14 August 2010, Saturday-Santorini

Once upon a time Santorini was one solid island, actually that isn't entirely true--Once upon a time Santorini was a humongeous volcano. Well, you know what volcano's do--they erupt.

The last eruption was in 1950 followed by a major earthquake in 1956-Sooo...Santorini is now what is called a "Tender Port". That is because the islands are compised mostly of sheer cliffs and the ship has to dock in the caldera.

What is a caldera you ask...That is the still active crater of a volcano that is now less than 300 feet below the surface--you know...right below our boat! BTW--that isn't our ship that you see above, it is a Carnival ship-the one with the water slide but they were on a similar path as us and we saw them at several ports--Heee heee--our ship was A LOT bigger!

This is us on the most amazing sail boat I have ever seen--just beautiful-I think it was the Black Pearl :).

Can you see the white houses perched on the cliffs--crazy Greeks just like a little challenge I guess.

Here is a picture of us at about 7:45 in the morning headed out for a fun little hike-- we mused at the early hour until we stepped off the ship. I swear that this was the hottest day I have ever experienced in my entire life. Not lying. And what do we decide to do on the HOTTEST DAY

ever know to mankind? Only to take a little hike to the top of one of the steam vents of the volcano. Yep, cause we must be a little Greek; there really is no other explanation.

Here we are on the most desolate, lava rock covered place I could have imagined. Michele and I both called BS when the guide told us that rabbits, rats, and lizards live on this island. Lizards, ok-rabbits and rats-NO WAY!

You can sort of see the fog in the air--it is from the heat-and it is like maybe 8:30 a.m. right now. Did I mention that it was seriously amazinly hot. There are no words.

If you are so freaking hot you seriously feel sweat running down your back, arms, and legs and you just do nothing because there is nothing you can do about it--what do you do? Oh, I know! Stick your hand in a steam vent--Hey Michele--I think were were hiking in the freaking steam vent--I bet you didn't feel a think, eh? Notice I opted out of this experience and chose to be the photographer-yep, I am that good.

Can you see my hair? There is no wind--it is just blowing up because of the freaking heat. We do not glow--we are sopping wet!

For about one 1 millionenth of a second I thought I was in Wyoming.

But isn't it beautiful--sort of like having a baby--you get to the top and see that view and you forget all the pain!

Breathtaking--still hot!

Awww...time to head back already? I could stay up here all day!

Just a big pile of lava that could blow at any minute. Funny thing--I wouldn't have missed it for the world and all the heat was kinda part of the fun. I am starting to get this Greek thing.

When we were at our cooking demonstration in Corfu (later in the trip) we met some people from Canada who had gotten married in Santorini on August 7th, flew to Rome, boarded the cruise, and while we were here this day they went back to the church and said hello and picked up their wedding photos fromt the wedding planner--yah that wasn't cheap!

So amazingly beautiful!

So we sort of followed this other sailing vessel as we left to head back to the ship. Of course they took us the scenic way which was super fantastic given that it was like 195 degrees centigrade and we had no shade and the sun was reflecting off of the water.

When people on the other boat veered into a lagoon and began to disrobe and jump in, I was about to do the same--clothes and all--so did not care at this point. Our boat kept going and speeded up-I think he knew what might happen if he didn't get us out of there. The other group had paid to go to this lagoon as part of their tour--some sort of healing properties and minerals, etc. from the volcano--and HEATED water--Soooo glad I kept my wits. Imagine how upset I would have been to jump into a warm bathtub.

Back on the ship, AC, lunch, siesta, work out, pool, pictures, and Cary Long--the comedian is Cary Long. Progressive dinner meant appetizers at one place, salad at another, dessert at another. Day ended with Movie Under the Stars (Iron Man) and a chat with my kids!

Friday August 13, 2010-At Sea

From my journal in quotations..."What a fun and relaxing day! Today we are at sea and we worked out first thing in the morning--the gym was packed and there are only two upright bikes so I had to wait--I did my abs/arms while I waited so no biggie".

"I finally got brave and faced the scale...Haven't gained any weight! Whooo hooo for me"! So I celebrated with a refill of my infamous "crack water". (I would have gotten some anyway) ;)

The lovely gym. The view was amazing but made you a bit dizzy from watching the ocean go by-- I do not know how Michele managed to stay on the treadmills. I tried it once and felt like I was going crooked the entire time.

"After showering at the gym, we headed to the art gallery on Deck 5 to check out all the art that would be up for auction during the cruise. Some of the stuff was really amazing and Michele told me a lot about many of the pieces and the artists. Man that girl has a good memory for art! It is clear how much she loves it and I get to appreciate it on a whole new level when I hang out with her".

"Next stop the Princess Theater on Deck 7, to catch the end of a talk about our port tomorrow, Santorini".

"Since we both fell asleep in the unusually comfy theater chairs, we decided it was nap time"

"Johnnie had already been by and made the beds, complete with our daily "Princess Chocolate.".

"After our really yummy naps we dressed for formal night in the dining rooms. It was fun to get all dressed up...Michele has way better legs than me but I totally rocked my new scarf that I bought on the steps of the Vatican in Rome!" "I had shrimp cocktail (which I think I had every night of the cruise) and Red Snapper for dinner--It was amazing"!

"After dinner we changed back to casual wear, went and watched a very funny comedian (insert his name here later when I remember it:). The head bartender then built and poured a huge champagne tower which he let passengers help with". "All the officers were introduced and the captain spoke. I couldn't hear very well but he just talked about our porting tomorrow".

"We stopped for a snack at Caribe Cafe for the late buffet (hey, didn't I mention that I haven't gained any weight?)--Princess Magic!" We ate our treats at Movies Under the Stars.

We saw "Valentines Day", it was cute. Here is Michele with her ever present water bottle. I don't think we would have survived the trip without our water bottles!

Thursday Aug. 12th, 2010-Naples

Many of the port cities have a tourist attraction of some sort. After porting in Naples, we took a bus to Pompeii. I was a little disappointed because I am fascinated by how they manuever our monster size ship around in these super tiny ports. We always dock super early in the morning and I had every intention of getting up and watching the process this morning. But, Michele wears me out! So I slept in until like 6:45 or some really decadent time like that.

At any rate, this little town just outside of the ruins of Pompeii had a cameo factory and this man was actually sitting there carving cameos! It was fascinating and we really enjoyed learning about the entire process. Michele had seen it before but we were both intrigued by the detail and the craftsmanship that goes in to each one.

I guess I have been in Bowling Green too long because I thought Pompeii was just a flat wasteland of petrified bodies and ashen relics. Imagine my surprise at the beauty and color that has survived! While we accept the date for the destruction of Pompeii at 79 AD, it is amazing to think that the city was around as early as the 8th century BC!

As we walked up the path to enter Pompeii, this is the site we saw. Certainly not a flat, colorless wasteland!

This pomegranite tree is a regrowth from original vegetation. No one has planted in Pompeii since 79 AD. Archeologist have determine that the seeds were preserved in the eruption and after excavation began, the vegetation began to regrow! The ashes actually work as fertilizer and increase the beauty of the oleanders, vines, and pomegranite trees.

Not only was our tour guide, Caesar, knowledgeable, he was very cute and sweet too! I wish I would have recorded his every word though-the entire day went by much too fast!

As in Rome, Pompeii had a forum. Here is the remnants of pillars, the senate house portico, and other government buildings.

I was fascinated by the marble, brick, and Roman asphalt that were all present.

Here are some amazing frescos. There are in the stalls at the market. The pictures depict what was being sold in each stall, some show different types of bread and rolls, some show different cheeses, and there is even one with pictures of chickens and meat!

The sun was so bright that it was difficult to get a good picture of this mosaic. It is in the front entry way of a home and it is of a mean looking dog. In Latin, it says "Caw Caniam" (or something close to that) which means--"Take Care of Dog" or "Beware of Dog". Dogs were kept chained in the front entry way of the homes for protection, of course when Vesuvius erupted, releasing them wasn't part of the owner's plans.

Here's the reason that the dogs were still chained up and we have such astonishing castes of them now. Vesuvius was an active volcano, the residents were used to living in its shadow and acustomed to its frequent belches. When the 79 AD eruption began, the rich people evacuated. But they left their servants and dogs behind to protect their possessions. Most of the human remains are those of poor people, servants, and (like this guy above) thieves who were still in possession of ill gotten loot when they died.

There were narrow little streets that had been excavated and restored. We could imagine the lives that had dwelled in this beautiful setting.

Of course, this roof has been restored, no roofs survived the eruption. But this is a pretty accurate representation of the roof that had originally been over the front entry to this middle class home.

The depression in the floor with the two spool like objects in it is a cistern. Rain was allowed into the home from the roof opening, it gathered in this pool and the cistern below the floor to provide water storage for the home. (BTW-the above pic is a Where's Waldo. I am not too hard to find though).

A bed room in the same home.

The gardens were open to the air but enclosed within the walls of the home to protect them and to provide santuary for the family. This is a well preserved colorful mosaic fountain complete with small statuary that is part of the same home as the pics above!

This is a replica of the Dancing Faun statue that was recovered at this site. It stands outside the House of the Faun; built during the 2nd century BC and one of the largest and most impressive private residences in Pompeii.
In the House of the Faun a lot of amazing art work was recovered. Most of which is now in the National Museum. One of the most famous pieces was a floor mosaic called "The Alexander Mosaic". It was removed piece by piece and a replica was place here for tourist to take really bad pictures of.

Here it is as it is found in the National Museum. Dating from about 100 BC it depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. It is an unusually detailed piece for a private residence (about 1.5 million tiles) and extremely detailed (Alexander's breastplate has a Medusa on it)-so the assumption is the person who commissioned it was pretty rich!

Gardens at the House of the Faun.

People walked up on the raised "side walks".

I tried really hard to figure out a way I could get this wheat grinder home with me. Michele said no. Party Pooper

She said I couldn't take the pizza oven either but at least she insisted that I have my picture taken with it! Pizza in Pompeii--how surreal is that!

This is literally a lunch counter. Like a little street side cafe. The holes in the counter are lined with clay pots used to keep the food warm. To the left of the picture is a doorway to a room that served as the kitchen and prep area. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

From this angle you can see the bricks from the walls and where the door way once was. It hasn't been excavated because the walls would fall down.

The rock is in the middle of the road because water ran down the roads and if you needed to cross, you didn't want to get wet so you stepped on the rock. The grooves you see are made from CHARIOT WHEELS!! The rocks were placed so that the chariot could straddle them and continue down the road unimpeded. This was one of the moments when I felt like I could just reach out and touch the past.

Michele had washer drama before we left and had to go order a new washer to be delivered and installed while she was away. We were both very grateful for modern machinery when we saw Pompeii's laundry mat! Can you believe this, an almost 3000 year old laundry mat!? We might not think of the fact that they had to get their clothes clean too-but they sure did. Michele's new machine is much prettier! ;)

Water still runs from lead pipes into the original public cisterns. Yes Michele was mortified when I put it in my water bottle! She was even more so when I took a drink--don't worry it was nasty tasting and when I thought for 2 seconds about how stupid it was-I dumped it out and didn't use my bottle again until I washed it super good! For the record; just the thought of what might have happened to me made me queasy for about an hour

A shot looking back as we exited Pompeii. After we left the grounds we got to do a little shopping. I got lava rock little cute turtles and lady bugs for a few of our friends. "We were back on board by 1 or 1:30, salad bar lunch, worked out-I finally found a workout bike I like. Then, after showering at the gym (like always), I washed my bottle and got more crack water. We went and did laundry. It was fun to find the laundry mat-the ship is like a treasure hunt. Michele and I took turns babysitting the laundry while the other went adventuring to find fun things to eat. We ate at the laundry mat while we set sail. I went up on deck as we left Naples. Have I mentioned how much I love my friend?"