Finally, a day when we have both the time and the Internet access to tell you all about our wonderful vacation! But, after posting one photograph, Blogger wouldn't post any others. I'll try again later. In the meantime, we send you a few words and promises of more pictures soon.
When we are home early next week we'll post more pictures at our Facebook site. Look for us there!
We are sorry that accessing the Internet wasn't easier and that our "postcards" weren't sent earlier. Tomorrow we go to Delphi Greece, the place the ancients considered to be the "belly button" of the world. Following a sea day on Wednesday, we'll enjoy two days in Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. On Saturday we'll leave the ship very early and then have one last day in Rome before heading for home with bags full of treasures.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
At the World's Belly-Button -- Delphi Greece
We made another stop in Greece, at a modern small port city named Itea so we could visit one of the ancient world's most important sites, Delphi, home of the Oracle of Delphi. The Greeks called this center of the universe the "world's navel." We all took a ship's excursion 3000 feet up the mountain overlooking our ship to the location of the pilgrimage site that dates from 800 BC. There's an excellent museum there of artifacts unearthed by archaeologists over the past 100+ years which we toured. Then we walked up to the actual site where the Oracle prophesied the future for anyone who climbed the mountain to ask questions.
The isle of Corfu in Greece
Our next destination was Corfu, an island that is part of Greece. Again the day began with rain, but soon became quite sunny and pleasant. We've encountered more tourist shops filled with jewelry and junk than in any other small port. Corfu town has been a tourist destination for a long time -- many ships call here and large jets are passing over us, en route to the airport. It's an unattractive town, very poor looking. Most of the buildings are decrepit. There are many blocks of stores and restaurants. Tourism from the U.K. and continental Europe is the mainstay of the econonomy and many cruise ships dock here. It's possible to tour the island, but not cheaply, and most of us just meandered through the shops and had lunch.
Bay of Kotor, Montenegro
On Sunday morning we docked in Kotor Montenegro, a small city none of us had ever heard of prior to this cruise. We first sailed into a bay surrounded by mountains -- actually Europe's most southerly fjord. We came into port early in the morning, while the lights were still on in the villages we passed and along part of the walls built on the mountains that surround the town of Kotor. Those walls were 1000 years in the making! We met our guide and boarded a bus for a 15 mile ride to a village named Perast that dates from 300 BC. There we boarded a small boat to sail a few hundred yards off-shore to a man-made island. On the island there is a lovely small church called Our Lady of the Rocks, built by the local people to house an icon they believe has miraculous powers.
Throughout our trip we have enjoyed gorgeous weather. Each day the sun has shown on us, and the temperature has been in the 70s. On Sunday morning our weather-luck ran out. The skies opened with torrential rain. As we scooted back to the mainland on a little boat lightening flashed and thunder crashed around us. Soaked, cold and weary, we voted to scuttle the rest of the tour. The rain continued through much of the rest of the day, and only as we sailed away did we see a few minutes of sunlight.
Most of us did wander in the afternoon into the village of Kotor, where the ship was docked. Taking cover under large umbrellas provided by the ship, we were able to continue our tour for an hour, and to enjoy wandering through in Kotor, our guide assured us there are none in the entire country of Montenegro. We're glad! There were many outdoor cafes under large umbrellas which were more in keeping with the atmosphere of the ancient village.
Throughout our trip we have enjoyed gorgeous weather. Each day the sun has shown on us, and the temperature has been in the 70s. On Sunday morning our weather-luck ran out. The skies opened with torrential rain. As we scooted back to the mainland on a little boat lightening flashed and thunder crashed around us. Soaked, cold and weary, we voted to scuttle the rest of the tour. The rain continued through much of the rest of the day, and only as we sailed away did we see a few minutes of sunlight.
Most of us did wander in the afternoon into the village of Kotor, where the ship was docked. Taking cover under large umbrellas provided by the ship, we were able to continue our tour for an hour, and to enjoy wandering through in Kotor, our guide assured us there are none in the entire country of Montenegro. We're glad! There were many outdoor cafes under large umbrellas which were more in keeping with the atmosphere of the ancient village.
Split, Croatia
Saturday we docked in a new country, Croatia, across the Adriatic Sea from Ravenna. We went to the city called Split, where a tour guide, Helena, met us. We began our day visiting a ruin of a Roman city, Solan, which was interesting. Then we went on to a very medieval town named Trogir. We enjoyed wandering the very narrow streets, and finding old churches and lots of views for picture-taking. All our guides have been very knowledgable and entertaining, but we particularly enjoyed the time we spent with Helena, our very well-spoken, attractive guide in Croatia.
Helena showed us Diocletian's Tomb in Split. Diocletian was an emporer of Rome in the 300 AD period. Rather than die in office, he decided to retire to the area near Solan, where he had spent his childhood. He built a "palace" that today is the entire center of the old city of Split. It consists primarily of high walls surrounding the original palace grounds and enormous cellars, which we toured. A small cathedral is built in one part of the grounds and the ancient Roman Temple of Zeus became the Christian's baptistry centuries ago.
Our ship features two fine dining restaurants in addition to the dining room and the cafeteria. We decided to enjoy dinner together on Saturday evening and reserved space for all 19 of us. We celebrated Pat's birthday that day and Judy & Al's first anniversary the next day. It was a wonderful dinner, which many of us finished with Grand Marnier souffles.
Helena showed us Diocletian's Tomb in Split. Diocletian was an emporer of Rome in the 300 AD period. Rather than die in office, he decided to retire to the area near Solan, where he had spent his childhood. He built a "palace" that today is the entire center of the old city of Split. It consists primarily of high walls surrounding the original palace grounds and enormous cellars, which we toured. A small cathedral is built in one part of the grounds and the ancient Roman Temple of Zeus became the Christian's baptistry centuries ago.
Our ship features two fine dining restaurants in addition to the dining room and the cafeteria. We decided to enjoy dinner together on Saturday evening and reserved space for all 19 of us. We celebrated Pat's birthday that day and Judy & Al's first anniversary the next day. It was a wonderful dinner, which many of us finished with Grand Marnier souffles.
Ravenna Italy
Our first port of call was Ravenna Italy. A smaller city, with a very calm, old center, Ravenna was the capitol of the western Roman empire in the last days of Rome, after that city had collapsed and the empire was split in two. As a result, eight beautiful religious buildings exist there today, covered in mosaic murals, and in perfect condition. We enjoyed seeing them, and strolling through the town.
We also enjoyed being in a smaller, uncroweded city and having a day that operated at a slower pace.
We also enjoyed being in a smaller, uncroweded city and having a day that operated at a slower pace.
Venice and Our Ship
On Wednesday morning our bus returned to take us to Venice to board our ship. Our cruise adventure was about to begin! Grace and Pat arrived at the airport that morning, and Richard and Vicki, who had been in Venice for a couple of days made their way to the ship, and we all met onboard the Azamara Quest, for our small ship cruise to ports in Italy and the Adriatic. There are 19 of us cruising together, and all are charming and cooperative, and we are all enjoying the company of the others.
Our cruise began with two days in Venice -- the day we arrived and the following day until about 5:00 pm. We enjoyed a walking tour around the area of St. Mark's Square. Our guided showed us the interior of golden St. Mark's basilica as she told us a bit of the history of Venice. She ecorted us away from the hordes of Americans (two other cruise ships with a combined passenger capacity of 7000 were in port too) and into a charming neighborhood behind St. Mark's.
Then we boarded gondolas for a ride around that area. It was really fun to listen to the chatter of the gondoliers while getting a different view of the beautiful old homes we passed.
We experienced our first dinners in the dining room of our ship, and became accustomed to the rooms we would call home for the next ten nights. The ship is not large -- the capacity is fewer than 700 -- but it is rather grand. It is the new "luxury" line of Celebrity Cruises.
On our second day in Venice each of us had a chance to explore on our own. The ship sailed at 6:00 pm. The ride our of the harbor past the grand sights of Venice was one to remember.
Our cruise began with two days in Venice -- the day we arrived and the following day until about 5:00 pm. We enjoyed a walking tour around the area of St. Mark's Square. Our guided showed us the interior of golden St. Mark's basilica as she told us a bit of the history of Venice. She ecorted us away from the hordes of Americans (two other cruise ships with a combined passenger capacity of 7000 were in port too) and into a charming neighborhood behind St. Mark's.
Then we boarded gondolas for a ride around that area. It was really fun to listen to the chatter of the gondoliers while getting a different view of the beautiful old homes we passed.
We experienced our first dinners in the dining room of our ship, and became accustomed to the rooms we would call home for the next ten nights. The ship is not large -- the capacity is fewer than 700 -- but it is rather grand. It is the new "luxury" line of Celebrity Cruises.
On our second day in Venice each of us had a chance to explore on our own. The ship sailed at 6:00 pm. The ride our of the harbor past the grand sights of Venice was one to remember.
Florence
Monday morning we moved on to Florence. We arrived before lunch time and had an afternoon free to explore the small but very interesting Tuscan city. All around us were beautiful churches filled with great art, ancient palaces, trendy shops, sidewalk cafes and hordes of tourists. Every place we've been has been filled with thousands of Americans and tourists from many other places. We all kept asking ourselves, "what recession?"
On Tuesday we enjoyed a guided tour of Florence. It began in the enormous, fabulous food market and continued on through the outdoor "leather market" filled with many types of fine apparel and accessories. Our guide, Paola, then led us into the center of the city, toward the famous "duomo" -- the cathedral -- which we entered. She explained the history of the building to us, and the history of the beginning of the renaissance in Florence. She took us to a little-known, medieval tower house where we could see for ourselves how wealthy Florentines lived 500 years ago. We saw the copy of Michelangelo's David in the central square of the city and then to the famous church called Santa Croce -- Holy Cross.
We scattered for lunch and exploring before meeting again around 4:00 for a tour of the Uffizi Gallery, home to some of the greatest art in the world.
In the evening we enjoyed dinner in several places in town, and one last night at our most interesting hotel, the Hotel Cellai. We recommend it to anyone making a trip to Florence: it is a living piece of history. Probably opened (or re-opened) ca. 1950, very little has changed since. There are several public rooms, including a billard room, all decorated in post-war vintage style. It's very European and very lovely.
On Tuesday we enjoyed a guided tour of Florence. It began in the enormous, fabulous food market and continued on through the outdoor "leather market" filled with many types of fine apparel and accessories. Our guide, Paola, then led us into the center of the city, toward the famous "duomo" -- the cathedral -- which we entered. She explained the history of the building to us, and the history of the beginning of the renaissance in Florence. She took us to a little-known, medieval tower house where we could see for ourselves how wealthy Florentines lived 500 years ago. We saw the copy of Michelangelo's David in the central square of the city and then to the famous church called Santa Croce -- Holy Cross.
We scattered for lunch and exploring before meeting again around 4:00 for a tour of the Uffizi Gallery, home to some of the greatest art in the world.
In the evening we enjoyed dinner in several places in town, and one last night at our most interesting hotel, the Hotel Cellai. We recommend it to anyone making a trip to Florence: it is a living piece of history. Probably opened (or re-opened) ca. 1950, very little has changed since. There are several public rooms, including a billard room, all decorated in post-war vintage style. It's very European and very lovely.
Tuscany
We left Rome in a very nice, large motorcoach driven by a charming driver named Gianni. We drove through Lazio, Umbria and lower Tuscany to the town of Cortona. The land we passed through looked just as it should: olive tree groves, grape vines, ancient villages on hilltops, here and there a castle. It was a beautiful ride, lasting about two hours.
If you recall the book or saw the film "Under the Tuscan Sun" you will recognize Cortona as the setting of those. It is a classic, beautiful ancient Italian town -- Etruscans lived here hundreds of years before the Roman empire was formed. There are large stone piazzas, thousand year old churches, many charming shops and good restaurants. We were disappointed when a restaurant refused to honor our reservation -- apparently we were "outbid" by a larger group -- but we all found a good Italian Sunday lunch.
When we left in mid-afternoon, our destination was Sienna, but when we arrived there we discovered that the town's bus parking was completely taken up by football (soccer) fans who had come to see Sienna play a German team. We decided to go instead to San Gimignano, near our hotel for the evening.
San G. was wall-to-wall with tourists flocking into the many shops, and we added 16 more! Our group had a very good time searching for special items to bring home or to give as gifts.
Our hotel in San Gimignano is called Villa Ducci. It is a country hotel in an old farm house in the Tuscan country side. When we arrived three gentlemen carried our luggage in while a lady welcomed us all and told us our room assignments. Later we shared a dinner of traditional Tuscan foods and wines, which everyone seemed to enjoy.
If you recall the book or saw the film "Under the Tuscan Sun" you will recognize Cortona as the setting of those. It is a classic, beautiful ancient Italian town -- Etruscans lived here hundreds of years before the Roman empire was formed. There are large stone piazzas, thousand year old churches, many charming shops and good restaurants. We were disappointed when a restaurant refused to honor our reservation -- apparently we were "outbid" by a larger group -- but we all found a good Italian Sunday lunch.
When we left in mid-afternoon, our destination was Sienna, but when we arrived there we discovered that the town's bus parking was completely taken up by football (soccer) fans who had come to see Sienna play a German team. We decided to go instead to San Gimignano, near our hotel for the evening.
San G. was wall-to-wall with tourists flocking into the many shops, and we added 16 more! Our group had a very good time searching for special items to bring home or to give as gifts.
Our hotel in San Gimignano is called Villa Ducci. It is a country hotel in an old farm house in the Tuscan country side. When we arrived three gentlemen carried our luggage in while a lady welcomed us all and told us our room assignments. Later we shared a dinner of traditional Tuscan foods and wines, which everyone seemed to enjoy.
Rome for another day
Apologies for the delay in posting to our new blog. There are several reasons. The best is that we've been very busy having fun! The worst is that the blogger has been sick with a bad cold since the day after we arrived and has slept more than she should. And her camera broke on the first day! And finally, gaining access to the Internet has not been as easy as we'd expected.
But we have been having a great time. We spent Friday and Saturday exploring Rome.
After a wonderful dinner on Friday evening at a restaurant named DaTullio, we finally collapsed. (The picture above shows Judy, Ed and Lee enjoying dinner.)
Saturday began with a walk from our hotel, located near the Spanish Steps. We began there, taking lots of pictures of the Spanish church, the Steps, the Fountain and the expensive shops in that area. Next we walked to the Pantheon, built about the year 115 A.D. Still in perfect condition, the 148-foot dome covers the tombs of some of Italy's most important men.
From the Pantheon we walked toward the Piazza Navona, a beautiful large public space built around the ancient oval hippodrome (racetrack) where Roman charioteers once competed. We paused here for lunch before beginning a walk to the Vatican. The walk was further than Google maps suggested, and we barely made our meeting with Giuseppi, our Vatican guide. We learned something of the history of the museums and the popes, we saw the magnificent Sistine chapel and a few more objects, and then we arrived at St. Peter's Basilica. To be honest, our Vatican tour was rather disappointing. We were just shuffled through with crowds of other tourists, and shown only the part that was easiest for the guide. St. Peter's was about to host of meeting of all the world's cardinals, which would begin on the morning after our visit, so the basilica was filled with portable chairs and dividers and hanging curtains, and again, we were simply shuffled through the edges. Our group wasn't really able to feel the overwhelming size and magnificence of the building.
Saturday evening we scattered to find separate places for dinner and to explore Rome after dark. Most of us were in bed pretty early, I think, because we had an early wake-up call to meet our bus at 8:00 a.m.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
