Several ports since last post, only a couple of new ones. Went to Cannes the day after the festival, though that may well have been before I last wrote (I don't re-read, and I don't plan to until the journey is done) and that was... a walk.
Went to Maljorca. St. Tropez. Barcelona again, Livorno again (still no trip to Pisa for various reasons), Sorrento again, and so on. Yesterday we docked in Monte Carlo (again) for our first overnight of since we've been on and there was in fact one screen in one theatre showing English language films and so...
FINALLY...
I saw Star Wars Episode III. Very pleased. It had French subtitles, which was often funny and a little distracting, but ... I think M. Lucas wrote himself out of a hole with this one. I have many thoughts I'd love to expand on to those of you who've written since you've seen it, so write again, I'll answer this time. ;)
Several of us had made plans to see it in Monte Carlo when we discovered it was going to be there. Sometime late in the night on the night before, something went terribly wrong with the power distribution on the ship. We apparently drifted for about an hour an a half and were doing about 9 knots at best for several hours. It looked like we weren't going to arive until about 10:30pm; meaning we'd miss the film. AGAIN. I was not happy. Luckily, our engineers fixed the problem in several hours and got the engines going again... and the air conditioning. Living below decks without AC is NOT fun, I've discovered.
Bought a suit in Civitavecchia (port of Rome) a few days ago; we were going to take the train into Rome but the scheduling seemed a hassle and we didn't want to be stressed. So I bought a suit, and a pizza, and a monkey butler named "Sushi" who ... okay, I didn't get a monkey butler. That's my greatest regret.
I tried to send pictures yesterday, but the files were too big and our internet connection is too unreliable. I'll shirnk them or send them from a cafe shoreside.
Coming up: A sea day...
Malaga, again...
Lisbon... (NOT pronounced "liz-bee-ahn", I'm told by a native)
More later. Hopefully I'll remember to tell you about our guest entertainers Kenny and Byron.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
Roman roamin'; Pizza not Pisa
Where have I been lately?
I could show you, but... well, I have hundreds of photos, but no great way to put them on here site yet. VERY soon.
The day before yesterday, we hit ROME. Civitaveccia, to be precise, but that's the "Port City" of Rome. An hour+ away by train, but there's no way I was going to miss Rome. And wouldn't you know it, one of our training classes (there are a LOT of them the first time you work on a ship) was scheduled smack in the middle of the day. Thus I found my way to our somewhat frightening Croatian safety officer's office to ask to be switched to an alternate day. I found someone to trade days with me, and off to Rome I went, accompanied by a few others from the entertainment department.
There is far too much to see in Rome in a day. Wasn't built in a day, can't be seen in a day. It would take me a day just the "Angels and Demons / Da Vinci Code" walking tour that we fell into on our own about halfway through the day.
What is there to see in Rome? Based on MY day, the ancient ruins beat all. The Colosseum. The 4 euro (that's a little > $5) bottles of Gatorade, 2.50 Euro Diet Cokes. The Vatican-can. The Oompa Loompas which guard the Pope. Didn't see the Pope or the Popemobile, nor the Popecopter, the Popecycle. Was not able to identify the entrance to the Popecave. There were plenty of statues in which to hide the button which reveals the poles which lead to the cave, though. Here's a poll: Which Pope did you like better, Michael Keaton or Adam West?
Anyway, Rome also had Trevi Fountain, The Pantheon, The amazing White Palace, and the Eternal Flame the Bangles sang about. No, really. And... such an amazingly difficult system of winding streets that even with a map it was difficult to find where we were at some points. If all roads lead to Rome, where do the roads IN Rome lead? Apparently they try to lead to themselves, which explains why ... well, by the time civic planning reached America, the system of laying things out in a grid had been worked out. Thank God.
Yesterday was Livorno again, or as we call it, "Li-BORE-no."
Livorno is a great place to catch a train to somewhere else.
It's an easy ride to Pisa, and Florence. We attempted to go to Pisa yesterday but the train schedule was all screwed up so we just went for pizza in Livorno instead. I was all set to have a catchy, hugely original entry title like "Pizza in Pisa" but alas, just kinda nasty pizza from one of the very few places not closed on a Sunday in Livorno.
I'm sure no one has EVER used that Pisa line, especially on postcards depicting "the leaning tower of .... PIZZA? OH that's whacky. The kids'll love it, Martha. .50 Euro? How much is that?"
This will I'm sure be an entry for later, but being in Europe and seeing other Americans behave in certain ways, you want to tell someone "I'm not with them. I am also American and we really aren't all like that."
Then you go and harass Frenchmen with talk of "where is the monkey?"
Today... Cannes. The day AFTER the festival ends. Bah!
By the way, I could really use some long-distance b-day cheer this year, and it takes a really long time for anything to get to us through the port agents. It may seem pathetic, but I could use cool stuff from America for my birthday. I'll be including the port agent address for St. Petersburg soon, because I seriously think it'd be a good idea to allow like thee weeks to a month.
If you help me out, I may bring you back something from Europea...?!?!?! Or not.
My luggage was ALREADY overweight.
Must run now.
I could show you, but... well, I have hundreds of photos, but no great way to put them on here site yet. VERY soon.
The day before yesterday, we hit ROME. Civitaveccia, to be precise, but that's the "Port City" of Rome. An hour+ away by train, but there's no way I was going to miss Rome. And wouldn't you know it, one of our training classes (there are a LOT of them the first time you work on a ship) was scheduled smack in the middle of the day. Thus I found my way to our somewhat frightening Croatian safety officer's office to ask to be switched to an alternate day. I found someone to trade days with me, and off to Rome I went, accompanied by a few others from the entertainment department.
There is far too much to see in Rome in a day. Wasn't built in a day, can't be seen in a day. It would take me a day just the "Angels and Demons / Da Vinci Code" walking tour that we fell into on our own about halfway through the day.
What is there to see in Rome? Based on MY day, the ancient ruins beat all. The Colosseum. The 4 euro (that's a little > $5) bottles of Gatorade, 2.50 Euro Diet Cokes. The Vatican-can. The Oompa Loompas which guard the Pope. Didn't see the Pope or the Popemobile, nor the Popecopter, the Popecycle. Was not able to identify the entrance to the Popecave. There were plenty of statues in which to hide the button which reveals the poles which lead to the cave, though. Here's a poll: Which Pope did you like better, Michael Keaton or Adam West?
Anyway, Rome also had Trevi Fountain, The Pantheon, The amazing White Palace, and the Eternal Flame the Bangles sang about. No, really. And... such an amazingly difficult system of winding streets that even with a map it was difficult to find where we were at some points. If all roads lead to Rome, where do the roads IN Rome lead? Apparently they try to lead to themselves, which explains why ... well, by the time civic planning reached America, the system of laying things out in a grid had been worked out. Thank God.
Yesterday was Livorno again, or as we call it, "Li-BORE-no."
Livorno is a great place to catch a train to somewhere else.
It's an easy ride to Pisa, and Florence. We attempted to go to Pisa yesterday but the train schedule was all screwed up so we just went for pizza in Livorno instead. I was all set to have a catchy, hugely original entry title like "Pizza in Pisa" but alas, just kinda nasty pizza from one of the very few places not closed on a Sunday in Livorno.
I'm sure no one has EVER used that Pisa line, especially on postcards depicting "the leaning tower of .... PIZZA? OH that's whacky. The kids'll love it, Martha. .50 Euro? How much is that?"
This will I'm sure be an entry for later, but being in Europe and seeing other Americans behave in certain ways, you want to tell someone "I'm not with them. I am also American and we really aren't all like that."
Then you go and harass Frenchmen with talk of "where is the monkey?"
Today... Cannes. The day AFTER the festival ends. Bah!
By the way, I could really use some long-distance b-day cheer this year, and it takes a really long time for anything to get to us through the port agents. It may seem pathetic, but I could use cool stuff from America for my birthday. I'll be including the port agent address for St. Petersburg soon, because I seriously think it'd be a good idea to allow like thee weeks to a month.
If you help me out, I may bring you back something from Europea...?!?!?! Or not.
My luggage was ALREADY overweight.
Must run now.
Friday, May 20, 2005
I'm sorry, I didn't realize European.
The most amusing thing I've done lately is carried around a small monkey in my bag and been using the useless French I've been learning (in part thanks to my multi-language Eddie Izzard DVDs, thank you Eddie Izzard for being educational as well as funny) to ask waiters (forgive my spelling):
Me: "Ou e les sange?"
Them: "Eh?"
Me: "[repeating] Where is the monkey?"
Them: [uncomprehending]
Me: "Le sange e sur le table."
Other variations include:
"Ou e le festival?"
"[I don't know]"
"Le festival dans mon pantolons."
That's my particular favorite. I'm probably hated in France, which is really only fair.
Why am I amusing myself this way? We've been repeating a lot of ports. I'm not sure if we'd been to Florence yet by the time I posted last, but last time we went to Livorno we took the train to Florence. I love the city, for many reasons, though not to the extent that I enjoyed Malaga. I don't know why, but I loved Malaga.
In Florence we saw stuff, and I bought something that, at this point, is perhaps the best bargain in the history of bargains. I'm having it checked again at the next port with an accreditted... checker of such things. Hint: Something I bought on the street that should've been fake, I was sure WAS fake, but apparently isn't according to the jewelers I've taken it to.
Hmm.
Anyway, the only new port we've hit since last I wrote is Sete, which was... eh. Nothing remarkable. They call it the "Venice of France" which is sort of ... well, I mustn't say anything more or I'll be even more hated in France.
Next time, perhaps: A story about strong body odor in the places where you buy deodorant. NOT a helpful sales tool.
Me: "Ou e les sange?"
Them: "Eh?"
Me: "[repeating] Where is the monkey?"
Them: [uncomprehending]
Me: "Le sange e sur le table."
Other variations include:
"Ou e le festival?"
"[I don't know]"
"Le festival dans mon pantolons."
That's my particular favorite. I'm probably hated in France, which is really only fair.
Why am I amusing myself this way? We've been repeating a lot of ports. I'm not sure if we'd been to Florence yet by the time I posted last, but last time we went to Livorno we took the train to Florence. I love the city, for many reasons, though not to the extent that I enjoyed Malaga. I don't know why, but I loved Malaga.
In Florence we saw stuff, and I bought something that, at this point, is perhaps the best bargain in the history of bargains. I'm having it checked again at the next port with an accreditted... checker of such things. Hint: Something I bought on the street that should've been fake, I was sure WAS fake, but apparently isn't according to the jewelers I've taken it to.
Hmm.
Anyway, the only new port we've hit since last I wrote is Sete, which was... eh. Nothing remarkable. They call it the "Venice of France" which is sort of ... well, I mustn't say anything more or I'll be even more hated in France.
Next time, perhaps: A story about strong body odor in the places where you buy deodorant. NOT a helpful sales tool.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Europe, etc.
Okay, I haven't been able to post in a few days.
Since Valencia, we've hit Barcelona, Marseilles, Monte Carlo, Portofino (once before and again today), Livorno (twice), Civitavecchia (port of Rome), and Sorrento. I think that's it.
Barcelona is an amazing, amazing city. As many of you know one of my goals for this entire excursion was to find a really beautiful piece for my sword collection, and really you can't do better than handcrafted Spanish steel fresh from Toledo. This is a post all by itself, but suffice to say I negotiated a hell of a deal down from 278 Euros (check your conversion rates) down to $225US simply on the basis that the dealer thought the guy who was with me was going to buy a lot. He didn't. But I have an amazing, beautiful Spanish rapier that will have a place of honor in my house for the rest of my life.
Barcelona, though... Los Rambles, the Gaudi architecture, the Sagrada Familia... the latter being perhaps the single most amazing and unbelievably beautiful man-made structure I've ever seen.
We've opened all the shows, now, so life is beginning to settle into whatever semblance of routine there can be on a ship with this kind of itinerary. I've met all kinds of great passengers, and that's a real saving grace.
Short blurbs for the rest of these places, as we'll return to most of them later.
Marseilles - Beautiful. French. Let that inform you in whatever way you choose.
Monte Carlo - Tiny, steep. Gorgeous. Preparing for the Grand Prix. Let me pause here and say I could put "GREAT FOOD" by any of these places in this entry and not be
saying half of what I could.
Portofino - Really cute little port with a lot of hiking to see a ... Brown Castle. The Splendido. The Cathedral of St. George (who fought the dragon). Smaller than you'd believe.
Livorno - by itself not amazing, but close to Pisa and Florence by train. We went to Florence yesterday - The Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, off the street Rolex knock-off, David, Goliath... okay, not Goliath. Oh Davey.
Civ. (port of Rome) - Didn't get off the ship, couldn't, will next several times. Wanted t make sure I had a full day in Rome, and wouldn't have been able to this time.
Sorrento - hmm...Sorrento is set high of these cliffs right by the ocean. It's amazing to see from the ship. I wouldn't have chosen it as my target if I were a 15th century pirate or raider. Too much climbing. However, as tourists, we somehow are suckered right into having to climb these immense stairways and paths up form the docks to the city itself. Made better by Cafe Ciao, where the owner made us feel like family. Huge, fat family who apparently have no control over their appetites and require contstant shoveling of various kinds of experimental foods he's trying our. Go to Cafe Ciao if you're ever in Sorrento.
So that's it for now. Today it's more Portofino, and it'll be a little while until there are new places, so for now it's getting to know those places I've already seen. More to come!
Since Valencia, we've hit Barcelona, Marseilles, Monte Carlo, Portofino (once before and again today), Livorno (twice), Civitavecchia (port of Rome), and Sorrento. I think that's it.
Barcelona is an amazing, amazing city. As many of you know one of my goals for this entire excursion was to find a really beautiful piece for my sword collection, and really you can't do better than handcrafted Spanish steel fresh from Toledo. This is a post all by itself, but suffice to say I negotiated a hell of a deal down from 278 Euros (check your conversion rates) down to $225US simply on the basis that the dealer thought the guy who was with me was going to buy a lot. He didn't. But I have an amazing, beautiful Spanish rapier that will have a place of honor in my house for the rest of my life.
Barcelona, though... Los Rambles, the Gaudi architecture, the Sagrada Familia... the latter being perhaps the single most amazing and unbelievably beautiful man-made structure I've ever seen.
We've opened all the shows, now, so life is beginning to settle into whatever semblance of routine there can be on a ship with this kind of itinerary. I've met all kinds of great passengers, and that's a real saving grace.
Short blurbs for the rest of these places, as we'll return to most of them later.
Marseilles - Beautiful. French. Let that inform you in whatever way you choose.
Monte Carlo - Tiny, steep. Gorgeous. Preparing for the Grand Prix. Let me pause here and say I could put "GREAT FOOD" by any of these places in this entry and not be
saying half of what I could.
Portofino - Really cute little port with a lot of hiking to see a ... Brown Castle. The Splendido. The Cathedral of St. George (who fought the dragon). Smaller than you'd believe.
Livorno - by itself not amazing, but close to Pisa and Florence by train. We went to Florence yesterday - The Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, off the street Rolex knock-off, David, Goliath... okay, not Goliath. Oh Davey.
Civ. (port of Rome) - Didn't get off the ship, couldn't, will next several times. Wanted t make sure I had a full day in Rome, and wouldn't have been able to this time.
Sorrento - hmm...Sorrento is set high of these cliffs right by the ocean. It's amazing to see from the ship. I wouldn't have chosen it as my target if I were a 15th century pirate or raider. Too much climbing. However, as tourists, we somehow are suckered right into having to climb these immense stairways and paths up form the docks to the city itself. Made better by Cafe Ciao, where the owner made us feel like family. Huge, fat family who apparently have no control over their appetites and require contstant shoveling of various kinds of experimental foods he's trying our. Go to Cafe Ciao if you're ever in Sorrento.
So that's it for now. Today it's more Portofino, and it'll be a little while until there are new places, so for now it's getting to know those places I've already seen. More to come!
Friday, May 06, 2005
Malaga and Valencia (Spain)
Yesterday I stepped onto European soil for the first time... well, the continent itself. Madeira is technically part of Portugal, I guess.
Still... well, I can't imagine a better first day. Malaga, if you know as little about it as I did, was an amazing and exciting surprise. So many winding streets, so much history, so much to see and do...
An ancient theatre. A Moorish palace and proper still-standing castle. The Picasso museum. The old Toreador arena.
The beauty of the city itself, and the day we all had (even while having to return to the ship for rehearsal between trips into the city) was... well, I spent some money, drank some amazing coffees, and enjoyed the company of (several members of) my wonderful cast.
Today is Valencia, and we didn't port until 2, and I'm back now and not all that unhappy to BE back. It was okay, and there is a lot to see here, but not like Malaga. Malaga I will one day return to on my own. Valencia ... well, if the ship stops there again I'll probably see it again.
Things I have now: A Bullfighter hat, a ceramic tile impression of Picasso's "Don Quixote"... and a Spanish language Star Wars promo magazine.
Still... well, I can't imagine a better first day. Malaga, if you know as little about it as I did, was an amazing and exciting surprise. So many winding streets, so much history, so much to see and do...
An ancient theatre. A Moorish palace and proper still-standing castle. The Picasso museum. The old Toreador arena.
The beauty of the city itself, and the day we all had (even while having to return to the ship for rehearsal between trips into the city) was... well, I spent some money, drank some amazing coffees, and enjoyed the company of (several members of) my wonderful cast.
Today is Valencia, and we didn't port until 2, and I'm back now and not all that unhappy to BE back. It was okay, and there is a lot to see here, but not like Malaga. Malaga I will one day return to on my own. Valencia ... well, if the ship stops there again I'll probably see it again.
Things I have now: A Bullfighter hat, a ceramic tile impression of Picasso's "Don Quixote"... and a Spanish language Star Wars promo magazine.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Casablanca, Morocco
Photos will be figured out sometime soon, but right now it's an issue.
Today we made port in Casablanca, Morocco.
We only had two hours to take it in, and once we stepped off the ship (as per usual ALREADY) we were immediately accosted by hordes of screaming taxi drivers looking to score big with rich tourists.
"No tour, TAXI," we had to keep explaining.
Finally we were joined by three other ship/castmates and made a deal that for $20 US each we could be driven around for our entire time in this old Mercedes limo... the pictures will eventually make clear that descripitions denotative correctness and connotative deception.... and see all we could see.
We went to the huge mosque... beautiful, awe inspiring. We saw many gorgeous and curious things... the desparity between the third world nature of the area and the VERY wealthy areas not far away.
We drove through an outdoor market, sputtering non-emission controlled fumes into the cabin as much as the outdoors. Our driver pointed to the right... at a booth...
"See that? Those leaves? Mint. Minty. Minty."
"Mint?" someone asked.
"Yes, for mint tea. You know 'tea'?"
"Yes, we know tea," a Brit explained.
"Yes! Tea. Morrocco... mint tea."
Of course, that ...famous Morrocan mint tea. He continued:
"Whiskey Morrocco? You know?"
We didn't know.
"Ahhhh... Whiskey Morrocco... [laughter]."
It was the kind of laughter where everyone joins in somewhat reluctantly even though you don't know what's funny other than the laughter of the original laugher.
At one point we were at a point where we wanted to take some photos and two of the guys took a smoke break. He inquired if we smoked anything but tobacco, and was meant with a resounding "No" thanks at least to the random and highly strict drug screenings we're subject to if not the purity of our souls.
"Well, if you change minds, Morrocco is... good place. [repeat laughter]."
Driving, more driving, Saudi palaces and mosques, McDonald's with arabic logos, and then an unexpected turn down a deep winding bush-hidden trail.
Where are we going???
We came to a small lake hidden from... well, anything, with a beautiful glass and marble building. "NOW you drink Whiskey Morocco."
"No," says we, "No whiskey Morrocco, we have to go back to the ship. to WORK."
He was undeterred. One of us had to follow him into the building and convince him no native beverages for us. (For one thing, we know better than to dirnk anything made with local water ANYWHERE... but we didn't mention THAT.)
He was considerably less jovial upon his return to the car. We drove on in mainly silence, thinking we were returning to the ship. Suddenly, the car stalled, in the middle of the insane street. (You haven't seen crazy city driving until you've been to Morrocco.)
Our car died. We were stranded in we-didn't-know-where Casablanca and had to be back on the ship in less than an hour.
We waited as he phoned his boss, we waited as several men came in aid. We were circled by some people several times. We stood to the side of the street and waited. All in all, about half an hour. Finally, his boss shows up in another Mercedes with a gallon of gas... yup. Out of gas.
He puts it in, the car sputters again, and we ride on in even WORSE fumes.
"This... this is house of King!"
"NO! Ship. Take us to the ship."
"This is golf, you know golf? You no want stop?"
"No! No more stops! JUST SHIP. ONLY SHIP."
Driving on in quiet, we get to the ship and I've never been so glad to see it.
And we've only just begun.
Pictures to come.
Today we made port in Casablanca, Morocco.
We only had two hours to take it in, and once we stepped off the ship (as per usual ALREADY) we were immediately accosted by hordes of screaming taxi drivers looking to score big with rich tourists.
"No tour, TAXI," we had to keep explaining.
Finally we were joined by three other ship/castmates and made a deal that for $20 US each we could be driven around for our entire time in this old Mercedes limo... the pictures will eventually make clear that descripitions denotative correctness and connotative deception.... and see all we could see.
We went to the huge mosque... beautiful, awe inspiring. We saw many gorgeous and curious things... the desparity between the third world nature of the area and the VERY wealthy areas not far away.
We drove through an outdoor market, sputtering non-emission controlled fumes into the cabin as much as the outdoors. Our driver pointed to the right... at a booth...
"See that? Those leaves? Mint. Minty. Minty."
"Mint?" someone asked.
"Yes, for mint tea. You know 'tea'?"
"Yes, we know tea," a Brit explained.
"Yes! Tea. Morrocco... mint tea."
Of course, that ...famous Morrocan mint tea. He continued:
"Whiskey Morrocco? You know?"
We didn't know.
"Ahhhh... Whiskey Morrocco... [laughter]."
It was the kind of laughter where everyone joins in somewhat reluctantly even though you don't know what's funny other than the laughter of the original laugher.
At one point we were at a point where we wanted to take some photos and two of the guys took a smoke break. He inquired if we smoked anything but tobacco, and was meant with a resounding "No" thanks at least to the random and highly strict drug screenings we're subject to if not the purity of our souls.
"Well, if you change minds, Morrocco is... good place. [repeat laughter]."
Driving, more driving, Saudi palaces and mosques, McDonald's with arabic logos, and then an unexpected turn down a deep winding bush-hidden trail.
Where are we going???
We came to a small lake hidden from... well, anything, with a beautiful glass and marble building. "NOW you drink Whiskey Morocco."
"No," says we, "No whiskey Morrocco, we have to go back to the ship. to WORK."
He was undeterred. One of us had to follow him into the building and convince him no native beverages for us. (For one thing, we know better than to dirnk anything made with local water ANYWHERE... but we didn't mention THAT.)
He was considerably less jovial upon his return to the car. We drove on in mainly silence, thinking we were returning to the ship. Suddenly, the car stalled, in the middle of the insane street. (You haven't seen crazy city driving until you've been to Morrocco.)
Our car died. We were stranded in we-didn't-know-where Casablanca and had to be back on the ship in less than an hour.
We waited as he phoned his boss, we waited as several men came in aid. We were circled by some people several times. We stood to the side of the street and waited. All in all, about half an hour. Finally, his boss shows up in another Mercedes with a gallon of gas... yup. Out of gas.
He puts it in, the car sputters again, and we ride on in even WORSE fumes.
"This... this is house of King!"
"NO! Ship. Take us to the ship."
"This is golf, you know golf? You no want stop?"
"No! No more stops! JUST SHIP. ONLY SHIP."
Driving on in quiet, we get to the ship and I've never been so glad to see it.
And we've only just begun.
Pictures to come.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Funchal, Madeira
Yesterday was our first port, in Funchal, Madeira. I was going to post photos here but realized I don't have the software to do that here... time to talk to the onboard computer dude.
Today? Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands. Then to Morocco, tomorrow, in Agadir.
Today? Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands. Then to Morocco, tomorrow, in Agadir.
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