Magnificent Venice

Piazza San Marco viewed from the Grand Canal




Unknown church on canal, venice



Friday May 1 2009 - Once in every persons lifetime, they should be so lucky as to sail out of the beautiful city of Venice on a modern cruise ship, its massive bulk slipping effortlessly between the ancient buildings. To the music of Andrea Bocelli we sailed down the Grand Canal, in slow motion, seemingly within arms length of one magnificent building after another. The sun was perfectly positioned behind us on a beautiful clear warm evening and the throngs of people on shore waved a sad goodbye as we passed, It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day on this island city.
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Izzy on the vaporetto, Shelley behind



Our day began at 06.00am when we went up on top deck for an early breakfast as we sailed into Marittima pier, located about 3 or 4 miles from centre of the city. We had arranged to meet Bill & Shell on the dockside to walk to the nearest vaporetto station and use the vaporetto (water bus) system to travel around. We were joined by Dale & Stan from Vancouver and the six of us set off on the twenty minute walk to Le Roma station where we bought the twelve hour tourist pass for 16 Euros, allowing us unlimited travel on land and water. After validating our tickets, we found the dock servicing line number 42 and headed for our first destination, the island of Murano, renowned for its’ glassmaking factories.

Me and Izzy on Murano Island



It was about a half hour trip out to the island and we decided to get off at the far side of the island at Museo station and walk back to the Colonna station. We wandered the back alleys and canals checking out the shops and glass factories and came close to actually sitting and watching a glass blowing demonstration ‘til they said it was 2 Euros entry fee. Around 11.30am we found a nice canal side café and had a litre of wine, 2 beers, 2 paninis, a pizza and some pasta with sauce, total cost 47 Euros (about US$60), an welcome break from the joy of trudging from shop to shop. We grabbed the first boat that stopped at the Colonna station, the guy on board said it was going to Piazza San Marco and that was good enough for us.

The Bridge of Sighs, the actual bridge is the small grey square shape in the middle, the rest is temporary cover during reovations




Bill, Shell, Dale and Izzy close to Piazza San Marco

Gondolas at Piazza San Marco



San Marco was wall to wall people, we shuffled by the Bridge of Sighs, which was almost completely sacrilegiously covered in blue advertising plastic, then made our way into San Marco square, it was as imposing as I’d remembered from our previous visit, but this time with about 100 times more people. We quickly moved on for a short visit to Harry’s Bar, a one time hangout of Ernest Hemingway (he really got around) then we continued winding through the narrow streets moving generall back toward the ship.

Piazza San Marco with the Doges Palace at the far end




The Grand Canal



By 02.00pm, we were ready for another break and had the misfortune to happen upon the picturesque little eatery of “Ristorante Alvagon’, we were welcomed by the most accommodating host and made the cardinal sin of all tourists by not asking for a menu with prices. Initially we ordered a half litre of wine, a beer and a coffee, then asked for some bread with olive oil. Our friendly waiter appeared with the bread and oil plus some olives, sauce, some salami slices and some pieces of cheese, all complimentary he said. We enjoyed the ‘free’ extras until the bill arrived 80 Euros, the complimentary extras amounted to 60 Euros, lesson learned, we paid and left no tip. If you want to sample some overpriced salami, Ristorante Alvagon can be found at Cannaregio 5597, Venice.
Since we were beginning to feel the effects of the days efforts, Izzy and I decided to head back to the ship and after finding a vaporetto station we were soon back at Le Roma for the long walk back to the ship. After a short rest I went up on deck to watch the sail away and that’s where I began.





There was a spectacular lightning storm about half a mile off the port side of the ship about 08.00pm tonight. I think it was about half a mile off, from memory you divide the number of seconds, between lightning and thunder, by seven.

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Two Sea Days after Athens

Wednesday April 29 2009 - Sometime during the night, we rounded the lowermost point of the Greek mainland and this morning we‘re sailing North West in the Ionan Sea. It’s warmed up a bit at 15 degC (59 degF) with choppy seas and sunny skies with no rain in the forecast. The hazmat team arrived at 08.40am and I put them off for an hour as we weren’t long up, they should be knocking on the door any minute now. I went to a lecture by stage and screen megastar, Sandy Duncan, later in the morning then I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon playing 3 card poker, net loss $3. At 02.00pm Izzy was cleared by the medical centre and she’s feeling better, but she decided just to spend the day in the cabin anyway.


Thursday April 30 2009 - 264 miles to Venice as we sail North West, now we’re in the Adriatic, with calm seas and temperatures the same as yesterday. The sky is clear and the usual people are still walking their morning circuits on deck 10, though there’s more and more people in long pants and jackets, fewer in shorts.

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Athens

Tuesday April 28 2009 - We had planned to take the train into Athens this morning but Izzy wasn’t feeling too well when we awoke so we decided against it and stayed local, we’ve been here a couple of times before so it wasn‘t a difficult decision. The ship docked in Piraeus, about 40 minutes drive from Athens, depending on traffic. Izzy had a couple of bouts of upchucking and 5 or 6 bouts of down chucking during her day spent in the cabin and I made a half hour shore visit to check out the duty-free shop in the terminal building.

The folk dancers on board



I watched a local folk dance show around 04.30pm then watched the ship sail out into the Mirtoan Sea, south of Athens. When I returned to the cabin, Izzy’s temperature had risen slightly above normal, so I decided to notify the medical centre, the nurse arrived at the cabin within 15 or 20 minutes and after giving Izzy a shot and some pills, filled out the forms required by the CDC. Since Izzy’s last symptoms had been around 02.00pm, she is quarantined ‘til 02.00pm tomorrow, they think it’s probably a bug picked somewhere and since she’s improving already, 24 hours quarantine is considered enough. No quarantine for me as I haven’t got any symptoms.

The hazmat team - first time he's been asked for a photograph



Fifteen minutes after the nurse left, the hazmat team arrived to disinfect the cabin, they were quite efficient and completed their job in about 15 minutes, including time to pose for a picture.

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Sea Day before Athens

Monday April 27 2009 - No wireless internet connection this morning, after 95 days of wireless access in the cabin, apparently there‘s something wrong with their router. I went up to deck 10 to post my blog and wireless access was available there, so it’s just a matter of distance. I went to a cooking class/ demonstration this morning as I’d left my door key in the cabin and Izzy didn’t answer the door, she was sleeping, so it was either sit in the casino or go to the cooking class. It’s cold today, a high of 10 degC (50 degF) so no pool time, after I got back into the cabin (courtesy of the room steward) I fell asleep and didn‘t waken ‘til noon (doing nothing is tiring). After lunch we attended the quiz show, ‘Brain of Royal Princess’ to find the brainiest person on board, it was an entertaining half hour where a lady from Boston beat out 3 other worthy contestants.

The Backbeat Beatles in concert in the Cabaret Lounge



The highlight of the evening was a live show starring none other than the fab four themselves, the ‘Backbeat Beatles’, the Cabaret lounge was packed to the limits. I enjoyed the show very much, they looked quite like the originals, especially Paul and John and they sounded great, singing many of the Beatles biggest hits and chatting with the audience. I had to restrain myself as I found myself almost clapping along with the music and the whole scene was made all the more penchant by the sight of so many saggy boobed old people (and that was just the men) trying to emulate the moves of their youth, I heard the medical centre was on stand-by alert.

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Istanbul

Sunday April 26 2009 - Istanbul, what can I say, I loved it, it’s exciting, visually stunning, friendly people and all at the price you want to pay. This morning our breakfast was interrupted when the captain announced ‘brace, brace, brace‘, he told us later that as the ship was coming in, an unexpected current pushed us quickly toward the dock, fortunately they just managed to avoid a collision using the thrusters.


Me in the Blue Mosque - it was a little dark




The Blue Mosque - Istanbul



We left early this morning to visit one of the city’s most recognised landmarks, the Blue Mosque. Since we were early, it wasn’t very busy, but the vendors were there waiting to pounce as soon as we stepped off the bus, if I was asked once to buy souvenir book of Istanbul, I was asked a hundred times, usually 5 or 6 times by each guy. We removed our shoes at the entrance to the mosque and carried them with us in the bags provided by our tour bus, the tour company also provided headsets and receivers which picked up from the microphone worn by the guide, so we could hear him easily even in crowds. The mosque was most impressive, the interior is decorated with more than 20,000 blue Iznik tiles and 216 stained glass windows, it is an active mosque and most of it is cordoned off for use by worshippers, but we were able to admire the entire area as our guide outlined the practises and uses of each area. Outside the mosque, we walked through the Hippodrome, once the site of a Roman circus with it’s giant obelisk transported from upper Egypt over 2000 years ago.
We moved on to the Topkapi Palace Museum and Harem, contrary to what you might think, the harem was not specifically a place for the Sultan’s women, the word ‘harem’ means ‘private area’ and it was used as living quarters for the Sultans entire family, not the least of which was his mother, who was responsible for picking new wives for him. The harem was bare and devoid of much in the way of furniture but it was still fascinating to see the inner workings of the great dwelling.

Cats at Topkapi Palace - they were very friendly, especially that little black one



A short walk took us to the museum and its’ magnificent collection of jewels, including the massive 86 carat Topkapi diamond, Izzy compared it to the diamond on her ring and gave me such a look. We passed a gold and glass chest filled with emeralds, some the size of goose eggs, other piddley little ones only about the size of a grape, then a beautiful suit of gold encrusted with jewels and sceptres and swords and sash badges and crowns all laden with gold and precious jewels and only a thin sheet of glass stopping you fondling it all and rubbing them over your naked body, Izzy drools at the thought. But the best thing about the palace was all the little cats wandering about, they were very people friendly and we found out later that they were all cared for, micro chipped, registered and fed by the state.
Since it was almost noon, our guide directed us to a picturesque spot, the Konyali Restaurant, overlooking the Bosphorus, where we had lunch, typical Turkish fare, some good, some not so good, but I got enough to eat.


Inside St Sophia church/mosque/museum



The museum of Saint Sophia was our first stop after lunch, it was built in the 4th century as the Holy Roman Church of St. Sophia, then in the 15th century, when it was converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Empire, 4 minarets were added and finally in 1936 it was transformed into its’ current use.

Izzy with water jar inside St Sophia



The interior with its’ massive dome rivals the Vatican for sheer space and grandeur, impressive giant marble jars, each carved from a single piece of stone, occupied the corners, their function to provide running water in the winter months when outside wells were frozen. Around 02.00pm we made the obligatory visit to a carpet store for a glass of apple tea and a demonstration/sales pitch on carpets, after an informative 20 minutes, we left and went shopping in the bazaar, Izzy bought a genuine Turkish carpet, we know it’s genuine since we paid $10 for it. After a while, we returned to the bus and were back at the ship by 04.30pm, in time for sail away at 05.00pm.

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