ITINERARY:
Thursday NIGHT: MARCH 31 – Flight Fort Lauderdale or Miami to Barcelona, Spain.
APRIL 1 – Barcelona
APRIL 2 – Barcelona
APRIL 3 – CRUISE BEGINS
APRIL 4 – Provence
APRIL 5 – Monte Carlo
APRIL 6 – Florence
APRIL 7 – Rome
APRIL 8 – Amalfi
APRIL 9 – Sicily
APRIL 10 – Zakynthos, Greece
APRIL 11 – Santorini, Greece
APRIL 12 – Kusadadi, Turkey
APRIL 13 – Athens- Cruise ends- over night in Athens, Greece
APRIL 14 – Athens
APRIL 15 – Flight from Athens to Venice.
APRIL 16 _Venice
APRIL 17 _Venice to Lake Como
APRIL 18_ Lake Como/Lake Maggiore
APRIL 19_ Lake Como to Milan, Fly back in Fort Lauderdale.
BARCELONA: APRIL 1-3
Day One: Friday: (sorry for those that had to work on Friday, NOT!!) ACTA ATRIUM PALACE: Very cool hotel. Sophisticated and modern. When we checked in, to our dismay, we were upgraded since we are honeymooners, to their "Penthouse Suite" thanks to our awesome travel agent, Bob East!! Who's the man? Bob, that's who!! You would think after about 12 hours of traveling that we would go right to the room and hit the queen size bed with 1,200 count Egyptian sheets, but no, not us! Instead, we got a tan while driving around the city on the 2nd level of a Green Barcelona Turistic Bus Tour, and checked out half the city! Then came home and showered in the beautifully marbelled shower overlooking the city! Next around 9:00pm, we went to get a variety of Spanish Tapas (appetizers) at the local favorite hot spot, a venue called Ciutat Comtal! Delicioso and muy muy delicioso!! The paper thin cut, deep fried artichoke hearts were too die for. The house red wine was a nice compliment, but the small (whole) calamari (yes eyes and all) deep fried was also excellent, although Nikki couldn't look at them in the eyes and eat them. No problem, more for me. I ate every last one of them. Some went down head first, some I bit in half, and some tail first. Either way, very good. We got back in about 11:00pm. Jacuzzi overlooking city, very cool (i mean hot, very zesty at about 100'f). Very relaxing though. Zonked after that, bed.
Okay, moving right along.
Day Two: Saturday: Wow, that jet lag sure caught up with us, since we woke up at 10:30am! Showered, grabbed (2) cafe' con leche's in the lobby, and off we went back on the bus tour! Today was basically dedicated to two hot spots: Basilica Sagrada Familia, (Gaudi's most incredible piece of artwork, the church that is almost finished, and started construction in the early 1900's) the most artsy- fartsy beautiful church in the world! And of course, the tram to the top of the mountain overlooking the city and the ocean from about 1,800ft up, to the Temple of Tibidabo, where there is literally an amusement park on the top by the church! The entire park has rides that overlook the city below, views that are breathtaking. We finished the day off at the top of the mountain overlooking the city below and saw the sunset! Fantastico! The salmon tapas were extraordinary matched with the Estrella Beer! (jk). We hopped on the city bus to get back to our venue, and walked to a bunch of the stores to do a little shopping. Then went back to the hotel, showered, and off to get a real Espana dinner oceanside at a local favorite restaurant called La Fonda and for dessert had a local favorite which reminded me of "Italiano Biscotti" and a shot of something yellow copying off us Greeks, that reminded me of "Ouzo" but again, looked like someone urinated in it due to the "yellow color touch!" Yes, seriously. It was good though, went down warm...
Day Three: Departed from Barcelona Spain around 6:30pm, Sunday April 1st, 2011 on our Oceania European Cruise and off we went visting the coastlines of France, Italy, Greece and Turkey!
Next stop, Marsaille, France! We disembarked the ship around 8:15am, and met a taxi driver named Christian who took us to (3) hot spots: First, Aix En Provence, Second was the beautiful coastal city of Cassis, and third was the Notre Dame De La Guarde church. Aix En Provence was nice, we walked the main streets, and Nikki and I each had a cup of cappucino waiting for the weather to warm up (it was about 50'f in the am hours, then once the sun broke, it warmed up to about 65'f). We spent about 1.5 hours there walking in various shops and appreciating the historical sites, churches, and stores where we bought a few souveniers.
Next, we were off to Cassis! (Not to be confused with the Law Offices of Andrew Cassas!!) This was well worth the 30 minute journey. We approached the city of Cassis going through various historical/classic vineyards, and then WOW, the beautiful coast line with the city just came out, like a scene out of a movie! We then drove up to the highest point overlooking Cassis below, where we took these pictures which were nothing short of breathtaking, and yet simultaneously scary since we were a just feet away from the edge of the cliff rock.
We then walked around for 1.5 hours and had lunch on the water at a local hotspot/favorite seafood restaurant called La Oustera. That was the first time I had soup that was puree'd and it was tasty! Gave me some ideas when I get back to Ft. Lauderdale and create some of my own dishes! Yummy!
From Cassis, we went to the Notre Dame De La Guarde church (Basilica) where we took some San Francisco steep and windy turns going up to the top of the mountain where this church sits and has another extraordinary view of the city below, Marsaille. The beautiful green, pink and white layered marble really stood out and spoke to me! Very nice!! Dinner was excellent back on board the cruise ship after Niksta and I took a 2 hour nap! Salmon for me, and rotisserie chicken for Nikki. Key lime pie for dessert!
Day Four: Woke up to the most beautiful sunset I have yet to see in 41 years! A red sun fireball coming out of the ocean as we pulled up to Monaco/Monte-Carlo! Then to top it off, Nikki and I had another ship gourmet breakfast on the veranda deck overlooking downtown Monte-Carlo with all of the multi-million dollar private yachts and the marina! After breakfast, we walked around the marina to the train station where we went all the way down SOUTH to Cannes, walked around, had a fantastically fresh and warm French Bread loaf, and ate that while we walked around and went up and down the beach. I can't help it, but it totally reminded me of Malibu, California. Then jumped on the train and headed NORTH to the next hot spot which was Nice-Ville. Beautiful views on the north side which looked like the beginning of the Swiss Alps snow caps (yes,I think it was) or the beginning of the mountains. The trains were very comfortable, but there were a lot of stops. Luckily, we were overlooking the coast for much of the train ride, which made it go by quickly, even though it was only about an hour each way from Monaco to Canne, with the mid way stop to Nice-Ville in between, so really about 30 minutes each ride.
Nice was a huge city by the beach that went the farthest north/west and it reminded me of Florence Italy (without all of the statutes of course) but by the beach, with a touch of the Santa Monica, California boardwalk look! The only difference though, was that the ladies were topless. Please see pictures. Ooh La La (you'll have to see me personally to view those!). What was so neat about this train ride (and I recommend that you do this if you ever get out there), is that each city along the coast, had it's own characteristic appeal that made it uniquely debonair. Some had rock beaches like Nice-Ville. Some had sandy beaches and were smaller, more like a cove look (like a smaller version of Cannes) etc... Anyway, I'm so glad we did this and it only cost us like $15 EURO for the roundtrip train passes for (2).
Next stop, Monte-Carlo! We jumped off, and went right to the casino where of course there were only about 6 Ferrari's at any given time! Red, Grey, Black, and DULL BLACK ONE which must have been custom ordered, etc... Now, why anybody would want to order a FERRARI custom painted FLAT BLACK needs to have their head checked. You order a FERRARI with RED SHINY FERRARI paint, period, end of story, that's it!! This guy spent extra to have his shiny made flat! Not cool! Then we paid $10 EURO each to get into the casino which was a waste. Here, let me save you the $20 EURO. The inside looks like a gold leaf, meats pink/green/white marble (kind of like the Notre Damn De La Guard inside) and then throw in just a few fancy wood casino tables, stuffy people, and overprised everything and that was it! Again, a complete wast of $20 EURO!! Finally,we had a very late lunch back at the cruise ship but OH NO, too late, everything was closed. So we ordered room service: Brushetta with Shrimp, BLT sandwich, TUNA sandwich, and of course, (2) creme' brulee's for dessert! And then back out to Monte-Carlo for the night life!
Day Five: Lovorno, Italy commercial port side. Yuck! We got booted off to the far port instead of the cruise ship port. Enough said. Taxi'd with another couple to the train station. The other couple was an ex-American Airlines Pilot who lost many friends on 9/11/2001. One hit the Pentagon, etc... Ryan and Pam. They moved from DC to Provo, Utah. Okay, so we took the train to Pisa. Took the 25 minute walk through the college town (yes all young kids) to the end of the town where there lies the 8' degree slanted marble tower! Yeup, you guessed it, the leaning tower of Pisa. It's really neat, to think of all of that weight stacked like that at an angle and it didn't come tumbling down yet. (Yes, they have had to fix it over the years, etc... but still, a very unique tower!). We had some local beer at a pizzeria, and then took the train back to Lovorno. Long walk back to the cruise ship! Then, ordered room service, you name it we ordered it along with creme brulee' again for dessert, to make up for the long walk! It's good to be back onboard. Lol. Now off to dinner.
Day Six: Woke up to docking at Civitevechio/Roma port at 6am! Very early day start! Grabbed a quick breakfast and off to catch the 7:30am train to St. Peter’s Basilica/Vatican. Thank God, we caught it on time and barely made our tour on time. She was great by the way, really knew her Italian History and made it fun/interesting. She walked us through every inch of the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica and pointed out all of the pertinent information pertaining to Michaelangelo and the Pope(s). We then grabbed some lunch and caught a tour bus around the city which included the Vittorian Museum, Roman Colliseum, the place where Julius Caesar was killed, and then back to the train station to get back to the ship on time. Weather was sunny and about 75’f. Very nice. Roma was huge! Now we comprehend the saying “Rome wasn’t built in one day.” Aha!
The tour guide, (above picture) was nothing short of spectacular! She was as cute as a button and spoke perfect English and Italian, and really knew her history. Very impressive!
Day Seven: Amalfi Coast baby! But, only after having another gourmet breakfast on the veranda overlooking the Amalfi Coastline: Double espresso, custom egg omelets, eggs benedict, fresh Norwegian Salmon (not the farm raised shit stuffed with antibiotics and fake food coloring to make it look peach instead of white that we get from Publix!! Lol), freshly squeezed OJ (2 of them)…Okay Nikki said hurry up and get to the good stuff. So, we get off the ship and work out a deal with Salvadore’ and Maritzio (yes, two Jewish boys …lol) with 5 other couples to split the costs of chartering their private motor yacht in and around Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, and the Island of Capri! Wow and Wow!!
We under the arch rock, “making the wish as we went through,” and came around to the marina side of Capri. Jumped out, started haggling for souvenirs, then jumped on the cable car up to Ana Capri on top. You know, it’s amazing how big the island is once up there, and how small it is via the approach by boat. I keep getting puzzled at that on each and every island. Okay, moving along. It was neat on top, seeing the clouds coming right into us, being up so high, and then on the way down via bus, which was a bit scathing coming around the corners of the cliffs and looking down, hoping the bus driver Antonio or Giuseppe didn’t have a drinking problem or wasn’t texting his girlfriend! Yikes man.
But we made it down, thank God. Beautiful photos of this to show you guys when we get back. Luckily, we all made it back to the dock on time, jumped on the motor yacht, and headed back along the Amalfi Coast where our captain(s) pointed out all of the hot spots, top restaurants in the area(s), and celeb’s homes! We skimmed the beach/city area about 200 yards off shore! It was nothing short of a “once in a lifetime motor yachting opportunity” to see such beauty unwind, city to city, and pristine blue waters! We did a few shots of homemade Limoncello with the guys onboard, toasting to a lifetime of happiness and good health, before departing the yacht. Once back to the dock, a bit more shopping in Amalfi and off to embarkation on the ship for departure. Weather was sunny with some clouds, and about 65’f. Nikki took about 100 pictures today alone! So far Nikki’s favorite venue!
Day Eight: Taormina/Sicily, Italy. Literally woke up to an active volcano (2nd largest in Europe) steaming at 11,000ft above the port of Naxos/Sicilia, Italia! Snow caps, steam from the active volcano, and all!! Hit breakfast, then off to Taormina to check out the amphitheater and the shopping district up in Taormina. Loved the views and gathered some rocks for Preston’s collection. Yeah, if I come back empty handed, I’m going to hear about it, so picture me looking for the perfect rock(s) from the active volcano to pitch Preston when I get back so he too is satisfied and content!
Yeup, kids sure do make you think and plan ahead! Came down and had lunch in Naxos by the ship at Angelina Restaurant. I had the Pasta Bolognese’ which was delicioso’ and Nikki had 45 minute late homemade pizza that was “ehhh.” Needless to say, Nikki Mangia Mangia’d on my pasta choice (again!). Then we tendered one of the ship’s boats back aboard, cruised up and down the ship’s boardwalk (poolside lol) watching us leave Sicily and the beautiful backdrop of Taormina’s snow cap volcano, slip away over the oceanic horizon.
Oh, our taxi driver’s name was Nuncio, and he popped in the soundtrack of the Godfather, since it was filmed (right over there, as he pointed out), and The Noland’s from Houston, TX and us had a huge laugh as we split the cost of the taxi! Nuncio was hilarious! A true Sicilian with a great sense of humor! Nikki and I both said "we could live in Sicily and Taormina, no problem! It had a lot to offer and we remembered it being one of our favorite places that "surprised us!"
Day Nine: Zakinthos, Greece, the 2nd largest Ionian Islands like Corfu. South of the island lies the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea at about 15,000 feet. Since it is Sunday, not a lot of shops were open today, but we still ended up seeing the local Greek Orthodox Church, the mummified remains of an older local priest that lived hundreds of years ago, and of course…Nikki’s favorite past time, shop some more, and then when you think it’s over and there are no more shops, she finds them and shops some more! We went onboard early and hit the pool area. Had dinner at the Toscana Restaurant on the top deck, Deck 10, and had a nice Italiano dinner overlooking the beautiful sunset. In our opinion(s), SKIP this island and go anywhere else! So, other than the inside of the church and Iconos (Greek for gold religous icons), here are some pictures of the cruise ship shows and personnel!
Day Ten: Santorini, Greece. This is my 2nd time to Santorini (and to Greece) and my personal favorite Greek island. After seeing the Amalfi Coast in person, Santorini isn’t as high up perhaps as some of the peaks in Amalfi, but it has most of the city on the top of the mountain, versus at the bottom, which makes it quite unique. Also, the white concrete buildings, and the touch of light pastel blues, greens, and other complimentary colors, really makes photography easy to get such beautiful pictures! I love the COBBLESTON here too! Very cool designs in the streets and sidewalks:
Did I mention the famous “donkey ride up and walk down?” If you ever go to Greece, you must go all the way to almost Turkey, and see Santorini. But also, you must enter the island on the back of a beautifully decorated donkey, and take the approximate 15 minute ride up to the top! If you go via cable car, big mistake! Take a ride on the wild side, just go for it, take the donkey up! Just make sure they don’t stop half way up like Nikki’s did and start eating grass! Nikki was a brave trooper though, and got her donkey going until they reached the top! This picture says it all. It's Mark (and Jodi) Nolen from Houston, TX whom we also met from the Oceania Cruise. He allowed me to talk him into taking the donkey ride up! I'm so glad he did it and just giddied up on the back of a donkey no matter how many people tried to talk him out of it or tell him how stinky they were! He came, he road, and he will smile everytime he sees this picture! Way to go Mark!
Notice the incline going up? (and i'm not exaggerating a bit!) It was jubilee and scathing at the same time! A true oximoron!
We did a ton of shopping at Santorini! Lots of good deals. Had a blast. The weather again was awesome, about 68’f and sunny. Dinner at the Polo Lounge on Deck 10. I had Lobster Bisque Soup, a 2.5lb huge Maine Lobster (that was already opened/cracked for easy and clean eating) and a zillion desserts. Nikki had the Ribeye Steak cooked medium and another Crème’ Burle’ for dessert!
The local Greek Fish Market gang selling this morning's fresh catch at Santorini:
Another one of my signature pictures (plant or flower with water in background to enhance the scene...heee..hee):
Later on that night, winds kicked up to 45 knots (about 62mph) and we witnessed 25’foot waves at sea. I was very impressed with the ship’s ability to not rattle or shake much. I felt very safe at all times, even though we experienced some incredible seas, almost that of those you would see on tv’s “Deadliest Catch.” Lol.
Day Eleven: Kusadasi, Turkey and Ephesus. We took a nice morning ride via a bicycle gondola to and from the ship to the local shopping market. There, Menten, drove us in his taxi to and around Ephesus while pointing out the various historical remains and the carpet/rug outlet where they make the hand crafted rugs and you get to see what goes into each one which is quite amazing. It’s amazing that each of the ladies who works there can only work about 3 hours per day, which is the best balance of time to be able to do a great job, taking pride on every double knot of carpet thread to minimize mistakes, while still making progress daily. Many of the carpets take 6-10 months to make. They estimated 500+ woman/hours per carpet (5x7ft). Nikki got a beautiful leather jacket for $130 which first started out at $375! It’s supposedly made from Lamb’s Skin, which is why it is so soft to the touch. This is our last night onboard, we’ll have dinner in the Grand Dining Lounge, watch a performance, and then disembark by 9:00am in Piraeus, Greece and then cab it to our hotel in Athens, Greece overlooking the Parthenon and Acropolis.
Day Twelve: Athens, Piraeus, Greece. I’m home!! Just kidding…lol. Lots of Mercedes yellow taxi cabs, which was also the case 20 years ago when we came to Athens. We took a cab to our hotel, St. George Lycabettus, which stands high up on the largest mountaintop overlooking the city and Parthenon below. The view is spectacular! You can see 25miles out in any direction. Just above us, is the St. George Greek Orthodox Church that stands at the very top, and we took the cable car up there at night to have dinner and view the entire city below. Nikki sure is loving the deep, dark, red Greek tomatoes…Very tasteful in the Greek salads.
During the daytime, we went to see Syntagma Square and the “changing of the guards. There also hosts thousands of pigeons which the crowds also love to take pictures with. From there, we walked through downtown Monastiraki, the shopping district, where I had to have my favorite white Coconut sticks (I only had 2, Nikki talked me out of having the 3rd one saying I needed to cut down on eating from the cruise…lol), but only after we had the traditional Greek lunch at the local’s favorite: Thenasis Restaurant. I spoke a little Greek with the owner and next thing you know, he’s bringing us plate after plate of his favorite Greek foods to try, and we did! He also gave us a few appetizers gratis’! I think he felt sorry for me speaking such poor Greek, lol.
From there, up to the top of the Acropolis where there sits the beautiful Parthenon, but only after seeing the museum with a variety of archeological finds first! Beautiful moon set last night that fell right into the mountain tops. Galanita’ (good night in Greek).
Day Thirteen: Athens and Piraeus, Greece. Started our day with the hotel breakfast buffet, oh and yes, GREEK COFFEE, overlooking the beautiful city and sunrise below from up top of the famous Lacabitus Hill. We then took a taxi into town to catch the buses to both Athens (went around Athens highlighting old Greek Orthodox churches, museums, and the Greek Parliament) and Piraeus (the port is the 3rd busiest passenger port in the world and the busiest in all of Europe). If I had my choice, I would live right on the top of the hill overlooking the ocean by the port.
Kind of reminded me of a smaller less busy area of Sosolito, CA. Not as busy as the city either! Then off to shopping again at Monastiraki and Plaka, where we had the most awesome traditional Greek family cuisine at the local favorite’s called Scholarhio!
They do it right there, just the way I would do it if I had my own restaurant. They bring out (20) dishes for you to sample, and then you pick (5) platters from the (20). Of course we chose the Mousaka’ (the best I have had in 41 years), stuffed tomatoes/green peppers, stuffed grape leaves basked in Ovgolemono’ sauce, and the traditional Greek salad. Burp!! My compliments to the chef…excuse me but it was fabulous! Just what Nikki and I both wanted to eat at the bottom of the back side of the Acropolis in Plaka.
Then I got even weaker (it happens) and bought the (5) pack of the Coconut Sticks!! A young growing Greek boy has to eat right? And you can’t get them in the states, so I splurged!
Day Fourteen: Leaving Athens, Greece for Venice, Italy! About a 35 minute drive from the hotel to the airport via Mercedes taxi (aka Formula One Racer going about 110mph). That was an experience. Plane was on time, lucky us, and off we went to Venice. Bus was cheap ($3.50 Euro per person) to take from Venice airport to the bus stop by our hotel (then only a 3 minute walk to hotel). Carlton Grand Hotel is nice, but not that nice at $425/night! Here was the view from our balcony, at night from the boat looking up, and of course their "Private Ferrari's On Water" that we got to use a few times gratis':
Here's the Niksta blushing as she poses with a Gondola, Gondola, Gondola boy trying to solicit me for $100 EURO! (sorry, pass):)~ They would yell out Gondola 3x times, which was funny:
A few more shots of Venice/Venezia, back canals that turn dark green just as the sun goes down. My opinion, and I remembered this from my previous trip, is to NOT WASTE daytime photos as they appear washed out. Instead, take pictures early morning and late afternoon (sunset/sunrise) so the colors POP out at you like this:
What’s up with the Italians? No wash clothes, and limited towels! We grabbed the 36 hour unlimited water taxi passes at $23 Euro per person and jumped on and off all of the common stops: Ferrovia, Rialto, San Marco and luckily, our hotel was nice enough to accommodate us to their Murano glass store on Murano Island, which we got to go via their private motorboat (see pictures):
Then we went to Burano and headed back to have lunch in the center of Venezia! We walked Piazza San Marco, sat down for a cappuccino and listened to the orchestra play some of Italy’s finest music, then spent the rest of the day shopping through every single back canal store Nikki could find (lol…phewww…). We had the most awesome Italiano’ dinner that night at a place called Da Raffaele where we had the best homemade Gnochi with tomato sauce, fresh basil leaves, homemade bread, and house wine!
All while watching Gondola’s and custom wood boats slowly go by! Highly recommend this restaurant! A coconut and vanilla Gelato’ on the way back to the hotel, and life is good! Sure beats Baskin Robbins or the local joint in Ft. Lauderdale!
Day Fifteen: Venice, Italy. Again, spoiled by the hotel’s buffet breakfast, but a FAR CRY from Las Vegas’ Bellagio’s buffet! Nobody puts on a buffet like that one! Even the mafia agrees with me!! We got an early start via the hotel’s private boat and off to San Marco we went.
For lunch, we finally toned it down a bit, and settled for Italian Panini’s (Soprasato/Cheese/Spinach) and homemade beer (for me). Okay, yes, we had to grab a Gelato for dessert, but we split one this time, I promise really we did, since we are going back soon! That night, after researching the internet to find the exact restaurant I went to 4 years ago when I was here last for my sister’s wedding, we found it!
And then later on after dinner, we stopped by the Piazza (San Marco Square) to listen to some music as we sipped on some fresh cappuccino's with fresh chocolate shavings!
They have the BEST GNOCHI I have ever eaten!! Here, take a look for yourself:
The name of the restaurant is: “Trattoria Da Giorgio!” (green canopy) and it's right next to Ristorante' Alla Conchiglia" (blue canopy and equally as good) The waiter’s name was BOB! Yes, that’s what he said, “BOB!” Then followed up with Ro..Bertttto! He took this cool picture of us as we sipped their house Chianti!” He got a great tip and was full of Italiano’ Spirit! Ok here's me totally spoiled and content after such a fine Italian meal!
Day Sixteen: Last morning in Venice, Italy and off to get rental car! God help me driving through and around the “roundabouts” from Venice to Lake Como! Last time here in 2007, dad, Susan and I had quite an eye opening experience getting lost going from Venice to Tuscany/Sienna for Stephanie and Brian’s wedding dinner! Oh the memories of Italy! Anyway, this time I’m prepared and in charge! Yes, I printed out the directions and there are about 45 changes to be exact and Nikki’s FREAKIN OUT that we don’t have GPS since I wouldn’t pay their $100 Euro for it (which equates to about $150 USD) which I told her would instead buy her a nice top, shoes and jeans! That worked! She quieted down quickly, we loaded our STUFFED luggage into the 4 door Nissan SHIT BOX for a car (which all barely fit) and off we went as our sewing machine car engine purred away! Like a boat stuffed to the gills headed from Cuba to Key West baby, here we come! Or should I say, “there we go!”
Okay, we were doing about 150 kph there and Nikki’s wants me to slow down, so I did. She fell asleep then I sped up again because I’m getting bored, and want to see this supposed great lake, and everyone and their grandmother is passing me up! We finally get off the main highway (A4) and make that north bound turn for Como! 45 minutes later, this is what we see and we really start to get an idea of why everyone talks about Lake Como (viewed from our hotel balcony looking north straight up the lake..yeah, i did the champagne glasses and snacks!! Hee...Hee...):
Then we took the Funicular (yellow car/cable car) up to the top only to find this view as we sipped on some homemade beer/dinner here just at sunset!
The hotel we stayed is called the Barchetta Excelsior and I thought was a great value for what you get. Full breakfast buffet, perfectly located in walking distance to the ferry boats, Funicular, buses, trains, shopping,charter planes, etc...and sits at the bottom (SOUTH END) of the lake and our view looks directly out past the boat charters and planes taking off and landing!
Definitely JUMP on the SLOW boat that stops (12) times on the way to Bellagio, spend about 3 hours there, take pictures of everything that blooms, and then JUMP on the FAST boat back which stops only (4) times. Roundtrip it's about $25 EURO/person for both boats!
Or be a high roller and rent one of these "Ferrari's On Water:" (If you go around where they start from, you only pay about $100 EURO/hour which is definitely worth it if you split the costs with a few couples or one other couple, then take the ferry boat back to the hotel unless that private boat is near your hotel, otherwise you pay for BOTH legs for them to drop you off to your hotel, and time/gas to come back to their dock:
I wouldn't go north of there, same thing, but different view. From Bellagio looking out at lake (my signature shot with the flowers...says Nikki):
Wow! George Clooney, you devil you! Man I would be here too baby if I had some of your money young lad! Since its Sunday, they had all kinds of trade shows and marts going on! They even had a band playing music! We had lunch at the local favorite (Eh…no big deal), then took the Funicular (cable car folks for you Americans like me) up to the top of the highest peak and there we sat and took pictures along with some nice folks from Lebanon to watch the sunset and grab another homemade beer by Tony who was cooking outside and has the most spectacular job cooking Salmon, Italian you name it, and makes homemade wines/beers! (Mike Licata, this is you in 2 years and I want you to know right now that I am signing up to be your RIGHT and LEFT hand man to help you cook and to share stories over fine beer/wine with this view!!) Nikki kept saying that you would love to cook for all of the tourists and that they would love you too! Mike, here’s the place:
Everywhere COBBLESTONE streets with cool designs, love it!!
That night, we hit one of the local favorites for dinner, and off to bed!
Day Seventeen: Lake Como, Italy. We started early with the breakfast buffet which was AWESOME! Over here, they make the Cappaccino’s the way they should be made, with some fresh shavings of chocolate! Nikki loves them, so I must figure out how to make it for her, as she is going to need them to get the strength to go back to work daily after having been pampered with no dishes, no cleaning, no cooking, desserts, shopping, and once in a lifetime views and venues, while I try to sell jets at home in a deteriorating economy in my boxers! I hope it works! Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me please! I’m going to need it!! Some more pics of us shopping and little towns you can jump on and off of the ferry boats and visit:
Look at the SMILE on this cute Italiano girl's face!! She just got another day of vacation and some more shopping items to take back and add to her collection!
Lunch view was awesome, kind of "surreal" one might say:
Moving right along, stay with me, we jumped out early on the slow ferry boat and made all (15) stops all the way up to Bellagio! We took some fantastic pictures, but the best ones where at Bellagio, and here they are:
Bellagio was great! It was like the CAPRI of Lake Como! Lake Como has it all folks! If you come to Italy, you must go to Lake Como and Venice and then fit in the other venues! Trust me on this one! Lake Como though is like the Amalfi coast with historically antiquated Duomos (churches, although I must say during lent and from this trip that I am "duomo'd out"...heee...hee.) right on a lake that seems to wonder on and on and is never ending!
About half way up on the LEFT HAND SIDE (WEST SIDE) we had someone point out George Clooney’s home, shown here below. We decided to drop in and join him for some homemade Italian Lemoncellos: (just kidding, but we do have the shot of his home, will upload from Nikki's camera later):
Here is Nikki doing what she does a lot of on the trip (taking pictures of everything):
We’ll have to watch Ocean’s 12 again (I think that was the one where they show Lake Como and the Faberge Egg being stolen from the museum). Okay, so back to Bellagio, we bought some really cool stuff. They have great prices at a store called Bellagioseta Italy and we took about 100 pictures of the cool wood boats and floral picturesque views!!
The owner’s name is Giuseppe, (John for you Gringos like me) make sure you drop my name and tell him to take as good of care as he took with Nikki and I, and tell him I sent you, and you’re in like Flynn, so here’s his email address: bellagioseta.libero.it . I got the coolest GREEN LEATHER Italian handmade wallet and Sweater (V-neck baby, always V-neck) and I got Nikki an Italian handmade blue leather purse and matching belt for an early birthday gift because I’m running out of money! Jk…Just up above that store, I bought some really cool Italian made jeans called Fordock's, which were a deal at $60 Euro (oh shit, I keep forgetting about the real costs of currency or should I say conversion…that’s about $90 USD, my math is terrible!) Well, they have the thin stretchy jean fabric and they tailored them on the spot to match my short legs! Nice! Nikki and I can't wait to get back home and do the (10) loads of laundry!! We're kidding...totally kidding folks!!
And off I went in FRESH jeans for the first time since wearing the same jeans for the past 6 days! And I've been eying the Italian handmade wooden boxes for the past 2 weeks, so I finally bargained with the oldest store in Bellagio (so they say) and got the coolest handmade box in all of Italy! It will find itself on my desk hosting my pen collection soon! Lots of bubble wrap, and off we went as I felt my wallet getting lighter and lighter!
Back on the fast boat with less stops, headed for the town of Como! One hour later, we arrived! Our last night of our honeymoon. All coming to an end, all behind us.
Last Day: Our last day, and again GOD HELP US through and around the "roundabouts" to find the Malpensa, Italy airport!! But, before I get into that, you must see how the Italians park cars. This space age UFO looking thing spit out my car. Kind of like a "snack bar machine dispenser" but instead the doors opened up, and the valet guy dissapeared, and my car is there so I hopped in, put it in gear, and took off! Too funny.
Nikki and I loved Lufthansa!! Man they do it right!! Movies/tv/news/sitcoms on the tv's at your disposal right in front of you on the back of the seat!! I had the Spaghetti Bolognase' which was actually better than the ones in Como, Italy~! But the view of the Swiss Alps was unbelievable as shown here:
Summary: "Greece and Italy were both our favorite stops. Santorini had the best views along with the donkey ride up, and great shopping bargains. Sicily/Taormina was a delightfully surpising city on the coast and seems to have it all. Zackinthos was a waste in our opinion, and should have instead had Corfu or another Greek Island even if it was Piraeus/Athens, Greece. The Amalfi Coast, specifically going by private charter which was very affordable with 3 other couples was the neatest for us, because we saw CAPRI and ANACAPRI! Lake Como was a must too, it's the Amalfi Coast on a lake! Venice was the neatest though, it's like seeing New York City for the first time! It's quite overwhelming and the food there was probably the best Italian of all of Italy. Athens had such great food in and around the Plaka/Downtown area(s). Live Bouzouki music was the icing on the Baklava! The gelato (vanilla and coconut) was the best ice cream we have yet to experience, leaving our pallets craving for more!!
The End of Our Honeymoon!"
Hope you enjoyed it...and got a feel for why Europe is so special!
Here's a picture of our worn out, 7 day straight jeans, that need a break! I threw the socks, shoes, belt, and jeans in the trash and here's the only picture I have of mine to remember these babies! Enjoy!
Yasou and Areverdirchie!! Until next time...
Thursday NIGHT: MARCH 31 – Flight Fort Lauderdale or Miami to Barcelona, Spain.
APRIL 1 – Barcelona
APRIL 2 – Barcelona
APRIL 3 – CRUISE BEGINS
APRIL 4 – Provence
APRIL 5 – Monte Carlo
APRIL 6 – Florence
APRIL 7 – Rome
APRIL 8 – Amalfi
APRIL 9 – Sicily
APRIL 10 – Zakynthos, Greece
APRIL 11 – Santorini, Greece
APRIL 12 – Kusadadi, Turkey
APRIL 13 – Athens- Cruise ends- over night in Athens, Greece
APRIL 14 – Athens
APRIL 15 – Flight from Athens to Venice.
APRIL 16 _Venice
APRIL 17 _Venice to Lake Como
APRIL 18_ Lake Como/Lake Maggiore
APRIL 19_ Lake Como to Milan, Fly back in Fort Lauderdale.
BARCELONA: APRIL 1-3
Day One: Friday: (sorry for those that had to work on Friday, NOT!!) ACTA ATRIUM PALACE: Very cool hotel. Sophisticated and modern. When we checked in, to our dismay, we were upgraded since we are honeymooners, to their "Penthouse Suite" thanks to our awesome travel agent, Bob East!! Who's the man? Bob, that's who!! You would think after about 12 hours of traveling that we would go right to the room and hit the queen size bed with 1,200 count Egyptian sheets, but no, not us! Instead, we got a tan while driving around the city on the 2nd level of a Green Barcelona Turistic Bus Tour, and checked out half the city! Then came home and showered in the beautifully marbelled shower overlooking the city! Next around 9:00pm, we went to get a variety of Spanish Tapas (appetizers) at the local favorite hot spot, a venue called Ciutat Comtal! Delicioso and muy muy delicioso!! The paper thin cut, deep fried artichoke hearts were too die for. The house red wine was a nice compliment, but the small (whole) calamari (yes eyes and all) deep fried was also excellent, although Nikki couldn't look at them in the eyes and eat them. No problem, more for me. I ate every last one of them. Some went down head first, some I bit in half, and some tail first. Either way, very good. We got back in about 11:00pm. Jacuzzi overlooking city, very cool (i mean hot, very zesty at about 100'f). Very relaxing though. Zonked after that, bed.
Okay, moving right along.
Day Two: Saturday: Wow, that jet lag sure caught up with us, since we woke up at 10:30am! Showered, grabbed (2) cafe' con leche's in the lobby, and off we went back on the bus tour! Today was basically dedicated to two hot spots: Basilica Sagrada Familia, (Gaudi's most incredible piece of artwork, the church that is almost finished, and started construction in the early 1900's) the most artsy- fartsy beautiful church in the world! And of course, the tram to the top of the mountain overlooking the city and the ocean from about 1,800ft up, to the Temple of Tibidabo, where there is literally an amusement park on the top by the church! The entire park has rides that overlook the city below, views that are breathtaking. We finished the day off at the top of the mountain overlooking the city below and saw the sunset! Fantastico! The salmon tapas were extraordinary matched with the Estrella Beer! (jk). We hopped on the city bus to get back to our venue, and walked to a bunch of the stores to do a little shopping. Then went back to the hotel, showered, and off to get a real Espana dinner oceanside at a local favorite restaurant called La Fonda and for dessert had a local favorite which reminded me of "Italiano Biscotti" and a shot of something yellow copying off us Greeks, that reminded me of "Ouzo" but again, looked like someone urinated in it due to the "yellow color touch!" Yes, seriously. It was good though, went down warm...
Day Three: Departed from Barcelona Spain around 6:30pm, Sunday April 1st, 2011 on our Oceania European Cruise and off we went visting the coastlines of France, Italy, Greece and Turkey!
Next stop, Marsaille, France! We disembarked the ship around 8:15am, and met a taxi driver named Christian who took us to (3) hot spots: First, Aix En Provence, Second was the beautiful coastal city of Cassis, and third was the Notre Dame De La Guarde church. Aix En Provence was nice, we walked the main streets, and Nikki and I each had a cup of cappucino waiting for the weather to warm up (it was about 50'f in the am hours, then once the sun broke, it warmed up to about 65'f). We spent about 1.5 hours there walking in various shops and appreciating the historical sites, churches, and stores where we bought a few souveniers.
Next, we were off to Cassis! (Not to be confused with the Law Offices of Andrew Cassas!!) This was well worth the 30 minute journey. We approached the city of Cassis going through various historical/classic vineyards, and then WOW, the beautiful coast line with the city just came out, like a scene out of a movie! We then drove up to the highest point overlooking Cassis below, where we took these pictures which were nothing short of breathtaking, and yet simultaneously scary since we were a just feet away from the edge of the cliff rock.
We then walked around for 1.5 hours and had lunch on the water at a local hotspot/favorite seafood restaurant called La Oustera. That was the first time I had soup that was puree'd and it was tasty! Gave me some ideas when I get back to Ft. Lauderdale and create some of my own dishes! Yummy!
From Cassis, we went to the Notre Dame De La Guarde church (Basilica) where we took some San Francisco steep and windy turns going up to the top of the mountain where this church sits and has another extraordinary view of the city below, Marsaille. The beautiful green, pink and white layered marble really stood out and spoke to me! Very nice!! Dinner was excellent back on board the cruise ship after Niksta and I took a 2 hour nap! Salmon for me, and rotisserie chicken for Nikki. Key lime pie for dessert!
Day Four: Woke up to the most beautiful sunset I have yet to see in 41 years! A red sun fireball coming out of the ocean as we pulled up to Monaco/Monte-Carlo! Then to top it off, Nikki and I had another ship gourmet breakfast on the veranda deck overlooking downtown Monte-Carlo with all of the multi-million dollar private yachts and the marina! After breakfast, we walked around the marina to the train station where we went all the way down SOUTH to Cannes, walked around, had a fantastically fresh and warm French Bread loaf, and ate that while we walked around and went up and down the beach. I can't help it, but it totally reminded me of Malibu, California. Then jumped on the train and headed NORTH to the next hot spot which was Nice-Ville. Beautiful views on the north side which looked like the beginning of the Swiss Alps snow caps (yes,I think it was) or the beginning of the mountains. The trains were very comfortable, but there were a lot of stops. Luckily, we were overlooking the coast for much of the train ride, which made it go by quickly, even though it was only about an hour each way from Monaco to Canne, with the mid way stop to Nice-Ville in between, so really about 30 minutes each ride.
Nice was a huge city by the beach that went the farthest north/west and it reminded me of Florence Italy (without all of the statutes of course) but by the beach, with a touch of the Santa Monica, California boardwalk look! The only difference though, was that the ladies were topless. Please see pictures. Ooh La La (you'll have to see me personally to view those!). What was so neat about this train ride (and I recommend that you do this if you ever get out there), is that each city along the coast, had it's own characteristic appeal that made it uniquely debonair. Some had rock beaches like Nice-Ville. Some had sandy beaches and were smaller, more like a cove look (like a smaller version of Cannes) etc... Anyway, I'm so glad we did this and it only cost us like $15 EURO for the roundtrip train passes for (2).
Next stop, Monte-Carlo! We jumped off, and went right to the casino where of course there were only about 6 Ferrari's at any given time! Red, Grey, Black, and DULL BLACK ONE which must have been custom ordered, etc... Now, why anybody would want to order a FERRARI custom painted FLAT BLACK needs to have their head checked. You order a FERRARI with RED SHINY FERRARI paint, period, end of story, that's it!! This guy spent extra to have his shiny made flat! Not cool! Then we paid $10 EURO each to get into the casino which was a waste. Here, let me save you the $20 EURO. The inside looks like a gold leaf, meats pink/green/white marble (kind of like the Notre Damn De La Guard inside) and then throw in just a few fancy wood casino tables, stuffy people, and overprised everything and that was it! Again, a complete wast of $20 EURO!! Finally,we had a very late lunch back at the cruise ship but OH NO, too late, everything was closed. So we ordered room service: Brushetta with Shrimp, BLT sandwich, TUNA sandwich, and of course, (2) creme' brulee's for dessert! And then back out to Monte-Carlo for the night life!
Day Five: Lovorno, Italy commercial port side. Yuck! We got booted off to the far port instead of the cruise ship port. Enough said. Taxi'd with another couple to the train station. The other couple was an ex-American Airlines Pilot who lost many friends on 9/11/2001. One hit the Pentagon, etc... Ryan and Pam. They moved from DC to Provo, Utah. Okay, so we took the train to Pisa. Took the 25 minute walk through the college town (yes all young kids) to the end of the town where there lies the 8' degree slanted marble tower! Yeup, you guessed it, the leaning tower of Pisa. It's really neat, to think of all of that weight stacked like that at an angle and it didn't come tumbling down yet. (Yes, they have had to fix it over the years, etc... but still, a very unique tower!). We had some local beer at a pizzeria, and then took the train back to Lovorno. Long walk back to the cruise ship! Then, ordered room service, you name it we ordered it along with creme brulee' again for dessert, to make up for the long walk! It's good to be back onboard. Lol. Now off to dinner.
Day Six: Woke up to docking at Civitevechio/Roma port at 6am! Very early day start! Grabbed a quick breakfast and off to catch the 7:30am train to St. Peter’s Basilica/Vatican. Thank God, we caught it on time and barely made our tour on time. She was great by the way, really knew her Italian History and made it fun/interesting. She walked us through every inch of the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica and pointed out all of the pertinent information pertaining to Michaelangelo and the Pope(s). We then grabbed some lunch and caught a tour bus around the city which included the Vittorian Museum, Roman Colliseum, the place where Julius Caesar was killed, and then back to the train station to get back to the ship on time. Weather was sunny and about 75’f. Very nice. Roma was huge! Now we comprehend the saying “Rome wasn’t built in one day.” Aha!
The tour guide, (above picture) was nothing short of spectacular! She was as cute as a button and spoke perfect English and Italian, and really knew her history. Very impressive!
Day Seven: Amalfi Coast baby! But, only after having another gourmet breakfast on the veranda overlooking the Amalfi Coastline: Double espresso, custom egg omelets, eggs benedict, fresh Norwegian Salmon (not the farm raised shit stuffed with antibiotics and fake food coloring to make it look peach instead of white that we get from Publix!! Lol), freshly squeezed OJ (2 of them)…Okay Nikki said hurry up and get to the good stuff. So, we get off the ship and work out a deal with Salvadore’ and Maritzio (yes, two Jewish boys …lol) with 5 other couples to split the costs of chartering their private motor yacht in and around Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, and the Island of Capri! Wow and Wow!!
We under the arch rock, “making the wish as we went through,” and came around to the marina side of Capri. Jumped out, started haggling for souvenirs, then jumped on the cable car up to Ana Capri on top. You know, it’s amazing how big the island is once up there, and how small it is via the approach by boat. I keep getting puzzled at that on each and every island. Okay, moving along. It was neat on top, seeing the clouds coming right into us, being up so high, and then on the way down via bus, which was a bit scathing coming around the corners of the cliffs and looking down, hoping the bus driver Antonio or Giuseppe didn’t have a drinking problem or wasn’t texting his girlfriend! Yikes man.
But we made it down, thank God. Beautiful photos of this to show you guys when we get back. Luckily, we all made it back to the dock on time, jumped on the motor yacht, and headed back along the Amalfi Coast where our captain(s) pointed out all of the hot spots, top restaurants in the area(s), and celeb’s homes! We skimmed the beach/city area about 200 yards off shore! It was nothing short of a “once in a lifetime motor yachting opportunity” to see such beauty unwind, city to city, and pristine blue waters! We did a few shots of homemade Limoncello with the guys onboard, toasting to a lifetime of happiness and good health, before departing the yacht. Once back to the dock, a bit more shopping in Amalfi and off to embarkation on the ship for departure. Weather was sunny with some clouds, and about 65’f. Nikki took about 100 pictures today alone! So far Nikki’s favorite venue!
Day Eight: Taormina/Sicily, Italy. Literally woke up to an active volcano (2nd largest in Europe) steaming at 11,000ft above the port of Naxos/Sicilia, Italia! Snow caps, steam from the active volcano, and all!! Hit breakfast, then off to Taormina to check out the amphitheater and the shopping district up in Taormina. Loved the views and gathered some rocks for Preston’s collection. Yeah, if I come back empty handed, I’m going to hear about it, so picture me looking for the perfect rock(s) from the active volcano to pitch Preston when I get back so he too is satisfied and content!
Yeup, kids sure do make you think and plan ahead! Came down and had lunch in Naxos by the ship at Angelina Restaurant. I had the Pasta Bolognese’ which was delicioso’ and Nikki had 45 minute late homemade pizza that was “ehhh.” Needless to say, Nikki Mangia Mangia’d on my pasta choice (again!). Then we tendered one of the ship’s boats back aboard, cruised up and down the ship’s boardwalk (poolside lol) watching us leave Sicily and the beautiful backdrop of Taormina’s snow cap volcano, slip away over the oceanic horizon.
Oh, our taxi driver’s name was Nuncio, and he popped in the soundtrack of the Godfather, since it was filmed (right over there, as he pointed out), and The Noland’s from Houston, TX and us had a huge laugh as we split the cost of the taxi! Nuncio was hilarious! A true Sicilian with a great sense of humor! Nikki and I both said "we could live in Sicily and Taormina, no problem! It had a lot to offer and we remembered it being one of our favorite places that "surprised us!"
Day Nine: Zakinthos, Greece, the 2nd largest Ionian Islands like Corfu. South of the island lies the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea at about 15,000 feet. Since it is Sunday, not a lot of shops were open today, but we still ended up seeing the local Greek Orthodox Church, the mummified remains of an older local priest that lived hundreds of years ago, and of course…Nikki’s favorite past time, shop some more, and then when you think it’s over and there are no more shops, she finds them and shops some more! We went onboard early and hit the pool area. Had dinner at the Toscana Restaurant on the top deck, Deck 10, and had a nice Italiano dinner overlooking the beautiful sunset. In our opinion(s), SKIP this island and go anywhere else! So, other than the inside of the church and Iconos (Greek for gold religous icons), here are some pictures of the cruise ship shows and personnel!
Day Ten: Santorini, Greece. This is my 2nd time to Santorini (and to Greece) and my personal favorite Greek island. After seeing the Amalfi Coast in person, Santorini isn’t as high up perhaps as some of the peaks in Amalfi, but it has most of the city on the top of the mountain, versus at the bottom, which makes it quite unique. Also, the white concrete buildings, and the touch of light pastel blues, greens, and other complimentary colors, really makes photography easy to get such beautiful pictures! I love the COBBLESTON here too! Very cool designs in the streets and sidewalks:
Did I mention the famous “donkey ride up and walk down?” If you ever go to Greece, you must go all the way to almost Turkey, and see Santorini. But also, you must enter the island on the back of a beautifully decorated donkey, and take the approximate 15 minute ride up to the top! If you go via cable car, big mistake! Take a ride on the wild side, just go for it, take the donkey up! Just make sure they don’t stop half way up like Nikki’s did and start eating grass! Nikki was a brave trooper though, and got her donkey going until they reached the top! This picture says it all. It's Mark (and Jodi) Nolen from Houston, TX whom we also met from the Oceania Cruise. He allowed me to talk him into taking the donkey ride up! I'm so glad he did it and just giddied up on the back of a donkey no matter how many people tried to talk him out of it or tell him how stinky they were! He came, he road, and he will smile everytime he sees this picture! Way to go Mark!
Notice the incline going up? (and i'm not exaggerating a bit!) It was jubilee and scathing at the same time! A true oximoron!
We did a ton of shopping at Santorini! Lots of good deals. Had a blast. The weather again was awesome, about 68’f and sunny. Dinner at the Polo Lounge on Deck 10. I had Lobster Bisque Soup, a 2.5lb huge Maine Lobster (that was already opened/cracked for easy and clean eating) and a zillion desserts. Nikki had the Ribeye Steak cooked medium and another Crème’ Burle’ for dessert!
The local Greek Fish Market gang selling this morning's fresh catch at Santorini:
Another one of my signature pictures (plant or flower with water in background to enhance the scene...heee..hee):
Later on that night, winds kicked up to 45 knots (about 62mph) and we witnessed 25’foot waves at sea. I was very impressed with the ship’s ability to not rattle or shake much. I felt very safe at all times, even though we experienced some incredible seas, almost that of those you would see on tv’s “Deadliest Catch.” Lol.
Day Eleven: Kusadasi, Turkey and Ephesus. We took a nice morning ride via a bicycle gondola to and from the ship to the local shopping market. There, Menten, drove us in his taxi to and around Ephesus while pointing out the various historical remains and the carpet/rug outlet where they make the hand crafted rugs and you get to see what goes into each one which is quite amazing. It’s amazing that each of the ladies who works there can only work about 3 hours per day, which is the best balance of time to be able to do a great job, taking pride on every double knot of carpet thread to minimize mistakes, while still making progress daily. Many of the carpets take 6-10 months to make. They estimated 500+ woman/hours per carpet (5x7ft). Nikki got a beautiful leather jacket for $130 which first started out at $375! It’s supposedly made from Lamb’s Skin, which is why it is so soft to the touch. This is our last night onboard, we’ll have dinner in the Grand Dining Lounge, watch a performance, and then disembark by 9:00am in Piraeus, Greece and then cab it to our hotel in Athens, Greece overlooking the Parthenon and Acropolis.
Day Twelve: Athens, Piraeus, Greece. I’m home!! Just kidding…lol. Lots of Mercedes yellow taxi cabs, which was also the case 20 years ago when we came to Athens. We took a cab to our hotel, St. George Lycabettus, which stands high up on the largest mountaintop overlooking the city and Parthenon below. The view is spectacular! You can see 25miles out in any direction. Just above us, is the St. George Greek Orthodox Church that stands at the very top, and we took the cable car up there at night to have dinner and view the entire city below. Nikki sure is loving the deep, dark, red Greek tomatoes…Very tasteful in the Greek salads.
During the daytime, we went to see Syntagma Square and the “changing of the guards. There also hosts thousands of pigeons which the crowds also love to take pictures with. From there, we walked through downtown Monastiraki, the shopping district, where I had to have my favorite white Coconut sticks (I only had 2, Nikki talked me out of having the 3rd one saying I needed to cut down on eating from the cruise…lol), but only after we had the traditional Greek lunch at the local’s favorite: Thenasis Restaurant. I spoke a little Greek with the owner and next thing you know, he’s bringing us plate after plate of his favorite Greek foods to try, and we did! He also gave us a few appetizers gratis’! I think he felt sorry for me speaking such poor Greek, lol.
From there, up to the top of the Acropolis where there sits the beautiful Parthenon, but only after seeing the museum with a variety of archeological finds first! Beautiful moon set last night that fell right into the mountain tops. Galanita’ (good night in Greek).
Day Thirteen: Athens and Piraeus, Greece. Started our day with the hotel breakfast buffet, oh and yes, GREEK COFFEE, overlooking the beautiful city and sunrise below from up top of the famous Lacabitus Hill. We then took a taxi into town to catch the buses to both Athens (went around Athens highlighting old Greek Orthodox churches, museums, and the Greek Parliament) and Piraeus (the port is the 3rd busiest passenger port in the world and the busiest in all of Europe). If I had my choice, I would live right on the top of the hill overlooking the ocean by the port.
Kind of reminded me of a smaller less busy area of Sosolito, CA. Not as busy as the city either! Then off to shopping again at Monastiraki and Plaka, where we had the most awesome traditional Greek family cuisine at the local favorite’s called Scholarhio!
They do it right there, just the way I would do it if I had my own restaurant. They bring out (20) dishes for you to sample, and then you pick (5) platters from the (20). Of course we chose the Mousaka’ (the best I have had in 41 years), stuffed tomatoes/green peppers, stuffed grape leaves basked in Ovgolemono’ sauce, and the traditional Greek salad. Burp!! My compliments to the chef…excuse me but it was fabulous! Just what Nikki and I both wanted to eat at the bottom of the back side of the Acropolis in Plaka.
Then I got even weaker (it happens) and bought the (5) pack of the Coconut Sticks!! A young growing Greek boy has to eat right? And you can’t get them in the states, so I splurged!
Day Fourteen: Leaving Athens, Greece for Venice, Italy! About a 35 minute drive from the hotel to the airport via Mercedes taxi (aka Formula One Racer going about 110mph). That was an experience. Plane was on time, lucky us, and off we went to Venice. Bus was cheap ($3.50 Euro per person) to take from Venice airport to the bus stop by our hotel (then only a 3 minute walk to hotel). Carlton Grand Hotel is nice, but not that nice at $425/night! Here was the view from our balcony, at night from the boat looking up, and of course their "Private Ferrari's On Water" that we got to use a few times gratis':
Here's the Niksta blushing as she poses with a Gondola, Gondola, Gondola boy trying to solicit me for $100 EURO! (sorry, pass):)~ They would yell out Gondola 3x times, which was funny:
A few more shots of Venice/Venezia, back canals that turn dark green just as the sun goes down. My opinion, and I remembered this from my previous trip, is to NOT WASTE daytime photos as they appear washed out. Instead, take pictures early morning and late afternoon (sunset/sunrise) so the colors POP out at you like this:
What’s up with the Italians? No wash clothes, and limited towels! We grabbed the 36 hour unlimited water taxi passes at $23 Euro per person and jumped on and off all of the common stops: Ferrovia, Rialto, San Marco and luckily, our hotel was nice enough to accommodate us to their Murano glass store on Murano Island, which we got to go via their private motorboat (see pictures):
Then we went to Burano and headed back to have lunch in the center of Venezia! We walked Piazza San Marco, sat down for a cappuccino and listened to the orchestra play some of Italy’s finest music, then spent the rest of the day shopping through every single back canal store Nikki could find (lol…phewww…). We had the most awesome Italiano’ dinner that night at a place called Da Raffaele where we had the best homemade Gnochi with tomato sauce, fresh basil leaves, homemade bread, and house wine!
All while watching Gondola’s and custom wood boats slowly go by! Highly recommend this restaurant! A coconut and vanilla Gelato’ on the way back to the hotel, and life is good! Sure beats Baskin Robbins or the local joint in Ft. Lauderdale!
Day Fifteen: Venice, Italy. Again, spoiled by the hotel’s buffet breakfast, but a FAR CRY from Las Vegas’ Bellagio’s buffet! Nobody puts on a buffet like that one! Even the mafia agrees with me!! We got an early start via the hotel’s private boat and off to San Marco we went.
For lunch, we finally toned it down a bit, and settled for Italian Panini’s (Soprasato/Cheese/Spinach) and homemade beer (for me). Okay, yes, we had to grab a Gelato for dessert, but we split one this time, I promise really we did, since we are going back soon! That night, after researching the internet to find the exact restaurant I went to 4 years ago when I was here last for my sister’s wedding, we found it!
And then later on after dinner, we stopped by the Piazza (San Marco Square) to listen to some music as we sipped on some fresh cappuccino's with fresh chocolate shavings!
They have the BEST GNOCHI I have ever eaten!! Here, take a look for yourself:
The name of the restaurant is: “Trattoria Da Giorgio!” (green canopy) and it's right next to Ristorante' Alla Conchiglia" (blue canopy and equally as good) The waiter’s name was BOB! Yes, that’s what he said, “BOB!” Then followed up with Ro..Bertttto! He took this cool picture of us as we sipped their house Chianti!” He got a great tip and was full of Italiano’ Spirit! Ok here's me totally spoiled and content after such a fine Italian meal!
Day Sixteen: Last morning in Venice, Italy and off to get rental car! God help me driving through and around the “roundabouts” from Venice to Lake Como! Last time here in 2007, dad, Susan and I had quite an eye opening experience getting lost going from Venice to Tuscany/Sienna for Stephanie and Brian’s wedding dinner! Oh the memories of Italy! Anyway, this time I’m prepared and in charge! Yes, I printed out the directions and there are about 45 changes to be exact and Nikki’s FREAKIN OUT that we don’t have GPS since I wouldn’t pay their $100 Euro for it (which equates to about $150 USD) which I told her would instead buy her a nice top, shoes and jeans! That worked! She quieted down quickly, we loaded our STUFFED luggage into the 4 door Nissan SHIT BOX for a car (which all barely fit) and off we went as our sewing machine car engine purred away! Like a boat stuffed to the gills headed from Cuba to Key West baby, here we come! Or should I say, “there we go!”
Okay, we were doing about 150 kph there and Nikki’s wants me to slow down, so I did. She fell asleep then I sped up again because I’m getting bored, and want to see this supposed great lake, and everyone and their grandmother is passing me up! We finally get off the main highway (A4) and make that north bound turn for Como! 45 minutes later, this is what we see and we really start to get an idea of why everyone talks about Lake Como (viewed from our hotel balcony looking north straight up the lake..yeah, i did the champagne glasses and snacks!! Hee...Hee...):
Then we took the Funicular (yellow car/cable car) up to the top only to find this view as we sipped on some homemade beer/dinner here just at sunset!
The hotel we stayed is called the Barchetta Excelsior and I thought was a great value for what you get. Full breakfast buffet, perfectly located in walking distance to the ferry boats, Funicular, buses, trains, shopping,charter planes, etc...and sits at the bottom (SOUTH END) of the lake and our view looks directly out past the boat charters and planes taking off and landing!
Definitely JUMP on the SLOW boat that stops (12) times on the way to Bellagio, spend about 3 hours there, take pictures of everything that blooms, and then JUMP on the FAST boat back which stops only (4) times. Roundtrip it's about $25 EURO/person for both boats!
Or be a high roller and rent one of these "Ferrari's On Water:" (If you go around where they start from, you only pay about $100 EURO/hour which is definitely worth it if you split the costs with a few couples or one other couple, then take the ferry boat back to the hotel unless that private boat is near your hotel, otherwise you pay for BOTH legs for them to drop you off to your hotel, and time/gas to come back to their dock:
I wouldn't go north of there, same thing, but different view. From Bellagio looking out at lake (my signature shot with the flowers...says Nikki):
Wow! George Clooney, you devil you! Man I would be here too baby if I had some of your money young lad! Since its Sunday, they had all kinds of trade shows and marts going on! They even had a band playing music! We had lunch at the local favorite (Eh…no big deal), then took the Funicular (cable car folks for you Americans like me) up to the top of the highest peak and there we sat and took pictures along with some nice folks from Lebanon to watch the sunset and grab another homemade beer by Tony who was cooking outside and has the most spectacular job cooking Salmon, Italian you name it, and makes homemade wines/beers! (Mike Licata, this is you in 2 years and I want you to know right now that I am signing up to be your RIGHT and LEFT hand man to help you cook and to share stories over fine beer/wine with this view!!) Nikki kept saying that you would love to cook for all of the tourists and that they would love you too! Mike, here’s the place:
Everywhere COBBLESTONE streets with cool designs, love it!!
That night, we hit one of the local favorites for dinner, and off to bed!
Day Seventeen: Lake Como, Italy. We started early with the breakfast buffet which was AWESOME! Over here, they make the Cappaccino’s the way they should be made, with some fresh shavings of chocolate! Nikki loves them, so I must figure out how to make it for her, as she is going to need them to get the strength to go back to work daily after having been pampered with no dishes, no cleaning, no cooking, desserts, shopping, and once in a lifetime views and venues, while I try to sell jets at home in a deteriorating economy in my boxers! I hope it works! Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me please! I’m going to need it!! Some more pics of us shopping and little towns you can jump on and off of the ferry boats and visit:
Look at the SMILE on this cute Italiano girl's face!! She just got another day of vacation and some more shopping items to take back and add to her collection!
Lunch view was awesome, kind of "surreal" one might say:
Moving right along, stay with me, we jumped out early on the slow ferry boat and made all (15) stops all the way up to Bellagio! We took some fantastic pictures, but the best ones where at Bellagio, and here they are:
Bellagio was great! It was like the CAPRI of Lake Como! Lake Como has it all folks! If you come to Italy, you must go to Lake Como and Venice and then fit in the other venues! Trust me on this one! Lake Como though is like the Amalfi coast with historically antiquated Duomos (churches, although I must say during lent and from this trip that I am "duomo'd out"...heee...hee.) right on a lake that seems to wonder on and on and is never ending!
About half way up on the LEFT HAND SIDE (WEST SIDE) we had someone point out George Clooney’s home, shown here below. We decided to drop in and join him for some homemade Italian Lemoncellos: (just kidding, but we do have the shot of his home, will upload from Nikki's camera later):
Here is Nikki doing what she does a lot of on the trip (taking pictures of everything):
We’ll have to watch Ocean’s 12 again (I think that was the one where they show Lake Como and the Faberge Egg being stolen from the museum). Okay, so back to Bellagio, we bought some really cool stuff. They have great prices at a store called Bellagioseta Italy and we took about 100 pictures of the cool wood boats and floral picturesque views!!
The owner’s name is Giuseppe, (John for you Gringos like me) make sure you drop my name and tell him to take as good of care as he took with Nikki and I, and tell him I sent you, and you’re in like Flynn, so here’s his email address: bellagioseta.libero.it . I got the coolest GREEN LEATHER Italian handmade wallet and Sweater (V-neck baby, always V-neck) and I got Nikki an Italian handmade blue leather purse and matching belt for an early birthday gift because I’m running out of money! Jk…Just up above that store, I bought some really cool Italian made jeans called Fordock's, which were a deal at $60 Euro (oh shit, I keep forgetting about the real costs of currency or should I say conversion…that’s about $90 USD, my math is terrible!) Well, they have the thin stretchy jean fabric and they tailored them on the spot to match my short legs! Nice! Nikki and I can't wait to get back home and do the (10) loads of laundry!! We're kidding...totally kidding folks!!
And off I went in FRESH jeans for the first time since wearing the same jeans for the past 6 days! And I've been eying the Italian handmade wooden boxes for the past 2 weeks, so I finally bargained with the oldest store in Bellagio (so they say) and got the coolest handmade box in all of Italy! It will find itself on my desk hosting my pen collection soon! Lots of bubble wrap, and off we went as I felt my wallet getting lighter and lighter!
Back on the fast boat with less stops, headed for the town of Como! One hour later, we arrived! Our last night of our honeymoon. All coming to an end, all behind us.
Last Day: Our last day, and again GOD HELP US through and around the "roundabouts" to find the Malpensa, Italy airport!! But, before I get into that, you must see how the Italians park cars. This space age UFO looking thing spit out my car. Kind of like a "snack bar machine dispenser" but instead the doors opened up, and the valet guy dissapeared, and my car is there so I hopped in, put it in gear, and took off! Too funny.
Nikki and I loved Lufthansa!! Man they do it right!! Movies/tv/news/sitcoms on the tv's at your disposal right in front of you on the back of the seat!! I had the Spaghetti Bolognase' which was actually better than the ones in Como, Italy~! But the view of the Swiss Alps was unbelievable as shown here:
Summary: "Greece and Italy were both our favorite stops. Santorini had the best views along with the donkey ride up, and great shopping bargains. Sicily/Taormina was a delightfully surpising city on the coast and seems to have it all. Zackinthos was a waste in our opinion, and should have instead had Corfu or another Greek Island even if it was Piraeus/Athens, Greece. The Amalfi Coast, specifically going by private charter which was very affordable with 3 other couples was the neatest for us, because we saw CAPRI and ANACAPRI! Lake Como was a must too, it's the Amalfi Coast on a lake! Venice was the neatest though, it's like seeing New York City for the first time! It's quite overwhelming and the food there was probably the best Italian of all of Italy. Athens had such great food in and around the Plaka/Downtown area(s). Live Bouzouki music was the icing on the Baklava! The gelato (vanilla and coconut) was the best ice cream we have yet to experience, leaving our pallets craving for more!!
The End of Our Honeymoon!"
Hope you enjoyed it...and got a feel for why Europe is so special!
Here's a picture of our worn out, 7 day straight jeans, that need a break! I threw the socks, shoes, belt, and jeans in the trash and here's the only picture I have of mine to remember these babies! Enjoy!
Yasou and Areverdirchie!! Until next time...
Suscribirse a:
Enviar comentarios (Atom)
3 comentarios: