Examiner.com articles: Charlotte holiday events series

Christmas is over, but there are still a few wonderful New Year's Eve events in the Charlotte area. Check these two out:

• NC Music Factory's The Saloon presents Edwin McCain
• First Night New Year's Eve celebration in uptown Charlotte

Travel journal: east Med Princess cruise 2010 (Day 13, II)

Spanish Steps and the Trinita del Monti

Fountain, Piazza d'Espagna

Trevi Fountain, base

Trevi Fountain, top of building

Day 13, 11/22/2010. Part II:

Rome independent tour and journey home

Knowing that finding a hotel to put our bags down was the first step, we found a cab driver who dropped us near Stazione Termini, Rome’s other main train station which was closer to more of the city’s attractions. There were tons of hotels here. The first one we walked into offered us a room for 60€. Shocked at how inexpensive it was, I passed him my credit card without even asking to see a room.

As could have been expected, the property was antiquated at best. Literally terrified of the iron-box elevator with manual doors, I carried my bag up the four flights of steps to our room.

Bags set aside and determined not to let the falling drizzle dampen our spirits, mom and I set out to explore the Eternal City. I had in hand the trusty free map I’d picked up from the hotel’s front desk, and though it was difficult to orient ourselves at first, we finally pinpointed where we were on the map in relation to where we wanted to go.

The first stop on our self-guided walking tour was a nearby church, Santa Maria Maggiore, whose interior bore a surprising semblance in some respects to St. Peter’s. Then we started heading towards two of Rome’s most famous landmarks: the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain.

On the way, we discovered this city of architecture, art, history, and culture. It was Monday, so all museums were closed, but I felt like I was in a living museum the whole way, the 2 million other people around me part of the exhibit. We arrived at the Spanish Steps at dusk and at the Trevi Fountain shortly thereafter. Mom and I each took one coin in our right palms and tossed it over our left shoulders, as instructed earlier that day by our tour guide. According to the legend, we’ll both be returning to Rome someday.

We stopped at a small trattoria close to the Trevi fountain to split a liter of house red wine and a four-cheese white pizza. We enjoyed everything thoroughly: food, drink, hospitality, and experience.

We walked back to the hotel, a new predicament in our minds: what about our transfers to the airport? We had no more Euros left to find a cab, we didn’t know how to approach taking the metro there (the map insinuated that we’d have to change lines at least once), and there were no trains departing from Termini station to the airport between 10:52pm and 5:18am. We knew 5:18am was too late a train to take and still make our 6:30am flight. So, we decided to check out of our hotel for the night, grab our bags, walk the two blocks to Termini station, and use my credit card to purchase two open tickets to Fiumicino airport. We boarded in time for the 10:52 train and once at the airport passed our time waiting on the second floor until it was time to check-in for our flight. Thus our great European vacation ended.

While at Termini station, though, I noticed trains departing for Civitavecchia. So when the Trevi Fountain’s prophecy comes true, should I return to Rome by cruise ship, I’ll know how I’m handling my transfers.

Travel journal: east Med Princess cruise 2010 (Day 13, I)

The Pope's colonnade,
at the Vatican's entrance

St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican square

St. Peter's Basilica: The Pieta

St. Peter's Dome

St. Peter's Basilica: bronze altar

Top left, Vatican museum.
Top right, the Pope's palace.

The Coliseum; view of the underground tunnels

The Coliseum: the reconstructed stage

The Coliseum: the Emperor's seat

Arc of Constantine (near Coliseum)



Ruins: Temple of Venus (near Coliseum)



Day 13, 11/22/2010, Part I:

Disembarkation and Rome shore excursion

Ending a great trip is always a melancholy occasion. Disembarking from one’s first-ever cruise that went to Europe is even tougher to take.

Our trip isn’t quite over yet. We have a 6:30am flight out of Rome tomorrow, so we chose a shore excursion. This is often the best thing to do in Rome when staying overnight, as the port of Civitavecchia is about 90 minutes away and transfers between the two can be involved and expensive.

Once transferred with our bags into Rome, our first stop was to Vatican City to visit St. Peter’s Basilica. This is the largest church in the world and such a popular attraction that the line to go inside wrapped most of the way around Vatican Square, at the end of which was a security checkpoint.

Though bigger does not always mean better, it’s true in the case of St. Peter’s Basilica. Its ceiling and dome are intricately embellished and gold-laden, and its bronze altar stands a couple of stories high. What truly sets St. Peter’s Basilica apart from the thousands of churches in Europe is Michelangelo’s Pieta, located in the back right corner of the building and protected by a glass encasement.

There are two must-do's on my itinerary for the Vatican if I return: to make it to the top of St. Peter’s Dome to look out on the city, and to go into the Vatican Museum, whose tour ends with the startling, world-famous Sistene Chapel.

Our guided tour included a drive-by of the ancient Roman Forum and a 45-minute visit to the Coliseum. With a capacity of about 75 thousand spectators, this amphitheater was the largest and most impressive in the Roman Empire. The second floor, as our tour guide assured, offered the best panorama and view of the underground tunnels and reconstructed stage. I could see where one could spend a lot longer than our allotted time here, as there are interesting-looking exhibit rooms that wrap all the way around the interior.

We disembarked from our guided excursion at Ostiense train station and were on our own for good. We’d come into Rome cold – few Euros left, no hotel reservation, and no clue as to where we were in this huge city. My gut was nervously tangled as I wondered whether or not we’d be able to make it through on our own.

Travel journal: east Med Princess cruise 2010 (Day 12)

The Sorrento Peninsula

The Sorrento Peninsula (Sorrento, far right)

Church near the main square
(Exterior)

Church (interior)

Pompeii: Gladiators' Courtyard

Pompeii: shop entrances along a street



Pompeii: shop entrances along a street



Pompeii: fresco, inside a private residence

Pompeii: mosaic, on floor of a
private residence

Pompeii: main street

Pompeii: forum and Temple of Jupiter;
Background, Mt. Vesuvius

Pompeii: a victim's body

Pompeii: a dog's body

Pompeii: Temple of Apollo

Pompeii: outer walls

Day 12, 11/21/2010: Naples

The city of Naples, though dingy and somewhat crime-ridden, is still important to tourists because of its convenient location amidst many of Italy’s finest attractions:  the Sorrento Peninsula, the Isle of Capri, the Amalfi Coast, the ancient city of Pompeii, and the volcano that caused the city’s demise, Mt. Vesuvius.

It was necessary to maximize the limited time we had in order to see the most of this attraction-rich area. We booked a shore excursion entitled, “Sorrento and Pompeii combination: tour and on your own,” so that we could have our transportation secured but still do what we wanted to in our own free time.

Our first stop was at a woodworking factory in Sorrento. Mom and I skipped the demonstration of this traditional craft in favor of our own mission: to try to catch the hydrofoil ferry to the Isle of Capri. Striding along the main street in pursuit of our quest, we stopped to photograph a beautiful 15^th-century church along the way. It was Sunday, so people were just coming in to worship as we headed back out. Within minutes of walking, we found a tourist information office. The hydrofoils didn’t run often now during the off-season, so the transfers didn’t allow us enough time to depart, spend time in Capri, and return with ample time to meet back up with our excursion group. Our mission foiled, we now had approximately two and a half hours to kill in Sorrento. We stopped at a café where mom had an espresso and cappuccino and I had a delicious lemon tart cake.

Sorrento is known for its vistas, its churches, and its shops, many of which sell high-end Italian leather or clothes and accessories. We spent a little time looking at the views, but could only do that for so long, and I neither wanted to nor could afford to shop. So we left Sorrento without having done much else besides killing a little time. After that, we started our journey towards the ruins of Pompeii.

Most know the story behind Pompeii. The city, built in 700 BC on the banks of a now-receded river, thrived until Mt. Vesuvius erupted and razed it in 70 AD. The current-day archeological site, as with the other ancient cities, is only a fraction of Pompeii’s original size. It is still the biggest site we’ve seen by far, and according to our guide would take about two whole days to visit in entirety. One remarkable feature of Pompeii, unparalleled by any other ruined city we’ve seen, is its level of preservation. Frescoes can still be seen on many of the walls, and many of its mosaics lie on floors practically intact.

Probably the single most impressive place within Pompeii’s sprawling site is its forum. This was not a place for shops, but rather for public buildings and markets. Here, the remains of the Temple of Jupiter stand resolutely while Mt. Vesuvius looms imposingly in the background.

What were formerly the forum’s marketplaces are now exhibit rooms for the bones of the area’s inhabitants, placed together and cast in plaster to preserve what has been left and give full illustrations of the bodies, since of course not all of the bones survived. These bodies quite possibly make Pompeii the single most eerie of all the archeological sites and also lend Pompeii a unique quality.

Our luck with the weather has held up extremely well on this cruise; only as we were exiting Pompeii, a slight drizzle started.

After exiting the site and before meeting our bus, our excursion group stopped for 20 minutes at a large variety shop where we enjoyed samples of Limoncello as well as a cream-based liquor and a locally-produced red wine, the Lacryma Cristi. A cameo shop was nearby, inside which a brief demonstration on this traditional local craft was provided. It’s amazing how much intricate work and detail goes into hand-carving these small keepsakes, and it’s reflected in the price. They cost several hundred Euros on average.

Once aboard the Star Princess, we saw one split-bill with comedian Lenny Windsor and comedian/magician Gary Carson, both whom we’d seen perform previously. Of course, we also sat in the Promenade Lounge for a farewell sing-a-long with Sammy.

The reality of disembarkation is slowly sinking in. I’m bracing for the final rude wake-up call – figuratively and literally – which will come at 6 am tomorrow.

 

1^st timers’ cruise tip: know before you go

Luggage must be outside your cabin door on the last night of the cruise. You’ll be assigned a luggage tag color-coded to coincide with your disembarkation arrangements; attach one tag to each piece of luggage. Keep items that you will need handy overnight in a carry-on bag.

Travel journal: east Med Princess cruise 2010 (Day 11)

Star Princess, near the bows.

Movies Under the Stars.

Horizon Court buffet

The 3-deck Piazza

The 3-deck Piazza

Day 11, 11/20/2010: At Sea

One thing I liked from the start while looking at this itinerary was that there was only one day at sea. Right now on board, though the Patter is packed with activities and the elevators equally packed with passengers, things just seem pretty slow. Mom and I have attended an art auction briefly but other than that have spent most of the afternoon just hanging around.

Since there’s not much else going on, might I formally introduce the Star Princess. Sister ship to the Grand and Golden Princess ships, this 109 thousand ton, 2,600-passenger floating resort is too packed with amenities for me to list them all. She does have several trademark Princess features such as Movies Under the Stars, the adults-only Sanctuary, often rated one of the top adults-only retreats at sea, and the Skywalker disco/lounge on Decks 17 and 18. Décor throughout the ship varies by area, taking on sedate neutral tones in the Piazza and three formal dining rooms, vibrant colors on the bottom plaza deck, and breezy casual with an aquatic theme on the Lido deck.

During the evening, the ship became finally alive with activity. First, to celebrate my birthday mom and I, along with some passengers we befriended (Cindy, Dennis, and Monette), drank two bottles of champagne over our formal dinner. Then they, as Captain’s Circle Gold members, were invited to the Captain’s reception in the Vista Showlounge. I tagged along as a guest. Just a few minutes later, Seonaid Aitkin and comedian Tom Fletcher started their split-bill performance there.

There was abundant music that evening. We listened to Sammy for a little while before the band down in the Piazza took over. They were a contemporary group whom we’d previously seen performing a few numbers in the Explorers’ Lounge. They sang quite a few songs in front of the open dance floor on the Plaza Deck, and at 11:15 the entertainment crew dropped some celebratory balloons on the whole scene.

Tomorrow is another day for a long shore excursion. Naples is the port for both Sorrento and Pompeii, both of which we want to see.

1^st timers’ cruise tip: know before you go

You may find gratuities for dining room staff automatically added to your room’s bill, but amounts can be adjusted at your discretion. Stop by the purser’s desk to request a copy of your bill.

Examiner.com articles: Charlotte holiday events

My Examiner.com Charlotte holiday events series is still going strong. Here's links to the next two articles:

Museum of the Waxhaws: Girls' Victorian tea party (Issue 10)

NASCAR Hall of Fame: HALLidays at the Hall (Issue 11)

Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!

Travel journal: east Med Princess cruise 2010 (Day 10)

Nea Kameni

Nea Kameni's active crater

Palea Kameni and Aspronisi

Therasia

Mainland, Oia

Mainland, Imerovigli and Fira

Mainland, Pharos

Star Princess and Brilliance of the Seas, anchored.



Palea Kameni, hot springs,
and house of its sole resident.



Greek orthodox cathedral, exterior

Greek orthodox cathedral, interior

Greek orthodox cathedral, interior, dome.

Nea Kameni, from Fira.

Catholic cathedral

Catholic cathedral, back end.

Fira and Imerovigli, from Fira.

The stairs and a
corral of donkeys.

Day 10, 11/19/2010: Santorini

This Greek port of call, which is famous for many things, is actually made up of five islands. They are: Thera, the mainland; Therasia, population circa 300; Aspronisi, basically a small mass of pumice; Nea Kameni, (new burnt island), whose still-active volcano is about 500 years old; and Palea Kameni (old burnt island), whose famous eruption around 1650 BC was 10 times the strength of Krakatoa and affected half the world.

It was Nea Kameni that I had an excursion to hike today. Though its highest point is only 127 meters (417 feet) above sea level, the journey up its steep slopes and past its active crater was truly a geological adventure. We were lucky to have the sun shining warmly on us so late in November. “Normally at this time of year, it’s freezing and rainy,” our guide informed us.

Though not very high compared with the towering cliffs of the mainland, Nea Kameni’s summit afforded nice views of all four other islands and points of interest on the mainland. From north to south, those were: the village of Oia, the village of Imerovigli (“where all the postcard shots come from,” according to our guide), the capital city of Fira, Mount Prophet Elijah, the highest point in Santorini at 560 meters (1837 feet) above sea level and home to a Greek Orthodox monastery, and the village of Pharos.

As part of our excursion, we cruised briefly by the island of Palea Kameni to see its small church, its hot springs, and curiously, the house of its sole inhabitant and his goat herds. Then our tender boat headed back to the Star Princess.

Since the ship had anchored in Santorini’s harbor instead of docking, I had to switch tender boats and board one headed toward the mainland. To access Fira from the harbor front area, one must ascend 569 steps on foot or on donkey, or take the alternative cable car. Just having hiked the volcano, I paid the 4€ to take the cable car up.

Among all the places I’ve visited thus far, Fira is one of the most tourist-friendly. Directional signs, especially towards the cable car station, are everywhere, as are tour excursion offices – granted, there are a few of those in every port, but they are here at almost every turn. Free maps are available at the upper cable car station, one of which I took eagerly.

Fira is a picturesque town with narrow alleyways, quaint shops, terraces that divide the city into tiers, and churches. In many ways, it is similar to Mykonos, the other Cycladic isle we visited, except if one stays within the confines of Fira’s pedestrian-friendly old town, one never has to move aside for a car.

One prominent cathedral is not far from the cable car station, but to reach the most prominent, take the main street closest to the harbor front and follow it a short way. It had a truly spectacular exterior, but unfortunately its interior was barred.

Just behind the cathedral is the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, which displays artifacts throughout the eras of the islands’ history, some as far back as almost 3,000 BC. Many pieces come from the ancient Akrotiri, which is like Greece’s answer to Pompeii. It was an extremely advanced and wealthy city and in its prime when the volcanic eruption of the 17^th century BC devastated it completely. Akrotiri has been partially excavated, but its archeological site has been closed to the public for the past couple of years due to a roof collapse. Until the site reopens, visiting the Museum of Prehistoric Thera is one of the best ways to learn about Akrotiri and see some of its artifacts.

Fira’s other museum is the Archeological Museum, close to the cable car station.

Across from the Museum of Prehistoric Thera are Fira’s main square and public bus station. Fares to the village of Oia or to the local black-sand beach Kamari are a reasonable 1.40€ per way. I considered taking the one to Oia but discovered I’d need to wait almost a half-hour for the next departure and after that would have to wait until 4:30 to start the return trip to Fira.

I then started my descent to the harbor, deciding this time to walk down the steps. For those, like me, looking to save a few Euros and willing to traverse the 569 steps between corrals of donkeys and piles of their waste, coming thus into and out of Fira is a good alternative to the donkeys and cable cars. There are many staircases in Fira, but I followed the one labeled “To Old Port,” and it ended in an unassuming alleyway – conveniently right in front of a Star Princess tender boat, which conveniently was just about to depart.

Besides having a few snack foods at the International Café on Deck 5 and sunning for a few minutes on Deck 15, I opted out of entertainment for the evening, retiring instead to my stateroom after the tiring day.

I’ll also have a whole day to catch up on rest tomorrow, as it’s our full day at sea.