Venice, The MS PRINSENDAM and Six Countries
VENICE - Every journey starts with how you get there, and the physical and mental preparation involved. We agreed to leave the USA behind us for three weeks and have an adventure. For the days on our own in Venice we relied on the information from Europe For Visitors. We arrived in Venice on Tuesday, October 24 at about 7AM. It was hard to say what Venice might be like because it was dark and even the airport coffee bar was still closed. We waited at the airport for a short while as we had purchased orange Venice Card which would give us unlimited rides on the vaporetto and admission to some of the museums (you have to book this online 48 hours in advance). Having never been to Venice, we were relying a great deal on the various guidebooks and Web sites we'd reviewed. We took the bus from the airport to Venice (our friends took the Water Taxi when they arrived later), seeing what the guidebooks referred to as ugly industrial areas outside of Venice (in truth, we passed small neighborhoods where people were commuting to work). We arrived at the Piazzale Roma, a busy bus terminal, filled with people arriving to work and quite a few tourists. And we had luggage (note to self: pack a whole lot less). We booked a hotel through Venere.com which worked out fine (this was one of those leap of faith moments). Because we had a cruise ship to connect with, we stayed in San Croce at the Hotel Carlton & Grand Canal. This was a great location because we could reach everything. And, as we stood in the Piazzale Roma with our luggage and with it now about 4AM in Connecticut, we quickly got our bearings, crossed the bridge over the Grand Canal (luggage up, luggage down the stairs), and realized that Venice was like no place we had ever seen. Generally we can say, "oh, look - just like Seattle" or San Francisco, or some resemblance to some part of our country. But Venice, well, this was not a place you can easily put your finger on. The Hotel Carlton was really just a short distance and the hotel staff was wonderful. Our room wasn't ready but they checked our bags and suddenly we were really on our own in Venice. It was a day where the sun was trying to come out. The bells were ringing. The vaporettos and other boats were rushing back and forth on the Grand Canal. The Gondolas were there - men in black and white striped shirts using poles to maneuver their black crafts lined with plush red seats. People streamed past us to get to their work, students marched by in groups enroute to their schools, tourists were everywhere. We quickly mastered the Vaporetto. And it took just a short while to watch for the street signs if we wanted to walk. The streets seem to crisscross and turn every which way but if you carefully look for the signs on the pedestrian routes directing you to Piazza San Marco or to the Realto it is very manageable. From our hotel to the Realto Bridge was a really wonderful walk of about 20 minutes. When our friends arrived, we were in front of the hotel sipping espresso. And then the fun really began. Venice is a place to be awestruck and it's a place to eat and drink as if your sole purpose in life is to do nothing more. We seemed to have two comments: "Oh my God! Look at this!" or "Oh my God! Taste this!"
Below: We had lunch at Trattoria DA ROMANO in Burano.
PRINSENDAM - We took a water taxi from our hotel and at one point the driver opened the throttle and we barreled across the lagoon to the ship. We were met at the dock by cruise ship staff and the pampering started. We went 1,910 nautical miles. Our commander was Captain Halle Thon Gundersen who was calm and wonderful and happy to chat any time. Our cruise director was Peter Daems who was also calm and wonderful and would break off most serious messages by saying, "I have a little story..."
Below right: P.A. Nazareth, Ambassador of India (Retd.) and Enrichment Lecturer
Below: Pete and Rita from Rockville, IL
Below Middle: Nelson who makes a "mean" stir fry
RAB, Croatia
DUBROVNIK, Croatia
KATAKOLON, Greece (Olympia)
CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy (Rome and Tuscany)
LIVORNO, Italy (Florence, Lucca)
ST. TROPEZ, France
MAHON, MINORCA, Spain
CADIZ, Spain
LISBON, Portugal
LISBON - We arrived in Lisbon. This was our last stop and where we would disembark. Generally this is the day you dread on a cruise as there are lines and luggage and people standing and sitting in every possible place. And it was going to be much worse because the night before the ship hit rough seas and we were literally airborne at various times in our beds. But a complicated disembarkation was not the case on the Prinsendam. We had breakfast. We walked off the ship. We collected our luggage uneventfully, passed through Customs uneventfully and found a taxi. Done. Done in under five minutes. Now the taxi. With so much luggage (note to self: pack less), Wendy and I went in one taxi and Dave and Woody went in the other taxi. Wendy and I had an older man driving between cigarettes. The traffic was snarled. His cell kept ringing and he kept barking in to it. And he brought us to the wrong hotel. We got that worked out. But after that driver and that ride, I was ready to go to the hotel room, lock the door, and climb into bed. Dave and Woody, however, had an entirely different experience. Their driver, Filipe Silva, was charming, gracious, and captivating. In a few moments, he had proposed a day long tour of Lisbon, Sintra, and Cascais. I'm very glad we all agreed to this ride as it was an amazing and amazingly well organized tour of a city and region that this man has great pride in sharing.
Above: Mr. Filipe Silva, Historical Tour Guide, who made Lisbon and surrounding towns come alive with all of their beauty and history. This is a man who is passionate and a joy to listen to. He speaks many languages including English, French and Spanish. His phone is: + 351 934495650. We highly recommend Filipe Silva if you plan to tour the Lisbon area.
Below: Extraordinary Luncheon at Cervejaria Luzmar - Portuguese Food - Wow!
Fatima Shrine
Best Moments on our Trip:
Seeing Wendy and Woody pull up to the Carlton & Grand Canal Hotel in Venice in a water taxi on the Grand Canal. Which proves two things: that Wendy looks radiant wherever she goes and however she gets there, and, that when we said we'll see you on the Grand Canal in Venice, we meant it.
Walking in the narrow alleys of Venice looking for the restaurant in the San Croce area recommended by the hotel. It was getting very dark and it seemed we had been around the same block a few times. But then, amazingly, we found the restaurant, Antica Besseta, and it was everything we hoped it would be and more. From the prosecco that was poured for us on our arrival, to the splendid food and the even more wonderful service - it was the kind of evening and the kind of dinner we all just dream of having.
Walking through the Doge's Palace until our feet hurt and we still could not take in all this splendor.
Seeing so many amazing sights that we had only just read about or seen on TV or movies!
Trying the chocolate croissants in every country...
Seeing the amazing Andalusian Horses at the Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecustre in Spain!
When Woody saw the MS Prisendam leaving Lisbon and he was in a PANIC because we had missed the ship... well, we had disembarked so I guess we had no choice...
Thanks for looking at our adventures!