Monday, May 3 Valencia, Spain

Of all the cities on the cruise, Valencia was the one Ted was looking forward to the most. Why ? - Valencia's City of the Arts and Sciences. And it rained all day. What with Ted's lung disease and the battery powered POC we stayed on the bus most of the time. We rode around the city - Valencia is a very pretty town - most of the people got out and walked with umbrellas. They also went into the Oceanographic (the aquarium part of the "City" and the largest aquarium in Europe.) It is finished - I'm not sure all of the other buildings are completely finished.

Sunday, May 2 Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is a fabulous place to visit. But since we had visited here only a few years ago we decided not to visit. It was Sunday so some places might not be open. But Barcelona is definitely one of those "1000 Places to See Before You Die". One of the things we enjoyed at most prts was watching the cargo ships load and unload. Barcelona was no exception.

Saturday, May 1 Monte Carlo, Monaco

'Twas the day of the Monaco Grand Prixe for Antique Autos. You couldn't hear yourself talk in some places. And we couldn't go the "standard" route the tour buses usually go. So we got to see some places tourists don't usually see. Like partially completed underpasses, back sides of buildings, etc. But we had a nice little jaunt around Monte Carlo and environs. Did not go down the famous seashore drive out from Monte Carlo, did not go in the Casino. We had both done that years ago so no big deal. The most amazing (?) thing in Monte Carlo is the larger than life statue (in t he harbor) of the pregnant lady with the skin peeled back on one side so you can see muscles and, of course, the baby. You don't see this just everywhere.

Friday, April 30 Livorno, Italy

Livorno is the port used for Florence, Pisa and Lucca. We chose to visit the latter two. Just to make sure the tower hadn't fallen over. In the primary area of Pisa were the Baptistry, the Church and the Bell Tower (the leaning tower). And lots of people!



The shot of me is with my oxygen unit - the Inogen One. It's called a personal oxygen concentrator. Takes in ambient air, pressurizes it and pumps it through a filter-of-sorts where the nitrogen stays in the machine (to be released later) and releases oxygen (and also polluting gases) to the breather (me) when I inhale. But it works and is portable - it's on small (4 inch) plastic wheels-it prefers a smooth surface. Which it doesn't always get. It runs off batteries - depending on how much huffing and puffng -1 1/2 to 2+ hours per battery - so I have to make sure I have enough batteries. With the spare batteries it weighs about 25 pounds - a one arm carry up and down steps isn't a lot of fun. I get lots of looks and sometimes questions from people who have a parent that needs oxygen.

Thursday, April 29 Civitavecchia, Italy

Rome's port. We lose some passengers and get some new ones. We didn't go ashore.

Wednesday, April 28 Messina, Sicily (Italy)

Pictures only, for now

Tuesday, April 27 Sea Day

Sea Day means R&R day - but not for the crew. The chefs, especially, have a big work day because they put together a Desert Extravaganza. Don't know if all cruise lines do this, but Holland America does. So here are some pics of the goodies - and our new pet.

Monday, April 26 Piraeus (Athens, Greece)

In case you have been wondering, the name of the port is Piraeus and Athens is the town it supports. This is true of most of the blog entries.

Athens was crowded, too. Maybe not quite as bad as Rome. And luck was with us - we were away from Athens when the more boisterous rioting occured. We didn't go up to the Acropolis but our guide (one of the better guides) had the driver maneuver around so we had a good (but distant) view of the Parthenon. Most every large relic you see has work going on - primarily for preservation. Our modern day environment isn't too friendly.

The Benaki Museum (a private museum) was very good. Three stories with elevators. Greek works (clay, metal and painting) from BC and AD (I don't go along with this BCE and CE stuff.) Silver and goldsmithing tops my list of favorite art. And this little museum had some pretty good examples. Could spend hours here.

And we got another little critter. Guess these are pretty standard on most cruise ships and we both looked forward to seeing a new one.

Sunday, April 25 Kusadasi (Ephasus, Turkey)

In 1996 we toured Turkey with Bora Oshkok. (If you want to tour Turkey, go with this guy. He might be a little old now, however.) We saw Ephesus then when I didn't need the oxygen help and walking among the ruins was not the problem it is now. These ruins are, to me, some of the best around (short of the biggies in Rome) but, since they probably haven't changed much in 14 years, we didn't go on a tour. We rested. We did get a new litle critter. Cute little booger. One of the things that is nice about cruise ships - at least Holland America - is the art objects and flowers on display around the ship. This one of them.

Saturday, April 24 Thira (Santorini, Greece)

Modern day cliff dwellers - resort style. How do we get up there - or down from there? The long way by bus or the short way by cable car - straight up from the white building in the port. A third way - by donkey. The little zig-zag trail to the right (viewer's right) of the cable car route. Two gals on the cruise tried it. "Awsome." Docked with us was the original "Love Boat" of the TV series. And to make sure that the Americans all felt at home - American coffee anyone? And another critter to keep us company at night. We also went to a local winery and tried some of their wares. I've never liked Greek wines - and while these were better than most, I still don't like Greek wines.