Genova, Italy (Genoa to us)

Monday, April 28

Today was very different to what we had expected. Our last Mediterranean cruise taken at much the same time of year was in hot, sunny weather. The last couple of days on this cruise have been showery and quite cold. Last night the Captain announced that rough seas were forecast for Santa Margherita and as it is a shallow port and tenders are required to ferry passengers ashore, the rough seas would make the use of tenders too risky, therefore we were by-passing Santa Margherita and going to Genoa in lieu - very disappointing as we were really looking forward to seeing the Italian riviera area. We awoke to grey skies and rain, as forecast. Many passengers who had had their Santa Margherita shore excursions cancelled decided to have a quiet day on board and not bother going ashore.

The port of Genoa is large and busy and it is prohibited to walk through it so those of us going ashore were at the mercy of shuttle buses to take us into the city area. The queue for the shuttle was already quite long when we joined it and was made up of shivering, impatient and disgruntled passengers. It was raining steadily and didn't show much promise of clearing. None of this made for a great start however our spirits soared once we arrived in the old town. The bus trip took about half an hour but a lot of it was round and round the port area and we could see our ship for most of the time! As is usual in European old towns, we found cobbled streets, wonderful mosaic walkways, frescoes on many walls, arched loggias, great old buildings, remnants of old city walls, churches, basillicas, a fantastic duomo, little artisan workshops, a myriad of restaurants, trattorias & pasticcerias mingled amongst stores selling fantastic Italian clothing, shoes and, of course, a most amazing range for the bambino! Genova also has a UNESCO heritage area of fabulous old palazzos (palaces) where the well-to-do lived back when Genova was one of the wealthiest cities in the world.

All rugged up in the Piazza De Ferrari (Main Square)

 

An arch in the remaining part of the City wall

The Duomo

Palazzos in the UNESCO heritage area

Inside the Basillica Del Santa Maria de Vigne

As we were really cold when we finally arrived, we stopped at a pizzeria to sample Genova's traditional pizza - a rectangular, lightly cheese covered base topped with sautéed leeks - sounds ordinary, tastes delicious - along with a very good coffee. Once warmed up, we began our walking tour following a very basic map with all the sites numbered but without any corresponding table to show what the numbers represented! At least the major street names were shown so we were able to get ourselves around and arrive back at the square to catch a return shuttle bus. The weather had improved but not the shuttle bus service so another hour's wait lay ahead. We got back on board the ship a half an hour before sailing - too close for my comfort!

The news tonight from the Captain was much better. We will be arriving in Monte Carlo tomorrow at 8 am (as scheduled) and the forecast is for fine weather - hallelujah!

 

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Livorno, the port of Tuscany

Sunday April 27

Livorno in the rain

Today is the first rainy day we've encountered and it is the coldest as well! This affected our plans as we had planned to go to Lucca, a small, hillside walled Tuscan village. Instead we decided to stay in Livorno and explore more of it as we had a quick look here 3 years ago, and of course the station was where Noelle came to grief on our way back from Pisa. Also with today being a Sunday most of the shops were closed so it was a good thing we did some shopping over the past 2 days.

We set out to do some of the city walks on the map we got from the tourist info office, but the rain was getting heavier so we decided to go to our "wet day" contingency plan - buy a local travel pass, ride the buses around town and go to a museum! There was an art gallery housed in a beautiful old mansion that was open so we hopped on a bus and headed for that, taking in the sights as we travelled along the waterfront. There were some magnificent mansions along the waterfront and in the suburbs, and there were parks, baths, restaurants and wide walkways overlooking the ocean.

Along the waterfront

The art gallery was only small and contained works by local Italian painters and sculptors from the 19th and 20th centuries, with the featured artist being Giovanni Fattori. He was the key figure among a group of artists based in Florence between 1855 and 1870 who focused on scenes of everyday life featuring ordinary people. Some of the other artists represented were great portrait painters, while others from the 1920s and 1930s were a lot more modern. Very different to the old masters but we enjoyed the change of style and it was very local which was meaningful with being in Tuscany.

Giovanni Fattori Art Gallery

After all this culture and sightseeing it was time to eat, and we came across a cafe overlooking the sea which looked warm and inviting. It had a quirky look about it from the outside with paintings and sculptures on display. Inside was decorated with lots more artwork as well as a young girl doing her homework! Her mother could speak some English and it didn't take long before the young girl (Lara) took an interest in us, especially on hearing we were from Australia. Fortunately we had the photos on our phones of the Aussie animals from when we had visited Healesville Sanctuary with our American friends just before we came away, and she loved seeing them. We found out that the artwork in the restaurant was done by her older sisters so it was a real family affair, and we left after a long chat and the promise to send a postcard to them from Australia when we get home!

Lara doing her homework while we have lunch!

Tonight on the ship the chef is serving up all Italian dishes to help us enjoy the local specialties, so we're really looking forward to some (more) fine wining and dining.

 

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Civitavecchia, the Port of Rome

Saturday April 26

This town is the port for Rome, so most people head for the "eternal city" but as we've been there a number of times we decided to stay in Civitavecchia. We like to soak up the atmosphere of the smaller towns and we spent a day here 3 years ago when on our Meditteranean cruise and loved it so we're doing it again. Last time it was Good Friday so it was quiet but today it was really humming, especially with 4 big cruise ships in port.

We love local markets and the fishing boats had just returned so the market had some great looking seafood hopefully ready for the marinara sauce tonight!! It reminded us of being at a smaller version of the Vic market in Melbourne on a Saturday morning as the following pictures show.

This port is famous for its fort which dates back to the 16th century and the central tower was designed by Michelangelo. A lot of the old city wall is also visible. Civitavecchia also has a number of old churches as well as lovely piazzas where you can enjoy a meal and coffee while people watching. Along the waterfront a promenade wends it's way along allowing you to admire the sea views and pebbly beaches on one side and fabulous old, multi-coloured buildings on the other. As well as remnants of old baths built in the late 1800's there is a huge statue of a kissing couple which appeals to the locals and visitors. If you wait long enough, a couple comes along who just have to mimic the statue - all great fun and so very Italian - they really are romantics!

Ciao for now. It's amazing how quickly Italy takes hold of you, we love it.

Back on board it was Kings Day for the Dutch to celebrate the King taking over the throne after his mother, the Queen, abdicated a year ago, and being a Dutch ship they had to celebrate! The Lido deck around the pool was decorated with orange streamers, red white and blue balloons and of course Dutch flags. It looked fabulous. We enjoyed a Dutch BBQ for the celebration dinner that included chicken, beef and meatballs which were delicious, acompanied with appropriate side dishes, followed by traditional Dutch desserts.

We set sail about 9pm so it was getting dark and all the lights in the town were on - it looked lovely as the twinkling lights farewelled us and the other cruise ships as we sailed our separate ways.

 

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Naples, Italy

Friday, April 25

"...scusa me but you see back in old Napoli that's amore, amore ..... O sole mio ..." - just trying to create the atmosphere!

What a fantastic place Naples is! We had previously only spent a few hours in Naples back in 2008 when, with Geoff & Jill, we met up from various points on the globe to catch a train to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. Back then we had been warned that it was a pretty seedy place with beggars and pick-pocketing children and similar warnings were given in our ship's shore guide notes so this morning we left the ship with some trepidation. As in any city, you do have to keep your wits about you and take care but we didn't have any bad experiences or feel unsafe at any stage of the day.

Heading out of Stazione Marittima to explore Naples

Our ship docked at the Stazione Marittima right in the heart of Naples. We crossed the road and were at the Castel Nuovo - begun in1279. Buildings really have age here! The building is very impressive and is surrounded by a huge moat, now devoid of any water. We then headed to Galleria Umberto for Noelle to have her shopping fix and Alan to get wifi. It is a magnificent shopping area in a building reminiscent of the Galleria in Milan. After having the strongest espresso coffee known to man and spending about an hour watching tourists and locals pass (while Al checked on emails, etc) we left the Galleria and went to Teatro San Carlo - the oldest continuously operating opera house in the world. Unfortunately only guided tours could be taken and the times did not suit us, so we left and went around the corner to the main square - Piazza del Plebiscito. This gave us the chance to really watch the Napolese in action as today is Liberation Day and a public holiday so the place was really buzzing. Families, couples and the elderly were all out in the glorious sunshine and as our ship and another Holland America ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, were both in town, there was a good proportion of tourists too. The square is very impressive being bounded by the Opera House, the royal palace - "Palazzo Reale" and a glorious looking church - the "San Francesco di Paolo".

Castel Nuovo, Galleria Umberto & Piazza del Plebiscito Street Seller

Like most cities in Italy, you need to look up at the buildings, down to watch the uneven cobblestones and ahead to watch for scooters, small cars, Italians madly gesticulating whilst hurrying along jabbering on their mobiles and, in our case today, soccer balls being kicked by many of the children. Street sellers abound selling everything from knock-off handbags, pizza fridge magnets, limoncello in bottles shaped like Italy to the most delicious cakes, pizzas and gelatos. Sirens are sounding continuously, the traffic is mayhem and if you take a moment to tune in to the sounds around you, it is really quite deafening! Surprisingly though, you can find quiet pockets in small garden areas dotted through the back streets of this amazing city.

We spent most of the afternoon walking up and down streets just getting the feel of the place. One great find was a pasticceria that made the best pizza with home-made tomato paste and some of the yummiest looking cakes so of course, we had to partake! Even though so many people were out and about, many of the shops closed for siesta from 1-4 pm. Along Via Chiala - one of the most popular shopping streets with many designer stores, the shops were open and Al took full advantage of this buying new slacks, shirts, sweater and shoes. Men's clothing is wonderful in Italy and there seem to be more menswear shops than anywhere else in the world - no wonder there are so many gorgeous looking Italian men around!

What a find! The best pizza imaginable

Around 4.30pm we started to head back to the ship as we were sailing at 6.00pm. It is always reassuring when you spot your "home away from home" and today was no exception. It was lovely meandering through the streets of Naples with the port in view and taking in as much of Naples as we could. After re-boarding we decided to have an early dinner then go to the early Show. We were entertained by British singer, Toni Warne, who has a fabulous voice very like Barbara Streisand. She was a winner of Britain's "The Voice" and it was not hard to see why she had been a winner. She has appeared in the West End so we will definitely keep an eye out for her in the future. The Show was a great way to end a wonderful day.

Sighting our "home away from home" (with Vesuvius as a backdrop)

 

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Taormina,Sicily

Thursday April 24

Today was the first port where we had to use tenders to get to shore, and it turned out to be a very,very slow process. It wasn't entirely the ships fault as there was another cruise ship in port and the officials on shore would only let 1 tender at a time use the jetty! We waited about 2 hours before getting our number called, and we finally got ashore and picked up a taxi to the old town which is built into the mountain top. We shared the taxi with a couple from Melbourne and our driver Fabio negotiated the numerous hairpin bends to deliver us safely at the funicular terminal. We arranged for him to meet us at 3pm to return us to the ship, and we knew he would turn up as he said we could pay him at the end!

Tender returning to the ship

View of roads leading up to the old town

 

We started walking along the main drag called Corso Umberto which is filled with high end shops, and today hundreds of cruisers! It was slow going with all the people, but the scenery was the main attraction so lots of pictures were taken. There were so many fabulous old stone buildings to look at, and the setting was amazing with the elevation we were at giving us a fantastic outlook over the coastline as well as a snow capped Mt. Etna rising high above it all in the background.

Piazza Duomo

View of city and Mt. Etna

We had a quick look in the archeological museum and were rewarded with the best display of marionettes we have seen - imagine how heavy they would be pulling their strings!

Marionettes at the museum

Our objective was to see the famous Greco Roman theatre which is still used for operas and other live performances, and they were actually setting up the stage while we were there. Again the views were breathtaking and you can see the Greek and Roman influences in the building.

View from the Greco Roman theatre

After all this activity we wanted to try some local delicacies and we came to this pasticceria where we had a most delicious chipoline, cannoli and fruit struedels all washed down with espresso coffee. We have loved our 2 visits to Sicily and could easily spend an extended time on this beautiful island.

 

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Sailing from Athens to Taormina, Sicily

Wednesday April 23

Another leisurely day at sea and our last one for a week. Although we lost a few hundred passengers who disembarked in Athens we gained hundreds more so we're now at full capacity! This means more queues, and people who need to be "trained" to chill out and relax like we are after nearly 4 weeks of cruising.

The weather has turned decidedly cooler and the seas a bit rougher (2-3 metre swells) as we head further north towards Sicily, but with the stabilisers on these modern ships you barely notice it.

Tonight we were invited to dinner in the Canaletto Italian Restaurant by Tom & Kay Cook, the owners of Thomas Cook Boot & Clothing where Noelle used to work. We had a great night talking about old times and also all the wonderful places we had all visited around the world. Tom & Kay are seasoned travellers so had many tips and stories to tell. We certainly learned a lot, as well as eating some delicious Italian food.

We now enter "touring mode" with a new port to explore each day, so we've been reading up in the library on some of the new ones in preparation for our first time experiencing them.

 

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Ancient Corinth and the Corinth Canal

Tuesday April 22

Today is a sad one for us as our Canadian friends, Bruce & Margaret-Anne are leaving the ship to fly to Istanbul. Fortunately their flight leaves late in the afternoon so we have decided to do one last shore trip together.

The Rotterdam docked at Piraeus (the port for Athens) at 7.30am and leaves at 5.30pm so we have decided to go out to Corinth and also see the canal. We have all been to Athens before and seen the sights there so Corinth seems a good choice.

We agreed to meet on shore after Bruce & Margaret-Anne had formally disembarked where we began "negotiations" with local taxi drivers. For once we were unable to better the price of the ship's similar excursion however we were able to get a new Mercedes with a very "easy on the eye" young Greek driver - Dimetriou, and a considerably longer time to explore the area.

We headed out of Piraeus and onto a fabulous new freeway to Corinth, about 100 kms away. It was great reacquainting ourselves with the Greek way of life and our driver kept us amused and informed. We were all rapt when we saw Corinth. It is not as impressive as Ephesus but was still fantastic to see. The whole site is dominated by the remains of the Temple of Apollo. Around it the commercial, cultural & religious side of life could be seen in the remains of the agora, shops, Christian churches, etc and also the Lechaion Road that led the 3kms to the port. Al & I were excited to see the speaker' stand where the Apostle Paul addressed the Corinthians along with the Bema (tribunal) where he also spoke and, at one time, was tried.

Al in front of the Temple of Apollo

Noelle at the Lechaion Road

We were fascinated to watch archaeology students working amongst the ruins painstakingly removing small amounts of dirt and then sweeping the area with small brushes to ensure anything of value unearthed was not damaged.

Archaeological students looking for more treasure

Also at the site was an excellent Museum containing finds yielded from excavations at the site. Because the site dates back to the Neolithic period, many of the items were thousands of years old - and in amazing condition considering the earthquake zone the site is in.

Museum courtyard of headless (disobedient??) women

 

The weather was perfect for exploring but we were all pretty hot & hungry by the time we finished so we stopped and bought some of the most beautiful strawberries we have ever had and sat on a seat overlooking Corinth to eat them. Some of these experiences make you pinch yourself that you are really in such a place and this was certainly one of them.

From Corinth, Dimetriou drove us to the Corinth Canal - another amazing feat of engineering! It was then time for us to head back to the ship and our friends to the airport. After fond farewells at the dock and the promise to stay in touch and hopefully travel together again in the future, we boarded the ship and Bruce & Margaret-Anne continued on to the airport.

Truly a day of mixed emotions but one not to be forgotten!

 

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Aqaba to Athens via the Suez Canal

Saturday to Monday, April 19 - 21

Set sail from Aqaba at a very slow pace as the captain had to time our arrival at the start of the Suez Canal at a specified time because there is only one northbound and one southbound convoy each day. This meant we had 2 days at sea before our transit of the Suez Canal began: so we could sleep a little later, catch up on the laundry, attend more of the lectures and workshops available, exercise a bit more, enjoy more of the delicious food, go to the movies in the theatre and spend time with our new friends as well as meeting some different people we hadn't met before. We've loved all the days at sea on this leg of the trip!

We awoke early on Easter Sunday morning as the ship had begun the transit of the Suez Canal during the early hours of the morning, so we were on the deck observing the surroundings about 7:30. It was amazing as we were the first ship behind a navy warship but there were many ships behind us, some cruise ships but mainly cargo ships. Initially it was desert on both sides of us but as we progressed there were some small towns and at the wider points bigger towns with nice looking houses and quite a bit of farming also.

The Suez Canal is nicknamed "the highway to India" as it connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, but we were doing it in the reverse direction. Thus as the northbound convoy we had right of way, so the southbound ships had to wait in one of the bypass spots - some were open expanses of water and held many ships there while others could only hold a few ships in a narrow stretch of water. This allowed everyone to get some classic pics of "ships in the desert".

As we progressed we came upon a bridge over the Canal and it looked like a great piece of engineering to us, and from a distance the cables on it looked like the pyramids! We were amazed at the roads and railways that ran beside the Canal and it was a lot more built up and developed than we expected.

By late afternoon we were approaching Port Said, the Egyptian port on the Mediterranean Sea, and it was a big spread out city with lots of industry along the Canal and along the sea front. However people living on either side have to get across so they use a ferry which ducks between the ships in the convoy when they get the chance. We also saw traditional fishermen in their boats with their nets as well as feluccas, but these kept close to shore and well out of the convoy's way!

Once the ship was well clear of the Canal it increased it's speed as we set sail for Athens. To commemorate our passage through the Suez we all received a certificate marking the occasion. Monday was also another leisurely day at sea, but these lazy days will be a thing of the past on the next leg of our voyage as we'll be in a different port nearly everyday starting with Athens tomorrow. At least we'll be able to keep the blog up to date! Apologies for the lack of postings but there is no wifi at sea!!

 

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Aqaba and Petra, Jordan

Friday April 18

The ship docked early at the port of Aqaba, and by 7:30 we were in our allocated coach and heading for Petra, the Rose Red city of the Narabeans. It was an interesting 2 hour drive as we initially passed the Wadi Rum mountains in the distance and the smaller settlements outside of Aqaba before turning onto the Kings Way. This was named after the route that Moses led the Israelites through this part of the desert (we can see why they complained!) and as we climbed higher we had great panoramic views over the nearby mountains, the Rift Valley and the plain of Jordan. Our guide also pointed out the tomb of Aaron perched high on one of the peaks, so it's significant biblical countryside.

We continually passed lots of Bedouin tents, flocks of sheep and goats and could see patches of green where they grow maize for their flocks, and this is still done manually on each family's plot of land. As we neared the modern part Petra we were treated to our first view of how ancient Petra blends in with the surrounding mountains (see if you can find it!)

Approaching Petra.

Another interesting fact the guide told us was that the spring of Moses (where he struck the rock with his staff) still provides water for the people in the valley and of course the Nabateans relied on it, and you could see how the olive trees and other plants thrived along this water course.

We were on coach 12 (out of 23 from the ship) so we followed our guide into the site proper. It was very exciting as we commenced the first portion of the walk, which was 2 laned - one for pedestrians and one for horses, donkeys and horse drawn carts. As the gorge narrowed it became a shared path which meant you had to watch out in both directions as well as admiring the scenery around you.

The first major building we came to was the Obelisk Tomb which contained Egytian as well as Greco-Roman influences, and involved great skill to carve from the surrounding rock.

Obelisk Tomb and Bab As-Siq Triclinium.

As we ventured along the path admiring the skill of the Nabateans you could see where they had carved separate irrigation channels into the rocks for their water supply - one for animals and crops and the other for their drinking water, when we came upon this rock formation which definitely looked like an elephant!

Elephant rock.

The excitement was growing as we continued along the path, which narrowed while the cliffs either side of us soared to heights of 80 meters above us. Then through a narrow opening we caught our first site of the magnificent Al-Khazneh or Treasury. We walked into the open area in front of the Treasury, and the throng of tourists jostling to photograph it were dwarfed by the 43m height and 30m width, which was glowing in the morning sunlight. It was carved in the 1st century BC as a tomb for an important king and was later used as a temple, but showcases the engineering genius of the Nabateans. Being in front of this beautiful building was one of those breathtaking moments!

The Treasury.

Noelle and friends.

As we walked past the Treasury the gorge opened up to a valley with fascinating holes carved into the rocks for homes as well as tombs. At "street" level there was more 4 legged traffic with horses, donkeys and camels as well as the tourists but at least there was more space for everyone. Next major building was the Theatre, which originally sat about 3000 people but the Romans later expanded it to about 7000 people.

 

The Theatre.

With the extra space in this part of the city there was more room for facilities like cafés, toilets and of course the street vendors, both fixed sites and the 2 legged type of very young and old age groups. We found them to be friendly and nice, but if you showed too much interest they would follow you for a while, or until you bought something from them!

We then came across another string of Royal Tombs about 2000 years old, and the carving and colours on some of them was amazing. However erosion, alterations and damage had taken their toll on some more than others, and the Urn Tomb below was probably the best preserved of the lot.

 

The Urn Tomb.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to explore further as we had a lunch provided as part of our tour before we headed back to the ship, and to do Petra justice you really need a full day or two to explore the whole site. There was also the 3-4 km walk back to the entrance, and it was uphill and a lot hotter than when we started. However walking around the ship and taking the stairs instead of the lifts helped us make it back in time, but we could still tell we'd had a big day on our feet once we were back on the coach and heading for our home away from home. It was a big day but we wouldn't have missed it for the world, and can thoroughly recommend Petra and Jordan as places to visit.

 

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