Trip Journal

June 30, 2005 TRAVEL

Well, we’re off… slowly. We left home at 10:30 this morning and finished checking in at the American Airlines counter around 11, only to find out that our departure time had been moved from 1:00 until after 2:00 because of bad weather in the Midwest earlier in the day. No real problem, yet, except that we only had an hour and 20 minutes to catch our flight to London once we got to Chicago. We were airborne around 2:40 and were repeatedly told that the plane would be held, as there was another group (another 4 people from Portland taking the same route to reach Venice for the same cruise). Landed in Chicago about 8:05, our flight was supposed to depart at 8:20. We ran (literally, we ran, I think I saw my mom run over an old lady as we tore through the concourse) to the gate to find the jetway still attached and the plane just concluding loading passengers.

At this point, ideally we would have been able to get on the plane… but that would be a bit too easy. Instead, we were informed by a very bitchy airline employee (or, at least, someone wearing an airline vest) that our seats were given away and we “would not be allowed on the plane because it is against FAA regulations to separate passengers from their luggage.” Nice try, are you saying you’re committing a felony every time you lose my luggage? I doubt it! Apparently, she had already given away all 8 seats (from those of us on the Portland flight) despite being called and instructed to save them. When we demanded to see her supervisor, the supervisor informed us that her shift was over and that she didn’t receive overtime pay. We watched our plane taxi back from the gate and head off toward the runway.

From there, things got a bit better. I ran with Spenser to find some food, we frantically searched the airport for someone who cared (nobody to be found) and tried to find other ways to get to Venice for the start of the cruise. No luck. Closest we could get is Athens, embarking the ship on the third day. We didn’t expect much of the only other flight to London Heathrow from Chicago, an overbooked flight we were on standby for… but, thanks to someone who I’m sure got screwed over like we did, we were all given seats at the final boarding call and sent off to London…

Think I’ll ever see my luggage again?

July 1, 2005 TRAVEL

This was one of those short days, thanks to the time zones. We landed in London a bit after 11, and missed our connection to Venice by about an hour. After a long wait in the American line, we found a route through Brussels (that’s in Belgium, for my geographically challenged readers) that got us into Venice around 11 PM. The rest of the day was spent sleeping in planes and airports. The Venice flight was delayed by an hour, landing us in Venice shortly before midnight.

July 2, 2005 VENICE, ITALY

Plaza St Marco, Venetian Old Town

We landed in Venice to find four or our five suitcases. Not bad, not bad at all. Extra bonus: the missing one was the formal clothes. Although it would probably be the most expensive to replace, it will probably have the least impact on the cruise, much less than if I were stuck with only two sets of clothes. Unfortunately, the formal rental place onboard only has up to a 32” inseam, and size 12 shoes, not to mention the dress choices available for mom, so we’ll have to skip the formal dinners until we get that last bag. The ship was a quick 20 minute (and 35 euro) cab ride from the airport. We boarded around 1:00 and, after looking around the ship a little and taking a shower, crashed for a morning of sleep.

The alarm went off at 7:30, and we had the giant breakfast (just down the hall at the 24-hour dining place). We took a water taxi the old town Venice and spent a few hours wandering the narrow streets. Contrary to many expectations, there was only a slight smell, not the overpowering scent of festering sewage as we were warned about. Still, I certainly wouldn’t swim in the water. We saw the Plaza St. Marco and wandered the narrow streets weaving among the canals, looking at glass shops and buildings built in the 15^th century. After 2 hours, it was time to take the water ferry back to the ship.

Too many people were trying to take late ferries back to the ship, so instead of leaving 300 people behind, our departure from Venice was delayed by about a half-hour. By 2:00, we were cruising along the water overlooking the Venetian Old Town from our vantage point on the 15^th deck, almost the height of the Statue of Liberty. The view showed how Venice got its nickname, “City of Campaniles” (for the non AP Art History educated people out there, a campanile is a bell tower), there were at least a hundred towers, many of them leaning, some of them leaning dangerously. Great view. Nice, sunny weather.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with a swim, the lifeboat drill, and more walking around and exploring. I first got online around 5:00, but the internet kicked me off after 6 minutes. Fortunately, they refunded my card and I was able to connect after dinner for 20 minutes, as several of you I talked to know. But, before that, we had dinner in one of the dining rooms. Decent food, not particularly wonderful, and the waiter was a bit oppressive with his constant attention. Went to see the “Welcome Aboard” show at the theater, hopefully they get better from there or I am not going back there. After the dancers and an introduction of the staff, they brought out a ‘physical comedian’ who did acrobatics well and… as for the comedy… no.

After the internet, I went back to my room for a bit and then went out to wander the ship. I found a group of mostly 17 year olds, all of us too old for the activities going on in the teen center but still unable to get into any of the lounges or nightclubs onboard. We all wandered around the ship for a few hours until my 5 hours of sleep between waking up Thursday morning and now finally got to me, so I went back to my room. Tomorrow, our first day at sea!

July 3, 2005 AT SEA

Woke up this morning around 9:00 (we’re now in a different time zone, GMT +2, 10 hours off Pacific time.) Had breakfast and then spent some time up on deck in the pool and laying in the sun until it was time for lunch. In the afternoon I played some cards, helped get the tours set straight for the rest of the cruise, read a bit, and just sat around the ship. We got a call that our bag with our formal clothes will be delivered to us in Athens, so tonight’s formal night is the only one we’ll miss. The rental clothes fit better than I had feared, but the jacket is tailored for someone who is 6’1 and 250 pounds, not quite what I’m looking for… plus my black socks are in my dress shoes in the bag, so I would have to choose between my Keens (those ridiculously comfortable, weird looking sandals) and going barefoot, risking blisters. Neither sounds too appealing.

So, instead of tonight’s formal dinner, we ate at the pizza place by the pool and watched part of a movie on the big screen. The ‘big screen’ is truly a giant and bright screen, it is visible mid-day in direct sun, so movies on there are pretty good. We all split up for the evening; mom and dad went to see a dance show, I spent most of my time in the teen area playing poker and meeting people and who knows what Spenser did. There was a nice sunset off the back of the ship where the sun dipped below the ocean, lighting up the sea and the sky. Tomorrow: Athens!

July 4, 2005 ATHENS, GREECE

Acropolis (Parthenon, Erectheon, Athena), Agora, Plaka, Olympic Stadium, Royal Palace

Happy Fourth of July! The bars at the ship have American flags, other than that; the 4^th is just like any other day here. We docked in Athens shortly after 9:00AM, which meant our transfer into the city (from the port in Pyrenes) didn’t leave until 10:30. The ride into the city center was augmented with commentary from a local guide, highlighting the “ain-c-ient heestorical sites” of the city. We got off the bus in the Constitution Square, in front of the old Presidential Palace, now the meeting house of the Greek Parliament. Since our tour was called “Athens on your own” and the people following the guide looked slow, we decided to find our own way to the Acropolis. First, we stopped at STARBUCKS! Any of you who haven’t seen my dad when he’s decaffeinating (and that basically means less than a cup of coffee no less than every 2 hours) will not fully appreciate the value of this stop, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it too.

Well, you would think it would be easy to find a 2,500 year old city on top of a giant hill, but the Acropolis is an exception. I suppose part of the problem is my Greek… nonexistent. We wandered through town and around the base of the hill until we finally found the entrance. After spending 10E each (where I use E for euro since there is no Euro symbol, yet I have a yen and pound) we climbed up into the Acropolis.

Now I must say that many of the buildings look much more impressive in pictures. The Temple of Athena Nike (Winged Victory, again for the non-AP Art people) is by the entrance, but it is almost entirely obscured by scaffolding for restoration. The Pantheon is the dominant structure, very impressive for its size and for the view of city and sea from its steps. The Erectheon, with the Porch of the Caryatids, seems much smaller than I had expected, but its construction is no less extraordinary.

At the foot of the Acropolis is the Ancient Agora. The Agora contains buildings and artifacts from both the Greek civilization and the Roman conquest. I recognized several artifacts, specifically the kraters and amphorae in the museum as well as the kore, korous, and Cretian boy statues. The only relatively intact building in the Agora is the Temple of Hephaestus, with a commanding view of the Acropolis. Throughout both sites were guards with whistles who seemed to know very little about the sites themselves and were only concerned with keeping the tourists in line.

Returning to town, we wandered into the Plaka (the main shopping district and one of the biggest tourist attractions besides the ruins) and had lunch at a restaurant that served ‘traditional’ Greek food. The beef kabobs and pita bread were quite good, although they probably over-charged us knowing we were tourists. We spent our last hours in Athens looking through shops, ending with another visit to Constitution Square to watch the changing of the guard. The Greek Guards wear some pretty funny clothes, but I suppose that’s no different from the changing of the guard ceremonies I’ve seen in Britain, Peru or Hawaii.

Back on the ship, we found our suitcase sitting in the room. Score! We did a load of laundry and got cleaned up from our day in the city, wrote some journals and postcards and prepared for our day tomorrow in Kusadasi, Turkey.

July 5, 2005 KUSADASI, TURKEY

Ephesus, Shrine of Virgin Mary, St. John’s Basilica, Kusadasi Port

I look at the clock: 5:00. What is that noise? Oh… right…the alarm going off. I haven’t had to wake up this early in a very long time, but I suppose it was worth it. I watched the sun rise over the Turkish hills off the side of the ship as I ate breakfast on the back deck. We met at 6:15 and left for our tour, one of nearly 20 bus loads from our ship following the same route. Our guide was a Turkish citizen who spent her childhood in Germany, and her English was very good. On the half hour ride through the countryside, past the summer homes of wealthy Turks, Asia-Minor’s largest water park, and groves of olive trees, she enlightened us on Turkish society. Despite being predominantly (90%) Muslim, Turkey has a secular government. This means that women are not required to be covered and they have more rights than in the Arabic Islamic countries; there is even a topless beach not far from our dock.

We arrived at a house claimed by the Pope (and I suppose he should know, although he may be a bit biased in the matter) to be the house the Virgin Mary lived in when she was brought to Ephesus by the Apostle John. The house itself was entirely reconstructed, based on the foundation, and staffed with a silent group of monks and nuns. After a little while there, we got back on the bus and went down to the ancient Roman town of Ephesus.

Ephesus was a bit crowded, but very interesting. The ruins were very accessible; we were able to touch many of the columns and statues, we walked down the main streets and inside the old buildings. I really don’t know how to describe it in words; you’ll just have to see the pictures when I upload them. Giant columns, a segment of the ancient library, and even an ad carved into the stone sidewalk for the brothel (the “house of love” as our guide called it).

After Ephesus, we drove over to St. John’s Basilica. From the hill, you can see a column left from one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but I forget what it was called. It must have been some giant building. The Basilica was mostly in ruins, the roof (probably wood) and parts of the walls as well as most of the marble facing had fallen off. Still, the plan of the Basilica was visible, with a nave, side aisles, an east-facing apse and a short transept. By the altar, a marble monument and a gated catacomb marked the grave of the Apostle John. Also interesting were the mosaics on the floor and the Byzantine frescoes.

Returning to Kusadasi, we were herded into a rug shop, but we escaped shortly afterward. We spent a while walking around looking for an ATM with money in it, as the Turks with summer homes were in town, changing the population of the city from 50,000 people to 500,000 people. We had some drinks in town (including a Turkish coffee for dad). He was pretty tired today, and so was Spenser.

After spending time in town, we had lunch on the ship and lay around in the sun for a while. It was quite an interesting day, with plenty of time to rest up for Istanbul tomorrow.

July 6, 2005 ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Cistern, Bazaar, Spice Market, Bosporus

This morning was better: an 8:00 arrival instead of 6:00. After breakfast on the ship, we disembarked on the pier in Istanbul. We hired a taxi (conveniently, taksi in Turkish) to take us to the Blue Mosque for the start of our day. The Blue Mosque is named for its numerous iznik blue and white tiles on the interior. It is an active mosque, so we removed our shoes at the entrance, according to Islamic tradition. Outside, the mosque has minarets (towers, formerly used for prayer leaders, now simply decorative with loudspeakers). The inside was just as impressive as the outside. The central dome plan was obvious from the interior, with a large main dome and peripheral domes supporting it. Islamic writing was on the walls, and tiles of natural-inspired geometric designs, but no depictions of the human form, again according to Islamic traditions.

Across the park, Hagia Sophia was visible. While the Blue Mosque was built in the 14^th Century, the Emperor Justinian commissioned Hagia Sophia in the 6^th century. Originally a Christian church, it was turned into a mosque after the Islamic invasion of Constantinople. (Reminds me of a They Might Be Giants song…) Inside, there was a mix of Islamic and Christian artwork and artifacts, including large Islamic panels and painting and ornate Christian mosaics. It is very difficult to get across the sheer physical size of the building; you’ll just have to see some pictures.

Outside Hagia Sophia, mom needed to use the bathroom. Because the line for the women’s room was long and not moving, and because the men’s room had real toilets with seats instead of squat toilets, a large group of women (including my mom) went into the men’s room, upsetting quite a few men and some police. Good times. After that, a local recommended a nice café where we had some drinks and crepes before continuing our sightseeing.

We visited the ancient Roman Cistern located below a block of the city. Hundreds of Corinthian style columns underground, used to store water more than 1,500 years ago. It was amazing to see the construction of the cistern and imagine how it was built. Not quite sure how they got water out of it, since it was on a low point, but then I guess the Romans were better aquatic engineers than I am. Wandering outside, we walked through the grounds of the old sultan’s palace before heading off toward the bazaar.

The bazaar was a giant section of the city composed of small shops selling everything from lingerie to hardware. We wandered through its small, crowded streets taking in the sights and dodging traffic, both cars and pedestrians. The spice market was at the far end of the bazaar. There we saw large piles of spices. Also frequent were hookah bars and shops selling bongs. Not something you see all the time.

Lunch was at a small café, chicken kabobs with rice and a pita. Very good food at tourist prices; since we speak English and no Turkish (the Turkish word for ‘thank you’ is something like ‘teasugaratyourroom’). We took in the city from a tower across the water, great views of the Bosporus Straight and our ship from there too. The rest of the day was spent resting on the ship after a long, fun day in Istanbul. Tomorrow, an afternoon stop on the Greek Island of Mykonos.

July 7, 2005 MYKONOS, GREECE

Greek Resort Town

This morning we woke up to the telephone. For some reason, our room has no clock (other than my cell phone) and because we have no external wall, we have no outside light, so it is very difficult to tell what time it is. So imagine my surprise when I found that it was 11:15AM. I don’t usually sleep in that long, but I guess at home by 9:00 my room is like daylight. I went out to have brunch with my parents and we watched the ship pull into the port at Mykonos.

Unfortunately, Mykonos has no dock for cruise ships, so we had to be tendered ashore. 100 people at a time, we were carried from the ship to the dock, a process that took over an hour for us, and we got in line shortly after it opened. Glad we don’t have to do that again, the rest of the ports have deep enough docks for our 40’ draft. The weather was very hot and sunny, probably in the 90s, which made the town a bit less appealing. Still, it was interesting to see the whitewashed buildings (every building in town, probably on the island, was white with a stone roof) and the narrow stone streets.

We walked through the town until we got too hot, then we stopped for ice cream. Afterwards, we found a waterfront café for some seafood and beer, both specialties. The meal was expensive, over 100 euros (well over 100 dollars), but it was good. After eating, we walked to the beach where we went for a quick swim in the clear water. Clear, yes, but not clean, there were a lot of small children swimming, plus floating debris that could only come from some kind of sewer… I didn’t stay in there too long. We returned to the ship early to beat the line, although it was probably more spread out returning than going to shore.

Back on the ship, I went for a quick swim and lay in the sun for a while. Then I took a shower, played some cards with my mom, and had some dinner. After dinner, I played cards and did stuff with the teen group, then hung out and just talked with people, including a girl from Mountain View… small world! Tomorrow is our first formal night (the second for the boat, but the first for us) and our second day at sea. Should be some more time to work on my tan and finish my postcards!

July 8, 2005 AT SEA

Well, not too much to say about today, really. Slept in (Spenser slept until I came in and turned on all the lights at noon). Got online and talked for a bit at noon here (2am Pacific Time), it was nice to talk before bed at home for a change. Lots of cards, a bit of swimming, and plenty of lying in the sun during the day, as well as a double load of laundry (my last of the trip!) Tonight was the formal dinner; all went well with that, hopefully the pictures will turn out well. We passed through the Straits of Messina and saw an active volcanic island at night, spewing lava in spurts into the starry sky. Tomorrow, an early morning in Naples.

July 9, 2005 NAPLES, ITALY

Olive Farm, Sorrento, Pompeii

I woke up this morning, late again. Apparently I’ve learned to turn off my alarm in my sleep, not good. Breakfast was a bit rushed, but we made it downstairs in time for our tour. We were on the bus shortly after 7:45 and headed off through Naples.

The drive passed by Mt. Vesuvius on our way to a farm in the hills above Sorrento. We saw the olive and lemon trees, a homemade olive oil factory, and a demonstration on cheese production. After sampling cheese, olive oil and wine, we rode down the narrow winding road into Sorrento for some free time.

We walked around Sorrento for an hour, not my favorite stop so far. It was basically the same thing to Italy as Mykonos was to Greece, a resort town designed for tourists. After our hour, we went to lunch, my least favorite part of the tour. It was outside Sorrento at the culinary school, where we had three waiters for two busloads of people. The room had all hard surfaces, so it was impossible to hold a conversation with anyone sitting more than two feet away. To make it all better, we spent over an hour there. Hey, at least I enjoyed my $3 coke.

After lunch, we rode to Pompeii, my favorite part of the day. We saw only part of the city; however, as our guide was an older Italian man and several of our group members weren’t particularly mobile. Actually, there were two blind people with their guide dogs, but they seemed to keep up better than some. Pompeii seemed better preserved than Ephesus, but it is difficult to tell what is original and what has been restored since its excavation.

Finally, we had a much anticipated stop at the cameo factory. Ha. We would have rather had those 20 minutes at Pompeii. The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion: eating and relaxing aboard the ship and planning for tomorrow in Rome.

July 10, 2005 ROME, ITALY

Burghesius Gallery, Coliseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Trajan’s Column, Pantheon, Forum

So Rome may not have been built in a day, but it can be toured mostly in 6 hours. We woke up in port to see a line of busses and vans, but no sign saying ‘Vines’. After breakfast, we went down for a closer look and found our van and driver. The driver spoke very little English, which was unfortunate only because he spoke only slightly more English than I speak Italian. However, we later learned he spoke Spanish, and that became the best method for communication.

We got into Rome at 9:45, a half-hour earlier than planned, so we stopped for coffee and croissants. Very good! By 10:15 we had picked up our guide, an Italian who spoke very good English, and we stopped at the top of the Spanish Steps to have a view of the Trevi Fountain and the old streets nearby. From there, we made our way to the Burghesius Gallery where we had reservations at 11:00.

The gallery contains sculptures by Bernini, as well as paintings by masters such as Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael… it was very interesting to see how the sculptures were integrated with the paintings in the different rooms, each with a different theme. Again, unless you’ve taken Art History, there’s not too much to describe.

After the gallery, we rode to the Pantheon, where we had lunch at a café across the square. I had my first Italian pizza, it was very good but the crust was difficult to cut. After lunch, we toured the Pantheon, an immense structure with a gigantic dome. Pretty unbelievable to think the Romans could build such a thing 2000 years ago in a short time, less than 10 years.

The Pantheon was the first of the Ancient Roman structures we would see. First, we drove by the Embassies, the Presidential Palace, and the building where Mussolini used to give his speeches. We walked up a flight to stairs to see a square designed by Michelangelo and to get a view of the Roman Forum. The Forum was the ancient city center, including sites such as the location Julius Caesar was killed, the Arch of Titus, and the Coliseum.

From the viewpoint, we rode around to the bottom of the hill by the Coliseum. Here was another nice part about having a guide. Besides just having a car ready to take us to the next site and never worrying about parking, we already had tickets to the popular locations, so instead of waiting in line for tickets with 300 people we were able to walk right in. We saw it from the upper and lower stories, all that remains of this structure that held nearly 30,000 people is the framework and the important walls, but even that is impressive.

For our final Roman site, we visited the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. After passing through the square and clearing Vatican security, we entered the world’s largest church. The scale was difficult to imagine. Inside were famous carvings and mosaics, including Michelangelo’s Pieta. The bodies of several beatified popes were on display, and there was a mass taking place.

After a relatively uneventful return to the ship, the evening was much as usual: a casual dinner, a swim and a shower. I watched the stars and a thunderstorm in the distance while transferring pictures from the camera. Tomorrow, our last day in Italy, Florence!

July 11, 2005 FLORENCE, ITALY

Old Florence, Duomo Cathedral (Campanile and Baptistery), Florentine Tombs, Gelato

Uggh… the alarm went off at 6:40. Way too early for a vacation! After the usual morning preparations and breakfast, we got on our tour bus for the hour and a half ride to Florence. While on the bus, we saw the leaning tower of Pisa in the distance (looked a lot like the pictures, I’m glad we didn’t decide to go to Pisa!) We stopped at the Italian version of a rest stop, with a gas station, convenience store, restaurant with a great view of the freeway, and free toilets. The ride through the countryside would have been better without all the traffic; Italy bans trucks from the freeways from Friday evening through Sunday evening, so there were a lot of trucks out on the Monday morning.

We got off the bus at the outside of the city; cars are not allowed in the city center without a special permit. Our tour guide took the group to the first few sites on our walking tour, but we quickly realized her long-winded descriptions and repetition of facts, as well as an annoying tendency to focus on dates and names, things nobody will remember. So after dad found an ATM and we re-stocked our euros, we headed off on our own.

We walked by a copy of Michelangelo’s David in its original location. Since it was a Monday, the galleries were closed. We walked to the Ponte Veccio (Old Bridge), a picturesque bridge with shops hanging off the sides. Nearby, the guidebook recommended a small café for lunch and gelato, both were quite good! After our Paninis and samples of gelato (for good gelato, try Alotto Gelato in downtown Portland in the 23^rd street area) we returned to the Duomo, the large cathedral in Florence with a dome designed by Brunelleschi and doors, described as the “Gates of Paradise.” We climbed the bell-tower, over 400 stone stairs, for a wonderful view of the cathedral dome and the city.

After descending the tower, we roamed the city and found the meeting spot where the bus would pick us up in several hours. At one end of the square, there was a church, which is the burial location for many of Florence’s finest citizens. We saw the tombs and memorials of Niccolo Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Napoleon’s daughter (or sister?), Galileo, and the guy who composed the William Tell Overture. The interior with the tombs was very interesting, although the church did not compare to St. Peters in Rome.

Across the square was a cappuccino bar, a required stop with dad. We did our souvenir shopping nearby and got our final gelatos before we again boarded the bus to return to the ship. The ride home went fast, as most of it was spent sleeping. Back on the ship, my allergies were bothering me, it might be combined with a cold. Yuck. After dinner, I had a shuffleboard match with Mom and Dad… Dad won, but Mom finally got out of the negatives (the score was 9-32-44). The rest of the evening was spent checking email for the final time from the ship and playing cards. Tomorrow, a more relaxing day in Marseilles, France, with a more relaxed wake-up: 9:00.

July 12, 2005 MARSEILLES, FRANCE

Marseilles city walk

So we woke up before 9:00 on our own, I was in bed just after 11 last night because of my cold. I guess I gave it to mom and dad; they’re a few days behind me on it. After breakfast, we took the shuttle bus from the ship into the city center, about a 10 minute ride. It was very hot because the direct sunlight was so strong, and it didn’t help that I was wearing my glasses (cold + contacts = bad).

We followed Marseilles equivalent to Boston’s “Red Line”, in this case a red painted line that curved through town, supposedly catching the highlights. We walked past the mall, a few construction sites, some older (and yet somehow unimpressive) churches and ended at a viewpoint looking over the old harbor. We had an interesting exchange with a man who tried to tell us, in French (which my dad and I can read well enough but can’t speak or understand) to stop, that they were filming a movie, but it took a while to understand him, in which time someone walked by and got in the way so he just let us go through.

After that, we found an outdoor café for some drinks, 10 euro. The cheapest so far in Europe for 4 people! Next, we stopped at a bakery for some fresh French bread… mmmmm! Finally, we walked along the port around the fort at the entrance before lining up for the shuttle back to the ship.

Back on the ship, Spenser did a load of laundry (he didn’t bring as many clothes as the rest of us) and we played cards and lay around in the sun for the afternoon. We ate our last dinner on the ship in the dining room, and then finished packing our bags. We’ll be in Barcelona before dawn tomorrow, but we won’t be off the ship until 9-ish.

July 13, 2005 BARCELONA, SPAIN

La Ramblas, Tapas, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Bus Touristico

I’ll try hard to get what I can from my notes… I didn’t have power in Barcelona, so I didn’t turn on the computer at all!

We woke up at 7:00 just as planned and finished packing everything from our room. Our final breakfast was in our usual spot, with our backpacks. We ate and played cards until 9:00 when we disembarked. It took a minute to find the luggage, all the bags from the ship were laid out in the terminal and we had to choose ours. After this, we transferred to our hotel, the Hotel Rialto, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.

Since it was still too early to check-in to our rooms, we left our luggage and set off to walk on La Rambla (or Las Ramblas), the pedestrian street about a block from our hotel, one of Barcelona’s most famous streets. Actually, there was once a plan to remodel the Portland Park Blocks after La Rambla, but I don’t really see the resemblance. La Rambla is filled with shops, buskers, human statues, sidewalk cafes and all sorts of people. After walking up and down, we came to the sea by the Columbus Monument.

At this point, we bought tickets to the Bus Turistico, the tourist bus that goes throughout the city on three circuits. We rode this for a short distance before deciding it was hot out and we were hungry. We had tapas, local specialty appetizer plates, in a square a block from our hotel that had a number of cervecerias (bars) and tapa places. Then it was time to return to the hotel for a siesta.

Post-siesta, we took our collection of maps and our list of things we wanted to see to the nearby starbucks, where we planned our evening. We took the tourist bus to the Sagrada Familia, a Cathedral started by Antonio Gaudi over 100 years ago. Construction continues today, actually, it may be the only monumental cathedral in construction at this moment. It is impossible to describe the scale or design, the pictures give some concept of the appearance of the building. Since we were there close to closing time (we were told to leave at the very end by the guard) we climbed the tower for a panoramic view of the city. Mom wasn’t too great with the heights, especially the few parts of the spiral stairs without a railing.

We walked the few miles back to our hotel with a mandatory gelato stop. After dropping by the hotel, we returned to La Rambla for dinner, where we found a restaurant with an outdoor table. Street performers would come by and play instruments or do acrobatics for small change… the acrobats were amazing, especially on the hard concrete! Sometime during the meal we heard a very loud BANG! Everyone, even the locals, jumped up and started running. It turned out to be something involving a garbage truck and a building, but it certainly did sound like an explosion. Scary. Anyway, dinner in Spain is typically later, in our case 10:00, and people stay around and talk afterwards, meaning very few tables open up. Smoking seems to be very common here, as it has been in most of the European cities we have visited.

Bed was a bit after midnight, a long day but a fun one as well!

July 14, 2005 BARCELONA, SPAIN

Market, Gaudi, Picasso, Park Guell, Shops

With no clocks or alarms, we woke up between 9 and 10, just in time for the hotel’s breakfast buffet. Actually, it was pretty good, no complaints about that! After eating, we walked through the local produce market just across La Ramblas. In the market, stalls sell fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish… basically everything you would find fresh in the store you can find in the market. Of course, the chickens still have heads, and the crabs are still alive…

We left the market and went to look for what, according to our map and guidebook, was a pair of interesting looking Gaudi buildings. After searching every street within a quarter-mile of where we thought it should be, and realizing the locals don’t even know where it is, we finally found it, in view from La Rambla, closed for renovation until 2007. Oh, and the guidebook lied about it being a “pair” of buildings, the second building in the picture is more than a mile across town.

After a hydration and small snack stop in the restaurant square, also apparently known for its hostels and resident transient population, we walked to the Picasso museum. The museum was closed when we first got there, right at 1:00, for 2 minutes of silence for the London bombings. When the ticket counter re-opened, we bought tickets and spent the next hour and a half looking at Picasso’s various works, many less-known.

Lunch was in the shade at a café by the Gothic Cathedral, the same kind of food as usual: pasta, seafood (octopus, calamari, squid, mussels) and local meats. After lunch, we rode the tourist bus to Park Guell, designed by Gaudi at the far end of the city. From the top of the park, there was a very nice panoramic view of Barcelona. The bus ride back, since the busses run in one direction, took just over an hour, and took us past the FC Barcelona (soccer stadium), University of Barcelona, and a number of smaller squarer and monuments.

Instead of a siesta, we walked the streets near our hotel, stopping at a candy store and several shirt and souvenier stores, as well as another gelateria. Since it was too early for dinner, we had drinks at a cerveseria in the square. While we sat there, a protest took place on La Rambla just outside that required the police to use flash-bangs and disperse the people, so of course we had to check that out before returning to our hotel, for the first time since we left in the morning, for an hour break.

After our break, we had sandwiches (very good ones) from a small shop up the street. We took a short walk, then returned to the hotel to take showers (it was over 90 degrees F and fairly humid, so I was pretty gross) and get packed for our 7:30 departure tomorrow morning.

July 15, 2005 TRAVEL

Thanks to dad’s watch alarm, we woke up on time to catch the beginning of the hotel breakfast today before meeting our transfer to the airport. We arrived slightly early, much better than late, to check in for our flight. No problems checking luggage through to Portland! After a coffee break in the main terminal, we moved to the international departure area with a greater assortment of shops. We played some cards and tried to spend a few of our Euros before boarding our plane for London’s Heathrow Airport around 11:00 (2AM Pacific time).

We were delayed for engine trouble, but managed to get another flight clearance and the engine fixed. In London, we had very little time to spare as we raced through the maze of terminals to transfer to our connection. In the gate lounge, we had to show our ID and tickets, then we were patted down by a man in a turban, our bags were hand-searched, and everything was swabbed for evidence of explosives. Guess they’re being careful in London now after last week. We got on the flight, a 777 (that means personal TV screens with 4 or 5 movie choices) and headed for Chicago.

Chicago was an adventure… maybe more like a maze. Instead of cheese at the end, we had another rude gate staff member. No problems were evident until we left customs with our luggage and had to wait in a series of confusing lines with people yelling conflicting things. Imagine not speaking much English and hearing people yelling and pointing, it was like the floor of the stock market there. After the luggage was on its way, we climbed the slow escalator (no stairs) to the tram that comes once every 4 minutes to take people to the connecting terminal. Once we got off the tram, we had to fight our way to the escalators, where we found ourselves confronted with a 30 minute security line. We ran once more, amazing-race-style, through the concourse of terminal 3, this time to barely make our flight. The gate agent told us to get on, that he would find Spenser (who went one gate too far), but that wasn’t going to happen and we knew it. Someone needs to remember to write a complaint letter about the staff there, I know I’m certainly never traveling through Chicago again if I can help it, and definitely not on American.

So now I’m on the flight home, we should land in a couple hours and if all goes well, we’ll be home around 10 PM Pacific Time tonight. Wow. It was a great trip, but it will also be nice to be back home!