Popcorn Popping on the Kitchen Christmas Trees!

 

 

 Jayce doesn't look bored, does he?????

 

 

And lastly, there's this little guy. Who would not smile.  Not that he couldn't.  In fact, I saw him on numerous occasions sharing a million-dollar-smile.   But not for me to take his picture.  This was the 4th picture taken - and if anything, his expression grew more stern as the photo shoot progressed!!!  So, I gave up!  He thinks he won.  But he did not.  His cuteness still shines through :)

Thanksgiving at the White House & Ally's Special Day

On Friday, Joe went to Oak Ridge to celebrate Thanksgiving at the White House with Christy & Eric, the Shepherds, the Andersons, the Matthew Moffitts (and Katie & Chas rode with Joe). 

Meanwhile, back at Shangri La, I made a big breakfast to share with Blake, Lori's fam, and Bryce's fam.  The rest of the day was a lazy one and that was soooooooo nice.

Happy Thanksgiving

Joe & I got home at 1:00 AM Thanksgiving morning.  I went to bed about two hours later.  About four hours after that, I was up and spent the rest of the day doing laundry.  Lots of laundry.  The annual Turkey Bowl was held in our field once again this year, and Blake came to play.  The weather was a lot nicer than it was last year.

And . . . we're off! No, we're not. Yes, we are!!!

Europe, Asia, and Africa in Two Weeks (over 10,000 miles!!!)
there and back again

Day 1 (November 7, 2012) Wednesday

What started a little over a year ago when we booked a Mediterranean cruise, continued in earnest today. After lots of preparation and planning, we got up this morning and finished our last minute to-do lists and packing. We left for Lori's about 10:00 AM, stopped and picked up lunch to share with her and the boys, moved our luggage to her van, and headed to the airport.  Each step of the way, we felt a little more committed - leaving our beloved Shangri La and Roxie in the care of the Weeters, leaving our car at Lori's, and then leaving our luggage (and all that that means) with people we don't know who sometimes don't keep up with such things very well. Committed and vulnerable. Suddenly, our lives and most of our possessions are in the care of others.

But, still the excitement to get started on a trip for the record books. At least, for our record books. Our Delta flight was going to take us to JFK, where after just over a week when Hurricane and Super Storm Sandy hit, they were being hit by a Nor'easter dumping rain and then snow like mad. One day earlier than had been forecasted. We had been so thankful that we would be in and out before it hit. So much for placing too much confidence in the forecasters. We pulled away from the terminal, the captain told us what delightful weather we were heading into, and then we sat. And sat. Engines idling. One announcement came and then another until we were informed we were going back to the terminal. Better to wait in the terminal than on the plane. Back inside the terminal, the delays kept getting extended. The writing was on the wall and we weren't surprised to hear that our flight was cancelled - as were all flights headed into NY.  Doggone! We immediately went to the desk to see if there was any way we could get out tonight. Sadly, after much searching, the answer was, "So sorry.”  She did book us on a flight to Detroit at 8:50 in the morning. So much for arriving one day ahead of our tour group so that we could get some rest and have time to visit the Rome Temple construction site.  Disappointed!!!

Our car was at Lori's. We had to be back bright and early the next morning. Decision made. We got a room at a hotel near the airport with shuttle service. From there, we went across the street and had dinner at Waffle House. Joe had a BLT and I had a really good grilled chicken/dried apples and cranberries/pecan salad. We were more than pleased with our room at Alexis Inn and Suites.  For a very unexpected overnight stay in Nashville, at least our food was tasty and our room was nice.

Day 2 (November 8, 2012) Thursday
  This morning we got up early. We had the alarm(s) set for 4:30, but woke up a little before that. We regrouped and headed downstairs to see if anything for the complimentary breakfast (a very extensive one, we learned) was ready. Several things were and we found more than enough to start the day somewhat nutritiously.  And soon we were back in the shuttle headed back to the airport.

We got there in plenty of time and the airport was not very busy. We decided that early in the day and not very busy is a good combination for a more pleasant experience there. You know, before fatigue sets in and the stress is at a minimum. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Even those folks who are sometimes maligned at the security gate.

Right on time, we soon were back on a plane, and this time, it actually took off headed to Detroit. We were lucky to be able to sit in an exit row. So much more leg room!  It was a smooth flight and before we knew it, we were landing in sunny Detroit.

Soon after we arrived at our gate, an announcement was made that anyone who was on our next flight to JFK should report to the ticket counter. What now? Joe went and I stayed with our things. The bad news turned out to be that that flight was overbooked by twenty people. The good news was that they could put us on a flight through Boston that would cut three hours from our trip! And there's more:  They even gave us $400 travel vouchers - EACH!!!  You should have seen the smile on Joe's face. Made me pretty happy, too. This was definitely a silver lining to the travel cloud that began to develop about 3:00 PM yesterday. Now, if we can just make our connection in Boston AND our luggage gets to Rome WHEN we do, we will be very happy campers!!!  And surely, the one-hour layover in Boston would be plenty of time to make the flight to Rome.
 
LATER . . .Well, I sure hope when all this is said and done, we will be able to say it was worth it.

We were supposed to arrive in Boston with about an hour and a half to make our connection to Rome. However, everything moved like molasses. The line to show our boarding passes moved painfully slow in Detroit.  Once on board, the clock kept ticking while we waited to push back from the gate. Then, we taxied and waited and waited for our turn to lift off.  We grew more and more concerned. The flight attendant assured us that all would be well and that we would still arrive in Boston - even a little ahead of schedule. Finally, we took off. When we got close to Boston, the captain announced that the air traffic controllers were slow letting planes land, due to strong winds. Started feeling very anxious. Oh, and we were in the very back of the plane.  It would take f.o.r.e.v.e.r to get off.  Again, we shared our concern with the attendant.  She told us not to worry. International flights usually waited and the captain had alerted folks at the terminal that he had passengers who needed to make the connection to Rome.  Oh, and he also would ask the passengers who were not making connecting flights to please remain in their seats, so that those who needed to hurry on to their gates would have the time to do so.   We were going to be shocked if that happened.  We were not shocked. Or perhaps, there really were only two other passengers who were remaining in Boston!?!?!?!?!?

We finally got into the terminal about 4:45.  Our plane was scheduled to leave at 5:00!!!!!!!!  We had asked the attendants what we should do, but they said they didn't know much about the airport in Boston.  We thought when we entered Terminal A, we would quickly ask someone.  There was no one to ask.  The folks at the desk were covered up and there were people everywhere.  We knew we had to get to Terminal E but we had no idea how to do that.  We just followed the crowd until it was time for us to just wing it.  We followed signs that said connecting flights, but saw nothing that indicated how to get to our terminal.  We walked and walked and walked -- still not seeing anyone who looked official.  Finally, Joe asked a fellow if he knew, and he said he would help us.  When we got to the point where we had to go outside, Joe asked him if that meant we’d have to go through security.  He told us we would.  Panic!  We thought surely that wasn't the case, and he wasn't sure (he thought we had just come from outside) so we turned back.  More walking/running.  And this included flights of stairs.  Joe spotted a shopkeeper and asked him.  He told us we had to go back. That was the only way to our terminal.

All this time there were no signs.  Nothing to indicate that we were even headed in the right direction.  We caught up with a lady and asked her. She didn't know. We spotted a gal driving one of those carts.  Finally! Someone who knew something.  She told us to go outside and take Bus 11.  We waited and waited and nervously checked my watch.  We thought we'd never make it.  They would not hold the plane indefinitely.

Feeling more and more defeated, our bus finally stopped.  And stopped.  And stopped.  Picking up and dropping off passengers.  Terminal B.  Terminal C.  Terminal E.  We hopped off the bus and ran for the terminal.  There were some law enforcement officers just inside and we asked them what to do.  They sent us up more stairs.  And there we were - at the ticket counters.  We made our way to security and almost lost all hope when we saw the lines.  After just a minute or two, Joe remembered that we did not have boarding passes for this leg of the trip.  He left me in line and he ran back to ticketing.  Minutes passed and he was back motioning for me to come with him.

Knowing that if we missed our flight, we would not have been able to get another one until the next evening, we were so relieved that someone in an official capacity took us under his wings and became our escort. The ticketing agent assured us that the plane would wait for us.  She gave us our boarding passes and our escort took us to the front of the security line.  From there, we almost ran to the gate, thinking that there were a whole lot of people who would like to throw things at us when we boarded the plane.

Along the way, we heard them calling our names telling us it was time to report to the gate.  We really were (and had been) trying our best to do just that!  Boy, were we surprised when we entered the jet way and saw maybe a half dozen people still waiting to board!  And what a relief to know we wouldn't have to spend the night in Boston!!!  In fact, it was almost six o'clock before we left.

And now, here we are, high above the Atlantic Ocean.  Our Air Alitalia flight attendants are mostly dark haired, dark eyed, and olive skinned -- as are many of the passengers whom we have seen.  Lots of Italian being spoken.  Yep, we are on our way to Italy!!!

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Day 3 (November 9) Friday
Rome, Italy

 

3644 miles later (from Boston), we are in Rome!!!  BUT, our luggage is NOT!!!!!!!

It was a long flight with hardly any sleep. The crew fed us well and got us to our destination safe and sound and on time. Sure wish the crew handling our luggage had done likewise. Joe spent a lot of time with an Air Alitalia customer rep trying to resolve the issue of our lost luggage. Very frustrating!  In the mean time, I stayed with what few belongings we had with no place to sit anywhere. As before when I've left the US, I was reminded quickly of what a pampered bunch Americans are, relatively speaking. Very noticeable is the standard for cleanliness and aesthetics that is found in US airports.  Finally, we left the airport with the promise that our luggage, having been located, would be delivered to the Norwegian Jade before we set sail tomorrow.  Would there really be enough concern for two pieces of luggage to get it through several hands to where it needed to be in time? Definitely put a damper on our trip!

The customer service lady did give each of us a hygiene kit to tide us over until we were reunited with our luggage. The contents in each were:  1 adult large T-shirt, 1 very dull disposable razor, I tiny toothbrush, 1 tiny tube of toothpaste, 1 tiny bottle of roll-on deodorant, and two Q-tips!!!!!!!!!  Who needs luggage??????

We made it to our hotel and after waiting in the lobby for a little while, a room became a available (not the one we booked)  before check-in and we took it.  Just to be able to shower and wind down a little bit was worth it.

Early afternoon, we met our tour director, Dave Hadlock,  and our tour group in the lobby and headed out in several vans to begin our touring of Ancient Rome.  We were with a couple from CA and a mother/daughter from Canada. Our driver was very nice and very competent navigating the crazy driving and streets of Rome. How on earth we didn't witness a single accident is beyond me. Reminded us so much of when we were in Madrid. Stop signs are rarely observed and the general rule seems to be to hurry and get to the intersection first and then accelerate. Lots of traffic, including cycles and scooters that zoom in between and alongside the regular traffic would make me not want to own a car if I lived there. For the folks who travel to the US, they must think that we are big babies who waste way too much petrol sitting at traffic lights, etc. -- speaking of which, a gallon will cost you about $10 here.

How exciting to see our first view of Rome. We stopped at one of many elaborate fountains here at the top of a hill. We crossed the cobblestone street to an overlook, and low and behold, there it was - stretching out for miles. Thrilling!

From there we made our way to the Coliseum.  Wow!  Unbelievably huge. Just one more experience that reminds that pictures just cannot capture something so massive.  We marveled at the engineering and skill of an ancient people with such limited tools to produce such a thing.  The big negative, though, was remembering the “how” it was built, and the “why.”  So surreal to think about the suffering of the slaves who struggled to build it, and the people and animals who died in the arena while the crowds cheered.  It was sobering to walk among the ruins and try to imagine what it would have been like to have heard the roar of the crowd as Christians were put to death in such horrific ways, simply because they believed in Jesus Christ. It wasn’t a stretch at all to believe that we were walking on sacred ground.

On some lighter notes, I immediately fell in love with the mix of huge sycamore trees, and palms, and umbrella pines. Everywhere we looked there was history. Ancient history. The presence of the Catholic Church and its priests and friars and nuns was seen everywhere. People. Lots of people. Dark haired and dark eyed and olive skinned and speaking in very crisp and exuberant Italian. Our driver spoke of the high taxes here, the unemployment - especially high among young people with 35% needing work. The shops we drove by, even though in old buildings, displayed high fashion and luxury goods in their windows.  There were places where we saw extensive graffiti. I asked our driver about the "graffiti" (knowing that some people consider it art) and he quickly said that what I referred to as "graffiti" he calls vandalism. Guess he and I feel the same on that subject!

An unexpected and delightful surprise was our visit to The Key Hole. We drove to a courtyard completely surrounded by walls. In a huge old door with a keyhole through which we could peek, there was a view of an old, formal garden, with a tree lined lane. There was perfect symmetry in a very pristinely kept landscape, where just beyond in the distance, perfectly framed, was the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.  Standing in that spot, we could see the three nations within Rome:  Italy, the Vatican, and the Knights of Malta.  So incredibly NEAT!

After that, we stopped at an overlook to view The Forum and other ancient ruins. Next was a visit to The Pantheon. Originally it was used as a pagan temple, but now it is used for Catholic church services. One again, the architecture and massiveness of the building was overwhelming with its gigantic, unsupported open dome. Marble floors laid in geometric designs made from different colored marble. BEAUTIFUL!

From there we made our way to the Trevi Fountain.  It was built as the many other fountains in Rome were to bring water into the city. This particular one was made famous by the movie and song, Three Coins in the Fountain.  It has become customary for visitors there to each throw 3 coins into the water as they make three wishes. We made our way through the crowd to do just that. One of my wishes was that we would be reunited with our luggage!

Next stop was a visit to the Spanish Steps. And yes, we walked all the way down and all the way back, even though we were so very tired.  The steps, like so much of what we saw, are made of marble.  Our first bad experience with an aggressive street peddler happened there. He "gave" me three long-stemmed - and kind of wilted - red roses. I thanked him, but declined knowing there was a catch. And even if there weren't, what was I supposed to do with them? I laid them on a ledge when he wouldn't take them back, but he picked them up and insisted I take them. Then, behind my back, he started insisting that Joe pay him for the roses!  Man! He was NOT going to miss a sell. But, I was NOT going to keep the roses and Joe was NOT going to pay for them.  We finally got away from him, but it did cast a dark spot on an otherwise pretty place in Rome.

By that point it was getting dark, but we did stop at one more chapel to primarily see a work by Raphael. Our driver pointed out several other things, but we were all just so tired, we didn't get out of the van.  One thing that I noticed as night descended was how dark the city was. Not a lot of street lights and not very many lighted windows in the buildings. I asked our driver about that, but he must not have had any frame of reference for my question. Perhaps he has never seen any place at night like NYC or even Nashville, TN. (Post Script - when we were visiting with the Jay Laxton Family later, Bro. Laxton suggested that it was probably because of the high cost of electricity and the struggling economy of so many places in Europe).

Our whole group reassembled at an Italian restaurant for dinner. The waiters brought out a large variety of so much food.  It was almost like a taster's table.  I liked all the choices, except for about three. The rest were very yummy. Oh, and we had some gelato right before going for dinner. Yum!

Having filled this day with as much as we could, we headed back to the hotel. I did some washing in the bathroom sink, since we thought we were going to have to wear what we had on.  After that was done, I set the alarm for 6:00 AM and then went to sleep.  We were roused from our sleep by a ringing telephone about 11:00. What on earth?  Joe answered the phone, got up, and dressed to go the lobby to get our lost luggage. Hooray! So thankful!!!

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 Day 4 (November 10) Saturday
Rome, Italy

We were so happy to be able to wear different clothes this morning.  Thank you Air Alitalia for bringing our luggage to us last night.  Such a relief!!!  We packed and then headed downstairs for quite a breakfast buffet. We stayed at the Garden Hilton and heard that it was worth staying there just for their breakfast. We were not disappointed!

A bus came to pick all of us up, so we loaded our luggage and headed to another country, Vatican City. Once again, we were amazed at the antiquity, skills, and workmanship of everything we saw EVERYWHERE we looked.  We were also amazed at the number of people who were there. We were told by both our guides that Rome's tourist season is winding down. Can't imagine how crowded it would be to come at the height of tourist season!!! And then to add the heat and humidity that accompanies that.  Both guides also told us how unusual the weather has been -- very pleasant with temps in the low 70's. Low 60's and rain/drizzle is what they begin having this time of year. Glad we missed that!

Back to the travelogue. I only took a few pics while we were there, partly because photography wasn’t allowed in some places and also because I would have missed much of the experience itself if I had had a camera in front of my face all the time. It is just impossible to capture the massiveness of those buildings, as well, and I would have had to have taken a gazillion pictures if I wanted to get one of everything that was picture worthy.  As we entered, there was a major security screening. Not as thorough as in airports, but similar. We were given headsets so that we could always hear what our guide was saying. That was a real plus.

We walked through halls of statuary, paintings, tapestries, and mosaics. The structure of the corridors themselves were masterpieces. Having a guide made it so much more interesting than it would have been if we had been on our own.  She had so much knowledge and love of the culture and history. She indicated things to us that we would have missed if we had been on our own.

Those great halls finally brought us to the Sistine Chapel. It was somewhat smaller than I had imagined, but impressive beyond words. To sit there and look at the paintings left behind by Michelangelo was humbling. To think of his brilliance was humbling.  And to consider how physically demanding it would have been for him to produce such a work on the ceiling. It took him about forty years lying on his back on scaffolding to do it. As I sat there, I thought how unbelievable it was to me to actually be in such a place. Having seen so many sites by this time, I felt very small, speck-like, to be surrounded by so much of what God and man have created.

The most impressive depiction to me was the Creation of Adam. Our guide had shared the interpretation of that painting in this way:  With God's and Adam's fingers reaching to touch and be touched, the difference in their positions is apparent -- Adam, even though his arm is stretched out, has his hand pointed down and his upper torso itself was leaning back -- symbolic of weakness. God, however has His arm and finger extended, looking almost propelled forward -- symbol of strength.  What a portrayal for all of us who want to be what God knows we can be, still understanding our weakness. But when we have the faith to reach out to "touch" God, and allow Him to "touch" us, we receive strength beyond our own.  Joe's insight was that God was trying harder than Adam. Quite possibly, that is the case most of the time with all of us.

One more thing about being in the Sistine Chapel - As we descended the steps to reach the chapel, there was a recording that repeatedly instructed us to be silent while in the chapel. It is considered a very sacred place and it wasn't until recent times that the public was even allowed to enter. Amazing to Joe and me how many times a Vatican security guard, with a very commanding voice, had to yell, "Silence"!  It would immediately become very quiet and after a few minutes, the noise level would begin to increase and he would once again yell, "Silence".  We saw/heard this same routine repeated several times. Some people just don't get it.  It's a wonder they still allow people in, since obviously, so few can show the respect that this place demands.  I guess they need the tourist dollars. Bet those "enforcers" would like to smack people sometimes. 

From that chapel we made our way to Saint Peter's Basilica.  This structure is more massive than the chapel, and filled with masterpieces everywhere you look. The floors in these places are marble with very intricate patterns. Paintings, statues, and wood carvings. Everywhere. One feature not to miss is the sculpture by Michelangelo - Pieta. Carved from a single block of white marble with exquisite detail is the mother of Christ, cradling in her arms, her crucified Son. Breathtakingly beautiful! This particular piece was the most protected of anything we have seen. It was set back in an alcove flooded with light and protected by bullet- proof glass.  It was not always thus situated. Some years ago a deranged man came in with a hammer and did a lot of damage. Wonderful that other skilled sculptors were able to restore it. In addition to that masterpiece there were many works by Bernini and others.

From the exit, we walked into Saint Peter's Square. Wow again. 300,000 people crowd into this square for special occasions. Now, for more symbolism that we loved.  From the square, you can look back and see it. The dome of the church represents head of Christ. The building represents the torso of Christ. The two colonnades that reach out from that represent his arms ready to embrace. So stirring!!! Also from the square we could see the balcony the Pope uses to address the people who gather there. The guide also pointed out the windows of his residence in a building nearby.  As we walked back to the bus, I asked our guide how so many people could get into this area - where would they park, since parking is a big challenge everywhere in Rome.  She let me know that they don't drive, they come by buses and scooters and by walking. Rome has a population of almost 4 million. She said a million of those get around by scooters. Little cars, including smart cars, are in abundance, along with many other options for getting around.  Parking and fuel prices are very prohibitive.

Back on the bus, we head toward the Port of Civitavecchia.  It took us about an hour and a half  -- and Joe loved seeing the farming country. We passed lots of vineyards, and at long last, our first view of the Mediterranean.  Ahhhhh, at long last.

Boarding the ship was a piece of cake. We were a little surprised that they took our passports, but we learned later that that is a requirement of Israeli officials.  Evidently they screen them thoroughly before letting anyone come into their country.  Obviously, they don’t trust their security to anyone else.


Now, here we are on the Norwegian Jade watching the sea as we go. (As we were leaving the dock,  the pilot was brought out to the ship on a small boat.  We watched him get out of the little boat and come on board our ship.  He waved to those who were watching as he did so.  In my growing up years in the Church of Christ at Spencer, I've sung the hymn, Jesus Savior, Pilot Me many times.  Not until this experience did I really understand the symbolism of those words.  I knew the hymn meant that we need to let Him be in the driver's seat, and all that, but it means much more to me now.  Routinely, the most dangerous part of the voyage is  before a ship sets out to sea.  No one knows the intricacies of the harbor better than the pilot.  The captain of the ship knows about the open sea, but the pilot is the one who knows where the dangers are between the safe harbor and the open sea.  He is the one who takes the ship out to safe waters.  

We had a nice dinner with two others from our group tonight. Then we went to a welcome aboard show, after which we retired for the evening. So nice to not have to set an alarm clock and to finally get some sleep. It has been a while! 

One more thought from our sightseeing adventures in Rome. The antiquities that are housed there seem to be without number. It would be interesting to know the dollar amount of so many antiques and works of art. The Vatican even keeps many treasures out of sight. One thing is for sure:  Rome is full of treasure. Our guide said that as people visit these places and marvel at what has been preserved, they should also feel some sadness for all that has been lost.  One more reminder that me and my little world are but tiny little drops in the vast bucket of all the people and civilizations that have and do populate this planet.  None of which is even remotely insignificant in the eternal scheme of things.

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Day 5 (November 11) Sunday
First day at sea - partly sunny and 68 degrees

When we went to bed last night we decided to not set an alarm and just sleep as long as we could. We could hardly believe that that time would be 11:30 AM!!!  So, we missed breakfast and our first on-board seminar and get - acquainted meeting with our tour group. No regrets, though.  We needed to sleep.

Since we missed breakfast,  we were anxious to get lunch. There are so many choices for food, so it's hard to decide. I found a pizza bar and tried different ones. So good.

We were late for the second seminar of the day, but did get in about thirty minutes of it.  Dave leads us in discussions that are pertinent to the places we will be visiting.

After that, we made more attempts to get an email out to everyone.  Found out for a fact that it is impossible to do so on the ship unless we use the ship's computers - which means $$$.  I do think I got a text message through this afternoon. Sure hope so. Hopefully, we will be able to communicate better at the port in Turkey.

We ate dinner with our group again in the main dining room. Joe had a steak and I had some really tasty salmon covered in a chive sauce. Yum!

Immediately following dinner we went to the Stardust Theatre to see Roberto and Dorota (husband and wife). They are from the Ballet Theatre in Warsaw.  They were so amazing to watch as they presented a visual feast of Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics.  Elegant and unbelievably strong.  Both of them.

We walked around the outside deck for a while. Went to a store and purchased one bar of soap for $2.95! (We don't care for the body wash that comes out of the dispenser in the shower). Then we went to another buffet and had dessert, and then visited the atrium to hear a jazz band perform. It has been a pretty full day even though we slept all morning.


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Day 6 (November 12) Monday
Second Day at Sea - cloudy and 65 degrees

 At the port of entry in Civitavecchia, it was a little difficult to hand over our passports to Israeli immigration officials. Shouldn't have been surprised that they were not going to take anyone else's word that we had been officially screened to enter into Israel.  They would make that determination themselves. One thing we know that they did was to check the passports against the ship's passenger list. We suspect their investigation was more thorough than that. This morning, after breakfast, we reported to a lounge on the ship for a mandatory Israeli immigration inspection to receive Israeli landing permits and to have our passports returned to us, if everything checked out. We are glad to have our passports back!

Other than that, it has been a relaxing day at sea. We did some reading in the ship's library, ate more than we should have, attended two one-hour seminars with Dave, had a nice dinner in a specialty restaurant (Japanese) with our whole group. In specialty restaurants on a cruise, there is an additional charge to eat there. We have never done that, since there are so many other places that are included in the price of the cruise. However, when Dave booked the cruise for our group, he negotiated for some perks and that was the one we know of. Anyway, it was delicious. I had sweet/sour pork and Joe had lemon pepper jumbo shrimp. The food is good all over the ship with many choices. The specialty restaurants are more intimate.

After dinner, we hurried to get seats in the theatre for the nightly show. The ships singing/dancing ensemble put on quite a show and the Jade Orchestra provided the music. The songs were oldies, but goodies, and very well done.  After that, we went to our cabin to get organized for our first shore excursion in Alanya Turkey.  So excited!



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Day 7 (November 13) Tuesday
Alanya, Turkey - sunny and 71 degrees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got up early and were very thankful that the alarms I set on my phone and iPad worked, along with a wake-up call from the guest services desk. We had all those things in place the night before, but all of them failed.  Well, that's not all together true. The iPad alarm did eventually go off, but two hours after the fact. Reason being that the clock did not reset itself after we changed time zones, the phone was not receiving a signal, and somebody dropped the ball at the front desk.  Good thing it was a day at sea and not one where we had a shore excursion!

We hurried and got ready, had breakfast, and met our group to disembark. As we left the ship, we were given an entry ticket from Turkey immigration officials that we had to show before we could come back on board the ship. We also had to go through another security screening.

Anyway, it was exciting to see the coastline of this part of Turkey. As we walked the pier, we were welcomed by some Turkish musicians playing native music.  We boarded a bus that was waiting for our group and began our sight seeing adventure.

Our guide (Ismet) has lived in Turkey all his life. He was educated and spoke English very well. Someone asked him how he learned to speak so well, and he told us that he had an American who was with the Peace Corps as his teacher in junior high. He also was a graduate of the University of Ankara (he studied English Lit there and can even quote Shakespeare) and also has many American friends. Before I go on to anything else, I want to record some other things he told us -- fuel prices are about $12 per gallon, he does not like the president of Turkey, Turkey is 90% Muslim but only 10 % are practicing Muslims - and that that same percentage is found in many other Muslim countries.  Also, he said that taxation is very high. Wish we had asked about unemployment. We were surprised as we drove along the coast at the number of hotels. Nice hotels. We asked Ismet about that and he said that they have about seven million tourists a year.  Who knew there was such an incredible beach resort in such a magnificently beautiful setting in the country of Turkey? We found out later that a lot of wealthy Germans and Scandinavians winter on their boats there.  Must be nice.

After  leaving the port in Alayna on the bus, we wound up a steep hill/mountain with numerous turn backs often  with only one lane. Along the way we saw orange and pomegranate trees and spectacular views of the sea.  The area was once the site of the ancient Alanya Castle. It is located on a rocky peninsula with formidable fortress walls. Nothing left but ruins these days. It was first built by the Seljuk Turks about 800 years before Christ. The Romans rebuilt it in the first or second century AD. There is enough of it left to get a good idea of what it had once been and easy to see what an almost impossible task it would have been for invaders to scale the cliffs surrounding it only to have to breach the walls closer to the top. There was one area that jutted out to the edge of the sea where we took pictures because of the breathtaking view. Our guide told us later that that was where anyone who was convicted of a capital offense was forced off the end to their death.

I forgot to mention how beautiful and plentiful the flowers were we saw as we drove. Lantanas and Bougainvillea in different colors were everywhere. Some of the vines had climbed as high as the tree tops and looked like a fountain of color.  And of course, there were palm trees and banana trees and so much more. Joe said he saw honeysuckle that appeared to be the same as we have in Tennessee.

From there we drove to more ruins in the ancient city of Side (see day). The bus dropped us off at the site of an ancient Roman Bath.  It had been excavated and rebuilt by a renowned Turkish professor of archaeology. Inside, there were pieces parts of pottery, statuary, and sarcophagi. The hill it is on has its own amazing view of the sea.

From there, we did a lot of walking either to enter or just view what had been unearthed from so long ago. There was a marketplace with just enough exposed to get a good idea of what it looked like once upon a time. After that was a Roman theatre. A really big one with amazing acoustics - even today with much of it in ruins. HUGE! We were able to enter it and see the signature arches that supported it. The "bleachers" are still in good enough shape in most places that it is still used sometimes today. One can't help but marvel at the ingenuity of those Romans, but at the same time be utterly disgusted by what their architectural wonders were used for so often. Both comedies and dramas were presented there. Slaves were actually murdered in front of the roaring crowds if that were part of the story!  And of course, slaves were the ones who built it.

We then made our way to the sea where the port of Side is found. Welcoming travelers who came by sea once stood two temples. The professor mentioned earlier did enough work to rebuild just enough of one (Temple of Apollo) to show how majestic they were. The columns were so high, and the white of the marble was stunning against the backdrop of the very blue sea.

We then had some time to shop in the more modern part of Side. Most of the shopkeepers were men and we were relieved that they were not pushy at all.  We bought some things for gkids. At the beginning of our free time, we each had a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice. At the end we had a cup of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. We watched the fruit get squeezed, so we felt safe in our selections. Some in our group ate in the restaurants, but we were too chicken. It was a very inviting little place and we enjoyed our time there very much.  Oh, and we were also able to hear the Muslim call to prayer twice. Very interesting to hear that and see minarets in every direction. We are foreigners in strange lands and strange ways and we love it.

When we got back to the ship, we stayed on deck to watch as we pulled away. Felt a little sad to leave. Our visit to that part of Turkey had been such a pleasant surprise. Overall, it appeared to be cleaner than Rome and it was so beautiful.  The coastline, as darkness fell, was just stunning. And the weather was perfectly perfect.

For the rest of the night, we had dinner and went to the theatre for a Maestranza Spanish Ballet, featuring Arabic-Flamenco influence. The costumes were colorful, the choreography was great, and the Spanish castanets were plentiful.  Afterward, we did one of our most favorite things to do on a cruise ship - took a long walk up on deck.


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Day 8 (November 14) Wednesday
Limassol, Cyprus - partly sunny and 75 degrees

It was another warm and sunny day as we came into Limmasol, Cyprus.  We have been really blessed with wonderful weather. It was a little chilly to be out on deck the first couple of days on the ship, but other than that, we couldn't have asked for nicer days.  BTW, this appeared to be a very busy shipping port, with our cruise ship anchored alongside big cargo ships, so it wasn't as picturesque as Alanya, Turkey.
  
We boarded a bus after arriving, and made our way to Kourion. Very quickly we noticed how much more urban/modern Cyprus is than the parts of Turkey we visited. It was beautiful, but in a different way. Most of the land reminded us of New Mexico. Very barren.  Nevertheless, vineyards, orange and olive trees, palms and pines, lots of blooming things - particularly bouganvilea, - were in abundance. Views of the Mediterranean were breathtaking and in just about every direction we looked.

At Kourion, we spent some time at what is left of a Roman villa with a spectacular view of the sea. Unlike Turkey, much money has been spent to protect these archaeological sites. This particular one was covered with an arched pavilion. What made this place so interesting was the mosaic floors that have been uncovered. The work was very intricate, artistic, and done by the Greeks. This same area  features a Greek theatre that was refurbished by the Romans. The backdrop is the sea and performances are still held there. The theatre has the same exceptional acoustics, and professional lighting has been added. It was in excellent condition and is estimated to have seated about 30,000 originally, but not anymore. Subsequent peoples after the Romans used the theatre as a quarry to use the blocks in more functional ways. Only about 7000 may be seated today with the first ten rows being original and the remaining being restored.

After we left, we continued our drive along the sea. At a higher elevation, we stopped at an overlook that legend holds was where Aphrodite was supposed to have emerged from the sea. The view was magnificent. Another part of the legend is that if you let the breeze from the sea wash over you, you will look 25 years younger. We haven't noticed any immediate results, but perhaps it takes a little while to begin noticing the effects. I'm sure by the time we get home we will shock everyone with our youthful new look!

After another fifty plus miles, we arrived in Pathos.  Much of the city is new, but at the far end next to the sea are more ruins. The most amazing archaeological find was that of a series of villas - all with very well preserved mosaic floors. Most of them depicted a scene from Greek mythology.  A farmer cultivating a field decided to plow deeper than normal. He stopped when he noticed colored tiles in the furrow. The different colored tiles were natural colors, so they still looked very well. Archaeologists came in and began moving the earth under which they were buried. Imagine their excitement to discover mosaic after mosaic after mosaic. And imagine their surprise again when they discovered that under the top layers of mosaic floors there were more. Unfortunately, to get to them, they would have to disrupt the top layers. They did do that with one, so that an example of what is underneath could be shown. The top ones were dated third to fourth century AD and the ones underneath at about 600 years before that.  Another amazing find was an urn with silver coins. Our guide said that just one of those would have taken care of her for life. They are housed in a museum today.

Oh, I forgot to mention that on our way to Pathos we stopped in a little town to see how Turkish Delight is made.  The lady said the business had been in her family for generations. She had free samples for all of us and I think everyone bought some of their favorite flavor. Couldn't help thinking of Edmond and the evil Winter Queen. I could certainly understand how a young boy could be tempted and deceived  by such a sugary treat.

We had about an hour of free time before heading back to the bus. Joe and I walked out to the lighthouse and then back down to the city for lunch. We were excited to find a restaurant that offered free WiFi, so naturally, that's the one we chose. Nice to be able to get an email out again. We had a very nice salad there and the staff was very friendly. Our waitress was from Romania and had come to Cyprus to work. She told us she  hopes to make enough money to someday come to America.

We returned to the bus and to Limassol and to the ship. We sat out on the deck for a while enjoying the views and pleasant temperature before going to the main dining room for dinner.

Some of the things we learned from our guide:
Turks still live on the northern side of the island. Our guide spoke with distaste about them, telling us of the time when they invaded the island and she had to leave with nothing more than the clothes on her back. The primary religion is Greek Orthodox. Uniforms are required in their schools (sure wish that was the case in the US) and she was pleased to let us know that percentage wise, Cyprus is rated third in the world in regards to students going on to technical schools, colleges, and universities.  They only receive 12-15 inches of rainfall along the coast, more in the central part. They have the cheapest gas prices of anywhere we've been at $5 gallon. British influence is still very apparent. Overall, Limassol appears to have quite a bit of wealth and is quite progressive. They definitely have a more civilized driving pattern, even though they drive on the left side of the road.  English is very common there, since it is taught in their schools. There is also a very strong British military presence with radar and other surveillance installations on the island.  Our guide also told us that the people have a very favorable opinion of their socialized health care system. I don't think that that is what the doctor who is in our group who asked the question wanted to hear!

Oh, as we were making our way back to the ship on the bus, we saw a sign giving directions to
Da Best Feeshing Spot.  They spelled it like they said it :)  Back on board the ship, we had dinner, and hurried to the theater.  Tonight's show featured Duo Platschkov from the Moscow State Circus performing acrobatics, juggling, and balance.

As soon it was over, we went to our cabin to get ready for the next two days. We were scheduled to arrive in Haifa in the morning and work our way down to the port in Ashdod, spending the night at a hotel in Jerusalem. Right before we went to bed, the cruise director made an announcement over the PA that due to some military action by the Israelis against the Palestinians, that the ship would remain in Haifa. That means that some of what we had planned to do might have to be shortened since we will have to make the drive back up to Haifa from Jerusalem, instead of meeting the ship at Ashdod.  We're just thankful they'll still let us go into Israel!

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Day 9 (November 15) Thursday
Haifa, Israel  - sunny and 75 degrees

Believe it, or not, -  this was really tasty!

Dessert!

Olive press in the forground

Millstone in back to the right

 
The alarm sounded at 5:45 and we hurried around to get ready to be gone two days and one night. We met our group in the usual place on the ship and disembarked into the land of Israel on a beautiful day with sunshine and blue skies.

Our first view was of the highly populated port city of Haifa.It looked quite progressive. Our driver, Machmoud (mock mood), took us up to an overlook of the city and the port. We could see the Norwegian Jade anchored there (along with an Israeli naval vessel), and a city starting the business of the day. Once again, the bougainvillea that I love was in abundance. (Wonder why I couldn't even get a small pot of it to thrive this past summer)???  It was a marvelous view early on a beautiful morning.  We could hardly believe we were actually here!

Next we made a short drive to the top of Mt. Carmel, with its spectacular views of the Jezreel Valley. While there, we gathered in a rustic garden made of stone and plants of all kinds with the podium and seating made of stone, also. The vines formed an arbor and Dave stood at the podium as we reviewed the scriptures regarding Elijah and the priests of Baal.

Our next stop was in Nazareth. We found a crowded town with a very busy marketplace, hoping to attract dollars from the tourists.  We took a lengthy uphill walk on a cobblestone street that was quite busy with pedestrians and vehicles. We made our way into a reconstructed synagogue that would have been similar to the one that Jesus taught His first recorded sermon in when he read from Isaiah.  Nazareth today is primarily an Arab city.

The Church of the Annunciation,  built over the area that was or was close to where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary was the next site we visited.  Dave taught from the scriptures again and we sang a few hymns together.

The Sea of Galilee. How do I describe the exquisite, soul-feeding experience we just had?  In a wooden boat, we went out on the sea. The sky was blue. The sun was warm. The sea was calm. As we left the shore, a crew member hoisted the American flag and The Star Spangled Banner began to play. It was emotional to stand with our fellow travelers and hear our nation's anthem play in this faraway place. Even the two Canadians, two Brazilians, and one Australian stood with us.  After that, some recorded contemporary Christian music was played for us by the crew.   It was quite pretty and added a very nice touch to the peacefulness of the setting. Some distance out, the captain turned off the engine while Dave read to us from the New Testament some of the accounts of what took place there. It's where Peter, James, John, and Andrew fished. It's where Christ told them to cast their nets on the other side of their boat.  It's where they left their livelihoods and followed Him. It's where three years later that same scenario repeated itself. It's where Christ asked Peter three times "Lovest thou me?" It's where they came to understand that they were truly to become fishers of men.

He read the passage of scripture from earlier in Christ's ministry where He was walking to them on the Sea of Galilee. It's where Peter had enough faith to do the same until he took his eyes off the Savior and fear overtook him as the sea become rougher.

This is the place where we learn from recorded scripture that even the winds and the waves obey Him.

The unexpected hotel stay in Nashville, the stressful experience at the airport in Boston, and the lost luggage seemed like distant memories after what I saw and felt in this beautiful place.  The Sea of Galilee, alone, made the whole trip worth it.  So thankful to have the time there, to be able to reflect on some of the events that happened there, and to see the same sparkling water and shorelines that the Savior would have seen. It was so unbelievably peaceful.  It was an absolute highlight of our trip.

On the road again to Capernaum.  Just minutes from there, we stopped for lunch at an outdoor cafe by the sea. And what would one eat at such a place? Fish, of course - except for the chickens who ate chicken, like Joe. The main course was preceded by an unusual salad bar, well, for these southern folks.  Dessert was a plate of dates.

We stopped just outside the walls of the preserved ruins of this ancient city. The foundation stones are exactly as they would have been at the time of Christ. That is almost certain.  When He was driven out of Nazareth, this is the place that embraced Him for a season. What remains of the synagogue is enough to know where it was He stood and preached.  How humbling to be able to say, "We walked today where Jesus walked."

We drove for miles along the Sea of Galilee, through Tiberius, a little past where the overflow from the sea empties into what is known as the Jordan River. Shortly thereafter, we stopped at a place that is now observed as the place where Jesus was baptized. Previously, it was in an area that borders the country of Jordan. When relations soured between the the two countries, it was moved to where we were today. Dave said that now that relations are better, the site will probably be moved back to where it was. The river was cleaner than we had expected and not as wide. Where we were was a beautiful setting with date palms, olive trees, eucalyptus, -- with some very noisy birds overhead.

People were renting baptismal clothing and were being baptized, one after another, just upstream from where we were.  There was a number of Africans who had gathered together and were singing beautiful songs, but we couldn't understand a word.

Now, we are making the 1  1/2 to 2 hour trip to the Dan Jerusalem Hotel, where we will get our luggage to our room, have dinner, and visit an olive wood shop.  And then, go to bed. Yay!!!

Dinner was a Jerusalem feast at the hotel. For the places we've eaten in Israel, the emphasis is very much on the salad bar. Sure wish they had labeled everything. I would like to have known what I was eating!  And, oh my, what a selection of sweets!

Our trip to the olive wood shop was quite an adventure! The proprietor came over to help me with my selections and asked where we are from. When we told him TN, he said, "Oh, I've been to Tullahoma!"

Miscellaneous, according to Machmoud:  The economy in Israel is fueled primarily by high tech businesses, agriculture, and tourism. He said that he and his family have over 400 acres in olive trees.  Most of the buildings look like big concrete boxes, very functional with very little eye appeal.  From what we've seen, the parable that included stony ground would have been easily understood!

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Day 10 (November 16) Friday
Jerusalem, Israel - sunny and 78 degrees

Sunrise over the Holy City

Actual walkway that Christ would have used when entering the temple

Dave & Machmoud

Israeli Military --

then right around the corner was this

Palestinian lookout

This ginger ale made me sooooo happy :)

It's the end of the season for these roses -

and they are plentiful on the BYU Center's terraces.

I bet they are a sight to behold during their peak bloom season!

I wonder how old this Olive tree is . . .

Here we are sitting on the deck of the Norwegian Jade as we pull away from the port at Haifa, leaving for Egypt. The lights of the city glitter like diamonds, most notably those of the B'hai Gardens as they cascade down the side of the mountain.  I feel sad to leave.

Where do I begin? We have seen so much and felt so much it is difficult to capture it with words. And putting words to those feelings is the hardest of all. But I'll try. The day began with the iPad alarm waking us at 5:00 AM with the song "Morning has broken like the first morning . . ."  And we saw the sunrise over the city of Jerusalem.  (Jerusalem has a population of a little over 800,000 and is similar in size to San Fran).
We had breakfast at the hotel. Dave told us last night that an extensive salad bar is a big part of any meal here, even for breakfast. He was right. At least for our one breakfast in Jerusalem.  There were more traditional offerings (for us), as well.  Anyway, we found some things we liked, I was able to get an email out, and we were on our way to the Old City.

The first place we visited was the Wailing Wall / Western Wall with its division of men on the left, women on the right. And the men's side was wider. A lot of people were there - tourists of different religions and nationalities and Orthodox Jews.

The day before we came, an Israeli air strike had killed a member of Hamas - the group who has been responsible for firing missiles into the civilian population in the southern region. The air strike was in the Gaza Strip. The following day (when we were making our way down from Haifa to Jerusalem), Hamas retaliated by firing 200 missiles into that same area. Only one of those two hundred did any damage, but that one killed three civilians. So today, there was a heightened alert and the military presence was everywhere.  After we got into the Old City, Machmoud took the bus back out to wait and then return to get us when we were done. However, not long after that,  officials stopped all vehicles from entering the area. We haven't heard any news today, so we don't know what precipitated that. We just know that Dave said that had never happened before when he was there with tour groups and that the military presence was greater than he had ever seen. One thing is for sure, we did a whole lot more walking than we would  have otherwise done. But the silver lining was that it was not difficult to cross the normally very busy streets.

After the destruction of Herod's Temple in 70 AD, the only thing the Romans didn't destroy was the Western Wall.  The rubble from that destruction buried some of the foundation stones and arches that led up to the temple.  The Jews and Christians left Israel to the Arabs, who later became Muslims. These Arabs made a settlement on the ruins of the temple.  In the mid 1800's Englishmen who were interested in the history of the area started digging in that rubble and discovered many of the arches, etc.  A tour guide from Scotland  escorted us on an underground journey of what what they found and shared his knowledge with us about what we were seeing. At one point, we stood on the actual limestone walkway that Jesus would have used to enter the temple. The engineering of such an edifice caused us once again to marvel at the brilliant minds that conceived and executed such an undertaking.  We also saw cisterns, ritual bathing areas, etc.

After more than an hour, we were happy to be back in the fresh air and sunshiny day. We saw what remains of the  Pools of Bethesda, and then entered St.Anne's Church - a beautiful structure constructed of an intricate pattern of arches and a dome to create a very unique acoustical effect. We had sat outside for a while before entering waiting our turn, and enjoyed the group before us singing  together the word, Hallelujah, repeated over and over again with a beautiful melody.

Once our group went in and were seated, a lady from CA led us in a few hymns, as well.  We sang, I Stand All Amazed, There is A Green Hill Far Away, I Believe in Christ, and Come Follow Me.  It was a moving experience.

When we left, we began a long and crowded  walk past Arab street merchants, Israeli military, and civilian police to what could be the Garden Tomb. Here, we were most fortunate to have as our guide, an older gentleman from Sweden. The kind of man one can easily feel drawn to - a good man who said he volunteers there to help a European group who takes care of this area. He said it was also his pleasure to escort people through this area that means so much to him personally. After he shared some info with us in one of the semi-private settings there, he bore as sweet a testimony as I've ever heard. One thing I will always remember that he included in his final remarks was that everyone who comes to the tomb comes to see what is NOT there.

Dave then gathered us together in another semi-private area of the gardens.  In that place, he read to us from the scriptures and then bore his own very personal testimony of Christ. He invited anyone in the group to do likewise, but only two women did.  My feelings were so tender that I dared not try to vocalize them.  We sang a few more hymns that were difficult to get through since emotions were so tender.  He is Risen and I Know that My Redeemer Lives, are the ones I can remember.

We took another short walk to the Hotel Jerusalem for lunch. It had the look of antiquity and is full of history, I'm sure.  We ordered, as did most in the group, a Jerusalem favorite, Schwarma.

Then, we went on a very long walk, most of it up hill to the Mount of Olives. (We really started missing Machmoud and his bus).  It was so crowded where what is portrayed as the Garden of Gethsemane is that we just kept walking up the hill to where the Orson Hyde Memorial is. We had that spot to ourselves. Dave read to us from the scriptures again as we looked down on olive trees heavy with fruit - and out over Jerusalem.  I couldn't help but remember the allegory of the olive tree, when The Lord  of the vineyard, after working so hard and trying everything he could think of, lamented, What more could I have done for my vineyard? And the other passage of scripture, where the Savior - when looking out over Jerusalem, with great sorrow stated, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft I would have gathered you, but ye would not.

Our driver had asked special permission to re-enter the city to pick us up, but was denied. So, we walked more than a mile to meet him to go to the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. I would have been excited to see it anyway, but knowing that Julee had spent a semester there made it even more special to me. I felt particularly close to her there. When she had spent that time in Jerusalem, with field trips all over the region, I had asked her to send me letters describing in detail what she was seeing and feeling while there. I had thought that that would be as close as I would ever be. Life has a way of surprising us, sometimes - even in good ways. This was definitely one of those times.

It is built of white limestone, which is a requirement. The center is on Mt. Scopus looking out over Jerusalem. It has to have one of the best views of the city.  The whole back side of it is glass with that view on each level.  A nice lady from the states fulfilling an assignment there took us to a room where we saw a film about the center. Then we were led to another large room, again with a fabulous view. A gentleman was there to explain his assignment as organist. He had fulfilled that same assignment several times before. Picture this: We were seated in an auditorium with theater style seating. The organist was behind us, and the incredible view before us. He played several pieces on the pipe organ - classics, etc. Thrilling!  We learned that he does regular concerts there, along with other very accomplished, even professional, musicians from all over the place.  He said that they have bookings a year and a half out. It is a very popular venue for the local population and visitors. This same man also plays the carillon bells in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher  in the old city each Sabbath. Wow! What a wonderful way to end our stay in Jerusalem. It almost felt like home.  On the way back up to Haifi to meet the ship, we passed signs marking the way to the Dead Sea, Jericho, etc. but we were out of time. Because the ship had stayed in Haifa instead of moving to Ashdod, and because we had spent so much time walking when they closed off the old city, we weren't able to see and do as much.  But my, oh my, what a fabulous two days we had while we were there!

We had dinner on the ship and again went to the theatre to see Mistika - magic and illusions.


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Day 11 (November 17) Saturday
Port Said, Egypt - partly sunny and 80 degrees

I only took two pictures from the bus.

Everywhere else, people were right up next to us, 

walking or getting about any number of other ways.

I just didn't feel comfortable getting their pictures.

This morning we disembarked at the Port Said. Have you ever been anywhere where it is obvious that no attempt has been made to clean up for company? That describes what we saw at the port. It was dirty and there was trash everywhere. We were immediately bombarded by men hawking their wares. It was a sign of things to come.  Mimmo (sounds like Nemo) and our driver met us and off we went on about a three hour bus trip to Cairo. That is primarily due to distance, but also because of traffic.  On our way to the city, we drove parallel to the Suez Canal. We continued to see trash, very humble houses, some barren land, and very fertile delta soil. We saw pick-ups and carts pulled by donkeys loaded with huge carrots, cabbages, kiwis, mangos, egg plants, cucumbers, tomatoes, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, etc.  We had been warned to eat none of them, as well as to not drink the water.

As we got closer to Cairo, traffic increased - mostly beat up, dirty old vehicles. The public buses weren't any different. Mimmo pointed out that the taxis were made in Russia, especially sturdy, due to the fact that bombs and bullets are a big part of life in Cairo.  That made us wonder what our bus was made of  . . . . .

Cairo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with about 17 million people.   We saw buildings that burned during the revolution. High-rise apartment buildings unfinished and unoccupied. Lots of them. I suppose that every place has it slums, almost everywhere we looked, though - that was the living conditions for where we were. Even around the Egyptian Museum, it was that way. Dave told us that another building to house their treasures is in the works. Good thing.  The building they're in now has broken windows, etc. - I'm assuming from the revolution and other violent episodes.  It's the first time I've been anywhere like that where the gift shop was completely empty!!!  Great place to take kids ;-)

We have had some experience with the chaos of European travel, but Cairo takes the cake. It was CRAZY. And dangerous. Cars, trucks, buses, public transport, scooters, motorcycles, carts pulled by donkeys, pedestrians, street vendors, and trash were EVERYWHERE!!!  With almost no order. Horns honked all the time. The strategy seemed to be that aggression was your only hope of navigating the mess.

The museum was so crowded. We didn't begin to see everything that was there, but we saw about all we could stand, with the highlight being the King Tut exhibit.

From there we made our way to TGIF on the Nile. The river is not as wide as we had expected.  We didn't check out the length :). And of course, there was trash in it as well.  Dave chose this particular place to eat, because it is an American franchise that is managed with more sanitary rules. We learned earlier that you better carry your own toilet paper with you, but this place actually had some in their restroom. There was a girl just inside who gave me two small pieces of paper towel to dry my hands after washing them. Dave had told us earlier that she would be there and that she would expect a tip.

From there, we went to the site of the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. Merchants besieged us trying to sell something, anything, for "only $1 ma'm." I bet I've said "No, thank you" at least one hundred times on this trip! The pyramids are amazing. Just no way to comprehend how big they are without actually being there. But, as has been the case with much of what we've seen, it's hard not to think about the misery of those who were forced to build them. There were lots of camels there, and what they leave behind. The wind would pick up randomly and blow sand and trash everywhere. Nothing compared to the really bad dust storms these people have to live with, though.  One camel owner stopped and talked to us a bit, and didn't try to sell us a camel ride. One of the things that was discussed was the re-election of Pres. Obama. Dave asked him if that is who he thought most Egyptians would have preferred. He answered that it was about 50/50. Sound familiar?

We loaded onto the bus again and were taken to a different area where we could take pics of all three of the pyramids.  While in that area, we could also see part of Cairo and even more pyramids off in the distance. Mimmo told us there are a total of 114 pyramids in all.  Most of the sellers of goods were not as aggressive as the ones down below had been. They were set up, almost like a flea market that waited for the tourists to come to them. We did have one exception and that was a guy who used trickery to try to get us to give him money. Just to get rid of him, we gave him $2.  I did buy three little pyramids made of basalt from a more respectable fellow. The merchant asked me for $35 for them, but we settled at $20. Joe tried to get me to go to a different stall, but I didn't want to get involved with any of the rest of them. Maybe charged me too much, but he probably needed the money.

The bus then took us a short distance to see the Sphynx.  Everything there was about the same as everywhere else we had been. One thing that weighed on my heart was the number of young children who were there. Why weren't they in school?  There are both public and private schools, but Dave said there was probably nothing in place to make sure that all children are attending. One little girl became very friendly with a member of my group. She seemed happy, but I wondered what her future holds for her. And, I wondered why there was no adult with her - that I could tell, anyway. There is just so much poverty there. I cried for a little while when I got back on the bus as we made the very long drive back to the ship.

Once we got off the bus at the port, there was a gauntlet to be run through all the men trying to sell us something. As we got closer, we could hear some very happy singing voices/chants and some rhythm instruments. When we got close enough to see who was doing it, we were surprised to see many of the ship's staff and crew welcoming us back in this delightful way. As we thought about why they had done that (there had always been a few of them welcoming us back, but nothing like this), we thought that it was because they knew that overall, this shore excursion had been hard. We spent nearly six hours on the road, going and coming, the crowds had been awful, and the pervasive poverty had been heartbreaking. We were so tired and so happy to be back "home", as one crew member called it.


I really had a hard time shaking that Cairo experience.  And, I don't know, maybe I was just overly tired. It sure made me wonder, though, and still does, exactly what is expected of us in light of places where there is so much poverty, violence, and suffering.  I know those things have always existed in places all over the world.  But in this day and age, we are more aware of it than ever.  There are cameras everywhere recording the plights that so many find themselves in.  I know I can't solve the worlds' problems.  But I think I need to do more than I'm doing.  I suppose none of us would have to look too far beyond our front doors to find someone whom we could really bless in one way or another.  I need to do better.

The Jade International Crew Show was that night and we headed to the theater right after dinner.

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Day 12 (November 18) Sunday
Alexandria, Egypt - sunny and 75 degrees

Thankfully, we were able to get a little more sleep since we didn't have to meet our group until 9:00 AM to leave for our shore excursion into Alexandria. This time when we disembarked, it was cleaner. Once we were on the bus and had driven just a little way, it was the same old same old. Trash and poverty and busy streets and crowds.

Our first stop was to see the Catacombs of Shawqafa, an extensive three-level funerary complex. We went underground for longer than we liked, but it was interesting. Next we went to see the Pillar of Pompeii. Then we headed to the Library of Alexandria. That was the only site we visited that was much better cared for. We had several options as to how we would spend our brief time there, so we chose the Anwar Sadat exhibition that was on temporary  display by his family. This experience was a boost to our spirits. He was the first Egyptian leader in recent memory who dedicated his life to serving his people and to help make peace in the mid-east and North Africa. On our way to this exhibit, we met a group of students (all boys) in the hallway. (Boys and girls attend school separately). They got so excited when they saw us. They started giving us high fives, smiling, trying to read our name tags, and talking excitedly. They seemed so happy to see us and we felt like celebrities.

We left for the port right after that and called it a day. It was nice to have some down time after the hectic schedule we had been on.

Miscellaneous from Egypt, according to Mimmo:  The vast majority of Muslims here are practicing ones.   We heard the Muslim call to prayer several times, the last time being when we were already on the ship. The women we saw were dressed in all kinds of ways: wearing burkas, wearing beautiful scarves and long dresses, others with scarves, but wearing jeans, etc. Gas is only $1 per gallon!

Mimmo answered a lot of our questions as we traveled. One thing he was asked to do was to explain in a nutshell the tenets of his Muslim faith. He got very excited and said that he would love to. He began by saying there are Five Pillars of Islam:

1. Prayer
2. Fasting (If you never go without food, how can you possibly begin to understand what if feels like to be   truly hungry)?
3. Care for the needy, specifically one on one aid instead of organized help -very personal
4. Recognizing no God, but Allah
5. If possible, to make a trip to Mecca at least once in your lifetime.

Tonight's show was Stars on Strings performed by two marionette artists, which is where we went after dinner.


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Day 13 (November 19) Monday
3rd day at sea - cloudy and 69 degrees

This was the first of two days at sea on our way back to Rome. We are so thankful to have the time to rest and relax before our flight. We attended the two seminars that Dave taught today. We ate too much. We went to a show tonight featuring a group of four singers, 4Ever. The Jade Orchestra played for them, and it was a very good show.

After we left the theater, we headed to the one-night-only chocolate buffet. There were all kinds of chocolate treats to eat and ice sculptures and chocolate sculptures galore  (like the Sphynx) for decoration only. We checked out all the offerings and made a few selections. As pretty as it all was, all the women in my life, as well as myself, produce much tastier treats - at least for what I sampled :)  

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Day 14 (November 20) Tuesday
4th day at sea - partly sunny and 65 degrees

 The boot of Italy in the background

 Notice the long bridges / tunnels along this part of the coastline of Italy

 Italy on the left / Sicily on the right

The Island of Sicily

This cruise's last Mediterranean sunset

This morning we went to our last seminar with Dave.  We ate lunch in the buffet area and then started looking for a place inside to just relax. It was a beautiful day, but quite cool. Everyone else was doing the same, so places to do that were a premium. Having no luck, we went to the main dining room for second lunch. We were seated at a table for two next to the window with a view of the sea. I only ordered an appetizer (a portobello mushroom stuffed with goat cheese and covered in marinara sauce - mmmmm). Joe got a club sandwich that was huge. He almost overdosed on lunch!

After that, we found a place to sit in a lounge that was showing the movie, Snow White and the Huntsman. We got interested in it, watched it for a while, went out on deck to watch the sunset, and then to our room to watch the rest of the movie and get ready for dinner.

During the day, Mt. Etna, the Messina Strait, the Apennines Peninsula of Italy, and the Islands of Sicily and Stromboli were visible at various times during the day. We enjoyed our time up on deck very much with so many incredible landmarks along the way - especially later in the day when it was much warmer.  We especially loved seeing the coastline of Italy. We were close enough to see traffic and it was interesting to watch it move  across long expanses of bridges and then into tunnels cut through the mountains. We would have liked to have been able to explore that area very much.  We also visited the bridge viewing room that morning. Wow! Talk about an office with a view!!!

We had dinner with our group in the main dining room one last time and then hurried off to the theater for one last show called Elements.  It was a variety show of sorts with magic, music, dance, and more amazing acrobatics by the Polish couple we so enjoyed from a previous show. At the end, You are Norwegian Now (written for the passengers) was sung to as as part of the grand finale with the ship's officers, staff, and crew. Very neat!

Off to our cabin we went to get suitcases packed and placed outside our door to be taken to the terminal when we reached the port. We only kept what we would need to get ready the next morning.

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Day 15 (November 21) Wednesday
Civatevecchia, Italy

 2,957 nautical miles

It has been a loooooong day, and it's not over, yet. We are in Atlanta, waiting to board our flight to Nashville.

We disembarked from the Norwegian Jade in Civitavecchia about 7:00 this morning. We were taken by bus to the airport in Rome. It took about an hour.  Once again, we loved watching the Italian countryside as we drove. Our flight wasn't until 1:00 PM, so we had quite a wait. Our group scattered in different directions, except for Walster and Dave who had the same itineraries as us to Atlanta.

We started looking for a place to eat and settled on McDonald's, thinking a cheeseburger would help to neutralize our stomachs.  Well, the burgers weren't very good, but the fries and Sprite tasted normal. And it only cost us $20!!!

Finally the time came to board the plane and everything looked good to go. Except it wasn't. Everyone was on the plane except one lady. Her luggage had been loaded, though. So, the pilot told us that there were two choices: wait for her to show up or have her luggage removed.  Either one was going to take time.  Time kept passing and we became more and more concerned because we had a narrow window when we reached Amsterdam to make our flight to Atlanta. Oh no, not again!?!?!?  Finally, the plane began to push back, without the woman and without her luggage.

Our hats were off to this Dutch crew on this KLM flight. They were so much more proactive than Delta and their crew when we were in a similar situation between Detroit and Boston. The pilot and our flight attendant consistently gave us updates on what was being done to help us make our flight in Amsterdam. For one thing, the pilot requested a shorter route, which he was granted. Also, the attendant came to see us multiple times to let us know the latest. She was so pretty, blonde and blue-eyed, just like the other crew members. She jokingly told us to be sure and tell her sister hello for her if we saw her in Atlanta - she had married someone from Elijay, GA! She was surprised that we even knew where Elijay is!  This time, thankfully, we were sitting much closer to the front. Joe was next to the window, I was in the middle, and the lady to the left of me was big enough that all of her wouldn't fit in just her space. I had been a little aggravated about that, but when the captain started asking people to remain in their seats who did not have connecting flights, she asked me if we were trying to make the international flight to the states. I told her we were, but she didn't say anything else. I wondered how long it would take her to get up when we arrived, but when the seatbelt light went off, she immediately stood up and most definitely blocked the aisle for us to get up and get out. I thanked her profusely as well as the others ahead of us who remained in their seats.

Once inside the terminal, there was plenty of assistance - both people wise and sign wise. We hurried through security and on to our gate. The airport was beautiful. Clean with Christmas decorations EVERYWHERE. Our short experience with the Dutch made us think we would like to visit them again sometime.

We were so happy when we found our seats on a gigantic plane for our KLM flight to Atlanta.  We were quite comfortable, fed very often, and Joe watched some TV shows while I watched "Brave." We were even able to sleep some. We also enjoyed the live video of our flight pattern.  We flew a northerly route over the North Sea and the southern tip of Greenland down over the Atlantic into Canada down the St Lawrence River following the Appalachians to Atlanta. Yep, we took the scenic route. The flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta was 4394 miles!!!  Farther than as the birds fly, for sure!

We had heard so many languages spoken, so many accents from those speaking English, that when we were directed to Customs in Atlanta, the big booming voice of a Southern African American gentleman shouting "Y'all get in this line and y'all get in that one" sounded like music to our ears. We were home! Everything was as organized and efficient as could be in this southern airport. We had a bit of a layover, which felt good. We walked some and used our cellular service to check email. We were also able to read and sent some text messages.

The flight to Nashville was on a much smaller plane. We were told that we were the last flight out. It took longer to board and get off the plane than it did to fly from Atlanta to Nashville. Once in Nashville, we had the airport pretty much to ourselves. We were reunited with our luggage, which caused us great joy. We found the shuttle that would take us to where Lori and Patrick had left our car for us. We were the only ones on the bus.

We loaded the car and headed to Shangri La. I had said that when we got back home I was going to kiss the ground. It was after 1:00 AM, though, and I talked myself out of it. I didn't have to try hard. But Dorothy was most definitely right. There's no place like home.  

What a trip!  We've experienced so many cultures and been with people of so many nationalities - the ship itself was like a melting pot with people speaking so many different languages from so many different places.  One day when we were at sea, we were having lunch, soaking up the beauty just outside our window.  The table next to us was larger than ours and all the chairs were filled - family, we thought.  We think they were from somewhere in the Caribbean, but they were speaking French.  After they ate, one of the gentleman picked up his guitar and began to sing in words we couldn't understand.  It was so beautiful.  At one point, he noticed us watching and listening - and then he indicated that the next selection would be for us.  In English, he began to sing, "L" is for the way you look at me. "O" is for the only one I see . . . "  Such a warm gesture!  Every chance we got when we were at sea, we would make our way to the Atrium to listen to Vladimir Krivian from Russia play the piano. He is so talented and was just a joy to listen to, and watch!  The ship's crew was from Croatia, Finland, USA, Honduras, Colombia, UK, Germany -- and those are just the ones we can remember.  Most of the staff were from the Philippines.  We did talk to one from the US and one from Romania. For sure, we are all very little ducks in a very big pond.

We have been in places where there are layers and layers and layers of history.  There just aren't enough adjectives to describe the things we've seen, the things we've heard, or the feelings we've felt.  One of my most favorite moments took place in Israel.  We only had prayer together as a group while we were in Israel, and we did so after everyone boarded the bus and before we headed out for the day.  I can't quite remember if it was the first or second day, but on one of those mornings, Dave asked Joe to do so.  He prayed the most beautiful prayer and it was such a surreal, poignant moment as he prayed for peace in the Middle East.  What a moment!  

So now, as we hear the world news, and something is said about protests and violence in Cairo, unrest along the West Bank, or Turkey's preparations against Syria, we can't help but think of our friends there.  Mimmo, Machmoud, and Izmet.  Joe has used this quote from Mark Twain as he's told others about our adventure:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.

And I like this Twain quote:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.

Roads go ever ever on

Under cloud and under star,

Yet feet that wandering have gone

Turn at last to home afar.

-- J.R.R. Tolkien --

Bountiful Travel Group

I think everyone was in this pic,

but not in the following ones.