Mediterranean Cruise Summer 2010

Well, it seems I didn't get into the blogging thing, since my first post was in 2008, and my second post in 2010! But, interesting since I named the blog 'dreamsaboutboats', I just got back from a 12 day Mediterranean cruise, and I kept a travel journal to share with my friends. This is probably the easiest way to do it!

So, the following will be a very long post, chronicling the 12 days on the cruise. Read as much as you like for as long as you like. It will be here if you are interested in more.

The cruise was 12 days and visited a number of countries in the Mediterranean. We sailed on the Azamara Quest. I am not much of a cruiser---this is only my 2nd cruise ever. I liked it a lot better than the first cruise---the boat was smaller and there were fewer guests. It was a much more relaxing experience. The passengers were very international too--from England, Scotland, Eastern Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and United States.

So, here goes! I tried to keep up with journaling every day, but sometimes things happened, so there may be some breaks in continuity.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Noon. So, here I am sitting in the Buffalo airport waiting for the flight to Philly and my flight is delayed!! They don't think it will be too late, but they always say that! I still have a good bit of time before the flight out this evening. Keep your fingers crossed---hope this isn't an omen.

8:15 pm Eastern time: I made it to Philly only about 1/2 hour late. But I didn't have my boarding pass for the second flight (my dad and sister, with whom I was traveling, had it). So, I had to walk outside all the way from Terminal F to Terminal A. Have you ever been in the Philly airport? I think it was at least a mile because it took me almost 1/2 hour to walk it gragging all my luggage behind me!
Anyway, we are on the plane to Venice, so that's cool! I don't feel like knitting---juggling my counter and the chart, so I think I'll read for a while then try to sleep. Supposedly we are to land early. That would be nice.

Side comment about the knitting: my Ravelry friend Christine (mapleweave) and I decided to do a travel swap. I am knitting a shawl for her, and she for me, and the themes have to do with our international trips. The shawl I am knitting is named Marina, and I am using Sanguine Gryphon's Little Traveler merino wool in the colorway Venezia.

Saturday 8/28/10 Venice

I was so tired yesterday that I see I didn't write about landing in Venice and getting on the ship. Actually, that went smoothly although somewhat slow. We didn't do anything special after unpacking except to have dinner. The cabin was very small for 3 people to share! We had to unpack our suitcases, then pack the suitcases inside each other to store them!
For dinner, I had an interesting puff pastry with mushrooms, french onion soup, grilled vegie salad, and profiteroles (puff pastry with ice cream). It was all good, and the portions were reasonable---not too big.
Today (Saturday) we took an excursion to Venice. First we took a boat to Murano to see the glass blowing demonstration. I bought some beads for Jeremy to make me some stitch markers. Oh! Wait! First we saw a church, then to Murano. The church was beautiful. After Murano, we went back to Venice for a gondola ride. The gondola was pitching so much I wasn't sure I was going to make it into the boat, but the boatsman helped me and I didn't fall in. It was about 1/2 hour ride. Very interesting city. Doors to buildings opened up right onto the water!
We sail for Croatia this evening at 5.


Sunday 8/29/10 Sunday Zadar, Croatia 4:30 pm
What a gorgeous day today has been! Clear blue sky, moderately warm with a nice breeze! But let me catch up on the sail out of Venice.....

Right before we sailed, around 4 pm, the sky darkened and a storm came in. Most of the night, because of the wind, the boat rolled and bumped. Poor Karen threw up her entire dinner (guess those calories don't count), but luckily I didn't get sick. The rolling must have been soporific because I slept like the dead from about 9:30 pm until 6:30 when breakfast came (we had room service!)

At 8:30 am we got on a bus for Krka National Park (see above). It was about 1.5 hours drive to the park. The country looked semi-arid with lots of grapes and olive trees. Our guide was a local woman who told us a lot of history about all the wars. I don't know how such a beautiful place could have so many wars. It's just a shame. A lot of the houses looked abandoned, so although it was beautiful, there was something haunting about it too.

The park was beautiful with a large river and a lot of waterfalls. We walked around down 180 stairs (yikes) and then took a boat back to the little town Skradinski where we had lunch at a local restaurant. It was tasty--the bruschetta used local tomatoes which were some of the best tomatoes I've eaten in years! We also had antipasto with local cheese, olives and prosciutto. Then a very good salad dressed with local olive oil. And finally grilled chicken with scalloped potatoes. They also served a local wine, but I didn't think much of that.

I forgot to describe the water organ at the pier where the ship was docked. At the pier, there are steps cut into the stone that lead into the water. The stairs have slits cut into them, and there are air holes in the stone behind the stairs. When the water goes into the slits in the stairs, the air is forced through the holes and makes music. It was totally cool!

Monday 8/30/10 Dubrovnik Croatia

I am actually writing this on Tuesday, because I forgot to log yesterday. We'll see how far I get---the boat is rolling quite a bit.

Karen has been longing to see Dubrovnik for quite a while, so she was particularly keen to be here. We were going to do an excursion, but had decided to cancel and just see Dubrovnik on our own. We didn't disembark until 10:30 am and were to sail at 6 pm, I think, so it was a short day. The day was beautifully sunny and not too hot. We went into the town and looked for the entrance to the wall around the city. We wound up walking zillions of stairs through narrow passages but couldn't get to the wall.

I should add that the view of the Adriatic Sea was amazing. So blue!

We finally asked someone how to get on the wall, and they told us it was at the beginning of the town! We had walked right past it!! 10 Euros to go up on the wall! So, Karen and i went up (Dad stayed down--his legs were hurting). We walked maybe 1/3 around the city, took some nice pictures (well, Karen took some nice pictures), then went back down. So, Karen's dream of being on the wall in Dubrovnik was fulfilled. For some reason, Pink Floyd kept going through my head!

After that we had Croatian pizza in a sidewalk cafe. Very good pizza. Thin crust, very tomato-y sauce, not greasy.

That was about it for the day in Dubrovnik. We sailed out around dinner. The trip out wasn't too bad, but later in the night the wind picked up and we were rolling badly. I think we had rain too. I got sicker and sicker--this was around 2:30 in the morning and I hadn't had Dramamine. I fumbled in my bag in the dark until I found the chewable Dramamine and took one. That helped a lot.

I forgot that Monday I got a hot stone massage in the spa. Ah, bliss! Then I had a lovely shower in the super shower---jets everywhere! Wish I had a shower at home like that!


Tuesday August 31 Montenegro 'Black Mountains'

I need to note that the average age on this cruise has to be around 65-70. I'm one of the young ones! LOLZ. There are some scary sites at the pool!

I'll see how far I get on writing tonight, but the rolling of the boat is starting to get to me.

We had a long excursion today in Montenegro. Montenegro means Black Mountains and got its name from the cypress trees which cover the mountains. There are mountains all around the fjord which juts out from the Adriatic Sea.

I have to stop writing now---too much movement. I'll recap tomorrow if it smooths out.

Wednesday September 1 Sea Day

Blargh! OMG the boat rocked ALL night! The dramamine wore off around 4 am and I had some trouble taking another in the dark. I had set one out though, and my water bottle was in my bag near the bed. I was wondering how the heck I was going to take a shower without falling out! But the movement smoothed out. Anyway, let's catch up on yesterday in Montenegro....

We sailed into the fjord around 8:30 am. The entire area is surrounded by mountains. We sailed past 2 small (I mean SMALL!) islands. Apparently this is special according to the Captain...they are not usually allowed in that way. One island was built by stones---the story is that every ship that came into the port had to leave a stone on this island until it was big enough to build a church on---the Rock of the Lady. The other island, equally small, had a monastery on it---St George.

We docked around 9 or so, and disembarked for an excursion around 9:30. The excursion lasted all day. We too a tour bus to the top of the mountain (Loveen Mt). The road was very narrow and serpentine (see the picture!). There were 25 bends in the road. Many places had no guard rails and a sheer drop. The bus driver was the most awesome driver I've ever seen! Sometimes we would meet other cars/vehicles coming from the other direction, both vehicles would stop, and then 1 would back up out of the way for the other vehicle to get by. Once we came around a curve and almost ran right into a fire truck!

Near the top of the mountain, we stopped at a local village and had a 'snack' (Will type snack)--2 slices of very dry bread with aged ham (like prosciutto) and some local cow's cheese (lots of cheese). The cheese was ok, but the ham was very salty. That ham is a specialty of the area and takes 2 years to make! Oh, I also had some mead (honey wine). It was different---kind of tasted like Fanta. Oh---they did have Fanta, too.

Next we went down to another town where the first and only king of Montenegro had lived. Montenegro used to be ruled by men who were both Prince and Bishop. King Nicolae was a prince but not Bishop and separated church and state and eventually was crowned King. He had 12 children, most of whom married royalty in other countries (the daughters). There is one descendant now living in France. I can't remember why there were no other kings, but probably had something to do with wars. The king died in exile.

After that, we went to see Sveti Stefan--a resort which used to be very old houses on an island just off the coast. Famous people stay there now when they visit---it's an exclusive resort.

Then we went to Budva--a resort town near there. Lots of yachts in the area! We had lunch at a local restaurant but it was pretty bad. We sat in an outside patio and there was something black falling out of the vines into the food dishes. They served a salad of dry lettuce and cabbage, very stale bread, and some grilled meat and sausages. No vegetables. I asked our guide if this was tradiational, and he said 'Oh, no! We usually eat Mediterranean---lots of fruits, vegetables and fish.' That would have been good! I did have a very good latte. The coffee in Europe is so excellent!

Lastly we went to Kotor where our boat was docked. We had about 1/2 hour to see the town then re-boarded for departure.

After a very bumpy ride last night, today at sea has been smooth and a nice sail. We just passed through the Straits of Messina and are headed north to Sorrento. Hope tonight's sailing is smooth.

Around 7 pm Wednesday, we arrived at Stromboli Island, which is basically a volcano. It's active, too! There is a small village on one side of the island, and the other side is mostly volcanic rock and ash. The Captain stopped the boat so we could watch for eruptions. After a while, when it got dark (around 8) we saw a few eruptions. Maybe 3-4 spews of fire and smoke. Pretty cool! Sorry, I have no pictures of that.

After that, my Dad and I went to the Casino and played blackjack. I was winning for a while, but of course that didn't last.

Thursday September 2, Sorrento port

I was so tired today that I didn't write about Thursday---so I am actually writing this on Friday.

Thursday we docked in Sorrento. We had a somewhat early excursion. First, we boarded a hydrofoil to go across to Capri, which took about 1 hour (people in this area do almost everything by boat!). Capri is an island off Italy that is a destination for the rich and famous. It actually reminded me of La Jolla, California. Expensive stores, overdressed people, beautiful scenery. We walked around the town and saw the sights. The lemons there were the size of grapefruits!!

Then we got back on the boat to go to Napoli and on to Pompeii. Our tour guide was Luca---very cute young Italian man with a PhD in geology, who also played soccer (Tim says 'they all play soccer'). He told us all about Vesuvius erupting and destroying Pompeii. He said that the lava did not destroy the city, but it was the dust and ash, and gravel. The poisonous gases killed the people and animals, and the ash and dust buried them. We spent about 1/5 hours walking through the ruins, which were quite interesting. There were plaster casts of people and dogs that were recovered from the site.

All the area immediately adjacent to the volcano is considered a red zone, because the volcano erupts periodically, and another Pompeii could easily happen. However, land is at such a premium there, this threat does not stop people from living in this shadow.

Interestingly, the site at Pompeii was home to a bunch of stray dogs, and there were signs saying that they could be adopted. There were dogs everywhere!

We went through the ruins of a public bath. Before the baths, people used to take 1 bath per week, but after the baths were built they took baths every day.

After Pompeii, we went back to Sorrento for a few minutes before tendering back to the ship.

Saturday PS. I forgot to talk about the cameo factory in Sorrento. This is where cameos are hand carved from shells or other materials like agate. An artist gave us a demo. Very fine work. The price of the cameo is not determined by its size, but by the detail involved in the carving. The finer the detail, the more $$. I bought a beautiful small blue one made from agate.



Friday September 3 Rome (Civittavecchia port)

Today we left very early from Civittavecchia port to Rome---about 1.5 hour bus ride. Egad! The traffic! Tons of cars, tons of scooters, and they drive everywhere! And park wherever they find an empty spot.

Rome was interesting, but hot and we walked for miles (about 5 hours)! The first place we visited was St Clementine Church. You'll have to google it because I can't remember all the details. Then we went to the Colosseum. I never saw Russell Crowe (LOLZ). very crowded--and you had to keep an eye on your bag.

After the Colosseum we visited the Forum. More ruins and so much history that I can't remember it all.

We had a nice lunch. Very good pasta and veal. Dessert was tartuffo--chocolate ice cream (or gelato) around vanilla ice cream and coated with cocoa. Yum!

After lunch we went to Vatican City to see the Basilica. The artwork in there was breathtaking. Very crowded. I can't really describe how beautiful it all was. It defies description. Never did see the Pope---apparently he was in Switzerland.

Anyway, 10.5 hours of touring Rome! Karen and I had room service that night and that was it!

(written Saturday) I forgot to talk about the Imperial underground. Rome has just kept building on top of itself each time it's been destroyed. Much of ancient Rome has been uncovered but in catacombs under the city. I think we went down only a couple of levels. It was a bit warm and muggy under the city. We walked around the catacombs and sow lots of old Rome. Much of the ruins had been scavenged over the centuries by the Church to build the Basilicas.

I think Rome did me in. We must have walked 5 or 6 miles, a lot in the sun, and we climbed 100s of stairs. Some were very steep and high steps. Poor Karen---I was hanging off of her most of the way, because there were almost never railings! I've been worn out all day.

(note to devout Catholics, I apologize in advance for any insults you may incur from the following description. None of the comments are meant to insult the Catholic parishioners, but I do have issues with the Catholic leadership)

After my initial awe at the St Peter's Basilica, all the ostentation started to make me mad. I really don't think that Jesus had planned what the Catholic Church has become. Do you know that you can get an audience with the Pope if you pay 50,000 Euros? One hour with the Pope! 7,000 E will buy you a wedding in the Basilica but only if you are Catholic. So much wealth in that place. And so many people in the world who could use it.

I also forgot to talk about the pickled popes. They had display cases around the Basilica with wax figures of former Popes. Kind of creepy, if you ask me.

OK, enough of the Catholic church. By the way, my husband is Catholic, and I raised my children Catholic, although they never were confirmed, so I don't necessarily have all bad thoughts about the Church. I just think they could do things differently.

Saturday September 4 La Spezia Italy

Karen and I were dragging around today like pickled popes. Rome sacked us! We had today in La Spezia. We could have taken a 2 hour train ride to Florence, but neither of us were up to it. So we took our time getting dressed and had breakfast, then went to the village of La Spezia. It was an old town with stone streets lined with shops. Neither Karen nor I were too keen on it. It was a bit like a medieval shopping mall, but nothing cool or authentic to buy---all clothes and shoes. Karen did find a nice scarf for Mom, and I bought husband Art a pack of Italian cigarettes. I don't know if he will like them (turns out he did). The tobacco shop owner didn't speak English, so I couldn't ask about them. The shop actually had more American cigarettes than Italian ones! And just as expensive! One pack was 4.40 E or about 5.50 US. No bad pictures on the pack, but a warning about smoking while pregnant.

We walked around for an hour or so, but no one was very enthusiastic. So it was decided that we would get a coffee and snack and go back to spend the rest of the day on board. We found a nice cafe and each of us got a cappuccino and a pastry. mmmmmm chocolate croissant! Dad had a lemon croissant. Tasty!

I'm sure I've forgotten to say about getting into some of the ports. About 1/2 the ports we had to anchor away from shore and tender in, which means to ride small boats into the docking area. Usually I don't like small boats in large open water, but these were pretty stable. Of course, there was usually some pitching of the tender when boarding, but I got in with help. Same with the gondola--it was really pitching, but I actually did better than Karen getting in! She kind of fell in!

We ate a later lunch (not as late as the tour lunches! They were around 2-3 pm, surprised I made it that late!) around 1 and Karen went back to the room to sleep off Rome. I went out and knitted on the pool deck under the shade (I should add that now when I work on the shawl, I have visions of the Mediterranean sea in my head---very pleasant), and Dad went to the gym and then wandered around the boat. About 4, I went for some tea in the small cafe and to meet Karen for a trivia game, but no other passengers showed up, so we didn't play.

That's mostly the scoop for today! Tomorrow is Monaco.

P.S. For La Spezia--the Mediterranean is packed with big yachts! In La Spezia, there was a big sleek black yacht docked in the port. Guess who it belonged to? Armani. Didn't see Armani, though.

Sunday Sept 5 Monaco

Today we were in Monaco--the second smallest country in the world after Vatican City. We've had a very busy vacation. Almost every day we've gone on a long excursion, and today was another long day. Our tour guide was a cranky French hippie (around 50's with peace signs on her jacket. She smoked a lot and was generally snooty and cranky. didn't like her one bit)

We went to a medieval village on top of one of the mountains, named Eze. It was interesting, but I was starting to get tired of medieval villages. Lots of steep slopes and steps, so I was tired.
We also went to Nice which was nice (LOLZ). Similar architecture, but they had a lovely outdoor market. There was a guy on the square playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the accordian!

Monte Carlo was there too, but I wasn't that impressed. I think the unfriendly tour guide put a damper on the experience.

Oh, I forgot we also saw where Grace Kelly was buried. It wasn't too exciting a day.

Monday September 6 St Tropez

Apparently I gave up on my journal, because everything from this point forward I am writing today and relying upon memory.

Monday we were in St Tropez. I was so exhausted still from Rome, and getting tired of the programmed experience that was an excursion, that I almost decided to skip the last excursion in St Tropez. I was soooo tired, and didn't feel well either.

But I decided to go because this trip was just 5 hours and mostly on the bus. We went to St Tropez, Gassin, and Ramantuelle. The latter 2 are small hilltop, medieval villages. It was actually a nice excursion, and I'm glad I went. In Gassin, I bought some soaps made in the region, and a ceramic locust (considered good luck). It was a nice day.

After the excursion, we just went back to the ship to take it easy.

The next morning was Tuesday, market day in St Tropez. We were supposed to sail Tuesday at 2 pm, so Karen, Dad, and I got ready to tender in to St Tropez to get to the market early and be back by lunch. I think we got there around 8 or so. It is a very large outdoor market---very much like a flea market. I bought some more soaps and t-shirts for the boys. Karen bought some t-shirts, too. We wandered around a while, then decided to go back.

On the way back to the tender, we stopped at a grocery store where I bought some Rose wine made in that region. As we were on our excursion the previous day, almost everywhere you looked, you could see grapes growing! The region of Provence is well known for its Rose wine, so I bought some of that. Karen was dubious that I could get it home intact, but I packed it very securely!

That was the end of the cruise. At 2 pm, we set sail for Barcelona and debarkation. It was another choppy night. Karen got sick again, but dramamine saved me. The Barcelona airport was a nightmare! I have never been in such a slow airport! It was moderately crowded, but check-in took us at least an hour! Then a line for customs, then a line for security (or maybe the other way around). Then they asked us the same security questions as we boarded the plane! I didn't think we would ever take off.

It was a long flight, and the US Air Flight 743 from Barcelona to Philly (Sept 8, 2010) was the most unfriendly group of flight attendants I have ever experienced! We were pretty much on our own. Hardly ever gave us water, and don't dare ask for anything! Eventually I intend to write a complaint to US Airways.

I didn't add earlier, but in St Tropez my head got very stuffy and my throat sore. I wasn't too hale on the flight back. When we started our descent into Philly, I thought my ears were being stabbed with hot pokers. I kept checking to see if they were bleeding. Then, we were almost landing, when the pilot informed us that the Philly airport had told us to go into a holding pattern. We circled for 20 minutes! I was miserable. I was also getting anxious because my flight to Buffalo was in 2 hours.

To make a long story short, I spent those 2 hours standing in line after long line, and made it to my flight with about 5 minutes to spare. It was very stressful, but I got home.

It was a great trip. The Mediterranean is one of the most beautiful places I've been to, and I got to see all kinds of great sights, meet new people, etc. But, I'm glad to be home now getting over my Italian cold.

Hope you enjoyed this account!