “check-out” would be early the next day. We didn’t really want to get up early the next day and be shoved out of our rooms. Plus, we wanted to spend a couple days in Cinque Terre. So, we decided to leave early. Also, since we skipped our short Rome tour on the way in (exhausted from horrible night train), we decided we would spend a couple hours there on the way out. We said goodbye to the boat and headed into Rome. We took the train from the Civitavecchia (where we docked) station into Rome and checked our bags at the Rome Termini station. Then, we headed to the Pantheon to see the inside of it. We saw the Pantheon last time we were in Rome, but didn’t have time to go in. This time, that’s about all we had time for. We headed inside and it was really amazing. It was sprinkling at the time, so you could see the rain coming inside through the 9 meter hole in the center. This was the “Great Eye” of the structure. It was the source of all light within (no other windows) and was considered a direct line to the Gods. The Pantheon holds the record for the largest unreinforced concrete dome and could hold a sphere 142 feet in diameter inside! When you first enter, you walk through what seems to be a little vestibule. Wrong. This is actually just the thickness of the walls – which is 21 feet thick at the base and tapers down to only 4 feet thick at the peak. Unbelievable. I was really glad that we took the time to go inside and see it. It really was worth the trip. We headed back to the train station, picked up our bags, and took the next train to Cinque Terre. We arrived at our destination at about 8pm. There was a taxi waiting to take us to our hotel. We deposited our bags, took a walk, and went to bed!
Thursday, May 22
This was our first “real” day in Cinque Terre. The words “Cinque Terre” literally mean 5 lands. It’s made up of 5 small towns that run along the north western coast of Italy. From north to south, the towns are Monterosso (where we stayed), Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Monterosso is known as the “beachy” area. Most of the beaches here are just large rocks, which some people lay on to sun themselves (a bit too “lizard-like” for my taste). Vernazza was the shopping area and the largest town. Corniglia is the only one of the 5 not directly on the water, so it was very small and somewhat unknown. Manarola has the start of the famous “Via dell’ Amore” walk, which is supposed to be the most beautiful part of the 5-town hike and leads from Manarola into Riomaggiore.
Since there are no museums and no big tourist traps, hiking is the thing to do in Cinque Terre. We decided on our first day that we would start our hike. I thought we’d do all 5 towns in one day, but didn’t want to rush anything. We had almost 3 full days in the area, so if we needed a second hiking day, we had plenty of time for it. So, we started off that morning with some snacks, lots of water, and our sunscreen. The first part from Monterosso to Vernazza was the hardest, so I’m glad we did it first while we were fresh. The paths were incredibly narrow, rough and jagged, and slippery. It had rained the night before and looked like it might rain again. There were times that we got sprinkled on (and one quick downpour, but we close enough to a town that it didn’t make a difference), but all-in-all it was good hiking weather. The trails could be downright dangerous, at times, but it was worth it. The views were amazing. There is no other way you could get the views of the adorable towns perched over the jagged cliffs above the sparkling blue water. The water here was amazing. It was slightly lighter shade, more of a turquoise, than the water we saw on the cruise, which was more of a cobalt color. It could be the depth, or temperature, but either way, they were both beautiful shades of blue. We made it to Vernazza in time for lunch – it took just over 2 hours to get there. This area is known for their pesto and a certain type of pasta. We got that dish as an appetizer and it was amazing. I’m normally not a big fan of pesto in the States. It is okay, but usually not my sauce of choice. But, here – oh my! It was so creamy and flavorful and fresh! We also had some homemade gnocchi (potato noodles) that were just to die for. And some mussels in a garlic/wine sauce. I could go on and on. The meals on this entire trip were amazing. Luckily, we were working our butts off on this hike, so we didn’t feel too guilty. After lunch, we did Rick Steves’ guided tour of the town of Vernazza. I had missed having my trusty Rick Steves books with me – he doesn’t have any out for Greece or Turkey (he has Istanbul, but that’s it). I was happy to be back in familiar Rick Steves territory and we did his guided tours in each of the 5 cities. After seeing Vernazza, we continued our hike to Corniglia. This section was a little better. The trails were still narrow, slippery, and dangerous, but at least it wasn’t as hilly as the last part. After about another 2 hours, we had arrived. There wasn’t much to see in Corniglia. As I said, it’s off the water and seems to be a one-horse town. We debated on stopping our hike here, but we only had about another hour or so to go to finish all 5 towns. So, we pressed on.
The Corniglia-to-Manarola section of the hike was the least scenic. You didn’t get up very high, so the views weren’t that good. Plus, you walked through a lot of beach areas that were blocked off by a million changing areas (they’re big on these here). So, you couldn’t see anything more than 10 feet away anyway. A quick word on the changing stations – they’re everywhere. As I mentioned, they don’t have much sand beach in this area, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need 20 or 30 changing booths. They build these big wooden structures with about 20 booths each and plop them right on the tiny beach area – which now just got tinnier! We even saw them building new ones while we were there. Weird. Anyway, about 40 minutes later we arrived in Manarola. This and Riomaggiore were both a decent sized town (smaller than Vernazza, but still had shops, etc.) We did the guided tour of Manarola and then were ready to finish our hike and have dinner. The last section of the “hike” was only about 20 minutes and was basically paved. This was the famous “Via dell’ Amore” walk. Although the views were breathtaking, I still think they were better up higher in the mountains – maybe it’s because you had to work harder for them! We saw a bunch of love locks at the start of the walk. This is where 2 lovers put a lock with their name on it on the bridge and throw the key into the water. Then, supposedly, their love is unbreakable. There was one section devoted to these love locks and was completely covered in locks – some looking pretty formidable. The walk was quite lovely and ended by walking through a golden gate, complete with intertwined hearts on top. We had done – hiked all 5 towns in one day! We were debating on whether to have dinner in Riomaggiore or head back to Monterosso. We decided to head back – took the train this time. We had dinner at a little place that sat right over the water. The food was cheap, but the pasta was not fresh (frozen) – which they stated on the menu (although I’m surprised that frozen pasta isn’t outlawed in Italy!). It was still yummy and fit our appetite after the big lunch. We climbed back up to our hotel – the whole area is meant for mountain goats – and went straight to bed. What a great day!
Friday, May 23
The next day we toured our own little village, Monterosso. We had had dessert at this little place Rick Steves recommended the day before in Vernazza. After we had ordered and ate, they said they were famous for their cannolis (a cream filled shell popular in southern Italy, Sicily). So we decided today we’d have to go back and get a cannoli. First, we did a little shopping in Monterossa. I picked up some pesto; Paul got some wine; and an olive wood cutting board caught our eye. I dropped everything back at our hotel room before we took the train to Vernazza. We headed to our cannoli shop and shared a couple desserts. Both were great – but I have to say, the cannoli was the best! The shop is run by two twin brothers and one asked us if we had seen Rick Steves. We said, yes, that’s how we found the show (I showed him my photocopied pages of my book). He said, no, I mean did you see him… he’s here, in Vernazza. I thought he was joking, but he insisted saying that Rick was in town researching his next book, was staying at the hotel across the street, and had even left his jacket there that morning (he was holding up the jacket as if it was undisputable proof). So, we decided we’d head into town and see if we could spot our travel guru. Not a few steps later, Paul spotted him dead ahead. He was getting his picture taken with another couple. We walked up and asked if we could be next! We got our picture taken with him and told him we had all of his books; we were living in Germany for a couple years, and had been traveling a lot. He didn’t seem overjoyed to be constantly interrupted by tourists, but he was cordial and said that was a good base to do some traveling. After we got our picture, he made quick work of blending back into the crowd and heading towards the direction in which we came (back to get his jacket from the Cannoli Brothers, I assume). Paul and I just looked at each other and thought – What are the chances?!? The funniest part was looking at the other people walking by. They saw a few people get their picture taken with this guy, but they obviously had no idea who he was. They were just looking on with a confused smile on their face… you could tell they were thinking, should I get my picture taken with him too… then just find out who he is later?! It looked like he was traveling alone – no camera crew, no family or friends. We decided it would be pretty boring and lonely doing all that travel by yourself. I hope that he had other people join him sometimes. That, of course, was the highlight of the day. I’m sure we did other stuff, but I don’t remember what.
Saturday, May 24
This is the last day of our vacation. Our little town was having a lemon festival starting today. So, we looked around at the little shops selling all kinds of stuff. The lemons here are HUGE. We ended up buying some lemon marmalade that looked really good. Since then, we have found out it is absolutely disgusting. It includes the rind and was really bitter. The entire jar went in the trash. But, we didn’t know that at the time and thought it was a great idea. Anyway, we people watched for most of the day. I think this has become one of my favorite activities – that, and eating. Speaking of food, we had lunch at a great place. There was a restaurant where you could see what the kitchen was cooking if you walked up the street a bit and looked into their open window. The place was famous for serving their meals-for-2 in a big terra cotta pot. Paul and I ordered the shrimp and pasta and it was (surprise, surprise) amazing! We headed out to the breakwater and to watch the water. We both took a little cat nap because we knew we wouldn’t get much sleep on the night train tonight. Our luggage was delivered to the train station and we headed back home. We ended up taking 6 trains to get us door-to-door, and the night train didn’t seem as horrible this time. I think we learned to not even try to recline the chair. You sleep sitting straight up or not at all. We both did sleep a little bit (our feet were so swollen in the morning!) and got home safe and sound the next day.
As usual, our first day home (Sunday, May 25) was a day to recoup. We unpacked, did the laundry, I swept and mopped the floors (before the animals came home the next day), and we went to the store (on the base, of course, still the entire German economy is closed on Sundays). The next day was Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, so Paul didn’t have to work. He went to pick up the animals – both of which were super happy to be home. And, mark it down, Tabi was NOT sick! I headed back to work that Monday and back to reality.
Since then, I’ve been back to work for about a week and a half. Last weekend, we did absolutely nothing. It was nice just to hang out at home, take Ribs for a walk, and just lounge. We had a scare with Ribeye last Thursday night (May 29) and we took him to the emergency room. He was panting really hard and seemed agitated. We found out that he had overeaten (he had lost too much weight when he was at the farm and then overate to gain it back). His stomach hurt him and he was panting as a sign of pain. Well, the panting caused him to ingest more air, making his stomach bigger, causing him more pain, making him pant more, etc. They gave him a light sedative and a diuretic to settle him down and help flush out his system. They said they’d keep him overnight and if it didn’t get better on its own that they would have to pump his stomach. Luckily, that wasn’t required and he seemed much better when Paul picked him up the next morning. We’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t do that again! He also had a check up this past Monday to see how his leg was doing. The vet said his leg had completely healed and he shouldn’t have any problems with it in the future. This is a much more positive outlook than we had gotten when he had the surgery. The vet also said his growth plates in his legs had hardened over, so he’s as tall as he’s going to get. It’s a little sad that our new baby is all done growing. He hardly a puppy anymore and is getting to be a big doggie.
That’s all for now. I think it’s fitting that our longest uninterrupted trip has the longest blog. Hope you enjoyed it. We have about another week and a half until my parents are here. During their visit, we’ll see Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxemburg (BeNeLux) and Scandinavia. Stay tuned. Until then, take care!
But, Bastogne did have an outdoor monument on the field where the battle was actually fought. So, that was cool. We looked around there for a while (until it started to rain) and then finished our drive to Brussels in time to check-in to the hotel and go to bed. Well, Dad and Paul had time to go out and have a beer in a bar, and then come back and go to bed. They went to A la Becasse, which, when we all stopped in there next day to see the decor, reminded me of an old hunting lodge. They tried their home brewed lambic doux, served in clay jars since 1825. They said the clay mugs were cool, but the beer reminded them of bitter apple cider. One (or two?) beer later they headed back to the room to go to bed. The hotel room was actually quite roomy (we shared a room with Mom & Dad) and there was even room for Ribs. 
The legend of the day (there are many) is that the tyke loved his beer, which came in handy when a fire that threatened to burn down the wooden city: He bravely put it out. 
