The Return to Rome

They dined at table 275 in the Nutcracker Dining room, with Branko and Jeffers serving them coq au vin, Tuscan white bean soup, and chocolate/hazelnut cake.  They were able to "talk" with the two sisters from Argentina and the newly wedded couple from Ecuador because the husband was bilingual.  One of the sisters had gone snorkeling in Xania.  After taking some pictures and saying "Vaya con Dios" to their South American friends, they went back to their room.  The wake-up call was set for 5:30AM.

They awoke, showered, went to the Windjammer for their final breakfast on the Navigator.  At just after 7:00AM, they wheeled their suitcases off the boat, and after some questions and checking around, found the shuttle bus that would take them out of the port.  Once on and off this shuttle, they walked 1/4 mile to the train station and found that a train was leaving for Rome-Termini in 20 minutes.  They got good seats and waited for the train to take off.

Back in Rome, they used the ancient elevator to raise their suitcases to the first floor, drank some water thanks to the maid Dena, and then hit the city.  They have been doing so much traveling and have seen so many wonderful cities, that returning to Rome seemed like coming home.

They walked to "la Fontana de Trevi" and threw in 3 pennies each, which Eli had set aside for the gesture.  Then they walked to the Pantheon, but couldn't get in because it was Sunday and there were services inside.

They then walked back to Melo by the Trajan agora, but it was closed for Sunday, so they crossed Via Nazionale and discovered "Ristorante Cesar" -- nothing much on the outside, but serving great food inside.  Insalata mista, carbonara, rigatoni, seafood misto, foccacia instead of bread, two 1/2 litres of vino bianco, two litres of water.

They walked back to Hotel Giuliana.  At 2:30, they took a taxi to Galleria Borghese to see the Bernini statues and the Caravaggio paintings.  It was just beginning to rain as they showed their 3:00PM reservation tickets at the door.  After enjoying the splendid rooms--huge paintings on the ceilings and tremendous statues--on the first floor--and paintings--on the second floor--they caught another taxi back to their hotel. 

Tomorrow they plan to get up early again, and get to the Termini train station in time to take the 7:22AM "Leonardo Express" train to the airport.

It has been a great trip. 

Sunday in Rome; Monday Morning Leaving for the Fiumicino Airport

The "Navigator of the Seas" docked in Civitavechia at about 5:00AM, and the travelers were cleared for exit by 7:00AM.  After another wonderful breakfast in Windjammer, they got their suitcases--each about 40 pounds--and steered them off the ship.  After a little trouble and several questions, the found the correct shuttle bus, which took them out of the port and within 1/4 mile of the train station.  Tugging their heavy suitcases, they reached the train station, bought "andata"(one-way) tickets to Rome from the helpful ticket seller and climbed onboard a waiting train.  It left in 20 minutes.

Once in Rome, they again wheeled their heavy suitcases out of the Termini station and enjoyed the downhill walk down Via Cavour.  They turned right at the tree-lined square and rang the bell at the Hotel Giuliana.  Sowing their luggage, they descended the wide staircase and walked to La Fontana di Trevi--about 9 blocks away.  It was terrifically crowded, but still wonderful to see, with translucent, aqua-blue water gushing from the sculptures and into the holding ponds.  It was so crowded, that it took real effort to penetrate the mass of people and actually get close enough to "throw" 3 coins in the fountain.  Allie and LT succeeded in this.  Eli threw her coins from the second or third row.

Allie and LT toss their coins.

Next, they walked to the Pantheon--also close by.  But since it was Sunday, they couldn't get inside, since a church service was being celebrated.

LT and Allie outside the Pantheon

Since it was nearly noon, they resolved to walk to their favorite restaurant the Sicilian "Melo" restaurant, but upon arriving at Trajan's Column and walking up the steps of Via Magnanapoli, they found that Melo was closed for "Domenica."  So they drifted back to the bottom of Via Nazionale and entered an un-prepossessing pizzaria, called "Cesar."

Sunday "pranzo" inside Cesar restaurant

It turned out to be a great restaurant, family run, with wonderful food.  They had seafood misto--calamari, salmon, mussels, shrimp.  They also had spaghetti carbonara and a separate order of fried calamari.  A liter of vino bianco was only 8 Euros.  After eating their fill, they walked back up Via Nazionale, turned right on Via Agostina Depretis, regained the Hotel Giuliana, were given the key to their room, and decided to take a siesta.


At 2:30PM they received their pre-arranged wake-up call, caught a taxi and sped to the Borghese Gallery where they had a 3:00PM reservation.  It was just about to rain, so the taxi was a doubly-wise choice for the weary travellers.

Allie and LT in front of Borghese Gallery

They toured the sculpture galleries--mostly dedicated to Bernini--Daphne turning into a Laurel tree and Pluto capturing Proserpine and taking her to the underworld.

In the evening, they went to a restaurant featuring food from the Abruzzi region of Italy.  They had lamb, pasta, insalata mista, as well as a litre of tasty red wine from the Abruzzi.  When the food was finished, the waiter brought the well-fed travelers 2 bottles of "digestivos" and told them their after-dinner drinks were on the house.

Before returning to the Hotel Giuliana, they walked 4 blocks to revisit La Fontana di Trevi and see what it looked like in the evening.  It was still crowded, but slightly more peaceful.

They went to bed reasonably early, because they needed to rise at 5:00AM in order to catch a 7:20AM train to the airport.  Early morning showers and final adjustments to the heavy suitcases went pretty smoothly, and the three travelers reluctantly left the Hotel Giuliana, trudged back uphill on Via Cavour and bought tickets for Fiumicino Airport--also called Leonardo Da Vinci Airport.   They actually arrived at the train station so early, that they caught a 6:52 AM train.

Xania—A Sunny Day in Crete

June 3.  Almost expecting their day in Crete to be a bit of a bore, after all the historic ruins in Athens and Ephesus, the travelers got up at 7:00AM, had breakfast at their usual circular “nook” in Windjammer at 8:00AM, and walked off the ship at 9:30AM.    They bought round-trip tickets on the bus into town (for 3 Euros each) and got on.  From the actual port of Soudia, there was a long, uneventful bus ride into the real down of Xania. 

Navigator in Xania port

Once they arrived at the bustling central bus stop in the town square, they sensed that this would be a wonderful day.  It was 72 degrees, sunny, with a blue sky.  They walked through the main cross-shaped agora and enjoyed inhaling all the aromas of spices, leather, flowers, coffee, meat and fish.  They made mental notes of stores they wished to visit on their return trip. 

Exiting the agora, they drifted left, then right, wandering among very prosperous modern shops selling high fashion clothes and jewelry.  At certain points there were inviting-looking outdoor restaurants and tavernas with tables and chairs spread out under shady trees.  They kept drifting through the town until they reached a small semi-circular bay surrounded by more restaurants—it was like a miniature Portofino.  This actually marked the old Venetian port of the city.  They walked out to the Venetian fort at the entrance to the bay, saw the view of the azure blue waters—which looked as clean and inviting as any vista in Hawaii.

They walked and explored until almost 11:30AM, then selected a restaurant at the top of an incline, so they could see down two “typical” winding Greek streets – with signs for “Casa de l’Amore.”  When they asked the proprietor of the restaurant if it were too early for lunch, he said, “Now is the best time.  Before it gets crowded.” And he told them to choose any table they wanted.

They collaborated on choosing the lunch menu, Allie suggesting some spicy lamb sausages and Kalamarakia, Eli selecting tzatziki and melitzana salada (egg plant) and LT holding out for a spinach and fennel sort of tart/pizza.  The waiter kept bringing plenty of sliced bread with a crispy crust.  They ordered half litres of white wine which the waiter replenished when he say they were getting low.  He also gave us a complimentary mini-carafe (in a clear glass bottle) of “raki” – a kind of Greek “grappa” made from left over grapes after the wine has been crushed out of them.  The raki was strong, and interesting, but since it was hot and the middle of the day, they didn’t drink much of it. 

Sipping Greek "raki" in Xania

They did, however, really enjoy the food.  The eggplant was colored brown, like real eggplant.  Often, the eggplant salad is pale.  But this was quite tasty.   The tzatziki had fresh cucumbers, dill, onions, a hint of garlic, and plenty of yogurt.  The lamb sausage was very tasty.  The fennel/spinach tart was enclosed in a crisp tortilla-like covering and was a delight to eat.  The Kalama Rakia was fresh, still hot from the oil, and a joy to eat.  Eli kept looking for a squid “eye” to feed LT, but luckily, she couldn’t find one. 

They kept remarking to themselves how nice it was that they had anticipated that Xania was going to be a let-down, and instead, it turned out to be an entrancing Greek village on the seaside, with picturesque winding streets, inviting tavernas, friendly people, and lots of Greek “atmosphere.”  The waiter confessed that he had lived all his life in Athens, had been in Xania only a month, but was convinced it was the best place in the world.    The whole meal cost 38 Euros. 

Restaurant in Xania

They finished lunch, walked back by the picturesque bay, threaded through the narrow Greek streets, each of which seemed to have one or two tavernas in which they might have had a really good meal, and wound up back at the central agora.   Inside, they agreed too split up for 30 minutes, while LT shopped for belts and Eli and Allie bought souvenirs.  LT, who detests shopping, found a good leather shop where he located a black and a brown belt of pure leather actually made in Italy—none of this thin veneer of leather covering a central strip of paper—like so many Chinese belts he gets at Ross.   He also got leather “wallet” for his keys, hoping the Honda keys won’t be too big to fit into the case.

They met up at 1:30PM, walked down to the bus stop for the cruise ship, and took the journey back to the boat.  The bus was crowded and they had to stand, but they had had a wonderful day, almost a “dream” day in Crete.

Eli and Allie attended a Motown concert in the Metropolitan Theater at 7:00 PM (which had the audience dancing in their seats,) while LT continued to read his kindle—he is enjoying reading the short stories of Ivan Turgenev.  They ate dinner in Windjammer.  Allie choosing Indian flavored dishes.  LT getting big salads then dipping into the Lamb Vindaloo which Allie recommended.  They had a cheese course.  And a concluding chocolate course, too.

Tomorrow will be a day at sea.  They will cruise through the “Straits of Messina” which separate the “toe” of Italy from the “football” of Sicily.  It should be fun. 

Ancient Ephesus – The Library of Celsus, the Roman Theater, the Agora.

June 2, Thursday.  They got their wake-up call at 5:30AM because they needed to meet their pre-paid ($59 each) Excursion tour to “Ancient Ephesus” at 7:30AM.  Since Turkey seemed to foreign and they didn’t have a clue about how to get from their arrival port at Kusadasi to Ephesus, they felt the splurge was worth it.  At breakfast, LT had the pleasure of being almost the first person to enter Windjammer at 6:01AM.  Another passenger was fussing over the smoked salmon, so he scooped up some scrambled eggs, two types of sausage, and one slice of bacon, plus a large glass of orange juice.   He went back later for the salmon. 

The three travelling Thomases assembled with all the other tour groups in the large Metropolitan Theater and sat with Group 3.  They got their red #3 tags to stick on their shirts and followed a Royal Caribbean guide out to the bus, which then took them on a 20-kilometer ride to Ephesus.  The Turkish guide’s name was Tahir—and he had spent time in Buffalo, New York, and Denmark.  Tahir has been a guide for 30 years.  He was knowledgeable and humorous and made the 3 hours pass quickly.  They each got wireless receiver units and a single earphone so they could hear him on the bus and at the site. 

They exited the bus at the top of the sight, and followed Tahir as he walked and talked down the ancient, the ruined columns and arches which marked the excavated streets.  Ephesus used to be a port town, but the ocean silted the harbor up.  So now, there is a long “Harbor” street that leads to what was once the harbor, but is now just a green valley.  They saw Roman baths, shop sites, temples, and the small amphitheater where the “senate” would have met -- everything.  Ephesus really is one of the most extensive and fully detailed restored ancient cities.  250,000 people used to live there.  Columns still had Greek and Roman inscriptions on them.  Every fifty yards or so, Tahir would stop us, congratulate us on being one of the first groups through the site—so it was cool and uncrowded—and explain what we were seeing.   Tahir said only 15% of Ephesus has been excavated so far—so the site will get bigger.

The highlights of the tour were the two story Roman “Library of Celeus,” which had double-walls to keep the books and the readers cool.  LT could decipher the Greek letters for “SOFIA” or wisdom on the columns outside the library.  After exiting the library, they walked down the commercial agora, where shops would have been and found the entrance to the Roman theater.   After they both had climbed up the steep steps of the theater, Eli took some pictures of LT against the backdrop of the stage and the surrounding mountains and seascape.  Then she told him to go down on the stage “to test the acoustics,” so he did.  Once at the stage center, LT began reciting Hamlet’s “Speak the speech, I pray, you, trippingly on the tongue.”  He was amazed at how clear his own voice sounded and he could tell, by the reverberation of his words, that his voice was carrying across the seats perfectly.  It was like hearing his own voice through a perfect microphone.  He could even hear Eli, way up near the top, saying “Good, good” although her voice was much quieter.

According to Tahir, St. Paul lived in Ephesus for nearly two years, but it wasn’t until he decided to give a talk in the theater that the pagan merchants got nervous.  They were afraid that if Paul succeeded in converting the citizens to Christianity, they would lose all the money they made selling artifacts about Diana Artemis.  So when Paul began to speak in the theater, everyone began yelling “We worship Diana.” And Paul had to flee. 

Then they walked down to a pre-arranged “stage” on Harbor Street, where 20 costumed “Romans” enacted the arrival of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.  They had a pre-recorded soundtrack for trumpets, etc, a triumphal parade to a pair of thrones, a mock gladiator fight—Caesar gave a thumbs-up sign to spare the life of the losing fighter—and even dancing girls.  It was a lot of fun.  Even though it was only 9:30AM, it was getting hot.   So everyone—perhaps 100 tourists—watched the performance from the shade of several tall pine trees.  And they were all glad that the performance only lasted maybe 10 minutes.

The bus drove them back to a 20-minute presentation on Turkish carpets given at Matis—right across the street from the entrance to the port.  The demonstration was impressive—though no prices were mentioned, perhaps $200,000 worth of hand-woven, cotton, wool, and silk carpets in floral and geometric patterns were unrolled and thrown down at the feet of the 30 tourists who were seated on three sides of a rectangle.  The Matis employees served their “guests” apple tea and a nice roll with cream cheese inside.  The spectators were shown how the colors in the rugs looked different depending on which end you were viewing—this must be because of the angle at which the knots are made.   They resisted buying anything, and then walked through a gauntlet of salespeople offering leather and jewels until the reached the street.   On the street, the entered the Grand Bazaar and were again accosted by various vendors, all speaking good English and all trying to get them to spend money on belts, purses, clothes, watches, carpets, etc.  It got wearying very quickly, and after about 15 such encounters, Allie and LT left to return to the ship.   Of course, returning to the ship meant running another gauntlet of vendors in the covered port areas leading to the ship’s gangway. But these vendors were slightly less aggressive and they soon reached the safety and calm of the ship. 

Athens, the Parthenon, and a Greek Lunch

June 1, Wednesday  The wake-up call came at 6:00AM, however, everyone pretended they didn’t hear it, and no one moved until 6:15.  But even with this slow start, by 7:00AM they were having coffee, tea, yogurt, sausages, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and sliced tomatoes in the Windjammer, and they disembarked the ship before 8:00AM.   Once again, they had decided to skip paying 90 Euros each for a guided tour, and, instead to venture out into a foreign land using the ordinary means of transportation employed by the locals.  There was some trouble with the engine of the shuttle from Port B, where the Royal Caribbean landed, and Port A, from which it is possible to walk to the Piraeus Metro Station.  So, they waited in the shade for perhaps 10 minutes, and when the shuttle engine was fixed, took the 10 minute ride.  Exiting the bus, they walked and walked and walked and walked through crowded, noisy Greek streets, asking questions of vendors, asking directions from anyone carrying a camera (and thus a tourist).  Finally, they located the Metro station, and bought six tickets—3 for the trip “out” and 3 for the “return.”  Eli overheard a British couple getting advice from a local about which stops to use and they followed this couple who got off at Syntagma, transferred to a new line and finally exited at Acropoli.

LT in front of Theater of Atticus.

 This left them with only a few hundred yards to walk until they saw the Acropolis (which means “high city”) which is perched high atop a stone outcropping—like a huge rectangle 300-400 feet above the rest of the land.  As they approached the entrance, they walked by the back or “stage” end of the ruined Theater of Dionysius and the restored Theater of Herodes Atticus.

The Acropolis had opened at 8:00AM, and it was now just past 10:00AM and the lines and crowds were quite daunting.  They stood in a long line about 15 minutes to get tickets.  Then they stood in another crowd—shaped like a wide triangle, as hundreds of ticket-holders (including, of course, large pre-arranged tour groups following a leader with a raised umbrella or round sign with a number on it) tried to funnel through a six foot gate with two ticket-takers.   The crowd was polite and orderly, but it packed like a rugby “scrum.”  Later in the day, at lunch in the Plaka, they met a British couple who had actually been so dispirited by the crowds around the entry gates that they gave up and walked back down the hill, determined to see some less crowded Athenian ruins.  But the Thomases persevered, with Allie holding on to LT’s shirt, and Eli employing her New York manners, and they got through the narrow gate and began walking up the stone steps towards the Propylaia with its Ionic columns—the first structures through which one enters the Acropolis.

Erecthium (with Caryatids) at entrance to Acropolis

Since the Acropolis sticks straight up in the middle of Athens, there is a 360 degree view of the entire city from the top.  There were huge cranes working on parts of the front of the Doric columns of the Parthenon, but when they got to the “back” they enjoyed a perfect view of eight Doric columns, topped by a pediment where they could see a horse head at one end of the triangle, and a horse-rider at the other end.  The rest of the sculptures for the pediment, of course, are in the British Museum, which LT and Allie had visited back in April.   There was a clear blue sky, and they stopped to take many real and many imaginary photographs of this ancient historical building which symbolizes so much of Western culture.  The “ground” is all stone atop the Acropolis, so it is like walking around the mountaintops in Yosemite, and they had to watch their footing as they wove through the crowds, stepped around puddles of water, avoided sharp, treacherous stones and tried to make headway towards other landmarks such as the Erectheum with its 5 lady cariatids who support the marble roof over their heads.  It was wonderful to actually be walking around buildings which philosophers like Socrates and Plato, dramatists such as Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides, and statesmen like Pericles knew and wrote about.   They could see all the way to the Saronic Gulf, though they couldn’t actually make out the port of Piraeus. 

LT and Allie in the Plaka

It was only going to get more crowded atop the high city, so descending from the Acropolis, they wandered around the side streets and saw the many ruined  columns of Hadrian’s Library, the ancient Roman Agora and the 8-sided Octagonal Wind and Water clock.  Helped by another Greek, the got directions to the Plaka—3 blocks away—found Adrianou street, walked up it a bit and located an appealing taverna or “esteritorio” where the proprietor let them select a cool interior table in a corner.  They ate creamy, tasty eggplant salad spooned onto crisp fresh break, Greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, Feta cheese, and a small amount of lettuce), fried calamarakia, moussaka, washed down with a litre of cold white wine.  The waiters were friendly and prompt, and the downstairs bathroom was clean.  Everything was terrific.  It was here that they met the couple who had given up when they saw the huge crowds outside the entry gates to the Parthenon. 

At 2:00PM, they left the restaurant and did some shopping.  They knew if they kept drifting left and stayed on Adrianou street, they would eventually run into the Monastiraki Metro station, from which they could get a straight (no transfer) Metro train to the Piraeus stop.  Allie bought a bracelet, and Eli found a long-coveted “engraving” of Athens the way it looked in the 1800’s.  Adrianou street is like the Rodeo Drive of Athens, with trendy shops and inviting restaurants on both sides, but by the time they reached and began walking down Ermou street—on which the Monastiraki Station was located—they were once again on a noisy, crowded, chaotic Greek street.  It was like the ancient, peaceful, artistic Greek dream had ended and they were back in the hurly burly chaotic reality of present-day Greek life.  After asking directions from several helpful shop keepers, they located the station, used their “return” tickets and were back at the Piraeus station in about 15 minutes.

Then, threading their way through small vendors and curb-parked cars, they made the long, hot walk back (on more noisy, traffic-filled streets) along the port to Embarkation Point A, from which they could take the shuttle back to the “Navigator of the Seas” at Point B.  Once aboard the ship, they climbed from level 1 to level 9, deposited their treasures, and then went to Windjammer for refreshments.  Allie had 3 glasses of water/lemonade and LT poured down 5 glasses until he felt normal again.  It was great to be back on the ship.  LT hopes that when he and Allie read their next Greek play—perhaps Sophocles’ “Antigone,”-- they’ll be able to think back on this trip to the city in which it was first performed.  It would have cost us almost 300 Euros to do this if we had bought a Royal Caribbean “tour.” Instead, we paid less than 8 Euros for our round-trip Metro tickets and 36 Euros for our entry into the Acropolis—a grand total of 44 Euros instead of 300.

View from the deck

Civitavechia--by Train from Rome to the "Navigator of the Sea"

Civitavechia—by Train from Rome to the “Navigator of the Seas”

Sunday, May 29,  They got up and selected a table in the Hotel Giuliana breakfast room.  Once again, the magic cappuccinos were drawn from the coffee machine.  Back in their room, each member of the team packed his or her suitcase.  LT’s suitcase weighs in at 42 pounds, and he suspects that the baggage of Eli and Allie weighs just as much.  At 10:00AM they left and walked across the square and then four blocks “up” Via Cavour until they reached the train station.  With help from one of the Trenitalia employees, they bought one-way tickets (a total of 12 Euros) to Cittavechia and walked and walked and walked the long way to binario 29.  Once they arrived, they expected to have a 30-45 minute wait, but a helpful employee at the “Leonardo Express” desk informed them that the 10:45 train on binario 25 had not left yet, so they hoisted their luggage and hustled aboard.   Moments later, the train took off.  This was a very crowded train.  Eli and Allie located actual seats inside the passenger section, while LT sat on two suitcases in the outside passageway as more and more and more folks climbed up into the train.  It was very crowded.  Kind of like those fraternity contests back in the 60’s when college freshmen would try to see how many people could be crammed into an old-fashioned telephone booth. 

In a little over one hour, none too soon, the train arrived at Cittavechia.  They exited the train station, got directions from a train station employee, walked to the right for about 10 minutes and found a Royal Caribbean bus ready to take them to the boarding area adjacent to their ship—the Navigator of the Seas.  At about 1:30PM, after getting through the document-filing area, they entered the ship on the first level and walked up 8 flights of stairs to level 9.

Their stateroom is 9531—an inside cabin with no widows—located near the front of the ship.  There is a big double bed for LT and Eli, and Allie has a “bunk.”  Our stateroom attendant is named Marta.

Once settled in their room, they walked aft and up 3 flights of stairs to the perpetually open “Windjammer” where lots of food was available.  Eli ordered glasses of chardonnay from “Rindi” our Indonesian waiter and we selected food items from the endless buffet—chicken vindaloo, salmon in dill sauce, heaps of lettuce, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes for salads, rolls, fruit, pizza.  There was lots of choice.

At 8:30PM, we entered the Nutcracker Dining room and had our first “sit-down” meal.  Our long oval table seats 11 and is located near the windows on the left side of the ship.  There are two Italian couples, two middle-aged sisters from Argentina (whose husbands let them travel together), a couple married only 9 months—and thus on a delayed honeymoon-- from Ecuador, and the 3 travelling Thomases.  We drank a French Chardonnay with our first meal.  LT had an onion tarte and pork medallions.  Allie had an Indian styled vegetarian dish, and Eli had the low-calorie recommended Pan-fried Sea Bass.  Eli engaged in hand and sign-language with the Italian couple on her left—they were celebrating their 50 year anniversary.  The two sisters from Argentina were very lively—talking Spanish with the married couple from Ecuador. 

Sailing to Messina, and the Train to Taormina’s Greek Theater

Monday, May 30,  After carefully studying the maps of Taormina, they decided that they could skip the expensive “Shore Explorations,” (which would cost around 89 Euros each) and make the trip from the port at Messina to the Roman ruins at Taormina (25 miles away) on their own.    After a substantial breakfast, they waited in their room until 10:15AM when the captain announced that it was now OK to disembark.  They exited the ship, resolutely threaded their way past the various taxi shills and touts who tried to talk them into 120 Euro “rides” to Taormina, and got out of the port.  Walking left, and asking for help from “locals”  (“Dov’e il stazione del treni?”) they found the Messina train station.  However, when they bought tickets (24 Euros total for 3 “andata e retorno” tickets), it turned out that the “next” train was not scheduled to leave until 12:20PM—nearly 2 hours later.  This would make it very tough to reach Taormina, travel to the top of the hilltop village, visit the ancient Greek Theatre, and then travel all the way back to Messina before their ship left port at 6:30PM.  When a couple of tourists from the ship heard about the 12:20PM train, they cursed and decided to pay for an expensive taxi all the way to Taormina.  Unfazed, LT, Eli and Allie bought tickets anyway.  This turned out to be a very lucky decision.  As they walked to the correct binario, they met one British couple (from Birmingham, near Stratford upon Avon) who had misunderstood the instructions and thought the train left in 20 minutes.  Arriving at the correct binario, they were all informed that although there was a 10:30AM train about to leave for Taormina, it was a sleeper train—all cuchetti—and would take no passengers.   They asked several more times and each time were courteously, but firmly informed that they could not board the train.

However, the assistant conductor who explained this to them several times must have had a change of heart, because just after Eli and Allie, and the British family had started to trudge down the stairs and back towards the main waiting area, he said “OK.”  LT quickly summoned everyone back,  they all boarded the train, selected a spacious and empty compartment and made the 45 minute journey to Taormina in comfort and style.   Getting on this “early” train saved them nearly 2 hours and gave them lots of leisure wit which to explore Taormina.  As the train glided by the sea on one side and the rocky cliffs on the other, Allie remarked that the landscape looked like the Pacific Coast Highway must have looked 400 or 500 years ago—same types of rocks and dirt, same types of “Mediterranean” shrubs.

At Taormina, they caught a big blue Ekho bus—for 1.70 Euros each—and were given an uphill ride through severe hairpin turns until they reached the bus station halfway up the Taormina hill.  Getting out, they followed the flow of foot, vehicle and motorbike traffic uphill, turned left at the Roman arch, and then left again, and eventually reached the entrance to the Teatro Greco-Romano, along the way passing souvenir shops, gelatti stands, and pizzarias.

The theatre (entrance fee 8 Euros each) was at the top of the hill and the seats were set into a very steep bowl.  While standing in line for tickets, they met the travelers from the Messina train station who had cursed and given up buying train tickets; instead they had spent 120 Euros on a taxi.  They were visibly shocked to see the travelling Thomas family.  It was like a scene out of “The Amazing Race.”  LT, Eli, and Allie’s persistence had been vindicated.  Getting on the early train had saved them 100s of Euros and nearly 2 hours. 

They climbed the steps and entered the theater.  The Taormina theater was majestic and beautiful.  Surrounded by tapering hillsides, spectators could see the Ionian Sea to the east and Mt Etna to the southwest, and attending a performance here must have been a very dramatic experience even before the actual “drama” began.   30 years earlier, LT had travelled further south all the way to Syracuse to see another ancient Greek-Roman theater, but it had been located on a much smaller hillside—perhaps more of a slope or gentle incline than a hillside-- and had been much less steep.  So finally getting to visit the Taormina theater was a great thrill. 

Lunch in Taormina.  Funicular behind us.

After absorbing the atmosphere of the theater, they walked down the hill a bit (after all the uphill climbing, anything “downhill” seemed easy and refreshing) to the Bel Blu restaurant, which had a commanding view of the hillside and the ocean.  Based on the Frommer Italy guidebooks’ recommendations, Eli and LT had pasta with sardines, while Allie, more wisely, had a pizza with a few sardines on it.  Allie’s pizza was the better choice.  LT and Eli were treated to a dish of penne-type pasta covered with a thick, dark semi-tomato, semi-sardine sauce.  There were no recognizable sardines in the sauce—they must all have been mashed up into the sauce.  In contrast, the red and mozzarella cheese surface of Allie’s pizza clearly had the outlines of 5-6 small but perfectly preserved sardines imprinted in it.

Since catching the 10:30AM train has saved them so much time, they indulged in a funicular gondola ride down and then back up the mountainside—giving them great views of the countryside.  At about 2:30PM, they caught the Ekho bus ride back down the steep hillside.  This time, the bus driver kept his hand on the horn the entire way down, and the bus riders were treated to the sight of small cars veering way over to their right, or backing up sometimes 50 or 60 yards, so the bus could enjoy its “right of way” down the mountain.  They arrived at the Taormina train station in plenty of time to catch the train back to Messina.   There was a bit more drama at the train station, as the official return train to Messina was supposed to leave from binario 1, but was switched at the last moment to binario 2—requiring the travelers to quickly race down and up a set of stairs to reach the new boarding point.

After the long, hot walk from the train station to the port, Eli desired more shopping, so she left Allie and LT to reboard the ship.  They did so and managed to walk up 11 flights of ship stairs to the Windjammer eating area, where they drank glass after glass of water, lemonade, punch, and orange juice.

In the evening, it was formal night at the Nutcracker Dining Room.  Eli wore a white and blue dress that seemed to match LT’s Jerry Garcia tie.  LT wore his blue camel hair sports jacket and his new charcoal gray slacks.  Allie wore her basic black chemise with the bow in the back and sported her favorite black flats.  Once seated at their table,  wiht “Branka” as their headwaiter, the two ladies from Argentina, the young married couple from Ecuador, plus Eli, LT, and Allie talked a lot more than the previous night.  Eli and LT had escargots in a pesto sauce and roast duck and selected a Trumpeter red “Malbec” from Mendoza Argentina to go with it.  Allie had roast beef.  All three of them had chocolate soufflé for dessert.   LT and Allie loved the dessert, but Eli felt it wasn’t dark or chocolate-flavored enough.

Travelling to Athens, All Day at Sea

Tuesday, May 31,   The clocks were switched an hour ahead early in the morning, so our 7:30AM wake-up call seemed very early.  When we got to the Windjammer, it was nearly empty.  LT quickly secured lots of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, and a few choice sausages.  Eli got Japanese “miso” soup and plenty of coffee. 

The sea beside the ship is a calm, deep blue—very glassy, with seemingly gentle waves caused by hour ship’s passing.   It’s too bad there aren’t dolphins jumping alongside.

 

After breakfast, Eli and Allie visited the Fitness center, while LT preferred to work out with the computer (typing 1500 words into this blog—and covering our journey from Sunday evening to Tuesday morning).  They re-joined each other at the 11:00AM “Destination” talk delivered by Kamla a tall, thin, young woman from Kusadasi who has a very distinctive kind of “sing-song” accent where every third word seems to be “so,” “and,” “then,” or “but.”  Arabic-based languages such as Turkish, must be so different from English.

Allie and Eli had booked into a 50 minute SPA treatment at 12:30PM, so they will input that exciting experience when they return—if they are not too “blissed out” to recall the details.   

In the meantime, LT found a comfortable deck chair on the 4^th level and read a George Simenon detective novel “The Madman of Bergerac” all afternoon.  When he needed a break, he’d walk around the entire ship.  On the 4^th or 5^th level, at the very front of the ship one can actually walk out onto the prow at the very front of the ship, look down 50 feet into the sea and feel a bit like Leonardo di Caprio in “Titanic” when he says “I’m the king of the world.”  Surrounded by the calm, blue Mediterranean, or actually the Ionian Sea near Greece, with the ship purring along at 10-15 knots, and no other passengers in sight, it was wonderfully restful to stand there, feel the delightful wind rushing past his ears and anticipate the next day’s arrival in Athens. 

In the evening, Allie had caprese salad, baked eggplant/mozzarella, and Eli and LT had scallops and risotto, and lamb shanks.  They had a nice French red wine to go with dinner.  They enjoyed taling with the couple from Ecuador—with the husband who is bilingual and speaks such good English and who translates all the good jokes that are in Spanish—and the two sisters from Argentina, who are very funny. 

Musei Vaticani e Basilica di San Pietro

Allie and LT pose in front of St. Peter's.

May 28, Saturday, they rose early.  In fact, LT was so eager for his cappucino that he left Eli and Allie selecting their wardrobe and took his breakfast alone.  Federico "drew" him another superb cappucino--dark rich, sweet coffee with a marbled swirl of whipped cream and coffee on top.  LT savored his cup, munched on a croissant, yogurt, banana and contemplated the day ahead which was focused entirely on the Vatican--first La Capella Sistina for the Michelangelo frescos and then the actual Basilica.

The crowded piazza of St. Peter's.

They walked up Via Nazionale and descended the stairs to Piazza Republica Metro.  Six stops later, after crossing the Tevere, they got off at Octaviano and followed the crowds around the large bastion, fortress walls of the Vatican until they found their place in a half-mile long line to gain entrance to the Vatican Museums, which house the Sistine Chapel.  The line was thick, long, slow and filled with an assortment of Roman beggars and touts--seeking to sell quick tickets for 35 Euros that let tourists avoid the lines.  We waited patiently, and in less than 30 minutes were inside.  A savvy and kind ticket seller inside gave us a discount and we mounted the stairs.  After traversing numerous long, long, long corridors lined with sculptures, tapestries, and various other art treasures, they descended a few steps and reached "the big bisquit" -- Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.

The crowds on the floor were more numerous and more tormented that the damned souls in Michelangel's "Last Judgement" on the east wall.  It was more crowded than any dance floor any of them could remember.  Nevertheless, they stared in wonder at the ceiling and the east wall.  They also admired the various frescos on the lower walls--done by Michelangelo's friends--Raphael, Dominicino, and Botticelli.  It was worth going through all the hassle to get there, but honestly, to really enjoy the pictures, it would be easier to buy a picture book or look at the pictures on the internet.  To LT, who had last visited the Sistine Chapel in the early 80's, it looked as if the restorations of the 90's had made things a bit too shiny and cartoonish.  It was a little darker and deeper back before the restorations.

One gallery on the way to the Sistine Chapel

Inside St. Peter's.

Next, the trio walked around the walls and entered the piazza Pio XII surrounding the Basilic di San Pietro.  They got in another long, long line, this time in the sun, but before 20 minutes had expired entered under the loggia of the church.  They were funneled into a narrow doorway, and gained entrance to the basilica.  On their right, they saw Michelangelo's "Pieta" shrouded in bullet-proof glass, in front of them, they saw the "baldachino" which covers the high altar.  Every religious treasure was on so grand a scale, that they felt like Lilliputians.  Also, the crowds were temendous.  All the pews and chairs had been removed, so 1000's of tourists could mass and mingle on the marble floor.  When they could stand the crowds no longer, they exited  and sought a friendly place to eat.

"il pranzo" at Hostaria del Bastioni just outside St. Peter's.

After several false starts, they found the Hostaria del Bastioni, right across the street from where they had lined up for the Vatican Museum.  They sat down at an outside table, protected from the sun by a canvas awning and ate insalata mista, calamari, sea bass (bronzino), and Verdichio vino bianco.  The waiter was friendly and helpful, and the hungry, happy tourists agreed that lunch was the best part of the day.  When the cheese course had been finished, they walked back down Via Ottaviano and took the metro to Piazza di Spagna.

LT and Allie pose in front of the Spanish Steps.

They got out at Piazza di Spagna and walked up and down the steps.  The sun was bright and hot and the Italian marble looked brilliant.  They walked down the Via Condotti--gazing at the Cartier, Bulgari, and Prada shops. 

Allie in Via Condotti; Spanish Steps in background

Back at the Spanish Steps, they saw the Keats Shelley Museum--Keats died in an apartment right next to the steps, and regretted that it would not open for another hour.

They re-joined the Metro, got off at Republica, and walked down Nazionale, Agostino di Petris until they reached their hotel.

Saturday evening, they once again travelled down Via Nazionale past all the shops (and past St. Paul’s Within the Walls—the Anglican Church in Rome).

LT standing just outside St. Paul's within the Walls--
the Anglican Church in Roman Catholic Rome

Then, they continued down Via Nazionale and returned to the Sicilian-influenced restaurant “Melo,” where, once again, they admired the views of ancient Rome.  Trajan’s column was right in front of them, and off to the left was a long line of broken Roman columns.  Inside the restaurant, they took their familiar “booth” where, after conferring with Vincenzo, Allie had grilled calamari, Eli had veal alla Siciliana, and LT chose lamb chopettes.   They once again opted for a litre of the light house “bianco” which seemed so easy to enjoy.

Happy diners at "Melo" restaurant.