Make New Friends...

...But Keep the Old...

This cruise we were back to our old stomping grounds (Croatia, Montenegro, Venice, Napoli, Rome and Livorno).  However, this was a special cruise because I was able to see a friend from Maine.  Shannon Mosey, a fellow dancer at the Centre of Movement, moved to Venice after high school graduation to be a nanny.  Most recently, she has been going to college in the states and going back to Venice during the summer.  And this week I got to see her!  I met her in St. Mark’s Square and then we went to a beach party on Lido, one of the outer islands surrounding Venice.  She taught me little pieces of interesting history about Venice and clearly loves living in Italy.  I can completely see why.  We met up with her Italian friends Jack, Marco and Gianluca at the beach.  We ate sandwiches at this double decker bus that had the bottom level turned into a kitchen.  It was delicious.  I wasn’t sure how to get back to the ship from St. Mark’s Square without the shuttle, so I had to leave early to catch the last shuttle, but I can’t wait until we are there next so that (hopefully) I will get to hang out with Shannon again!

In Napoli, I went back to Capri with my friend Brenton.  We walked around, went to the beach and took lots of pictures!  It was a really warm day, but the ocean was clear, blue and so inviting.  It was a great day. 

...One is Silver and the Other Gold.

I finally got to go to the Trevi Fountain!  It was a beautiful sight to see.  I tossed in my coins and made my wish and took some pictures.  That day I also went to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and St. Peter’s Basilica, but Trevi was the highlight of my day. 

On a completely separate note, a friend of mine here, Nazar (a juggler from Ukraine), too some pictures of me for his portfolio and I thought I'd share a couple with you all.  I'm happy with how they turned out!

New, White and Blue

This past cruise we had an almost completely new itinerary. We went to the Greek islands, Turkey and Malta for the first time!  It was amazing.  The weather was so warm and the ports were beautiful to explore. 

Our first new port of call was Mykonos, Greece.  I went to the island of Delos, which is rumored to be the birthplace of Apollo.  It was an amazing sight to see the ruins, of which, only 15% is a restoration.  The rest is left as it was hundreds of years ago.

(The famous lions of Delos)

(In "Little Venice" in Mykonos)

(Loving life in Mykonos)

Oh boy.  Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be in Turkey. But this week I found myself in Kusadasi, Turkey.  And “when in Turkey”…I guess that means going to the Turkish bath.  And what an experience it was!  I was slapped around by a sweaty, pot-bellied Turkish man and laughed the entire time.  Luckily, I was with 6 other girls and we all did it together.  First, you go in the sauna and then the steam room which are very relaxing.  Then, you are brought into the bath room all together and two of us were put on this marble slab in the middle of the room.  The men throw buckets of water at you and then use this fluffy pillow-like thing to soap you up and make you all squeaky clean!  Finally he scrubs your scalp and then throws more buckets of different temperature water to rinse you off.  It was definitely an experience…not one that I ever need to do again, but I was super clean after!

(Bathing Beauties L-R: Me, Hayley, Domonique, Vanessa, Lousie, Hannah, Laurie)

Santorini, Greece has always held a special place in my heart because Lena went there in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books.  Those books were my life in high school and being in Santorini really made me miss Katie, Jamie, Gabbi and all my Maine friends.  You all helped shape me into the person I am today and I am so thankful for you.  In Santorini you can ride a donkey up the hill from the port.  I didn’t do it this time because I really want Andrew and I to do it when they are here!!  Haha.  Amazing pictures will come when that happens J  There are such beautiful views in Santorini, and everything is blue and white.  It is gorgeous.

(Donkey Jam in Santorini)

Athens, Greece was the center of the ancient world and the Acropolis was the center of the religious world.  I went there this week and it was so hot!  I was super sweaty and there are barely any trees in Greece, so the lack of shade made the heat even worse.  But the Acropolis, with the Parthenon on top, was a sight to see.  It is this huge rock in the middle of the city of Athens.  You don’t expect it to be there and then all of a sudden, there it is!

(Me in front of the Parthenon)

(One Grecian urn)

Our final stop on this cruise was Malta.  I went on a tour of the Three Cities, Marsaxlokk and a harbor cruise.  The paint all of their fishing boats red, blue, yellow and green and each color represents something different.  I don’t remember them all, but the blue represents the water, the green hope and red courage. I didn’t have that much time to explore the city, but the views from our harbor cruise were beautiful.  I think that Andrew and my parents are really going to love this itinerary when they come! Hooray!

(Fishing boats in Marsaxlokk)

(Valletta, Malta from the harbor)

(Solstice in Valletta, Malta)

Room with a View

This week’s post is all about amazing ocean views.  Our cruise started out in Villefranche, France.  Even though it rained a few friends and I had a lovely lunch out in the port.

(Me, Hannah, Sanci and Nazar at lunch)

The next day we were in Livorno, Italy and I took a tour to Cinque Terre.  It is a set of five beautiful seaside towns.  Cinque Terre is a national park and territory protected by UNESCO.  We were able to walk around 4 of the 5 villages as well as on the Via Dell’amore (“The Street of Love”).  Legend has it that if you and your lover attach a lock to the fence your love will last forever.  It was a beautiful walk.  I ate lunch with our tour guide, Luca, and he ordered for the whole table.  We had the most delicious antipastos with fresh fish and muscles.  It was a great meal and day!

We were back in Rome the next day.  I did a tour called Panoramic Rome and was in Vatican City and St. Peter’s Square while the Pope was having Mass.  It was an emotional experience…realizing just how lucky and blessed I am.  There was a choir singing, the Pope in his red attire and so many people appreciating it all together.

In Napoli, I took a tour back to Sorrento and then the Amalfi coast.  I definitely want to go back to the Amalfi coast, it is stunning!  The high cliffs of the coast seem to drop right into the clear blue water.  There are 1,200 curves in the road along the coast and the road is so thin at points that I was afraid our bus would fall right off the cliff or would crash into the oncoming traffic.  There are so many amazing hotels along the cliffs.  Our tour guide told us that if we ever come back to visit, we need to stay in a hotel that has an elevator down to the beach because otherwise it is really hard to walk down all those stairs!  We even drove past Sophia Loren’s villa, definitely a room with a view.  I can’t wait to go back there and maybe see the coast from the water on a boat.

(In Sorrento)

(Sophia Loren's estate)

(The town of Amalfi along the Amalfi coast)

In Kotor, Montenegro there was another beautiful ocean view.  Some friends and I climbed up the mountain to St. John’s Fortress.  It was a long walk up the mountain and my legs were shaking when I came down!  Didn’t need to go to the gym that day!  It was thunder and lightning a few mountains away, but from the top you could see the lightning strike and hear the thunder roll.  It sprinkled a little, but not enough to ruin our climb.  Along the way, there were a few other forts that we walked through and took a few pictures.  Once at the top the view is amazing!  You could see the Solstice in the middle of the inlet, almost completely surrounded by mountains.  On the inland side of the mountain you were able to shout off the cliff and the echo was amazing!  You could hear it for a few seconds.  Maybe someday when I don’t feel like going to the gym, I will climb back up there!

One of our male singers, Tim, had a birthday this cruise, so we went out for a nice lunch in Venice and then wandered around the city after.  It was a lovely day, and every single place in Venice has such an amazing view of the canals. 

(Brook, Me, Sanci, Dejan and Tim on the shuttle boat)

Our final stop this cruise was Dubrovnik, Croatia.  We had beautiful weather and I was able to see parts of Croatia that I hadn’t seen the last few times I was there.  We drove inland to an oceanfront resort called Cavtat.  I saw some incredible yachts that would make my Dad’s mouth water! 

(Cavtat, Croatia)

Being in all these ports seems to confirm my love of the ocean.  I love the sea breeze in my hair and on my skin, the color and movement of the ocean waves, the sound of waves crashing against the shore, the smell of saltwater and even fish!  I miss Maine every day and not being able to go to North Haven this summer is going to be very weird, but being in all these Mediterranean ports eases the pain and longing.  I am so thankful for everything that I am getting to see, and I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.  Now, if only I had a porthole in my room, I truly would have a room with a view!!