European Vacation Day 12-15

Saturday May 22, 2010- At Sea

Days at sea are the best! We slept in and then had brunch at the Silhouette restaurant. We decided to walk off brunch by shopping at the Greek Bazaar in the ship’s mall area. Shopping is the most effective form of exercise! I spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool and relaxing on the heated tile beds in the Persian Garden. It was formal night again and we enjoyed lobster and baked Alaska for dinner. After dinner we had a few drinks at the Ensemble Lounge while listening to a lovely Jazz quartet.

Sunday May 23, 2010- Naples

Naples is the capital of Italy’s Campania Region and is known for its rich history, art, culture and food. It is the third largest city in Italy, with a population of over 1.5 million. Naples is located in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius. Founded by the Ancient Greeks as the New City (Neo Polis), the city played an important role in Greater Greece and then as part of the central province of the Roman Empire. The Neapolitans have a great fondness for music with such songs as “Santa Lucia”, “O Sole Mio”, and “Funiculi Funicla”. Naples is a major seaport and is located near other popular sites such as the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the scenic Amalfi Coast, and the resort island of Capri.

Highlights of our Day
We woke up and headed to Persian Gardens. After a relaxing steam we had breakfast on our stateroom veranda overlooking Naples. Our last shore excursion was a visit to Pompeii.. Pompeii is 14 miles east of Naples and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. buried the town. Numerous excavations have taken place and it is now the best-preserved specimen of an ancient Roman town in existence. The city is much larger than we had imagined. You could spend days exploring the site visiting the remains of public baths, streets, temples, shops, theatres and civic buildings.

Monday May 24, 2010- Disembarkment/Venice

Our ship docked in Civitavecchia in the early morning hours. Ricky nearly had to drag me off of the ship. I had such a great time on the Celebrity Equinox! We took the Eurostar train across Italy to Venice and then caught a Vapparetto (public water bus) to our hotel- the Hilton Molino Stucky. It is a new hotel in an old large flourmill on the Giudecca Island. The rooftop bar had magnificent views of Venice . We then took the hotel water shuttle over to Saint Mark’s square. We walked around and marveled at the sights (including the setting sign illuminating the gold mosaics of St. Mark’s basilica and the water that seeps up through the stones in the square during high tides-aqua alto). We then had dinner in a café on the water at around 8:30 p.m. After dinner, we met up with one of my students who has been studying abroad all summer cappuccinos. I then saw another one of my student the next day outside of the basilica. Looks like there are Mississippi connections all over the world!

Tuesday May 25, 2010- Venice/Trip to Rome

Our first stop was a tour of the Doge’s palace. The Doge was elected from among his noble peers to serve as the figurehead of the powerful maritime republic of Venice. It was lifetime position of tremendous luxury but the Doge was basically a prisoner in his own palace, unable to leave the city without permission of his fellow nobles. But, the Doge’s palace was not a bad place to spend the rest of one’s life. Walking the great golden staircase, touring the Doge’s private apartments, and marveling at the tremendous assembly rooms of the nobles (including the largest room in Europe) you easily get a sense of the immense wealth this republic once had at its disposal. After the palace proper you enter the prisons of Venice, including a walk over the famous bridge of sighs, named for the exhales made by prisoners as they glimpsed their last free vista of the city. We sighed as well as we knew we would soon be returning from this wonderful vacation.

After the Doge’s palace, we toured the magnificent St. Mark’s Basilica. St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice and it is claimed that his remains are buried under the altar of this tremendous cathedral. Following the tour of the Basilica we took some more photos around the square and then headed for a gondola ride. This is a great way to see Venice at sea level. Our ride took us through many small channels and under picturesque bridges. The gondola ride was a great way to conclude our visit the unique city of Venice.

We took the train back to Rome (first class car this time!) and checked into our final hotel of the trip. The restaurant next to the hotel was family run and the food was delicioso. Homemade ravioloi, spaghetti Bolognese, and tiramiusu- heaven!

Ricky and I are thankful we had the opportunity to explore the beautiful countries of Italy, Greece, and Turkey together. Time to get ready for my next trip- a girls' trip Charleston and Savannah!