Santorini, Greece--The Picture Perfect Island

Santorini, Greece

Today, I visited the Geek Island of Santorini where I saw some of the most exquisite natural beauty I have ever seen.  A popular reason for coming to Santorini is for its legendary views of sunsets, some of the most spectacular in the world

Santorini, named for St Irene, contains 13 communities perched atop cliffs formed by volcanos.  All feature white-washed buildings, blue domed churches, stepped streets, and sun-drenched terraces. The lush landscape is filled with vineyards, fig trees, caves, and churches

Ships tender passengers to the port of Skala Fira, a sheer 1000 feet below the capital of Fira.  To reach the top, one has 3 choices: climb (up or down later) the 588 zigzagging steps, ride one of the hundreds of mules up,  or take the cable car, (built only in 1982).  I was on the bus to Fira and opted to take the clean and modern cable car down to the ship.

Our tour began as we were tendered to the port of Athinios where we boarded buses to begin our tour.  Our first stop was a Cliffside vineyard that gives winemaking and wine tasting tours.  Most important were the spectacular views of the caldera and turquoise Mediterranean sea.  Our ship, The Equinox, featured prominently in views of the azure sea.

Oia

Next, we drove to the village of Oia made world famous by the iconic photos of the blue-domed white washed church.  It is known for its breathtaking sunsets and stunning views of the sea and sun-kissed white-washed buildings. 

Fira

Fira is the capital,  whose white cobblestone streets bustle with shops, tavernas, hotels and cafes, while clinging to the rim of the caldera nine hundred feet above the its port.

As I explored Fira, I had one of the most delectable gyros ever!

Here are some facts about Santorini I learned from our tour guide:

--It has more than 400 churches, many privately owned by families who only open them for special occasions.

--Santorini is small with a population of only 15,000 residents who host one million tourists per year.

--Santorini’s unemployment is close to zero.

--The cable car linking the port to the Capital, Fira was constructed in 1982.  Prior to that year, there were 2 methods of climbing up : walking the 588 steps or riding a donkey up

--Known for its prolific wine industry producing dozens of varieties, Santorini is known to produce more wine than water. 

There is beautiful countryside where tradition still survives. Cave houses (both abandoned and occupied), gardens, vineyards, small family business, and tiny churches are there to be discovered.

Perhaps on my next visit, I will be brave enough to climb the 588 zigzagging steps to the top or to ride one of the fearless donkeys.

AZORES-PontaDelGada-Day 7 on a transatlantic cruise to Europe

Today, I took a private group tour of Ponta Delgada in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago of 9 lush volcanic islands.  It is situated in the Atlantic Ocean and considered the Westernmost point of Europe.

We toured Azores’ lush mountainsides, hot springs, waterfalls, parks, blue& green lakes, and countryside populated by smiling cows..  Highlights were visits to Sete Cidades with its famous blue and green lake and Caldeira Velha, a warm waterfall tempting its visitors to take a bath, surrounded by fern trees and a hot spring with boiling water.

Photos will be posted later.

26 Days crossing the Atlantic and Touring 6 Countries in the Mediterranean

In 30 days, I will drive a few miles north to board a shiny new ship that will cross the Atlantic and take us to ports in Southern Europe. I am delighted that I will stay on board for the next segment that will tour Greece and Turkey. I am especially excited that I will visit Istanbul for the first time. I look forward to 12 sea days and 13 rich port days from my nice balcony room.

Here is the 26-day itinerary:

Day :1 departs Ft Lauderdale
Days 2-7: Days at Sea
Day 8: Ponte Delgalda, Portugal
Days 9-10: Days at Sea
Day 11: Cartagena, Spain
Day 12: Barcelona, Spain
Day 13: Toulon, France
Day 14: Florence/Pisa Port City
Day 15: Rome’s Port City-cruise ends here
2nd cruise begins
Day 15 Rome’s Port City
Day 16 Sea Day
Day 17 Santorini. Greece
Day 18 Sea Day
Day 19 Istanbul, Turkey
Day 20 Istanbul, Turkey
Day 21 Ephesus, Turkey
Day 22 Athens, Greece
Day 23 Mykonos, Greece
Day 24 Sea Day
Day 25 Naples/Amalfi Coast/Capri etc.
Day 26 Rome’s Port City-cruise ends here

Transatlantic Cruise to Europe That Leaves From My Doorstep

In 39 days, I will drive a few miles to board a shiny new ship that will cross the Atlantic and take us to Europe. This will be my first trip on Celebrity Cruise Lines. As always, I will have a nice balcony room.

Here is the itinerary:

Day :1 departs Ft Lauderdale
Days 2-7: Days at Sea
Day 8: Ponte Delgalda, Portugal
Days 9-10: Days at Sea
Day 11: Cartagena, Spain
Day 12: Barcelona, Spain
Day 13: Toulon, France
Day 14: Florence/Pisa Port City
Day 15: Rome’s Port City

15-Night Cruise From Dubai is Next!

SAD TO SAY: I HAD TO CANCEL THIS TOUR!! I WILL EMBARK ON A SIMILAR JOURNEY IN OCTOBER 2012
My next adventure will be this 15-night, Middle East Cruise in a large balcony room

I will spend 2 nights pre-cruise in Dubai, UAE

Day Date Port
1 4/19 Dubai
2 4/20 Muscat, Oman
3 4/21 Sea
4 4/22 Sea
5 4/23 Sea
6 4/24 Sea
7 4/25 Sea
8 4/26 Petra, Jordan
9 4/27 Luxor, Egypt
10 4/28 Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt
11 4/29 Cruising Suez Canal
12 4/30 Alexandria, Egypt-- GIZA!
13 5/1 Alexandria, Egypt
14 5/2 Sea
15 5/3 Sea
16 5/4 Rome, Italy FLY HOME to Miami

Queen Victoria is a Beautiful Ship!

The Queen Victoria is one of only three of the majestic ships in Cunard's elegant fleet. Built in 2007, she accommodates 2000 passengers, was captained by the first ever female Capt. in Cunard's history, and took us on a 16-day journey that was a combination of an 8-day European cruise and an 8-day transatlantic crossing.

Known for its beautiful public spaces that are elegantly decorated in tasteful Victorian-Era style, the QV contains a sumptuous, several deck Grand Lobby; a large ballroom, known as the Queens Room, where live bands play while guests ballroom dance; a large Royal Arcade shopping area; and the impressive Royal Court theatre. Of course, there are cozy bars and pubs galore. Overall, as important as history is in creating a certain elegant ambience onboard, what makes it all work is that Cunard has successfully fused heritage with modernity.

Here are some of the characteristics of our journey that I found especially appealing along with some observations and comments:

We felt the service was excellent.

The ship is extremely elegant.

We went to afternoon tea (complete wih scones, watercress sandwiches, and petits fours) every day at 3:30PM in the Queens ballroom. There was live music with a string quartet, a pianist, or a harpist. The waiters wore white gloves.

The chocoholic buffet was first class all the way: in addition to a diverse variety of chocolate delights, they had a sushi bar, cheese bar, cold cut bar, fruit bar, and other appetizers bar. They prepared made-to-order crepes, flambéed desserts, fondues (milk, dark and white choc fondue), and several premium liqueurs: Baileys, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, Frangelico and more.

The balcony rooms are ample in size.

Everyone was so “civilized” no one ever got loud. We even joined a “very orderly and proper” conga line one night. Even the casino was as quiet as a mouse.

We never had to wait in lines. We never felt it was crowded--ever. There were times when we would walk around the ships and see entire rooms (public areas, bars etc.) that had no people in them.

The passengers were 80% British.

Many venues shut down early, at about 10:30. This is likely in response to a demographically older clientele.

We had the good fortune of being on probably the only 16-day cruise in history with no children.

I found the food to be average – hit or miss. Here are 2 comments posted by other passengers:

The food was not up to the standards that most Americans expect. It was geared to British people. Very bland, boring, and non-descript.

The only disappointment was with the food. We had heard while on a previous cruise from at least one individual that the food on Cunard was not "good" - when compared to Holland America Cunard's food was definitely not as good.

Once it was discovered Joel had some food restrictions/preferences etc., the head waiter (Joachim) came every night to give us a copy of the next evening’s dinner menu as well as a vegetarian menu from which we could choose. Both he and our waiter went the extra mile to give excellent service. My waiter even squeezed my lemon (with a neat fork and spoon method) and removed my shrimp from the skewer! At the end of each meal, they brought truffles and carmelized ginger to our table.

The grand, choreographed, gala shows were fabulous, the comedians were entertaining, and as the various bands and musicians around the ship were great.

Composition of our dinner table of 10 was 7 British, 1 Canadian, and 2 American.

Along with 15 other guests, I performed in a fashion show on our 6th sea day.

There were great historians and enrichment speakers: Captain Howard Deck; and Professor Simon Newman were particularly outstanding. The virtual tour of the bridge conducted by ship’s officers was quite impressive.

A live band played every night (the Queens "ballroom tempo band" played 15 out of the 16 nights) additionally the ship's orchestra (the Royal Court Orchestra) accompanied this band for two nights of "big band music".

In keeping with Cunard tradition, evenings on the ship are quite formal. Specifically there were five formal nights, four semi-formal nights, and seven “elegant casual” nights. Gentleman must wear a jacket every single night to dinner in the main dining room and they request that the dress code be observed ship-wide after 6 PM, every night. I must admit that everyone looked elegant dressed in traditional formal attire each evening. It was nice to glide through the lounges, restaurants, and other public spaces dressed in our dinner finest.

The norovirus precautions really negatively altered our experience the first 5 days. Yet, they might have been effective; we are happy we didn’t catch it.

Days 1-5: SERIOUS NORO-VIRUS (ship infection) precautions DOMINATED the 1st third of the trip. We were hyper-washing our hands, avoiding touching surfaces—even bannisters, avoiding touching people. The captain even postponed captain’s ball because she wanted (needed) to avoid people. They made us hand sanitize everywhere we went. They encouraged us not to use public restrooms. All items were removed from tables in restaurants and they even stopped serving in the Golden Lion pub. The Lido buffet was all wrapped up and we could not touch ANYTHING. Merchandise was not out and available to touch in shops and daily “bazaars”. I couldn’t go into perfume shop and spray on my cologne daily. There were warning signs everywhere—even on bannisters, warning us not to touch.

There were full amenities/toiletries in bathrooms.

The ship’s photography services were not assertive enough.

Here are some of the activities in which I engaged: attended lots of lectures on everything from ports of call, to the history of the Olympics, to ancient Greece; ballroom dance lessons and line dance classes every day; drama class; Photoshop classes; watched fun contests by the pool, watched dancing and singing contests, went to sail away parties, took shore excursions to Olympia Greece and Gibraltar; a murder mystery show; participated in a fashion show; breakfast out on deck; daily afternnon tea with scones, masquerade ball, room service breakfast often; and many more….(Didn’t do spa or fitness or sunbathing this cruise).

We gained and hour many days as we crossed from East to West. The gift of an extra hour is always a real treat.

Overall, it was a relaxing and invigorating experience with rich delights for the mind and body!

Gibraltar-A bit of the UK at the tip of Spain

As we pulled into this unique Mediterranean port with its imposing rock, we could see it faces Spain instead of the straight of Gibraltar. Although Gibraltar is a British Crown colony, geographically, it’s an isthmus of Spain—connected by strict customs houses. The history between the two nations’ claims includes Queen Isabella Spain willing it to Spain for life in 1540 and her descendent, Phillip V, handing it over to Britain in 1713. Over the years, Spain has attempted to retake Gibraltar—the strongest in a series of bloody sieges that began in 1779. During Franco’s regime, in 1969, he punished (Britain) Gibraltar by closing the border and cutting off telephone communication for 13 years. It seems The UK will never return Gibraltar to Spain because as recently as 2002, Gibraltar citizens voted to remain British—they FEEL British-not Spanish.

Here are some reflections and tidbits I learned:

Cable Car Ride Up The Rock
From atop the Gibraltar rock, we saw breathtaking views of Gibraltar, the straights, and you can see Morocco and Spain. There is such a thin line between Britain and Spain and the borderline is visible from atop the rock. Many Gibraltans cross the border to purchase lower priced groceries and household supplies.

Barbary Apes
A tail-less species of monkeys called the Barbary Macaques are the only free living wild monkeys in Europe. They are taken care of by the Gibraltar government and live throughout the nature preserve. There are numerous severe warnings posted guarding against feeding the apes; a 500 pound fine is imposed for such violations. They appear happy, fun-loving, and playful. We were also warned to guard our possessions as they like to grab objects.

Great Siege Tunnels
We toured the amazing man-made tunnels hewn out of rock with sledgehammers, gunpowder, and sheer muscle-power. The final additions were made during WWII serving as barracks, kitchens, and hospitals.

Gibraltar is very British.
The streets are lined with English-speaking pubs, fish and chips restaurants, helmeted bobbies, pillar boxes, and British department stores.

Gibraltar is multi-cultural
One of the main features of Gibraltar’s population is the diversity of their ethnic origins. The demographics of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' racial and cultural fusion of the many European and other economic migrants who came to the Rock over three hundred years, after almost all of the Spanish population left in 1704.

The main ethnic groups, according to the origin of names in the electoral roll, are Britons (27%), Spanish (26%, mostly Andalusians but also some 2% of Minorcans), Genoese and other Italians (19%), Portuguese (11%), Maltese (8%), and Jews (3%). There is a large diversity of other groups such as Moroccans, Indians, French, Austrians, Chinese, Japanese, Polish and Danish.

The Gibraltar Census 2001 recorded the breakdown of nationalities in Gibraltar as being 83.22% Gibraltarian, 9.56% "Other British", 3.50% Moroccan, 1.19% Spanish and 1.00% "Other EU".

Residents hail from Gibraltar, The U.K., Spain, Morocco, Italy, India and many other nations. A tapestry of culturally diverse restaurants, bazaars, and neighbors are scattered throughout.