Today (October 7) is the reason for the entire trip: our 30th wedding anniversary. Apparently this is the Pearl anniversary not that we’ve ever minded such things. We originally thought it would be a great opportunity for us to have a big celebration with all the family and friends who couldn’t be there on the actual day but that didn’t work out. The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley as Robbie Burns once penned.
No surprise that the day is grey and misty. We had our breakfast and started the visiting in earnest. Off to the care home for tea with mum. She wasn’t doing particularly well and words seemed difficult for her so we didn’t stay long. Next stop: Auntie Jean and Uncle Jimmy who have also aged since the last time we saw them and are now fully and admittedly in the ranks of “old people”. Jimmy rarely drives now, which is probably a good thing given that he’s near enough to 90. And Jean says she doesn’t mind since the only place she wasnts to go in the car is the supermarket. We spent an hour or so catching up on family stuff (with a short time out for me to “fix YouTube” on Jean’s ipad) and then we were on our own for a bit.
We had a lovely bar lunch at the Westerton Arms as we have done so many times before and then proceeded to mark the passage of time in our surroundings. The hotel where we had our engagement party is currently being remodeled for offices, the University of Stirling (where I was studying when we met) is also under construction and nearly unrecognizable given my 30+ year old memories. We wandered through the center of Stirling noting changes old and new. When did every second shop become an estate agent’s office? How many houses can they possibly be selling?
Travel tip #33: you can’t go back. You can go again but nothing stays the same. We took some comfort that we aren’t the only nostalgic travelers as we noted a couple in Vernazza who where wandering the town looking for a restaurant they had visited 20 years before.
We spent the evening with the best man and his wife who were two of the only 4 people who came from Scotland for the wedding. We had drinks at our wee holiday flat before walking into town for a lovely meal at Brea instead of our usually “box of curry” meal and drinking session at their house. It is wonderful to have such long standing friendships even though we are generally 3000 miles apart at any one time.
Travel tip #34: take joy where you find it. Life is short.
And so we marked three decades of marriage. And it was just perfect.
Dubious data for today:
12,727 with apparently no floors?
Number of estate agents in the high street: 10
Number of places that are still where the were 30 years ago: a handful
Number of things we would have done differently over the decades: 0
And today begins the transition from vacation to visiting. For two weeks we were tourists, with the majority of that time spent surrounded by people whose job it was to make us happy. Then we had this lovely transition weekend where technically we were visiting family but they consistently go out of their way to make us feel special: cooking fantastic meals, pouring copious amounts of tasty beverages, and generally providing incredible camaraderie. We still feel like we are on vacation when we visit. And all that was to change.
The rain from the night before had persisted and we awoke to the steady thrum of persistent showers. We managed to have breakfast while it was still considered morning and hashed through a few more weighty topics such as road rage, the second amendment and international comparisons of sports fans. But then we had to pack up and move on to visiting Frank’s family. We took the obligatory good-bye photo in the front garden – not hungover for a change! – and headed north east.
We headed to Stirling to check into our AirBnB. We are staying at Limegrove Cottage, a flat we’ve stayed in before, which is really more than we need with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths but it’s comfy and well located with parking and a large utility room where we can get all the cruise clothes washed so we don’t have to wander around Scotland smelling like sunscreen! We arrived a bit too early so it was off to the youngest Cannon brother’s house to say hello, catch up on all the happenings, make some plans for the week, and get some information on the condition of Frank’s mom. Then it was off to the care home for a quick visit to mom to let her know we’ve arrived and that we’ll be by to spend some time with her tomorrow.
And now to really be a local: stop by the flat to drop off the bags, off to Sainsbury’s to pick up essentials for breakfast (bacon, eggs, brown loaf, yogurt, muesli, etc) as well as for evenings (wine, beer, and cider).
Travel tip #31: always have a carrier bag or two in your case. They come in handy for all kinds of things and if you don’t have one with you when you leave hone, you’ll probably have one when you return. But that does make you look cool when you go to Wegmans with foreign grocery bags.
And finally, we really needed to eat a meal. Tea and biscuits with the family helped to tide us over but we hadn’t had anything proper since the bacon and egg roll just before noon. And there was no one around who was charged with or cared enough to take care of that for us! So we were on our own. Yes, we could have bought ingredients at the store to cook something or eaten out at a restaurant but why when there is an excellent chippy nearby. So off to Paulino’s on the Glasgow road for a fish and a chicken supper, washed down with beer, and enjoyed it while trying to find something to watch on the telly.
Travel tip #32: don’t expect television in a foreign country to be any better than what you get at home. We still had a choice of dozens of channels of crap – some of it was American crap.
Dubious data for the day:
5758 steps and 4 floors
Miles driven: approximately 80 (which is why the step count is so low)
Loads of washing completed so far: 2
Different beers and ciders purchased: 9
The day started characteristically grey but dry. We actually saw the morning because the bevy last night was actually pretty tame and there were none of the epic hangovers of years past. Breakfast was light – fruit smoothies, coffee, and toast – because today’s adventure would be centered around food. We were headed into Glasgow for the Big Feed – an indoor food truck/drinking/music event.
Hopping on the 11am train, we found ourselves in the center of Glasgow well before noon which was a little early for the Big Feed. So we decided to get some culture and hopped on the subway to the Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum where we perused several galleries of art including the famous Christ of Saint John of the Cross painting by Salvador Dali. There were also French and Dutch works and an entire gallery of Scotland’s identity explored through art with depictions of Robert the Bruce, Robbie Burns, and lots of exhibits on tartan. There was even an organ recital while we were there so it was a well rounded cultural experience. And it left us hungry.
Travel tip #31: support the local museums. Kelvingrove charges no admission but does take donations so we decided that the pockets full of change that we had – some of which were pound coins – would be better used by them than by us.
Then back to the subway and out to Govan, exiting the station at Ibrox, famous home of the Glasgow Rangers football team which none of us support. We wandered through some warehouses before finding the one that had been kitted up for the event. A dozen street food vendors lined the walls of the warehouse with tables in the middle. There was a full bar, a small music stage, a doggie buffet for the pets and face painting and balloon animals for the kids. It’s actually a fabulous idea and a great way to spend a cool Saturday afternoon. We indulged in sweet potato curry, many plates of chips with various sauces and a variety of dishes involving duck. And a few pints to wash it down. For several hours we chatted and ate and listened to the solo female guitarist play an incredible range of music from Johnny Cash to Walk the Moon.
Thus suitably overfed and well watered, we wandered back through town for more adventures. Instead of availing ourselves of the subway again, we walked back past the Kelvingrove and headed to Ashton Lane, a stupidly adorable cobbled street on the west side with bars and restaurants. We enjoyed a sojourn at a fancy gin bar where we were occasionally entertained by silliness occurring in the street outside. Then we moved on again, back to the center of town where apparently it was time to eat again. We opted for mezze at a middle eastern restaurant thinking that the smaller plates would mean that we wouldn’t over eat. Well that plan went far asunder as there was way too much food (and more drink) and then it was time to shuffle back through the rain to the train for home.
You know you are getting old when you are leaving Glasgow at the time that most young people were just arriving for their Saturday night out. You also know you are getting old when you are utterly appalled at their choice of attire! There were gaggles of young women emerging from the train station, tottering on spikey heels in strappy dresses that barely covered their privates. And they were heading out into the cold Scottish rain where I know their artfully applied (pounds of) face makeup would not survive and they would shiver and be miserable.
Travel tip #32: dress for the weather, not for the fashion. (Credit: my auntie Alice)
And now my transition to being my mother is complete. Just bring me a cup of tea and come visit on Sundays.
Once safely and warmly ensconced back at the homestead, we consumed a little more wine while continuing to explore topics of serious national interest: buskers and other street performers, gender versus sex, cigarette vs marijuana, snus and premier league football, among others.
Dubious data for today:
16,337 steps and 15 floors.
Calories consumed: 1000000000
Train/subway rides: 5
Nuns: 0
Today was to be the ultimate transit day: the entire goal was to get from Italy to Scotland with no mishaps. We awoke to a cloudless sky – a bit mocking given that it was our last day – spent a few minutes rearranging the suitcases (again!) and then headed down for the hotel breakfast.
I always find breakfasts in foreign countries to be the most entertaining meal because it’s where cultural differences seem to be most apparent to me. For example, we saw many cafes in Rome advertising “American breakfasts” which had things that the Romans obviously thought that Americans eat but didn’t quite hit the mark. Like würstel – a sort of hot dog or Vienna sausage. It is probably trying to approximate link sausages that we do eat for breakfast but kinda misses the mark. Especially when advertised as würstel which most Americans wouldn’t recognize.
Travel tip #29: Go with the flow for breakfast. Even if it means eating what you think of as salad both other see as a fine way to start the day.
So our hotel had würstel as well as the obligatory eggs, cold meats and cheeses, fruit and yogurt, and cereals that are pretty standard fare for European hotel breakfasts. Along with cucumbers and tomatoes which aren’t things that I think of as breakfast items. Two things did jump out at me: they had ingredient lists posted for EVERYTHING. The pastries, the eggs, the yogurt, the fruit. Everything. It was mostly in Italian with a few bad translations sprinkled throughout but it was good enough for me to make the relevant choices. Second, one of the hot dishes was Cantonese rice. Hmmmm. It appears that our hotel gets enough Chinese visitors that they added things to the breakfast buffet to accommodate them. I can’t say if this is something that Chinese people eat at home or if this, like the würstel is a close approximation of a local dish, but it was interesting just the same. (And pretty tasty!)
Once we were suitable fueled, it was time to head to the train station. We were taking the 9:50 Leonardo Express to Rome’s Flumicino airport where we would catch our budget flight to Glasgow. Though we usually fly the dreaded Ryan Air for such hops, this time we were trying Jet2. I generally prefer the more standard commercial airlines they didn’t offer any nonstop flight and it didn’t make sense to change planes in Paris or Amsterdam for a 3 hour flight.
So we boarded the express train to the airport and found our way to the check in desk. FCO is one of the busiest airports in Europe and it was pretty chaotic but we got the bags dropped off (including one that we were going to carry on but they checked for free making it so much easier to get around the crowded terminal.) We were just heading to security when the Polizia started clearing the terminal for a security issue – a suspicious bag I think – and we just made it through the chaos to the security lines before we had to be herded outside.
And then it was standard “hurry up and wait” airport stuff before boarding and taking off on time. The airline reminded me a little of Southwest albeit a bit stripped down: plane was a 737-700 (and we had an empty seat next to us – Score!) where the seats didn’t recline, there was no entertainment system, and everything had to be purchased. But it was clean and efficient and it landed on time and the bags were with us so score all around.
Travel tip #30: manage your expectations about airline travel. In fact, have very low expectations and then you may be surprised. We had high expectations about our Alitalia flight and were disappointed. We had no expectations of Jet2 and were pleasantly surprised.
We headed out of Glasgow airport into the cloudy grey day to pick out the rental car and head west to visit my family for a few days. If you’ve seen this episode before, you know that there was excellent food enjoyed, much wine consumed, and many world problems analyzed with no suitable solutions found but that doesn’t stop us from trying!
Dubious data for today:7151 steps and 2 floors (to get to the food hall for something to eat in FCO before boarding). There’s not much walking when you are shuffling through lines.
Number of nuns: 4
Number of currencies juggled on the plane while preparing to land: 3 because apparently I still have some Icelandic króna from last year.
Number of photos taken: None of interest. Just pictures of the rental car scratches because Frank refuses to be held responsible for someone else’s bad driving.
And so all good things must come to an end. We docked at around 6am and were awake not long after that but still before dawn. We didn’t *have* to be up for a while longer but sleep eluded us. So we got up and showered and tested our projected packing needs. We assumed that everything we had left out would fit into our carry on bags. We were almost right.
Then down to breakfast where I assumed that we would have the opportunity to say good bye to the wait staff who had take such good care of us – especially Mary who had taken on the charge of making sure I didn’t get sick on her watch. But none of the usuals were around. Not that the staff who brought our last breakfast weren’t nice; they just weren’t the “regular” staff. {sigh}
We then grabbed our bags and went to hangout in the lounge waiting for our turn to disembark. We had hoped to find the Canadians that we had spent the week running into and drinking with but that also didn’t happen. Then it was time to wait for our prearranged car to pick us up for the trip into Rome. We had arranged for the driver to meet us at 9am assuming that was a reasonable time yet we were off the ship and waiting at the cruise terminal by just after 8 am. He eventually arrived and found us about 8:25 so we were off to Rome which would take about and hour and 20 minutes because we needed to get to the center of town during morning traffic. While in the car, I got a call from the hotel asking where the driver should meet us at the port. Um, what? Apparently, when I had asked for assistance with getting from the port to the city, they had arranged for someone to pick us up. For some reason, I didn’t get the message about that – although they did send an email! – and had booked and paid someone else to pick us up! Seriously? How long has my brain been on vacation?
We got to the hotel in Rome just after 10am and checked in with a thousand apologies for the mix up. The hotel staff was super nice and very concerned about the situation. They had arranged for a driver to go to to port and he incurred gas, tolls, and other costs just for to be no shows. We decided that it would be fair for us to pay his actual costs which made sure that he wasn’t out of pocket and that the hotel saved face for being the ones who arranged the ride for the flakey tourist. Given how mortified I was about MY mistake, I was glad to have the opportunity to make things right.
We were able to get into our room very early (I think the poor girls on the desk felt bad for us at this point!) and head out to wander the city. We had been to Rome a few years earlier (I’m sure you’ve read all about it here) so we didn’t feel the need to do the typical tourist things. We did have a few items on the agenda – specifically searching for a model of an Alfa Romeo, Frank’s new car. We had Googled a few model shops in Rome and decided to use those as destinations for our transition day. We headed to the train station first to buy our tickets to the airport for tomorrow. Then off to the closest model shop… which didn’t exist.
Travel tip #28: Google isn’t always right.
We checked and rechecked the address and the place that Google quite clearly said was a model shop was, in fact, a diamond store. Not the same thing at all. So we retreated to a cafe for cappuccinos to decide what to do next when the wind picked up, the skies darkened, and then the rain came pouring down. Seriously? What next?
Over the next half hour or so, we made our way along broad tree lined streets by the American embassy jumping from sheltered spot to sheltered spot, be it a restaurant doorway or a tree canopy. We were working our way to the Borghese Museum – a destination I had quickly looked up as a possible place to visit that isn’t on most “Top 10 things to do in Rome” lists but would be a perfect destination in the rain. We made it there relatively dry only to find out that you need to buy tickets in advance and they were sold out. Seriously? What next?
Okay, maybe it was time to try the model idea again. There is another model shop in the north west corner of the city, well out of the tourist district, and we had originally crossed it off the list because of the location. It moved back to the top of the list but we were pressed for time: like many Italian businesses, it would be closed from 1- 4 and we would need to seriously move to make it before closing. Which we did amidst occasional sprinkles with some sun breaking through. And we arrived with 15 minutes to spare only to find that they had a VERY small selection of the kind of models we were in search of. Most were plastic kits or other create-it-yourself items. Seriously? What next?
And now we were destination-less. And hungry. So off to lunch. We found a great place by the Piazza Barberini that did gluten free options. This was no tourist place- down in a basement, we were the only non-Italians in the place. We had a fabulous lunch with excellent house wine and great pasta. Frank had wide noodles with a lamb ragout and I had GF spaghetti carbonara. YUM!
Then it was off for more wandering. Everywhere and no where. From the northeast of the city to the south west, we just walked. We headed back to the hotel late in the afternoon as I had a conference call – a president’s work is never done! – then it was time for a real Roman dinner. We found a restaurant around the corner from our hotel that had allergens clearly marked on their menu. We headed there and had an amazing meal: prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella to start, then steak for me and veal saltimbocca for Frank, followed by creme caramel and tiramisu. All of this accompanied by a lovely Montepulciano d’Abbruzo.
And now it is time to rearrange things in the suitcases to complete the transition from vacation to visit. For tomorrow we abandon sunscreen for sweaters and head to Scotland.
Dubious data for today: 28, 242 steps and 21 floors. (Apparently, that’s almost 12 miles. My feet would agree.)
Nuns spotted: 10
Street markets perused: 2
Bottles of red consumed: 2ish
We awoke today to grey brooding skies that matched the mood of awakening on the last day of the cruise. We docked in Livorno harbor, the main port for Tuscany, where many of our fellow passengers would disembark and skitter off to Pisa or Florence on their organized tours. Since that’s not how we roll, we had reserved a car for the day with the idea of cruising through the Tuscan countryside visiting wineries. That idyllic scene did not contain rain clouds, however, so we spent some time at breakfast recallibrating our plans. We had heard several people mention that they were very excited to visit Cinque Terre – a group of five villages nestled along the coast of Liguria, north of Tuscany. Our weather apps said that the weather might be better there and it was a new place to visit so a new plan was hatched.
After breakfast, we disembarked and found the Avis counter inside the cruise terminal (score oe for Livorno port – very convenient!). Today’s driving pleasure would be in a Fiat Tipo – a substantially larger car than the Fiat 500 we had in Sicily. We took off to the north with clouds over head but the promise of sunshine coming in from the west. About 90 minutes into our drive, we arrived at the Cinque Terre National Park and then the geography got real. Apparenty you don’t get to go see the cute fishing villages nestled into the mountains without actually driving down the mountain! If we thought the drive to Etna was challenging, we were sorely mistaken. This route was just as twisty but hugged the cliff the entire time. Thus we were not only creeping along hairpin turns as we did in Sicily, but there was a sheer drop to the sea on one side of the car for the last one-third of the drive. I confess that I could not have done it but Frank did an amazing job, especially given that the Dutch couple in the Volvo infront of us were having some challenges with their wider car.
Eventually we made it to Vernazza, supposedly the most picturesque of the 5 villages. We parked outside the village – only residents can park closer and there aren’t any cars allowed in the village – and started the walk down to the sea. It started to sprinkle en route but rain never really materialized. It was enough to be tortuous since we were both dying for the toilet but not enough to warrent breaking out the rain jackets. We toured the entire village looking for a public toilet and wound up standing in the unreasonably long line at the train station for the only one in town.
Travel tip #25: scout out the public conveniences before you need them. You may not make the best decisions if your eyeballs are floating.
Suitably relieved, we decided to actually explore a bit. This was another stupidly picturesque place complete with stark church, churning seas, brightly colored albeit fading buildings, all built into the side of a mountaion at the edge of the sea. As we drove down, we terraced vinyards where grapes were growing at a pitch steep enough to make your nose bleed. And so were the buildings here. Stacked on top of each other between land and sea, it was intriguing toI think a) how they got this way, and b) how on earth anyone lives there now. Apparently, tourism is huge and there is a hiking trail that connects the 5 villages. It’s now on my bucket list.
We found a seafront cafe with a reasonable cover charge and ordered lunch.
Travel tip #26: when you are a captive audience, restaurants can charge you just to sit down. we paid 2 euros each for the pleasure of occupiying one of their chairs. {grrr}
Gluten free options were limited but we opted for the seafood risotto and a half liter of house white. Today I was nice enough to share some with Frank since he was not going to drink very much before the drive back up the mountain to get back to civilization. Of course I forgot that seafood would have come straight from the sea that I was sitting next to. The clams and muscles were fine, the calmari was probably frozen but that was okay too. The whole jumbo prawns with heads and everything attached nearly did me in. I managed to slay the sea creatures in the serving bowl and enjoyed the rest of the lunch.
Since the sun had come out during out lunch, we wandered about again taking new pictures of the scenery with clearer skies and brighter lighting. This included walking into a little cove where there were more cairns in one place than I have ever seen in my life. I know it’s a hiker thing and there were lots of hikers in town – more people were carrying hiking poles than were without them – but this was amazing!
Eventually we realized that it was time to head back so the climb back to the car park began. This was followed by the drive along the sometimes frightening road we took down into the village but somehow the rally driver in Frank rose to the challenge. I confess there were times when he was grinning like a madman and I just closed my eyes. But he’s happiest when he’s driving and I’m happiest when I’m not.
Once out of the national park, the toll road back to town was far less than exciting. We returned the rental car and headed back to the ship to begin the dreaded “last night of the holiday”activy: packing. One thing that worked in our favor: the budget airline with the nonstop flight to Glasgow doesn’t fly on Thursdays so we have one night in Rome before flying on Friday. That means that we don’t have to do the “where to pack the liquids” shuffle just yet. Thee decisions are especially challenging on a cruise since your main luggage needs to be outside your cabin before bed. If you want to shower in the morning and have anything like, say, tootpaste available to you, it needs to go in your carry one that stays with you. If you are going straight to the airport, that can be challenging.
Travel tip #27: An extra day in Rome is never a bad thing.
So tomorrow we “have” to stay in Rome before beginning our visit to Scotland. It made our packing much easier so we had lots of time for our last night on the ship: the final visit to the Martini bar, the final dinner in the fancy French restaurant, and the final double Bailey’s nightcap.
Dubious data for today: 12,010 steps and 37 floors. (Not much walking but none of it flat!) 244 kilometers 39 miles to the gallon 47 swear words each on the scary road
We knew we were docked in Naples this morning before the cruise diretor’s announcement by the sounds of the port and the smell of desiel. Today was an early start for many people: lots of tours were heading out very early to go far away from the city to Pompeii, Sorrento, or the Amalfi coast. We thought we’d do something crazy and actually stay in the city instead of climbing aboard a bus for a 1-2 hour drive to somewhere else. We breakfasted on deck for a change and then wandered off the ship to see what Napoli had to offer.
Let’s be clear about something: I am interested in seeing Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast but not if it means spending 4 hours on a bus to spend 2 hours in the place that we are visiting. We spoke to several people who loved their tours. We’ll just wait and visit those places anther time.
So we walked the city. From end to end. Starting with the quest to get an FC Napoli jersey for my nephew which took us to a team store in the central station. We had to walk through half a dozen construcgtion zones to get there and was nearly run down by two dozen scooters in the process but we made it. And then they didn’t have his size so we found a cafe where we couldn get good coffee to plan the next steps.
Travel tip #23: be prepared for people to expect you to love Starbucks even if you don’t. This shipe “proudly serves” the stuff which I assume is why I can’t drink the coffee in the dining room without cream (I usually take my coffee black.) In fact, we nearly paid for an upgraded drink package because it would come with unlimited specialty coffees. Then we got on board and realized that meant Starbucks so we were glad we didn’t spend the extra $300 dollars EACH (granted it also came with higher end liquors and bottled wine but we were just fine with the slumming liquors like Tito’s vodka and Bombay sapphire gin.)
After a lovely non-starbucks cappuchino, we headed west to find our way to see an few of the churches in town starting with the Duomo. Yet again the scarf came in handy to cover my sholders although the number of people who ignored the clearly posted “no tank top signs” was appalling. The cathedral was big and baroque and really something to see. Then it was off to the Jesuit church of the Gesu Nuovo which was even more ornate than the Duomo. Across the street was the church of Santa Chiara, a stark gothic church especially conpared to the first two. And these just scratched the surface!
We were hungry from being so holy so it was off to lunch. My GF restaurant finder app listed a place with great reviews from the GF community and it was right in the neighborhood. And my pizza was amazing. And Frank’s never arrived. After I was halfway done with mine, I went to see what was the problem and they hadn’t even made his! While I appreciate that they took good care of me, I didn’t appreciate that they didn’t notice that they forgot to make Frank’s. When it eventually arrived, he declared it to be the best pizza he had ever had and so he was willing to forgive the oversight. The fact that they threw in a couple of limonocellos helped a little.
By now we had spent some time wandering around the old part of town which meant there were lots of shops – including a FC Napoli team store that Google didn’t bother to tell us about! So football jersey secured, we started working on gifts for the 13 year old niece which meant visiting leather shops. And an Italian leather purse was thereby secured.
And then we headed to the final stop in the city: the Castle Saint Elmo. A fortification buit in medieval times to protect the kingdom on Napoli. It sits high up on a hill over looking the bay and requires a ride in a funicular to get there. But the visit is well worth it. The fort is very interesting and the views are breathtaking.
Travel tip #24: pay attention to things on tourist maps even if they aren’t recommended for a visit. We only found out about the castle because a map in a Rick Steve’s guide book indicated where the funicular was relative to things he recommended that people visit although it was not on the list of things to do.
We had walked across the entire city from the train station in the east to the castle in the west. So after appropriately admiring the beautiful scenes, it was back to the ship and our last dip in the pool and hot tub. We soaked in the lovely warmed water as the ship pulled out of the Bay of Naples headed north. Grabbing what might be our last happy hour cheese plate and wine, we sat on our balcony and watched as the seagulls accompanied us out of the harbor. We made a pit stop to the disco lounge for the 80s music quiz (we came in second to a group of about 5 women who weren’t even alive in the 80s but we won’t comment on that). Then dinner and the final show in the theather where they tried to shove every possible show of the cruise into one: aerial artists, dancers, magicians, dancers, etc. Can’t say I was impressed.
Dubious data for today: 26,335 steps and 28 floors Number of church domes visible from one side of the castle: 15 Number of nuns passed today: 6
Today we were due to dock in Messina, Sicily at 8am and for reasons neither of us can understand, we were both wide awake at 6am – long before sunrise. {sigh} So we made hotel coffee in the room and sat on the balcony waiting for the dining room to open for breakfast. (WTF, who have we become?!?) We wandered down to breakfast where I tried the kitchen’s best attempt at GF french toast. I’m sure it would be heavenly for someone but it didn’t really do it for me – especially the “pancake syrup” it was served with. We are completely syrup snobs now: it’s pure maple or don’t bother.
Then it was off to explore Sicily. The main attractions on this part of the island are Mount Etna and Taormina and the ship offered a tour to both places for a mere $229 per person. Seriously? We can’t bear the thought of following the umbrella to start with but you want us to pay $500 for that torture? No thank you. So we figured out that there is an Avis office a mere 6 walk from the port and so for a mere $27 we rented a Fiat 500 for the day and we were off!
Travel tip #19: book the rental car from home in advance if you can. I’m pretty sure that no one else got their car for 24 euro.
Now I realize for many people, driving in Italy would be something they would gladly pay anyone $500 to avoid but not Frank – he LOVES to drive. Even a little, under-powered Italian diesel. We made it out of Messina without mishap and on to the autostrade for the hour and a half journey to Mt. Etna. We drove south along the coastline in blazing sunshine through dozens of tunnels – lots of mountains here! Of the 98 kilometers, only about 30 is on highway and the rest is small back roads to climb the 1900 meters to get to the base area of Etna. The screenshot of the Google maps route would make most people weep but Frank reveled in it… until we got stuck behind a tour bus. So much for playing rally driver!
But we made it and realized that we hadn’t planned particularly well. It was cloudy and at least 20 degrees colder on Etna than it was at the coast. And unlike the people around us in jeans and anoraks, we were dressed for 80+ degrees and sunshine. And here is another place where the scarf/shawl in the purse came in handy – as a wrap to keep me warm. We wandered about a bit trying to figure things out and realized that this was a place where capitalism had failed. There were rows of kitchy shops all selling the same thing. There were a variety of tourist excursions. And there was no rhyme or reason to any of it. As an economist, I always hope that the free market works but this was just a mess. We decided against the cable car excursion as pointless given Frank’s vertigo and the level of the clouds. There was a “train” ride around the base level for only 10 euros that promised views that the cable cars couldn’t provide. Although we have a pathological problem with organized tours, we thought we’d try this one to see if we were being unreasonable. And we weren’t.
Travel tip #20: try new things whenever you can but if it doesn’t feel right, don’t feel that you need to try it.
The “train” was one of those little kiddie sized things with several cars that go about 20 mph tops. there was mostly Italians on this thing and there was narration in multiple languages. But the Italians talked over the English translation so we couldn’t really hear anything. And then we stopped at a local restaurant to try local products which felt like a high pressured sales pitch – or it would have if they bothered to speak any thing other than Italian. All in all, we decided our abhorrence of such organized tours was well founded. We didn’t even bother to climb to any of the intermediate levels (the peak is at ~3400 meters and requires special tour guides and permission) because the clouds were so low you couldn’t see anything.
So back down the mountain we went. No tour bus in front of this time so Frank had a great time rallying down the mountain, passing sluggish cars, and generally just enjoying the drive. On the way back to port we stopped at Taormina, another impossibly picturesque village built into a mountain. We found a great place for lunch with many gluten free options including pizza and beer! Then we wandered about enjoying the sights and scenery. I stopped by a church to light a candle for my mom as I do every chance I get. And we picked up a lovely watercolor by a local artist that shows what Etna looks like when you can actually see it.
And then it was time to head back. Down another hill and back to Messina to turn in the Fiat and get back aboard ship. The biggest crisis of the day: we lost a water bottle, probably under a seat in the car. It was my favorite purple one with my “Rochester Boat Club” sticker on it. So if anyone from Sicily ever shows up at the boathouse in Fairport….
Back on board we decompressed with a few glasses of wine before heading out to specialty dinner number 3: the Brazilian steakhouse. It was Meatfest night! This is the place where men carrying sharp sticks with meat stop by the table and give you as much meat as you can stomach. And we stomached way too much. We nearly didn’t have room for our double Bailey’s nightcap while we watched the absolutely hysterical juggler in the evening show. It will take a long tome to digest everything but hopefully we’ll be less sluggish in the morning so we can enjoy Napoli!
Dubious data for today:
14,346 steps and 36 floors (Sicily is also not flat)
Kilometers driven: 199
Approximate gas mileage: 70 mpg
Total cost of the day including rental car, diesel, parking, and tolls: $72
Today we switched time zones – from Greece to Italy as we called it – and so we got an extra hour’s sleep. Of course we still went to be early because we were knackered and we still slept through until 7ish am. While Frank continued to saw logs, I snuck up to the gym for another erg workout (a ladder piece: 6 minute intervals with 45 seconds rest at 22, 25, 28, 25, 22 stroke rates). The gym was much more crowded this morning – maybe because the ship wasn’t due to dock until 1pm. Nevertheless, the bros and the treadmill queens were out in full force. And only once in the course of the half hour that I was there did I see anyone wipe down their equipment.
Travel tip #17: wipe down your gym equipment first because it is highly unlikely that the person who used it before you bothered to do so.
I confess that it amazes me that an organization that seems fixated on preventing the spread of germs doesn’t do a better job encouraging (forcing?) people to wipe down their equipment. But I digress…
We breakfasted and then took the cards on deck for a few rounds of cribbage while we waited for the ship to pull into port. (BTW, I won.) We pulled into Valletta harbor where another cruise ship was already docked and the ship spun and backed into a berth. Let me say that again: a 93K ton cruise ship that’s nearly 1000 feet long SPUN in the harbor and BACKED into the dock. As new coxswain, I can barely get an 8 person skull to spin in the Erie canal without anxiety so I am completely in awe of the captain’s ability to make it happen for this ship. But of course, that’s why they pay him the big bucks.
Once we were cleared by the local authorities, the race to leave the ship began. I confess that I still find it jarring to have to wait in a large crowd for 15 minutes just to leave but we eventually got past that and were on shore. As has been the case in other ports, we have litte, okay really no, interest in organized tours so this stop was no different. We knew we wanted to visit Mdina and my meager pre-trip research indicated which local busses went there. So off we went to the local bus station where we caught the number 52 bus (for 2 euros each) to Mdina – the “silent city”: a walled city that served as the country’s capital through the middle ages and is now home to a mere 250 people and almost no cars (hence the moniker “silent”)
It was a rabbit warren of a different kind. No cars driving by, no souvenir shops, no cafes with hawkers trying to appeal to tourists. In fact, there were very few things open at all. It is Sunday and Malta is a country that was basically founded by the Catholic church as a respite for knights of the Crusades. Why NCL thought that stopping here on a Sunday makes sense is beyond me. We managed to find a lovely cafe on the edge of the city walls for lunch where we were able to sample some Maltese dishes: GF pasta with traditional Maltese rabbit sauce and pizza with Maltese sausage – also made from rabbit. Can’t say that the local wine and beer made much of an impression unfortunately.
While in Mdina, we visited the Metropoliat Cathedral of Malta – a Baroque cathedral built in medieval times but rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake.
Travel tip #18 – have a scarf or shawl handy at all times as you never know when it will come in handy. I had a large scarf in my backpack that I have used as an impromptu “dress” in Mykonos and as a wrap to enter the cathedral in Mdina.
After admiring the lovely town, we hopped the next bus #52 back to Valletta expecting to find the advertised cultural and commercial heart of Malta. And what we found was a lovely city that was essentially closed. There were a handful of tourist attractions and shops open but even many of the historical exhibits and museums were closed for the day. Because we didn’t get back to Valletta until after 5pm, even the places that were open for tourists were starting to close. And yet our ship would be in port until 9pm. Why? Made no sense to me.
Back on board, we found our way to the Irish pub where we joined a group from Toronto that we dined with on our first night. After several drinks, it was time to shower and make our way to dinner. Tonight the kitchen was right on target: Frank’s linguine with clams was fabulous and my corvina with dill was amazing. After dinner we made our way to the Bliss Lounge for a nightcap and take in some karoke. And then it was time to turn in and prepare for our early arrival in Sicily tomorrow.
Dubious data for today:
22,244 steps and 37 flights (Malta is NOT flat)
34 freighters passed on our way into port
1 other ship in port
Today was our mid-cruise break. The ship docked in Crete for 5 whole hours between 7am and noon. We decided early on that there can’t be anything that unusual on this particular Greek island that would be worth setting an alarm so we opted to stay onboard for today. Our plans? A couples bamboo massage and then hanging out by the pool.
Just like we did on our honeymoon cruise 30 years ago, we spent some time having complete strangers beat us with sticks… literally. Okay, we didn’t have quite the same experience on our honeymoon but this time we were looking for some serious deep tissue work. And wow, did we get that. For 75 minutes, two lovely women used their hands, elbows, arms, and warm bamboo sticks to try to get all the knots out of the various places on the body. It was very nice although the two knots in my trapezius muscles that refused to release are now just plain sore. And when all was said and done, we got the typcial hard sell: $400 worth of recommended products for us to use at home. Thanks, but no thanks.
Travel tip #15: Like many other retail operations, much of the cruise extras are based on upselling. Be prepared to be asked to buy, book, and spend over and above what you’ve already paid. If you are ready for it, you can act appropriately but we notice people who, like us in the past, were really buying into everything they were told they “needed.”
Suitably relaxed, we headed to the pool deck to find that many of our fellow passengers had also opted to hang out on board and it took some time to find empty deck chairs. But we eventually managed and then spent the next 5 or so hours lounging, reading, drinking fruity drinks, listening to music, and not much else. We took a break to go for lunch in the dining room which most people don’t bother with. The buffet is a much more popular daytime option as people can eat their lunch on their deck chairs.
Travel tip #16: Embrace hand sanitizer. Cruise ships take the threat of illness like the noro virus very seriously and disinfectant is everywhere. Whenever you come aboard the ship or enter the dining room, you will be met with a spray bottle of hand sanitizer and a smiling face asking you to “washy, washy” so we can be “happy, happy”.
We instead head down to the Grand Pacific dining room where their isn’t quite the same focus on disinfectant since patrons don’t actually touch the food. We were joined by a small number of others which means that we get personally cooked food and excellent service. Today that service included an entire bottle of wine! We had a drink package that allows us to have unlimited drinks in a certain category including some wines. We both had a glass of pinot grigio with lunch and the waiter just kept filling our glasses until the bottle was gone. Oops?
We were so exhausted from doing nothing that a nap was required before dinner. Tonight’s culinary adventure was a specialty meal in the Italian restaurant. It was fine but really nothing special – Frank had veal scallopini and I had sea bass. And then cannoli and panna cotta for desert. The evenings entertainment was a Cuban themed variety show which was also mildly entertaining. All in all a good way to say good bye to Greece and the first part of the cruise. Tomorrow we are headed to Malta and the final days at sea.
Dubious data:
6,029 steps and 20 floors
Photographs taken: 1
Ships in port: 2
Today (October 7) is the reason for the entire trip: our 30th wedding anniversary. Apparently this is the Pearl anniversary not that we’ve ever minded such things. We originally thought it would be a great opportunity for us to have a big celebration with all the family and friends who couldn’t be there on the actual day but that didn’t work out. The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley as Robbie Burns once penned. 
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