June 20, 1995: Flight Home

We left Venice, Italy at 8 a.m.    We took a boat to the airport which was so strange to me.    Imagine bringing our luggage on a speed boat to the airport, instead of by car.     We took the airline, Alitalia, to Milan, Italy.    From Milan, it was an 8 hour flight to Newark, New Jersey.     My ears were really plugged on the flight home. My inner ears were draining which was very painful.   It was very miserable.      After this trip, Charlene bought me one of the best presents in the world.   They were ear planes.    You put these in your ears and they relieve the air pressure. I don't travel anywhere without them. I never want to experience that inner ear pain ever in my life again.   It was 100 degrees in Grand Rapids this day. 

This was a wonderful first cruise.   We all had a wonderful time.  Little did we know that Grandpa would be taking us on more cruises all over the world.   We were truly blessed.

June 19, 1995: Venice

We had breakfast at the top of our hotel.  Then, we went on our own to see Venice.   I got to the Rialto Bridge and Grandpa found us.    We also saw where the local people lived.  The streets were narrow and the names of the streets were on flat signs on the buildings. If you didn't have these signs, you would definitely get lost in this city.    

In the afternoon, Charlene, Kelsey, Mom, and I went on a boat to our hotel's sister hotel on the island of Lido.  The name of the hotel was Excelsior.     It was on the Adriatic Sea. We rented a cabana for the afternoon.    The cabana had a dressing room, table, pillow, and water to rinse your feet after swimming.    Kelsey and I went swimming.   We had pizza for dinner.  It was about a 30 minute walk from the Excelsior.   After dinner, we went inside the casino.   Our boat back to Hotel Danieli was full of wealthy looking people.  We looked like hicks compared to these wealthy people.  Charlene had her big fanny pack on and my mom had her white sandals that said Hawaii on them.   Kelsey and I laughed so hard.

June 18, 1995: Venice

Kelsey found out that many of the dancers and waiters on the ship were gay.    

We disembarked the boat shortly after breakfast.   It was sad to see our room getting prepared for the next guests who were to board the ship later in the day.    We stayed at the Hotel Danieli.   It was in the movie, 'Only You', starring Marisa Tomei.

Walked around Venice with Grandpa and Grandma while our rooms were getting ready.    The whole family went on a gondola ride. Kelsey and I were happy we got a cute Italian driver.      It was such a peaceful ride.   The birds were singing and chirping.

We had a great pizza for lunch at Cafe de Roberto.  In Italy, you pay a different price if you eat and stand than if you eat and sit down at a table.   I liked their pizza as it was thin crust, with light tomato sauce and light cheese.

Had dinner at "Alfredo, Alfredo'.  I had lasagna and a chocolate malt.   The Brooklyn ladies, whom Charlene met on the cruise, also ate there.   They had gone to the Amalfi Coast with Charlene, Kelsey, and Grandpa last week.    

Our rooms at the Hotel Danieli were gorgeous.   They were really big with marble bathrooms.    Our room key was a large old fashioned key. There were also doorbells outside of each room.     When you left the hotel, you gave your big key to the front desk to hold.     

June 17, 1995: Venice

I got up early to see the boat go through the canal in Venice.   It was so neat.    Took a tour of the islands, Burano, Murano, and Torcello.  Burano was so cute. Each house was a different color with flowers in flower baskets.    Saw how glass was made in Murano.  Saw a church in Torcello.  Burano was known for its fine lace.  One thing that was interesting in Murano were the bathrooms in one of these glass chandelier stores.    The toilets were flat and in the floor.  We had to squat in order to go to the bathroom.   It was so weird, especially for an expensive store.

The islands were so far apart. The canal was like a big highway full of boats and not cars.   

After dinner, Charlene, Kelsey and I went to Venice to see the town and our Hotel Danieli.   It was the same hotel that was in the movie "Only You" starring Marisa Tomei.  We went inside via the gorgeous door.  The people looked so wealthy.     It cost $300 a night to stay there.     The red awning where the boats were parked was also in the movie.    We walked around St. Mark's Square.   

When we got back to the ship, I fell on the boat over a piece of wood.  A good looking Italian man helped me up. Kelsey and Charlene laughed.

Our room was on the Fiesta deck (room 422).   Charlene and Kelsey were next door in room 426.    Grandpa's suite cost him $15,000.  The whole trip cost Grandpa $33,000.

The workers on the ship worked 6-7 days a week and only got about 1 to 2 days off in a 6 month period, so it was very hard work.  

June 16, 1995: Day at Sea

Today, I relaxed on the boat.  It was a day at sea.   I had breakfast on the sun deck.   Sergio and Marion came over and talked to us.  Spent some time laying on the deck while listening to my music. Then, I went and played cards.    Tonight was formal night and the captain's farewell dinner.   At dessert, Mario, along with the other assistant waiters went through the dining room with lighted Alaskan baked cake along with Italian music.

Watched a terrific show called "As Time Goes By."  It was music from each decade along with clips of movie stars, shows, and world events on the screen.   The 60s costumes were great.    Charlene, Kelsey, and Grandpa watched the water glisten shortly after sunset.

June 15, 1995: Greek Isle Zakynthos

Watched a slide presentation about what went on behind-the-scenes on the boat.   Underneath us was where the Princess Patter program was made.   Also, there were large storage rooms for vegetables, liquor, pop, etc.    They had washing machines that did about 10,000 pieces of laundry a day.

The kitchen was running 24 hrs a day.  They put soup in 920 gallon pots.   Our waiters, Sergio and Marion, came and talked to us.  They looked different wearing their sunglasses and Hawaiian shirts.   Mario was single and from Romania.   Sergio was from Portugal and had a wife and 7 month old.   He was going home in one month. He didn't  think he would return to the ship to work. 

Went on a tour of the Greek island, Zakynthos.   Saw a beautiful Greek Orthodox church with sold gold in the inside.

Went to the beach and put my feet in the turquoise blue ocean.    There were topless women there that Grandpa liked looking at.    He acted like he was taking a picture of me in the water so he could get a picture of the topless ladies. Just as he was about to snap the picture, a large wave came up and covered the ladies up.   I laughed so hard.

Grandpa and Charlene said I danced very well last night.   Charlene said I did the twist really well.  

This lady we met on the boat, Marianne, bought a necklace made with an eye.  It's supposed to shield away the evil.  If you are beautiful in Greece, you had to spit 3 times in order to get rid of the evil. 

Chris Nichol performed the song, 'Love Boat' for the evening show.    During the show, the emergency buzzer went off.   The show had to stop because there had been a fire in the engine room on the boat.  Crew members came out with life jackets.  Thank goodness the fire was extinguished.    

We went on a tour of the kitchen.  Everything was stainless steel.

Grandpa and I took walks around the boat after each dinner.    It was very windy on the top deck. Sometimes, I felt like I was going to be blown away.

June 14, 1995: Kusadasi, Turkey

Our boat docked in Kusadasi, Turkey.  Turkey was considered part of the Middle East.   Turkey was still an agricultural country, but was becoming a tourist destination.   Tourism had become heavy in the past 15 years.   Turkey imported 85% of their oil.  They were known for cotton, wool, and textiles.

Only about 1/7 of high school graduates who took the exam got into the university.  Once they passed the exam and were accepted into the university, it only cost them $100 a year for a medical degree.   About 98% of the people were Muslim, but only 80% of those Muslims were strict Muslim.

Muslims pray 5 times a day. They couldn't have alcohol or pork.  There were about 60 million people who lived in Turkey.

Our tour guide had one year left of medical school and had to do an internship in east Turkey as a doctor in military.  

The countryside was mountainous and green.  It wasn't how I pictured it.   

We saw where they believe the Virgin Mary died.  It was way up on the top of a mountain.  It looked so peaceful.   

I saw ancient Ephesus from the book of the Ephesians in the bible.   It was quite interesting.   We found out later that Charlene almost got bit by a wild dog while at the ruins.   Instead,  the dog bit a lady my aunt met on the trip.  Her friend was allergic to tetanus shots so she had to get an antibiotic.

We saw St. John's Basilica.    

I bought 4 musical wood instruments for $1.   After the tour, we went to a demonstration on how to make rugs.   They rolled out several rugs for us to see.   They served us Turkish tea.    I felt so rich having all these men roll out rugs for me to see.  

Went through the 2nd largest Turkish marketplace in Turkey.   The vendors were quite pushy.    One guy asked where I learned to speak English so well.   Another vendor said he had a friend in Michigan.  He probably has a friend in every US state.

Tonight's show on the boat was a French show, starring Chris Nichol and Marsha Harris from London.    

Grandpa, Grandma, Charlene, Kelsey and I went dancing.  I learned how to do the electric slide which was fun.  

We watched the champagne waterfall.   Champagne glasses were put in a triangle (700 glasses).  The maitre'd poured wine on the top glass which filtered down to the other glasses.  It took about 48 bottles of wine.   All of us women were given a chance to have our picture taken pouring the champagne with the maitre'd.   

June 13, 1995: Athens, Greece

We took a tour of Athens, Greece.  Saw Poseidon's Temple at Cape Sounion.   It was at the top of a mountain overlooking the sea.  The mountains here were rocky and had cactus plants.   We had lunch at this Greek restaurant that overlooked the water. The baklava was delicious.

Walked up to the Acropolis.    It was very hot outside.   Saw the Parthenon.    We saw the whole city of Athens.   The Acropolis was about 2500 years old. The Ionian sea separated Greece from Italy.   There was about 7000 yrs of history on the Acropolis.

In Greece, there were no statues in Greek churches.    Greece was about half the size of Italy.   There were about 3000 islands around Greece.

We saw the Palace of Greece.   Mom and I got our picture taken with a guard.   Across the street was a park full of cats.   I was told that the local people left cats they didn't want in this park.   

June 12, 1995: Grand Buffet on the Ship

Today was a day at sea.     They had the grand buffet with all of the carvings, ice sculptures, desserts, etc.   We took alot of pictures.    We went to a show, 'American Music' after dinner.

June 11, 1995: Sorrento, Italy

We docked in Sorrento, Italy.   Then, we took a tender to land.     The roads were really narrow.   Sorrento was a charming city and much cleaner than Florence. 

We visited the ruins of Pompeii.  It was buried in ash from Mt. Vesuvius years ago.   We saw the skeletal remains of a pregnant woman who died from the volcano eruptions.  
We saw the Red Light District on the ruins.    Inside, there were pictures of the what the prostitutes specialized in.   Grandpa saw those in 1944 when he was in the service in Pompeii.   Charlene, Grandpa, and Kelsey went on a ride along the Amalfi coast and ate at the same restaurant as Jackie Kennedy.

June 10, 1995: Rome, Italy

Mom, Grandpa, Charlene, and I went on a tour of Rome.   We got to the Vatican which was very crowded.    In 1929, it became a Vatican state.  About 1000 people lived in the Vatican.  It's about 1/2 sq. mile.   The Vatican had its own currency and stamps.  It was surrounded by a wall.  

The lines were so long at the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica. The hallway to the Sistine Chapel was gorgeous.  The figurines on the walls and ceiling looked like sculptures, but were in fact, flat surfaces.   One of the workers yelled at Charlene to get off the grass outside the chapel. I thought that was pretty funny.

The 'Last Judgment' sculpture in the Sistine Chapel was gorgeous.    St. Peter's Basilica was huge and gorgeous.    The letters on the ceiling were 7 feet tall.   Saw the statue of Mary and Jesus.   

The square in front of the cathedral was huge.    St. Peter's Square was designed by Giovanni Bernini.   It could hold more than 400,000 people.   Pope John Paul's apartment was the second window from the right on the top floor of the yellowish, orange building in St. Peter's Square. 

We had lunch at the Hotel M. D'azeglio in Rome.   The inside of this restaurant was decorated in gold and white.

Saw the famous 'Trevi Fountain'.  If 4 coins were thrown in it, your daughter would marry a doctor.  There were sayings for 1, 2, and 3 coins tossed in the fountain.

Saw the Colosseum.  This was once an amphitheater, which held more than 50,000 spectators and was the site of the gladiatorial competition and religious persecution.

We saw many policemen on the streets with machine guns.

Kelsey had stayed on the ship with Grandma. She said it didn't go too well.      Grandma got mad at Grandpa for going on this day trip.    Grandma was getting mixed up on this cruise.  People with Alzheimers need to be in familiar surroundings.

At dinner, Grandpa tried to floss his teeth with the tea bag.  It was hilarious.    There's never a dull moment at our table.

June 9, 1995: Livorno, Italy

Arrived in Livorno, Italy.   We took a bus to the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa.    Kelsey and Charlene took the Florence 'On your own'.    On one angle, the Leaning Tower didn't lean as much.    Our tour guide's name was Giovanni, from Florence.  

In Florence, we saw the Statue of David made by Michelangelo.   It had been in the town square 300 years before being put under a roof.    Michelangelo began sculpting it at the age of 26.    

Saw the Church of Duormo.  The door had the face of the man who created it.

Florence, Italy was in the middle of Italy.  I thought it was closer to the coast.   Italy was dirty compared to the clean Monte Carlo.  The people in Florence and in many other parts of Europe used scooters for transportation, as gas was so expensive and the roads were quite narrow.

We saw where Galileo , Leonardo de Vinci, and Michelangelo were buried.   Galileo tested his theory of gravity from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

We drove back 1 1/2 hours back to Livorno to board our cruise ship.

I tried English pudding for dinner.   I didn't care for it. 
We got our pictures back from formal night.  They turned out nice.

Tried a Heinecken beer with Kelsey at the movie, 'River Wild', that we saw on the ship.  We were laughing so hard at the man snoring loudly behind us in the theater.