Day 23 - At sea

Today is our third day at sea, and Halloween!  I've never been on a cruise ship for Halloween...or spent Halloween floating in the Med or other body of water... 

It's also our last day on the ship, and we'll be spending part of the evening packing our goodies (and hoping the zippers don't burst!).  Tomorrow is going to be an early morning with everyone being booted from their cabins, eating breakfast and eventually getting off the ship.

Day 22 - Valletta, Malta

We were supposed to be in Tunisia today, (which would have been cool to say we've been in Africa!), but due to some port issue, we're in Valletta instead.  To be truthful, I don't know much about Malta (other than Madi DiPassion being from there -- Cynthia will be the only one who understands that comment...LOL, he was a guy in our graphic design program for a year), but we're going to wander out and see what we can find!

Split

Well, we arrived offshore in Split yesterday, but we weren't able to tender to the city due to crappy weather. (It was fine in the morning, but there was a storm coming in for the afternoon, which isn't good for the little tender boats.) So we had a day at sea to relax (and another one today) before we arrive in Malta tomorrow.

Our 4x4 excursion was cancelled in Split, so we've arranged for another one in Malta tomorrow, which should be fun!

Venice

Venice was a great place to visit, namely because we couldn't get run over by any cars! All through the canals, only people can walk, which was really nice. We lucked out early and figured out the public transport system using vaparettos (water buses) which were fairly quick and never had us wait too long for one. We bought a 36-hour pass which gave us unlimited usage for that time.

We saw St. Mark's Square first, and it was full of gothic venetian architecture and pigeons. Everything in the sqaure is really expensive and touristy, but if you go a few streets in, things become less expensive (we compared gelato prices!).

We also went to Murano -- which is known for it's glass production. We saw some glassblowing and walked around some galleries and shops.

Funniest soft drink.  LOL!!

Where people live in Venice (well, one part!).

Skinny alley!  (oh, and Trevor's there too!)

Gothic venetian architecture in St. Mark's Square.  oh la la

The tower in St. Mark's.

Best. Hot. Chocolate. EVER.  (I mean that.  We have had dreams of it...sigh.)

Rush hour in the canal.  5 gondola pile-up...LOL!

Naples, Sorrento and Pompeii

Naples was the city we had to go through to reach Sorrento and we were not impressed by it at all. Very dirty. This is the city that, a year or two ago, had the trash collection problem (it's run by some shady people) and it still looks like most of it hasn't been cleaned up. There are piles of garbage everywhere -- in the streets, in the alleys, tucked into corners -- some people even live in them. It's not pretty at all. Add to that the boxy and tall apartment buildings that have been constructed illegally (the mob does deals with the permit places), and it's a really ugly city. Too bad really, because there's a nice beach and views that could make the city a nice place.

Sorrento was beautiful, and we visited a working farm on a hillside. It was 4 acres and had lemon trees, olive trees, orange trees, grapevines, cows and pigs and rows of veggies planted wherever there was room. It has stone steps and walls to contain certain areas (it's not flat and organized -- everything was haphazard with flowers growing and little buildings tucked into it). The people who ran the farm made their own olive oil, wine, limoncello, mozzarella and bread -- and we got to sample it all!

After that we visited the town centre and had lunch and wandered around until we went to Pompeii in the afternoon. Pompeii was really interesting, and we walked the streets and learned all about the earthquake and volcano eruption that covered the city.

Ohhhhh gelato...you are my favorite...

Lemons growing on the farm in Sorrento.

Making the mozzarella.

The farm dog.  She had someone scratch her belly and she just stayed like that.  lol!

A plaster cast of a young boy who died in Pompeii.

The main square in Pompeii.

More Pompeii.  It was big!

A bar in Pompeii.  Quite cool that they had those in 79 AD!

Day 21 - At sea

A day of semi-rest after yesterday's safari!  There's always so much to do on the ship on at sea days: contests, games, activities...sometimes we just like to lounge in our cabin and watch a movie. :)

Day 20 - Split, Croatia

Today isn't going to be a day filled with culture and educational activities...we're going 4x4-ing!  Our excursion is in a 4-seat Jeep that takes us through the Split countryside, which should be loads of fun!

Day 19 - Just Venice again...LOL!

Yes, it's 'just' another day in Venice...  The ship leaves at 5pm tonight and we have a dinner planned in one of the fancy restaurants onboard so we can watch the boat leave and chow down at the same time!  LOL

Day 18 - Venice

We don't dock in Venice until 2pm, but then we'll be set free to wander around all night if we want to...the boat doesn't leave until 5pm tomorrow.  We don't have any pre-planned excursions for this port, so we'll just set off and see what we find!

Rome, plain and simple

We went to Rome with very low expectations (we weren't on an organized tour that takes you to see all the major sights for a marathon tourist day).  Instead, we braved the train (which was fantastic once we figured out the platforms and destinations) and made it into Rome in just over an hour.  

Our first impression of Rome was, well, not as you'd see it on tv or the movies.  It was (is) dirty.  Dirty, dirty, dirty.  And graffiti EVERYWHERE.  They really need to take spray paint off the shelves here.  It's not the type of graffiti that we saw in London (which has a lot, but done in more controlled areas it seems, and some is very impressive to see), Rome's 'artists' scrawl huge tags and dirty words all over the place.  If something stays still long enough, it gets marked.  That and the garbage in the city -- just general crap sitting around, glasses, cans, papers...it's not pretty.  To sum it up, it seems like they only care about the old ruins (wait, the ones they can charge money for -- some of the freebie ruins are all marked up) and even then, we heard from our dinner partners that people have scratched and carved their names into the Colosseum, and littered in the Sistine Chapel (yes, they should be going to hell...LOL).  

Since we wandered on our own and got off at the Rome Termini (main train terminal) we got the special treat of walking through a little shady area until we found one of the 'freebie' ruins (an old ampitheatre) and grabbed lunch at a little cafe next to it (pictures below!).  Next we checked Trevor's phone (it has GPS on it) and saw that we were 5 minutes walking distance from the Colloseum, so we headed there.  And we saw it.  It looked nice, we took a few pictures of the outside and walked through a park and just watched people come and go. 

(Oh, and just as a side...I got 'hit on' in Rome.  LOL!  Skeevy guy, right in front of Trevor.  I thought it was hilarious.  If you've got boobs and legs here they will eye you up.)

We had some paranoia about the ship leaving without us so we hopped back on the train around 3pm to make it back into Civitiavecchia with enough time (that's where we were in port).  

Looking back at Rome now and thinking of how dirty and littered it was makes me laugh, because the day after that (yesterday) we were in Naples...and wow...it makes Rome look like you could eat off the streets.  More to come on that!

Bakery/market.  I liked the flowers outside.

Bruschetta.  Mmmm.

Trevor's first espresso.  He liked it.

You are looking at a photo of THE BEST tiramisu ever. EVER.  And I mean that.

The colosseum.  Yup, that's it.

A street in Rome.  Crazy parking.

Day 17 - Day at sea

We'll be bobbing around the Med today, which will be a nice break from the past four days. :)

Day 16 - Naples

Naples is on the list today, where we're taking an excursion to see Sorrento and Pompeii (which should be a little eerie...).

Cinque Terre

Yesterday we had a gentle introduction to Italy (I say that because it was small towns, and not a crazy city) and we visited the Cinque Terre -- 'five lands' in English. They're situated northwest of Florence on the coast, and these towns build their houses on the cliffs facing the sea. We saw four of the five 'lands' -- four are on the ocean, one is on the top of a cliff. We walked between towns and then took a ferry (strangely named a 'UFO' on the back) and hopped from town to town. (It was a rough ferry ride too...lots of bobbing up and down, good thing we didn't have lunch yet!)

There's a train that runs through the towns, connecting them to France and the rest of Italy. (Some trains would blow their horns coming through the towns, and at one point I had a spoon full of parmesan cheese that jumped out of my hand thanks to a loud honk.)

It was a busy day, getting up before 6am and back on the ship around 6pm.

Lunch for Trevor - scampi and penne.

A cool door.

One of the 'lands'.

Such a pretty picture -- and I've forgotten the name of this town.

Containers clustered around a front door.  So pretty.

Some of the best gelato we've eaten yet (I wonder if it's because the gelateria ladies were full of rage...they were not happy! LOL!)

My lunch -- pesto sauce of course, you have to sample the regional specialties!

Day 15 - Rome

We're going to be braving the Italian trains today to get ourselves to Rome on our own (the boat docks in a port called Civitavecchia, about an hour from Rome).  Here's hoping what little Italian we know (and flailing hand gestures) get us back and forth on time and in one piece!  :)

Cannes, Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo

Yesterday was a busy day (proof: no posts!).  We ran all over the Cote D'Azur (aren't we fancy? oui oui!) and hit all of the locations above.  Beautiful!  Nice was our favorite by far, with the local market in the morning (only a few amazing photos below), we had lunch consisting of a crepe with ratatouille (Trevor) and I had the croque monsieur (yum) in the Nice town square, across from the courthouse (go figure!).  

We then went to Monaco/Monte Carlo (they're so close you can hardly tell when you cross into the other -- well, Monte Carlo has a famous casino, that's all I noticed).  Monaco is a separate state from France, but France still helps them out with water and power.  We visited the palace, saw the changing of the guard (not guards, there was just one, very underwhelming), and walked around for a bit.  This is where I discovered my first pay toilet (35 euro cents), and also where I found my first toilet without a SEAT.  Ew, ew, ew.  It's as horrible as you can imagine it -- and you pay for it!  Oh my.  I can only hope that's the worst I come across in the toilet department -- I've heard stories of holes in the floor (augh!).  There's culture shock for you hey?

After that we headed back to the ship via Cannes, and saw the film house and the beach again.  Not really much to report on there!

Anywhoo, here's the good stuff -- the photos!  :)

The view from the cliffs of Monaco. (wait...I can see our yacht parked just to the left...LOL!)

One lonely guard.  He's the fresh one.

At the Nice open market...sooooo lovely!

Bundles of peppers at the market.

Walking through the narrow streets of Nice.  Beautiful!

Day 14 - Our first taste of Italy

The boat docks in Livorno, which is close to both Florence and Pisa -- neither of which we're seeing today.  (Well, I think we drive past Pisa.)  We're taking an excursion to Cinque Terre today and seeing villages that are perched on cliffs next to the sea.  

Day 13 - Cannes

We tender in Cannes, France this morning.  (Tendering = little boats that shuttle you back in forth from the ship because the existing/non-existing port isn't big enough.)

We've made plans for an excursion to Nice and Monaco to wander around and explore for ourselves (no guided tours, thanks!).

Floating along

We're on the ship, which will hopefully be the most calm and relaxing part of our crazy trip so far.  For 12 days we'll be able to open up our suitcases and not worry about packing them up again for a while (I hate things being unpacked, then re-packed...my paranoia of losing something is to blame).  

We had an early-ish morning (after a bit of a rough night...Trevor had the air conditioning on in the room at a meat locker temperature and I never got to sleep and ended up shivering like a lump until I managed to find the two spare blankets in the closet -- and the traffic noise was CRAZY.  Cars all the time, sirens, bad mufflers...you name it, we heard it, and neither of us are light sleepers!).  So with a not great night behind us we packed up and attempted to find breakfast around 11am.  The best english we've been able to find so far in Barcelona is broken at best, with hand gestures and basic spanish being tried out (we were able to get by with 'gracias', 'ola', 'uno', 'dos', 'si'...you get the idea).  We had an early lunch at a small cafe where we ordered Fantas a limon (very tasty!) and I ordered the tortilla espanola (weird sandwich with a cooked potato filling) and Trevor ordered the croque monsieur (which has continued to haunt him...I won't go into details!).  We visited a patisseria afterwards (bakery) and grabbed something sweet  to nibble on while we went for a short walk.  So far Barcelona hasn't been wow-ing us, but I think it's because we've only spent limited time there, and on our last day we'll get to try it again with a different hotel/location.

The traffic in Barcelona is only for the seasoned professionals -- it is truly hairy to be in (the taxi driver was tested a few times).  The number of ambulance sirens was fraying on my last nerves -- why they choose to have this 'weee-waaaar-weeeee-warrrrrr' noise is beyond me.

Once we arrived at the cruise ship terminal things went smoothly.  Trevor wussed out and didn't ask for an upgrade at the pier (instead, got his second wind on the ship and asked again...our names are on a list -- who knows if that will actually come to anything).  The ship itself is nice, we've been on it before for an 11-night Panama Canal trip two years ago.  The rooms have been upgraded a bit since then, new linens, mirrors, a bathroom upgrade...so it's looking fresh and clean.

We have an excursion planned for tomorrow, visiting Nice and Monaco.  I think we'll have an easier time of things as our French skills are much better than our Spanish!

Our little cabin.  Cozy.

A farmacia.

Car parking garage (and Trevor's forehead).

Scooters and bikes are everywhere.

Day 12 - Ola Barcelona!

We don't really have a full day in Barcelona as our boat leaves at 7pm tonight (we'll be there before that to check-in...probably mid-afternoon).  I think we're both dreaming of a cabin upgrade when we get to the ship...maybe we'll get lucky (for once??).

We're on the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas, which we've been on before when we saw the Panama Canal a few years ago.

Breakfast in London, Dinner in Barcelona

We left London this afternoon, but not without taking in the Columbia Flower Market and Spitalfield's Market (both in the east end). Sundays are the big market days there, with people coming from miles to sell and buy what's on display. At the flower market sellers unloaded huge racks of plants, bulbs, citrus trees, topiaries, bulbs...it was amazing to look at (and smell!). We walked to Spitalfield's next and came across bakery stalls (oof...everything looked so good -- from breads to pastries and other treats), other food stalls (I got a sample of turkish delight...it is nowhere near what we have in Canada...it was a little powdered sugar chewy jelly square in a lovely sweet orange flavour -- and other flavours too!). There were tons of clothes, jewelery and bag booths that I could have looked over for much longer, but we had a taxi coming at 11:30am to get us and we couldn't dawdle. (I did manage to score a handmade scarf and a pair of knitted wool mittens!).

Our flight to Barcelona was late, and the plane was full. I had an 'interesting' eastern european lady sit next to me (who seemed to have had a run-in with a make-up truck, holy caked on and ORANGE!). The flight itself was fine, the trip took under two hours so it was just a big jump to get here. Oh, and the EE (that's her abbreviation) lady proceeded to 'tsk tsk' and talk to me only when she wanted to complain about the service (being late, the captain's welcome message, lack of immigration cards -- even though she received one, the line to get off the airplane...you get the picture). Oh, and I will pause here to comment on the Barcelona airport for two things: the distance you have to walk to get to your baggage (I swear, probably at least over a kilometer), and the BATHROOMS. I think that airport only has one, and it's in baggage. So not only do you have to cross your legs, toes, bladder...at immigration (which is painfully slow), you are then presented with challenging your own personal bladder stamina with walking to the baggage claim area.

EE saw us again (she was leaving the bathroom, nothing to complain about there so no conversation involving lots of 'tsk tsk's') and Trevor saw her remove deodorant from her purse and apply it at the baggage area (yes...even though she was just in the bathroom...odd).

Anywhoo, the taxi drivers in Barcelona don't speak a lick of english, so you're stuck communicating in an odd bobbing of heads and hand gestures. (But I was also smart and wrote our hotel address on paper, so no problems.)

The hotel itself is fab, lots of high tech gadgets and buttons to press -- everything from mood lighting to automatic blinds (and a glassed in shower that you can either look into the room or at the tv...pretty funny). Our dinner was a slow (no one moves fast here) presentation of tapas (russian salad -- don't ask, assortment of pickles/olives) and a shared pizza. Nothing I'd write home about, that's for sure! Hopefully we will find some better eats elsewhere for breakfast (there are some promising cafeterias and bakeries, so I don't think we'll starve!).

And now I'm looking at hopping into bed (it's after ten thirty here now...we're 9 hours ahead of home) and getting a good sleep before we pack up and move onto the boat tomorrow.
View from our hotel room in Barcelona.

Where we ate dinner tonight (people inside were watching the football).

This was just too funny to not post --- LOL! (In London.)

Art on the way to the flower market.

At the flower market...ahhhhh.

Grabbing a 'beigel' (that's how they spell it there!) for breakies.

At Spitalflield's watching a guy cut into some mammoth brownies.