Israel and Port Said, Egypt

Wow. What a last few days we've had! I believe the last time I wrote was in anticipation of soon arriving in Haifa, Israel. We had decided not to take a tour here, since we were doing two back to back full day tours the next two days, but more on those later. We got up fairly early in the morning in order to collect our passports from the ship, then disembarked with the intent on somehow or another finding the Bahai Gardens and Shrine I had read of. (No map.) As soon as we got off the ship, we were met with a group of men all imploring us to use their taxi service. We tried to politely tell them that we didn't need a taxi, that we were just fine walking on our own- but they continued to insist that we needed them to get anywhere we wanted to go. After a back and forth for a few minutes, they rolled their eyes and waved their hands at us, trying in vain for a final time to demonstrate how “helpful” they were being. After five or so minutes and following a couple who looked far more knowledgable about the port that we were, we made it through the gate (guarded by a passport-checking armed guard) between the port and downtown Haifa.

From our balcony that morning we were able to see the tiered Bahai Gardens, so we continued in their general direction- staying on as many main streets as possible. We were immediately surprised as to the contrast between main streets and backroads/alleys as far as litter is concerned. We commented later in the day it was as if the town had told the residents they are never, ever to leave garbage on a main road, but as soon as you were off of it, toss it wherever you felt. To get a good comparison of Haifa, think San Francisco. It is completely built on a hill, so in order for us to reach the upper levels of the gardens (the walkways inside are open only to guided tours groups) we had to meander back and forth along the hairpin-turn streets and up any hidden staircases we could find. We eventually made it to the Shrine's level and were able to explore in and around the gardens surrounding the building. After 45 minutes or so of wandering around the gardens and quickly visiting inside the shrine, we caught a taxi to take us up to the top of the mountain where the gardens started. The views were simply stunning from the top of the mountain- overlooking the sea, our ship, and the rest of the city. We spent another half hour or so at the top of the hill, then began our walk back downtown, meeting group of lost Germans and a handful of cats and kittens wandering the streets.

This was the first night of open seating for dinner (where we are not obligated to attend our regularly scheduled 8:15 dinner), so we went in early then headed to bed, knowing we would have to be up bright and early for the first of what were sure to be two very long days of tours.

The ship docked in Ashdod, a city in south Israel (but not as far south as the Gaza Strip), early the next morning and after waking up around 6:30, we headed to the lounge to meet our group for our guided tour of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The drive from Ashdod to Jerusalem was only about an hour and 15 minutes, and all of which was filled with interesting stories and information about the nation and its people from our bus' guide. Our first stop was at a scenic lookout over the walled city of Jerusalem, with King Solomon's Temple shining like a beacon to be seen from miles away. Our guide pointed out the various spots we would be seeing up close and personal later in the afternoon, plus other interesting locations like the now-sealed gates that Jesus passed through during his entrance to the city.

Our second stop was at the Garden of Gethsemane, which is now roped off, but filled with olive trees and mulch and stone paths. Our guide let us know that as much as everyone wants to believe, the trees are not actually the trees that were there in Jesus' time. Although they do look thousands of years old, the oldest was just 1,600 years (Just 1,600 years. Ha. The idea of what qualifies as “old” in this part of the world blows me away, coming from a nation where we think 300 years qualifies as ancient. We even have a word for things so old as to have been from before the civil war, 'antebellum'. They do too. 'Yesterday'.) Even though the trees are not quite so old that Jesus could have sat beneath their shade, we were told to take solace, if we wanted, in the idea that they may have grown from the seed that an olive from a tree he sat under dropped. Next to the garden stands The Church of The Agony, which inshrines inside the rock where Jesus prayed before he was arrested.

We entered Jerusalem through the Dung Gate, and our first stop was at the Wailing Wall. There are two sections of it, one for men, one for women. It was quite an experience standing before it- and very interesting watching the armed soldiers walk up to it, lay their foreheads against the wall and weap. We proceeded to walk through the Muslim quarter and along Via Dolorosa and stop at each station of the cross we passed. For those unaware, Via Dolorosa is the path Jesus walked along with the cross after being sentenced to crucifixion. We ended our walk at the church which was built upon the rock where Jesus was crucified. The church is actually owned in parts by 6 different churches. Which originally struck me as very cool that they could live in harmony with one another, until our guide told us the meaningless disputes that arose between the 6, such as not agreeing who is allowed to move the ladder that had been used to fix part of one of the windows. 155 years ago. The church also holds the tomb that Jesus was buried in. Again, a very cool thing to see.

We left Jerusalem on our bus and headed for Bethlehem. For those of you who don't know- Bethlehem is inside the Palestinian controlled West Bank. Approaching the giant concrete wall that separates the two was intimidating to say the least. The wall is roughly 40-50 feet high, topped with cyclone razor wire and was stationed by armed guards who boarded each bus and searched each car entering the territory. There was also a sign that made clear the relationship between Israel and Palestine, saying “No Israelis Permitted to Enter”. When our bus arrived, we were given a Palestinian tour guide, since ours was Israeli. Because of time restrictions, we visited only one site in Bethlehem, which was the church that was built above the cave (yes, 'cave'- not wooden stable) where Jesus was born. The line to go into the cave was long- but how many people can say they've touched the ground where Jesus was born? We boarded our bus to head home, but took a route that may not have been the most direct- but it kept us out of 5 o'clock Jerusalem traffic and we were able to see sights along the way. We saw the field from where the shepherds came to visit Jesus' birth and the field where David fought Goliath. We arrived back at the ship about an hour and a half later and went straight to dinner, then straight to bed. Hoping to catch enough sleep so we weren't running on empty at the Pyramids the next day.

We awoke the next morning to an alarm going off at 5am, since our bus was to leave at 6:30. The bus ride from Port Said to Cairo and Giza? 4 hours. We were given the history of Egypt along the ride to the Pyramids from our guide who... was not nearly as good as our Israeli guide. We realized quickly that there is a difference between a tour guide who does it because it pays the bills, and a guide who does it because it is what he is passionate about and wants to share that passion. Egypt, unfortunately- was not the latter. He knew the broad history of Egypt seemingly well. At least, he had the dates of different dynasties and kings memorized. I'm still not sure I believe him in saying that the pyramids were built by farmers in the summer who had nothing else to do though... I'm pretty sure everything else says it was slavery. But no matter who built them- they were incredible. We stopped first at Sakkara (the oldest stone building in Egypt at just over 3,500 years, I believe). Then we continued on to the great Pyramids and the Sphinx, all of which were beyond words. The individual blocks were taller than I. Incredible. To give some slight idea as to the size, the Great Pyramid covers 13 acres, and Napoleon calculated that it contains enough stone to build a 10 foot wall around all of France.

The first thing in Cairo and Giza that I noticed, however, was not the pyramids- but the absolute poverty. I have never seen anything close to the conditions that people were living in. The houses (I use that term loosely) along the major highways were what looked like clay walls and palm tree branch roofs. Horses or donkeys pulling carts down the road was completely normal, as was walking down the middle of the street. As far as their style of driving goes... I lived in Rome for 5 months and Cairo makes Rome look like lazy sunday morning drivers. I was told that the rule to drive in Egypt is this: fill in the gaps. A two lane road? Not a chance. It may have only two lanes, but they could fit 6 across, no problem. The constant honking makes downtown Manhattan sound like New Hampshire. We were also informed that the 30 foot canal that split northbound and southbound lanes was for public water. If you needed more water for your crops, take it. If your house doesn't have running water- carry it back and use it. The color? A putrid mix of green, brown, and black. At times, I'm sure I could have walked across the river because of all the trash. Front loaders would pick up as much trash from the banks and push it it, or dump it in. When the mounds became too high? They would light fires and burn the trash down. Paper, plastic, styrofoam, anything. However these toxic rivers were not only a dumping grounds for trash, they were also used by youth as a fishing spot, or even worse- a place to swim. We got back to the ship around 7:15, certainly the last passengers aboard before we set sail for the next port of Alexandria, Egypt. Again, we went straight to dinner and to pass out back in our room. Although slightly more content that we could out-sleep the sun for the first time in a few days.

Croatia to Israel

Greetings, from somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean!

Well, not middle per say, but a few hundred miles (I believe) south of the island of Cyprus. Tomorrow, bright and early we'll arrive in Haifa, the northern port city of Israel. Since I last wrote, we have visited Dubrovnik, Croatia and Patmos, Greece. Both incredible places where I would absolutely enjoy spending more time. I'm not sure if we weren't thrilled by Ravenna because we've both spent a fair amount of time seeing Europe, but at least for me, Dubrovnik and Patmos were 100% different and completely stunning.

We arrived in Croatia before either of us woke up, but when I did- I walked to the balcony, opened the curtains and turquoise water and hundreds of red roofs on a hillside appeared where distant hills had been late the night before. I completely agree with everyone in the exponential difference a balcony makes. Still hoping to see a dolphin or whale of some kind... :-P Alex and I grabbed breakfast and took a cab to the old city of Dubrovnik. Our driver was surprisingly pleasant and extremely knowledgable about the history of his city. We said farewell and thanks for the history to our cabbie and took in the turquoise waters which surround the city for a moment before walking through the gate to the “Old City”. After buying two tickets to walk on top of the wall that surrounded the city, we started the climb up incredibly steep (and often slippery and rail-less) stairs to the wall. The views were worth it. It seemed as if each turn offered a better view of something we hadn't quite noticed before. We spent a few hours walking around the wall, purchasing (incredibly expensive) water (knocking on wood, we haven't had a hint of bad weather yet!) and wandering a bit through the city. We decided we were getting close on time and still had the most important part of the day to accomplish. Geocaching in Croatia.

If anyone doesn't know what geocaching is, to sum it up quickly- it's using a multi-trillion dollar satellite system to find Tupperware in the woods. Anyone can hide a container filled with trinkets of theirs, a log book and a writing utensil, then upload the exact coordinates of where it is to geocaching.com and others will start searching. Most times, when someone finds it, they take an item, leave one of their own, and sign the book. It's fun, sure- but the coolest part (in my mind) is that it will take you places you would have never found on your own. We took out the GPS (I uploaded coordinates to it before our trip) and started walking. .62 miles, one wrong turn, a correction, and a right turn later, we found it. It was a pretty simple find, but the location was an 'off the beaten path' park that had 0 people in it, with paths zig-zagging along the cliff's edge and one leading down to a secluded pebble shore that would have been perfect for spending a lazy day. We headed back to the ship in time to relax a bit and take in an incredible sunset from the top deck before dinner. Our cast of characters for dinner could not be more different. Including Alex and I, there are 4 couples. One couple includes a hedge fund manager and a retired teacher who buys, improves and sells multi-million dollar homes. Next is a retired school administrator and her husband who is still working as a nuclear submarine repair man in Connecticut. The final couple... we're not quite sure what to make of them yet. He's from Ontario (and sounds every bit the part), she's from Ukraine. Not sure what either of them do, but he's pretty far 'out there', so to speak. (Doesn't believe Americans landed on the moon, all that kinda stuff.)

Next we had our first day at sea. Nothing too exciting happened, we lounged by the pool most of the day, until we had to get ready for our first formal dinner. This was the first time I thought that a larger ship would have been nice, just to be able to have more entertainment at our disposal. As far as sea-sickness goes, I've worn the scopolamine patch most days, but aside from a few times at dinner when there seems to be the most motion for some reason, I have usually had to look out a window to figure out if we are moving or not. Although as an interesting aside- the medicine dilates your pupils, so reading up close becomes next to impossible and I end up looking like some who is... 'more seasoned' than I, by pulling things away from my face to try and read from different distances. So for someone who gets slightly sea-sick, I would highly recommend the Mediterranean for your first attempt at cruising. Everyone I've talked to says it has the least volatile seas. For example, today is the first time we have whitecaps. The Broads in Winnipesaukee are a good comparison today. At other times? Squam.

Yesterday, we got up early for a very important reason. No, we were not in port- we were using the $250 raffle win for massages. Incredible. After we left the spa, took showers and changed, we were just about on time to go to the buffet for lunch, then catch a tender (small boat the acts as a shuttle back and forth) to Patmos. We were incredibly fortunate to have a perfect deep blue sky which in contrast to the white washed buildings along the Greek coast was stunning. We met up with Ontario and Ukraine randomly and decided to split a cab to St. John's Grotto and the monastery on the top of the island between the four of us. Hopefully we'll have more pictures up soon- but just being in the same cave where John had the vision which allowed him to right the book or Revelation was an experience like no other. It seems that with each country we visit, Americans' idea of what is considered “history” gets another kick in the pants, so to speak. We came back to the ship and relaxed, then got ready for dinner and went to see a comedian who was the evening's entertainment.

Today was another day at sea, with more meals at the buffet and lounging for a few hours by the pool. While Alex takes a nap, I've decided to give an update here then continue thoroughly enjoying a Vince Flynn book I stole from home :-) As a last note- our steward, Ronald from the south Pacific is amazing. He's funny, attentive, and incredibly helpful. Somehow after the first day, he knew us both by name and what was where in our room. We could walk up to him and say “Hey Ronald, do you happen to know where item x is?” “OH HELLO Alex and Scott!” He would yell from half way down the ship, “Yes of course, it's in the shelf below such and such.” He's outstanding. Although Alex confessed yesterday that she is missing coming back to towel animals on her bed. Maybe I'll see if I can convince Ronald to work some magic. (Shh, don't tell Alex!)

Tomorrow is Israel, so-

Shalom, chaverim.

Day 2

Sitting on a balcony with Alex, overlooking the Adriatic Sea while writing about being in Venice and Ravenna, heading to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

As you can tell, we successfully made it to the airport and embarkation in Venice. We left Connecticut after my grandmother's funeral service (she had passed away earlier in June) and drove to JFK where we very painlessly made it through baggage checking and security. We grabbed a quick bite to eat (quick is certainly the wrong word to use... God help any of the tables our server had if they were in a rush to catch a flight) We arrived at our gate about an hour and a half before our scheduled flight time, which ended up being far earlier than we needed after our flight was delayed about an hour due to who knows what. We boarded the plane only to sit for another 20 minutes or so as they filled the plane with gas and water, though I have no complaints whatsoever about waiting for 20 minutes so we don't run out of fuel over the Atlantic. I've never tried it, but my guess is AAA isn't quite that advanced yet.

We arrived in Venice around noon after being shuttled from the airport to the port. When we got to the port, a young staff member explained to the bus the procedure for checking in and luggage claim, then hopped off the bus (which was parked with no driver). But she never told us when any of this was to happen or if we could get off the bus. So I got to have fun and talk with her in Italian, asking if it were O.K. for us to get off. She said yes and I relayed the message in English for the bus. Why yes, yes I did feel special. :-P Everyone needed to check in with cruise staff at the port and when we did so, we were slightly confused. Not by the process or lack of helpfulness by the cruise staff, which was fantastic, but by the question of “Room 7093... you have four people?” “Um... I sure hope not.” Apparently the room we are currently in had been booked by a couple who later cancelled, but the systems were never updated. So the good news is we do not have roommates.

Before heading out, we had a quick lunch at the buffet which is absolutely fantastic. We spent the majority of the afternoon trying to get lost in the side streets of Venice (no, we did not take a Gondola ride, waaay too much money.) After we were sufficiently exhausted, we decided to head back to the ship to explore it a little bit. Again, we're on the Pacific Princess if anyone wants to look it up and see images or a virtual tour. We left our stateroom for dinner at 8:15 and met our table-mates (who will be the same throughout the week) and of course had more great food. Appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and desserts, all at no extra cost. We were recently warned that people gain 1-2 lbs. per day on a cruise. With the quality and quantity it wouldn't surprise me.

This morning, we had room service bring a continental breakfast, all of which but the fruit was very good. It's quite convenient though, you decide what you want the night before, hang the list on your door and it arrives at the time you specified the next morning. We left around noon to take a bus to downtown Ravenna, which was fun- but not necessarily somewhere I would put on my top Italian locations list. The history however, is unarguably impressive. After the Roman empire started to deteriorate, the capital was judged too far from the font battle lines of the war with Gothic tribes, so the imperial capital was moved from Rome to Milano, then Ravenna. In 535, Italy was invade by Emperor Justinian and in 540 he established the Byzantine capital of Italy in Ravenna. Plus, I got to have real Pizza, so no complaints from me.

This afternoon we explored the ship a bit more and I, with little to no excitement or desire, entered a spa raffle with Alex, whose drawing was to be held at 5:30. We killed another hour or so, looking around the ship and checking out future cruises Princess was trying to sell. 5:30 rolls around and we head the spa to watch the raffle. About 10 minutes after they explain the different treatments and massages, the first ticked is pulled, a $250 gift card to the spa. Guess what Alex and I are going to be doing one of these days? Yup, that's right. Spending the $250 gift card I won. :-D

We're heading down soon-ish for dinner, then to the show Bonsoir Paris, which should be fun to see. I've been amazed, each time the ship has started moving, I need to look out a window to figure out if we've set sail yet. The water, at least so far *knocking on wood* has been glass. Tomorrow we arrive in Croatia, I believe around 7 or 8am. Maybe we won't be so completely exhausted and sleep through the club room breakfast... but we have fantastic room service to fall back on.

Getting ready...

As most, if not all of you know- Alex and I are about to fly off to Venice, Italy to start our Eastern Mediterranean cruise. Both family and friends have asked if we would be able to keep a blog/online diary/facebook message while we were away so we could keep everyone up with our latest adventures. So here you are. I'm going to try my best to keep this blog updated somewhat regularly throughout our trip, though with spotty (and very expensive) internet on the ship, I may ask for your understanding in a fairly loose definition of the word "regularly" :-)

Most of you also know that we have both just graduated from the University of Delaware, Alex with a major in International Business and a minor in French, Scott with a major in Political Science and a concentration in American Government. To mark graduation, we have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to take a cruise along the eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea. We fly out of JFK Saturday night and arrive in Venice Sunday morning. From Venice we depart for 12 days on the Pacific Princess stopping at ports in Italy (1 after Venice), Croatia, Greece, twice in Israel, twice in Egypt, Turkey, then we will finish in Athens, spend an extra day there, and fly back home after the trip of a life-time.

So of course, being the mature, prepared, and anti-procrastinating young adults we are we've been packed and ready to go for a day or two, right? Ha. Believe that one and I'll tell you another. Not even close. I can honestly say that I have spent more time shopping in the last two days than I can remember ever before. It seems past few days have been a blur of department store, drug store, bank, grocery store, and dry cleaner. However, *knocking on wood* I believe that all of that is done and all that is left is to put clothes in bags. Though I'm sure Mr. Murphy and that pesky law of his are hiding just around a corner somewhere waiting for us.

My guess (and hope!) is that the next time I write on here we'll be sailing somewhere on the Adriatic Sea, though depending on the wait we have at JFK, I may log on to fill everyone in on what is shore (Get it? I apologize in advance for more terrible nautical puns that may follow that one...) to be a roller coaster of a day tomorrow. For parents/grandparents and other family who will be worrying about us the whole time, every Princess ship had a Bridge Cam that will allow you to not only share in some of our experience, but to sea (there's another!) that we haven't sunk. You can watch here.

Prossima volta dall'Italia!