Once again, I am going to apologize for the delay in writing this posting. Things on the ship have been keeping me busy, and I have also been a bit under the weather, which is why I have fallen extremely far behind. The ship is currently on its way back from spending five days in the Caribbean, and I figured that it would be good to finish this posting up in the midst of five consecutive sea days.

November 29, 2008
Rome, Italy

For the last time in 2008, the Queen Victoria docked in Civitavecchia, Italy, so I decided to go into Rome with some other members of my orchestra and walk around. We arrived at Roma Termini (the city’s main train station) shortly before 11:00am and boarded the local subway system, and at around 11:05, we got out near the Piazza del Popolo. The massive square housed one of Rome’s many beautiful obelisks atop some fountains with lions and surprisingly, was not all that crowded. Despite being a cloudy day, I enjoyed our first stop as we headed for the Spanish Steps.

It was amazing how easy it was to walk from one sight to the next, and we arrived at the Spanish Steps less than ten minutes after leaving the Piazza del Popolo. What is interesting about Rome, and I discovered this more during this trip into the city, is that it is fun to just walk around and see things. The city itself is beautiful, and each landmark offers a different perspective on all that is Rome. The Spanish Steps are exactly what they sound like: they are a flight of stairs. It is more the area that surrounds them than just the steps themselves, as this is the hottest shopping destination in all of Rome. At the foot of the steps was a beautiful fountain that is a true work of art in itself. People can actually step onto a platform in the fountain to get their picture taken, but I skipped out on this so we could make our way to our next stop.

After a quick meal at the local McDonald’s (we were pressed for time), my friends and I headed for the Trevi Fountain, and surely enough, we arrived less than ten minutes after leaving the Spanish Steps. The Trevi Fountain was like nothing I had ever seen. It was amazingly large, and the water was a beautiful shade of blue. I tossed a coin in, as legend has it that if you toss a coin into the fountain then you will return to Rome again (Queen Victoria visits Civitavecchia on April 14 and 26, May 14, and June 17, 2009, so I doubt the coin toss was necessary; I did it anyways).
From the Trevi Fountain, we made our way through more of Rome’s narrow streets and found ourselves at the Pantheon shortly thereafter. I was amazed at how intact the structure was after over 1,800 years, as the only noticeable thing missing was the very top, which might have very well been open to begin with (since the opening was a perfect circle). We spent some time inside the Pantheon viewing the different sculptures on the walls and the beautifully decorated walls, and then headed out to see a bit more prior to heading back to Roma Termini.

We made our way from the Pantheon to Il Vittoriano, which is a large city building and it also houses Rome’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at its base. I did not spend a lot of time here, but had a few minutes to take in the massive structure that is Il Vittoriano, and then I headed back towards the nearest subway station, which happened to be at the Colosseum. I spent a few minutes walking past the place that seems to draw me towards it every time I go to Rome, and then shortly thereafter, I boarded the subway for Roma Termini and made my way back to the ship.

By the end of the day, I had seen lots more that Rome has to offer, and yet, there is still so much more to see. The next time I visit, I hope to see the Roman Catacombs in Trastevere, or perhaps I will explore the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum a bit more closely. Nevertheless, I might not need to spend two weeks on vacation in the city to see everything.

December 6, 2008
La Goulette (Tunis), Tunisia

For the third time since I joined Queen Victoria, she paid a visit to the continent of Africa, as the ship docked in La Goulette, Tunisia on Saturday. I had never visited Tunisia, and did not know what to expect or where to go, so I signed up to escort a tour that would give me a great chance to see a bunch of Tunis and its surroundings.

What I did not know prior to joining the ship is that the ancient city of Carthage, a key piece of Roman history, was located in close proximity to Tunis and La Goulette, so upon seeing the opportunity to do a tour here, I jumped on it. The first stop on my tour was the Roman Baths at Carthage, or at least, what was left of them. The baths consisted of mostly one-story buildings, but there were a couple of tall pillars Unlike the ruins at Pompeii, Pergamum, or Ephesus, the Baths at Carthage were located right along the water, and this only added to the sheer beauty of the historical site.

[Side Note: Ephesus was originally located on the water but the harbor is now a big valley]

We made our way from the Roman Baths to the Bardo Museum, a museum located just outside of Tunis filled with Roman mosaics and statues from over 1,500 years ago. It was situated in a former mid-19th century Ottoman palace, and the interior was decorated beautifully. The palace’s former harem had the most intricately carved white stucco ceiling that had to take at least a year to complete. In truth, the ceilings and wall decorations were more interesting at times than the mosaics or statues themselves, but everything looked amazing in their own way.

From the museum, we headed to the Medina of Tunis, which is the old part of the city. We had some free time to explore the marketplace, which reminded me slightly of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul in that it was a bunch of shops next to each other, and many of them had the same items inside. Some sold spices, some sold leather, and there was other interesting stuff for sale including shoes or traditional Tunisian clothing. I enjoyed walking around but did not enjoy being constantly bothered by the shopkeepers. One person even started following me around, and that was no fun and even a bit creepy.

We went from the Medina to lunch, and from lunch, we traveled to the nearby Moorish village known as Sidi Bou Said. The entire village is made up of whitewashed buildings with blue windows to reflect the color of the sea and the clouds. In truth, it turned out to be very touristy and street vendors selling everything from cats to coasters covered the main drag. I ended up purchasing a water pipe and a couple small souvenirs.

From Sidi Bou Said, we headed back to the ship, thus ending a wonderful day in a wonderful country. While the food is not anything to write home about, the scenery and history I encountered in Tunis and Carthage was enough to make the day a wonderful experience and I am glad to say that I was able to go there.

December 8, 2008
Malaga, Spain

On a sad and dreary December day, Queen Victoria docked in Malaga, Spain en route back to its maiden port of Southampton, England. Despite the lack of sun and the abundance of rain, I spent the morning taken aback by the natural beauty of the earth and was not affected by the weather. This was because I decided to do a tour that visited the caves in the nearby city of Nerja. Despite the fact that humans inhabited these caves over 300,000 years ago, they were only discovered in the late 1950s by some children playing on a hillside.

We entered the caves at around 10:00am and spent about an hour exploring only about a third of what had been discovered since the other two thirds require proper spelunking gear and guides. Nonetheless, I was in awe of how beautiful the caves were. The most-popular tour offered in Malaga is a trip that visits the Alhambra, but I wanted to see something that would be completely unique and like nothing I had ever seen in my entire life. The caves fit this description perfectly. We walked through these massive caverns filled with stalactites and stalagmites, some of which were over 200 feet long. Unfortunately, flash photography was not permitted inside the caves since it deteriorates the color of the rock and actually causes it to turn green, but I was able to get some decent photos by setting my camera on handrails and standing very still.

This was my second visit to Spain, and every time I go there, I find something new to love about the wonderful country. I am looking forward to returning to Barcelona and Malaga in 2009, and will be visiting Santiago de Compostela on December 31.

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December 26, 2008
Merry [Belated] Christmas to All

Christmas on the ship was fun. I seem to be starting a tradition of getting sick right around the big day. Last year I had strep throat; this year I have the flu, so I was not able to partake in the festivities. The staff mess was decorated two weeks in advance for Christmas, but the Christmas dinner was quite nice. In the end, all there is left to say is: Merry Christmas to all from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

I just wanted to tag something else on to the end of this entry since there is nothing recent to write about. My visit to Malaga and the caves at Nerja was over two weeks ago, so I thought I would fill in on what has been going on and what will be happening in the near future.

On December 11, the ship docked in Southampton, England and embarked on a 22-day voyage to the Caribbean. We stopped in Ponta Delgada, Azores en route and I did a short tour of the island. It took me to a beautiful panoramic viewpoint of the island’s Crater Lakes, and then we visited a pineapple plantation where I purchased some pineapple liqueur. The tour was nothing to write home about, so I will not say anything more.

On December 19, we arrived at our first stop in the Caribbean when we docked in Antigua (I spent the afternoon on the beach), and this was followed by visits to St. Kitt’s (I went golfing, and no, I am not a golfer), St. Lucia, (our Caribbean band on the ship is from St. Lucia so they organized a beach party for crewmembers), Grenada (I went river tubing and also got to pet a live monkey), and Barbados (another beach day, spent at the Boat Yard, one of the most popular crewmember hangouts in the Caribbean). Currently, the ship is on its third consecutive sea day and will be arriving in Funchal, Madeira on December 29 and then Vigo, Spain two days later before returning to Southampton on January 2.

January 2 marks day 1 of Queen Victoria’s 2009 world cruise which, needless to say, I am very excited about. Our first stops will be visits to the USA: New York on January 10 and Fort Lauderdale on January 13; I will get to see my family both of these days. You can see the complete itinerary on my previous posting from a few weeks ago. As for what I have planned thus far, all I am set on doing so far is:
-Bungee jumping in Auckland, New Zealand [possibly skydiving there as well]
-Visiting the Sydney Opera House
-Going to the Great Barrier Reef
-Visiting the peace park in Nagasaki, Japan
-Eating Thai food in Thailand
-Skiing in Dubai

Beyond that, everything else is up in the air. I have seen some interesting tours in the Asian region, namely Singapore, Vietnam, and China, but I have not narrowed it down to a first choice as of yet. There are plenty of things to do in the different places to visit and I am looking forward to the voyage. Sailing around the world is something I never thought I would get the opportunity to do, and I am grateful that I will be able to stick around. Stay tuned for more updates, as the next few months are going to be exciting.

Not Going Anywhere Anytime Soon

After well over a month and a half of waiting, I finally received word that I had been approved to extend my contract past its original end date. As it stands now, I will be remaining on the Queen Victoria through July 7, 2009, and will most likely return to the ship in early September, 2009 for an additional four-month contract. Below you will find my itinerary, which consists of the ship's 2009 World Cruise from January 2 - April 20, and then additional travel to northern and western Europe.

1/2/09 Southampton ENGLAND
1/10/09 New York UNITED STATES
1/13/09 Fort Lauderdale UNITED STATES
1/16/09 Willemstad CURAÇAO
1/21/09 Puerto Quetzal GUATEMALA
1/24/09 Puerto Vallarta MEXICO
1/25/09 Cabo San Lucas MEXICO
1/27/09 Los Angeles UNITED STATES
2/1/09 Honolulu UNITED STATES
2/6/09 Apia WESTERN SAMOA
2/9/09 Nuku'alofa TONGA
2/12/09 Auckland NEW ZEALAND
2/14/09 Lyttelton (for Christchurch) NEW ZEALAND
2/17/09 Hobart, Tasmania AUSTRALIA
2/19/09 Sydney AUSTRALIA
2/20/09 Sydney AUSTRALIA
2/13/09 Yorkeys (for Cairns) AUSTRALIA
2/26/09 Rabaul PAPUA NEW GUINEA
3/1/09 Saipan MARIANA ISLANDS
3/5/09 Nagasaki JAPAN
3/6/09 Pusan SOUTH KOREA
3/8/09 Shanghai CHINA
3/11/09 Hong Kong CHINA
3/13/09 Nha Trang VIETNAM
3/14/09 Vung Tau (for Ho Chi Minh City) VIETNAM
3/16/09 Laem Chabang (for Bangkok) THAILAND
3/19/09 Singapore SINGAPORE
3/21/09 Phuket THAILAND
3/25/09 Mormugao (for Goa) INDIA
3/26/09 Mumbai INDIA
3/29/09 Dubai UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
4/4/09 Aqaba JORDAN
4/7/09 Alexandria (for Cairo/Giza) EGYPT
4/9/09 Kusadasi (for Ephesus) TURKEY
4/10/09 Istanbul TURKEY
4/11/09 Mykonos GREECE
4/12/09 Athens GREECE
4/14/09 Civitavecchia (for Rome) ITALY
4/16/09 Barcelona SPAIN
4/20/09 Southampton ENGLAND
4/24/09 Barcelona SPAIN
4/25/09 Monte Carlo MONACO
4/26/09 Civitavecchia (for Rome) ITALY
4/27/09 Alghero SARDINIA
4/28/09 Palma MALLORCA
4/29/09 Gibraltar GIBRALTAR
5/2/09 Southampton ENGLAND
5/3/09 Normandy FRANCE
5/4/09 Rotterdam (for Amsterdam) THE NETHERLANDS
5/5/09 Zeebrugge (for Bruges or Brussels) BELGIUM
5/6/09 Southampton ENGLAND
5/8/09 Vigo (for Santiago de Compostela) SPAIN
5/9/09 Lisbon PORTUGAL
5/11/09 Palma MALLORCA
5/12/09 Barcelona SPAIN
5/13/09 Cannes FRANCE
5/14/09 Civitavecchia (for Rome) ITALY
5/15/09 Ajaccio CORSICA
5/17/09 Gibraltar GIBRALTAR
5/20/09 Southampton ENGLAND
5/22/09 Stavanger NORWAY
5/23/09 Hellesylt/Geiranger) NORWAY
5/24/09 Aalesund NORWAY
5/25/09 Bergen NORWAY
5/27/09 Southampton ENGLAND
5/28/09 Zeebrugge (for Bruges or Brussels) BELGIUM
5/29/09 Bremerhaven GERMANY
5/30/09 Kristiansand NORWAY
5/31/09 Copenhagen DENMARK
6/2/09 Stockholm SWEDEN
6/3/09 Helsinki FINLAND
6/4/09 St. Petersburg RUSSIA
6/5/09 St. Petersburg RUSSIA
6/6/09 Tallinn ESTONIA
6/8/09 Gothenburg SWEDEN
6/10/09 Southampton ENGLAND
6/14/09 Barcelona SPAIN
6/15/09 Cannes FRANCE
6/16/09 Livorno (for Florence/Pisa) ITALY
6/17/09 Civitavecchia (for Rome) ITALY
6/18/09 Alghero SARDINIA
6/19/09 Palma MALLORCA
6/20/09 Gibraltar GIBRALTAR
6/23/09 Southampton ENGLAND
6/25/09 Stavanger NORWAY
6/26/09 Hellesylt/Geiranger) NORWAY
6/28/09 Honningsvag (for North Cape) NORWAY
6/30/09 Ny Alesund SPITZBERGEN
7/2/09 Tromso NORWAY
7/4/09 Andalsnes NORWAY
7/5/09 Bergen NORWAY
7/7/09 Southampton ENGLAND

A Belated Post for Cairo & Alexandria

Please accept my sincerest apologies for the delay in writing and posting this; things have been a bit busy on the ship as of late so I have not had time to write it all. Nevertheless, enjoy.

November 10, 2008
Alexandria, Egypt

We docked on Monday in Alexandria, Egypt for the first time since I signed on board. It was my first trip to Egypt, and my first visit to Africa since I spent three weeks in South Africa in 1997. As usual, I signed up for a tour and after getting off the ship, I realized that this was the best possible decision I could have made. I cannot imagine being able to do anything without the armed guard that came with us on our tour bus.

My tour, despite being only five hours long, had three destinations: the Roman Catacombs, Pompey’s Pillar, and the Alexandria National Museum. An added bonus was the chance to drive through a new place that was like nothing I had ever experienced. Traffic lights are quite scarce, and the streets are just riddled with large amounts of pedestrians and no crosswalks. As we made our way to the Catacombs, we passed countless men sitting alongside the road smoking tobacco through hookahs and others just sitting enjoying cups of tea. We also passed plenty of military personnel all over the city, which I would later find is a mainstay in all of Egypt.

We arrived at the Roman Catacombs, which were an underground three-tier family burial ground. Above the ground were various artifacts recovered, and also a burial chamber that had been moved to the catacombs from another sight. As I descended deeper and deeper into the 100+ foot underground burial chamber, I became more and more mesmerized by what I was walking through. It was like nothing I had ever seen, and that definitely says something since I have seen quite a bit in the last two months. I had the opportunity to walk around the middle of the three tiers (the bottom one had been heavily damaged by water and was not accessible) and I was fascinated by how they dug these catacombs out of rock. I walked through hallways with holes in the wall intended for bodies to be placed in, and there were even rooms to relax and have celebrations in. It was remarkable how the Egyptians were able to construct such an architectural masterpiece underground.

We left the Roman Catacombs and headed for Pompey’s Pillar, which was a single granite pillar over 2,000 years old. I was under the impression that I was going to visit a pillar, but it was in truth a full archaeological sight. It contained the remains of a couple temples, and also a library. I was able to go down and explore the remains of the library and there were beautiful artifacts laid out surrounding the ruins as well. We had some free time to explore before we headed to the Alexandria National Museum.

When we arrived at the museum, we were given plenty of free time to explore the different exhibits inside after a brief explanation from our tour guide. The museum contained some ancient artifacts, including coffins and a mummy, but the highlights for me were the statues of different Egyptian gods and symbols, including Anubis and the ankh symbol. It was a fun experience seeing a mummy in Egypt for the first time after seeing plenty of them stateside at museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There were also examples of ancient Egyptian pottery and jewelry spread out through the entire museum, and it was an exciting experience to see all of these different artifacts. Everything was so well preserved and it was a taste of something different from what I had been seeing in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. Still, I knew that the real highlights would come on Tuesday, when I would be traveling to Cairo.

November 11, 2008
Cairo, Egypt

The ship docked on Tuesday in Port Said, Egypt, which sits at the very top of the Suez Canal, and in addition to being a large industrial port of Egypt, it serves as a gateway for cruise ships to reach Cairo, so I signed up to do a fantastic (albeit a very long) tour to Cairo. I boarded my tour bus at approximately 7:00am and was soon joined by the bus’s very own armed guard (this would be the first time in my life I would ever travel around sitting across the bus from a man carrying a sub-machine gun hidden under his jacket) and soon thereafter, our bus joined the other nine doing the same tour in our military-escorted convoy and began the nearly four-hour drive to Cairo.

The tour I signed up for packed the most into the amount of time we had: it started at the Pyramids of Giza, then made its way to the nearby Sphinx, and then after lunch we were going to visit the Museum of Antiquities, where one will find a large portion of the contents retrieved from the tomb of King Tutankhamen. This was the one place that I had no idea I was going to get to see before joining the Queen Victoria. In the case of other ports, the listed itinerary would say something along the lines of “Livorno (For Florence/Pisa)” or “Civitavecchia (for Rome)”, but for this port, it just said “Port Said, Egypt”. Needless to say, I was excited to make it to such a different place and see the only remaining ancient wonder of the world.

Driving around Cairo was an experience in itself. Even at large intersections, traffic lights were nowhere to be seen. Pickup trucks were a common sight on the streets but their contents were quite unpredictable. I saw everything from fruit to sheep to people being carried around in these trucks, and many of the other cars on the road were so very run down that it was depressing in itself just to look at them. The traffic probably added another 30-45 minutes to our trip before we finally reached our first stop: the Pyramids of Giza.

As we approached inner-city Cairo, the pyramids began making their presence through the distant fog, and I found myself wishing for clearer skies, but when we reached Giza, and the pyramids came into clear sight, I was overcome by the same feeling I experienced when first seeing the Colosseum or the Acropolis in Athens, except this time it was even more special since the journey to Giza was that much more of a trek.

We got off the bus and were given about thirty minutes to explore the three pyramids at our leisure. I was also given the opportunity to visit the burial chamber of “The Second Pyramid” and I jumped at the chance without hesitation. I walked downhill down a pathway that was probably one meter high and then up one as well, but this took me to a short cave-like passage that brought me to the pharoah’s burial chamber. It only hits me now that I was inside such a remarkable place, but inside, it was not all that exciting. It was just a big room with a stone sarcophagus where the coffins would have been. I turned around after getting there and then headed out to take more pictures of the pyramids before we left to go to a panorama.

From the panorama, we headed downhill and after passing by the pyramids one more time, we arrived at the Sphinx. While we could not get completely close to her, we were able to catch an amazing view with the pyramids providing the perfect background. I took some great photographs before walking around for a few minutes and then headed back to the bus.

We went from the Sphinx to a nearby hotel where we ate lunch, and after lunch, we spent close to an hour in the bus heading across town to Cairo’s Museum of Antiquities. It was here that a large portion of what was recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen is on display, so I was excited to get to see so many wonderful artifacts. We were going to be at the museum for about an hour and a half, so I elected to spend most of that time exploring the contents of the museum on my own rather than listening to our tour guide. I went up the stairs and followed the signs to the artifacts recovered from Tut’s tomb, and was immediately taken aback by the sheer quantity of items that they could fit into the tomb. There were thrones, games, the ancient equivalent to a folding chair, small statues, even three chariots, but the real gems on display were in a separate room. It was in here that Tut’s gold mask was located, and additionally there were two of his coffins. The sheer beauty and detail exhibited by these artifacts was astounding. There were additional pieces of gold jewelry kept in this room but the mask and coffins were the highlights of the exhibit. I spent a few minutes staring at them and then went off in search for some souvenirs. I was able to walk through a few exhibits in my quest for the exit and enjoyed everything that I saw.

From the museum, we boarded our buses and made the long trek back to Port Said. We were stuck behind some accidents in Cairo and that, coupled with the fact that Cairo traffic is bad enough to begin with, added nearly an hour and a half to our drive time. I arrived back at the gangway at about 8:15pm, over 13 hours after I departed from it, making this the longest amount of time I had spent off of Queen Victoria since the start of my contract.

I was really excited to get a chance to see the pyramids, the Sphinx, and the items from the tomb of Tutankhamen, but I doubt if I will ever return to Cairo. I would only want to visit Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, but beyond that, returning even to Egypt does not interest me too much.

Hillsides and Volcanos

November 8, 2008
Messina, Sicily

The ship docked today in Messina, Sicily, but instead of its usual 7:00am – 1:00pm visit, we were there until 6:00pm. Big surprise here, I decided to do another passenger tour. This one would take me to the hillside village of Taormina in the morning, and then after lunch, to the slopes of Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano.

We boarded the bus at around 8:30am and proceeded to drive to the highway that would take us to Taormina. The great thing about Sicily is that no matter where you are, it is incredibly scenic. You could be driving through a landfill and it would still look good. The highway drive to Taormina was filled with mixed scenery, namely a nice variety of hills and mountains occasionally being exchanged for views of the Ionian Sea since we were still quite close to the coast. The weather also was quite varied as it sometimes would be sunny and ten minutes later the skies were overcast, but it was warm despite being November.

Upon arriving at the car park just outside the city of Taormina, we had to take an elevator up seven stories in order start our city walking tour. Immediately after stepping out of the elevator I was treated to an amazing panoramic view of the Sicilian coastline, complete with sandy beaches and blue water. After allowing a few minutes for people to use restrooms or take photographs of the view, our tour guide led us through one of the original gates of the city walls into Taormina where we had a brief walking tour. I was quite busy bringing up the rear in my tour group, and that coupled with a soft-spoken tour guide meant I was not able to hear much of her explanations about the city we were in. Nonetheless, I enjoyed walking around the city and seeing the wonderful buildings in addition to an old church dating back several centuries. Our walking tour ended at the ancient Greco-Roman amphitheatre, which while rather large and interesting, did not come close to rivaling the amphitheatre at Ephesus. It was different from Ephesus in that the seats did not go down all the way to the stage; instead, they came down until they were about ten feet above it. The views from outside the amphitheatre offered yet a different panorama from that of above the car park, but they were equally as breathtaking.

From Taormina, we headed back to the bus and rode to a delightful restaurant located on the lower slopes of Mount Etna, and then we proceeded to climb the mountain in the bus. After what seemed like well over a half hour of driving, we reached the Crateri Silvestri (Silvestri craters), which are located approximately 6,450 feet above sea level. Being from the northeast, this is the highest land altitude I have ever reached, and it was COLD! Despite the freezing cold, (it was probably around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while it was closer to 65 degrees at sea level) seeing the craters was like nothing I had ever experienced. While we did not reach the summit, the craters we visited were massive enough in themselves, and they did not have anything flowing in them so we were able to walk inside them and not just around the outsides. The solidified lava was not consistent in color, as some was reddish and other rock was darker, and unlike areas closer to the foot of the mountain, there was no vegetation growing so high. I was standing atop the side of a crater when a cloud literally moved right in front of me and I was able to take a picture of a peak on the mountain before and after the cloud got in the way. Needless to say, the entire trip up the mountain was mesmerizing. We had about a half hour of free time to walk around before we boarded the bus to head down Mt. Etna and back to the ship. We seemed to leave in the nick of time as the fog waited to set in until after we already finished our time at the craters.

All in all, the day was amazing and visiting Mt. Etna was a special experience in itself. It will be followed shortly thereafter by an equally amazing (if not greater experience), as I will be visiting Egypt for the first time on Monday and Tuesday. Monday, I will be exploring Alexandria, and Tuesday, which I am really looking forward to, I will be visiting the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo. Needless to say, I am enjoying myself!

Ancient Corinth

November 2, 2008
Athens, Greece

The ship docked in Pyraeus, Greece on Sunday and I elected to do a tour to the city of Ancient Corinth and to the Corinth Canal. Unlike many of the tours I have been doing, this one was only a half-day tour and I did not have to be up at the crack of dawn, so I was a bit excited to get an extra hour or so of sleep.

The tour left the dock at around 8:30am and we headed to the canal, which was about 45 or so minutes outside of Athens. It was fun to walk across the 25-meter bridge over the canal and look down. Not only was the view from above quite different from anything I’d seen thus far.

We got back on the bus after about 20 minutes at the canal and headed for the ancient city of Corinth. Our guide told us that the ancient city housed roughly 300,000 citizens and over 450,000 slaves, so needless to say it was quite an affluent place to live. It was famous for its pottery and we were able to see examples of these vases in the small museum housed at the archaeological sight. Unfortunately, a great deal of the ruins of the city have not been uncovered, so all there was really to see was part of the ancient agora, and we could see the acropolis of the city from below, but this was located high atop a nearby mountain. Apparently, it was normal for residents of the ancient city to walk from the agora to the acropolis on a regular basis, and that amazed me.

Despite being all “ruined out”, as I have been feeling of late, I enjoyed my trip to the ruins of Corinth. I am beginning to realize that my enjoyment of a tour hinges heavily along the quality of the guide, and I had a phenomenal one here at Corinth. Additionally, Corinth did not seem like so much of a pile of rocks as other sights I have been to appeared to be. The museum was also interesting with all of the different examples of pottery from 2,500 years ago. We had some free time after he explained everything to us and I found my way to a small nearby restaurant where I grabbed a gyro and headed back to the bus. All in all, it was not a bad way to spend a morning in Greece.

Naples, Malta, and Crete

October 28, 2008
Naples, Italy

The ship returned on Tuesday to Naples, Italy and I signed up to do a tour to Pompeii and Sorrento. Sadly, I do not have too much to report about what I saw. Sorrento was described to me as a town situated on top of a cliff, but when I got there, I had to search for the water, and all I saw were name-brand boutique shops like Paul & Shark and Lacoste, and a few souvenir shops as well. To be fair, the ride to and from Sorrento contained beautiful scenery while we drove on a coastal road high above the Bay of Napoli, but the town itself was not anything special. Granted, the weather was not amazing, but Sorrento still seemed like just another Italian city I had visited. At the same time, it was nice to see a new place.

Pompeii was great, but not mind-blowing. This could be driven from the fact that I have seen more ruins in the last month than most people see in a decade, or perhaps it could be driven by the fact that I was at Ephesus ten days ago, and the two archaeological sights are similar. The two things that Pompeii has that Ephesus lacks are plaster casts of the bodies of some of the people that died in the eruption, and a brothel. Aside from that, I was not wowed by Pompeii.

I look forward to returning to Naples so that I can visit the Isle of Capri, go for a drive along the Amalfi Coast, and eat more Pizza!

October 29, 2008
Valletta, Malta

We docked on Wednesday in Valletta, Malta, and while it was not the ship’s first visit here, it was my first visit to the small island. I elected to do another tour that took me to the old and new capitals of the island: Mdina and Valletta.

When I arrived at Mdina, it reminded me a lot of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It was the same type of city in that It was originally surrounded by a moat that has been sodden and is now filled with grass and other greenery. Additionally, like Dubrovnik, Mdina is mainly a pedestrian city (though its residents, numbering approximately 400, are permitted to drive within the city), and walking around reminded me of my trip to Croatia. We walked past this small church, which was locked, but I could hear Gregorian chant coming from within so I stood and listened for a while. Beyond that, I enjoyed walking through the city but doubt I will ever return there.

From Mdina, we boarded the bus and headed to Valletta, the new capital of Malta. Valletta is the first city I have ever visited that was heavily bombed during the second world war, and they have reconstructed all damaged buildings with the exception of the royal opera house. It was interesting walking through a city that once was greatly covered in rubble, and also interesting to walk down a street and have my guide point out which buildings were hit and which ones weren’t. We visited the church of St. John and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful paintings on the ceiling of the church, and also the large Caravaggio painting they had depicting the execution of St. John the Baptist.

After leaving the church, we had some free time and I walked around. We then walked past the office of the Maltese Prime Minister, and visited a garden that overlooked the waterfront of Valletta, which was a beautiful vista. From that point, we headed back to the ship, and I said a temporary goodbye to Malta. We return a few more times here, and I am nearly 100% unsure of what I will do when we make our way back here.

October 31, 2008
Crete, Greece

After a lovely day at sea, the ship dropped anchor today in Aghios Nikolaos on the island of Creete. I decided to do a tour called “Essence of Crete” that would take me to the restored Minoan Palace and then to a traditional Cretan village.

I boarded the tender off the ship at around 7:45am to start the tour, and we boarded the bus for an hour-long bus ride to the area known as Knossos. Unfortunately, my guide never stopped talking long enough for any of us to sleep peacefully, but I was able to squeeze in a short nap before we arrived at the old palace (which dates back to before 1500 BC). Once again, I walked around a pile of ruins, but I still enjoyed walking around and seeing how advanced the buildings were at that point in time (for example, I saw a terra cotta water pipe underground that dates to 1700 BC).

From the Minoan Palace, we boarded the bus for yet another long bus ride in which our guide felt the need to talk from beginning to end. We arrived about forty minutes later in the traditional Cretan village we were visiting and proceeded to walk around. We visited the shop of a man who makes bells for animals (boring), and then visited a traiditional Cretan museum (also boring) and after all this we arrived at a tavern and ate some lunch. The lunch was undoubtedly the highlight of the village visit, but it was still interesting to see an old Cretan village like such. Sadly, it smelled like donkey dung.

We left the village at about 3:00pm and headed back to the ship for yet another long scenic drive in which our guide (big surprise here), decided to stop talking for about five minutes. However, he seemed to be against total silence and asked the driver to put the radio on while we ‘relaxed’. After these five minutes, our not-so-lovely guide decided to keep talking, and spent at least fifteen minutes talking about the weather and how it changed over the last decade. Needless to say, I was relieved when the bus finally arrived back at the ship and I was able to tender back on board and relax for an hour before going to work.

Cannes, Nice, Barcelona, and Monte Carlo

October 23, 2008
Cannes and Nice, France

Due to horrible weather, the ship made a detour from its planned stop in Marseilles and headed for Cannes for a surprise visit to the locale of the world’s biggest film festival. In light of the change, I decided it would be best to do a tour that would take me by bus to Nice for a guided tour and some free time instead of just staying in one city for the day. Aside from my [not so] lovely experience at Charles de Gaulle airport en route to joining the ship, this was my first real experience in France and it was a bit more enjoyable than the airport.

The drive from Cannes to Nice was filed with beautiful scenery at times, and ugly highway scenery at others. It was during the latter that I was able to fit in a brief nap and before I knew it, I arrived in Nice and exited the bus right along the water.

Shortly after the bus dropped off my group, we boarded a “tram” as they called it, though it was basically a train-looking truck that towed three passenger cars. Our guide sat in the front and gave us a great tour of the old city of Nice before we began ascending a hill from which we were able to take in a panoramic view of the entire city from high up. Before we reached the top, I already thought that the French Riviera was a beautiful place. The view from the summit trumped everything from the ground, as the beautiful blue sea was on the left and the old city was immediately to its right; beyond the city, I was able to see the beginning mountains of the French Alps, though unlike those I flew over when I first came to Europe, these were not snow-capped.

After spending some time at the top of the hill, we boarded the tram again to head back to part of the old city where we had free time to shop or eat along the flower market. Though it is called the flower market, there are street vendors selling everything from African tribal art to candy, fish, fruit, and other assorted crafts. Despite all of this, all I ended up buying was some olives and some Thai food for lunch (since the sushi bar I passed was closed).

At around 12:25pm, we re-boarded the bus and headed back to Cannes, but instead of napping, I elected to eat the food I purchased and decided it might be wise to pay attention to what I might have missed en route. I did see a beautiful hill-top old town of which the name escapes me, but I enjoyed eating Thai food for the first time since mid-September despite the fact that it wasn’t even all that tasty.

Once we arrived back in Cannes, I elected to take a walk around the city rather than getting back onto the ship since I had a few hours before we were sailing. I passed the building where the film festival takes place, and also passed all the luxurious hotels where the celebrities and the wealthy stay throughout the summer when they come to Cannes. It is a beautiful port city and I am glad I got to spend a couple of hours here.

October 24-25, 2008
Barcelona, Spain

Friday marked my first visit to Spain as the ship stayed overnight in Barcelona. I got off the ship and ended up bumping into one of the guest entertainers who I met a couple weeks prior, and we ended up exploring the city together. We ended up grabbing a shuttle bus from the pier to a location closer to Las Ramblas (one of the main streets in Barcelona) and set out to find a place to eat. We found our way to the Plaza Reial, a decently-sized square filled with quite a few eateries and also a place called Jamboree which is a jazz club in the evenings and then turns into a proper nightclub/lounge after midnight. We sat down at one of the restaurants, ordered a pitcher of sangria, and figured out what it was that we wanted to have for lunch. It seemed like the “When in Rome…” philosophy was appropriate, so we decided that we had to order paella, and we accompanied it with a couple appetizers. I can now say that in addition to having pizza in Naples and souvlaki in Santorini, I have enjoyed paella and sangria in Barcelona. The list goes on…

From lunch, we ventured off in search of the Picasso museum but never made it all the way there. We came across a large public park with some large sculptures, lots of pigeons, and the occasional fountain, and we ended up walking around for a while before heading back towards the ship.

After I got off work on Friday night, a bunch of the crewmembers all headed off for various bars and clubs in the city and I decided to do the same. A few friends and I grabbed a taxi from the ship to Las Ramblas, and in the end, I found my way to a club called Fellini’s [by way of Burger King, where I stopped off for a whopper]. I did not stay for too long since by the time I made it out there, it was already after 1:30am, and I had to be up by 7:00. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the club (though alcohol was not cheap inside) and was glad I dragged myself back out after finishing work for the evening.

Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early (6:45am) for a tour that would take me around to see various buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi. Before we went to any of his buildings, we drove to the top of a hill for a panoramic view of the city at sunrise. From there, we headed through the historical part of the city of Barcelona and stopped at a couple of apartment buildings designed by Gaudi and I quickly discovered that I love his architecture. He avoids rectangles almost in their entirety, and one of his buildings contained windows that were all individually unique in shape. The structures also look extremely fluid throughout and are more than just buildings; they are art.

When our short drive from the hilltop ended, we arrived at La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s famous masterpiece that has been in construction for over 140 years and will not be finished anytime soon. The exterior of the building will finally be complete in 2009, and the entire structure was beautiful. We arrived on the side facing the nativity façade, which is the only portion of the building that was finished while Gaudi was still alive, and it was beautiful to see the sculpting, the towers, and everything else. La Sagrada Familia makes me speechless when I think about it, so words probably cannot do justice; consequently, I will not try to describe it. What I will say though is that it is a must-see for anyone who happens to be in Barcelona.

We left the church and headed for another masterpiece designed by Gaudi: the Park Güell. It was a park he designed for a count at the turn of the 20th century. It was nice to see more structures designed by Gaudi that were not meant to house people inside four walls, and the benches here (also designed by him) were the most comfortable ones I have ever sat on in a public park. To top off all the beauty I was seeing surrounding me, there was an amazing flamenco guitarist playing in part of the park and I was tempted to stay and listen to him instead of seeing the rest of the park. We left shortly thereafter and headed back to the ship, thereby concluding an exciting two days in an amazing city!

October 26, 2008
Monte Carlo, Monaco

We docked in Monte Carlo next to Lady Moura, the eleventh-largest privately owned yacht in the world, and it was just the first rich person’s toy I walked past while I explored the city. I got off with a few friends in search of the ultimate driving experience: taking a Ferrari for a brief spin around the Formula 1 Grand Prix street course in Monte Carlo. While searching for it, I got to walk all around the marina and ended up in front of the main Casino, where they filmed the James Bond movie Casino Royale. It was amazing to see the outside of this building, and we walked past some of the top-end hotels, including the Metropole where prices range from €600 - €10,000 per night.

Once we reached the area by the casino, we realized that we had to head all the way back to basically where the ship was docked to do the Ferrari drive, so I ended up heading back but stopped for a bit at the little street fair with carnival rides they had going on at the marina. I ran into some friends and we walked around for a little before I headed all the way back and finally did what I wanted to do.

I had to pay €85 to drive, but once I sat down in the red Ferrari 360 Spyder, I knew I had made the right decision. On one hand, I knew it was expensive and probably a rip off, but on the other hand, I figured that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only drive a Ferrari, but also to do it in Monte Carlo. I drove one lap around the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit (which took about fifteen minutes), and while this might not be the greatest thing I have seen or done thus far, it was easily the most exciting.

Oversleeping in Florence

October 22, 2008
Florence, Italy

Today could not have started out any worse. I was scheduled to go on a full day tour that would take me to Florence and to Pisa, but I woke up an hour after I was supposed to be ready. I ran to the room where the tour groups were meeting and the tour office told me that it was not a big deal and that they could stick me on the last bus for the “Florence on Your Own” tour, which is exactly what it says it is. The ship actually docks in Livorno, Italy, which is close to 100 kilometers west of Florence, so guests are able to book this “tour” which provides them with bus rides to and from the city, an English-speaking guide (or at least one who is supposed to speak English; mine was quite hard to understand), and a map of the city to help make your day a little easier. I had never done one of these “city on your own” tours but was excited to explore a new city on my own.

After getting a bit of sleep on the bus, I arrived in Florence at around 10:00am and was walked by the tour guide to the Piazza Santa Croce (Holy Cross Square) where I decided to go into the basilica. The church houses beautiful works of art including Donatello’s Annunciation and Crucifix, (though the latter was surrounded by scaffolding since the building was undergoing restoration), but the highlights for me were seeing the graves of Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, and Machiavelli. All of their graves did not have tombstones; they had large sculptures, and each one was uniquely beautiful. I explored a bit more of the church and found more beautiful paintings, and ended up in a room outside the main basilica that contained old music books and also part of a robe worn by St. Francis of Assisi.

I stopped at a small café on the Piazza and grabbed a quick espresso before heading to the Duomo, otherwise known as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, a 13th to 15th century church that is capped off by Brunelleschi’s cupola, a dome that rises 107 meters above the ground. For some random reason, I it made sense at the time to pay six Euros for the privilege of climbing 463 steps to reach the top of the dome, where one can go outside for a beautiful 360-degree panoramic view of Florence from about 105 meters up. I took some pictures, took it all in, and climbed down before heading to my next stop: the Galleria dell'Accademia.

I headed north of the Duomo to the Galleria with one intention: I was going to see Michelangelo’s most famous sculpture: David. I waited in line for close to twenty minutes before finally gaining entry to the museum and gallery, and was immediately taken aback by Renaissance sculptures and paintings in every direction. I saw a sign for a gallery of old musical instruments and welcomed the pleasant surprise. It is always exciting to stumble upon a few priceless string instruments, including violins and a cello made by Stradavari, among other things. In the gallery was also a copy of one of the first Bartolomeo Cristofori pianos. He is credited with inventing the piano in the early eighteenth century, and they had a few other instruments of his including a harpsichord and spinet, and it was exciting to see these as well.

I left the musical instrument gallery and knew it was time to see what I had come to see in the first place. I went back to the hall I first entered and went the other way from the instruments, looked to my right, and saw five amazing sculptures: sculptures of the four prisoners done by Michelangelo were in the hall I was walking through (with two on each side), and at the end of the hall, there it was. I always imagined that David would be at most five or six feet tall. It had to be close to twice as large as I anticipated, and looked even larger as it was sitting on a five-foot-high block of marble. Once again, despite photography being forbidden, I navigated away from the two ladies whose singular job is to tell you not to take pictures (and be quite nasty about it as well), and snapped a few quick shots of the sculpture, at which point I found myself frozen in amazement. I kept looking up at it from different angles and admiring the amazing detail. The interesting thing is that before today, I had no idea that David was in Florence. I did not know where it was, but it was an amazing surprise to learn I was going to be able to see it while riding from Livorno to Florence and I capitalized on this opportunity without hesitation. I probably spent twenty or thirty minutes just walking around and staring at David before I decided to go off and headed for the Uffizi Gallery.

I arrived in about twenty minutes at the Uffizi Gallery in hopes of seeing some works of art by Da Vinci and other Renaissance masters, but after getting in a long line that moved five feet in ten minutes, I decided that I would have to come back another time to visit this huge gallery. Nonetheless, I feel like I got in my fair share of sightseeing in just a few hours, and left the line in search of a nice place to have lunch.

I wandered across the Ponte Vecchio, an old bridge in Florence that crosses the Arno River, and enjoyed the views while crossing before I found a small riverside restaurant where I sat down, reviewed my morning photos, (I took about 150 today), and had a nice meal. I did not go with anything that was super-Italian, but stuck with a traditional chicken breast with a side of sautéed spinach. It was tasty, and I enjoyed the peace and serenity of being out on an enclosed terrace. The only thing I did not enjoy was the cover charge that every restaurant seems to impose on you for dining in. The one I went to charged me four Euros to sit outside; it would have been two and a half Euros to dine indoors, and I do not agree with this custom. I cannot understand how a restaurant can impose an additional charge just for sitting down. I have heard that casinos in Monaco also charge you just to enter despite the fact that you will most likely be giving them a good amount of money when you lose at their tables and slot machines. Nonetheless, I am getting used to Italy being quite an expensive country and I am appreciating having almost no living expense whatsoever.

After lunch, I took a short walk farther south of the Arno river but did not encounter anything worth mentioning so I headed back to my tour group meeting place in the Piazza Santa Croce which seemed like a place where people go to just hang out. It reminded me a bit of Union Square or Washington Square Park in New York, in that there were street musicians, people just sitting on the pavement, and plenty of people passing through. I had about thirty minutes to kill so I spent them relaxing in the Piazza and listening to some music before heading back to the bus.

All in all, my first experience in Florence was exciting, and I am very thankful I was able to see so much. As I spend more time in all these wonderful Italian cities, I further contemplate planning an extended vacation to Italy so that I can see more sights in more time without having to rush through everything that I see.

Due to inclement weather in the Bay of Lyon and in Marseilles, the captain of the Queen Victoria informed us yesterday evening that we would be headed for Cannes, so instead of seeing Marseilles and Avignon, I will be traveling to Cannes and Nice. Nonetheless, it should be an exciting day tomorrow and this weekend as well as we are overnighting in Barcelona on Friday. Stay Tuned.

Vatican and More

October 21, 2008
Rome, Italy

I spent the day on another full-day tour to Rome, which meant getting up at 6:30am (needless to say, this is NOT a good way to start the day when you are not a morning person. The ship docks in Civitavecchia, which is located north of Rome, so we had to take a bus into the city, and this granted me the opportunity to make up on some lost sleep.
After the bus ride from Civitavecchia to Rome, which lasted, more than an hour, we arrived just outside the entrance to the Vatican Museum. It was from here that we embarked on a walking tour through a small portion of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and St. Peter’s Square that would end up lasting close to three and a half hours.

The Vatican Museum, I am sure, is quite spectacular, but we only walked through enough of it so that we could have quick access to a toilet and then get to the Sistine Chapel, but from what I saw out of its 11,000 rooms, I was greatly impressed. We were able to walk through a gallery that contained many small statues from ancient Rome, and one of the more interesting pieces I saw was actually a pair of urns, one made of onyx and the other made from alabaster. We proceeded through a hall filled with tapestries, and from there we walked through the Gallery of Maps, which was yet another long hall filled with old maps of different parts of Italian territories, both mainland and islands. Some of them even had the names of individual towns and mountains printed out, and all of them displayed the topography of different territories with immense details. I am unsure of when these maps were pained, but my best guess would be that they are at least four centuries old.

The Gallery of Maps was our last stop before we entered the Pope’s private chapel: the Sistine Chapel. Despite the fact that photography is prohibited, I turned the flash off on my camera and snapped away. The walls were beautiful, and obviously, the ceiling was breathtaking. This was the first time in my life seeing Michelangelo’s work first-hand, and it was quite a moment. I knew that the chapel’s ceiling is entirely his work, but I did not know that he painted one of the walls and it was amazing to see this added bonus. At the same time, I did not picture the chapel to be such a dark and creepy place. If I were in there alone and not surrounded by hundreds of other tourists, it would be a little scary despite the fact that I was surrounded by renaissance masterworks.

We walked from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s Basilica, and I had no idea I was entering the world’s largest church. Massive is an understatement, and the sculptures, paintings, and mosaics inside were also amazing. The first sculpture the guide took us to view was Michelangelo’s Pieta, and many different works of art followed it. The highlights were obviously the Pieta, staring up from directly under the massive dome, and seeing the altar from which only the Pope will deliver mass.

We left the basilica and headed down to St. Peter’s Square, where chairs were set up for a public papal audience on Wednesday, and we had some free time for photographs. It was interesting to be standing in the middle of a sovereign nation and be able to see the entire country from there. I was able to see the papal apartment, and the basilica’s middle balcony from which the pope will sometimes address the public.

We left for lunch from the Vatican and went to lunch at a small place near the Tiber River, and after lunch, we headed to the Colosseum. Since I had already been here and been inside, I opted to walk around the area a bit and see what was there. I ventured towards the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, which houses many ancient Roman buildings, but since they were charging admission and I only had about forty minutes of free time, I decided it would be better to save this for my next trip to the city. I walked down a little further from the Colosseum before heading back, buying a book on Rome, and thought it would be a good time to do some reading about what I had seen and planning for my next visit.

All in all, I was excited that I was able to get to enter the Vatican City, but I feel the need to revisit the Vatican Museum and explore more of its collections. For my next trip, I am hoping to cover the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps, and possibly the Pantheon as well. We return to Rome November 5 and 29, and I anticipate having about five or six hours in the city each time, so hopefully I will have the opportunity to see what I can. I will definitely return to Rome for a week or two at some point in the next few years to take it all in at once.

Tomorrow, I will be headed to Florence and also visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and on Thursday, our itinerary got modified due to bad weather. We were supposed to visit Marseilles, but instead, the ship will be going to Cannes, and I will be doing a morning tour to Nice, which I am looking forward to.

A few days of fun

A few days of Fun:

October 15, 2008
Katakolon, Greece

Nothing too exciting to report here, as Katakolon is not all that exciting of a city. It is within reach of the ruins at Olympia, but I decided to stay near the ship and go to the local beach. The only real way to get to these places without spending an arm and a leg is by doing a tour, and since I am going to be doing at least three full-day tours later on in the voyage, I wanted to spend a couple days relaxing. Unfortunately, the closest beach to the ship in Katakolon was a stony one, and I made the mistake of walking around without my sandals on. Nevertheless, the water was refreshing (albeit a bit cold), and I enjoyed my first time spent in the Aegean.

October 16, 2008
Mykonos, Greece

I debated getting off the ship at al in Mykonos, Greece since we were only going to be there from 7:00am – 1:00pm. Additionally, since we were dropping anchor and using the ship’s tenders, it meant that crew would not be able to get off the ship for at least a couple of hours. Unexpectedly, I ended up waking up around 9:00 and was able to get to shore within an hour. I walked around the port for ten or fifteen minutes before heading in a different direction and found a place to rent a vehicle. For 12 Euro, I was able to rent a small ATV for a couple of hours, and enjoyed exploring part of the island on my own. I know that in all Greek islands, the churches are whitewashed, but in Mykonos, the majority of buildings look like this (even the Starbucks I passed). The only colorful feature these buildings tend to offer is their roof (if they have one that is not flat), their doors, and their windows. Besides looking interesting, this characteristic of the building just screamed out to me “Adam, you are on a Greek Island!”

I decided to head one way from the rental spot and found myself forgetting the directions to the beach that the guy gave me when I rented the ATV, but figured I could not go wrong since I was so close to the water and decided to wander on my own. It was not long before I found a quiet beach and relaxed for a few minutes before getting back on the ATV and headed back towards the ship so that I would not get too lost and miss the last tender back to the ship [I only had about two hours to work with]. Once I got closer to the ship, I kept going past it and ended up on a beautiful coastal road and stopped a couple of times to take some pictures of the beautiful views before getting back on. I kept along the coast until I reached the end of the road, where there happened to be a beautiful sandy beach. I thought it would be a good idea to just wet my feet for a minute or two, but upon making contact with the water, I knew right away that a proper swim was in order. I stayed in the sea for a few minutes before going back along the coastal road and returning the ATV. From the little bit of Mykonos that I actually saw, I can say that it is a beautiful island!
October 18, 2008
Kusadasi, Turkey

In a last minute decision, I decided that since there was nothing at all else to do on Saturday, I would get off the ship in Kusadasi, Turkey and take a tour to Ephesus. Ephesus was an ancient city that dates back to at least 200 B.C. and was, at one point, the third-largest city in the world. Cleopatra spent a year there visiting Marcus Antonius (who was native to the city), and I actually had a chance to walk down the road that they walked down upon her arrival so many years ago. Ephesus was different from all of the other ancient historical sights I had visited, in that most of the buildings were not roped off. You could walk through what was left of most of the buildings, and many of them were extremely well preserved since nothing was ever built on top of the ancient city.

My tour group spent about 45 minutes in the terrace houses at Ephesus, which were essentially the equivalent to the Central Park penthouses of the city. It was obvious that a great deal of effort had been made to preserve what was left here since a fabric roof had been erected above the structure. The terrace houses we visited consisted of six dwellings situated on a moderately sloped hill. There had been a clear-glass floor put in place that formed a path around the dwellings and it was interesting to walk around and see what life was like nearly two millennia ago. The original mosaic flooring in places was still intact, and the paintings on the walls were also still visible.

After leaving the terrace houses, my group headed down to the ancient library, where the four exterior walls were still intact, and then headed to the famous ancient amphitheatre, where artists such as Ray Charles and Elton John have performed. Despite having a seating capacity of approximately 24,000, the acoustics were so good that even after I climbed up to the top of the amphitheatre, I could hear someone saying my name in a talking voice while he was standing on the stage.

We left from the amphitheatre to head back to the bus and from there we went back to the ship. I got some Turkish food and stopped off at the local Starbucks before getting back on board. My first explorations in the continent of Asia were quite exciting, and I look forward to seeing more of it in the future.

VENICE

October 11-13, 2008
Venice, Italy

This has been a great long weekend!  It started out Friday night when I received unofficial word from my musical director that my request to extend my contract through April had been approved, with the option to stay until May.  I am still waiting for the head office to notify the shipboard crew office so that I can sign the necessary papers, but currently, I am looking forward to circumnavigating the globe aboard the Queen Victoria!  Extending through may would afford me the opportunity to visit additional European ports that I would otherwise not see, including Amsterdam, Belgium, and Norway, so I will probably stay for a bit longer to enjoy these places. 

In addition to the extension approval, I moved out of my old room yesterday and am living with the trumpet player from my orchestra now.  He leaves at the end of this voyage, but from what I hear, his replacement and I will get along as well.  It is nice to not have to worry about waking someone up by dropping a pin in the middle of the night.

Lastly, the main reason I have enjoyed this weekend: VENICE!  We docked at noon on Saturday, set sail today (Monday) at 2:00pm, and I made the very most of my time here.  Though the ship does not dock right in the heart of Venice, crewmembers were able to purchase a ticket for the shuttle to St. Mark’s Square for $10.  It was valid for the entire time we were in port, so I purchased it and headed into the square.

As I said in one of my first shipboard posts, while I initially boarded the ship in Venice, I did not have a chance to explore it in the least.  I was able to see parts of the city from the ship as it left the city, but it was too dark to take it all in.  When I arrived at around 2:30pm at St. Mark’s Square, I knew I was in for a treat. I ended up running into a few of the singers from the ship on the shuttle and we decided to all hang out together, so I had a chance to know what I was seeing since it was not their first time in the city.  The shuttle boat did not drop us right in the square, but the short walk allowed me to take in all that is Venice.  We walked along the water towards St. Mark’s and I saw a gondola with my own eyes for the first time.  Then, I crossed my first Venetian footbridge (which was complete with five separate vendors selling knock-off sunglasses and handbags).  When I reached the top of the second footbridge en route to St. Mark’s Square, I paused and looked at the suspended bridge between two buildings on my right: The Bridge of Sighs.  This is the bridge between the Doge’s Palace, which housed the tribunal, and the prison where many would end up spending the rest of their lives.  It would be the last time to see natural light for many a prisoner. 

After crossing this second footbridge, we arrived in St. Mark’s Square, and following a few photographs, we decided to go inside the massive Basilica.  Admission was free to enter the main hall, but to see all the separate areas, you had to pay four or five Euro for each one.  We ended up going upstairs so that we could take in St. Mark’s Square from the balcony above.  We were also able to see some beautiful tapestries, sixteenth century music notation in a couple books, and also the original four horses, which were taken as war booty from the old Hippodrome in Istanbul and set outside atop the balcony of the Basilica for centuries.  They had been moved inside about twenty years ago for conservational purposes.  I was able to snap a great ‘forbidden’ photo of the horses before we left and got some wonderful dinner.

After dinner, I ended up heading back to the ship and getting ready for work, but I was excited to know I would have another day and a half to spend in such an amazing city. 

VENICE – DAY 2:

My second day in Venice was filled with more sightseeing and more pizza.  I arrived in St. Mark’s Square with one of the singers and one of the girls on the youth staff at around noon and we immediately headed to McDonalds (their idea) where I purchased my first happy meal in about seventeen years.  The thing with Venice is that you do not even need to do anything to enjoy yourself.  Walking around is exciting enough since the place is like nothing you have ever seen.  With this in mind, every time you actually do anything (even eating at McDonalds), it is makes it seem even more exciting.  We found a place to sit where there were some steps used for entering boats on one of the small canals, and enjoyed our lovely snack before we left in search of a gondolier to give us a ride. 

When we eventually found a gondolier, he wanted 100 Euro to take the three of us around.  We bargained him down to 60, but I fear that he shortchanged us and gave us a shorter ride as well.   It was still one of the most exciting things to do.  The ride could have been half as long and it still would have been just as special.  We passed the former home of Giacomo Casanova and also the former home of Marco Polo.  It will easily be one of the highlights of this entire contract.

After we got off the gondola, we stopped at a restaurant near the shuttle stop for some proper food (I had some pizza, and it tasted amazing), before Amy, the youth staff girl who I was hanging out with, had to go back to the ship to work.  Jamie (the singer) and I proceeded to the Doge’s Palace so that we could walk across the Bridge of Sighs, but in order to cross it, we needed to go through the entire palace.  The palace, a massive structure situated on the southeast corner of St. Mark’s Square, is filled with gigantic courtrooms, living quarters for the Doge, beautifully painted ceilings, and even an armory.  Once again, I was forced to take forbidden photographs but they did come out okay.  I found the armory to be quite interesting since it contained weapons, mainly swords and small firearms, from the 15th-19th centuries.  It also had a cannon and old Gatling guns, and mixed in with all of these crazy weapons was a chastity belt.

We walked from the palace across the Bridge of Sighs to the prison, which was also like nothing I had ever seen.  It was quite surreal to walk across this short bridge (no more than 20 feet long).  I looked out at all of the tourists outside through the tiny holes in the stone wall and wondered what it must have been like to be a prisoner, knowing that you would never see the world again.

The prison itself was dark and creepy.  The ceilings were low, but the cells themselves were big so I am guessing they had more than one person in each one.   I cannot tell how expansive the prison was but I walked past five or six large cells that could comfortably sleep seven or eight people, if not nine or ten. 

After leaving the prison, I did a bit of shopping and ended up buying myself a Carnivale mask from one of the vendors by the shuttle boat stop before heading back to the ship.

VENICE - DAY THREE:

Today, I woke up bright and early (6:30am) to escort my first tour of the new voyage: a trip to the islands of Murano and Burano.  Murano is famous for its glassmaking factories, and Burano is famous for its lace-embroidery.  Additionally, I had seen just about everything one would see on the other offered tours so I decided to visit a different area.  

After a long boat ride from the ship, we finally arrived in Murano and proceeded to go to a glass-blowing demonstration.  The items they were making in there were like nothing I had ever seen, and it was even more extravagant in the showroom.   I ended up purchasing a couple of solid-glass pieces to take home, but nothing too crazy.  I will say, however, that I spent more money in Venice than probably all other ports combined.  I went all out here, but it was well worth it.

When we got to Burano, I decided to avoid the lace demonstration and show presentation.  I am twenty-five, male, and am NOT into lace pieces one might frame and hang from their wall, so I decided to take the time to explore Burano.  In some ways, the island is similar to Venice in that it does have a few canals, but there are no gondolas, and people are permitted to own their own boats and keep them there whereas in Venice, the majority of boats you see are either water taxis or gondolas.  The houses are all much more colorful since building codes and regulations are a bit more liberal than in Venice, where the goal to preserve its historical importance are more evident.  After purchasing some small trinkets for friends back home, I headed back to the tour boat and rode back to the ship, thus concluding the time I spent in the city of Venice and its surroundings.

Summarizing my time in Venice was a bit difficult as I did so much in such a short amount of time and obviously, this is another one of those cities where it is tough to put my emotions at the time into words.  I expect that in other ports [prior to the world cruise, at least], I will have a tough time finding anything quite as emotionally pleasing as a ride in a gondola or a trip to St. Mark’s Square.

Dubrovnik

October 10, 2008
Dubrovnik, Croatia

Today marked the fifth day in a row that I went on a tour. It was also the second full day tour I did this voyage. We dropped anchor at around 8:00 this morning just outside the historic city walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia. This was yet another tender port (where we have to use the ship’s lifeboats to go to shore), which meant I had to be ready to depart for my tour an hour in advance. The ship’s tenders take you right to the entrance of the old city (dating back at least to the 15th century) and approaching the city walls were like nothing I had ever seen.

The tour I escorted today was entitled “Best of the Adriatic”. A full day tour, it included stops inside the historical city, a scenic drive along the coast, and then lunch and a visit to a coastal city, Cavtat, located about thirty minutes away.
We spent the first hour and a half on a walking tour of old Dubrovnik, where all but one building was built between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. We stopped first at the rector’s palace (which was hardly a palace but more just a two-story building) where I got a chance to learn more about the aristocratic democracy (or maybe democratic aristocracy) that existed over three centuries ago in Dubrovnik, which was extremely interesting. We then made our way across the city to an old Franciscan monastery from over five centuries ago that now includes a museum, though five monks still live there. I never expected to see so many churches, cathedrals, mosques, and monasteries prior to joining the Queen Victoria, but I have seen the interior of a countless number of them, including an old one yesterday in Zakinthos, Greece. [I did not write a blog about this island because there was not much to speak of at all]

An interesting thing about the old city of Dubrovnik is that it is a pedestrian city. Bicycles are strictly forbidden, and only certain automobiles are granted temporary access. I saw two vehicles while inside: a garbage truck and a security van. It is so very well preserved, but once again it is yet another city overloaded with souvenir shops.

After exiting the monastery, we had an hour and a half to explore the old city before heading off to lunch at an old mill located about twenty-five miles outside the city. The drive was on yet another coastal road but unlike that of Greece, this one was high above the water, and as we neared the mill and restaurant we ended up about two miles from Montenegro. For lunch, they served pork with potatoes, and a serving of prosciutto, olives, tomatoes, and cheese, and salad preceded it.

Our last stop on the tour was the Coastal town of Cavtat, which houses the old Vice Rector’s palace and also another Franciscan monastery. It was interesting to walk around a small town outside of Dubrovnik, and the views from the bus were often breathtaking, but I would have enjoyed the tour just as much without the visit to Cavtat. Conversely, without the Cavtat visit, I would not have been fed such a great meal, so I suppose it is all give and take in the end.

Tomorrow, I will be in Venice. We arrive around noon and I will be visiting a friend from college who plays drums on Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas, and afterwards, I am hoping to make it into St. Mark’s Square for a bit before coming back for my first set at 7:45pm. Stay tuned for more updates on this wonderful journey.

Samos, Athens, and More

October 7, 2008
Samos, Greece
I spent today on another tour of the lovely island of Samos. Prior to my arrival, some of my coworkers had mentioned to me that Samos, the tenth-largest Greek Isle, was a lovely place with not too much to do. They were right, but I was still able to make the most of my time on shore by escorting a tour entitled the “Samos Sampler”. The tour I did consisted of visits to three main attractions: Temple Heraion (the Temple of Hera), the Ancient Aqueduct, and the town of Pythagorion (named after Pythagoras).

Heraion was the first Greek ruin I was able to examine closely since I had only seen the Acropolis and the temple of the Olympian Zeus from a distance. I believe this temple dated back to the 5th century B.C. and was all but destroyed and looted over the years. The temple itself originally contained over 150 columns six stories high; unfortunately, all that has survived [for the last two and a half millennia] is half of a single column. That was the main attraction at the site, but there were other old ruins of other buildings and such that had been excavated there as well. I will quote my mother’s response when I once asked her how her trip to Machu Pichu had gone: “It was a long way to travel to see a pile of rocks.” I suppose that the statement applies, except I only had to travel fifteen minutes by bus, so it was still worth it.

My tour group then traveled to the ancient aqueduct, where we had a chance to enter the narrow path into the pilot tunnel above the actual pipe. Just to give you an idea of how narrow it was, I still scraped a little bit along the walls even though I was keeping my body as slim as possible. The first ten or fifteen yards were this slim and also low enough that even at 5’5’’, I had to slouch a bit to clear the ceiling. At best, I would say the aqueduct was mildly interesting, but nothing special.

Before heading back to the ship, we had a chance to spend some time wandering around the town of Pythagorion. I browsed a few touristy shops, but the only things I ended up purchasing were a chicken souvlaki sandwich and a diet coke.

Sadly, the highlights of my day might have been eating souvlaki and looking at a three-story pillar, but all in all, it is always good to get off the ship.

October 8, 2008
Pyraeus, Athens, and Cape Sounion, Greece

I woke up bright and early this morning (6:30am) to board the bus for an all-day tour that took me [back] around Athens and then to Cape Sounion, which is the southernmost area of mainland Greece.

I am becoming quite the tour-goer; today marked the twelfth port I have visited where tours were offered (since our day in Rome was a turn-around day when we had new guests come on board, no tours were offered), and this was my sixth tour. I am also scheduled to go on tours both tomorrow and the following day in Zakinthos, Greece and Dubrovnik, Croatia, so I am getting my fill of sightseeing in without having to pay for most of it.

The bus left at about 7:00am and before I knew it, I was out cold in the back. When I woke up, the bus was stopped alongside the road and I was the only person still on board besides the driver. I got off and realized we had stopped for a photo opportunity at the old Olympic Stadium (from the first modern Olympiad in 1896). I visited the stadium during my last tour in Athens, so I got back on board the bus.

I fell back asleep for a few minutes and woke up again to find we were approaching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the perfect time to watch the changing of the guard. Two Greek soldiers dressed in traditional uniforms guard the tomb, and they march back and forth for an hour before their shift is up. I remember seeing something similar (minus the traditional uniforms) from when I visited Arlington National Cemetery at age nine, so I wonder if it is standard for all tombs of unknown soldiers (however many there may be) are guarded in such a way. Additionally, I cannot help but ponder whether it is an honor or punishment to be stuck marching back and forth for an hour without being able to eat, drink, speak, or use the bathroom. Additionally, you have to deal with random tourists staring at you wondering why on earth you are wearing such an awkward outfit and marching back and forth. [Side note: anyone who has spent five minutes with me knows that I could NEVER do this job!]

We made our way from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the Acropolis but took the scenic route along the way, passing the Temple of the Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch among other things along the way. Unlike the last tour I escorted in Pyraeus, I was able to go up to the Acropolis and explore it up close. I cannot recall if I talked in my last entry about the Acropolis how I found myself getting drawn away from what I was doing or listening to by the need to look up at the Parthenon; in any event, I once again found myself in heaven every time I stared up at the massive structure on top of the hill that I was so happy to be standing next to. Sadly, most of the columns are restorations since the building is so old, but there are still original pillars standing. The view from the top of the Acropolis was amazing and I could actually see the Queen Victoria in the distance, though if it weren’t for her funnel, I would not have recognized her from so far away.

After spending close to an hour atop the Acropolis, I made my way down where my group had a chance to do some shopping in a souvenir shop, but from there, we went to a hotel where we were served a huge buffet-style lunch. It was complete with various Greek foods like souvlaki, stuffed grape-leaves, and moussaka, and desserts like baklava and also fresh fruits. It was extremely filling and I had a wonderful conversation with a family from Mexico City before heading back to the bus for the long (over an hour long) bus ride to Cape Sounion and the temple of Poseidon. Once again, I had a nap.

Upon arriving at the temple in Sounion, I was mesmerized by the blue surface below me better known as the Aegean Sea. The water was of a certain color that even a professional-quality photograph could not do it justice. I never thought I would see water as beautiful as that surrounding the island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, but seeing the Aegean proved me wrong. The two colors are totally different and yet both are amazing. The view from the temple was even more exquisite since it sat atop a tall hill where I remained taking pictures for fifteen minutes before boarding the bus and heading back for the ship in Pyraeus.

We headed back to the port of Pyraeus via the coastal highway and were treated to a 60+ kilometer scenic ride along the water. As the bus approached Athens, traffic began to pick up, and then out of nowhere, the passengers on board noticed there were some jets flying over the water to our left. We eventually realized that it was the French Air Force’s 8-jet demonstration team and we were able to watch the entire show, at which point traffic picked back up and we made it back to the ship on time.

The best way to summarize the day is that everything happened in such a way that we were in the right place at the right time and were consequently treated to some awesome surprises. I am looking forward to exploring more of Athens and its surroundings when we return here for the last time on November 17.

Istanbul Fun

October 6, 2008
Istanbul, Turkey

Yesterday marked the first time the ship’s itinerary was affected by the weather since I started my contract. Strong winds stopped the ship from holding schedule with its noontime arrival; additionally, another ship which was scheduled to leave our berth was forced to stay in port until wind speeds died down, so the Queen Victoria’s gangway was not clear for crew and passengers until after 7:00pm. I was scheduled to go on a cruise of the Bosporus Strait yesterday afternoon, but after looking at the description of the tour again, I was not sad to miss it.

After finishing work yesterday evening, a bunch of the musicians (myself included) headed back to the Ali Baba hookah bar for an evening of smoke and kebabs. We stayed till nearly 4:00am before heading back to the ship and going to bed. I decided (in my infinite wisdom) that it would be a good idea to help out the excursions department by escorting a tour this morning, so I got just shy of four hours worth of sleep before I set off to learn more about Istanbul and its vast history.

The tour I went on was entitled “Discovering Istanbul” and I had a fabulous tour guide who spoke excellent English and knew lots about what he was talking about. I even had a chance to discuss Armenian status in Turkey, and what it is like almost a century after the Armenian Genocide. We made three main stops: the Blue Mosque, Ayasofya (a basilica-turned-mosque-turned-museum from about 1,500 years ago), and the Grand Bazaar. It was exciting to walk through these massive structures that have been preserved so very well. Ayasofya is actually closed to the public on Mondays, and the only people permitted inside were cruise passengers, so the building was pretty empty and I was able to take some good photographs without too many people getting in the picture.

The Grand Bazaar is the epitome of chaotic tourism. Inside, one can find Turkish lamps, cheap jewelry, pashmina, trinkets, and souvenirs (among other things), and it is surrounded on the outside by shops selling higher-end merchandise like fancy watches, hand-made rugs, gold, diamonds, and other precious stones. It makes the sidewalks in Times Square look like a ghost town. Nonetheless, it was still exciting to witness all that is Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

Before returning to the ship, I stopped off and tried a piece of baklava and picked up some food to eat when I got back on board, and upon returning to my room, my lovely roommate wasted no time yelling at me for waking him up last night. Apparently it is my fault for being extra quiet and creeping in before I fell asleep. He said if it happened one more time, he was going to “take it further,” so I figured it would be a good time to tell him it would not happen again because I am going to be moving out at the end of the voyage (October 12). That’s right folks; the theatre orchestra’s trombone player will be going home so I am going to take his bunk and get out. I will be living with the trumpet player from my orchestra for twelve days until he goes home, at which point I will be living with his replacement.
That’s all for now; ports left this voyage: Samos, Zakinthos and Pyraeus (all in Greece), then Dubrovnik, Croatia before reaching Venice on October 11.

Santorini

October 3, 2008
Santorini, Greece

After a LONG sea day yesterday, (I had to play five sets instead of my normal four), we docked this morning in Santorini, Greece. My first glimpses of the island came as I disembarked the ship and boarded a tender for the island, and I knew right away that I was visiting what would turn out to be one of the more beautiful destinations in my itinerary.

I decided to meet up with the guitarist from the theater orchestra and the two male production singers on board and we headed for shore together. The view from the water of the portion of the island we were approaching was amazing in itself. Though there are parts of Santorini that are situated closer to sea level, the tenders bring cruise ship passengers to a small area at the bottom of hills that have to be at least 1,000 feet high, which looks like nothing I have ever seen. There are a few ways up this hill: you can take a cable car for a few Euro (or 1Euro if you are a crewmember), you can walk up a long, zig-zag-like path up the mountain, or you can climb the same path while riding a donkey (for 5 Euro). We decided that the cable car would be the best way up, so we waited in line for what seemed like an eternity, but enjoyed the bumpy ride all the way up in the six-person cable car. Needless to say, as we got higher and higher, the view got better and better, and when we reached the top, the sights were breathtaking. We proceeded to find the nearest quad-bike (ATV) rental shop and rented two vehicles for the four of us for 25 Euro a piece, and rode down the road until we reached the water. I don’t believe I’d ever seen a stone beach before, but it was interesting to see how one part of the island is situated at the top of a mountain, and the other part is laid out along the water like that.

We stopped for food at a small restaurant a block or so away from the beach and enjoyed a proper Greek meal (with Greek beer as well, which I would not call myself a fan of). I had a Greek salad to start and then chicken souvlaki with a side of tzaziki as a main course. It was my first time having Greek food in Greece and it tasted amazing.

After lunch, we got back on the quad-bikes and rode along the water for a while before heading back to the rental store. We returned the bikes and headed for, of all things, an Irish pub for a couple of beverages. I ended up sneaking out for a minute and did some quick shopping and bought a couple pieces of art that were made from petrified volcanic lava. I figured the first thing I spent my money on besides food, drink, a magnet, or a postcard should be something different; lava-based art fits that description in my opinion.

To close out the day, I decided to pass on the cable car method of getting down to the tender embarkation and paid the 5 Euro to ride a donkey. It was a bit frightening. I doubt anyone has trained the donkeys, and yet they know exactly where to go and when to stop. There were a couple times where I was worried my leg was going to get sandwiched between the stone wall and the donkey’s ribs but I escaped unhurt and it was actually quite entertaining (though I will say the odor was less than pleasing).

Tomorrow should be a long day: we have our British Coast-Guard boat drill, so I have no idea if I will be able to get off the ship in Izmir, Turkey. The following two days will be another Istanbul overnight, which I am looking forward to. Hopefully, I will have a chance to get off the ship more during the day to explore the city. We shall see.

When in Rome...

September 30, 2008
Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

There is nothing like following one early morning up with another in order to make the most out of a morning in Rome! I met a fellow musician, some of the dancers, and two of the production singers at 7am to hop on the ninety-minute train ride to Termini station, and we then took our time walking over to the Colosseum. I kept looking at it in amazement thinking how lucky I was to be there, and enjoyed spending upwards of an hour walking inside of it. I rented an audio guide for a few Euro and was able to learn a great deal about the history of the building and the games that took place there, and additionally was able to get a better idea of what I was looking at while inside the massive structure.

After leaving the Colosseum, I went for a quick bite to eat before heading back to Termini to catch the train back to the port in Civitavecchia. All in all, it was a splendid day spent off the ship. We would have also gone to the Vatican City, but we had to be back on board at 4:00pm for a passenger boat drill (so that the guests know exactly what to do in the event we need to abandon ship). I will be returning to Rome once in October and twice in November, so hopefully I’ll get the chance to see more wonderful sights at some point.

Tomorrow: NAPLES!

Sicily

September 29, 2008
Messina, Sicily

Another exciting day, more exciting places. I spent this morning escorting a tour entitled “Messina & Surroundings”. We spent a large portion of the four-hour tour in the bus, but unlike Saturday’s tour of Athens, the bus ride was exciting. We spent close to forty minutes driving up a long, curvy, narrow road to a point over 2,500 feet above sea level that offered both eastern and western panoramic views. The road was narrow enough that I thought it was a spacious one-way street until I watched a car squeeze between our bus and the other side of the road. Prior to coming to the top of the Chiarino “hill”, as it was called by my tour guide, I had thought the views I took in from the ground in Istanbul and from the hills in Yalta were going to be the best I would end up seeing during this voyage; however, I was very wrong. Every time the bus turned a different corner, a different Kodak moment arose. I did my best to capitalize on the opportunities, but it did start to rain and random roadside items such as guardrails or power lines seemed intent on ruining what would otherwise be a perfect photograph. On the way down from the top of the mountain, despite the incredible amount of clouds in the sky and the resulting low visibility, the Stromboli volcano (still active) showed itself to me in the distance. It is the first volcano I have ever seen and even though it was so far away, I could still see the smoke coming out of the top. Unfortunately, as the bus descended more and more, the volcano decided to go back into hiding. I was able to snap a decent photo of it prior to its disappearance though.

Our next sightseeing stop on the tour after the mountain top was the Museo Regionale di Messina, a small museum containing works by Caravaggio and Antonello di Messina and other interesting paintings from the Baroque era as well. It was the first museum I have visited since starting my contract on the Queen Victoria, and while it was nice to visit, I am beginning to realize I much prefer to see things that are more of a landmark (e.g. the Acropolis or an old temple or mosque) than a museum. On the other hand, if the ship went to Paris, I would head straight to the Louvre without hesitation.

Our last stop on the tour was Cathedral Square, which houses a beautiful church and a very interesting clock tower as well. On one side of the tower is an astrological calendar, but on the front is an amazing display. Every day at noon, to the tune of Shubert’s Ave Maria, several golden characters start moving. It is tough to describe, but it looks like a fancy, jumbo-sized coo coo clock, though instead of the birds tweeting, there is a lion that roars and a rooster that goes cock-a-doodle-doo. After the display, we had enough time to enter the [massive] cathedral, which is over 500 years old and is built mostly with marble and a wooden ceiling. It was a true spectacle of beauty.

Tomorrow we will be in Civitavecchia, Italy, which is the closest port to Rome. It marks the end of my first voyage on the Queen Victoria. The plan at present is to visit the Sistine Chapel, and hopefully, the Coliseum as well.

Athens

September 27, 2008
Piraeus, Greece

Today, I saw the Acropolis. I feel the need to write a lot about this, but at the same time, the above sentence should speak for itself, so I think I will just say it again:
TODAY, I SAW THE ACROPOLIS!

Words cannot describe the feeling one experiences when seeing something they have wanted to see since learning about it in fourth grade. I ended up escorting a bus tour around the city today and our long stop was at the foot of the Acropolis. Even while walking, I kept finding myself staring up at it. Even though it is covered in scaffolding, it is still beautiful, and the next tour I do will be one that travels up the steps to the Parthenon. I hear the view from up there is spectacular, so hopefully I will get to take some great photos of the city as well.

The tour I escorted today also made a brief stop at the original Olympic stadium, which was also cool. We then drove past lots of interesting landmarks in the city including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the original temple of the Olympian Zeus, though all that remains of the temple are a few columns.

Athens seems to be a great city and I eagerly await my return to see [and eat] all of the wonderful things it has to offer.