All the Venetian Glass You Could Ever Ask For

The Ruby Princess sailed into Venice on a gorgeous afternoon. The sail into Venice has to be the scenic highlight of the cruise as you pass by some of the city's most treasured highlights, including St. Mark's Square. My mom and I did not miss a single moment of our arrival snapping pictures by the minute. Once the ship docked in the not so scenic part of town, we took a water shuttle to St. Mark's Square. We had a few hours to kill before our reservation to enter the church, so we walked around Venice. Our first time there, my parents and I were enchanted by  this Italian icon. But being there a second time doesn't bring back the magic. My grandma complained that the streets look dirty, which they do to an extent because it's basically ally ways and narrow pedestrian streets. Even though they didn't enjoy the scene, I still am absolutely crazy about Venice. I had two shopping goals in this city: a Venetian mask and glass ring. I found my mask in a small souvenir store. This mask isn't full of color, its white with gorgeous white feathers. It's the most dramatic mask I own, and I own two more apart from this one. 

 

St. Mark's is one of the most interesting churches. Not necessarily my favorite, but you really get a sense of what Venice is built on. The floor of St. Mark's is uneven because the foundation is  over marsh instead of dirt. But when you look up, the entire church is filled with symbolic mosaics. Absolutely gorgeous mosaics that go into the most minute detail. With just one glance, you can't even tell they are mosaics. And St. Mark's tells its story through the museum, which is located at the entrance/exit of the church. The museum displays artifacts that are original to the church, including the original famous horses. Replicas now stand where they once sat, but the real ones can only be seen in the museum. 

After uncovering the history of St. Mark's, my grandma was tired and wanted to go back to the ship. Meanwhile, my mom and I explored Venice a little more, searching for more fun gifts to bring back home. We didn't last too much longer because we were both equally tired. But we didn't mind because we still had one more day in the city.

 

Our ship was docked over night and our next day was time to depart the cruise ship for good. The final departure is always a sad one because all you can think of is how you're going to miss the food, the service, and the facilities of the ship, but in all honesty, I was ready to go home and see Jonathan. Instead of walking around Venice again, we had the idea of going to Morono, another island of Venice where glass is made. We took a tour of a factory and saw the private gallery. The private gallery was absolutely amazing, but wayyy over priced. After that factory, we walked into several other stores until it was finally time to begin our journey to Marco Polo air port. 

Athens: Home of the Olympics

At our second stop in Greece, we arrived in Athens. My mom and grandma had warned me that Athens was dirty and not incredibly friendly. So to say the least, my expectations were low. After arriving early in the morning, our first stop off the ship was the train station. Of course we walked the mile and a half instead of taking a taxi. Our troop was pretty large, though. The family we'd shared our Turkish guides with came along with us to the train station (but had their own agenda) and an elderly couple decided to join us for the day. Even though the walk to the train station was long, the train tickets are dirt cheap...ONE euro! Once we arrived at our metro station, we waited for the tour. 

Our tour was called "The Highlights of Athens" and began right at the metro station. Since Athens is concentrated with geological sites therefore when they built the subway, the excavated ancient tombs and buildings. Each metro station has a little exhibit on what was there and when it was built. In that particular station, there were tombs and pots. Our tour consisted of our private party, which was nice to have a personal tour guide without completely paying for it. We first went to the changing of the guard outside of the tomb of the unknown soldier. In Greece, the changing  of the guards happens once an hour. The costumes the President's guards wear are pretty funny, especially their shoes! Our next stop was a park built by the first president's wife. She wanted an outdoor oasis, and she definitely achieved it. She was the first to bring palm trees from Egypt and many more exotic plants. 

Suddenly, we found ourselves in front of the President's house. Unlike the U.S., the President of Greece has the option to live inside the President's house or not. The current President lives there now. Further down the street is the first Olympic stadium. Although it's been re-done, it still has an ancient feel. In the 2004 Olympics, the stadium was used for archery and the finish line for races. Our next ancient stop was Hercules' Temple. And that is when I say ruins are ruins. It was a few standing and tumbled down columns. But then...the Acropolis took my breath away, literally.

 

It took us a while to get up the mountain...we walked completely around it before we made it up. And once we were on top, we were pounded by the sun and the sun's reflection on the marble. But it was absolutely fascinating to see the buildings practically still standing. And the view! You can see everything, and I can only imagine Athens on a clear day. 

Kusadasi and a City Stopped in Time

The lovely city of Kusadasi is located on the continent of Asia! This was my first visit to the Asian continent and I certainly hope it won't be my last. Although this wasn't the Asia we normally hear about, it felt like a different place, but not in a bad way of course. Our excursion for this port of call was Ephesus. Ephesus is where Paul wrote to the book of Ephesis; he wrote to the people of this ancient Roman city pleading with them to believe in God. My mom and grandma visited Ephesis in November and remembered most of the land marks clearly. We had a private tour guide whom we shared with the same family we explored Istanbul with. However, Ethan didn't cling on to the tour guide, instead he was my buddy for the day. The guide took us through the ancient city, explaining how the people lived and the functions of the ruined buildings we walked through. Compared to other Roman ruins I've seen in Rome and London, these ruins are far better preserved and much more spectacular. It's amazing how the Romans maintained a consistent style throughout the Roman empire. There was even a Roman theater almost completely in tact and still used currently for select orchestras and singers. It was interesting seeing an actual Roman theater, when I've learned about them in my theater class. Even far more spectacular were the terrace suites.

The terrace suites are located off the main road going through the city. Although it costs an extra few dollars to enter, you witness the excavation of the site. The terrace suites were where the upper crest of Ephesus lived. It is absolutely amazing how well preserved the site is. Most of the mosaics are still in tact if not being restored to their original state. Pots and other artifacts were also recovered from the site. Honestly, I may have enjoyed the terrace suites more than the rest of Ephesus because it was easy and clear to see how the elite lived thousands of years ago. Being able to relate somehow to people who lived centuries before makes the ruins come to life. If you ever visit Ephesus in the sun, I highly recommend wearing lots of sun screen and keeping your shoulders and head covered. The marble and sun combined don't make for a comfortable day. The kids in the other family found the heat unbearable. Since I'm from California, it felt like home.

The city of Kusadasi is surprisingly a clean and safe city. The shopping is awesome because the dollar has a greater value than Turkish Lire. The only problem is you're swarmed with sales men wanting you to come into their store and buy, buy, buy. Bargaining down is pretty easy, but you may not always get the price you really want. I bought a fake, genuine purse outside of the gates of Ephesus. Sounds like an oxymoron to me. Actually, you can pay in TL, dollars or euros. They essentially except any currency they can get their hands on. Another place that is popular to visit is Mary's house. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to see this monumental site, but our dinner-mates did. According to the story he told, a nun dreamed about a house where the Virgin Mary died. But she didn't know where this house was or if it even existed. A man wrote and published her description and the hunt was on. And it has been claimed to be Mary's house indeed. I guess we'll just have to visit next time. 

Istanbul, Turkey: A City on Two Continents

Upon arriving in Istanbul, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. This was one of the few ports none of us had been to. For this exciting excursion, my mom booked a private guide with another family of 5 plus the grandmother. The Denver native family had three kids, a 14 year-old, 12 year-old, and 5 year-old. The five year old, Ethan, was absolutely adorable and the entertainment for the day. Our first stop was the Topkapi Palace, which contains the Treasury filled with jewels, belongings of the Sultan, and religious artifacts. Special religious artifacts too...Moses' staff and David's sword? Hm..not too sure where they got those or how legitimate they are, but they are on displayed. The open palace had a Moorish design and beautiful architecture. Built for the open sun. But on the day we visited, it was far from sunny. Actually, it rained and caught us by complete surprise, of course without umbrellas. We ran through the palace for shelter and quickly left.

In order to avoid the rain, our guide took us to a Turkish carpet store. The salesmen call the carpet industry a dying art. Each carpet had a different pattern, color, and something special. The last time my mom came to Turkey, she found the carpet worthy of bringing home. However, this time she wasn't so lucky to find another that matched. But the grandmother of the other family couldn't resist buying one. After the stop to look at carpets, we ate lunch at the restaurant next door. I never thought I'd like Turkish food as much as I did. It was absolutely fantastic, not to mention healthy. 

Our next stop was the popular tourist destination, the Blue Mosque. In case we were required to cover our heads out of respect for the Muslim religion, we were prepared with scarves brought just for that purpose. When we arrived, we were only required to take off our shoes and cover our shoulders. I had never been in a mosque before and it was quite different than the churches we've seen in Rome. The carpets are comfortable enough to sleep on. The segregation between men and women was a culture shock that I expected, but not to this extent. I didn't feel looked down upon, but I definitely didn't feel like an equal. Eh, I'm not going to get into this...Next, we went to the Hagia Sophia, which is conveniently just across the street. The Hagia Sophia was once a mosque, but now its more of a museum. There were beautiful mosaics of Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist. Our tour guide noted where the Sultan and his family would sit. Since it was older than the Blue Mosque, I found the Hagia Sophia to be more interesting, especially because it had an interesting history. 

Due to the weather, we were caught in traffic worse than rush hour in Los Angeles. The traffic caused us problems in reaching all the destinations we wanted to see, like the Grand Bazaar. But our dinner mates who went to the crazy shopping center said they were harassed to buy items and felt packed in like sardines. So I guess it's not that big of a deal that we didn't go. Instead, we went to a pottery store where they showed us a demonstration on how they made the dishes and cups. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Istanbul. Next stop, Kusadasi!

Mykonos

After a relaxing and sunburned day aboard the ship, we had a later arrival in Mykonos than a few of our other ports. It felt like such a treat to have two relaxing days! My goal was to go to the beach, but since I had enough sun to last the rest of the summer, we wondered around the island looking for presents. As beautiful as Mykonos is, apart from shopping, eating, drinking and seeing the windmills, there isn't too much to do there. So we shopped, I ate a gyro, of course we didn't drink, and somehow found our way to the windmills. We began our walking tour from a side street off of the main port square. As we followed the twists and turns, my mom stopped my grandma and I for a too frequent picture. I heard that the item to buy was leather sandals, but I couldn't imagine how difficult it was to find an open store! Out of no where, we found the windmills, which were farther than we had originally thought we were. These windmills were different from any windmill I've ever seen, although to be honest I haven't seen too many. They had thatched roofs with a white color and were a little short. Inside some of them were jewelry stores. We began making our way back, thinking it would take a bit longer than our journey there. Sure enough, in no time, we were in full sight of the Ruby Princess. Even though we didn't go to the beach like I had wanted to, the day was still nice, enjoyable, and relaxing. 

Day at Sea - Finally!

After port after port after port, this relaxing day was much needed. Until today, I hadn't really felt like I was actually on a cruise because our daily routine consisted of waking up early, going out to port, coming back exhausted, going to dinner, seeing a show or hot tubbing, and sleeping. Needless to say, I enjoyed sleeping in past 6 am. The second I woke up at 11, I quickly got ready for a poolside day. Unfortunately, I didn't put a sufficient amount of sunscreen on for the four hours I played in the raw sun. That happened to be the biggest "oops" of the trip...and I will never sunbathe for that long with so little sunblock again. 

Once I realized just how badly burnt I was, I immediately left the sun and went inside for some shade. We began the long process of hair and make up for our first formal night. Eventually, the three of us made it out the door and at the table. After eating an amazing dinner, I joined some of my new friends for 50's night at Club Fusion and karaoke afterwards. It was a fun night ending in just as much exhaustion as any of our previous ports.

Bella Napoli - or rather Amalfi and Sorrento

This is my third time coming to the port of Naples, and this is my third time doing something other than seeing the city. Naples isn't the most exciting nor safest city for tourism, unless you want to eat pizza all day. Rather than roaming around a less than spectacular city, we went on our first and last ship excursion to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. My mom had wanted to go to Sorrento, since we hadn't been there and we thought it would be a nice scenic, relaxing day. It was a huge difference from our action packed Rome and Florence adventures. Our first stop on the tour was Sorrento. Normally on ship excursions, they take the tours to some kind of factory with the opportunity of purchasing nice items. We went to an outlet store of beautiful wooden carved tables, chairs, and jewelry boxes. We were then allotted free time to explore Sorrento. We mainly shopped on one of the main shopping streets in search of souvenirs and cough drops. We found both. With Grandma's collection, we now have cough drops in every language!

After a long and windy bus ride, we arrived at Amalfi. On the way, if any of us was awake, we saw a gorgeous coast line, expensive hotels for a future destination, celebrities' villas, and quaint coastal towns. Before reaching our destination, we ate lunch at a four star hotel overlooking the Amalfi Coast. It was absolutely breath taking complimented by delicious food. After lunch, we continued on our drive to Amalfi. The first time my parents and I ventured to Amalfi, I was car sick. I was so car sick I had to keep my head down so I didn't see the windy cliffs we were racing through. When we saw tour buses, we couldn't imagine how scary it would be. But actually, the buses have to go a lot slower than cars, which helps the motion sickness. When we finally reached Amalfi, we walked around the town and shopped. At the local church, there was a wedding and the bride and groom were outside the church taking pictures they will never forget. Although we chose against seeing another church, the church is open for visitors. I would definitely recommend this trip again, because the Amalfi Coast's beauty is difficult to absorb in just one trip.

Roman Holiday

With a relative knowledge of geography, Rome is not directly on the ocean. In fact, it is about an hour train ride or hour and a half taxi ride from the port. Since my mom loves figuring things out on her own, we took the train into Rome and planned to use the subway as transportation from one sight to the other. Our first stop was the one sight my grandma personally requested: the Spanish Steps. My mom and I couldn't figure out why she wanted to see the Spanish Steps so badly. I mean, after all, they are just a lot of steps. And she was slightly disappointed when she looked around and said, "This is it?" On our way to the Trivi Fountain, we made a bathroom break at the most elaborate and exquisite McDonald's in the world. It was unlike anything I had ever seen for a fast food place. This McDonald's was lavishly decorated with marble flooring and a few statues. Although the toilets may not have been up to par according to my high standards, the overall atmosphere of a fancy restaurant in a McDonald's is an experience not to be skipped!

After our lavish McDonald's visit, we followed a tour group to the Trivi Fountain. In such a tourist congested area, it is always important to keep an eye out for gypsy children who can steal all your valuables right before your very eyes. However, I have noticed a drastic improvement from my first time visiting Rome, but it is always important to be on the cautious side. When visitors wish in the Trivi Fountain, each is allowed three wishes. The first two are your free choice, but the last is always to return to Rome, and it has never failed me! Each time I've wished in the Trivi Fountain, I've found myself returning, as well as my other wishes fulfilled. Our next stops to cross off our list were 5 churches that either my mom, grandma or I had never seen before. All of which the American travel phenomenon Rick Steves recommends. The first church we wandered into is my personal favorite church in Rome, St. Ignasis. During construction, the church ran out of money to complete it with all marble columns and the dome. In order to appear lavish, the church painted a three dimensional dome on a canvas and painted some columns as in order to make them look like marble! Pretty clever if I don't say myself. In the end, they made a gorgeous church and the lack of money is not noticeable to the ordinary visitor. The next church on our list was the Pantheon. The Pantheon was originally a pagan and has been recently featured in the blockbuster Angels and Demons. On my mom and grandma's last trip in November, they did not visit the Pantheon, only walked by it. Although the church was in service at the time, we made up for it. 

By the end of our church expedition, it was 12 pm. Not bad to see 5 churches, the Trivi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps in only 3 hours. We then went to lunch in the Plaza Nirvoano. The three of us shared a pizza and salad. Most Americans find Italian pizza disappointing. However, I don't really notice a difference between pizza in Italy and pizza at Italian restaurants. Ordering at Pizza Hut is a different story though. While walking to our next stop, a galleria, we saw one of my best friends from USC, Joey! I screamed in excitement as we crossed paths in Rome! It's always weird seeing someone from home in Europe. Last time, I ran into Kim and Amber from high school, knowing they were in Europe too. But this caught me completely off guard because I had no idea that he was even in Europe! After a short walk back to the Pantheon, we parted ways, but it was still good seeing someone from home. 

The galleria we visited was once a palace for a wealthy and influential family. They had a huge art collection, complete with originals and copied works. Some of the copies were so close to the original painting, that it was difficult to tell if the painting was the original or not. At every audio mark, Grandma stopped to listen to the handset. She was enthralled with the collection as well as the elaborately decorated rooms the palace invited guests to dance and dine. Although a house tour and art collection could put me to sleep, it was the highlight of the day for Grandma. After listening to all of the recordings, we headed back to the train station to ensure that we caught our train...but we never would have guessed the trouble it took to get there. 

The lucky day we were in Rome was the day the Giro d'Italia blocked some of the streets, severely inconveniencing some of the tours from the cruise ship and our route to the subway station. At first, the bike race was really exciting! First the cop would come by, then the biker followed by its car with substitute bikes and supporters. As the biker would race by, spectators rattled the gates in support of the biker. Unfortunately, we did not know the race's route. We walked from the monument of the tomb of the unknown soldier all the way to the Coliseum in search for the metro. Towards the end, we were getting a little frantic because we were in jeopardy of missing our train. Finally, we found the station and raced to our train. We were literally minutes away from missing the train. And missing the train entailed missing the boat. But overall, we had a great day in Italy as we sail towards Naples!