That’s right fam and friends, today was a beach day for the Patterson clan! Montegro has a famous beach that hosts concerts every summer called, Jaz Beach, so, of course, this is the beach we chose to lounge on. Only the best, right?! Well…about that. When I say beach day, what are you guys expecting? I know my boyfriend, Eric, being an avid beach lover (and Jimmy Buffet fan…the 2 go hand in hand, don’t you agree?) has a definite picture in his mind. Heck, why don’t I go ahead and paint the picture of what I think you guys are thinking?! (Follow me?) White sandy beach with crashing waves and chairs with umbrella…oh and of course the water is heated to a nice temperature by the hot, hot sun. You know, not too hot and not too cold, just cold enough to cool you off. Am I close?? Well if you were thinking that’s what I meant by BEACH DAY, you are sadly mistaken my friends. Okay, okay, some of the things were dead on: the chairs with umbrellas and, well…that’s it. No white sandy beach for us, instead we were greeted by a stony, pebbly beach. Different, huh? You’re thinking, “Oh that could still be nice, though, Darian”. Well yes, sweet readers, that COULD be. If the rocks weren’t hotter than the sun itself! Shoes had to be worn when attempting to walk on these hot stones, friends. Not to worry though, because the water would cool us off, right?! Hmmm…about that…the water was frigid. Very, very cold. Sorta unbearable, not super comfortable for swimming. Oh, and no crashing waves, which was splendid, since we don’t care for being knocked down by waves. Different beach experience, to say the very least. Don’t get me wrong, though, this is NOT to say we didn’t have a great time. The differences were just unexpected and gave us quite a laugh. The rocks weren’t that bad once you got used to them…sorta. However, I’ll stick to my sandy beaches, please. Em and I braved the colder than ice water, in order to cool off from our extreme sunbathing. In addition, it was nice to not have to worry about any slimy fish or sea creatures, as we saw none during our time swimming in the sea. The absence of waves, was also a welcomed change from some of the beaches we’ve been to where we are constantly struggling to stay above the water. The water was VERY salty. We discovered this, not by trying to drink it, but simply by laying out in the sun after taking a dip in the sea. I glanced at my legs and saw little white circles of salt. Like I said, the water was super salty. In fact, it was so salty we could see it! I’d consider our beach day a success. We all got some sun, some of us too much. (cough, cough, Dad, cough, cough)
After lounging on the beach for a few hours, we returned back to the pier to catch a tender back to our ship. (The ship was too big to pull into the actual port, so we had to take smaller boats from the ship to the shore) The line was insane and the sun was steady beating down on us. Sounds pretty miserable, doesn’t it? Actually, the wait went by rather quickly, because we got to talking to a man and his son who were in line behind us. They were from England. If any of you know me well at all, you know I ADORE British accents. They were lovely to talk to, but even if they weren’t the best conversationalists, I still would’ve enjoyed listening to them and their splendid accents.
Our day in Kotor was just what we all needed. It was the first true laid back day on shore we’ve had thus far. Jaz Beach was the perfect spot to spend our last day in the Mediterranean. Yes, sadly, this was our last stop of the cruise. We will be on the ship for 2 days (well, only one after today), and then we will be back in Barcelona for a day. Where, of course, we will fly from to Newark then to the great state of Texas.
We’ve really had a great 2 weeks here on the Celebrity Solstice, but I know we are all somewhat anxious to get home and get back into the swing of things. Don’t think that because all of our stops are over that the blog is over, though! I couldn’t leave you all hanging like that! I will continue to blog, hopefully someone…anyone…will continue to read. HA HA! :)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Venice Day 2 (Mom Blogs On)
Our excursion today included a tour on the famous island of Murano and a glass factory there, a visit to San Giorgio Church, and a gondola ride.
We started at the Murano glass factory where we watched a maestro make a flower vase. We then visited the very large showroom with an opportunity to purchase a piece or two. I am not sure if Darian has mentioned it or not, but there is a “Hot Glass Show” on board our ship! This is very cool, or hot, or…you know what I mean!
We go to practically every show and watch for at least a piece or two. These guys are very talented and excellent in explaining the process. So, in Murano, everything we saw, we really had already experienced on the boat with the Hot Glass Show. The only real difference was the Murano maestro worked alone, while the guys on board work kinda as a team. I had been looking forward to this excursion, and definitely enjoyed our time there.
Next we went by water taxi to visit the church. We were told the previous day that Venice has over 100 churches! They’re not even in the Bible belt!
They had sort of an art exhibit going on there called the Ascension. It involved smoke being manipulated by several fans to create a vortex that swirled upward, toward the top of the church. Very nice!
Our last stop was a gondola ride. I had been looking forward to this part, as it seems like an essential part of a visit to Venice. Well, let me tell you, it was not exactly what I bargained for! The dock where we boarded the gondola was what I would call the ocean side. Yes, waves just like the ocean! This is due to the very large amount of boat traffic – big water taxis, small personal boats, tug boats, even the cruise ships come in not too far out from here. Have you ever seen a gondola? It is quite long and narrow, and flat! To make matters worse, they pack in 6 people where only 2 were probably intended! I got the lucky seat right in the middle, facing the side, and sitting up higher than the very low sides of the gondola. I felt as though I might tip right over and out any minute! Well the ride got more stable, and thus more enjoyable as we entered the canals. We all relaxed and settled in to enjoy the ride. Everyone from our tour was on a gondola, so the line of gondolas was long, really just one long boat after another. You know how the gondola ride always looks romantic and peaceful on television? Not so! They lie! The water was jammed with gondola after gondola, after gondola. All of the gondoliers were shouting out to each other, not in an angry way, just regular conversation like “ Hey, did you catch that game last night?” And “how’s the wife and kids?” (at least this is what I imagined it to be since they were speaking Italian!) There was also quite an ugly stench from time to time! I don’t care to think about from whence it came!
I will say that I was impressed with the talent of the gondolier in navigating such unfriendly waters. We were told that not too many men (I think only men are gondoliers) are able to pass the test. It looks like it takes skill, patience, muscle, and of course a good sense of direction, as the canals are as crazy and confusing as the streets! Another little tidbit – only tourists travel by gondola, except for maybe a bride on her wedding day! I wonder if my sweet friend T.H. would enjoy a gondola ride on her big day?
We started at the Murano glass factory where we watched a maestro make a flower vase. We then visited the very large showroom with an opportunity to purchase a piece or two. I am not sure if Darian has mentioned it or not, but there is a “Hot Glass Show” on board our ship! This is very cool, or hot, or…you know what I mean!
We go to practically every show and watch for at least a piece or two. These guys are very talented and excellent in explaining the process. So, in Murano, everything we saw, we really had already experienced on the boat with the Hot Glass Show. The only real difference was the Murano maestro worked alone, while the guys on board work kinda as a team. I had been looking forward to this excursion, and definitely enjoyed our time there.
Next we went by water taxi to visit the church. We were told the previous day that Venice has over 100 churches! They’re not even in the Bible belt!
They had sort of an art exhibit going on there called the Ascension. It involved smoke being manipulated by several fans to create a vortex that swirled upward, toward the top of the church. Very nice!
Our last stop was a gondola ride. I had been looking forward to this part, as it seems like an essential part of a visit to Venice. Well, let me tell you, it was not exactly what I bargained for! The dock where we boarded the gondola was what I would call the ocean side. Yes, waves just like the ocean! This is due to the very large amount of boat traffic – big water taxis, small personal boats, tug boats, even the cruise ships come in not too far out from here. Have you ever seen a gondola? It is quite long and narrow, and flat! To make matters worse, they pack in 6 people where only 2 were probably intended! I got the lucky seat right in the middle, facing the side, and sitting up higher than the very low sides of the gondola. I felt as though I might tip right over and out any minute! Well the ride got more stable, and thus more enjoyable as we entered the canals. We all relaxed and settled in to enjoy the ride. Everyone from our tour was on a gondola, so the line of gondolas was long, really just one long boat after another. You know how the gondola ride always looks romantic and peaceful on television? Not so! They lie! The water was jammed with gondola after gondola, after gondola. All of the gondoliers were shouting out to each other, not in an angry way, just regular conversation like “ Hey, did you catch that game last night?” And “how’s the wife and kids?” (at least this is what I imagined it to be since they were speaking Italian!) There was also quite an ugly stench from time to time! I don’t care to think about from whence it came!
I will say that I was impressed with the talent of the gondolier in navigating such unfriendly waters. We were told that not too many men (I think only men are gondoliers) are able to pass the test. It looks like it takes skill, patience, muscle, and of course a good sense of direction, as the canals are as crazy and confusing as the streets! Another little tidbit – only tourists travel by gondola, except for maybe a bride on her wedding day! I wonder if my sweet friend T.H. would enjoy a gondola ride on her big day?
A City Afloat
ATTENTION: GUEST BLOGGER TODAY
I think we will save the big reveal for the end, but see if you can guess before then!
We pulled into the port of Venice today and Dad insisted we all go out on deck to see the city that floats – and rightly so- it is amazing! We tried several vantage points – all very crowded. I joked that the ship was leaning to one side from everyone rushing over to see Venice. My favorite observation point was the Sky Lounge where they were playing very dramatic opera music! We ended up watching the remainder of the spectacular entrance from our very own balcony! Lucky us to have a room on the right side of the boat!
We did the usual “cattle herding” into the Solstice Theater (more about that later) to await our turn to go ashore for our excursion – a walking tour of “The Secrets of Venice”. I don’t think they told us any secrets, but we did CHASE our tour guide around the crowded, winding, and narrow city streets for a couple of hours. It was amazing but a little fast paced and very, very crowded with tourists. I think we all agreed that we would very quickly be lost on our own in the winding streets that seem to have no organized plan. (Even Dad and Emily) We were glad when the tour ended and we were had a little free time to explore on our own. If you know us, you know we are all about the food, so we used “free time” to enjoy more pizza! Yum!
One of the funny (or shocking) things that happened on today’s tour was about one of our fellow excursion takers, who shall remain nameless – mostly because we don’t know her name! She made herself a target of our attention as soon as we boarded the water taxi at the beginning of our tour by talking loudly and laughing even louder! When her companion suggested that she be quiet because she may be ruining the ride for others, she spoke up even louder and said she “did not really give…” well, you can imagine the rest, and yes, it contained words I’ll not use here!
Mom was appalled!
There were other rude displays from that one throughout the tour, but the big one came toward the end, when we were navigating a very narrow residential area of the city. We all noticed the doorbells at the entrances of the apartments on either side, some of them being very decorative. This rude guest apparently rang a bell or two as we passed. We did not actually witness this as she was behind us, but it became obvious minutes later when a Venice resident rushed to the front of our tour group to complain to our guide. The guide just brushed her away, but everyone knew something was up! We were just ahead of the offender, so we heard her conversation about how she had just “gotten in trouble” and how she did not care – “I mean what are they going to do to me? Kick me off the boat?” and “she probably did a lot worse when she was 17!” It was obvious she was nervous about being caught! We were glued to the action! Later, when we stopped at the end, we overheard the guide whispering to her that she should not ring anymore doorbells as the police could arrest her! So exciting! She quickly slipped away from the group! We are now constantly on the look out for this little stinker for pure entertainment value!
We came back onboard about 9 pm, just in time for more eating! Because we were to be in Venice overnight, dinner was open seating, meaning we did not have assigned tables. We were happy to be lead to a table pretty much in the center of the Grand Epernay dining room (our usual table is off to one side, but with a large window). This table was not just for four, but meant for eight guests. Well, let me tell you, we were soooo excited! We never get seated with anyone else! After several minutes went by, and then several more, it became apparent that we were STILL not going to be seated with anyone else! Wah, wah, waaaaah! Bummer!
This brought on a lively conversation about why not. Why can’t we be allowed to sit with others? What in our behavior makes them keep us segregated? Here are just a few thoughts we came up with:
*We refer to the wine steward at “the wine guy”. This may not seem like such a bad thing at first glance, but you really have to see him to get it. Let me see if I can draw you a picture. He dresses very seriously in his burgundy silk short jacket and wears a tasting dish around his neck (on a chain) at all times. A LARGE tasting dish! From a chain! Think Flavor Flav! We also joked about calling him “Hey, Joe! Set me up!”, but would never actually say that! Wink, wink!
*We can sometimes, just some of us, be caught dipping, or even rolling, our breadsticks in the butter as opposed to using a butter knife properly.
*We are sometimes guilty of staring at fellow dinner guests, particularly if they are dressed strangely, or if their conversations seem more interesting than ours!
*Our fascination with the before-mentioned naughty guest (doorbell ringer). I must mention she made an appearance very near our table (not with us – whew!) dressed in what appeared to be a plaid blanket! Now we call her “Blanket”. Clever, don’t you think? We’ll be on the lookout for more Blanket sightings!
As it turns out, our big moment came the very next day at open seating lunch in the big dining room. We were led to a table with 3 guests and room for more than just the four of us! Dad struck up a conversation with them as a couple of lovely women sat down at the opposite end. Guess what? They were ALL from Texas! Coincidence? I think not! They keep all of us “ya’ll” saying, twang-talking, unruly people together! We quite enjoyed our lunch with our Texas neighbors!
If you haven’t guessed yet, Mom (Amy) is doing the blog today! I hope you enjoyed!
I think we will save the big reveal for the end, but see if you can guess before then!
We pulled into the port of Venice today and Dad insisted we all go out on deck to see the city that floats – and rightly so- it is amazing! We tried several vantage points – all very crowded. I joked that the ship was leaning to one side from everyone rushing over to see Venice. My favorite observation point was the Sky Lounge where they were playing very dramatic opera music! We ended up watching the remainder of the spectacular entrance from our very own balcony! Lucky us to have a room on the right side of the boat!
We did the usual “cattle herding” into the Solstice Theater (more about that later) to await our turn to go ashore for our excursion – a walking tour of “The Secrets of Venice”. I don’t think they told us any secrets, but we did CHASE our tour guide around the crowded, winding, and narrow city streets for a couple of hours. It was amazing but a little fast paced and very, very crowded with tourists. I think we all agreed that we would very quickly be lost on our own in the winding streets that seem to have no organized plan. (Even Dad and Emily) We were glad when the tour ended and we were had a little free time to explore on our own. If you know us, you know we are all about the food, so we used “free time” to enjoy more pizza! Yum!
One of the funny (or shocking) things that happened on today’s tour was about one of our fellow excursion takers, who shall remain nameless – mostly because we don’t know her name! She made herself a target of our attention as soon as we boarded the water taxi at the beginning of our tour by talking loudly and laughing even louder! When her companion suggested that she be quiet because she may be ruining the ride for others, she spoke up even louder and said she “did not really give…” well, you can imagine the rest, and yes, it contained words I’ll not use here!
Mom was appalled!
There were other rude displays from that one throughout the tour, but the big one came toward the end, when we were navigating a very narrow residential area of the city. We all noticed the doorbells at the entrances of the apartments on either side, some of them being very decorative. This rude guest apparently rang a bell or two as we passed. We did not actually witness this as she was behind us, but it became obvious minutes later when a Venice resident rushed to the front of our tour group to complain to our guide. The guide just brushed her away, but everyone knew something was up! We were just ahead of the offender, so we heard her conversation about how she had just “gotten in trouble” and how she did not care – “I mean what are they going to do to me? Kick me off the boat?” and “she probably did a lot worse when she was 17!” It was obvious she was nervous about being caught! We were glued to the action! Later, when we stopped at the end, we overheard the guide whispering to her that she should not ring anymore doorbells as the police could arrest her! So exciting! She quickly slipped away from the group! We are now constantly on the look out for this little stinker for pure entertainment value!
We came back onboard about 9 pm, just in time for more eating! Because we were to be in Venice overnight, dinner was open seating, meaning we did not have assigned tables. We were happy to be lead to a table pretty much in the center of the Grand Epernay dining room (our usual table is off to one side, but with a large window). This table was not just for four, but meant for eight guests. Well, let me tell you, we were soooo excited! We never get seated with anyone else! After several minutes went by, and then several more, it became apparent that we were STILL not going to be seated with anyone else! Wah, wah, waaaaah! Bummer!
This brought on a lively conversation about why not. Why can’t we be allowed to sit with others? What in our behavior makes them keep us segregated? Here are just a few thoughts we came up with:
*We refer to the wine steward at “the wine guy”. This may not seem like such a bad thing at first glance, but you really have to see him to get it. Let me see if I can draw you a picture. He dresses very seriously in his burgundy silk short jacket and wears a tasting dish around his neck (on a chain) at all times. A LARGE tasting dish! From a chain! Think Flavor Flav! We also joked about calling him “Hey, Joe! Set me up!”, but would never actually say that! Wink, wink!
*We can sometimes, just some of us, be caught dipping, or even rolling, our breadsticks in the butter as opposed to using a butter knife properly.
*We are sometimes guilty of staring at fellow dinner guests, particularly if they are dressed strangely, or if their conversations seem more interesting than ours!
*Our fascination with the before-mentioned naughty guest (doorbell ringer). I must mention she made an appearance very near our table (not with us – whew!) dressed in what appeared to be a plaid blanket! Now we call her “Blanket”. Clever, don’t you think? We’ll be on the lookout for more Blanket sightings!
As it turns out, our big moment came the very next day at open seating lunch in the big dining room. We were led to a table with 3 guests and room for more than just the four of us! Dad struck up a conversation with them as a couple of lovely women sat down at the opposite end. Guess what? They were ALL from Texas! Coincidence? I think not! They keep all of us “ya’ll” saying, twang-talking, unruly people together! We quite enjoyed our lunch with our Texas neighbors!
If you haven’t guessed yet, Mom (Amy) is doing the blog today! I hope you enjoyed!
Croatia!!
Croatia was today’s destination. What exactly does one do in Croatia, one might ask. Well, walk the city walls, of course! At least, that’s what we did. When we signed up for this excursion, I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect, to be honest. Turns out, we actually walked along the walls of the Old Town in Dubrovnik. Sure it was super hot and sunny on top of the walls, but WOW what great views! I have to say, I was a little apprehensive about the stop in Croatia, because I thought it may be boring or too hot to enjoy. However, I actually ended up really enjoying the excursion. We just don’t have anything like that around us, at least that I’ve seen. The walk was about 1.5 miles …I think!? Not too bad, except for the extreme heat. We thought we were back in Texas! Haha! At the end of the tour, we stopped in a pizzeria and shared 2 pizzas between the 4 of us. Delicious! After lunch, we returned to the ship for the day. (A lot sweatier and smellier than before, but it was all worth it) All in all, it was a great day in Dubrovnik, Croatia!
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