Our Tour Ends ... in Venice

Finally, after more than forty days our cruise ship arrived in Venice. We had visited Venice about 16 months ago yet it was wonderful to see it again from the ship as we sailed into the harbour past the colourful buildings and, especially, St. Mark’s (San Marco) Square. 

Sailing into Venice

St. Mark's Square in the morning

The ship docked in the cruise harbour right across the Crystal Serenity, ironically the ship that we will be on next January sailing from Los Angeles to Japan.

Crystal Serenity in the distance as we sail in

All of our art supplies were finally packed into 14 boxes. We discovered on the second last day of the cruise that nowhere on the boat was there any packing tape for the boxes.  So off we went into town by a “people mover train” and vaporetti (water bus) into St. Mark Square. 

Venice from the Vaporetti

 

Rialto Bridge from the Vaporetti

While other tourists were out enjoying the sights, we were going to several stores we knew of to find packing tape.  We were unsuccessful until we came  to a store that sold Murano glass beads, some of which Gail purchased.  Asking the sales clerk if they shipped worldwide, the girl said that they did.  In a flash of inspiration, Gail said to her “Well, you must have packing tape”.  Anyway, to make the story short, the girl sold us two rolls of packing tape and our problem was solved. 

Venice was as beautiful as ever, even though it was raining. 

 

In our entire trip it rained only twice; once for an hour in Dubai (after a sand storm) and on the last day in Venice.

Memories of Venice (from 2011)

 

What a wonderful time we had this past 40 plus days. We leave for home with many treasured memories.

Now ... we await our next trip .. .wherever that will be.

Two Days in Croatia

We arrived in Dubrovnik early in the morning, but anchored at sea.  The previous two times we were here, the last being in 2011, the cruise ships docked at the port and we took a bus into the city.  Since we had been here before, we were in no hurry to go into Dubrovnik, and used some of the time in the morning to pack up our art supplies.

Dubrovnk from the sea

Hillside around Dubrovnik

Seabourn Quest provided a free tour of the city and some of its culture, so we joined the tour.  We were tendered in from the ship and then walked to a castle above the city, where we were provided with refreshments and finger food. We also got to see a show of Croatian culture involving music and dancing.  The second part, featuring the dancers, was much more exciting and fun to watch. 

Dancers in action

After the show, we walked down the hill back into old Dubrovnik and strolled through some of the familiar streets, had some ice cream, some beer with friends and, of course, a bit of shopping.

Old Dubrovnik

Sign above an entrance gate (1786)

Dubrovnik harbour

On the second day, the ship docked at Zadar, Croatia, a beautiful port about 60 miles north of Split.  While Gail stayed on board to finish the last of the art supply packing, John went on a tour of Krka National Park, an hour’s drive from Zadar.

Looking down on Krka Park from the bus

Unfortunately, this was May the first and the entire country was celebrating May Day, and, it appeared that most of the population was visiting the park.  It was extremely crowded.  The highlight of Krka Park is the Skradinski Buk Falls, the last set of falls on the Krka river before it meets the Adriatic Sea. 

The tour involved a lot of walking and climbing.  We were required to climb down a 58 metre very steep hill along steps carved out of rock wall, all different heights with no guard rail to hang on to.  Very challenging!  The photo opportunities were worth the trip down. 

Krka Falls

Falls from a secondary river

Unfortunately, once you are down there you have to get back up following a different steep path (with better stairs) to a point 10 metres above the falls for more photos.

From above the falls

Then we had some free time to walk around. 

Stream leading to grinding mill

....and a mill wheel grinding ....

This was a very invigorating tour and now, a week later, my knees and hips are still sore.

Now we were off to Venice for the last two days of our cruise.

P.S. Yes I know we are home, but I have to finish off the blog.

Two Days in Turkey

We arrived in Bodrum, Turkey on Friday the 26^th of April.  This is an absolutely beautiful town, often described as the St. Tropez of Turkey.

Bodrun, Turkey

 

  While the population is normally around 120,000 inhabitants, this swells to over a million in the summertime. This is the place that most Turks come to in the heat (average 45 C) of summer because of the Mediterranean Sea.  Our guide told us that it is impossible to navigate the streets at this time.  Normally, in the winter time, the tourists are mainly from Britain and continental Europe.

We took a tour of the area starting with a look at the remains of ancient Bodrum.  At the time of Alexander the Great, this town was called Halicarnassus and was fortified by a wall through which the only entrance was Myndos gate.

 

 In 335 BC, after a year’s siege, the city fell to Alexander who immediately had all the adult males killed and the females and children were sold into slavery.  What a guy he was! We were also taken to see the ancient theatre of the city and to Gumbet Hill which has the remains of some very old windmills.  The hill also provided a panoramic view of this area. 

Theatre of Halicarnassus

John at Windmill

Our tour continued to a village, called Gumusluk, at the tip of the Bodrum peninsula.  We had a cold drink and snack in this quaint little village and had a chance to take in the life style of the villagers.  Oh yes, there was also an opportunity to shop.

In the town of Gumusluk

After returning to the ship, Gail began work on another project at the request of ship’s management.  She was asked to paint aprons for a special World Cruise event showing scenes from different countries so that they can be worn when the ship celebrates the food of different cultures. Luckily she had one of her art students from Binghamton to help her.

The next morning we arrived at Kusadasi.  Many of the passengers took tours to Ephesus but, since we had been there just two years ago, we chose to stay in town.  We took a walking tour of the town, stopping for a refreshing Efes beer along the way. 

Town of Kusadasi

Relaxing with an Efes

 

Despite the incessant pestering by merchants, we were proud to say that we did not purchase anything, except for the essential beer of course.

The following day we were at sea and had our second Art Show.  Our students did an amazing job. 

 

 We also had the unique experience of having internationally known comedienne Rita Rudner come to our classes. She was a very refreshing presence and was very appreciative. 

Rita Rudner with her art

 

She also put on an amazing one hour comedy show (her Las Vagas act, essentially) in the evening and had everybody “rolling in the aisles”.

We are now approaching Corfu, Greece, arriving on Monday.

A Mini Pilgrimage in the Holy Land

The sun shone brightly on a perfect day as we boarded the bus to take us from the port of Ashdod, which took about an hour and a half to Jerusalem.  We joined thousands of other tourists and pilgrims near the top of the Mount of Olives to look out over the old part of the city. 

Old Jerusalem as seen from Mount of Olives

 It was a spectacular sight, made more meaningful by the tour guide who asked if there was a teacher in the group.  Gail responded, and was then asked to read a scripture passage over the microphone.  It was an extremely touching moment, to be reading the words of David, in the   Old Testament while looking down on the city, both old and new, from this sacred place. 

Gail at Mount of Olives

The day continued with visits to important sites from the gospels and to places that hold meaning to both Christians and Jews, with some Muslim flavour as well. 

 

Original gate to Jerusalem bricked up  by Muslims

  

Entering Jerusalem through the Dung gate

One such spot is the Western Wall, also known as the “Wailing Wall”.  It is the  only remaining piece of the temple built by Herod over two thousand years ago, on the site of the original temple that had been erected by Solomon on the mount where Abraham came to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a test from God, who then spared Isaac.  The wall attracts pilgrims from all over the world as a centre of spirituality.  People go there to pray and to leave notes of supplication in the cracks between the stones.  Women and men are separated for the visit to the wall, and many Jewish women and men touch the wall while moving their entire bodies in prayer.

Gail at women's "wailing wall"

Praying at the wall

There are several distinct areas in the Old Town, and it was fascinating to walk through the narrow streets of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian neighbourhoods, which are full of very active shops where they sell almost everything. 

 

Shopping in the old Roman cardo

 

In the Muslim quarter

 Some people like to take their purchases to the Holy Sepulcher to be blessed.  The Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Golgotha was built on the site of Christ’s crucifixion.  It contains chapels of six different Christian sects, and is not controlled by any one. 

 

Church od the Holy Sepulcher

 It houses the stone on which His body was anointed, and the tomb in which He was laid.  There were too many pilgrims to look at this artifact, which is enclosed in a large wooden structure that looks like a church within a church, and is the site of the resurrection. 

The stone of atonement

Site of Christ's Tomb (like a mini-church)

 

Kissing the site of the cross

After lunch at a kibbutz, which overlooks Bethlehem, we continued to travel to an area where we could view Jerusalem from near the modern wall that separates the city from the notorious West Bank. 

 

Oh not so little town of Bethlehem

The West Bank is on the other side of the wall

 The wall is over 200 km in length and was a costly solution to the problem of Palestinians entering Jerusalem with suicide bombs. We were taken to a beautiful lookout facing the Mount of Olives, then on to Gethsemane. 

 

John at Church of Gesthemene

 

Gail at the Garden of Gesthemene

 A garden of ancient olive trees is there at the site where Jesus went with his disciples before his arrest.  These trees are said to descend from the ones in Jesus’ time, and some are over 600 years old.  A church is now built around the rock on which Jesus is supposed to have been seated in the garden.  

Stone upon which Christ sat when arrested by the Romans in the garden

Mount Zion was the next stop, where the Last Supper took place, and the tomb of King David is reputed to be, though our guide suggested nobody is really sure about this.  The Upper Room that we were taken through was an interesting building that had been converted several times by the Muslims, the Byzantines and the Crusaders, so if it is the original place, it is in no way like it was 2000 years ago.

It was a very long day, packed with information and impressive sights.  We cannot be sure that everything we saw was authentic, though it is a very special place that is steeped in history, and it is fortunate for us that so much of it remains to be seen.  There is ongoing discovery of ancient artifacts as building continues in this fascinating city of old and new.

On our second day in Israel, at the city of Haifa, we took a tour of the area.  Haifa is a beautiful town  build on the side of a mountain, with homes, apartments, and gardens perched precariously on mountain ledges.

 

City of haifa

 Our tour had a photo stop near the top of Mount Carmel, overlooking Haifa, its lovely bay and the absolutely spectacular Baha’i Gardens.

The Baha'i Gardens from above

The tour then continued to Caesarea, the city that King Harod dedicated to Caesar Augustus more than 2000 years ago.  After a 30 minute bus ride we arrived at the ruins of the city, now a National park.  This huge complex of ancient ruins took us more than three and a half hours of walking to get through.  Caesarea is an interesting place to visit because it clearly shows the different eras of conquest.  The first part of the complex shows what life was in King Harod’s time, consisting  of a large 4000 seat theatre and King Harod’s palace, which has still most of its base intact. 

 

The theatre

 There is still evidence of Harod’s private swimming pool, some of the original mosaics and the corner stone of the original building. 

 

The outline of the pool is quite clear

We then walked through the hippodrome which had a 350 metre circular track for horse racing. Later, after Harod’s death in 4 BC and the city became an official part of the Roman Empire, the race track was converted to an amphitheatre where some of the Rome’s favourite sports, gladiators and human and animal fights, took place. Later on again, when the Byzantines took over in 350 AD, the amphitheatre was dismantled to make an open space and the race track was moved outside the city complex.

 

Site of the hippodrome with ampitheatre seating on the right side

 Walking further, we were shown evidence of the next wave on conquerors, the Muslims, with their marble baths and marble floors covering the mosaics below. Finally, we entered the Crusader’s fortifications built in the 12^th century with their massive, sloping walls and huge gates. 

 

John at the crusader wall

 

Sloping walls and dry moat of Crusader fortress

 The area inside is rather austere, where the Crusader’s lived and kept only those possessions that were considered important, everything else was left outside of the enclosure. 

A very tired group of walkers were then taken back to bus, with a brief stop to see the remains of the 2000 year old Roman aqueduct that still stands to this day. 

 

Roman aqueduct bringing water to cCsesarea

Now we head off for two days in Turkey, arriving on Friday.