8 September Friday - Arrivaderci, Roma!

Last night we had a parade of chefs and dining stewards so we could thank them, but it was very brief, nothing like the old parades with the baked alaska and singing their goodbye song. We also didn't get a Cruise Log, a shame because it's always fun to see the nationalities on board, the miles sailed, etc. etc.

This morning I was in the Lido at 6.00am for breakfast, finished packing my cabin bag and went to sit in the showroom to wait for my group to be called. We left the port around 8.30, with a very loud guide, Max, with a heavy Italian accent. He talked about lots of stuff and then we pulled into a rest stop because we were told a couple had been put on the wrong bus and we had to wait for them there.

The Civitavecchia area has lots of agriculture, wine, olives, vegetables, but only for the local area, to Rome. The vines were heavy with grapes, which will apparently be harvested and the white wine ready in time for Christmas: different from our concept of aged wine, I guess.They also have the umbrella pine tree, the pinecones giving them pine nuts. 

All of my pictures from Rome, except for St Paul's Basilica, are taken from the moving bus window, with its limitations. Looking back to the cruise port, at least five cruise ships:

When we got to Rome, Max told us that Pope Francis doesn't live in the Papal appartments; his opinion was that because Pope John Paul I only lasted 33 days, Pope Francis would rather be in the safety of his Vatican City hotel, with lots of other people around (nuns, priests, etc)! We went past the place of the "open mouth in the wall" where Gregory Peck put his hand in Roman Holiday. 

A pretty street and other landmarks. 

Although the description of the tour said we would have 30 minutes at St Peter's, in fact we only caught a glimpse for a picture; I wasn't the only one disappointed. 

We did stop at St Paul's Outside the Walls for fifteen minutes and I had a quick look and a prayer inside. Even though this is a magnificant church, it was very disappointing to miss St Peter's. I'll just have to go back one day!

I was at the airport by 1.00 pm, with 9 hours till take-off: not much to do about that, as the airport isn't anywhere near the town. So I worked on this blog and sorted the latest pictures, did some knitting and reading, etc. I was able to charge the laptop and the phone, although there was only one little charge station in the pre-check-in area. I was able to get the first spot in the queue once my flight opened, about 4 hours before the flight, so I was able to get rid of my suitcase at last; security was very crowded and took about 20 minutes but then I was through.

The flight from Roma was a 777 and I had one of the back 2-seaters, on the window, so there’s space between the seat and the wall for putting stuff and stretching your legs. We left Roma four minutes early and touched down four minutes early; however, it took quite a while for the doors to open. We walked down the stairs to tarmac buses and it was eventually 45 minutes after we landed that we arrived at the terminal. It was very quick through security and the gate was only a couple of minutes away. So I spent quite a while walking around the shops to stretch my legs, got a Costco coffee (pretty good too) and brushed my teeth. I was feeling surprisingly awake at 8.00am Saturday Dubai time, having had only a couple of hours’ sleep. I didn’t realise the flight would be only 5 hours.

The A380 was very comfortable; I was in the front Economy cabin downstairs, which is fairly small. The only problem was that during the 13 hour flight we had 3 young children (pre-school) who alternated in yelling, screeching, or talking very loudly the whole time. Consequently, it was impossible to get anything like a good sleep. The attractive young girl on the window was German and on her way to Sydney for the first time to work as an au pair, living at Manly Beach – she will have 2 pre-schoolers and a baby to look after! The young man on the aisle was Irish, lived here for 4 years and had been back for a wedding; he also lives in Manly!! When we got to Sydney airspace, we circled until we were all dizzy – at least 20 minutes! The Customs hall was absolute bedlam, with 7 flights arriving almost simultaneously.

It was a delight to have Yvonne waiting for me in the Arrivals hall: very special to have someone there to greet me! We had a cuppa when we got home and then she headed off. Suddenly I’m back in the peace and quiet of Engadine. The trip was superb, everything that I had hoped for, abounding in God’s gracious gifts, but it’s also nice to be home sweet home!

7 September Thursday, Naples Italy

I was up very early and in the Lido for early, quick breakfast. We docked in the port while I was up there, and I also watched the Royal Princess slide into the adjoining berth: a massive 4000 passenger floating city that dwarfed everything else. As soon as I was ready, around 7.45, I went to the gangway steps but we all had to wait a while till the ship was cleared. Getting off was nice and quick, with a little walk and no clear directions as to which exit to take. I was conscious that I had to find my tour guide on the outside. I walked out into a circus! Cabbies everywhere wanting to transport you, tour guides everywhere. I had the brochure and pointed to it with a tour guide on hand; he told me and another couple to “wait here”. After 10 minutes, the other couple disappeared; finally he came over and told me to join a group a little further on. Finally I appeared to have the right group (6 from the Princess, a married couple celebrating their 50^th Anniversary and a family of 4 from the Gold Coast) and the 7 of us got into the mini-bus taxi, a 9 seater. 

I had noticed there were over a thousand new cars on the dock, awaiting transport, of course. They were all white, with an occasional dark cover over a door, which was all I could spot. Well when we were moving in the bus, I saw that the "dark door" was actually the colour of the car and all the rest of the car, literally was wrapped in a white seal; so they weren't all white at all, there were lots of colours. As we moved through (a very large area) we came to more cars, possibly a couple of thousand, all different colours, with big groups of like cars parked together. 

To start with, our guide, Mario, said he would take us on a little drive around old Naples (not on the schedule), which was fascinating. He stopped outside a cathedral which suddenly appeared amongst the old buildings and we had 15 minutes to have a look: an incredible work of art, with a side chapel which is obviously a place of worship.

Then we headed towards Pompeii and for the first time in Italy, there was romantic Italian music: Mario stopped talking and started playing Dean Martin’s Italian songs, as well as some popular opera – Nessun Dorma, etc. We stopped at a jewellery factory on the way where they were hand carving exquisite cameos, set into beautiful settings but far too expensive to consider. A cameo being created:

When we reached Pompeii, we didn’t go to the first gate, because Mario pointed out the long, long queues to buy tickets. We went to the other end of the city and walked straight up to the window: ϵ15 to get in. We had 2 hours, but it’s a very complex site and we needed to be able to get back to the starting point to meet Mario, so we all stuck together. What an amazing piece of history! It’s far more complex to describe than will fit here in a few words. Eg, frescoes partly intact were dated 100BC! There is still excavation going on, and we observed a dig site, with their myriad of labels attached to specific artifacts still almost buried. There are long streets of houses where you can see the way the rooms were set up. Also, the recreations of victims, made by casting the perfectly preserved volcanic ash casings which etombed them and hardened.

There was a shower, but we didn’t get too wet;  it was funny to watch the two daughters from Oz telling their Dad how to read the map because they got it right and got us out of the maze successfully.

As we headed for the Amalfi Coast, it started to rain heavily for about 10 minutes, but then cleared. What a beautiful coastline! 

This took us to Sorrento, where we had almost 2 hours to ourselves. The others went to a restaurant but I had snacks from the ship, so I wandered around. I loved Sorrento: it has a really nice feel about it and the shops were reasonably priced. 

A wedding party came out of what I assume was the town hall 

and they took pictures here.

This is what they will see in the background of their photos:

The trip back home was pretty quick until we hit Napoli peak traffic in streets very wet from showers (apparently heavy rain for hours). Mario dropped me a few minutes’ walk from the pier because it would have taken longer to drive through and he was taking the Princess people on a further tour of Naples town. I had thought this tour was going to cost me ϵ89. It turned out to be ϵ70 including his nominated tip of ϵ10! What a blessing!

Reports from the HAL tour participants convinced me I had a fantastic deal: it’s been a day to remember! Three of the HAL official tours were very, very late back because of bad weather and some road flooding and we ended up sailing 40 minutes late. I went to the final Mass and Father Gary was very thankful to the dozen of us who had been there every day: he really enjoyed building a community with us. Then the final dinner where Patsy, Kate and Chris were all very late because they were on the late buses.

 So we all said our goodbyes and now I’m doing final packing. Because I had still some credit on the ship, I ordered a glass of wine and some cheese to finish the last day. This gave me a final shipboard account of $4.38!! 

6 September Wednesday, at sea en route to Naples, Italy

A nice sleep-in and Mass at 8.00. Unfortunately, because it wasn't in the calender, none of the non-denominational people turned up at 9.00, so I won’t see any of them again; however, it’s been a blessing being able to go to Mass every day and hear a priest so gifted in bringing the Word of God alive.

I went to a second Mariners' lunch, got my free glass of wine and another Holland America tile. An interesting fact came out about our departure from Santorini: apparently we had a very near miss with the Norwegian Spirit; apparently, she was leaving much later than scheduled because of late passenger returns. Because of this, I'm going to the Q&A with the Captain in half an hour, because you can bet one of the questions will be in that area: he may not answer, and in fact, if it's the subject of an investigation he won't be able to, but it will certainly be interesting to hear more.

Captain Smit had proven himself a little quieter and less chatty up till now, the few times I had heard him speak. The showroom was quite crowded. When he came to the stage he introduced himself with a little bit of background and then said before he started his presentation, he would talk about yesterday's incident. In fact, he said he knew that was why we were all there, because normally the Captain's Q&A only gets a handful of people. He explained that he couldn't say much because the incident is under investigation but suffice to say that the Norwegian Spirit made a manouvre which in his 30 years of sailing he has never seen happen. Not only was there immediate reaction with head office involvement, but he said he is still in shock and didn't sleep at all last night. He spoke extremely well and left us in no doubt that all safety precautions came into play in ensuring that the Westerdam negotiated the situation successfully. Apparently we came within about 250m of each other. I wouldn't be surprised  if it has made news somewhere by now.  The rest of his presentation was fascinating, focusing on the space-age bridge and its functions, and he was very engaging in answering questions. I was really glad I went.

Tonight is formal night; I’ve started packing because tomorrow, the last full day, I’ll be out on my wonderful, exciting excursion all day, and will only have after dinner to get my packing finished and have the suitcase out for collection.

5 September Tuesday, Santorini Greece

I was in the Lido for a 6.30 breakfast to get ahead of the hordes going on excursions. Kate and Chris were there so we had breakfast together. When those of us who didn’t need a tender ticket got to the tender stairs at 8.00 am, we were told that all the excursions would be loaded first, as they were going to a different drop-off near the buses, the we would be taken to the main drop-off at the donkeys and chair lift. In this port they don’t use ship’s tenders: they charter local tenders, which is obviously good income for the local businesses. There are 4 cruise ships here today, so it’s very busy. 

Santorini is still blue and white and beautiful! The three of us were on a tender by 8.40 and on shore before 9.00. I changed my shoes and headed for the donkey trail. Thankfully at this time of morning, it was in the shade all the way up; there are just on 600 steps, but each step is up to four or five paces wide, so it’s step-2-3-4-5 for each , with the average being 4 paces.

At the bottom, the donkeys were lined up, donkey after donkey, and they’re bigger than the little “pets” you see at fairs and kids’ rides; these are as big as small horses. Yes, you have to be on your toes watching out for the poo, which is everywhere. It’s only ϵ6 for the donkey ride, but I wanted to do the steps and I’m not so sure about being high up on the mountain on a donkey bumping from side to side. It was quite a challenge and I had a few moments’ rest here and there; the views were wonderful. Getting to the top at around 600 wasn’t the end of the walking but it was getting hot, so I climbed higher, looking for both a wifi café and a keyring to replace my 2005 Santorini keyring which was attached to the car keys I lost in March this year.

I found a café, ordered a large, delightfully cold iced coffee, and started looking at emails. Kate and Chris spotted me (they had ridden the cable car up the mountain) and joined me for coffee. They left again and I kept walking, ever more steps, ever higher. I found my keyring and decided it was hot enough, I had gone high enough, so I wound my way through more and more alleyways until I was gradually going in the downward direction towards the donkey trail. Meanwhile, Santorini is a photographer's dream!

This time it was in full sun, very hot, and going down 600 steps is every bit as hard on your knees and legs as going up! By the time I got to the bottom, my legs were very shakey and I was glad to sit down under the Westerdam tent with a cool lemonade to wait for the next tender. I had donkey poo in the grooves of my shoes, of course, and had deliberately brought a pair of shoes which I didn’t mind leaving behind. With nowhere to clean them properly, I wasn’t about to fly into Sydney quarantine with this pollution on my shoes, so I left them behind on the dock. Maybe someone will get them who needs them!

Back on board, I had a shower to cool down and then had lunch. Funniest thing: when I got to Mass and Father Gary was fuming. Someone in the parish had edited the Google calendar and changed all the 11.00 Sunday Masses to 10.00. He said, “when you get a text saying ‘I know you’re on vacation but ..’ you know you’re in trouble!” He was spitting chips but laughing at himself and telling himself to calm down because we were about to move out of contact for 36 hours and besides he won't be able to fix it till he gets home on Saturday.

I had given Patsy at our table a gift of my little new testament and she gave me a lovely cake of local olive oil soap. She and Leslie will be continuing on to Barcelona and the Patsy continues for another couple of weeks after that. Kate and Chris will be getting off on Friday in Rome. I have some onboard credit left, so I’ve replaced my broken Wild Bean travel mug with a Holland America one. I also indulged tonight and had port and cheese delivered before bedtime. Tonight we put the clocks back one hour to be reimbursed for the hour we lost en route to Greece.

4 September Monday, Rhodes Greece

We’re berthed right at the city walls (or the remains of the walls, still standing after centuries of guarding the city). The Norwegian Star is berthed right across the dock – it was fun to watch it moving in and parking. There’s a smaller cruise ship parked right behind us, so it's busy in town.

I'm in the old walled city with an iced coffee and wifi. I had quite a walk through and then into the city proper. The old city is just one continuous shopping mall: jewellery, fashion, souvenirs and cafes. Yes, I did find an ATM and have my extra cash, so all's good for Thursday's adventure. I'll be heading back to the ship shortly; not much else to see unless I go further into the city and the local attractions are out of town: we saw those last time we were here.

It was nice and quiet with everyone ashore and I enjoyed being back in the cool.

3 September Sunday, Mykonos Greece

What a beautiful place - better than any postcard. It's a camera overload! I'm doing wifi in a cafe. We docked here, which was different from the original plan in the itinerary of a tender port, and there were free shuttles to take us the short distance into the town.

There’s a beach right in front of the shops; it looks “white” but it’s actually shale, not sand.

I found a café and settled down with an iced coffee to do my wifi – yes, even on little Mykonos it’s free wifi in cafés.

Yes, the water really is this blue and sparkling clear!

It was very hot ashore, although okay if you could get out of the sun, so I was back on board for a late lunch.

I discovered that the ship’s calendar changed the non-denominational service to 6.00pm, which meant I couldn’t go because I’m on early seating dinner.

Now here’s the second major God story of my trip. Today, having been offered an amazing excursion on shore in Mykonos for Naples on Thursday to go to Sorrento, Positano, the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii, I had to decide whether to cancel the ship’s excursion I had booked to only Pompeii. I was only prepared to do this if I could get the refund ($US95). It took some to-ing a fro-ing, but eventually I found out that I could get the refund. Next step was to book the new excursion (ϵ89, so about the same cost). However, it turns out that when I pay on Thursday it has to be cash. So I was aware I would need to find a cash machine, which I don’t expect to be a problem in Rhodes tomorrow. However, I discovered that I’d brought my leftover $US notes with me - $30; so I went to the desk and got $20 for this (plus some $US change). When I checked my total cash now, would you believe I have ϵ89.25!!! I think that means I’m supposed to go on the better excursion!

2 September Saturday, Piraeus Athens

I believe some people partied both ashore and on board last night. I went up onto the Lido pool deck to get those nightscapes and the atmosphere was alive!

One of the landmarks I've noticed has been that "blue church" in the pictures, so this morning I decided to take the advice I got from Davos of Greece and go and explore. The guide on the dock gave me a map and pointed out several landmarks; he said "blue church beautiful!" So I'm proud to say I found it. Inside it's certainly very beautiful in the traditional Orthodox style, but it was also set up with chairs for those who wanted to pray and I noticed that the elderly gentleman at the door actually asked a lady who was just having a quick walk around to leave - she was wearing shorts and I imagine that's not considered appropriate wear in a holy place here. A couple of shots now, maybe more later when I can download them. I'm enjoying a strange creation called and "iced coffee" here on the waterfront near the Maritime Museum and using free wifi, of course. Another day without having to spend $A35 on 24 hours of ship's wifi!

On my walk I passed by the Archeological Museum and apparently they’re digging on the site. The artifacts, of course, come from other locations.

A note about traffic in Athens:

1.     NEVER step onto a pedestrian crossing unless there is not a car in sight: if you do, you’ll wake up with St Peter at the Pearly Gates. You wait till there is a break, you hurry across halfway and if there’s anything coming, you lift up your arms like a policeman and tell them to stop: they seem to do this (or the have so far!).

2.     Apparently parking in Athens is legal wherever there isn’t something else on that stretch of kerb.

I walked up some stairs leading up to a pretty alley with what turned out to be apartment buildings. Most of these looked like adequate, modern dwellings; however, I thought this one, right in the middle of the nice ones, must have a sad story to tell.