"Enjoy a mimosa at the airport for me!" my mother said as she dropped us off with a $20. And so it began, I don't remember what we toasted to but it must have been something good because the creep in the photo behind us was sure staring!
A couple hours later, we enjoyed a local beer during our layover in SC.
Good thing we kept it to one because it took us about an hour to figure out how to exchange currency for all the places we would be going.
Twelve hours later we arrived in the Roman Airport eager to get to our ship. After waiting an hour to get our luggage and a very confusing two and a half hour train ride, we arrived at the port in Civitavecchia. The weather was perfect and the water was so blue. The cruise ship was really nice and Jasmin and I spent hours getting to know our way around and talking to people. After hitting the buffet, drinking a couple of celebratory set-sail drinks, and getting a little sun we were fast asleep in time for push off. In fact, we got into a very comfortable routine of taking a 3:00 nap on deck everyday.
Our cruise was through Royal Caribbean on the Mariner of the Seas.
Life on the cruise ship was exhausting!
The upper deck consisted of a putt putt course, rock climbing wall and a roller skating rink.
There was also a jogging circle and a great sun deck.
The view from the glass elevator on the way down.
View from take off
Jas made great friends with the entertainers.
The ship was decorated with all sorts of different art.
A broken dishes painting
We got to know the main characters well.
The ship sailed for two days before getting to our first destination so we had some time to get acquainted with the people and the places on the ship.
Jasmin and I
originally booked the trip because it had a stop in Egypt to see the pyramids.
Because the American Embassy got invaded and some people got killed a few
days before we got an unexpected phone call the day before we flew out.
We were really bummed! At the same time, we understood the
importance of being safe. When two days in Egypt got rerouted, we ended
up stopping in Sicily, Italy and Malta instead.
The view from the
ship at breakfast when we pulled into Sicily:
It was a little gloomy that day.
It's very industrial at the port.
Sicily is both the largest region of the modern state of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
After two days without, Jas and I couldn't wait to find a cafe with wifi (and cheap wine).
This tower is quite a site to see in Sicily.
Eventually the sun came out and humidity kicked in.
There are street vendors everywhere.
The gas stations are tiny and in the middle of the streets. If someone stops to get gas, it holds up traffic.
We saw so many stray cats on our trip in every country we went to. Some were more photogenic than others.
But the advertisements cracked us up!
Some of the residences were beautiful.
On a Sunday, much of the city was very quiet since Sicily is extremely religious.
We walked in the back of a church and got pushed into a service...
Had to check out the local wine store! The wine was so cheap, I was in heaven...
We sat outside and enjoyed our wifi, European wine, and ambiance.
We met great people everywhere we went.
Our new friend worked on a rival cruise line.
Towards the end of our day in Sicily, Jasmin and I saw a sign that said something very peculiar. We then followed the arrows and signs into a dark old empty store. When we looked at the wall we saw two vending machine looking contraptions. Although we did not put money in to see what happens, we were certain we knew it would be something disgusting. Anything with a sign that says Sexyservice.it had to be bad, right? However, we were intrigued by a spiral staircase leading to a second floor. When we decided to explore more and walk up the creaky staircase, when I opened the old wooden door at the top the loudest alarm I have ever heard went off! Jasmin and I ran out of there as fast as we could and it seemed like you could hear the alarm from the whole city. Quiet and peaceful Sicily was no more. We never did find out what was upstairs, or what happens when you put money in the machines.
Until next time....
It's been real!
We were ready for our every day nap and some R&R when we pushed off...
The next day the ship pulled into Malta. While I knew very little about the island from the start and was not thrilled that it was one of the port of calls to replace visiting Egypt, it would prove to be one of my favorite stops on the trip.
Walking through the many halls and walls of the castle
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I absolutely fell in love with this horse...she was so sweet.
We took our first double decker tour in Malta and ended up being instant addicts. They give you headphones you plug into the side and listen whenever you want. It costs anywhere from 10-20 Euros depending on the city and you can hop on and hop off at all the destinations. It's much cheaper than paying tour guides and taxis.
Ancient ruins are all over Malta
The Blue Cove
Malta is actually home to one of the most expensive coastal towns in the world. People from all over Europe take holidays in Malta to visit the beach.
All set and ready to go!
The next two days were at sea so we decided to have some fun!
Since the drinks are so expensive on the ship and no outside alcohol is allowed, I had the bright idea of smuggling tequila in a shampoo bottle. However, unfortunately 5 times through the dishwasher just wasn't enough. The tequila tasted exactly like "Biolage Intense-Repair Conditioner" and neither one of us could drink it without gagging.
The ship had an ice skating rink. Neither one of has had ice skated in years but we picked up right where we left off.
We had some fun at ladies night as well...especially since we were some of the youngest girls on the ship!
There was a Croatian guy who took a liking to Jasmin. We would find out later that she was not the only girl on the ship he was trying to pursue. Turns out it's against the rules to personalize with the guests. He got kicked off in Turkey and had to find his own way home.
Fritz from Philly was our favorite entertainer on the ship. He sang and danced in every show and parade. We also played Battle of the Sexes trivia game with him on the days we were at sea.
In the twelve nights we were at sea there were two formal nights which were Jasmin's favorite. On these nights everyone was to dress up in black tie attire and attend a nice dinner. Then there were fancy shows to follow. The magic show was my favorite.
Ed, our room-keeper, was always available whenever we needed him and was great at helping us get ready in the evenings. All we had to do was yell his name and he came running! Ed gets to go home every six months to his wife and son in the Philippines. We still keep in touch on Facebook.
Ed even pinned the dress I borrowed from Jasmin one night when there was too much material.
We had dinner with two sweet ladies we met from Scotland one night.
Our next stop was Israel. When we got off the ship we were put through extensive bag checks and medal detectors. We walked up the port to find transportation into Jerusalem. There we met Charynn and Larry Marshall from Bel Air, Maryland. We instantly hit it off and split a cab with them chatting the whole hour and a half on the way there. When we got out of the cab we set off to explore the Old City.
Israel is known to be a very safe country due to precautions. There is military all over Israel with huge guns.
I had to stop and give a service.
We went to the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall) which is one of Israel's oldest and most historic destinations. It was filled with people humming and praying.
Tradition is for women to veil up. and you can only back away from the wall while facing it. You cannot turn your back to it.
These little girls were just getting
out of service and paused for a picture.
Another one of the many cats Jasmin befriended.
After all the walking, we were ready to break for lunch so we caught a friendly cab to the mall.
bebe looked surprisingly familiar.
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| Clever, right? |
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We stopped at a cafe in the mall and split a salad and a pizza. Both were actually really good.
Naturally, we had to try the wine in Israel.
After lunch, we had our friendly taxi driver pick us up to head to Palestine. Regardless of everyone warning us not to, we insisted that while we were in the Middle East we had to cross the border and see the Church of Bethlehem and Jericho, which is known to be the oldest city in the world where Jesus originally lived. Normally, when you take an Israeli taxi to the Palestinian border you have to switch into one of their taxis. However, we got extremely lucky because Abraham, our taxi driver happened to be an Israeli Arab and they are immune and welcome in both countries.
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| When you cross the wall into Palestine this is what you see. |
You can immediately see the extreme differences between Israel and Palestine. Palestine is full of graffiti and litter on the streets.
We headed straight to the Church of Nativity.
Our taxi driver Abraham hooked us up with a private tour of the Church Of Nativity from one of his friends who is a Russian tour guide. He opened up places that are not normally open to the public and got us to the front of the tour lines (which was huge because the lines were extremely long and would have been time consuming).
Outside the church
The somewhat newer Catholic part of the church:
We checked out the shops:
Our AWESOME tour guide Abraham...Our trip would not have been nearly as awesome without him!
The story has it that the Holy Family took refuge here during the Slaughter of the Innocents, before their flight into Egypt. Tradition has it that while Mary was nursing Jesus here, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning it white.
Both Christians and Muslims believe scrapings from the stones in the grotto boost the quantity of a mother's milk and enhance fertility. Mothers usually mix it in their drinking water; would-be mothers place the rock under their mattress.
To top off our awesome day, we headed to Mount Olives, which is home to the largest Jewish cemetery in the country and Kojak, the camel.
Camels growl like dogs. Kojak bent down gently to let me on his back and simply walked next to a guy who whacked him with a stick when he would get out of line.
By the end of the day the wind was blowing like crazy and we were ready for a break.
Abraham dropped us off at the bus station and I am pretty sure we dosed off the whole way back to the port. We had learned from talking to people that Tel Aviv, which was about 45 minutes from the port is one of the night club capitals of the world. On our way back, the bus driver offered to drop us off on his way home so he met us at the port when we were ready to go out after dinner. The only catch was that we had to drop the bus off at the terminal and get it washed before we switched to his car. Haha.
We still keep in touch on Facebook.
That night, we didn't take very many pictures and weren't too impressed with the night clubs which were much like American ones. The beaches of Tel Aviv are beautiful though and eventually we found a fun spot to hang out and grab a glass of wine. There were cats running around all over.
When I got there I saw a young girl with a gun sleeping at the station. It's crazy to think it's a requirement there. If you are a female in Israel you are required to serve two years and if you are a male you are required to serve three. It's a government service and must be done before school or a career.
I had told Abraham about my love for animals the day before and he took us to his favorite spot in Israel, a place he said he hadn't taken people before. Abraham drove us about 40 minutes into the middle of the desert with no sign of human civilization. Looking back, it was probably more than a little dangerous but at the time I guess we didn't think about it. All you could see 360 degrees around you were these steep, scary cliffs with nothing but dry ground. When we got there we were greeted by a couple of Palestinian nomads which are found all over. There was a big arch with a cross on top and three little donkeys tied up to a rail. There was an old cave with a locked door and a religious symbol. We never did find out what was behind there.
Clinging to the face of a gorge, with green palm trees around it, in the beautiful Wadi Qelt, in which a stream runs with blue water that spring in a clear and shaded pool, is the St. George Monastery. This monastery, which was built in 420 CE, is situated about 5 kilometers to the west of the city of Jericho. The way down to the monastery provides a spectacular view of the monastery itself and its nearby spring. The monastery’s upper floor is an ancient cave, around which were build three magnificent churches with an impressive bell tower at their top. The Monks who live here believe that this is the cave in which lived the Prophet Elijah and that in this cave an angel announced to Jesus’ grandfather that his wife will give birth to the Virgin Mary. The mountain peaks around the monastery are surrounded by impressive iron crosses, which were put here by the monks in 1967.
We soon headed to Masada on one very steep cable car ride up.
Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea.
View from the sky
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After Masada, we headed to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is so salty you can't swim. You only float no matter how far out you go. It's a place the locals and the tourists go to. There are giant sharp rocks of salt at the bottom if you can reach it. The salt burned my legs because I shaved before I went out that day. Even our taxi driver/tour guide Abraham brought his speedo and joined in on the fun.  |
People believe that the Dead Sea is a natural health spa. All over the banks of the dead sea there are pockets of black mud. The mud has a gross smell but has over 35 different healthy minerals in it for your body and it's thought to help heal everything from skin conditions to diseases. I don't know what I believe but I will tell you our skin was soft as a baby's bottom for the next few days.
A little all natural mud wrestling!
When we were done at the Dead Sea we stopped by the world famous factory and sampled the goods. People have the black mud, lotions and expensive minerals shipped all over the world.
From there, we headed back into Palestine to check out another of the oldest and most famous churches in the world and Jericho, the oldest city in the world.
On our way, I had to stop and get a picture of these boys chasing the goats. Most of the people who live in Palestine are sort of nomadic. They live off the land in tents or shanty shacks and move around when they need to. Kids get to work early and help their families.
This little boy caught my eye and when I got out and signed to take a picture of him, he stopped in his tracks and stared at me smiling. I don't know that he's ever seen a blonde woman before.
This is the church built into the caves where Jesus was believed to have battled the devil. It is called the Monastery of Temptation.
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The earliest monastery was constructed by the Byzantines in the 6th century CE above the cave traditionally said to be that where Jesus spent forty days and forty nights fasting and meditating during the temptation of Satan, about three kilometers northwest of Jericho. The monastery receives its name from the mountain which the early Christians referred to as the "Mount of the Temptation".
Next we headed to Jericho, which is thought to be the oldest city in the world.
Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of more than 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first of which dates back 11,000 years (9000 BC), almost to the very beginning of the Holocene epoch of the Earth's history.
Jericho is described in the Old Testament as the "City of Palm Trees". Copious springs in and around the city attracted human habitation for thousands of years. It is known in Judeo-Christian tradition as the place of the decisive Battle of Jericho which secured the Israelites' return to the promised land from bondage in Egypt, led by Joshua, the successor to Moses.
Abraham waited so patiently.
Much of the city has been buried over time and they have been working on recovering it for many years. They were still in the process when we were there. However, it was a holy day and Palestine does not get many tourists due to fear so we were lucky enough to get a private tour here as well.
As the story goes, this is where the holy spring that fed the whole valley and city was healed by Elisha.
You can drink some of the holy water out of a fountain but Jasmin asked our guide if we could actually see the spring so he opened up the building and showed it to us. It's very well preserved.
According to the Bible, the prophet Elisha healed this once-tainted water by throwing salt into it. It is now considered holy by many residents who use it to this day. A hose runs up from the stream so you too may ingest some of this holiness yourself. This is also a nice spot to sit on the grass and admire the beautifstone passageways that channel the water.
After spending some time looking at the nearby market, we asked Abraham to finish our day by taking us to a traditional Palestinian dinner at a place only the locals would know and recommend. He obliged.
I know Jas will hate me for putting this picture on here, but I love it!
The dinner consisted of pitas, hummus, chicken and several traditional Palestinian salads as well as some pickled vegetables. There were fries and ketchup which didn't seem to fit in. We had to bring our own water.
Leaving Palestine at dusk. We both fell asleep in the taxi on the way back to the Port.
When we woke up the next morning, we were in Turkey.
I had no idea but Turkey is one of the biggest manufacturers of fake, replica merchandise. When you walk off the port you're overwhelmed with rows and rows of shops full of everything from handbags to shoes to clothes to suitcases.
I didn't know much about Turkey and didn't have much of a desire to see it when I found out it was one of our destinations but in the end, I am so thankful it was. The main attraction at this port are the ruins at Ephesus which include one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was about 45 minutes from our port and then about a very long walk to the ruins from the bus stop but well worth the trip. Everyone told us not to walk to the ruins but Jas and I being the adventurers that we are and no strangers to backpacking decided to do it anyway. It did take forever but in return we saw a great portion of the beautiful countryside.
Look closely, the driver was slacking...
When we got to the start of the ruins, we stopped and had lunch.
We did a self guided tour to save money.
The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 268 AD, the Temple was destroyed or damaged in a raid by the Goths. It may have been rebuilt or repaired but this is uncertain, as its later history is not clear. Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths.
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The famous marble steps were made from imported marble. They also made the pathway narrow enough going into the right quarters that the horse and buggies of the normal civilians could not fit through.
     Perverted souvenirs sold everywhere
We loved the mustache!
   The next morning when we woke up, we were in Athens, Greece!   Of course we went with our staple double decker bus tour and our new best friends Charynn and Larry decided to tour our way for a day!                              
The view from the top
   
After a big day of site-seeing it was time to stop for lunch. The drinks were so expensive on the cruise that we had to soak up the cheap wine wherever we could. Same with the Wifi. Charynn and Larry laughed so hard when we went through Wifi areas and did whatever we could to connect. I talked the restaurant we ate at into giving us a free carafe of wine for giving them the Wifi password from a neighboring cafe.
We ate a traditional Greek meal and it was great.
       There was a protest going on with all the political uproar in Greece at the time. The road was closed on our tour due to riots. The cruise line was debating switching ports again because of all the problems in Greece at the time.         
Greek Gelato
       It's a dog's life in Greece!  .JPG) That night at sea we decided to partake in the Scavenger hunt game and it was a blast. We met a couple of guys from Iowa and I partnered up with one of them. Our team won first place and we got medals!      Then we watched a show and wandered around.     The next and final stop on the cruise was Naples.                                 We stopped and had pizza at a local place in Plaza de Leon which is a square in Naples. The owner was a good looking Italian guy and everyone who worked there loved us. They rolled out the red carpet for us insisting that we try their various pastries and specialties on the house. The owner still follows us on Facebook.       
The next morning we docked in the port back at Civitavacchia. It was hard to say goodbye to cruise life and all the great people we had met but we were thrilled to be spending some time in Rome. Jasmin had found a Korean hostel she booked us a room in. When we got to the address listed, which was extremely hard to find and no one seemed to know where to direct us, we ended up at a laundromat run by some sketchy guys from the Middle East. After a long wait because it wasn't ready for us, we finally got the keys and went to drop our luggage off.
   
The hostel was in an old apartment building and we had to go up these old stairs and open dungeon doors with an old key to get in. The room wasn't very nice and we weren't too sure about staying there. We left to start our Roman adventure.
    For our first meal in Roma, they made Jasmin a heart shaped pizza!  
I was so full! We got a 3 day double decker buss pass and took off. We saw everything in 3 days.
We started at St. Mary's Basilica which was right around the corner from our hostel.
                     
No matter how many times you see pictures of the Colosseum, it still takes your breath away in person.
    We didn't notice when this guy decided to jump in the picture until looking back later.                        When we were in line at the Colosseum we met two American guys on their European tour from Oregon. We toured the sites with them that day. We found out they got free pasta dinners at their hostel and discounted drinks for staying there at the restaurant attached below. We met up with them for dinner and actually ended up staying there that night since everyone assumed we were anyway.   We blended in great with the nuns! If you look closely you can see Chris is praying. We are all friends on Facebook and keep in touch. Chris went to Ranger school with the army a few months after we got back and I made it a point to write him letters while he was there. I'm sure we will find ourselves somewhere at the the same time again.                  
The next day we headed to the Vatican!
                               
When we were out we ran into the girl who was staying in our room at the hostel. Her name is Cara McInerney and she is from Australia. We had dinner with her and hit it off. She is a world traveler herself and is now a world tour guide and travels for a living. We keep in touch on Facebook.
       After so many days eating Italian food we were happy to find a Chinese place by the Trevi fountain!      The last few hours of our last day in Rome, we spent shopping. We then got ready to head out for the night. We went to Campe de Fiore, which is where all the Americans hang out with some of the locals. We made some good friends along the way.    
We grabbed a later night bite after playing some beerpong and our new friends were nice enough to give us a ride back to the hostel around 3am. At 5am I said a really tough goodbye to Jas who I knew I wouldn't be seeing nearly as often as we were used to and left. I jumped on the hour long train ride to the airport and Jasmin headed to Hamburg, Germany to go to grad school for 2 years. At the airport I ran into Charynn and Larry who happened to be on the same flight and it was decided officially that I would have my first East Coast Thanksgiving in 2013, which I did. I slept the almost the entire flight home.
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