Florence

This cruising is definitely not for sissies, it’s darn hard work.  I guess not too many people would sympathize with this sentiment but it’s not all relaxing by the pool you know.  For the last 5 days it’s been wake up by 5.30 & ready by 6.30am for a full day of walking & touring in the blazing hot sun, come back exhausted then sit up half the night writing about how much fun we’ve had and sorting the 200 photos taken for the day.  If I don’t write straight away I get too far behind and as one day is rolling into another I get mixed up if we’ve just seen Italy or France or Spain or just what the heck we have done.

I’m not the only one confused I’m please to say.  After having conversations with others they seemed just as confused.  Our dinner companions, whom we hadn’t see for several days due to so many port stops was telling us what they saw but were mixing up what was seen in which port.  The conversation went something like how lovely the Colosseum was in Naples and did you see the buried village in Venice.  One woman was heard to exclaim how they went to see the Leaning Tower of David!  It is a bit like that. 

With so little time in each port and so much to see it’s almost impossible to choose what sights to go to so you try for a bit of each.  This ends up not so satisfactory as you rush up to one sight and say ‘ooh look at that’ then dash off to see the next one and gasp in awe, take a snapshot or two then hare off to see something else.  You spend most of the day travelling to fit it all in and it’s no wonder you are all in a muddle by the end of the day.

Anyhow, I now have three to write about as I didn’t do the work every night like I vowed to so now have to spend this day at sea on the computer to pay for it, with just a quick break for bingo & lunch of course.

Now where were we, was it Florence in France or Cannes in Italy? I’ll start with Florence.

The closet port for a day trip to Florence is Livorno, Italy’s third largest seaport.  We had read there isn’t much to see here so no point in hanging around. I would have to say tho that it does have a rather magnificent sculpture on the waterfront of a 10 meter tall sailor kissing his sweetheart in that classic dipped pose, his arm under her neck as she tips backwards, it the tallest statue I think I have ever seen.  

There was a dilemma over what to see, do we go to Florence for the day or to Pisa. Having been to neither before we of course wanted to do both but unless we took a tour off the ship which costs a fortune & includes an hour long lunch we prefer to do it ourselves and choose one. 

We hoped off the ship and was about to set out for the train station when we saw an 8 seater taxi on the wharf advertising a day trip for 400 euros.  Initially we thought that expensive but they took you into Florence, a trip of approx an hour, then took you to Pisa about ¾ hour away then back to the ship.  Divided by 8 it was only 50 euro p/p, a darn sight cheaper than what the ship was offering. After a team discussion we decided that the 5 of us (Maureen, Roger, Jo & us) would take it while Ellen went to breakfast with an Italian friend & met up with us later.  The driver found another couple willing to do the trip and agreed to the lesser price of 350 Euro so we were all happy and set off for the day.

We arrived in Florence by 8am, nice & early to start our frenetic sightseeing.  Of course you cannot do Florence justice in that time but we would do what we could.  The first stop was to see the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or more commonly known as the Duomo.  This cathedral is far more beautiful on the outside than it is on the inside, which is rather plain in comparison.  It was built in 15th century during the Renaissance period over a course of 14 years & paid for entirely by the cloth makers guild.  The facade is incredible, decorated with multi coloured marble and absolutely impossible to take a photo that does it any justice at all.  It is famous for the huge dome that a bloke called Brunlleschi designed and built.  Not only did he have to design the dome but he had to figure out how to put this massive structure high in the air to top the cathedral so he designed these cranes that could jack it up there.  The methods for this dome was later copied for St Peters in Rome & St Paul’s in London. 

Next to this is the Baptistery, a round building or maybe it was octagonal with white & green marble, very simple but effective in looks. It predates the Cathedral by approx 300 years. It has spectacular doors made up of bronze panels with scenes from the bible.  They were so detailed & required a bit of study to take it all in.  They were done by a guy called Lorenzo Ghiberti and Michelangelo thought they were so beautiful he named them the Gates of Paradise.

Also here is Giotto’s Campanileor Bell tower. All three of these buildings seemed to match and blend in perfectly with each other and really had the WOW factor.  So after we had wowed here we set off for the leather markets not far away.  In fact most of the sights of Florence were not far from each other, most of it is pedestrianized  so it makes it a very easy walking city but you definitely need more time than 5 hours to see it, especially if you have to queue for 2 ½ hours just to see the original David who is housed in a building called the Accademia.

Instead of culture we chose not to line up for hours but to poke our noses into the markets.  I wouldn’t say they were cheap but the leather products were fantastic.  I could easily buy a leather handbag, made of the softest leather you have ever felt, for every day of the week & one for every night and a couple more just for good luck.  The jackets were of stunning designs, not like your old, every day sort of leather jacket, these were unusual & beautiful.  Then there are millions of leather wallets, key rings, small purses and numerous other products that were all so tempting to buy given the money & luggage allowance I would have had the lot.  This place is every shopaholics dream, even if you didn’t like shopping there was something to buy for the unconverted.

Also here was another indoor market of fresh fruit, meat & deli products.  By this time I had lost everyone so was wandering around on my own wondering if they would ever find me again.  Then I saw the deli selling wonderful looking porchetta & my worries disappeared.  I thought I would surprise Jon with porchetta for lunch should I ever find him again so I bought a pile of it.  Back out in the leather market I almost tripped over him as he was gazing with glazed eyes at all the leather (not sure if he was trying to find me a present) holding in his hand a plastic bag that was identical to mine. He had also found the porchetta and now we had enough to last for the entire trip should we not get sick of it by then.

Florence is a particularly stunning city laden with paintings & sculptures from the renown masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Rubens, Rembrandt, Donatello, Cellini, da Vinci to name but a few & there are many more that you may not of even heard of but masters all the same. With all this wealth of culture, Jonathan was particularly taken with a rather rotund, short, uniform several sizes to small for her and fairly rough to boot, policewoman wearing a very stupid looking white hat.  He insisted I take a photo of her to remind himself how lucky he is.

Think she has been eating too much from the picture above

We were all meant to meet up again with Ellen under the Statue of David (this was just a copy in the square - if you have been reading this properly you would know the real one you have to queue & pay to see)  at 11am.  We thought it would be more appropriate to meet at half past as that’s the time David was pointing at but we were over ruled by the spoilsports. 

Sorry about the side on pics but can't figure out how to turn them around, besides look skinny here

Jon Enjoying? his lunch

After a quick catch up we again wandered away to see the Ponte Vecchio which is a 14th century bridge spanning the river that runs through Florence.  This bridge is lined with gold & silver shops as it has been for centuries, some dating back to the Renaissance, such beautiful jewellery all glittering in the sun. 

We were hungry by now so we called into a supermarket, bought some bread rolls and a bottle of Chianti, since this was the region it came from and sat on some pigeon poo encrusted steps to feast on porchetta rolls washed down by Chianti, yum.

Thus fortified we went back to the leather markets to buy a leather bag of course and saw of couple more statues and wow things before racing back to our pick up point and drive to Pisa.

I’m so pleased we got to go here as we would have missed out if we had just caught the train.  We were told there was not much there except the tower and we have seen lots of towers on a lean before, they are all over Venice for a start, so there didn’t seem much point in going.  If you ever get the chance to go to Pisa you really must as it’s more than just a tower that leans.  To begin with it’s a very beautiful tower that leans.  What we were also not prepared for is the equally beautiful Cathedral & Baptistery all gathered together around “the Field of Miracles”.  These buildings are so ornate and each one is a miracle in themselves. I don’t think they ever get a mention when Pisa is talked about.  It is said that Galileo, born in Pisa, used the Cathedral to study movement of the pendulum and the leaning tower to work out the laws of gravity & acceleration.

At certain angles it hardly looks like the Campanile or Bell tower which is the one that leans, is leaning at all.  It just looks normal but if you walk around it there is no doubt that this is not how it is meant to be.  The tower is now inclined to 14 feet on one side and many of the original pillars have had to be replaced due to the strain they have been put under so there are different coloured pillars on every level.

All around this field are hundreds of cheesy souvenir shops selling everything to do with the leaning tower.  There are wonky cups and leaning glasses as well as T Shirts, caps, bags, ornaments and anything else you could possibly think of that can be sold to tourists as a memento of their visit. There were also lots of people in the classic posses of pretending to hold up the tower or the Atlas pose of it on their back while their friends stood back to get the perfect shot.  There were cries of ’up a bit, no no down a bit, move to the left, move to the right, up a bit more, that’s it - now hold’.  I wonder what it is that makes people do that?

Barcelona

Rome

Up early again as we hit Civitavecchia (say that quickly & twice) by 6.30am Friday morning.  This time we knew exactly what we were going to do.  I had booked a bus to take us in to Rome, a trip of approx 1 - 1 ¼ hours on a good day.  Unfortunately this wasn’t one of them.  I had booked the bus for 9.30am which was meant to arrive at St Peters by 10.30 but as we arrived early we went to the port gates earlier and saw the company I had booked through who said we could take the early bus which was just about to go.  Great we thought so I text Amanda, my cousin who we had arranged to meet so say we would be early.  This put her in a panic as she hadn’t finished her housework (shameless I know), dropped everything and hoped on a bus to come & get us.  In the meantime the bus didn’t leave immediately then when it eventually did we went as far as the ticket office so everyone had to get off and buy a ticket or, as in our case, exhange our voucher for a ticket.  Then when all that was sorted out it was announced that we were going into Rome but via the airport.  Half an hour later and just down the road from the port gates we were pulling into a petrol station as someone needed to go to the loo.  The whole busload was not impressed and five minutes later we were finally on our way.  2 hours later we finally pulled into St Peters Square, would have done better to have caught the later bus but once again, that’s the Italians for you.  Timings, schedules & organisation is not among their strong points and seems just a mere suggestion.

Amanda did manage to keep herself amused by finding a nice little café which had devine (well it was right beside the Popes house) cornettos, one of our favourite Italian delicacies.  Our other favourite is porchetta, roasted pig stuffed with herbs & spices which makes the most amazing & tasty flavour.

The only thing we wanted to see again in Rome was the Trevi fountain so Amanda took us there first, then bought our porchetta & took us back to her place to relax in the cool air con and scoff our lunch.  You forget how beautiful Rome is and after seeing the Trevi fountain I could have seen all the sights again.  Around every corner seems to be some significant ruin that’s been there for 2,000 years or an exquisite fountain of intricately carved marble by one of the masters or a building or church that is so jaw dropping amazing that it’s so hard to take in.

Just around the corner from her apartment is the Pope’s church, San Giovanni.  It was used before St Peters was built & he still uses it now with feet washing of the poor & unclean cermonies & services.  This church we had seen before but once again had forgotten how beautiful and huge it was. The gold on the ceiling and vivid colours in the paintings and sculptures on the walls make this church very special even tho there are hundreds of special churches in Rome alone.

Five hours was never going to do Rome justice and as Amanda had already shown us around last time, doing all the touristy things she must get sick of doing but does it like she’s never done it before, we were quite happy to catch up with all the family goss, see her apartment at last and eat porchetta & buns & plan what we could do next time we came. Besides, just the local bus trip from the fountain back to her place was like a sightseeing tour of it’s own.  We passed the Wedding Cake building (monument to Victor Emmanuel II, first king of Italy & built in 1911), the colosseum, Circus Maximus (chariot racing took place here & the racing scene from Ben Hur was filmed), Palatine hill where the Emperors & wealthy families lived, Roman Forum to name but a few places and this was all from the bus.  Rome is such a visitable city.

It has been his life long dream!

The 5 hours went very quickly, at least it did for us and before long we were heading back to St Peters to catch the bus back again.  It happened to be a public holiday in Rome that day being St Peters & St Pauls day so the Pope had a big mass in the Basilica that morning and lots of things were closed.  Not a great day to visit, especially if you wanted to see St Peters as you had to wait for hours for mass to finish and they had closed the Sistine Chapel and the Pantheon.  The good thing was all the locals had fled the city for the day so the traffic wasn’t as bad and not so many people around.  I thought the Trevi fountain was heaving with people but Amanda seemed to think it was really quiet.  I guess our idea of quiet must be different.

Our trip back on the bus took just under an hour as there was no airport to visit, no toilet stops and no mucking around so we got back nice & early, just what we want instead of spending precious time in Rome which would have been far more fun.

Naples

We were very much confused what to do in this port. Do we catch a ferry to the lovely Isle of Capri or to Sorrento or even Positano, each one of them a delight on that magical Amalfi Coastline.  Or do we go to Herculaneum, that other poor town that got buried in 79AD along with Pompeii from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. It’s not as big as Pompeii but not as touristy either and has more finer details.  Or we could even climb to the top of the said mountain, should we be feeling fine & fit or we could simply see Naples. The biggest irony of Naples is although it is visited by thousands of people each year from cruise ships (there were 4 big ones in port that day carrying I would say in total 10,000 people at a guess) as well as other tourists, very few people actually see Naples.  They usually choose to see the other attractions like I have listed.

Well it turned out we did none of the above.  We hoped off the ship around 8am and wandered over to the ferries to see where they went and what time.  We saw a ferry was going to the island of Ischia so went to the ticket office to inquire how much, when & where.  The ticket bloke didn’t have much English but said the next ferry to leave was at 8.40am and as it was 8.39am he was urging us to hurry.  In a panic & confusion we paid for two tickets and found ourselves running to the ferry, having no idea where we were off to & why but then that’s part of the adventure. 

The ferry turned out to be a hydrofoil so once it rose up on it’s foils we were off, whizzing across the sea at high speed. An hour later we were disembarking at a charming little port town called, oddly enough, Ischia Porto.  Close by was an info centre, manned by Italian speaking attendants but he did manage to give us a free map and pointed across the road for the bus.  I did want to visit a particular beach as I must admit we weren’t entirely ignorant of the island.  The night before I read a hundred year old guide book that mentioned this island and said it was volcanic with thermal spas & beaches.  This particular beach, Maronti, was suppose to have steam raising out of the sand & I wanted to see that. We got as far as knowing we needed to catch a #5 bus and the stop wasn’t across the road but down the road, at least a 5 minute walk.  We identified the bus station because it was, in true Italian style, absolutely chaotic. There were buses trying to squeeze up to other buses while some were backing up, people trying to get on, police trying to sort the mess out, lots of loud Italian being spoken, frenetic hand wringing going on, horns basting out and just general normal situation that you can only get in Italy.  We found the #5 but he wouldn’t let us get on (along with 10 others trying to do the same).  He kept his doors shut and gestured out to the road.  We finally figured that there must be another bus and sure enough, just pulling in to add to the already chaotic situation was another #5 that everyone was running for so we followed suit.  We leaped on board and fought to find a seat, which we did and was very lucky as there weren’t many, I think it was designed for mostly standing.  We were very pleased we did find one because quite a few climbed on then as we stopped at each stop 3 people would get off and 10 people would get on so it was nose to armpit before very long.  I sat there by myself as by this time Jon had disappeared in the mass of people & pondered on where the hell we were going and how were we to know when we got there. The buses went clockwise & anticlockwise around the island which made a big difference as to how long it would take and still the question remained of how would we know when to get off.  Lots of people looked like they were going to the beach for the day as they had big bags that looked like beach bags so I figured when they got off, so would we.  Turns out that was the correct assumption and out we all piled at the bottom of a steep twisting road that had spectacular views from the top.

This island is like the Riviera to the Italians I think.  It seemed it’s where the local families go on holiday to the beach.  Much to my bitter disappointment, there was no steam coming up from the sand, in fact there was no sand! Nor was there any hot water.  Still it was a nice beach even tho it wasn’t sandy as such, instead it had a coarse tiny stony/shelly beach with a steep descent into the calm and warm clear blue sea.  It was quite tranquil & relaxing so once again we headed for our  favourite past time of drinking & eating in a local restaurant overlooking the beach.

Typical Italian relaxing at the beach

It was very pleasant until it came time to leave.  We had our eye on the clock which we always have to do & decided we should catch the 1pm boat back to Naples so we caught the bus back up the hill and arrived in plenty of time for the 1pm boat.  When we tried to buy the ticket the guy just kept shaking his head and said “ferry kaput!” What that meant we had no idea.  Was it kaput because it was full or was it kaput kaput but whatever it was, we weren’t going back on it.  The next ferry was 2pm so we booked for that and went for a walk around town.  We thought we would do a circuit but the circuit was a big bigger than we anticipated which meant we were literally running back down the road, passing all these lovely shops we really wanted to see but couldn’t, and thinking there was no way we would get back to the ferry in time.  We made it with literally 2 minutes to spare and as it was  over 35 degrees that day we nearly died of heat stroke by the time we collapsed on the boat.

We did have a little walk around Naples as we had some time to spare but were so tired we really couldn’t be bothered.  We did attend somebody’s wedding tho. We walked into this enormous, magnificent church & there was the bride & groom up the aisle so we sat and watched them then I videoed them walking back up the aisle.  She was very pretty but didn’t look very happy (don’t think it was because of us) so some poor guy has just married a sour cow.

It was also amusing to watch the mobile markets.  These very black guys, maybe from Nigeria, have all the lovely Gucci, Guess & Versace handbags spread out on these big cloths for sale.  As we passed one lot they suddenly picked up the 4 corners of the cloths, all the handbags bundled inside (there were about 5 guys, each with a large collection) and were gone within 30 seconds flat.  I was surprised at the speed of these guys and could guess why they did this.  Sure enough, a minute later 2 police walked by. I had heard of these illegal sellers and know that even the buyer could get arrested but to witness the speed of decamping was like watching office workers at a minute to 5, they were gone. Later we saw heaps of them further down the road.  They must be fit if nothing else.

Before we got to Naples, the evening before, we passed by the island of Stomboli.  We had never heard of it before but it is an active volcano that constantly is spewing smoke & lava out the top.  Apparently it is spectacular at night as you can see the glowing lava as it makes it way down to the sea.  We were sitting out on the top deck watching the big movie screen, blanky over our knees & a bag of popcorn by our side when suddenly we happened to look up and there was a volcano right beside us.  It was incredibe, we were so close and as we passed by a big puff of black smoke came billowing out as if on queue.  The cynics around thought someone was up there & just waiting for the ship to pass before hitting a button to make the smoke billow.  On one side of the island was just a black lava flow that went straight down to the sea but just around a bit was a town with little white houses clinging to the side of the hill and another town down by the water.  Don’t think I would feel safe living there.  You can climb to the top if you want and even camp on the rim overnight but for safety reasons you have to have a guide, as if that would help.

Dubrovnik

We arrived in Dubrovnik at the civilized hour of 9am.  The ship docked a few kms out from the old town so we caught a couple of taxis to the Pile Gate, the furthest you can go by car, after that it’s all shanks pony as the old town is pedestrian only.  We walked over the real life drawbridge, just like the castles of old and entered the UNESCO designated old town of Dubrovnik.  This is my 3rd time here and each time it enchants me with it’s narrow streets, cobbled roads all encircled by the high stone walls of the town.  Some of it has been patched up by new concrete and the terracotta tiles on the roofs are new after they blasted the hell out of it during the 1991 war.

Like Venice, Dubrovnik was settled by refugees escaping the pillaging & sacking of their home areas, it was a very nasty time, and made themselves a nice life on rocky islands & outcrops and becoming very commercially viable.  Dubrovnik started life out being called Ragusa as it was founded on rocks around 639AD. I’m not sure when it had the name change but it appears it was after 1713.  Dubrovnik means ‘well wooded’ after the hardwood forests around that was used to build ships.

Five of us, Maureen, Roger, Ellen & us two decided to walk the wall.  It begun with a climb of approx 90 very steep stairs, just inside the main gate.  That wasn’t the end of the stairs as all around the wall we climbed up & down a series of them.  Someone told us there were about 600 of them and I can easily believe it. The wall dates back to around the 13th century although parts of it are 21st century judging by the repair job.  I think the circumference is only about 2-3 km but it was very hot and by the time we stopped and looked at the view & rested & walked slowly with lots of photos, it took us approx 2 hours.  The views were spectacular and the colour of the sea was this beautiful sapphire blue and so clear we could see the bottom in some parts.  Kayaks cruised slowly past and looked so clear & outstanding against this amazing colour of the sea.  No photo can capture it, it really has to be seen to be believed.  By the time we finished the walk, I must admit I had had enough of the wall and was well & truly ready to come down.

We had somehow lost Ellen by now as she loves her photography so lingered a lot to try & capture the magical scene. M & R & us decided we would catch the ferry to Cavtat, a seaside resort town across the harbour & a trip of 1 ½ hours. It started life as a Roman town and is where Edward VIII & Wallace Simpson honeymooned. I can understand why, it was so tranquil over there, very clear water that looked so tempting to have a swim although no beach to speak of so you have to climb down stairs then walk or jump into the rocky waters.  Not much to do there so very relaxing and lots of restaurants with a scattering of souvenir shops.  We spent an extremely pleasant hour or so sitting at a local café that was recommended to us by fellow ferry passengers and dined on squid, salad & pizza as we gazed across the still blue waters with the bobbing yachts and dramatic Dalmatian coastline.

We wandered down the main street and bought a couple of t- shirts & a lovely necklace for me that was very nautical looking and matched the new t-shirt perfectly.  After that the day turned to shit.

We climbed aboard the ferry to take us back, which by this time had a lot of people onboard.  As I stepped in, I stepped on the first step but somehow missed the next one and down I went like a sack of salts.  It happened so quick I didn’t even feel myself falling but I somehow twisted up and hit my back on the step and was all askew.  I couldn’t move as there was such a pain in my back and I felt almost winded.  Jon & the captain somehow managed to drag me up onto a seat and I sat very quietly for quite sometime.  Lucky I seem to be made of elastic as I had come right in about 20 minutes and have been good as gold ever since.  We seem to be determined to injure ourselves on this trip, maybe it’s just attention seeking.

After we got back we found an internet café to catch up on emails.  I hate foreign computers as the keyboard is different, but not only was the keyboard different but what it said on the keys wasn’t necessary what that key was.  So after trying to get into our email for 10 minutes, wasting time & money & the girl behind the bar couldn’t give a toss as she smoked away & chatted to the single guys. We gave up and went back to the ship, being hot & tired by this time & more than a little grumpy.  I had a shower & got changed for diner & thought I would try on my new necklace.  Well, we have no idea what happened to it but it never made it back to the ship & suspect that bitch back at the bar is now in possession of it.  I don’t know if that is true but it capped off an afternoon that was so pleasant and suddenly turned to manure.  I will get over it but still feel a little miffed.

Do you think he needs help?

We have had a lovely day at sea, busy morning with a lecture from the Scotland Yard crime scene investigator, then the cooking show from master chef commendatore Alfredo Marzi, who is a real trick, followed by bingo.  I won bingo the other day.  The prize was $90 but unfortunately I had to share with another person (the only time 2 people have won!) still I was happy with my $45 and spent it in Dubrovnik.  The jackpot for bingo is now $1800 so it’s really exciting now!

Then we transited the Messina Strait which is the narrow point between the toe of Italy and the island of Sicily.  At it’s narrowest point it’s only 1.6 kms wide.  It was an amazing journey as we were so close to Italy and saw the town which seemed to stretch forever and an incredible road they have built around this mountainous area.  It was a concrete road all built up on pylons and kept disappearing into the side of the hills.  The pilot got on board to guide us through the strait and the ship didn’t slow down much so this tiny boat had to scoot up to us at approx 16 knots p/h and the pilot leaped onto the ropes to climb aboard.  Even the captain came out on the bridge bit that sticks out the side of the boat and whipped out his little pocket camera to take a photo!

Next stop is Naples then we have a busy schedule of 5 days in a row of 12 hour days in different ports.  There is Naples tomorrow, then Rome, then Florence then Cannes then Barcelona so I doubt I will be writing much more until next week.  We only have a week & a half to go so nearly the end of the trip & this blog.

Venice

St Marks Sq

Venice must be the best port in the world to cruise into.  It is absolutely spectacular and you just don’t want to miss a second of it.  I think everyone on board the boat was on the deck both coming into and sailing away from Venice.  Most ports are at the arse end of the town or even several kms away and are very unappealing to say the least but Venice is definitely not one of those ports.

It was a great schedule too as we had a lazy morning, breakfast was delivered to our door then we causally got ready then went on deck by 11 to watch the spectacular show of cruising down the Canal San Nicolo Oi Lido then through the Canal di San Marco passing St Marks Square then onto our berth by 12pm.  Usually we arrive at 6-7am so it’s always an early start.  Then we always have a time limit and have to be back on board the boat by a certain time.  This day was different as we didn’t have to reboard until 1.30pm the next day so we could stay out all night it we wanted.

We excitedly gathered downstairs with passports & water bottles at the ready then shot off at the first available opportunity.  Venice has a few new things since we were last there 4 years ago.  It now has a people mover from the port to the station, which is a driverless monorail.  It also has a fancy new bridge going over the canal to the train station but everything there is pretty much how it’s been for the last few hundred years.  The first place I wanted to head for was San Simeon Piccolo.  It’s a fairly unexciting 15th century church but it was the name I was interested in.  On the way we passed the Carlton Hotel so we all had to have our photo under that as well. Then we wandered towards San Marco.  It’s fairly easy to find your way around so you don’t need a map if you want to go to the Rialto bridge, San Marco or the train station as wherever you are there will be a sign pointing the way.  If you want to go anywhere else you could be a bit stuffed.

On the way you pass interesting little shops, yummy looking bakery’s with meringues the size of a football, narrow streets, cross numerous bridges with the inevitable gondola cruising underneath or delicious smelling cafes.  It was at one of these that Jon & I pulled up at while the others continued walking.  You really have to have a pizza and a beer when in Italy, it’s just the polite thing to do. 

We eventually made it to the famous square & as we had done the Basilica before we chose to go to the Doge’s palace, constructed in the 14th centaury. The Doge was a Duke and the chief executive to Venice.  He was elected by the council and had sweeping powers but almost remained a prisoner as he wasn’t allowed outside the palace and was there until he died. He could go out occasionally but not for long and only with permission and 7 people had to accompany him. This palace had a huge courtyard in the middle with a door leading straight into the side of St Marks Basilica.  The first bit we saw looked a bit ordinary until we came to his private quarters and the council chambers.  Wow, just couldn’t describe these rooms.  Each room seemed to be bigger than the last with magnificent frescoes and gilt on the ceilings & masterpieces on the walls.  We weren’t allowed to take photos but it was simply an incredible building. 

As well as the Grand Council they also had the far more powerful “Council of Ten“.  These guys watched over security & had a network of spies & secret agents. Inside the palace is a model of a Lion’s mouth. You could leave an anonymous note here, dobbing in someone you thought was a traitor. The Counsellors imposed criminal judgements, the poor accused didn’t have to be there, had no right to appeal & sentence was carried out immediately.  If they were to be imprisoned they were lead over the Bridge of Sighs (said to be named because through the small windows of the bridge you can get a glimpse of the canals and life on the outside and was the prisoners’ last look before being locked away, maybe forever) and connected the Doge’s palace to the formidable prison on the other side. 

Looking thru the bridge of sighs

It was all a bit grim as we passed over the bridge and thought of the poor souls who were lead here for real.  At least we got to get out again.  Then we slowly wandered back to the boat, stopping to eat again some more wonderful Italian fair before collapsing in bed with very sore feet & legs.  I did go up on deck to listen to the Venetian orchestra under the stars which was lovely as the night was balmy and the music wafted over the evening breeze but by that time I had had enough fun for one day.

Next day we were off bright and early to again wander around the narrow streets and poke our nose into the interesting shops.  There were so many mask shops and thousand of different masks, some were so elaborate and beautiful, they were just amazing. With it’s 118 islands, 150 canals and 400 bridges, there is a lot of exploring to be done. You can take the vaporetto which is the equivalent to a bus but it’s the local ferry if you get sick of walking but then you miss all the little streets which then open every now & then to a Campo where there might be an old church or statute & you wonder, where the hell did that come from.

Another thing these Mediterranean folk did back over the centuries is nick other countries treasures, it just seemed to be the done thing.  In Istanbul in the Hippodrome was a column that was taken from Karnak Temple in Egypt and in turn four bronze horses were stolen from the Hippodrome and now adorn St Marks Basilica above the main doorway.  They also took St Marks bones from Alexandria in 823 & reburied them here so no-one was above nicking other peoples treasures or bits of bodies.

Back on board and the farewell sail back up the canal and into open sea heading for Dubrovnik.

Greece

It was such a fast trip in and out of Athens there just wasn’t enough time to really enjoy it.  I hadn’t been looking forward to it as I knew we had a tight timeframe but I did enjoy it more than I thought.

We managed to dock a little earlier and was off the boat by 7.00am.  M & R decided they wanted to catch a ferry to a little Greek Island since they had seen Athens before and we had missed on Mykonos so they went their separate way.  The 4 of us proceed to walk down the wharf area to find the train station into town.  It was a bit more of a hike than we had anticipated and Jo & I were all for catching a taxi but it seemed no-one was listening to us so we were made to walk all the way.

The train ride from Piraeus, which is the port town, to Athens is only about 20 minutes so we were there by 8am and well before anything was open.  Jon & I wanted to go to the Parthenon set up high on a hill so we headed off to catch a taxi while Jo & Ellen decided shopping was the order for the morning.  Our taxi driver was very friendly with enough English to have a chat.  He pointed out several major hotels that had all closed their doors and said that at least 10 major hotels, never mind about the smaller ones, had all closed down over the last year or two.  We thought the Gold Coast was bad but poor Greece has been hit much harder.

He dropped us off nice & close so we lined up for our tickets and went inside the gates, along with 10 million other tourists.  There were at least 4 big cruise ships in town, one was another Princess ship so there were lots of tour groups from each of these ships.  I would say come the afternoon it would have been much quieter.  The Parthenon is very nice and of course so historic & famous but after the temples of Egypt it really wasn’t a patch on them or as awe inspiring.  Go if you must but I wouldn’t rate it high on the list of must sees’. The Acropolis is 2,400 yrs old and built entirely of Pentelic marble.

With an eye on the time we only spent about a half hour there, maybe more before wandering down to the Plaka which is a 19th century shopping district and one of more interest to me.  There are narrow cobbled streets with little shops, tavernas & café’s which I could spend many a happy hour poking around in.  We sat at a nice little café and ordered a plate of calamari, big glass of beer and a frappe.  That beer was the nicest, coldest & most tastiest of beer ever know to mankind. It was just perfect and hit the spot like a cold glass of beer ever could.

I love the food in Greece, can’t be match by Greek food at home or in any other country, somehow it just has to be in Greece so I had been looking forward to that but there just wasn’t enough time to eat what I wanted so I ate what I could.  Another not to be missed delicacy is a cheese pie.  Never count calories when eating a cheese pie, just bite into it and enjoy the taste for what it is, just yummo.

After our snack we headed for the most ridiculous thing we have seen so far and that takes some beating.  If you ever wanted to watch one of the most ridiculous ceremonies in the world, I’m told the changing of the guards on the Pakistani border would take some beating so this must be a close 2nd.  It is the changing of the guard of the unknown solider outside Parliament House in Syntagma Square.  It is in this square that you see all the protestors on telly when they don’t like the Government telling them they have to work harder & longer with no benefits except earn money.

Anyway, these guards are picked for being tall & handsome.  I don’t think there would be one under 6ft.  The guy I stood beside was towering well above me.  They wear funny little outfits with the most outrageous shoes with big pom poms on the toes. There are two guards who stand absolutely stiller than statues for an hour until the relief come goose steeping across the square.  There are three that match down, the two relief and a third that gives the commands and matches away with the two that were there.  As the new guys arrive, in slow motion the incumbent guards lift one leg up like a praying mantis, knee bent then unfurl the leg, kick it high, bring it down bending at the knee again and scrap the ground in a backwards kick then stand straight.  Repeat several times.  As you march you hold one arm high in the air at the same time as lifting the opposite leg as high in the air as you can go then point the toes so the pom pom flicks nicely then lower the arm as you lower the leg then raise the other leg but you can’t raise the other arm as that is clutching a rifle.  It is all done in slow motion and has to be seen to be believed. Talk about ministry of silly walks, these guys are tops.  John Cleese couldn’t have done it better.

Time was also marching on & there was a fish market we wanted to see so we went down a street that would take us back to the train station and almost where we left them 4 hours ago were Jo & Ellen looking at some scarves.  They had had a lovely morning shopping and very pleased with their purchases.  Jo, Jon & I took off back up the road to see the fish & meat markets which was well worthwhile.  It was a big indoor market, lots of noise & yelling, big slabs of meat hanging from hooks and even little bunnies hanging from their back feet, stripped naked except for their fluffy little tails still intact and fluffy hind feet, poor little things.  Next to that was the fish and baskets full of them, mostly sardines & salmon with a smattering of other types as well as octopus & squid.

Back to the ship and ready to go by 1.30pm.  Not much time but enough to eat a cheese pie & see a couple of sights.

That night was the deck toga party. It actually wasn’t bad, the band were great and the cliental were a little younger, mostly 50’s - 60’s and all swinging to the beat.  It was fun to dance under the stars in the Mediterranean sea amongst the bed sheets & various togas.

The next day was a sea day so we hosted a Turkish afternoon tea party and I got to Christian my new tea set.  I had bought some apple tea and of course some Turkish delights and sent out the formal invitations so the team all arrived at the appointed time and we had a very civilised tea session. 

Today we land in Venice and have the whole afternoon all night until lunchtime tomorrow so it will be great.  We started off the day with breakfast on our balcony, the sea is so flat with hardly a ripple and a gentle breeze danced lightly across our faces as the sun beamed down. Tonight they have a Venetian orchestra &  opera singer who will be playing on deck under the Venetian stars, what a wonderful way to spend an evening.