Istanbul

I truly don't know where to start….Turkey was somewhat as I had expected because I had read other tourists cruise journals about their visit but it was like nothing I had ever experienced before! The people were genuine and friendly. They were happy that we were there and they wanted to share their lives and religion with us.

Our guide was named Hale and she was married with 2 children. She took us to the Blue Mosque first and we sat for a long time discussing her religion and how it is practiced in most of Turkey. While she is Muslim, she dressed, acted and looked like any average American. She explained to us the roots of her religion and that basic Muslimism did not include any unusual or radical practices. While we did see women in head scarves and burkas (sp?), she explained that no one in Istanbul wore these until an influx of Muslims during the Gulf War. There were quite a few with their heads covered and a very few with full burkas. They are called to prayer 5 times a day but I think you would find that most only go as they wish. The call to prayer can be heard throughout the city and it is very melodic. They do not have ministers or church leaders and worship is between you and god. Very interesting religion!!

We also went to the Palace and a rug shop. The rugs are truly beautiful!

The food was interesting and mostly based on lamb….yucky for me!

I would visit here again!

Mykonos....

Homes in the village of Mykonos....



Little Venice on the Mykonos coast.....

Mykonos

Mykonos was surely created in a storybook! It may be the most picturesque place I have visited in my life. The all white buildings against the Mediterranean Sea with their bright colored trims create a scene that is unforgettable. The people are friendly and a breeze always blows.

We walked into the heart of the town on our own. A few other passengers did the same but it was a little treacherous so we chose to take the public bus when we returned to the port. The ship charged $7.00 round trip but the public bus was only 1.80 euro as the cruise assistant told us when we inquired about transportation back. He winked and smiled when he told us….caught! We had an Gyro which was the best I have ever tasted. The tatziki (cucumber) sauce over here is much better than ours. John had Ouzo and I had Mythos beer. I don't like the Ouzo because it is black licorice flavored but John seemed to love it!

We did a little shopping and walked around the island….it was beautiful and we could have spent several days there!

Naples - Pompeii and Sorento

Sorento coast going out onto the peninsula of Sorento.....



The ancient city of Pompeii....

Naples and Pompeii

Well the ports just keep coming and so far I would not want to miss one of them!

My first impression of Naples was that the city is very poor and dirty and while both are true, the people are friendly and accommodating. It is a very different culture from Florence and Rome. The difference that was the most prominent for me was that every home, whether in the city or country, was landscaped with vegetables. These people LOVE their vegetables and so, of course, they hold a place in my heart!! Every yard had squash vines growing over arbors with other vegetables growing underneath, bordered by citrus and olive trees. There where tomato plants everywhere and they were loaded with ripe tomatoes!

Pompeii was not what I expected from the pictures I have seen…..there are a lot of buildings with a lot of related art work and a very sophisticated and intact city structure. It is large and we got to see very little of what has been uncovered. Most impressive AND it still sits under an active volcano that is expected to erupt again inside of the next twenty years. When Pompeii was destroyed 6,000 feet of mountain and ash blew into the sky. The mountain is now only about 3,500 feet tall, but for me that still leaves a lot of mountain to land on Naples.

The drive to Sorrento was beautiful and I could definitely spend some time there. It is located on the end of a peninsula with stunning cliffs leading down the Mediterranean Sea. Beaches are very expensive so most of the citizens cannot afford to go to the beach. We had pizza that was very different from our pizza but was wonderful. The mozzarella is the best I have ever tasted! On the way back we visited a "farm" where we watched them make and braid the mozzarella cheese and walked through their gardens. Olives here are soooooo good!

Hope you enjoyed this and missing you all!!

 

Toni

Pictures of Rome!

Having trouble loading pictures but here are a couple of Rome.....the Coliseum and the another Michelangelo of the Virgin Mary and Jesus that is in the Basilica.

Rome

"Allaro, allaro, andiamo!" (loosely translated "and so on, let's go!") Our guide kept us going with her colorful literary on the sites of Rome, or should I say the very little we were able to see in one day.

She also made it very clear that the Bacilica IS THE GRANDEST CHURCH EVER BUILT, parts of the Forum are 2,800 years old, Michelangelo is almost a deity and Rome is Capita Mundi (the capitol of the world)! While I don't agree with her on all points, Rome is an amazing city!!

The Forum is very impressive and HUGE! It is hard to piece it all together as a lot of it has been pillaged over the years and reused throughout the city. Parts of the Vatican were made from the marble taken from the forum. The Basilica does take your breath away when you walk in and it is very decadent! The statues are beautiful and the mosaics are almost unbelievable. How you can accomplish the richness of color and precision with tile is beyond me!

The coliseum was most impressive! It is a little sobering to think of all of the slaves who gave their lives building it and all of those who were killed in the arena in the name of entertainment but the structure is amazing…..they could empty the entire coliseum inside of 6 minutes, safely. We could take a lesson from that.

Rome was hot but worth every minute! Bellisimo!

Ciao!

Toni

Tuscany and Florence.....

Tuscany countryside....

Wonderful street violinist....

Doors with reliefs on Baptistery....

Tuscany and Florence

Wow what a great day! We got up early and enjoyed a tour that started by bus through the Tuscan region. It is enchanting! The villas with their small farms covered in grapes up on the hills with the sunflowers fields in the foreground is just something out of a fairytale!

We arrived in Florence after 1 and a half hours on the bus and went immediately to the Accademia to view The David and some other works by Michelangelo. I can honestly say to you that I have been transformed into a fan of Renaissance Art! It is fascinating! The David is more amazing than anyone had ever described to me….and even Taylor loved David and described it well but it did not match the experience of seeing him. He is surrounded by unfinished sculptures which look like figures trying to escape from the marble. It makes you wonder if he did not finish them on purpose…hmmm.

We then continued on to Duomo and the plaza in front of huge church and Baptistery. A baptistery is a separate building for baptisms because at one time in history you could not enter the church until you were baptized. Here is what I did not understand…..the church is 800 years old and the baptistery is 1,500 years old…..hmmm.

The plaza was wonderful with several original sculptures. Most of the sculptors must have been very angry…the sculptures are very violent and sarcastic!

Then on to lunch which was nice and the afternoon was spent in the Pitti Palace with many beautiful paintings which were most impressive!

First Day and Monte Carlo

Well, it is hot! But it is amazingly beautiful! The first evening on the cruise was lovely and we arrived in the Monte Carlo port before 11 AM. We tendered into port which is not my favorite way but I got off as quickly as possible and was fine. I was able to sit outside on the way back to the ship so all was well. I did not embarass myself by getting sick on any fellow passengars!

We spent most of the afternoon in Monte Carlo visiting the palace, palace gardens and the Casino. We left the proper amount of money at the casino for the principlaity of Monaco to enjoy (by the way they enjoy a 0% unemployment rate). The hike up the stairs to the palace was breathtaking and the palace area is enjoyable! A very nice day!

Friday Morning 7-16-2010

Friday morning. Had a nice dinner near the marina of paella with fresh seafood last night. Road the subway again, getting around Barcelona. Got back to the hotel and finally went to bed about 10:30 after sleeping about 3 hours out of the previous 36.

Woke about 9:00 getting ready to see uncompleted church and a couple of other sites prior to borading our ship. (Pictures below are Toni's birthday treat from Hilton which did not get on previous post)

First Day in Barcelona

We made is safely to Barcelona and the flight was not nearly as bad as Toni may have dread (however, the Benadryl was good for both of us!). Check in about 9:00 AM local time and our room was ready. Got great ideas for seeing the city from the desk clerk. We took the subway and stolled La Rambla down to the Columbus statue.

Had lunch within the fresh market, and it was fresh! We have never seen so much fresh fish!! And we do not buy other meat quite the same way in the states. Had lunch at a Tapa's place in the market shrimp and squid right off the boat.

When we got back to the hotel, a bellman showed up with complimentary champaign and desert for Toni's birthday! (see the pictures)

Only 2 Suitcases!

Well we leave in the morning and I am in a panic! No, not about the 8 hour flight from JFK to Barcelona, not to mention the two and a half hour flight just to get to JFK. No, not because I have never been to Europe or anywhere else but the friendly Caribbean islands and no, not because I totally don't know what to expect from this trip! It is because I am about to leave the country for 16 days with only two medium size suitcases and eight pair of shoes!

I have planned and downsized my travel wardrobe until I know which pair of undies I am wearing with each outfit and per my husbands instructions I pulled every expendable item from the wardrobe lineup. I have packed both suitcases and they even zipped easily. I will let you know how it goes!

See you in Barcelona.....hopefully our luggage will be there too!

First Post and exactly 48 Hours until Departure

Welcome! I will assume if you are here that your are interested in our travels to Europe and the Mediterranean. We did not want to bore all of our facebook friends with our travels but I love to write and if your are interested in joining us I will share our travels and practice my writing skills.

This will probably also serve as a point of sanity for me. I don't like to fly! Soooo....while I am excited about the adventure it will have the transatlantic flight as bookends surrounding the adventures of our trip! Blah!

I talked to our pharmacist a couple of days ago and she recommended a full dose of benadryl and, with a wink, she added a glass of wine. That should make for a sleepy trip across the Atlantic.

We will post again soon and hopefully have some pictures of Barcelona to share. See you on the other side, literally!