Northern Italy 2024

12 August 2024 - We found a week amid the craziness of summer baseball and softball to take a family trip before school started. We decided to take our first family trip to Europe, and zeroed in on Italy. I suggested Verona and Venice, because I had been to both and through they would be good for the kids. We booked our flights and Airbnbs in February, then sat back to wait and learn Italian. 

Today was a Monday. We slept in, had breakfast and finished packing. After we were ready, we headed toward Chicago around lunchtime. Felix, with his temps, drove us from home to the Interstate (he didn't feel comfortable driving on it himself yet). We had an uneventful ride to Madison, where we stopped at Target and got lunch at Hy-Vee while we charged. Then we got to our parking garage near O'Hare at 4:45 pm. Once at the airport, we got through security without waiting too long. We found our gate and got some food. They moved our gate a few times. We passed time playing sheepshead in the food court. Just when we were about to begin boarding, they moved the gate and pushed back the flight time from 8:50 pm to 9:30 pm. Then they pushed it again to 10:00 pm. It was at this point I decided to start this journal entry. The kids are annoyed (and bottomless pits, eating just about all of our "airport snacks"), but they're handling it overall. (Mostly. Iris was getting increasingly worked up about getting to sleep late. I gave her the mantra "we will get in, we will take off!" to repeat to herself.) We finally got on the plane and finally got in the air around 10:34 pm.

At the airport

13 August - The flight was direct to Venice and fairly uneventful. There was more juddering turbulence than I would have liked... But no matter. Iris and I didn't get much sleep. She would poke me to get my attention just about every time I was about to fall asleep. They served us dinner at 11:30 pm and breakfast at 5:30 am (home time), though it was 1:30 pm when we landed. We were near the front of the plan, and had no checked bags, so we got to customs soonish. An expectedly long wait followed. (Why do people go on break just as we get into line?) We just missed the next available shuttle to the train station and had to wait 15 minutes in the ~99°F heat outside. The kids got a little cranky (Felix also skipped taking his ADHD medicine because of the time change). Anyway, we got on the shuttle, got to the station, and bought tickets for the next train to Verona. We didn't have to wait very long. The train ride took about 2½ hours. There was no WiFi, but there was air conditioning and nice views, and I was okay with that. Iris wilted and rebounded. We got to Verona @ 5:45 pm, caught the bus to Voscova by the skin of our ignorant-to-pickup-location teeth, and completed our slog to the Airbnb at Via XX Settembre 3 around 6:30 pm. We got in to the apartment, got our keys, and all took much-needed showers. After we were ready, we walked to Pizzikotto for dinner. Perfect for us - pizzas and wine. We ate all three pizzas of varying crust thicknesses, got dessert, then headed back to play four hands of sheepshead before bed.

Pizza in Italy? Check!

14 August - After a nice night of sleep, I woke around 7 am and got up at 7:30. After getting ready, I made coffee and sat on the kitchen balcony listening to the church bells. Iris joined me, but she made her tea undrinkable by using salt instead of sugar. 

Once everyone was up and ready, we headed out to find breakfast. There was a little cafe just down the street (Caffé Columbia) where we tried out our Italian ordering cappuccinos and cornettos. We ate inside the tiny cafe as it was already warm and there was a market in the adjacent square. After finishing, we walked along Via Venti Settembre (a bit gritty...) to the Ponte delle Navi across the Adige River. We stuck to the shady sides of the streets as we made our way to the Arena. The kids were impressed, but already overheating. We got our first gelato of the trip, which we ate sitting in the shade in Piazza Bra. From there, we meant to go to Castelvecchio, but ended up at Porta Nuova. We walked along the city walls to Porta Palio, then along Stradone Porta Palio. Everyone was hot and thirsty, so we stopped at Buon Gusto for lunch. Nick and Felix got calzones, Iris got a giant kids pizza, and I got a ham, mushroom and cheese piadina. We walked past Castevecchio, stopping for a few souvenirs (fans for Iris and me, a magnet, and Italian leather sandals for me). We then walked to Piazza delle Erbe. We walked past the market stalls, and stopped for beverages at Osteria Sottocosta at the base of the Torre dei Lamberti. 

Piazza delle Erbe

Once refreshed, we walked to nearby Piazza dei Signori. We then walked back to the Airbnb via Ponte Nuovo. Everyone was pretty hot and cranky (it was 95°F) by the time we stopped at iN's Mercato for snacks and beverages (and cheap wine). We had a family talk because I think the rest of this trip is going to be not worthwhile if everyone can't handle the heat. We took a breather for a bit, during which Nick and I made train reservations for tomorrow and Friday. At about 5:30, we set out to take in the view of Verona from Castel San Pietro. It took about a half hour to walk towards and up for the vista. Meanwhile, storm clouds loomed and thunder rumbled (and it was blessedly cooler). We stayed up there a little while, taking in the various aspects. Just as we were done, it started to rain. And then hail (penny-sized, but not a lot). We scurried to a restaurant that caught Nick's eye called Alma. We enjoyed (mostly...) some beverages and sandwiches. I say "mostly" because Iris didn't appreciate her myrtle-leaved-orange-flavored soda (chinotto). Nick and I thought it tasted like red vermouth with a hint of Campari. The rain let up while we were eating, only to renew with a vengeance as we headed out. We promised more gelato, and dashed (Felix being chased down by a restaurant employee because he left his backpack behind) to Gelateria Ballini. We each got a scoop which we ate heading back to the Airbnb. We arrived, soaking wet, around 8 pm. We warmed up and showered. I watched the lightning before setting down to write with wine. :) After this evening, I have higher hopes for the rest of this trip.

Above the city

15 August - We managed to get up, caffeinated, and out by 8:45 am. We figured out the bus routes and caught one to the train station. We had enough time to get a few sandwiches at a cafe for breakfast. We found our train to Bolzano/Bozen and got four seats together. The train left at 9:53 am and took us north along the Adige River valley. Very pretty scenery as we rode toward the high hills and low mountains. We arrived in Bolzano around 11:30 am. We immediately joined the queue for the cable car to Soprabolzano/Oberbozen. I bought tickets as we waited in line, a half hour before we were four of the approximately 20 people to fit in the gondola. The ride was longer than expected and very lovely. We decided to have lunch at Bar Cafe Fink near the cable car station. The kids tried interesting drinks (banana shake, "sportwasser") while Nick and I had our first house wine in Italy. We each tried a different lunch item (Bauerntoast for me, pizzette for Nick, piadina for Iris, lasagna for Felix). After we shared an ice cream sundae, we set off to find a place to take family pictures with some of the Dolomites in the background. We found the perfect spot for our pictures, then walked back. 

We noticed a lot of people in traditional German dress, then realized there was a parade assembling. We tried to get ahead of it and found ourselves battling paradegoers for space. We walked past the parade route onto a hiking path. I was met with resistance at walking farther because it was yet again hot (even over a half mile above sea level) in the Ritten/Renon area. We stopped for a drink at Tutti Patschenggle. (Nick and I tried the Bolzen-brewed Dunkel, Iris got lemonade with herbs, and Felix got sparkling apple juice.) While there, we found out the parade was because of the Assumption of Mary festival. We headed down the cable car shortly after, which a much shorter wait. We had some time to kill before our 4:31 train back to Verona. We walked to Piazza Walther/Waltherplatz, saw the church adjacent to the square, and got another drink (spritzes for Nick and me). We got on the train and found seats together (Iris and I let Nick and Felix face forward this time). Uneventful ride back. Felix didn't take his ADHD meds today, so he was scattered at times and his typical argumentative self at other times. We got off the train and found the bus we wanted. Nick found an Asian dumpling restaurant the kids wanted to try on the the Airbnb side of the river. Unfortunately, like many other places, it was closed "the holidays." We walked back to Pizzikotto instead. There, we had another nice meal (sharing a couple of pizzas and an order of carbonara). It was 8 pm when we left (and not pouring), so we decided to walk near our apartment. We found some stray cats, which the kids liked. We headed back shortly after that and settled in to start packing up and wind down.

Like being in Germany but still in Italy

16 August - We took it easy this morning, getting ready, packing up, and having one last cup of coffee on the kitchen balcony. We took a bus to the Porta Nuova station at 10 am. We ate some breakfast at the 12 oz near the bus stops. We caught our 11:40 am train to Venice, which was crowded. Uneventful journey - I mostly listened to an audiobook. We arrived to similarly sweltering Venice Mestre at 2. Hungry, we walked to the Antica Focacceria Fiorentina for enormous sandwiches (I split one with Iris). Fortified, we trudged 15 minutes with our backpacks to our next Airbnb. On the 14th floor. With no air conditioning. We immediately turned on all available fans and opened all the windows for airflow. My belly wasn't feeling great, so I took a cold shower after starting laundry. That helped. We all took time to rest and chill (as much as we could, anyway). We decided to make our own dinner tonight. We tried the Pam Local across the street, but decided to walk a few blocks to the big Pam for dinner and snack supplies. We also bought bus tickets on the way (awkward... the tobacco shop worker spoke much better English than my hesitant Italian). We bought fagotti (also awkward), sauce, Felix's choice of Fontanel cheese, some fruit, gelato, and several bottles of beverages and water. We went back and made our dinner, at it at ~ 8 pm, then (while Iris was talking to friends back home) watched a couple Archer episodes with Felix on Netflix. It's nearly 11 pm and still quite warm in this apartment. 

Sunset from the 14th floor

17 August - It was a hot night. I woke around 5:30 am and got a picture of the sunrise. Got out of bed around 7:30 am and made myself an Americano. Once we were all up and ready to go (around 9:00 am), we went out to find breakfast. We walked to Wine Not for our repast (Iris and Felix got cream puffs, Nick and I shared a panini). We caught the next bus to Venezia. Unfortunately, we just missed the hop-on/hop-off boat. We walked past the train station and bought fans from a souvenir kiosk, and popped into a few other shops to get an idea of what souvenirs were being sold. We got on the 11:30  am departure and made our hot, sticky, and in Iris's case, nauseated way to Murano. We got off around 12:30 pm and immediately were shepherded to a glass blowing demonstration at Ellegi. (I've been watching a glass art competition show on Netflix so I had some idea of what was going on and the capabilities.) Nick and the kids were suitably appreciative, especially when the artist sculpted a horse in 90 seconds. We left at the conclusion of the demonstration. 

Glass making demonstration

We stayed on Murano and had a fancy lunch at Trattoria Busa alle Torre. We ate (each getting different types of pasta - Felix got ravioli, Nick - pasta with squid ink, Iris - spaghetti Bolognese, me - tagliatelle), drank (prosecco for us, cokes for the kids), relaxed. When finished, we walked over the bridge and looked for glass souvenirs (not difficult to find - every store had them in varying levels of quality). We stopped in a few stores before getting gelato at Bar/Gelateria Fornace Murano (again, it was very hot!). After finishing our gelato (and Nick and I finished our prosecco), we walked along the Fondamenta da Mula looking in various shops. Iris found necklaced she liked. I was looking for something special, so we walked across the next bridge, intending to catch the 3:10 pm boat back to the station. Instead, we went into B59, which caught our eye as selling more than just touristy stuff. I initially picked out a small bird (€29) and a small hourglass (€42). Then I impulsively added a vase that kind of looked like an owl or a fish for €180. At that point, Stefano, the shop keeper, said we could get into the Ellegi gallery if we presented his card. That sounded interesting and we weren't in a rush, so we headed back to the glassblowing store by the boat stop. A man (Fabrizio, we would learn) was looking for a man in a red shirt from "Wisconsis". We figured that was Nick and identified ourselves. Fabrizio took us upstairs of the factory shop behind the rope, offered beverages (more prosecco and cokes) and allowed to look at one-of-a-kind art pieces and chandeliers. It was an "everything is beautiful/oh, $#!%, they want us to buy it" moment. We sipped and looked around. I found a couple pieces I adored (solo bird - €2,500, iridescent bird bath - €4,000). Fabrizio recommended the one-of-a-kind solo bird, made by the maestro who gave the demonstration we saw earlier (Fabio). We decided to buy that and a set of six stemless Venetian wine glasses for a total of €2,700. After we paid, Fabrizio (company executive manager) allowed the kids to pick out souvenirs for "free." Iris got a small glass cat and an anklet with a several glass beads. Felix got a set of three small blown glasses about the size of a shot glass). 

Our treasures

All the money spent, we walked to the south end of Murano, where we found a glass harmonica player, and a place to get a few beverages and a pizza to share. We then walked and got the boat back to the station at 5:20 pm. I made friends with Maria and Marcus from Cypress at the front of the boat. :D Nice folks. Once we disembarked, we caught the next bus to Mestre. At our stop, we got off and went to Pam Local for drinks and dinner, which we made (gnoccetti) in the still-hot apartment. After dinner, we played Labirinto (Labyrinth) and then watched a couple episodes of Archer. 

Murano

18 August - I got a picture of sunrise shortly after 6, then got up at 7:30 am. We had breakfast and Americanos in the apartment before leaving shortly after 8:30 am to make our way back to Venice. The bus was less crowded, likely because it was earlier and Sunday. We caught the 9:30 am Venetiana boat and took it to the San Marco stop. We bought tacky magnets for us and Cassie at at kiosk along the water. The day started cooler than yesterday, but it was already warming up. Nick spent some time looking at the details on the outside of the cathedral. So did many, many other tourists. Iris said she was hungry, so we headed away from the square through the clock tower. We ducked into a shop with similar glass pieces as we saw yesterday. We decided to eat at Bar Al Campanile because they had cicchetti Venezi. We each got our won sample of 3-4 with a beverage in the 1920s-esque bar. Once sated, we walked on. I told the kids to pick paths that looked interesting. We found some very busy ones and some deserted alleys. The kids lost interest in doing this quicker than I hoped (though they got treats at Captain Candy). I directed us to the Rialto Bridge, which was very busy. 

In Piazza San Marco

On the Rialto Bridge

Then we found a public toilet for Iris. Next, we went looking for a place to have a drink in the shade. We ended up making a loop back to Piazza San Marco and went to Ristorante Marciana, just down the way from the Bar Al Campanile on Calle Larga S. Marco. There, which it was noon, we ordered two pizzas to share and a bottle of Lugana wine. We took a nice break then. The kids were not enthusiastic about doing more wandering, so we started to make our way back to the buses. We stopped at a few places to help Iris find a quill and ink, and to let Felix get gelato. Iris complained about sore feet, so we headed straight back. I hadn't been feeling great today, so I didn't mind. Everyone felt they had done enough Venice now. We caught the next crowded bus back to Mestre and got to the apartment around 3:00 pm. We took showers, cleaned some clothes, and relaxed. There was some rain that went west of us, which was interesting to see from this height. We walked to the Mestre old town area around 6:30 pm to get some dinner. We got an assortment of dumplings and bao at Bini Express, which were all tasty. We looked around the piazza with its 12th Century clock tower in the fading daylight, then walked back to the apartment. We played family foosball and four hands of sheepshead before calling the kitties. We also had some gelato and cannoli we picked up today for dessert. Only one more sleep in Italy...

Mestre

19 August - We slept in, got ready and made our way through the rain on a couple buses to the airport, arriving at 11:10 am. It didn't take long to go through security. We had some food in the crowded food court, then went quickly through passport control. We sat and waited for our 2:50 pm flight. The flight was full and left on time. Nothing unexpected during the flight and we even landed 45 minutes earlier. We cleared customs fairly quickly, got the shuttle to our car, and headed home. We got there around 9:30 pm to two very happy kitties. 

Trip cost (excluding below): $8,231.47
Art: $3,068.27

Mediterranean Honeymoon Cruise 2008

30 May 2008 - With our wedding 5 days behind us, Nick and I embarked on our much-needed honeymoon. Nick picked me up from work at 11:30 am, and we drove to Chicago, stopping in Janesville for lunch. I was a little worried that we would be tight on time for our 4:45 pm flight, but we made it to O'Hare with 2 hours before our flight. We checked our bags, and got through security with no problems. Since we had some time, we had a beer to toast our impending adventure. The flight to Madrid was pretty nondescript. Didn't get much sleep, watched The Bucket List.

Cheers to our honeymoon!

31 May - We landed in Madrid at 7:00 am local time. We had a bit of a misadventure at the airport. Just as we were about to go through security to get to our next flight, we were told we didn't have boarding passes (we weren't given them for our connecting flight). That meant that we had to scramble to get new passes with an hour before our next flight left. Thankfully, we managed to get through it and to our next gate just as boarding began. The flight between Madrid and Rome was also uneventful. We were extremely happy to see our luggage at the baggage claim - apparently it had an easier time than we did. After navigating through the airport to the train station, we caught the first train bound for Stazione Centrale - Roma Termini. Our energy level was starting to hit rock bottom - I even fell asleep during the half-hour ride. Unfortunately, we could not get into our hotel room at The Beehive, so we went in search of lunch. The receptionist recommended the restaurant around the corner, so we went there and had gnocchi (me) and tortellini (Nick) and wine. Simple and delicious. Our room was ready when we got back, so we showered and took a much-needed nap. We woke up around 7, then went to find dinner. We ate at a cafe a few blocks away. We got a pizza each 0 mine was tomato and prosciutto while Nick had four cheese. The Gorgonzola made his taste very interesting. We also had wine and gelato. After dinner, we made our way past several site, including Piazza della Republica, to the Trevi Fountain, to get a good picture of it at night. We walked back after that to the hotel.

First European meal

Our room at The Beehive

Obligatory newlywed ring pic

About to demolish this gelato with my tiny shovel

Piazza della Republica

Thank you, vendor, for letting me borrow your rose

1 June - We slept in until 8, then got ready for a big day of sightseeing. We ate a bit of breakfast down at the hotel's cafe, then began walking toward our first stop, the Colosseum. Along the way, I got a picture of a little altar boy going to church. So cute! We took in the enormous Colosseum, Constantine's Arch, The Palantine, and Circus Maximum in one loop. The Colosseum was much larger than either of us expected. We didn't actually go inside any of the sites. From there, we walked toward the Pantheon. There was a wedding ceremony going on inside (how cool), so we had to wait a bit to enter. When we finally got in, it didn't take long for it to get extremely crowded. We didn't stick around for long. Our next stop was Piazza Navone, where I decided we should stop back and pick up a painting to take back with us. From there, we walked across the Tiber to St. Peter's Square and the Vatican City. Again, with the huge line and it being Sunday (tourists in droves) we decided to forgo any tour. We stopped on the way back to Piazza Navone so Nick could buy an Italian leather wallet (a whopping €47). We ate lunch at a cafe near the Piazza. {We both still reminisce about this lunch - the small place, the red & white checked tablecloths, the delicious simple Italian food and the delicious, cheap house red on the table.} It was nice to get off our feet for a few minutes.  It was pretty warm out and we'd walked a long way already. I found an artist who took credit cards and Nick & I selected a painting of the Spanish Steps (an even more whopping €130) to be our one major souvenir and first piece of artwork for our home. We walked back to the Trevi Fountain, this time to toss a few coins. After that, we walked to the Spanish Steps, which we absolutely had to see after buying that painting. Alas, it was not full of flowers like in the painting - only tourists. Our feet and legs were getting pretty sore, so we walked back to the hotel after that. I have a few big blisters even through I was wearing my most comfortable sandals. We showered and spent some quiet time in our room, which allowed me to jot down all that had happened to us this far. For dinner, we went back to Florian's Cafe. Nick had pizza again, while I had risotto with mushrooms. Yum. We sat next to a couple from Costa Rico [Diego and Ani] and chatted with them a bit. We decided to live it up our last night in Rome and ended up drinking more than I should have...

Little altar boy

Hello, self-timer!

The Palatine's somewhere behind us

Even more newly weds

The Pantheon and oodles of people

Piazza Navona. The artist from whom we bought our painting may be under the navy blue umbrella

Castel St Angelo

Getting water from a spitting dragon, as one does

Two coins in the Trevi, hoping to go back

Spanish Steps

Taking a rest and people watching on the Steps

Saluti!

With new friends Diego and Ani

2 June - At least we didn't have much on our agenda today - just checking out and getting on the bus. it was raining when we woke up around 10. After packing and checking out, we grabbed a bite for lunch and went to the train station. We bought tickets for our port: Civitavecchia.The train (destined for Pisa) was pretty quiet. It was overcast and sprinkly when we got off the train. It didn't take us long to drag our luggage to the waiting port buses. (Nick wants me to add that umbrella salesmen appear out of nowhere when it rains in Rome, and the countryside looks a lot like Wisconsin. Also, Ingmar is a good kitty.) The bus took us to the Costa embarkation center, where we had our passports, bags, and tickets checked several times. Since we boarded the ship just after check-in at 1:45, we had time to kill until the boat sailed at 5 pm. We found our interior cabin on the 6 Deck. It's cozy, but nice. Our honeymoon package was waiting for us - a bottle of champagne, flowers, robes, and a picture frame. Nick was impatient for our luggage to arrive - I wanted a picture of everything laid out, while Nick wanted to put on his robe. When the luggage arrived, we both got our wishes. I found I am sore from walking yesterday. We partook of the welcome aboard buffet. We went back to our cabin afterward to relax, read, and nap before going to a ship presentation at 5:15. We had some time to kill after that, so we looked around the shops (I bought a small purse for €10.99 to carry around my key and ship credit card when I don't have pockets) and then went back to the cabin until it was time to eat at 7. We found we are sitting at a table with two Scots (Margo and Lydee) and two Mexicans (Lucia and Marta), both mother-daughter cruisers. We were joined later by another couple whose names we didn't learn. The menu had many courses. We tried to get different things so we could try more. The stuffed bell pepper I had was very good - I need to try making something like that when we get back home. After dinner, we double-checked our excursion reservations, then cracked into the bottle of champagne. We turned on the TV and found the most interesting thing to watch was the German version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. I was happy that I still remember a bit of German. Later on, we were feeling a bit peckish, so we ordered room service. We got sandwiches/salads. Yum.

New robes, tiny cabin

3 June - Nick and I got our wake up call at 8:20, then we got our breakfast delivered to the room. We had our safety drill and took care of registering our credit card. By that time, we went to go have lunch on the deck. Those buffets are dangerous. At 13:15, we met up with the other people going on the Taormina tour with us. We got a glimpse of the port we docked at - Catania, Sicily - as we went on the bus towards Taormina. Our tour comprised of English and Spanish speakers. Our tour guide said everything in both languages as we went along, which got a little old after a while. Sicily (at least the area we saw) was beautiful - lots of hills, terraces, lemon trees and views of the sea. Unfortunately, Mt Etna was completely obscured by clouds during our entire time there. The flowers and yucca (Nick called them "dinosaur plants") were everywhere and gorgeous. After making our way through the narrow, winding streets up to Taormina, our group plodded along through the pedestrian-friendly streets up to the Greek Theater. After we got our tickets to the theater, Nick and I broke away from the group to admire the views from the top of the hill and theater. We started shopping a bit, picking up a few cheap bottles of wine and a few gifts for friends. We also took out a few more Euros and got gelato. At 16:40, we met up with the tour group and headed back to the ship. Once we got back on board, we had just enough time to get ready before dinner. We were the only ones at our table tonight, which made it seem like we were on a date. We ate fewer courses than last night, then cracked into one of our bottles of wine while watching Juno on the English movie channel. We also watched part of National Treasure in Italian before reading a bit and going to bed a bit early for us.

Tip of Sicily

Taking in the view from the top deck

Taormina switchbacks and sea

We're here!

Pretty buildings and flowers in Taormina

I'd be distracted by the view while watching anything on stage

One narrow alley

I'll take all the gelato, please

Interesting trees in Catania

Sicilian bambino

4 June - Today was our first full day at sea, and we decided to make it a very lazy one. We woke up at 10 am (thank you, 9 am wake up call) and immediately went up for breakfast. It was very windy on the upper decks and also cloudy, which didn't do much for our plan of lounging in the sun. Instead, we headed back to the cabin to rest until lunch. We ate at the buffet lightly, then back down for more R&R. We went up for tea as we passed by one peninsula of Peloponnese. When we got back to the room we watched August Rush before getting ready for dinner. It was Gala Night, and we dressed up for it. Again, we were alone at dinner and sprung for a small bottle of wine. After dinner, we walked up to get a good view of the sunset and the islands we were passing. We saw the sun set behind a mountainous island, and got a few pics of us in front of the sunset. We ordered a corkscrew when we got back to the room and opened up a bottle of red that we bought on Sicily. We put on the BBC, where we found that Barack Obama had enough votes to be the Democratic nominee for president. Woo!

So windy!

The table to ourselves on Gala night

Tiny wine

Sunset at sea

5 June - Nick and I woke up early this morning, up, showered and breakfasted by 8. We got our ticket to disembark and take the "tender" to Patmos. It was absolutely gorgeous out - blue, clear skies, warm sun, light breeze. we were dropped off by the kitschy, touristy shops, then walked quickly away. We found a stone path that led us up, up, up. It smelled summery. We got fabulous pictures of the island. On the way up, we found a souvenir shop with reasonable prices - we got six bars of olive oil soap (one set for us, one set each for our folks), two medium-sized prints for our bathroom, one small print for each of our moms, and a carved wooden box to add to my collection, all for €28. When we walked back down the path to town, we picked up a postcard and a bottle of ouzo for Natalie, and Nick and I got small bottles of ouzo and "distilled grape spirit without anise". We'll have to give it a try soon. We went back to the boat and decided to go for a swim. Our "swim" lasted for only a few minutes because it was cold and über-chlorinated. We dried off in the warm sun. The restaurant just opened, so we grabbed a bite before going back to the room to rest. After a while, I got us each a cup of tea and we watched Juno again (this time in Spanish). We went up to grab pizzas for dinner. After yummy pizzas, we went back to the cabin to finish off our wine from last night while the ship docked in the Mykonos harbor. An old 1940s western came on TV on one of the Italian channels, which was quite humorous, if unintelligible. We waited for all the impatient passengers to disembark before we went up and disembarked ourselves. We had to get a number and wait until it was our turn to take the shuttle bus to the city center. The scenery wasn't as nice as Patmos, but we got a few pictures of the buildings, port, and a pelican that was standing near shore. We walked until we found a gift shop that sold a Greece shot glass. Once that and a Mykonos postcard were purchased, we walked on. We stopped at a bar that caught our eye. We bought two large Mythos beers and were surprised to see VH1 on the TV, playing music videos like "We Didn't Start the Fire". So odd. We walked around a bit more, catching the sunset, then headed back to the ship. We ate a bite more for dinner and retired to the room for a while before going to bed. Tomorrow, we're in Izmir and dock at 8 am. {Still regretting that I didn't get a picture of the shop sign that read "Booze Mykonos".}

Officially in Greece! On Patmos

Revealing the Cave of the Revelation

Town of Skala

Ships at sea

"I wanna take a picture of us holding hands." "... fine."

The waiter made Nick a new hat

Mykonos

Pelican!

Sleepy stray kitties

Not so sleepy shop cat in Mykonos

Yes, I took this picture!

See? I took another one there, too.

Ships at dusk in Mykonos

6 June - After showering and breakfasting after most people left the ship, we definitely had a "stranger in a strange land" day in Izmir. Unlike everywhere else I had ever been, there was seemingly no way to understand anything. Street signs were uninterpretable, unpronounceable, and confusing on top of it all. Also, people were extremely pushing the moment we set foot of the port. "No, no, no, is too far to walk. You see everything in taxi (taksi). Only €20 per hour." And no matter how many times you said no, they'd tail you a bit and keep trying. Eventually, we made our way along the waterfront past all the taxi men, postcard & perfume men, and horse-drawn carriage men to an area that was 90% cafes. Some with enormous hookahs. We were surprised to see beer for sale. we managed to make our way near the bazaar without getting hit by the large amount of traffic. Speaking of, there seemed to me to be an awful lot of people beeping. I couldn't tell if it was directed at other cars or at me. It made me a bit uncomfortable, since I had deliberately worn long black linen pants and a t-shirt to blend in better in this predominately Muslim country. We noticed on our map that the Agora {Oren Yeri} (we had and still have no idea) was nearby. It turned out to be a Greek or Roman ruin, one that looked like someone was preparing to reassemble since the largest stone blocks and pillar bits seemed to be organized. We walked back to the bazaar, entering the area on the produce and fresh goods side. Stalls of fish, fresh vegetables, and nuts were occupying this corridor. Nick wasn't too keen on the smell. We reached an intersection, and turning right, found ourselves in the jewelry section. That gave way to fabric, and of all things, bridal and formal shops. Lots of them. We had to shake off a few overzealous merchants. we wandered our way into the "old market" and quickly found a shop with the kinds of goods we were interested in purchasing as souvenirs. we met a nice seller who gave us some info on the small copper-and-silver hookah, hanging lantern, and small dishes we ended up buying. He also gave us our first taste of Turkish coffee. Our verdict: better than espresso. Also a plus was that we were able to pay with a mixture of dollars and Euros. We decided against taking a cab back to the ship and continued walking back along the waterfront. We got back to the ship around 12:30 and ate lunch on the upper deck before retiring to our cabin. We took a nap for a while before waking up and watching, um...., interesting Italian TV. We decided to open up the bottle of white wine we bought in Mykonos. We watched Juno in Deutsch (sorry, I'm distracted trying to translate). It's a lot easier to understand in German than in Italian, Spanish or French. It was Italian night in the restaurant, which made for some spectacles later on. Nick had pork medallions as his main course, while I had swordfish. They played music during dessert, and one f our waiters pulled me up to dance. Then Nick and I danced to That's Amore. :) After dinner, we walked up to take pictures of the sunset before going to a special Honeymoon Cocktail party. We got to meet the captain and another American couple (Kristen and Craig from New Orleans) to do a bit of vow renewing. There were a ton of Italian and Spanish couples. we got a few glasses of champagne out of it before we headed back to the room for an early night. we dock in Santorini and our excursion meets at 7 am tomorrow.

Turkish flag above Izmir

Ruins of the Agora

Fish stalls in the bazaar

Fabric stalls in the bazaar

Another view of the bazaar [Street view from 2018]

Outdoor dining in the bazaar area

Trying hot Turkish coffee on a hot day

So you can feel seasick on land!

Turkish school kids

Our ship, the Costa Romantica

Dancing with the waiter

Sunset pic

Honeymoon Gala

7 June - We woke up at 6:15, got breakfast and were ready for the excursion at 7. We were taken by boat with our group from the ship to get on another boat. This boat was pretty cool - a two-masted sailboat. We sailed to Nea Kameni, where the Italians split up from the English- and Spanish-speakers as we began our ascent. There was black rock in awesome formations everywhere. We made our way up rock-strewn paths past old and active craters. The active crater had sulfurous steam rising from it. By the time we got to the top, which gave us a breathtaking view of the islands of Santorini, it got pretty warm under the cloudless skies. After everyone made their way back down, the boat next went to the hot springs off Palia Kameni. There, those willing to brave cold waters of the Aegean for the hot springs stripped down to swimwear and jumped in. Nick and I leaped from the side of the boat. The water got pleasantly warm as we neared shore. Also, very shallow. I had to crouch to keep most of my body under water. Our tour guide said the mud around the springs was good for the skin, so several of us slathered the brown mud-goop on ourselves. It actually felt like it made my skin feel softer and smoother. The springs were on the edge of a rocky slope which was inhabited by a herd of goats. We didn't get long to stay in the water and we soon got the signal to head back to the boat. The boat dropped us off at the town of Thera. We took the cable car up to the top, which gave us great views of the island system and also nearly gave us heart attacks with how much the car was swaying over the sheer drop. Once at the top, we took a short walk. Our only stop was at a liquor/souvenir shop, where we tried and bought a bottle of dessert wine (Vin Santo, only made in Santorini), as well as a small bottle of oregano-and-garlic-infused olive oil. We walked a bit more and got pictures of the village and islands we stopped at this morning. We took the cable car back down at 11:30 am. It felt great to shower after getting salty while swimming. We ate lunch at the buffet, then tired to the room for a nap. Nick wanted to watch The Simpsons Movie, today's English-language movie offering, so we watched that at 2. After that, I caught up on this journal while half-listening to the BBC on TV. I did a little reading and organizing of souvenirs, also. I went up and got us some tea and a postcard of Izmir since I didn't get on in the city. We ate dinner again in the pizzeria, then went back to the cabin to attempt to understand Euro 2008 soccer. There were two games on tonight. We opened up one of the bottles of red wine we bought in Sicily. I didn't have much because I was feeling off - occasionally getting dizzy and warm. I decided to take it easy and go to bed early. Nick stayed up later than me, still wired from the room service snack we ordered around 9.

Santorini cliffs at dawn

Greek flag on Nea Kameni

So close to the caldera

I claim this land for me!

Unnerving being on an active volcano...

One of those was our excursion ship

About to leap

Blue on blue

Thera on the edge

Cable car view

8 June - For some unknown reason, our 8 am wake-up call never came.We ended up waking up at 9:10. There was a disembarkation presentation that we wanted to attend at 10, so we had to get ready quickly and eat a quick breakfast from the buffet. We regretted going to the presentation after being informed all of the information would be delivered to our room later today. Nick and I took it easy today. We packed everything up except the clothes we were wearing today and what we are wearing tomorrow, as well as PJs and toiletries. Nick watched The Golden Compass this afternoon while I napped, then be both read a bit before going and reclaiming our passports. Not long after that, the ship sailed around the volcanic island of Stromboli. It was very cool to see the caldera with smoke rising, smelling sulfur in the wind, seeing the side where lava flows have occurred, and wondering why any of the ~400 inhabitants would live there. It was quite windy on deck and actually chilly, so we didn't stick around up there long. We retired to the room until it was time to go to dinner, watching the first Euro Cup match of the day (Croatia vs Austria). We ate our dinner in the restaurant again. The sea was a bit choppy, which made me a tiny bit seasick (seriously - only a little bit). We went back to the room after dinner to finish packing and watch the 2nd game (Germany vs Poland). I was feeling pretty tired, so I didn't stay up too late. They've asked that everyone be out of their cabins by 8 am. Our disembarkation time is 10 am.

Passing by Stromboli

Not much else to see, so more Stromboli...

9 June - Today was a rather boring day. We were out of our cabin at 8, then had breakfast. In order to kill time until our 10 am disembarkation time, we played rummy in the car room. We had to change rooms at one point because our table was joined by shouting old Italians. We managed to leave the ship before the rush of our group, and got on a bus to take us to the port entrance area. We dragged our bags to the train station and bought tickets to Fiumicino Airport from Civitavecchia via Rome. The train rides weren't bad - with one exception. One the second train, there was a guy sitting by himself signing along to his mp3 player in an insanely high-pitched and dreadfully (not a word I use lightly) off-key voice. Cringe. From the airport, we had to take a taxi to our hotel in Fiumicino. We checked in, found out our departure time made us ineligible for both the airport shuttle and breakfast. Damn. Since it was 1 pm by then, we set out for lunch. We got paninis at a little roadside cafe along with a liter of sparkling white wine. The wine and the traveling made us tired, so we returned to the room to nap until dinner. Unfortunately for us, we found more restaurants here are closed on Monday, and we weren't able to pay with a credit card at the restaurant we ate at for lunch. That necessitated withdrawing another €50 from my bank account. We ordered pizzas and beers, which ended up being paninis and very large beers. Being rather far from the beaten tourist path, we didn't come across many people here who spoke English. After dinner, we got gelato (coffee and hazelnut for Nick, black cherry and pistachio for me) and returned to the room. We ensured we would have a taxi in the morning to take us to the airport and put on tonight's Euro 2008 games. First up, France & Romania. During the game, I read a bit and made sure everything was packed and ready to go.

Fiumicino view

Contemplating keeping the beard

Giant Peronis

Gnam Gnam

10 June - It's a long day that keeps growing longer. It is 2:20 local time in Madrid and our 12:05 flight still has not taken off. The mechanics are checking an replacing a pressure sensor that, if it doesn't work, will require the near-capacity passengers to change planes. Argh. It's been a long day so far - up at 5 am, caught a taxi to the airport, had to wait in line after a 95-member high school band group on both our flights, forgot about the carry-on liquid limit and had to check our back with all of our souvenirs and breakables, and now we sit here. "At most an hour to change it." Right. At this rate, we won't get home until Wednesday if at all.

{Post script - we did make it home before Wednesday. I don't remember the details, so it couldn't have been too terrible, right?}

Last sunrise of our vacation

My Happy Hippo's eyes begged me not to eat him. I ate him anyway.

All honeymoon pictures here.
{transcribed 1/29/20/20}