SUNGRL

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!

We haven’t been to the south of Italy before so decided to do the tour that took in Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento & Capri. It was set to be another hot day and again 5 cruise ships were in port so it was also going to be a busy day ashore.

We met our tour guide Antonio and boarded the bus for Pompeii. Antonio was a guy in his 50’s who lived in Naples. He was very good – informative, animated and he had a great sense of humour. There would be no sleeping on the tour today. We got to Pompeii and with all these tours there are always the local factory visits – first up a Cameo factory. We watched a short video on how Cameo’s are made which was actually quite interesting. I didn’t know that they are carved out of shell so you do learn something everyday. After we finished the walking tour of Pompeii we visited the Limoncello factory.

We then walked to the entrance of Pompeii. The very day after the big celebration to Vulcanalia, the region’s god of fire, Pompeii disappeared under yards of volcanic ash in 79 A.D. and lay forgotten for 1,500 years. The site attracts 2.5 million visitors each year.

Pompeii has been well preserved and was very impressive in terms of ruins. I was particularly impressed with these large round stones at the intersections of the roads which the chariots could go over using the spaces between them as tracks.

Mt Vesuvius had remained quiet for 1.500 years then on the 24th August 79 A.D., nearly 30,000 Pompeians perished under as much as 50 feet of ash after it erupted. 10,000 people in the nearby town of Herculaneum watched in horror, a precursor to their own doom. The heat of Vesuvius created a flash flood of mud and ash that poured onto the town and instantly hardened to cement. Today there is a national park surrounding Mt Vesuvius which provides spectacular views to the world’s most famous volcano. It last erupted in 1944.

The ruins in Pompeii, still being excavated today, were perfectly preserved by the ash and mud and offer a portal into the past with a network of buildings, brothels, shops, theatres, artwork and mummified bodies and more. Pompeii was a commercial centre and is famous for it’s erotic / fertility artworks still intact.

In fact in 1819 King Francis I of Naples was so disgusted by the sexually explicit ancient artwork, he ordered many chambers closed to the public. To this day, by law, children may not tour some of the sites unless accompanied by a consenting parent. Several Christian groups to this day call for the destruction of the ruins.

We then took the bus for the very scenic ride to Sorrento. The coastline is quite spectacular with the limestone cliffs. It was a hot day and the heat haze prevented clear views across the Bay of Naples. Apparently on Saturdays and Sundays when all the locals decide to go to the beach the winding road to Sorrento becomes a parking lot with bumper to bumper cars. There are some private beaches that you pay EU25 per day for a space on. I am pleased it was Thursday – 5 cruise ships in town was causing enough congestion.

We had lunch at Zi Ntonio which translates to Uncle Tony’s. It was very nice with spinach and ricotta cannelloni to start followed by chicken topped with mozzarella and rosemary roasted potatoes. Dessert was a lemon flavoured cream cake. Fresh produce is in abundance and apparently they grow the best tomatoes. They also grow lemons in abundance and they grow big – lemons on steroids – perfect for making Limoncello which is a speciality in the area.

Unfortunately we didn’t have much time to explore Sorrento as we had to catch the boat to Capri. There were 11 groups of 50 people from our cruise ship doing the same tour so they had chartered a boat. It took a long time to get all the groups on the boat so we spent a bit of time with the sun beating down on us – everyone was sweating and feeling rather uncomfortable. When we finally got moving the sea breeze was amazing!

There are three islands in the Bay of Naples with Capri being the only one that is not a volcano. Capri has been a major shopping destination for the world’s who’s who since the day of the Roman Empire. They say Mariah Carey has a place here. It is a stunning island with beautiful grottos, rock formations, harbours and cliffs. We got off the boat and caught the local minibus up to the top of the island which is the main town area and Piazza Umberto I.

We were so hot by the time we got to the top we just wanted to cool down – a restaurant overlooking the bay beckoned us and we took solace in there until it was time to head back to the boat. What a stunning spot. We were then supposed to catch the Funicular back down to the Port but the queues were very long. There was a sign that said you could walk down in 10 minutes so we took that option. It was a wise choice for a couple of reasons – the walkway was lovely and we saw the lovely gardens of the houses we passed and we beat the rest of our group down by about 45 minutes.

The boat trip back from Capri to Naples took about 45 minutes. It had cooled down considerably by the time we got back to the ship. A hot shower was a welcome relief to wash away the stickiness accumulated throughout the day.

We didn’t actually get time to explore Naples but learnt a bit about it from Antonio while we were on the bus with him. Naples is one of the oldest cities in the world founded between the 8th and 9th century BC as a Greek colony. It is the cultural epicentre and capital of Southern Italy’s Campania area. According to where the city borders are drawn Naples has somewhere between 1 and 5 million people and is the most densely populated centre in Italy. While Italian is the country’s language, Naples has it’s own (protected by law in 2008) city language called Neapolitan, spoken by some 7 million people.

For 3,000 years, Naples has been a snapshot of life, frozen in statues and long abandoned ruins, yet alive today in laughter, music, food and saga. Almost 1,000 years before Christ’s birth, Parthenope (Naples) was a Greek colony. Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul preached here. Just about everyone except the Eskimos have been in charge of the place. It is an ancient melting pot.

Naples is the birthplace of both the pizza and gelato. Pizza was invented during the 18th century reign of King Ferdinand I of Naples. The story goes that his wife wouldn’t let him taste the common dish so he disguised himself as a pauper to test it. He loved it. Later, for years, the dish was called The Margherita after the Queen of Italy. She loved her first bite, especially because the chefs had made one in the colours of Italy.

Naples was the most bombed Italian city during World War II. It has survived countless wars over the centuries, involving just about everyone from the Vikings to the Poles. In 1656, the plague killed half it’s 300,000 citizens. Next to Paris, Naples was Europe’s second biggest city then.

The wine is also very good in this region and is referred to as Lycryma Christi which translates as Tears of Christ and comes from the tale of Jesus crying over Lucifer’s fall from heaven. The holy tears flowed onto the lava scarred fields near Vesuvius, thereby making the vineyards divine.

This boat is so smooth that you actually forget that you are cruising at an average speed of 29km per hour on the ocean. The sun rises about 5.30am and the boat docks at about 7am so it is nice to get up early and look at the landscape as we come into Port.

On Tuesday morning we took a tour to Aix en-Provence. We had to meet in the theatre at 7am and then we got herded onto the appropriate bus. It took about 1.5 hours to reach Aix en-Provence which is a city commune in the south of France, about 30km north of Marseille. It has a warm climate and on Tuesday it reached about 29 degrees. Aix has an average of 300 days of sunshine per year.

Our tour guide Aureil gave us a commentary about the area along the way and then took us on a walking tour in the town. The town is divided by a tree lined boulevard called the Cours Mirabeau. It is bordered by fine houses and decorated by fountains – there are 21 fountains in the town. Aix means water so the fountains are quite fitting. The boulevard follows the line of the old city wall and divides the town into two sections – the new town and the old town or the medieval town.

We visited the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour (Aix Cathedral) which is situated in the medieval part of Aix. It contains a mixture of all styles from the 5th to the 17th century.

Aix has long been a university town: Louis II of Anjou granted a royal charter for a university in 1409. Today Aix remains an important educational centre, with many teaching and research institutes.

This town used to be independent from France and have it’s own language. The local Aix dialect, rarely used and spoken by a rapidly decreasing number of people, is part of the provencal dialect of Occitan language. The provencal for “Aix-en-Provence” is “Ais de Prouvènço”. Most of the older streets in Aix have names in both Provençal and French.

We hopped back on the bus and headed back to the boat and hit the pool for some relief from the heat of the day. We set sail for Rome at 3pm so with everyone on board the pool areas were rather busy but by 5pm the adults only pool was deserted. Steve was up to his old tricks – he told me that he was just going for a walk and would come back to the pool about 5pm. He finally appeared at 6pm – he had been making friends around the boat. He’s really enjoying the cruising lifestyle.

We spent the morning exploring more of the streets in our neighbourhood before packing up & catching a taxi to the Cruise Terminal at the Port.

We are doing a 10 day cruise from Barcelona to Venice. We are cruising on the Regal Princess on her maiden voyage. She left Venice last week. Everything is very shiny & new. The check in process is very smooth and we were on board in our rooms within an hour of leaving our apartment in Barcelona. These cruise ships are like mini cities with a number of restaurants, theatres, movie theatres, a running track, putting green, gelato, sushi, cafés, bars, swimming & spa pools, basketball court, big outdoor screen, shops, art galleries and the like.

It is quite amazing and I am not sure if I like it or not yet. It is very comfortable and is definitely an easy way to travel but it all seems a bit unreal – all this glitz and glamour – it reminds me of Las Vegas actually.

We had to have a safety drill before we set sail to learn the do’s and dont’s in case of an emergency. We got to put on the life jackets which are much sturdier than your normal life jackets. They then had a Barcelona sail away celebration – music and dancing on the pool deck as we pulled out of Barcelona in the evening sun. We had a bit of dinner, explored more of the boat and then stopped off at Crooners Bar to listen to this amazing piano player called Tom Franek – he was very cool and very entertaining.

It is just non stop activity & entertainment!