BLOG ENTRY: October 19 – November 5/09 TOUR OF ITALY and October 24 to November 5 CRUISE MEDITERRANEAN AND ATLANTIC
A taxi from our Best Western Hotel President, near the Colosseum, to the Holiday Inn West, would have been 50 Euro $83. We still had a day left on our Rome transport ticket, so we took the metro to the Cornelia station and then caught bus 246 to a street about 200 yards below our hotel. Cost $0. In Europe, if you are from Canada, and have any concerns about prices, you have to be cautious. You can spend a lot before you realize it.
Arriving at the Holiday Inn about 1:30pm we found the YMT Tour staff busy registering the 350 tour members, most of whom had arrived by plane from the USA. While there was a room for us, there was no ‘tour package’ nor any ‘cruise documents’. We showed them our ‘Reservation Confirmation’ and let them sort it out. We called our tour agent, Coop Travel in Saskatoon who confirmed that YMT had agreed to send the documents to their agent in Rome.
The Holiday Inn was about as close as you could get to a North American hotel in Europe. Our room had a shower and tub, good (single) mattresses, and a kettle and coffee were provided on request. However, internet and hotel meals were expensive. After settling into our room, we went back to the bus drop off street were we had noticed a grocery store and a McDonalds. We bought a bottle of Scotch, (drinks are 6-8 Euro $10-13 at the hotel), a few tubes of Pringles Sour Cream and Onion, a few chocolate bars, and some laundry soap (Eg hotel laundry is 3.90 Euro $6.45 for a pair a briefs). Later we skipped the special dinner (Pasta, sliced beef with vegetables, a dessert and ¼ litre of wine, not including coffee) offered by the hotel for 20 euro each $66, and ate at McDonalds for 16 Euro $26.
Tuesday, the 20th, breakfast was included. The YMT Tour bus, an immaculate and large white Mercedes Benz, took us downtown. Rose had a sore throat so she stayed home. We were dropped off close to the Vatican Museum, where met a prearranged guide who provided commentary via FM radios. It felt funny to see all of us following the guide like little ducklings following their mother, the guide seeming to chat aimlessly as she led the group. I was interested to see the Vatican Museum again with the guide to see if she provided more information than we had on our own. She provided a few more details as we went along, but the 2 hour tour was just a brush stroke. We exited the Vatican Museum tour directly into St. Peter’s Basilica, where she provided a quick tour before we walked out into the square, and down the boulevard toward the Tiber river for lunch. At 3pm we returned to the hotel. Rose and I had a drink and then went to MacDonald’s for supper again.
Wednesday 21st, to Montecatini via Siena
Without internet service, Google, and Wikipedia it is difficult to provide a brief background to each visit, and to confirm details, so the following is incomplete.
Leaving Rome we found ourselves on modern well maintained highways. The terrain was hilly and the Italians think nothing of tunnelling through the hills rather than going over or around them. The highway hugs the high-speed train track going from North to South on the West side of Italy. Every town has its old church steeples and castles at the top of a hill. The adjoining rural areas and farms are well maintained. After about 1.5 hours we arrived at Siena. According to the tour information, Siena is ‘nestled in the heart of Tuscany’s beautiful and refined countryside. Piassa del Campo, Siena’s main town square, offers unusual architectural attributes and is famous for the annual horse races that have been held there for centuries. Originally run in 1656, the Palio Horse Race was run to honor Madonna di Provenszano, an apparition of the Virgin Mary seen in Siena.’ More recently the latest James Bond movie , Quantum of Solace, takes place partly in Siena, and includes scenes of the horse races, plus lots of shooting and running around the buildings.
The tour information put it succinctly in saying the countryside is beautiful and refined. Like Southern Germany the terrain is very hilly, to the point of being small mountains, likely the Apennines, the mountain chain running down the boot of the country and called the backbone of Italy.
Siena is certainly unique. As with all tours in this part of the world, the buildings are old, but Italy has done a remarkable job installing modern life in these old buildings. When you walk along the streets, you feel like you are in a city hundreds of years old, but when you enter the buildings you receive service in a modern environment. The narrow streets weave up and down the hillsides, showing views of large cathedrals in the background. The town square is definitely one of a kind in the world, resembling a half funnel draining into a large grate at the bottom. Around the funnel is a wide walkway/street and with buildings around the street. The ancient buildings are sometimes concave, sometimes convex, as they border the ‘parabolic’ like square. At the bottom of the square is tall 83 meter bell tower, called the Tower of Mangia. Around the square is the horse race track. They cover it with 20 inches of sand for the horse races, called the Assumption races, for the Feast of the Assumption, which are held in two sessions: July 7 and August 15. After eating lunch at a restaurant in the square for 20 Euro $32, we noticed a self serve place with excellent food which would have cost half that amount – another lesson in touring – look around before buying, and don’t necessarily take the advice of the tour guide.
After lunch we visited a few other churches and learned of their history, then continued on to our hotel city of Montecatini. Montecatini is another lovely place. We would have loved to walk around the ancient spay buildings which resemble the roman baths in Rome. We would have loved to take the gondola up the hill to the ‘old town’. But it was dark, and we were tired. The hotel seemed deserted. Later we found out that their season ends at the end of October. They staff put on a buffet for hotel guests, for 10 Euro each but it did not start until 8pm. We went to our room and had drinks from the rum and scotch we had bought in Rome. We were amoung 7 couples who agreed to stay in our hotel since the other did not have room for all of us, and as a thank you we were also provided with a bottle of wine and fruit in our room. We took the wine to dinner and had a lovely meal.
Thursday 22nd - Day excursion to Florence and return to Montecatini
Florence is currently a modern city of Northern Italy of about 400,000 people. We visited the ancient city of Florence – the home town of the Medici’s, a family that was a major power in Italy for a few centuries, 1469-1737, even to the point of getting one of them the position of Pope, also the home of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, the poet Dante, and Carlo Collodi (who created Pinocchio). Florence was briefly the capital of Italy between 1865-1871 (Canada was established in 1867). As in other ‘old towns’ Florence’s narrow ancient streets are immaculately finished and full of modern restaurants and stores fitted into the old buildings. Ancient castles, churches and town squares are also part of the ‘infrastructure’. Most memorable in Florence were the buildings of the Medicis. They had a large ancient business complex in addition to their own castles, church, and bridge over the Arno River which provided them a private walkway from one castle to another.
Friday 23rd To Bologna, Verona, and arrive in Venice.
We had to miss Bologna because of some problem there which prevented the buses from entering the city. Our tour bus took us to Verona, a pretty city about the size of Saskatoon, but we only visited the small ancient area. Entering through an ancient Roman gate we entered the old town square called Piazza Bra. The focus of the square is the 1st century Roman amphitheatre simply known as the Arena. The Arena is currently used for opera and theatre which are promoted through the web site at www.arena.it Around the square are many restaurants, one of which we selected for lunch in front of the Arena. Further on from the Arena and also in the square is the ancient Della Scala residence, now the Governor’s Palace. The Scala were a dominant family in the 13th century, a period noted for its clannish feuds, one of which became the basis for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliete.
Later we visited the site known as Juliet’s house. There is a second floor balcony known as Juliet’s balcony and a bronze statue of Juliet in a small courtyard surrounded by buildings. We had some fun there. A young man was leaning over the balcony so in the middle of the crowd below I knelt down on one knee, hands raised towards the balcony, and yelled out ‘Herbert, Herbert, how I love thee’. He tossed me a kiss and I returned it to the joy of the crowd. Afterwards I approached the statue of Juliet, and the right breast which is rubbed shiny by thousands of hands. There I placed a kiss in memory of this occasion and my love for my Rose.
We continued through the perfectly finished streets and found modern stores, like Foot Locker, in the midst of these ancient buildings. We visited the medieval town hall and saw through some viewing portals, current archaeological work uncovering ancient Roman construction.
Verona has some unique architecture like a drinking fountain in bronze, and a bronze tile map of the old city.
Leaving Verona we continued toward Venice, passing orchards of grapes, and arrived at out hotel on the mainland portion of Venice. Apparently the mainland has developed only since the 1960’s. It started as an industrial area and then became residential. We stayed in a very modern hotel (with Free internet which did not work, a remote control for ventilation which did not work, and restaurants which were not open)! - so much for modern Italy. We did find though a modern mall across the street where we ate dinner and picked up a few items for the cruise boat.
Saturday 24th Venice, embark on ship.
Venice is pretty well what you would imagine, a city built in a lagoon 1500 years ago as a way of escaping barbarian invaders. According to Lonely Planet, it became a trade centre. Built on 117 islands, it has 150 canals and 400 bridges. Marco Polo left from Venice for his epic voyage to China in 1271. But with thousands of tourists and high prices is it not as romantic as one would imagine. Perhaps for those with lots of money and time to stay it would be different.
Getting onto the Venice islands was via a causeway which included highway and rail. On arrival at the port we could see several cruise ships. We got off the bus and boarded a shuttle boat to take us to the centre of Venice. It was high tide so Venice was just as you would imagine, buildings seeming to rise out of the water. The streets er walkways are barely above water level and at times, as when we were there, water rises an inch or so onto parts of the main square. We got off the shuttle boat at the main square, St. Mark’s square – Piazza San Marco, named after the apostle St. Mark. The centre of attention is the St. Mark’s Basilica, Basilica di San Marco, finished in 1071 and said to hold the remains of St. Mark. Across from the Basilica is a 99m 300 foot bell tower from the same period. It collapsed in 1902 but was rebuilt.
Our tour took us through the Piazza Ducale, the Doges (judges) palace which held the administration offices and prison for Venice when it was a republic. Prisoners were taken to the prison over a walkway looking out onto beautiful Venice. This walkway became known as the ‘Bridge of Sighs’. The palace is full of beautiful paintings and ceiling architecture. We barely had time to visit the nearby Academy of Fine Arts where we had a quick lunch served slowly. We regretted not being able to see more of the Academy. We had to be back in St. Mark’s square buy 2pm to go back to our bus and to our cruise ship.
MSC POESIA – our Cruise Ship
The MSC Poesia (Poet in Italian) is as expected, a remarkable and modern ship just 2 years old, with its swimming pools, outdoor track, gym, spa, sauna and steam rooms, 15 bars and clubs, a 1200 seat theatre, casino, restaurants, libraries, stores, digital information, internet service and more. The cruise also includes all meals. Our room is a ‘balcony upgraded’ at $CAD 5,500 ($1,000 of which was for the balcony and upgrade) for the two of us for the 17 days. We finally have a double bed (well two singles but with Queen sheets and covers). The room is about 10’ x 21’ including the bathroom with shower (no tub) plus a balcony about 4.5’ x 10’. We like the room.
Boarding the ship was another story. There were 45 minute line ups getting on the boat to register, and then another 30 minutes to go through security. A man came along and put us in the Express line because we had previously registered via the internet. However, the ‘Express’ line only had three agents whereas the normal line had about 12 agents. So those in the normal line moved much faster. As we entered the boat I felt trapped – we were told we could not bring any liquids or food on board. Drinks, wine, snacks, internet service, bottled water, all cost money and were very expensive. We had to eat in the large noisy but nicely designed and decorated restaurants. More private restaurants were available for additional cost. Costs seemed exorbitant. For example internet service cost 20 Euro $32.50 and hour. Drinks cost 6 Euro $10 each, and the mix as another 2.5 Euro $3.50. We knew ahead of time that we were expected to pay 6 Euro each or 12 Euro $20 per day gratuity, total $340 for the trip. We left for supper that evening at 6pm so that we could be there for the 10 minute period during which we had to be seated. The service was so slow that we were barely finished our dinner before the 8:30 sitting started. The next day we went to reception to discuss the gratuity and poor supper service. The manager could barely speak English and did not seem interested in our concern (perhaps others had been ‘beating’ him about it also).
We were so disappointed that we wrote a letter to the YMT tour manager who was also on board, as follows:
“Letter to Chuck Suppnick, YMT Representative, October 26, 2009, onboard MSC Poesia in the Mediterranean
Dear Chuck,
We thought we should write you a short letter regarding some concerns about our MSC Poesia experience during our third day onboard. This is our first ever cruise. Much is as we expected, and much is special and worth relating to others. The ship is very nice, even glamorous, and the service is good. We are pleased with our room, despite its rather narrow entrance and bathroom. The meals are adequate. We knew about but were disappointed in the ship’s policy regarding bringing liquor onboard, and the lack of reasonable cost laundry options for this 17 day trip. But we have a profound feeling of being trapped, not by the physical isolation of being on the ship, but by the exorbitant costs of telephone and internet communication. We have been travelling since September 1 on a world tour in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France, India, and in Rome before joining the YMT tour October 19. Nowhere have the costs of phone and internet been as prohibitively high as on this ship. The cost of telephone, even using our prepaid calling card is 5 Euro per minute. The cost of internet is 20 Euro per hour. We do our banking and much communication by Email but we could not justify even one communication at these prices. We feel cut off from our family for the first time during our world tour. We do not understand why the ship has these policies for services which have almost zero incremental cost per use. Internet and telephone service also provides outlets for customers to let their friends and family know about their special experience. The least the company could do is provide a cost structure which starts low and increases by amount of use. Ironically the shipping company provides free ship post cards, letter paper and envelopes, which likely cost more than an occasional use of prepaid telephone and internet service. This situation provides a sad and disappointing feeling to the whole cruise. We will certainly warn others about this ship and we will be careful to ensure that on any future cruise we book these services are provided at reasonable cost.
Sincerely, Tom and Rose Rogers
Sunday, October 25, Bari, Italy
Our first stop on the cruise was Bari, on the East side of Italy’s boot. We had made a decision not to take any of the excursions or special dinners during our cruise which would have amounted to about 100 Euro per stop and per dinner, another $1-2,000 for the cruise. There was lots to see and do on the ship, but we did miss using the bars, internet and telephone. We walked onto shore around the ancient area of Bari. Most places were closed, it being Sunday, but the walk was still interesting. We saw a few old churches, and walked along narrow streets. The doors to apartments were open to the warm day. We could hear the people and smell their food as they had their Sunday get togethers. There is an old castle which we walked around on our way back to the boat
Monday, October 26, at Sea
While ‘at sea’ we started to discover and enjoy the many options and activities on the boat. I started a daily 15minute per side tanning routine up o n the pools deck, followed by a swim. I was surprised to find that the pools used ocean water. The steam room and sauna felt terrific. The gym room had several machines, but not all the ones I usually like in Saskatoon. I did my daily walk on the large outdoor walking areas. Rose started devouring books and sleeping. We attended the nightly show in the Carlo Rossi 1200 seat theatre: broadway type dancing, juggling, a magician, classical piano, and opera. It was like going to the Centennial theatre in Saskatoon every night. The shows were also short, 45 minutes, just the right amount of time for ‘old people’. We felt special as we ate at linen covered tables in our beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean. The waiters were excellent as they coddled us with many menu choices and attended to our every need. We would have enjoyed wine with dinner but we could not accept it at 20-40 Euro, $33-65/bottle for ‘unkown’ wines.
Tuesday, October 27, Tunis, Tunisia
As usual we avoided the excursions, at 40-50 Euro per person, and explored the town near the port, which is usually the historical part of town anyway, on our own. At Tunis there were a few tourist traps as we left the boat: a couple of anciently dressed soldiers playing a drum and offering to make themselves available for photos with us; some camels ready to give us rides. The port authority is in the middle of a port improvement project. We walked into the town, but found little of interest and no shopping. We walked along a nice beach. Opposite the road next to the beach were several cafes, but they were dirty and not well kept by our standards. We checked a few hotels. Their lobbies were constructed somewhat like North American hotels, but the similarity ended there. On the way back to the cruise ship we walked around an old castle, which was closed.
Wednesday, October 28, at Sea
Thursday, October 29, Malaga, Spain
How wonderful to be in a ‘normal’ city for shopping. We were so excited that we forgot the camera. The cruise boat disappointed us again. They said it was a 10 minute bus ride from the dock to the city, so we paid the 10 Euro for a ride to the city. The distance was about 2kms, a nice walk. Immediately on entering the town we found a city old like Europe but with North American type stores and technology. We found an internet cafe at 1 Euro $1.65 per hour, so we caught up on our bill payments and email. We found a N. A. style small grocery store and stocked up on Pringles Sour Cream chips, pop, and toiletries. We had learned earlier that the ship was not enforcing its policy of not allowing food and liquid on board. On the way back we enjoyed the clean streets and ancient buildings.
Friday, October 30, at Sea
Saturday, October 31, Portugal – Maderia Island – Funchal,
As we awoke in the morning the ship was just beginning to enter the harbour at Funchal. The view from our balcony on MSC Poesia was something like Whiterock, BC. The city creeps up the hillside. We could see modern highways and bridges. This is obviously a resort city. A Club Med ship passed us and a ferry boat. Later we saw old schooners, sailboats, and wind surfers.
We shared a taxi the short distance to town for 4 Euro, and got out at a main throughfare, lined with trees and most of which was a nicely tiled walkway. We were greeted by an old Bank of Portugal building behind a fountain, statue, and landscaped traffic circle. A modern building with several shops was on the other side, with outdoor cafes lining the street. At the end of the street stood an old church, the Cathedral of Funchal, dating from 1500. We continued walking through the town, found a Maderia wine retailer, a grocery store, and another internet cafe. We sent Emails to our children and grandchildren, and to my brothers, Barry and Kate who will pick us up in Fort Lauderdale, and Jim and Judy who had mentioned an interest in driving down to Florida to pick us up at Barry and Kate’s.
Sunday, November 1 to Thursday, November 5 – Transatlantic Crossing
Five days on the Ocean. We only saw one other boat. The Altantic is one huge ocean. Experiencing 5 days to cross the Atlantic helps us understand that the earth is more water than land. We have been fortunate to have a quiet crossing – no storms and sunshine most of the time. It is interesting that the swimming pools, filled with sea water, were 68 degrees when we left Venice and they are now 82 degrees, warmer in the morning than the outside temperature. Five days on the Atlantic is not boring on a cruise ship this size. There are activities throughout the day, even outdoor movies at night. We went to seminars about amber and pearl and diamonds, debt management and investment strategies, instruction in bridge, euchre, and other card games, exercise and stretching programs, afternoon movies on the TV, midnight buffets and on and on. The Carlo Rossi 1200 seat theatre, mentioned earlier, with its good programs, made us feel like the elite. The cruise is everything we could have imagined and more – except for the prices for drinks, laundry, internet, and phone. This ship is so big and there are so many activities that a person can forget they are on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic.
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