Corfu

Friday, 4 July 2014

This will be the year that we can claim we spent the 4th of July on a beach in Corfu! There was an early morning announcement on board, wishing all American passengers a Happy 4th of July, and the cooks had made huge sheet cakes decorated like the American flag.

The ship didn’t arrive in port at Corfu until 12:30pm, so we were able to have a much-needed lazy morning. When we disembarked, we picked up four MSC beach towels and headed to the taxi line. We had to wait a few minutes, and when a taxi arrived, several people converged on the driver. I had written down the name of the beach we wanted to go to (Paleokastritsa) because I couldn’t pronounce the Greek word. While the Russians were getting all worked up about where they wanted to go, I just showed the driver the paper and he said, “Ah, yes, get in the car. I can take you there!” The driver, Nicholas, had lived in Greece for 33 years, but grew up in Leeds, England. (A strong Yorkshire accent with an equally strong Greek inflection is just about the weirdest accent I’ve ever heard!). It was great to have a fluent English speaker though.

We spent about an hour and a half at Paleokastritsa Bay. The water was crystal clear but very cold. The girls loved soaking up the sun and relaxing on the beach; none of us ventured very far into the water. Nicholas met us again and drove us to old Corfu Town. We wandered the streets there for an hour or so. It was very quaint, with narrow, cobbled-stone, pedestrian-only roads, lined with shops, and an old fortress towering overhead.

By the time we arrived back at the ship, the girls and I knew that we were sunburned. I bought some burn ointment at the pharmacy on board. Hopefully that will help. We’ll have to stay covered up tomorrow.

Athens

Thursday, 3 July 2014

This was our earliest arrival at port. Disembarking began at 7:30am and getting everyone up early was hard. We’re all feeling a bit travel weary and the heat over the last few days has been somewhat enervating. Today’s high in Athens was 36 C (96.8 F) and when the sunshine reflects off the marble walkways, you feel like melting!

We wanted to take a taxi to the Acropolis and make our own way from there, but when we reached the front of the taxi cab line a huge Greek taxi driver speaking in broken English, started trying to persuade us to do a 4 hour tour of Athens with him. He was getting more and more worked up as we told him we only wanted to go to the Acropolis. Finally a terminal official stepped in and signaled for another taxi driver to come get us. The second driver, Angelo, was much calmer, easier to understand, and ended up driving us to the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus, the stadium of the first modern Olympic Games, and the Agora.

The ruins were incredibly impressive. I think Kent was most excited about standing on Mars Hill and imagining the Apostle Paul standing there, looking over the city. We found the city of Athens to be rather ugly. Cement blocks and a lot of graffiti. Everywhere is very dry—very different from the lush green fields we left in the UK.

Neither Anna nor Elizabeth has been feeling 100%. Some of it may be the heat. After returning to the ship, we spent a little time on deck—but even that was hot—so we retreated to the air-conditioned cabin, had an early dinner, and went to an entertaining variety show that featured singing, dancing, acrobatics, and juggling.

Santorini

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

The ship had anchored off the coast of Santorini by the time we got up this morning. I picked up a ticket for us to ride a boat from the ship to the shore, leaving at 9:10am. It was a scramble, but we made it. Then we stood in line for about 30 minutes to ride a cable car up the steep hill to the town of Fira, perched on the top of the cliff.

The temperature was already rising and it took us a little while to find the bus stop (we were approached by a couple of men trying to persuade us to take their minibuses instead) but we were grateful to finally have a nice, air-conditioned ride to Oia.

In Oia we wandered the main street, taking photos of the blue and white buildings clinging to the side of the mountain. It was very picturesque. Kent, Anna, and Elizabeth tried something new. It was a form of foot massage, done by placing your feet in a tank of kissing fish. The fish take off the dead skin on your feet. It was quite the sight to see them lined up with their feet in water tanks and covered in tiny fish!

We took the bus back to Fira and had a gelato before descending to the dock. Kent and I wanted to try walking back. The girls opted to use the cable car. We left them in line and set off. It was quite the experience! The heat was hard on everyone, but we passed several elderly people who were really struggling. The donkeys were stinky and thought they ruled the path. It wasn’t an easy walk (587 steps) but I’m really glad we did it.

Unfortunately, when we arrived back at our room, there was no sign of the girls. Kent and I were both a bit worried because their return should have been faster than ours. They finally arrived 30 minutes later and announced that they NEVER wanted to go to Santorini again! Apparently, they stood in line for the cable car in the heat for 45 minutes only to be told that it had broken down. Everyone in the line was forced to walk down and they moved en mass to the steep trail. Anna and Elizabeth could barely move for people. I’m pretty sure Elizabeth had mild heat stoke by the time they finally made it back. My first reaction when they returned was relief. My second was a fit of the giggles as Elizabeth dramatically recounted her horrendous experience (*note to Naini and Taid: Elizabeth’s dramatic prowess and humor remind me more and more of Sarah. Imagine Sarah recounting this tale and you’ll have a good idea of what it was like. ☺) I don’t think they’ll let us leave them on their own again!

Olympia

Tuesday, 1 July, 2014

We lost an hour today as we entered Greece. We were all exhausted and slept in long enough that we skipped breakfast and made lunch our first meal of the day (there is so much food on board; we’re all eating too much!)

The ship docked about 11am and we went on shore at about 12:30 and met the taxi driver I had scheduled months ago. His name was Takis and he was great. He drove us to Olympia and gave us a lot of background information on Olympia as we drove. First, he dropped us off at the archeological site. I wasn’t prepared for how vast it was. It was terribly hot and we hurried from one patch of shade to another. The sound of the cicadas in the trees above us was deafening. I stood on the strip of marble that marked the starting point for all the original Olympic races.

From there we went to the Olympia museum. Along with all the other artifacts, there were many statues. Takis met us outside and gave us drinks from a cooler in his car. I had a mildly fizzy orange drink that he said was made locally. It was so good I saved the bottle in the hope that I can find it again in Athens! From there, we drove into the town of Olympia. Anna and Elizabeth both bought Greek dresses and Kent bought a T-shirt. Takis drove back to the ship via the beach. Even the dock in Katakolon was pretty, much cleaner and more picturesque than Italy.

Bari

Monday, 30 June 2014

We spent the morning on the ship as it finished its journey to Bari. The motion isn’t bad at all, but the engine sound changes and there’s more vibration as we near port. The girls and I sat on the top deck for a little while but it was quite blustery up there. We’re still checking out the restaurants. Anna was pleased with her GF breakfast at the sit-down restaurant. Kent tried out the buffet and was limited in breads but found other things he could eat. We sat by a couple from Austria. I love how international the cruise is. All announcements are repeated in about 4 languages. So far, I’ve spoken to people from Austria, US, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Malta, and Australia.

After lunch we joined an excursion to the Sassi in Matera. It was an hour drive by bus through the industrial area of Bari (which was ugly, cement, littered and grafittied), then through vast olive orchards in the dry countryside. The houses in this area are ancient. People have lived in Sassi since Neolithic times. The houses and churches are carved out of the rock. It was interesting and unique, but with little vegetation there, we found it very hot.

The funniest part of the day occurred at dinnertime. Anna ordered a seafood platter. It included swordfish, prawn, and cuttlefish. When it arrived, the giant prawn was sitting on her plate in all its glory—eyes, legs, tail, and four-inch long antenna. Anna was virtually hyperventilating and as everyone at the table was laughing, Kent saved the day by removing it from her plate and putting it on his. He even ate it!

Cruise Arrival

Sunday, 29 June 2014

This was perhaps the oddest Sunday I can remember. We began with breakfast at the Hotel Tritone, packed our bags, and had a short devotional in our room using the Conference issue of the Ensign.

After checking out of the hotel, we took the bus to Venice followed by the People Mover to the dock. The shuttle bus was full so we opted to walk to the dock, where the MSC Fantasia was berthed. Then came the lines.

We were in one line or another for over 1 ½ hours. Not too much fun—especially in the heat. But we finally boarded the ship at about 2:30pm. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the ship, unloading in our room, eating lunch at the buffet and dinner at our assigned restaurant.

The boat is incredible. It’s hard to remember you’re on a boat. It’s more like a floating hotel, mall, and theater in one. We stood on deck as we left Venice. It was crazy to be up so high above everything else. We like our room. It’s more spacious than we’d anticipated. The girls’ beds drop down from the ceiling above ours. The food is plentiful and they have a special gluten free menu for Kent and Anna and they’ve been pleased with the selection available. The buffet’s a bit more tricky, but they had salad, fruit, fries, etc. there.

We were all really tired by evening, but we went to a show called “Zorro” which was an acrobatic show and very impressive. Thankfully, it was only about 40 mins long so we headed to bed as soon as we could.

Venice

Saturday, 28 June 2014

Twenty-four hours ago, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Venice. This evening, after having spent a day here, I’ve decided I love it! What a fascinating, unique place! I love how different it is from any other place I’ve ever visited. Many of the buildings are so ancient they appear run-down. But instead of being an eyesore, they have charm and mystery and so much history to tell. I love the fact that everything is about the water: water police boats, water taxis, water buses, bridges of every size and description, no cars at all.

We began our first day in Italy with an amazing breakfast at our hotel. It was set out Continental style, but it wasn’t like any Continental breakfast I’ve ever had in the US. There were eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, etc. But that was just the beginning. There were all sorts of pastries and croissants, fruits and juices, mozzarella balls and baby tomatoes, platters of sliced cold meats and cheeses, yogurts and cereals. It was amazing!

We took the train across the causeway into Venice then rode the Vaporetto to St. Mark’s Square and took in the sights there. We meandered through the streets to the Rialto Bridge, bought a few things at the market stalls, went to the top of the Campanile bell tower, and took a gondola ride through the canals. The only disappointment of the day was that we were unable to find gluten free pizza for Kent and Anna (Elizabeth and I did have some). That was slightly offset by the fact that I asked a lady in one of the stores to recommend a gelato shop. She gave us directions and it was so good we went there twice!!