Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii

Its been difficult trying to access the internet here. On the ship connection was slow and here in Barcelona we´ve been told that there are sometimes problems with Macs. Will try to keep writing and publish when we are connected.


A tour: all three in one day. Just a tease so we have to come back. Our crazy Italian guide Luca was a trip. He made sure we were the first on the hydrofoil (“Sit by the door so we can get out right away.”), and the first up the funicular so we wouldn’t have to wait for the other hoards of cruise ship tourists. Capri is stunning. In fact the whole coast is stunning. We had lunch in Sorrento. The views from those cliffs must be amazing. Had a quick walk, and then jumped on a bus to Pompeii. It probably would have been smarter to do this in the morning…the heat was brutal. According to Luca, things are deteriorating quickly so it’s a good thing one third of it has not yet been uncovered. It was a bit different than what I expected…not really like the pics. The only bodies we saw were 2 enclosed in glass cases. Luca spent most of the time pointing out the phalluses and discussing the houses of ill repute. He thinks he was born in the wrong time.
Unlike the previous stops, no cats here just lots and lots of stray dogs.

Venice

What a treat to wake up just as we arrive in Venice and see Piazza San Marco from the ship. I had to grab the camera and run up on deck. This truly is a fantastic perspective. Usually we are taking pictures from inside the square and you can’t quite feel the magnitude of the place.
The ship docked very close to the vaporetto stop so we headed out early. Last time we were here we didn’t have a chance to visit the Doge’s Palace so that was first on out agenda. It was beyond our expectations and you can only imagine the power Venice had at that time, not to mention the parties.
It’s always good to wander around in Venice and that’s just what we did. The ship stayed in port overnight and of course we had dinner in a great little restaurant called Di Angelos. I had a fried beef dish with a red sauce (sounded awful, but it was the special and delicious). Raf had the squid in black ink pictured below.
When the ship was leaving we reserved a section at the top of the ship where we would get a great view going out. The pool band only played Caribbean music so Raf pulled out the iPod and speakers, plugged them in on the deck and we departed listening to the most beautiful Baroque music.

Dubrovnik

Ah the cruise life. When was the last time I wrote? Did I send pics? It’s so easy to forget about everything. Okay, snap out of it….

Laundry time so time to write.

Dubrovnik is a very pretty little town that has gone through some serious shit. Mostly all of it has been restored, but it has an almost haunted feel. We got up early to avoid the noon sun, and walked the wall surrounding the city. By mid-day it was completely packed and way too hot to be up there. Dubrovnik is also home to the second oldest Sephardic synagogue in the world.

Cruise Life

Cruising has really changed considerably since I was little. We used to cruise quite often when I lived my parent’s life. This industry has turned into quite the institution. What a cash cow. We boarded the ship and now everything is connected to that room card you receive before getting on. It is the only form of currency accepted anywhere on board, no worry about tipping for service…whether it’s good, bad, etc.. $10/person/day is automatically added to your bill and 15% is automatically added to bar tabs so you need not worry. What transpires is interesting. There is an abundance of waiters available to serve drinks and take any orders but no one available to take up dirty dishes and glasses (in the dining rooms). Bartenders are a bit better.
Freestyle cruising means no set times for dinner but unless you make reservations in advance (and there is a wait for any specialty restaurant) you must eat at the buffet, which on this ship happened to be very good. Many restaurants have a surcharge and what used to be included is now an added expense. In all, it really hasn’t been bad. We have good company and I haven’t made a to do list since we came on board. My freckles are starting to connect and I just may have a bit of a tan when we get home.

So far we’ve visited two ancient sites. Ephesus in Turkey (founded around 300 BC and had a population of 200,000) and the Acropolis in Athens. We opted for the tour in both ports since the sites were a considerable distance away and although it was very hot, we really enjoyed both. We are not big “tour” fans, but in both these places it paid off.

Here are some pics of both.

On to the Cruise

We are on our way to the ship. Thank you to the wonderful staff at the Hotel Niles for the great tips, funny maps and always making us laugh.

The Bosphorus Ferry

I’ve realized I don’t like to do the Japanese tourist thing of running from sight to sight, taking pictures and going on to the next. I have decided I like to sit in a spot. A lot happens when you sit in a spot. Today we took the Bosphorus Ferry, the government ferry not a private one (12 Turkish Lire r/t) where servers walk around selling tea, coffee and those delicious sesame breads. We got after an hour and 15 min. in Sariyer (before the end). After walking for about 30 minutes we went to a restaurant on the water for lunch. We had 3 hours before we could catch the ferry going back.

We chose the café with lower prices posted on the board outside. The place next door had table cloths and wine glasses on the tables and we were surprised when our host told us to go next door to select our fresh catch of the day. I asked if they were the same restaurants and our host said no, but to sit there is double the price for the same meal. People came and went and we watched the fishermen delivering their fish to the local restaurants. To our amusement many cats, one pregnant, attempted to steal the fish as they came in. The waiters alternated between chasing them away and throwing them the smaller fish on the side. The cats were occasionally successful in their attempts at thievery as well as getting those fish thrown to them on the sly.

This tour on the Bosphorus is not one to be missed. The palaces along the way, the beautiful homes with incredible views on both sides, living here must be nice.