Italian Spleandor...
Gym? What is that? I only see the gym nowadays in the A.M. before everything happens for about 10 minutes of hard cardio. Yes, with all these fabulous ports in a row, people we party with on board, and just plain fun and shows it's been tough to get up there and it looks like it'll be that way for the next ports coming up. This cruise is going to be one of my favorites I think. It's entitled Artful Immersion taking us to places such as the Tuscan countryside, the French and Spanish Riviera, wine country in Spain and France, classic Spain and Portugal, Brussels, and ending in Amsterdam. I hope to see sights like the Tower of Pisa, the Statue of David, great wines in Italy, France, and Spain, Nice out of Monte Carlo, good chocolate in Belgium, and finally a taste of Amsterdam. Yes the gym will pretty much be a 10-minute morning event if I'm going to be too exhausted to do it in the afternoon. Whoa.
Along with all the great ancient ports that we did see recently and the fabulous stops in Greece (I love Greece!) we had some lovely days in Italy. The first was in Sicily again. I was in Messina and this time I DID get to see Mt. Etna. It was a hot one with temps on the ground reaching near 100, but up in the mountains the cool air was refreshing for a bit. 
We started out early (so I didn't even make it to the gym that morning). I almost missed it! I set my alarm for 6:00am and so as not to disturb my roomie, I just cut it off instead of snoozing it. Instead of getting up right away, I laid my head down for a bit in which I woke an hour later. This was when I was supposed to report to the lounge to go with my group. 
Woops! I threw on some clothes in a mad rush and headed up to be immediately given a backpack full of safety materials to head off on my tour. I got on the bus and the guide was so informative, but I missed half of it in the long drive up the mountain since I was tired from getting only 4 hours sleep. I went out after the show the previous night as usual to celebrate a good show and I was out a bit later than I needed. Oh well. C'est la vie! We drove through all the little towns in Sicily that congregated right along the lava flow of Mt. Etna. Apparently just 6 weeks before we arrived there was some volcanic activity that happened for 2 weeks. 
Now according to my calendar we were there just 3 weeks ago, which means we were there just after the last eruption. Whoa!! Mt. Etna was still smoking that day as well. You could see the smoke coming out of the peak, which is 11,000 feet above sea level. We went to a safe place though called the Silvestri Crater. This particular sight had lava rocks from the last big eruption of 2003 and also rock from another eruption in 1983. This particular volcano is the most active volcano right now in Europe. What was so neat is to see the two different lava flows side by side. The one from 2003 was named Pahoi Hoi. It was a dense lava and you can actually see the hardened lava flow and imagine how it must have looked as liquid. There were very large rocks and chunks everywhere. The flow of 1983 was named A A (pronounced Ah Ah). Our guide "says" it was because the geologists came to examine the flow shortly after its eruption and as they were stepping on the rocks, they kept saying "Ah Ah" since it was so hot. Therefore it became named A A. 
This lava is more porous and represents the pumice rocks you get from a cataclysmic eruption such as Vesuvius. We stayed out at this sight for a while just viewing the sights from about 7,000 feet. I had my breakfast here consisting of a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino. Mmmm. After a while we boarded the bus again where I took my nap after we cleared the interesting villages not too far from the area we visited on the crater.
Today we were off and running at 9:30am for our second trip to Rome. After our train ride our first stop was the Sistine Chapel. We missed this last time due to some confusion as to what line we were a part of. This time we knew exactly where to go and knew we had to hit it first. We got in fairly quickly and made it through the ticket check in. My understanding was that we would stroll through and see the famous ceiling of Michelangelo and maybe see some of the other works of art in the rest of the museum. The ticket was for the museum and for the ceiling. We started in an open courtyard outside the chapel and then headed into the first room of about 20 that we would eventually wander through wondering if the one we all waited for was just around the corner or through the next door. Each room we entered at first was so ornate I had to wonder if it was the right room. Luckily we had someone who had been there before with us to tell us we weren't in the correct room as well as the fact that I didn't see the centerpiece painting in the ceiling of "Hand Touching God."
The works of art we saw as we entered each room painted on the ceilings, walls, and in the tapestries were overwhelmingly beautiful. Words cannot describe what I was seeing today as I passed from room to room. What is normally done in a day's time with proper historical explanation, we sped through in about 30 minutes time. It's like doing the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg (normally a 2-day art study) in 2 hours. In order to really appreciate all the art presented in this museum and the historical facts behind it, you need an entire day of immersion or at least 6 hours I would think. We just didn't have that kind of luxury and wanted to get to the main room as quickly as possible. We wandered through countless halls of fabulous pieces. As you near the centerpiece room you pass through many works by various artists and even modern sculptures and pieces. Once you enter the grand hall, it is absolutely breathtaking. To actually be in the presence of the room so talked about where Michelangelo painted the ceiling in Rome. Wow! From here we left the museum to go into the main city of Rome. After struggling to find a cab on the roadside (not a problem in most major cities), we were dropped at the gateway to the Coliseum. The last time I saw this sight was in the fall of 2000. It was my first time in Rome ever. 
This has been my third trip now and it was still exciting. We didn't actually get to go inside the Coliseum so we headed on to the Trevi Fountain. This time I found it. When I was here in 2000 all by myself. I roamed around Rome (no pun intended) for about 7 hours trying to find all these places and never found the fountain. In legend you throw your 3 coins in the fountain. One coin to return to Rome and the other 2 to fall in love in Rome. Yet I still returned to Rome. The falling in love thing? That will have to wait until next time I guess. I must have found at least 5 fountains that day back in 2000 and realized that was not the right fountain. Today I had 3 other friends who decided not to go to Vatican City last time and went into the city instead. They FOUND the fountain and we went right to it today. I was so excited and happy. I threw my coins in and had a blast. I had my thin crust pizza and I was satisfied. On our way to the fountain we passed the forum as in "A Funny Thing Happened" on the way to the forum, ha ha. My musical theatre friends will get that one. We also passed a monument to Emmanuel II. This is a huge statue with chariots at the top that is just down the street from the Coliseum. The vibe here was busy. There were high-end shops everywhere and even at the fountain we saw a proposal taking place. Someone found their love in Rome. After a long and exhaustive day we got back on the train to head back to Civitavecchia to catch our ship. These next few port days are going to be exciting. Tomorrow we rented cars and are going to drive up the Tuscan countryside just taking it all in. Ahh Italy.
Along with all the great ancient ports that we did see recently and the fabulous stops in Greece (I love Greece!) we had some lovely days in Italy. The first was in Sicily again. I was in Messina and this time I DID get to see Mt. Etna. It was a hot one with temps on the ground reaching near 100, but up in the mountains the cool air was refreshing for a bit. 
We started out early (so I didn't even make it to the gym that morning). I almost missed it! I set my alarm for 6:00am and so as not to disturb my roomie, I just cut it off instead of snoozing it. Instead of getting up right away, I laid my head down for a bit in which I woke an hour later. This was when I was supposed to report to the lounge to go with my group. 
Woops! I threw on some clothes in a mad rush and headed up to be immediately given a backpack full of safety materials to head off on my tour. I got on the bus and the guide was so informative, but I missed half of it in the long drive up the mountain since I was tired from getting only 4 hours sleep. I went out after the show the previous night as usual to celebrate a good show and I was out a bit later than I needed. Oh well. C'est la vie! We drove through all the little towns in Sicily that congregated right along the lava flow of Mt. Etna. Apparently just 6 weeks before we arrived there was some volcanic activity that happened for 2 weeks. 
Now according to my calendar we were there just 3 weeks ago, which means we were there just after the last eruption. Whoa!! Mt. Etna was still smoking that day as well. You could see the smoke coming out of the peak, which is 11,000 feet above sea level. We went to a safe place though called the Silvestri Crater. This particular sight had lava rocks from the last big eruption of 2003 and also rock from another eruption in 1983. This particular volcano is the most active volcano right now in Europe. What was so neat is to see the two different lava flows side by side. The one from 2003 was named Pahoi Hoi. It was a dense lava and you can actually see the hardened lava flow and imagine how it must have looked as liquid. There were very large rocks and chunks everywhere. The flow of 1983 was named A A (pronounced Ah Ah). Our guide "says" it was because the geologists came to examine the flow shortly after its eruption and as they were stepping on the rocks, they kept saying "Ah Ah" since it was so hot. Therefore it became named A A. 
This lava is more porous and represents the pumice rocks you get from a cataclysmic eruption such as Vesuvius. We stayed out at this sight for a while just viewing the sights from about 7,000 feet. I had my breakfast here consisting of a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino. Mmmm. After a while we boarded the bus again where I took my nap after we cleared the interesting villages not too far from the area we visited on the crater. 
Today we were off and running at 9:30am for our second trip to Rome. After our train ride our first stop was the Sistine Chapel. We missed this last time due to some confusion as to what line we were a part of. This time we knew exactly where to go and knew we had to hit it first. We got in fairly quickly and made it through the ticket check in. My understanding was that we would stroll through and see the famous ceiling of Michelangelo and maybe see some of the other works of art in the rest of the museum. The ticket was for the museum and for the ceiling. We started in an open courtyard outside the chapel and then headed into the first room of about 20 that we would eventually wander through wondering if the one we all waited for was just around the corner or through the next door. Each room we entered at first was so ornate I had to wonder if it was the right room. Luckily we had someone who had been there before with us to tell us we weren't in the correct room as well as the fact that I didn't see the centerpiece painting in the ceiling of "Hand Touching God."
The works of art we saw as we entered each room painted on the ceilings, walls, and in the tapestries were overwhelmingly beautiful. Words cannot describe what I was seeing today as I passed from room to room. What is normally done in a day's time with proper historical explanation, we sped through in about 30 minutes time. It's like doing the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg (normally a 2-day art study) in 2 hours. In order to really appreciate all the art presented in this museum and the historical facts behind it, you need an entire day of immersion or at least 6 hours I would think. We just didn't have that kind of luxury and wanted to get to the main room as quickly as possible. We wandered through countless halls of fabulous pieces. As you near the centerpiece room you pass through many works by various artists and even modern sculptures and pieces. Once you enter the grand hall, it is absolutely breathtaking. To actually be in the presence of the room so talked about where Michelangelo painted the ceiling in Rome. Wow! From here we left the museum to go into the main city of Rome. After struggling to find a cab on the roadside (not a problem in most major cities), we were dropped at the gateway to the Coliseum. The last time I saw this sight was in the fall of 2000. It was my first time in Rome ever. 
This has been my third trip now and it was still exciting. We didn't actually get to go inside the Coliseum so we headed on to the Trevi Fountain. This time I found it. When I was here in 2000 all by myself. I roamed around Rome (no pun intended) for about 7 hours trying to find all these places and never found the fountain. In legend you throw your 3 coins in the fountain. One coin to return to Rome and the other 2 to fall in love in Rome. Yet I still returned to Rome. The falling in love thing? That will have to wait until next time I guess. I must have found at least 5 fountains that day back in 2000 and realized that was not the right fountain. Today I had 3 other friends who decided not to go to Vatican City last time and went into the city instead. They FOUND the fountain and we went right to it today. I was so excited and happy. I threw my coins in and had a blast. I had my thin crust pizza and I was satisfied. On our way to the fountain we passed the forum as in "A Funny Thing Happened" on the way to the forum, ha ha. My musical theatre friends will get that one. We also passed a monument to Emmanuel II. This is a huge statue with chariots at the top that is just down the street from the Coliseum. The vibe here was busy. There were high-end shops everywhere and even at the fountain we saw a proposal taking place. Someone found their love in Rome. After a long and exhaustive day we got back on the train to head back to Civitavecchia to catch our ship. These next few port days are going to be exciting. Tomorrow we rented cars and are going to drive up the Tuscan countryside just taking it all in. Ahh Italy.
posted by Chris | 5:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home