October 21st,
Palma de Mallorca
Mallorca is a Spanish island south of Barcelona and very beautiful. I spent the day walking around with George and Juan. We just did some general exploring, which ended with George and I hiking up a hill to a castle over looking the city. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, more fit for June than October, and one more chance to see a port I’ve not yet visited.
Back on the ship and situation was developing. Turns out Ron, the drummer and my good friend from my first contract here, is having intestinal issues and is to be sent off the ship at the next port for medical attention. He says he feels OK aside from a strange stomach feeling, but the other symptoms are serious enough to cause some concern. He’ll be leaving the ship tomorrow in Sardinia, hopefully to return the same day, but more likely to join up with us again in a week or so, who knows. But Ron is a great friend of mine whom I’d hate to see anything happen to so keep him in your prayers and let’s hope for the best.
Due to the situation, the show for tonight had to be changed to something that doesn’t use a drummer and the captain’s cocktail jazz set we always play was done without him. It’ll be interesting to see how we get around this problem if the condition keeps him off the ship for an extended time.
That aside, I’m back to spending my evenings playing chess with George while having wine and cheese. Another reason why it’s fun to be back! Thanks
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Barcelona
October 20th
Barcelona
I got off the ship around 10am with my friend from the spa to meet up with a mutual friend in the city. Turns out that we both know someone from the Rhapsody who just happened to be in port with us on a Celebrity ship. It is this small community that makes it so much fun working on ships, you never know who you’re going to run into again and where. So we all met up and went out for lunch and a walk down the main street in Barcelona, La Rambla. We didn’t have a lot of time off the ship and after a few stops (fish market, grocery store, adult store, the usual…ha) we returned to the ship to start the next cruise. The rest of the way went as usual for a welcome aboard day, including another parade that has succeeded in lowering my self-esteem and destroying what little pride I have. Ok, maybe it’s not that bad, but I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am for the fact that none of you will ever see me dancing in a African themed poncho/cape for a poorly designed parade in front of dozens of inebriated guests. Anyway, that was Barcelona, next time I’m here I’ll be getting on a flight home!
Barcelona
I got off the ship around 10am with my friend from the spa to meet up with a mutual friend in the city. Turns out that we both know someone from the Rhapsody who just happened to be in port with us on a Celebrity ship. It is this small community that makes it so much fun working on ships, you never know who you’re going to run into again and where. So we all met up and went out for lunch and a walk down the main street in Barcelona, La Rambla. We didn’t have a lot of time off the ship and after a few stops (fish market, grocery store, adult store, the usual…ha) we returned to the ship to start the next cruise. The rest of the way went as usual for a welcome aboard day, including another parade that has succeeded in lowering my self-esteem and destroying what little pride I have. Ok, maybe it’s not that bad, but I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am for the fact that none of you will ever see me dancing in a African themed poncho/cape for a poorly designed parade in front of dozens of inebriated guests. Anyway, that was Barcelona, next time I’m here I’ll be getting on a flight home!
Sea Day/Malta/Sea Day
October 17th-19th
Sea Day, Malta, Sea Day
I kind of fell behind on my posts, so to be totally honest, I have no recollection of either sea days. I doubt anything too exciting happened anyways, just the usual hanging out on the ship you’re used to reading about.
Malta wasn’t especially exciting either. Most of the day ended up being lost to a late boat drill, leaving about 2 hours to get off the ship. Most of my friends went to the Hard Rock Café on the pier while I found some free interent and went on a quick walk in the opposite direction from my first visit to the city.
That aside, these were the last few days of my first cruise, so that means one more cruise to go and then I’m flying back home! Seeya!
Sea Day, Malta, Sea Day
I kind of fell behind on my posts, so to be totally honest, I have no recollection of either sea days. I doubt anything too exciting happened anyways, just the usual hanging out on the ship you’re used to reading about.
Malta wasn’t especially exciting either. Most of the day ended up being lost to a late boat drill, leaving about 2 hours to get off the ship. Most of my friends went to the Hard Rock Café on the pier while I found some free interent and went on a quick walk in the opposite direction from my first visit to the city.
That aside, these were the last few days of my first cruise, so that means one more cruise to go and then I’m flying back home! Seeya!
Istanbul
October 15th/16th
Istanbul Overnight
We arrived in Istanbul on the 15th around 2pm, my second visit to the city and my first chance to see the nightlife. During the day I had tried to convince my friends into getting off the ship for a Turkish Bath, but due to them having a late night the previous night in the bar, they were to tired to get off. Instead I just went for a walk with George (Piano) and Juan (Tenor Sax guy from Argentina). We walked from the dock to a popular area of the city that I had not had a chance to see on my first visit to the city. This area was filled with stores, extremely busy, and really kind of exciting. We spent some time making our way down that main street till we arrived at the end where there was a street lined with small little music stores, our ultimate goal for the excursion. During the walk we stopped at a few places for food and snacks, most of which were traditional Turkish candies. I had some really great Baklava, some other peanut-buttery candy thing that was an instant sugar high, and whatever else we saw and felt like buying.
After a show that evening, I set out again with a few friends in the band. These were the friends that were out late last night and I was hoping they’d be up for a little excitement this evening as well. We started out by taking a cab up to the shopping street I had just came from earlier that day. After a quick dinner stop, it wasn’t long till we found a side street packed with bars and live music. We went into the bar where a band was playing “Welcome to the Jungle”. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the jazz club I was personally hoping for, but it was still pretty cool seeing a Turkish rock band playing American music. We left maybe an hour later to continue our search, but by this time, around midnight, my group had started to feel the effects of their last big night out and was ready to head back. After some last minute shopping and Ron (drummer) buying a fake Versace shirt from some dude for $10, we walked back to the ship. If it was any other port at any other time I probably would have left the group and continued my exploring on my own, but Istanbul by yourself at night seemed a little less attractive than mild disappointment. I’ll take a safe uneventful night over a raping from the Turkish Mafia any day. I then made some tentative plans for the morning and went to bed.
The next morning I woke up to find my friend didn’t want to wake up and get off the ship, big surprise. Having my exciting plans shot down now for the third time, I decided to go back to bed…another plan that was disrupted. A friend from the spa called me up to go outside for a walk that morning before we sailed at 2, so I woke up again and we left the ship for the down town area. We did the usual thing, went to the Bazar, got some food, and went into a cool Mosque before returning to the ship to leave the port.
Well, that about does it for this trip to Istanbul. I’m expecting my next visit to be better seeing as now all my friends have promised to redeem themselves by not blowing off my plans again…but we’ll see what happens. Thanks for reading!
Istanbul Overnight
We arrived in Istanbul on the 15th around 2pm, my second visit to the city and my first chance to see the nightlife. During the day I had tried to convince my friends into getting off the ship for a Turkish Bath, but due to them having a late night the previous night in the bar, they were to tired to get off. Instead I just went for a walk with George (Piano) and Juan (Tenor Sax guy from Argentina). We walked from the dock to a popular area of the city that I had not had a chance to see on my first visit to the city. This area was filled with stores, extremely busy, and really kind of exciting. We spent some time making our way down that main street till we arrived at the end where there was a street lined with small little music stores, our ultimate goal for the excursion. During the walk we stopped at a few places for food and snacks, most of which were traditional Turkish candies. I had some really great Baklava, some other peanut-buttery candy thing that was an instant sugar high, and whatever else we saw and felt like buying.
After a show that evening, I set out again with a few friends in the band. These were the friends that were out late last night and I was hoping they’d be up for a little excitement this evening as well. We started out by taking a cab up to the shopping street I had just came from earlier that day. After a quick dinner stop, it wasn’t long till we found a side street packed with bars and live music. We went into the bar where a band was playing “Welcome to the Jungle”. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the jazz club I was personally hoping for, but it was still pretty cool seeing a Turkish rock band playing American music. We left maybe an hour later to continue our search, but by this time, around midnight, my group had started to feel the effects of their last big night out and was ready to head back. After some last minute shopping and Ron (drummer) buying a fake Versace shirt from some dude for $10, we walked back to the ship. If it was any other port at any other time I probably would have left the group and continued my exploring on my own, but Istanbul by yourself at night seemed a little less attractive than mild disappointment. I’ll take a safe uneventful night over a raping from the Turkish Mafia any day. I then made some tentative plans for the morning and went to bed.
The next morning I woke up to find my friend didn’t want to wake up and get off the ship, big surprise. Having my exciting plans shot down now for the third time, I decided to go back to bed…another plan that was disrupted. A friend from the spa called me up to go outside for a walk that morning before we sailed at 2, so I woke up again and we left the ship for the down town area. We did the usual thing, went to the Bazar, got some food, and went into a cool Mosque before returning to the ship to leave the port.
Well, that about does it for this trip to Istanbul. I’m expecting my next visit to be better seeing as now all my friends have promised to redeem themselves by not blowing off my plans again…but we’ll see what happens. Thanks for reading!
Thessaloniki
October 14th
Thessaloniki, Greece
Today was a visit to one of the few ports during this contract I have not yet visited. Thessaloniki is a large Greek city on the mainland (I think) and is very cosmopolitan. The band – always looking for an adventure – thought they’d stretch themselves today and go to…TGIF…yeah. Although it is the first TGIF I’ve seen in Europe (or cared enough to pay attention to), I wasn’t about to waste an afternoon sitting at an American styled restaurant. So I went for a walk through some other parts of the city, not really with any destination in mind, but just to get a general vibe for the area.
I did have two objectives for my exploring though, find dental floss and soap, both of which I was desperately lacking in my cabin. I found floss at a local pharmacy without much difficulty – all it took was the word “floss” and a simple hand gesture and the lady knew exactly what I was after. The soap was slightly harder to find. I was hoping for a traditional Greek olive oil based soap, the kind I saw everywhere when I was walking in Greece on my last contract, but it appears you never can find what you want when you need it. I did eventually come across a grocery store that had toiletries downstairs, including a cheap Greek-made soap with some funny name and generic smell I just couldn’t pass up. I grabbed the single bar and a bottle of water on my way out, paid for the products, and left leaving people thinking I was going to take some sort of impromptu shower in the street with my odd purchase. I swear there must be dozens of weirded out store clerks throughout the world due to strange purchases I’ve made.
Anyways, with my floss, soap and water in hand, I continued walking through the city for about 90 minutes before I decided it’d be a good idea to get back to port before the ship sailed. Over all it was a nice city, surprisingly busier than I’d have imagined, but yet still very nice and welcoming. Maybe I’ll return someday when my soap runs out…but I doubt it. Thanks for reading!
Thessaloniki, Greece
Today was a visit to one of the few ports during this contract I have not yet visited. Thessaloniki is a large Greek city on the mainland (I think) and is very cosmopolitan. The band – always looking for an adventure – thought they’d stretch themselves today and go to…TGIF…yeah. Although it is the first TGIF I’ve seen in Europe (or cared enough to pay attention to), I wasn’t about to waste an afternoon sitting at an American styled restaurant. So I went for a walk through some other parts of the city, not really with any destination in mind, but just to get a general vibe for the area.
I did have two objectives for my exploring though, find dental floss and soap, both of which I was desperately lacking in my cabin. I found floss at a local pharmacy without much difficulty – all it took was the word “floss” and a simple hand gesture and the lady knew exactly what I was after. The soap was slightly harder to find. I was hoping for a traditional Greek olive oil based soap, the kind I saw everywhere when I was walking in Greece on my last contract, but it appears you never can find what you want when you need it. I did eventually come across a grocery store that had toiletries downstairs, including a cheap Greek-made soap with some funny name and generic smell I just couldn’t pass up. I grabbed the single bar and a bottle of water on my way out, paid for the products, and left leaving people thinking I was going to take some sort of impromptu shower in the street with my odd purchase. I swear there must be dozens of weirded out store clerks throughout the world due to strange purchases I’ve made.
Anyways, with my floss, soap and water in hand, I continued walking through the city for about 90 minutes before I decided it’d be a good idea to get back to port before the ship sailed. Over all it was a nice city, surprisingly busier than I’d have imagined, but yet still very nice and welcoming. Maybe I’ll return someday when my soap runs out…but I doubt it. Thanks for reading!
Sea Day/Messina/Sea Day
October 11th-13th
Sea Day/Messina/Sea Day
There isn’t all that much to tell you about the sea day, most of which was spent trying to overcome my jetlag. So between sleep, so practicing, and the usual Navigator happenings, that’s about all there was to the 11th.
The 12th was spent in Messina. I had been to this Sicilian port a few times on the Queen Victoria, and though it wasn’t necessarily my favorite, it’s still nicer to get off the ship and spend some time in Sicily than sit in Illinois. I got off the ship mid day, after training, and actually went running for a little while. I’ve been fighting a cold since I got on the ship and now that it’s decided to invade my sinuses, I thought I could clear some of it up with a good seaside jog. Well, the run was nice, the snot was not, but I got some sun and had some time to remind myself why I take these contracts in the first place.
The 13th was another Sea Day as we sailed toward Greece. Again, nothing really to tell you about, but I got my computer hooked up and working, so I guess that’s exciting. And I’ll leave it at that…thanks!
Sea Day/Messina/Sea Day
There isn’t all that much to tell you about the sea day, most of which was spent trying to overcome my jetlag. So between sleep, so practicing, and the usual Navigator happenings, that’s about all there was to the 11th.
The 12th was spent in Messina. I had been to this Sicilian port a few times on the Queen Victoria, and though it wasn’t necessarily my favorite, it’s still nicer to get off the ship and spend some time in Sicily than sit in Illinois. I got off the ship mid day, after training, and actually went running for a little while. I’ve been fighting a cold since I got on the ship and now that it’s decided to invade my sinuses, I thought I could clear some of it up with a good seaside jog. Well, the run was nice, the snot was not, but I got some sun and had some time to remind myself why I take these contracts in the first place.
The 13th was another Sea Day as we sailed toward Greece. Again, nothing really to tell you about, but I got my computer hooked up and working, so I guess that’s exciting. And I’ll leave it at that…thanks!
Crystal Lake to Barcelona
Oct 8th-10th
Crystal Lake to Barcelona
So it all began Wednesday morning…
I woke up on the morning of the 8th to an email from the company. I had been in contact with the office over the past couple weeks trying to figure out another contract to get on so this email wasn’t totally unexpected – till I read it. It says there’s been an incident on the Navigator wherein they need someone to fill the Alto Sax chair starting Friday; if I accept, I fly out tomorrow. This was the last thing I was expecting to wake up to, and after emailing them back requesting a little time to think, I began my day. Well, a few hours later they called, we negotiated, and I had a flight booked at 3:45 the next afternoon. The rest of the day from that point on consisted of a lesson, a lot of phone calls, and some last minute preparation for a trans-Atlantic flight.
The 9th was a little busy in the morning getting the last of my things together and taking care of any lose ends, and at 1:30 I was off to the airport accompanied by both my parents. It’s actually kind of amazing that neither of my parents really freaked out and both rearranged plans to drive me to the airport. There probably aren’t many stranger things to spring on your parents than announcing a flight to Europe scheduled for tomorrow, but they did great and I’m really appreciative of all the help, thanks Mom and Dad!
The Flight: I was booked on a Lufthansa flight to Barcelona with a stop in Frankfurt. The first part of the flight, the 8 hour part, was OK. I almost got lucky and had an entire row to myself, with a window, and it was set up so that I would have had extra legroom too – almost. After hanging up the phone with my Dad to let him know everything was fine the last three passengers walked in the plane. Two filled out my row, and the third sat in front of me (which always results in the chair being reclined down on top of me). The two guys now next to me had the window with the extra leg room and the seat with a little extra room where I’d stowed my backpack, my seat was in the aisle. It was alright though, the other guys in the row didn’t get out once, and the dude in front of me waited about 3 hours before pushing his seat into my nose. That aside, I swear the pilot introduced himself as Adolph Hitler. I know it sounds totally ridiculous but I swear that’s what he said, and then I never heard his name again…weird. Anyways, 8 hours later I was in Frankfurt.
Flight number two was preceded by me going to the completely wrong terminal in Frankfurt. The terminal listed on my ticket was way, way off. So after walking to the other side of the airport and hanging out at the gate for 3 hours, I look up and see a different flight being listed on the monitor. I had left myself enough time and am obsessed with time the second I step into an airport so I wasn’t rushed finding my way back to the terminal I’d landed in, but still, the extra security point, flights of stairs, and long distance walking with three instruments and a backpack was something I’d have liked to do with out. I had a window for the second flight, flew over the Alps, and landed in Barcelona with no problem.
The first time I flew to Barcelona my luggage had been lost…thankfully this was not the case today. But, this time I didn’t have clear directions on how to get to the ship, so that had me slightly worried. Luckily, before I had to even find a phone to call the number I assumed was going to be responsible for my transportation, I saw someone with a Royal Caribbean sign for the guests. I told them I was crew and had no problem getting on the nice coach bus and making my way to the port. Nice. However, I was quickly reminded of the people I was soon to be dealing with as the lady sitting in front of me filed her nails the entire drive to the port. Really, do these people not notice that makes the most annoying sound ever?
On the ship, everything kind of just fell back into play again as if I’d never left. I moved into my old room, went up to the mess, played the welcome aboard show, everything as usual. My roommate seems like a pretty cool guy and is from the states, so I’m not anticipating any problems there. I met up with all m old friends again, which is really kind of cool, and ran into some other people on the ship I knew from before who I wasn’t expecting to see onboard. It’s really just a homecoming for me where I get to hang out with some old friends one more time.
Oh, we had a parade at night… Now I don’t know if you remember me telling you about the parade I used to do where I wore a light blue sailor outfit and a Popeye hat, but as bad as that sounds, it got way worse. For this new parade I don’t even play my instrument. I simply put on this huge flamboyant poncho-like cape thing and walk up and down the promenade for about 20 minutes. I’ve never been involved in such a ridiculous show in my life. All I can is that it’s a good thing no one I know comes on this ship, otherwise I think I’d be shunned when I returned home. Anyways, that new parade was not a welcomed change.
So I guess that’s it, three days from home in bed to Barcelona, wild right? So let’s see where these three weeks takes me and I’ll be reporting back here every chance I get. Thanks!
Crystal Lake to Barcelona
So it all began Wednesday morning…
I woke up on the morning of the 8th to an email from the company. I had been in contact with the office over the past couple weeks trying to figure out another contract to get on so this email wasn’t totally unexpected – till I read it. It says there’s been an incident on the Navigator wherein they need someone to fill the Alto Sax chair starting Friday; if I accept, I fly out tomorrow. This was the last thing I was expecting to wake up to, and after emailing them back requesting a little time to think, I began my day. Well, a few hours later they called, we negotiated, and I had a flight booked at 3:45 the next afternoon. The rest of the day from that point on consisted of a lesson, a lot of phone calls, and some last minute preparation for a trans-Atlantic flight.
The 9th was a little busy in the morning getting the last of my things together and taking care of any lose ends, and at 1:30 I was off to the airport accompanied by both my parents. It’s actually kind of amazing that neither of my parents really freaked out and both rearranged plans to drive me to the airport. There probably aren’t many stranger things to spring on your parents than announcing a flight to Europe scheduled for tomorrow, but they did great and I’m really appreciative of all the help, thanks Mom and Dad!
The Flight: I was booked on a Lufthansa flight to Barcelona with a stop in Frankfurt. The first part of the flight, the 8 hour part, was OK. I almost got lucky and had an entire row to myself, with a window, and it was set up so that I would have had extra legroom too – almost. After hanging up the phone with my Dad to let him know everything was fine the last three passengers walked in the plane. Two filled out my row, and the third sat in front of me (which always results in the chair being reclined down on top of me). The two guys now next to me had the window with the extra leg room and the seat with a little extra room where I’d stowed my backpack, my seat was in the aisle. It was alright though, the other guys in the row didn’t get out once, and the dude in front of me waited about 3 hours before pushing his seat into my nose. That aside, I swear the pilot introduced himself as Adolph Hitler. I know it sounds totally ridiculous but I swear that’s what he said, and then I never heard his name again…weird. Anyways, 8 hours later I was in Frankfurt.
Flight number two was preceded by me going to the completely wrong terminal in Frankfurt. The terminal listed on my ticket was way, way off. So after walking to the other side of the airport and hanging out at the gate for 3 hours, I look up and see a different flight being listed on the monitor. I had left myself enough time and am obsessed with time the second I step into an airport so I wasn’t rushed finding my way back to the terminal I’d landed in, but still, the extra security point, flights of stairs, and long distance walking with three instruments and a backpack was something I’d have liked to do with out. I had a window for the second flight, flew over the Alps, and landed in Barcelona with no problem.
The first time I flew to Barcelona my luggage had been lost…thankfully this was not the case today. But, this time I didn’t have clear directions on how to get to the ship, so that had me slightly worried. Luckily, before I had to even find a phone to call the number I assumed was going to be responsible for my transportation, I saw someone with a Royal Caribbean sign for the guests. I told them I was crew and had no problem getting on the nice coach bus and making my way to the port. Nice. However, I was quickly reminded of the people I was soon to be dealing with as the lady sitting in front of me filed her nails the entire drive to the port. Really, do these people not notice that makes the most annoying sound ever?
On the ship, everything kind of just fell back into play again as if I’d never left. I moved into my old room, went up to the mess, played the welcome aboard show, everything as usual. My roommate seems like a pretty cool guy and is from the states, so I’m not anticipating any problems there. I met up with all m old friends again, which is really kind of cool, and ran into some other people on the ship I knew from before who I wasn’t expecting to see onboard. It’s really just a homecoming for me where I get to hang out with some old friends one more time.
Oh, we had a parade at night… Now I don’t know if you remember me telling you about the parade I used to do where I wore a light blue sailor outfit and a Popeye hat, but as bad as that sounds, it got way worse. For this new parade I don’t even play my instrument. I simply put on this huge flamboyant poncho-like cape thing and walk up and down the promenade for about 20 minutes. I’ve never been involved in such a ridiculous show in my life. All I can is that it’s a good thing no one I know comes on this ship, otherwise I think I’d be shunned when I returned home. Anyways, that new parade was not a welcomed change.
So I guess that’s it, three days from home in bed to Barcelona, wild right? So let’s see where these three weeks takes me and I’ll be reporting back here every chance I get. Thanks!
Going Home
September 4th-?
Going Home
Well, I guess I waited too long to write this entry, I barely remember anything 7 weeks later. Following Athen’s, the ship sailed into Civitavecchia where I’d be leaving out of Rome’s airport. The last couple days (I have no idea how many) were pretty standard. I spent a lot of time hanging out with my friends and getting stuff together for my departure. We stopped in Messina Sicily, I do remember that. I bought some wine and cheese for a final farewell party the night before I left. For whatever reason I had a very short time in Messina and barely had enough time to get off the ship for some simple shopping.
The highlight of my final days on the Victoria had to have been the last farewell show. At the end of every cruise we put on a farewell show, just like every ship I’ve been on. This show has me playing a big solo where I use a wireless microphone, walk to the front of the stage and get a big feature. It’s actually one of the nicest solos I’ve ever had on ships, and even though it’s really cheesy, I always have a great time with it. Well, for the last farewell show on my last night on the ship, I decided to play my solo with sunglasses and a black fedora…you know, for added visual effect. I didn’t tell anyone but Ben and Igor (Igor got me the hat), and I went forward as usual, trying to keep a straight face, and played the solo. I have the whole thing on video so if I see you and you want proof, I have it. I thought it was hilarious, my friends loved it, and the music director who the band has spent my entire contract despising was furious – nice. But hey, I was going home the next day and it was too late for him to do anything about it, so it didn’t matter and I was able to leave that ship with a bang!
I left the next morning and drove to the airport in some shuttle sitting next to one of the guest performers who’d just done a show on the ship. It was a nice ride to the airport talking to this guy about what he does and guest artists in general, we’ll just say it was enlightening and leave it at that.
I flew from Rome to Frankfurt and then to O’hare with no complications to speak of. End of contract number three!
Going Home
Well, I guess I waited too long to write this entry, I barely remember anything 7 weeks later. Following Athen’s, the ship sailed into Civitavecchia where I’d be leaving out of Rome’s airport. The last couple days (I have no idea how many) were pretty standard. I spent a lot of time hanging out with my friends and getting stuff together for my departure. We stopped in Messina Sicily, I do remember that. I bought some wine and cheese for a final farewell party the night before I left. For whatever reason I had a very short time in Messina and barely had enough time to get off the ship for some simple shopping.
The highlight of my final days on the Victoria had to have been the last farewell show. At the end of every cruise we put on a farewell show, just like every ship I’ve been on. This show has me playing a big solo where I use a wireless microphone, walk to the front of the stage and get a big feature. It’s actually one of the nicest solos I’ve ever had on ships, and even though it’s really cheesy, I always have a great time with it. Well, for the last farewell show on my last night on the ship, I decided to play my solo with sunglasses and a black fedora…you know, for added visual effect. I didn’t tell anyone but Ben and Igor (Igor got me the hat), and I went forward as usual, trying to keep a straight face, and played the solo. I have the whole thing on video so if I see you and you want proof, I have it. I thought it was hilarious, my friends loved it, and the music director who the band has spent my entire contract despising was furious – nice. But hey, I was going home the next day and it was too late for him to do anything about it, so it didn’t matter and I was able to leave that ship with a bang!
I left the next morning and drove to the airport in some shuttle sitting next to one of the guest performers who’d just done a show on the ship. It was a nice ride to the airport talking to this guy about what he does and guest artists in general, we’ll just say it was enlightening and leave it at that.
I flew from Rome to Frankfurt and then to O’hare with no complications to speak of. End of contract number three!
Athens
September 3rd
Athens, Greece
Today was another one of the ports that I came on this ship to see and have been looking forward to for some time. And not only was I going to be able to check out the Acropolis, but the Navigator of the Seas, my first ship, was in port with me, meaning I had a chance to see some old friends.
I had signed up for a half day on-your-own tour into Athens, meaning I’d have a few hours in the city to do what ever I pleased. The first goal was obviously to get up to the Acropolis. When I got to the entrance of the Acropolis I discovered that there was a 12 euro entrance fee, almost $20, not exactly what I was hoping for. But after searching the perimeter for a good place to jump the fence I decided to try for a student discount at the ticket office. Yep, I still have my student ID from college, which thankfully, doesn’t have a date on it. Instead, Roosevelt always used stickers posted on the back to indicate the semester, something I always figured no one would really pay attention to anyways. So I gave the ticket lady the ID with the 6 euro asking for the discount, she took the card, perused it front and back, and pointed out none of my stickers said “08”…I’d been caught. Surprised, I responded with the best argument I could think of off the top of my head, a totally irrelevant statement: “I go to school in the states,” as if that answered anything. Maybe she pitied me, maybe I convinced her, but she gave me the discount most likely in avoidance of a potential argument with another stupid American which is good enough for me. I entered the park with my discounted ticket and climbed to the top of the hill to spend the next hour admiring the Parthenon and the gorgeous views of Athens and the surrounding cities. It was really amazing, certainly worth my student ticket. When I’d finally had enough of walking in circles and reflecting on how this structure makes me feel about the meaning of life, I made my way back down the hill to climb yet another hill for yet another view.
This next hill wasn’t quite as large and the one that was home to the Acropolis, but was topped with a ruin of some sort and just begged for me to climb it. When I made it through the park and emerged at the top of the hill I took the necessary pictures and looked for a good place to stand to continue my ponderings. That place was standing on top of a vertical pillar near the ruin, about 5 feet in height. It wasn’t long till a man with a radio started yelling at me to get down to avoid hurting myself. I doubted he was really concerned about my well-being and told him “nah, I’m OK,” and went on standing on my pillar. He then asked again, saying “Please get down” in a way that communicated his new desire to hurt me if I didn’t get down, so after slowly contemplating my options I decided to lazily dismount my perch. I left the lookout and he walked over to the pillar to stand guard till I left the hill, stupid tourist policeman. But I was running out of time anyways and had to start heading back to the bus.
The rest of my time was spent walking through uninteresting parts of the city and further deliberation about jumping fences to enter parks I had no desire to pay for. Be it due to the barely intimidating park employees or my 15 minutes remaining free time, I didn’t do anything too illegal and made my way back to the bus.
I ate lunch back at the ship before setting out to find some friends from the Nav. I had emailed the MD on the ship about a possible meeting, and after receiving an email back about his inability to spend the day off the ship and the potential difficulty in finding each other in the large port of Piraeus, I decided to head out on my own to find them anyways. I had no idea where the Nav was docked and hadn’t seen it on my trip to and from Athens, but figuring that it must be somewhere along the coast (being a ship and all), found it 15 minutes later. I walked up to the ship after passing through port security, and recognizing the security guard at the gangway, asked him to make a few phone calls for me to get my friends out side. He managed to get a hold of the MD who immediately came outside to chat for a while about ship stuff. There were still 4 people in the band that I knew, but of whom had gone into the city that day and weren’t on the ship to say hello. But seeing as I had another 90 minutes before I need to be back for a rehearsal, took out a book and sat on the dock waiting for a shuttle to bring my friends back to the ship. By the time I’d left I’d ran into 4 people I knew who were surprised to see “Pottsy” sitting there at the dock totally unannounced. We talked while we could and then I headed out again to get back for a rehearsal that ended up being canceled…stupid ship.
We ended up getting the night off, which resulted in a very chilled out night. I had an enjoyable day and was certainly pleased with the gamble I took in leaving Athens early to try to find some friends. Now begins the process of packing to come home in a few days! Thanks and seeya soon!
Athens, Greece
Today was another one of the ports that I came on this ship to see and have been looking forward to for some time. And not only was I going to be able to check out the Acropolis, but the Navigator of the Seas, my first ship, was in port with me, meaning I had a chance to see some old friends.
I had signed up for a half day on-your-own tour into Athens, meaning I’d have a few hours in the city to do what ever I pleased. The first goal was obviously to get up to the Acropolis. When I got to the entrance of the Acropolis I discovered that there was a 12 euro entrance fee, almost $20, not exactly what I was hoping for. But after searching the perimeter for a good place to jump the fence I decided to try for a student discount at the ticket office. Yep, I still have my student ID from college, which thankfully, doesn’t have a date on it. Instead, Roosevelt always used stickers posted on the back to indicate the semester, something I always figured no one would really pay attention to anyways. So I gave the ticket lady the ID with the 6 euro asking for the discount, she took the card, perused it front and back, and pointed out none of my stickers said “08”…I’d been caught. Surprised, I responded with the best argument I could think of off the top of my head, a totally irrelevant statement: “I go to school in the states,” as if that answered anything. Maybe she pitied me, maybe I convinced her, but she gave me the discount most likely in avoidance of a potential argument with another stupid American which is good enough for me. I entered the park with my discounted ticket and climbed to the top of the hill to spend the next hour admiring the Parthenon and the gorgeous views of Athens and the surrounding cities. It was really amazing, certainly worth my student ticket. When I’d finally had enough of walking in circles and reflecting on how this structure makes me feel about the meaning of life, I made my way back down the hill to climb yet another hill for yet another view.
This next hill wasn’t quite as large and the one that was home to the Acropolis, but was topped with a ruin of some sort and just begged for me to climb it. When I made it through the park and emerged at the top of the hill I took the necessary pictures and looked for a good place to stand to continue my ponderings. That place was standing on top of a vertical pillar near the ruin, about 5 feet in height. It wasn’t long till a man with a radio started yelling at me to get down to avoid hurting myself. I doubted he was really concerned about my well-being and told him “nah, I’m OK,” and went on standing on my pillar. He then asked again, saying “Please get down” in a way that communicated his new desire to hurt me if I didn’t get down, so after slowly contemplating my options I decided to lazily dismount my perch. I left the lookout and he walked over to the pillar to stand guard till I left the hill, stupid tourist policeman. But I was running out of time anyways and had to start heading back to the bus.
The rest of my time was spent walking through uninteresting parts of the city and further deliberation about jumping fences to enter parks I had no desire to pay for. Be it due to the barely intimidating park employees or my 15 minutes remaining free time, I didn’t do anything too illegal and made my way back to the bus.
I ate lunch back at the ship before setting out to find some friends from the Nav. I had emailed the MD on the ship about a possible meeting, and after receiving an email back about his inability to spend the day off the ship and the potential difficulty in finding each other in the large port of Piraeus, I decided to head out on my own to find them anyways. I had no idea where the Nav was docked and hadn’t seen it on my trip to and from Athens, but figuring that it must be somewhere along the coast (being a ship and all), found it 15 minutes later. I walked up to the ship after passing through port security, and recognizing the security guard at the gangway, asked him to make a few phone calls for me to get my friends out side. He managed to get a hold of the MD who immediately came outside to chat for a while about ship stuff. There were still 4 people in the band that I knew, but of whom had gone into the city that day and weren’t on the ship to say hello. But seeing as I had another 90 minutes before I need to be back for a rehearsal, took out a book and sat on the dock waiting for a shuttle to bring my friends back to the ship. By the time I’d left I’d ran into 4 people I knew who were surprised to see “Pottsy” sitting there at the dock totally unannounced. We talked while we could and then I headed out again to get back for a rehearsal that ended up being canceled…stupid ship.
We ended up getting the night off, which resulted in a very chilled out night. I had an enjoyable day and was certainly pleased with the gamble I took in leaving Athens early to try to find some friends. Now begins the process of packing to come home in a few days! Thanks and seeya soon!
Izmir
September 2nd
Izmir, Turkey
After an early rehearsal for a production show I got off the ship with Ben and Cherese (a dancer) for my first and only time in Izmir. We didn’t have a ton of time to look around, nor did we have anything in particular that we wanted to find, so we just set out with a map to see what was out there. The walk started out along the waterfront, which was uneventful, and culminated with a visit to a bazaar. Now the bazaar was actually interesting, more so than the ones I’d visited in my last two Turkish ports, and probably larger and more confusing than the other ones as well. We actually got lost in this bazaar, and totally turned around, were walking in every which direction trying to get out. I did see a way out, but my friends, frustrated by the labyrinth and starting to get worried, had to undermine my pride and ask for directions…jerks. The bazaar was really neat though, selling a wide variety of items, from clothing to pets to skinned sheep heads (I have a picture). I always find it exciting to be in a place like that, something putting me entirely out of my element to the extent that I simply lose myself in the chaos of the market. Anyways, we made our way out and started heading back to the ship.
Ben and I had been looking for some local food since entering the bazaar and finally found something just as we were leaving. It took a while because we didn’t have any local currency, but seeing as it’s almost 1:1 with the dollar we were hoping there wouldn’t be a problem. We ended up buying an interesting wrap made from a kind of pita bread and filled with gyro meat (maybe?) and a nice sauce, among other things. And for $2, this “Doner” as it was called was really good. We ate them as we walked back to the ship.
We had the shows as planned back on the ship and that’s about all I have to say about Izmir. Four days left!!! Thanks for reading!
Izmir, Turkey
After an early rehearsal for a production show I got off the ship with Ben and Cherese (a dancer) for my first and only time in Izmir. We didn’t have a ton of time to look around, nor did we have anything in particular that we wanted to find, so we just set out with a map to see what was out there. The walk started out along the waterfront, which was uneventful, and culminated with a visit to a bazaar. Now the bazaar was actually interesting, more so than the ones I’d visited in my last two Turkish ports, and probably larger and more confusing than the other ones as well. We actually got lost in this bazaar, and totally turned around, were walking in every which direction trying to get out. I did see a way out, but my friends, frustrated by the labyrinth and starting to get worried, had to undermine my pride and ask for directions…jerks. The bazaar was really neat though, selling a wide variety of items, from clothing to pets to skinned sheep heads (I have a picture). I always find it exciting to be in a place like that, something putting me entirely out of my element to the extent that I simply lose myself in the chaos of the market. Anyways, we made our way out and started heading back to the ship.
Ben and I had been looking for some local food since entering the bazaar and finally found something just as we were leaving. It took a while because we didn’t have any local currency, but seeing as it’s almost 1:1 with the dollar we were hoping there wouldn’t be a problem. We ended up buying an interesting wrap made from a kind of pita bread and filled with gyro meat (maybe?) and a nice sauce, among other things. And for $2, this “Doner” as it was called was really good. We ate them as we walked back to the ship.
We had the shows as planned back on the ship and that’s about all I have to say about Izmir. Four days left!!! Thanks for reading!
Sea Day/Crete
August 31st-September 1st
Sea Day/Crete
The 31st was the usual sea day with the usual sets at night. I did spend some time outside doing some reading on the bow, I guess one of my final chances to enjoy my time on the ship and the beautiful weather.
I was signed up for a tour in Crete that left the morning of the 1st out of the port Agios Nikolaus (translated: Saint Nick). The tour was into the mountain interior of eastern Crete and included lunch, always a selling point for me. We took the bus into the mountains to a large plateau where a number of villages have stood for years. The first stop was at a nunnery, which I guess was interesting, and meant I saw a really old Greek Orthodox Church. The highlight of that stop was when one of the 5 foot tall nuns asked me to open one of the church windows. Or I assume that’s what she asked, it was all Greek to me (haha…bad joke), but she seemed pleased after I’d opened it. That made me happy then because I’m sure the Greek Gods are now smiling upon me for helping the small old nun with her ventilation problems. Yeah, I’ll go to heaven…
Following that, we visited a museum in one of the old villages on the plateau. The museum was called the “Cretan Folklore Museum” and showed what life was like in Crete. Oddly enough, it doesn’t look like much had changed in the past few centuries. It was actually really interesting walking through these villages because they were so underdeveloped, almost entirely untouched by modern civilization. The thing that struck me the most was that this is a place where widows, upon losing their husbands, dress all in black for the remainder of their lives. I’ve heard of the tradition before, but to actually see all these old women, dressed up in black gowns with black scarves over their heads in weather that was anything but black friendly, really made me feel like I was in a different time in history and in the heart of a culture I can’t even scratch the surface of. And this all after arriving in a nice, modern bus with a ceremonial banner draped over the roof after tearing it from a church who had hung it too low over the street (if that makes sense). Who ever said tourism was a bad thing?
The museum was followed by lunch at a restaurant perched on a hill overlooking the plateau where we could see the dozens of old-fashioned windmills the area is famous for. Oddly enough, the highlight of my lunch was the Greek salad I was served. Though all the courses were great, it was the simple collection of vegetables topped with Feta and oil that really made the meal.
Lunch was followed by some more driving through the island and back to the ship where I hopped on my tender and got on board just in time for a rehearsal (unlike Ben who’s tour got him back to the ship 30 minutes late). And that’s about all for my Cretan adventure, thanks!
Sea Day/Crete
The 31st was the usual sea day with the usual sets at night. I did spend some time outside doing some reading on the bow, I guess one of my final chances to enjoy my time on the ship and the beautiful weather.
I was signed up for a tour in Crete that left the morning of the 1st out of the port Agios Nikolaus (translated: Saint Nick). The tour was into the mountain interior of eastern Crete and included lunch, always a selling point for me. We took the bus into the mountains to a large plateau where a number of villages have stood for years. The first stop was at a nunnery, which I guess was interesting, and meant I saw a really old Greek Orthodox Church. The highlight of that stop was when one of the 5 foot tall nuns asked me to open one of the church windows. Or I assume that’s what she asked, it was all Greek to me (haha…bad joke), but she seemed pleased after I’d opened it. That made me happy then because I’m sure the Greek Gods are now smiling upon me for helping the small old nun with her ventilation problems. Yeah, I’ll go to heaven…
Following that, we visited a museum in one of the old villages on the plateau. The museum was called the “Cretan Folklore Museum” and showed what life was like in Crete. Oddly enough, it doesn’t look like much had changed in the past few centuries. It was actually really interesting walking through these villages because they were so underdeveloped, almost entirely untouched by modern civilization. The thing that struck me the most was that this is a place where widows, upon losing their husbands, dress all in black for the remainder of their lives. I’ve heard of the tradition before, but to actually see all these old women, dressed up in black gowns with black scarves over their heads in weather that was anything but black friendly, really made me feel like I was in a different time in history and in the heart of a culture I can’t even scratch the surface of. And this all after arriving in a nice, modern bus with a ceremonial banner draped over the roof after tearing it from a church who had hung it too low over the street (if that makes sense). Who ever said tourism was a bad thing?
The museum was followed by lunch at a restaurant perched on a hill overlooking the plateau where we could see the dozens of old-fashioned windmills the area is famous for. Oddly enough, the highlight of my lunch was the Greek salad I was served. Though all the courses were great, it was the simple collection of vegetables topped with Feta and oil that really made the meal.
Lunch was followed by some more driving through the island and back to the ship where I hopped on my tender and got on board just in time for a rehearsal (unlike Ben who’s tour got him back to the ship 30 minutes late). And that’s about all for my Cretan adventure, thanks!
Valletta
August 30th
Valletta, Malta
Today we were in Malta for the first time since I’ve been on the ship. I left the ship after a morning rehearsal to be greeted by 100+ degree weather outside. After the initial shock, Jim (guitar) and I set off to do some exploring. We walked up into the city, got some nice views of the harbor and surrounding city, and had a leisurely stroll through the streets. We stopped somewhere so he could order a cheese omelet (everyone has there thing I guess) and then made our way back to the ship for another rehearsal. Nothing really exciting happened while we were out walking around, but we did come across some noisy cicadas and a cat café (for feeding cats, not eating them). There ends the excitement.
The rest of the day finished with a rehearsal for the guest artist and two shows, the usual. That’s all, thanks!
Valletta, Malta
Today we were in Malta for the first time since I’ve been on the ship. I left the ship after a morning rehearsal to be greeted by 100+ degree weather outside. After the initial shock, Jim (guitar) and I set off to do some exploring. We walked up into the city, got some nice views of the harbor and surrounding city, and had a leisurely stroll through the streets. We stopped somewhere so he could order a cheese omelet (everyone has there thing I guess) and then made our way back to the ship for another rehearsal. Nothing really exciting happened while we were out walking around, but we did come across some noisy cicadas and a cat café (for feeding cats, not eating them). There ends the excitement.
The rest of the day finished with a rehearsal for the guest artist and two shows, the usual. That’s all, thanks!
Livorno/Naples
August 28th-29th
Livorno/Naples
My day in Livorno was pretty relaxed, and being another IPM (in port manning) day it’s not like I had much of a choice. I can’t say all that much got accomplished that day, certainly nothing blog worthy, except for one thing: Laundry!!! Yeah, I did a lot of laundry on the 28th, probably the single most productive thing I could have done at that point in time, making the day a success. The show that evening was pretty easy and that just about sums up the day.
Naples was a little more active however. I actually have a friend (Gianni) from my first ship who grew up in Napoli who I was hoping to catch up with on the 29th, but after a few emails back and forth I found out he’s moved to New York and is playing music there. Great for him...drag for me. Anyway, he recommended that I go up to the Castle Sant’ Elmo, a large fortress on top of a hill overlooking the city. I figured I’d know what it was when I stepped off the ship, and the moment I looked toward the city it was there, right in front of me on a hill way above sea level. I was with Ben and Jim, and after a little encouraging, was able to lead my group toward the castle.
It was an interesting walk through the city as we progressed higher. Down near the port the alleys were very dirty and crowded, not to mention the people driving down these small streets were as much a danger to themselves as they were to my group. Ben described traversing the city as a large game of Frogger…he’s kind of correct. But then, as soon as we ascended past a certain level, the streets cleaned up, the traffic became less deadly, and the city was suddenly very pleasant.
We reached our destination about 90 minutes after we’d set out, and after a brief congratulatory break, be purchased tickets and took the elevator up to the top of the castle. Thankfully the view was impressive (had it not been I’d have likely be thrown from the castle by my now fatigued friends) and we spent about an hour walking the perimeter taking pictures and admiring the city.
I had volunteered to take Ben’s tour that afternoon at 2:00, meaning we had to get back down the hill, get some pizza, and get back to the port in the same amount of time it took to fight our way up. We found a better route down though, and a few alleys, stairwells, and dead birds later, we’d made it back to sea level with plenty of time to spare. Ben knew of a great pizza place near the ship from past visits and recommended stopping for a quality lunch. We stopped, ordered, and I received a pizza the size of a large plate, loaded up with bright red tomato sauce and real Italian cheese – it makes all the difference. We all split a plate of gnocchi as well, which was equally satisfying. I then gave my friends some money and made my way to the port for my tour.
The tour I was supposed to be on, the one Ben had been signed up for, somehow got given to one of my other friends on the ship. I have no idea how or why, but he keeps laughing and saying he owes me a drink…whatever. So instead the tour office decided to put me on a Naples Panoramic tour, not exactly my idea of a good trade, but I took it having nothing better to do. This meant instead of going to the Herculaneum to see ancient ruins from Vesuvius I got stuck sitting on a bus driving around the city for 2.5 hours, I’m sure you can imagine my lack of enthusiasm for the new scenario. Well, I went on the tour, saw some things I wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and during our only stop, got some free gelato that was provided on the tour. Free ice cream will always win me over.
When we got back to the ship I hustled down to my room to get out my flute for a lesson with the previous night’s guest artist, a professional flautist. The guest, Bettine, simply asked after our shows if we wanted a lesson and volunteered to meet us around 6, I was excited. Bettine is an interesting woman: She’s extremely cheerful and supportive, happy to the extent of seeming to be in her own world, and has a thing for playing her flute to animals. She certainly has her own thing going on, but has an incredible flute sound and lovely personality. She gave Ben and I an hour long flute lesson, sharing exercises and experiences, gave us one of her CD’s, and then spent some time showing us pictures of all her animals, including a pig she named Harry Trotter. Anyway, it was a really nice gesture and very much appreciated by Ben and me.
That night was a big band set, nothing too exciting to write about there.
Oh, I should mention though that I got my roommate today. Yeah, the single room didn’t last as long as I’d have hoped but this new guy is 41, from Atlanta (though lived in Chicago for years), is a great player and seems to be really interesting. I know he’s really into Tai Bo and studying Ancient Egyptian writing. I’m sure there’s way more to him and am somewhat disappointed I only have a week to pull it out of him. But there shouldn’t be any problems regarding the living situation between now and the 6th, thankfully. Have a great one!
Livorno/Naples
My day in Livorno was pretty relaxed, and being another IPM (in port manning) day it’s not like I had much of a choice. I can’t say all that much got accomplished that day, certainly nothing blog worthy, except for one thing: Laundry!!! Yeah, I did a lot of laundry on the 28th, probably the single most productive thing I could have done at that point in time, making the day a success. The show that evening was pretty easy and that just about sums up the day.
Naples was a little more active however. I actually have a friend (Gianni) from my first ship who grew up in Napoli who I was hoping to catch up with on the 29th, but after a few emails back and forth I found out he’s moved to New York and is playing music there. Great for him...drag for me. Anyway, he recommended that I go up to the Castle Sant’ Elmo, a large fortress on top of a hill overlooking the city. I figured I’d know what it was when I stepped off the ship, and the moment I looked toward the city it was there, right in front of me on a hill way above sea level. I was with Ben and Jim, and after a little encouraging, was able to lead my group toward the castle.
It was an interesting walk through the city as we progressed higher. Down near the port the alleys were very dirty and crowded, not to mention the people driving down these small streets were as much a danger to themselves as they were to my group. Ben described traversing the city as a large game of Frogger…he’s kind of correct. But then, as soon as we ascended past a certain level, the streets cleaned up, the traffic became less deadly, and the city was suddenly very pleasant.
We reached our destination about 90 minutes after we’d set out, and after a brief congratulatory break, be purchased tickets and took the elevator up to the top of the castle. Thankfully the view was impressive (had it not been I’d have likely be thrown from the castle by my now fatigued friends) and we spent about an hour walking the perimeter taking pictures and admiring the city.
I had volunteered to take Ben’s tour that afternoon at 2:00, meaning we had to get back down the hill, get some pizza, and get back to the port in the same amount of time it took to fight our way up. We found a better route down though, and a few alleys, stairwells, and dead birds later, we’d made it back to sea level with plenty of time to spare. Ben knew of a great pizza place near the ship from past visits and recommended stopping for a quality lunch. We stopped, ordered, and I received a pizza the size of a large plate, loaded up with bright red tomato sauce and real Italian cheese – it makes all the difference. We all split a plate of gnocchi as well, which was equally satisfying. I then gave my friends some money and made my way to the port for my tour.
The tour I was supposed to be on, the one Ben had been signed up for, somehow got given to one of my other friends on the ship. I have no idea how or why, but he keeps laughing and saying he owes me a drink…whatever. So instead the tour office decided to put me on a Naples Panoramic tour, not exactly my idea of a good trade, but I took it having nothing better to do. This meant instead of going to the Herculaneum to see ancient ruins from Vesuvius I got stuck sitting on a bus driving around the city for 2.5 hours, I’m sure you can imagine my lack of enthusiasm for the new scenario. Well, I went on the tour, saw some things I wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and during our only stop, got some free gelato that was provided on the tour. Free ice cream will always win me over.
When we got back to the ship I hustled down to my room to get out my flute for a lesson with the previous night’s guest artist, a professional flautist. The guest, Bettine, simply asked after our shows if we wanted a lesson and volunteered to meet us around 6, I was excited. Bettine is an interesting woman: She’s extremely cheerful and supportive, happy to the extent of seeming to be in her own world, and has a thing for playing her flute to animals. She certainly has her own thing going on, but has an incredible flute sound and lovely personality. She gave Ben and I an hour long flute lesson, sharing exercises and experiences, gave us one of her CD’s, and then spent some time showing us pictures of all her animals, including a pig she named Harry Trotter. Anyway, it was a really nice gesture and very much appreciated by Ben and me.
That night was a big band set, nothing too exciting to write about there.
Oh, I should mention though that I got my roommate today. Yeah, the single room didn’t last as long as I’d have hoped but this new guy is 41, from Atlanta (though lived in Chicago for years), is a great player and seems to be really interesting. I know he’s really into Tai Bo and studying Ancient Egyptian writing. I’m sure there’s way more to him and am somewhat disappointed I only have a week to pull it out of him. But there shouldn’t be any problems regarding the living situation between now and the 6th, thankfully. Have a great one!
Monaco
August 27th
Monaco
Monaco was just as I remembered it, beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather, and lots of money! But seeing as I’ve visited Monaco a few times and didn’t have any real desire to go exploring, Ben and I decided to catch a train to a city we were even more familiar with, Villefranche. This picturesque seaside town was my first port ever on the Navigator after I joined and certainly one of my favorites, so after a quick round about exploration through the streets of Monaco, Ben and I wandered our way into the train station and purchased tickets. Luckily Ben’s French is fairly decent, letting me relax a little and enjoy the journey. The train station was really nice and after a 20 minute wait we were off. The train ride wasn’t quite as beautiful as I’d hoped, but the moments spent outside the tunnels reminded me of why I enjoy this area of the world so much. Before we knew it we’d arrived at the station in Villefranche and began walking the streets both of us knew relatively well. First stop: internet café. Yeah, maybe that’s slightly anticlimactic after a nice train ride requiring us to spend money to leave the city, but we just both like Villefranche so much and wanted to go there again just to hangout. We sat on our computers for a couple hours doing busy work we can’t get done from the ship only to have to immediately catch our train back into Monaco. We had a nice time though sitting at the café on soft couches, enjoying the vibe and eating a Roquefort sandwich; it was exactly what we were looking for.
We made the train back with no problems and were soon back in Monaco. The train back was really fancy, some what difficult to describe, so I’ll leave it at high tech and fancy (exercising my developed vocabulary). Ben hadn’t been to Monaco before, so as soon as I’d found my bearing again, we decided to take a quick walk up to the casino before rushing back to the ship for a rehearsal. The casino was surrounded with unbelievable cars as always, that and unbelievable tourists doing everything short of climbing on the cars worth more than their lives (pleasant thought). We were quickly running out of time though and left to start our long walk around the harbor to the tender pier. Yeah, we were tendering at the port, always a pain, and always unpredictable. We made it to the pier just as a tender was pulling out, unfortunate timing for two musicians with a rehearsal in 35 minutes. The next tender showed up, we boarded, got delayed by “choppy” seas, and got to rehearsal just barely on time.
The show that night was great. The guy we played for was a comic singer, really funny and a pleasant change from the usual. The first show went well and the second show was surprisingly short. Due to the ship departing from Barcelona we have a large number of Spanish speaking guests onboard, most of whom have been grouped together into a single theater show, meaning a non Spanish speaking entertainer is stuck performing to an audience that can’t understand a word he says. The guest tonight responded to the situation by singing his few songs and getting off the stage, cutting the show 15 minutes short. Maybe not the most exciting story I could have written about…but I was amused, therefore it’s blog worthy.
As a side note that I forgot to mention in the Barcelona post: Gordon moved out after spending 9 months on the ship, wow! Oddly enough, Cunard didn’t have their act together and didn’t have a replacement lined up, meaning his band is without a trumpet player and I’m without a roommate! I’m sure it won’t last too long, but it’s nice having the room totally to myself. I’ll let you know when someone decides to move in. Thanks for reading!
Monaco
Monaco was just as I remembered it, beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather, and lots of money! But seeing as I’ve visited Monaco a few times and didn’t have any real desire to go exploring, Ben and I decided to catch a train to a city we were even more familiar with, Villefranche. This picturesque seaside town was my first port ever on the Navigator after I joined and certainly one of my favorites, so after a quick round about exploration through the streets of Monaco, Ben and I wandered our way into the train station and purchased tickets. Luckily Ben’s French is fairly decent, letting me relax a little and enjoy the journey. The train station was really nice and after a 20 minute wait we were off. The train ride wasn’t quite as beautiful as I’d hoped, but the moments spent outside the tunnels reminded me of why I enjoy this area of the world so much. Before we knew it we’d arrived at the station in Villefranche and began walking the streets both of us knew relatively well. First stop: internet café. Yeah, maybe that’s slightly anticlimactic after a nice train ride requiring us to spend money to leave the city, but we just both like Villefranche so much and wanted to go there again just to hangout. We sat on our computers for a couple hours doing busy work we can’t get done from the ship only to have to immediately catch our train back into Monaco. We had a nice time though sitting at the café on soft couches, enjoying the vibe and eating a Roquefort sandwich; it was exactly what we were looking for.
We made the train back with no problems and were soon back in Monaco. The train back was really fancy, some what difficult to describe, so I’ll leave it at high tech and fancy (exercising my developed vocabulary). Ben hadn’t been to Monaco before, so as soon as I’d found my bearing again, we decided to take a quick walk up to the casino before rushing back to the ship for a rehearsal. The casino was surrounded with unbelievable cars as always, that and unbelievable tourists doing everything short of climbing on the cars worth more than their lives (pleasant thought). We were quickly running out of time though and left to start our long walk around the harbor to the tender pier. Yeah, we were tendering at the port, always a pain, and always unpredictable. We made it to the pier just as a tender was pulling out, unfortunate timing for two musicians with a rehearsal in 35 minutes. The next tender showed up, we boarded, got delayed by “choppy” seas, and got to rehearsal just barely on time.
The show that night was great. The guy we played for was a comic singer, really funny and a pleasant change from the usual. The first show went well and the second show was surprisingly short. Due to the ship departing from Barcelona we have a large number of Spanish speaking guests onboard, most of whom have been grouped together into a single theater show, meaning a non Spanish speaking entertainer is stuck performing to an audience that can’t understand a word he says. The guest tonight responded to the situation by singing his few songs and getting off the stage, cutting the show 15 minutes short. Maybe not the most exciting story I could have written about…but I was amused, therefore it’s blog worthy.
As a side note that I forgot to mention in the Barcelona post: Gordon moved out after spending 9 months on the ship, wow! Oddly enough, Cunard didn’t have their act together and didn’t have a replacement lined up, meaning his band is without a trumpet player and I’m without a roommate! I’m sure it won’t last too long, but it’s nice having the room totally to myself. I’ll let you know when someone decides to move in. Thanks for reading!
Barcelona
August 25th-26th
Barcelona
Another overnight in Barcelona, I couldn’t wait! There wasn’t a whole lot planned for the evening, but I had high hopes for a great time. Mark and Patrick had just gotten off the ship but had arranged to stay in a hostel for a few days before flying back home. I wanted to find them that evening and spend just one more night with two of my closest friends on this ship, that was the only plan I was sure about.
The day started off with me and Ben (tenor) and a couple others getting off the ship around 1 and heading into the city. We split a cab ride to La Rambla, the main street of Barcelona, and began walking the street. Ben and I made a stop in a clothing store, where in the rest of the group split off from us. Soon after, Ben had to head back to the ship to work in the Internet Center, meaning I was left alone to go find Mark and Patrick. I had the address to the hostel, and after a few directions, soon found the not-so-impressive building. I asked the man at the desk where their room was and headed up to find them taking a break from there own exploring. After a short sit the three of us headed out to resume our exploring. We had decided it might be a good idea to buy some food and put together a picnic at the beach as a sort of final farewell dinner. I had bought some nuts at a market, Mark picked up some cheese, and after meeting up with Ben around 7, we all got some crackers, wine, chips and olives. We were shopping at a supermarket where they had bottles of wine selling for around 50 euro cents, or less than a dollar! We picked up our supplies and started walking toward the beach. Unfortunately Patrick had broken off from the group before we met up with Ben. Why? I have no idea, but it meant that we couldn’t find him for he remainder of the evening, kind of a drag when I knew it’d be my last time hanging out with him for a while. This left Mark, Ben, Jim (new guitarist) and me at the beach, sitting on the boardwalk having a picnic there by the Med. The beach was surprisingly busy for being night time, and we had a few interesting people walking by our site. One man approached us, not looking especially well groomed, asking for a few potato chips. He however didn’t ask lightly, but simply walked up, pointed to the bag of chips and yelled “Po-tah-toe!” Mark, hesitant to hand him some chips, evoked a few more requests out of our friend before giving the guy a handful of chips. He left with out another word while our group laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. When the food was gone we packed up and walked back toward the city.
I knew the area somewhat well from my last few visits and led the group towards a bar I know to have live music. We stopped along the way for a restroom break and play a game of pool at a pool hall we passed, a fun detour, and then continued on to the bar. I was correct in there being live music, and despite it being really good and indicative of the area, Mark suggested getting back to the city to meet up with some other friends he knew would be arriving at the Columbus statue around 1AM, so we left (to my dismay) to meet our friends.
We did find a number of people back at the statue and reorganized the group, resulting in my now larger group taking a trip to a nightclub brought to our attention by someone handing out fliers. Luckily there was no cover and you weren’t required to buy a drink, meaning I could just hang out with out spending money. The club wasn’t quite as much fun as we’d hoped and we ended up leaving an hour later.
At this point it was getting fairly late, certain people wanted to get back to the ship, Mark was happy to try to find his way back to the hostel, and I was slightly disappointed in the club not being what I’d hoped. Half the group caught a cab back while I walked back to the ship with Jim, returning us to the dock by about 5:30AM.
I woke up the next morning around noon, and with the ship leaving an hour later, I didn’t have any time to get off again (as expected). This left the second day as being a usual ship day with rehearsals and shows, nothing really worth mentioning. I met the new drummer and piano players, and though I’m sure they’ll settle in, I really miss my old rhythm section. Well, one more cruise left and then I’m home...just a little bit longer! Thanks and have a great one!
Barcelona
Another overnight in Barcelona, I couldn’t wait! There wasn’t a whole lot planned for the evening, but I had high hopes for a great time. Mark and Patrick had just gotten off the ship but had arranged to stay in a hostel for a few days before flying back home. I wanted to find them that evening and spend just one more night with two of my closest friends on this ship, that was the only plan I was sure about.
The day started off with me and Ben (tenor) and a couple others getting off the ship around 1 and heading into the city. We split a cab ride to La Rambla, the main street of Barcelona, and began walking the street. Ben and I made a stop in a clothing store, where in the rest of the group split off from us. Soon after, Ben had to head back to the ship to work in the Internet Center, meaning I was left alone to go find Mark and Patrick. I had the address to the hostel, and after a few directions, soon found the not-so-impressive building. I asked the man at the desk where their room was and headed up to find them taking a break from there own exploring. After a short sit the three of us headed out to resume our exploring. We had decided it might be a good idea to buy some food and put together a picnic at the beach as a sort of final farewell dinner. I had bought some nuts at a market, Mark picked up some cheese, and after meeting up with Ben around 7, we all got some crackers, wine, chips and olives. We were shopping at a supermarket where they had bottles of wine selling for around 50 euro cents, or less than a dollar! We picked up our supplies and started walking toward the beach. Unfortunately Patrick had broken off from the group before we met up with Ben. Why? I have no idea, but it meant that we couldn’t find him for he remainder of the evening, kind of a drag when I knew it’d be my last time hanging out with him for a while. This left Mark, Ben, Jim (new guitarist) and me at the beach, sitting on the boardwalk having a picnic there by the Med. The beach was surprisingly busy for being night time, and we had a few interesting people walking by our site. One man approached us, not looking especially well groomed, asking for a few potato chips. He however didn’t ask lightly, but simply walked up, pointed to the bag of chips and yelled “Po-tah-toe!” Mark, hesitant to hand him some chips, evoked a few more requests out of our friend before giving the guy a handful of chips. He left with out another word while our group laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. When the food was gone we packed up and walked back toward the city.
I knew the area somewhat well from my last few visits and led the group towards a bar I know to have live music. We stopped along the way for a restroom break and play a game of pool at a pool hall we passed, a fun detour, and then continued on to the bar. I was correct in there being live music, and despite it being really good and indicative of the area, Mark suggested getting back to the city to meet up with some other friends he knew would be arriving at the Columbus statue around 1AM, so we left (to my dismay) to meet our friends.
We did find a number of people back at the statue and reorganized the group, resulting in my now larger group taking a trip to a nightclub brought to our attention by someone handing out fliers. Luckily there was no cover and you weren’t required to buy a drink, meaning I could just hang out with out spending money. The club wasn’t quite as much fun as we’d hoped and we ended up leaving an hour later.
At this point it was getting fairly late, certain people wanted to get back to the ship, Mark was happy to try to find his way back to the hostel, and I was slightly disappointed in the club not being what I’d hoped. Half the group caught a cab back while I walked back to the ship with Jim, returning us to the dock by about 5:30AM.
I woke up the next morning around noon, and with the ship leaving an hour later, I didn’t have any time to get off again (as expected). This left the second day as being a usual ship day with rehearsals and shows, nothing really worth mentioning. I met the new drummer and piano players, and though I’m sure they’ll settle in, I really miss my old rhythm section. Well, one more cruise left and then I’m home...just a little bit longer! Thanks and have a great one!
Marseille
August 24th
Marseille
Not too much to write about in regards to my first trip to Marseille. I got off the ship early with some friends, took the shuttle into town and began a long walk towards the beach. We had picked up some snacks at a bakery, ate them, and then played paddle ball at the beach. The water, surprisingly enough, was freezing, so there wasn’t a whole lot of swimming going on. The sun was nice though and I got a chance to work on my sunburn. As we ran out of time, we started heading back to the shuttle pickup point while searching for a good cheese shop. Being Sunday however meant that all the cheese shops were closed, causing Ben (our cheese guy) a great deal of frustration. We made it to the shuttle pickup point about 40 minutes before needing to be back on the ship for a rehearsal, but 30 minutes later a bus still hadn’t come, forcing the group into having to get a cab back to the ship. We were still 5 minutes late to the rehearsal, but after explaining the shuttle situation and us paying for a taxi, all was forgiven (guess we got the MD on a good day). We played the farewell show as usual and then ended the night with a farewell to Mark (drummer) and Patrick (pianist) who were getting off the ship the next day in Barcelona. And that’s about it, one more cruise down, one more to go before I fly home! Thanks!
Marseille
Not too much to write about in regards to my first trip to Marseille. I got off the ship early with some friends, took the shuttle into town and began a long walk towards the beach. We had picked up some snacks at a bakery, ate them, and then played paddle ball at the beach. The water, surprisingly enough, was freezing, so there wasn’t a whole lot of swimming going on. The sun was nice though and I got a chance to work on my sunburn. As we ran out of time, we started heading back to the shuttle pickup point while searching for a good cheese shop. Being Sunday however meant that all the cheese shops were closed, causing Ben (our cheese guy) a great deal of frustration. We made it to the shuttle pickup point about 40 minutes before needing to be back on the ship for a rehearsal, but 30 minutes later a bus still hadn’t come, forcing the group into having to get a cab back to the ship. We were still 5 minutes late to the rehearsal, but after explaining the shuttle situation and us paying for a taxi, all was forgiven (guess we got the MD on a good day). We played the farewell show as usual and then ended the night with a farewell to Mark (drummer) and Patrick (pianist) who were getting off the ship the next day in Barcelona. And that’s about it, one more cruise down, one more to go before I fly home! Thanks!
Florence
August 23rd
Florence
Today was my second visit to Florence, and like the tour to Rome, consisted of an “on your own” tour that was merely a glorified shuttle ride (but free shuttle ride none the less). I didn’t have a lot planned out for the day but figured I’d try to see some of the thins I didn’t see last time, things that required waiting in line. After exchanging some money for euros I approached the art academy where Michelangelo’s David is on display. Oddly enough, the building itself is very modest considering the art it houses, so much so that I wondered if I was mistaken when contemplating the 10 euro entrance fee. Also to my surprise, there was no line, furthering my doubt of the museum I was at. But sure that my guide wouldn’t have told me the wrong location I paid the fee and walked around the corner, where dead ahead under a copula of it’s own, standing high above the crowd of people gathered at it’s podium, was the real David. I’ve seen around five replicas of the statue around Europe, but there’s something about the psychological impact of seeing the real statue, the quintessential sculpture which unparalleled public acclaim. I must have been there around an hour slowly walking the circumference, giving myself the opportunity to reverently examine the piece over a time frame limited only by my ability to concentrate. That’s what I’ve always felt is the correctly to look at art, and if anything deserves that it should be the David.
After feeling like I’d contemplated the sculpture in a satisfactory way, I finished up looking at some other pieces in the museum and headed back into the city. I didn’t have much more planned for the day and decided to see the main attractions of the city again, stopping when appropriate to absorb what was in front of me. The other attraction I had thought about seeing was the Uffizi Gallery, but after seeing the id day line and another 10 euro entrance fee, I moved ahead to other points of interest, taking me to the library.
I had brought my laptop along hoping to get online again and figured the national library would certainly have an internet connection, so that’s where I stopped. When I walked in the place I was surprised how dark and vacant it was, but didn’t think anything of it and walked upstairs to start my search for internet. I walked the building for a while seeing the occasional person, some of whom would tell me something in Italian, and eventually made my way back downstairs into a large study room with a strong connection. Unfortunately the signal wouldn’t let me pull up any web pages, and frustrated by my effort, I moved forward to keep exploring the building. Soon after, upon one of my passes by the front entrance, I found my self being approached by an angry Italian woman yelling something at me and seemingly questioning something about my backpack. I didn’t have a clue what was going on and just looked at her dumfounded, trying to answer a question I had no hope of understanding. When she realized I was completely clueless she aggressively walked me towards the door, out the exit, and through the gate she’d apparently just closed. Turns out that the library had closed and even been gated up, effectively locking me in. Had I actually found a good connection and been able to sit for an hour I probably would have had more than enough time to write these blog entries from the confines of the library I’d been locked inside. Luckily that wasn’t the case and I was able to ponder what could have been from outside the gate, still slightly dumbfounded and confused by the verbal beating I’d just taken by an angry Italian librarian. She closely watched as I left the premises and I continued on.
Now frustrated with my inability to get internet in a library I was determined to find a connection by following a similar strategy to yesterday, walk the alleys with my computer open clicking “search”. I soon came across a connection, but after trying to get comfortable on the ground and fighting against a week signal I gave up on the search and moved forward in search of more pressing issues, food. Luckily enough I turned the corner into a nice little café with free wifi, just what I needed! I ordered a sandwich and sat down to work in a much more civilized way than I had done earlier in the alley. The sandwich was great, internet was fast, and soon it was time to meet back at the bus.
I made it back to the ship with no problem, had the rest of the night off (finally), and hung out with my friends in the evening. Thanks for reading!
Florence
Today was my second visit to Florence, and like the tour to Rome, consisted of an “on your own” tour that was merely a glorified shuttle ride (but free shuttle ride none the less). I didn’t have a lot planned out for the day but figured I’d try to see some of the thins I didn’t see last time, things that required waiting in line. After exchanging some money for euros I approached the art academy where Michelangelo’s David is on display. Oddly enough, the building itself is very modest considering the art it houses, so much so that I wondered if I was mistaken when contemplating the 10 euro entrance fee. Also to my surprise, there was no line, furthering my doubt of the museum I was at. But sure that my guide wouldn’t have told me the wrong location I paid the fee and walked around the corner, where dead ahead under a copula of it’s own, standing high above the crowd of people gathered at it’s podium, was the real David. I’ve seen around five replicas of the statue around Europe, but there’s something about the psychological impact of seeing the real statue, the quintessential sculpture which unparalleled public acclaim. I must have been there around an hour slowly walking the circumference, giving myself the opportunity to reverently examine the piece over a time frame limited only by my ability to concentrate. That’s what I’ve always felt is the correctly to look at art, and if anything deserves that it should be the David.
After feeling like I’d contemplated the sculpture in a satisfactory way, I finished up looking at some other pieces in the museum and headed back into the city. I didn’t have much more planned for the day and decided to see the main attractions of the city again, stopping when appropriate to absorb what was in front of me. The other attraction I had thought about seeing was the Uffizi Gallery, but after seeing the id day line and another 10 euro entrance fee, I moved ahead to other points of interest, taking me to the library.
I had brought my laptop along hoping to get online again and figured the national library would certainly have an internet connection, so that’s where I stopped. When I walked in the place I was surprised how dark and vacant it was, but didn’t think anything of it and walked upstairs to start my search for internet. I walked the building for a while seeing the occasional person, some of whom would tell me something in Italian, and eventually made my way back downstairs into a large study room with a strong connection. Unfortunately the signal wouldn’t let me pull up any web pages, and frustrated by my effort, I moved forward to keep exploring the building. Soon after, upon one of my passes by the front entrance, I found my self being approached by an angry Italian woman yelling something at me and seemingly questioning something about my backpack. I didn’t have a clue what was going on and just looked at her dumfounded, trying to answer a question I had no hope of understanding. When she realized I was completely clueless she aggressively walked me towards the door, out the exit, and through the gate she’d apparently just closed. Turns out that the library had closed and even been gated up, effectively locking me in. Had I actually found a good connection and been able to sit for an hour I probably would have had more than enough time to write these blog entries from the confines of the library I’d been locked inside. Luckily that wasn’t the case and I was able to ponder what could have been from outside the gate, still slightly dumbfounded and confused by the verbal beating I’d just taken by an angry Italian librarian. She closely watched as I left the premises and I continued on.
Now frustrated with my inability to get internet in a library I was determined to find a connection by following a similar strategy to yesterday, walk the alleys with my computer open clicking “search”. I soon came across a connection, but after trying to get comfortable on the ground and fighting against a week signal I gave up on the search and moved forward in search of more pressing issues, food. Luckily enough I turned the corner into a nice little café with free wifi, just what I needed! I ordered a sandwich and sat down to work in a much more civilized way than I had done earlier in the alley. The sandwich was great, internet was fast, and soon it was time to meet back at the bus.
I made it back to the ship with no problem, had the rest of the night off (finally), and hung out with my friends in the evening. Thanks for reading!
Rome
August 22nd
Rome
Today was my third visit to Rome, but my first time back in about a year. I had signed up for a “Rome on your Own” tour, or basically a bus ride there and back, with the plan of exploring some areas I haven’t hit in my previous visits. Ben (tenor player) was on the same tour and we met up in the city to start the day off together. Ben had his mind set on going to the top of St. Mark’s Basilica, something that he’d been recommeneded to do from some old friends. Being something new to me, I was up for it, and 5 euros and 500 stairs later, we were standing at the top of the dome looking out over the city. It was actually a really interesting ascent, probably more so than any other stairwell I’ve yet to encounter. Aside from it just being cool that you’re climbing to the top of the copula, there were times that the walls would slant with the bell shaped walls we were climbing inside of – I felt like I was hanging out with Willy Wonka. Same thing goes for the spiral staircases we had to negotiate, which had the tightest spiral I’ve seen. But we made it to the top, got the view we were looking for and eventually found the way back down to celebrate our success at ground level. We did happen to take a wrong turn exiting the basilica meaning we had to jump some fences at the risk of being chased down by the Pope’s guards, but what’s a real Mike adventure without jumping a fence of some type?
Following that visit we continued into the city where Ben wanted to make his way to the Coliseum. Having been there myself I decided to break from him and explore an area of the city I’ve been wondering about since my last visit. There’s an area on the other side of the river where tourists don’t seem to go and where there appeared to be a large collection of cafes, meaning a much hipper area than old ruin-y touristy Rome. When I finally figured out a way there through the backstreets of Rome I found all the cafes and restaurants I figured were there, and after a couple hours of walking, couldn’t find much more. Yeah, there weren’t many tourists, but I wasn’t as excited about the “hip-ness” of the place as I thought I might be. Really, all I wanted to do was find a café with a wireless connection and a cool vibe, but after a couple hours found no such thing. Disappointed by the lack of useful cafes and maybe a little wired from an espresso, I began wandering the back alleys with my computer open actively searching for an open wireless signal with every passing block. It took a few minutes, but I soon found a signal in some alley, sat down, and began enjoying the freedom that unrestricted internet access allows.
The alley wasn’t anything special, not especially attractive and not especially unnerving, but either way, maybe not the prime place to sit down in a road and work on an expensive laptop. While I sat there I was passed by a couple gypsies who did nothing and an Italian woman who made some comment to me in Italian. Not having any ability to comprehend Italian, I faked a laugh as she continued to walk by, probably not convinced of my chuckle. Then came the most exciting part of my day.
In front of me stood a motorcycle, parked in a usual way, acting as part of an arena for a fight that was breaking out between a cat and a roman rat! (Don’t even pretend like that’s not exciting) I raised my head to the sound of a vicious squeaking to observe the duel, which oddly enough, was being dominated by the rat. The rat had a strategy, squeak his brains out and lunge at the cat’s face. Man, it was a real life David and Goliath as this rat fought the cat to the point where the cat turned and ran. Now in all honesty, the cat was kind of a wimp, not quite the vicious beast that would have put up a real fight against the rodent, but regardless, it’s the principle. Anyway, after the rat proved his dominance he walked over to the front wheel of the motorcycle, near which lied a smashed piece of food, the apparent catalyst of the skirmish. Soon enough, however, the cat returned, and from the safety of the other side of the motorcycle wheel, observed the victor eating his spoils. After a moment of observation the cat returned to try again, and was again vanquished by the overly aggressive rat. And then later, after the rat had finished his mid day snack, as he slowly waddled across the alley toward my side of the street, the cat was literally right on his tail trying one last time while the rat’s back was turned. But after a similar combination of lunges and squeaks the rat proved unstoppable and the cat again went running for cover. It was an inspiring showing of strength in spite of unfavorable odds, regardless of how not terrifying the cat was. Like I said, it’s about the principle.
Now that I got that story off my chest, the rest of the day was usual. I finished up on the Internet, walked by to the bus and made the trip back to the ship. Nothing else out of the ordinary to get all riled up about, I don’t think I could handle it if there was considering my treatment of the rat tale. So that’s what I did in Rome, maybe not anything at the top of a usual tourist’s to-do list, but certainly worthwhile in the end. Thanks for reading!
Rome
Today was my third visit to Rome, but my first time back in about a year. I had signed up for a “Rome on your Own” tour, or basically a bus ride there and back, with the plan of exploring some areas I haven’t hit in my previous visits. Ben (tenor player) was on the same tour and we met up in the city to start the day off together. Ben had his mind set on going to the top of St. Mark’s Basilica, something that he’d been recommeneded to do from some old friends. Being something new to me, I was up for it, and 5 euros and 500 stairs later, we were standing at the top of the dome looking out over the city. It was actually a really interesting ascent, probably more so than any other stairwell I’ve yet to encounter. Aside from it just being cool that you’re climbing to the top of the copula, there were times that the walls would slant with the bell shaped walls we were climbing inside of – I felt like I was hanging out with Willy Wonka. Same thing goes for the spiral staircases we had to negotiate, which had the tightest spiral I’ve seen. But we made it to the top, got the view we were looking for and eventually found the way back down to celebrate our success at ground level. We did happen to take a wrong turn exiting the basilica meaning we had to jump some fences at the risk of being chased down by the Pope’s guards, but what’s a real Mike adventure without jumping a fence of some type?
Following that visit we continued into the city where Ben wanted to make his way to the Coliseum. Having been there myself I decided to break from him and explore an area of the city I’ve been wondering about since my last visit. There’s an area on the other side of the river where tourists don’t seem to go and where there appeared to be a large collection of cafes, meaning a much hipper area than old ruin-y touristy Rome. When I finally figured out a way there through the backstreets of Rome I found all the cafes and restaurants I figured were there, and after a couple hours of walking, couldn’t find much more. Yeah, there weren’t many tourists, but I wasn’t as excited about the “hip-ness” of the place as I thought I might be. Really, all I wanted to do was find a café with a wireless connection and a cool vibe, but after a couple hours found no such thing. Disappointed by the lack of useful cafes and maybe a little wired from an espresso, I began wandering the back alleys with my computer open actively searching for an open wireless signal with every passing block. It took a few minutes, but I soon found a signal in some alley, sat down, and began enjoying the freedom that unrestricted internet access allows.
The alley wasn’t anything special, not especially attractive and not especially unnerving, but either way, maybe not the prime place to sit down in a road and work on an expensive laptop. While I sat there I was passed by a couple gypsies who did nothing and an Italian woman who made some comment to me in Italian. Not having any ability to comprehend Italian, I faked a laugh as she continued to walk by, probably not convinced of my chuckle. Then came the most exciting part of my day.
In front of me stood a motorcycle, parked in a usual way, acting as part of an arena for a fight that was breaking out between a cat and a roman rat! (Don’t even pretend like that’s not exciting) I raised my head to the sound of a vicious squeaking to observe the duel, which oddly enough, was being dominated by the rat. The rat had a strategy, squeak his brains out and lunge at the cat’s face. Man, it was a real life David and Goliath as this rat fought the cat to the point where the cat turned and ran. Now in all honesty, the cat was kind of a wimp, not quite the vicious beast that would have put up a real fight against the rodent, but regardless, it’s the principle. Anyway, after the rat proved his dominance he walked over to the front wheel of the motorcycle, near which lied a smashed piece of food, the apparent catalyst of the skirmish. Soon enough, however, the cat returned, and from the safety of the other side of the motorcycle wheel, observed the victor eating his spoils. After a moment of observation the cat returned to try again, and was again vanquished by the overly aggressive rat. And then later, after the rat had finished his mid day snack, as he slowly waddled across the alley toward my side of the street, the cat was literally right on his tail trying one last time while the rat’s back was turned. But after a similar combination of lunges and squeaks the rat proved unstoppable and the cat again went running for cover. It was an inspiring showing of strength in spite of unfavorable odds, regardless of how not terrifying the cat was. Like I said, it’s about the principle.
Now that I got that story off my chest, the rest of the day was usual. I finished up on the Internet, walked by to the bus and made the trip back to the ship. Nothing else out of the ordinary to get all riled up about, I don’t think I could handle it if there was considering my treatment of the rat tale. So that’s what I did in Rome, maybe not anything at the top of a usual tourist’s to-do list, but certainly worthwhile in the end. Thanks for reading!
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