Home

Home happy and sad but home
Safe and sound.

Barcelona, Goudi and the Familia Sargada

Ok wow.  That someone could think of much less design such a fantastic building over a 100 years ago is just incredible.  Ate breakfast in  the hotel and took a bus into Barcelona.  Toured the basilica and climbed the towers.  The light inside is fantastic.  Took a taxi back to the hotel and am heading for one last afternoon on the beech.  All checked in on flight 0743 US Airways for tomorrow.  Alas we will be saying goodbye to Europe but my bet is that we will return.  I will try and add pics later.  The Hotel has stable if slow wifi so we are contactable by email.  Although, we will spend every minute we can on the beech between now and take off.  We expect to be back in the states by 1pm tomorrow and home in our own beds by tomorrow night.  We are sore of feet but happy of heart.  Good trip had by all.

Barcelona and the end of stage 3

Goodbye NCL Spirit you have been av good ship and have allowed us to accomplish so much of our travels.  Bon voyage. We move to the 4th and final stage of our travels this trip... Barcelona and the journey home.
Took a taxi to our hotel aparmentos Marfina in Castelldefels west of Barcelona. We are presently to find a very clean cheerful inn. It is right on the beach and provides beck toys including kites chairs a windsurfer and sea canoes. Had lunch and dinner in two different tapas bars. Played in the sea (cold but warmer then the Atlantic). Not much in the way of tides or rideable waves but a sand bar and great sun. There is a kite club next door and they put on a kite surfing exposition for us with over 24 surfers. Ian made it out to the sand bar on his own. And Mark made a sand castle to defend the beech from the light ride. Castelldefel's is an interesting town. Either it is a resort town before the rush or is haunted by echoes of to many restaurants and not enough people.  Either way it is perfect for us to ease our way back to landlubber status. Tomorrow Gaudi's La Familia Sargada, Barcelona and our last full day of this fabulous trip.

Naples and Pompeii

Awoke early to see mount Vesuvius come into view. To hidden in clouds. Why do so many people live in the shadow of a killer volcano? Navigated Naples in our own. Walked to bus stop. Train to Pompeii. Almost got took by a squirrelly tour company but bailed out at the last minute. Hooked up with a decent enough waking tour. Pompeii is breathtaking. The horror the grandeur. Fantastic streets, waking stones, hitching holes in the curbs, the mosaics, the Carma Sutra frescoes , the floor tiles, the gardens in the houses. Wow. We got to sit in the amphitheater. Little pebbles from the eruption everywhere. Molds of the deceased in their last poses.
Lunch at a quiet little pizzeria.  Took the train back to Naples. Ian  sat with a boy from England and played go with him on the train. Weather was damp for the first time but tolerable. Graced with a rainbow when we were setting sail. The pilot was fun to watch. Stormy seas tonight. Sat in the bow and listened to the ship get pummeled by waves. Sounded like a giants bass drum. Time tomorrow for Ian's B- day. Looking forward to the coliseum, trevi fountain and st. Peters. Not going to make it to the Sistine chapel not enough time. Ah well have to come back.

Pisa not pizza

Landed in Livorno. Off to Pisa. We were joined with one of Ian's friend on the bus. 45 minute ride. Gorgeous scenery and fun ride. Miracle square was peaceful. Walked up the leaning tower and videoed the entire way up. Checked out the seismographs. Took some great pictures. Enjoyed some gelato. And learned about how the tower, cathedral and baptistry are all leaning in different directions. Back on board we had a great chat with a Scottish couple. Off to Toulon tomorrow for our only visit to France. Cruise ship report mechanical problems (down to 3/4 propellers) resulting in decreased speed and early departure from Toulon tomorrow. Ian and his kids club pals poor on a show for the entire boat. He completed a trick with the devil sticks. A very proud Ian indeed.

Toulon bon jour

A calm day. Got to Toulon and we slept in. Got up after the crowds had left and meandered through the old Town. Then we caught a water bus to Subelette beech. Fantastic little beech with almost nu one on it. Everyone on our boat either went to Marseilles or just stayed in town due to the shortened day.  Ate some wonderful kebobs on French bread. Beech was a treasure trove for sea glass and  sea weed. Blew out my flip flop sinking knee deep in sea weed and wet sand. Made it back to the boat with 30 minutes to spare. Iran and his kids club pals put on a show for the entire boat. Ian did a trick with devil sticks and was very proud.  

Rome....amen

Off to the eternal city. Ians bday today. He got seranaded by the entire bus while he ate a marshmellow on a stick birthday cake
  Took a bus ride from Ciccivechia to Rome. Started out at the Trevi fountian in the rain. Had to buy number shoots from the East India crap trading company. Threw 2 coins into the fountain with wishes attached. Even in the rain the fountain impresses.  Ian got a gladiator costume cmpleye with chest plate, hat, shield and short sword. Then off on a  walking tour of the Roman forum in the rain.   Ended up in the coliseum.  Iran in his full outfit.  Very impressive.  Lunch provided by the tour in a cute Italian restaurant. Of to the Vatican (gladiator suit remained in the bus). Nearly started a riot in the line for st. Peter's cathedral. Tour guide led us to a shortcut line because we had reservations. Unfortunately the line ended at a choke point the required cutting into the long line waiting without a reservation. Had to tell Mark to hop a barrier and lifted Ian over behind him. Then used my sternest gave to convince a group if Asian tourists that yelling at me was not the best idea.  Mare it into st. Peter's without further ado. Crowds were oppressive. Managed to see the Pietra and 2/5 interned popes and got a glimpse of some of the fantastic art before leaving through the door of the dead. No time for the Sistine chapel this time. Did manage to get pictures of Bernini's wind sculpture near the Egyptian obelisk. Drove by el passage and got a glimpse of Gandolpho before returning sore of foot to the boat. All in all a busy bday for Ian.

sea day

Full day at sea last full day at sea on the trip. Relaxed sat in the sun watched the kids play. Chatted it up with new found friends. (British oil guy and his wife, the tattooed couple, the couple who plays craps with us, Blair and his girlfriend Jan (honey muffins), Ian's friend Conner and his mom from great Britian, TJ and his dad the gas passer (anesthesiologist), the Muslim family with the chatty dad,  ate at the steakhouse (Cagney's). Ian is enjoying kids club. And the ping pong tournament. Mark disappears all day to hang out with his  friends. Very relaxing day.

Istanbul the massive

Istanbul has a major highway named after JFK. It goes between their two major airports. Here we toured hagia Sophia the blue mosque the grand bazaar and basilica cistern.
Hagia Sophia was the most impressive to me. Rebuilt 3 times as a church  converted into a mosque and now a museum. There are angels on the walls most with covered faces due to mosque fantastic mosaics and enormous bronze doors with 4 minarets.
The blue mosque is imposing you can feel the weight of the Muslim religion when you enter. Beautiful mosaics and impressive columns. It has 6 minarets because our guide says the original builder misheard the turkish word for "gold" for the Turkish word for 6 which are phonetically similer. 
The palace cistern is a huge underground chamber that was filled with water. It was based in a subscription fee system. Very impressive and very damp. Incredible columns and a crying column that we made wishes at. Oh and it also doubles as an aquarium.  Ian was impressed with the two column bases with Medusa heads on them. One was sideways and the other upsidedown.
Back on the ship mark played the best game of dodgeball with squeegee balls until 1 am.  Ian found out there was a kids club for his age group and had a blast without mom and dad for  while.
Tomorrow mikonos and the beech

Mikonos

Arrived at 1pm. Had to tender (take a ship from the ship) to shore. We took two taxis because we messed up with the first directions.  Ended up on Konos beech at the big blue bar and grill. Had a very relaxing day. Swam in the Aegean sea. Found some marble and granite rocks. Jen found some neat jewelry and a tshirt for me. The water was cool but no where near cape cod. 
Mikonos is a strange place.  All the houses are square white two story affairs closely packed together making walking from one point to another a great guessing game. I would move there in  New York minute.  The shop keepers are not as pushy and Mark's East India crap traders were no where to be seen.  The weather was gorgeous as it has been for all of our trip to date.
Back on the Spirit now heading toward Naples. But first a day at sea and hopefully a glimpse of the active volcano Stromboli tomorrow night off of Italy.

Izmir and Ephesus

Arrived bright and early to the port of Izmir Turkey. We went on the ship tour because we knew nothing about this port. First part of the tour was a trip to a carpet weaving center/sales pitch. The center was supported by the Turkish government to encourage young Turkish women to learn the dying trade of carpet weaving. The rigs were beautiful and the sales pitch was fierce.
We traveled by bus and saw artichoke cherry wheat pomegranate and olive crops. The olive tree is so important that it is transplanted if in a new road bed rather than destroyed.
The highlight if the tour was Ephesus. The library runs are pictured below if it will allow me to post it. Ian  found a friend on the tour and stuck to the guide like glue. We saw the library the public forum the theater the toilets the underground clay water pipes. We saw medusas head and the kings foot on the moon. 
Mark found the "beat" and learned to haggle in the shops afterwards. Overall Turkey is impressive both from a archeological and current day perspective. My impression is that it is on cleaner edgier, busier and pushier than Greece. We enjoyed the stop

Athens and the Acropolis

Docked at Piraeus and were off without a hitch. Haggled a taxi into Athens. Walked the Acropolis museum. Mark believes every thing is a fake. ;).  Meet George and had a wonderful tour including temple of Zeus, Hadrian's arch,  Hadrian's library, the Greek and Roman agora, climbed Ares rock where st. Paul preached, (very slippery) the theater of Dionysus, and climbed to the top of the Acropolis saw the temple of Athena Nike and learned about Greek building tricks. Walked the Athens marketplace and haggled a taxi ride back to the boat. The kids played in the pool. Had cocktails hors d'ouvres and a nice dinner. Time for bed. Plan for tomorrow.... Dock at Izmir Turkey at 6am. Going on a ship planned excursion to Ephesus going to see amphitheater library, temple of Hadrian, scholastic baths, lower agora, state agora, and odeon. Having a great time. Boat WiFi won't let me post pics.

Day two at sea

Lazy day. Sat by the pool. Played ping pong. Watched boats go by. Less windy and much warmer. Played a little in the casino and saw the start of the Greek coast come into view. Big plan for tomorrow. Going to get up early and watch this behemoth dock in Piraeus. We levee the boat at 8 am and plan on taking a taxi to the Acropolis museum where we will meet George the walking tour guide.

Day one at sea

Spent the whole day on the Spirit. Internet access is expensive so probably won't post these until we hit Athens. Very relaxing day. Ian has discovered ping pong and has been getting quite good at it.  He has made a new friend, Connor, from England. Mark has disappeared into the teen scene. There are 16 other teenagers on the boat and they have there own lounge. Jen and I played a little bit in the casino - craps and one arm bandits. All in all a very relaxing day. We have set up shore excursions for Athens and Ephesus. Another day on the boat tomorrow then we land in Athens.

Oh I type these on my phone. We didn't bring a computer on purpose. Please excuse the typos.

All aboard the MCL Spirit

Boarded the ship and found our state rooms. Boat will leave dock tonight at 1 am.  Rooms are smallish but will do.  We have explored the hot tub and the rear pool.  We completed our life boat muster safety program. Now we sit on the balcony sip some Heineken and listen to the children fuss. 

Venice ciao

Toured the great canal by water bus. Got lost twice. Who knew Venice floods at high tide? Saw some illegal street vendors get arrested. Tried to watch our cruise boat dock but ended up walking our feet off to no avail. Saw it later on our canal tour. Walking at night in Venice is very peaceful.

Day 5 off to Venice

Discretion is the better part of stupidity. Took a cab to the airport after a wild restless night (² wound up boys and 2 tired parents). Flight went off without a hitch. Landed in Italy and managed to navigate to the water bus with the help of a very nice tourist info lady. 1 hour calm boat trip wand we were wandering around this ancient city. Found our hotel. Had a nice but pricey dinner played with pigeons and rose salesmen and are heading to bed. Hotel San GALLO is nice and quiet.  More to come.