MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - KUSADASI, TURKEY

 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4th, 2015

Another early morning start as the ship would be docking by 7am.  We ate breakfast outside, on the aft deck, and were able to enjoy watching the sun come up over Kusadasi.  The horizon was a blend of deep oranges, purples and golds.  

Sunrise over Kusadasi

We were off the ship a bit late as it took awhile for the ship to clear.  We immediately made our way through the terminal toward the exit to find our driver/guide for the day.  I had looked at all sorts of options to get to Ephesus, from private tours to the Ephesus shuttle.  Through my research, I came across a taxi service that would be quite a bit more cost effective and have the bonus of not having a huge crowd to travel with and also had very good reviews on Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic.   

I sent an email to Ali at Ephesus Taxi Service (www.ephesustaxiservice.com) aka Ali Baba Taxi, to inquire about pricing and availability and I received a response very quickly.  The price to take the Ephesus Shuttle was $35US (equivalent) per person, which would have worked out to $210US for the six of us.  Ali’s price was €80 total for all six people.

We met Ali and followed him across the street to where his van was parked and off we headed to Ephesus with the goal to get ahead of the ship’s tours.  This was a common goal at pretty much every stop on this cruise.  His van was in top notch condition and very clean with air conditioning and wifi available.

Ali

We quickly warmed to Ali as he was very charming and upbeat and knew a lot about the area and its history.  My Dad loved him because he had a great sense of humour and kept us all laughing as we traveled.  Our first lesson was how to properly pronounce Kusadasi.  We pronounced it just as it is spelled but Ali taught us that the proper way to pronounce it is “koo-sha-da-sa”.  It took us a lot of practice to say it correctly without getting tongue-tied!

The early morning light was absolutely incredible.  A pale orange haze blanketed the area as the fog had not yet burned off and the sunlight was diffused through the fog.  

We made it to Ephesus just before the tours arrived so we did not get ahead of a lot of the crowd but we only ever felt crowded on the main avenue.  We got some water at a market across the street and bought our tickets and a tour book as soon as the gates opened for business.  Entry was 40TL (Turkish Lira) per person for the entry ticket that included access to the Terrace Houses.  We were able to pay by Visa so we did not have to actually get any Turkish Lira for this stop.

We had done a bit of reading up on Ephesus before we arrived so that we would have an idea of some of the history and ruins.  We brought along our constant companion, Rick Steves’ travel guide, to help us as well.  You can hire a guide at the entrance and, if we returned, we would probably do that the next time.  We got the basics of the history and the different ruins we saw but a guide would have known more details that would have enhanced the experience for us.

One thing that excited me right away was when we realized that we could actually walk among the ruins and up stairs and into buildings as we toured.  Things were not roped off and it really added to the feeling that you were walking in the footsteps of the ancients.   We all went off in different directions as we explored and came back together periodically to touch base. 

There were tons of cats around...and the occasional dog.  They take donations at the front gate to help feed the stray cats that wander the site.

We were glad we had paid the extra fee to access the Terrace Houses, as they were a cool and quiet respite from the heat and crowds outside.  They have spent a lot of money on the excavation and the site is now encased inside a structure to protect it from the elements.  You follow a raised walkway that winds through the excavation and up stairs at different points so you have a bird’s eye view down into the interiors of the houses.  I was surprised at how much was still standing of these homes that the wealthy used to inhabit.  Columns, frescoes and lots of mosaics still to be seen.  We wanted to take in everything so we took our time going through the site.

The view from the deck above the Terrace Houses

Once back outside, our next stop was my favorite ruin which was the Library of Celsus.  The main part still standing was the façade of the library.  We were able to walk through and into an area behind the façade and look back out at all of the crowds making their way down Curetes Street, one of the three main roads at Ephesus.

The Library of Celsus

Inside one of the doors of the library

We spent almost two and a half hours wandering through the ruins and absorbing all of the sights that we could.  Ali met us outside the lower gate and we headed out to Selçuk, a nearby town.  We stopped at a carpet factory for a lesson in Turkish carpet weaving and were pleased that we did not get a hard-sell sales pitch that is often part of these tours.  We also stopped by the Temple of Artemis ruins (which is essentially one main tall column that still remains of the temple) and the Basilica of St. John. 

 

Learning the technique

Vibrant carpet

They worked from a pattern

Basilica of St. John

We headed back toward Kusadasi, making a quick stop at a leather shop along the way.  The leather was so soft and buttery and the prices fit with the evident quality.

Ali had us back to town by around noon, as all aboard was at 1:30pm with departure at 2pm.  He dropped us across the street from the bazaar and thus began another lesson in navigating the lanes packed tightly with every type of shop you could imagine.  Shopkeepers called out to us as we walked by and we quickly learned not to make eye contact with anyone or we would immediately be seen as ‘being interested’ and then getting away required some real effort.  It was a crash course in quashing some of our Canadian instincts for politeness and saying “no” and to keep on walking, even if they were still talking.

The bazaar

 

Along the Kusadasi harbour front

We spent probably 45 minutes in the bazaar and then joined the long line of passengers getting back on the ship.  We were back on the ship a bit after 1pm, changed into our swimsuits and got some lunch to eat on a sun lounger on the aft deck.  We enjoyed watching the ship sail away from Kusadasi from the comfort of the hot tub and then headed back to the cabin for a nap.  Since we were back on the ship so early, we decided to dress up and go to the more formal restaurant (Windows) for supper and then took in the evening show.

Farewell Kusadasi

Kusadasi was a wonderful surprise as we did not have any real expectations going in.  We expected to enjoy Ephesus, but it exceeded those expectations.  We could have probably spent at least another couple of hours there, had we had the time.  Just outside the town of Kusadasi, they have one of the largest waterparks around.  It would have been a great spot to spend a few hours.  The entire area was also very beautiful  and would be a lovely place to come to enjoy some sun, sand and peaceful surroundings.

MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - ATHENS, GREECE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2015

We were glad to have a couple of sea days at the beginning of this 12-day cruise so that we could catch up on some sleep and conquer the jet lag/travel exhaustion.  Our two days at sea were very relaxing and unhurried.

On Saturday, we were all up with the sun as the ship was docking at 7am and we wanted to get an early start to try to get to the Acropolis before the ship’s tours arrived. From research on the Cruise Critic discussion boards, I found out about the X80 tourist bus that went from the port of Piraeus right to some key spots in the city of Athens.  It appears to run during the bulk of the tourist season but stops for the winter months when tourism drops.  I also learned that cruise ships usually dock at Terminal A or B and the bus stop is different depending on which terminal you are at.  We docked at Terminal A.  We did not get off the ship until 7:30am and we went left outside the terminal doors, along the curve of the roundabout, through a parking lots filled with tour buses and vans and found the small kiosk where we could buy tickets for the X80. 

ticket kiosk

bus stop sign

We paid €4 each for a round-trip ticket (which also gave us Metro access) and did not have to wait long for the bus to arrive.  The bus stop was not far from the hut but the sign is not very large.  It does show X80 on the sign, you just have to get close to see it…or maybe it was just my poor eyesight.  You will note on the above photo that the bus stop we used was "OLP to athens".  I checked the map of the bus route and it appears that if you dock at terminal B, your bus stop would read "Terminal X80" but since I did not see this with my own two eyes, you will want to verify this.  When you get on the bus, you need to validate your ticket by inserting it in the slot in the red metal box before taking your seat or you could be fined.

 

The trip into Athens took about 25 minutes and the bus dropped us right across from the end of the street (Dionysiou Areopagitou) that ran up by the Acropolis.  We started our walk up the street toward the ticket entrance of the Acropolis with a group of tourists from Vancouver on our heels because they figured we seemed to know where we were going.  We saw what looked like a ticket booth but had to ask to confirm as signage was not very clear.  There was not much of a line and we paid the €12 per person entrance fee and started the hike up the hill to the Acropolis.  Looking up at what we could see of the Parthenon, backed by a vibrant blue Greek sky, was such an incredible moment.  

It was quite steep at times so we paced ourselves and moved slowly with periodic rest stops. We told ourselves this was in consideration of our parents, who were in their 70's and one with a bad knee, but I think we were all glad for the rest breaks.  There is an elevator available for those who are disabled but it did not look like it was for the faint of heart…straight up the side of the Acropolis!!  

After the walkway, we then faced a good amount of stairs.  We took our time and took photos and explored the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the Temple of Athena Nike on our way past. 

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Once we got to the Acropolis, the view was just stunning!  The whole of Athens spread out at our feet, 360 degrees all around us, with white buildings as far as you could see and lots of Greek flags.   

We used Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports travel guide to learn about the different structures and had also downloaded his walking tour of the Acropolis, although we listened to parts of that at triple speed.  

Porch of the Caryatids

We spent probably an hour and a half exploring and taking photos before the crowd started getting noticeably larger and it was obvious that the ship’s tours had arrived...so we moved on to Mars Hill.  Mom and Dad did not climb up because it was very steep but the rest of us went to the top of Mars Hill after reading the write-up posted at the bottom of the stone steps.   

Stairs to Mars Hill

View of the Acropolis from Mars Hill

This was the spot where the apostle Paul gave his speech about the altar to the unknown god from Acts 17.  It was incredible to think that we were standing on the same spot where this biblical event occurred.  We came back down an easier set of stairs and took a rest in the shade on a bench while Dad read Acts 17 to us.  We had some water, snacks and then started meandering our way down the hill through the narrow, cobblestone streets.  We passed many homes and small churches and spotted a little tourist shop where we picked up some more water and bought a couple of souvenirs to remember Athens.  It was getting pretty warm so we wanted to stay in the shade as much as possible and keep hydrated.

When we reached the lower streets, we walked up Aiolu (Monastiraki area) looking for Falafellas, a well-reviewed falafel spot where Heath & Phie wanted to get lunch.  The shop only opened at noon so Dave and I left everyone there and walked over to “Souvlaki Row” and found Thanasis (another well-reviewed restaurant) where I got a kebab wrap and Dave got the most stellar Greek salad we had ever seen. 

Thanasis

Stellar Greek salad

Obviously, they originated it, so they should make the best!!  Both dishes only cost us a total of €5,90.  We brought our lunch back to where the others were sitting and we all ate lunch, did a bit of window shopping and then headed to Syntagma Square.

We arrived in time to catch the changing of the Evzone guards, which happens every hour, on the hour.  A special changing of the guard ceremony is held every Sunday at 11am.  Their uniforms are very unique and everyone was jockeying for position to get a good photo.  The captain warned the crowd that they better make sure they don’t get in guards’ way as they will not stop marching…they will march right over you if you did not move.  Dave calculated the path he thought they would take and sent me to an area where nobody was standing.  Sure enough, they headed directly toward me and I got some great shots before everyone else caught on and swarmed the area.

Parliament House with Syntagma Square below

Evzone guards

After the ceremony, we headed down the stairs under the Square and caught the Metro (also included in the transportation pass we had bought) at the Syntagma station and exited at the Acropoli station.  We found a gelato shop called Ice Queen and sat at the outdoor tables to enjoy our treats.  They had vegan options and lots of dairy free sorbet options.

Then we found Mom and Dad a shaded spot to sit and wait for us near the Tourist Information Centre.  The three of us headed back up toward the Acropolis to a small neighborhood called Anafiotika (Little Anafi) where the houses were constructed by people from the island of Anafi who had come over and settled in Athens.  It was such a quaint and unique little area with lots of whitewashed houses, steps and walls with vibrant pops of colour on doors and windows as well as lush bougainvillea.  Some lanes between the houses were so narrow that only one person could pass at a time and you felt as if you were trespassing on the resident’s property because everything was so close together.

When we felt we had covered most of the neighborhood, we went back and picked up Mom and Dad and made our way to the bus stop.  The pickup spot was in front of a fur store (Emzo luxury furs) across the street from where we were dropped off that morning.  We would have still had time to stop by the Acropolis Museum before heading back as our ship only left at 7pm but we were getting tired at that point.

I believe there is also a pickup spot at Syntagma Square.  We probably waited around 40 minutes for the next bus.   The buses are supposed to run about every 30 minutes but I suspect that is just an estimate so don't count on punctuality.  When the bus finally arrived, the crowd waiting was quite a good size and there was a real scrum to get onto the bus as those who came after us jockeyed for position and stepped right in front.  We found that in Europe, there was no real sense of lines setting up in the order of arrival, as it is in North America.  It is each person for themselves otherwise you get left behind.  We got smart and ran to the back door to get on instead.

The return trip took longer than the trip in as there was more traffic to deal with.  Make sure you leave good room in your schedule to wait for the bus and travel back to the port.  We made it back to the ship around 4pm, in time to have a light snack and rehydrate before grabbing a wee nap before supper.  Some went to the show in the main lounge but I just wanted bed and sleep.  We found that we had such an intense port schedule that very few shows were seen on this cruise but we did not regret that one bit.

We really enjoyed Athens and did not have any issues, despite the financial crisis that was going on at the time.  We just made sure that we had the euro cash that we needed as getting money from instant teller machines may not have been easy to do.  We were able to see just about everything that we wanted to see except I would have loved to visit the Acropolis Museum.  I guess it is always nice to leave something to see for a return trip.

* All photos are copyrighted and are not to be used, for any purpose, without first requesting my permission via the email address shown in my profile.

MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - VENICE, ITALY

MONDAY, SEP 28^th, 2015

After three flights and about 17 hours of travel time, we landed in Venice at 10:00am.  I actually teared up as we landed and saw the spires of St. Mark's across the water on the island of Venice.  I had only dreamed of this day and it was now a reality.  WE WERE IN VENICE!!!

After disembarking, we headed to the main terminal area to pick up our tourist passes that we had bought online a few days before we left home (www.veneziaunica.it/en).  The counter was not very well marked as it was just a couple of windows beside another counter but after wandering around a bit and not finding it, I went back and asked at the counter and they pointed me in the right direction.  These passes were a life saver!  We had tailored the passes to what we wanted to do so we had selected the 3-day unlimited vaporetto pass for €40pp, airport bus transfer to Piazzale Roma for €6pp and entry to the Doge’s Palace plus three other St. Mark’s Square museums for €18pp (€11 for seniors).  Since one trip on a vaporetto costs €7,50, we saved more than enough to make these passes worth their while.  We received a card that was to be scanned each time we used the vaporetto and also was our access for the ACTV Aerobus trip into Venice.  The museum passes I printed out at home before leaving for Europe.

We left the terminal by the door with the sign for Ground Transportation.  We did not have to walk very long before looking to the left and seeing the sign for Linea 5 (Aerobus).  We got in line and the bus arrived a couple of minutes later.  This bus is the local transport bus so has hard plastic seats, an open area to store your luggage and it makes several stops on its way to Venice.  You can buy a pass for the ATVO bus which has more cushy seats, storage for luggage under the bus and does not make as many stops.  I think the cost would have been €8 for that bus.

I really can’t remember how long it took us to get to Piazzale Roma as I was too interested in seeing all of the sights but I would guess it took around 25-30 minutes.  The bus let us off in Piazzale Roma, which is the only parking lot on the island of Venice.  Since there are pretty much no vehicles on the island, all vehicle traffic ends here.  I think we only saw two other vehicles elsewhere on the island over the next three days.

Our first view of the canals

Our first challenge was trying to figure out exactly where we were so we could then navigate to where we were going to pick up the key for our apartment rental.  After a few false starts, we eventually felt we were headed in the right direction.  NOTE:  a good map is really helpful but prepare to get lost anyway…you will!  We bought an international phone package before heading to Europe and it allowed us a certain number of calls, texts and data so we were able to use Google maps when we got really stuck.  Special note:  we were not told that this package only worked ON LAND and not when we were at sea on the cruise ship so you will want to clarify that if you choose to purchase this type of package.  

As we were crossing a bridge, we heard a scream and saw our friend running toward us.  She and her parents had flown in from the UK and had already scoped out the pickup spot for the key so they were able to easily guide us where we needed to go.  There were some tears and lots of hugs.  It had been six years since we had seen her and it was the first time meeting her parents.

The apartment was not ready so we had about an hour to kill.  We wandered around taking in the whole experience: the constant hum of boat engines, splashing water, church bells and people everywhere.  I could barely carry on a conversation as I was so enraptured with all that was going on around me.  It was just mind-blowing that we were finally in Venice!  We found a little café and took a couple of outdoor tables to enjoy some sun, drinks and a wee snack.  The café was called Bar Due Ruote on Fondamenta Fabricca Tabacchi.

An hour later, we headed back to the rental office for Above The Tide to pick up the key to our apartment and to give our final payment and get our instructions.  We navigated our way through the alleyways pretty well since both Dad and I had ‘walked’ the path using Google’s street level view on our computers at home. 

We rented the apartment through Veniceapartments.org.  We paid a deposit by credit card but they wanted a money transfer for the balance however, we were not able to do that from Canada.  They were very flexible and said we could just pay the balance in cash on arrival.  There is some type of law in Italy about private individuals who are renting out their apartments not being permitted to accept credit cards.  Since the deposit was paid to a management company, we were able to use a credit card for that portion.

We were absolutely thrilled with the apartment!  You are always a bit nervous as to whether a place is as lovely as the pictures online seem to show but it exceeded our expectations.  It had a lounge area, dining room, bathroom, two bedrooms plus another bed in the lounge, an eat-in kitchen and a lovely little courtyard with a chair swing and café table.  Jet lag was hitting us then so we all had a nap for a couple of hours to try and take a bit of the edge off but not enough that we would not sleep that night.  We headed out to explore about three hours later. 

  

Our next challenge to conquer was the vaporetto docks at Piazzale Roma.  Vaporettos are long passenger boats that travel all around Venice. Some spots only have two docks and others have four docks and Piazzale Roma had four due to being a central hub.  We knew we wanted to take the slower route (45 minutes) down the Grand Canal to San Marco and knew we wanted Line #1.  We knew that one boat would go in one direction and another boat would go in the other direction, which was not down the Grand Canal.  We had a crash course in reading the electronic boards as well as the boards that show all of the various stops and the direction of travel arrow.  We figured out that the boats all had a route map and direction indicated on the front of the boat, however, we also realized that they did not always turn the signs around when they changed direction so learned to not always rely on that cue.  Eventually, we got our bearings, scanned our pass on the machine (wait for the beep) and got in line.  Always validate your pass before getting on any transportation.  Signs warn that they will fine you if they do a check and find you have not validated.  We never saw anyone check but better safe than sorry.  A tip about disembarking the vaporetto: when you know your stop is coming up, do not wait to stand up and make your way to whatever side they will be disembarking on.  They quickly pull up to the dock, the passengers get off and they pull quickly away.  We learned that lesson early on when we did not get near enough to the exit and the vaporetto pulled away before we could disembark.  We had to go to the next stop, get off and back on a vaporetto heading back to where we wanted to go.  Speed is the name of the game...even though it is a pretty laid back culture, in general.

Vaporetto dock

A vaporetto arriving at the dock

We wanted one of the vaporetto that have an open seating area at the front so we could have a primo view of our cruise down the canal (thanks for the tip, Rick Steves!).  The trip took about 45 minutes and we just took everything in as we motored along: the light, the boat traffic, the gondolas and gondoliers, the palazzos, the colours.  Incredible!!  I could barely contain myself!  Dave read to us from Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports guide as we went along.  It helped us pick out buildings of interest and learn a bit about them.  This book was absolutely invaluable to us the entire trip.  The tips that we got from it saved us money, time and let us in on some things that we would not have easily discovered ourselves.

A traghetti which is a local 'ferry' to take you across a canal.  If you don't want to spend 100 euro for a gondola ride, spend a couple of euro to experience a traghetti trip.

Gondolas everywhere

Palazzo architecture

We disembarked at the San Marco vaporetto stop and made our way to St. Mark’s Square.  We also realized that the next stop (San Zaccaria) would have been closer to St. Mark’s so next time went to that stop.  We walked along the waterfront getting the lay of the land and checking out all of the vendors stretching out along the walkway.  We saw the Bridge of Sighs that goes between the Doge’s Palace and the prison and then we spotted a little alley off to the left past the prison and decided to dive into the warren of alleys that run all over Venice.  We just wandered around, taking turns where we wanted to.  When we were ready to head to St. Mark’s Square, we just looked up on the buildings for yellow signs with an arrow pointing the way to San Marco.  If we got lost at any time, we just looked for a yellow sign pointing to one of the main areas (Piazzale Rome, San Marco, Ferrovia, etc) and we could always find our way to someplace familiar and go from there.

The Bridge of Sighs

Pigeons take over St. Mark's Square

Direction signs were so helpful

We spent a good while wandering around St. Mark’s Square and taking photos.  It was late in the day and the crowds were thinning out, but there was still a good crowd of people around.  We met up with our friend and her parents and then headed in the direction of the Rialto Bridge to a little restaurant that her Mom had found.   

Rialto Bridge was under construction

We had two celiacs in our group and this restaurant offered gluten-free options.  Italy has an amazing set-up for gluten-free.  They actually have a certification process for restaurants and even if a restaurant is not officially certified, there are still many that offer gluten-free options.  Here is a great post I found on eating gluten-free in Italy.  It also explains how to find certified restaurants and how to print out a restaurant card that tells waiters, in their language, that you are celiac.  I printed out cards for Italy and for Spain.  There was also one for Greece.  http://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-blog/eating-gluten-free-in-italy/

The restaurant was called Ostaria Antico Dolo on Ruga Rialto, 778.  It was a small restaurant with gorgeous wood paneling and cozy lighting.  It was everything Italian that we wanted it to be!  I had simple spaghetti with tomatoes and basil and Dave had the gluten free version.  Others had the seared sea bass and pumpkin gnocchi and everything tasted delicious.  We were so tired that we pretty much staggered our way to the Rialto vaporetto dock – full and jetlagged – and made our way back to the apartment and to bed.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29/15

My sister and I were both awake by 7am, when the church bells nearby started to ring.  I had a great sleep and was ready for action.  We snuck quietly out of the apartment and made our way, with our always present cameras, in the direction of the Rialto Market.  The streets were quiet, with very few tourists and lots of locals going about their regular business.  We did not take a map and just took lanes that looked interesting and felt like the right direction.  Every now and then, we would check for the yellow signs for “per Rialto” and adjust our course.  The sun rising over the Grand Canal was so beautiful and the canal was already humming with boat traffic and deliveries.

Wandering the alleyways in the quiet of the early morning

The sun rising over the Grand Canal

Rialto Market

Our plan at the market was to get provisions for breakfast, snacks for sightseeing as well as supper that evening.  We made a tour through the entire market and then stood back and watched where the locals seemed to be going and got an idea of how things worked.  We made an effort to communicate in Italian as much as possible, with the help of our little pocket “Italian for Travelers” guide.  Everyone we dealt with was very patient and gracious with our efforts and even helped out if we pronounced things wrong.  We walked back to the apartment weighed down with fruits, vegetables and fish.

On our way, we were keeping an eye out for a spot to pick up some eggs and milk and spotted a Coop sign.  We knew this was a grocery chain so we went in.  My sister wanted to get a couple of oranges as well and so began a rather hilarious venture of trying to get the cashier to ring up our purchase.  We took the eggs, milk and two oranges to the cash.  The cashier shook her head “No” and said “pésé” which we figured meant ‘weigh’ because it is a similar word in French.  We went back to the scale and weighed the oranges but could not see where you could print out a ticket so took a photo of the screen and took it back to her.  She frowned and shook her head again and shooed us away…so back we went.  Heather finally got an employee and brought him around to the scale and made the international sign for help (helpless shrugging).  He showed us where the button was to print a label and the bags to put the oranges in.  We got back to the cashier and she gave us a smile and a thumbs up.  We felt as though we had met a great challenge and conquered it!

We got back to the apartment just as everyone was waking up, made some breakfast and tried to make a cake for our friend.  Mom had brought pretty much everything from home to make the cake but every time we turned the oven on, the electricity went out in the apartment.  We would have to go out into the hallway, flip the switch and back in to try again.  We ended up making small cakes in the microwave but it took a good long time to get them all done. 

 

It was around 1pm when we headed out to meet our friends at San Giorgio Maggiore, a small island across the canal from St. Mark's Square.  We caught the #2 vaporetto this time.  It takes a different route than #1 and does not make as many stops so the ride goes quicker.  We wanted to go to San Giorgio Maggiore because I had read that the view from the campinale (tower) was even better than that of St. Mark’s Campinale and the cost was €6 instead of €11 with way less of a line.  On the way, we spotted our cruise ship (Norwegian Spirit) making its way up the canal toward the cruise dock.  

The Norwegian Spirit steaming up the canal

The view of St. Mark's from San Giorgio Maggiore

San Giorgio Maggiore at sunset

Once on the island, we took our time wandering through a couple of art exhibits and the church before heading to the back end of the church to buy tickets for the tower.  There were only about five people in line and only four people at a time could fit in the elevator, but things moved very quickly.  From the tower, we had a 365 degree view of Venice and the surrounding area and since it was a beautiful, sunny day, we could even see the Italian Alps in the distance.

  

The view from the campinale

It was now mid-afternoon and we were very hungry.  Our friends gave us a map with gluten-free pizza restaurants marked on it.  We figured out which one was closest and caught a vaporetto to the Zaterre stop and walked until we found the address.  The restaurant was called Ae Oke and was located on the Giudecca Canal.  We were able to eat right beside the canal in the sunshine.  Dave had his first ‘real’ pizza in four years and was a very happy man!  The pizzas were much larger than we thought they would be – probably 12 inch sized with a thin, crispy crust and they had many options on their menu.  The cost was quite reasonable for Venice.  I think around €7-8 per pizza.

After getting refueled, we headed to the Doge’s Palace.  Since it was later in the day, there was no line to get in and we only had about an hour and a half until closing.  It was so amazing to see the architecture and the ornate décor.  The frescoes on the wall and ceilings were so rich and vibrant.  We walked through the Bridge of Sighs and into the prison as well.  We want to go back and have much more time to go through the palace next time.

The Doge's Palace

The interior courtyard of the Doge's Palace

Incredibly ornate gilding and frescos

We got back to the apartment and had a very late supper.  We wanted an early night but were up until almost midnight wrestling with the washer and trying to figure out just what we had to do to get it to release our soaking wet clothing to us.  We ended up getting the door open and had to wring out every piece of clothing and hang things out in the garden and on any piece of furniture we could find.  The adventures of working with unfamiliar appliances…with instructions and labels in a foreign language.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30/15

We got up the next morning and packed up everything as we had to vacate the apartment by 10am.  Our friends showed up just before 10am and we shut everything up and went to drop our key off at the rental office.  Our friend’s parents headed out to sightsee and we made our way to the People Mover at Piazzale Roma.  The People Mover is a monorail-type train that transports people between the parking lot area and the cruise terminal.  It costs €1,50 per trip.  It was still a bit of a walk to our ship and we dropped our luggage at the drop off, got checked in around 11am and were on the ship by noon.  We left our carry on bags in our cabins and headed to Raffles buffet to grab some lunch.  Mom and Dad stayed on the ship and the rest of us got back off, took the People Mover back to Piazzale Roma and caught the #2 vaporetto to San Marco.  

Disembarking the vaporetto

We did a bit of shopping along the way and left our friend to tour The Doge’s Palace with her parents and thus began one of the most enjoyable afternoons of rambling and meandering through the back streets and alleyways behind St. Mark’s Square.  We had no plan or route, we just went where things looked interesting or appealing.  We came across a small artisanal gelateria (La Mela Verde) where we grabbed a treat to enjoy while we wandered.  Both the gelato and sorbet were incredible.  The flavours were creative and bold.  I had the pink grapefruit sorbet and the Lemon Mint Basil sorbet.  Divinely delicious!

Mmmmmm!

A new adventure down every alley

As we walked, we heard some music coming from an alley and followed the sound to a small museum courtyard.  We made our way up the stairs to find that it was free entry so we took advantage and toured the various exhibits.  We literally spent close to three hours just exploring.  We found small campos (squares), lots of bridges, beautiful architecture, incredible doors, ornate metalwork…a feast for the eyes everywhere we looked.  Needless to say, our cameras got a workout!

We met back up with our friend back at St. Mark’s, bid farewell to her parents and started walking toward the Accademia vaporetto stop.  We had not been to this area of Venice so it was nice to have a chance to check it out.  It was getting quite chilly as we walked so we stopped off at a small café (fittingly called 'Le Café') so we could get something warm to drink and some wi-fi access to bombard the outside world with a few photos.  After we got warmed up, we caught the vaporetto back to Piazzale Roma and the People Mover back to the cruise terminal and were back on the ship by 7:30pm.   

The view from the Accademia Bridge

The sun sets on our final day in Venice

We were famished so first order of business was a good supper in the Garden Room.  Butternut Squash Pancetta as an appetizer, Roast Beef with potatoes, corn and broccoli for the entrée and a Baked Apple dessert.  Our comfy cabin was a very welcome sight after a long day of sightseeing and we had an early night.

Venice was truly a delight and turned out to be my absolute favorite spot of our entire trip/cruise.  I had looked at so many videos and photos but being there was just so much more than I had ever expected.  Photos cannot communicate the atmosphere, the sounds and the smells all around you.  They cannot truly show the quality of the light, the footsteps echoing along the alleyways, the musicality of hearing conversations in Italian all around you.  You never come home the same person when you travel.  Everything you see and experience leaves its mark on you.  Venice is forever in my mind and I do hope that I have the chance to go back and experience it once again.  Arrivederci Veneto!!