Today, we mark our return sail back toward the west steaming east in the Mediterranean on this near perfect day. The sky is blue, the water bluer and there is just enough breeze for a lone sailboat to make way well out in the clear horizon (digitally enlarged 300mm telephoto above). It’s now day 10 here and there’s no doubt about it – some serious diet and exercise is on my prioritized task list when I return home. I’m over eating and sleeping too much while detecting a definite bulge around the beltline that has become uncomfortable.
While Brenda and I enjoyed the view and the Mediterranean breezes this Tuesday morning on the balcony, I noticed what must be one of the premier window washing jobs in the world. The spectacular view probably doesn’t get much better than that – I wonder if they would hire someone like me for that job as payment for an early retirement cruise?
😀
We debarked in Chivitavecchia, Italy on Monday and headed by bus to the ancient city of Rome (Roma) and a visit to the Vatican. The thoughts that I had prior to visiting Rome were of just another old and somewhat dirty city, but the impression I left with was one of awe … and a “we must return” attitude. For those contemplating traveling to Italy, you need to spend more than a day; there is too much to see and appreciate if you try to do it with less time.A view of Ancient Rome (below) from a distance is impressive to me and can give a slight idea of what it is like ‘just’ trying to see Old Rome in a day … let alone the Vatican too!
We started with a drive into the city and explored the ruins and ancient buildings on our own, although a tour or English guide book would have been helpful. One detour took us down a winding street which ended in a small, but old church (left) that wasn’t really tourist-y.
The massive Colosseum of Rome (below) is perhaps the most well known structure, but there are so many other structures that triggered memories of history lessons and biblical stories … it would have been better to have been prepared prior to walking. (to the right is a map of Ancient Rome — click image for larger, same for photos)
Perhaps there is an audio walking history MP3 for one’s iPod or phone … that in my opinion would have been great.
After our busy and whirlwind morning in ancient Rome, we ate lunch at an efficient, but less friendly restaurant than we had lunch at the day prior. We joined up with a tour (highly recommended) of the Vatican after some tasty Italian pasta and wine thinking about the Spanish siesta which were the norm just a couple days earlier (Malaga, Spain pretty much shuts down from 2PM til 4PM).
What a fascinating city/state Vatican City is … and very full of tourists. We thankfully had a couple audio headsets and an English speaking guide to help us through the crowded museums and massive halls stuffed with ancient statues, followed by the Sistine Chapel (a bit disappointing and very crowded) and St. Peter’s Basilica (extraordinarily beautiful and massive). Our visit was on Monday is considered a busy day and since it was summer and just a couple days after a visit from President Obama, we had people everywhere. Again this is another place one could spend days looking at art and learning details about. I do know that with my limited historic perspective of the Catholic Church, I came away with much more appreciation of the history recorded and preserved behind the Vatican wall for all who appreciate Christian and ancient history. This is a ‘Bucket List‘ visit for everyone.
What a wonderful day in Italy! We enjoyed a near perfect day in the Tuscany region of Italy heading from the port city of Livorno to Pisa in order to visit the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, cathedral and baptistery. The crowds were relatively heavy, but flowed easily in and out of the key stops and obligatory photo (holding up the leaning tower).
The cathedral was beautiful and large although the prices to visit each of the key buildings were rather pricey … not to mention the limited numbers who can actually climb the Leaning Tower.
After our visit to Pisa, we headed into the countryside of Tuscany for lunch and learn a bit about Italian wines and olive oil.
It was educational, particularly learning a bit about the “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” label that one sees on most of the supermarket bottles of olive oils. As our host said, it is not that commercial oils are bad, but that the rules which apply to the olive oil production are not understood by most consumers (same for ‘adding’ sugar to wines – as he snidely commented about French wines).
The term “Extra Virgin” has more to do with the acid content than which olives are selected and how the acid content is achieved. According to our family farmer, Italian farmers cannot exist in producing olives for oil or even as a mainstay crop … there just isn’t enough profit in it … so most grow olives in combination with vineyards used to produce wines. Our host was particularly proud of Italian wines and was full of humor and hospitality.
At age 92 (his joke), our host picked on Katelyn as his ‘sidekick’ in order to demonstrate some of the health and seducing power of his products – she played her part well as he work his Italian charm on her during his talk and at lunch demonstrating how each of the five wines were to be compared and enjoyed. The meal was very good and enjoyed by all at our table; we conversed with couples from Germany, England, New Jersey and Australia finding the conversation easy.
By the time we returned to our ship, the heads of each person on riding on the bus back to our ship were bobbing after the wine tasting and good time at the Fattoria Winery.
It is hard to believe that I can actually lose track of time while less than a week into a vacation, but knowing I’m posting a day or two behind has me looking at the calendar for perspective. We are having a great time and enjoying our vacation … both the rest and relaxation of knowing someone else is ‘driving the boat and clearing into each port of call’ AND what we are learning about the “Old World” along the way.
Saturday’s visit to Cannes, France was less “Old World” and more “Nuevo Rich” – from what we could tell. The opulence of this coastal city is definitely fitting for movie stars and the wealthy from around the world. The yacht basin was fun to stroll around as was the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival fame.
For beaches, I’d recommend walking west down the pavilion as the breeze was better and beaches just a bit less crowded (still crowded though). We spent most of the morning swimming in the ‘saltier than what we are use to’ Mediterranean Sea and sunning on the beach. The sand is not the pure white of the Gulf of Mexico, but somewhat similar to the east and west coast beaches in the U.S. Brenda did not want to leave as she felt the water was as therapeutic as being in a spa.
Prior to leaving port, we walk down past several of the designer shops and five star hotels, but the hot sun and bustling crowd had us seeking a shady spot to sit to and sip on a Coke. (although Brenda has been pleased to have her Diet Pepsi on the ship!)
After our day in Barcelona, we sailed for Cannes in France. The evening started to get interesting when deck chairs began flying off the deck and doors were quickly battened down. Most passengers realized that we were rolling a bit more than usual, but the seas were not all that much larger than we have seen on past cruises … but that was not true about the wind. I went forward, after a fun run across the deck, to the navigation viewing station which was closed to viewing (normal) but the instruments were available. I spent 30 minutes monitoring the radar images and ‘warning’ messages coming from our ship (NCL Jade) to others in our shipping lane as the winds were above hurricane force and coming across the deck at gusts nearing 100 mph. Here is a cell phone image of the nav station … notice the wind gust at 94 kts.
Although the storm came quick, it was gone by morning and did a fine job of rocking us to sleep. All is well.
As usual, I’m behind in jotting down a few notes in which to archive our trip and thoughts after a couple of days in Spain. We toured the old part of the city of Barcelona (only wide enough streets to walk) and thankfully had our English speaking guide in which to mention several relevant spots along the way. The history is so multi-layered that unless one remembers the history of conquest and rule in Europe, it is challenging to realize the layers of old city melted into old city. Some of the architecture is preserved (thankfully) and can be pointed out. In walking behind and listening to another tour guide, it was curious to be able to look into one of the particular “basement-looking” windows in order to see some existing construction ‘inside’ the Roman city walls.
One of the more beautiful points along the tour was a visit to Barcelona Cathedral, which has been undergoing reconstruction for many years. This is our first cathedral during this trip and the sheer size, considering it was built before America was even a country, is truly awe inspiring.
Here are just a couple of the photos from inside the cathedral.
Under the main cathedral is a chapel/burial vault of one of the many Christian martyrs; this one was the vaulto of Eullila, a 12-year-old girl who was tortured and nailed to an “X” for her refusal to deny Christ and bow to the Roman conquerors.
The rest of our day was spent walking the main street in Barcelona – La Rambla.
It is a busy place with both tourists and locals mixing and shopping. For those who enjoy food and cooking, the market in La Boqueria is a hopping place with specialty vendors marketing their wares.
By the end of the day, we were once again tired and set sail for our next port of call, Cannes, France.
After a long day in Malaga, Spain we set sail at 6PM on Wednesday evening. We were all tired out from our day and turned in with a movie on our cabin (Benjamin Button) after a celebration Japanese dinner. Celebration since the scores for my daughter’s Step One medical boards were passing (taken after year two of Med School). They were posted at 11AM EST or 5 PM ship’s time and required an Internet connection in order to check. We were all happy for her and I know she was relieved to have the stress behind her.
I’m composing tonight’s post in the ship’s library after a wonderful evening in Barcelona, Spain. The girls are nearly asleep and I’d just didn’t want to let another day go by before transferring photos from my SD card to my computer … a back up seems prudent considering theft is always a possibility when exploring a big city.
Tonight we walked a significant distance (perhaps 45 minutes) up the Avenue Praral-lel to Place d’Espanya in order to watch the dancing and lit fountains and listen to music. The fountains are called Font de Montjuic and it was well worth the walk, not only the beauty, but admiring the buildings, cafes and city life along the way.
The buildings around Placa d’Espanya – still under restoration (above) & waterfalls in front (below)
A little catch up is in order as we also enjoyed the day yesterday in the city of Magala and drive up the coast of Spain (bus) through the city and then small “farms” as they are called on our way to Nerja. In Nerja, we toured a huge cave with giant stalactites and stalagmites. They were setting up for an underground musical performance while we were there … something that happens only once each year in July.
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Drive up coast and ancient aquaduct bring water to dry areas
Much of the beauty was realized when walking (no cars) in the old town area as we were able to walk to the beach and grab our ‘sand sample’ … something my wife has done ever since our honeymoon. Bummer … the battery on my notebook is dying and a hint for other NCL Jade travelers: There is only a 220v European AC plug available on the ships library.
Updated: Pulled video from Palm Centro of the Fountains in Barcelona
We spent day two and now three of our vacation at sea and are enjoying the day’s relaxing … as well as eating (too much food). The weather was cooler on Monday, but much warmer today. The winds the first day out were near gale force as we traveled south from the English Channel through the Bay of Biscay and into the Atlantic Ocean. According to the bridge report the waves were 12 meters, but the Norwegian Jade seemed to plow comfortably southward creating a 30-40 knot headwind when on an upper deck. It was nice to sit sheltered on the balcony as we continued to overtake freighters plodding their way south in the shipping lanes as well.
Besides reviewing our itinerary for our first port of call, Malaga in Spain on Wednesday, we soaked in some sun. I spent most of the afternoon reading the Stephen Coonts’ book “Assassin” which is a perfect vacation read for a Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmalini fan. I think I’ve read all in the series over the years and I enjoy following each of the characters that Coonts brings back to save America.
Since we were soaking up the sun on Tuesday afternoon, it is probably obvious that we are moving south and into better weather. The seas have settled to “moderate” conditions so says the captain, and temperatures were in the 80s today. As I sit typing this blog post on the balcony 6 hours ahead of EST, the sun is just setting in the west over the Atlantic. We are in a very busy shipping lane and are regularly overtaking freighters.
The food and service has been excellent on the Norwegian Jade. Entertainment so far hasn’t been to my liking as Monday night was a tenor singer and tonight a well known English comedian. Those who are Benny Hill fans seemed to appreciate him. Tomorrow we’ll be up early and going ashore early so it’s to bed early.
View of the Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 in the berth once home to the Titanic
The first day of vacation proved to be an excellent 8 hour through the night flight direct from CVG (Cincinnati) to London. Thankfully we processed through customs relatively painlessly after gathering our luggage and taking a motor coach (bus) to Southampton UK … about an 1-1/2 hour drive. I’m glad I wasn’t driving since the traffic was heavy and I kept thinking “they are on the wrong side of the road.” I know I would have irritated at least one English driver if I were to have be driving.
We arrived early at the port and waiting about 45 minutes to process through the NCL terminal and boarded our ship the Norwegian Jade (see panarama view above of Southampton from our cabin – click for larger).
We enjoyed a buffet lunch and had a nice talk with a couple from North Carolina on their third cruise in less than 12 months. Although the Jade is a sister ship to one we have previously cruised on, it seemed to be superbly cared for and was also a newer ship. After settling in our cabin after stumbling out to our muster station for the obligatory boat drill, I relaxed on the balcony while someone took a nap.
My dinner was excellent (Mahi-Mahi) and our table with a stern view as the sun set and we sailed past the Isle of Wright and southwest into the English channel. As I type this entry, the girl are sleeping to the gentle rolling of our ship. We couldn’t have asked for a better start to our vacation.
Exchanging a few US dollars for Eurodollars this week has me thinking about the struggling economy as I prepare for vacation. I noticed that stocks struggled again on Friday, and crude oil closed below $60 a barrel as everyone continued to worry about the economy.
Reflective of the economy, the Dow Jones industrials closed down another 37 points to 8,147 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 4 points to 879. The only bright spot for the week was the Nasdaq Composite Index, closing up 3 points to 1,756. Those trading in the summer markets arel likely to see stocks struggle and reports suggest that losses could extend into next week as a host of companies — especially big financial institutions — report second-quarter earnings.
The market has been easing back since June 12, when the Dow Jones industrials finished at 8,799 and ahead on the year for the first time since Jan. 6. The Dow has now fallen back 7.4% since that June 12 finish. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have fallen back by similar amounts. The Dow finished the week down 1.6%. The S&P 500 dropped 1.9%, with a 2.6% decline for the Nasdaq.
Markets for the week
7/2 close
6/26 close
% chg.
YTD chg.
Dow industrials
8,146.52
8,280.74
-1.6%
-7.2%
S&P 500
879.13
896.42
-1.9%
-2.7%
Nasdaq
1,756.03
1,796.52
-2.3%
11.4%
Russell 2000
480.98
497.21
-3.3%
-3.7%
Crude oil
$59.89
$66.73
-10.3%
34.3%
(per barrel)
10-yr. Treasury
3.29%
3.50%
-0.2%
46.6%
Gold
$912.50
$931.00
-2.0%
3.2%
(per troy ounce)
Adding to Friday’s gloomy mood was the Reuters/University of Michigan survey that showed consumers’ optimism about the economy waned this month. The survey’s confidence index fell to a reading of 64.6 in July from 70.8 in June, the weakest reading since March. Economists had expected the confidence index to fall to 70.5.
but that was not true about the wind. I went forward, after a fun run across the deck, to the navigation viewing station which was closed to viewing (normal) but the instruments were available. I spent 30 minutes monitoring the radar images and ‘warning’ messages coming from our ship (NCL Jade) to others in our shipping lane as the winds were above hurricane force and coming across the deck at gusts nearing 100 mph. Here is a cell phone image of the nav station … notice the wind gust at 94 kts.
