Well. This post has been a LONG time coming. I just recently got my hands on our pictures from Europe, and now I have a weekend away so I can actually work on it! Wahoo! It will include pictures from the trip, as well as some excerpts from the journal I kept throughout.
Renee and David's Europe Trip Part 1
August 1-11, 2014
(We were just 22 and 23 years old!)
August 1: Depart Vancouver
What are we most looking forward to today?
David: The culture shock of arriving in Europe and getting lost.
Renee: Arriving in Venice, connecting to Wi-Fi, curling up in my blanket and face-timing Scott! (that's so random).
Mom and Dad texted from Rothenburg saying, "We are sitting in Rothenburg for dinner. Complete score on the B&B and restaurant! Sat here beside a tour guide from Vancouver, gave us some recommendations for Bruges and suggested a restaurant something like Biereria la Courta in Venice for you!"
August 2: Layover in London
We are sitting in the grass in the gardens across the street from Buckingham Palace. Our flight arrived at 6:50 and by 8:00 we were on our first European train, "The Gatwick Express". We were both impressed with how quiet and smooth the ride was.
We arrived at Victoria station and wow. It is very grand and busy! Nothing like the train stations at home!
We had time to kill after Buckingham Palace and the rest in the park, so we decided to walk to Westminster Abbey. It looked like a short walk, but we ended up at Westminster Chapel. Not even close! We made our way down smelly Buckingham Gate (smelled like Mexico) and rounded onto Victoria. There we could see the unmistakable Westminster Abbey with Big Ben & the Parliament in the background.
We went to Starbucks and ordered a water and got a lot of weird looks. Apparently that's not a thing in Europe? Also everything is making us think of Harry Potter!
We just had an 8 hour layover in London before another flight to Venice for our cruise!
August 2: 1120pm - Venice
We have FINALLY arrived at our hotel in Venice. our flight was delayed an hour and a half so it's good to be here. It also took us 28 hours of travel with no sleep. As we were approaching Venice we flow over an intense lightning storm! Cool perspective to see the lights flashing below.
We arrived, and had to find a way to get to Plaza Hotel. We intended on taking a cab, but the drivers were huddled outside in a circle chanting and dancing. We turned on our heels and went to buy bus tickets. It was a pleasant 15-20 minute ride.
When we walked out of the airport we were hit with a wall of muggy 27 degree air. Yes... this is what we came for. THIS feels like vacation.
Highlight of David's day: Sitting at Green Park in London taking in the surroundings
Highlight of Renee's day: Seeing Buckingham Palace with hardly any other tourists around. Very serene.
August 3: Cruise Ship Departure
We booked a 7 night Mediterranean Cruise to be able to see more of Europe than we otherwise would get to!
We woke up and went for continental breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast was good.. They had croissants and large tubs of Nutella!
After breakfast we went hunting for a supermarket to buy wine for the cruise. We forgot/didn't realize that everything would be closed on Sunday because of how Catholic Italy is. No wine :(
We took the Number 2 bus (without tickets... oops) to Venice. We were then very disoriented trying to get to the ship. A nice lady helped us buy our tickets and take a tram to the ship.
Boarding the ship was overwhelming and intimidating to say the least. It is HUGE! Floors 3-15 are packed with stuff/places/bars. As it was hot and sunny while we waited for our room and luggage, we went to the Oceanview Cafe for a delicious buffet lunch (the Indian curry was my favourite). Before dinner we watched the send-off of our ship. I kept looking at the Venice architecture and thinking "It's like Pinterest! But we're here!" Absolutely breathtaking.
We proceeded down to dinner for 6:00 where we were expecting a table for 2 in the main dining hall. Instead... we got a table for 4 in a back room with only a few other tables. At first I was chocked, but then we met our table mates Connor and Chelsey. It was like it was meant to be. We have WAY too much in common and hit it off right away.
1. They're from Kelowna, but Connor grew up in Surrey.
2. Connor lived in Fraser Heights and went to Surrey Christian before transferring to PA
3. They were married almost exactly 1 year before us on November 12, 2011 (we were November 10, 2012).
4. Chelsey went to film school at the Art Institute of Vancouver for a year (so did Dave).
After dinner we went to the theatre for a show at 8:45. It was spectacular; exceeded my expectations. Singers, dancers, acrobats, contortionist. I love live entertainment so this was right up my alley. After the show we went with Chelsey and Connor to "Qasar", a very modern night club on the ship to watch Connor do some karaoke as he's got a great tenor voice!
August 4-5: Dubrovnik, Croatia and Day at Sea
Yesterday (August 4) was Dubrovnik, Croatia. Absolutely breathtaking. We booked an excursion through cruisingexcursions.com. They picked us and 10 other passengers up at 1 when our ship docked. After we got some panorama photos, we were taken on a walking tour highlighting some main spots in Dubrovnik including: The Rector's Palace, Fransiscan Monastery, Palace Sponza, the Dubrovnik Cathedral, & St. Blaise Church.
The guide took us down back streets to get us away from the crowds and show us parts of the old city people don't often get to see. She also pointed out the best shops and places to eat. After our walking tour, Dave and I remembered here talking about a nice quiet restaurant by St. Ignatius Church. We went there and later found out we picked the best restaurant in Dubrovnik! It was very quiet and mostly locals go there. We ordered fried calamari, proscuitto and cheese plate, and some wine.
We went to another show and it was a man from Scotland with an incredible tenor voice. He sang everything from Bruno Mars to Josh Groban. It was beautiful and gave me chills.
The show tonight was a Broadway-type show. The singers and dancers performed songs from all different shows (Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Les Miserables, etc.) Hard to believe we're on a boat in the open ocean! Oh we also went to the casino for the first time! $10 down...
Renee Highlight: Seeing the most amazing bright sunset right down to the horizon on the water.
Renee Lowlight: Feeling overwhelmed and trapped with thousands of people on a boat all day
David's Highlight: Taking me to the casino for the first time
David's lowlight: Feeling underdressed during formal evening (we were so far out of our league being inexperienced, poor 22 and 23 year olds).
August 6: Ephesus, Turkey
We booked another Cruising Excursions tour and met our guide, Cengiz, after going through the shops of "Genuine Fake Watches" and "Genuine Fake Leather" at the port. We were docked at Kusadasi, so we drove in the air conditioned Mercedes van for about 30 minutes to Ephesus.
We first went way up to the House of Virgin Mary. On our way we saw the spot that Paul was locked up and persecuted as he tried to tell the Ephesians about Jesus. At that time they worshipped the goddess Artemis.
The house of the Virgin Mary felt very... holy. Inside there was no photography or talking. There was a shrine up front and some paintings around the side. We got to drink holy water from a spring in the wall as well. Many strange places to get fresh water in Europe! There was also a constant chatter of some flies Cengis told us come up rarely and live for 24 hours (maybe cicadas?).
After this, we made our way to Ancient Ephesus. It was MUCH grander and bigger than I eas expecting. It contained the Parliament, Odeon, marketplace, houses, Roman quarters, a brothel, a bath house, the latrines, the library, the theatre, and the gymnasium where gladiators trained. The typical highlights here are the library and the theatre. What took my breath away most was just imagining the Ephesians, 8000 years ago, living on these streets. Th structures would have been magnificent in its time. The work down with marble was vast and outstanding. It made up sculptures, pillars, roads, everything. It struck Dave and I how smooth and cool the stone stayed after all this time and in this 35 degree heat.
After we were done in ancient Ephesus, we went for lunch at a traditional Turkish restaurant. We got a salad with olive oil, some cold soup (sort of like a mix between tzatziki and yogurt), and some lamb and beef meatballs.
After lunch we took another 15 minute drive into the mountains to a small town called Sirince. Cengiz took us to his friend's wine shop, Ikisoy. There is a lovely market/bazaar all up and down the crooked, steep stone streets. We bought a little bowl and I bought a pashmina (I still have and use to this day).
From Sirince we went to the Temple of Artemis. This is really just one pillar, as the rest of the temple was destroyed.
Finally, we were brought to a store/presentation centre where they create handmade Turkish rugs. Quite the process! 3 types: All wool, wool on cotton, and silk on cotton. Each with more quality, density and intricate detail than the last! "No pressure to buy..." Pffft. Right.
*Do you think these are actually the original pieces, or have they been reconstructed?*
August 7: Mykonos, Greece
We were among the first people off the ship and into Mykonos at 7:30am. The locals weren't even up yet. We didn't have a plan so we started walking up, up, up. We walked along narrow side streets with stairs. Mykonos is very picturesque - it's what you picture when you think of Greece.
Later we realized why the island wasn't awake yet. Rather, they were STILL awake and partying at the bar at 8am.
Things we noticed about Mykonos:
- Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way (general it seems for where we've been in Europe)
- Pedestrians use little side streets and paths to get around instead of sidewalks
- No grass. Nobody has a yard of any kind.
- The club is still going at 8am on a Thursday
- Little vans and scooters deliver goods to restaurants in the morning
- Locals set out produce on the sidewalk out of their vans. No supermarkets that we saw.
Fish are sold straight from the harbour and gutted in front of you.
- Very proudly gay island. Phallic photos and statues everywhere.
This evening back on the ship we watched a circus show with singing, dancing, a clown (which I noted was Jeff's doppelganger), hoop acrobats, unicycles, and incredible acts of strength and balance.
August 8: Corfu, Greece
After our late breakfast we lounged by the pool and then went to the ship's library area. It reminded us of Belle's library from Beauty and the Beast. Dave and I were taking photos, and I pulled a random book off the shelf and it turned out to be a very smutty novel which was more than I bargained for haha!
We finally got onto our tender boat to get to Corfu and arrived just after 4pm. We didn't have any tours booked so we just spent a few hours exploring the Old Fort. It was nice not feeling rushed. The Fort is very impressive. Thick walls, spots for archers to perch, lighthouse at the top, old jail cells, an old temple/church.
Some things we noticed about Corfu:
- It was very old and historical (1400's at least)
- There was a lot of graffiti and garbage
- Many places were not well kept (maybe because of the dry weather the paint chipped away?)
- The ocean is so clean and clear and magnificent.
After exploring for a while we decided to sit at a cafe overlooking the ocean and order some drinks. I ordered wine, and Dave got a WAY too sour frozen lemonade.
We made it back for dinner, watched the sun set over the Greek Islands from deck 14, which not many passengers do. I'm not sure why - they're amazing on these clear nights. From here, we made our way to the 9:00 show of Jon Courtenay, an incredible pianist and comedian who puts on a hilarious and entertaining show of his skill and quick wit. He had us all belly laughing while he talked, and dancing in our seats while he played/sang.
After the show we went to the casino and broke even, then met up with Connor and Chelsey and went to the show a second time and it was just as good. At midnight, Dave and I weren't quite done yet so we went back to the casino and lost all our money. Stupid slots!
We made it back to our room at 1am. I gotta say, one major perk about cruising for vacation is that you have your own room, or for me, sanctuary to retreat to and sleep in every night. I'm a homebody, so it's vital for me to have a place. Our housekeeping man, Ronald, is amazing too. Always makes this a comfortable place to be.
August 9: Day at Sea
Some things that happened today:
- We got up at 7am to get prime seats in front of the big pool
- Dave ate two breakfasts because he was feeling so much better (he got hit with heat exhaustion the day before)
- We spent 5 hours laying by the pool tanning, reading, listening to music and people-watching. We watched the Pool Olympix at 1pm. 4 teams competed (Spain, England, USA and "Rest of the World"). Spain took the gold after 3 challenges.
- Went back to watch pool volleyball: guests vs. officers. Guests won!
- Went to our last dinner at the Grand Cuvee. Had to say goodbye to our wonderful Serbian waiter, Damir. Emelio asked us "How is your food? Crispy?"... Nothing about our food was supposed to be crispy...
- We shared a bottle of prosecco with Connor and Chelsea before the final show at the theatre. After packing up our luggage to leave the ship the next day, Dave and I went up to private deck 16 and laid down to watch the stars and shooting stars.
Renee's highlight: Getting ice cream at Oceanview Cafe. We sat by the window and I said, "The only thing this trip is missing is some marine life!" Not 5 minutes later Dave noticed something beside the boat. A pod of 20+ dolphins were following our ship, jumping and playing in the waves from our wake right beside us!
Dave's Highlight: Watching the stars and sharing a bottle of prosecco. Oh and playing basketball.
Dave's Lowlight: Seeing our Visa bill
August 10: Venice
We got off the ship and spent a day and night on the island of Venice. We got off the ship and had to find our way to Hotel Bernardi. (If you have been to Venice, you know what a feat it can be to navigate.) We finally found our water bus station, hopped on ACTV1 for 5 stops to Ca'd'or. An old man on the water bus heard us discussing directions and randomly decided to get off and lead us all the way to our hotel. He took all sorts of narrow side streats and not going to lie, I clutched my purse and feared for our safety a little. He spoke ZERO English, but were it not for him, we never would have found our hotel.
Hotel Bernardi is a small, very old (1500's) hotel with simple rooms. We had a shared bathroom in the hall which was fine. Thank God for the AC!
We had some time to kill so we walked 7 minutes to the Rialto Bridge. The bridge was MUCH larger than I thought! About the width of a whole street.
We remembered Dad's text back on our way to the airport over a week before to check out Bieraria la Corte, so we decided to check it out. It was located in the corner of Saint Polo Square, which seems to double as a dog off-leash area. We got a genuinely Italian "Diavolo" Pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella and sliced chorizo). Amazing! There was a man in the square serenading folks with an accordian.
After lunch it was back to the hotel to cool off and head to St. Marks Square. It felt like a movie being there. It was so grand, but there were too many tourists to properly appreciate it. We walked from there along the water and ended up so exhausted we stopped in a small shaded park for a rest. Along the boardwalk there were many nice bridges to cross and canals to see. Beggars and merchants set up camp all along the boarwalk, while hosts stand outside saying "Bonjourno," trying to get you to come into their shops/restaurants.
We took the long way back to our hotel with a stop at "Fantasy Gelato." We then noticed a restaurant/stand giving out free samples of sangria and other cocktails made with fresh fruit. Clearly drinking in public is allowed here!
We got back to our hotel and had to find some place to eat dinner. With the help of the "Trip Advisor Cities" app, we found Ai Barbacani, a small Italian Restaurant with great reviews in a building from the 1400's. (This dinner ended up going down as the highlight of our marriage so far. Any time we talk about the best day ever, this dinner comes up). This was not a tourist destination, and the restaurant was quiet, but so amazingly delicious.
We were seated at a seat in the window. Literally on the windowsill. We ended up becoming an attraction for tourists walking by on the bridge, or floating by in gondolas. It was odd and embarrassing at times being the centre of attention, but we will be featured in many peoples' travel slide shows! We watched as boats, bottles and rats floated by. (For some reason the rat swimming by made us laugh until our guts hurt).
Food: Slim spaghetti with crab; fresh bread; dumplings with gorgonzola cheese (cheese balls); cheesecake-ish dessert and biscotti. THUMBS UP!
Drinks: Complimentary prosecco for 2; house red wine served cold, complimentary Limoncello for 2.
*These are mostly out of order photos, but whatever.
"A palace & a prison on each hand"
The gondola tours going right by
August 11: Off to Europe!
We took a waterbus from Venice to the airport to fly to Holland. We noticed how they use logs and signs to create a road system in the water for taxis and buses. My scrapbooking scissors were taken at the airport (I'm still not over this).
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