It's all Greek to me:)

On Wednesday, July 14 we arrived in Piraeus, Greece. Piraeus is the port city for Athens. First impressions of Piraeus- big, urban, and not at all the image that comes to my mind when I thought of Greece. My expectations of Greece center around island hopping and coastal villages. I was quite surprised to find the urban metropolis of Piraeus & Athens. Traffic moved fast and the people moved about even faster. I liked it. Other than the signs written in a language I could not decipher, Piraeus and Athens felt like any other major city in the USA. So on to my Grecian adventures…..

Shortly after the ship was cleared for disembarkation we left to explore Athens.  We walked about 30 minutes from the port area to the train, which we rode into Athens. On this particular day, I was traveling with Chela and 3 other colleagues/friends. It was H-O-T! At certain points during this day, I literally felt like I had to catch my breath. I stopped and picked up a bottle of water. The big bottle of water was a mere 1-euro. It was clear from that moment that Greece was going to be less expensive than our previous ports. In Spain, Italy & Croatia, the small bottle of water costs 2 to 3 euro. I was excited that my money would go a little bit further. This is a good thing for me and the rest of us working in US currency but sad evidence of the poor state of the Greek economy. During our time in Greece we witnessed a worker demonstration and a strike of the ferry workers. Their economy is in turmoil—more so than the US in my opinion. It was fascinating to be so close to a historical moment. Ok, back to my travels….

We rode the metro into Athens. First stop, an errand close to the Syntagma Square. Syntagma is the famous site for a plethora of events in Greek history. Today it is home to the Parliament Building, formerly the King’s Palace. When we arrived, we had just missed the changing of the guard. The guards, Evzones, are compared to the guards in Buckingham Palace, which stand completely still, and tourists love to see if they can make them blink at least. We missed the changing of the guard but seeing their interesting outfits gave us insights to the show we missed. Oh well, perhaps when I return to Athens I will see it thenJ

We spent the rest of the day wandering thought the Monastariki & Plaka districts. These are a shopper’s paradise. Blocks and blocks of shops line the streets. No major purchases on Day 1 but it was so cool to see the Acropolis and the ancient ruins sitting high atop the city. Like in Rome, it was so fascinating how integrated these ancient sites were in the daily live of these very thoroughly modern metropolises.

An interesting thing that did happen to us this day is that we walked by a shop owner. By this point the group had split up into several pairs, triplets. I was walking in the rear with one my friends and the shop owner said, “such beautiful ladies.” No in later ports I will write about how much attention we get from shop owners but this was the first time this happened in Greece and particularly from an older woman. So we stopped to talk with her a little bit. She asked us where we were from. I responded Philadelphia and my colleague California. She asked if we were from the ship and if we knew Kostas. Now Kostas was the Staff Captain on our ship. He is also Greek. We of course replied in the affirmative. She quickly embraced us with an even warmer greeting. She got her husband to walk us to a good Greek restaurant where we could get a good meal at a low price. He did not speak English but she gave him clear instructions on where to take us. We had a lovely, inexpensive lunch things to our SAS connection. Isn’t that fun!?!?! We think she stopped us because my colleague and I probably looked like an off pair. My colleague is Korean and I am obviously Black. I did not notice a great quantity of Black or Asian people in Greece. She probably figured this odd pairing must be off the shipJ

After lunch we wandered through the shops some more. And also saw more ancient ruins along the way. For dinner we ate ko-shi. Do you know what ko-shi is? Neither did I but I have apparently eaten it quite a bit in the past. Ko-shi is a Korean restaurant, which serves sushi. Another colleague on the ship did some research and found a Korean restaurant in Athens. Weird, I know but I had Korean food. And it was good. Everyone knows my love of Asian flavors. It was so nice to have a bit of a taste in the midst of my grand adventure!

Day 2 found me on a SAS trip to the Saronic Islands. The Saronic Islands are a trio of islands located relatively close to our port city. So although I did not get a chance to make it out to Mykonos or any of the famous Greek islands, this trip provided a taste of idyllic island living of my Greek dreams. We visited the islands of Hydra, Poros & Aegina. Hydra was cool because there are NO cars on the island. Everyone moves around by animal or walking. So the very pace of the island was considerably slower. The major tourist attraction here is donkey riding. It ends up that most of the donkeys were actually small horses. The pleasure of donkey riding also cost 10 Euros for a 10-minute ride. I decided to save my Euros and ride a donkey next time I’m in Haiti. For the 10 euro, I was able to buy a pair of linen pants and I found that to be a much more fulfilling expenditure. We spent approximately 65 minutes on the island. Our next island stop, Poros, did have cars but we had considerably less time to explore. We were on the island for 30 minutes. In that time, I managed to buy another dress. Greece was good for my wardrobeJ the final island of Aegina we had about 2 hours to explore. I had a lovely gyro sandwich and was able to buy some sandals and a couple shirts. Aegina is famous for its pistachios. I tried them but they tasted just like the pistachios we have in the USA so I chose not to buy. It was cool to see all these islands but we definitely did not get enough time on any of them. That’s one of the major drawbacks of SAS trips. You get to see a lot on them—they try to get as much stuff as possible on them but to say that you fully experience a place is not likely. This was less true on a later trip in Egypt but my experience thus far was one of rushed convenience.

As day 2 was so hectic, I decided to take it easy on day 3. I slept and hung out on the ship for most of the day. Later in the evening, I went back out to Athens with some friends and did some more shopping around the Monastiraki district. Day 4 found me visiting the ancient sites at Delphi. To be honest, I had very little knowledge of what was to be found in Delphi. I really went on the trip because I heard they serve you a feast. You all know how much I love foodJ however it was cool to see remnants of classic Greek history. The drive out to Delphi was simply stunning as the area is surrounded by deep gorges and towering mountains. It was very scary at certain points on the bus ride because we were so high up. Once we got there we saw the Temple of Apollo and hiked up the ancient stadium where the Pythian games were held. The Pythian games rivaled the ancient Olympic games in prestige and importance. The hike up to the theater and stadium was quite an adventure and several times our group wanted to stop. But we persevered and made it to the top!!

Sadly, the highlight of the trip for me, the food, I did not really get a chance to enjoy. I started feeling unwell after the hike and completely lost my appetite. I am sitting before this bounty of a meal and unable to partake. This made me sad indeed. Oh well. We also visited the walled monastery of Hosios Loukas, dedicated to a local hermit and healer Holy Luke. The views from the monastery were amazing.

On the last and final day, I made my way to the New Acropolis Museum. What has been uncovered from the ancient ruins really gives me pause. You will notice there is no mention of climbing to the top of the Acropolis. I skipped this part of the Greek experience. After the hike the previous day, I felt I had hiked enough. Also the hike up to the top of the Acropolis has ZERO shade. Direct sunlight is never good for a sick lady such as myself. So I kindly took a picture inside the air conditioned museum in direct view of the Acropolis:) We also wandered about the Monastariki to do some last minute souvenir shopping. We had a great lunch but I was still feeling unwell and did not eat much. Sad faceL I slept through much of the evening activities leaving out of Greece because I did not feel well.

Overall, I enjoyed Greece. Athens and Piraeus seem to have a stray animal issue. There were stray dogs everywhere. They mostly ignored us but it was very disconcerting to have stray animals cross my path on such a regular basis. Plus they were well fed. One of the tour guides told us that the shop owners feed and take care of the dogs, so in weird way, they aren’t really stray. Other than that small issue, I really liked my experiences in Greece. It was the last port where I felt comfortable walking about by myself and doing some solo exploration. I noticed the same issues of graffiti as in other ports. Some parts of Piraeus were really disinvested and seemed to share similar characteristics to any urban area in the US. One thing that I found truly fascinating is that there is a subway line that runs under the Acropolis. I took a picture of a train, decorated with graffiti passing right by the Acropolis. The juxtaposition of old and new continues to fascinate me. Anyway, to Turkey we go!!! I must admit that as we start leaving the “European” countries I am becoming more excited. So much of what I saw of Spain, Italy, Greece and Croatia to a lesser extent was so similar to life back in Philadelphia that the sense of adventure had to be found in different place. I look forward to being launched a bit from my comfort zone. Writing in retrospect, I can say that as we have moved further into our trip, I have enjoyed each port a little bit more than the previous one. Details of my Turkish, Egyptian and Moroccan adventures to come……………

Pictures from Dubrovnik, Croatia; Montenegro & Bosnia-Hertzegovenia!

Pictures from Napoli, Pompeii & Sorrento

Pictures from Civi, Roma, and the countryside. Goes with the Roman blog!

The Fourth City: Dubrovnik—How I love thee!

            So before I get to my new favorite place in the world, I would like to share a ship event. As you may have noticed, we spent the 4^th of July, not in the USA. Needless to say, there was no pomp and circumstance, no fireworks, no bbqs. I spent the 4^th in Sorrento and while it was nice, not like spending the 4^th at home in the USA. Plus July 4^th is my mom’s birthday and she usually insists that we have bbq in honor of her birth (and the country’s independence J). The ship crew is so amazing; they served bbq on July 5^th on the night we all got back on the ship. The bbq started at 530pm, people started lining up at 4. It is so funny how meaningful the reminders of home can be when you are far away…

            Another interesting thing I forgot to mention in the last post, we ran into a group of black women in Sorrento. They were in Italy on a college trip. They were so excited to see other black people that one of the girls hugged Chela. Unsolicited and unannounced she embraced a perfect stranger. It was amusing but also understandable. As you traveled through Italy, there were very few black faces. Now don’t get me wrong these countries have deep-seated racism and xenophobia but many of the divisions are between ethnic groups. So to most outsiders, it looks like one white group hating another white group. The differences between the various ethnic communities are not as physically visible as the white black dichotomy that exists in our country. I think I wrote in a previous post that many of the faces, which look like mine, belong to African immigrants. Countries in Europe, like the USA has seen an increase in immigration from neighbors to the South. Much of this is due to economic opportunities and the fact that the European labor force cannot sustain itself. However unlike the US, many of these countries have had a homogenous population for centuries. They are not used to dealing with issues of difference in their public policies. So imagine every ugly thing that you have heard about immigrants in the US, then double it and you have the situation in many European countries. To aggravate matters more interesting, many of these immigrant groups do not have access to rights that we take for granted in the US. For instance, we met a young woman in Greece, she was born and raised in Greece, did all her schooling in Greece and by most cultural and societal standards is Greek. Except her parents were born in Sierra Leone. She does not hold a Greek passport and is not entitled to the full rights of a Greek citizen. It gives you pause…but I digress this post is about Dubrovnik…one final word: As a person of color wandering about these countries, I am always on heightened awareness. Whether or not it is warranted I don’t know but when you see so few people who look like you, it makes you wonder…ok, DUBROVNIK!

            I had ZERO expectations about Croatia. When I saw it on the itinerary, I thought, oh that should be an interesting rest stop as we navigate to the more interesting ports of Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco. Boy was I wrong! We arrived in port at night, so I could not take in the city. When the sun rose, I took it all in and was more than amazing. Dubrovnik is beautiful, gorgeous, amazing, paradise-like.  I cannot come up with enough words to describe it. The water was the purest blue, the sky gorgeous and I sat in awe of its beauty. Several times during my time in this port, I just had to stop and reflect on the beauty that surrounded me. I don’t think my picture does it justice. Particularly after leaving the dirty, busy, bustle of Naples, Dubrovnik was like a breath of fresh air. Our interport student called it the Pearl of the Adriatic and she was not lying. Ok, enough superlatives!

            The first day in port, I set off by myself to explore the Old City. It’s such a charming little town that traveling by yourself presents no major challenges. In fact, in Dubrovnik, I did not even wear my money belt. That is how safe I felt. Anyway Dubrovnik has an Old City which is completely enclosed by a set of walls. These walls served as defense fortifications during days of old. They serve no functional defense purpose today but are still a wonder to observe. I wandered about the old city and took in the city. It is high tourist season in Dubrovnik so the city was jam-packed. There were miles and miles of stores. The Croatian currency is the Kuna. Yes, it is as fun to say, as it is to spell. I have to admit that in Dubrovnik, I spent my Kuna liberally. I think my desire to spend is directly connected to my love of the place. As I loved Dubrovnik a lot, I spent A LOT. In one afternoon I bought 3 dresses and two bags. Everyone knows that I do not lack dresses or bags in my wardrobe but I just could not resist. The prices were not any better than they were in Spain or Italy; I just liked this place better.

            So before my shopping spree, I ran into a group of 4 students. These four students are some of the international students on the ship. International students are one of the populations that I am responsible for in my position responsibilities but had not made any real inroads with as of yet. They invited and I accepted to spend the afternoon with them. We wandered through the town a little bit. We tried the traditional Croatian brandy. Before we got off the ship, everyone encouraged us to try the brandy. They swore it would be delicious and definitely an experience not to be missed. They were right on one of those assertions. It definitely was an experience. That brandy burned a path down my chest that nearly bought me to tears. It was just a sample to taste and I felt it. Hard. So after our alcohol adventure, we decided to walk the city walls. Walking the walls is THE thing to do when visiting Dubrovnik. Its sort of like climbing the Great Wall of China---but less so. So we embarked on the wall. Like many of the outdoor sites, there was no shade to be found on the wall. No shade at all. So it was hot. But the views from the wall are so inspiring that you don’t want to rush the process. I took so many pictures from the wall. You get amazing aerial view of everything. The students I was with have a tradition of taking jumping pictures. They did not let the fact that we were on a massive wall curb their jumping affection. They took several jumping pictures, which almost made my heart jump. But they were having so much fun; I could not really fault them. The wall took 1-1.5 hours to complete. It was great fun.

            Dubrovnik was preparing for the Summer Festival when we arrived so the city was alive with activity. On that first day, John McEnroe was playing a charity tennis match in the town square. A ticket costs 200 USD.  Needless to say, I found other diversions. But there was a festive energy in the air, which heightened our enjoyment of the city.

            During the first day, I signed up for an all day excursion with the students out to some of the surrounding areas of Croatia, away from Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is beautiful but pales in comparison to its countryside. We first visited the town of Ston. Ston is a very teeny, tiny town but it was one of the first towns to be built according to a definite urban plan, Ston is enclosed by a wall, measuring 5km. that makes it the 3^rd most extensive wall in the world- not bad for a little town in Croatia rightJ it was impressive to see the wall but it was much too extensive to hike in the short period we were in the area. Ston is also home to salt fields. After Ston we set off for the island of Korcula. Korcula according to legend is the birthplace of Marco Polo but I don’t think they need him as their claim to fame. The island can compete with any place on earth on sheer beauty alone.  I don’t want to overwhelm you with words. Take my word for it, its gorgeous. In Korcula, we walked around the town and took in the sights, sounds and flavor of the place. It was pleasing! All of these sites were with a guided tour so a great deal was learned in the process. I think the most fascinating thing I learned on this trip was the genius behind the shape and structure of the city design in Korcula. When walking down the main street in town to the left you could always see the sea but to the right you could only see buildings. No sight of the sea. It is an island, you should be able to see the ocean at most every point, right? Nope, wrong! The buildings were intentionally built to capture the breeze off the ocean but to keep out the storm winds. The bad stormy winds are called Bora and are not a positive element---they are not something you wanted to stick around.  What an ingenious design! I am certain that other civilizations may have similar architectural designs to protect their homes from the elements. It seems the more “advanced” we become, the more we learn that the old folks had it right the first time around.

            After Korcula, we headed back towards Dubrovnik. Before making it back though we stopped in at a local vineyard. We had a great wine tasting, while getting a lesson on grape growing methods in Croatia. We tried a variety of wines. The tasting was organized so that in each tasting you would get a higher alcohol content. So the first glass had 12% alcohol followed by a 14% glass. The next two glasses were in the 20% range. The final glass they offered is known by many names such as firewater, moonshine, etc. The actual name is grappa and it contains 42% alcohol. I think the brandy I mentioned earlier and this liquor live in the same family. It was so funny the higher the alcohol content the more talkative the group became. It was a fun experience. You obviously do not leave a wine tasting drunk by any means but it is a pleasant way to end a long day. I have always wanted to go to a wine tasting back home and haven’t had the chance. Its funny that I would have such a desire fulfilled in Croatia. The experience reaffirmed my desire to go to visit vineyards in the States.

            Day 3 in Croatia, I left the country. Dubrovnik was the only port in which we were allowed to leave the country. I figured I should take the opportunity (no passport stampL)! So off I went to Montenegro. We visited two towns in Montenegro, Kotor and Budva. The tours and descriptions of both of those places were very rushed and I cannot say with any legitimacy that I learned anything new about Montenegro during this trip. The ride between Dubrovnik and Montenegro is only supposed to be one hour but the wait at the border crossing was excessively long. As a result we lost a lot of time, just hanging out on the bus. It made my excursion into another country less than ideal but hey what can you do. The drive was beautiful and Montenegro is as the guide books say, “a breathtaking image of mountains plunging directly into the sea” in some places.  Other than observing the physical beauty of the parts of the country we did get to see, I don’t really have much to reflect on here.  One of the cool things that happened on this trip is on the way back we took a ferryboat. By we I mean, me, 150 of my closest SAS friends and our coach buses all on a ferry. I know these exist car ferries exist in the States and in other parts of the world but I had not ever been on one before so that was a new and enjoyable experience.

            Later that evening the opening ceremonies of the Summer Festival was being held in Dubrovnik. The festivities would include speeches by the officials, a concert and fireworks. Plus EVERYONE entered the old city gates to be in the town. Thousands and thousands of people were milling about. When something like that is going on when you are traveling, you must be there! So Chela and I were off to take it all in. We did not know this but the public transportation was completely free that night. We made the mistake of buying tickets for the bus but oh well! I consider it a contribution to the economic well being of Dubrovnik. The buses were crowded. The Old City was crowded. You could barely move without bumping into the people next to you. For claustrophobe such as me, it’s a shock to the system, but hey you get over it! We wandered about and soon realized that part of the fun is just being there and people watching. We found a “quiet” out of the way spot to have a snack, watch the fireworks and most importantly people watch. We got pizza—there are lots of Italian influences in CroatiaJ. There were so many women out and about in spiky, mile high heels. While this may not be an issue in most circumstances, I forgot to mention that Dubrovnik is all marble and cobblestone. In addition many of the places (restaurants, shops, etc.) are at the top of these very steep, very high stairs. So watching women trying to navigate the unsteady terrain in their tiny outfits (and there were many tiny outfits) and spiky heels was quite an activity. There is not a pair of shoes or outfit worth twisting my ankle---sometimes these things are simply not practical. Hashanah. As I type this I must laugh because Ivet and I have had so many conversations about practical shoes. I never thought I would be an advocate. Oh how we change in our old age. The fireworks were nice. The meal was great and it was fun. It was clear that most people intended to be out and about until sunrise. I had a trip early in the morning so headed back to the ship shortly after the fireworks.

            The final day in Dubrovnik found me leaving the country once again. We had the opportunity to visit Medugorje, which is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Meugorje is the site of a sighting of the Virgin Mary by a group of young people. It is a big deal for Catholics. I’m not Catholic, why would I go? Well I thought it might be interesting and I would get another stamp on my passport. Boy was I disappointed. There was absolutely nothing of interest there for me. I had no interest in attending mass, seeing the site of the Virgin Mary sighting, and the town was tiny. Super tiny. I walked through it in 10 minutes. I was taking my time, looked through every shop 3 times. However most of the shops sold exclusively Catholic religion related things. I spent most of my time trying to find a magnet that did not have an image of the Virgin Mother on it. It was a nearly impossible task. I did manage to find one though. Plus they did not stamp our passports, coming in or leaving the country. I wont go so far as to say the day was a waste but I think there were more fruitful ways I could have spent my last day in Dubrovnik. Oh well, you leave and you learn. Major lesson learned—read the description for the trip and believe what they say.

That’s it for Dubrovnik!

A lovely little townJ I will for sure return. So I don’t say goodbye to Croatia, I say see you later!! 

Napoli: The 3rd City!

On Saturday, July 3 we arrived in Naples, Italy. Napoli was a striking departure from all of our previous ports. It was immediately clear that Naples was a working port city ripe with the mix of decay and bustle of an urban center. The population is EXTREMELY dense and compacted in a multitude of high-rise buildings. Napoli is the epitome of a concrete jungle. Immediate reactions to Naples--- dirty, dingy, noisy, big, and bustling. I don’t think we have any place in America that compares really. Maybe parts of NYC---but NY has gotten really clean of late—well in some parts!

            Upon arrival in Naples, I immediately left the city. Hahhaha. I am just playing; I did leave but only momentarily. I had a trip scheduled out to Pompeii. Pompeii is a unique archaeological site in that much of the ruins are in wonderfully well preserved condition. The city and all its inhabitants had the misfortune to be buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.  Volcanic material is an excellent preservative! It was both fascinating and macabre to visit a place, which is so fully intact and knowing the circumstances behind it, makes it even more interesting. An excellent tour guide who knew all manner of facts about the location accompanied us through the site. The tours are intentionally scheduled for the early morning because the site is lacking of ANY shade. It is therefore extremely hot and almost unbearably sunny. But if you reflect on the experiences of the last group of Pompeians, a little sun is a small price to pay. An interesting fact is that the community collected urine, particularly from men and used it for bleaching purposes. Urine was also used to do laundry. (The tour guide explained this but I forgot the reasoning- I think something to do with the ammonia properties of urine being good cleaning agents). Penises or depictions of male genitalia were considered symbols of fertility, good health and prosperity. There are images and sculptures of penis (penises? penIs?) were everywhere. These particular images were usually accompanied by something similar to a set of wings. It was funny that the vendors outside were trying to sell them. When we first saw them, we had not gone through the door so we did not know the significance. After the tour, several in the group immediately went outside purchased a couple penis statues! I did not buy one so please don’t ask me for itJ

            We were able to visit the gamut of buildings and establishments you might expect in a town. We entered homes of wealthy family, homes of families of less means, a Laundromat and many others. In many of these buildings, the beautiful mosaics and frescoes are still plainly visible thousands of years later. One building which we did enter that perhaps would not be part of a regular tour was a brothel or a luperteria. You could tell it was a brothel because as soon as you entered, you could see mosaics of different sexual positions. The guide described it as a menu of sorts. Inside the building, there were a number of very small rooms divided by barely a sheet. Modesty was not a priority. The students could not wait to take pictures inside the rooms. I think we spent the most time in that particular building. There were some small children in the group and they were quickly rerouted to other buildings in the tour.

            We visited the major square and marketplace,  Mt. Vesuvius still lurking in the background. In one of the squares, there were two small glass cases. Contained in these cases were bodies. The bodies are eternally fixed in the position they were in at the time of the eruption. One of the students asked if the Pompeian’s had any chance of surviving, if they could have outrun the catastrophe. The sad and short answer: no they could not. There was nothing they could do but crouch in horror as they were engulfed by volcanic material. It was a sobering thought. There was also a storage space where they kept other materials found in the excavation: dishes, tools, etc., the trappings of everyday life. I have one last disturbing thing to share. In one of the storage room, there is a glass case containing a dog. It was obvious the dog had been tied up. In his final moments, we can imagine that he was trying to break free of his ties. He is therefore contoured up in a weird shape, struggling to be free. Ok, that is it for disturbing stuff.

            The Pompeii trip was over by 1pm and we were on our way back to the ship. After such a hot and draining morning, a nap was definitely in order. So I took one! Its sort of funny that you get to these countries and you think the last thing you will want to do is sleep. Perceiving sleep to be a waste of your precious, limited time in these countries. But our pace is so frantic this summer that rest is often in short supply. We are in a new country, every 1-2 days, that takes it tolls. I have taken the motto that I have to listen to my body, so if I am tired, I sleep. Napoli will be there when I wake up. Plus I will be able to enjoy the city 100 times more if I am well rested.

            Upon waking up, a group of colleagues and I set out to explore. Upon closer inspection my first impressions of Napoli were confirmed. It is big, it is dirty, it is crowded but…….. it has a charm all its own. We saw some of the historical monuments and wandered through the shopping districts. The city has a frantic energy about it that reminds me a lot of New York. We ended up having pizza at the place, which reportedly invented the pie. The name escapes me but it was DELICIOUS. As we tried to get there, all the locals seemed to be in agreement that it was the best place to go. We even stopped at a restaurant to ask for directions and the waiter enthusiastically pointed us in the direction of this establishment. We thought, this place must be really good! We arrived at 7pm and the place was doing a steady business. By 8pm, there were lines of folks waiting to get in. this restaurant was also notable in my mind because it had the BEST bathroom I had found so far in my travels. As I indicated in my last post, I did not know how important bathrooms would be to me. I am now take note and even pictures of bathrooms. Its weird I know! But oh well. After enjoying a splendid meal, we tried to get back to our ship as rapidly as possible. I am all for exploring urban landscapes but Naples is like any other major metropolis—scary after dark, if you don’t know where you’re going. I tried to express to my colleagues that now is not the time to take pictures or make friends with the locals. I think they got it.

            The next day, we took the train out to Sorrento. Naples serves as a jumping off point for a number of destinations. Sorrento was a 1-2 hour train ride away. It cost 4 euro round trip (maybe 8 euro- my mind is playing tricks on meJ). If Naples is New York City, Sorrento was like Long Island. Quiet, less crowded, and clean. As we traveled on the train it was interesting to see the buildings get lower in stature, be spread further apart from each other and see more green spread throughout. Sorrento was lovely little town. It was little. We managed to see everything in less than 4 hours. We took a walk along the old city walls and saw magnificent views of the coastline. There were lovely shops and some of the best gelato I had in my time in Italy. I had great mango gelato in Greece that is in competition for the best gelato EVER. That was all for Sorrento. We came back to Napoli and found our way back to the ship.

Day 3 in Naples found me on a quest for pasta. I had eaten pizza everyday during my time in Italy. I wanted to have a taste of pasta before leaving Italy. It is only right! One of my colleagues went with me and we found a cute restaurant with outdoor seating. We sat and people watched and enjoyed our meal. I had gnocchi. It was great!

            Such was my time in Naples. Not very adventure filled but a wonderful experience all the same. One of the major things I noticed about Naples is that there was graffiti everywhere. Even on a monument and on the major squares. Similar to the other ports, the trains were a common canvas for graffiti art. Barcelona seemed to be pretty white washed and too clean, I believe contrived was the word I used.  Napoli swung way in the opposite direction and on first glance seemed to lack some of those infrastructural supports. It was clear that this was a city in economic decline but it also seemed to have quite a bit of economic activity. Napoli is one of the busiest ports on the Mediterranean but I imagine those jobs are not enough to sustain a city of that size. When I have time, I would love to investigate further some of the economic challenges facing the Neapolitans. Stay turned………. But for now, Ciao, Ciao, Italia….to Croatia I will go. 

A tale of four cities: Roman Holiday!

Friends, Romans Countrymen, lend me your ears….or at least your eyes!! 

Anyone get the Julius Caesar reference? Yes, I know, I am a nerd. Anyway welcome back to another exciting installment in the chronicles of Sendy’s travels. This entry is devoted to our 2nd port: Civitavecchia---I think I have finally learned the proper pronunciation. Civitavecchia literally means Old Town. Civitavecchia or Civi for short is the port city for Rome. Rome or RomaJ, the Eternal City, the seat of one of the greatest empires in the history of mankind is an endlessly fascinating place. I was lucky to spend four days in the region and overall my experiences were more than marvelous. {I think I will need to come up with new adjectives for this trip/journeyJ}

            We arrived in Civitavecchia on the morning of June 29th. As I woke early to observe the docking process in Barcelona, I felt comfortable skipping it this time around.  I did however take my traditional first sighting picture immediately upon waking up.  {it was not at all a scenic view}

We arrived in Italy on a national holiday so we did not have a diplomatic briefing on that day. Our Italian interport student jokingly remarked that Italians have more holidays than days when they work. Whether or not this is true I have no evidence to contradict. He is a native so I will have to take his word on it. But I could be ok living in a place that has a lot of holidays. Means there are many traditions to observe. Anywho, I digress as usual. After a brief customs process, we were allowed to disembark. Chela, 3 of our colleagues and myself had decided the previous night that we would go into Athens on Day 1. So off we went…….

Now the first thing you should know is that there are 730+ people on the ship. Once the ship is cleared ALL of those people feel compelled to leave the ship at once. Unfortunately Civitavecchia had only the one train station so anyone wanting to leave to go to any other part of Italy had to leave from the train station. My travel companions and I predicted there would be a long line at the train station so purposively left a couple hours after the mass disembarkation. Despite waiting for a couple hours, there were still massive lines at the train station. We waited in line for close to 30 minutes to buy a ticket to Rome. The ticket was 9 euro and included round trip transportation to Rome, as well as 24-hour access to the bus and metro system in Rome. This leads me to a major observation about all our ports so far. They have had excellent public transportation systems. They are structured in such a way to encourage public transport. Why would anyone in his or her right mind go to the trouble of driving into Rome with a system set up in such a way? It makes it exceedingly easy to get around at very low costs. So most American cities/regions have A LOT to learn. Also the integrated nature of the transportation system is comment worthy. I could not imagine SEPTA having such a fee structure that effectively and cheaply integrated the regional rail and the city systems. Anyway back to the story…

So after our long wait to purchase a ticket we waited almost another hour for the train to arrive. I was in good company so the time flew by. Plus this whole journey has really expanded my capacity for being flexibility. What’s a one-hour wait? Phew, easy breezy.

            After our long wait we were fortunate to board an express train to Roma. We arrived in the city in less than 40 minutes. During the ride, I was able to observe the beauty of the Roman countryside. Absolutely breathtaking. It was a mix of clusters of high-rise apartments mixed in with agricultural farmlands. We did not stop once during the ride but through the train window I was able to observe quite a bit of graffiti on buildings, on some of the trains, and at the various train stop stations. It was interesting to see because it reminded me a bit of NYC circa 1980s. I had noticed some graffiti in Barcelona but it seemed to be exponentially more visible in Roma/ Civitavecchia. It is quite possible that I saw more in Italy because we were located outside the tourist zone and had to travel into those areas, whereas in Spain, we were dead in the middle of tourist central. Tourist areas tend to be kept squeaky clean by the municipal governments. Just some thoughts, no real evidence to support the hypothesisJ always a researcher! Ok back on topic…….

            We arrived in the Stazione Termini (the main train station) and immediately set out to find those sites, which make Rome famous. My first impression of Rome upon leaving the train station: BUSY! Taxis and cars whizzed by and it had the same energy of any major city. However it did not take long to find the jewels, which set Roma apart. After a short walk, we stumbled across the famous Spanish Steps. They were quite a sight to behold. As it was already quite hot, I did not walk up the steps. Think the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art times 3 or 4. But it was beautiful to observe the steps at the bottom. Like most tourist sights in the high season, there were massive amounts of people and street vendors in the area. There were people trying to sell you everything from sunglasses, hats, handbags, parasols to other kitschy games. Its funny because at all the sites I’ve gone to so far—regardless of Spain, Italy, Croatia---they are all selling the same thing. Its like they all are working from the same supplier. Who knows, maybe they are?

            Close to the Spanish Steps is the Via del Condotti, where many of the famous and not so famous Italian fashion houses are located- Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci, etc., etc. I obviously cannot afford anything on this street so I quickly moved on to areas more in my income bracket.

            We took the train to a new area of town to check out the Trevi Fountain. The fountain is massive and has been in existence since 1735. Can you imagine just walking around something that existed for almost 275 years? You think that’s old, wait until you hear about some of things I’ve seen. The fountain is famous and the tradition is that you throw some money over your left shoulder while making a wish. Of course, I did that. Can’t tell you my wish or it won’t come true…. well I’ll tell if you ask real nice! After the Trevi Fountain we wandered about until we found some food. We found this cute bar/tavern, which was running a special of a pizza, and drink for about 7 euro. When they say drink they also include soft drinks, beer or wine. Cool, right. They obviously have a different relationship with alcohol than we do! Please note there is no such thing as free water in Europe. If you order water, it will likely be bottled. Took me by surprise in Spain but in Italy, I was an old proJ anyway, we ordered two pizzas and some drinks. Our grand total for lunch for five people about 18  euro. You cannot beat that! And the pizza was AMAZING! This was my first taste of authentic Italian pizza and I have to say we, in the US, got it wrong. It’s so different. Much lighter, much tastier! Plus our waitress, Lucy was super friendly and made for a wonderfully warm experience.

            After lunch, we moseyed around a corner to find gelato and stumbled into the Pantheon. Yes, the pantheon of Ancient Roman fame. Right in the middle of the street. Surrounded by modern conveniences a building, which has existed for thousands of years. Can you believe it? Neither could I! It was so surreal. I found the whole visit to Rome to be surreal. I could not believe I was there and having those experiences. The building was magnificent to behold and the pictures simply do not do it justice. When we arrived, the building was closed but just being in front of it was enough for me. We then set off to find the Coliseum. A short bus ride (yes a public transit bus) we found ourselves in front of the Coliseum or IL Colosseo as its known by the locals. It was another impressive building. I take back what I said about not liking architecture. I did not like Gaudi and that type of architecture but the ancient stuff I could look at all day. To think that before they had motorized power sources or any of the building and construction tools we have at our disposal today, these places were able to create such beautiful and awe inspiring monuments is truly remarkable. Now granted, I realize that many of these buildings were built on the back of slaves and some pretty horrendous tactics were used for those who did the building, but it still gives you pause.

            I did a tour of the Colleseum. Thus far, it has been the only building I have paid to enter. It was amazing. The steps were steep and to imagine the 100,000s of Romans who entered the building on a regular basis for the games was interesting. The tour guide shared that the spectators were beat with whips to encourage speedy entry into the building. Not like today where people take their time to get to their seats at an event. There was order in the Roman Empire! Hahaha! Anyway our tour guide also explained in grim detail the number and extent of the games’ causalities. Several thousands of fighters and animals were slaughtered for public entertainment. Makes our fascination with reality TV seem tame in comparison, right. It was H-O-T though and before long the heat took its toll. After the tour, we had only one more stop before calling it a day. One of my colleagues is a devout catholic and wanted to get tickets for the papal audience, which would be held the next day. So off we went to Vatican City….

So technically I visited two countries in one day. The Vatican is a sovereign nation. Like all the other nations thus far, they failed to stamp my passport. Boo! Anyway we took the train to Vatican City to pick up the tickets. While I am not Catholic it was interesting to enter St. Peter’s Square, see the Basilica and observe the beauty of the area. As it was a Catholic holiday, the Festival of Saints Peter & Paul, the entire area was full of different clergy people- priests, monks, nuns, friars of various orders. It was kind of cool to see such a variety and obvious presence of religiosity. We waited while the tickets were procured. Every Wednesday, the Pope does a mass on the square to which millions of people attend. I returned to Vatican City on Wednesday and saw the throngs of folks but quickly walked in the other direction. My colleague who did attend the papal audience described the event as life changing and transformative.

            As I indicated earlier, the Coliseum is the only site where I paid the entrance fee. As such I did not enter the Vatican, see the Sistine chapel or any of the associated galleries. I’m sure it would have been nice but as I have limited interest in art museums (in general), compounded by the fact that you aren’t allowed to take pictures inside and that I have very little interest in Catholic history, I thought my time in Rome could be better spent elsewhere. I also don’t like to stand in lines so the 2-hour long waits to get into these buildings were not something I was up for. Rome is definitely a city I would visit again; perhaps I will catch these sites then.

            After getting the tickets we stopped for dinner. I had lasagna and a glass of vino—when in Rome…... my meal was delicious. We made our way back to the metro to catch the train back to Civi. When we got back to the Stazione Termini we realized our train was scheduled to leave in a few short minutes. If we missed this train we would have to wait for at least 1 hour. So we ran. I don’t mean a light jog or power walk. I mean a full out, heart racing run. I don’t run. Well I do run but it usually within the comfort of an air-conditioned gym on a treadmill. Not across a crowded train station. We ran to meet the train. And when we got to the track, the train was there waiting. And there it sat for another 10 minutes!  Can you believe that? After all our exertions the train waited for 10 minutes. Oh well, I’m sure it was in someone’s benefit. This time around the train was not express and stopped at every single stop between Rome and Civi. The ride back took about 1 and half hours.

On Day 2 in this port, I went back to Rome but this time on a SAS trip. I was a trip leader so it was free trip to the city in an air-conditioned coach. I like the public transit but there’s something to be said for door-to-door service. The trip I was leading was “Rome on your own,” so the trip basically consists of a ride there and a ride back. No itinerary and no responsibilities for me as a trip leader, other than assuring that everyone is on the bus on the way back. So this was my favorite travel day thus far! I got to set my own schedule, walk at my own pace and only see the things I wanted to see. I decided to walk instead of taking the train, which would allow me to see more of the city. The bus dropped us off right outside St. Peter’s Square. I saw the lines for the papal audience and walked the other way. I decided to walk across the Tiber River (well I crossed a bridge!) and down the Via del Corso.             The Via del Corso is an avenue with lots of shops and restaurants and along the way I was able to see more sights. These shops were more in price bracket and I was able to buy some souvenirs to take back home, some for me, some for loved ones! As I strolled along the Via del Corso I heard languages from all over the world. I must admit that during that day I was able to get around with very basic Italian language skills. I know how to say hello, thank you, good-bye, do you know how to speak English, and how much does this cost. On those few words I was able to navigate all by myself. I did not know how to say “where is” but whenever I needed directions I would approach someone, say hello, smile real big and point to my handy dandy map. I had no problem getting around. Hand gestures and pointing were also useful tools! So I walked down the Via until I came across The Vittorio Emanuele monument. These massive monuments are so amazing to see at the end of these broad avenues and busy squares. Close by was the Coliseum and Roman Forum. Once I got back to the Coliseum, I felt I had traversed the city a great deal. I hopped on the train and went to the area surrounding Vatican City. I wandered about until it was time to meet my trip participants. We went back to the ship, safe and sound.

In general if I can help it I spend nights on the ship and try to eat on the ship as much as possible—within reason of course. I want to have a good experience but don’t want to spend unnecessary dollars. What can I say the ship is like my home base!

Day 3 found me taking it real easy. Rome is very tiring. Very, very tiring. I was exhausted after two days of exploration. I slept in, ate a late breakfast on the ship. About mid-morning, we (Chela, a couple of students and myself) found our way to a market in Civi. I didn’t buy anything but it was nice to see the fresh produce and vegetables. Plus the typical flee market stuff. Nothing too interesting to buy. I did try to buy a banana and the vendor gave it to me for free. I thought that was nice. I also tried Mozzarella di Buffala. That’s mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk. It was good. It had a different texture than regular mozzarella. We’ll see if I can find it in the states. Also while walking around Civi, we noticed vending machines, which dispensed condoms outside of the pharmacies. I thought this was an interesting public health initiative and wondered if the Italians had done any studies about the effectiveness of these machines in curtailing the incidence of pregnancies or STIs in their communities. Who knows? But interesting. I wonder if US cities are prepared to implement similar programs and how successful they would be? Am I the only one who thinks about these things? I’m a nerd, I know! That was pretty much it for Day 3.

Day 4 was totally different than the other two days because it found me traveling through the Roman countryside. In the handy dandy free box, I found a ticket for a trip to Tuscia and Tarquinia. These were two towns in the country that were part of the Etruscan empire. It was nice to travel through the idyllic countryside and see the agricultural farmlands. We visited Tuscia first, which was really empty because everything was closed for the mid-afternoon siesta. We were able to see beautiful views of the area however. They were also having a lavender festival so the smell of that fragrant herb filled the air. In Tarquina, we walked through the old town and observed small town living. It was quite a big difference from the hustle and bustle of Rome and had its own unique charm. At the end of our visit, we were taken to a local Enocota, where we were able to sample some local wines and have appetizers. It was delicious. We went back to the ship and soon thereafter we left Civi to make the 6-hour sail to Naples. Why we had two ports in Italy is beyond me.

            Overall I found Rome and Civi to be beautiful, delightful and charming. I enjoyed them 3 times more than I enjoyed Barcelona. I felt they were more authentic, less contrived. Granted Rome was very touristy and catered to the tourist set. But their sights were considerably more impressive and more in line with what I find exciting when I travel. One of things I am quickly learning is what I like and what I don’t like, even more than before. Lots of self-revelations! One other thing before I go….

As a result of my travels, one thing that I am truly grateful for is the American public restroom. First of all, there are no seats in any of the toilets I visited in Spain and Italy. Wait, I lie I found one toilet throughout all my travels with a seat. It’s in a little pizzeria in Napoli. Considering that Naples itself is a little rough city, finding such a nice bathroom was a pure blessing. Also they make you pay to use the restroom in some public places. We took the train into Rome and we all really had to pee. They charged like 80 cents Euro to pee. We held it! Ridiculous I know. Anyway, next entry, Napoli!!!

Ciao,

Sg