Hydra Part Two

The next morning we woke up pretty early, 8:30 or so, and got breakfast.  I had an omelets which is pretty common in Europe.  It was good and filled us up so we could walk around the city.  We walked around and stumbled right back into a little jewelry shop, where the artist was sitting there making jewelry.  Although there are tons of jewelry shops yet none of them made the jewelry themselves.  The artist, Zoe(which means "life" in Greek) told us about each piece of jewelry.  I ended up splurging on a ring with a green precious gem and a polished shell half.  It is absolutely beautiful, and another one of those souvenirs that you can only find in one place.  We asked Zoe if she had a website and she said she didn't really believe that it was a good idea because then her jewelry would not be unique and special, I like that.  This ring looks hand-made, but in a good way.  Anyways, I can't believe how quickly things are flying here.  I have tons of homework and there is just no time to recover at each port, but I just get sleep when I can.

 

Epidaurus, Mycenae, Corinth Canal

Today I did another trip with SAS.  I went to see Epidaurus, Mycenae, and the Corinth Canal.  This trip started incredibly early, 7 am to be precise and our first stop was the Corinth Canal.  The canal connects the Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea and you could see boats taking the short trip between the two.  I couldn’t believe how deep the canal was; just from looking at the side of the canal you could not see the bottom. 

 

After the canal, we went to Epidaurus, this is a set of ruins, surprise surprise.  But what was really neat was that this set of ruins contained an amphitheater with almost perfectly build acoustics.  It reminded me a lot of the how the Hollywood Bowl is set up, and I am sure whoever built the Hollywood Bowl (sorry Kathy I feel like that is something I should know) was inspired by amphitheaters like this one.  There are actually three centers of acoustics in the theater and when standing on the triangle that these three create, your voice can be heard up to the top seat.  O and by the way this is one of the oldest theaters around, 2400 years old, and it survived only because the Romans had no interest in modifying it.

 

Next we stopped at the 2^nd capital of Greece, Napalou.  We only had a couple of minutes here but it was a nice walled city on the ocean.  From there we went to Mycenae, and if anyone ever read any Homer you will recognize the name because this is the city which Agamemnon once ruled over.  Here is the oldest sculpture in Europe, the Lions Gate which greets people at the gate of the city, is 3300 years old and absolutely huge.  There are nine tombs and one outside of the city.  There is little known about the one outside of the city, and it has been given the name Agamemnon’s Tomb because it just seems to fit even though Agamemnon probably was not buried there.  By the way, it was 41 degrees Celsius here that translates into 105 degrees Fahrenheit.  Let’s just say it was hot. 

 

When I got back to the ship, Amanda and I headed out to the Greek island Hydra for the night.  We took a hydrofoil, or a really fast ferry, to get to the island and I managed to start feeling sea sick, it sucked.  After, we arrived on the island Amanda and I found our hotel, which turned out to be very nice, then went to get some food.  We walked around the city for a while and enjoyed many different jewelry shops, I guess that is what Hydra is known for.  We decided to go back to our hotel for a little bit to get something, but as we walked up the street we noticed this guy following us, literally, and I stopped just to make sure and he stopped to.  Amanda and I walked back the opposite way back to the main road where there were many people.  He followed us back out of the little street and kept walking away.  I haven't felt in any danger this whole trip up until this point.  Good thing we were aware of surroundings and nothing truly bad happened.  We ended up going out to a little club/bar and were literally the only Americans there.  It was nice though to mingle with local people around my age.  I talked to the waiter and he had just gotten back from his mandatory military service (that is one plus in America that there is no required military service). 

Day 2 in Delphi

Today, I went to Delphi.  This was an amazing trip.  It is about a three hour drive, so once we made it there I had to enjoy to the full extent because who knows when I will ever come back.  We were able to see some incredible things.  The main wall in Delphi has 800 inscriptions telling the stories of slaves who gained their freedom.  The main temple itself had three inscriptions on the top of it: one is "E" (no one really knows what that means); the other is "be true to thyself"; and the last one is “nothing in excess”.  I got to see where the priestess would sit and give the oracle to many people.  In the movie My Life In Ruins, they show a rock with a hole in it.  This is actually right behind the temple in which the Priestess would live out her life giving oracles.  Even though it wasn't the real one, I still asked my question.  No answer except for the music these tree bugs make, which is incredibly loud.  Maybe my answer will come later!!  After Delphi, we went to a local place for more wonderful Greek food!!  I love the food here, by the way.  And then we went to a Byzantine Ministry. It was beautiful inside, in the classic Greek Orthodox fashion.  They have gilded gold mosaics through out.  I lit a candle inside; it was beautiful and peaceful at the top of a mountain. 

Day 1 in Greece

Athens is great. The first day here I went to see sights of Athens and the Acropolis.  I couldn't believe the Acropolis it was beautiful, sitting atop the mountain, and the buildings are so well preserved.  After the Acropolis, instead of going back to the port with the tour, my friends (Amanda, Caitlyn, and Catherine, and Elsabeth) stayed behind to look around and get dinner.  We first went to the Plaka, like an old town, and found a hole in the wall Suflacki(sorry for the spelling) place that Catherine's dad recommended.  Turns out that place is gone and this new one now exists.  It was amazing and for 3.10 Euro we all got Suflacki in a pita and a soda.  This was a nice snack!!  Then we went shopping.  We found a bakery(really all we did today was eat I swear).  In the bakery every wall was filled with Turkish delights, Greek Christmas cookies(like ginger bread), pine nut covered marzipan balls, and a variety of marmalade filled cookies.  We all got a variety and shared.  Then we went to dinner.  It was strange because we asked some older man for directions and he said no, no, no don't go there it's touristy and he took us to another local place.  He literally went out of his way, he owns a shop, and took us to this great restaurant.  We had a Greek salad and appetizers, and a bottle of wine.  That was enough, we couldn't make it to the main course because it was so much.  But the food was amazing: with sausage, tziki sauce, fried cheese sticks, the grape leaf thing.  It was incredible.  Then at the end of the meal the owner of the restaurant brought us all out a double shot of ouzo (black licorice flavored alcohol).  When poured over ice it turns a milky color.  It was strong but it was on the house so we all HAD to drink it, despite most of our deep loathing for black licorice.  It wasn't too bad.  We took a taxi back to the port, because by this time it was pretty late and got ready to go to a local bar.  We went to an Irish pub and a Karaoke bar, very random in Greece!!  Then went to bed. 

Day 3-Montenegro

Today I went to Montenegro, a small country to the South of Croatia.  We woke up incredibly early to start our drive.  It turned out that we really saw the majority of the country through our driving.  We began by leaving Croatia and passing through Montenegro’s customs.  We drove for about 1 ½ hours to the town of Kotor, a lovely walled-city on a bay. We had a guided tour and then some free time.  We had to switch back over from the Kuna to Euro, because they use the Euro in Montenegro, then we sat down and had a coffee.  It was already hot so we had an iced-coffee.  The gypsies and beggars in Kotor were really bad.  We had several children come up to us while we drank our coffee and just put their hands out for money.  They would stand there, too, for 5 minutes.  It’s really sad but it is a business there and you cannot support their use of children to get peoples money.

 

From Kotor, we climbed a huge mountain, 3000 meters to be precise.  It was really scary and many of us were having trouble with the heights.  Not only was the mountain high, but there were 25 sharp turns to get to the small town we were visiting.  At everyone of these turns a portion of the bus would be hanging over the cliff, our tour guide said this was normal—I don’t believe her.  After a very long and scary ride, we reached a small ( and I mean very small) village called Cindjurie.  It was really cute and they served us sandwiches of ham and cheese.  We had some free time to walk around and my friend, Catherine, and I found a little stand selling homemade baked goods.  We bought these cookies that were like Mexican Wedding Cake cookies and jam between them.  Delicious, they practically melted in your mouth. 

 

We left Cindjurie, for another long drive to Budva, a town that James Bond, “Casino Royale,” was filmed in.  We had more food, supposedly lunch although I would argue what we ate in Cindjurie was lunch.  We had a short amount of time to walk around too.  This was a very touristy place, and reminded me a little of Mexico.  We left Budva and took a 2 ½ hour drive back to the boat. 

 

Once back on the boat, Catherine and I went into Old town for dinner.  We found a great place, Mea Culpa, for dinner.  Suprisingly, Croatia has had the best pizza of my whole trip (even Naples)!!!  We had a ham, bacon, and gorgonzola pizza.  It was incredible.  We also had our fair share of wine since it was only 10 Kuna a glass, that means only $2.  After dinner, we met some friends to go to a local night club, Fuego.  It was really fun and we danced until 3 in the morning.  As we were walking home from the club, Dubrovnik is incredibly safe, it began to pour, so we hailed a cab and rode home. 

 

What a wonderful day exploring both Montenegro and Croatia!!

 

Day 2 in Croatia

Today started very early.  We headed along the Croatian Coast and our first stop was Trestono to see a botanical garden.  It used to be a mansion and summer home for a rich family.  Because you can see the house from the sea, it was against the law to have a really opulent house, so people would invest in exotic plants to show their wealth instead.  It was beautiful.

 

Next we headed to Ston, a walled city.  This city actually came under often because of the much coveted salt fields.  We walked through the city to see the salt fields and passed some small cafes and a great farmers market.  We spent our free time climbing the city walls.  Although this sounds easy, the highest point of the wall was up a hill.  It was quite a hike, but the view was well worth it.

 

After Ston, we headed to the coast again and took a ferry to the Island of Korcula.  Supposedly, this is the island that Marco Polo was born on.  This is another walled city, and within the city walls there are great shops and a museum of Icons.  Because Korcula was used as a port, many of Greece’s antiquities are here left over from Greek rule.  We went to the Museum of Icons and saw some beautiful Greek Orthodox icons.  We had some free time and I made sure to indulge in an ice cream and relaxing by putting my feet in the clear blue water of the Adriatic Sea. 

 

After our trip I came home and slept, preparing for my day in Montenegro tomorrow.

Day 1 in Croatia

Hi all!! Sorry for the delay in my updates but here are a couple.  Enjoy!

 

 

So today I was landed in Dubrovnik.  It is beautiful, especially compared to Naples.  It's not just me who didn't like Naples, it seems in general everyone thought it to be pretty scary as well.  But the first thing we did when we docked was walk from the port to old town Dubrovnik.  I was really excited today, entering the port because they stamped my passport for the first time. Yay, like Sandra Bullocks in "While You Were Sleeping," I finally got a stamp in my passport--it took me three countries but I finally got it!! 

 

In Croatia they use the Kuna as currency.  Right now the exchange rate is about 1 US dollar to every 5 Kuna.  I took money out of the ATM and felt like a Kuniannaire!!  My friends and I kept betting each other to do things for Kuna, like I dare you to do this for 100 Kuna (this sounds like a lot but wait it’s only 20 dollars!!)

 

We went to old town and ate a light lunch at a small cafe, then I took the bus back to the boat to go on my trip at 1pm.  We took a bus ride into rural Dubrovnik to a city called Osojnik (pronounced Osoynick).  We were greeted by a the matron of the house we were visiting at the one and only church in town.  The Matron of the House was dressed in authentic clothing, a blue dress and white shall.  From there we walked down a long road, past donkeys and chickens, and our tour guide told us about the local herbs.  I guess herbology is very important to this city, they even put herbs in their brandy for their health. 

 

We arrived at a house and were greeted by the Patron of the House and a fig and glass of brandy.  Wow, it is strong, they actually make the brandy from the raisins.  The terrain in this area is very harsh with tons of limestone, so it's hard to grow anything but grapes.  We then toasted, over an open flame, a piece of toast, bacon and goat/cow cheese.  Can I say DELICIOUS!!  We had some wine, I was not a fan though it was kind of sweet for me.  Then we listened to authentic Croatian music which included a guitar and accordion.  We proceeded down to a dungeon like place for dinner.  It included some kind of meat and potatoes.  Really delicious.  We had more songs and sing alongs, it was wonderful. It really gave me a taste of a small Croatian village.  These people were friendly and fun-loving, I had a blast. 

 

 

July 4th

 Happy 4th of July to everyone.  It is very odd to celebrate or not celebrate in this case the 4th of July in another country.  O well, they are throwing us a bbq tomorrow as we leave Naples!!

 

Today we landed in Naples.  This is NOT a safe port at all and in one of my classes we read the book Gomorrah about the mafia in Naples.  It is scary at night so they have a shuttle for us into town and don't worry we will not go out after dark. 

 

Today I went to Pompeii and Sorrento.  We first went to Sorrento which is known for their lemons and olive oil.  It is a beautiful cliff town and it was fun to walk around and have lunch in.  From their we went to Pompeii! Wow, it is hard to believe how well preserved it is being founded in 500 BCE.  We walked around for about 2 hours on a guided tour seeing the gymnasium, brothel , common house, and main trading area.  It was outstanding and unbelievable.  From there I ran to Rosalba Cammei and Coralli (the cameo store).  I made my one huge purchase of the trip--I bought by self a cameo.  It has a blue back ground and is both a pin and a necklace.  I love it and I can't wait to show you all up close the amazing detail it has.  Tonight we are going into town for pizza, a place that the Doctor on our ship recommended call Brandy's (supposedly the first place to make pizza for Queen Margherita).  I hope to hear from you all soon!!

July 2 and 3 in Rome

Hi,

 

Sorry it has taken me awhile to get back and tell you what has happened.  I already told you about my first day in Italy, so I will move on to my overnight trip. 

 

I left on my trip and right away we got started.  We went first to the Coliseum!!  Wow, it is hard to believe how old it is and how well preserved it is as well.  We walked around and got some great pictures (not with the gladiators because they are pick-pockets).  Then we walked over to the Roman Forum.  It was about 12 noon by this time and incredibly hot.  I literally sweat right through my shirt, but this was the time to see it all so it didn't matter.  Then, we went to our hotel.  We stayed in a Best Western, ironically, but it was very clean and very nice.  We had a couple of free hours so my friend, Nina, and I went to lunch at a local restaurant.  Then we walked through the main park, past the Zoo, to the Piazza del Popolo.  We had some gelato, did a little window shopping, and had just enough time to fill our water bottles in a fountain and head back for dinner.  Dinner was great, in a little restaurant in the older housing district.  There was live music, wine, and great food!!  I couldn't have asked for anything more.  After dinner we went on our walking tour!!  First we went to the Trevi Fountain.  It is beautiful in the day but magnificent at night.  I threw 5 coins in!!  Well, legend says to throw 1 coin in to come back to Rome (and you have to throw it in your right hand over your shoulder), 2 coins to find love, 3 coins to get divorced.  I threw 5 in--1 for me to come back and the rest for my friends and family to come back with me!!  After the Trevi Fountain we went to the Pantheon and then to the Piazza del Navona. It was all beautiful and I couldn't get enough pictures. 

 

The next day was equally as wonderful.  We started out by going to the Vatican.  I already had my personal meeting with the Pope, now I needed to see his house.  The Vatican is beautiful.  The Sistine Chapel was breath taking and all the historic art was fabulous.  From there we went to the Basilica.  I touched St. Peter's foot, which is what I guess you do in the Basilica.  Then we went and had a ridiculously large lunch and tiramisu and Italian coffee for dessert.  From there we had free time and so Nina and I went to the Pantheon during the day, because part of what makes it spectacular is the 9 meter hole in the ceiling of the Pantheon.  Interestingly, the Pantheon was originally a pagan holy place (Pantheon=worship of many gods), but it was made into a church and that is why it is preserved so well.  By the way the Pantheon was built in 27 BCE!!  Next we went back to the Trevi fountain and Piazza Navona--to see them in the day.  Got more gelato and came back to the ship. 

 

 

P.S. Sorry if my grammar or spelling are not outstanding, but I only have a short amount of time and I would rather sacrifice mechanics so that you guys can all stay in the loop!!  :)

July 2 and 3 in Rome

Hi,

 

Sorry it has taken me awhile to get back and tell you what has happened.  I already told you about my first day in Italy, so I will move on to my overnight trip. 

 

I left on my trip and right away we got started.  We went first to the Coliseum!!  Wow, it is hard to believe how old it is and how well preserved it is as well.  We walked around and got some great pictures (not with the gladiators because they are pick-pockets).  Then we walked over to the Roman Forum.  It was about 12 noon by this time and incredibly hot.  I literally sweat right through my shirt, but this was the time to see it all so it didn't matter.  Then, we went to our hotel.  We stayed in a Best Western, ironically, but it was very clean and very nice.  We had a couple of free hours so my friend, Nina, and I went to lunch at a local restaurant.  Then we walked through the main park, past the Zoo, to the Piazza del Popolo.  We had some gelato, did a little window shopping, and had just enough time to fill our water bottles in a fountain and head back for dinner.  Dinner was great, in a little restaurant in the older housing district.  There was live music, wine, and great food!!  I couldn't have asked for anything more.  After dinner we went on our walking tour!!  First we went to the Trevi Fountain.  It is beautiful in the day but magnificent at night.  I threw 5 coins in!!  Well, legend says to throw 1 coin in to come back to Rome (and you have to throw it in your right hand over your shoulder), 2 coins to find love, 3 coins to get divorced.  I threw 5 in--1 for me to come back and the rest for my friends and family to come back with me!!  After the Trevi Fountain we went to the Pantheon and then to the Piazza del Navona. It was all beautiful and I couldn't get enough pictures. 

 

The next day was equally as wonderful.  We started out by going to the Vatican.  I already had my personal meeting with the Pope, now I needed to see his house.  The Vatican is beautiful.  The Sistine Chapel was breath taking and all the historic art was fabulous.  From there we went to the Basilica.  I touched St. Peter's foot, which is what I guess you do in the Basilica.  Then we went and had a ridiculously large lunch and tiramisu and Italian coffee for dessert.  From there we had free time and so Nina and I went to the Pantheon during the day, because part of what makes it spectacular is the 9 meter hole in the ceiling of the Pantheon.  Interestingly, the Pantheon was originally a pagan holy place (Pantheon=worship of many gods), but it was made into a church and that is why it is preserved so well.  By the way the Pantheon was built in 27 BCE!!  Next we went back to the Trevi fountain and Piazza Navona--to see them in the day.  Got more gelato and came back to the ship. 

 

 

P.S. Sorry if my grammar or spelling are not outstanding, but I only have a short amount of time and I would rather sacrifice mechanics so that you guys can all stay in the loop!!  :)

1st day in Rome!!

 

Hello All,

 

Today was my first day in Italy.  I travelled to Rome with the ship from Civitavecchia to Rome, it took about 1 1/2 hours.  It was unreal for our bus to let us out right outside of St. Peter's Basillica.  Not only that but, as we came into Vatican city, we realized that it was Wednesday, the day the Pope comes out and blesses everyone.  I SAW THE POPE!!!  I can't even believe it.  I have video of him talking and giving the blessing (or what I think is the blessing, I can't be too sure since I don't speak Italian). 

 

I feel like after that I could really have done nothing else and still had a great time.  From their I went with some friends on the metro to check into their hotel. Then we ate at a really nice restaurant and had our first pizza in Italia!! It was delicious.  From their I split off from them because they were going to things that I wouuld see tomorrow on my longer tour.  But don't worry I was really safe and travelled the Metro the entire time. The metro was great cause it was only 4.50 Euro all day.

 

From their I went to the Spanish Steps, walked up them of course and took plenty of pictures.  I then went down Via Con Dotti, the street with all the really expensive designer shops.  Wow, can you say out of my price range.  There was actually a line to get into the Louis Vuitton Shop (or as Corinne would say Larry Vargas).  I took the metro then to the Piazza Del Popolo.  It was beautiful.  I bought a gelato and sat by the fountain and just watched tourists stroll by, I felt like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday.  From there I took the Metro back to St. Peter's Basillica and did some shopping in the really touristy/catholic shops.  It was great.  I bought a rosary with the Pope on the box for 1.50 Euro!!  I hung out and took more pictures in St. Peter's Square. 

 

Then a lighting storm hit Rome.  The storm crept upon us and it began to pour.  It was surreal seeing lighting strike right over the Vatican!!  I think God was telling us it was time to go back to the ship.  We got back to ship and then had dinner in Civitavecchia.  I had gnocci and I thought of my dad (he loves it).  Then we got some gelato and talked to some locals!!

 

It was a great first day and I can't wait to see what Rome has in store for me the next two days!!