Sicily Today!

Chloe at the Greek Theater (nearly 3000 yrs. old) at Taormina, Sicily, Italy

Sicily

After everyone woke up, we went out to breakfast.  As we looked out on Messini, we saw a large cathedral.  We didn’t have anything planned for today so we decided to wing it.  We went to ask some questions at the tour desk about where we should go and she recommended a tour up to a medieval, walled-village outside of Messina, Taormina.   We eventually signed up for that but we had to wait until 1:00 p.m., so we determined to walk up the hill to the cathedral with the beautiful facade called Cristo Re church.  As we went up, so did the temperature. To our surprise, inside it was an art gallery.  We could look down to a bottom level and see a casket of some sort, much like in Westminster Abbey, with the statue of the person lying at rest on the top.  It was a knight.  We walked around the outside until we found the door to the bottom level and went inside.  We found that it was a war memorial; and instead of a knight, it was a World War II soldier.

We had some extra time before our tour and saw another church we wished to enter.  We walked across the hill to it and while Anneke and Papa waited outside, Nonny and Chloe went inside the most different church we had been in.  Sicily was invaded many times by many different people.  One of those groups was  the Normans. They built many churches and buildings.  Inside the church we saw small and intricate paintings on the roofs and beams. It reminded Chloe of the Normans’ art. As we were leaving we saw a sign that the church was built in 1294, 715 years ago.

Anneke decided not to go on a tour in the afternoon, and Papa had to stay with her, so we got a refund on their tickets.  Nonny and Chloe took the one-hour bus ride to the mideval town of Taormina. It was a beautiful drive along the coast and although the maneuvering was scary in a bus, we loved the views.  When we got there our tour guide walked us past several churches and through three squares.  He showed us one restaurant where the entrance was about a foot wide.  We went up to Greek amphitheatre and after a human jam, we went inside.  While Nonny sat on the stone benches, Chloe wandered around the top taking many pictures, being more excited about these ruins than the ones in Verona.  When Chloe was ready to go, she met up and Nonny who told Chloe that as she was wandering. she had seen our tour guide giving information to the rest of our tour. We had not heard him say to wait and missed some info. but  we got more time to see the theatre.  On our way back we bought some gelato, oranges, and we tried a cannoli; but he gave us mango filling and we thought it was odd .  We met at our meeting spot and headed for the bus.  Once on the cruise ship again, we found that Anneke and Papa had spent the day relaxing in the room. 

We were going to pass the most active volcano in Europe, Stromboli, after dinner and went out into the wind to get a view. We waited for forever and we saw two spurts and a red glow.  It was very exciting after waiting so long in the cold.  Papa believes we were some of the only ones to have gotten any actual photos of the eruption, since we had played with camera settings for awhile in anticipation of the event..   We came back to the room and collapsed.

Second Fun Day at Sea

Chloe and Anneke at Formal Dinner

This morning we went to a sit down breakfast.  Anneke left early to go to a rope course called the Sky Course.  She had lots of fun! Soon after, Anneke met her friend and they wandered through the ship.  During their adventures, Anneke got a free balloon dolphin hat and Monique got a cartoon character.  Also they went on the water slides over and over again.  Everybody else spent the day at sea relaxing and reading.  This evening was Formal Night, so we all got dressed up.  Nonny bought Anneke a scarf and Chloe a bag. At dinner the waiters sang a song, “That’s Amore.”  After dinner we went to a show that was very funny.  It was performed by a woman who was a female impressionist.  What a wonderful end to wonderful day!   

A Day in Croatia

Anneke and Chloe in Dubrovnik

Early this morning the ship docked in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  We had 12 hours in port and enjoyed a lot of flexibility.  After we had eaten breakfast, we went down to the gangplank.  Before we could leave, we had to go through security.  Even as we were walking off the gangplank, we were bombarded by souvenir shops. We looked at what they had to offer and took a taxi to the Old Town.  Once there we took some pictures of a cove with the battlements.  The weather was horrible and made for beautiful pictures of the turbulent water.  We proceeded across the drawbridge and into the walled town of  Medieval Dubrovnik.

Inside we decided we wanted to go up on the wall but not just yet, and so we went on.  The main drag was wall to wall souvenir shops and the like.  As we walked down the street, we went in shops and churches.  We bought some gifts and souvenirs. We skirted off down some side streets but were unable to find Croatian food so we ate pizza.  We did find our favorite dessert and had tiramisu gelato in the rain.  While Papa and Anneke sat by the fountain in the main square, Nonny and Chloe went up into the wet ramparts.  We took some wonderful pictures and Chloe didn’t hold onto her umbrella very well. Sorry, Mom!  Once down, we looked for the umbrella and eventually gave up.  We took a taxi back and got on our cruise ship,  glad that we had come to Croatia.

First Fun Day at Sea

Chloe and Anneke at Northern Lights Restaurant, Carnival Magic

We had a late breakfast and Anneke went to Club Carnival where she colored a T-shirt.  There she met a girl named Monique from South Africa.  They became friends. While everybody else relaxed Anneke and her friend explored the ship and  went on the water slides. Her favorite one went around slowly, then it suddenly dropped and you went into a funnel and were swirled around.   The girls swapped room numbers, played Jenga, and built a volcano.  Anneke decided to take a nap because nobody had slept well the night before.

Later Anneke and Chloe went to the Warehouse Arcade where Chloe won Anneke another stuffed animal.  This time it was a whale and Anneke gave it to Monique.

Bon Voyage

Chloe and Anneke in stateroom on Carnival Magic in Venice

Sunday

This morning we packed our bags and went to the square for the last time.  Anneke fed the pigeons all the leftover cereal. We then got on the express boat that took us right to our cruise ship.  After we got through security and on the HUGE boat, Anneke was hungry so we went to the buffet. Then we explored the ship.  There was an arcade where Chloe won a stuffed frog for Ani.  When we were back in the room, we had to go to the safety seminar and Anneke thought that it was really boring. Chloe thought it would be helpful in the event that that the boat sank.  After a little rest it was dinnertime.  It was a good day.   

We may not publish the posts each day while on the ship, but we will write them and publish them together when we have easy access to internet.

Exploring Verona

Chloe and Anneke in front of the Third Largest Roman Coliseum in the world, at Verona

Today we went to Verona. We took the water taxi all the way up the Grand Canal to the train station. We took a train towards Milan and got off at Verona. Then we went to the coliseum in town. It is the third largest Roman coliseum in the world.  Chloe was disappointed because, “When I walk into a coliseum, I want to be transported back to gladiators fighting, not to last Friday when a rock band was playing.”  She did admit that it was a nice idea to reuse the place, although she did not like it that they did just that.

After we left the coliseum we stopped at a little café and got a snack and some beverages. As we were wrapping up our afternoon treat, it started to rain. We were reluctant but went to la Casa de Giulette (Juliet’s house) anyway, as it was on our list. When we finally found it, Anneke put a letter about our travels in the post to Juliet.  As nobody wanted to stay, we quickly left for the train station.

When we arrived at the Venetian train station, we were all very hungry and tired. Because it was so good the first time, we decided to eat at Hard Rock Café again. We ordered and shared a couple appetizers and had a delicious meal. We got gelato for the last time in Venice and headed home. 

Riding a Gondola – NOW we’re tourists!

Chloe and Anneke on a Gondola in Venice

We have to post this on Saturday morning because our internet didn't work last night.

Friday

This morning we decided to start out with the Doge’s Palace. The line was extremely short and we made it in inside of no time at all. We found that it is smaller than Versailles, but reminded Chloe alot of the Chateau Fountainbleu. There were many tour groups and we got stuck behind most.  Anneke enjoyed the armory. She says that she liked the horse armor.   Papa preferred the different weaponry.  Both Chloe and Nonny enjoyed the many massive, and elaborate, council rooms. Chloe pointed out that there were so many different councils that you couldn’t keep track.

After we left the Doge’s Palace we went across the square to the Bell Tower.  We took an elevator up 323 feet, approximately 32 stories, until we reached the top.  From the top the view is spectacular. We were waiting for the bells to ring at 11 o’ clock but found that they did not. We asked a worker and he told us that they didn’t ring till twelve. When we were done taking pictures, we left.  After buying a mask for Chloe, we walked down the pier to look for the boat we would take to get the cruise ship.  Anneke also bought a mask. We took the water taxi to Santa Maria della Salute, a church across the Grand Canal. It was being restored. but we all thought that the high domes and tall windows were breathtaking.

We took another water taxi to the Rialto bridge and walked across trying to get to the Ca d’ Oro area (where Nonny, Papa and Chelsea stayed five years ago).   We realized that we were turned around and crossed back over. We wandered, bought gelato, and fixed Nonny’s glasses.  As we walked over one canal, we  saw a gondolier and decided to go for it.  As we glided along the canals, we saw churches, Cassanova’s and Marco Polo’s houses, other gondolas, and enjoyed the lazier side of Venice. Although it is pegged as a touristy thing to do, it shows you a part of Venice you would not see otherwise. We continued to walk along the Strada Nuova in Ca d’ Oro, until we found another grocery. We were about to get on the water taxi back to St. Mark’s Square when Anneke decided that she wanted one more thing.  It was a beautiful doll that we had seen on our strolls.

We got on a very crowded water taxi and headed home.  After a well needed nap we went out to dinner. We choose the Hard Rock Café because we were tired of eating pasta and pizza for every meal.  We had a good meal with nice waiters and went away perfectly content.