Italy
and the Greek Isles
September 28-October 16, 2012
Our much anticipated return to Italy and Greek
Islands began Friday, September 28 with uneventful flights from Houston to
Toronto on United and nonstop to Rome on Air Canada. A reprise of our China trip, we were
traveling with Leon and Pam, our long-time friends and partners in travel.
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| The Baths of Diocletian in Rome |
Rome
Adventure
We arrived around 9 a.m., tired but excited, and
were waved through Italian Passport Control into Leonardo di Vinci Airport. We
carried our suitcases up to level 2 to board the Leonardo Express, running
approximately every 30 minutes between the airport and the Termini, the central
train station, in Rome. A ticket costs
11 Euros and must be validated at the machine at the end of the platform. A mid-morning arrival meant that our train
wasn’t too crowded and we watched the scenery as we passed the ancient Roman
walls that surround the city and headed into the chaotic Termini.
Off the train, we headed to the Marsala exit. A left turn outside the station and then a
right on Via Vecchia by the church and we were just a few blocks from the Hotel
Canada. We had stayed at this
comfortable and friendly hotel three years ago and found it just as welcoming
this time. Although our room wasn’t as
large as our first stay, it was well appointed and we settled in quickly. Revived by pizzas at a restaurant near the
hotel, we headed to the Baths of Diocletian just a few blocks away.
The baths, which could accommodate 3,000 bathers at
a time, were built around A.D. 300 by the Emperor Diocletian. We toured the
museum and the adjoining Santa Maria della Vittoria, which was once the great
central hall of the baths. Today, the
church houses several important works of art, including Bernini’s statute, the
swooning St. Theresa in Ecstasy.
After visiting the baths, exhaustion set in, so we
returned to the hotel for a glass of wine and snacks. We loved the Hotel Canada’s cocktail hour
where guests gather on comfortable sofas in a homey setting and enjoy free
snacks and drinks (for purchase but much cheaper than nearby restaurants). We dined at Mama Angela’s nearby. Bill and I had eaten here on our previous
trip and found it as good as before. The
veal and the house red wine were both delicious.
Sunday morning, we enjoyed a great breakfast at the
Hotel Canada before heading out in search of our Roma Passes. We had intended to purchase them the night
before but tired out before doing so.
Now, we found that the Tabacchi (tobacco) shops that normally sell the
passes were all closed. We finally
bought them at the Termini’s Visitor Information Center. The passes are a great value at $30 Euros. You get free entrance into your first two
attractions and deep discounts at those thereafter. Public transportation is included in the
pass. You validate them by writing your
name and the date on the back and then using them at your first venue or Metro
stop. We boarded the Metro at the Termini
and rode it to the Colosseum where the passes allowed us bypass the incredibly
long line and head straight in.
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| The Colosseum represents Rome at its grandest. |
The Colosseum was built in A.D. 80, when the Roman
Empire was at its peak. The Flavian Amphitheatre (its real name) was an arena
for gladiators and public spectacles and could accommodate 50,000 roaring
fans. The Romans pioneered the use of
concrete and the rounded arch, which allowed them to build on this scale. The stadium was inaugurated with a 100-day
festival during which 2,000 men and 9,000 animals were killed. It originally
had a canvas roof made of sails that could be drawn to protect the audience
from the hot Roman sun.
Just outside the Colosseum stands the Arch of
Constantine. It marks the military coup
in A.D. 312 when Emperor Constantine defeated Maxentius in the Battle of
Milivian Bridge, making Christianity a mainstream religion in the western
world.
Our Colosseum entry on the Roma Pass also included
entry to Palatine Hill, so we headed there next. Palatine Hill provides great insights into
Roman history. It includes the huts of
Romulus and Remus, the Imperial Palace, a view of the Circus Maximus and much
more. After climbing a long hill, you
come first to the Imperial Palace, the residence of emperors for three
centuries. The palace was built by
Emperor Domitian in about A.D. 81 and it is enormous. Later, you arrive at an archeological site
purported to be the huts of Romulus and Remus from about 850 B.C.
From the heights of Palatine Hill, we descended into
the Roman Forum, the city’s ancient political, religious and commercial
center. The tour begins at the Arch of
Titus, commemorating the Roman victory over the province of Judea in A.D.
70. From there, we walked down the Via
Sacra into the Forum where on our right we saw the enormous hall of justice,
the Basilica of Constantine. The
original building stood 130 feet high and was longer than a football
field. Strolling through the Forum, we
came to the Temple of Julius Caesar, where Caesar’s body was burned after his
assassination in 44 B.C. Before mounting
the long staircase out of the Forum, we saw the Arch of Septimius Severus commemorating
the emperor’s battles in Mesopotamia and the columns of the Temple of Saturn,
the Forum’s oldest temple built in 497 B.C.
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| The bronze statue of the She-Wolf suckling twins Romulus and Remus. |
We trudged up
steep a staircase out of the Forum and into Capitol Hill’s main square. Originally a site of temples to the gods
Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the square was transformed by Michelangelo in the 16th
century from pagan to papal.
The
highlight of the square is the Capitoline Museum. We climbed to the top of the museum for a
magnificent city view and lunch in the café to rest our tired feet. Afterwards, we toured the museum to see the
original bronze statue of the She-Wolf suckling twins Romulus and Remus. Among the other famous works are the
Spinario, a bronze work of a boy extracting a thorn from his foot.
Down the hill and around the corner, we stopped to
see the famous Victor Emmanuel Monument—a site we had seen many times from a
distance but never up close. This
monument to Italy’s first king built to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of Italy’s unification in 1870 is also affectionately dubbed “the
typewriter” or the “wedding cake” by locals.
The 43-foot-long statue of the king of the horse out front is the
largest equestrian statue in the world.
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| The chains the held St. Peter are on display. |
Our final stop of the day was at St.
Peter-in-Chains, founded in A.D. 440, the church built to house the chains that
held the apostle Peter during his imprisonment in Rome. There are two sets of chains linked
together—one set held Peter when he and Paul were in the Mamertine Prison in
Rome, and the other dates from when Herod jailed Peter in Jerusalem. According
to the legend, the two chains were miraculously joined when they arrived at the
church. The church also houses
Michelangelo’s Moses, depicting Moses’ face when he returned from his meeting
with God.
Exhausted, we made our way down the steep stairs to
the Metro stop and back to the Hotel Canada.
Many of the restaurants were closed in the area, but we found a small
place two blocks away that served excellent pizza and salads.
Monday, we
had tickets for the Vatican Museum at 10 a.m.
We arrived right on time and began our tour with the beautifully decorated
papal apartments, ending with the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel, which is the personal
chapel of the pope and is where new popes are elected, contains Michelangelo’s
ceiling and huge Last Judgment. The chapel is magnificent and would be very moving
if it wasn’t filled wall-to-wall with tourists.
After the chapel, we perused several other wings of the museum,
including a new area filled with incredible sculptures.
On our way from the museum to the Vatican, we
spotted a McDonald’s sign and lunch was immediately ordered. We gorged on Big Mac’s and McRoyals (the
European version of the Quarter Pounder with Cheese) fries and Cokes.
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| St. Peter's Square is set up for the Pope's Sunday Mass. |
Afterwards, we entered St. Peter’s Square with its
ring of columns symbolizing the arms of the church, welcoming everyone. No matter how many times you visit the
Basilica is awe-inspiring. We stopped
first at the far right entrance to view the Holy Door, opened only during Holy
Years (every 25 years). It was last
opened in 1999. Inside, the church is
huge—two football fields long, it has a capacity of 60,000 worshippers. The beautiful Pieta, Michelangelo’s statue of
Mary carrying the dead body of Christ, is now behind glass but is nonetheless a
masterpiece. It is the artist’s only
signed work.
After exploring the inside of the Basilica, we took
the elevator to the dome where we looked down on a service being conducted. It was magical. Outside, the dome, we were on St. Peter’s
rooftop where we had a commanding view of the square and all of Rome. By then, our
feet were aching, so we headed back to the hotel.
Dinner was a special treat. We visited the Trattoria dell ‘Omo located at
Via Vicenza 18 near our hotel. A true
family restaurant, we were greeted by Mama who spoke no English but proudly
showed us the dishes she had prepared for the evening. She then brought us a carafe of red table wine. The food was basic Italian home
cooking—delicious! Her son arrived a bit
later. He spoke English fairly well and
was very helpful. At the end of the
meal, Bill went back to thank the cook for a great meal and was rewarded with a
huge hug from Mama.
Our last full day in Rome began with news of a Metro
strike and streets filled with cars. This was the day when we had planned to
cover all the remaining top sites, and now it would have to be on foot. We started at the National Museum of Rome,
the home of major Greek and Roman statues that were formerly scattered in other
museums around town. We especially
enjoyed this museum both for the quality of the artifacts but also for the
descriptions which told us about hairstyles and fashions of the time.
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| The Cappuccin Crypt holds the bones of more than 4,000 friars. |
Afterwards, we set off across the city, stopping for
lunch in the Piazza Barberini. Then, we
headed up the Via Veneto to the Cappuccin Crypt below the Church of Santa Maria
della Immacolata Concezione. The crypt
is decorated with the bones of more than 4,000 friars who died between 1528 and
1870. As you enter the crypt, you are
reminded that “we were what you are...you will become what we are now.”
Our next stop was the Spanish Steps, which is named
for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican which has stood there for 300 years. Hundreds of people hang out at the steps each
day. On this particular day, we
witnessed a fight between a man and a woman which started with a screaming
match and ended with the woman storming away while the man chased her. The Sinking Boat Fountain, at the foot the
steps, was built by Bernini, or his father, Pietro, and is powered by a Rome
famous aqueduct system.
We relaxed our feet with a stop for gelato and then
found our way to the Trevi Fountain where all of Rome’s tourists seemed to have
congregated. Completed in 1762 by Nicola
Salvi, this Baroque fountain also used the Roman aqueduct system for its water
supply. We enjoyed the quiet of the beautiful
church on the corner by the fountain and the view from its porch.
A brief shower sent us looking for cover and we
ducked into the beautiful Loyola church.
It was an amazing find, hidden on a back street with incredible art and
soaring ceilings. The churches of Rome
never cease to amaze us.
Our final stop of the day was at the Pantheon. Formerly a Roman temple dedicated to all of
the gods, the original temple was built in 27 B.C. by Augustus Agrippa. The structure currently in place was rebuilt
by the Emperor Hadrian around A.D. 120. It is the oldest religious building
still in continuous use. Its dome was used as the model for all the other
domes that came later. A marvel of
engineering, the dome is as high as it is wide—142 feet from floor to rooftop
and from side to side. The base of the
dome is 23 feet thick and made from heavy concrete mixed with travertine, while
near the top, it is less than five feet thick and made from a lighter volcanic rock
with pumice mixture. The coffered
ceiling reduces the weight of the dome without compromising its strength.
Leaving the Pantheon, we found a cab and seized upon
it to take us back to the hotel. It was
a crazy ride through the tiny back alleys of Rome. We breathed a sigh of relief when we arrived.
Dinner was al fresco at a small trattoria on the corner.
On Wednesday, October 3, it was time to board the
ship. We boarded the train at the
Termini and for 4 Euros, made our way to Civitavecchia, Rome’s port, about an
hour away. No cabs were available when
we arrived at the station, so we walked a few blocks to the port entrance and
caught a shuttle to the Crown Princess.
A few minutes later, we were on the ship, enjoying an upgrade to our
first mini-suite.
Florence
and Pisa
After a restful day at sea, we arrived in Livorno,
gateway to Florence and Tuscany. Florence means “the Flowering” and the city is
aptly named. The famous Duomo, designed
by Filippo Brunelleshi, symbolizes the wealth and power of Florence as the
jewel of the Renaissance. Outside the
Duomo is Giotto’s Campanile, or Bell Tower, and in front is the Baptistry,
decorated with white and green marble.
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| Michelangelo's David is perhaps the world's most famous statue. |
We began with a short walking tour, we visited the Accademia,
which houses Michelangelo’s original David. The statue is magnificent; however, Bill
commented that his hands and feet were much too big. From the Accademia, we walked through the
Piazza della Signoria, the heart of Florence.
In front of the old palace are copies of several famous statues,
including David and Donatello’s Florentine Lion. We walked past the Uffizi Gallery to view the
Ponte Vecchio, a 14th century bridge spanning the Arno River.
After lunch at an Italian restaurant, we shopped in
the International Market before heading to Pisa to see the famous leaning
tower.
Pisa once competed with Venice and Genoa for rule of
Mediterranean trade. Now, it’s just a
sleepy town that is overwhelmed with tourists due to its leaning bell
tower. The best known buildings in Pisa
are gathered in the “Field of Miracles,” and include the Cathedral, Baptistry
and the Campanile. This Campanile is the
world-famous Leaning Tower, which is now inclined 14 feet due to settling
topsoil. The entire area is surrounded
by markets selling cheap goods and panhandling Gypsies.
Naples,
Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast
The next morning, we arrived in gritty but beautiful
Naples, our springboard to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. After boarding the bus, we headed south along
the winding coastline toward Sorrento and south to Amalfi and ending in Salerno. The twists and turns, the incredible views of
the Bay of Naples and the coastline further south kept us oohing and aahing all
morning. We stopped for an hour in the
town of Amalfi which is situated at the mouth of a deep gorge. Once a powerful center of trade, Amalfi is
now a touristy town of shops and boutiques.
Our lunch stop was at a rooftop restaurant in Salerno overlooking the
beach a few miles away.
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| The head of a statue looks out of Pompeii's ruins. |
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to the ruins
of Pompeii. Pompeii and the neighboring
town of Herculaneum were destroyed and buried by a volcanic eruption from Mount
Vesuvius in 79 A.D. which killed more than 20,000 people. The eruption stopped life in its tracks and a
visit to Pompeii shows us much about life 2,000 years ago. The shops and stores reveal a fascinating
glimpse into commercial life while the homes show us about daily life. Deep ruts are cut in the stones where carts
and chariots wore away the pavement.
There are also plaster casts of several bodies that have been preserved
at the site. Most sad was the cast of a
pregnant woman captured in the throes of death.
Santorini,
Greece
Our first stop in the Greek Islands was beautiful
Santorini. The Crown Princess dropped
anchor in what was once the caldera of the volcano, Thera, which erupted in
1600 B.C. Many believe Santorini to be
the lost continent of Atlantis; however, that theory is much disputed since
Atlantis was supposed to be in the Atlantic Ocean.
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| The views from Santorini are unparalleled. |
Nevertheless, the eruption gave Santorini its
“fishhook shape” and formed the high cliffs on which towns like Fira and Oia
sit. Looking up at the cliffs to Fira,
it is easy to see the levels of volcanic debris laid down by each eruption of
the volcano. Santorini sits on the same
fault line as the infamous Stromboli, Vesuvia and Etna and had its last
eruption in 1948.
The views from Fira are unparalleled. After catching the cable cars from the
bottom, we walked along the edges, taking pictures of the dramatic views that
appeared with each turn. Returning to
the center of Fira, we shopped and stopped for pizza at a restaurant
overlooking our ship below. Late in the
afternoon, Pam and I sat in the pool on the back of the ship and marveled at
this incredible place and how lucky we were to be there.
Athens
Our arrival in Piraeus, the port for Athens, was
preceded by concerns due to an unscheduled visit German Chancellor Angela
Merkel the next day. In anticipation of riots
protesting Greek austerity measures, the ship cancelled a number of tours that
featured the center of Athens and passengers were discouraged from going ashore
independently.
Our tour went off as planned. We left at 7 a.m. and actually drove through
Parliament Square, which was peaceful and quiet. We stopped at the Olympic Stadium, the sight
of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
Then, we headed to the Acropolis, which dominates the Athens
skyline. A steep walk up 80 steps takes
you to the Propylea, which leads to the Parthenon, the Erectheion and the Porch
of the Caryatids.
This was our second visit to the Acropolis, but once
again, we were awed by this incredible group of structures. Equally moving, is the enormous rock just below
the Acropolis where the Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians, bringing
Christianity to Greece for the first time.
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| The Parthenon draws huge crowds. |
After the Acropolis, we spent some time shopping in
the Plaka. This 19th century
shopping district at the foot of the Acropolis is lined with restaurants, shops
and boutiques. We then boarded our bus
to leave central Athens, watching as the Police closed the streets behind us in
anticipation of riots.
We stopped for lunch at the Metropolitan Hotel on a
busy thoroughfare. It was your typical
tour buffet lunch with reasonably good Greek food. We then headed to the Temple of Poseidon
outside of Athens. In this part of the
tour, the journey is really the destination.
The road follows the beautiful coastline to the tip of Cape
Sounion.
The Temple, built in the 5th
century BC, sits on the tip of the cape overlooking the sea. Supposedly, the changing light and crashing
waves once inspired Lord Byron. For us,
it was a beautiful stop but with difficult walking over jagged rocks.
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| The Temple of Poseidon overlooks Cape Sounion. |
After the Temple, we headed back to the ship. On the
way, our guide shared interesting information on the Greek protests. She explained that unemployment in the
country is over 25 percent and is even higher for young people. Most college graduates cannot find jobs. In addition, salaries have been slashed. For example, a school teacher with 10 years
of experience now makes only about 580 Euros per month. The average rent for an apartment in Athens
is 4-500 Euros monthly. So while we were
under the impression that the rioting had to do with people not wanting to give
up their incredibly generous benefits such as 6 weeks of vacation and early
retirement, the protest is actually about salaries and unemployment. We saw evidence of the economic problems
everywhere we went, from closed businesses to shuttered resorts.
We arrived back at Piraeus and rejoined the ship
late in the afternoon. The sail-away
from this busy port is particularly interesting as we shared the facilities
with huge tankers and dozens of ferries.
Our departure at sunset was an impressive sight.
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| A local Mykonos resident make her way home |
Mykonos,
Greece
Our first visit to Mykonos three years ago inspired
us to take this cruise. One of the most
idyllic Greek Isles, the narrow winding streets of shops and restaurants
overlooking the sea and the whitewashed cube-shaped houses with their colorful
doors and shutters give the place a charm unlike any other place on earth. Mykonos town sits around a harbor where
fishermen bring their catch each morning.
Around the bend is Little Venice.
During the 16th and 17th century, pirating was
common and it is believed this area was used for the necessary quick loading
and unloading of goods. There are a
large number of Greek Orthodox churches, but also a surprising number of Catholic
chapels that hark back to days when Mykonos was part of the Venetian
Republic.
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| The windmills are Mykonos' most recognized landmark. |
The windmills have been the most recognized landmark
of Mykonos since the 16th century.
Due to its geographic position, Mykonos was situated on major sea trade
routes. The need to refine grain and
compact it for transport combined with a year round supply of wind, made
Mykonos the perfect location for this operation. The windmills that are left are just a
fraction of what was once a thriving industry on the island.
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| Petros, the giant pelican, is the mascot of Mykonos. |
Once again, we enjoyed shopping and roaming the back
streets. We lunched in Little Venice,
climbed up to the windmills and had a great visit with Petros, the mascot of
Mykonos. This time, the giant pelican
was with a local friend who demonstrated how he could put his head inside the
bird’s mouth and how he keeps Petros’ beak in fine condition.
Katakolon
(for Olympia) Greece
The next morning, we docked in Katakolon, a quaint
fishing village on the Peloponnese Peninsula in western Greece. Katakolon is the gateway to exploring the
birthplace of the Olympic Games in Olympia.
Like most of the cruisers, we booked a tour to visit the ancient Olympic
facilities.
The games at Olympia were held every four years beginning
around 776 B.C.—a tradition that lasted more than 1,100 years. The games were held in honor of Zeus, father
of the god, during July or August at the full moon. The Temple of Zeus was one of the Seven
Wonders of the World. While they lasted only five days, athletes prepared for
years to compete in the events.
The religious aspects of the games declined once the
Romans took over and were stopped altogether after 393 A.D. The site was abandoned and fell into
ruin. An earthquake in the 6th
century further damaged the site and it was only rediscovered in the 18th
century.
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| The ruins of the Olympic gymnasium are massive. |
Today, the excavations are impressive and tourists
can wander among the ruins imagining what it must have been like to compete in
such a magnificent facility. Most
impressive, is the Olympic Stadium where more than 40,000 spectators witnessed
contests ranging from foot races to the pentathlon. After nearly 1,500 years, the 2004 Olympic Games
held the shot-put contest here. The
games were resumed in 1896 when they were resurrected in Athens. Since then, the torch bearers return to
Olympia to ignite the flame, which is then carried to the site of the games.
After visiting the Olympic site and the adjacent Archeological
Museum, we enjoyed a traditional Greek lunch at a lovely hotel. We spent a little time shopping in the town
of Olympia. A small Greek town, it
clearly showed the ravages of the economic crisis with a large hotel that was
closed and a number of closed businesses.
Corfu,
Greece
Our last stop in Greece was on the beautiful island
of Corfu in the Ionian Sea. So different
from the other Greek Islands which are made from volcanic rock, Corfu is lush
and fertile. Olive trees are everywhere,
and olive oil is a principal export.
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| Achilleion Palace was built for Empress Elizabeth of Austria. |
Our first stop was at Achilleion Palace, originally
designed as a villa in 1890 for the Empress of Austria. Empress Elizabeth, or Sissi, was a Bavarian
princess who married Franz Josef. She
found court life stuffy, so she spent years travelling and vacationing in
beautiful places like Corfu, where she built a palace. The Palace gardens are filled with statues
and flowers and the views are gorgeous.
Inside, the rooms are much like they were during the Empress’ stay
there.
Next, we visited the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, a
treasure trove of Byzantine and religious art founded in 1288. Then, a drive high into the mountains gave us
commanding views of the bays and coves around Corfu. We stopped in a tiny village where we enjoyed
cumquat cake. Then, we headed down the
mountain for lunch.
Our tour was to have included a walking tour of
Corfu Town, however, a storm sent us all back to the ship early. We waited in the rain in a long line for
tenders to take us out to the ship and watched the storm as we sailed for
Croatia.
Split,
Croatia
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| A dog lives with his family in the walls of Diocletian's Palace. |
The biggest surprise of the trip was the small city
of Split on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.
We began our visit with a driving tour (that we arranged on the pier) to
the beaches and suburban areas near Split.
We then toured the historic center of the city built
around the magnificent palace of Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293 A.D.
Diocletian was born in Salona near Split and
returned here after he retired. What was
once a walled settlement is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site with residents
living in apartments in the palace walls. It was amazing to see wash hanging
and children playing in a 1700 year old building. In the middle of the 8.4 acre walled city is
the Cathedral St. Domnius, which was Diocletan’s former mausoleum. It was highly recommended that we climb the steeple
for a great view of the coastline. We
voted unanimously to decline.
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| Split's beautiful waterfront. |
After visiting the historic center of the city, we
enjoyed wandering through Split’s open-air market in People’s Square. One of
the largest we’ve ever encountered, vendors were selling everything from
vegetables to designer goods. Late in
the afternoon, we returned to the ship to prepare for our last port—Venice.
Venice,
Italy
The captain
strongly encouraged passengers to be on deck for the 7 a.m. sail-in up Venice’s
Grand Canal. We took his suggestion and
were so glad we made ourselves get up to see Venice at sunrise from the top of the
Crown Princess. The colors, the views…it
was all incredible. We sailed past St.
Mark’s Square, the Doges Palace and many other historic sites. But the real spectacle was simply the sight
of Venice as the morning light spilled over the city.
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| Sailing into Venice at sunrise was spectacular. |
The reality of Venice was somewhat different,
however. Once we were secured at our
berth, we departed on a tour that included the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s and Ca’
Rezzonico. Once we disembarked at San
Marco, the streets were filled wall-to-wall with tourists, making walking
difficult. The crowding problem was
compounded by an historic high-tide that swamped the streets with water. People were forced to walk slowly along
elevated wooden platforms to get to the historic sites.
Our first stop was Doge’s Palace, the seat of Venice’s
government and world influence dating back to the 13th century. We viewed the palace’s interior with its
Golden Staircase and Renaissance masterpieces. Crossing the Bridge of Sighs, we
peered through the decorative scrollwork to see the last view of freedom glimpsed
by many before entering prison.
At St. Mark’s Basilica, we were unable to visit the
inside of the cathedral because it was Sunday.
The famous St. Mark’s Square was filled with chairs for an afternoon
mass, not the pigeons we had seen in so many photos.
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| Gondolas ply the Venice waterways. |
We boarded a water taxi for Ca’ Rezzonico Palace,
one of the grand historic Palazzos now a museum of 18th century
Venetian life. It was beautiful,
however, our tour guide chose to describe every fresco in excruciating detail
and before long, we were bored and the guys were complaining.
Done with the tour, we walked through the area
around the Accademia (Venice’s famous museum of Renaissance art) and across the
bridge to San Marco Island. We stopped
for lunch at a sidewalk café, calming the grumbling stomachs of Bill and Leon,
and then through the back streets. We
walked around St. Mark’s Square again as the mass was being conducted and
finally caught the water shuttle back to the ship.
The next morning, we said goodbye to the Crown
Princess. We loved the ship and the
cruise. It couldn’t have been better. We especially enjoyed our mini-suite which
gave us room to spread out and a large balcony to watch the scenery. Thanks for
upgrade, Princess.
On the dock, we caught a taxi to our hotel—the Hilton
Garden Inn—near the airport. I was a
little worried about this location, but it worked out perfectly. Our rooms were ready, so we were able to drop
off our bags and head out for sightseeing.
We purchased a one-day transportation pass for 18 Euros from the front
desk and caught Bus 9, which stopped in front of the hotel, back to the Pizzale
Roma, the transportation hub for Venice.
There, we caught a Vaporetto water bus back to San Marco where we had
intended to see the inside of the St. Mark’s Basilica. Once there, we were once again hampered by the
crowds and high water, so we decided to take the Vaporetto to Murano, famous
for its beautiful glassworks.
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| A record high tide forced tourists to traverse raised walkways. |
Murano turned out to be a great call. The village is
lovely and quiet. We walked along the canals and looked at the artistry of the
glass in the shops. We stopped for lunch
at a small restaurant where we had the prix fixe meal for 15 Euros with three
courses. It was delicious and we were
the only tourists in the place.
Our plan had been to return to San Marco to take a
gondola ride and do more sightseeing before having dinner at a restaurant
suggested to us by a friend. However, a thunderstorm
blew in and the rain came down in torrents.
Finally, we opted to take the Vaporetto back to the Pizzale Roma and return
to the hotel. We stopped at a store and
picked up snacks and a bottle of wine and enjoyed our farewell cocktail party
in our room followed by dinner at the hotel.
The next morning, we were up early to catch our
flight for home. We flew from Venice to
Frankfurt on Lufthansa where we changed planes for a non-stop flight on United
to Houston. Three meals, four movies and
11 hours later, we arrived home.
