Today was a bittersweet day. We've had so much fun on our trip, but we're also ready to be back in the comfort of our own home. We've made wonderful new friends we won't see every day anymore, and we'll resume the craziness of life at home. With all this in mind, we began with another early day. After meeting Carol, Denise, Nick, and Fontaine at the bar, we made our way to the gangway and found our handsome Italian driver, Mario. After a few minutes in the van, I was again reminded that no one could pay me enough to drive in these cities!
The plan was to take in the Amalfi Coast via a van ride (with Johnny's Tour Service), while stopping a few times to explore and take pictures. I'll be honest. When we got in the van and began to drive I was disappointed. The weather forecast included fog through the day, and it certainly didn't help our tour! However, the fog slowly began to burn away which made viewing (and picture taking) much more enjoyable. The scenery along the way was like nothing I've ever seen before. After a relatively short drive through Sorrento and a few stops for photos along the Coast, we ended up in Positano. Of course the town was gorgeous, but also had a quaint sophistication about itself. We wandered and stumbled upon an old ornate chruch, which is still used today. A few of us ventured down to the beach. I think it was the most stunning view we saw all day. This shot from the beach, up the cliff is just amazing! It almost looks like the buildings are just stacked on one another. Positano had some super cute shops, but I was more impressed with the bakery. I got a meringe cookie the size of my hand for €1.50! It was almost like being in Venice again, but without the canals and with a very steep hill to climb.
From Positano we traveled to Amalfi Town. We had the most time to explore here, and I'm glad! After some window shopping, John whippped out his handy dandy Rick Steves book and found that the oldest paper mill (now museum) in Europe, Museo della Carta, was just a short distance away (uphill, of course). We made it up the hill just in time to join in with a tour that had recently begun. To watch the paper making process was interesting, and the old presses and tools were ancient! Well, maybe not literally, but does that even matter? Once we finished the tour, we rejoined the touristy area of the town, stimulated the economy, indulged in some pizza and much needed gelato (I couldn't help it. After being spoiled with it for an entire week, I was jonesin' for it!), and met up with our group in time to board the van for our next stop. As you may or may not know, this particular area of Italy is known for many things: ceramics, beautiful coastline, citrus fruits, and of course...limoncello! In true Nick fashion, a decent sized bottle was purchased, and it was gone (with everyone's help) by the time we arrived in Pompeii. But I digress...back to the tour!
The final town we visited was the highest we traveled, Ravello. To this point, most of the scenery looked similar. But, as we climbed the cliffside, we were awestruck. Terrace upon terrace layered the landscape with farms of many types: vinyards, olive trees, citrus trees, and even some shepherds with their herds of sheep. This town was much less crowded (and less touristy). We attempted to make the most of our time there, but we had less than an hour. We found a few treasures (both to bring home and to visit), and look forward to exploring more at some point in the future. The end of our tour here began our decent down the cliffside.
We arrived in Pompeii and allotted two hours for the tour (even though RS says three hours). There's only so much you can accomplish during the time you're in port. However, we had all seen so many ruins throughout the trip that we weren't exactly jumping with joy to trip over more, and some were already dragging from exploring three other towns prior. Not to mention that some more than others were feeling mighty fine after polishing off that bottle of limoncello! John played tour guide with his RS book and led us to the major sites throughout Pompeii. He did a good job; we all returned to the ship in one piece having learned something new. We saw the theatre, fast food joints, the largest home in Pompeii, and the most visited attraction: the brothel. As we exited, we finally captured a phenomenal picture of Mt. Vesuvius, the reason this site is so famous. One last look at the distant volcano and so came the finale of our land tours. It was a short trip back to the ship, and we all dreaded the imminent threat of real life as the ship came into view: packing. Mario took very good care of us all day, ensuring a safe trip and a timely arrival at the cruise port. To be honest, I don't quite know how he managed with all of us being loud and obnoxious all while driving up and down a cliffside of crazy sharp turns and scooters weaving in and out of traffic. But, he did and bid us farewell with bottles of more limoncello.
Our final embarkation was just another reminder that it was time to pack, and so we did. Well, we tried. First we packed. Then got frustrated and went to dinner. Then we packed again...and still we weren't finished. So, we met Nick and Fontaine for drinks. Then, you guessed it, we packed again! This time we finished and were glad to be done with it! We left the luggage outside the door and headed to the bar for one final get together with part of our group.
We enjoyed spending time with our Aussie and American friends, but the day's trip was taxing, and some of us were fading a little faster than others. Then, the life of the party showed up, Dustin! We all made sure to leave rave reviews about him on our comment cards, and we're hoping the next time we see him, he'll be our Cruise Director. A heartfelt and misty-eyed goodbye to our new friends left us feeling a little blue as we headed to our room. Although it was a long day, it was difficult to fall asleep with the excitement of returning to our own (much more comfortable) bed, along with the amenities we've evidently been taking for granted all our lifes (washer, dryer, iron, normal sized refrigerator). So now, it must be time to get some sleep, or it's going to be a long day of traveling back tomorrow!
When we planned this vacation, we billed it as a "learning vacation". Our visit to Athens was no exception to the rule. As interesting as it's been, I'm pretty sure we're close to having our fill of touring ruins! John did a great job planning our tours, and this one proved to be just as good as the others. We met Danny and Athena bright and early to meet our driver, Dimitris, who narrated our tour through the city. With his knowledge of the city streets, he got us to the Acropolis before the masses engulfed the place. For that we were more than grateful!
The Acropolis, which means "high city", was a sight to behold. Ancient Greeks rebuilt the Acropolis in the 400s B.C., after it had been destroyed by the Persian invasion. This amazing example of Greek architecture was a four building temple in honor of Athena, the protector of Athens. While the other structures (Erechtheion, Propylaea, and the Temple of Athena Nike) were beautiful, the main event here was the Parthenon. The structure is enormous, but the architectural tricks used in these ancient times is the real show stopper. Slight bends and curves were built into the marble steps and columns so that it would appear to be level, while also being functional, draining rain water. Without these tricks, the Parthenon would appear to sag, but instead it is unwavering and perfectly balanced (or so it appears to the naked eye). Not only was this a place of worship (housing gigantic statues, including one of Athena), but it also served as the city's naturally, well-protected treasury. Restoration on all of the temples is ongoing, and we were lucky enough to finally see people working on some ruins!
After the neck breaking walk around the Parthenon we ventured to the other temples. None were nearly as overwhelming, but were interesting in their own rite. The Erechtheion holds its own stories and character. One of the porch's columns are actually carved into ladies, or Caryatids. Beside the porch is an olive tree. Although a replacement, it represents the tree Athena planted here during her battle with Poseidon. The Temple of Athena Nike was tiny compared to the others, but the history behind it is better than the rest (in my opinion). This was the first structure atop the Acropolis to use intricately carved Ionic columns. The temple was mostly used for worshiping Athena (hence the name). Athenians believed the protector of their city ensured their victory (nike) and the temple housed a grand statue of the goddess. At one point, Athenians broke the wings off the statue so that Athena couldn't leave Athens, and so would have no choice but to stay and protect their city. This changed the name of the temple to the Temple of Wingless Athena.
Although these sights were impressive, I truly believe the beauty of the Acropolis lies in the platform with the Greek flag proudly hoisted. The stripes in the flag represent the nine syllables in the phrase "Freedom or Death" in Greek. This was certainly taken seriously during WW II. During the Nazi invasion in 1941, an evzone (elite Greek soldier) was ordered to remove the flag. Without hesitation he took it down and proceeded to wrap himself in it. In a final act of Greek pride (and Nazi defiance) he jumped to his death. This flag can been viewed from almost anywhere in Athens. Due to modern building codes, one must apply for a special permit to build a tall building. The building code's sole purpose for existence is so that everyone in the city can view the Acropolis. The flag is a lot of things, but perhaps this one is most importantly a reminder of Greek sacrifice for indepencence.
We had a little time left before we met up with Demitrius, so we took the time to climb Areopagus (also known as Mars Hill). Paul is known to have preached to the Athenians here. Of course there were plenty of tourists getting photos of themselves preaching to whomever pretended to listen. Aside from the tourists, it was quite the view and moving to think that I was standing on the same hill from which Paul preached. You can see tourists behind John playing Paul. We made the short decent down the hill and met up with the rest of our group. As impressive as the Acropolis is, it's almost unbelievalbe that it only takes up seven acres.
From the Acropolis, Dimitris took us to the top of Lykavittos Hill for a quick photo op. We got some pictures and hopped back in the car in search of the Roman Agora. We got there, spent about 20 mintues, and were on our way to another Agora. There isn't a whole lot to say about the Roman Agora. It was a small marketplace and there's a pretty tower which depicts the eight winds. Now, to the Ancient Agora.
The Ancient Agora began as an open marketplace, but evolved through time under the rule of various emperors. Our first visit was to the Stoa of Attalos, which was a shopping mall in its hayday. It is a reconstruction and houses a museum. The museum displays a collection of artifacts from the Agora going all the way back to the 3200s B.C. Some of the artifacts prove this truly is where democracy was born. There is a voting machine which chose the city council (lottery style, similar to our jury duty system). Also included in this section are many ostrakan, votes cast on shards of pottery to ostricize tyrrants and corrupt leaders. There were some fairly famous names on some of those precious pieces of pottery: Themistocles and Aristides. As we stolled through time we even saw something to reminded us of the FTG family: ancient BBQ pits and grills.
The next notable ruin was the Temple of Hephaistos. It was built during the golden age of architecture and is one of the best preserved temples in Greece. The temple was named for the Blacksmith God, and two bronze statues were placed in the center of it: one of Hephaistos and one of the infamous Athena. Through time the temple served as a place of pagan worship, Christian worship, and recently, a Greek icon. Departure from the temple took us to the Statue of Hadrian. Now headless, this statue is of the Roman emperor, Hadrian (who ruled in 120). This picture is of his breast plate and depicts Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf who raised them. Of course, above them is Athena. Although Hadrian was not an Athenian, he marveled at their culture and was grateful for all he learned from them. He poured plenty of money into the city, and so many things were named after him, including an entire neighborhood.
Finally, time for lunch! Dimitris promised us authentic Greek food and he did not disappoint. When we arrived at the restaurant we were happy (but not necessarily surprised) to see other tour groups from our ship. After a short lesson with Fontaine, I felt pretty confident in what to order. Nick and Fontaine ordered plenty, and shared what they had. The meatballs were good, but the artichokes were out of this world! After a quick stop at the bakery beside the restaurant we were on the road again, this time to the National Archaeological Museum. It's a top notch museum and took us chronologically through time. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to get through the entire thing. One thing of particular interest was the special exhibit: The Antikythera Shipwreck. The famous shipwreck (thought to have wrecked between 60-50 B.C.) was recovered in 1900, 1901, and 1976. Considering the wreckage was submerged underwater for almost two millenia, the artifacts (sculptures, a piece of the hull, pottery, and much more) are unbelievably well preserved. Most interesting is this sculpture of a boy. As you can see, half of his body was preserved burried in the sand, while the other half deteriorated in the sea.
Next on the agenda was watching the Changing of the Guard. How very cool! The changing we watched took place in front of the Parliament building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These young soldiers change every hour and their cadence and intricacy of the change is remarkable. The evzone guards sport a skirt with 400 pleats (representing the 400 years they were under Turkish rule) and a red cap (representing bloodshed) with a long black tassel (representing the tears shed for those lost). Much like the Vatican guards, these stonefaced men stand guard through all hours of the day, and remain focused even when photocrazed tourists stand tight up against them to have their pictures taken. We topped off the excursion with what else? Shopping! A quick trip to the Plaka secured my much coveted postcard and a bronze statue of Athena the goddess for Athena the Aussie.
Although exhausted from the day of touring, there was still plenty of fun to be had on the ship! After a quick dinner we met Danny, Athena, Nick, and Fontaine for Happy Hour and Guess that Tune (Motown). We did fairly well, but didn't come close to the perfect score of the table next to us. More drinks at the Molecular Bar (talk about some well thought out recipes) promised an interesting evening for all. We soon found ourselves poolside with Nick and Fontaine, along with our favorite Cruise Director staff member, Dustin. Greek dancing ensued, which soon turned into a mix of oldies and contemporary. Needless to say, after the long day, we slept well.
Today marked our last day in Turkey. At about 9:30 the ship pulled into the port of Kusadasi, on Turkey's western coast. Kusadasi is a resort town, very popular with foreign tourists and Turkish vacationers. We were not here to relax, however. Kusadasi is also the access point to the ruins of Ephesus, an ancient Greek/Roman town. After getting off the ship, we had about an hour to kill in Kusadasi. Everything within walking distance of the dock was tourist shops, so we just meandered until 11:00 when we met our vehicle and tour guide, Emre, from the company Ephesus Shuttle. We shared the tour with Nick and Fontaine, Dwight and Maria, and Peter and Margot.
After about a half hour drive, we arrived at our first stop of the day, The House of the Virgin Mary. This house is in a secluded location on a mountain above Ephesus. It is believed that St. John brought Mary here for protection a few years after Jesus's death, and that she lived the last years of her life in the house. A number of popes, including John Paul II and Benedict XVI, have visited the site. It is a very serene location and a mass occurring outside the house made our visit even more spiritual. After visiting the house we lit candles, drank water from the spring near the house that is said to be some of the purest water in the world, and left wishes on a wall to be burned by a priest. I greatly enjoyed this visit and found it to be a very meaningful experience.
After descending down the mountain, we entered the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. Recall how I said we had a half hour drive from the port. Ephesus used to be a port town which was situated on the coast. Over time, the nearby river silted up the area and pushed the ocean further away. These ruins are actually the third incarnation of the city, as it had been moved twice due to this silting. The issue is still occurring to this day. The ruins of Ephesus (which are only 18% excavated) are a sight to behold, a sprawling town of marketplaces, temples, houses, and more. The site makes the Roman Forum look like a bunch of pebbles comparatively. There were three places in the ruins that were highlights. First was the Terrace Houses, the houses which the rich of the city lived in, still under excavation. The second was the Library of Celsus, a reconstructed facade of the library of the city, which was, at its time, the third largest library in the world. The third was the Great Theater, where Christianity was preached by St. Paul; he was beaten for it. The picture to the left shows a lion mosaic on a floor of a child's room in the Terrace Houses. The pictures below show us in front of the Library of Celsus, and also the Great Theater.
After leaving the ruins of Ephesus, we got some takeout Turkish food from the shop outside the site and ate it on the bus as we headed to our next site. It would have been nice if we had been given time to eat at a non-touristy Turkish restaurant instead, and this was one of only two disappointments with the tour. Our next visit was to the Basilica of St. John. This set of ruins is the site where a church was built to honor St. John. This church was ordered by Justinian during the decline of Ephesus, and so it was built with reused materials and was devastated quickly by the passing of time. We saw the baptistetry, the area where the altar was, and also the tomb of St. John. Of course, the bones of St. John were removed from the tomb and are now in Italy. We then made a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which is now nothing more than two pillars. The picture to the left shows one of the pillars (complete with stork's nest on the top), with the Basilica of St. John in the background.
On our way back to the ship, we encountered the second disappointment of the tour. We were suddenly taken to a carpet shop, a stop on the itinerary which was not discussed at any point prior to about 5 minutes before arrival. For a little bit of credit, the shop we were taken to is the one shop that Rick Steves recommendes in his guidebook for buying carpets in the Ephesus/Kusadasi area. We were treated to a nice demonstration on the making of rugs, Turkish drinks, and a very non-pushy salespitch. We endured the ritual and then headed back to the port. We had an early dinner, checked out the hot glass show on the ship, then retired. It was overall a very enjoyable day, and I cannot imagine a more impressive archaeological site than Ephesus. tomorrow brings Athens, and what is sure to be an interesting look at the history of the world.
Today began our two days in Istanbul, Turkey. This overnight visit to Istanbul was one of the primary reasons we chose this particular cruise, so I was greatly looking forward to the day. We met up with a couple in the morning to join us for our tour of the historic part of the city. We had booked a tour with the company Private Tours in Turkey, and our guide met us outside the port at 08:00. Unfortunately, our originally booked guide was unavailable due to a family situation, but another guide, Hale, filled in for her. We hopped onto the city tram, which easily whisked us away to the historical core of Istanbul, the area known as Sultanahmet. Our first stop was the Hippodrome, a square which is situated over an area originally built by Constantine for chariot races in Constantinople. The obelisk shown to the right was originally an Egyptian obelisk, carved in about 1500 BC. The part of the obelisk in Istanbul is only the upper third, as it was chopped in pieces for transport to Constantinople.
Following our walk through the Hippodrome, we entered the famed Blue Mosque, which was stunning from both inside and out. As is customary in mosques, we removed our shoes and walked on the carpet in the mosque in socks or barefoot. The mosque was built in the early 1600s and received its name due to its ornate blue tiles on the inside. According to Hale, the building was originally to be constructed with golden (altin) minarets, but this was too expensive, so the sultan ordered six (alti) minarets instead.
Next on our tour was Hagia Sophia, a museum which was built as a church in the sixth century by Justinian (a rebuild of an earlier church by Constantine which was destroyed). When the Ottoman Empire took control of Constantinople in the 1500s, it was repurposed into a mosque and the Christian mosaics were plastered over. In the twentieth century, it was secularized and turned into a museum. Since then, work has continued to reveal the Christian mosaics, and as such, the church is an incredible example of both Christian and Islamic art and design at the same time. This can be seen in the interior picture below. The second picture shows the exterior.
A short walk away was the sprawling complex known as Topkapi Palace, the former palace of the Sultans. We explored a number of different sections of the palace, but the most notable included the treasury (filled with a huge number of jewels), and the Harem. The Harem was the part of the palace in which the Sultan lived, along with the his mother (who served as the de facto queen, as almost all sultans did not marry), servant eunuchs, concubines, and his favorites, who were the women chosen by the Queen Mother to keep company with the Sultan and bear him children. The entire Topkapi Palace was overwhelming, and we easily spent the most time here of any site of the day. The picture to the left shows just one of the courtyards of the Palace.
After the Topkapi Palace, our tour guide pointed us in the direction of a nearby restaurant which served cuisine which she described as "the same as we would cook at home". We all ordered far too much of the delicious food, and took a much needed break from all of the walking.
Our next stop was the Underground Cistern, which was built in the sixth century (during Justinian's time) in order to provide fresh water to the blue bloods of the city. Turns out it didn't really matter what the blue bloods did with their water, since most of it was poisoned with lead from the aqueducts (built using lead) and drank from lead cups. The term blue blood refers to the more noble people of the city, whose fairer skin meant that their veins appeared blue below their skin. The working class and slaves had darker skin from being in the sun, and as such, their veins appeared green, and they were called green bloods. The cistern was an extremely peaceful place, which included some neat architecture, as well as some very cool carvings of Medusa which were transplanted here. It is an interesting take on early recycling, as all of the columns here were used from other structures.
Our final stop of the tour was the Grand Bazaar. We found the bazaar to be overwhelming, and a large mismash of the same goods over and over. Since nothing has price tags, you are forced to speak to the shopkeepers to try and determine the value of goods and compare pricing; a tedious task, when even saying hello to a shopkeeper can then make it difficult to extract yourself from conversation with them. Even with these difficulties, we did our part to stimulate the Turkish economy with a few choice purchases.
Following the Grand Bazaar and approximately 8 hours of touring, we hopped back on the tram and made our way back to the ship. We parted ways with Hale, who proved to be a wonderful tour guide. We were quite pleased with the insights she provided and the little tricks she used throughout the day to save us time in lines and elsewhere.
We took a brief rest in our room, and then made our way back out in what at that time was a relatively steady rain in order to take in the modern side of Istanbul. There is a pedestrian friendly street, Istiklal Street, which according to RS provides a nice counterpoint between the Istanbul of the past and present. We originally planned to take a taxi, however, after one turned us down (for reasons unknown to me), we found our way to the funicular, which proved to be a cheap and easy way to reach Taksim Square (on one end of Istiklal Street). By the time we reached the Square, the rain had died down and we wandered the street for about an hour, shopping for books for Sarah, among other things, and also securing some baklava. The very busy pedestrian street had a number of upscale shops and was a whole different world compared with Istanbul's Old City. We were very glad to have made the journey. We hopped on the funicular and took the short walk back to the cruise ship. One very late dinner later, we rested for the the night, ready for more Istanbul in the morning.
I'll be honest. Yesterday was interesting, but I hoped today would be much more fun. In our experience, the further south we've traveled the less we've enjoyed the cities. Luckily today placed Rome only slightly below Florence, with Venice way out in front. It's not like we didn't enjoy Florence and Rome, but Venice was just amazing. The early morning trip to the Colosseum and surrounding ancient city was full of fact finding, but also shed some light on modern Roman society.
A few interesting tidbits about the Colosseum:
- The Colosseum was the world's first domed (awnings stretched about a third of the way to the center by sailors) stadium in the world.
- Gladiators were much like today's sports stars, with loyal fans and even sponsors.
- This is where the word "vomit" originated. Hallways to the seats were called vomitorium. It was said that all 50,000 spectators could enter or exit the Colosseum in about fifteen minutes, essentially vomiting out its contents quickly and efficiently. Certainly not like Beaver Stadium!
- Often times POWs and criminals were forced to perform their deaths based on well known stories (ie: Hercules).
- We might assume spectators were assigned seating based on social class, and this is true. The emperor and other VIPs had thier names carved in their seats, which were ring side. The next level up seated those of noble birth. Plaebians, free Romans, sat in the next level. In the highest level (think nosebleed section) were the foreigners, slaves, and of course the women. But it was more complex than that. All admitted had a ticket made of broken pottery with the appropriate entrance, section, row, and seat number. Very organized!
While touring, we saw groups of children dressed in activewear. From the view inside the Colosseum, we found that our instincts were correct and there was an outdoor volleyball tournament going on just a few blocks away. After the tour, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure came bursting through the streets. It was inspiring to see how many people were running for such a good cause. It's quite admirable to participate in such an event. But to have the opportunity to do so with such a magnificent backdrop is like icing on the cake!
We continued to the Roman Forum, which was just a short walk away. As we made our way to the Temple of Julius Ceasar, we passed by the Temple of Romulus (still with its original bronze doors). According to legend, Romulus and Remus were raised here by a she-wolf. Back to Ceasar...Ceasar's temple wasn't as grand as I thought it would be, but I guess that's what happens sometimes when you're looking at ruins! Most interesting regarding the temple was the mound of dirt behind it. This is the spot where Ceasar's body was burned after his assassination. Romans leave flowers here in honor of Ceasar's personification of the city of Rome. He was the first Roman to become a god. It's amazing how the grandeur of what was once the heart of Rome is reduced to ruins. Along our RS audio tour, we learned more about Roman culture and government. As our tour came to a close we came across the Arch of Septimius Severus (six stories tall). Although Severus was an efficient emperor, the downfall of Rome was eminent. (Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for including Roman history into your books.) Another point of interest were the active archaeological sites. Since it was Sunday, no one was digging. Disappointing, but still very cool to see!
We stopped for a bite to eat, then walked to the market at Campo de' Fiori. Here we bought [what we hope will be] some great pasta and locally made candy. We also made a new friend, who in this picture has moved onto the next person to beg for food. We began the RS Heart of Rome walk. It took us from Campo de' Fiori to Piazza Navona, which is built on an ancient race track.
Next was the Pantheon. As we arrived it began to rain. It was pretty cool to see the rain sprinkling through the occulus overhead. From there we went in search of Rome's most famous gelateria, Giolitti's. They had some original flavors there, ranging from champagne to biscotti Oreo (which John got). I landed on a mix of orange and pear, an interesting combination. The gelato was good, and so were the prices! We made our way to the conclusion of the guided walk: the venerable Trevi Fountain. The fountain was enormous. So enormous such that no matter where I stood, I couldn't capture it entirely in a picture. We both threw coins into the fountain, in hopes that it will bring us back to the city.
Tomorrow we leave for the cruise. We had a wonderful, memory making time in Italy, but I am very excited to get on the ship, relax, and not pack again until we're headed home!
Next was the Pantheon. As we arrived it began to rain. It was pretty cool to see the rain sprinkling through the occulus overhead. From there we went in search of Rome's most famous gelateria, Giolitti's. They had some original flavors there, ranging from champagne to biscotti Oreo (which John got). I landed on a mix of orange and pear, an interesting combination. The gelato was good, and so were the prices! We made our way to the conclusion of the guided walk: the venerable Trevi Fountain. The fountain was enormous. So enormous such that no matter where I stood, I couldn't capture it entirely in a picture. We both threw coins into the fountain, in hopes that it will bring us back to the city.