DR. Romance Blog

Mediterranean Trip -- Cadiz & Funchal

12/11/07 Tuesday Cadiz

Buenas dias! We're in Spain again, at the beautiful old city of Cadiz. We've been here before, and it's one of my favorite places. The streets are so narrow no cars are allowed in the inner city, so it's a lovely place to walk, sit and have a capuccino, and enjoy the gorgeous Christmas decorations. When we were here last, in springtime, there were 6 foot towers of petunias, in every gorgeous color, all over the old city -- now there are towers of pointsettias, lovely. It's wonderful, to walk through the narrow lanes of the streets here and look up to see the balconies overhead almost touching each other across the street. Cadiz has several beautiful churches & a cathedral, as well as many miles of beautiful beaches, but this trip we decide to explore part of the old wall that surrounds the city. The day is beautiful, and so is Cadiz.

12/12/07 Wednesday, sea day.

This is a much -- needed sea day of rest. Tonight is a formal party, and I get to swim, catch up on my e-mail, and take a long nap before getting all dressed up to go dancing. There is also a production show tonight "Words & Music" which I saw on the last segment, but Richard didn't, so we both see it after dinner. All the shows are amazing -- so well conceived, choreographed, costumed and sung. Delightful.

12/13/07 Thursday: Funchal, Madiera, Portugal

Bom Dia! After our restful day at sea, we dock this morning at Funchal, which rises out of the sea; its volcanically created slopes lush and green, and covered with terraced houses; its rocky peaks and cliffs dark and dramatic. the vista that greets us from the ship is classic Mediterranean -- not too much different from that which greeted Christopher Columbus when he came here to study the famous Portuguese sea craft and take a wife. Only after she died did he begin his explorations. The island was officially discovered in 1419, when Joao Goncalves Zarco found it in the usual fashion -- by getting lost. Funchal is named after one of my favorite veggies -- fennel, or sweet anise (fenocchio in Italian) which is called funcha in Portuguese, and grows wild here. It's such a fertile island! With a climate as warm as California, but wetter, the whole island is a tropical greenhouse. We took a double-decker bus tour, and saw banana plants, birds of paradise, bouganvilla and every sort of tropical plant. Grapes are important here, of course, because Madiera is known for its sherry-like wine. It also has a thriving sugar industry. From our bird's-eye, top deck bus seats, we see the lovely streets, remains of the old city wall and forts, cathedrals, and the many sculptures that grace the city. this is the home of the sculptor whose giant statue of Christ is on Sugar Loaf mountain in Brazil.

The last time we were here, we took a taxi to Our Lady of the Mountain Church, a lovely little convent & church (founded in 1492) on a high peak, from which the friends traveling with us taht time, Lyn and Geoff Dye, took a sledge ride. In a large basket-like contraption, they sat and slid down a cobblestone street to the bottom of the mountain.

This time, Linda & Mark tell us at dinner about their wild ride. The day dawned lovely, but by sailing time, ominous clouds are gathering on the mountaintop, and we wave goodbye to our last port of the trip, and begin sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

12/14 -20/07 Crossing the Atlantic from Portugal to Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Now we have day after day at sea, to relax, enjoy the ship, the pool, the fine dining, dancing and entertainment. We love these Atlantic crossings, and we have great weather all the way. A perfect cruise -- and the flight from Ft. Lauderdale to LAX is much easier than the one to Rome.

Mediterranean Trip -- Gibralter

12/10/07 Monday - Gibralter

Cheerio! In our European travels, we've sailed by the great Rock of Gibralter   many times, but this is our first chance to step foot on its soil.

We happen to meet up with Georgia and Don at breakfast, so along with Linda and Mark, we make a party of six, perfect for a minivan tour. We wander out and engage Daniel (accent on the last syllable) a very personable guide, who speaks great English. Gibralter has been a British colony since 1704. it's one of the two "Pillars of Hercules" at the Western entrance of the Mediterranean. It's name comes from the first occupation, by the Moors, in 711 AD, led by Tariq ibn Zeyad -- "Gebel-Tarik" means Tariq's Rock. The remains of his castle can still be seen. The Spanish recovered control in 1462, and lost it to the British in 1704.

Daniel takes us on a tour of the major sites, beginning with a drive up to the ape's den, where we get up close and personal to the small Barbary Apes. We are warned not to carry food or feed the apes, who are unafraid of humans, but not tame. There are adorable babies a few months old, which climb all over the van, pose for photos, ride on their mothers' backs, and generally entertain and charm us.

We continue up to the St. Michael's cave, which is surprising -- walking through a tunnel into a series of enormous caverns, with huge stalactites coming down to fuse with equally large stalagmites reaching up from the ground. There is dim lighting, but when we take pictures, the formations light up in lovely colors.

Many steps take us down to the largest cave, which contains a stage and stadium seats -- concerts are held here -- I sing a few notes to test the echo, which is wonderful. What a magical place this would be to give a recital!

Back out in the sunlight, and greenery on the rock, we get back in the van and continue our climb up the rock, past the remna nts of the imposing Moorish castle to the top, where we walk into the tunnels. Miles of tunnels were carved during the Great Siege (1779-83) when the Spanish tried unusccessfully to reacquire Gibralter. The tunnels are oddly reminiscent of "Pirates of the Caribbean" at Disneyland, becaue there are tableaux of workers digging the tunnels, soldiers on guard, cannons, and one small side tunnel leading to a door with a grate. As we approach this door, a soldier manniken inside is looking out, and we are startled when our movement triggers "Halt! Who goes there?"

At one point, the roadside narrows and we can see the Mediterranean on one side and the Atlantic on the other. We also look down at the narrow strip of land that connects Granada to Spain. Thi sis the flattest land in Granada, and contains the airport. To travel the only road between Granada and Spain, you must cross the runway, and whenever a plane lands or takes off, the road is blocked by barriers like those at train tracks at home.

After a great tour, (I liked the monkeys best) Daniel drops most of us off at Main Street, where we can shop for souvenirs. It's a charming town. Granada has about 30,000 inhabitants in a very small area -- less than 3 square miles. It is dense with tall apartment buildings especially in the newest area, reclaimed from the sea. A wonderful day, lovely weather and an exciting tour. We're so glad to have stopped here.

Mediterranean Trip - Genoa, Italy to Barcelona, Spain

12/6/07 Thursday Genoa

Genoa is lovely from the ship, and familiar. This is the birthplace of Cristoforo Colo'n (Christopher Columbus.) However, we've been here before, and the day is chilly, so we decide just to take some photos from the deck, and use the day to relax. I spend some time writing this up, then go for a swim. Richard is getting better, but still needs rest.  I love having the pool to myself, and we both take a long nap.  At dinner, Mark & Linda tell us about their day tromping all over the lovely city of Genoa.

12/7/07 Friday Cannes
Bon Jour!  Richard is beginning to feel much better, but the day is cold & dreary, and Cannes, famed beach town that it is, doesn't look inviting, so again we stay onboard.  Ominous signs show up on Lido deck, where all the staff are wearing gloves, and we're no longer allowed to serve ourselves at the buffet.

We recognize this as the "sick ship" protocol, and in the late morning, the captain announces that the Novo virus has been brought onboard by arriving passengers.  This is not like the simple cold Richard & I have, but a serious intestinal bug.  so, even though the ship has had hand sanitizer dispensers everywhere, he strongly urges us to use them frequently.  He says, any passenger who develops diarrhea or vomiting should call 911 on the ship phone, and there will be no charge for medical services.  He doesn't mention, however, that anyone who is suspected of having the virus will be confined to cabin. 

Things go on more or less normally, if a bit subdued.  Tonight Richard actually feels well enough to go dancing, so we dance before dinner.  Our outstanding waiter, Laura, is working doubly hard because all her tables are full, and we aren't allowed even to pass a bread basket --- everything must be served.  After dinner, the seas begin to get rough -- the captain warns us about high winds --- and we go to the casino to play the penny slots. I actually win $10.00 on a $2.50 investment.  Yay!

12/8/07 Saturday Barcelona
Buenas Dias! After a very rough night, when the ship leaped and lurched, ringing like a gong when the waves slam into the hull, and waking us up.  We've been on many small ships that were tossed about, but this is the first time a huge ship like this has bounced this much.  By about 5:30 AM, the winds subside.  The captain later tells us the winds were 80 Knots, over 100 miles an hour.  Apparently winds from the north met the famous Spanish Mistral, and cooked up a perfect storm.

When we wake up a little late after the rough night, the day is crisp and sunny, about 57degrees, and we both feel fine, so we meet Mark and Linda at a late breakfast and decide to take the shuttle into Barcelona, to Columbus (Colo'n) circle, with its tall statue of the great explorer.

Once off the shuttle, we find a true flea market -- used goods -- and soon lose Mark & Linda in the crowd.  Richard and I decide to take the "Barcelona Bus Turi'stic" -- the hop on, hop off bus.  These busses are in most European cities, (we took one in Rome, I missed one in Firenze)  For 19E each, we get a two hour ride on the top of a double-decker bus, with a great narration of the sites on head phones, our choice from seven languages.  The English narrator has a fine British accent. 

We tour beautiful Barcelona, past Port Vell (old port) The Olympic Park, into the historic Barri Go'tic (Gothic quarter) with its massive old stone buildings,

and the stunning La Ribera (Medieval quarter) with ornate carving and statues.  We love the glassed-in balconies. 

The Placa d'Espanya (Spanish Plaza) has a magnificent memorial fountain by Josep Maria Jujul, and the Placa de Catalunya, where Las Ramblas, the famous miles-long promenade through Barcelona, begins. From our great vantage point atop the double-decker bus, we get unobstructed views of dramatic sculpted buildings by Antoni Gaudi, including the Casa Batllo', and "La pediera" (the stone quarry)

This is such a breathtaking city -- the tour ends with a sweep of Mont Juic (Jewish Mountain), giving us a bird's-eye view of the city and port, where no fewer than six huge cruise ships are in the harbor, including our Star Princess.

On the top, we pause at the majestic Palau Nacional (National Palace) 

which tops Mont Juic's peak and lush gardens, then descend past the cable car terminal and the Joan Miro museum, a white marble memorial, back to the World Trade Center.  Once off the bus, we catch the shuttle back to the ship.  Onboard again, we learn from the passengers that the city was very crowded, due to the  holy day if Immaculate Conception and all the ships. The captain announces that the number of new cases of the virus is declining, but we'll keep to the CDC sanitation measures we've been using.  He also says the wind is gone, and he expects a calm sea tonight.  This is our first formal night, so we dress and go to the Captain's Cocktail party, dinner  and the big production show, looking forward to a calm sail to our next port.

Mediterranean trip - Rome again

Dr. Romance's travels, continued...

12/03/07 Monday Civitavecchia/Rome
Ciao! Back at where we began, the first segment of the cruise is over, people are disembarking and new passengers are getting on.  We stayovers have the ship mostly to ourselves.  Richard is sick today.  Mark and Linda have a really ambitious plan, involving catacombs, and seeing a lot of things I've already seen, so I decide not to go with them.  Richard and I have to go down to the embarkation area to change over to our new cruise cards -- they have to take our picture. Everyone must insert a cruise card into the terminal at embarkation every time we leave and return to the ship, which allows the ship to be certain everyone has gotten back on in each port.
The cruise card is our room key, as well as our charge card aboard ship, so everything depends on it being accurate.  The changeover process is pretty simple, but we see there's a disgruntled crowd at the gangway -- there's some sort of red tape delay, and no one is being allowed off the ship at the moment.  We decide to stay onboard, and I get to swim in the main pool all by myself -- heaven!  A lovely, restful day for me, Richard and I both have colds we probably acquired on the busses in Egypt.

12/04/07 Tuesday Naples/Pompeii
Buon Giorno!  This is our second stop at Naples,

and Richard and I need antihistamines and euros, so we decide to walk into town, close by the port, and I get to practice my Italian on a druggist.  "Ho Bisogno di qualche cosa per il raffredore e la tosse" (I need something for a cold and a cough.)
Unfortunately, my Italian accent is excellent (because of my singing training), so she fires back at me in rapid Italian, and I have to ask for English.  She calls someone else over, and we get exactly what we need, including "Medinait" the Italian version of Nyquil.  Then, we try to get some Euros on our credit card, but no dice.  The change place sends us to the bank (Banco di Roma) and the bank, of course, requires a passport, which we neglected to bring.  Oh well.  Back to the ship, for another day of relaxation and swimming for me, bed rest for Richard.

12/05/07 Wednesday Livorno/Firenze (Florence)/Pisa
Richard is still too ill to go out today, and once again Mark and Linda's plan is too ambitious for me, and they're going to Pisa, so I decide to brave it by myself.  My plan is to go to the ever-present tourist info office, and have them map out a plan for me to take the train to Firenze, and hope there's a hop on/hop off bus there I can take.  I really don't want to miss Florence -- Richard has been here before, but I haven't.  It's quite chilly, so I take a jacket. 
At the bottom of the ship's ramp, there is an info table, and the lady tells me there's been an accident on the train tracks, so the train is not running for several hours.  Change of plans.  I walk over to the taxis, and find out that if there are 5 of us, the taxi will take us to Firenze and Pisa for 50 E each.  So much better than the $300+ the ship is charging. A couple, Don and Georgia, soon join in, and I begin canvassing passengers coming off the ship until another couple joins us, too.  Our driver, Carlo, is very nice, and his English is pretty good (far better than my Italian)  Off we go!  We drive through the lovely Tuscan countryside -- it is a beautiful, fertile area of Italy, with rolling hills, and farms. Occasionally, we see a castle on a hilltop.  Carlo points out Vinci (where Leonardo is from) as we pass. The day is cool, but clear a lovely.  It's a great drive, and we get acquainted.  It turns out we're all from California. We pass by the Ponte Vecchio as we get to Firenze, and out of the van, we arrange a time and place to meet. We are left right in front of the Duomo, the Cathedral of Sta Maria del Fiore (St. Mary of the Flowers.)

Taxis and cars are not allowed in the center of Firenze, where the streets are old and narrow.  Don, Georgia and I decide to stick together, and the other couple head off on an ambitious walk.  Georgia's right foot is in a walking cast -- she broke it in July -- so I figure her pace is good for me.  We all need to change funds, so we head for a change office, where I get euros on my credit card, no passport, no problem.  We see a brochure for the hop on, hop off bus, and decide to buy tickets at 20 E each. We walk through the Duomo first, then we go off to find the bus stop, which doesn't prove to be easy -- we're expecting a rather visible sign, but it turns out to be a small line on the bus stop sign.  We wait and wait and after 40 minutes a bus arrives, but it turns on another street without picking us up, and we chase after it to no avail.  So, another change of plans.  We decide, instead, to walk a short distance to the Piazza de San Lorenzo, which has a famous flea market. 

The market is a whole couple of blocks long, and wonderful.  There are stalls selling every type of Florentine goods, including the famous leatherware, at bargain prices.  I'm not into leather clothing, but I do buy a gorgeous leather album, in which I plan to put the photos and memorabilia of this trip.  We all have a great time in the market, I complete most of my Christmas gift list, and we find a little cafe, mid-market, where we sit and have a cappuccino, and a gelato. The cafe is in a building that must be 400 years old, with beautiful brick arches and beamed ceiling.   I take a photo of them, and the barrista looks startled; then a young man (her boyfriend?) teases her, saying "She's not taking a picture of you -- she's photographing the ceiling."

Then, we're back to the hard grind of shopping.  We then wander through the lovely old streets winding our way back to the meeting point.  On the way, we find a 99 cent store, which makes us laugh.  Of course, we have to go in, and I buy a couple of glittery Christmas chachkies to decorate our ship's cabin.

Back in the van, we take a lovely sunset drive to Pisa, again through the fertile Tuscan countryside.  The roads are good.  We reach Pisa at dark, and pull up to the famous leaning tower.

It's collossal, but the big surprise is the two stunning buildings next to it.  The area is called the "Field of Miracles" and the trio of buildings are the Cathedral, Baptistry and the Campanile or Bell Tower, which is the famous tower that leans 14 feet out of true.  Famous Pisan Galileo is said to have used the cathedral for his studies of the pendulum, and the Leaning Tower to work out his laws of gravity and acceleration. 

We have only a few moments here, because the time we have to get on the ship is looming.  Luckily, we make the half hour trip back to the ship in record time, and get on ship.  I've been concerned that Richard will be very worried, because he thinks I'm taking the train alone to Florence, and has no way of knowing my plans changed.  As soon as I get on the ship, I find a phone and call the cabin.  Richard said he was concerned, but he knew I'd push it to the very last minute.  I'm actually back on the ship half an hour early, and all is well.

It was a wonderful day, Richard is beginning to feel better, and I'm very tired, but happy.  I tell Richard that, this cruise has been so satisfying that I don't care if we go to another port for the rest of the trip. 

Mediterranean Trip -- Cairo, day two, part two

Dr. Romance's trip to Egypt, continued:

Again on the bus, we go down to the Sphynx.  It may seem silly to have to get on the bus to do these things, but the distances are quite long -- everything, including the space between, is on a collossal scale.

Then we're facing the Sphynx.  What can I say?  It didn't ask me any riddles, but it is, itself, a riddle -- beautiful, silent and a witness to the ages.  Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon all stood where I'm standing, looking at this wonder.  A fitting end to our Eqyptian experience.

Back to the lovely Mena House Oberai hotel for a wonderful lunch -- best meal of the trip.  They hummus, baba ganoush, squash stuffed with tabouli, and local beer. I am drinking Omar Kayyahm wine.  Another vegetarian woman and I rejoice over all the delicious veggie choices.  Wonderful olives, too.  Our cartouches arrive, and they're even better than we expected.  Hooray!

Back on the bus for the 3 hour drive to Alexandria.  We pass a lot of sahara (desert) and rich farmland again.  Egypt built irrigation canals to move the fertile land further away from the Nile, because the Nile banks are being urbanized.  On the road, we see conical structures, like 15 foot high clay beehives, which Lamia says are dovecotes, for raising pigeons, which Egyptians regard as a delicacy -- squab. 

Everyone is jazzed when our bus passes a small pickup truck with two (yes, two) full-grown camels in the truckbed.  They are lying down, looking around and putting their noses in the wind, just like overgrown dogs, enjoying the breeze and the rest.  The whole bus laughed out loud. 

We also saw many thin, cylindrical smoke stacks, seeming to come out of the ground, which Lamia said were brick factories.  Much of the building in the countryside is brick, and Lamia said earthquakes were very rare, which is probably a good thing.  We drive a bit through Alexandria, a very modern city, and past the new library, which I would love to see, but alas, we're out of time.

Back on the ship, Richard and I, though exhausted, go for a swim to ease our aching backs and legs.  My whole right side is sore from my "dismount" from Moses the camel.  While we're in the lovely pool, another passenger tells us the gossip.  A man (apparently not from our ship) had a heart attack at the Giza Pyramids, witnessed by one of the day tours, and a lady broke her hip and a local ambulance had to be called.  Yesterday's day tours were 3 hours late getting back on the ship, and so it was late going through the Suez canal, and late getting to Alexandria, which messed up the morning tours.  None of this affected us, of course, but it did remind us that even in this idyllic life, stuff happens.

Saturday 12/1/07 

A blessed sea day.  I begin writing this and catchin up with e-mail and onboard friends.  We had a "frequent floater" party, the champagne winner for most days cruising with Princess had over 1100 days! The Production show "Words and Music" was excellent, but Richard missed it, because he felt ill, and went to bed right after dinner.  He seems to have caught a cold.

Sunday 12/2/07

Another sea day.  One of the delights of cruising is sailing past lovely views, and we leave the Mediterranean to enter the Straits of Messina and the Tirrenian Sea.  We are sailing between the southern shore of Italy (the sole of the boot) and Sicily, past the volcanic area containing Mount Etna and Stromboli, which looks like it's name, "anthill."  But the anthill erupted in February 2007, and it's belching great puffs of smoke now.  Half the island of Stromboli is populated, and frequently evacuated.  But for now, all is quiet on the volcanic front. 

Tomorrow ends the first segment of the cruise -- we'll be back in Civitavecchia/Rome and we're planning to take the train with Mark and Linda.  Richard has been in bed and having room service chicken soup all day, so I don't know if he'll make it off the ship tomorrow.

Mediterranean Trip -- Cairo, Egypt second day

Dr. Romance in Cairo, Friday, 11/30/07
Up at 6:30 AM we look out the balcony to see -- nothing.  A pea-soup fog has descended over Cairo.  We stagger onto the bus, and drive a few blocks to "The Pharoahs"

fancifully decorated barges upon which we sail on the Nile, while eating breakfast. There's a sausage-looking thing on  the banquet table, and I ask about it -- it's a date!  We only see dates that are dried and cured in the states, but this one is fresh. I bite into it, and it's awful -- a bitter, mouth-puckering taste.  Egyptians eat them, but I won't. 

The fog is clearing, but still too thick to take photos, so we content ourselves with the Pharonic replicas on the boat, and also take photos of us steering the boat.  

The sense of Unreality that will mark this day begins here. It's so hard to believe we're sailing on the Nile, the very river Cleopatra used for a main highway.  After an hour of cruising, resting and eating, we're happy to get back on the bus.

Another long, but pleasant countryside drive, to Sakkara.  Lamia says customs are much more strict here.  We pass many lovely small mosques, beautifully decorated.  The Step Pyramid of Sakkara is the oldest known of Egypt's 107 pyramids (Lamia says there are supposed to be over 200 and asks us to look for the missing ones)  and built by Imhotep.   This was an important step in learning to build pyramids. 

We enter a small temple filled with two rows of thick sandstone columns, which opens out into a great courtyard with the gigantic step pyramid on the right, across the open space.  Again the feeling of unreality descends, as if we're on some movie set.  I have read and heard about these things since grammar school. (My 6th grade class project involved copying hieroglyphs onto the walls of a pretend pyramid) and to be here is unbelievable.  The hectic pace of this tour heightens the sense of illusion.  But it is real, I can touch the rock walls.  It's inconceivable that a people without modern machinery could move and stack these massive thousand-pound blocks of granite.  The many vendors here are real enough -- everything is "one dollah American" because it's the end of the ship tourist season. 

Mostly Egyptian and European tourists will come here now, by plane, because this is the coolest time of year here.

The next stop is "the company store" -- the approved shopping place turns out to be lovely, huge, and packed with handcrafts and jewelry.  Cartouches are surprisingly reasonable, and we each order a silver one with gold glyphs.  The heiroglyphs for Tina are a rising sun, a feather, a wavy line, and an eagle.  On the handcrafts side, they actually will bargain, so we get some things and feel OK about the prices.

Back into the busses and back to Giza, with quite a bit less traffic because of the holy day. the Cheops pyramid, the largest of the three is awesome.  It was constructed in 2500 BC, covers 13 acres of land at its base, and is made of 2,300,000 2.5 ton blocks of stone.  It is the only survivor of the 7 ancient wonders of the world.  Two respectfully smaller pyramids, those of Cheop's son, Chephren, and his grandson, Mycerinus, are nearby.  The trio are really impressive.

We begin at an overlook, where we take pictures.  There are saddled camels resting nearby, and of course we have to try them.  A driver says to me "name is Moses" repeatedly, so I say, "OK, Moses" and he says, "No, not me -- the camel! My name is Ali"  So, with effort, I get up on Moses' saddle.  Ali leads him a few feet, and asks if I want to go further, but I decline.  Richard is on another camel, going in the other direction, so I want to stay close by.  They get both camels together, and take several pictures of us.

  Then Ali wants Moses to kneel so I can dismount, but Moses has other ideas.  Ali (who apparently speaks camel) and Moses snort, spit, grunt and groan at each other for a while, as I bounce up and down in the saddle. A good thing there are two pommels, before and behind me.  I hang on for dear life.  Then Moses finally gives in, and I try to dismount, but  get my right foot caught on the rear pommel.  I can hear Richard in the background, having an argument with his driver, but I yell with some urgency, and he comes over. Richard and Ali together manage to get me off Moses' back.  I'm certain Moses is relieved.  Everyone is now yelling, but thankfully we have our ubiquitous Men in Black, one of whom comes over and tells the  camel drivers to back off.  We pay for our ride, and get back on the bus. We now smell like camels, which is not a good thing.

Next stop, down the hill, is right at the three pyramids.  It is possible to go inside but not recommended for those who are claustrophobic or have respiratory problems.  Richard and I decline.  I'm still having some bronchial issues from the California fire smoke, and Richard has allergies.  Lamia says there's nothing to see in there -- you just get "a feeling."  My feeling is that all of this is still unreal.  I look down at my shoes, which are covered with sand, and realize I have the sand of the ancients on and under my feet.  For some reason, this makes everything more real, and I snap a picture of my sandy shoes.

Next, we're going down to the Sphynx (to be continued)

Mediterranean trip -- Port Said/Cairo, Egypt pt.2

Dr. Romance's travels in Egypt, 11/29/07 Thursday (Port Said/Cairo) continued....

Another ride through the unbelievable Cairo traffic: no lanes, cars going every which way, few traffic lights, often cars have no headlights, donkey and horse carts in the middle of traffic, and pedestrians everywhere! They weave right through moving traffic, and we don't see an accident; although we see plenty of dented cars.  Intersections are completely gridlocked, often two cars are stopped, headlights facing each other. It looks like no one will get anywhere, but lots of horns blare, and somehow we get through.  This time, we go to our Sofitel Gezireh Hotel,  where we have only 45 minutes to 'freshen up.'  What a gorgeous hotel room, with a balcony overlooking the Nile.

  We snap a couple of quick pictures of the view.  The bed is heavenly, silkysmooth sheets and a firm, soft-topped, mattress, and it beckons, but we can't indulge.  We do manage to take very quick showers, in the gorgeous bathroom, which helps a lot. 

2:15 PM, it feels like it should be night by now. We begin the traffic demolition derby toward Giza. Tomorrow is Friday, the Muslim holy day, and a day off, so this is like Friday nite traffic -- everyone is rushing around. Our expert driver is Mohammed, and we manage to get through the mess eventually. Out in the countryside, we drive along a waterway, which Lamia says is an irrigation canal. Traffic out here is also busy, but much more interesting. This is fertile farm country, and truckloads of huge 12 inch cauliflowers, ripe fruit and alfalfa pass by. One is stacked so high with crates of fresh tomatoes, we can't believe they're not crushed bouncing through traffic. Loaded horse carts, flocks of sheep,goats and water buffalo -- all very rural. we pass a small mosque which is adorned with colored, Christmas-style lights, and I tell Richard it must be his, because he loves strings of lights so much.

We are running so late that the guides find out by phone that we're going directly to the Sound and Light show, moving dinner to after. We all groan, but are glad to get off the bus at the pyramids. We wait, hearing the Japanese narration of the show before the English version. We flash our souvenir tickets at the gate, and enter the courtyard before the Sphynx, where chairs are set up. The pyramids are lit, then the lights go down, and the Sphynx begins to describe history from his time. It's a very interesting hour show, with laser light projections onto the pyramids, illustrating the talk. Cheops face is projected on the Sphynx, to show what it looked like.

An ancient wall next to the Sphynx is used like a projection screen, to show moving images of pharoahs, gods and goddesses. Tired as we all are, it keeps our interest.

Then we drive to the gorgeous Mensa House Oberoi hotel for our delayed dinner. It was once a summer palace built in 1869. From the beautiful 40 acres of gardens, the pyramids loom very close by. Inside, we walk down a narrow white marble hall, where pierced metal lanterns, suspended by chains from the very high ceiling, create beautiful light patters on the walls; to a delicious buffet dinner.

Another 30 minute ride back to Cairo, traffic much lighter now. We stagger to our room, fall into bed. Tomorrow, we'll see the pyramids in daylight.

Mediterranean trip -- Port Said/Cairo, Egypt

Dr. Romance's travels continue...

11/29/07 Thursday (Port Said/Cairo)

Our big day begins: up at 5:45 for breakfast and a 6:30 meeting time; we get our all-important sticker with N6; the number of our bus. There are 7 busses plus a 'rescue' empty bus, in case it's needed -- that's about 280 people -- all traveling in a convoy protected by armed guards front and rear. In 1998, Richard and I were hoping to go to Egypt, but 3 days before our ship got there, tourists were shot at the pyramids, and the ship went to Turkey and Israel instead.

Since then, Egypt has gotten very conscious about tourist safety, and there are many armed guards at each tourism spot. Plus, we have the "Men in Black" -- serious men in dark suits who go with us everywhere -- armed private security provided by Abercrombie & Kent tours. We buzz with sleepy anticipation for about half an hour, and they call us by bus number.

Our lovely tour guide, Lamia (Richard immediately coins "lambie pie"- a mnemonic to help us remember) We caravan to Cairo, a 2 1/2 hour drive. Our bus has a toilet, but we soon discover it is barely adequate -- like a porta-potty, or tbe head in a small boat -- cramped and smelly. No one uses it more than once.

Driving through the countryside is fascinating, with beautiful mosques and minarets.

 

Lamia is a weath of information (Rather like listening to Sylvia do her docent spiel, but for hours.) She does not cover her head, and tells us repeatedly it's a matter of choice in Egypt. We do see uncovered women, but very few -- most have head coverings, and a few faces are covered. Lamia says her daughter's teenage friends are now covering more than girls used to, but as a fashion statement -- later we see them wearing tight jeans and even bare midriffs, with fancy matching head scarves. Lamia says this trend is more upsetting to conservative Muslims than the bareheaded women in western dress.

Lamia is highly educated, married with 3 children.

After the long drive through the Sahara (desert) we see a glimpse of the horrifying Cairo traffic, and we arrive at the Citadel and Mohammed Ali Mosque

("no," says Lamia "not THAT Mohammed Ali, it is named for the great Ottoman ruler.") Ali has monuments in both Turkey and Egypt, so we are already aware of him. The Citadel was built by the renowed Salah-al-Din (Saladdin) in 1176 to fortify the city against the Crusaders, and is the final resting place for Mohammed Ali. The mosque was built in 1830-57, patterned on the Blue Mosque in Turkey. Beautiful! Vendors are everywhere in the courtyard, Richard bargains for some trinkets, but we only have a few minutes. The Mosque and courtyard are full of school children, in colorful dress, who want to practice their English on us: "What is your name? Where are you from?" I tell one my name is Tina, and ask her what hers is, and she dissolves in giggles. Many of them ask, "How old are you?" which disconcerts some of our women.

Another short bus ride to the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar -- a tantalizing place, where the tour guides march us through and don't leave us any time to shop.

Richard and I, bargaining and shopping junkies that we are, manage to score a few things at great prices, but we wind up lagging behind the group, and suddenly the Men in Black are there, following us, saying nothing but ushering us on. It feels like running into the Mafia. Everyone is cranky about not being allowed to shop. Lamia keeps saying that tomorrow we'll visit a special store, which sounds like "my cousin's store" from Mexico, but that's the tour co., and not her fault. She also tells us we can order cartouches (hieroglyphic name pendants), at the store and have them delivered to us before the tour ends tomorrow.

Another short drive to a Hilton Hotel for a buffet lunch, which is OK. We're promised local wine and beer, but the beer turns out to be Heineken. Lunch is too long, by the time everyone gets food, but at least we get to use decent toilets. Then we walk across the street to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities -- which houses 120,000 objects in 107 halls.  Everything here is original, save the copy of the Rosetta Stone, which is in London. Egypt has unsuccessfully tried to get it back several times.

it feels like the museum of 10,000 stairs, to us weary travelers -- but it is spectacular. We climb the long front stairs (reminiscent of the Spanish Steps in Rome) and then the even longer staircases to the second floor, which has all the treasures of Tutankhamen. The main halls contain giant sarcophagi (in glass cases) which once nested like Russian dolls, containing king Tut's body. All the descriptions are in Arabic, French and English, so there's no problem knowing what we're seeing. There are many side rooms, also stuffed with cases of artifacts. We try for a while to listen to Lamia's excellent tour, but there are multiple tours going on in several languages, and listening is too difficult. We wander a bit on our own, and I'm fascinated by a room of writing samples and implements, including both clay and papyrus books. It's overwhelming, we'd need days to see it all. We go into the highlights, the gold room, which is dark like the Museo de Oro in Columbia, with the golden adornments, like pectoral plates, jeweled collars and artifacts spectacularly lit in glass cases. The next room contains the most precious of the Tut treasures, including the golden mask, also displayed brightly lit in a dark room. So impressive!! We descend the rear stairs, wishing we had much more leisurely time to explore this overwhelming collection. This is a museum calling for more than one visit.

Downstairs, we're stunned by collossal statues, stone chests and columns, arranged to evoke the inside of a tomb. It's truly awesome, and makes us feel tiny. More steps to a sunken area, and then up the other side to the main floor, which holds a two-story size statue of Rameses II. We check out the museum store, but find it very over priced, so we pass. We go outside in the blessed sunlight (the day is cool, about 70 degrees) and sit on the low marble walls with others who pooped out, waiting for the rest and our guide.

to be continued tomorrow.....

Mediterranean Trip - Istanbul, Turkey

Dr. Romance's travels continue...  11/26/42 Monday Istanbul (Richard's 65th Birthday!)

Merhabar! How would you like one of the oldest, most historic and most beautiful cities in the Mediterranean for your birthday? That's what Richard got today -- Istanbul on his big day. We took the shuttle bus into the heart of town, where Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque

and the Grand Bazaar are all pretty close together. The guide on the bus points out the highlights as we drive, including the Suliman Mosque and the "New Mosque" which is 500 years old, but new by Istanbul standards. We won't have time to see it all, and we are already vowing to come back to Istanbul. Bus dropped us off at the Bazaar, and we walked about 10 minutes straight up Nurosemaniye Street, to the Blue Mosque. 

We are accosted many times on the way, in Turkish fashion, by shopkeepers who want to know where we're from, and to lure us into their stores. Finally we meet a very nice young man who speaks excellent English. Richard is very wary of him at first, but he says very forthrightly that he'll show us how to get to the Blue Mosque if we will visit his carpet store afterward. So, we agree -- it's sort of like a free trip somewhere in exchange for listening to a timeshare spiel. On the way, we hear the call of the muezzin, calling people to prayer. Our volunteer guide not only shows us to the Mosque, he gets us in during prayer time, when tourists are not allowed -- he speaks to the guard, and voila! we get to take our shoes off, put them in a plastic bag, and carry them inside. It's fascinating to watch the Muslims pray, bowing their heads to the ground over and over. What a lovely ground to bow to! The Turkish carpet is stunningly beautiful, covered with designs and flowers. The mosque is huge, with verses from the Qu'ran in gorgeous calligraphy on several walls near the top. It has a dome ceiling, gorgeous blue stained glass windows in Arabic design, and blue mosaics on the walls. We wait until the people finish praying and then take some gorgeous pictures.

There are steps, and steps, and more steps. Outside the mosque is yet another small bazaar, with a restaurant and about 8 shop stalls. We buy a lovely blue plate, hand painted, for our dining room wall. Then, the obligatory visit to the carpet store. The young man, his work done, disappears as soon as we go inside. He's probably gone off to find other pigeons. We are ushered up four flights of stars, given the customary Turkish apple tea (no tea, really,Muslims don't drink caffein) and shown breathtaking carpet after carpet. If the prices were more reasonable, we'd probably have one, but they begin at $3,000, and finally get down to $1,400, which is still 3 times what we'd be willing to pay. When they leave the room, Richard and I joke about having that gorgeous carpet in front of our fireplace, covered with Pugsley's hair. It just doesn't fit our lifestyle. So, we part amiably, having used their clean little restroom one more flight up.

My knees are not liking all these stairs. We cannot get into the Hagia Sofia, because it's closed on Mondays, like all museums in Turkey. We decide we're too tired to see the Topkapi palace, which is another long walk farther away from where we must meet the bus. So, we'll save that for our next trip.

We head back, stopping on the way to buy roasted chestnuts (Which I remember from my NY childhood) from a street vendor, and various things at small shops along the way. One shopkeeper has beautiful woven purses, like rug fabric, but he's too high -- we walk away, and he comes down to a really low price, so we about face and buy some, but then he seems angry at us (although no one is forcing him to sell -- it's his price) so we don't buy more at his store. We keep walking, it's not easy on the cobblestones, and we find a little shop with copper plates with handcarved designs. The man in the shop shows us how his carving works, he is very warm, we buy a lot from him, and when he finds out it's Richard's birthday, he gives him an enormous "evil eye" about 6 inches in diameter, with a lovely beaded hanging cord. It's now hanging on the lamp on Richard's side of our bed. His wife is very friendly, too, and gets a big kick out of my few words of Turkish. I guess not many tourists try the language. I buy a silver chain that Richard likes as one of his birthday presents, and he's a happy camper. Finally, we're back at the Grand Bazaar , exhausted.

We wander through a bit, but it's way too big -- hundreds, maybe a thousand shop stalls, and most of the merchandize is the brand-name stuff we don't like; like Guess clothing, expensive watches, and questionable fine jewelry. So, back out onto the street, where we finally find an Istanbul T-Shirt for me, and at the last minute before the bus arrives, we find a shop which has Turkish bead bracelets. I buy two, at $5 each, and after we get back to the ship, and I have a chance to really look at them I wish I'd bought 10 more. But, a very satisfying day in a stunningly beautiful city. There are birthday balloons on our cabin door, and a special birthday dessert with a candle and off-key singing for Richard at dinner.

I brought birthday cards from home, so now they're magneted to the wall in our cabin.

11/27/07 Tuesday (surprise)

Today we were supposed to dock at Mykonos in the afternoon, but the captain comes on the speakers in the morning to say the weather was bad, and the pilot can't come aboard the ship, so we're passing on Mykonos and going on to Port Said, Egypt, to get there on time. I don't think anyone is very sad about this, we all need an extra sea day to rest up from our touring. If you see enough ruins, you begin to feel like a ruin yourself, from all the walking over uneven surfaces.

We luxuriate at sea, swimming, having lunch, taking a nap, more penny slot machines. In the afternoon we saw a movie "No Reservations" with Cathryn Zeta-Jones, which was shown in the big theater on a large screen. It was one we had missed at home, and we enjoyed it. In the afternoon, Richard went dancing, but I'm saving my knees for Egypt. I had a lovely dinner with Mark and Linda, because Richard wanted a night off. We're becoming great friends by now. They are delightful to spend time with, and Mark and I had a rousing political discussion.

11/28/07 Wednesday

Another delightful day at sea. Tonight, we have a special cocktail party for the "most traveled passengers", so we're looking forward to it, and we have to pack for our overnight in Egypt.

Mediterranean Trip -- Kusadasi, Turkey

Dr. Romance is posting a travelog of her trip

11/25/07 Sunday Kusadasi (Ku Sha da' si)

Mercabar! (Hello) Today we are in Kusadasi, Turkey (Turkiye)  and we're excited -- we haven't seen it since 1998.

Ephesus is here, where St. Paul wrote his letters to the Ephesians. It is also supposed to be the last place the Virgin Mary lived. The last time we were here, we saw her house, which has gorgeous mosaics, and is in very good repair. Ephesus has been greatly restored, also, so it gives you a much better idea of how the Greek Ephesians lived than the ruins elsewhere. But, we decide not to go -- it's a pretty strenuous walk, and tomorrow we have Istanbul, where we have not been before.

As we walk off the ship, the dock looks the same -- a long, concrete expanse. But at the end of the dock is a whole new port center -- official offices and a pretty good sized shopping mall. First thing, we are drawn in by the Turkish sales pitch. "Hello! Where are you from?? I have a cousin in __________ (fill in the blank)" They are a warm, pleasant people, for the most part. We make the mistake of admiring some gold and opal jewelry in a store window, got greeted by the store salesman, and wound up sitting in the jewelry store, looking at gorgeous but likely fake opal and gold bracelets, at high prices. The opals were too perfect, and we didn't trust enough to buy any. Then, on through the shopping stalls, we encountered a youngish fortysomething? store keeper, who had very nice handcrafted purses, in beautiful Turkish woven fabrics, at reasonable prices. We bought quite a bit, including "evil eyes" which are actually the equivalent of the "ojos de dio" (eyes of God) in Latino countries, which keep watch over you and protect you from evil. They are pretty -- dark cerulean blue glass with a white "eye" in the center and a blue "pupil." All the taxi drivers here have them hanging from the rear view mirror, and believe me, they're needed. Traffic is crazy -- seeming to go everywhere with no rhyme or reason. When I said to Richard "Oh! Evil eye magnets -- we need one for the cabin" (ship's cabin walls are steel, so we always bring some magnets for hanging up schedules, notes etc. on the walls.) She closed my hand around the one I was holding, and said "just close your hand" which meant she was giving it as a gift. Very sweet. She also gave me a tiny evil eye on a safety pin, and whispered that Turkish women wear them on their underwear. So, I've been wearing it ever since. We walked beyond the new port bazaar, and there was the old bazaar we remembered from 1998.

We shopped til we dropped, buying wonderful "pashmina" scarves (not like Indian Pashmina at all) in intricate Turkish patterns and bright beautiful colors. At the last stall we visited, we met a lovely young man who gave us a business card with a small glossary of Turkish terms on it Tessakur ederim! (thank you, sounds a lot like tea, sugar and dream, which is how the Turks tell you to pronounce it, but the real pronounciation, which I practiced all day in Istanbul, has an sh sound on the "sugar" and the emphasis is different.)

It's a short port day, so we're back on the ship in the early afternoon, where I swim, and then we go to a private cocktail party hosted by Marion and Winton Heard, a couple we met yesterday on board, in their suite up on Caribe deck. There we meet several other nice couples, from all across the U.S. Then, dancing, dinner with our delightful table mates, and a few minutes at the penny slot machines before bed.