Egypt and Mediterranean Cruise - Last Port - Civitavecchia, Italy - Rome

Nov. 2 – Rome, Italy and back to Munich – We got off the ship very early this morning to load up for our last tour.  We had much better weather this time than we did when we were here last December.  Clear skies for our tour of Rome and then to the airport.  We visited the Vatican, Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum.   This is our second visit to Rome and we learned from our first visit to Rome, not to fall for the photo scam at the Colosseum with the gladiators.

What a truly amazing trip this was and one that we will never forget.  I am glad that my parents were able to go on this trip with us, as I am sure it was quite an experience for them and one they will never forget and one they will talk about for a long time.

Egypt and Mediterranean Cruise - 5th Port - Naples, Italy

Nov. 1 – Naples, Italy – Today was another private tour with a small group.  Mom and Dad did a Naples City tour since we were going to Pompeii and there would be a lot of walking and uneven ground.  Our driver picked up us and took us on a drive along the Amalfi coast to Positano where we found some wonderful tasting canolis .  Mmmmm Mmmmmm good.  One of my favorites.   

Drive along Amalfi coast

Amalfi coast

Our driver then took us to Sorrento and along the way he stopped on the side of the road where he opened a bottle of Champagne for us and we enjoyed the view of the Bay of Naples.   Once in Sorrento we were able to roam the streets and shop for awhile.  We bought some Limoncello, which is a tangy lemon liqueur.  We also bought some candy that had Limoncello on the inside. 

Jay found the perfect gift for my mom, an Italian bib, which by the way she loved.  Jay would be the only one in the family that could get away with giving mom a gift like that.  She always had a sweet spot for Jay.  We had a wonderful lunch at one of the local restaurants.

Our final stop of the day was to Pompeii where our guide was waiting for us.  Pompeii was buried under ash and pumice from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79.  Pompeii was rediscovered in 1749.  As we walked thru the remains of Pompeii you could see frescoes that showed what everyday life was like at that time.  One of the buildings we went in to was a brothel which had frescoes showing what services were available.  The brothel was located near the library, so the story that was told to us was that the men would tell their wives that they were going to the library and they would take the passageway from the back of the library to the brothel.   Another building we saw was their version of a fast food restaurant.  It had counters with large pots set in them where the food was dispensed from.  We also saw the bath house, forum and we saw plastic casts of some of the bodies that were found. 

Brothel in Pompeii

Bath House

Egypt and Mediterranean Cruise - 4th Port - Athens, Greece and Last Day at Sea

Oct. 30 – Athens, Greece
 

Today we went on a Walking Tour of Athens.   The weather was overcast and cool for starters.  We toured today with a group from Cruise Critics that we met on the ship.  Mom and Dad did a city tour with the ship since we were going to be doing a lot of walking.  Since there have been a lot of riots in Athens we were hoping that wouldn’t be the case today.  It is Sunday and our tour guide told us that they don’t riot on Sundays.  Since it was early there weren’t a lot of people out and traffic wasn’t bad.

 

As our tour started our guide gave us a little history of Athens at the Arch of Hadrian.  As we walked through Athens we also visited The Temple of Zeus.  Our walking tour continued to the Old Olympic Statium.  This stadium hosted the Olympics in 1986 and was also used in the 2004 Olympics.  We then went to The Greek Parliament where we also saw the changing of the Presidential Guards.  

Arch of Hadrian

Temple of Zeus

Old Olympic Stadium

Parlament

We stopped at a church that had been damaged by an earthquake and was being repaired.  I was surprised that with all the scaffolding that was up, that they would let anyone in the church.

We then started our long walk up to the Acropolis where we saw The Parthenon, The Temple of Hephaestus, The Odeon of Herodes Atticus and spectacular views of Athens.  It was a long climb to the top and it was well worth it. 

 

Our guide also took us down in their subway and showed us some of the artifacts that were found while digging the subway.   It was like a mini museum. 

 

Oct. 31 – Last day at sea. 

 

Today is Halloween and we met one last time with the cruise critic group to share stories and email addresses.  It was great getting to meet and tour together.  We also packed up most of our things since we are almost at the end of our cruise and it was the last formal night.

Friends we met from cruise critics

Egypt and Mediterranean Cruise - 3rd Port - Kusadasi, Turkey

Oct. 29 – Kusadasi, Turkey  - A beautiful day today, clear skies and warm temps.  We arrived in port today around noon.  Jay and I were on deck at the back of the boat and taking a few pictures as we were coming in to dock when the man next to us was doing the same thing, but then he dropped his camera.  Where was his strap, of course not around his wrist.  Luckily he was able to catch it through the rail.  If he didn’t it would have been in the water and all his pictures gone.  Jay and I both look at each other and said if that was us we would have lost all our pictures that we have taken so far.  That night we made sure all of our pictures were backed up on our computer.   We had another private tour with a lot to see and little time to see everything. 

Our first stop was Ephsesus, which was once the trade center of the ancient world and a religious center of the early Christianity.   There we saw some amazing ancient ruins like Library of Celsus, and The Great Theater, which is still used today and seats 25,000 spectators.  We also visited the Terrace Houses where you could see how the wealthy people of that time lived.  There were beautiful mosaics on the floor and frescos on the walls.  They used clay pipes beneath the floors and behind the walls that carried hot air though the houses.  Restoration of these houses began in 1960 and two of the six houses have been finished. 

We visited the House of the Virgin Mary which is believed to have been the final resting place of the Virgin Mary.  There is a wall on the way up to the house that is called the “Wishing wall” where you can leave a wish.  

The temple of Artemis is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.  All that is left of the temple is  just one column and some of the foundations. 

Ruins of The Basilica of St. John was a great church in Ephesus constructed by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of St. John, who is identified as the apostle, evangelist (author of the Fourth Gospel) and prophet (author of Revelation).

We stopped at another carpet store and they demonstrated how the silk threads are made from the cocoons.  Very interesting and unbelievable how they make the carpets.  They also took us to a leather store where they were more than happy to sell you a leather jacket .

We visited a smaller grand bazaar than the one in Istanbul where they advertise genuine fake watches, so you definitely know what you are getting.