May 20, 2012
Gentle readers, my apologies for the radio silence since we left on our trip. We have been busy trying to figure out data plans and satellite connections etc. I finally just broke down and got an internet plan on the ship and am using their computer. The iPad is great for searching and a little typing but not the missives you have come to expect. And I've already collected more than $50 in roaming charges on my phone just from checking email occasionally. So, it will be an internet diet for me, which is probably much needed!
So, allow me to fill you in on our journey thus far. We have collected a motly crew- Mark, myself, his brother Al, Al's wife Jennifer, her mom Pat and Mark's mom Renate for a Mediteranean adventure. The reason we chose a cruise, and this 12 (gasp!) day tour of the Med is because Mark (and Al's) cousin Sabina is married to our Commodore, Guiseppe. We figure if you're going to take a cruise, you might as well be related to the captain, right? Plus if any of that Costa Concordia nonesense occured we know that he couldn't abandon ship without us at least- Sabina would kill him!
We collected in Frankfurt last Thursday after lovely business class trips for all of us. Mark and I are going back in steerage which I think will be quite a disappointment. Hopefully we'll be so tired and hung over we won't care! Then it was off to Venice where we hopped in a water taxi to take us to the hotel. It was a picture perfect evening. The sun was getting ready to set, and the light on the water was amazing. This is the best weather I have experienced in my several trips to the city. Our hotel was charming, as was our host Paolo who just kept referring to Pat and Renate as "the mamas". That man appears to know everyone in Venice. The next morning as we were having breakfast on the canal, every person who went by either on foot or by boat called out to him in greeting. Our room was charming and after a great dinner we were happy to settle in for the night.
Of course Mark and I were up with the birds with the time difference and all, so we decided to walk through the city. We wandered the streets, and watched as the street vendors prepared for their day, setting out their fresh catches and fragrant fruits and vegetables. After a while I realized we were pretty close to Piazza San Marco, so we might as well see it. I'm so glad we did. It was Mark's first time and he got to see it with about 10 people in it, quiet and sleepy as the early morning sun was just finding it's way into all of the nooks and crannies. Later when we went back to St. Mark's it was a zoo of people everywhere, jostling for position in line, and trying to take pictures.
We opted for the Vaporetto back, but didn't realize that you REALLY should avoid the #1 line as it stops at every single stop. It took almost as long by water as the walk had taken. And shout out to Brad here- all I could remember when I went to get on the boat is you and I getting on one the wrong direction to head to the train station. So I checked and triple checked every time!
We met everyone for breakfast and after lugging our baggage down 2 flights of stairs- thank goodness for wheelies) we headed out to St. Mark's for our advance ticket quick entry to view the church. We waited in the "special" line with pushy, loud people all trying to get through the turnstile (some of the pushy loud people may have been in our group... but I'm not outing anyone- this is family afterall). Finally Jen walked through, and then Renate got stuck, so we had to ask the clearly frustrated gatekeeper to help us out. Renate got through and then Pat got stuck. When we tried to get him to resolve the issue he started arguing with Jen that she clearly only bought one ticket, not 6 and there is no way she could get away with this. Jen was quite adamant that she did indeed buy 6 tickets and lots of arguing ensued, with him ordering us out of line. So, she and I got our phones out trying to just reserve more tickets which wasn't working. Finally he tried to show us on his iPad what to do and HE couldn't order more than 1 ticket either. Next thing you know he's on the phone with the company, Jennifer has his iPad and is booking tickets and we're all fast friends. Ah- Italy! It was very worth it- Pat actually burst into tears when she walked in because it was so beautiful. So as Jen said- totally worth every minute of stress!
Then it was off to the ship to check in, drop our stuff and then return to Venice for lots of shopping and eating (Mark wins brownie points for this evening- Al stayed back and missed the shopping!) Then back on the ship to turn in. We've been at sea for 2 days now making our way to Athens. It's been a nice chance to nap a lot, read and generally be lazy. We enjoyed the private pool area with cushy lounge chairs where I pretty much napped all afternoon. Oh that was until the boys that work there came by with the tea cart laden with scones, tea sammies, tarts and cookies. I could definitely get used to this! Today we had the opportunity to tour the bridge with Guiseppe and learn all about the ship. It's pretty amazing. What is really amazing is that even with all of the technology that they use, there are 2 men who stand at the front windows and all they do for 4 hours is watch the horizon. Really. They don't even get to sit! Tonight was the first formal night, and Guiseppe was able to take the time to have dinner with us which was so nice. It was fun catching up on family, and hearing more about what Sabina and the boys are up to now. He is quite the jokester though and definitely had us going several times with his stories.
Anywho, it's getting late and we are off to Athens tomorrow. We are enjoying perfect weather and it promises to be quite civilized there, so we should have lots of time to enjoy the sights. And of course, Mark and I are looking forward to authentic gyros! Take care- and Ciao for now!
Linda
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