The year 2007 started with us celebrating the new year apart - I was busy at work in a hospital in Chicago while Ranie was admiring the majestic flowing of the lava from Mount Kilauea, while also working aboard the Pride of Hawaii of the Norwegian Cruise Line. When his contract was over, I wanted to badly pick him up and maybe soak up some sun in Waikiki Beach but he had other plans. Cruising? Yes! Hawaii? No! Where to, then?
He wanted to fulfill his promise of taking me to Europe! At first, I was kinda hesitant because spending one day in cities like Rome wouldn't afford me enough time to visit all the Renaissance arts I so wanted to behold. But then again, it came with another promise: this is just a preview! There will be another chance in the future to come back and just immerse myself in all the arts I could take until I say enough! Sounded like a fair promise, if I may say so!
And so the planning began! Our cruise tag at $500.00 per person was a bargain, thanks to Ranie's employee discount. Our plane fare wasn't as cheap though, $1100.00 but it was all worth it!
Our sojourn to the Old World started with a whirlwind layover in the City of Lights! Paris! So beautiful. Our flight was delayed so instead of having a five-hour chance to see Ile de France, we only had about an hour and a half. I was getting hopeless in exploring at least a part of the city but my well-determined husband really pushed for it. We don't understand the Parisians talking to us in Francais but that didn't deter us from at least admiring the infamous Eiffel Tower. It was so surreal seeing the landmark up close and personal and as an added bonus, Ranie had his taste of the best hotdog ever by the carousel in front of the tower, by the smelly Seine River.
That opportunity almost cost us our flight to Barcelona but thank God we still made it with 2 minutes to spare. Spanish people were hands down cooler and friendlier than the French. We were able to locate our hotel with whatever was left of my college freshman Spanish lessons and the locals' enthusiastic help in giving us directions. We just strolled along Las Ramblas and had tapas at Txirimiri then called it a night.
The next day was spent exploring the best of Barcelona aboard Barcelona Bus Turistic. From Placa Catalunya to MNAC to Montjuic, Placa Espanya, then along Passeig de Gracia where Casa Mila and Casa Battlo interspersed with high end shopping stores. We also stopped by the Barcelona Cathedral and had lunch at a Spanish restraurant owned by Filipinos in Barri Gothic. Then we continued our tour to the north side of the city, with Sagrada Familia as the highlight, along with Tibidabo and the front of Parc Guell, among others. Prior to dinner, we obtained our cruise necessities at El Corte Ingles then shawarma dinner while enjoying the eve of the feast of St. John (called Nit de Sant Joan) with gypsies dancing along Las Ramblas. Ranie also got his henna tattoo that night.
Sunday started right with hearing a Tagalog mass in Barri Gothic, then we were pleasantly surprised when they started singing in Catalan, so we understood just half of the mass. After lunch, we boarded Norwegian Jewel for the journey of a lifetime.
We partied the night away to 80's music, with the bigwigs of the ship. I instantly loved the smooth sailing cruising of our ship. First day was spent at sea so we just explored everything to do inside the ship. They have a gym, specialty restaurants (Italian, Spanish, Asian), mini casino, theater, the buffet, cigar club, bars, club and spa. They also have a business center and an art gallery. A feast for all the senses!
Our first stop was the port in Messina, Sicily, Italy. I didn't really plan on doing anything there, just to enjoy by the port but Ranie had other options so we took the cab and went to Taormina, the vacation place of the rich Sicilian people in the olden days. It is where the Roman-Greek Theater where plays were and still are being held. It is situated atop a hill, with the blue Mediterranean Sea as its backdrop. It was then when I understood where Bella Italia came from!
Back in Messina, we observed the largest astronomical clock in the cathedral came to life at noon depicting the spiritual life and history of the city. We went to lunch at a local trattoria where I had the best pasta dish, with quattro formaggi ever.
The next day was spent looking back at the place immortalized in time, AD 79, to be exact. It only meant one thing - Pompei! We took the train to Sorrento and got off on Scavi Pompei. The citrus produced in Sorrento were amazing - lemons, oranges, huge ones! Of course, we couldn't leave without taking home with us some authentic Limoncello.
Pompei was beyond words. We could not fathom how advanced these people were at that time, in terms of engineering, infrastructure and their overall way of life. But alas, it was not meant to last for it bore the wrath of Mount Vesuvius that one faithful afternoon. Homes, temples, bathing squares, ampitheaters - all destroyed by the overflowing lapilli from the volcano. Ranie was fascinated by the plaster molded from the spaces left of the departed ones - men, women, children, even pets. I found them haunting! So eerie!
After such an exhausting but informative walk under the 100degree F summer day in Southern Italy, we felt we deserved a nice lunch and what better lunch could there be than pizza in its birthplace - Napoli! So Margherite pizza it was!
After a couple of bites, I asked myself: "so if this is the real pizza, what have we been eating for the last 35 years?" Of course, that's the same question I asked myself when I compared ice cream and gelato. Gelato, hands down!
Our third stop was undeniably the most anticipated one - Roma! My mind was spinning on what to do and where to go first. We took the train from Civitavechia for an hour get to the heart of Rome. Our chosen stop was of course Citta Vaticani! Seeing Piazza San Pietro for the first time was so overwhelming! My joy was so immense that I was unable to speak. "Finally," I thought to myself! Getting inside the basilica was a surreal experience, beholding a Michelangelo original - La Pieta - at the first chapel. The art works were Renaissance at its finest! The baldachinno was indescribable! The Swiss Army were strict. The two most memorable things we did there though were normal things a true Catholic does - hear confession and pray inside the Blessed Sacrament chapel. Going down to the Vatican grottoes, we were teary eyed upon praying in front of the tomb of the now Blessed Pope John Paul 2, which was en route to the tomb of St. Peter himself.
After realizing that the queue to Musei Vaticani was too long, we decided to explore the secular Rome, instead! We visited the Pantheon (the only remaining intact structure of ancient Rome), Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Spagna, Foro Romano and the Coloseo. Needless to say, we were eating gelato after gelato since it was really hot that day. Then off again to Citta Vaticani to meet up with one of our priest-friends who showed us the inner workings of the city/state.
Livorno was our stop the next day, which was the gateway to Pisa and Firenze (Florence). We again took Tren Italia and immersed ourselves in the birthplace of Renaissance! The duomo of Sta. Maria del Fiori was first and foremost in our agenda. There I had the chance to light a candle for our petitions. Then we admired the baptistery door adjacent to the church. They were done by Ghiberti and believed to have ushered in the Renaissance period.
We walked towards the Piazza della Signoria where a replica of Michelangelo's David stands proud! A few steps towards the Arno river, we passed by Galleria degli Uffizi. Ah, time,why can't you be my friend?
We just had enough time to grab a quick bite of pizza by the kilo before we crossed Ponte Vecchio, the most beautiful and only bridge left standing during World War 2. Our destination? Piazzale Michelangelo - one of the most amazing vistas I've ever set eyes on.
On our way to the train station, Ranie enganged a lady in a haggling exercise which resulted to his purchase of a large back pack costing him $18 (they agreed to $20 since she's Chinese and he's Filipino, with their countries right next to each other but he finally pleaded that he only has $18 in his pocket). Then on to Pisa to check out Campo Miracoli where the Leaning Tower was situated. We took tons of pictures there enough to make us almost miss our ship. I was so dead worried since we didn't have our passports with us and the ship's next stop is in Villefranche Sur Mer, France. Long story short, we made it to the port with barely a minute to spare. They were pulling up the anchor when we got to Livorno.
I was still shaking when we got to the boat that it was an early night for me - so determined not to have a repeat of that day since after France, the next stop was back in Barcelona. Still that didn't dampen our happy spirit, eagerly anticipating our visit to Monaco!
Monaco was all I imagined it to be and more - in a word, grand! Rodeo Drive style shopping, Casino Monte Carlo, Palais du Prince and above all the most delectable gelato ever - Creme Brulee gelato, my new favorite! We also visited San Nicolas de Tolentino Church, the final resting place of the Prince and Princess Grace! I love Monaco!
Alas, some good things never last, as our cruise ended the next day but there's still more Spanish adventures to tend to. Coming back to Barcelona, we again boarded the train and went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat atop the mountains of Catalunya, Spain. It was a heart stopping 5 minute cable car ride, by the side of the mountain ranges. We missed the choir but not the opportunity of praying to the virgin and also visiting the homes of the hermits on the mountain tops.
Our last day was just spent enjoying the best Barcelona has to offer. We visited the Museu Picasso but since it was a Monday so it was close! We walked our way thru the Las Ramblas, had lunch at Mercat de Sant Josep, where Ranie had the opportunity to eat all the Jamon Iberico he wanted. And it was not cheap at all at 65 euros per pound at that time.
Upon reaching Port Vell, we took the bus and visited the imposing Sagrada Familia. Gaudi was a genius far advanced during his time.
Then it was time to go back to reality of life - back to the other side of the pond but we'll always have the memories to treasure that trip by!
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