Cruising the Med

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I'm back from my fabulous 2 week cruise around the Mediterranean.
Mum and I meet at Rome airport where we had a private car take us to our hotel, which was within walking distance of the main train station. From there we explored Rome - seeing all the major sites like the Colosseum, the Pathenon, and the Trevi Fountain.
Next morning we caught a train to the port and then a taxi to the ship. As soon as we stepped out of the taxi there was a porter waiting to take our bags and thats the last we had to worry about them as they were delivered to our room an hour or so later. After checking in we boarded the ship and went straight to our room. It was an inside cabin but very roomy and comfortable. Next we checked out the buffet as we hadn't had lunch yet. The buffet became our 'second home' - you had to dress up to go to the dining room and there was a different array of food each night.
The ship was HUGE - 17 stories, about 400m long, holds up to 2600 passengers (of which only 80 were from Australia - most were from America) and 1100 crew. It had 3 dining rooms, 3 restaurants and a 24hr buffet, a free gym, 4 pools, a beauty salon, internet, a night club, and numerous bars.
Our first port of call was Monte Carlo/Nice where Mum and I did a tour of Nice and St Paul de Vence (a medieval town with lots of little cobbled streets). I really enjoyed St Paul - I love the little windy streets and the different shops.
Then we were supposed to go on to Florence and Pisa but the engines gave out and we ended up drifting in the middle of the Med for about 4 hours. So we only had time to go to Pisa, which was OK but both of us had been there already been there and its one of those places that once you've done it you really don't have to go again.
The next port was Naples, but again there was a problem with something and we got in late. So we were supposed to do a tour of Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii, but had to cut out Capri - which Mum was really annoyed about since it was one of the places she really wanted to go to. Plus our guide had a really annoying voice and kept going on about things that weren't important - like we were going on a 'big, beautiful bus to Pompeii'. We had to wear these earphone things so that we could hear him where ever we went, but I ended up taking mine out and lagged behind the group to see what I wanted to see. Most of the walls are still standing and we got to see some of the mummified remains of people, but it was mainly just houses and shops - nothing too spectacular. We did have an amazing lunch in Sorrento though - the view was something out of a postcard and the food was really good.
Then we had a day at sea. I slept in (since most of the days I had been up at 7am and had spent the days running around after tour guides). Later in the day I went to a cocktail making demonstration where they gave out free samples. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, eating, reading, eating, sleeping and eating. That night Mum and I put on our best clothes and went to the Captains Cocktail Party (complete with free cocktails).
Our next port of call was Santorini, which had the most amazing views - white washed houses built into the side of the hills with blue dome roofs, clear blue beaches and views that stretched for miles - I could definitely see myself living there. This time lunch was traditional Greek and later we went for wine tasting, which included a sample of the local wine which is more like a sherry or port. We were dropped off in the main town and pointed in the direction of the cable cars which would take us down the side of the mountain - now I've bungee jumped and taken the cable car up Mt Pilatus so needless to say I'm not scared of heights but this was bad - they hung at very steep angle and every few metres they dipped a few degrees more.
Next day was Kusadasi (pronounced Kush-ad-a-si) in Turkey. Here we saw what is believed to be the Virgin Mary's house (the story goes that after Jesus' death Peter brought her here and she found a nice quiet spot on top of this hill just outside the city centre. 2 things support this theory - the walls of the house date back to the 1st century AD and in those days you couldn't name a church after a saint unless they lived there and there is a church called 'St Mary's' near the house that dates back to that time). We also went to the ruins at Ephesus - a large ancient port that was abandoned after the harbour silted up and trade moved else where. But it is believed that Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and other greats of that time frequented the city. The ruins are vast and only 10% as been uncovered so far - I would have to say that it is better than Pompeii because the ruins are more that just shops and houses - there are agoras (shopping centres), temples and a library that are still relatively intact.
The next port was Mykonos - which is famous for its night life and resorts, but of course its the end of the season and a lot of the places are closed now. Our first tour was of island of Delos which is supposed to be the birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister Artemis (ancient Greet deities). Then we did a tour of island itself, which wasn't that inspiring.
Then it was on to Athens and again there was more ruins to see. Most of the day was spent at the Acropolis which is amazing but after the last 2 days we were sort of over ruins and ancient Greek history. We were supposed to go to the Agora but a group of us had decided that we'd had enough and spent the time shopping instead. Nearby was a market, not too different from the markets in Subi or Fremantle, except for the Greeks standing outside each shop ready to pounce on unsuspecting tourists.
The next day was spent at Olympia which of course involved more ruins as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world was here - the temple of Zeus (a large temple that held a huge statue of the Greek god made from bronze and gold until it was stolen by Constantinople and later accidently destroyed by a fire).
Next port of call was Corfu - finally a place without any ruins. Here we went to a Palace built by an Austrian Queen who has been likened to Princess Diana - lonely, ?bulimic and died a tragic death. We then drove to the other side of the island for amazing views and a great lunch right on the beach. We then had time to shop in Corfu town which was colonised by the British and so had a very colonial feel to it, but with little windy streets.
The next day was spent at sea and we arrived in Venice later that night - we sailed close to the island and so had amazing views of the lights of Venice.
The next day we disembarked and everyone went their separate ways. Mum and I spent the day and night in Venice - wandering the streets, seeing the major sites like St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge. Luckily we were upgraded from a 2 star hotel to a 3 star - I say luckily as I don't think we would have liked the 2 star if the 3 star was anything to judge by (lets just call it 'basic').
The next morning we woke up at 4am so we could catch a water bus to be at the train station for our 6.30 train to Rome (which took 5 hours). We then caught a train to the airport and after checking in we went our separate ways - Mum had to wait almost an hour and a half and by the time she had finished I had to run to catch my plane. I then had to catch 2 planes to get to London and spent the night there. Mum has just arrived home and is dealing with the fact that the airline has lost her luggage - it was supposed to arrive on a midnight flight but that was 2 hours ago and I haven't heard anything yet.
Anyway, needless to say I have put on a few kilos from all the good food and I am finding it hard to readjust to the English weather (I'm wearing my scarf for the first time since Scandinavia and I'm inside!).
I leave again on the 5th November for Milan and my 2 week language course. I then fly to Dublin on the 18th for the rugby and come back to London on the 20th, when I will have to find another job as my funds will probably be totally depleted.

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