SUNGRL

If we were on a plane I would say we started our descent into Venice at about 11am yesterday. It is quite a process entering into a waterway like the one in Venice. Due to the fact that Venice sits very low on the water table and is prone to flooding they are building some breakwaters as you enter Venice. The captain referred to them as roadworks. Once we passed the “roadworks” in the Venetian Lagoon the boat entered the Grand Canal. It is quite a spectacular experience standing on top of the cruise ship entering Venice. The boat passes Piazza San Marco before making it’s final approach to berth at Bacino di Marittima.

The canals are amazing and are like a highway on water – there are boats going in all directions. They are quite shallow so the cruise ships are required to have two tug boats to guide them in. The captain likened the tug boats to seat belts – they are there in case of an emergency.

We had one more night on the boat while it was berthed in Venice. We hopped off and checked out where we had to go to get to our hotel today and then decided to make the most of our last afternoon on the boat. Another great day weather wise.

Another “it’s a small world after all” experience – after we had watched the boat dock I heard Steve saying “Bridget” and I thought who is he talking to – given he’s not too flash at remembering people’s names and all. This lady turned around and said “Steve- is that you?”. Turns out Bridget is from Hawera and the mother of a couple of boys that Paul went to school with and also played rugby with. Her son, also named Paul had been to stay at our place in Auckland while on a school rugby trip. They had been on the boat for the past 10 days but with 3,800 people on board we hadn’t come across them before the last day.

We got together with Bridget and her husband Peter and their friends Paul & Margy, also from Hawera for dinner. We had also met a couple from Christchurch, Steve and Louise earlier in the cruise so they joined us too so we had a table of 10 kiwis. It was a good night.

We had to have our bags outside our door by 10pm that night so the luggage porters could sort it all out for us to disembark early today. The disembarkation process ran as smoothly as the embarkation process. We were put into groups depending on our arrangements and given meeting times and places. We then got off and were reunited with our luggage in the terminal.

We caught the “People Mover”which is a Monorail that goes to Piazza Roma which is on the edge of the city – it costs EU1.30 each and takes about 5 minutes to get there. I think it has been set up so you don’t have to deal with the highway and roads that go into Piazza Roma which is the last place you can drive a car in Venice. We then navigated our way to the hotel – took a bit of a round about way but got there in the end.

We are staying at Hotel Moresco which is ranked number one in Venice by Trip Advisor and you can see why. It is a lovely hotel and the staff are extremely obliging. Check in wasn’t until 2pm but we were in our rooms by 11am. It also has this lovely garden setting which is quite rare in Venice given the price of real estate and waterways.

We decided to go exploring and headed towards St Mark’s Square – armed with our map we found that there were also signs pointing to San Marco so we found it reasonably easily. There were lots of people there given it is peak season. We headed to the Grand Canal and organised a gondola ride.

Our gondolier’s name was Igor and despite the name being Russian he was very Italian, having been born on one of the 117 islands that make up Venice. He spoke very good english and pointed out the key spots and gave us a bit of history about Venice. There are 430 gondolas in Venice and generally they are passed down from generation to generation. Igor was actually using his father’s boat today because his was getting some maintenance. He inherited his boat from his grandfather. His father is going to retire in the next couple of years so Igor’s brother will take over his boat.

The professional gondoliers of Venice are members of an exclusive guild. A rigorous exam must be taken, which includes Venetian history, foreign language skills and practical oaring manoeuvres. Igor said it is hard for the young guys to get in if they don’t have a family connection as the number is set at 430. In August 2010, Giorgia Boscolo became Venice’s first female gondolier.

Venice was described by the poet Lord Byron as a fairy city of the heart and you can see why with the romantic gondolas, intimate canals and centuries of history.

The impressive power and legacy of Venice began in the 6th century when inhabitants from the mainland fled the invasions that followed the fall of the Roman Empire.

Venice became a major maritime power during the Crusades and developed it’s own culture and economy based on its intimate relationship with the sea. In 726 A.D., the people of Venice elected their own Doge (Duke), who with his successors would lead the city for over 1,000 years.

One of the key incidents that put Venice on the map occurred in 828 A.D. when the Venetians stole the remains of the Apostle Mark from Egypt and hid them within the city. The ownership of these relics brought both religious status and power to the city and St Mark was quickly proclaimed the city’s new patron saint. By 1094, a magnificent church was built to hold the remains and the Basilica di San Marco became the most important of Venice’s many churches and the city’s main draw.

The Basilica overlooks the centrepiece of Venetian life, St Mark’s Square. Situated in the heart of Venice, this central meeting place is defined by stately arcades on three sides, the church to the east and the thousands of pigeons that call the square home.

Adjacent to St Mark’s square is the Doge Palace. For centuries this impressive residence was also the seat of Government.

The Ponte dei Sospri, or “Bridge of Sighs” passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects Doge’s Palace prison to the inquisition rooms. The bridge’s name was inspired by the sighs of condemned prisoners, although it also refers to the sighs exclaimed by lovers promised eternal love if they kiss under the bridge in a gondola at sunset.

Venice is built on an archipelago of 117 islands formed by 177 canals in a shallow lagoon, connected by 409 bridges. In the old centre, the canals serve the function of roads, and almost every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century, a causeway to the mainland brought the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station to Venice, and the Ponte della Libertà road causeway and parking facilities (in Tronchetto island and in piazzale Roma) were built during the 20th century. Beyond the road and rail land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains (as it was in centuries past) entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe’s largest urban car-free area. Venice is unique in Europe, in having remained a sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars or trucks.

The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay. Submerged by water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface.

After being independent for more than 1,000 years Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon’s Kingdom of Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In 1848–1849, a revolt briefly reestablished the Venetian Republic under Daniele Manin. In 1866, following the Third Italian War of Independence, Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.

During the Second World War, the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a successful Royal Air Force precision strike on the German naval operations there in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage done to the city itself. However the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste and Trento were repeatedly bombed. On 29 April 1945, New Zealand troops under Freyberg of the Eighth army reached Venice and relieved the city and the mainland, which were already in partisan hands.

The population in the wider Venice is about 270,000 – 60,000 live in the historic centre. In 1980, 120,000 lived in the historic centre but this has declined due to the older generation dying off and the younger generation finding opportunities elsewhere.

Venice’s economy is based mainly on tourism and shipbuilding which is done on the mainland. Murano glass produced on the island of Murano and lace production on the island of Burano are also important to the economy.

After departing from Mykonos at about 2pm on Monday we set off for Venice – this is going to take 48 hours and the boat will cover some 1,600km so the whole of Tuesday was spent at sea.

The weather was a bit overcast in the morning and a bit cooler than it had been for the rest of the cruise. It was very pleasant sitting by the pool and there was just a gentle breeze unlike the first day at sea where it had been really windy.

We did a wine tasting at the Italian restaurant, Sabitini’s in the afternoon. We tasted 5 red Super Tuscan wines. The chef had paired the wines with food so we had a tapa style tasting plate with each wine. The manager of Sabatini’s is a very proud Italian who hails from a wine making family so he was very informative introducing some of the wines. The manager of the other specialty restaurant on board, Crown Grill, is from Romania and he also spoke about one of the wines. He told us that Romania is the 8th largest wine producer in the world.

History of Super Tuscan Wines
“Super Tuscan” is a term to describe a number of red wines that do not adhere to the wine laws of Tuscany. Well intended D.O.C laws were introduced in the 1960’s, however this legislation did little to improve the quality and image of Italian wine.

In the 1970’s, some Tuscan winemakers began to experiment with French grape varieties and new methods. These avant-garde wines did not meet requirements for D.O.C. status, and despite being some of the finest wines ever made in Italy, they were instead labeled with the low “Vino da Tavolo” (table wine) designation.

As their reputations grew, these “table wines” fetched higher prices than even the famous wines of Barolo and Brunella.

In 1992, the Italian government created a new category of wine called I.G.T. in order to bring Super Tuscans into the fold.

Some Super Tuscans featured on Sabatini’s wine menu such as Solaia, Ornellaia and Masseto are based on Bordeaux varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Others, like Tignanello blend Tuscany’s own Sangiovese with these Bordeaux varietals. Most Super Tuscans are highly collectible and very cellarable.

All the wines we tasted were very nice and ranged in price from US27 per bottle to US230 per bottle. We tasted the following:
Ammiraglia
Pian di Nova Toscana
Lucente della Vite
Giramonte Toscana
Solaia

They use corks and not screw caps. Their opinion on the screw caps is that they are good for the younger wines like NZ wines but are no good for wines that you want to cellar for longer periods. They also believe the cork adds to the flavour.

Tonight was the second of the formal nights so again we donned our glad rags – the same ones we donned for the first formal night! We had an early dinner reservation at the Crown Grill which is the other specialty restaurant on board specialising in steak and seafood. The steaks were from the USA but the lamb was from good old NZ. We had the most fabulous waitress – Ana Maria – she was from Romania. She had such a good sense of humour and was so animated. We had a lovely meal finished with a sampling plate of desserts – all the desserts sounded so good and obviously people had trouble choosing so they devised the sampling plate where you got a little bit of all four desserts – they were all pretty damn good I must say.

We stopped off at a couple of the photo booths along the way and had our pictures taken – Stevie normally hates having his photo taken but after seeing the results of the first formal night he was quite impressed so enjoyed posing for the camera. After reuniting with our new Canadian friends who we met on one of the excursions the other day we then took in a bit of music – piano man Tom was playing with the Princess Orchestra in the Vista Lounge.

Another good day at sea – I have actually really enjoyed the cruise and am a bit sad that it is coming to an end.

We anchored just off Santorini at 8am this morning. We have been here before but it is still a wow experience looking up at the white washed buildings perched up on the cliff.

We took the tender boat ashore and then caught the cable car to the capital of Santorini – Fira. Fira has all these narrow, cobblestone lanes filled with colourful shops. Along the way you get these amazing views over the bay and over the brilliantly white washed buildings, shops, cafes and blue domed churches. It is quite a unique landscape.

We happened upon a bar that was showing the All Blacks v England test match in Dunedin. There was 30 minutes to go so we stopped off to watch the All Blacks beat the English by a point – 28 to 27. A win is a win : )

We then ventured to a roof top cafe that had amazing views over the bay – it was good to have a birds eye view of our boat.

We then re traced our steps and caught the cable car back down to the bay where the tenders were leaving from.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the boat before enjoying some champagne on our deck as the boat up anchored and headed for Turkey. It was a stunning evening – certainly one of the most picturesque places in the world.

Another beautiful day greeted us as we docked in Kusadasi, Turkey. Kusadasi is the gateway to the extraordinary ruins of Ephesus. We had been to Ephesus previously so chose to stay onboard and enjoy the comforts of one of the cabanas for the day – it was Sunday after all – the day of rest!

Visitors from all over the world come to Kusadasi to lay eyes on Ephesus, one of the most fascinating archeological sites accessible to the modern traveler. An Ancient Greek city, then a major Roman provincial capital, by the 2nd century the population had swelled to over 300,000 inhabitants. Ephesus was a significant sea port and responsible for opening multiple trade opportunities with the Middle East.

Kusadasi is situated on the west coast of Turkey, 90km south of Izmir. It has a population of about 65,000 and enjoys a mediterranean climate with over 300 sunshine days per annum.

Not far from where the boat docked is the bazaar where you can buy lots of different local products including Turkish carpets. Carpet weaving has been one of Turkey’s most treasured arts far beyond it’s recorded history. Looking for a husband? Try carpet weaving! Historically, a Turkish daughter had a better chance of marrying if she was a skilled weaver. Her carpets were offered as part of the dowry to her future husband. There you go my single friends – take up carpet weaving : )

Haggling is a way of life here, and throughout Turkey, bargaining is expected. As a general rule of thumb, start at about 60% of the asking price and be prepared to pay about 75%. Steve & Carol went ashore today and experienced some haggling – Steve decided it definitely wasn’t his cup of tea! Carol made a few purchases though.

Today we visited our second Greek Island of the Cruise – Mykonos. The white washed buildings against the azure coloured sea and the blue, blue sky is so typical of the Greek Islands. We went ashore and caught the shuttle bus that was running between the new Port and the town – it is only 2.5km to town but there are no footpaths so can be a bit unsafe. The town in Mykonos is called Hora.

As we drove along the waterfront on the shuttle bus we noticed the crystalline water – so inviting. The town is renown as a party town so the restaurants and bars are busy until the small hours. When we arrived they were cleaning up from the night before – they scrub the streets down so the town is very clean. The town is a myriad of narrow, winding streets that wind there way around with shops and tavernas at every turn. The restaurants and bars are predominantly waterfront.

I wanted to go to Little Venice where the houses are built along the shoreline and to see the windmills. Apparently Little Venice is amongst the most photographed place in the world. We walked past Little Venice and then up to the windmills which are very quaint and apparently privately owned. It was a little disappointing to find ourselves having to walk past the town dump to get to the windmills – you would have thought that given the popularity of the windmills with tourists that they would put the dump someplace else.

From as early as the 16th century, the beautiful windmills of Mykonos have been one of the island’s most recognised landmarks. The year round winds made Mykonos a perfect location for these structures, once used to refine grain. Although only a fraction of the original windmills remain, they stand as proud reminders of Mycenaean history.

We enjoyed some greek yoghurt and honey at Da Vincis a gelato bar. They also had a little farmers market going on – the tomatoes they grow are very red and very large. We only had half a day here so had to be back on the boat by 1pm. It was another beautiful day with a temperature of about 28 degrees.

Archaeologists believe the Ionians settled on the island of Mykonos in the early part of the 11th century BC. The island belongs to the island group known as the Cyclades. The island spans 33 square miles and is composed primarily of granite. It has a population of 10,500 and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per annum.

Delos is a small island just off Mykonos and is one of Greece’s most famous archaeological sites which dates back to 3,000 BC. It is a small, uninhabited island and is the location of the vast classical ruins associated with the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis. So extensive is the collection that the entire island has been declared a national museum.

Some other interesting snippets about Mykonos:

The name Mykonos was derived from the local hero, Mykons, worshipped in antiquity and considered to be a son or a grandson of the god Apollo. “Mykonos” moniker is “the island of light” in memory of Apollo, the god of the sun.

According to Greek mythology, Mykonos is where Hercules slew the giants. The giant rocks around the island are supposedly their corpses.

Petros the Pelican – in 1958, a fisherman along the coast found an injured pelican. The bird was nursed back to health and the town became quite fond of the pelican, naming him Petros (Peter). Petros spent 30 happy years as the island’s loveable mascot before passing on. A succession of “Petroses” have followed.

Matt Damon’s 2002 action thriller The Bourne Identity, filmed a few key scenes on the island. In the 1980’s, the English film Shirley Valentine, brought a frustrated housewife looking for love to this spectacular setting.

In the 1980’s the island was discovered by Europe’s jet set. Jackie Onassis took a shine to it and it became an Athenian status symbol to own a holiday home here.

Today we have been at sea travelling from Naples to Santorini in the Greek Islands. I checked out the Princess Patter which is the daily newsletter and noted the things I wanted to do.

First up a talk on Pain Solutions with Acupuncture. I was the only one that turned up so had a one on one with Carly who is a registered acupuncturist. She is from Canada and had spent a lot of her life in pain and not knowing what caused it. Someone suggested acupuncture to her so she tried it. That inspired her to go and do a 4 year degree in acupuncture and herbology. It turned out she had celiacs disease and the doctors had been pumping her full of drugs for years without really knowing what was wrong.

PS – I’m not personally in pain – I just went along for general interest.

Next up was a talk on Detox for Health & Weight Loss. The presenter was none other than a Kiwi boy from Queenstown. He is the only Kiwi staff member on board the boat which has 95 different nationalities working on it. His name was Chaz and he had studied in Christchurch before furthering his study in Melbourne and then the UK. He was only a young guy and had a great interactive style. It was really interesting and a good refresher on clean living.

I then decided to go to a talk entitled The Birth of a Cruise Ship which was being presented by an engineer called Chris Jolly. It was really interesting and Chris had a lot of knowledge having been involved in the build of 57 cruise ships over his 15 years in the industry. The main places that cruise ships are built are Italy, Germany, Finland and Japan. Princess Cruises are part of the group that also run 10 other cruise lines like Holland America, Seaborne & P & O Australia. They have 101 boats in their fleet and it takes approximately 2.5 years from start to finish to build a cruise ship. Their annual fuel bill for the entire fleet is USD2.63 billion per annum. It cost USD640 million to build the ship we are on.

Next up was Zumba – a first for me. It was cool doing Zumba on the 17th deck overlooking the ocean going by. I was pretty uncoordinated but it was good fun.

Tonight was the first of the two formal nights on the boat so we donned our glad rags and had some pictures taken by the professional photographers on board. The piazza area on the boat is quite stunning so it makes an awesome backdrop for everyone dressed in their tuxedos, suits and evening or cocktail dresses. There is a real festive atmosphere on board and if you enjoy people watching then it is very entertaining. We had booked into one of the two speciality restaurants on board – Sabatini’s, which is an Italian restaurant. We had a table right by the window so it was great to see the water rushing by. The food was delicious and with Italian being a favourite of mine it was a great night.

Civitavecchia is the port that provides the gateway to Rome which is about 50km away. The temperature was forecast to be about 29 degrees at the Port and another 3 or 4 degrees hotter in the city. We decided not to venture into Rome – I have been there before and the others were not that fussed on spending 10 hours out in the heat of the day.

We got up early to run around the running track on the upper deck and watch the boat dock. There was already one other cruise ship in port and three others docked after us. There were about 100 buses lined up to take people on their respective tours.

After everyone had left we took the free shuttle bus into Civitavecchia – there wasn’t a lot there so we headed back to the boat to spend a very relaxing day by the pool. With so many people out on tours the boat was quite deserted. I have decided that I like this cruising lark but am not fussed on all the people! Steve of course loves all the people and had another good day making more friends : )

In the evening we decided to watch a movie under the stars – they set all the pool loungers up on the pool decks with these comfy covers and bring round popcorn and blankets. Steve had been wanting to see Shadow Recruit and that was the movie they were playing that night – perfect!