First Port Civitavecchia

Author's Note: My apologies for the delay in posting more about our summer vacation. I wrote this travel entry right as I was starting a new job, so it has taken me a few months to transition and get back to my blog. This post was originally written in July 2011.

Day 4 -- First Port: Civitavecchia 

“Ancient town” – 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome 

The excursion we chose for our first port was a scenic tour of the countryside of Tuscania and to visit an olive farm; Casale Bonaparte. Casale Bonaparte dates back to the 16th century. We learned how olives are harvested and had a sampling of different olive oils and fresh bruschetta, goat cheese, and local jams.

Our second stop of the day was Tuscania which is a charming city that was originally built within high stone walls in 7th century BC. 

Day 5 - Second Port: Naples

Naples is the third largest city in Italy. Nestled between the mountains and the coast, it is a steep city. A castle stands next to the docks and Mount Vesuvius looms in the distance. In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted. Poisonous gases filtered down to Pompeii – approximately 15 miles away; then, 15 ft of ash rained down on Pompeii; a blizzard of gray ash; and buried the people who lie in the streets as they attempted to run, but choked on the gas. The Discovery Website offers visitors a text-based journey of what happened: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/pompeii/history.html.

As one walks up a ramp into a city, two flat stones mark where guards would have stood in the middle of the entry way. Farther along the main stone passageway, “speed bumps” rise from the other stone. These large stones are set just far enough apart to let wheels of chariots through if they were aligned right. The raised stones also were used as stepping stones if it rained and the streets were flooded as there were no gutters. Raised sidewalks existed on both sides of the street.

Shops intermixed with homes stood next to each other. We walked past the remains of a restaurant where they used large clay pots stuck into the ground to either keep the food hot or cold. Flour mills remain in the bakery. Some archeologists found hardened bread still in the ovens.

A large home contained a message in tiny chips of mosaic tile, “Beware of dog.” Frescos were painted on the wall and a large stone alter was kept near one entrance to the house next to the garden for blessings. A dining room looked out into a garden. Bedrooms were tiny and only meant for one or two people.

We walked past the temple where animal sacrifices were made. I realize that it did not do them any good. An earthquake occurred 17 years before the eruption, but their sacrifices did not keep the eruption from happening.

Archaeologists discovered that if they poured plaster into the ash, they could encase the bodies found buried in the ash. These plaster molds are displayed in glass cases and show how the stranded slaves in the city died. Some covered their eyes; others laid on their stomachs as the poisonous gases choked them. A dog curled up as it suffocated.

My father tells me that there was an eye witness account of exactly what happened from someone in Naples. If the winds had shifted the other way, Naples might have been the destroyed city instead of Pompeii. Herculaneum is another city that is more preserved because of mudslides. Maybe next time I can get there....

Onward to Italy: A Day at Sea

On the Ship

We had made it! Now, we could relax. Our first impression of Celebrity Solstice was “Wow!” as we entered the Grand Foyer where a host greeted us with champagne to welcome us aboard. The Solstice made its debut in 2008 as the largest ship to be built in a German shipyard. Blogger Amber Bleaker, EEC, LCS, made some really good points in her blog about the ship so I'll direct you to her CruiseResource News Blog for a great description of this upscale, modern and elegant cruise ship. What was nice about our four-out-of-twelve "sea" days is that we could relax and do whatever we wanted on these days. As a family, we would take our time getting up, then go work out in the great gym facility. Our motive was simple. If we worked out every day, we didn't have to worry so much about what we ate. :)


There was always food around. My preference was to eat freshly prepared eggs for breakfast (protein); then, have a salad for lunch so that I could eat what I wanted (and as much as I wanted) at dinner. I loved their salads and loved all the fresh vegetable toppings with a splash of vinaigrette dressing. D discovered the 4 pm tea sandwiches at the Oceanview Cafe and the 5 pm sushi. A variety of Ice cream flavors are served until 9 pm complete with toppings. Though by the end of the cruise, the M&Ms were gone. :) Since my dairy allergy doesn't allow me to eat the ice-cream that my kids enjoy so much, I would treat myself to the fresh sorbets like coconut, strawberry or mango sorbet. 

The Grand Epernay dining room is spacious with two stories decorated in tones of gold and white with lots of light, comfortable seating and white linens. The second floor is open to the dining room below as a grand balcony with a curved stairway on one side and glass-balcony style seating overlooking the first floor. Large windows on the two outside walls frame the ocean views so guests can see the ocean on both sides from their table. We chose the early seating for dinner at 6:15 pm which allowed us to go to 9:15 pm show every night. Dinner is a two-hour event so as a family, we just felt like the second seating at 8:45 pm was just a little too late for us to eat. 

What I love about dinner on a cruise is how we get to know the waiters and hear stories about their lives. Here is a quirky, funny story about me...
On our first evening I discovered the fresh "homemade" (or should I say "shipmade") breadsticks. Since my family didn't eat them all, I gathered the left-over breadsticks and asked our assistant waiter, Mohammad, for a napkin. Why not? They would throw them away and this way I could enjoy them with my salad at lunch.  At first I think he thought I was odd, but from that night on, I had a basket of breadsticks waiting for me at the table. :) How nice was that? It became a little joke with my entire family, but I did share them with my mom. : )

Mohammad, our waiter, was a very tall, lanky, young man who was awaiting his vacation to be home for Ramadan; where Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. He explained that his faith was important and that he wanted to be home where he could observe his faith during Ramadan; which is harder to do with a cruise ship work schedule. This linked "Cruise Ship Job Experience" blog post mentions that the crew's days are usually 12 to 16 hours; sometimes 7 days per week! I commend his commitment in a work-driven world that does not always support spiritual practices.

Some nights after dinner, we would go to a performance in the Solstice Theater. All the shows were excellent, two performers stand out: Comedy Juggler David Deeble and a piano player/singer/song writer whose name escapes me right now, but I keep looking for it.



After the evening show Mike and I would go listen to Karaoke; or go dance at Quasar to a techno-mix of U2, Lady Gaga, even Journey. Who would have guessed that 25+ years after my graduation that Journey's Open Arms would be modernized to suit a younger crowd? : ) Yet the people dancing early (at 11 pm) were in their 40’s; the very group who doesn’t need the techno version of '80's music.

One night my parents, Mike, and I went to a 1950's sock-hop; and another night Mike and I went to a very funny and realistic "Newlywed Not-So-Newlywed" Comedy Game Show. The ship also has a Corning Glass-blowing show next to the Lawn Club; an area on the top deck with real grass for picnics and croquet. The video clip below shows the process (even though it is on a different Celebrity ship).



On Saturday evening (May 28, 2011) we skipped the evening show to watch Barcelona win over Manchester in the 2011 Champions League Final in Soccer. The Sky Observation Lounge was packed with fans cheering for England or Barcelona. The cruise provided free munchies like popcorn, pretzels, and chips with drink specials. The energy was contagious and we enjoyed all the excitement.

Mike, K, D and I spent our afternoons by the central outside pool on the Lido Deck. We listened to the ship's live Party Band Headlines and enjoy their happy hour specials. (This is the first cruise I have been on which offered a happy hour.) There is an over-18 "Serenity" pool and atrium for guests who prefer a quieter experience, but we never went there. I took advantage of my time with my family. Time with my family was the best memory from this trip!


Stay tuned for more about our Mediterranean adventures...

Barcelona, Spain – First Impressions

“It is a good thing you are going south” said the ticket agent. An unexpected May eruption of another Icelandic volcano threatened flight cancelations for northern European cities. Thus, our fourteen day vacation began with the realization that there wasn’t much I could do about something I have no control over, and I needed to just hope for the best.

Our 12 night Mediterranean Greek Isles Cruise on Celebrity Solstice with my parents and children, D (16) and K (almost 21), had been a grand plan in the works for over a year. My intention was to create a memorable vacation to celebrate our daughter’s upcoming graduation from Boston University and her commissioning as a Naval Officer in May 2012. We needed to plan our big “family" celebration for this summer since next summer our daughter will belong to the Navy and there is no way of knowing when she will report.

The first impressions of a city come from how I feel at the airport: Modern, floor-to-ceiling windows with chrome siding; clean, full of light and spacious! Off to a good start… We had made it!

Transportation from Barcelona Airport:

TAXI ~ Our family decided to take the train/metro to our Novatel in the “City Center” area, whereas my parents took a taxi. Both experiences went fine. A taxi ride from the airport costs between $30-$37 Euro depending on your destination. Keep in mind that there can be subtle charges as we discovered when we took a taxi to the airport for our early morning return flight home.  A taxi charges per person and per piece of luggage so as a family of four we spent $18.00 per person.

TRAIN ~ The train is available from Terminal B and there is a free airport shuttle that loops between the two airport terminals. We purchased a T-10 card for ten trips on the train for a reduced fare ($7.95 Euro). This card can be used by multiple people if you don’t need that many individual train or metro trips. As a family, we rated the Barcelona Metro very high because of its cleanliest (for a train/subway system) and for it air-conditioning.

Note about Pickpocketing: Barcelona is unfortunately known as the Pickpocket Capital of the World. We watched on the train as two guys tried to take a passenger’s wallet from his back pocket. A woman pushed the thieves and started yelling at them in Spanish. The victim looked as startles as the thieves as the men quickly left the train. We always keep our wallets and purses in front of us and stand so that nobody jostles us. On one Metro trip, a man attempted to open my dad’s zippered pouch. My dad’s stern and loud “What do you think you’re doing?” caught everybody’s attention and the man quickly left the Metro. Mike had a similar subway experience on a trip to Paris so it really is about being aware of your surrounding and being on the look-out.

Adventures in the City via the Metro
After we were settled in our hotel that first night, we ventured out into the city. We took the Metro to the top of Las Ramblas at Plaça De Catalunya; a central square for five different boulevards and a hub for bus, Metro, and airport shuttles. It is a one-mile walk from the top of Las Ramblas to the Columbus Monument at the bottom; the harbor. Las Ramblas is a bustling tree-lined boulevard with one-way streets on either side of the pedestrian walk-way. It was a Tuesday night and bustling with people. And not everything we saw was tourist-related as squatters live in tents among the statues at Plaça De Catalunya. Handwritten banners of protest were taped on the walls or strung around bronze statues.

One-way car traffic is on either side of a pedestrian center walk-way which reminded us of a mega-Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, CO. We walked past tapa restaurants, Irish pubs, and modern fashion stores that lined both sides of this tree-lined street.

Flower shops whose walls are all glass like a green house, bird kiosks, and tourist shops along the pedestrian walk-way are open until after dark. Umbrella-covered tables under the canopy of trees are perfect for people-walking. Hotels and apartments with painted wooden shutters and window boxes with flowers are above the first-floor shops and restaurants. Smaller streets jut left and right in between stone buildings from the main road. 

Time for Dinner
Rick Steve’s Snapshot: Barcelona Guidebook (2011) mentioned a quaint, outdoor restaurant, Café de l’Academia, tucked away in a square in the Barri Gòtic area that neighbors frequent. My family set off to find this restaurant, but after an hour of looking, we gave up. Our mistake was that it was only 8 pm, Barcelona time, which is really too early for dinner in Spain, but we were hungry having not eaten since breakfast on the plane – and you can guess what that was like : ). We figured out later that we had walked right by it because it was closed. When the restaurants or shops are closed, graffiti-covered metal garage doors hide the shops and restaurants. 

The picture to the left shows how we are standing in the square right by the café! We found the tables but didn’t see the café’s name above the closed metal door.

My family wandered for a while back towards Las Ramblas and found Plaça Reial tucked in among the medieval buildings where we could choose from several restaurants; sit outside; and people-watch. We chose MariscCO; a fresh seafood restaurant.

Something our family has learned from traveling in Europe is that you may not get what you think you are getting to eat. D ordered “fried fish.” Imagine his surprise when a plate of little, but whole fish arrived on his plate; heads, fins, bones and tail all included! Think “Medusa” and you have a visual of how this plate of fish looked. We were all in such shock that we didn’t take a picture. Mike traded his calamari for D’s fish and while the rest of us enjoyed fresh grilled prawns, salmon, and sea bass.

Stay tuned for more about our Mediterranean adventure…

One Autumn Day in Boston

My husband, son, and I have just returned from a really quick trip to Boston. When I say quick, I mean 2 flight days and one day to visit. We flew in on Thursday night just in time for K to meet us at the airport, get our rental car, and drive to the original Cheers on Beacon Hill across from the Boston Commons for dinner. Believe it or not, we go there for the food; even though we admit that the first time we went was to say we had been to the tourist attraction. K likes their spicy chili; D likes their clam chowder, nachos and fish-n-chips. The waiter was astonished when D ate all that by himself! :) Cheers, originally named the Bull and Finch Pub prior to the 1982 debut of the TV sitcom, has a great chicken sandwich that M and I always share with lobster artichoke dip for an appetizer; where else can you get a lobster artichoke dip but in New England? Yum! Side note: Sometimes I tease that I am going to write a blog entry on all the different artichoke dips we have tried during our travels. Let me just write that my all-time favorite artichoke dip was in Vancouver: a Crab Artichoke dip! But M reported that last time he was there (for the 2010 Winter Olympics), the crab dip was no longer on the menu.

Anyhow, artichoke dip aside what I like about Cheers is the coziness of this basement pub that doesn't look at all like the set. Which on this last visit made me wonder: What happens when people don't remember Cheers anymore? You know… the TV sitcom from the 1980's? I don't think my children have ever watched an episode; and if they did, I don't think they would find it very funny... and the more I think about it I am not so sure my daughter would even enjoy the romance between Sam and Diane. Will there come a day where the television show, Cheers, will be forgotten and the pub goes back to just being a good neighborhood pub?

You have to go upstairs to see the set bar and there was one trip in the spring where we sat in the "set" area with K. Our memory from that night is that we sat next to six girls who had just arrived from England. They still had their suitcases with them after jumping on the T from the airport and finding Cheers. They asked M to take their picture that night and told us that they had been sitting there for 5 hours laughing from a combination of sleep deprivation and good ale.

On Friday we woke to rain, an early October Nor'easter that we knew was arriving while we slept. I journey out for coffee with my long-time best friend of 33 years, T, while the "boys" slept in and K attended classes. In the afternoon, M, D, and I parked the car at the Alewife station which is on the north end of Boston and took the T in to the Aquarium which is along the Boston waterfront. While waiting for K to join us, we took a brief walk to Faneuil Hall; and then back to the seals that live outside of the aquarium in a glass tank. Our visit to the New England Aquarium was a first for our family and we found ourselves trying to remember the highlights of other aquariums we have visited: Denver's Downtown Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium in northern California, National Aquarium in Inner Harbor, Baltimore, and Seattle's Aquarium. For now, let me just say that we spent a lot of time watching the 80 personable. I also personally enjoyed the leafy dragons, the jelly fish, and Myrtle, the 600 lb turtle, who is 70 years old!

After the Aquarium visit, we ate an early seafood dinner (having skipped lunch then took a windy walk to our favorite Italian after-dinner caffe in the North End: Caffe Paradiso where we talked more about K's year and common interests. For example, K has had an interest in the history of England since she was in middle school so she is watching the same cable channel series that M and I are watching. It was so much fun to discuss the historical facts with K that have been changed for the dramatic benefit of the show.

We also talked about other trips to Boston. Six years ago we visited during a Nor'easter where it poured rain for most of our three-day visit. Yet it was on that rainy trip that K just grinned and talked about how she just might like to attend college in New England. As she said to a Michigan couple who spoke to us on Friday, she came to New England "because it was different than Colorado." After a couple of hours we felt like we should walk on from the caffé, but we still wanted to spend a little more time together before calling it a night. I knew that when we returned to the T, the trip was essentially over so we wanted to extend the evening as much as possible.

On the way back to the Government Center T station, the rain picked up so we walked to The Bell In Hand Tavern; another favorite place where we could wait out the rain for awhile while we stretched out the evening's conversation with K. The oldest section of the tavern is a triangle-shaped with three walls of windows. Our kids are allowed in this "restaurant" section and it is the best place for people-watching. On more than one occasion when M & I are in the area and decide to take a break from walking, we sit at the prime location table for two at the tip or point of the tavern where the two walls of windows meet. From there, we took the T and had to say good-bye to K as she rode a different T line back to her dorm. By the time she awoke on Saturday morning, we were at the airport waiting to get back home. 

A Slice of Life: Breakfast Conversation

My son and I have this great morning routine where we sit and talk at the breakfast table while he eats. This morning's breakfast conversation between us went something like this...

"Well, mom - how are you doing?"
"Okay. I have a paper that needs to be turn in today."
"Is that why you woke up early?"
"Yep, I started thinking."
"Mom, you know your brain needs rest. You should have stayed in bed."
"I couldn't. My brain was awake."
"Oh, mom. that's your brain. You need to learn how to quiet your brain."

How does my son know this already?

An Autistic Visit to the Orthodontist

The white snow reflects light off of the bare, gray bark trees and pebbled cement sidewalk. I watch my son walk slowly up to the front doors of the high school with his head down. He has just been to the orthodontist’s and the orthodontist explains that if D doesn’t start brushing better, he cannot continue D’s braces. At his morning’s appointment, the hygienist had D come get me in the waiting room to explain how he had plaque left around his brackets. They would rather see him with crooked teeth than with cavity holes where his brackets are. I get it. D hangs his head while the hygienist reports the grim news. He thinks he is in trouble.

I want to explain to the orthodontist that D hates the electric toothbrush because of the feel of the rough bristles against his gums and how what sounds like a small noise to most children is loud to D’s sensitive ears so brushing is one of those activities that we have to enforce daily because it is physically painful to D. But I’ve never had the sense that the orthodontist gets it; "it" being how autistic children react to the touch and sound of things. While on one hand I feel I should educate this orthodontist, on the other hand, it is just easier to just agree that we will help him brush and leave. Should D be in trouble? I ask myself as we walk to the car. Just this morning when I asked if I should check his teeth, D exclaimed, “No. They are fine.”

I don’t press the issue. I am trying to let him gain more independence. He has been doing really well with the independence of high school for the most part; he is turning in his homework on time; keeping up with his classes; earning a 3.2 grade point average; and reading at grade level. He comes home each time and gets his homework done without being asked. We have this feeling of humming along so it catches us by surprise where is a glitch in the smoothness.

I close my eyes for a minute against the bright winter sunlight. Soon it will be spring and I won’t feel so cold. Spring is coming, right? But this morning I am not feeling like a very good mother because I should have spared D the humiliation in the orthodontist’s office. I knew that I should have checked his brushing, but I didn’t. I let them scold him because I thought it would have more impact. And yes, it did; but instead of feeling better with this incidence of him hearing it from someone else, I feel ashamed. I feel like I let D down because he doesn’t always quite get it.

I spend the day wondering how he is doing in his classes. Did the morning incident distract him from paying attention in school? I call him at lunch to see how he is doing and to tell him that I love him, but his phone goes right to voicemail, which means his phone is off. Finally, after track practice, he calls to have his dad pick him up from school.

“How are you?” I ask him over the phone. I've been waiting for hours to know.

“Fine.” D is the master of one word answers. There is no sign of morning anger or sadness. He is back to his cheerful, “normal” self. When he gets home I ask him again, how he is and how his day went. And he smiles, “Mom, you know I get over things quickly. I am fine. My day was good.”

I smile at him, and shake my head at myself; another perfect example of me worrying too much. “Okay; well, brush your teeth, and I’ll double-check from now on.” And so our new routine begins without an argument. He brushes; I double-check; and we can only hope it will be enough to get him through one more year of braces.

Inspirational Quote

Just read this quote on the Happiness Project Toolbox Inspiration Board page [http://happinessprojecttoolbox.com/inspiration_boards.html]:

"The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark. - Barbara Hall - Northern Exposure "Rosebud" 1993

 

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