August 21st
Messina, Sicily
Visit number 2 to Messina with limited things to do and limited time to do them in. I really had nothing planned for Messina, and being unable to do a tour do to a rehearsal, knew that I didn’t have many options left in the city. It’s a lovely area, there’s just nothing there of any real interest. So I grabbed my computer and went out in search of the always elusive internet signal hoping for the best. I had gotten off the ship with the new guitarist, Jim, and his plans were about as ambitious as mine, so that worked out just fine. We ran into Igor in town and began walking with him, yet another fellow internet hunter. By the end of the day we hadn’t found any internet signals, bought a few delicious canoles, and downed some espresso. Nothing too exciting I guess, but it’s always nice to get off the ship. This, however, was the port where I bought my cowboy hat. Well, I had to wear it and it made me instant friends with all the hat peddlers on the street. Instant friends or instant laughing stock…I guess I’ll never know. But it wasn’t till the evening that the day really hit it’s peak.
Following the earlier than usual production show In Concert, Gordon made me aware of a trivia game going on in one of the lounges and recommended putting a team together to compete. I quickly assembled my dream team of musicians (well, not quite) and we headed to the ward room where the trivia contest was well under way. The game was set up in segments, one being general knowledge, one having to do with exotic food recognition (from strange mushrooms to baby food), and two more in similar genres. The highlight had to do with the physical challenge of which I volunteered to be my teams representative for. The challenge was this: with out touching the floor with anything but your two feet, bend down and pick up a vertical carton of cigarettes with your mouth. After each successful round the carton would be trimmed down an inch, making the next round harder by requiring more flexibility. If you happened to fall or touch the ground with anything but your feet you’d receive a strike, three strikes and you lose the challenge, the last one eliminated is deemed the winner. I was excited going into the challenge thinking I have decent flexibility, but soon figured out how hard the challenge really was. The first few I did relatively well at, but as the carton decreased it’s height, I struggled more and more till I eventually took my first fall. At this point there were only 3 teams left of the original 5, and after there first two eliminations, the challenge was getting interesting. The three contestants were the safety officer (who had yet to show any struggle), a short stocky girl named Wendy with a chest that seemed ill proportioned for such a game, and myself. I had taken the first fall of the three and was the obvious under dog, but as they sat between rounds, I stretched, determined not to let my team down. There must have been 2 inches left to the carton when I took my second fall, receiving an enthusiastic “ohhhh” from the crowd. But I wasn’t about to let my team down, got myself in the zone and made the stretch; the crowd went wild. 1 inch left, Wendy takes her first spill, but regains herself on the second attempt and succeeds at the astonishment of the crowd. Seriously, it doesn’t look like this girl should have any flexibility, yet continued to impress the crowd with each successive attempt. The safety guy went, also with a little more struggle than usual, but succeeded. I slowly approached, focusing my legs to bend in ways they’ve not yet been forced to handle. I bent down, extended one leg back, put my arms out for balance, strained my neck downward…and…Success!! I spat the carton out to the cheer of my adoring fans (let me know when I take this too far) and returned to my corner to stratch and prepare for the final round, 0 height. This meant the walls were totally trimmed off the carton, meaning we had to pick up a flat piece of paper from the ground. Imagine picking a playing card off the floor with your mouth without touching your hands to the floor…that was the final step. Wendy succeeded to everyone’s astonishment, but certainly deserved to after licking the carpet way more than necessary and leaving a bright red streak of lipstick on the remaining square. It was impressive. The safety dude also succeeded, not without falling once, but still managed to complete the task with apparent difficulties. Now it was my turn, the obvious underdog, the guy that should have lost rounds ago, the one guy that doesn’t seem able but somehow finds a way. With the heads of my department watching and two members of the band to my left I took position. This requires a very delicate blend of positioning and balance, one that took a couple efforts before feeling right about going for the card. Having no strikes left I had to be extremely careful not to fall, just more pressure onto of having to prove myself on behalf of the entire entertainment department. I bent down, stumbled forward, but regained balance without using my hands and reset for try number two. I went down, descending with extreme caution towards the paper, slowly, among the screams and hollers and ridiculous suggestions to make good use of my tongue. But this wasn’t a time for jokes, this was a time for concentration and control, I was un-phased. I got closer and closer and the noise suddenly disappeared in the tension of the moment. All eyes were on that remnant of the carton and my painfully controlled approach. It was at the point where I could no longer focus my eyes on the white paper that I puckered my lips, and with one last push complimented with violent inhaling I sucked the card to my face and stood up, victorious, to the cheers of audience that had just witnessed some sort of miraculous feat. The underdog had overcome what seemed to be relentless bodily limitations through sheer will and determination, it was quite the spectacle. I instantly received recognition from the on looking department heads and cheers of congratulations from my fellow band members, I might have well won the Olympics at that point. As the energetic hum of the room died down the final results of the contest were revealed. The musicians ended up in 3rd place out of five, which I guess is decent considering the 30 minute disadvantage we received. The best part, however, was that 20 out of our total 42 points were earned through the physical challenge, making that win the difference between a most certain last place and a respectable third. I had saved the name of the entertainment department, landed us at a good average third, and sacrificed my legs all at the same time, it was an eventful night.
Well, now that I’m done with that terribly over dramatic account of the evening, I guess I’ll conclude the post. The party ended after that, I returned to my room to do some stretches and went to bed hoping for no leg pain in the morning. Thanks for reading the seemingly endless drivel and have a great one! And be sure not to hurt yourself when you try the challenge at home! Seeya
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Kusadasi/Sea Day
August 19th/20th
Kusadasi/Sea Day
Kusadasi was another Turkish port, and due to another renegade rehearsal, my time there was cut drastically short. I got off the ship as early as I could to get the most time possible and began exploring with some friends. We went in a few shops here and there, bought some coffee and snacks, and basically just wandered though the bazaar. There wasn’t much time to do any more than that, unfortunately leaving me with a not so productive port visit. The area was beautiful though and I certainly enjoyed the hot weather, oh, and the game of the day dealt with timing how long one could go without having a local vendor approach you saying “my friend” – it usually took less than a minute.
After the shows that night I decided to host a party in my room. This wasn’t supposed to be a huge crazy party, just a get together for the band to chill out with food and drink. Believe it or not, I still had my bottle of Estonian Vodka from way back when (remember the tram incident?) and hadn’t gotten through even half of it, so I envited my friends over to enjoy it with. Mark brought over some Turkish Delight we’d bought in port that day and Igor and I grabbed some food from the mess. They must have been over for 4 hours, just talking about stuff and having a good time. It was nice to have everyone over, it’s not something I’ve ever really done, but my sudden popularity in being the one providing the drinks was more than welcome, ha. But it was a great night and one that I hope we can do again before I leave the ship. The only downside of it all were the final two hours wherein everyone simply discussed our less than approved of music director…kind of a drag to talk about, but at least it means we all agree on something.
The next day was a sea day complimented with a Dixie set and the usual thing at night. The general opinion is that we all need a day off; extra Dixie sets aren’t doing any of us favors. But that aside, I actually played a couple decent clarinet solos, so I guess that’s almost exciting…almost. Thanks for reading!
Kusadasi/Sea Day
Kusadasi was another Turkish port, and due to another renegade rehearsal, my time there was cut drastically short. I got off the ship as early as I could to get the most time possible and began exploring with some friends. We went in a few shops here and there, bought some coffee and snacks, and basically just wandered though the bazaar. There wasn’t much time to do any more than that, unfortunately leaving me with a not so productive port visit. The area was beautiful though and I certainly enjoyed the hot weather, oh, and the game of the day dealt with timing how long one could go without having a local vendor approach you saying “my friend” – it usually took less than a minute.
After the shows that night I decided to host a party in my room. This wasn’t supposed to be a huge crazy party, just a get together for the band to chill out with food and drink. Believe it or not, I still had my bottle of Estonian Vodka from way back when (remember the tram incident?) and hadn’t gotten through even half of it, so I envited my friends over to enjoy it with. Mark brought over some Turkish Delight we’d bought in port that day and Igor and I grabbed some food from the mess. They must have been over for 4 hours, just talking about stuff and having a good time. It was nice to have everyone over, it’s not something I’ve ever really done, but my sudden popularity in being the one providing the drinks was more than welcome, ha. But it was a great night and one that I hope we can do again before I leave the ship. The only downside of it all were the final two hours wherein everyone simply discussed our less than approved of music director…kind of a drag to talk about, but at least it means we all agree on something.
The next day was a sea day complimented with a Dixie set and the usual thing at night. The general opinion is that we all need a day off; extra Dixie sets aren’t doing any of us favors. But that aside, I actually played a couple decent clarinet solos, so I guess that’s almost exciting…almost. Thanks for reading!
Istanbul
August 18th
Istanbul
Finally the port I’ve been waiting all cruise for, Istanbul! I had no idea what to expect, and with another unfortunate rehearsal planned, limited time to find out. I woke up early in the morning to get off the ship, took a shuttle into town with Mark (drummer) and some others (a shuttle in which I told the operator that crew are allowed onto for free, a complete lie, but saved me and my 4 friends over $10 each) to discover the city. Mark and I split off to head into the grand bazaar, which did justice to its name. It was simply a lot of shops selling fake (presumably) designer name clothes, linens, and water pipes. It was cool for about 5 minutes, but not having any desire to buy clothes, was easily left in search of more exciting options. Mark and I kept walking, exchanged some money, and went looking for some interesting places to sit down and enjoy the culture and vibe of Turkey. We ended up at a nice local-looking hang out, a large room with many couches, where one could buy food and drinks, well, that and a little more.
Driven by my curiosity to experience the culture and confirmed by Mark’s past experiences, I recommended a stop at this place for the prospect of seeing what the water pipe, or more commonly known as Hookah, was all about. The water pipe, which is a large vertical pipe, burns a flavored tobacco, filters it through water, and is then inhaled. These pipes, though usually associated with the middle east, can be found in the states, are totally legal, and even have found a place in Hookah themed bars. Now I’ve never done any drugs, nor have I even once picked up a cigarette, but the cultural significance of the Hookah made it a justifiable activity in my mind. So there I sat with Mark, drinking tea and trying this strawberry flavored Hookah, experiencing the culture. It was certainly interesting to say the least, but surprisingly light and fruity, not nearly as aggravating to my respiratory system as I was expecting. We made ourselves comfortable on the couches though, played checkers on some Turkish board, and just hung out till it seemed the appropriate time to leave. I guess you could explain it as a very relaxing cultural experience and it’s obvious why it has such a large role in a social context. There’s just something about “passing the peace pipe” that makes the environment very friendly…or maybe that’s the hookah as well. Regardless, it might be something not exactly respectable or even in character for me, but these adventures require taking risks and venturing outside of your comfort zone, which that experience most certainly was.
When I finished beating Mark at checkers we left to look for some possible food. We still had about $20 worth of the Turkish YTL, of which we knew could get us a great lunch. It wasn’t long till we found a sit down restaurant and ordered a couple dishes, of which I have no hope of telling you what they were called, but everything was very good. We ate quickly and left to start making our way back to the ship by walking. The bus ride into town didn’t seem especially long, and considering I had a map and am overconfident in my sense of direction, we set out on our trek. I did have a general idea of where we were and knew that if we could get to the water, I’d be able to ascertain our position. Getting to the water required a few things however. The first was easy: walk around some mosques to where I could get a good viewpoint. The good viewpoint, however, came from on a grass hill on some Turkish palace grounds. Apparently, they aren’t quite fond of Americans on their grass, and I immediately drew the attention of an armed guard who showed his disapproval via a very intimidating whistle. Honestly, at first I wasn’t even aware he was blowing it at me; I was focused on getting my bearings. Then, as the sound got louder and I saw a uniformed man with an automatic weapon on the adjacent hill, I decided it might be a good time to dismount my grassy knoll. I played it off well as if I got off on my own terms, paid no attention to my belligerent friend and pretended to be the ignorant tourist (maybe it didn’t take that much pretending). We exited the palace, and after a quick discussion and Mark relieving me of some excess pride, we grabbed a cab. I negotiated with the cab driver before we got in, which didn’t seem to please him too much as he seemed to take one of my comments as an insult, and we got stuck paying $30 to get back across the bridge. It worked out though because had we not gotten in the cab, even though I did know exactly where we were, the walk would have been too formidable to make in the 40 minutes remaining time, the extra fee was worth the peace of mind. Not to mention it’s just fun riding cabs in foreign countries, and now I can add Turkey to that list. Mark and I made it back to the ship in time for rehearsal and that was end of the excursion.
The rest of the day was as usual, so nothing more to write there. Thanks!
Istanbul
Finally the port I’ve been waiting all cruise for, Istanbul! I had no idea what to expect, and with another unfortunate rehearsal planned, limited time to find out. I woke up early in the morning to get off the ship, took a shuttle into town with Mark (drummer) and some others (a shuttle in which I told the operator that crew are allowed onto for free, a complete lie, but saved me and my 4 friends over $10 each) to discover the city. Mark and I split off to head into the grand bazaar, which did justice to its name. It was simply a lot of shops selling fake (presumably) designer name clothes, linens, and water pipes. It was cool for about 5 minutes, but not having any desire to buy clothes, was easily left in search of more exciting options. Mark and I kept walking, exchanged some money, and went looking for some interesting places to sit down and enjoy the culture and vibe of Turkey. We ended up at a nice local-looking hang out, a large room with many couches, where one could buy food and drinks, well, that and a little more.
Driven by my curiosity to experience the culture and confirmed by Mark’s past experiences, I recommended a stop at this place for the prospect of seeing what the water pipe, or more commonly known as Hookah, was all about. The water pipe, which is a large vertical pipe, burns a flavored tobacco, filters it through water, and is then inhaled. These pipes, though usually associated with the middle east, can be found in the states, are totally legal, and even have found a place in Hookah themed bars. Now I’ve never done any drugs, nor have I even once picked up a cigarette, but the cultural significance of the Hookah made it a justifiable activity in my mind. So there I sat with Mark, drinking tea and trying this strawberry flavored Hookah, experiencing the culture. It was certainly interesting to say the least, but surprisingly light and fruity, not nearly as aggravating to my respiratory system as I was expecting. We made ourselves comfortable on the couches though, played checkers on some Turkish board, and just hung out till it seemed the appropriate time to leave. I guess you could explain it as a very relaxing cultural experience and it’s obvious why it has such a large role in a social context. There’s just something about “passing the peace pipe” that makes the environment very friendly…or maybe that’s the hookah as well. Regardless, it might be something not exactly respectable or even in character for me, but these adventures require taking risks and venturing outside of your comfort zone, which that experience most certainly was.
When I finished beating Mark at checkers we left to look for some possible food. We still had about $20 worth of the Turkish YTL, of which we knew could get us a great lunch. It wasn’t long till we found a sit down restaurant and ordered a couple dishes, of which I have no hope of telling you what they were called, but everything was very good. We ate quickly and left to start making our way back to the ship by walking. The bus ride into town didn’t seem especially long, and considering I had a map and am overconfident in my sense of direction, we set out on our trek. I did have a general idea of where we were and knew that if we could get to the water, I’d be able to ascertain our position. Getting to the water required a few things however. The first was easy: walk around some mosques to where I could get a good viewpoint. The good viewpoint, however, came from on a grass hill on some Turkish palace grounds. Apparently, they aren’t quite fond of Americans on their grass, and I immediately drew the attention of an armed guard who showed his disapproval via a very intimidating whistle. Honestly, at first I wasn’t even aware he was blowing it at me; I was focused on getting my bearings. Then, as the sound got louder and I saw a uniformed man with an automatic weapon on the adjacent hill, I decided it might be a good time to dismount my grassy knoll. I played it off well as if I got off on my own terms, paid no attention to my belligerent friend and pretended to be the ignorant tourist (maybe it didn’t take that much pretending). We exited the palace, and after a quick discussion and Mark relieving me of some excess pride, we grabbed a cab. I negotiated with the cab driver before we got in, which didn’t seem to please him too much as he seemed to take one of my comments as an insult, and we got stuck paying $30 to get back across the bridge. It worked out though because had we not gotten in the cab, even though I did know exactly where we were, the walk would have been too formidable to make in the 40 minutes remaining time, the extra fee was worth the peace of mind. Not to mention it’s just fun riding cabs in foreign countries, and now I can add Turkey to that list. Mark and I made it back to the ship in time for rehearsal and that was end of the excursion.
The rest of the day was as usual, so nothing more to write there. Thanks!
Katakolon/Mykonos
August 16th-17th
Katakolon/Mykonos, Greece
Yet again, another day of fun in the sun has been interrupted by a rehearsal. Upon our arrival at noon, I got off the ship for a little exploring. The attraction of the port is it’s proximity to Olympia, certainly an interesting site to visit, but unfortunately not on my plans for the day. Instead, I walked around a small little city with little to offer but a long beach. I didn’t have my bathing suit on, and after seeing some jellyfish in the water, wasn’t about to go swimming, so instead went for a walk/run down the beach. Yeah, two consecutive days of running, I thought that was pretty good! But yes, there were tons of jellyfish all along the beach, and apparently they make them different in Greece. I saw on in the water that was the size of a deflated volleyball, looked to be made out of some sort of rubbery plastic, and almost glowed from its glossy blue-purple color. I swear, if you were to have turned that thing over it would have said “made in china”, it looked that manufactured. But then I saw dozens more, many washed up on the beach where it would find a slow, evaporating demise, or in the case of the lucky ones, covered with sand and jumped on. I continued at least a couple miles down the beach, wearing nothing but my shorts and John Wayne hat, enjoying what I could of this part of the Grecian coastline. This lasted a couple hours before I made my way back to the ship for the usual evening aboard…woohoo.
The 17th wasn’t much different, and with a morning rehearsal, the visit was limited to how early I was willing to wake up. Well, seeing as it was my only chance to see the city, I wanted to wake up super early, rent a scooter and go on my own tour of the city. I did manage to wake up early, something I’m very proud of, and after being off the ship by 8 am, I discovered that all the scooter rental places didn’t open until 9 am. This would have left me about 90 minutes of riding time, not enough to make the fee worth it, and disappointed in my foiled plans, I went walking as far as I could in the time I had. The city was gorgeous though, a perfect example of the Greek islands, and the weather was just perfect for going of a walk. Nothing too exciting happened though, sorry. There was however, Mykonos’ mascot, some famous pelican. I don’t understand the story (probably because I heard it from a ditsy spa girl) but supposedly this is supposed to be some famous pelican and the only one of the island, which when you think about it, makes absolutely no sense. But hey, there were tons of souvenirs with pictures of the dumb bird on them, so I guess I should write off this pelican’s accomplishments too soon. Maybe it’s worth researching when I get home…but probably not. I wrapped up my walk and caught a shuttle back to the ship where the day played out as usual. Thanks!
Katakolon/Mykonos, Greece
Yet again, another day of fun in the sun has been interrupted by a rehearsal. Upon our arrival at noon, I got off the ship for a little exploring. The attraction of the port is it’s proximity to Olympia, certainly an interesting site to visit, but unfortunately not on my plans for the day. Instead, I walked around a small little city with little to offer but a long beach. I didn’t have my bathing suit on, and after seeing some jellyfish in the water, wasn’t about to go swimming, so instead went for a walk/run down the beach. Yeah, two consecutive days of running, I thought that was pretty good! But yes, there were tons of jellyfish all along the beach, and apparently they make them different in Greece. I saw on in the water that was the size of a deflated volleyball, looked to be made out of some sort of rubbery plastic, and almost glowed from its glossy blue-purple color. I swear, if you were to have turned that thing over it would have said “made in china”, it looked that manufactured. But then I saw dozens more, many washed up on the beach where it would find a slow, evaporating demise, or in the case of the lucky ones, covered with sand and jumped on. I continued at least a couple miles down the beach, wearing nothing but my shorts and John Wayne hat, enjoying what I could of this part of the Grecian coastline. This lasted a couple hours before I made my way back to the ship for the usual evening aboard…woohoo.
The 17th wasn’t much different, and with a morning rehearsal, the visit was limited to how early I was willing to wake up. Well, seeing as it was my only chance to see the city, I wanted to wake up super early, rent a scooter and go on my own tour of the city. I did manage to wake up early, something I’m very proud of, and after being off the ship by 8 am, I discovered that all the scooter rental places didn’t open until 9 am. This would have left me about 90 minutes of riding time, not enough to make the fee worth it, and disappointed in my foiled plans, I went walking as far as I could in the time I had. The city was gorgeous though, a perfect example of the Greek islands, and the weather was just perfect for going of a walk. Nothing too exciting happened though, sorry. There was however, Mykonos’ mascot, some famous pelican. I don’t understand the story (probably because I heard it from a ditsy spa girl) but supposedly this is supposed to be some famous pelican and the only one of the island, which when you think about it, makes absolutely no sense. But hey, there were tons of souvenirs with pictures of the dumb bird on them, so I guess I should write off this pelican’s accomplishments too soon. Maybe it’s worth researching when I get home…but probably not. I wrapped up my walk and caught a shuttle back to the ship where the day played out as usual. Thanks!
Dubrovnik
August 15th
Dubrovnik
As I’ve mentioned before, the ship just got the new production cast (singers and dancers) onboard and this is now the first cruise with a new cast. Though this is usually kind of an exciting event (lots of new dancers to talk to!), it sometimes means that more is asked of the band. That “more” made its first appearance today.
Ben (tenor sax) and I were planning to go on the same tour in Croatia today, an all day tour of the region including lunch – always a favorite of mine – and had gotten the forms from the tour office yesterday. Yesterday night, however, we get hit with a schedule that puts a rehearsal in the middle of our tour, something that we simply can’t work around, and despite a well formulated printed request to our director, we were unable to get out of the rehearsal. I could give you all the details about why we weren’t needed for this rehearsal, but instead I’ll just leave it as “the director’s a total jerk” and just hope you take my word for it. Anyways, our request was denied and I woke up in the morning to go help the tour office send out tours in a sort of “sorry I couldn’t do the tour you assigned me” way. They were happy with the extra help at 8am so I think I’m still off the tour office blacklist.
Anyways, I decided to do my own thing instead – go running. Seeing as I’d been to Dubrovnik before, I didn’t have much desire to travel back into the city and though my pent up steam (from the early morning denial) could more effectively be released running along the bay where we docked. And let me tell you, there was nothing more appropriate at that time than running along the beautiful Croatian coast line listening to some unusually heavy rock music on my iPod…just the venting I needed. I ran for a good distance along the shore looking at the little boats and small beaches till I stopped at some resort owned beach where I somehow didn’t get questioned about when I entered. I sat down for a bit, cooled down under one of the showers (I couldn’t go swimming without a towel and wasn’t about to run back the few miles in wet and sandy socks/shoes), and then eventually headed back. As I made my way back to the ship it occurred to me how much I miss boating, not the floating hotel thing, but the small watercraft thing. It’s strange living on a ship that doesn’t move with the waves and one you don’t have to go or look outside if you choose not to. So as I walked along pondering the irony of missing boating while living on a gigantic ship, I decided it’d be an interesting idea to borrow a small boat. The port area was filled with small watercraft, some of which obviously hadn’t been touched for weeks, so I figure when I have more time and a good enough opportunity, I’ll borrow one and row it around for a while. I have no intention of stealing it, just amusing myself with a short rowing trip, where’s the harm in that? I didn’t do it today, and kind of doubt I’ll work up the balls to commandeer a row boat in a different port, but it’s a nice though just the same.
I made it back to the ship for the rehearsal as scheduled, not with much enthusiasm, but at least with a sense of accomplishment for my enjoyment of the port in light of the circumstances. The rest of the day was nothing spectacular, just a bunch of musicians complaining about the extra rehearsal – yep, we’re a happy group! Thanks for reading!
Dubrovnik
As I’ve mentioned before, the ship just got the new production cast (singers and dancers) onboard and this is now the first cruise with a new cast. Though this is usually kind of an exciting event (lots of new dancers to talk to!), it sometimes means that more is asked of the band. That “more” made its first appearance today.
Ben (tenor sax) and I were planning to go on the same tour in Croatia today, an all day tour of the region including lunch – always a favorite of mine – and had gotten the forms from the tour office yesterday. Yesterday night, however, we get hit with a schedule that puts a rehearsal in the middle of our tour, something that we simply can’t work around, and despite a well formulated printed request to our director, we were unable to get out of the rehearsal. I could give you all the details about why we weren’t needed for this rehearsal, but instead I’ll just leave it as “the director’s a total jerk” and just hope you take my word for it. Anyways, our request was denied and I woke up in the morning to go help the tour office send out tours in a sort of “sorry I couldn’t do the tour you assigned me” way. They were happy with the extra help at 8am so I think I’m still off the tour office blacklist.
Anyways, I decided to do my own thing instead – go running. Seeing as I’d been to Dubrovnik before, I didn’t have much desire to travel back into the city and though my pent up steam (from the early morning denial) could more effectively be released running along the bay where we docked. And let me tell you, there was nothing more appropriate at that time than running along the beautiful Croatian coast line listening to some unusually heavy rock music on my iPod…just the venting I needed. I ran for a good distance along the shore looking at the little boats and small beaches till I stopped at some resort owned beach where I somehow didn’t get questioned about when I entered. I sat down for a bit, cooled down under one of the showers (I couldn’t go swimming without a towel and wasn’t about to run back the few miles in wet and sandy socks/shoes), and then eventually headed back. As I made my way back to the ship it occurred to me how much I miss boating, not the floating hotel thing, but the small watercraft thing. It’s strange living on a ship that doesn’t move with the waves and one you don’t have to go or look outside if you choose not to. So as I walked along pondering the irony of missing boating while living on a gigantic ship, I decided it’d be an interesting idea to borrow a small boat. The port area was filled with small watercraft, some of which obviously hadn’t been touched for weeks, so I figure when I have more time and a good enough opportunity, I’ll borrow one and row it around for a while. I have no intention of stealing it, just amusing myself with a short rowing trip, where’s the harm in that? I didn’t do it today, and kind of doubt I’ll work up the balls to commandeer a row boat in a different port, but it’s a nice though just the same.
I made it back to the ship for the rehearsal as scheduled, not with much enthusiasm, but at least with a sense of accomplishment for my enjoyment of the port in light of the circumstances. The rest of the day was nothing spectacular, just a bunch of musicians complaining about the extra rehearsal – yep, we’re a happy group! Thanks for reading!
Venice
August 12th-14th
Venice
Yep, three days in Venice, not too bad right? Well, I’ll group them all into a single post.
I made it up to the bow for the sail-in around 11AM on the 12th for my first view of a city I’ve been eager to see since starting ships (woh, 4 “s” words with out even trying, I’m getting better at this). The scenery was everything you might imagine it to be, one huge ship traveling down a watery road, surrounded by what seems to be a floating city and dozens of little water taxis. Everything instantly projected a feeling of being somewhere a little different, something that was strictly Venice. We ported son after and I hurried off the ship with my tour entitled “Hidden Venice Walking Tour.” I figured a walking tour of the “hidden places” would be a good place to start seeing as I’d have no difficulty finding the popular places on my own. The tour left on a water taxi where we were then dropped off along side the Canal Grande in the western part of town to begin the walk. It was great being in such a famous city and the architecture and canal system didn’t disappoint. As we walked, I talked with an Italian escort assigned to the tour and took in what I could. 4 hours later, after a café stop, we made our way to a pier, got on our taxi and returned to the ship. The tour was ok, but come to think of it, I don’t feel like I found “hidden” Venice at all. Nothing about the tour was hidden, secretive, mysterious, undiscovered, or any other words you might associate hidden, including cool. But whatever, I saw some stuff, familiarized myself with parts of the city, and discovered hidden is a cruise ship euphemism for “understandably less popular tourist area.”
I wasn’t back at the ship for long, barely enough time to eat, before I was out again meeting up with the band in St. Marks. We had the night off and were planning to have a great late night experience in the town - I was excited. We met as planned, and after little discussion made our way to the first stop, a restaurant. Well, I had just eaten, so I dismissed myself and went wondering while they ate, planning to meet them later after dinner. I figured I had an hour, and armed with my detailed map of the city, set out for an exploration into my own hidden Venice. I returned about an hour later, no more, to find their table empty and totally cleared. I’d been ditched. Now, I’m sure my friends weren’t conspiring against me, and I assume they must have waited at least a few minutes for my return, but how they went through a three course meal in such little time is a complete mystery to me, so there I was, alone and disappointed at prospects of a wild and crazy night.
Venice closes down at night. Being primarily a tourist destination, and most tourists being grumpy old people with limited vision and mobility, almost all the streets completely clear out after 8PM. My hidden tour took me down streets packed with people (more proof of it’s un-hidden-ness), where as a few hours later, I could walk for 5 minutes without seeing a single person. In an attempt to find my group again, I walked to the two areas with people, the Rialto Bridge and St. Marks Square, both of which yielded no results after 2 hours of searching. Then I had a bright idea, why not forget my friends, go to the crew water taxi drop off point, and meet up with some other friends when they get dropped off. Within 20 minutes I had found my roommate, gotten a name of a jazz bar, and figured out I could wait for one more water taxi to catch up with some other friends following close behind. The evening ended up with me finding the jazz club (after great difficulty cause Gordon can’t read maps well), which was simply a jazz themed bar, but still cool, and then catching a 1AM water shuttle back to the ship. Maybe not so late of a night as expected, but as I said, everything was closed down, it just wasn’t in the cards.
As a small victory, however, I did find out that my friends who ditched me left only to head back to the ship after dinner. But what should have been a 15 minute walk to the shuttle resulted in over an hour of confused navigating, utter frustration, and a situation I was glad to be a part of. I, on the other hand, never got lost :)
Day two was walking day. After waking up late, I hurried off the ship to begin my own walking tour of Venice. This was approximately 5 hours of aggressive walking, covering almost the entire island, complimented with an ice cream cone and pizza slice along the way. It was great though, no one to slow me down, just me, a map, and an over ambitious desire to cover as much ground as humanly possible. My feet were pounding by the end of my quest, but I’ve probably gone over enough bridges and seen enough gondolas to last me the rest of my life. I walked back to the ship for a couple sets we were playing for a different band (so that they could have a night off) and that was the end of the day.
Day three consisted of a rehearsal at 11AM and a departure immediately following, meaning I got screwed out of a day. The original production cast has now left the ship, meaning the band is going to get hit with a bunch of rehearsals to help out the new group of singers and dancers, not my favorite scenario when the only reason I’m here is to see the ports. Unfortunately that’s about it for the 14th, however, I did spend the sail away running on a treadmill in the spa, meaning I had a front row seat 10 decks up as we sailed out of the archipelago…nice.
To sum up, Venice is an unbelievable city. The maze of canals and alleys (over 3000) is almost not navigable, as demonstrated by my friends, and commands your respect and appreciation for the culture of the city. The gondolas, though ubiquitous, never got old. I always enjoyed turning a corner and coming across an unexpected bridge being negotiated by a long black boat, always steered by an Italian man with a horizontally striped shirt and a single paddle. I didn’t try much food however, some times I’m too cheap for my own good, but Venice is not wallet friendly, certainly making it not cruise ship musician friendly. It was for that same reason that I didn’t get on a gondola, though I toyed with the idea, the price was too high to take a friend and six musicians sitting in a gondola probably doesn’t capture the romantic spirit of the tradition…not even close. Regardless, it’s a beautiful place that you just have to see, maybe not specifically for the canals or bridges or buildings or people, but simply because it’s Venice. Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Venice
Yep, three days in Venice, not too bad right? Well, I’ll group them all into a single post.
I made it up to the bow for the sail-in around 11AM on the 12th for my first view of a city I’ve been eager to see since starting ships (woh, 4 “s” words with out even trying, I’m getting better at this). The scenery was everything you might imagine it to be, one huge ship traveling down a watery road, surrounded by what seems to be a floating city and dozens of little water taxis. Everything instantly projected a feeling of being somewhere a little different, something that was strictly Venice. We ported son after and I hurried off the ship with my tour entitled “Hidden Venice Walking Tour.” I figured a walking tour of the “hidden places” would be a good place to start seeing as I’d have no difficulty finding the popular places on my own. The tour left on a water taxi where we were then dropped off along side the Canal Grande in the western part of town to begin the walk. It was great being in such a famous city and the architecture and canal system didn’t disappoint. As we walked, I talked with an Italian escort assigned to the tour and took in what I could. 4 hours later, after a café stop, we made our way to a pier, got on our taxi and returned to the ship. The tour was ok, but come to think of it, I don’t feel like I found “hidden” Venice at all. Nothing about the tour was hidden, secretive, mysterious, undiscovered, or any other words you might associate hidden, including cool. But whatever, I saw some stuff, familiarized myself with parts of the city, and discovered hidden is a cruise ship euphemism for “understandably less popular tourist area.”
I wasn’t back at the ship for long, barely enough time to eat, before I was out again meeting up with the band in St. Marks. We had the night off and were planning to have a great late night experience in the town - I was excited. We met as planned, and after little discussion made our way to the first stop, a restaurant. Well, I had just eaten, so I dismissed myself and went wondering while they ate, planning to meet them later after dinner. I figured I had an hour, and armed with my detailed map of the city, set out for an exploration into my own hidden Venice. I returned about an hour later, no more, to find their table empty and totally cleared. I’d been ditched. Now, I’m sure my friends weren’t conspiring against me, and I assume they must have waited at least a few minutes for my return, but how they went through a three course meal in such little time is a complete mystery to me, so there I was, alone and disappointed at prospects of a wild and crazy night.
Venice closes down at night. Being primarily a tourist destination, and most tourists being grumpy old people with limited vision and mobility, almost all the streets completely clear out after 8PM. My hidden tour took me down streets packed with people (more proof of it’s un-hidden-ness), where as a few hours later, I could walk for 5 minutes without seeing a single person. In an attempt to find my group again, I walked to the two areas with people, the Rialto Bridge and St. Marks Square, both of which yielded no results after 2 hours of searching. Then I had a bright idea, why not forget my friends, go to the crew water taxi drop off point, and meet up with some other friends when they get dropped off. Within 20 minutes I had found my roommate, gotten a name of a jazz bar, and figured out I could wait for one more water taxi to catch up with some other friends following close behind. The evening ended up with me finding the jazz club (after great difficulty cause Gordon can’t read maps well), which was simply a jazz themed bar, but still cool, and then catching a 1AM water shuttle back to the ship. Maybe not so late of a night as expected, but as I said, everything was closed down, it just wasn’t in the cards.
As a small victory, however, I did find out that my friends who ditched me left only to head back to the ship after dinner. But what should have been a 15 minute walk to the shuttle resulted in over an hour of confused navigating, utter frustration, and a situation I was glad to be a part of. I, on the other hand, never got lost :)
Day two was walking day. After waking up late, I hurried off the ship to begin my own walking tour of Venice. This was approximately 5 hours of aggressive walking, covering almost the entire island, complimented with an ice cream cone and pizza slice along the way. It was great though, no one to slow me down, just me, a map, and an over ambitious desire to cover as much ground as humanly possible. My feet were pounding by the end of my quest, but I’ve probably gone over enough bridges and seen enough gondolas to last me the rest of my life. I walked back to the ship for a couple sets we were playing for a different band (so that they could have a night off) and that was the end of the day.
Day three consisted of a rehearsal at 11AM and a departure immediately following, meaning I got screwed out of a day. The original production cast has now left the ship, meaning the band is going to get hit with a bunch of rehearsals to help out the new group of singers and dancers, not my favorite scenario when the only reason I’m here is to see the ports. Unfortunately that’s about it for the 14th, however, I did spend the sail away running on a treadmill in the spa, meaning I had a front row seat 10 decks up as we sailed out of the archipelago…nice.
To sum up, Venice is an unbelievable city. The maze of canals and alleys (over 3000) is almost not navigable, as demonstrated by my friends, and commands your respect and appreciation for the culture of the city. The gondolas, though ubiquitous, never got old. I always enjoyed turning a corner and coming across an unexpected bridge being negotiated by a long black boat, always steered by an Italian man with a horizontally striped shirt and a single paddle. I didn’t try much food however, some times I’m too cheap for my own good, but Venice is not wallet friendly, certainly making it not cruise ship musician friendly. It was for that same reason that I didn’t get on a gondola, though I toyed with the idea, the price was too high to take a friend and six musicians sitting in a gondola probably doesn’t capture the romantic spirit of the tradition…not even close. Regardless, it’s a beautiful place that you just have to see, maybe not specifically for the canals or bridges or buildings or people, but simply because it’s Venice. Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Dubrovnik
August 11th
Dubrovnik, Croatia
I’ve been looking forward to today for a long time. Maybe not especially today, but certainly looking forward to Dubrovnik, which I’ve never heard a bad thing about. After switching out of my IPM duty, I was off the ship and ready to begin my Croatian outing.
The weather was, yet again, perfect - another 90 degree day, cloudless, and still more than welcomed after months at the North pole. I didn’t really have much of a plan for the day, but just to walk around and enjoy the city at my own pace. After a little walking, I soon found myself traveling toward the waterfront where I would be sure to get some great pictures. As one thing led to another, I was soon walking through a nice park and getting some amazing views. When I approached the end of the trail, I was greeted by a wall - apparently part of the fortifications that ran through the city area. In the center of the wall was an opening, obviously what used to be some sort of walkway through it, but had now been blocked with bricks and large stones. Me, being the untamable explorer that I am, wanted to know what was on the other side of the wall and why I was being kept from it, so I climbed it. After finding the right set of hand and foot holds, I was up the wall in no time looking at that which someone didn’t want me to see…pretty much nothing. After a series of jumps, I was on the ground on the other side, met by an overgrown forest area, an old set of stairs, and no obvious way out. It was about at that time that I looked down at my hand only to notice my fingers were covered in blood. I guess, in the process of climbing the wall, I slit the tip of my right middle finger and it was doing its best to let me know about it. Knowing how much fingers bleed, I figured the cut couldn’t be too bad and let it dry up as I continued exploring…unsuccessfully. The forest was relentless and wouldn’t let me pass, where as the old staircase led me to a cliff, another less than promising alternative. Then I found a cleared out area littered with glass bottles and beer cans, probably some teen hangout. This meant one of two things, either there was an easier way in to where I was that I just couldn’t find, or I’m a total pansy considering a bunch of teens, most likely drunk and high, are also able to climb this wall without over dramatizing it in a blog entry. Instead, I’ll argue for a third option: Croatians must be unbelievably agile in any physical/mental state…or were smart enough to bring a ladder. Regardless, the only remaining option was to go back the way I came, so defeated after 30 minutes of unfruitful curiosity, I prepared for my descent. As I stepped to the edge in order to ascertain another set of holds, I found the likely culprit to my now blood-encrusted finger, a tiny green shard of glass…jerk. I blew the glass out of the areas I was sure to be placing my hands and, with no abundance of grace, made my way back to the original trail. I was alive, though bleeding, but no longer trapped by my own ridiculous excursion. At that point I started walking back to the city where I’d be safe from, well, myself.
I spent the last part of my free time in the old part of town, a highly fortified area, almost like large castle, and gorgeous. The streets were lined with small stores and ice cream shops, interrupted only by the occasional thin alley way with an ascending staircase that didn’t seem to stop. I enjoyed my walk through the area, unharmed, got some green apple ice cream (recommendation from the girl at the stand), and made my way back to the ship to celebrate my successful escape from the city.
I think I was going to write more, but I got distracted (for 4 days) and now don’t remember how I was planning on finishing the entry. I know I had to get back to the ship for a rehearsal, and I’m pretty sure I remember the guest being really annoying and from Scotland. Anyways, there’s my day, the whole gruesome tale…or what I remember of it. Thanks!
Dubrovnik, Croatia
I’ve been looking forward to today for a long time. Maybe not especially today, but certainly looking forward to Dubrovnik, which I’ve never heard a bad thing about. After switching out of my IPM duty, I was off the ship and ready to begin my Croatian outing.
The weather was, yet again, perfect - another 90 degree day, cloudless, and still more than welcomed after months at the North pole. I didn’t really have much of a plan for the day, but just to walk around and enjoy the city at my own pace. After a little walking, I soon found myself traveling toward the waterfront where I would be sure to get some great pictures. As one thing led to another, I was soon walking through a nice park and getting some amazing views. When I approached the end of the trail, I was greeted by a wall - apparently part of the fortifications that ran through the city area. In the center of the wall was an opening, obviously what used to be some sort of walkway through it, but had now been blocked with bricks and large stones. Me, being the untamable explorer that I am, wanted to know what was on the other side of the wall and why I was being kept from it, so I climbed it. After finding the right set of hand and foot holds, I was up the wall in no time looking at that which someone didn’t want me to see…pretty much nothing. After a series of jumps, I was on the ground on the other side, met by an overgrown forest area, an old set of stairs, and no obvious way out. It was about at that time that I looked down at my hand only to notice my fingers were covered in blood. I guess, in the process of climbing the wall, I slit the tip of my right middle finger and it was doing its best to let me know about it. Knowing how much fingers bleed, I figured the cut couldn’t be too bad and let it dry up as I continued exploring…unsuccessfully. The forest was relentless and wouldn’t let me pass, where as the old staircase led me to a cliff, another less than promising alternative. Then I found a cleared out area littered with glass bottles and beer cans, probably some teen hangout. This meant one of two things, either there was an easier way in to where I was that I just couldn’t find, or I’m a total pansy considering a bunch of teens, most likely drunk and high, are also able to climb this wall without over dramatizing it in a blog entry. Instead, I’ll argue for a third option: Croatians must be unbelievably agile in any physical/mental state…or were smart enough to bring a ladder. Regardless, the only remaining option was to go back the way I came, so defeated after 30 minutes of unfruitful curiosity, I prepared for my descent. As I stepped to the edge in order to ascertain another set of holds, I found the likely culprit to my now blood-encrusted finger, a tiny green shard of glass…jerk. I blew the glass out of the areas I was sure to be placing my hands and, with no abundance of grace, made my way back to the original trail. I was alive, though bleeding, but no longer trapped by my own ridiculous excursion. At that point I started walking back to the city where I’d be safe from, well, myself.
I spent the last part of my free time in the old part of town, a highly fortified area, almost like large castle, and gorgeous. The streets were lined with small stores and ice cream shops, interrupted only by the occasional thin alley way with an ascending staircase that didn’t seem to stop. I enjoyed my walk through the area, unharmed, got some green apple ice cream (recommendation from the girl at the stand), and made my way back to the ship to celebrate my successful escape from the city.
I think I was going to write more, but I got distracted (for 4 days) and now don’t remember how I was planning on finishing the entry. I know I had to get back to the ship for a rehearsal, and I’m pretty sure I remember the guest being really annoying and from Scotland. Anyways, there’s my day, the whole gruesome tale…or what I remember of it. Thanks!
Corfu
August 10th
Corfu, Greece
Today was my first visit to Greece, which I guess makes it important. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to write back about. I took a shuttle into the city and walked around in the 95 degree weather for a few hours. The city was beautiful, usual Mediterranean style buildings, and the streets were packed with souvenir shops. Apparently, Corfu, if not all of Greece, has a strange love affair with cumquats. I have no idea why, but you couldn’t go a block without passing multiple cumquat retailers selling either cumquat liquor or candied cumquat, more cumquat than you’d ever know what to do with. And the worst part was that it didn’t even taste all that good, not to mention the candied cumquats left an interesting slime on your fingers (I’ll leave any inappropriate jokes up to you)… I did get lunch with some friends though, and that was nice. I had a pork gyro (as if I had a choice in Greece), while my other friends picked up a stuffed pepper and a Greek salad topped with a huge slice of feta cheese. We also ordered saginaki (the fried cheese they set on fire at The Village Squire, but not here) and some odd caviar paste, which was bright pink in color, and served as a dip for our fresh pita bread. I didn’t appreciate the glowing fish egg dip, but everything else was just great, and made better simply by sitting outside in a Greek city. I was quickly running out of time though and headed back to the ship for my usual rehearsal and shows.
That night I had a small cheese and wine party with two of my friends, for which I brought the Italian wine. Ben, the band cheese connoisseur, obviously brought the cheese and gave explanations and names I can’t quite remember. But regardless off my ignorance for high end dairy products, it was a nice evening all the same. Thanks for reading!
Corfu, Greece
Today was my first visit to Greece, which I guess makes it important. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to write back about. I took a shuttle into the city and walked around in the 95 degree weather for a few hours. The city was beautiful, usual Mediterranean style buildings, and the streets were packed with souvenir shops. Apparently, Corfu, if not all of Greece, has a strange love affair with cumquats. I have no idea why, but you couldn’t go a block without passing multiple cumquat retailers selling either cumquat liquor or candied cumquat, more cumquat than you’d ever know what to do with. And the worst part was that it didn’t even taste all that good, not to mention the candied cumquats left an interesting slime on your fingers (I’ll leave any inappropriate jokes up to you)… I did get lunch with some friends though, and that was nice. I had a pork gyro (as if I had a choice in Greece), while my other friends picked up a stuffed pepper and a Greek salad topped with a huge slice of feta cheese. We also ordered saginaki (the fried cheese they set on fire at The Village Squire, but not here) and some odd caviar paste, which was bright pink in color, and served as a dip for our fresh pita bread. I didn’t appreciate the glowing fish egg dip, but everything else was just great, and made better simply by sitting outside in a Greek city. I was quickly running out of time though and headed back to the ship for my usual rehearsal and shows.
That night I had a small cheese and wine party with two of my friends, for which I brought the Italian wine. Ben, the band cheese connoisseur, obviously brought the cheese and gave explanations and names I can’t quite remember. But regardless off my ignorance for high end dairy products, it was a nice evening all the same. Thanks for reading!
Chivitavecchia/Messina
August 8th/9th
Chivitavecchia/Messina
Chivitavecchia, the port city with access to Rome, was more like a sea day for me. If you remember back to St Petersburg, I traded my IPM duty for a night at the Russian Ballet, so now it was my friend’s turn to enjoy his day in Rome. I didn’t mind considering I’ve been there a few times before and enjoyed my free time on the ship. I can’t there was a whole lot to write home about, sitting on a ship and all while my friends hung out in Rome, so I won’t. That night we had a really lame show to play for some guy who played piano like Jerry Lee Lewis, but sang terribly and talked with the strangest inflections in his voice, almost as he was singing a song, but a song that you’d never want to be burdened with hearing ever in your life. Yeah, real nice thing to say Mike, real nice…
The 9th was Messina, Sicily. It was actually my first time in Sicily so I was extremely excited to get off the ship. Unfortunately, due to a rehearsal, I couldn’t go on my tour as planned and had to settle for a stroll through the city. It was a gorgeous day, over 90 degree weather, and just another reminder of how much I like my job. The city wasn’t exceedingly spectacular, and considering they do the same “shut down everything at noon” routine, I missed most of everything due to our 12:00 arrival. But regardless, I had a great walk through the city and saw some really nice areas. I bought a cowboy type hat (I guess it has some Sicilian history) for 3 Euros and an unbelievable canoli. The hat was fun to walk around the city with, and even though it pointed me out as a total tourist, it was funny when people would pass me making comments about John Wayne or asking me about having “pistolas.” Then it was back to the ship for another rehearsal and show. And that’s about all, thanks for reading!
Chivitavecchia/Messina
Chivitavecchia, the port city with access to Rome, was more like a sea day for me. If you remember back to St Petersburg, I traded my IPM duty for a night at the Russian Ballet, so now it was my friend’s turn to enjoy his day in Rome. I didn’t mind considering I’ve been there a few times before and enjoyed my free time on the ship. I can’t there was a whole lot to write home about, sitting on a ship and all while my friends hung out in Rome, so I won’t. That night we had a really lame show to play for some guy who played piano like Jerry Lee Lewis, but sang terribly and talked with the strangest inflections in his voice, almost as he was singing a song, but a song that you’d never want to be burdened with hearing ever in your life. Yeah, real nice thing to say Mike, real nice…
The 9th was Messina, Sicily. It was actually my first time in Sicily so I was extremely excited to get off the ship. Unfortunately, due to a rehearsal, I couldn’t go on my tour as planned and had to settle for a stroll through the city. It was a gorgeous day, over 90 degree weather, and just another reminder of how much I like my job. The city wasn’t exceedingly spectacular, and considering they do the same “shut down everything at noon” routine, I missed most of everything due to our 12:00 arrival. But regardless, I had a great walk through the city and saw some really nice areas. I bought a cowboy type hat (I guess it has some Sicilian history) for 3 Euros and an unbelievable canoli. The hat was fun to walk around the city with, and even though it pointed me out as a total tourist, it was funny when people would pass me making comments about John Wayne or asking me about having “pistolas.” Then it was back to the ship for another rehearsal and show. And that’s about all, thanks for reading!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
...I've been slackin' with the posts
Yeah, I guess I've been a little slow putting some of these posts up, so I'll get a few up now and a few more later. I haven't been able to get to any good wifi areas since entering the Med, meaning I've been stuck with stupid ship internet at a million dollars a minute, but hey, I can't keep my loyal readers waiting for ever! So here are a few, I have many more still to post, but I don't want to overload you all in one massive posting of a month's worth of entries. So enjoy the recent posts and keep in touch, thanks!!
Livorno
August 7th
Livorno
Today was a return to a port I’d been to many times, Livorno in Italy. From here, one can easily get to Pisa, Florence, and a large part of Tuscany. But today, due to a boat drill, I was limited to, well, walking around Livorno. The city of Livorno isn’t anything spectacular, and seeing as the morning boat drill didn’t allow us off the ship until noon, I missed the majority of the huge city market (which close just after noon). I was off the ship with Patrick and Igor (the trombone player from Moldova) just walking what was left of the markets looking for wine and cheese. Igor did end up finding some great cheese, of which I can’t even begin to describe, and I bought some wine specific to the Tuscany region. The best part of shopping for Tuscan wine in Tuscany are the prices - two bottles for under 7 Euro, or less than $10. But between the cheese, wine, and being back in Italy, that about covers the highlights of my day. It’s nice to be back in Italy though, regardless of the fact I can’t understand a single word anyone says, it’s the energy I enjoy.
That evening, back on the ship, I had a single jazz set to play, which I followed with going to see the theater performance I was not required to play. Tonight was one of the two production shows that the band doesn’t accompany, and seeing as it was my last chance to see the show with the original cast before they leave after this cruise, I had no choice but to go. It was a great time though, and even though I went by myself, knowing everyone on stage made it seem like I wasn’t alone at all. It’s great when you can go to the shows and sit at the front of the theater making non-verbal jokes with the people on stage, all inside jokes that can slip by the audience but be great fun for me and who ever I’m trying to mess with on stage. It was a great night though and a nice day off of playing sets in the theater. Thanks!
Livorno
Today was a return to a port I’d been to many times, Livorno in Italy. From here, one can easily get to Pisa, Florence, and a large part of Tuscany. But today, due to a boat drill, I was limited to, well, walking around Livorno. The city of Livorno isn’t anything spectacular, and seeing as the morning boat drill didn’t allow us off the ship until noon, I missed the majority of the huge city market (which close just after noon). I was off the ship with Patrick and Igor (the trombone player from Moldova) just walking what was left of the markets looking for wine and cheese. Igor did end up finding some great cheese, of which I can’t even begin to describe, and I bought some wine specific to the Tuscany region. The best part of shopping for Tuscan wine in Tuscany are the prices - two bottles for under 7 Euro, or less than $10. But between the cheese, wine, and being back in Italy, that about covers the highlights of my day. It’s nice to be back in Italy though, regardless of the fact I can’t understand a single word anyone says, it’s the energy I enjoy.
That evening, back on the ship, I had a single jazz set to play, which I followed with going to see the theater performance I was not required to play. Tonight was one of the two production shows that the band doesn’t accompany, and seeing as it was my last chance to see the show with the original cast before they leave after this cruise, I had no choice but to go. It was a great time though, and even though I went by myself, knowing everyone on stage made it seem like I wasn’t alone at all. It’s great when you can go to the shows and sit at the front of the theater making non-verbal jokes with the people on stage, all inside jokes that can slip by the audience but be great fun for me and who ever I’m trying to mess with on stage. It was a great night though and a nice day off of playing sets in the theater. Thanks!
Sea Day/Cannes
August 5th/6th
Sea Day/Cannes
I don’t remember the 5th, it was a sea day, and I believe a production show. Most of the day was spent reading. Oh, and it was spent inside because I got a lovely sunburn on my shoulders from reading the day before outside…silly me
As for the 6th, that’s a little more interesting. The ship anchored in Cannes, located in the French Riviera, and world renown for its film festival. I’ve been to Cannes once before on a tour with my first ship and was excited to be returning. On my last visit, of which I was allowed 90 minutes to roam the city, I spent the first hour running through the area looking for a bathroom that I was in desperate need of – I made sure relieve myself prior to leaving the ship this time.
I got off the ship with a few friends from the band, there were five of us in total. We had a couple objectives: buy cheese and go to the beach. We figured the more intelligent first stop would be at the beach before we had accumulated any cheese, so that’s what we went looking for. After walking towards the downtown area of the city and realizing that there didn’t seem to be any free beaches, we adjusted course away from the water and began exploring, looking for whatever caught our eye. After some walking, one of my friends found some strawberries at a market, which he bought and then walked with. Then Ben, the tenor player, found some cheese that caught his eye, which he also bought and threw in his bag. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but Ben used to work in a cheese shop in Texas, making him the band expert on cheeses, and let me say that he certainly has earned that distinction. On this instance he bought some kind of “triple crème brie,” or at least that’s what I understood it to be. I then ended up buying some bread to share with the group, at which point, we decided to go to a café, get espressos, and have a mock picnic on all our foods. Man, what a good idea. We all sat outside at a café with our drinks, eating really delicious bread (French bread and a “cereal” loaf which was unbelievable) topped with great cheese and strawberries to match. Another guy picked up some large chocolate cookies for the group as well, I guess as a dessert. Anyways, that was a fantastic idea and thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Following the picnic, we moved on towards the free beaches back near the ship. After picking the most promising area, we all did what we’ve been yearning to do since summer began, go swimming. And after months in the cold of the Baltics, nothing could have been nicer than a well-deserved swim in the Mediterranean. Eventually, half the group broke off while I stayed behind with Patrick and Ben to continue our enjoyment of the beach. I eventually purchased some beach paddles for 5 euros, which only prolonged our time at the oasis of sand and sea. We eventually left due to a rehearsal, and seeing as I was starting to fear the worsening of my already burnt shoulders, not a minute too soon. It was a great time though, and those French beaches are certainly nice (and I don’t mean for the sand). The rest of the day panned out as usual. Thanks for reading!
Sea Day/Cannes
I don’t remember the 5th, it was a sea day, and I believe a production show. Most of the day was spent reading. Oh, and it was spent inside because I got a lovely sunburn on my shoulders from reading the day before outside…silly me
As for the 6th, that’s a little more interesting. The ship anchored in Cannes, located in the French Riviera, and world renown for its film festival. I’ve been to Cannes once before on a tour with my first ship and was excited to be returning. On my last visit, of which I was allowed 90 minutes to roam the city, I spent the first hour running through the area looking for a bathroom that I was in desperate need of – I made sure relieve myself prior to leaving the ship this time.
I got off the ship with a few friends from the band, there were five of us in total. We had a couple objectives: buy cheese and go to the beach. We figured the more intelligent first stop would be at the beach before we had accumulated any cheese, so that’s what we went looking for. After walking towards the downtown area of the city and realizing that there didn’t seem to be any free beaches, we adjusted course away from the water and began exploring, looking for whatever caught our eye. After some walking, one of my friends found some strawberries at a market, which he bought and then walked with. Then Ben, the tenor player, found some cheese that caught his eye, which he also bought and threw in his bag. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but Ben used to work in a cheese shop in Texas, making him the band expert on cheeses, and let me say that he certainly has earned that distinction. On this instance he bought some kind of “triple crème brie,” or at least that’s what I understood it to be. I then ended up buying some bread to share with the group, at which point, we decided to go to a café, get espressos, and have a mock picnic on all our foods. Man, what a good idea. We all sat outside at a café with our drinks, eating really delicious bread (French bread and a “cereal” loaf which was unbelievable) topped with great cheese and strawberries to match. Another guy picked up some large chocolate cookies for the group as well, I guess as a dessert. Anyways, that was a fantastic idea and thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Following the picnic, we moved on towards the free beaches back near the ship. After picking the most promising area, we all did what we’ve been yearning to do since summer began, go swimming. And after months in the cold of the Baltics, nothing could have been nicer than a well-deserved swim in the Mediterranean. Eventually, half the group broke off while I stayed behind with Patrick and Ben to continue our enjoyment of the beach. I eventually purchased some beach paddles for 5 euros, which only prolonged our time at the oasis of sand and sea. We eventually left due to a rehearsal, and seeing as I was starting to fear the worsening of my already burnt shoulders, not a minute too soon. It was a great time though, and those French beaches are certainly nice (and I don’t mean for the sand). The rest of the day panned out as usual. Thanks for reading!
Southampton/Sea Day/Sea Day/Gibraltar
August 1st-4th
Southampton/Sea Day/Sea Day/Gibraltar
My day in Southampton was unfortunately cut short. After having big plans to wake up early and get off the ship, I slept in, ate lunch on the ship, and then managed to lock myself out of my room. I had left my keycard in the pocket of a different pair of pants, meaning when I grabbed my wallet when leaving the room, I didn’t grab the key. I could have gotten off the ship anyways, but with my computer locked in my room and no guarantee of finding a room attendant when I got back, I decided to take care of the problem at that time. Over an hour later I was off the ship (with my room key) with about 2 hours remaining for my all-important errands. After taking a cab in and being warned by the cab driver to get back early due to traffic, my errands got boiled down to two things, the bookstore and coffee shop for internet.
I picked up three books at the bookstore, one of which is this really cool book on understanding comics. I’ve never been a fan of comic books, and to be honest, don’t think I’ve ever read an entire comic book in my life, but it didn’t matter, this book rocked. It was all about how people perceive stories and art and how comic put them together in a way that gets little acclaim. Also, to make it really clever, the entire book is written as a comic itself and is really a joy to read. I also picked up a book on communication and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. Honestly, that was probably the highlight of my day, maybe that’s kind of sad, but I’m excited to have some new things to read! The remainder of the day was the usual embark routine. We did get a new cast of dancers on the ship though, so that’s always exciting.
The two sea days were uneventful. I did some reading and finished that comic book, which I highly recommend. But that aside, there isn’t much worth mention.
And now today, in Gibraltar, is going to be equally uneventful. I’m stuck on the ship with IPM duty, which is fine with me because I’ve been here so many times before. So instead of getting off the ship, I sat on the sun deck this afternoon reading The Fountainhead and enjoying the now Mediterranean weather…finally. It was nice to feel like I was on vacation for a few hours and get out of the dim yellow light of the crew areas. The rest of the day is fairly ordinary, which is why I’m writing this blog in advance. I’ll have a rehearsal in an hour, two shows later tonight, and the time between will be filled with reading and probably a trip to the gym. That’s about all, so thanks as always and have a great day!
Southampton/Sea Day/Sea Day/Gibraltar
My day in Southampton was unfortunately cut short. After having big plans to wake up early and get off the ship, I slept in, ate lunch on the ship, and then managed to lock myself out of my room. I had left my keycard in the pocket of a different pair of pants, meaning when I grabbed my wallet when leaving the room, I didn’t grab the key. I could have gotten off the ship anyways, but with my computer locked in my room and no guarantee of finding a room attendant when I got back, I decided to take care of the problem at that time. Over an hour later I was off the ship (with my room key) with about 2 hours remaining for my all-important errands. After taking a cab in and being warned by the cab driver to get back early due to traffic, my errands got boiled down to two things, the bookstore and coffee shop for internet.
I picked up three books at the bookstore, one of which is this really cool book on understanding comics. I’ve never been a fan of comic books, and to be honest, don’t think I’ve ever read an entire comic book in my life, but it didn’t matter, this book rocked. It was all about how people perceive stories and art and how comic put them together in a way that gets little acclaim. Also, to make it really clever, the entire book is written as a comic itself and is really a joy to read. I also picked up a book on communication and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. Honestly, that was probably the highlight of my day, maybe that’s kind of sad, but I’m excited to have some new things to read! The remainder of the day was the usual embark routine. We did get a new cast of dancers on the ship though, so that’s always exciting.
The two sea days were uneventful. I did some reading and finished that comic book, which I highly recommend. But that aside, there isn’t much worth mention.
And now today, in Gibraltar, is going to be equally uneventful. I’m stuck on the ship with IPM duty, which is fine with me because I’ve been here so many times before. So instead of getting off the ship, I sat on the sun deck this afternoon reading The Fountainhead and enjoying the now Mediterranean weather…finally. It was nice to feel like I was on vacation for a few hours and get out of the dim yellow light of the crew areas. The rest of the day is fairly ordinary, which is why I’m writing this blog in advance. I’ll have a rehearsal in an hour, two shows later tonight, and the time between will be filled with reading and probably a trip to the gym. That’s about all, so thanks as always and have a great day!
Oslo/ Sea Day
July 30th/31st
Oslo/Sea Day
Both of these days were relatively uneventful. My time in Oslo was split between sleep prompted by my need for aural recovery from the previous night (though I have no idea if sleep helps that kind of thing) and the unending quest for internet. I found a great internet spot in a shopping mall near the port where I was able to get online for hours on a super fast connection and take care of business. The ship’s wireless internet server has been down for the past 4 or 5 days, meaning I’ve been absolutely starved to get at my emails, making a good internet connection in Oslo priority to any further Norwegian exploring. By the time I had gotten most everything taken care of, it was time to head back to the confines of the ship, meaning my day in Oslo had expired practically before it began. It was an absolutely beautiful day too, unfortunately I had more important things to take care of.
The band had that evening off, which meant one thing…band dinner in the Lido! The Lido is a passenger buffet way at the top of the deck where we are not permitted without submitting a request, and though still a buffet, the change of scenery for eating dinner was a much-needed treat. Though the food wasn’t anything spectacular, it still stood way above the staff mess, and just that opportunity to sit somewhere with windows made all the difference in the world. I was up there about 2.5 hours eating whatever I could eat and talking with my friends before I just couldn’t take anymore. Then, after a long waddle down to my cabin, a long night of digestion began, and not without a few angry pains from my discontented stomach.
The 31st was a usual sea day preceding Southampton. I had a Dixie set, which I enjoy despite my poor relationship with my clarinet, and a farewell show. Also, I finished my final book that I brought on the ship with me, meaning tomorrow will be a book buying day for me! That’s about all then, thanks!
Oslo/Sea Day
Both of these days were relatively uneventful. My time in Oslo was split between sleep prompted by my need for aural recovery from the previous night (though I have no idea if sleep helps that kind of thing) and the unending quest for internet. I found a great internet spot in a shopping mall near the port where I was able to get online for hours on a super fast connection and take care of business. The ship’s wireless internet server has been down for the past 4 or 5 days, meaning I’ve been absolutely starved to get at my emails, making a good internet connection in Oslo priority to any further Norwegian exploring. By the time I had gotten most everything taken care of, it was time to head back to the confines of the ship, meaning my day in Oslo had expired practically before it began. It was an absolutely beautiful day too, unfortunately I had more important things to take care of.
The band had that evening off, which meant one thing…band dinner in the Lido! The Lido is a passenger buffet way at the top of the deck where we are not permitted without submitting a request, and though still a buffet, the change of scenery for eating dinner was a much-needed treat. Though the food wasn’t anything spectacular, it still stood way above the staff mess, and just that opportunity to sit somewhere with windows made all the difference in the world. I was up there about 2.5 hours eating whatever I could eat and talking with my friends before I just couldn’t take anymore. Then, after a long waddle down to my cabin, a long night of digestion began, and not without a few angry pains from my discontented stomach.
The 31st was a usual sea day preceding Southampton. I had a Dixie set, which I enjoy despite my poor relationship with my clarinet, and a farewell show. Also, I finished my final book that I brought on the ship with me, meaning tomorrow will be a book buying day for me! That’s about all then, thanks!
Sea Day/Copenhagen
July 28th-29th
Sea Day/Copenhagen
The 28th was shaping out to be the usual sea day, but then due to a routing change, we received news that the ship would arrive in Denmark that night. Why this shorter route isn’t chosen every time, I have no idea, but everyone on the ship was more that happy to have another overnight. We didn’t get in till about 11:00 PM, so it wasn’t till after our usual sets that I could get some friends together and head into the city. My group of 6 left sometime between midnight and 1AM for an unplanned night on the town. Seeing as we’ve all been there once before, we knew the best place to start was in the downtown area, about a 20 minute walk from the ship.
So we began walking, anxious to find some hip music club or happening Danish party, and made our way through the city. The walk was about as uneventful as a senior citizen pinochle tournament (sorry grandpa!). Actually, the only thing of interest I noticed on the walk was an L. Ron Hubbard bookstore, filled with shelves of his books, presumably on Scientology (my tour guide on the next day did point out that the Danish were not a church-going people, so I guess that makes sense). When we reached the edge of the downtown area. My group was greeted by yet more desertedness and maybe a half-dozen flashing lights. Disappointed with the night’s turnout, we made our way towards the lights where we were mostly laughed at when asking where to find some jazz. Turns out that Copenhagen is the least happening town on a Monday night (yeah, it’s a Monday night, but you can still find stuff to do in Chicago on a Monday a 1AM). After popping our heads into a couple empty bars and passing a less than attractive adult bar, we began walking back to the ship to a bar we passed on our walk into town. It was a small Irish/English pub, also nearly empty, but after setting up outside with a couple pitchers, we turned a frustrating search into a chilled out late night hang. The only problem was that each pint cost around $8, making for a really expensive round, so that didn’t last too long. Eventually, most of the group headed back to the ship and Patrick and I stayed for a bit playing a game of darts. We then walked back in a very round about way, climbed on a couple things we probably shouldn’t have climbed on, and eventually returned to the ship somewhat defeated by the uneventful night.
The next morning I had a tour. The only problem was that I also had training, and though it’s some useless, redundant training, my attendance was required. I decided to skip it. I was scheduled for some nice tour to some Danish Castles and Palaces, and after some encouragement from my friends and my own sense of priorities and rebelliousness, went on my tour.
The tour was nice, nothing too spectacular, but I did see some gorgeous castles. One was in Ellsinore, which was the castle setting of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and another was the famous Frederiksborg Castle. I did meet an interesting man on my tour, who after selling a delivery business he founded, wrote three books (one of which was an international best seller), and now has a business auctioning famous signatures. Intelligent guy to say the least.
When I returned to the ship I was anticipating some kind of warning letter waiting for me in my room, but after a quick search, found nothing. Could it possibly be that yet again, my unexcused absence went unnoticed? It had been a long day so I laid down for a nap before the rehearsal, and seeing as I didn’t have enough time to get off the ship and go into the city, a nap seemed like the best option. Five minutes into it someone calls my room, and afraid of it being the Music Director, I don’t answer. Most calls are for my roommate anyways, so I let it ring and returned to my ever-important nap. Fifteen minutes later – another phone call. I had to answer it this time, had to accept what was certainly waiting for me on the other line. And as expected, it’s the MD informing me of missing “his” training this morning. I say in a somewhat confused tone, “uh…yeah...,” and went on to elaborate on how it simply slipped my mind in the excitement of getting put on a tour I wasn’t expecting to get and having an overnight to distract me from what was on my schedule. Well, I can be very sincere sounding when I want to be, and between what seemed like an honest mistake, the triviality of the training, and my loveable nature (ha), he kind of just let me off the hook. So I’m not in trouble, not yet at least, but the ice I’m on gets thinner by the day, so maybe it’s time to start behaving again…
For the evening, Gordon had planned this band event where we’d be playing funk tunes for a ship sponsored party back deck. I was happy to go help out with the music, thinking it’d be a great time. When I got to the mooring deck (where they were holding the party), I quickly realized how wrong I was. Between the blaring music, tons of people, and unlimited quantities of free alcohol, it became one of the worst venues imaginable. I was nervous the entire night for some drunk waiter to step on an instrument or knock over a music stand, and then with the deafening music blasting from speakers strategically situated insufferably close to the back of my skull (needed one more “s”), I was not in the best of spirits all night. The music would have been great to play had it not been for the aforementioned hazards, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case, and I was too paranoid about the environment to even grab a beer. I left the first chance I got without bailing on Gordon and escaped to the audio-utopia of my cabin.
That about covers it for my final visit to Denmark. Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Sea Day/Copenhagen
The 28th was shaping out to be the usual sea day, but then due to a routing change, we received news that the ship would arrive in Denmark that night. Why this shorter route isn’t chosen every time, I have no idea, but everyone on the ship was more that happy to have another overnight. We didn’t get in till about 11:00 PM, so it wasn’t till after our usual sets that I could get some friends together and head into the city. My group of 6 left sometime between midnight and 1AM for an unplanned night on the town. Seeing as we’ve all been there once before, we knew the best place to start was in the downtown area, about a 20 minute walk from the ship.
So we began walking, anxious to find some hip music club or happening Danish party, and made our way through the city. The walk was about as uneventful as a senior citizen pinochle tournament (sorry grandpa!). Actually, the only thing of interest I noticed on the walk was an L. Ron Hubbard bookstore, filled with shelves of his books, presumably on Scientology (my tour guide on the next day did point out that the Danish were not a church-going people, so I guess that makes sense). When we reached the edge of the downtown area. My group was greeted by yet more desertedness and maybe a half-dozen flashing lights. Disappointed with the night’s turnout, we made our way towards the lights where we were mostly laughed at when asking where to find some jazz. Turns out that Copenhagen is the least happening town on a Monday night (yeah, it’s a Monday night, but you can still find stuff to do in Chicago on a Monday a 1AM). After popping our heads into a couple empty bars and passing a less than attractive adult bar, we began walking back to the ship to a bar we passed on our walk into town. It was a small Irish/English pub, also nearly empty, but after setting up outside with a couple pitchers, we turned a frustrating search into a chilled out late night hang. The only problem was that each pint cost around $8, making for a really expensive round, so that didn’t last too long. Eventually, most of the group headed back to the ship and Patrick and I stayed for a bit playing a game of darts. We then walked back in a very round about way, climbed on a couple things we probably shouldn’t have climbed on, and eventually returned to the ship somewhat defeated by the uneventful night.
The next morning I had a tour. The only problem was that I also had training, and though it’s some useless, redundant training, my attendance was required. I decided to skip it. I was scheduled for some nice tour to some Danish Castles and Palaces, and after some encouragement from my friends and my own sense of priorities and rebelliousness, went on my tour.
The tour was nice, nothing too spectacular, but I did see some gorgeous castles. One was in Ellsinore, which was the castle setting of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and another was the famous Frederiksborg Castle. I did meet an interesting man on my tour, who after selling a delivery business he founded, wrote three books (one of which was an international best seller), and now has a business auctioning famous signatures. Intelligent guy to say the least.
When I returned to the ship I was anticipating some kind of warning letter waiting for me in my room, but after a quick search, found nothing. Could it possibly be that yet again, my unexcused absence went unnoticed? It had been a long day so I laid down for a nap before the rehearsal, and seeing as I didn’t have enough time to get off the ship and go into the city, a nap seemed like the best option. Five minutes into it someone calls my room, and afraid of it being the Music Director, I don’t answer. Most calls are for my roommate anyways, so I let it ring and returned to my ever-important nap. Fifteen minutes later – another phone call. I had to answer it this time, had to accept what was certainly waiting for me on the other line. And as expected, it’s the MD informing me of missing “his” training this morning. I say in a somewhat confused tone, “uh…yeah...,” and went on to elaborate on how it simply slipped my mind in the excitement of getting put on a tour I wasn’t expecting to get and having an overnight to distract me from what was on my schedule. Well, I can be very sincere sounding when I want to be, and between what seemed like an honest mistake, the triviality of the training, and my loveable nature (ha), he kind of just let me off the hook. So I’m not in trouble, not yet at least, but the ice I’m on gets thinner by the day, so maybe it’s time to start behaving again…
For the evening, Gordon had planned this band event where we’d be playing funk tunes for a ship sponsored party back deck. I was happy to go help out with the music, thinking it’d be a great time. When I got to the mooring deck (where they were holding the party), I quickly realized how wrong I was. Between the blaring music, tons of people, and unlimited quantities of free alcohol, it became one of the worst venues imaginable. I was nervous the entire night for some drunk waiter to step on an instrument or knock over a music stand, and then with the deafening music blasting from speakers strategically situated insufferably close to the back of my skull (needed one more “s”), I was not in the best of spirits all night. The music would have been great to play had it not been for the aforementioned hazards, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case, and I was too paranoid about the environment to even grab a beer. I left the first chance I got without bailing on Gordon and escaped to the audio-utopia of my cabin.
That about covers it for my final visit to Denmark. Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Stockholm
July 27th
Stockholm, Sweden
Today’s plan was to rent a bike and go for a ride for the first time since getting on this ship. After a drill in the morning, I picked up the bike and headed out with a friend from the ship, John. We didn’t have anything specific in mind, just to go riding and see what we came across, and for over three hours, that’s just what we did. Most of our riding was done along the waterfront, crossing from island to island, seeing as much as possible. If you remember way back to the first time I was in Stockholm, about 10 months ago, I did a biking tour that I enjoyed. I couldn’t remember where we biked in relation to the ship, but while John and I made our way across the islands, we soon came upon the exact place where I had gone on the tour way back when. So we continued on, seeing everything from dry-docked ships to gorgeous mansions on an 80-something-degree day. It was a great ride and really nice to get on a real bike again, these are always some of my favorite port days.
On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a café for some drinks. I ordered an orange juice, which came fresh squeezed and was delicious. Not knowing the actual conversion, I paid 37 kr for it, which upon returning to the ship, discovered is over $7. Well…what-cha-gonna do? I was thirsty, we stopped and sat down at a nice café and had a really nice bike ride through the city, fine, I’ll deal with a $7+ small glass of orange juice. We returned back to the ship following the drink stop and I went to my rehearsal.
At my rehearsal, Ben, the tenor player, informed me I had missed my tour that morning. For what ever reason, I was dead sure I didn’t sign up for a tour and had been planning on biking in Stockholm for the last few days, but after he mentioned something about a museum, I realized what it was that I’d signed up for weeks ago and that I did indeed totally blow it off. Now, this is a bad thing because the people in charge of the tour don’t like their tour escorts being unreliable and blowing off tours, and usually combat that with not giving them tours, something that I just can’t let happen. So immediately after the rehearsal I walked to the office to make my apology and beg for forgiveness. Luckily, I’ve had a good history with the tour people and they all like me, so after a quick explanation of why I’m an idiot I was soon forgiven. Actually, the main tour person that I was stating my case to then proceeded to talk to me for another 20 minutes about entirely different things, giving me the idea that she kind of likes me. I don’t quite feel the same way about her, but at least this means I’m on the fast track to getting whichever tour I sign up for! Well, that’s about it for my day in Stockholm, thanks for reading!
Stockholm, Sweden
Today’s plan was to rent a bike and go for a ride for the first time since getting on this ship. After a drill in the morning, I picked up the bike and headed out with a friend from the ship, John. We didn’t have anything specific in mind, just to go riding and see what we came across, and for over three hours, that’s just what we did. Most of our riding was done along the waterfront, crossing from island to island, seeing as much as possible. If you remember way back to the first time I was in Stockholm, about 10 months ago, I did a biking tour that I enjoyed. I couldn’t remember where we biked in relation to the ship, but while John and I made our way across the islands, we soon came upon the exact place where I had gone on the tour way back when. So we continued on, seeing everything from dry-docked ships to gorgeous mansions on an 80-something-degree day. It was a great ride and really nice to get on a real bike again, these are always some of my favorite port days.
On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a café for some drinks. I ordered an orange juice, which came fresh squeezed and was delicious. Not knowing the actual conversion, I paid 37 kr for it, which upon returning to the ship, discovered is over $7. Well…what-cha-gonna do? I was thirsty, we stopped and sat down at a nice café and had a really nice bike ride through the city, fine, I’ll deal with a $7+ small glass of orange juice. We returned back to the ship following the drink stop and I went to my rehearsal.
At my rehearsal, Ben, the tenor player, informed me I had missed my tour that morning. For what ever reason, I was dead sure I didn’t sign up for a tour and had been planning on biking in Stockholm for the last few days, but after he mentioned something about a museum, I realized what it was that I’d signed up for weeks ago and that I did indeed totally blow it off. Now, this is a bad thing because the people in charge of the tour don’t like their tour escorts being unreliable and blowing off tours, and usually combat that with not giving them tours, something that I just can’t let happen. So immediately after the rehearsal I walked to the office to make my apology and beg for forgiveness. Luckily, I’ve had a good history with the tour people and they all like me, so after a quick explanation of why I’m an idiot I was soon forgiven. Actually, the main tour person that I was stating my case to then proceeded to talk to me for another 20 minutes about entirely different things, giving me the idea that she kind of likes me. I don’t quite feel the same way about her, but at least this means I’m on the fast track to getting whichever tour I sign up for! Well, that’s about it for my day in Stockholm, thanks for reading!
Helsinki
July 26th
Helsinki, Finland
Yet again, I was looking forward to a fun day in Helsinki with my friends from my last ship, Tytti and Henna, and yet again, had one. We met up at the shuttle drop off point around 10:30 where we proceeded through the park, onto a ferry, and to a fortified island where they had planned to have a picnic. After picking up some strawberries and fish on the way, we made it to the island and found an area to sit down and eat. I had brought my computer, so while we dined on homemade salad, bread, strawberries and fish, I told stories about some of the places I’ve more recently been and showed pictures. It was a gorgeous day for a picnic and nice to go somewhere new. Following the picnic, Henna pretended she could give us a tour of the fortress and we walked around getting made up facts about the war and soldiers. When we’d finally had enough “touring,” we crossed back over on the ferry to the main land where I bought everyone ice cream and we hung out in the park. The last part of the day was then spent at the grocery store where my friends picked a collection of breads and other snacks for me to buy and bring back to the ship with me as a reminder of Helsinki and the culture. I finally caught a shuttle back to the ship just before 4:00 and thus finished my day in the usual way.
I guess the day wasn’t all that exciting as far as stories are concerned because most of it all is just catching up with old friends and enjoying each other’s company, but as I’ve said before, these are some of my favorite port days. It’s just really great to be in a place as far away as Finland, have friends their that you can meet up with, and have a fantastic day just hanging out in a park having a picnic. Again, it’s not the most exciting story, but it certainly does give justification to being away from home for so long. It’s hard to say whether or not I’ll run into them again, maybe on another ship months or years from now, maybe if they ever come to Chicago, but I’m glad I was able to have the opportunity to share the day with them. Days like these are more meaningful than any tour I could ever go on. Thanks!
Helsinki, Finland
Yet again, I was looking forward to a fun day in Helsinki with my friends from my last ship, Tytti and Henna, and yet again, had one. We met up at the shuttle drop off point around 10:30 where we proceeded through the park, onto a ferry, and to a fortified island where they had planned to have a picnic. After picking up some strawberries and fish on the way, we made it to the island and found an area to sit down and eat. I had brought my computer, so while we dined on homemade salad, bread, strawberries and fish, I told stories about some of the places I’ve more recently been and showed pictures. It was a gorgeous day for a picnic and nice to go somewhere new. Following the picnic, Henna pretended she could give us a tour of the fortress and we walked around getting made up facts about the war and soldiers. When we’d finally had enough “touring,” we crossed back over on the ferry to the main land where I bought everyone ice cream and we hung out in the park. The last part of the day was then spent at the grocery store where my friends picked a collection of breads and other snacks for me to buy and bring back to the ship with me as a reminder of Helsinki and the culture. I finally caught a shuttle back to the ship just before 4:00 and thus finished my day in the usual way.
I guess the day wasn’t all that exciting as far as stories are concerned because most of it all is just catching up with old friends and enjoying each other’s company, but as I’ve said before, these are some of my favorite port days. It’s just really great to be in a place as far away as Finland, have friends their that you can meet up with, and have a fantastic day just hanging out in a park having a picnic. Again, it’s not the most exciting story, but it certainly does give justification to being away from home for so long. It’s hard to say whether or not I’ll run into them again, maybe on another ship months or years from now, maybe if they ever come to Chicago, but I’m glad I was able to have the opportunity to share the day with them. Days like these are more meaningful than any tour I could ever go on. Thanks!
St. Petersburg
July 24th-25th
St. Petersburg, Russia
I had an interesting overnight this visit to Russia. Unlike my first visit, this time around wasn’t so tour heavy because I actually wanted to go out at night. The first day started off slow with me sleeping in. I actually didn’t mean to sleep as late as I did, but after the hour time change and forgetting I needed my seaman’s book to step off the ship, I couldn’t get into town until 3:30. This meant I only had 3 hours before I need to be back at the ship, so I filled the time with a lot of walking. It was an absolutely perfect day and I enjoyed my limited time before hopping on a shuttle back to the ship.
I needed to be back at the ship for a tour I was signed up to escort, “Evening at the Russian Ballet.” Ooooo…ahhhhhhh…. I figured, with not knowing whether or not I’ll ever be back in Russia, I had no choice but to go to the Ballet. There was one problem though, my beloved (ha) musical director scheduled another couple of sets that night, meaning I couldn’t go. He did, however, mention that he’d be happy so long as someone was playing the sets, meaning if I could find a sub, I’d be able to go to my ballet. Now, there’s only one other alto sax player on the ship, so it’s not like I didn’t know who I had to call, and after some persuasion, I convinced him into playing my set while I went to the ballet. It actually worked out well because John, the sub, had Port Manning when the ship goes to Rome, which I volunteered to cover for him seeing as I’ve been there a couple times already and will be going back a couple more. He was ecstatic and took the set without any further negotiation – good deal.
So I set off for the ballet that evening, dressed up and excited for one of the more cultural events of my cruise ship career. I found out we were to see Swan Lake, the Tchaikovsky classic. We arrived at the theater, I helped my group to there seats, and then set out to find a better, unoccupied seat for myself, which I did in the third row. The theater wasn’t nearly as spectacular as I was expecting, and in fact, was rather plain. No elaborate paintings, huge statues, or gold paint to be seen, it was as non-Russian as could be. But I didn’t really care, the ballet was starting. Now I don’t consider myself to be very educated on the culture of ballet, nor am I in any position to really comment on the quality of the dancing, but I have no problem commenting on the costumes. Looking back on it all, I guess I didn’t really know what to expect to see when I went into it, but as soon as the first guy came out in tights and a top that ended well above his hips, putting way too much emphasis on a certain bulge, I knew I was in for a long night. I understand that what they were wearing is appropriate for dance and totally acceptable in ballet, but I mean come on, any dude that goes on stage with so blatant a protrusion and hops around doing the splits in the air has got to have issues. At least there were 20 swans in most scenes, providing some distraction from this twisted version of “follow the bouncing ball(s).” Then there was the fight scene that I took issue with. I’m well aware they don’t actually fight in ballet, I’m not that ignorant, but I was at least hoping for some “Westside Story” fighting, where they at least jump in the vicinity of the person they’re “brawling” with. Not so in Swan Lake. Here, the main guy did a duet with the main swan, ran off the stage, at which point the evil magician entered, jumped up and down twice, and then collapsed on the floor. Not much of a villain if you ask me. But the two guys didn’t even make eye contact, much less dance out some resemblance of a fight. The only way I knew was that the program described the fight the broke out between the hero and the magician…not that the magician would simply keel over and die, which I figured could only be because his “pants” were too tight. Anyways, that was the show, or at least my take on it. I did enjoy it for what it was and was glad to have gone to a ballet in Russia, but likewise, am glad that this isn’t a frequent thing for me. But in all fairness, the music was great and you could tell the dancers were very talented, so it was a good ballet, the fact is that I just have issues. Well, that being said, back to the ship.
I got back to the ship around 11:15 that night and caught the final set my band was playing. They finished at midnight, and after hanging around for a bit, I found Patrick was willing to get off the ship for the night. The plan was to hop on the shuttle and get to the nightclub where most of the crew was supposed to be, something I thought sounded like an interesting way to spend a night in Russia. Patrick and I got off the ship just after 1:00 and waited around for 20 minutes without ever seeing the shuttle, and being impatient, decided to start walking. The problem with walking is that the port area is very long and our ship is at the opposite end of the exit into the city, making for a very long walk through a less than attractive industrial shipyard. As soon as we started walking, however, a cab driver approached trying to sell a ride. Me, being the cheapskate that I am, wasn’t going to pay the $40 he wanted to take us where ever he thought we wanted to go, and after saying no a million times, he offered to take us to the end of the port for $10, which I guess wasn’t a bad deal. So we hopped in the Russian cab with this Russian driver and began our Russian experience.
The first adventure actually happened in the cab when we came across a freight train that was parked across the road out of the port. Seeing this, the cab driver turned around, made his way onto a dirt road, and at breakneck speeds, swerved between huge piles of metal through the clouds of dust. As I sat in the back of the cab being jostled around by the large bumps and pot holes, I couldn’t help but feeling like I was on the wrong side of a James Bond car chase (in my Russian cab). It was really exciting though, and I guess a good way to start off the night.
We eventually arrived at the gate where the driver pointed us towards a night club before driving off. We had no idea which club everyone was at and could only hope it was the one we had been pointed towards, so we began our walking journey. As soon as we stepped outside of the gate, we were approached by an older Russian lady, not especially pleasant looking. She said the club was closed, some other weird stuff in broken English, and then said she had some girls for us. Patrick got a little excited about the offer, which I quickly declined and talked him out of even considering. When the lady understood I wasn’t buying pointed us in the direction of the club as we walked off. I was confused because I had thought I heard her say the club was closed, but it didn’t matter, we started walking.
It wasn’t long till we arrived at the place we’d been pointed towards. It was a club themed specially for the cruise ship crew, but after walking in and seeing no familiar faces, we knew it wasn’t the club we were looking for. We left and continued on down the street, walking parallel to a river, looking for another place to stop. From this point till about 6 AM, we did little more than walk the streets. We never did find the club we were looking for, nor did we ever find a place worth stopping at on our own. There were a few bars we stuck our heads in, but being in Russia, it’s slightly difficult to find one where you might feel comfortable. We stopped at a couple gas stations to by Russian beer when the opportunity arose, stopped at a bunch of convenience stores where no one spoke English or took credit cards, and walked till we felt it was time to turn around and head back. We had a few meetings with random Russians on the street, each of which was weirder than the last. There was one group who we crossed paths with where a guy was trying to sell me something for 20 “rubli,” as he called it. There was another guy that Patrick had a hell of a time trying to get a match for a cigarette from. There were a few others, and each time was really awkward, but with me being from Chicago and Patrick from New York, we both kind of know what to look out for and when we should be worried. My whole theory was, as one of my last ship friends so insightfully told me, “you’ll be alright so long as you aren’t slower than the people you’re with.” I think I can outrun Patrick, therefore, I’ll be just fine – good logic, right?
Anyways, we made it through the outskirts of the city with no problems and had a good time drinking the Russian beer we picked up, eating chips, and talking about whatever. When we got back to the port we decided to make the long walk to the ship, and seeing as the sun was already out, we knew it’d be a nice stroll. And in fact, it was very nice, till we started to get impatient and/or tired by the walk and began climbing on train cars and exploring between the large crates. It was just a fun, messing around sort of good time, and seeing as there was no one around at 6 AM, we weren’t too worried about getting in trouble. We were back at the ship soon enough, at which point we grabbed breakfast and then retired to our respective rooms.
I slept the next day and didn’t get off the ship due to In Port Manning, so that’s where my adventure ends. Maybe it wasn’t quite as exciting as some of my other overnights, but I still had a really fun time, and as always, am thankful to have returned to the ship no worse off than when I left it. I talked to some friends the next day about the club we were trying to find, which supposedly wasn’t anywhere near being within walking distance and the shuttle service from the ship stopped at 1 AM, just before we left the ship. It doesn’t really matter though because I had a good time doing my own thing and accomplished what I set out to do, have a story to tell about my overnight in Russia. Thanks for reading!
St. Petersburg, Russia
I had an interesting overnight this visit to Russia. Unlike my first visit, this time around wasn’t so tour heavy because I actually wanted to go out at night. The first day started off slow with me sleeping in. I actually didn’t mean to sleep as late as I did, but after the hour time change and forgetting I needed my seaman’s book to step off the ship, I couldn’t get into town until 3:30. This meant I only had 3 hours before I need to be back at the ship, so I filled the time with a lot of walking. It was an absolutely perfect day and I enjoyed my limited time before hopping on a shuttle back to the ship.
I needed to be back at the ship for a tour I was signed up to escort, “Evening at the Russian Ballet.” Ooooo…ahhhhhhh…. I figured, with not knowing whether or not I’ll ever be back in Russia, I had no choice but to go to the Ballet. There was one problem though, my beloved (ha) musical director scheduled another couple of sets that night, meaning I couldn’t go. He did, however, mention that he’d be happy so long as someone was playing the sets, meaning if I could find a sub, I’d be able to go to my ballet. Now, there’s only one other alto sax player on the ship, so it’s not like I didn’t know who I had to call, and after some persuasion, I convinced him into playing my set while I went to the ballet. It actually worked out well because John, the sub, had Port Manning when the ship goes to Rome, which I volunteered to cover for him seeing as I’ve been there a couple times already and will be going back a couple more. He was ecstatic and took the set without any further negotiation – good deal.
So I set off for the ballet that evening, dressed up and excited for one of the more cultural events of my cruise ship career. I found out we were to see Swan Lake, the Tchaikovsky classic. We arrived at the theater, I helped my group to there seats, and then set out to find a better, unoccupied seat for myself, which I did in the third row. The theater wasn’t nearly as spectacular as I was expecting, and in fact, was rather plain. No elaborate paintings, huge statues, or gold paint to be seen, it was as non-Russian as could be. But I didn’t really care, the ballet was starting. Now I don’t consider myself to be very educated on the culture of ballet, nor am I in any position to really comment on the quality of the dancing, but I have no problem commenting on the costumes. Looking back on it all, I guess I didn’t really know what to expect to see when I went into it, but as soon as the first guy came out in tights and a top that ended well above his hips, putting way too much emphasis on a certain bulge, I knew I was in for a long night. I understand that what they were wearing is appropriate for dance and totally acceptable in ballet, but I mean come on, any dude that goes on stage with so blatant a protrusion and hops around doing the splits in the air has got to have issues. At least there were 20 swans in most scenes, providing some distraction from this twisted version of “follow the bouncing ball(s).” Then there was the fight scene that I took issue with. I’m well aware they don’t actually fight in ballet, I’m not that ignorant, but I was at least hoping for some “Westside Story” fighting, where they at least jump in the vicinity of the person they’re “brawling” with. Not so in Swan Lake. Here, the main guy did a duet with the main swan, ran off the stage, at which point the evil magician entered, jumped up and down twice, and then collapsed on the floor. Not much of a villain if you ask me. But the two guys didn’t even make eye contact, much less dance out some resemblance of a fight. The only way I knew was that the program described the fight the broke out between the hero and the magician…not that the magician would simply keel over and die, which I figured could only be because his “pants” were too tight. Anyways, that was the show, or at least my take on it. I did enjoy it for what it was and was glad to have gone to a ballet in Russia, but likewise, am glad that this isn’t a frequent thing for me. But in all fairness, the music was great and you could tell the dancers were very talented, so it was a good ballet, the fact is that I just have issues. Well, that being said, back to the ship.
I got back to the ship around 11:15 that night and caught the final set my band was playing. They finished at midnight, and after hanging around for a bit, I found Patrick was willing to get off the ship for the night. The plan was to hop on the shuttle and get to the nightclub where most of the crew was supposed to be, something I thought sounded like an interesting way to spend a night in Russia. Patrick and I got off the ship just after 1:00 and waited around for 20 minutes without ever seeing the shuttle, and being impatient, decided to start walking. The problem with walking is that the port area is very long and our ship is at the opposite end of the exit into the city, making for a very long walk through a less than attractive industrial shipyard. As soon as we started walking, however, a cab driver approached trying to sell a ride. Me, being the cheapskate that I am, wasn’t going to pay the $40 he wanted to take us where ever he thought we wanted to go, and after saying no a million times, he offered to take us to the end of the port for $10, which I guess wasn’t a bad deal. So we hopped in the Russian cab with this Russian driver and began our Russian experience.
The first adventure actually happened in the cab when we came across a freight train that was parked across the road out of the port. Seeing this, the cab driver turned around, made his way onto a dirt road, and at breakneck speeds, swerved between huge piles of metal through the clouds of dust. As I sat in the back of the cab being jostled around by the large bumps and pot holes, I couldn’t help but feeling like I was on the wrong side of a James Bond car chase (in my Russian cab). It was really exciting though, and I guess a good way to start off the night.
We eventually arrived at the gate where the driver pointed us towards a night club before driving off. We had no idea which club everyone was at and could only hope it was the one we had been pointed towards, so we began our walking journey. As soon as we stepped outside of the gate, we were approached by an older Russian lady, not especially pleasant looking. She said the club was closed, some other weird stuff in broken English, and then said she had some girls for us. Patrick got a little excited about the offer, which I quickly declined and talked him out of even considering. When the lady understood I wasn’t buying pointed us in the direction of the club as we walked off. I was confused because I had thought I heard her say the club was closed, but it didn’t matter, we started walking.
It wasn’t long till we arrived at the place we’d been pointed towards. It was a club themed specially for the cruise ship crew, but after walking in and seeing no familiar faces, we knew it wasn’t the club we were looking for. We left and continued on down the street, walking parallel to a river, looking for another place to stop. From this point till about 6 AM, we did little more than walk the streets. We never did find the club we were looking for, nor did we ever find a place worth stopping at on our own. There were a few bars we stuck our heads in, but being in Russia, it’s slightly difficult to find one where you might feel comfortable. We stopped at a couple gas stations to by Russian beer when the opportunity arose, stopped at a bunch of convenience stores where no one spoke English or took credit cards, and walked till we felt it was time to turn around and head back. We had a few meetings with random Russians on the street, each of which was weirder than the last. There was one group who we crossed paths with where a guy was trying to sell me something for 20 “rubli,” as he called it. There was another guy that Patrick had a hell of a time trying to get a match for a cigarette from. There were a few others, and each time was really awkward, but with me being from Chicago and Patrick from New York, we both kind of know what to look out for and when we should be worried. My whole theory was, as one of my last ship friends so insightfully told me, “you’ll be alright so long as you aren’t slower than the people you’re with.” I think I can outrun Patrick, therefore, I’ll be just fine – good logic, right?
Anyways, we made it through the outskirts of the city with no problems and had a good time drinking the Russian beer we picked up, eating chips, and talking about whatever. When we got back to the port we decided to make the long walk to the ship, and seeing as the sun was already out, we knew it’d be a nice stroll. And in fact, it was very nice, till we started to get impatient and/or tired by the walk and began climbing on train cars and exploring between the large crates. It was just a fun, messing around sort of good time, and seeing as there was no one around at 6 AM, we weren’t too worried about getting in trouble. We were back at the ship soon enough, at which point we grabbed breakfast and then retired to our respective rooms.
I slept the next day and didn’t get off the ship due to In Port Manning, so that’s where my adventure ends. Maybe it wasn’t quite as exciting as some of my other overnights, but I still had a really fun time, and as always, am thankful to have returned to the ship no worse off than when I left it. I talked to some friends the next day about the club we were trying to find, which supposedly wasn’t anywhere near being within walking distance and the shuttle service from the ship stopped at 1 AM, just before we left the ship. It doesn’t really matter though because I had a good time doing my own thing and accomplished what I set out to do, have a story to tell about my overnight in Russia. Thanks for reading!
Tallinn
July 23rd
Tallinn, Estonia
Today turned out to be a great internet day! After getting off the ship with some frieds, we made our way into the city and stopped at the first hotel we could find, and after making ourselves comfortable, soon discovered a really fast and free wireless signal…manna from heaven. I must have spent a couple hours online catching up with little things and getting my blog updated – it was great. This was followed by a nice walk through town with a friend trying to talk to Estonian girls…because I’m a friendly guy. I also bought a big pretzel, which is totally pointless to mention but wonderfully delicious just the same. Anyways, no vodka (I still have more than half left), no trams (so Mom can sleep easy), and no killer seagulls. Estonia smiled on me today. It was a gorgeous day too, so that made our last visit really pleasant. Then, it was back to the ship for a rehearsal and a show, the usual evening onboard the Queen Victoria, Thanks!
Tallinn, Estonia
Today turned out to be a great internet day! After getting off the ship with some frieds, we made our way into the city and stopped at the first hotel we could find, and after making ourselves comfortable, soon discovered a really fast and free wireless signal…manna from heaven. I must have spent a couple hours online catching up with little things and getting my blog updated – it was great. This was followed by a nice walk through town with a friend trying to talk to Estonian girls…because I’m a friendly guy. I also bought a big pretzel, which is totally pointless to mention but wonderfully delicious just the same. Anyways, no vodka (I still have more than half left), no trams (so Mom can sleep easy), and no killer seagulls. Estonia smiled on me today. It was a gorgeous day too, so that made our last visit really pleasant. Then, it was back to the ship for a rehearsal and a show, the usual evening onboard the Queen Victoria, Thanks!
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