The Families Meet - Wedding Post #1

I won't (can't) say that I headed to Cam's without complaint or protest but who can blame me? The weather in BC had just turned for the better, I had barely unpacked, and oh yeah, the temperature in Toronto was in the low 40s (Celsius) with humidity factored in!! Oh course as I needed to head east for my brother's wedding there wasn't much choice!!

Our journey started at 4:00 am as we headed out from Deep Bay for the 5:45 ferry from Duke Point... I know, I know! The ferry leaves at 5:15!! No worries, we simply took a quick trip to Timmy's and then headed for the 6:20 am from Departure Bay! Not such a bad deal as you aren't on the ferry as long and we even got to see Robert who is now working on the ferries (we did confirm that he wasn't driving the boat as none of us were up for that). Once in Horseshoe Bay we grabbed a small  cab to YVR (picture Gran, dad, and I all shoved into the back seat of a toyota corolla!). The flight was relatively uneventful and the seating room was quite spacious so before we knew it (5:00 pm BC time) we were in Toronto.

We arrived wednesday so there were two days before the wedding (today is the wedding day) and Cameron quickly put us to work. Dorianna had to work Thursday and Cam managed to schedule a number of appointments that kept him (and dad) away from the yard which left Gran and  I with the yard work! As you can see from the picture the front flower boxes were a mix of lawn (grass) and flowers, and Cam and Dori had managed to cultivate the tallest dandelions I've ever seen! Gran managed to clear both of the front beds before the heat chased us inside, while I mowed (hayed really) the front and back lawns. After trips to the barber (for dad) and the dentist, Cam did managed to stay home long enough to put together the new deck furniture so that we could eat dinner on the new deck! Gran took this opportunity to point out the other yard work that we could do on Friday (fortunately it rained Friday morning!!).

Friday morning mom flew in on the red-eye and after a wonderful breakfast she headed off to bed for some sleep and I headed out shopping with Dori. I knew that I was coming to "Little Italy" but man-o-man, I was not prepared for the groceries to have entire Italian sections...within each aisle. We picked up the same cookies that we had brought home for Dad from Genoa and I managed to find some very Genoanesce focaccia bread so I was really happy!! Dori had taken me for gelato the night before and as we were heading over to her parent's place for dinner she assured me that I would get another taste of Italy!! 

Last night was the first time the two families met and it was great! Dorianna has two sibs, an older brother (Anthony - married to Maria) and a younger sister (Angela married to Dave), one niece (Vanessa) and one nephew (Alexander) and a new niece/nephew who we are all hoping does not appear until after the wedding but I'm thinking that Angela would be happy to deliver soon after (due Aug 3). Dori's parents are Anna and Nunzio and they are incredibly welcoming and lovely people! We were greeting with warm welcomes and almost immediately the food, drink, and stories started! One day I would love to travel back to Italy with Anna and Nunzio (and maybe Cam and Dori) as it would appear that there were in fact Carbs left behind, and salamis, sausages, and many many other foods that I should have tried!! Dori's sister in-law Maria's family is from Sicily (which despite what maps tell you is NOT the same thing a Italy!!) and it sounds like there is a lot of diversity there too! 

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                Dave cooking lamb spaducci

Dorianna warmed us all to 'pace ourselves' when it came to food and suggested that our late lunch was a poor decision... she was right! We started off with lamb spaducci, a skewered dish that involves a lot of work but is soooo worth it! For dinner we had a variety of salads, olives, and steak and then came the fruit, and then the cookies! One of the highlights for me was when Nunzio asked "What's wrong with you people? Come and eat!" This of course was directed at his own family as we were already to chow-down on the lovely dishes!!

The night also involved a playing the "world cup of rummy-o" (trademarked by Cam & Dori) - Dad like this as it had him playing inside with the cookies while mom occupied at an outside table!! Cam was the only one of us to make it through the group stage and while Gran's prediction of an early exit (which would allow her to read her book) was realized, she continued to play on with Anna's sisters (Donna and Rosa). I ended up subbing in for Nunzio in the quarter finals but was quickly eliminated by the Simone brother - sister combo! I'll post the video of Dori reading the rule out - you'll all see why her family and ours will do well together! 

The evening was a lot of fun and Gran and I managed to make it back to Cam and Dori's (I was driving!!) with only a few wrong turns - I didn't trust the Darth Vader GPS and turned too early!!! I'll post a slideshow of photos from the BBQ and will of course add more from the wedding today. Cam's got breakfast ready (his last as an unmarried man) and soon we (the ladies) are off to the beauty parlor while the men are off for massages! Stay tuned for it is sure to be an interesting, food filled event!!

Ag

 

The Long Journey Home

After seven nights, six different ports, five different countries, and too few BBCs (rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, Bayley’s blended with a banana and ice J) we arrived back at our home away from home – the Best Western Porto Antico in Genoa! This little oasis of great customer service was a true find and I would recommend that anyone travelling in and around Genoa give it a try. They provide a full breakfast (self serve with a variety of culinary delights), great tourism info, and the rooms are very clean and a little funky (if small). Another great thing about this hotel is that it is very conveniently located in between the waterfront (about 1 block from the aquarium and my favorite seaside eatery) and the historic centre of the town (a number of the narrow alleyways are UNESCO World Heritage Sites as examples of early architecture and urban design!

Returning to Genoa was a bit like returning home and both of us were excited to be in a somewhat familiar setting and more importantly we were both happy to be off the cruise ship. We arrived back to the hotel around 9:30 am and within 45 minutes they had our room ready for us and we were quickly napping! This was followed up by more shopping at the ‘jewellery’ market – really it was a street bazaar with multiple vendors but we were there for the jewels (a lot of ‘silver’ stuff from India…my fav!!). Given the size of the bags that we were packing (and the weight of items like my pestle and mortar) I decided against a second elephant blanket ($15 Euro vs the $80 CDN that I see here!!!) and opted for a few more pendants and the coolest bird ring for Micki! I moved past the ring at least four times but it kept screaming, “Micki would love me”, so I had to pick it up!

That night we discovered the best eatery in Genoa…okay I really don’t have the authority to say the best as we really didn’t eat at very many but we did have dinner here twice and they make three things that were amazing: a) Gnocchi with pesto basil, b) super thin crust pizza, and c) Disaronno sours!! If you are wondering what the last of these is, you simply need to expand your drinking horizons!! Disaronno is an Italian brand of amaretto (almond liquor) and a Disaronno sour is 1 oz of liquor, the juice of ½ lemon, and about 1/8 tsp of sugar! Really it is a beautiful thing!! At my little eatery (did I mention that the manager/owner is also extremely good looking?) a double version of this drink was only $2.6 Euro!! Oh yeah – they also serve gelato!

Our final day in Genoa was one filled with exercise – unintentional excercise but active nonetheless!  We decided against taking the train to a nearby community and decided that we would explore the hills of Genoa, via the lifts not ‘au pied” which is where we went wrong and how we unintentionally did some extreme exercise!! Side note: These lifts are something that I think VIU should seriously investigate (I know that would be the height – pun intended – of laziness but there are days that the hill seems really steep and really tall)! The one we took moved laterally along the face of the hill (underground) before moving directly up a shaft to the top of that hill – I thought that if we walked a little ways that we would be able to find another lift that would take up even high but alas I took a wrong turn ad we ended up walking up hill, then up stairs, then along the hill, then up a little bit more, and then giving up we finally headed back down (I needed a loo so had to head back to the 'tourist' area)! This little adventure took about two hours and was done in 30+ degree heat – needles to say this was multiple gelato day and it also included a wee nap!! I love vacations!

We had two tasks for our final day – I needed to find good olive oil and basalmic vinegar for Aunty Patty (an email demand was sent!) and we needed to figure out how we were going to get all our booty home! The latter was easily solved when we found a large, yet cheap, duffel bag that would accommodate four woven baskets from Bolgatanga, Ghana and loads of other ‘stuff’ from our adventures. The former? Well that was taken care of during our many walks during the day! I managed to find a bottle of vinegar reduction in a little café that I would never be able to find again and the oil at a local artisans’ (food being the art) market. It was at this market that I learned that there were different types of olive oil (beyond light/dark, virgin/extra virgin) and that some are good for cold dishes (salads/breads) and others for hot dishes (cooking/pasta). I ended up getting Patty one for cold dishes and myself one of each!!

We ended our time in Italy with another great meal at the seaside eatery – I cannot remember the name but it was located under the sails on the port side of the Spanish Galleon (this would make sense if you were in Genoa). The day had been a long one and the next day was starting early (5:00 am wake-up call) and would involve about 28 hours of travelling so after a great meal and a couple of Disarono sours it was back to the hotel for an early bed - that never happened as we skyped, emailed, blogged, and repacked until late!!

Highlights of this time would include the many servings of gelato, the jewellery shopping, watching Ghana beat the US, and walking along the waterfront looking at all the “Prada” (should be Frauda) bags for sale!!

France

Most people would not consider a transit city as part of their vacation but then most people would look at a 4 ½ hour layover as a bothersome waste of time. Me? I looked at it as an opportunity to see the Eiffel Tower! Now this story requires some scene setting as some of you don’t know my mother, or have not travelled with her. She is one of those incredibly prepared travellers who are always at the airport with extra time to spare – hours of extra time! These are the types of travellers that tour leaders love as you never have to wait for them!! Mom also doesn’t do well with time pressure – particularly when there is a plane involved. Me? I’m not really all that different (normally) but when I want to do something I can be a little stubborn (I want you all to stop the eye-rolling and sarcastic thoughts, it simply isn’t polite) and task focused. So…once we hit the Paris airport we were heading for the tower!!

For those of you who are familiar with European travel (I’m not) you know that cities like Paris have what seems like hundreds of different trains that travel throughout the city. The train stations have multiple platforms and trains leave on short schedules and little fanfare – well the closest I’ve come to this is Edmonton (one line and only trains in two directions!) or Vancouver (three lines now but I know the city and speak the language) so I wasn’t really prepared for Paris…we won’t really address the French issue as everyone in Paris spoke pretty fluent English (and tended to be nicer about it than many of my fellow Canadiens from Quebec!). I made the executive decision to get off the inbound train (which was $17 Euro return from Charles de Gaulle to Paris) at Notre Dame as it was the only destination that I recognized on our inbound route and I knew that it would have tourism info nearby! This turned out to be a good plan (amazing building but it fit into the ABC category – ‘another bloody cathedral, another bloody church, or another bloody castle’…. we had seen a lot of ABCs on this trip!!!) as it was a central station where we could get our connecting train but it was also a bad idea in that it felt like 900 other trains were also leaving from there!

It took about 30 precious minutes and multiple ‘looks’ (mom can say a whole lot with a single glance at her watch - good thing she taught me how to say a lot with a look too!) to find someone who could tell us which platform/train to take! After a bit more wandering and hoping for the best we finally made our way to the Tower… with enough time for mom to pee and me to take some pictures and purchase ice cream!! (Note: At this point of the day we had had tea in the Genoa airport, tea and a chocolate croissant on our Air France flight to Paris, and an ice cream as we walked back to the train station – world travellers!). Given that mom can say a whole lot with a single glance at her watch (I know that I mentioned this before but it is worth repeating. FYI: she claims that she learned this from Grandma Forbes) we immediately headed back to the airport.

In true Aggie fashion we made it back to the airport with enough time to grab a bite to eat and a drink – no worries! I did a little shopping at La Maison du Chocolat and for a mere $9 Euro had four small chocolates and one chocolate Florentine! I know what you are thinking – is Aggie nuts and is she coming home twice the size that she left? The answer to the first is ‘probably’ but it was great chocolate and the answer to the second is “no”!! J

Netherlands

I normally wouldn’t mention too much about a transit airport/stop but this one warrants some discussion! We only had an hour in the airport but the entire time was spent moving from one line-up to another! I had a confirmed seat but mom wasn’t able to pick up a boarding pass as they had over sold the flight!! They kept telling us that she would get one but that we needed to go “here” to get a ticket (here was three different line-ups). It turned out that she needed to clear the security gate (done right at the boarding gate) before getting a boarding pass and that meant that we were lining up really early! The other thing that is worth noting was the passion of the Dutch football fans! Schiphol Airport was a sea of orange and everyone was talking about that days game! It really had me thinking about my friends Richard and John who are both Dutch! I was hoping that the Dutch would end up meeting with Ghana but in the end the Dutch were successful and the Ghanaians not so much!!

When we finally boarded our plane it really signalled the nearing end of this adventure and my return to Canada. I’ve never been away from Canada for so long and definitely haven’t been on a trip that included so many destinations over such an short period – I was returning home with new perspectives on much of what I do, a big smile on my face, and tons of memories! I have to admit though that I was already starting to think about the next trip – the one to Toronto for Cam’s wedding but that’s another story!

The flight to Vancouver was uneventful (the best kind to have) and the travel gods were listening as I was at a window that wasn’t in the middle of the wing, we were in daylight the whole way, and we amazing views of Greenland and Canada’s arctic! I took a couple of photos on mom’s camera but don’t have them yet so will have to post them later!

In Vancouver we quickly met up with Dad (flying in from Prince George) and headed to the hotel – it was 3 AM Genoa time when I showered, dressed, and finally ate that prime rib dinner that I had spent the past two months dreaming about!!

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this adventure as much as I have. I’m writing this post while travelling across the Strait of Georgia on the Coastal Renaissance. The water has been quite calm and the morning sun is shinning through the front widows warming my face and blinding me! The air quality in the Valley must be poor as Baker is simply a shadow looming behind the skyline of downtown. Travelling on the ferry on this beautiful sunny day reminds me that despite all the amazing travelling that I’ve done this spring, I am truly blessed and do – as the adverts say – live in the ‘best place on earth’! This blog will be posted while sitting in YVR enjoying the free wifi - something rare in other airports!

For those of you who fit into the family and friend category – we (Gran, Dad, & I) are on our way to Cam’s for the wedding. I will post photos and updates to this address as it feels like this trip is simply an extension of the spring adventures of 2010!

Ag

Malta, Sicily, Rome...Oh My!

Well I've been home a week now and it still doesn't seem real that I was actually floating around the Med! I still pinch myself when I talk about going to Africa and getting to see things like elephants and hippos let alone getting to "sample" (not really traveling when one cruises!) a number of countries/cities that I never really thought that I would see. Anyway - here are some impressions of our last three ports and of course some photos of the things that made the most impression (good, bad, or ugly) on me.

Malta

This small island nation was home to British troops long enough that when choosing a second language it made sense for them to pick English. As a result we were totally at home and traveling around was done with relative ease! This was a destination that we chose not to do an excursion and I have to say that unless you are choosing something really time sensitive and unique that I would not recommend doing excursions directly from the ships. Our experience was that the city tours were just as good but were usually about 25% of the cost!!! That's a lot of money left over for shopping - something that you'll want to do in Malta!

Our day started with a bus tour to the Medina - an old fort with shopping! The views as we passed through town were quite stunning, mostly for the lack of green unless it was an irrigated field! As you can see in the picture the buildings are also mostly devoid of diverse colours but rather are mostly made of stone. The bright red dome you see is somewhat characteristic of the Valletta and can be seen throughout the city. The other patches of colour come from the brightly colored doors, shutters, and awnings. The blue and while shutters above are on a building within the Medina but are really only one example as there were bright reds, mauves, and yellows. I loved the architecture here as one feels like they are moving back in time to a magical kingdom.

The Medina contained a large church and a number of shops; unlike Tunisia we did have time to shop at this one and I picked up a beautiful silver Maltese Cross. The Maltese Cross is one of the most important tourism products made on the island - or so our guide told us! They are known for the silver filigree work and as most of you will know, it is hard for me to pass up silver of any kind!! Malta is also known for its beautiful blown glass and mom and I took advantage of this! She picked up some gorgeous necklaces with colours that were more vibrant that I've ever seen in glass. I picked up another cross as a gift (won't say for whom as I haven't delivered it yet!) but was saving myself as the next stop on the tour was the glass factory and who knew what kind of delights were waiting for me there!

The glass factory is a really a huge store of handmade products (FYI: There is a huge "seconds" selection for those who are a little more price conscious and who do not care if there are little 'errors' that give a piece some added uniqueness) and the best part is that the work room is attached and we were able to actually watch artists at work! The heat in the room was intense and the men (and boys but no women??) worked with a level of concentration that was admirable given that they were also a tourism attraction! I tried to picture what it would be like to teach a class with 20 people at the back room constantly taking my picture!!

Anyway - the whole experience was great and the shopping options?! Well I broke out the credit card for this one but didn't do too much damage!! I picked up a blown glass pestle and mortar that will go brilliantly with the one I picked up in France and the one I brought back from Fiji (seeing a pattern develop here...beyond being a really lucky woman to have travelled to these places!!). The bowl is made of clear glass about one inch think and it has orange, while, and purple swirls through it. The pestle is a single piece of glass and is a cloudy white colour. Mom predicted that I would end up paying for my luggage as it also weights a ton but that didn't prevent me from getting it. I also picked up a handful of handblown beads in the hope that one of my friends who beads will teach me how to make something with them!

After the factory we headed back to the harbour and while we were given an opportunity to get off in the centre of Valetta we chose to head back to the jetty to do some more shopping and to get some lunch. This turned out to be a great choice as we were able to pick up some duty free products (cigs for mom's friend John - 13 Euro for a carton! Wine for me!) and listen to a performance from the University of London's big band. It appeared that they were on some kind of field school/tour - I didn't talk to anyone but did film them for Tom! Lunch was a wonderful - mom had some kind of Rabbit stew that is a traditional Maltese dish and I think (can't remember 100%) had a burger! The best part of the meal was the extra plate that contained things like stuffed olives (I skipped those but heard they were good) and seasoned feta cheese (you guessed it - I didn't skip that!!). We did our last minute shopping - me for english books and chocolate and mom for a flag for Helen!

Malta is definitely a destination worth visiting as a primary destination. There history here is tangibly alive and the topography and geography are unique. I loved the prickly pear hedges and loved Maltese wine; unfortunately I've finished the one bottle I brought back! Oh well - some time in my future I will return. There is also supposed to be lovely snorkeling and beaches but we didn't make it to those beaches/islands as part of our adventure! For those of you from the coast - you notice that the plane on the right has the same logo as our own Harbour air...don't now if they they are related but all the branding is the same!! That would be a hellishly long sea plane ride - Nanaimo, Canada to Valetta, Malta!!

Sicily

The name Sicily evokes immediate thoughts of "family" and/or "mafia" and while there are persistent rumors and innuendoes of such things it was the landscape that enthralled me during our short excursion that started in Messina.  This is one of those ports where a guided tour from the ship may be necessary as the stay was only 4 hours and our destination - Mount Etna - was about an hours drive away from the ship. So my Sicily experience consisted of: getting off the ship and onto a bus, driving to Mount Etna (Europe's most active volcano), walking around Etna and doing some shopping (pocketed a couple of Etna lava samples too), getting back on the bus and returning to the ship! Not a lot of exploration and when you throw in a talkative (i.e., she managed to talk for about one hour without a breath and felt the need to talk to us as if we were five year olds with hearing issues...everything was repeated at least once!!) tour guide you have a heck of a day! This would be a good time to let you in on my personal survival tip for bus rides and guided tours (only ones where the guide cannot actually see you) - an ipod with a fully charged battery and either a good rock playlist or an engaging audiobook! It helps if you are traveling with someone who does not keep talking to you despite the headphones (mom struggled with this) and who is listening so you don't miss any important directions (mom struggled with this too as she tended to sleep or focus on the sudoku puzzles!).

Sicily is an extremely mountainous island that seems to leap from the ocean. Unlike Malta it was lush and evidently has rich fertile soils as there was agriculture everywhere! At the closest point it is only three kilometers from the Italian Peninsula (the toe of the boot) and like here there is talk of a bridge. According to the Lonely Planet there is funding set aside for its construction and even EU approval but fears of corruptions and ever changing political will seem to be the two largest stumbling blocks. I didn't have an opportunity to ask any locals what their thoughts on it were but I know that as an Islander the last thing I want is to become an appendage to the mainland; I digress and will now return to regular programming...Mount Etna! The volcano is still active but we were repeated informed that it is a "safe" volcano as it does not explode like Mount St. Helen's did, rather Etna is likely to only produce large lava flows that are "slow" moving and easily avoidable. We were also not taken to the area that was currently active - the are in the photos was the site of a flow in 2001 which took out the tourism infrustucture we visited including the gondola and ski-lift! That's right, if you ever happen to be on Sicily in the winter you can ski on Mount Etna.

The picture on the left is of an old crater that produced a flow earlier than the one that did damage in 2001 (I'm sure we were told when but I've already told you about the ipod!!). There little bits of growth are extremely hardy flowers and a few dandelions! The little flecks are people walking around - like most things cruise related we arrived with at least six other full busses of folks. This one was an interesting destination as the age mix was much broader and it was interesting to watch older Italian men and women walking around a volcano in their 'going to church' clothing and lovely (used to be anyway) Italian leather sandals! Mike and Cath were also on this tour with us and like us they were wearing outdoor gear and runners!

Like ever where else we went - this was an opportunity to do a little shopping. I pick up some Etna Rosa wine and mom who has turned into a jewelry junky purchased some great stuff including a necklace and earrings to wear to Cam's wedding!! Sicily and the Etna area are known for honey so I tried to get in the line to pick some up for dad but after being elbowed out of the way for a third time (perhaps Dorrianna will show me how to maneuver like the older Italian ladies...they have shopping down to an art!!) I gave up!

The drive home was pretty spectacular as I paid more attention to the diversity of the landscape and the ability of the Sicilian people to turn a steep mountainside into farmable land!! To suggest that the Sicilian people have mastered terraced gardening is similar to saying that the First Nations of the Island know something about smoking salmon!! Again, Sicily is mountainous and the region we drove through simply leads out of the ocean with little thought to how humans are going to navigate the landscape! In some places you see the terraced gardens that are so steep that your calfs burn simply looking at them and other places there are tower cliffs that have houses on top of them!! We saw one neighbourhood that was so high and so steep that I'm sure residents could paraglide off their decks! This is another place that I want to return to - oh yeah... the wine from Sicily is AMAZING! We tried a couple of varieties on the cruise. I haven't tried my Etna Rosa yet I'm confident that it too will be great!

Rome

is sure to be cliché or some weak attempt to communicate to you the shear magnitude of this city. History is a living thing but at the same time there is a level of modernity that is inescapable. Our day started about 1 1/2 hours from Rome in the port city of Citiavecchia and included another long bus drive - fortunately there was no commentary on this one! We were dropped off underground and told to make sure were were back there at the designated time (we had about 5 hours in Rome) - this stressed us both out as we had no idea where we were!!! This stress was quickly over however when we discovered that we had been dropped off at St Peter's Square!

Now you all know that I'm not what one would call religious and I'm most definitely not Catholic but I have to say that this was a spiritual place! Of course that may be due to the fact that I saw more Nuns and Priests in an hour than I had in my entire 36 years prior but it was more than that. I love the architecture and loved that we could get close but it was when you see things on this scale and you realize how long this place has been a centre for some many believers that you have to ask yourself..."What did Dan Brown say about this place again?" Sorry - I kept having Da Vinci Code moments there! I haven't watched Angles and Demons yet but will soon (FYI: The books are so much better than the movies so read them!!). Seriously though, there were thousands of folks lined up to get into the Basilica and millions visit Vatican City (we did not go inside) each year - this is definitely a place of extreme power.

As we did in Genoa, Barcelona, and Valetta, we quickly hopped onto a hop on - hop off city bus and were on our way to the Colosseum! We were give a tourist map for the drive in and without a scale it made it appear that St. Peter's and the Colosseum were huge distances from each other (hence the bus tour) and due to a strike in the metro buses and a subsequent increase in traffic it turned out that they were a two hour drive from each other. However, once we hit the Colosseum and walked to a couple of other sites we quickly realized that we could walk back in about 20 minutes!!! Every time you turn around in Rome there is some building, obelisk (many with hieroglyphics), church (shocking I know), monument, or archeological dig! St. Peter's definitely made an impression but by FAR the most striking was the Colosseum! Driving by it on the bus was brilliant as it allow me to get some shots with the whole building and no close people! Like everything else in Rome the cues to get in were crazy and we had already decided that the inside was for another trip, this left me to simply marvel in the scope and scale of this building that dominants the current landscape in ways that rival how the activities once held within this building must have dominated the people of Rome so long ago.

This is one of those places that people must visit to truly sense how powerful and dominant a landmark it really is. I had similar feelings visiting the Mayan Ruins of Tikal but really have not experienced it anywhere else. Construction of the Colosseum would, today, be a monumental undertaking and an engineering masterpiece when you take large hydraulic cranes out of the picture!! To know that this place has withstood the ever changing society of Roma!

The white marble monument on the left is located a 2 minute walk from the Colosseum and while extremely beautiful it was simply the forgotten neighbour! Between these two landmarks was a section of active excavation! We stopped a took some pictures and wondered about the people who wandered amongst the columns so many years ago. We saw the statue of Caesar and like any good Canadian kid I immediately started quoting the Shakespeare I memorized while in high school! Of course I remember Hamlet and Macbeth more than Caesar but I do know to 'be ware the ides of March' and to watch our for backstabbing betrayal "et tu Brutus?"

Since mom wasn't up for a gelato and street salami we decided to head to a little roadside cafe for lunch...we ended up in Scholars Irish Pub!! This turned out to be a great choice as they had a great Irish cider on tap and air conditioning (it was about 35 degrees) and I got to watch a game of Hurling (not a very pleasant sounding game I know!). I had learned about this game from an Irish guy in Ghana but really didn't understand it until I saw it...think lacrosse with canoe paddles crossed with baseball! Oh yeah - through in some Aussie rules football!! After lunch it was a walk back to St. Peter's a little more shopping - Italians make some beautiful blown glass and I picked up a great pair of earrings and a matching necklace from the actual artisan (I like that kind of shopping). Mom picked up some more goods for Cam and another couple of flags for Helen - this time she got one for the Vatican and an EU flag.

Okay that's a really quick run down of our last three ports. I won't bore you with the final details of the drive back to the ship and will save the details of our last couple of days for another posting. Sorry for any major typos (not enough time for a good proofing as mom and cam have each called 5 times while writing this - nothing like a wedding to rack up the phone bill) as I've now got "nails" for my bro's wedding! I may have time tomorrow for the final European post but given that most of you following are family or close friends I'll continue adding to this from Ontario where I head Wednesday for the next in my series of adventures! This time mom, dad, and Granny Forbes are all joining the circus that will be Cam's wedding!! Stay tuned for my insanity! The pictures below are of Rome and our dinner companions from the final Gala night on the Splendida.

Ag

Traffic in Rome - next time I will take a scooter, those suckers get through everywhere!!

There's something about black and whites that make buildings that much more imposing!

The 'trouble makers' from table 615!

Seven Days, Seven Ports, and Too Many Tour Guides!

I know that it's been a while and some of you have been demanding an up-date. This will be short one as its been a long week (I know! It's rough being on vacation!) and while there is a lot to share the alarm is going off at 5:00 am tomorrow. When the bell tolls tomorrow it will be for me and it will signal the coming end of my latest adventure. Of course Cam's wedding is in just over a week and as his "best gal" I'm sure I'll be dragged into yet another adventure.

When I last left you we had just finished a magical day in France (I don't know if I mentioned the submarine or not - cannot remember - but I've included a photo for those of you who like that kind of thing!) and were setting sail for Barcelona, Spain.  We only had four hours in this port and so we defaulted to our standard activity - the City Tour Bus! This turned out to be a brilliant decisions as we got to see amazing views of the city (wholly craps it is huge) and most of the architectural sights. We drove through the botanical gardens were looked really interesting and saw the gondola that covers much of city (I'll do that if I'm ever there again), drove past the main olympic stadium, so many old buildings that they started to blend, and of course some of Goudi's work. Mom is convinced that he had to be on LSD when drawing up the plans! The buildings (see pics) are interesting but seem to come from a Tim Burton movie rather than something that occurs in reality! People were mad for them and everywhere you turned around you could by posters and cartoon replicas (which often seemed more real than the actual buildings! On a side note - when you spell check Goudi the word gaudy is one of the suggestions. We only saw two of his building and didn't go by his most famous castle which looks like something that would be built at the Parksville Sandcastle Competition! I totally recommend you googling him if you are not familiar with his work (I wasn't).

Our other great adventure for the day was to walk to La Rambla which was reported to be a great pedestrian shopping area...in reality it was a crowded area of folks selling the same tacky tourism products with the highlights being the street performers (who largely consisted of folks in costumes acting like statues) and the market that was filled with breads, meats, veggies, and chocolate! I don't have pics of the chocolate (and I ate what I purchased there) but I do have some of the other aspects. Warning - the Spanish apparently eat parts of the animal that we typically don't or at least ones that don't typically sell in open markets!

These hot peppers and garlic made colourful streamers for the people walking by. I would have loved to bring some back but I was already pushing the "too much stuff" limits so thought better of it!

The fruits and veggies we've seen in all the markets have been amazing - it makes me happy to know that I'll be coming home at the start of the summer produce season. Of course it sounds like there hasn't been too much sun and warmth at home so perhaps I'll have to wait a bit longer. Now for the picture that I was warning you about - if you look to the left side of the photo you'll see the largest pigs feet I've ever seen. Of course you'll have to stop looking at the sheep heads that are on the right of the photo first! This was an interesting site and I have to tell you it made me do a triple take before I was actually able to fully process what was looking at me while I was looking at it!

Okay - remember to look at the pigs feet!

Once we left Barcelona we set sail for Tunis, Tunisia which is where I hit my limit for tour guides...we did have one more tour after this but I used my ipod to drown out the guide on that one! Tunisia is in Northern Africa and is over 90% Muslim - the cultural contrasts between it and Europe were astonishing but it was equally different from Ghana which reinforces the problems with viewing "Africa" as a country rather than the continent that it is! We found the people to be very welcoming and from all accounts this is a very progressive Islamic state. Anyway - this was another really short stop so we took a tour of the local Medina (market) where we thought that we would have an opportunity to shop. In reality we visited a carpet shop (which was cool but at $3000 Euro I wasn't in a buying frame of mind!) and an essential oil shop. This was definitely the highlight of the trip as the guy was very funny and the oils smelled amazing and were pretty inexpensive. Of course the shop owner was also able to replicate all the major perfume brands so we could have bought gallons of Channel #5 but decided to limit ourselves to other more exotic scents! They were even selling an essential oil that was apparently Tunisia's answer to viagra!

After leaving the Medina without being able to shop (a bit of a sore spot) we headed to a local "blue and white" community - all buildings are painted white with blue shutters and awnings, no idea why but they are! This is were we were to do our shopping - not a local market but a tourist zone...you guessed it, prices when up! Mom and I looked into a shop but decided that a cold drink and shade were a better option! The picture is the what was left after I devoured the most amazing chocolate crepe ever! I decided that it would have been impolite to lick the plate clean but it was a close call!

Okay - this one was longer than I expected but the next three stops were pretty amazing so I'm going to wait until I'm a bit more refreshed before writing them. After Tunis we visited Malta, Sicily, and then Rome! Of course we've also spend the last couple of days in Genoa so there's more to share about that adventure too! I imagine that jet lag will be nasty so it may take a couple of days after I get home to post the rest but I'm uploading pictures from the whole trip so you'll be able to check them out. Hope you are enjoying the blog.

Ag

Bon Voyage!

Yesterday we sailed out of Genoa on the start of the next leg of the adventure – a seven-day cruise on the Mediterranean with stops in France, Spain, Tunisia, Malta, Sicily (Italy) and Italy. The embarkation process was extremely simple and unlike other cruises I’ve been on we were able to pre-pay for drinks by purchasing booklets of tickets. Of course we also learned that this cruise line (MSC) charges for many of the things that have been ‘included’ in the past – of course this will ultimately limit my gelato and pastry consumption! (note: There are TWO gelato bars on the ship and one patisserie that makes my mouth water and my waist grow every time we pass it!

We are on the MSC Splendida – a ship that is only about 2 years old and is extremely opulent. Our little inside cabin is about the same size as our hotel room in Genoa – tiny – but the shower is a thing of beauty (hot and strong) and the bed is extremely comfortable. The interior of the ship is well equipped with many hidden nooks and quiet spots where you can escape the 1000+ people who are on here with you! Right now I am sitting in Aft Lounge waiting for us to set sail – we were out exploring today but when the skies turned black we headed back to the ship! The centre piece of the interior design are the Swartzky Crystal stairs that are located mid-ship and take passengers between the two main passenger service decks. The upper deck has a large pool area but (in my opinion) the best is that it also has a pool and two hot tubs that are located in the “Zen Area”…that means no kids!! Of course we haven’t even thought of visiting those areas yet!

We met a really fun couple from Britain yesterday when we first came on board – we then ran into them during lunch at which point we discovered that we had also been assigned the same table for dinner! Mike and Cath could easily be members of the Christie clan as their sense of humour is equally warped!  We were also joined by a Turkish couple whose (I think) names are Jale and Ankan. I think that we ended up winning the dinner companion lottery!!

Now to the food as we all know that is what you want to know about! Lunch was a relatively uninspired event – at least it would be for those who have just come on board from home. For me it was amazing – I was able to partake in a veggie filled salad bar (complete with thousand islands dressing), cheese, bread, and salami! It was only as we were leaving that I noticed (smelled really) the burgers, dogs, and fries that they were serving alongside pizza, pasta, and other hot dishes. As this was the first day and that we didn’t know where the main restaurant were, we ended up in the pool deck buffet. We will probably skip that from now on!! Dinner? Well that was a whole different ball game!

Dinner last night was “informal” which isn’t casual but the guys don’t have to wear a tie or the tux! Women dressed up though – I don’t think I kept enough dresses with me!! The menus for dinner which each feature a region of Italy and last night it was Bologna’s turn. I skipped the prosciutto and cantaloupe (I still blame Uncle Tom Christie for my dislike of melon!) in favour of the veggies in puff pastry. That was followed by cream of onion soup and asparagus risotto. My main course was chicken marsala (more chicken I know but the beef selection was veal) followed by a trifle! I have promised myself that I won’t have that main selections tonight but that’s mostly because I didn’t have enough room for gelato and there are a lot of flavours on this boat that I HAVE to try!

While dinning last night we learned that we would not be able to enter the port of Marseille as the winds and water conditions would not permit it – so today we spent the day in the seaside village of La Seyne Sur Mar which is located near Toulon (East of Marseille). Apparently this happens a lot as Mike and Cath were unable to stop in Marseille on a Med cruise last fall! Mom and I didn’t really care as we only had plans to wander around the town and didn’t really know much about Marseille anyway! It turned out to be an excellent detour!

We docked in Toulon port while we were eating breakfast (muesli and yogurt – I’m going with eggs tomorrow) and shortly after we where heading off the ship. The sun was (was being the most important word here) shinning and as the town was really close we skipped the shuttle and walked into town. Our first discoveries were the pay-public-toilet that was on the sidewalk and the local flea market. We gave the 'water closet' a curious glance but later on we both took advantage of one – they ROCK!! The flea market - well that got a closer glance! The town is located on a very sheltered but quite large harbour that is home to the second largest Navy port in France. Unfortunately the navel officers were not walking about town today!

The highlight (other than the loo which I’ll describe later) was finding the Sunday market that was mostly fruits, veggies, meats & cheeses and olives!! There were also the required clothing and odds & ends sections. The veggies were mostly recognizable (some really odd beans that look similar to my legs when I spend too much time in the sun…white with random red splotches! The primary difference is that everything looked ‘farmers’ market’ fresh and the basil was the size of lettuce! We immediately bought a basket of strawberries that were the most fragrant and best tasting ones I think I’ve ever had…now you know why I needed that loo!!

After walking though and checking everything out (while eating that bucket of strawberries) we decided to wander on but soon after we were called back by the call of nature! As you see from the pictures – these public bathrooms are really clean, smell good (I know you can’t tell that from the photo but believe me), and are really comfortable to use. The one we used did not have any toilet paper in it but that’s okay as I’m still travelling with the little towels that expand when water is added and there was a handy ‘sink’ within the washroom. The really cool thing is that once you are ‘done’ the door closes behind you and magic ferries (or perhaps something less imaginative but equally impressive) come in a clean the entire thing so that it is as if you were never there! I didn’t figure out the engineering behind this marvel but I would like to install one into my apartment! Just think – a self-cleaning bathroom!!!

Since we were back in the market and it was at least a couple hours since we had eaten we decided to start the shopping part of our trip. I bought a lovely pestle and mortar made of local olive wood and then I really broke out the French as I starting picking up the ingredients of our picnic lunch. Une baguette et une pain du chocolate from one spot (done completely in French – I know not all the impressive but my French is SOOOO much better than my Italian!) and then Italian Jambon (prosciutto) from another. The lovely (and I do mean in a physical as well as spiritual) man who sold me the prosciutto too a look at the baguette and guessed correctly that we were making a sandwich. The next thing I know he’s got the baguette cut open, buttered, and even added the prosciutto! All completed with a saucy smile and a wink! We made couple more stops – one for some cheese and another for fresh basil to add to the sandwich and the final stop to pick up a small bottle of GSM (red wine). After our extremely successful lunch shopping (total cost approx: 9 Euro including the wine!) we headed to a local park to enjoy our gastronomic delight! As you can tell we were really proud of the meal – all that basic was only 1 Euro!

As we finished up lunch we noticed the incredibly dark clouds and decided to head back to the ship. It was at that point that we also noticed how tired we were so heading back and having a short nap was the task of the afternoon…it was a great plan! Of course plans have a way of changing so after a really short nap we decided to check out the spa. That I can type now is amazing since the one hour Balinese massage and 20 minute hot shower managed to remove all the kinks left over from Ghana (and those got from watching Ghana end in a draw with Aussie). So here I sit, relaxed beyond belief, watching the world go by from the stern of the ship in a room full of Italians listening (in Italian) to Italy play New Zealand in the World Cup. I’m pretty successful at ignoring the soundtrack (and the buzzing created by the trumpet things in South Africa) but am distracted by the ooohs and aaaahs of the crowd!

This adventure continues to be a great experience and I cannot wait to see what happens next. We have about one hour left in this port before heading to Barcelona Spain. I think that I feel rejuvenated enough to finish up my BBC (Rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, bailey’s, and banana), up-load this post, and then seek out a place to ‘relax’ before dinner. I hope that all of you are having as good a day as I am!

Long live beautiful and flirty French men!  Ag

I have to confess that I didn't end up posting this last night! I ended up heading to the top deck to watch us leaving the port and then it was dinner, evening entertainment and bed! I was very glad that I did go up as we were somewhat delayed due to a French Submarine heading out of port! It was very cool to watch - I'm just wondering how bad you have to annoy the captain to be chosen to ride on the outside of the sub! Pictures later as we're off to breakfast and then Barcelona! 

Ghana & Italy - this is a long one!

Food diary for the the first day "out of Africa": A salad plate that included pasta, a slice of pizza, veggies of course, and big chunks of Parmesan cheese and foccacia bread for lunch, chocolate, coconut, and hazelnut gelato (small servings of each) for a snack, chocolate and meringue gelato for a latter snack, and finally lasagna and pesto (picture four sheets of fresh lasagna noodles with thin layers of basil pesto between and melted cheese on top) with a focacccina (focaccia bread with prosciutto and cheese) for dinner! Today...I'm not so sure I'll be able to resist the hundred of pastry shops that sell all kinds of stuffed pastries! Oh yeah - during our 25 minute layover in Amsterdam I managed to pick up a Starbucks tea (yeah) and a chocolate croissant!!

Like usual I got ahead of myself but after seven weeks of mostly rice and chicken with bread without substance food became a real focus yesterday! That and walking for miles and miles and miles! Before I get into the details of Genoa let me tell you about our departure from Ghana. We woke wednesday morning thinking to complete our packing and to spend the day sitting/walking on the beach! Well they don't call it the rainy season for nothing!! I ventured out around 5:30 am (my usual waking time now) to take some last pics - it wasn't raining by that point but the day was dark and the waters were stormy as they crashed along the shores. I knew that a day at the beach wasn't going to happen but I was on the ocean with  my camera so I didn't really mind - besides the moody weather seemed to fit my own emotions! I was definitely excited about heading onto a new adventure but sad to be leaving Ghana and ending that one. As mom pointed out - the plan is to return again with students next spring so I'm really only saying goodbye to Ghana for about 10 months!

Anyway, as I walked along the beach one of the first things I started to notice was that the new anti-erosion measures the resort is taking seem to be working. The pics show the pilings method which is definitely not working I'll try to add one shot of the cages (filled with quartz and granite - can you imagine?) that are. These measure are necessary as they are losing a lot of ground each month (I noticed a difference in just 3 weeks!!) to the relentless waves and as it is "winter" right now the waves are stronger and the tide was SO high! I'm looking forward to comparing the photos from last year to this one - sea level rise will be a HUGE issue for this resort and many of the villages and costal town (like Cape Coast) where people live barely above the high tide line! Okay - that's a rant I don't need to get on so back to our last day...warning do not walk in front of the cages during high tide with large waves - I got soaked but managed to keep the camera dry!

After my photo safari, which ended with me being wet, sand covered, and smiling, I headed back to the room for the best shower in all of Ghana and started the packing process. Once our breakfast break was over we headed back to the room to finish the packing process - trying to get as much into two bags that will hopefully be left with our hotel rather than taken on the cruise! We had previously arranged for George (024 387 1377), the safest and best taxi driver I've had in all of Ghana (he's in Accra and it cost us $60 Ghana Cedis for a ride to Anomabo from Accra about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour journey depending on traffic), to pick us up at 2:00 but we were done packing by 11:30! We ended up hanging out in the room - mom created another email (our sticks were out of credit by this point but weren't working well anyway) while I lounged on the bed watching a video. Amazingly the morning went really fast and before I you could say (no more fufu) we were on our way to the airport.

This was an interesting ride - George drives a clean and comfortable taxi but I had only been in it during the "dry" and it was monsoon wet for the first part of our journey! I had just commented that "the day was cool and that we wouldn't arrive too sweaty for our flights", when the heavens opened and three things happened all at one: a) We had to close the windows - goodbye cooling breeze, b) the windows fogged up and we had to turn on the heater - we actually had the heat on, and c) the rain penetrated the rather weak seal along the top of George's windshield so while I was hot from the heat I was also getting a mild shower every time we hit a bump (every foot or so in Ghana!). In actuality it made the journey to the airport (really only about 35 minutes of it) another Ghanaian adventure and the cool wet weather didn't prevent mom (and George and I) from having another Fan Ice on the way!

I've often commented about the road conditions and driving in Ghana and there have been a few times that I have felt somewhat scared but nothing compared to hitting Accra on Wednesday! Due to the heavy rains, road construction and a few million people trying to get home (or out of town) the roadways were clogged with people! At one point I felt rather like a pimple on the highway of life as we were slowly being squeeze by trotros and buses (not too mention big trucks, taxis, and other private vehicles). The one instance that sticks in my mind was a place where about 4 (unmarked) lanes of traffic were attempting to merge into a single lane - we were in that lane behind a bus, that was spewing black smoke like a chain smoking bingo player, and had two trotros on either side who seemed not to see us! That would have been somewhat normal but when you add in the large truck and two other trotros that were also trying to squeeze in it gets a little hairy! By this point the rains have stopped but many of the streets, circles (roundabouts), and intersections have been flooded so chaos is the name of the game. As I'm in Italy - we obviously made it but I think it was largely due to the expert driving and George's ability to take a million side roads to get us where we needed to go.

The airport checkin was a breeze and we were happy to learn that our luggage was tagged all the way to Genoa! I'll briefly (promise) stop here to rant about how ineffective our North American (and yes I'm adding Canada to the US for this rant) airports are! We arrived at the Accra airport hours early (normal time for Jean) had our bags searched (using that term lightly), wrapped, and sent off within 30 minutes (no real traffic but this isn't the experience I'm going to rant about) - had dinner with Amanda, converted our money, and then headed off to watch Uruguay beat South Africa in world cup action. Approxmiately 9 hours later we arrive in Amsterdam where we have about one hour to clear immigration and catch our flight to Rome. In North America this would likely result in a missed flight as it would take about that long to get to immigration let alone clear it and get to the other side of the airport.  In Amsterdam there have a separate immigration section for those folks who are connecting into another EU country (assuming you've managed to check your luggage), so we simply went there. Not being EU Passport holders we figured the lines could be long - but wait! They have a special priority line for those folks who need to fly within 35 minutes... having traversed the entire airport we were now in that line! The whole process took less than 5 minutes which is why we had enough time to get to Starbucks before heading to Rome! I have to say that my travel experience in the EU has been nothing short of brilliant! The airports are bright and clean, with lots of opportunities to get or exchange money (as well as chances to spend it), and pretty easy to navigate even when most of the announcements are not in English - that being said all the airports we've been in have had announcements in English so that too is easy.

The flight to Rome was good, though I slept through a big chunk of it! The sky cleared about 30 minutes before landing and the my first glimpses of Italy were of fields, hills, and lakes - beautiful indeed! There was so much green that it was almost like landing at home! We caught a glimpse of the Mediterranean as we neared the airport but it all of a sudden hit me that we are only days away from the cruise! We didn't have much time in the airport before switching from KLM (GREAT AIRLINE) to Alitalia for our flight to Genoa (another great airline).

I have just finished reading Eat, Pray, Love of which about 1/3 is set in Rome so I was prepared (somewhat) for the fact that I (coming straight out of Ghana and having been in the same clothing for almost 24 hours - 7 weeks really but who's counting!) would feel somewhat slobbish! Thank god I was prepared! Something that perhaps best captures the differences between Italian and North American culture... the regional (domestic) flight from Rome to Genoa (think Vancouver to Kelowna) not only have food/drink service (similar) it had the most leg room of any flight that I've been on and the back of the seats had little buttons on the side so that you could hang your jacket rather than shove it into the overhead bin!!! At this point I knew that I would love Italy but that I really need (no REALLY NEEDED) a shower and to break into the stuff sacks (not kidding here) of 'cruise clothing' that had been in hiding for seven weeks!

The flight to Genoa was good but I slept through most of it. I was on the ocean side of the plane (left) which was okay but the other side was the mountain side and has we approached Genoa I really wished to be on that side. Genoa is carved out of a mountain and rises sharply from the coast of the Mediterranean to about mid-point on the hill. Picture North Vancouver or Nanaimo but move the mountains MUCH closer to the sea!! The airport is right on the coast and is located a bit north of the actual city. Once we collected our luggage and found a taxi we were on our way to the BW Porto Antico which is within a block of the ocean and three blocks from just about anything! At $99 Euro a night it is not cheap but it is totally worth it! We checked in, showered and then headed out for an afternoon of exploration! The pictures below are the area near our hotel - to give you an idea of how narrow these 'roads' are - we walked past the road to our hotel twice yesterday when trying to find it!!

That's all I will write for now - the internet here is rocking so I've uploaded a huge album from Ghana and will attempt to add video (maybe) later today. I'll also post something that offers up a better view/description of Genoa.

Ciao for now - Ag

I feel the need to add this - it is now 10:20 am (Italy is 2 hours ahead of Ghana) and mom just awoke! We realized that we have missed our "included" breakfast... guess that means that the day will start with a pastry - gotta hate that!