829 Right, in the car and off to points south. My initial destination was Otranto but as I got closer I saw that Santa Maria de Leuca was only about 20 k, further and it is the southernmost city in the heel of the boot plus it had grottoes to see as well as the Church of 100 Stones, Chiesa de Cento Pietras. Arriving into any town with no map is not fun. I managed to find one sign that pointed to Chisa de Cento Pietras but never found the church. But… I found the Grotto di Diablo and Punto Rutolo, both gorgeous sights on the coast. I also found the Basilica but ended up at the bottom of 400 steps to reach it. As luck would have it there was both a wedding in the basilica and a cafe at the top of the stairs. Weddings brings smiles even if you don’t know the couple. Tradition in Italy is to release a bunch of white balloons before they got into this tiny open air taxi for a celebratory drive around the city. Celebrated myself with a coca lite and a chair in the shade.
Santa Maria de Leuca, Puglia
Posted in Europe, Italy, photography, Travel | Tags: Chiesa de Cento Pietras, Italy, Puglia, Santa MAria de Leuca, southern Italy
Corfu, Greece
Scarves for the monastery in Corfu
Corfu offered a lovely monastery high on a hill to visit. If you were not appropriately dressed (sleeves and covered knees) you had colorful scarves in a basket that could be worn as a cover. Along with the usual wonderful views of the sea Corfu City is a labyrinth of streets and staircases where you could easily get lost. It is not as bad as Venice but I really had to pay attention to find my back to the meeting point.
Many upscale designer shops lined the streets alongside the souvenir shops and cafes. Being on a Greek island there were the traditional sponges packages with the lovely olive oil soap. I grabbed a couple of bars to use in the cabin because the air in the ship tends to dry your skin. All in all a good day.
Posted in Cruise, Europe, Greece, Holland America, photography, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: Corfu, Europe, Greece, monastery, Travel
Can You Say Wine Cellar?
Ancient storage in Ostia Antica, Italy
Posted in Cruise, Europe, Holland America, Italy, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: Europe, Italy, Ostia Antica, ruins, Travel, wine
Ancient Greek Ruins
Travel is a wonderful way to see the world and how others live but it is also a great opportunity to see how people lived in the past. When in the Mediterranean countries, it is easy to find excellent excavations that give us that glimpse into the past.
Pompeii is probably the most famous. I’ve now also visited Ostia Antica in Italy and Corinth, Mycenae and Olympia in Greece. All are amazing in their own right.
In Corinth I walked in the steps of St. Paul, stood in the area where he was tried. The acropolis there is quite impressive but equally so are the ruins of the marketplace.
At Agamemnon’s Palace they had just opened the path around his actual grave where they found a treasure buried with him. It is a good climb to the top and the view is worth the walk. In Mycenae, we also found the beehive tomb, an architectural style unique to the area.
Olympia provided a glimpse of the original Olympic games and where the athletes trained and competed. The complex is full of green trees and spaces and wide boulevards. The Greek arenas did not have seats, spectators sat on the inclined slopes. The original arena could hold 35,000-40,000. Seats did not come into play until the Romans- I never knew that.
Excavations are continuing at most sites, usually with university students, as money is available. I think we all need to pay more attention to history and really try to learn from it be it construction principles or political / social principles. Seems to me all those wars should have taught us how to avoid them.
Take advantage of the shore excursions offered or use public transportation, which is very reasonable, to visit these amazing sites. Make sure you use a guide though so you get the facts and make it come alive.
Posted in Europe, Holland America, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: Corinth, Europe, Greece, Mycenae, Travel
Greek Trivia
The ancient civilizations of Corinth and Mycenae are both accessible from the port of Corinth so never having been to either I took advantage of the opportunity to see both.
We often forget how much the Greeks influenced our modern life. King Fidom in the 8th century BC “invented ” the lighthouse and the kilo measurement as well as created the Greek drachma. Did the man ever sleep?
Greece is the third most mountainous country in Europe after Norway and Albania so the landscapes are dramatic.
Feta cheese has to have at least 17% goat or sheep milk to be able to be called feta.
The Corinth canal was in use from the 7th to the 19th century. Talk about solid construction.
Mycenaean culture is the oldest on mainland Europe. Crete wins for the oldest culture but it’s on an island and was destroyed by the Santorini volcano eruption.
Although the Acropolis in Athens is the most famous, every city in Greece has an acropolis. ACRO means height and it was the public building at the top of the city.
Read on for the photos of ancient Corinth and the palace of Agamemnon in Mycenae.
Posted in Holland America, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: archeology, Corinth, Europe, Greece, Mycenae, Travel
Cagliari, Sicily
On my way to the ruins of Barumini the guide gave us a lot of general information on Sicily, most of which I forgot, of course. But I did manage to retain a few interesting facts.
Sicily was the granary for Rome from 500BC to 238 BC. It is still the #1 producer of saffron for all of Italy. It also produces the majority of artichokes or carciofi , exporting over one million tons a year.
Cagliari is considered the greenest city of Italy and I can see the truth of that in its thousands of jacaranda trees as well as many other varieties.
A fun fact is that near Cagliari are the only flamingo breeding grounds in all of Europe. The young were all hatched and gone but you could see the huge area where they nest. What a sight that must be when they arrive!
The guide used a very cute expression to mean ” that’s too bad” or “it’s a shame”. She said ” Is a little pity”. I think is a little pity I will not see Cagliari again this year. Maybe next time…
Posted in Cruise, Europe, Holland America, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: Cagliari, Italy, Sicily
Hopefully you’ve been reading and know that I spent 8 days exploring southern Italy before boarding the beautiful Nieuw Amsterdam in Venice.We haven’t been on one of our big ships in about 2 years and must say this ship is really quite lovely. She is but 2 years old so still has some shiny new “stuff” and things we haven’t seen, like the private cabanas on the pool deck and the Silk Den bar with the Tamarind restaurant. The food has been quite good and varied during this first cruise and we are meeting the rest of the crew slowly.
We are doing several itineraries while we are here until the end of October. The first one is the one just completed, Venice to Barcelona via Dubrovnik, Argostoli (Greece), Corfu, Naples, Civitevecchia, Livorno and Barcelona. I had 3 new places for me, Dubrovnik, Argostoli and Corfu so was able to add them to my city/country list.
Dubrovnik was a treat with its great walls and restored old city. Major issue was the crowds and distance from the ship. It is quite a walk from the ship and it was hot so not practical to try to walk to the UNESCO site. The shuttle buses ran regularly though so no worries on that end. Due to some commitments we had on board we did not have a of time to explore thus were not able to walk the walls. I plan on doing it next time, I Love walking walled city walls. Dubrovnik is beautifully restored; it is very impressive considering the damage done during the fighting.
Real life in Dubrovnik
Posted in Cruise, Europe, Holland America, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: Croatia, Greece, Italy
Riding the treno regionale
I’m sitting on the 0905 commuter train from Civitavecchia to Rome. The baby in the seat behind me is crying, the man in the seat next to me has been fanning himself and me for the last 40 minutes and I am already cold due to the air conditioning. Local life.
Posted in Europe, Italy, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: Civitavecchia, Italy, Rome, Train
Roaming Rome
My grand plans of covering Rome in 5 hours quickly disappeared when I decided to actually visit Castel Sant Angelo.
The line just to get into St Peter’s basilica went entirely around the perimeter of the great piazza. Option one, visit the inside, went down the tubes. Since I’ve seen it before it wasn’t too disappointing. Those of you who know me know I always have a Plan B,C,D. You get the picture.
So off I went to the Castel Sant Angelo just down the street. Once there I thought I would actually go inside, something I haven’t done previously. 10.5 euros for the biglietto to enter so I was really hoping the photos and views would be worth it.
It’s quite the amazing structure and there was a wonderful exhibition called Il Papi. (The Popes). A more thorough description is forthcoming.
The views from the Hadrian’s terrazzo were lovely. I wish I was a better videographer because the panorama was a vista of domes of all sizes.
Tip. Free clean bathrooms with toilet paper and hand soap.
By the time I wandered out I had but a couple of hours left. Plan C was formed on the fly and I headed down the Tiber River to Trastevere. This is an area I had never visited in my previous visits and it is supposed to be a great neighborhood for restaurants and crooked streets.
The walk along the Tiber was perfect with the shade and breezes. I arrived quicker than expected and the area did not disappoint. What a fun area! My favorite kind of streets and oh, so many restaurants. Great wall colors, windows and greenery. Stopped in to Santa Maria Di Trastevere to see the church and have a sit for a bit. The cool quiet of the churches offer welcome respit after hours of walking and standing as well as wonderful art and a chance for a quick prayer.
My short day in Rome ended with a forced march back to Stazione S Pietro in order to catch the train back to Civitavecchia well ahead of boarding time. Success and hope the upcoming photos will give you an idea of the day. Ciao!
Posted in Europe, Italy, photography, Travel, Working on Cruise Ship | Tags: Castel Sant Angelo, Rome, Tiber River, Trastevere, Vatican
Evening in Lecce
Basilica, Lecce
828 Night Found my Hotel President in Lecce with only due (2) requests for direzzioni. These cities are murder with no maps. It’s a large modern hotel with fast internet but no parking so I am reduced to dealing with meters.
Headed into old town about 5pm when the town starts to bustle after the shops reopen. It’s a straight shot up the hill to the Duomo, Public Gardens, the Roman amphitheatre and the church of Santa Croce. The old town is a place of constant photo ops with it’s old architecture and lovely winding streets. I am sending you to Flickr to see the many shots I have of this adventure. Soon to be uploaded, I promise .
Dinner tonight was a PizzO, a specialty of Lucca. It’s a roll with olives, cheese, pepperoncini and it really is a meal for 1.5euros. The one thing they don’t tell the newcomers is that the olives still have the pits. Found that out quickly on the first bite. Teeth still intact, I think.
Lecce Lamp
Pressed on to the amphitheatre and found that at 9pm Musica Nuda was giving a concert at the price of 15 euros for a seat with a back. Of course, I decided to go, how often do you get to hear the acoustics of old Roman ingenuity with a musical group? The duo was a bass player with a girl singer in the style of jazz. Her voice had quite a range to it and the audience was very familiar with their work so lots of good feedback. Only drawback was they started an hour late with really no explanation. I sat there thinking I have seen Celine Dion, Andrea Boccelli, Yanni, Josh Groban and they all started on time, who do these two think they are? My own opinion, of course.
I was out from 5pm – 12m and suddenly thought of my car, parked in the street, wondering if it was still there or if it had a ticket. It was ticketless (unless it is coming in the mail) so I moved it closer to the hotel because I have to get leave by 9am or pay for parking. Off to Otranto tomorrow, I think, some history and some BEACH time.
Concert in Lecce amphitheater
Posted in Europe, Italy, Travel | Tags: amphitheater, Food, Italy, Lecce, music, Musica Nude
Living in an Inside Cabin 