Morning in Messina

July 7

Today we are in Messina on the island of Sicily, and once again I woke up with neighbors, as we are right next to a busy street. This is also a very busy port. During my 30 minute walk on the treadmill I saw nine boats of various sizes and purposes entering or exiting the harbor and many more just outside of the harbor. This morning I was scheduled to take a walking tour of Messina. While there were other people from the ship, I was the only one of our group on the tour. I met up with the tour group and our guides, Claudio and Diego, outside of the cruise terminal and we started our three hour walk. It was hot, but at least there was a bit of a breeze. The tour- provided earphones were very scratchy and it was hard to hear Claudio. The street was busy, and therefore noisy, but I soon took them off completely. I hear him explain how there was a devastating earthquake in 1908 that destroyed a lot of the city so many buildings have been reconstructed. 

In front of the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele I learned that Messina was founded in 8 B. C. Some of our group struggled with Claudio’s presentation even more than I did and they returned their headsets and radios and headed off on their own not even 30 minutes into the tour. I think it’s the history teacher in me that keeps me going. I have this need to KNOW. We stopped in front of several buildings and a beautiful fountain. Apparently many of the buildings here have Arabic influences as well as Roman and Norman French. We walked into a galleria, which I learn in Italian has a dual meaning of “tunnel” and “place of paintings”.  

We then headed to the most interesting part of our tour, which was Cathedral Square. This is where the famous tower clock stands. Claudio explained that the figures on the clock tower are symbols of the battles that the people of Messina  had with the French in 1262. The French had arrived after the people of the area had expelled the Normans. Most interesting note to me: The chariot at the bottom changes everyday depending on the day of the week.  We were there at noon for the changing of the clock. While the figures dressed in robes ring the chimes the other figures move, the rooster crows, and the lion roars. I’m not sure how much of it I recorded since it was difficult to see in such bright light, but it was really neat.

Detail of the clock showing zodiac symbols in the place of numbers.

The Messina Cathedral is dedicated to Holy Mary

The chiming serves as a warning to the people that the French are coming. As we await the two angelic emissaries to present a letter to holy Mary a church appears on one of the lower openings. Mary then gives the letter to the people of Messina. The church that appears is located on the hill where the last battle with the French was fought. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Mary and was built after a monk received a vision from the Holy Mary that told him to go to the hill where the last battle against the French was fought. Some of our group ran into family members in the square and decided to leave our tour and join them for lunch, so we are now down to only ten people. We go into the cathedral which is absolutely beautiful inside. Parts of the church were reconstructed after the earthquake, but parts of it are still original. The ceiling is done in a style that is a mixture of Norman, Arabic and Byzantine.  I’m grateful for the break we have from the sun inside the church. Once we left the cathedral we proceeded about a five minute walk away to another church called the Chiesa Maria SS Annunziata dei Catalani. The inside of this church has columns made of lava stone from Mt. Aetna. Byzantine and Arabic influences are present here as well.  

Interior of the Chiesa Maria SS Annunziata dei Catalani

Exterior of the Chiesa Maria SS Annunziata dei Catalani

The final church on our tour. I can't remember the name. 

The church's ceiling shows a variety of influences from cultures
that have controlled the island in the past. 

The final stop on our tour was at Ragusa Gelataria and Pasticceria for some granita. My choice of flavor was a mixture of fragola (strawberry) and limone (lemon). It was really refreshing after a hot day in the sun. I chatted for a bit with Pat and Dave, a married couple from my ship, then I got a granita al limone to go and walked back to Cathedral  Square where I walked the  237 steps to the top to take in the 360 degree panoramic view of the city. 

Random observations: Messina is pretty, just not as pretty as Malta. It’s also very littered, just like Rome. There are a lot of buildings that are surrounded by scaffolding, and I’m not sure if it’s because of construction or restoration. 

Final observation of the walking tour: save the $30. Find a hop on hop off or a trolley tour. I chose this because I thought it would give me a more personal view of the city, but everything I saw could have been accomplished by purchasing a tourist pamphlet and walking it by myself. 

Malta is a Marvel

July 6

 I woke up this morning at 6:30am and looked out onto my stateroom balcony to see that our ship was docked right next to an awakening city street. The walled city of Valletta, Malta presented absolutely breathtaking views. Built during the 16th century, these walls and buildings were meant to withstand attacks from the Ottoman Turks. The city is on a peninsula, so it is surrounded by water on three sides.

Views from our stateroom balcony

Views from our stateroom balcony

We purchased tickets for a hop on hop off tour, but instead made some new friends, Ken and Dee, from Washington, D. C.  and went with them across the street, up the elevator, and stepped right into a majestic square above the harbor. The square leads into a warren of historic narrow brick city streets that are bustling with coffee shops, restaurants, bars, stores, and humanity.

It is vibrant and also HOT. It is a dry heat and the air is very still here. We explore for a while, make a few souvenir purchases, but not too many as some friends who left the ship before us had mentioned a craft village on the hop on hop off bus route. Plus, the unfriendliness of one of the workers at the first shop we went into left me with a bad taste in my mouth, to the point where I was ready to put my purchases back on the shelf and leave the store.

We stopped at a McDonalds because we all wanted to compare the menu (They were  fairly similar) then parted ways with Dee and Ken as we went to catch the bus and see more of this island nation. They drive on the right side of the road here, which is always terrifying to me when I experience it. They also have a severe deficit of traffic lights. Seriously, I don’t know how they determine the right of way here. During the tour I learn that Malta has no natural rivers or lakes and that providing water is always a concern during the hottest months of the summer. All of their water sources are man-made. We hop off the bus at Ta’Qali Craft Village and are blown away at the artisans at work at the various shops. You can actually watch them working on their craft, which is fascinating, our first foray into a shop is at Bristow Pottery, which is inside a converted WWII building and has been around since the 1960s. They have beautiful pieces, small and large, plaques, bells, wine stoppers, figurines, kitchen ware, tables, it just went on and on. We made some purchases and next went into a ship that specialized in pieces made of olive wood, where I purchased a wine stopper and a bracelet, although it’s not the type of bracelet I typically get on my journeys. Our last stop was at Nem Nem candle shop, which had a lot more than candles. Once again the artisans are there at work in the back of the shop in full view. They had amazingly beautiful textured candles, jewelry boxes, and small statues there, and Lindsay proclaimed it to be “heaven” and went a little crazy buying items. (By the way she also used a hell reference a little later, when wondering if it felt anything like Maltese heat!) We then hopped back on the bus and went to Mdina, known as “the Silent City”. We didn’t take a scheduled tour there so we don’t know why it’s called that, but I’m sure it has something to do with how narrow the streets are, how tall the buildings are, and the stillness of the environment there.

The entrance into Mdina "the Silent City"

View of Mdina from afar

The streets of Mdina

The streets of Mdina

We had lunch at an Italian restaurant housed in a building from the year 1560 called Relais & Chateaux. We split a focaccia campaina as a starter then I had the ravioli cacio e pepe, and she had pea and Parmesan risotto.

After lunch we continued walking the city and went into St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was as beautiful and majestic as advertised. I recognized the style as baroque, which lead me to questions, and a quick Wikipedia search let me know that this was not the original cathedral. The original was destroyed in an earthquake and this one was built between 1696-1705. Tomorrow it’s on to a Italy, and the city of Messina, where I have a walking tour scheduled. 

In front of St. Paul's Cathedral

Inside the cathedral

Athens Awaits

July 4

We did not make it to Mykonos yesterday, as we arrived to 40 mph winds with 60 mph wind gusts, making it dangerous to try to pull into port. This meant that our canoe excursion and beach day was cancelled. But today Lindsay, Jay, Carla, Sky and myself went ashore early to catch a Hop on- Hop off tour bus in Athens, Greece. The tour bus started in the port city of Pireaus, winding along the coastline. Our provided earbuds came in handy, as we learned more about the history of the area. I made several observations about the city as we meandered along. The beaches are very rocky— unusual for someone used to the Gulf of Mexico, as I am.  The shoreline is dotted  with yachts. Fruit trees line the city streets— oranges, limes, and something I cannot identify. The apartments have a decidedly un- Mediterranean appearance.  The buildings are very austere and utilitarian. We made our way to our first stop, the Acropolis. Some notes if you are going: go early, the lines are long. There are two lines: the ticket line and the entrance line. Buy your ticket at the kiosk. It’s easier. Bring your patience and (if you have all day or more than one day) purchase the combo ticket. The combo ticket gets you into six archaeological sites around Athens, including the Acropolis, and is good for a month. Nothing but water is allowed inside. This should go without saying but, don’t touch the marble. These structures are thousands of years old. Wear hiking shoes or sneakers- the terrain is incredibly slippery and rocky. We passed into the Acropolis through the Propylaia, which is the shrine of Athena Hygeia and Hygeia, then turned right to see the Temple of Athena Nike.

the Propylaia

the Temple of Athena Nike

Lindsay, Jay and I after passing into the Acropolis through the Propylaia

Climbing up the slippery marble to the Parthenon was worth it, and provided many majestic photographs. For those who don’t know, the Parthenon was built by the Athenians to honor Athena, the patron goddess of the city. We then followed the path to the Erechtheion and the old Temple of Athena.

the Parthenon

the Erechtheion

the old temple of Athena

I had a little time to wander up the Hill of the Muses, but I didn't get to really see anything. I definitely needed more time. We arrived at roughly 9:30 and by 11 we hopped back on the tour bus and got off to see the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch. Lindsay’s astute observation of the Temple of Zeus is that “it’s on life support.” I honestly don’t know how they’re going to restore it, or even IF they are able to. We spent about thirty minutes there then hopped back onto the bus and got off at the Ancient Olympic stadium, which it turned out was NOT part of the combo ticket. Instead of paying the ten euros we just took some pictures from outside.

Hadrian's Arch

The Temple of Zeus

The first Olympic Stadium

This stadium was where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896.  It took us longer than it should have here because I unintentionally took us the wrong direction through a park. We also stopped at a little street sandwich shop and got some cold handcrafted drinks and water as it was very hot. Interestingly enough people are allowed to actually go inside the stadium and stand on the field, go into the bleachers, and take pictures on a medal stand. By the time we got back on the bus it was after 2 o’clock and we were hungry, tired, hot, and dusty. We took the bus to the interchange where we changed buses to head back to the port. After stopping to do some minor shopping in the port shops we came back to the ship and immediately went to find food. Final impressions of Athens are mixed. It’s cleaner than Rome, but not as visually appealing in the city center. It’s certainly not as pretty as Santorini. But this is a city that requires more than a one day visit. I needed more time to seek out other sites that I wanted to see that weren’t so close, like the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. There are buses that go there as well, and to the beaches further up the coast. I wish I had the time to go to the Parthenon museum. Aristotle’s Lyceum, the Roman Agora were other sites on my list that I didn’t get to go to. Maybe next time.

Santorini, Greece

July 1

According to my daughter, whenever we are on vacation together I “wake up on 10!” (Phrasing and emphasis are all hers. LOL)This morning’s workout was a two and a half mile walk/run around the jogging track. We both then joined Charisse and Ross for breakfast at Savor, where we were encouraged to try some “zero calorie, good for your tummy (LOL)” cream puffs by two synchronized singing table side presenters. We couldn’t say no, but none of us liked the cream puffs. Eating vegan is not really possible on the cruise. My choices would be too limited, particularly at breakfast. While I’m not - and would not- try to eat meat, I am trying to eat omelettes (no cheese), so that I will have some protein, and something other than the carb heavy hash browns, fruit, and wheat toast I seem to be stuck with. While I was sunbathing after our breakfast we anchored the waters off of Santorini, Greece at approximately 1pm. So I awakened to a stunning vista of Snow White buildings with pristine lines perched atop majestic cliffs on the port side of the ship.

There were ten of us from our friend group who tendered to the island at approximately 3:30, then (eschewing the donkeys) we took an exciting cable car ride to the top of the cliffs where the town of Fira is situated. We went our separate ways for two hours with plans to meet up and take a shuttle bus to the town of Oia to see the buildings with the iconic blue roofs that Santorini is known for. Fira is your typical touristy port, full of souvenir shops and restaurants. I immediately went to find something to eat and ended up at a restaurant called Zafora. The service was not great but the food was okay. I ordered fried eggplant, which was good, and tzatziki, which I didn’t care for and didn’t eat, as it was too much dairy for me.

Luckily Ross messaged me about a frozen yogurt shop with vegan selections, and the people at the yogurt shop told me about a vegan restaurant called Sense, which was upstairs from them. The service was much better here and I got a dish called Spetzofai for takeaway, so that I would have dinner back on the ship tonight. It’s composed of vegan sausage and colorful bell peppers in a rich tomato sauce and was good, although I would have enjoyed it more if I had eaten it hot. Oia was as stunningly beautiful as advertised, but because we had to be back at the dock by 9pm we only had about thirty minutes to take it all in. We took time for some pictures and a little souvenir shopping, and I accomplished my mission of buying some real Greek olive oil. If all goes as planned, we will be docked in Mykonos when I wake up tomorrow morning. 

Oia in the background

Corfettes and Cappuccinos

June 30

We spent the morning riding scooters through the streets of Rome searching for corfettes (croissants) and cappuccinos near Trevi Square. After enjoying breakfast we did some minor perusing of shops near the square before returning to the Airbnb.

Colazione (breakfast) with Lindsay and Haily

Cappuccino

Getting to Civitavecchia proved to be an expensive proposition. Ubers in Rome are not cheap and taxis were not readily available. The port is an hour away from Rome and we needed a van since there were four of us and nine pieces of luggage. $362 later we were there. We stepped onto the Norwegian Escape at approximately 2pm Rome time, anticipating a 5pm departure on our Mediterranean cruise. There are about 25 people total in our group, but because some of them had an early morning Vatican tour we actually didn’t see each other the entire day. We set sail, slipping with hardly a mechanical murmur into the deep blue water, and day passed effortlessly into night. 

There is always something going on on a cruise ship. Concerts, contests, comedy shows, musical performances, variety shows, auctions, game shows, theme nights- the list is extensive. And there is something to appeal to everyone. In my attempt to familiarize myself with the ship the first two areas I went in search of were the library and the fitness center. Then it was time to find dinner. The buffet was the most readily available option. I spent the rest of the evening booking dinner reservations and attempting to alter some shore excursions due to itinerary changes. I headed to my stateroom with my newly acquired library book and sat on the balcony in the darkness  staring at black water and brilliant stars before going inside to read and shower for bed. Sleep did not come easily as my body had not adjusted to the time change. Tomorrow is our day at sea. I look forward to wasting it doing absolutely NOTHING! 

Viva Roma!

June 29

After four flight delays, one gate change, and a plane swap, we arrived tired and travel - dirty to Rome, Italy.

We made our way to 61 Via Piave, our Airbnb, where our friends had arrived a day earlier. We showered and headed out for a late pranzo with Haily, Jemal, Carla and Sky. The city center of Rome is crowded with people, scooters, and motor bikes. We made our way down one of these narrow cobblestone streets and found a charming cafe where we enjoyed a meal of authentic Italian pasta.

I had the mushroom fettuccine. After our lunch we took time to have an epic photo shoot in the street. After returning, several of us decided to go on a walk round town. One narrow side street meanders into another everywhere you turn here.

An American girl in Rome

Avoiding the souvenir shops and open store fronts, we set out on our goal of finding a particular chocolate shop. Our route took us past the spectacular sculptures of Via Delle Quattro Fontane.

One of the four corners of the
Via Delle Quatro Fontane

We made our way through a piazza and down a slippery, but beautiful set of steps before finding ourselves in yet another warren of tiny cobblestone streets with vendors peddling their wares, cafes, pastry shops, gelato shops, and boutique hotels. The chocolate shop was closed, but the gelato shop and pastry shop across from it provided yummy treats and a break before we made our way to the Pantheon, and then on to Trevi Fountain. Trevi is one of those touristy must see places when in Rome, and it is worth it.

Trevi Fountain

It is breathtakingly beautiful. It is crowded at all times of day, and unfortunately the area is left dirty by the many visitors who neglect to dispose of their trash. Of course we threw coins into the fountain and made a wish. We left Trevi Fountain with the intent of going back to our apartment, but the majesty and wonder of the Venchi  Chocolate shop and it’s chocolate wall drew our attention and we went in. I was so excited to find that they had vegan chocolates.

Stopping only once more to purchase a poster of  Vetruvian Man, we then made our way to the Airbnb and called it a day.