Finishing the Cruises Prague and Home

Woke up to miserable weather in Genoa so decided to pack up and check in to the ship. Checked in at 10:30 and were remarkably the first two on board. I suspect that, on this cruise many people get on and off at Barcelona, Marseilles, Naples and Messina as there wasn’t much activity at check in. Should have walked the 1km rather than cabbed it - €17.50.

Dropped hand luggage in the cabin and got off for some more walking around a now overcast Genoa. Some light refreshments and an amazing meringue zabaglione cake and back to ship in time for departure.

The ship (2009) is almost a clone of our previous ship (2013) but about 20% smaller. The layout is VERY similar so no troubles finding places to go. Our cabin 8030 is an outside cabin with balcony is a nice change from the inside cabin (11229) on the previous cruise. I adapted very well to the concept of an inside cabin and the only downside was waking up and having no idea about the weather or conditions.  The couch and outdoor seating area is a nice addition.

Went to a show with dancers and singers doing famous Italian songs – of which I probably only knew 50%. They were MUCH better than the two singers on the previous cruise having much stronger voices and projected much better. The crowd, maybe 50%+ Italian were very much into it of course - enjoyed it a lot.

The most bizarre aspect of this ship is the two dinner times 19:30 and 21:30 versus 18:15 and 20:45 on the previous one. 19:30 seems early while 21:30 is absurdly late unless you are Spanish! Anyway we opted for 21:30 and have secured a table for two which is nice. Even though our previous dinner company were lovely people it is nice to have dinner alone with a friend. Dinner on this cruise is similar to the previous one – limited and reasonable quality at best. There is a Tex Mex restaurant on board but Italian Tex Mex – hmmmm.

Get to bed around midnight and wake up at 08:00 in preparation for our 13:00 arrival in Naples. I think Naples is the only city in the world where I have felt uneasy. When we drove through the narrow streets of this port city in 1983 there was a feeling that everybody was looking at us – seemingly with a view to something nefarious.

Anyway, this time around I have opted for a tour of Pompeii as I didn’t get there last time and don’t really see myself getting there in the future. I have noted that Pompei is the modern city and Pompeii the ancient city.

It’s hard to believe that I have only been out of Sydney for 11 days but having been to 7 cities plus a brief stop in Beijing that’s hardly surprising.

Early breakfast and board the bus to Pompeii at 09:00 and what a great tour it was. I don’t understand why I didn’t go here 30 years ago and how little I knew about this historical place. Built somewhere between 1900BC and 600BC the entire city was encased in Lava around 79AD when the nearby Vesuvius erupted. Unlike every other ruin I have seen this one is FULLY intact with walls, rooms etc etc etc. If one can describe a ruin as pristine this would be it.

The brothel stands there with beds (stone argh!!) and the frescos to explain what men should do to please the ladies, the bakery and its oven – apparently they can time the eruption based on the breads in the oven.

Most people that died were those who did not leave the town and who succumbed to the toxic fumes on the second day. There is a body (remember encased by lava)  of a dog with its collar mark burned into its bones – clearly the owner left the town forgetting that his dog was chained up.

The scale of the ruins is quite massive although 70% has been unearthed already. There are mosaics, frescos and so much kept intact by the encasement of the entire city.

The 30 minutes before and after the tour to explore the coral, souvenir and Limóncello shops was unnecessary but of course unavoidable. The tour guide was sensational having a great combination of knowledge, personality and wit. For some reason I forgot to tip him which I certainly intended to.

If one has the opportunity to see Pompeii – DO IT!

Back to the ship for our 19:00 feeling very weary I slept for two hours before our late (grrr) dinner. I must confess to being REALLY over the food served on the ship. Wish it would result in weight loss but not so.

Sleep at 23:30 for a 09:00 arrival at Messina where we were met by our driver and her comfortable if not slightly aged Mercedes. The anticipated 45 minute drive took us to one of the prettiest places I have been to – Taormina, a hilltop town that, like much in Sicily, dates back to the time of the Greeks. It is basically one very long main street with a large number of amazingly picturesque stairways up and down.

We spent the three hours there walking the main street, exploring some alleyways, having a coffee at a beautiful terrace overlooking the beaches and sea below the hill where I had been before with Robkat. So we got our two cappuccinos which I guessed would be expensive given it was a five star hotel and in rapid succession came petit fours, slices of cake and Danish pastries which the waitress explained was all included in the price of the coffee. Now if they had told me the bill was €30 I would not have been at all shocked so was very pleasantly surprised when it was only €16!

We then caught the Funicular to the beachside and had another coffee there absorbing the warm sunny weather (guessing 25 degrees but at times a cool breeze). A toasted Panini to eat in the car one way back to the ship and here I am another tired tourist ready for a nap.

The ship left at an unreasonably early 15:00 heading for our next port Tunis. That night a Gala Evening (read jacket and tie) and a ‘Spectale’, this time Aztec dancing and acrobatics. I must say that the shows have been very ‘big time’ great costumes, choreography dancing and singing and very entertaining. The show finished at 20:30 and I was hungry big time so opted for what is the only speciality restaurant on the ship – Tex Mex. Yes there were refried beans but more importantly it was an USA Angus steakhouse and we had a great meal in albeit ordinary décor.

Next morning I woke at 05:30 or was it 06:30 – well the ship decided to retain ship time notwithstanding that Tunisian time is minus 1 hour. So my phone said 05:30 but the ship was 06:30 – go figure. A glorious day in excess of 25 degrees!

Off by 08:00 well you guessed right – 07:00 hired a car for the day, well the six hours before we had to return to the ship, at a very reasonable €60. The driver was chatty and spoke good English for the first 60 seconds until he realised that Regis was French after which he became non communicative verging on rude. I guess being a colonist isn’t easy! A walk around the Medina and a cappuccino saw us go to a very attractive nearby Sidi Bousaid. Founded by Andalusian everything there is in Mediterranean Blue and White. Another coffee – well every time you read coffee in my blogs you can assume coffee and free WiFi – overlooking the beach and the lovely scenery. With the coffee they brought three tiny, I’ll call them baclavettes which we didn’t eat and which they tried to charge us €4 for – didn’t happen!

The car then took us to Carthage which I knew very little about and which proved fascinating. I hired a guide who proved to be exceptionally knowledgeable for €9 at the entrance. He explained the importance and history of Carthage from Phoenician, Byzantine and Roman times. What remains of the city is not vast but includes the massive bathhouse which was fed by a 130km aqueduct containing the water from the mountains and which has been today proven to be rich in minerals. A lot of what he told us has slipped through my mind given how many ruins I have seen of late but it continues to amaze me the level of technology and building expertise that ancient civilisations utilised.

At the end of the tour we sat and had drinks for 45 minutes where I find out a lot about modern Tunisia, a country of 12 million people with 2 million living in Tunis. They are on the verge of their first truly democratic election after a history of dictatorship and corruption. Many people are culturally Muslim but not particularly devout. With that background people will vote for the religious parties and the outcome will likely be a coalition involving the religious parties. Our guide Ahmed was 30 years old and had a degree in English Literature but being unable to find a job turned to becoming a tour guide. Next week he will sit an exam to become a school teacher.

He told of the existing synagogue in Tunis with 1000 members and the fact that there was a rich Jewish History in Tunisia. In common with most Arabs I meet he has absolutely no problem with Judaism as a religion and its Jews – the issue is solely with Israel, not that he expressed any strong views on that subject.

Word of the day – “Mahgreb” refers to Algiers, Morroco and Tunisia.

Back to the ship, a show of Elvis, Beatles, Michael Jackson covers followed by dinner and an early – well in the context of 21:30 dinner time – night.

The next day was a day at sea where I woke late, mooched around the ship, avoided the casino, ate, ate some more and ate some more.

Last stop Barcelona. I had some intentions to do all sorts of things but wasn’t feeling fantastic so just spent the day walking around the city not deviating much from the Ramblas. I did go to the markets which is probably the best markets I have ever seen. For some reason, ok because I like food, I am very attracted to visiting food markets and seeing the local produce, fruits, meats, fish and such – and this one was exceptional. Participated in a few treats and then back to the ship.

Enough shows and in fact enough eating so I took the opportunity for packing, luggage outside the cabin and an early night – luckily as it was really windy and stormy and sleep was hard to come by.

Next morning disembarked the ship, collected car from Avis and a short 30 minute drive to Aix-en-Provence where we spent four hours – well 30 minutes of it at the post office posting a parcel back to Australia – the rest me showing Regis a city I know very well having spent a week based here two years ago to he who had never been here. Now picture an Aussie being a tour guide of Aix-en-Provence to a Frenchman.

Finally an airport farewell to Regis who was the most fantastic travel companion one could hope for – funny, irreverent, cheerful and somebody who kept me smiling the whole time. Three hours later my flight to Prague and an evening I would rather forget!

I had been recommended two restaurants in Prague and booked them both. The first one was SaSaZu, a very large very funky Asian fusion restaurant that was amazing – check out the menu https://www.sasazu.com/food.html. A touch noisy with a full time DJ but he was playing remixes of music that I love so it wasn’t too bad and as I had nobody to talk to the noise wasn’t an issue. The 10 minute shoulder massage after the meal was an unexpected plus. The club is owned by Israelis who had hoped to open a casino but I think they make more out of the restaurant and adjoining nightclub than they would with a casino!

As I didn’t arrive in Prague till 21:00 I didn’t get to the hotel till 00:15 by which time I was in agony!!! A pain in my kidney and other parts south I decided to head to the Emergency at the nearby hospital. I was kind of sure it was kidney stones – yeah yeah Doctor Stern!!!

It was kind of funny in retrospect but not at the time – I waited 30 minutes to see a doctor notwithstanding that they knew I was in immense pain, they then said I had to see another doctor – another 15 minute wait only to be told I had to go back to where I originally was. Finally saw the doctor who clearly felt my intrusion interrupted his evening but once the consult started he was great. They took blood, put in a cannula in the side of my wrist, go figure and sent me for an immediate X-Ray – pretty impressive at 02:30. Don’t know why I bothered, it all confirmed Dr Stern’s kidney stone diagnosis. They kept me there on a drip while I slept for two hours and discharged me with some meds and suggestion to see Urologist on my return to Sydney.

The hospital was shabby chic with vestages of communist bleakness. That said I can’t fault anything about the treatment. I was handed a bill for….$A50 and told I should keep it for my insurance company – clearly they don’t have an excess on their travel insurance. A stop at an all-night…..ok you ring the bell and a cranky pharmacist clearly upset at having been woken up grabs the script through a tiny window and hands me the meds with a grunt and request for $A12.

Managed to sleep six hours until 11:00 and nothing will stop me from pursuing my passion – down the road to the Imperial Hotel Grand Café http://www.hotel-imperial.cz/cafe-imperial-en.htm menu worth a look ($A1=CZ18) for a lovely Sunday brunch – ok three dippy eggs in a glass with parmesan and toast and some foie gras. The started walk around city and felt twinges in my kidney so headed back to the hotel. I did this twice with the twinges vanishing as soon as I reached the hotel – hmmmm.

Tomorrow I leave Prague, one night in Rome to connect with my flight to Shanghai and one day in Shanghai and home. So I'll make this the last blog for this trip and a photo blog follows.

Thanks for joining me on the journey - two more trips this year both for bridge.

Ciao

XD