I can’t eat anymore! (Never thought you’d hear ME say that, hey?)

I’m sitting in my cabin having just returned from walking around in Trapani, Italy.  We (Amye, Tyler, Steve and myself) decided that today was going to be an eating fest since it was our last day in Italy.  Our first search was for lunch – a true Italian lunch.   After about 15 cafes later, we found a café with a menu that looked delicious!  It was fantastic just to sit outside in the fresh and crisp air and enjoy real Italy.  We all ordered the Caprese – which is just as it is served in the states but the Roma tomatoes are out of this world and fresh mozzarella drizzled with a bit of olive oil and oregano.  Tyler, Amye and I ended up with homemade egg noodles with mushrooms. Not much of a sauce on it – but it was delicious and had tons of garlic, which I LOVE.  Steve ordered fresh tortellini with a cream sauce and ham.  After finishing our hearty Italian meal, we knew that our next stop would be gelato.

Well – as you will see throughout this post (I’ll be backtracking through the last two weeks since I haven’t posted in a bit) that I have never like gelato in the states but MAN-OH-MAN is it out of this world in Europe.  I love the fruity ones – especially the mango and tropical fruit flavors!  Well, there happened to be a gelato place right next door to the café, so we headed in to get some.  We all got a cone and continued to walk around the city.  Trapani is quite small but it is picturesque Italy.  Our next mission was to find a cannoli or 6 to take back to the ship.  We searched several bakeries in search of the cannoli that a guest had brought us the week before (that we out of this world).  Again, I have never liked any cannoli that I had tried before, but one made in Italy is an entirely different ballgame.  They outside shell is so crispy and sweet and then the ricotta cheese on the inside is rich and creamy…to die for! 

We finally found a bakery that had some which looked like cannoli perfection, so we ordered 6 to take back with us for later.  The girl behind the counter went and got the shells and filled them up before drizzling chocolate over the top and dusting them with confectioners sugar.  They were a sight to see…and weighed about 5 pounds!  (I think I gained about 10 just looking at them!)  Amye and I were determined that we were going to at least bite into them while still on Italian soil.  We were SO full already…I couldn’t even do it – she did and we got a cute picture of her eyes googling at the beautiful cannolis.  We headed back to the ship and decided to just relax for the rest of the afternoon until we had to work again. 

La Goulette, Tunisia – I have two separate times of docking in Tunisia to talk about.  Our first time porting in Tunisia was about a week and a half ago and a couple of people talked about going ashore to ride some camels and walk around the port for a bit to explore the city.  Amye was dead set on riding a camel as soon as we got off the ship.  Oddly enough, there were about 10 men waiting right on the pier with probably 4 camels or so ready for a ride.  There is one guy, we will call him “The Camel Pimp” of the camel rides, and Amye asked him “How much to ride?” and he says “For you, free”.  In disbelief, Amye says “ok”.  I say…”And how much for me?”  The Camel Pimp grabbed my wrists, lifted my arms in the air, looked my body up and down, turned me around to look at my ass and then back around just so he could tell me I would be “5 Euro.” 

Needless to say, I was a bit upset (ok, really really pissed off) so I told him “no,thanks” with a bit of an attitude.  Amye and Katie each got a camel to ride and Tyler and I took photos.  The Camel Pimp posed them and had Katie take the lead line to Amye’s camel.   Towards the end, the camel pimp made attempts to get me to lead the camel, knowing full well how pissed I was.  I just ignored him and definitely ready to go at that point.  Unfortunately, I must admit that I did have a small cry when we walked away. 

Once they finished their ride, we walked through the port, which was basically a nice little mall/shopping center with lots of little shops in it with souvenirs, spices, lots of soaps, etc.  After walking around and saw what little there was to see in the pier, we found a small café with an outside patio and a view of the ship.  The weather was beautiful so we sat outside and ordered drinks – everybody ordered beer, with the exception of me because we all know how I feel about beer.  I ended up with a Coca Cola Light and the funny thing is – when the bill arrived, my diet coke cost the same thing as their beers!  After about an hour of enjoying the fresh air, we headed back to the ship.

BUT – I can’t close this day out without the funniest story of them all!  Amye and I were standing next to each other while we all walked back.  A gentleman in the native attire walked by us with a large duffle back.  Amye leans over and very casually says “Do you think he’s got a camel in that bag?”  After laughing hysterically, I said “Yep” and proceeded to inflate/blow up an inflatable came.  Well, after typing that – I guess it was a “had to be there” moment.

[Side story – Leah, a girlfriend-on-board of my guitarist friend Brad, was talking to an ex of Meghan while we were at an Engine workshop party.  Basically, she told JP (the ex) that he was mentally retarded for ever letting Meghan go.  Leah looked JP in the eye and said “In my country, we call someone like Meghan a dime – she’s a 10 and an amazing girl”  The story continues, but we were always telling each other that “You’re a dime.”  After the Camel Pimp run-in, I now told all my girls that “You girls might be a dime, but I’m a 5 Euro kinda girl.]

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming….

The second time we docked in Tunisia was just two days ago and I was determined to ride a camel this time, even if I was a “5 Euro” kinda girl and very sick all at the same time.  When we arrived outside, we did not initially see the man who told me how much I cost.  BUT, within about 30 seconds of us arriving at the camels, the Camel Pimp popped up.  He told me it would be five Euros but he would let Amye ride for free.  This time the camel pimp didn’t mention my weight or appearance and I just really wanted to ride that damn camel.  In Cairo a few months ago, I did sit on one but didn’t get it to stand up or anything.  Well, I climbed on the first camel sitting down and before I knew it, the camel pimp threw Amye on the same camel as me and the camel was starting to stand up.  HEAVEN HELP ME that was scarier than any roller coaster I’ve ever been on.  Amye was sitting much higher on the camel than I was – so I couldn’t see anything in front of her and all I did was wrap my arms around her extremely tight and start to pray.  My butt was lopsided on the top of the camel so I was so uncomfortable with every step he took and I just wanted to get off.  We got several hilariously funny pictures and an even funnier video of the camel sitting down.  Glad I did it but it was CRAZY – scarier than all of the crazy roller coasters that I’ve been on in my 27 (holy cow…27) years of living. 

This is the only photo of both of us smiling…the rest of faces of fear!

 

Civitavecchia, Italy – This port is the main port with access to Rome.  Most of our guests take buses and trains into Rome to see all the sights there, so the ship is docked until quite that late in the evening.  The first time we were in Civitavecchia (Ch-vi-ta-vek-e-a), Steve, Myself, Amye, Teleya and Colette went out with a mission to eat (anyone surprised?),  There are lots of shops and streets that you can wander down while there, so we walked for a bit hoping we would stumble across a restaurant with Wi-Fi (we-fee, as they say in Europe) and good food.  We eventually found the latter of the two at a place conveniently named “the Pizzeria”.  We wandered in an the food smelled great so we were ready!  Teleya and Colette ordered a spinach and ricotta ravioli, Steve ordered a bruschetta and a frankfurter calzone (they put frankfurters in everything here) and the biggest bottle of beer ever and Amye ordered a pizza.  I settled on a salad and a calzone.  The calzone left a bit to be desired because I love my sauce and it was a bit dry, but all in all an experience, right?  The salad was TO DIE FOR…who would have though?  I’ve noticed that they serve tuna on pretty much all the salads they serve in Italy,  The salad was lettuce, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tomatoes, tuna and olives (which were quickly removed and set to the side…YUCK!)  All full and ready to move on, we headed to a small outdoor café to grab a coffee/beer/wine/water and get some Wi-Fi before heading back to work. 

Our most recent time of docking in Civitavecchia was just 3 days ago and again, had the intention of food and Wi-Fi.  Well, we really all wanted to go into Rome, but as per usual, the deck officers decided it would be a great day for a VERY LONG DRILL so that nobody had the time to go into Rome, so as I mentioned, we resorted to the only other option – food.  This time, we went for gelato first (my new addiction) at a little corner shop.  I had a melon/mango with white chocolate.  The white chocolate gelato was amazing, as was the melon, but there were real  chunks of white chocolate!  Amazing as always.  Since it was Sunday, there was a flea market set up down the entire street with vendors selling everything from jewelry to electronics to soap.  Of course, I saw jewelry and began to shop.  I found a really cool long necklace with a heart (with a bell inside…ding ding), a pair of earrings and a beautiful own necklace.  My wallet was growing weak, so we returned to the same Wi-Fi café that we hit the previous week and enjoyed the free internet for about an hour or so before we decided we were hungry…hehe.  Of all the options, we ended up at McDonalds which was actually a more expensive selection.  I believe that my chicken sandwich combo was around $12.00 American dollars.  Crazy, hey?

Jess told us that she had gone to a little souvenir shop around the corner the week before and she wanted to go back because they had some fun little trinket type things.  She took us around the corner to this little corner shop with a handmade sign outside that indicated it was “Frank’s Place.”  After entering, we quickly noticed it was very small with a lot of cheap trinket type things.  Behind the counter was a tall gentleman with thick salt and pepper hair, a sky blue sweater and khaki pants and glasses that instantly reminded me of Harry potter.  Immediately he said “Hello and welcome to my shop, lots of discounts for you.  I asked him if he was Frank and he said yes.  Not sure whether or not my causal tone with him made him relax a bit, but before we knew it Frank had us all laughing so hard because of the way he was talking about his shop and how he knew it was full of “cheap made in china shit” but “who cares?”  When he found out we were crew, things got even cheaper.  There was the wolf statue with the kids nursing from it and I asked him what the story was.  He quickly relayed the “Reader’s Digest” version of it and stated “that because of that, you can say that all Roman’s are sons of bitches”.  Frank’s casual manner just made the trip memorable and we enjoyed spending a few minutes talking to him about his store and his life.  It was a great laugh before heading back to the ship.

Meet Frank:

On these two short 7 day cruises, I have quickly put Italy on my list of top places I’ve visited.  Reason number one would have to be the food and reason number two simply because they Italians are very fun and welcoming people.  No matter how much we struggle to speak Italian and communicate, they still have a smile on and have a great time with us.  A port in Italy that I have a special love for is Santa Margharita Ligure or Livorno.  This port is actually the gateway for guests to take a ferry over to Portofino.  Due to time constraints and lack of desire to spend money on a ferry ride, several of us decided to get off the ship to walk around and get food (go figure!).  Character is the best word I have to describe the city – it is a picturesque little town with local pharmacies, vendors lining the streets and a café every step you take with large umbrellas and small tables cluttering the streets. 

Our first day in Santa Margherita Ligure two weeks ago, we decided to do some exploring which led us up an extremely step stairwell to a beautiful church at the peak.  We walked in and it was extremely old with ornate décor and beautiful chandeliers dangling over the rickety pews.  When we left the church, we walked down a long narrow path with stone arches and walls made of a grey stone with vines oozing down the sides.  Turns out, there is a University right next to the church – again, quite old but a place I’d definitely be willing to attend.  Since it was a the top of this very steep hill we climbed, the views of the harbor were unbeatable and the best part is that there was a small pond loaded with tons of turtles (which were stacked in such awkward poses that we thought they were fake) and statues of various smart people (I really have no clue what they were of!).  We made our way down the hill and ended up at a little gelato store right on the water with a small patio.  This particular Gelateria had an amazing Tropical fruit gelato – once I finished mine, I said “I should have gotten the big one.”  So delicious!  My taste buds were satisfied and was ready to catch the tender and head back to work.

It was less than a week later (four days to be exact) before we were back in the same spot.  The only intention we had for the day was to hit that same spot and score some more of the gelato better known as deliciousness.  We just had three of us, Steve, myself and Jess and they both suggested we get some lunch at a cafe .  It didn’t take long for us to settle on a café about 4 doors down from the Gelateria with the delicious awesomeness in a cone by the name of “de Alfredo”.  We sat “outside” – can’t really say it was outside because it had one of those greenhouse-style glass coverings.  Steve ordered a massively large calzone, Jess initially ordered the “Pesto lasagna” and I ordered Gnocchi Pesto.  Santa Margherita is actually located in the region where Pesto began, so I was dead set on ordering something with Pesto and what better to eat it on than gnocchi?  When it all arrived our eyes were HUGE because it all looked incredible – Steve’s calzone was puffed up to perfection with air as it was delivered to the table straight out of the fire burning pizza oven.  Jess didn’t get a pesto lasagna – she ended up ordering a pasta dish called “tolfi pesto” (at least that’s what I think it was called.”  Her pasta reminded me of Spaitzel covered in a mixture of pesto sauce and maybe a slight bit of alfredo.  My gnocchi was homemade and completely different than any gnocchi I’ve ever tasted before.  In the states, whenever I had had gnocchi, the dumplings were chewy and dense but here they were light, fluffy and melted in my mouth.  Oh, and don’t forget the creamy pesto sauce unlike any of the oily pesto in the US.  Oh man…there’s nothing else I can say to describe it other than HEAVEN :)

THE pesto Gnocchi:

Last day to post about in this particular post!!!!  PHEW – I know this is long and if you have hung on this long, please comment and let me know you’re still alive :) Monte Carlo, Monaco was never a place I had thought about visiting and truly never realized what it was.  Travel Guide Ian ended up hooking me up on an awesome tour called “Jewels of Cote de Azure” which made several stops in Monaco as well as Nice and Eze in France.  We started off driving to “The Rock” which is what the old city in Monaco is referred to as. 

After several elevators and escalators, we finally made it to the top where our tour guide, Florence, showed us the Museum de Oceanographiqe and one of the schools for the kids that actually live in Monaco.  Well – if you don’t know anything about Monaco, money talks.  The harbor is loaded with tons and tons of large and expensive yachts.  Florence told us about the kids in the school and how lucky they were because their parents had to be extremely wealthy for them to even live in the heart of Monaco.  The average cost per square food is 2,000-3,000 EUROS.  Holy Cow is that an incredible amount.  But anyways, back to the tour.  We walked up the rock even more checking out the views and buildings and well as the hundreds of yachts all over the water.  Next stop, the Cathedral of Monaco where saw the tombs of Grace Kelly and Price Rainier.  Beautiful Cathedral and almost a museum with the way they have it set up with all the different cloaks on display.  Then we stopped by Princess Palace, but truly couldn’t see much because of all the construction – but the view  of the city as well as the Grand Prix track from the very top was worth the walk in itself. 

One hour and one bus ride later, we stopped in Nice and had an hour of free time.  Had an ice cream bar there because there was truly nothing there that impressed me or excited me.  Cute little town but if I never would have made it there, I would have been content.  Drove a bit more and ended up in Eze, which I think was one of my favorite spots! Eze is an incredible medieval city at the top of a mountain growing more and more in character and charm every step of the way.  You’ll have to check out the pictures when I eventually get them posted.  After an hour of free time walking around Eze, we met at the bottom in Cannes and had dinner at a small restaurant that had the most incredible view of the mountainside at sunset.  Our dinner was quite simple – salad with tuna and olive oil, chicken with a light cream sauce, green beans and roasted potatoes followed by a dessert that tasted like Cool Whip with pistachios and almonds.  At this point I was EXHAUSTED from the long day already (6 hours of the tour had already passed) but we still had one more stop, Monte Carlo. 

We took another hour bus ride back to Monaco so that we could stop in Monte Carlo and see the Grand Casino.  It was a bit of a hike from the bus to the Grand Casino as well as the center of the Grand Prix, but what a sight to see.  Lining the streets were Bentley’s, a Rolls Royce or three as well as every luxury car you imagine in one spot.  People entering the casino were dressed to the nine’s because of the dress code (and cover charge!) to enter the casino.  I stood outside and did lots of people watching – one because I love to people watch and observe what’s going on and I was also so tired that I just wanted to get back to the ship and go to bed!  When the group started to arrive at the meeting point, I was more than thrilled to head back to the bus.  It was truly an awesome day and I saw everything I could ask to see.  Don’t really have a desire to go back – but glad that I saw it while I had the opportunity because I know how blessed I truly am:)

Ok – I think I’ve typed a few chapters in a novel at this point and please excuse any typos.  Lots of love to everyone out there! XOXO

Would the pounding in my head please subside?

(PS – this is two days old…it wouldn’t let me post it for the last two days!)

I have a terrible headache and have had it all day! Not sure why…I think it’s the lack of water, but I’ll survive. Didn’t post yesterday – so I’ll do it for both days now!

Yesterday, we had a long day in Cadiz, Spain. What a beautiful port! Been there before and it is just a fantastic city for walking, internet, people watching, food and fresh air. Steve (my friend, the DJ) and I wanted some internet, so we went ashore and walked around until we found the massive Cathedral in the middle of the city. All of the crew know this Cathedral because it has free wifi! There was a café there with tables outside and I love to be outside, especially when the weather is fantastic like it was yesterday. We sat on our computers and ordered a “Baguette”. There were several options of “Baguettes” – I picked the Ham and cheese but they apparently didn’t have the ingredients for that so they gave me 3 options and the only one that sounded decent turned out to be a large frankfurter on a French baguette with cheese and bacon. Surprisingly, it was delicious but quite funny to see a sandwich like that. After 2 or so hours, I had to head back to work so we grabbed some ice cream and began the walk back. You know you’ve been on ships a long time when you appreciate free wifi and fresh air. A great day!
When we returned, I had a couple more activities to complete for the day and then had the night off. A group of six of us went to the Pinnacle Grill (one of our specialty restaurant) and had an ok dinner there (definitely not the best one I’ve eaten) and then I sat in the office for a couple of hours to get some work done and get ahead. I think I’m pretty much there, which is exciting to me.

We ported in Malaga, Spain today – was here as well a few months ago on the Prinsendam but didn’t get off this time. I traded IPM’s with the Lifestylist, Katie and she took mine yesterday. IPM is In port manning where one of us is required to stay on board in case of an emergency. Did my morning activity, we had a full crew General Emergency Drill (with those OH-SO-SEXY bright yellow lifejackets) and then there was a plaque ceremony on board. A plaque ceremony is when it is a ships first time in a port (like today – the Eurodam had never docked here before) and a few representatives from the city come on and they give us a plaque, we give them a plaque and that’s it. Only 2 reps showed up today and I took them on a tour of the ship after the small “ceremony” that we held. When that was over – worked for a few hours and then took a quick nap because of this headache. Woke up in time to jump in the shower and get ready for formal night.
Obviously, a couple boring days but I’m really adamant on making the effort to write in here at least every other day.

Highs (yesterday & today): Talking to Ben on the phone, compliments from guests, fresh air
Lows: This dam headache!
Peace, Love, Ships :)

Happy Easter!

Another fantastic Easter today! Today we are anchored off of Portimao, Portugal. Woke up and did my usual thing (working) this morning around 9 and then had the day off until 3PM. Since it is a tender port, I decided that I wasn't going to go ashore and use this day to get ahead in my work and get "on the ball" finally. I always say it takes about 2 weeks to settle into a ship and get your groove going and I feel like I'm finally getting to that point. It was one of those days where you anticipate nothing and get everything. I ended up sitting in the office all day with Megs, the event manager, and Margarita, the event manager in training. The Entertainment Department office pretty much has a revolving door, so all of my team members were in and out. I haven't laughed that much in a VERY long time. Anything and everything was hilariously funny. It's hard to explain, but every ship is different – it has its own culture and its own morale. When you join a new ship, it is similar to moving to a new city – you never know what to expect or who will be there. Well – on this ship I have been pleasantly surprised because my team is incredible. We get along and we just click. It's funny actually...Yesterday, Margarita was confirmed for reservations for 4 for our Italian restaurant onboard. Well – when it came time to pick her four, we (Dom, the cruise director and I) began to tease her (because we weren't in her four!!) She got frustrated and said "How do you guys do this without offending anyone?" Megs threw back the answer of "We normally don't like everyone, so we don't care!" It's SO true.

Anyways, it was Easter today – but nothing much out of the ordinary happening around the ship other than hard boiled dyed eggs that seem to have found their way into every corner of the ship and chocolate Easter bunny adorning the Lido buffet line. Myself, Amye (the Youth Program Coordinator) and Tyler (her husband) decided that we wanted to make it an Easter Extravaganza for the kids. SO – we took over the Culinary Arts Center and did an Easter Egg Hunt, Dying Easter Eggs and Decorating Easter Cookies. We had a blast – I think we enjoyed it more than the kids. Really gives us a reminder of the holidays because I can honestly say – sometimes the holidays fly by because we don't get days off and we forget to celebrate them as well as what they are about and this really gave us a chance to have a good time and celebrate!

I almost forgot- a big group of us decided to go to church today. Oh my goodness, what a crazy service it was. The Pastor was very very old and the service was extremely traditional with responsive readings and hymns with no books nor music. We ended up leaving after the "sermon" because the pastor was so difficult to understand and follow because he was all over the place!

All in all a fantastic day – nothing big or eventful happened, but it was just happy and fun!

High: Laughter…really sincere laughter.

Low: Not having Ben to celebrate Easter with L

Lots of love to everyone out there today!

Quote I found last night on somebody's facebook profile: "There are SO many possibilities! The whole world is open to me. I can do whatever I want to do, be whoever I want to be. AND I CHOOSE to be who I am and to be where I am – right here, right now. I revel in the present moment and I am thankful for all the gifts it brings." ~Dorothy Mendoza Row

Lisbon is SO Fado!

So, it's been a long time since I've written and I've been promising updates forever. I've decided that I'm going to start writing as of today and then I will begin to back track and fill in the blanks as we go and probably do one large update post very soon because in the last year (or so) my life has changed completely – mostly for the better. I'm learning who I am, what I'm about and exactly how to be what I want to be without influence or judgment from anyone else!

Anyways…I joined the Eurodam on April 10^th in Freeport, Bahamas where the ship was in dry dock for 8 days prior to my embarkation. I got onboard around 6PM and pretty much hit the ground running because there was so much to accomplish before the guests embarked on the 12^th. That night I worked like crazy as well as the following day – luckily we could be in our own clothes and get sweaty and dirty while trying to organize cabinets, closets and drawers. The girl that was here prior to me had things in 17 different places around the ship. I like things simple and ORGANIZED!

My birthday was on the 12^th, which as I previously mentioned was embarkation day for guests as well. We had water underneath us on the 11^th and sailed out of the dry dock to perform all the necessary tests before the guests came on board and pulled into Ft. Lauderdale for embarkation day. Well, my 27^th birthday was busy to say the least – but my "Explorations Team" (my Entertainment team onboard) did whatever they could to make it as special as possible. I had known two of them from previous contracts but the remainder were all brand new and they still helped me celebrate with dinner in one of our restaurants onboard, the Tamarind. I really couldn't have asked for more! 27 years of experience down and 27 years of blessings to say the least!

We had two sea days and then a stop in Bermuda. I have actually never been there before (Holland had stopped going there for many years and just recently resumed.) We weren't docked on the main island, but a few friends and I decided to go get some lunch and fresh air ashore. After walking around for awhile, we found this place called "Snorkel Park" where you could rent water toys like jet skies or snorkel. We chose just to have lunch at the restaurant overlooking the water. It was INCREDIBLE. Especially after two days at sea and before FOUR more days at sea. We ate then walked around a bit more and taking a few fun pictures before heading back to the ship for the evening work J

Four days at sea (four VERY rough days, if I do say so myself). I didn't get sea sick but I was so sleepy and tired from the constant rocking. PLUS, my room is on deck 7 all the way forward where we tend to feel motion a bit more, so I wasn't even sleeping well because I couldn't lay still long enough!

We finally saw land in Sao Paolo, Portugal, which we refer to as the Azores, and several of us went for a long walk to see what it was about. Not too much to "write home about" but we did find the "Jose Do Canto Botanical Gardens". We still couldn't figure out exactly what Jose accomplished to earn himself some gardens, but the park was beautiful. I'll post pictures soon – I think we only ended up taking a few, though. Maybe only one, come to think of it. We were hungry after walking around the gardens and the city for awhile, so we headed back to the terminal to grab a bite to eat at one of the cafes there and…Get this…we ate at a gourmet restaurant called "BURGER KING". It was quick and easy….not too exciting though!

One more ROUGH day at sea and we finally hit Lisbon where we had an overnight last night through today. I worked yesterday morning (for all of 20 minutes, I know…tough job) and I talked to a friend of mine, Steve, who is the DJ onboard. Him and I have become good friends because we're both in relationships where are significant others are on other ships – so basically, we commiserate together J He's great t- good friend and I feel like he's become a brother to me! Anyways, we decided to go have a look around the city. It was drizzling rain, but the city is absolutely fantastic! The buildings are fantastic and the historical architecture is breathtaking! All the streets are paved with beautiful stones and patterns. Most of the stores were closed because of Good Friday – but just walking around and talking to Steve was a blast. We looked (well, drooled) at every bakery window there was and walked to the "town square" that I like to call it where the theater was.

We headed back about 2 hours later to meet up with a group of friends to head out to dinner. Everyone met up on the gangway (about 8 of us) on a mission to find some food. My friend, Megs only likes chicken. She's a very picky eater! The rest of us wanted to try some local food and we went to probably about 6 restaurants and there was always one of two problems: One, they had no chicken or two, they were completely booked because of this "Fodo" music. We finally asked what "Fodo" was and were told that it was a type/style of music and it was a HUGE deal. (A bunch of them ended up going out that night to find out what it was – I didn't…tired of the rain!) But anyways…We ended up splitting into two different groups and a group of 6 of us found a restaurant that served CHICKEN! (Can I get an AMEN?) They also had a bunch of local dishes as well. We went in and ordered and the food was fabulous…after all the searching for chicken, Megs ended up with EGGS! I ordered this dish that they called "Seafood Casserole" and it was pretty much like paella with a reddish sauce over it. It was fabulous (slightly salty) but an all around wonderful dish. Jess ordered some Port wine and we just had a lot of laughter and fun! These are the nights when I remember how much this job makes me happy and defines who I am.

After eating a fabulous dinner, we ventured back out into the oh-so-rainy and wet Lisbon and just walked the streets for another hour or so…wandering into very interesting and comedic "Adult Only" stores an just enjoying the fresh air and time off the ship. We finally made it back to our home-sweet-Eurodam around 9:30, which was just in time to pick up some more friends just getting off work. I was so tired at this point from the rain and the cold and an overall exciting day that I decided to go take a hot shower, clean my room and crawl into bed while I watched a movie. I did call Ben, which just made the night even more perfect. He IS my other half and I cannot wait for everyone to meet him. Never thought I'd end up dating someone so much shorter than me – but I couldn't ask for anyone more incredible. His patience and truly unconditional love are admirable. God really put this man in my life to show me what it means to love and what a relationship should be.

Regardless of what this last year has brought me, or taken away for that matter, I am undeniably blessed. I had traveled, experienced and come in contact with so many beautiful people and places that the rest simply seems insignificant. I do understand and realize that I miss some of the things I've lost (or gotten rid of) – but know that if and when they make their way back into my life – it will be when God is ready for me to sort those things out and deal with those issues at hand. Things are happening for a reason – Grandma Ruscup said so and she was ALWAYS right. Thanks, Grandma J

My new goal, as of today, is to say one positive thing to a person each and every day. It has to be about them as a person. I feel that this could really lift someone up, so let's see how successful I am.

I'm going to try to keep up with this blog daily – but even if I don't, I want to put a "High" and a "Low" for each day in here to help me focus in on significant things.

Highs: Hearing from an old friend and realizing that I'm better than what I was before

Lows: Missing family

Quote of the Day: "I'm not the girl that I intend to be." ~ Sara Bareilles

 

Happy Easter All!

 

Eat, Pray, Love: Day 3 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

 

Just having to think about the places I went and the things I encountered today is exhausting! So, I guess here’s goes nothin’.

When I woke up this morning, I knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do in Turkey, just wasn’t exactly sure how to accomplish it. At 7:15, I was out the door, ready to go and on my way. When I reached the end of the terminal there was a Turkey Visitor’s Kiosk there, so I inquired about the possibility of Ephesus being within walking distance of the port. The little Turkish woman told me that there wasn’t but that the group of people (there were 6 of them) standing next to her were going to do a tour of Ephesus and The House of the Virgin Mary with a private guide for 35 Euros plus admission into the locations. Life is short, so I said sure! Our tour guide arrived – small girl, named Zeynep, probably about 21 or 22 with big brown eyes, red hair and freckles, which I definitely didn’t expect (when asked about where she got her characteristics, she said “milk man, I guess”) – and gathered us all into the Van.

While we waited for another family to join us, we all introduced ourselves and talked about where we were from, etc. There were two couples traveling from Oklahoma in celebration of one of the gentlemen’s 80^th birthday, Grant. The other couple, Todd and Valerie, were from California and then there was a husband and wife and their 2 kids from Venezuela (this is a picture of their 3 month old daughter – holy guacamole…beautiful!)

Along the way, Zeynep was talking about Turkish Culture – politics (democracy), religion (primarily Muslim…did not know that), jobs (70% in tourism, remainder in farming and agriculture) and Kusadasi (“Kusa” meaning bird and “dasi” meaning island). Ironically, Kusadasi is a peninsula, not an island, but Pidgeon Island is located right there as well – so, who knows!?!

Our first stop was at the House of the Virgin Mary. The story behind this was absolutely fascinating - how the Catholics believe one story and the Greek Orthodox believe another about whether or not the Virgin Mary died in this house. We drove up to the house and the energy was incredible. Such a quiet and spiritual atmosphere - it’s hard not to take a deep breath and say an extra prayer or two for the day. After paying the entrance fee (I believe it was $10 American dollars) I read the ticket and it says that the entrance was free, but the money from the tickets is to pay for electricity etc. Well, I did the math and the day prior there were 10,000 visitors to the House! Either that’s one helluvan electricity bill or someone’s getting PAID! Haha.

We ventured up to the house and walked in. It was very small and quaint, but was not set up like a traditional home. It was more as an sanctuary/alter as you walked through. Zeynep did tell us that there was originally one bedroom to the right and the rest was the living area. While we were in the house, it was quite comical – everyone is quiet and reflective and this woman comes in sweeping around us. I couldn’t help but laugh – something straight out of a comic strip. As we exited the house, there were candles and I grabbed one and lit it before placing it in the sand. I said a prayer along with the rest of my tour group and sure enough the sweeping lady was right behind us putting out candles just as fast as we lit them. She was in a hurry for sure!

            

 

As you walk away from the house and down this ramp, you end up at what I refer to as the prayer wall, where you can write on tissue or anything you have and tie it to this long wall of prayers. It’s pretty incredible and moving when you see all this napkins/tissues/papers ties to this wall and you can only imagine what heartfelt things prior visitors must have written on them. I wrote on one and put it up before heading to the “spring” as they referred to it.

      

Truly, the “spring” was multiple faucets in these small alcoves next to the prayer wall. This spring was said to be holy water and Zeynep said that many people came there to drink if they wanted to have a baby. It was funny, because when she was explaining this, the entire van looked at me as if to say “Don’t drink the water!” I filled up my bottle with that water to save for later.

         

On to Ephesus! There is no possible way for me to put into words what it is like to see Ephesus. What an engineering feat it must have been to build something that massive and that incredible, as well as productive. Walking through this amazing city and seeing how structured it was with Government houses a massive library and stadium, the walkways and the huge pieces of marble that they used to build it all just left me speechless.

We walked through the city in its entirety looking at the mosaics in front of the houses of the rich and the columns and buildings, I sat on the same toilets as the government men did. These toilets are fascinating by the way – there was running water in front of them so that they could scoop with their hands to wash themselves (but they always scooped with the left hand because they shook with their right) and then a large pool of running water in the bathroom as well so that they could discuss official business without being overheard!

 

           

While there, Zeynep told us that it was said that if we touched these two specific pillars at the same time, it was good luck. So, of course, I went back through and touched them joking with the group that it was going to bring me a good husband. Keep reading…

I think the part that shocked me the most about Ephesus was the fact that what we were seeing was only 10% of the city that they had recovered so far. That’s it! Just the idea that there is so much underground and yet to be discovered is just amazing. My favorite lesson of the day was about Nike, the Goddess of Victory. I’m sure my brother, Christian, knows all about this but forgot to share. Anyways, it is said that this is where Nike got their name and the “swoosh” came from the dress that she was always wearing. We left there – I had bought a book about the city because I love books and I think it will be a great way, when looking at my pictures and organizing, to look back and piece together everything that we saw.

We all met at the camel (see photo) and headed back to the market. Zeynep took us to a Turkish rug dealer where they did a presentation showing us a huge variety of silk and cotton fabric rugs along with the all natural and vegetable dyes and different patterns. So tempting to buy one – but the cheapest was about $700.00 and right now that just isn’t an option, unfortunately! There was a woman there that was making them and it’s fascinating to see the time and energy that goes into making just a small and simple rug. While we were watching the demonstration, another gentleman that owned a tea store brought us in some traditional Turkish Apple Tea. WOW! I can’t wait to go back and buy tons of that to take home for the family. It was so delicious- and I didn’t think I would even like thinking it would taste like apple cider – but I definitely loved it!

    

On the way back to the ship, I was walking with one of the couples and we were just chatting until a gentleman walked up to me and said “oh honey, will you please marry me?” Wow – those pillars really do work ;) I responded with “If only I had met you 20 minutes earlier and we would have had time to get to know each other before I leave! (It was literally all aboard time right then!) But hey – touch the pillars and you get an instant marriage proposal – that’s pretty powerful!

While sailing out of Kusadasi – the view was incredible – blue waters and mountains. I think Turkey is on the list of favorite places visited so far! After taking pictures of the sail away, I grabbed my book to lay out for a few hours of sunshine before we got to the next port of Patmos, Greece.

Of all that I had read about Patmos, there really was not much to the island. We tendered in (the tendering on this ship was the most efficient I’d ever seen it!) and I knew there was a monastery, but wasn’t sure as to where it was, so I simply wandered around on my own checking out some shops and walking through some of the neighborhoods there. I ended up buying a Christmas ornament there with a painting of a Grecian town on it and then sat under a tree and relaxed a bit before catching a tender back.

    

              

Tonight was the first of two nights where we had fixed seating in the dining room – the other nights were considered “open seating” where you could come at anytime and sit with whatever table had openings. Turns out, that Valerie and Todd from my tour earlier were at my table, which was fun. They were a great couple to talk to and joke about the food on the ship with. The food at dinner was awful – but so awful that it was funny. As an appetizer, I had ordered fried meatballs (they are on every Greek menu, by the way) and the plate showed up with two meatballs that had been baked to a rubbery consistency with a pool of marinara sauce underneath followed by a Greek salad with iceberg lettuce and Spinach pie (which is like a quiche) but it came as Spanakopita with a curry sauce (this was a curry that I wasn’t fond of –had a funny spice in it). Dessert was good though – Baklava and two other traditional greek desserts that I can’t remember the names of.

After dinner, I went to the show – that night was “Greek Night” and the entertainment department did a very cheesy rendition of the Greek dances that we are all a bit familiar with. My book was so good and I was nearing the end, so I headed to bed to finish it! (I’m finishing up Emily Giffin’s Heart of the Matter).

High: Just an incredible day and experience in Turkey.

Low: Pure exhaustion at the end of the day! (Can that count as a low – I don’t have anything else!)

Eat, Pray, Love: Day 2 – Athens, Green – Mykonos, Greece

My alarm went off around 7AM and I woke up, got myself ready, grabbed a bite to eat and headed downstairs to meet my driver. He loaded up my three ::heavy:: suitcases and drove me to the port of Piraeus to meet my cruise ship – the m/v Aquamarine from Louis Cruise Lines. The girl from the travel agency met me at the port, walked me past all the lines, checked me in and sent me on my way! I made my way to my room and quickly got myself situated. The ship is old to say the least (from the 70’s- if you’re from the 70’s, no you’re not old, but for a ship – that’s OLD!). When I embarked on this journey and cruise, I decided that I was here to explore and didn’t need anything luxurious. Simply a place to sleep safe and sound. Thank Goodness those were my only expectations - you’ll understand why.

As soon as I got my room semi-organized, I walked around the ship and did some exploring (met some Filipinos, of course) and then headed for the sunshine. The weather is nothing short of perfect since the minute I arrived– warm days and a cool breeze evenings, so far – perfect! I laid in the sun for a few hours and read a book (how nice is it to read and have nothing else to do!?!?!) I relaxed, which is something I haven’t done in a while given all that happened during my vacation. I wouldn’t have traded any of it – but I still adored a few “me” days.

The cruise set sail around 12:30, but we were supposed to leave by 11:00AM – which meant we were going to arrive late in Mykonos. I knew there wasn’t much to Mykonos, but I did want to take some photos and knew that it would be too late and dark to do so. We ended up arriving in Mykonos, Greece around 7:30PM and it was pitch black dark, but I did some walking around and could see how incredible it was! Picturesque Greek town – other than what Santorini is expected to look like, Mykonos is the same - perfectly white buildings with vibrant blue doors, which are said to be whitewashed at least once a month. Absolutely beautiful. Truly, Mykonos is just like a lot of ports – tons of shops and things of that nature. I walked around looking at all the Greek treasures and ended up buying this awesome bangle bracelet, which I will post pictures of as well before I decided to stop at a restaurant and eat on the water with an incredible view of the city.

After I was shopped out (I think with all the traveling I’ve done, I’m over all the trinkets and souvenirs), I headed back towards the ship’s shuttle and stopped for a bite to eat in a restaurant right on the water opposite of the city by the name of “Kavos.” The view was a perfect panoramic of Mykonos at night, so I grabbed a cushioned bench overlooking it all. My intention was to order a different Greek dish at every meal – so I ordered Souvlaki and a Greek Salad. Unfortunately, they were out of Souvlaki and the waiter asked if I would mind having a Gyro since it was the same meat. Of course, I wouldn’t mind a gyro! With the fresh breeze and a wonderful meal, I enjoyed a beautiful evening in Mykonos despite the lack of photographs to accompany my memories. On the bright side, I did look at my calendar for work and see that I am coming back to Mykonos on our itinerary.

 

I arrived back on the ship just in time for Bingo and the evening entertainment and to check out the nightlife onboard. Well, Bingo was cancelled because there weren’t enough participants and the evening entertainment was – well – awful to say the least. The dancers and singers were not really performers or dancers at all. My goodness – it truly left much to be desired for a cruise ship entertainment group. It was so awful but for some reason I couldn’t leave – it was so addicting to watch a true tragedy on stage (and no, I am not referring to Shakespeare, folks). After that gong show, I headed to the “Moonlight Bar” which was the nightclub and checked it out for a few minutes but decided to curl up in bed and read my book.

At the end of the day, I’m tired but relaxed and able to take a deep breath and know that I am blessed and happy in all aspects of my life. I’ve had time to think a bit and taken complete advantage of those moments, but in my exhaustion I’m at peace in my head, which is a place I haven’t been in a really (really) long time.

High: Laying in the Mediterranean Sun and reading a book

Low: Getting into Mykonos so late that I couldn’t truly see the city.

Eat, Pray, Love: Day 1

(NOTE – I JUST POSTED THIS, BUT NOTICE THE DATE LISTED AT THE TOP.  I AM SLOWLY POSTING THINGS THAT I NEVER GOT AROUND TO FROM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR)

For those of you who don’t know – I’ve decided that this 7 day vacation as well as my upcoming 3 month contract have become what I (as well as Misty J) have coined it. My reasoning? The last few months have been a lot of discovery and learning about myself, what I’m capable of and my new “mantras,” which you will see posted throughout several of my posts. So, the next few months I am embarking (no pun intended) on a journey about me. Not just emotionally speaking, albeit that is a large part of it, but a physical journey as well. See prior posting to this one to see all the details on that.

Saturday morning, October 2^nd, I packed my final few items and headed to the airport – extremely anxious yet excited about this upcoming adventure. Excited for the places I’ll be traveling throughout the next several months but scared to death to travel on my own. I had never done it before! Yes, I have traveling abroad multiple times but never completely by myself. Needless to say – I have faith and I know I’ll be ok.

My first flight was to Atlanta where I had a two hour layover before departing to Athens. A few final phone calls later, I boarded the plane and flipped through my phone to read a quote that I keep “tucked away” for times like these when I wonder what I’m doing or I’m drowning in a sea of my own thoughts and doubts about this trip and many other things in my life: “Never forget, that on any day, you could step out the front door and your whole life could change forever. The universe has a plan and that plan is always in motion. It’s a scary thought, but it’s also kind of wonderful. All the little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you’re supposed to be, exactly when you’re supposed to be there. The right place. At the right time.” A friend of mine posted that probably about 2 months ago and it came just at a time when I was questioning “is this right?” As soon as I reread this, I took a deep breath, sat back in my chair and knew that God was doing this for a reason. I felt confident.

11 hours, a crying baby (ironically, named Sydney), no sleep and 2 meals later, the plane landed safe and sound in Athens, Greece. About 15 minutes later, I was met by a woman who worked for “Fantasy Travel,” the company that booked the entire vacation for me and she handed me all of my transfer vouchers and tickets for me before introducing me to my driver, Niko (go figure!). Niko drove me to my hotel, “Central Hotel” in the heart of Plaka or the “Old Town.” We talked the entire way and he was giving me stories and anecdotes as well as places I should see while I am in Athens. After asking me if I had slept on the flight, and I told him all the details of baby Syd…he told me a Greek “saying” that when babies cry, they will be ugly. I truly can’t remember the details of the story, but it was something to do with a Greek God (starting with an H). We arrived at the hotel and my room wasn’t ready, so the concierge told me that I could wait on the rooftop – so I headed up there with no expectation of what I would see. All I can say is WOW! I had a perfect view of the Acropolis- it is incredible and even more so in the evening!

                

When my room became available, I was excited because all I wanted to do was shower and rest for an hour or so before heading out to do some sightseeing. Well – plans went a bit differently than anticipated. I took a shower and laid down and set the alarm for an hour. An hour later the alarm went off and I could not get out of my bed – after snoozing for probably another 5 hours, I got up. Still – no idea what time it was- I threw some clothes, asked the front desk where I could get some food and she pointed me right down the road. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I walked for about 5 minutes before running into no less than 15 “tavernas.” I browsed a few menus and didn’t know where I should go until a girl approached me while I was looking at the menu for her restaurant and said to myself “This must be it!” It was called “Quick Pitta” and the waitress asked me what I wanted and I said a Gyro and she started asking questions as to what else I would like – a greek salad? Sure! Potatoes? Sure! Wine? Hell Yes! All the food was brought to me (way too much to say the least!).

Some observations: Greek Salads are not what the US calls a Greek Salad. They are AMAZING. They are served with no lettuce – just Green Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions, Olives and a block of Feta Cheese on top, drizzled with Olive Oil and Vinegar and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Out of respect for the culture and their primary export- I did taste a few olives because I was told that they taste “different” in Greece. Nope! Also, I had expected the potatoes to be some special Greek potato – nope! French Fries. I didn’t eat those- why waste space on that?!?! The gyro was served on a platter – a pita sliced into small “bite size” pieces, lamb, a pile of onions, slices of tomatoes as well as a ramekin of a red sauce, which had a familiar taste but I can’t place it. It  probably took an hour for me to slowly eat my meal, drink my wine and guzzle water like I hadn’t had it in a year. (If you’ve ever traveled for long distances on a plane- this feeling is familiar to you as well!) Throughout my time sitting outside in the brisk air, I couldn’t help say over and over in my head how unbelievable it was that I was sitting in Greece enjoying dinner by myself. I paid the bill and headed for a walk just to acquaint myself with the area – I didn’t realize how in the middle of everything I was! I am literally around the corner from the Temple of Zeus and many other archeological places. Along my way, I met several men who wanted to know where I was from etc – they all worked for the tavernas where I was walking – don’t worry.  I walked for probably an hour before heading back to the hotel.

For about an hour after getting back to my room, I played on the internet and watched some TV before I thought “Maybe I should find out what time it is and head to bed.” I called the front office to ask and he said 2AM!!! I threw everything off my bed and made myself go to bed because I knew tomorrow was going to be a long day!

Traveling alone so far is an incredible experience. I’ve had time to think and reflect with no one to answer to and the ability to create my own schedule. I can’t say that I don’t wish someone was with me – just someone to talk to and enjoy this opportunity and share in my blessings. I know that the next week will produce trials as well as tribulations – but I’m willing to take them on and chalk both up to experience and life. God has blessed me.

High/Low

High: Taking a deep breath and realizing how much my family loves me and the feeling that I am starting something new.

Low: Can’t think of one - other than wishing I wouldn’t have slept (but I needed it!) and did more sightseeing!