The whole cruise is consolidated into this one piece, enjoy.
VeniceIt’s been a great feeling to finally not be in transit. After a 36-hour carousel from Connecticut to Philadelphia Airport to Paris to Milan to Venice, we are all floored from jet lag and exhaustion. But it has been an ambitious two days, to say the least, in Venice.
The four of us boarded our Holland America cruise ship, the MS
Oosterdam, in mid-afternoon on Saturday, and then set out to explore Venice at night. My first impression of the city was not a great one-- after being bumped by numerous drunk Italians (and being yelled at one, who threatened “
polizia”), I thought the city was overrun by tourists. The next day in Venice confirmed that impression – the city is overrun by tourists – but we enjoyed more of the city that second day, including quaint side streets—and not as many loud and crazy Italians. Saturday and Sunday marked a yearly festival in Venice called
Redentore, or Redeemer, which symbolizes a pilgrimage to a secluded island’s church by a special pontoon bridge built only for these two days, as well as celebrations including fireworks at night. The next day, Sunday, was a full day to explore the city, so there were many stops to hit up. First on the list was St. Mark’s Basilica, a famous church. I’ll spare you the painstaking details but the church boasted many intricate mosaics. The church was on Piazza San Marco, one of the most famous piazzas in Italy. Next stop was one of my picks, the Campanile
de San Marcos. This former lighthouse is situated in Piazza
de San Marco and has an excellent panoramic view of the city. By now four hours have elapsed, including several rides on the
Vaporetti (jam-packed water “buses”), and with lots of extra “walking” (a.k.a. getting lost) and
gelatos (
sooo good!), we were ready to end our stint in Venice, saying so long to this historic and picturesque city of canals.
AthensAfter almost two full days at sea, the Abate clan was ready to take on Athens and the history it has to offer. Our ship docked in the morning at the nearby port of Piraeus, and we were one of the first ones off. It was a two mile walk to the Metro which would transport us to Athens. Our goal was to beat the sweltering heat as well as the crowds at the Acropolis. The four of us arrived at the bottom of the Acropolis before 9:00 AM, and took to a break neck pace so we could catch the sights before it was too late. The hike was challenging but nevertheless rewarding as we reached the top to see the majestic ruins dating back to 350 BC still intact. Many people were huddled around the Parthenon, which took front and center next to numerous other ruins. But between the mob of obnoxious tourists, strong and dusty winds, and the ongoing construction, the special charm of the building was diminished..
Stop number 2 on the majestic ruins tour was the neighboring Ancient
Agora, which was situated at the foot of the Acropolis. The
Agora was a political and cultural center of Athens. The site today boasts – you guessed it – more ruins and an interesting archaeological museum which had many fragments of ancient statues and also included artifacts dating back to 5000BC. This capped off our stay and Athens and we began the hour long trek back to the cruise ship.
Istanbul“Ever been to a Turkish Prison?” Ever since I saw the critically acclaimed movie Midnight Express, I’
ve had a perpetual fear of Istanbul and of the Turkish government in general. I figured I could be doomed to the same demise as the main character in the movie, being holed up in a dark and murky prison for an act I
didn’t commit. But fears aside, the four of us journeyed into Istanbul, land of belly dancing and “Hookah” bars. Since the ship docked in around four, we just decided to walk around Istanbul, and then maybe bargain for something in the Grand Bazaar. We took a quick and easy tram ride to the
Sultanahmet district, a quiet district devoid of the hustle and bustle Istanbul offers. As an unscheduled stop on our agenda, we visited the Basilica
Sistern, a half underwater “temple” of sorts, home to Medusa heads at the bottom of pillars that were transported from Greece. The temple had a eerie aura to it and definitely would not be a place I would like to stay in overnight. After this quick diversion all of us headed to the Grand Bazaar, rumored to be home to over 4000 shops and vendors. The place is less like a bazaar and more like a mini mall, complete with permanent boutiques and shops. We sampled some tasty Turkish desserts and also bargained for some hand-painted tile with some young Turks who were flirting shamelessly with my sister (and obtained her e-mail address), and by then we were ready to call it a day.
The next day I was awakened bright and early and had to take part in an ambitious agenda that was planned for our final day in Istanbul. After departing the boat at 8:00 AM, we scurried over to our first stop, the Blue Mosque. This mosque was built to rival the neighboring mosque,
Hagia Sophia, and acquires its name from the multitude of blue tiles that adorn the inside of the mosque. Once this brief stop was complete we took a hop over to the
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul’s biggest and greatest mosque of all. It has withstood numerous earthquakes, wars, and rebuilding and was intact for us to see it today. The mosque had many beautiful mosaics and had astounding architecture, which made it my favorite stop of the day. After an hour in the mosque, all of us walked over to the nearby Sultan’s Palace or
Topkapi Palace. This large and expansive palace was home to the Sultans and houses many artifacts and jewelry from their time. The palace easily demonstrated the “public herd” effect as we were squeezed into small rooms reeking of body odor and at least 100 degrees hot. You have to be an artifact guru to enjoy the palace otherwise you will feel overwhelmed. And, unlike us, try to give at least half a day to see the palace instead of jam-packing it into a 30-minute endeavor. To cap off the day, we headed over to the Spice Bazaar, a bazaar with more local flair and less tourists. To burn off the rest of our ‘Lira’ (Turkish currency), we bought at least 10 pounds of sweets, tea, and Turkish Delights combined. With no where else to go but the ship, the four of us took a tram ride back to the ship and said farewell to our favorite port so far.
MykonosNext stop on our cruise was the eclectic party island of
Mykonos, situated in the Greek Isles. The island, which is most definitely overrun by tourists, displays unique white-washed house and windmills alongside with excellent beaches. The four of us decided to not follow any specific agenda for our day and just stroll the streets at our leisure. Downtown
Mykonos has a discombobulated set up of streets, done purposefully to confuse 18
th century pirates who would frequently bombard the town. It confused us, too, since we had to ask at least 10 times to find out the way to the bus terminal. Once at the bus terminal, we were schlepped onto a bus (Circa 1960) and stayed packed like sardines on the 15 minute bus ride to Paradise Beach. I heard rave reviews of this beach, which was apparently the best in the Mediterranean. Upon arrival to the jam-packed touristy beach, I was disappointed. Paradise Beach was your typical European beach complete with expensive water sports, topless women, and men who look like topless women. After a couple hours of “people watching” (I
didn’t even go in the water), we left this unimpressive beach and took a white-knuckle bus ride back to down town. This time I led the pack and took us to the iconic windmills of the island as well as some picturesque churches. Once we finished walking around, it was time to conclude our stay in this laid back island.
Kusadasi (Ephesus)
It was an early morning in Kusadasi as the four of us woke up bright and early (7:00 to be exact) to prepare ourselves for an ambitious tour of the Ephesus ruins and surrounding area. Our tour bus left the Kusadasi dock 15 minutes later and took us first to the well preserved ruins of Ancient Ephesus. To give you a little background, Ancient Ephesus was the 3rd town in a series of settlements in the nearby region. Fortunately, it was the only town to survive 2000 years buried and was intact for us to see that day. Our tour guide was very informative and gave commentary on many on the ruins speckled throughout the grounds that each served a specific purpose. My favorite spot on the ruins was the Library of Celsus, one of the three predominant libraries in the ancient world at its time. The façade was fully intact right before our very eyes and is a magnificent feat of architecture.
After the tour of the Ancient Ephesus grounds, our tour took us to St. John’s Basilica. The basilica featured red brick walls and a tomb for St. John himself. Needless to say, we were very impressed with this quick but worthwhile stop over. Lunch followed at a train museum (the largest in Europe – but it wasn’t that big) and then we took off to one last site, the EphesusMuseum. This museum is a bit off the beaten path but has an excellent collection of some original artifacts excavated from Ancient Ephesus. The museum was a great way to end a day filled with ancient artifacts and magnificent ruins. My mom and sister went shopping after the tour (and had to endure several high pressure sales pitches for area rugs) while Dad and I returned to the ship to play some more trivia.
Santorini
Our ship arrived at the last stop in the Greek Isles, Santorini, a little behind schedule. The delay made things more complicated since the ship could not dock at the mainland, therefore having to send “tenders,” or ferries, back and forth from ship to dock to retrieve passengers. To alleviate a bigger delay, the four of us hopped on a tour at the last minute and therefore were one of the first ones off the boat. Once at the main island, Thira, our tour took us up to the island via a harrowing climb through the cliffs of Santorini. First stop on the tour was the highest point at the island, where a local monastery used to be situated. The stop provided a spectacular view of the surrounding area, though the view was a bit hazy due to the heat. A bit later, we all boarded the bus and were quickly whisked to the opposite side of the island to the small town of Ia(pronounced EE-ah). Ia is one of the few towns that have kept its local flair despite being overrun by tourists for half of the year. We strolled around Ia some, and took many pictures of the nearby cliff sides speckled with white washed houses.
Katakolon (Olympia)
Last stop on the cruise was the port of Katakolon, which is a mere 45-minute hop, skip, and jump to the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia. Once the four of us were on dry land, it was a mad dash to catch our 9:00 a.m. rental car, which was a Fiat -- Europe’s answer to a golf cart in theU.S. To the tune of 40 Euros, this car presented us with minimal pick-up, non-existent breaks, no A/C, and no reverse gear (so Dad had to push the car to get us out of parking spaces and other tight spots – Fred Flintstone’s car was more technologically advanced!) Needless to say, it was an interesting car ride for the remainder of the day. Upon arrival at Olympia, we bought tickets and headed to the wide and expansive grounds of Olympia. Yes, it was riddled with throngs of tourists but they were actually spread out unlike the Acropolis where you had five people climbing over you to get a picture. I felt the ruins here exceeded many of the others we saw in quality and beauty. After a stroll on the grounds, I went and took a ceremonial lap on the track where thousands of years before my counterparts were performing the same task in the Olympics. Once done with Olympia, we headed over to the nearby museum which housed artifacts more intact and preserved than the previous ones we saw. After taking 30 minutes to view this extensive collection, we headed out to meet up with some friends for lunch at a in Zaharo, a picturesque town along the coast that boasts one of the best beaches in Greece. We enjoyed an authentic and delicious Greek feast for lunch but had to leave earlier than we wanted to ensure that our stone age vehicle (and Dad) could transport us back to our ship on time. Needless to say, our last port was a great way to end an enjoyable cruise.
Lake Como
What better way to decompress from an ambitious vacation than to spend two days in the serene, beautiful, Italian Alps? Rather than to end our stint in Europe with a bang, we chose the polar opposite: a two day stay in a quaint town bordering the expansive Lake Como. If relaxing isn’t on your agenda, then you shouldn’t be there in the first place, so what did we have to lose? Well, after a tumultuous 4-hour drive on the highways of Italy in a cramped car, our two-day stay started on a wrong note. To add more insult to injury, we stayed at the most modest accommodations in the world. Our room was complete with no A/C, bed sheets for towels, no hook for the shower head, and a spice rack odor throughout the room to top it all off. But I’m not bitter. We spent little time in the room anyways and explored the winding side streets of the quaint, little town we were situated in, Cernobbio. The four of us lounged around near the lake then had some more delicious gelato before heading to dinner. We had dinner at a nearby risotteria and pizzeria, called Tom & Jerry’s. We enjoyed the two specialties this restaurant had to offer which were, you guessed it, pizza and risotto. After one more gelato, it was off to bed in our Spartan rooms.
The next day, I woke up bright and early to the sound of cars whizzing by our window, so needless to say, the four of us got an early start on the day's activities. At 10:00, we boarded a boat that, two hours later, would take us to the "crotch" of Lake Como where the bigger town of Belaggio was situated. More relaxing was on our agenda as we strolled around, had lunch at a nice pizzeria, and enjoyed views of the surrounding area. At four we took a nice boat ride back and had our last authentic Italian dinner (and gelato, of course) before departing the next day. I forgot to mention that those crazy Italian drivers were ridiculously reckless on the narrow streets of Cernobbio, causing us to have to spontaneously "spread eagle" up against the concrete walls to avoid getting hit while we were walking. I won't even mention the motorcycle drivers, who apparently have nine lives.
Winter break brought some warm weather and a two-day stint in Charleston, South Carolina. My sister arrived in town on Wednesday and the next morning we piled into the car and departed to our destination. Since we were all big fans of Savannah and enjoyed our visit there in May, we decided to check out Charleston as the next destination in our tour of the Southeast. Much like Savannah, Charleston has a lot of history and dates back to the 1600s when the city was founded. The city also played a big role in the Civil War. Many people claim that the war started with the shots at Fort Sumter. After a tedious 4-hour drive, part of which meandered through the deserted "low country" of South Carolina, we arrived in Charleston. It took us a little while to find our four star hotel, (Mom got another great deal on Priceline) which was nestled in the heart of the city's historic district. We immediately made note of the three main groups of people roaming the streets of Charleston on Christmas Day: a few tourists, some colorful locals," and eclectic college students whose parents neglected them for the holidays. The day was perfect for sightseeing -- good weather and not a lot of tourists since it was Christmas day. After checking into our hotel, we went outside and strolled up and down the streets. We checked out the few restaurants open and decided on one. We went down the famous "Rainbow Row," a long row of antebellum houses known for their vibrant pastel colors and using every color in the rainbow. Since we arrived quite late, there was not much time for sightseeing so all of us went back to the hotel for a little bit and then headed back out to dinner. The selected restaurant was Poogan's Porch. Since it was one of the two restaurants that were open, it seemed to be a hit with most of the tourists. The wait was long and the food turned out OK, just not what we were in the mood for. We then headed back to the hotel to conclude our first day in Charleston. The next day we were out the door by 9:00 AM, heading to the Mill House Hotel for our 2-hour walking tour. The tour started at 10:00 AM and we began our guided walk through the "holy city" (Charleston has the most churches of any city in the country). The tour, led by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic Charleston native, was very informative and highllighted many points of interest that you would not discover without a guide. We strolled down Rainbow Row, down to White Pointe Gardens where Fort Sumter can be viewed, and also saw the "Battery," a collection of mansions built in the mid to late 1800s. All of us enjoyed the tour and the huge and informative dose of history that it provided. Since the tour covered so much ground, we thought extra time to see the sights wasn't necessary, so we headed for lunch at Fleet Landing, a seafood joint that our tour guide recommended. The meal was much more enjoyable here and we all got to try "Shrimp & Grits," a signature dish that can only be found in Charleston. Immediately after lunch, we departed back home and said good-bye to this elegant city, one that we hope to visit in the near future. On our way home, we purchased some delicious cherry cider and cherry butter from a roadside merchant.
This past August has been a whirlwind of traveling, most of the month being occupied with my trip to Poland. I was there for 9 days visiting relatives in Warsaw. The trip was at the tail-end of my summer vacation and we were just able to squeeze it in. So, the first half of our stay would be spent in my Grandma's apartment and the second half spent in my Aunt's apartment. 
For the whole month of August I have been abroad, first with my cruise to Alaska/Vancouver and the second half spent visiting relatives in Poland with my mom. It was a hectic summer of travel but I survived. Towards the the tail end of our trip we left Poland and headed to Amsterdam, where we had a day lay over to spend in the town.
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