April 4, 2006 Catania, Sicily, Italy
Carter wasn’t feeling wonderful, so Alemitu and I took off to explore. We toured the local cathedral which was beautiful, but not as ornate as the one in Malta. Then we started searching for a FAX place. No one spoke English, so there was much pantomiming and broken English, but we were able to accomplish what we needed. We also, to Alemitu’s thrill, spent at least an hour in a fashionable clothing store where she went thru each item of clothing, trying on many of them. She only bought 2 items, but she was happy.
Then off to find something to eat, and not to eat on the main street. The traffic was scary with motorcycles driving on the sidewalks and cars careening down what I thought were pedestrian streets. We finally asked at some of the local places where they would eat for a true Sicilian meal. The restaurant they recommended was fantastic. Granted, I could probably have taken an extra Lipitor because of all the olive oil I consumed – but it was SO tasty.
April 5, 2006 Naples, Italy
This going from one port to the next in less than 24 hours is so disruptive. I finally figure out how to negotiate a place and we have to leave. Spending time in a place offers so much more exploration. If you make a false turn in this type of touring, you just chalk it up as a lost experience.
Italy is heading into an election, so the street is full of posters, leaflets and passion. Carter and I took off together, with Alemitu off with friends. We started walking and almost got killed by these crazy drivers. I get so nervous just crossing the street. Even a red light for the drivers is only a suggestion. Carter just doesn’t look at the drivers and walks. I hang on and close my eyes. We stopped at a tourist bureau and they suggested a great walking tour which we took off to accomplish. Unfortunately, all of the sites they suggested were either closed or under reconstruction. Even the obelisk they wanted us to see was covered with scaffolding and green plastic sheeting.
In general, Naples gave us a feeling of being SO crowded, confusing streets and many, many people. But every corner has a gorgeous statue or carving.
April 6, 2006 Rome, Italy
Alemitu took off very early this morning to go see the sites of Rome. She and her friend Cynthia, from Brazil, were given tickets on a bus to Rome, and then set up a walking tour that was more than ambitious. They were able to see everything they wanted, but returned exhausted!! I’ll let her describe her experience.
Carter and I stayed on the ship and had a family from Rome come for a visit. They had both worked at the Vatican in the archives section. He is a photographer and she was doing some of the translations there. We met them on a cruise to Alaska 12 years ago when they were on their honeymoon. Well, they now have 2 boys, ages 8 and 10 and we had a great time with having children around. We also had quite an interesting time discussing the Vatican library and the attempted modernization several years ago. It was great to get the story from the inside.
April 7, 2006 Corsica, France
Carter was up most of the night with a passenger and she handed him a cruise tour voucher because she decided that she would stay on board for the day. I didn’t know about it until about 20 minutes before the bus left, but I grabbed what was needed, and off I went. It was such a beautiful morning, cool, sunny, fresh. We saw some of the sites in town, but were able to travel out into the countryside and see where the people live and work in Corsica. What a charming island. I would love to come back here for a week of exploration. The history of this place is incredible. It is in the middle of the Mediterranean, such a desirable place over the ages. I think I also felt somewhat comfortable because I was able to speak and understand the language. They weren’t too friendly toward people who didn’t try to speak French.
April 8, 2006 Barcelona, Spain
Winnie and I took a two hour “Step On, Step Off” bus around the inner core of the city between 5pm and 8pm. We sat on open roof of the Blue Bus (chilly) and now we understand Ben’s raving about how beautiful this city is after a week here with friends. The commitment to creative art over the last 100 years is truly impressive. A beautiful harbor area, the remaining construction projects and infrastructure from the ’92 Olympics have left a lasting legacy for the very old and historic Spanish city. We ate a great lunch at a Turkish restaurant in a cellar which must have been 300 years old, then purchased some medical supplies for the ship at approximately 50% of our costs in the US. All in all, we really enjoyed our visit here and would love to return one day.
Carter
April 10, 2006 Cadiz, Spain
After a hectic morning Clinic for Carter which entailed an Emergency Disembark of a complicated multisystem failure patient, we took another open air bus trip about Cadiz.
Beautiful white sand beaches, narrow streets with huge wooden doors on the buildings, old fortresses dating back to Roman times, and gorgeous cathedrals and plazas were highlights. We loved the floral market and were tempted to buy shoes and dresses here. Stopped for hot chocolate at a local spot which has the consistency of warm and very thick and rich chocolate syrup….not what we were expecting. Made another run to a local pharmacy to replace inhalers, prednisone, and zithromax for the outbreak of RSV we are experiencing on board the ship….next stop Madeira, Funchal before heading across the Atlantic. Starting to dread the end of this trip!
Carter
posted by Hills @ 7:57 AM
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