Wednesday October 10

I was lying in bed waiting for my body and mind to adjust to Mountain Daylight Time, and was thinking about what we had learned.
Cruises:
A wonderful way of touring. We only tasted each place, but with the tours we took, I think we got a good sampling of those areas. Coming back to the ship each night was wonderful. No bags to lug, pack and unpack for the two weeks. It was also our 'safe place' where we could relax and not deal constantly with the cultural differences. This gave us ideas of what we would want to do for more extended periods, such as exploring from Nice to Florence over a couple of weeks. Perhaps having one or two places as a base and taking day trips by train.
The food was great, but having assigned seating has both positive and negative aspects. We became good friends with our table mates and hope to continue our relationships. Open seating would make it more difficult to meet people. Celebrity had times of 6 or 8:30. 6pm is too early for the most part, especially on formal nights, but the late seating meant we didn't leave the dining room until 10:30. Going to sleep on a full stomach wasn't good for us, and yet we often had to be up and ready to go by 7:30, so we were over tired. There were other dining options, but on this ship they were not as satisfying as the main dining room. Buffets, pizza, hamburgers, etc were fine for lunch, but not great for very many suppers.
We paid our cruise well in advance (like May) so that we could book our tours. However, that prevented us from taking advantage of possible drops in pricing which others were able to do. Also, most tours were not even booked up on that day. We would have missed some that we really wanted if we hadn't done it in advance, but maybe we could have left it longer. Also, we booked too many. We could certainly have left 'Rome on Your Own' until the last minute. Others took the train in, explored and then took it back with no problems and were not locked into the bus schedule.
We carefully chose which side of the ship to be on, but it always left port in the evening (except Venice) and arrived before or near dawn. Once in a while we could see lights of cities, but it was not the scenic view we expected.
Conceirge class and a balcony are worthwhile, atleast in an area where the balcony is useable. We sat out every evening having our cheese and crackers, and every morning with our coffee. The extra level of service was much appreciated.
The big picture:
For centuries, and even millenia, man has struggled with the same things. There have always been people who wanted power over others and managed to abuse it. This was true with empires such as the Romans, but also on a smaller scale, like with the Venetian Doges or the Medici family in Florence.
Sexual lust has always been there, as represented through art and the houses of prostition right inside the city gates in Ephesus and the well marked place in Pompeii. Sex was used in pagan worship extensively. Our societies struggles are not anything new. Even in Barcelona where topless sunbathing is common, sex is used to sell products. Man's attempts at greatness tend to be for his own glory. We see how cathedrals and basilicas were built but generally not for God, but for man. In Venice, it was to honor St Mark, in Rome St Peter and then each pope. Westminster Abbey and St Pauls are centered around the men buried there.
Some shining exceptions:
Michelangelo summed in up with his unfinished prisoner series, sculpted in marble. We are captive, held by our own sin and unable to free ourselves. Yet, he shows David, strong and tall, trusting in His God. With that, David achieves greatness and yet it is not for his glory. Michelanglo also shows it with his grasp of scripture in the Sisteen Chapel and concept of what God has tried to achieve through and in man.
I was struck as well when standing on the Acropolis looking down at Mars Hill. 2000 years ago, when Paul was traveling in the area, the Parthenon was a sight to behold. Huge, beautiful and set up high on the hill. Paul was troubled in his spirit by what he saw and reached out in love, not judgement. "I see you are very religious..." he says in Acts, and then shares the truth with them. In Ephesus he also reached out to them and a riot ensued. We walked the streets he walked and wondered at the crowds yelling for his blood. We saw the prison where he was held. We were in Myletus where Paul met with the elders from Ephesus because he couldn't bear to say goodbye to the Ephesians again. We saw the markings that people made outside their home to proclaim their faith in Christ. Then we saw the island where John was held captive while he wrote Revelation, and heard how he fulfilled his promise to Jesus by bringing Mary to Ephesus and caring for her. Some people chose a better way and sought to glorify God rather than themselves and impacted their world.
Conclusions:
The stadium at Myletus has a Greek foundation with Roman arches and additions on top which are in turn covered by the poorer quality Byzantine building. Each society builds on the past one, but we need to make sure our foundation is the right one. God has been faithful throughout the millennia. He has not changed.

Tuesday, October 9

This is it. Time to go home. A year and a half of dreaming and a year of planning and three and a half weeks of sensory overload is over.
We started off the morning with getting a coffee and muffin from Starbucks and having on the roof of the hotel and watched Barcelona come to life. Our taxi arrived on time and we were at the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight. Pretty uneventful. We had to change terminals in London, but fortunately not airports. It meant going through security again and somehow that is stressful.
We had a little time in the airport before the flight to Calgary, so we wandered in the shops a bit. The flight home was very long. Only 8 1/2 hours, but seemed like twice that. Neither of us could sleep and the people in front had their seat backs fully reclined the whole trip. The flight was quite turbulent in places. Wendy didn't feel well, but I don't think it was related to the bumps.
Colin was waiting for us, and Jen, Annie and Tucker were waiting in the car. Really good to see all of them. We visited for awhile before heading for bed. The 8 hour time change really messes up one's system.
As I was taking Annie out before bed it struck me. It was cold out and everything was of course familiar, and yet we had been in such a different world for over three weeks. Only yesterday we were walking on the beach in Barcelona. That 'reality' was wonderful, but this 'reality' is the one we live in. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Monday, October 8

We slept for 8 to 9 solid hours and felt better this morning. We went to Starbucks for breakfast and then wandered around. There are miles and miles of stores. Mostly expensive. Also lots of coffee shops, gelato shops... We sampled both over our time here. We went to the market square area (apparently one of the largest in Europe) and bought some fruit and then a sandwich from a shop nearby. Lladro is made in Spain and it is something that Wendy had always liked, ever since her Mom bought a piece many years ago. We found a couple of shops that sold it and found a matching piece for her current one, even though it was discontinued years ago.
We walked to the beach and walked along the sand for awhile, sat for awhile and walked some more. I had decided not to carry my camera and bag so that we could relax about it all so I took a few pictures with Wendy's. Great place, 28c temperatures.
The buildings in the Gothic portion of town are all similar in design at about 5 or 6 stories tall and continuous. But, the fronts are all different designs, mostly with small balconies. It is a really interesting effect and makes it very different from what we saw in London, Italy or France.
We found another restaurant from Rick Steves book and had pasta. We were the only customers in the place, but the food was good. Just as we finished, more people arrived and the couple down from us was from...Calgary! We chatted a bit with them. They were just starting their 3 week vacation. he had his wallet stolen in a scam so they were a bit discouraged.
We have our bags packed, carefully weighed and ready to go. We are ready to head back, though the weather is a bit of a concern. Also, getting back to reality is going to be really hard. I guess it had to happen sometime.
Maybe we will add a summary of what we learned and enjoyed the most later.
Note to self: hello in Spanish is hola, NOT halo! The girl at Starbucks is probably still laughing.

Sunday October 7

It was like we were leaving home. The ship had become so familiar and comfortable that it felt like home. Where ever we had been, it was good to come back to it.

Disembarkation was very smooth. We had tagged our bags Saturday night and placed them outside our door, and when we got off the ship, they were waiting for us. We had arranged a private Barcelona tour with some people we had met on Cruisecritic.com. so the six of us had a four hour tour through the highlights of the city. The main road is called Las Ramblas, and is mostly cut off from traffic. It is a wide street with one lane going each way at the edge, and then the middle part for people. No matter when we went out, it was very busy. So many people that it was hard to walk at a reasonable pace. Side streets going off from it were always busy as well. This was for over 2km. We had read about the dangers of pickpockets, so were prepared with money belts and no exposed bags etc.

One of the main things that the guide showed us was work by an architect named Gaudi in the late 1800's to early 1900's. His style was very unique and way ahead of its time. His main accomplishment was a cathedral that has been under construction since 1886. They expect to have it done in the next 20-30 years. things happen at a different rate here.

Our hotel, the Pulitzer is good. A place that Carl and Amanda would really like. Very modern, in blacks and whites, square type design. Low lighting - what some might call dim.

We had a bit of scare today. We asked at the desk about lunch and they recommended a tapas bar a few blocks away. We found it and hesitantly went in. The menu was indecipherable until they brought us an English one. All of the things I was looking at were deadly. Cuttlefish, shrimp and other delights. I got a ham baguette and Wendy had something similar. Nothing else was shell fish free. We stopped at Starbucks, had a coffee and muffin and then Wendy slept for an hour. We checked Rick Steves book and found a pizza place that worked out fine.

We enjoyed watching people as we walked in the evening. There are lots of buskers who play statues with some kind of twist. fun to watch

Saturday October 6

Our last day at sea and our last day on the ship. We had a slow morning and then browsed some of the shops before getting our bags organized. We have to be ready to go by 7am. We are taking a tour with a group we met online and then they will drop us off at our hotel. In some ways it seems like a really long time since we left, and yet how could it be almost over? It has been an incredible experience and has exceeded our expectations in almost every way –the ship, the food, the service and the ports. Weather has been fantastic with it being a bit cool in London, but otherwise almost all sunshine. Just sea days have been a bit cooler and of course windier.

Friday October 5

Villefranche, France
We had to be tendered to shore here as the port can not accommodate big ships. That really didn’t create a problem and even added to the charm. I had to put aside all of the Italian I had learned and switch to French. (lol) We had a quick tour of Nice before heading up a highway first built by the Romans called the Grande Corniche. Beautiful views over the bays, including our ship. We then went to a medieval town called Eze. The fortifications had been renovated into shops and restaurants. Really fun, peaceful and beautiful. Next we drove to Monaco. It only covers 1 sq mile, but what a mile! The place just oozes money. We walked through the town and saw the palace changing of the guard, and did some looking in the shops. There were yachts in the harbor and expensive cars around the casino, including Lamborginis, Ferraris, Rolls Royce and other very expensive cars. One guy in our group estimated one car was worth over $1,000,000. We chose to walk in the gardens and around the square after a very good lunch right beside the casino while others went inside. We only had an hour and by the time we stood in line to check our cameras, stood in line to get in, took a quick look and then in line again to get our cameras, we didn’t think we would have much time left. Interesting place to visit, especially considering that not that long ago it was facing bankruptcy. The gambling and the rich tourism industry changed all of that.
We drove back along the water front and then walked through the old town before taking the shuttle back to the ship.
It was our last formal evening, so rested before showering and then dressed for dinner. Food was excellent, as always. The waiters all carried in flaming baked Alaska. After the meal we went to the show. It was really well done, with singing and dancing. Following that was the midnight buffet. This was the one with the ice sculptures, food made to look like animals, etc. Amazing amount of work, but who could eat again?

Thursday October 4

Firenza (Florence)
The ship docked at Livorno, and then we were bused into town. The ride was about 1.5 hours, but it was through Tuscany. Once we were off the coastal plain, we drove through rolling hills, with villas on top, with vineyards and olive trees. We drove past a town called Vinci, who is very proud of their home boy Leonardo.
Florence has a very different feel than Rome. At only 500,000, it is a fraction of the size. Our first stop was the Academia Museum to see works by Michelangelo. Our guide was fantastic. She talked about his life and the Medici family that ruled the area in the 1500’s. The first sculptures we saw were called the prisoners and were unfinished. It showed men partially sculpted within the marble, hunched over. He was trying to tell two things apparently. One was that he was a prisoner of the marble. He was forced to create for the Medici’s and the pope. The other was the way that these men were trapped within themselves and were struggling to get free. She didn’t use these words, but gave the idea of each being trapped by their own sin, and our inability to free ourselves. After all, they have been trying for 500 years.
The next work was David. When we signed up for this excursion, we chose this one because we would view the original one, not just the copy in the piazza, where the original stood for over 350 years. We were not sure it was worthwhile to forgo other things, like seeing Pisa or not, but was it ever the right choice. David is looking over his left shoulder, which signifies facing evil. He is naked, showing that he had nothing to hide; he was pure. He is shown as a full grown man rather than a boy, but the reason escapes us at the moment. Everything is proportioned correctly and shown in fine detail…except his head and hands. The head is larger, showing the wisdom that comes from above while the hands are showing the hand of God. Seeing in person was very moving and powerful in a way that was totally unexpected.
Next we walked around town, saw some beautiful marble buildings, the Ponte Veccio (sp?) and then for an excellent lunch. We drove up for a view over the city before heading back to the ship.
A very good day, but exhausting.

Wednesday, October 3

Citavecchia. We were supposed to take a ‘Rome on your own’ tour today, but decided not to. Wendy still didn’t feel good and I was tired as well. Our plan was to take the bus in and then walk to Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps etc, but as Wendy said, do we really want to return? Somehow 4 hours of bus to spend 6 hours walking around wasn’t real appealing after Tuesday. Instead we went into the port town and found the morning markets. Vegetables, fruit, flowers, fish, jeans, handbags and everything else you could imagine, for several blocks. People were friendly and polite. So different from Rome. We decided that we liked the small town/country better than the big city.
Tomorrow is Florence. We have a long bus ride into town from the port Laverno, and then probably the same kind of tour again to view more of Michelangelo’s work. At least we know what to expect.
Had a really good chat with Carl and Colin!!!

Tuesday, October 2

Roma: 2 hour bus ride from the port. One hour was on a freeway but the last part was in horrendous traffic. Our tour was called ‘Eternal Rome’ but I think it referred to the traffic. Traffic signs and rules are viewed as suggestions, not absolute. Our guide was difficult to understand. We had earphones so that we could hear her, but with the background noise and her accent, it was hard. We started off with Vatican City. We stood in line for half an hour, compared to the two hours for non group people. First was the museum with statues of various gods and things and then huge tapestries that told Biblical stories. We couldn’t hear our guide, so just moved through this hallway with the items on the sides. Volume of people is such that you can’t stop to look at things, but you also can’t walk at a normal rate. Very tiring. We then went into the Sistine Chapel for about 15 minutes. You have to stand and are not supposed to talk. Hard to believe one man painted those 500 years ago. I had seen pictures of panels of some of the fresco, but seeing it all at once was surprising. He obviously knew his bible. The lighting is dim and the ceiling too high to see much detail, but it is very impressive. Next we went to St Peters Basilica. The Pope was busy, so we just showed ourselves around. It is so…catholic. The design and the art are awesome and very hard to put into words. As we noticed in Westminster Abbey, whose glory was all this for?
We went for the compulsory shopping stop and watched a group of scam artists selling handbags. When a cop appeared, they grabbed their stuff and fled, only to reappear after he left. This was followed by a very long lunch in a restaurant.
We drove around town to the Coliseum. We saw the Forum, Pantheon and other land marks from the bus. After standing in line for awhile, we had free time to explore it. Amazing building – 2000 years old. It was built in 10 years. Much has been removed or destroyed, but still a lot to see and appreciate. Unfortunately Wendy was not feeling very well. It is something that had been building since Turkey. Head ache, upset tummy and the like. That, plus the 30c and the crowds, and rude Italians made for unpleasant impression. I really liked the Coliseum, but I think in part because the crowds were bearable and we were able to explore on our own. We snoozed on the way back, but Wendy really felt awful.

Monday, October 1

Napoli, that is NAH pole e. Not Naples. We didn’t actually see much of the city, but from what we did see, I don’t think we missed much. The pre tour briefing warned us our friendly the Neapolitans are, and how willing they are to share, that is, share what you have. Our tour was a long one, but just incredible. Our guide was a 34 year old vivacious lady named Manuella, but she referred to herself as Momma and we were her bambinos. What made her so entertaining was we got to learn something of life there and what the people are like rather than just facts. For instance, how a ‘good mamma’ hung her clothes on the railing so that the more personal items were covered by towels or sheets, and everything hung according to lengths. Naughty women did not consider such things.
We drove through Sorrento, with a quick pit stop. Then, we drove along the coast to Amalfi where we had a stop for wandering around the streets before lunch. How do you describe the Amalfi Coast? It holds the record in Guinness Book for most curves at 1091 in just a few miles. In places the road is so narrow and the curves so sharp that the buildings on either side are damaged, We could see the scrape marks where less experienced bus drivers had timed things wrong. The road did not allow us to stop, but we were on the right side of the bus and I was able to take a ‘few’ pictures out the window. When the area was settled, they terraced the hill side or just built into the rock, resulting in towns built down the cliffs. The result is incredibly beautiful, with red roofs, blue sky and blue-green water. In one town the houses are all pastels while another they were all white.
We stopped in Amalfi for a stroll up the narrow streets. Really charming. Then to a hotel for lunch. After lunch we drove to Pompeii. Good time for a little snooze.
Pompeii is much larger than I expected. The town of 20,000 people had been covered with 30 feet of ash when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 89AD. People were killed where on the spot by poisonous gases and then the hot ash. All organic material was vaporized, but left cavities. They filled many of these with plaster and made moulds of the people, wooden doors and things. They have excavated much of the town, but a lot remains. We went into a beautiful villa with colored walls, courtyard and various rooms. All the roofs were gone, as they collapsed with the weight of the ash. She pointed out the house of prostitution where they had diagrams on the walls describing the services offered. Some things never change. Interspersed throughout were fountains. Each was unique and was the means they used to identify locations, rather than street names.
We were exhausted, but had a great time. We opted for the alternate dining so we could get to bed early in preparation for Roma.

Sunday Sept 30

A day at sea. We had plans for the day that weren’t exactly ambitious, but they were all cancelled after I had a run in with some kind of shell fish. I guess I ate something last night that had come in contact with shellfish and I just had some latent effects. Didn’t need the epi pen at least. That kept us up for a good portion of the night and so the day was even lazier than planned. Lots of reading on our deck or in the room, snoozing, walking on the deck and of course eating. Tonight is formal night, so we have to get all spiffied up. After that there is another show with the singers and dancers. It was so good last time, that we’ll likely go again.
The next five days will be very busy with 8-10 hour tours of Naples, two days in Rome and then Florence. We are on a bus, so that will give a chance to rest between stops. Naples tour includes Pompeii and the Almafi Coast. **WARNING** postings may be sporadic!!!
We told our room steward of my need to avoid shell fish, so rather than our usual appetizers, he just brought a cheese tray with smoked salmon, crackers and fruit. Wendy wants to know who will be doing this when we get home, as well bringing fresh towels twice per day, changing the sheets, bringing fresh flowers, morning coffee and freshly squeezed oj??

Saturday, Sept 29

Turkish night was fun last night, but overly crowded. The food was good, but it was hard to find a table. We finally did, and then shared it with tablemates from Windsor. Turkish music is…different. No real beat and kind of goes on and on. They had ethnic dancing after, including belly dancing, and that was fun to watch. Very colorful costumes.

We slept in Saturday and had a relaxing morning. After our waffles and omelets, we walked along the waterfront. Palm trees, warm sandy beach, it was great. We walked to Pigeon Island for which Kusadasi is named and enjoyed some shade. Forecast was for around 30c and it felt like it. I thought we should at least walk through the bazaar area, even if just for the cultural experience. We did for a bit, but found ourselves back along the beach. It was interesting that in a Moslem (albeit moderate) country that having that kind of beach ware would be present.
After three hours of hot sun we headed back to the ship for lunch. Freshly made hamburgers and ice cream we watched the sail away from port. We then talked to Carl by IM, and came up to our room to watch the sun set from our deck. Then we had to get ready for supper. Such stress! This was the night for the Chocolate Midnight Buffet. We dropped in to watch the Newly wed/not so newly wed game which must have been very embarrassing for the participants. Glad it wasn’t us. The buffet was amazing, but we both just looked and didn’t partake

Friday, Sept 28

Kusadasi, Turkey is the name of the port, but the main attraction here is the ruins at Ephesus. We had a full day tour in about 30c heat walking through Greek, Roman and Byzantine ruins. We were told that John had fulfilled his promise to Christ by bringing Mary here to live. She is apparently buried in the hills up from Ephesus. Of course there are shrines and stuff for her, but we didn’t want to see that. There is also a Church of John the Baptist where he is apparently buried. We didn’t see it, but we saw the arena where the riots occurred when Paul was preaching there and the jail area where he was held. The ruins there are extensive and it was great to be able to explore there. Then we went to Myletis, where Paul met with the church elders before going to Jerusalem. We read the corresponding scriptures and it was great. Our next stop was Didyma, which is a temple for Apollo. Oracles were given there. Our last stop was at a Turkish carpet show room. Beautiful stuff and apparently great prices, but still more than we were willing to spend.
Tonight is Turkish night: food, music and dancing. Should be fun.

Thursday, September 27

Thursday
Amazing production to get all of these people out on their tours. Ours was Athens sightseeing and the Acropolis. There were about 40 people on our bus (#12) but I think there were a total of 15 buses for this one tour. Traffic is horrendous; slow and dangerous. Not a place I would want to drive. We only drove past some sights I would of liked to have seen, like Hadrians Arch and some Roman columns for the Zeus temple. We did get to spend 1.5 hours at the Acropolis. The crowds were so bad that you if you stop on the way up to take a picture, the Tourist Police yell at you to keep moving. We did have time to explore around some and take pictures. Amazing sight. They are doing a lot of restoration work, but with cranes and scaffolding. Not the way it was done originally! A highlight was seeing Mars Hill where Paul first preached to the Athenians. We could sense his bravery. Acts says he was troubled by what he saw and so spoke up. Even now the temples are awe inspiring. 2000 years ago they would have been even more so.
We had planned on spending more time in Plaka for shopping, but it was too busy and not that interesting looking after what we had seen, so we came back for a nap instead.

Wednesday, September 26

Colin’s birthday today. It is hard being away for special days.
Last night, the meal was excellent. Filet mignon cooked just right and very tender. Must have had 8-10 oz each. Getting dressed up was fun. A lot of men had tuxedos. After we went to the ‘Salute to Broadway’ show. We were amazed at the level of talent for both singing and dancing. It was a late night, especially with a one hour time change.

Wednesday was a sea day. We had thought about going to a talk on Greece and Turkey at 10am, but didn’t wake up until 10:30! We had a really lazy day, walked around the jogging track 8 or so times. We had received an invitation to the art auction with the promises of give a ways. I made the mistake of going and somehow (it was Wendy’s influence) we ended up with two Kincaid prints. They wanted to frame them for cheap, but that is how their frames looked – cheap. It will probably cost us a fortune to frame them, but one is of a canal scene in Venice and the other has a golden retriever in it. Pretty hard to resist.
We had a nice meal again. We are starting to get to know our tablemates and are enjoying them. The show sounded good, but we went right to bed with our Athens tour leaving at 7:45. The weather today was overcast and a bit cooler. Seas were 5m and we could feel it. Some people were quite bothered by it. Fortunately by evening it was still, warm and muggy.

Tuesday, September 25

We drank our morning coffee on our deck as the ship sailed into Dubrovnik. We had a casual breakfast in one of the other restaurants and took a bus into town. Dubrovnik is a medieval town with thick walls, turrets, palaces and more red roofs. Absolutely beautiful. We walked, and walked, and climbed up and down stairs and then more stairs. I think we wore off our crepe suzettes from last night. Still have that wonderful pastry stuff we had for lunch though. Between the hiking and climbing we do exploring, plus the walking and climbing stairs we do on the ship, I think we will get good exercise. The dining room is on deck 4, we are on deck 8 and the pools etc are on 10 and 11. The gangway is of course on deck 1. We have resisted using the elevators when ever possible. Tonight is formal night, so we will get showered and dressed up. The Captain is having his welcome after supper and then the evening entertainment. It will be a late night, but tomorrow is a day at sea.
Photos aren't loading well, so will skip them for now at $.38 per min (or phone at $8.00/min)

Monday September 24

After a pretty good night we went to the main dining room for breakfast. Bit too stuffy for us. It was fine, but we decided to try casual next time. We took the shuttle in to Venice to take the ‘secrets’ tour of the Doge’s Palace. The Doge was the elected ruler who with his cabinet held absolute rule over their empire. Venice was self ruling for centuries and was quite powerful. Beautiful paintings, gold work on the ceilings, etc. One of the most famous prisoners there was Casonova who managed to escape. Another famous Venetian was Marco Polo. His maps are on the wall.

We caught the shuttle back and got ready for our muster drill. Pretty uneventful…until I realized that I had left both our room keys in the room. It was 3:45 and the ship was leaving Venice at 4pm, and we really wanted roof top views for that, but without my camera??? Fortunately we were able to get help, get the door unlocked and run up to the top deck to watch the most incredible sight. The ship sailed along the island and we could see over the entire city with the red roofs, sparkling canals and masses of people and boats.

We dressed for dinner and again had a marvelous meal. We have noticed that most of the people on the ship are within 10-15 years of our age. Not a party ship, but not an old geezer one either. (and no comments from our children, please!)

Sunday, September 23

Today is Carl’s 30th birthday! We checked out of our hotel, left the bags in storage and ‘hopped’ aboard the vaporetto to go up the Grande Canal. It was packed, and we were jostled around until we finally got a spot where we could see – but only out one side. Interesting views of the palaces, but especially of the people. Apparently Venice has a population of 300,000 but 150,000 tourists come every day. We got off at the last stop, then took the ‘express’ vaporetto back to San Marco. We wandered up to the Rialto bridge area after buying a wrap. Then we bought some gelato at what is called the best gelato in Venice. Wow. It was so smooth and creamy and wonderful! Never had any as good as that before. We got our bags and headed to Santa Maria Formosa Piazza to catch our water taxi. We were so glad we hadn’t tried to carry/pull our bags through the crowds onto vaporettos. Cost a fortune, but made a real difference.

The ship is huge. We checked in and were escorted to our room, where champagne, hors d’oerves and fruit awaited us. We could get used to this. Our bags were a little late in coming, but we made it to dinner and it was excellent. Appetizer, soup, salad, main course, and dessert with about 4 choices of each. We really could get used to this. By the time dinner was over we were exhausted, so we cleaned up our stuff and unpacked and went to bed.

Saturday, September 22

Wow, it is late, we are tired and we need to check out tomorrow to get on the ship (which we saw in port) Just say we had a great time walking around, eating gelato, drinking capuccino and just drinking it in. It feels like a movie set, yet these is so ancient and people really live here. Here is St Marks Basilica , built in 1063. And then one of us on a gondola ride. we'll say more when there is time.

Friday September 21

This was a travel day, and really that is all we did. We checked out of the Sumner, took a taxi to the Gatwick express train and go to the airport about 10:30 for a 1pm flight. Security was a little tighter than we have seen, but still not a real problem. The taxis are great, with lots of room for bags and the train was very smooth. We arrived in Venice about 4:30 and then lugged our bags a long ways to the water bus, which took over an hour to get to San Marco Square. We then dragged our bags across bridges and down narrow streets (ie some of them only one person could walk at a time between the buildings) and to our hotel. We found it fairly easily. The room is great, fairly large and only up two flights of stairs. We went out for supper and then decided to walk to the square...but where was it? It is like a maze and for some reason all of the the names are in Italian. We found it and wandered around watching the people and the duelling orchestras - one plays for a while, and then across the piazza, another one plays. Great fun. And then to bed.

Thursday, September 20

Our last night in London. Tomorrow we head for Venice. Hard to believe that we are moving on already, but I think we are ready. We got to see most of the things on our 'must do' list, but just experiencing London, the tube, the people etc was amazing. No matter when or where, the sidewalks are full of people and there is traffic. Still takes thought which way to look when crossing the street. The tube was interesting, but very tiring. Often had to change trains, which meant changing levels and often walking up, then across a fair ways before down again. Part of the adventure. Wendy was great with the adventure and really did well. Have to admit we were both a little uncomfortable with the men we saw one evening being intimate with each other going down to the tube. It always seemed safe. Could have used more toilets and garbage cans!

Today we slept in and then took the tube to St Paul's cathedral. One of the highlights of our trip, definitely. to think they built that and did such intricate art work 350 years ago with out cranes and other equipment. I expect we'll continue to be amazed as we travel. We climbed to the whispering gallery 30m above the main level. We chose not to climb the extra 81m to the top for the views. The detail and design were wonderful. We stayed for a reading of Scripture from the main floor before heading to the crypt. We thought about having lunch there, but nothing looked very fresh!

We found a sandwich shop, had a wrap then coffee in a little shop in an alley way. What we have come to realize is that it is not just one building that makes it interesting, but all of the buildings. They fill every spare inch of space and all seem to have character. Many are remodelled. It is 'living history.' After our coffee, we took the tube back to the British Museum area. We walked a couple of blocks to it and explored for a couple of hours. Neither of us is really into museums, but I wanted to see the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, the bog man and other things. Seeing the real thing is what made it worthwhile.

We came back to our room for a break then walked to a fish and chips place. Then explored some more stores (do people really buy those things?) Wendy saw a nice purse for 300 pounds. We had coffee and then came back to pack. In Venice the hotel has internet access from their computer, so assuming it works, I will keep up the written part, but may not be able to do the photos. We board the ship on Sunday and then it may be too expensive. We'll see. Realized that my camera was set to manual focus. Not sure when that happened, but the ones I checked look ok. Perhaps not the sharpness I would have liked to have, but still useable.

Wednesday, September 19

It was too late last night to post, so here is the update. We took the tube to Leicester Square and bought tickets for Mamma Mia, then back on the tube to Victoria Station. We walked up to Buckingham Palace, but there wasn't a changing of the guard that day. We marvelled at the size of the building and the fact that the queen is seldom there. We didn't go in, but instead walked in Green Park to Apsley house, where Wellington had lived. We debated about going in and decided to go to Harrod's instead. Wow. I wanted to take a picture of the doorman wearing white gloves, but the crowds made it hard to stand still. We walked around the store some. Saw a nice necklace for L48,000, but no one would take us seriously in DeBeers. We did buy a few little things, and then went into the food area and bought sandwiches, and took them to Hyde Park to eat. I had thought of going back to take the picture, but the crowds, traffic and construction made it too difficult. We walked through the park to Kensington Palace instead. We had coffee, scones, clotted cream and jam at the Orangery (yum!) before the tour. The first part was quite disheartening as it was room after room of multimedia stuff on Diana. But the rest was great. It is one thing to see representations of rooms, clothing etc, but to actually see where Victoria was sleeping when called to become queen, or where Queen Mary actually ate, with the exact furniture, pictures, etc was really interesting.

We walked to the tube and went back to Marble Arch area. It is so much quieter than Victoria or Kensington area where our agent wanted us to stay (expensive too.)

After a rest, we took the tube back to the West End for the play. really fun. I realized I didn't know many ABBA songs, but the performances were great. We grabbed some supper at a Japanese place called Wagawama or something (one of our best meals) and then took the tube home. People on the tube were openly drinking beer, even gin. It was 11:30, but the streets and tube were packed.

Interesting and full day.

Tuesday

Somehow didn't get this done last night. Beautiful sunshine all day with the occasional cloud, but still cooler. Wendy has been feeling the breeze and finding it cold. I have been ok, but haven't even thought of zipping off my legs yet. We started by taking the tube to the London Eye. It was incredible. The views were amazing and we really enjoyed it. The parliament buildings were the main attraction. We then walked across the bridge, to James Park, along Whitehall Avenue, past 10 Downing St to Trafalgar Sq. The views down Whitehall were neaat, but otherwise, not much to see. We checked out Leicester Sq after visiting Pizza express and found the half price ticket booth. Thinking of Mamma Mia still, even though they don't offer deals.
We wandered down to Picadilly circus and then along one of the main streets for shopping. we stopped in Hamley's, a toy store that has been in existence since 1760. Seven floors of toys! Then down Carnaby Street before finding a coffee shop for a break.
We walked for miles and miles. Then back home for a rest before a several block walk to James Street for supper. On a very narrow street for over two blocks there were cafes, bars and restaurants lined up. All had tables outside (the only place where smoking is allowed) and they were full. People everywhere. It isn't possible to just walk down the street, as there is a constant flow of people. Here, it was compounded by the tables, people standing on the corner with their beer and maitre d's trying to entice people into their cafes. We had a burger with hand cut fries. Very good. We had thought about a crepe for dessert, but too full.
Headed back, checked out Marks and Spencer before settling into a Starbucks for coffee. They don't have decaf filter coffee here. Regular or Americano decaf.
Somehow it was after 11:30 before we got to bed. Notting Hill was on the telly.
We are learning to master the tube, but lots of walking. Down two levels, then up, across and then down etc. Quite efficient, but tiring.

Monday, Sept 17

After an OK night, we went for breakfast and then took the Tube to Tower of London. Amazing trip on all these different layers of tubes, walkways etc. And people!!! Busy everywhere. We spent 3 hours at the Tower, looking at the Crown Jewels, and heard the stories of kings and queens, torture, execution etc. It was started by William the Conquer before 1100AD and was used for royal residence for centuries before becoming a prison.

We then took a boat down to Westminster and toured the abbey and looked at the parliament buildings. Westminster Abbey has also been in use for centuries. Every king or queen since William 1 has been crowned there. Many are also buried there, along with Darwin, Shakespeare, Churchill and others. Somehow the day was gone and we took the tube back, rested a while and then went for supper.

We are exhausted from a long day, but really enjoying the history. Tomorrow? Still not sure...St Paul's? perhaps.

Arrived safe and sound

Flight went well. We arrived a little bewildered, but managed to get the express train to London ok and then a taxi to our hotel. We then took a tour on an open double decker bus and saw a glimpse of the sights. Parliament Buildings, Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, St Pauls, especially are incredible and do prove that we really are here. We are exhausted and ready for bed. We went to a pub for supper and found that a good cultural experience. We'll try to tell more another night.

A tour of the Millennium

This link has some good views of the ship. Only three days until we leave!

http://gardens-hoa.com/MIL071202/Millennium.htm

but before we get there, we will be spending five nights in London at the Sumner, near Marble Arch tube station.

And then a couple of nights at Hotel Al Piave in Venice.

We end up in Barcelona at Hotel Pulitzer, but that is getting way too far ahead of ourselves.

And here is the itinerary that the ship will be taking

The Millenium

Here is the ship we will be spending two weeks on...