TravelStream™ news feed for member schtacky on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/schtacky en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:35:39 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212235200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212235200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212235200/tpod.html Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:35:39 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Rome, Italy

UPDATE 6/11/08:

This update comes to you from London! We arrived here yesterday and have been busy seeing the sights, but we will get a few updates in. Still no pictures at this point. We've filled up almost 3 memory cards, so there's a lot to sort through!

Rome was a great and very exhausting excursion. Kristen and I had been preparing for Rome for some time, but really didn't really know the logistics of the stop beyond that of what we wanted to see. The night before we left, however, we were talking with our cabin steward, Ruly who is just the nicest guy, and he gave us the low down on how to get there both cheaply and efficiently. Some of the passengers on the ship were paying $100 per person just to transfer from the port in Civitavecchia (3 hours by bus, 2 hours by train) to Rome. By taking the train and getting off at the San Pietro station near the Vatican we saved more than an hour of time and the train only cost us about $12 per person round-trip!

The Vatican was a short walk from the train stop and it was really amazing. We waited in a long line to get into St. Peter's Basilica, but it was worth it. It is a huge building that was a real treat to see. Every corner of the Basilica has been adorned with some sort of artwork. Throughout the interior are tributes to Popes and Saints and more than a few pieces for the Virgin Mary. As neat as the artwork was, the preserved Popes in the glass coffins were just a little creepy. Some of them had been there for 200 years! We got a lot of pictures and can't wait to share as words cannot do the Basilica justice.

From the Basilica, we left the front of the Vatican and walked all the way around to another line in the back for the Sistine Chapel. Given that we only had a few hours in Rome, this was to be our last Vatican stop. Unlike the Vatican, an admission fee is charged for the Chapel, so the lines back up a little longer but nothing that was too out of hand. Especially given that we were there on a Saturday. The Sistine Chapel was simply amazing. It took us nearly two hours just to walk through the Vatican Museum that precedes the chapel and we didn't even have time to stop and look at everything! It's an immense building and after a while, you start to wonder if you're ever going to actually get to the Sistine! However, that long walk is rewarded with what has to be one of the greatest works of art. The ceiling is beautiful and it's tough to imagine how a person could paint it while on scaffolding 30 feet above the ground and keep it scaled so perfectly. I got some video and some still photography done before the tenders came a chased me off. So, we will have that to share, even though it's just a quick hit.

After the Sistine, we had some Roman pizza across the street. It was good, but nothing like the pizza that we would have in Monte Carlo (more to come on that later). Checking out the map, we decided that the easiest way to see the remaining sites would be to get a cab to their neck of the woods.

After some haggling with a local cabbie, we agreed that 10 Euro was a fair price to the Trevi Fountains. We both made a wish and tossed in a coin. According to local legend, by doing so, we insured that we would one day return Rome (the Eternal City) and the fountain.

After the fountain, we walked down the street and found the Roman Parthenon. It was tough to do the site justice given its size and proximity to other buildings. The Parthenon is well known for the concrete and dome that was constructed using methods not totally understood by today's engineers. Needless to say, it was really something to see.

After that we walked past the Roman Forum and eventually to the Colosseum. We didn't have a lot of time left but really wanted to go inside. The tours get special admission that avoids the line, so Kristen had the bright idea to pay a couple of extra Euro, get with a tour and then ditch them so that we could look at it on our own terms. That tured out to be a great idea as the tour guide wasn't very good. Actually, she was mean and horrible. ;-)

The Colosseum was outstanding and truly worth it to get inside. It was very tough to think that years of plunder and misuse have reduced it to rubble in parts. It's another structure that was way ahead of its time. To this day, though, one can still get onto the second level and imagine 75,000 screaming Romans and see the dungeons that the animals (and gladiators) were kept in below the level of the arena.

From there we headed to the main terminal and back to the ship after a VERY grueling day. We would sleep quite well that night.

We're off to see "Wicked" right now, so that's all of the blogging that we can do for now. "Wicked" is a show on the West End and is actually the prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" so that should be a lot of fun.

Tomorrow or later tonight, we will fill you in on Naples and Monte Carlo.

Love you!
Joe and Kristen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212148800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212148800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212148800/tpod.html Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:17:50 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Naples, Italy

UPDATE 6/5/08:

After Santorini, we had a relaxing day at sea before we got to Naples (Napoli to everyone not from Florida).

We didn´t spend any time in Naples and instead took another ship-sponsored excursion to Sorrento and Pompeii. We had a terrific Italian tour guide called Antonio who did a great job and was very informative. Sorrento was nice and we had a local lunch with wine and canneloni and veal which was very good. As good as the food was, the drive to and from Sorrento made the trip worth it. We didn´t make it all the way south to the Amalfi coast, but the shoreline north of Sorrento was truly a beautiful sight. Before we left, Kristen and I talked with Kristen´s grandma who is from Italy. When she was married and before she emigrated to the US, she spent her honeymoon in Sorrento at the Hotel Vittoria. We had a chance to walk through the grounds of this wonderful hotel (the most highly regarded in town) and were awestruck by the views from its location on the shore.

After Sorrento, we traveled north to Pompeii. Pompeii sits in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius and was completely destroyed during the last major eruption in 79A.D. The nature of the eruption covered the city of hot ash which had the effect of nearly perfectly preserving the site. The town covers some 600 acres, of which a good part has been excavated. Antonio showed us a middle class house, the town center, and of course the brothel. We also saw several mummified human bodies as well as that of a mummified dog. It´s another site that could easily take up an entire day, though our tour covered all of the most important spots. We would love to come back someday to go to the top of Vesuvius and see the town of Herculaneum (sp?).

On to Rome!

Joe and Kristen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1211976000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1211976000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1211976000/tpod.html Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:05:54 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Santorini, Greece

UPDATE 6/5/08:

Santorini was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far. We docked early in the morning at the island which, due to its port size, required that we ride tender boats (local passenger boats) to the shore. Santorini is an ancient volcano caldera that makes up around 4 islands. Thira (most tourists just call it Santorini) is the largest and the island where most people spend their time. After coming ashore from the tender boats, we had to make our way to the rim of the caldera. We could do this one of three ways: walk, ride a donkey, or take a cable car. Walking looked to be pretty strenuous, riding the donkey looked to be pretty messy and riding the cable car terrified Joe. We rode the cable car and Joe just held his breath.

This was one of the excursions that we spent with our new friends, Ericka and Chris. Once we reached the top, we found an ATV rental store and toured the entire island on our own terms. It was by far the best way to see everything. We first rode to the town of Oi´ on the northern part of the island. Oi´ is the town that so many people think of when they see pictures of the greek isles. The houses are all white with blue domes and seem the cling to the cliff side. We shot a lot of really great pictures and can´t wait to share them all.

After we were done at Oi´, we rode south on the east side of the island through a farming community. I am not sure how self-sufficient the island is, but they seem to be able to produce just about everything that they need with the exception of water. Even with the steep topography, they have managed to terrace and step every mountain side, even the extreme ones. It was pretty impressive. Kristen even got a lot of pictures off the back of the moving ATV! Passing through the farming community and turning back to the west, we went back up the hill and asked about a recommended local winery. We ended up at the Santo Winery, which is about 4 kilometers directly south of the town that we docked in and has the most amazing views. We got pictures and video while at the winery and were completely blown away. Kristen didn´t want to leave and even grabbed a couple of real estate guides just to see if we could move there (the plan is in progress). We got a flight of 6 wines, bread, olives and cheese for 10 euros and were pleasantly surprised.

After the winery, we couldn´t decide if we wanted to head down to some old ruins or find a beach. After discussion, the beach won out and we headed back to the southeast corner of the island. The beaches on the east side of the island are all black sand beaches due to the volcanic nature of the place. We found a nice spot and had a couple strawberry daiquiris and even got into the water a little bit. That was the most relaxing place on the trip and we had a great time doing nothing for a couple of hours.

After the beach, we made our way back to Fira (the port town) and headed back out to the ship on the last tender of the day (Joe was nervous). We slept quite well that night.

Santorini is a place that we both desperately want to return to someday. We would like to spend some time to stay on the island and also visit some other islands like Naxos and Mykenos. This place was absolutely breathtaking.

Now we´re on to Naples!

Joe and Kristen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1207085820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1207085820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1207085820/tpod.html Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:43:53 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kusadasi, Turkey

UPDATE 6/5/08:

We´re pretty tardy with our updates. Sorry about that! We have been having a great time, but haven´t been able to find an internet cafe for a while. Right now, we are actually writing this from Cadiz, but will try and get through just as much as we can.

When we looked at the ports of call for this trip, Kusadasi was not one that we thought would blow us away. We were VERY wrong. As we looked down the list of ship-sponsored excursions, we saw one that visited the Virgin Mary´s house and also made a trip to the ruins of Ephesus. Whether the house was actually that of the Virgin Mary is open to some debate, but the drive to the site and the house itself (now a small chapel) was worth it. Kristen lit a candle and left a wish on the wishing wall.

From there we went the ruins at Ephesus. Ephesus was an ancient Roman city that had been rebuilt 3 times over the course of antiquity. Only the third incarnation of Ephesus has been excavated, but it is a HUGE city that was home to more than 200,000 people in its prime. Cleopatra and Antony visited Ephesus near the end of their affair. It was a wonderful tour, but only a half day, so we didn´t have a chance to really explore the ruins too much.

Our tour guide was a Turkish girl of about 30 who was a good guide and one that clearly had a high sense of nationalism for her country. We were told of the many wonders of Turkey many times over. Perhaps Turkey will warrant a return trip someday.

As we toured the sites, we kept running into a younger couple whom we recognized from the ship. We were able to take pictures for each other, so Kristen and I finally have some photos together! Since that excursion, we´ve ended up spending a couple of dinners and ports stops together. It´s sure nice to have met some people our age, especially on a boat that seems to be a little (a LOT) on the older side.

When we get a chance for a longer internet stop, we will upload some pictures. That will probably happen in London in about 3 or 4 days.

We love you all a lot!

Joe and Kristen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1211553000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1211553000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1211553000/tpod.html Mon, 26 May 2008 02:33:59 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Athens, Greece

We will have arrived in Athens by now and we'll be very tired. I will be sure to upload any pictures that we take.

We're staying here in Athens: http://www.amazonhotel.gr/

It might not look like the nicest place judging it strictly from the exterior, but it received great reviews by traveladvisor.com in its price range and the interior looks quite nice. The best thing about the hotel is its location in the Plaka area of Athens. The Plaka is the oldest of neighborhoods and the closest to most of the main tourist sites like the Parthenon and National Gardens. I am sure that we'll go and see the Olympic Village as well as many other sights.

Come back and check for updates!

Update 5/23/08:
Well, we're here! We had an exhausting trip to Athens via Atlanta. When we got to the hotel, we decided to take a quick nap that lasted 5 hours!

The train from the airport was pretty easy, except that we had 5 pieces of luggage and the closer that we got to the center of Athens, the more people got on the train. We were really worried that we might not be able to get off of the train when we finally got to our stop, but everyone seemed to clear off at the Syntagma stop so we were ok.

The hotel is quite nice, but very small. The bathroom alone is probably only 15 square feet and Kristen noted that you could use the toilet, shower and wash your face in the sink all at the same time, although we haven't tried that yet.

Here is a shot of the Acropolis from our room!


Our hotel is right in the middle of things so when we woke up from our nap, we walked out onto the Plaka and did some window shopping. Then we had a traditional gyro dinner followed by gelato! Below is a picture of the Plaka which is by far the biggest tourist area in town.

So far, the Greek have been a very accomdating people and we haven't had any issues. The vendors are pretty aggressive, but that's probably to be expected.

Tomorrow's plan is to walk up the Parthenon and perhaps see the National Gardens. Feel free to send messages to us through this blog, especially if there is something that you think we might miss!

We'll try and blog some more tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Joe and Kris


UPDATE: 5/24/08

We had another great day in Athens today! Today ,we went to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, saw the National Gardens and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also did some more exploring and ventured into a part of town that we hadn't been to before.

The walk to the Parthenon and to the top of the Acropolis was a nice one with great views and LOTS of people. We paid our admission fee and were a little bummed that we didn't seek out a guided tour. However, we thought that maybe we might tag along with a tour already in progress. Unfortunately, the tour guide noticed us and kicked us out. Oh well! Shout out to Glenn for letting us borrow the Lonely Planet guidebook. It was plenty informative and taught us a lot about the area. We were upset to find out that the museum was closed. The entire site is under renovation and they are moving the museum to a different place, so we couldn't get inside to see many of the original exhibits that are stored there. I guess that means that we'll just have to come back again at some point!

Here is a picture of Kristen in front of the Parthenon:

After that, we were lucky enough to find a nice couple from the UK who took this shot of us in front of the Erechtion:


On the top of the Acropolis, we got this great shot of the city and Lykavitos Hill:



After we left the Acropolis, we headed down the southern slope, past the Odeon of Dionisys and past the Temple of Olympian Zeus. We walked through the National Gardens and up to the Parliament building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where we got this neat picture of Kristen with one of the guards (Kris wanted to steal his shoes):



We then spent the afternoon napping. We just can't seem to get on the European schedule, though we are really trying! After our rather extended nap, we ventured in the Psiri neighborhood of Athens and had one of the best meals yet; a simple meal that consisted of Hummus and some Retsina (Greek wine) which was a perfect portion of food, that was until we found the Chocolate Cookie Crepe with ice cream down in the Monistriaki. After that we headed here to do a quick blog. We're going to try and get some rest tonight, though neither of us are all that tired.

Tomorrow, we will do some more exploring on the Eastern part of town to see the War Museum, Presidential Palace and the Byzantine/Christian Museum.

We will be able to get one more blogging session done tomorrow night. Monday we get on the boat, after which time internet access will be tougher to come by. Please keep sending us messages! We love and miss all of you!

Joe and Kris


UPDATE 5/25/08:
This morning we felt better rested and after grabbing breakfast at the hotel, we headed back through Syntagma Square to see the War Museum, Olympic Stadium and the Presidential Palace. Then we took the subway to Piraeus to see the port where we will disembark tomorrow on the ms Rotterdam! Once we got our bearings, we headed back to Monastriaki for lunch. It only took us two days, but we finally got it figured out - best bet is to order one meal to share since the portions are so large! We had a traditional greek salad and a beef shish kabob dish with yogurt sauce and pita. It was quite yummy! After that we wandered back through the Plaka and of course couldn't resist a gelato! We could definitely get used to afternoon naps and gelato!

Here is a picture of the Presidential Guard. Our timing was just right and we got a surprise show on our way to the War Museum. You might recognize these guys from the picture of Kristen standing at attention with one of the soldiers from yesterday.



The Olympic Stadium was impressive, but we could not get inside. Here is a pic of Joe in front of the stadium.



As promised, here is a picture of our quaint little bathroom in the hotel room.



And lastly, here is a pic of the Plaka area.



We don't know when we will have internet access next since we are leaving Athens tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to board the cruise ship around 11am and spend the day on the boat until we disembark around 5pm. Then on Tuesday we will port in Turkey! We hope to get you an update by middle of the week when we are in Rome. Love you and miss you!
Joe & Kris




UPDATE 5/26/08:

Yassas! (Hello!)

Kalimera! (Good morning!)

Today is the big cruise day! We're at the internet cafe down the street from our hotel one last time. We're going to miss Athens. We had a great time and feel like we just got used to the city and know our way around. Kristen and I have learned exactly 3 words in Greek and speak them like true champions. We will definitely have to come back in the future!

After we blogged last night, we decided to check out the new Indiana Jones movie. We found an interesting little theater in the Plaka called the Cine Paris. It was interesting because it was outside, probably sat no more than 150 people in directors chairs and had an intermission during the movie. From the street, it didn't look like much and when Joe asked the lady if the show was inside, she answered, "yes". So, we walked upstairs and on to the roof! It was really pretty cute. The screen wasn't that big, the picture wasn't great and the sound was pretty muffled, but it was a unique experience and a lot of fun to see a movie outside of the huge cineplexes that we are used to in the states. From the rooftop theater, we also had a great view of the Acropolis lit up as they have it at night. Quite a sight!

Kristen got some great pictures of the theater, but we forgot to bring our USB cable with us this morning, so we'll be sure to send them over just as soon as we can.

However, the same cannot be said about the movie. It was horrible and a big disappointment to big Indy fans like Joe.

Dad (Jon Eder) - I know that we were going to see the Indiana Jones movie together when I returned, but I can honestly tell you that it's not worth it. Leave your last memory of the franchise to be The Last Crusade. You'll be a smarter person for it. This movie was THAT bad. I feel horrible that Kristen had to sit through this stinker...

On a positive note, we have finally acclimated to the time change and are finally sleeping well and at the right time of day! We will lose a couple of hours on the way to London, but we shoudn't have anymore problems from here on out. That is, until we get home!

The ship leaves the Athens port today at 5pm, though they will let us get there 5 hours ahead of time to check-in and explore the ship. We plan to take advantage of that to make sure that we don't have any problems getting to Pireaus, and ultimately, the ship.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213369200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213369200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213369200/tpod.html Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:07:28 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

We'll be back home and in bed by early evening.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213113600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213113600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213113600/tpod.html Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:03:25 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

London, United Kingdom

3 nights in London!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213099200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213099200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213099200/tpod.html Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:00:17 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Harwich, United Kingdom

England and the end of our cruise.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213012860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213012860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1213012860/tpod.html Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:57:45 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Normandy, France

Le Havre, Normandy Coast!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212753600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212753600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/schtacky/1/1212753600/tpod.html Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:54:00 -0400 Joe and Kristen's European Honeymoon

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon!
]]>