Naples

My last tour was a place just outside of Naples at the city of Pompei which was covered by ash and mud from when the nearby mountain of Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. Mom did not come as it said there was extensive walking on very uneven surfaces.  The city was buried under 18 feet of mud and the mud acted as a great preservative so the site is in pretty good shape.  There were still some frescoes on the walls and original mosaic tiles on the floors.  Lots of the statues and bigger frescoes were plundered and removed from the sites when it was first discovered. 

Definite chariot tracks

The streets were made of big flat stones.  You could see where the chariots had worn groves in the stones, in my minds eye they were rolling down the roads.  At one point you could see small bits of white marble in the streets, the guide explained that the moonlight would light the way home when it glistened off the marble bits in the dark. At the crosswalks there were three or four large raised stepping stones so your feet wouldn't get wet in the sewage that was flushed down the streets.  

The ruins were very extensive and you could spend days exploring them.  

We were shown the highlights, a nobleman's home with two entrances, servants quarters on the upper floors and an inner courtyard, an restaurant or wine bar, where there were holes to accommodate the large amphora that held the wine, and the plaster casts of people's bodies that had been encased in mud or overcome with fumes. 

We also got to see a coliseum where slaves were made to fight.  The doors into their cells were very short.  It was all very fascinating.  

We were also given a tour of a place where cameo's were made.  It was very hard to resist but as usual I was attracted to a very expensive piece and cooler heads prevailed.  After the tour was over I took a port shuttle over to where the main tourist attractions in the city were aesible by foot.  I wandered around with no agenda and no map and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  

My lunch spot. 

I stopped at a little outdoor restaurant and had a pizza, a glass of red wine and some pistachio gelato!! The strait narrow alleys which serve as side streets were amazing, notice all the laundry hanging from the balconies. There were a lot of scooters around and if the weather was good it seems as if that would a very good method of motorized transportation. 

Imagine driving a scooter or a chariot down these extremely narrow streets. 

I returned to the ship and an hour later Mom came back from her motorized bus tour.  She was pretty tuckered out.  We left for Rome at supper time and we had booked ship transportation to the airport, so the leave taking of the ship was easy and seamless.  We got on the plane in Rome and it was a nonstop flight to Toronto.  Mom's luggage did not show up there so it was a bit of a hassle dealing with that but she was heading home and has lots of clean clothes to change into. 

The Greek Islands of Rhodes and Santorini

Rhodes was very interesting as soon as we docked we could see the ancient walled city that the Knights of St. John occupied.

We took a tour to see the remains of the 4th century BC at the Acropolis of Lindos which was an hours bus ride from the town of Rhodes. It was at the top of a fairly large hill and there was an opptunity to ride a donkey up.

  I tried to convince Mom that was the way to go but she figured riding the donkey might hurt her more than walking up the hill.  We started up near the front of our group and as Mom had to stop and rest the group passed us, then another group went by but out guide was just beginning out spiel as we arrived so Mom did wonderfully.  This path had small rounded pebbles cemented together so we were very thankful that it was not and had not rained in the last few days, it would have been very slippery.  

The fortifications at the top were the most impressive we have seen yet.  The ruins of the temples are in various stages of restoration.  

I think Mom felt a real sense of accomplishment when she was walking around the top and one gentleman told her that she was an inspiration to the rest of the group!! It was an absolutely lovely setting and I could see in my mind's eye Cat's - Paw IV anchored were that sailboat is in the picture

We walked back down and through the village, after that you had to walk back up the other side of the hill to get to the highway, fortunately there were taxis and we opted for that choice.  

Today we visited the volcanic island of Santorini, what a gorgeous spot.  We anchored in the middle of the caldera and were surrounded by the remains of the mountain that blew it's top in the 4th century BC.mmmost of the towns and villages are purchased on the rim of the main island.  When you look across the bay you think could be snow since all the buildings are white.  

When the volcano blew it's top it covered up the town of Lindos, the ruins are being in the process of being uncovered.  The whole site is under a roof so it comfortable to view out of the sun and wind.

We then went to the museum to see replicas of some Frecos that were recovered almost intact because a river of mud had encased them for centuries. 

The tour was finished at this point but a couple from California asked me if I wanted to share a ride over to the other side of the island to see another town, and I figured why not.  Mom had opted to stay aboard today to rest a little.  

I chose to walk back down the hill rather than take the cable car down.  There were certainly a lot less tourists on this particular path than there had been in the towns!

Turkey and back to Greece

                               

Yesterday we went to Kasadasi, Turkey to see what was. Il led as one of the best preserved ancient cities in the world.  It certainly lived up to it's billing it was huge and quite marvellous.  Unfortunately, I forgot the IPad so I used Mom's camera and at the moment I am unable to transfer the pictures, so I can not offer any photographic proof.  Our guide was great and we managed to be the first group through the ruins in the morning so there was no one in front of us so the picture taking was ideal.  There were terraced houses, temples, a library and baths as well as aqueducts and stone arches that were built into the hillside to prevent erosion.  The best part was that we started at the top and the bus met us at the bottom so there was no up hill walking for Mom. 

We returned to the city of Kasadasi and we were taken to a carpet demonstration, it was definitely a learning experience and there was no hard sell. That was not the case once we were on our own, the vendors were annoyingly persistent. Mom wandered into a leather shop and came out with a beautiful red leather jacket that fits her like a glove and is even reversible.  It looks great on her, the fellow was not satisfied with that good sale but tried to pressure me into buying one,  I tried a few on just for forms sake but managed to resist all temptations. My resistance weakened as we walked past a shoe shop and I realized that the white shoes I had bought in Mexico 8 years ago were in need of replacement. I came out with a very snazzy new pair whIch I managed to get reduced from the most ridiculous price of 120 to an acceptable 40 Euros.  We had a very nice Turkish lunch and then Mom returned to the ship.  I had some post cards to mail and went on a mission to find the post office, a dozen enquiries later I found it and the confused postal clerk took my cards that had Italian stamps on them with some reluctance. 

 It will be interesting to here if they ever get to their destination.  I wandered down to the marina and got some information about dockage fees and a list of marinas in Turkey, nothing like a little advance planning. 

 We are just skimming the surface of these places and they are well worth further extensive explorations. 

Today we had a tour of the Greek island of Mykanos.  It is a tourist Mecca and at one time was the playground of the Onassi clan and it became a stop for the internationall jet set.  I must admit I felt a little like a cow today being herded here and there.  Get on the bus, a five minute stop here, take pictures, back on the bus, on to the next place, a restroom stop, pictures, back on the bus to the next spot not something I truly enjoyed, although I did dip my feet into the Agean Sea!!!  We did stop at a Greek Orthodox Church that was so ornate inside  it was hard to believe that the small island could afford to pay for all the finery.

Once we returned to the main town I wondered around, found the windmills and managed to resist all the gorgeous hats that were on sale. 

 It was fun winding in and out the narrow alleys and looking at the gorgeous and pricey linen and cotton clothing.  

We have been enjoying the food and the entertainment on board.  Each night we sit with a different group of people, there are lots of Australians onboard and they generally seemed to have booked a 22 day cruise, Canadians and Americans make up the majority of the rest of the ship's complement.  We have met some real characters and have had some very lively conversations, there has been only one fellow I would not care to share a table with again. Mom has been enjoying the cold soups which are quite lovely and I find the variety of dinner choices to be excellent. We are off to the island of Rhodes tomorrow.  

Today we were in Athens, wow, Athens, the birthplace of democracy, it was fantastic.  We took a tour to the Parthenon on the Acropolis.  It was almost surreal being there.  There were the statues of the Greek Gods, Zeus and Athena,

the huge Ionic Columns that made up the temple walls and the marble steps that led up the hill.  

As you passed through a magnificent monstrous marble gate the vista of the iconic Parthenon was right there in front of you.  

The marble is mined 12 miles away and was transported by wagon and sometimes rolled all the way to the site and then up a 600 foot hill.  The temples that they built at the top of the hill have been under reconstruction for 15 years and they expect it to take another 10 years before they will be done. It was interesting to see where they have put the new marble in to repair old sections, the new stuff was really wide and the older marble was discoloured to a kind of yellowy colour.

You could see the city of 4 million people laid out in front of you.  There were tall pointy hills right in the middle of the city with buildings going as high as was practical.  

Afterwards we were taken the stadium where the first modern Olympic Games took place in 1896.  Apparently the track is too narrow for any events nowadays but the stadium is still used for political events.  

We saw some of the venues for the Games that took place in 2004, the volleyball and soccer stadiums and I think they held the archery competition in 1896 athletics stadium.  Unfortunately we were did not visit the main stadium from the 2004 games.  Fortunately the guides have lots to talk about so there are frequent stops when we are climbing up lots of stairs.  Mom made it to the top with few extra stops today 

We are on our way to Turkey at the moment and we have a tour of Ephesus tomorrow.   

Greece

We are on our second day in Greece.  Yesterday we went to visit the rules where the original Olympic Games started. It was quite a thrill to run down the track, it was just a long straight stretch about 190 meters long.  When they wanted to have a longer race they just ran back and forth.  

We had an excellent guide and she had all sorts of interesting anecdotes about the area, the ancient games and the construction in the area.   The columns were Doric and they were smooth on the inside where athletes and trainers would lean against them but they had vertical ridges on the outside, neat!

The Olympic site is situated in a lovely spot and the purple flowering Judas trees were in full bloom, just beautiful.  

We went through a museum and saw statues of the winged goddess Nike and the also the likeness of the perfect human body, Hermes, notice the detail of his right calf, wonderful. 

I really thought the bronze of the griffon suckling her baby was particularly well done.

Today we saw one of the most perfect and best preserved examples of a Greek theatres in Epidaurus.   It would seat over 13,000 people and the acoustics were astounding.  A priest stood in the middle and sang a prayer and I could hear him up at the top of the theatre.

Then we were off to Mycenae to see the ruins of a Royal Palace that was built on top of a hill.  It was some kind of an apolis, rather like Minneapolis, Indianapolis or even Annapolis !  There were huge crowds of people there but at one time there were 250,000 people that lived n the area.  The spring flowers were in bloom and were a wonderful contrast to the dour rocks. 

There were outstanding views from the top though, it was well worth the climb. Those are olive orchards in the background. We also saw winter oranges and lemons on the trees and the apricot trees are setting their fruit. it was a very enjoyable +20 day, great stuff, on to Athens tomorrow. 

Underway

We are off to Greece.  Mom and I spent the morning visiting Venice. We headed to San Marco square and visited the Doge's Palace. It was unbelievably ornate and beautiful.  I marvelled at the painted ceilings picturing the artist lying on their backs painting the masterpieces.  

The detail in the wood was outstanding. 

The amount of time that went into building and decorating the place is mind boggling.  

Looking out from the Bridge of Sighs. 

We took the public water transportation to and from our hotel to the square. On our way back to the hotel we took a wonderful gondola ride through the tiny side canals. 

 We saw two homes of famous Venitians, Marco Polo's and Valentino's! The ride was very relaxing and the gondoliers were so talented in their handling of their long ungainly crafts.  When we got to a blind corner he would sing out to make sure he wasn't going to run into anyone as he manoeuvred around the corner.  There are no vehicles in the inner city of Vencie so we booked a private water taxi to take us to the port, where we will board the ship.  It was expensive, but beat the idea of walking further pulling our luggage over the rough stone streets , then having to take a public water transport and transfer to a train and then walk goodness knows how far.  

The water taxi dropped us the correct spot and we boarded the ship without problems within 15 minutes of my planned time.  Now we can relax and enjoy!! We went right past the main part of Venice on our way out and it was quite the view.  Those pictures are on the camera and I will have to see about getting them on the IPad, we have misplaced the device we were using to do that. I went out to the observation deck and sipped on a margarita while snapping photos.  Life is good!!

I am having trouble uploading this on the ship so I have taken out most of the photos.