Europe Day 20 of 59, Rome

This morning was all about disembarking. We'll miss our shipmates, but I'm trying to focus on the positives. Right now I can only think of three: large bed, fast internet, full-sized bathroom. Hopefully we'll all be good about staying in touch.

The harbor outside Rome. Not exactly a picturesque village on the shore, is it.

These walls at the port have the vibe of antiquity to them. No clue if they're Roman in origin or Medieval or newer. Clearly they've been restored.

I skipped on the idea of highway pics, though it's always amusing to see how similar highways are throughout the world.

We entered Rome from the Vatican side, so I grabbed this pic of the people waiting in line to feel that Papal magic. We did the Vatican in 2006, and though someday we're sure to do it again it will not be this visit.

Via Veneto, our street. (Via Vittorio Veneto, to be exact.) I used google maps on the iPhone to find a laundry place around the corner from our hotel. 1 kg of laundry for 5 euros. Think of that as 2 lbs for $6.50. And figure that the laundry service at the hotel is $2.50 per piece. Now do you see how it easy it is to pack light even for two months?

The Excelsior Hotel. Our temporary Roman home. A Westin, which means two things; 1. Heavenly Bed. 2. Heavenly Shower. Those wankers at Westin are marketing geniuses.

We walked over to the Hard Rock for an American meal. A tradition of sorts.

Say the words, "Cica Cica Boom," to any Roman and they smile and laugh. Amazing how well known it is. I just love saying it. I already forgot about saying Fafi, but hopefully I'll remember to say CicaCicaBoom every time we're walking down the street and see someone I want to secretly point out to Barbie.

She dared me to go out in public unbuttoned. I heard Hugh Jackman say that all his chest hair in Wolverine was his own. I didn't see the movie, but I'm figuring the chest was pretty hairy. You think it'll come back? Are we poised for a revolution against the femininization of males? More on that in a minute.

Facebook accidental meet-up #2. You don't know #1, but that's not the issue. I twittered from the Hard Rock Cafe that the waitress came over to say, "There's a problem with the pig meat." (Meaning they were out of it and Barbie had to pass on the pulled pork.) This tweet went over to Facebook, where our friend Stacy (who was with us in South Africa last year) responded, "I'm in Rome, too!" So we arranged to have dinner over in Trastevere. For those who haven't visited Roma, Trastevere is the hip area where all the hip young people go out at night to look hip and be hip. Proof to follow.

We ate at Taverna Trilussa, which was amazingly good.

Look at my pasta, served in the cooking pan. Yes, I ate it out of there with a fork. Every bite. I would have licked it had we not been with others. You know, I think I'm willing to say it. The food in Italy is better than the food in France. There, I said it. France has more beautiful cities, as they regulate the hell out of them while the Italians let you throw a McDonald's in front of the Pantheon. But you cannot top Italy's food. In fact, as an American with a taste for chaos in his blood, I enjoy the hell out of Roma's utter lack of, say, uptightness.

But I digress.

After dinner we went for a walk with Stacy and her friend Stephanie (who, for the record guys, is delightful and cute) and it began to rain.

Graffiti in Trastevere. Call me Pipo and I'll smile. I'll never forget the "Drugati Lebowski" graffiti in Florence.

See, I told you this is where the hip young people of Roma go out at night. This is 11pm on the streets of Trastevere. We saw so many beautiful young girls wearing short denim shorts and boots you could not count them all. I expect to see that look in Santa Monica in a year or two.

Had to take this lovely pic of our hotel when the cab dropped us off. Oh... after dinner as we walked through Trastevere my smartass wife unbuttoned my shirt to the point I had it in the mirror above. Let's just say I didn't feel out of place in Rome. And, hand to the sky, more women checked me out as we walked by than have in years. And these were not looks of disgust. Seriously. Might be the fact that I'm wickedly tan from the cruise, but perhaps I'll test walking around with my shirt unbuttoned halfway when we return to Los Angeles. In August. AUGUST.

Editor's Note: People have been telling us that they cannot leave comments. I believe you have to sign into a google or gmail account first. If signed in, you can comment all you like.

Europe Day 19 of 59, Capri

Day 19 represents our final full day on the cruise as well as the completion of the first third of this trip. We awoke off the shore of Capri, as an island off the coast of Italy just outside the gulf of Napoli. The people of this area make a point of calling it, "Napoli," not "Naples." They are aware that there is a Naples, Florida and do not want to be associated with it. Seriously. These were Antonio's very words.

This is Capri.

And this is Capri. One thing that makes many of these Italian islands unique is that they're limestone, which makes for some very different and beautiful topography.

Atop Capri is a castle which is owned by Mr. Gerber, of Gerber baby food. Why wouldn't he buy Capri's central castle? He lives THERE.

One of the main attractions of Capri is the Blue Grotto, a fairly unique sea cave. We signed up for the Blue Grotto tour, which meant another early morning.

We boarded a small boat which took us to the opening of the Blue Grotto. Doesn't look like much, eh?

Then each couple boarded a small rowboat. Guys, not young guys, sit in the rowboats and come at you like street vendors. "Hey-a, I take-a you! I take-a you into the grotto, yes-a?" You lay on your back to get into that opening (the picture stunk and is not included, and as soon as you can sit up and turn around...

You see why it is called the Blue Grotto? Sunlight plus perfectly clear Mediterranean water equals natural beauty.

I took many, many pictures. A natural hue of blue you're unlikely to see anywhere else in nature.

I said I took many pictures.

Barbie enjoyed the Blue Grotto enough to show her joy in a pose. I loved it as well.

The boat which took us to the Blue Grotto took us to the town instead of back to the boat. From there, you take a funicular up to the town atop the space between the peaks.

And once up there, you turn and take a picture of where you were.

We went walking through the town, which is nothing but shops, restaurants and hotels. Barbie's goal was to visit three luxury hotels.

First, Grand Hotel Quisisana. A gorgeous hotel.

I might as well share this. We walked over to the pool to see the view and we could not see much of the bay. And then, as we walked back to the hotel, a stunningly beautiful woman chose to remove her bikini top as we walked by. She was, one might say, without flaw. Those of you massively disappointed in me for not taking a picture are reminded that you are looking at the internet at this moment and if you really, really want to see toplessness, well, there are a jillion options at your fingertips. Back to Capri.

We walked over to Hotel Luna. (Did I mention that google maps on the iPhone guided us to each hotel with ease? No? I didn't? Believe when I say that would have found nothing without the iPhone.) They asked if we'd like to have a drink on their veranda. Would you say no?

The view from the Hotel Luna veranda. Remember those rock outcroppings for later. Seriously. Remember them.

Then we walked over to Hotel la Scalinatella. It was beautiful as well.

The Scalinatella lobby.

The Scalinatella bar.

From the Scalinatella veranda, I was able to get a picture of the Hotel Luna. Fifteen minutes earlier we were sipping Pellegrino right THERE.

On the way back to the boat, Barbie got some gelato. For the first time this trip, I passed. She let me taste this and I almost changed my mind. But lunch was waiting for me on board.

On the tender, returning home. We realized that SeaDream One truly is home now. Oh. And you can assume the finger is saying MINE, not THERE.

This is HOME for one more day.

After lunch, it was pool time. I was convinced that this would be the last picture of the day.

Then the Aussies came home and jumped into the pool in their clothes. You see, we had 60 Australian Subaru dealers on this cruise with us. They kept to themselves with many of their own excurions planned, which is why you had not heard of them before. Seriously. This has got to be the last pic of the day, no?

No, the captain had a surprise. Remember these outcroppings that we saw while sipping mineral water?

See the gap between the rocks? No question where we're headed.

After we passed through the gap, I jogged from the front of the top deck to the rear, and snapped this pic. You can see the trail of the ship.

Seriously. We went through THERE.

Barbie took this one. A beautiful Mediterranean sunset.

We ate dinner with the same couples that joined us for Barbie's birthday dinner. We truly enjoyed their company and sincerely consider them to be our friends. I took one last picture.

Ian and Hollins. Two great guys. Ian is wearing flip flops for medical reasons, but I personally think it looks brilliant. As great as this cruise was, it was made even better by the people we met on board.

Europe Day 18 of 59, Sorrento / Pompeii

The great thing about cruises is falling asleep in one place and waking up in another. What more could you ask for? It takes the travel out of travelling. If I could go to bed in my Los Angeles home and wake up in a New York hotel... that's what this cruise has been like.

We woke up in Sorrento, early. Why? We had signed up for an excusrion to Pompeii.

The view of Sorrento at breakfast. As I prepared to post this day's pics, the first pass had me including 70. Ridiculous. It would take forever to download, let alone how long it would take me to upload. I narrowed it down to 40 or so. This was not easy. One thing about this process is that I removed non-essential pics like the ones from the bus on the way from Sorrento to Pompeii. After all, Pompeii is a little more interesting than the ride to it.

This is Pompeii's gladiator training area. No matter how many times you see them, a long row of Roman columns makes you reach for a camera. Or, in my case, an iPhone.

I like this one.

Our guide was very good. But he was a tad slow paced. As he was explaining this theater to us, going so far as to explain that this is a "theater" and two theaters facing each other is an "amphitheater," Barbie and Sean the bartender (I love that at each port a crew member or two gets a few hours for an excusrion with the guests) wanted to move forward. I had a map of the site, and as interesting as I found the extra facts that the guide had to share, there was no denying that it would be more fun to head straight to the brothel we'd heard so much about from Ian. We split away from the tour, pulled out our earpieces, and began exploring.

A Pompeii street. No time for finger pics when rushing around a site of archaeological significance, but I see now that a finger suggesting, "That way to the brothel," would have been mighty cool.

I despise stereotyping, but when we got to the brothel we had to wait for a large group of Asian tourists to make their way through. Now, we were clearly perverted Caucasians who were there for the same reason as the asian tourists. But knowing what I know about Japanese tentacle monsters, I had an urge to point through this doorway and ask, over and over, "Hentai? Hentai?" I'd ask those who do not know about Hentai to refrain from googling it. Forever. You don't want to know.

As Ian explained to us the night before, Pompeii was a very international port and business center. Men from many cultures speaking many different languages were coming through looking for services of a personal nature. In other words, restaurants were not the first to use pictures on the menu. Inside this building, above small rooms with stone beds, one saw the following frescoes:

Menu Item 1

Menu Item 2

Menu Item 3

Menu Item 4

Menu Item 5

Stone bed, but clearly there would have been layers of soft material above it. Or Menu Item 3 would have been impossible on the knees.

For more, including a picture of the services provided for women, look up Lupanare or Lupanar on wikipedia.

The forum of Pompeii. The modern tragedy of Pompeii, as opposed to the ancient tragedy that is the natural disaster which buried it in 79 AD, is that when the site was first discovered in 1748 all the marble and limestone was there. And it did not take long for all of that to be frozen. If they had only discovered Pompeii in an era where the site would have been guarded, it would have beena shining, white Roman relic.

Just beautiful and amazingly preserved.

This area is protected by iron bars, like a jail cell. Sticking your arms through the iron bars makes for a more intimate pic. It was in 1860 that the excavators realized that they should pour plaster into the voids that they were finding to create casts of victims' bodies. The plaster actually destroys some remains, so today voids are filled with a plastic resin that allows us to still examine the remains. Impossible to not take this picture.

And, yes, I explained that to point out that these are not pictures of corpses, or petrified corpses. These are plaster castings of the voids left by the victims at Pompeii. Less creepy, no?

The volcanic ash would have been so hot as it fell that, hopefully, there would not have been time for prolonged pain before it was over.

Surreal that this victim's casting is resting on a shelf with pottery and such. Nothing wrong with it. Just surreal.

Sean taking a pic. It was definitely extra enjoyable to spend a few hours hanging out with him instead of having him serve us drinks. Very nice guy from Durban, South Africa. We discussed the joys of biltong.

What does it mean that I often take pics of people taking pics? Chalk it up to sharing the experience and not just the subject.

Out of countless pictures of frescoes, this one makes the blog due its size and relative completeness. I haven't made a big deal about the date, but now I will. 79 AD. This city was buried in volcanic ash in 79 AD, and remained preserved from that moment. Two thousand and thirty years ago, these frescoes were frozen in time. Yeah.

This one makes it as well. You try deciding which frescoes make the blog.

Casa del Fauno. Yes, house of the faun. I am again amazed that the faun statue is basically intact 2,030 years later, with the flooring that surrounded it.

What are they looking at?

This. Books say this depicts Alexander's victory over Darius of Persia. Romans honoring the memory of Greek victories. It's both a stretch and completely accurate to say that the Greek-Roman relationship is identical to the San Francisco-Los Angeles relationship. Think that one over before you dismiss it. (Perhaps the England-USA relationship fits better?)

The bakery. Those round stones were used to crush the grain.

My inability to ignore Roman columns on display yet again. At this point we were racing along. We'd spent more than an hour moving through the ruins of Pompeii and we had to be back at the meeting point in less than half an hour. Sean wanted to see the Anfiteatro (Amphitheater), which I learned before breaking away from the guide basically means Two Theaters because they took the tradition stage/audience theater and put a second one across from it, so that you have a stage surrounded by audience. One's tempted to call this Anfiteatro a coliseum, but The Coliseum is in Rome. There's only one of those. I'm rambling. The point is that we walked as fast as we could to the opposite corner of Pompeii to see this...

It was worth it.

The view as you enter the tunnel to the center.

Us.

The view looking back to the tunnel where we came in.

Same view, but from the opposite tunnel. We then rushed back to the meeting place, arriving exactly ten minutes late. We then heard that the group of 13 whom we'd split from had finished ten minutes early. Que sera sera. Wasn't on purpose. Hollins told us that he wasn't going to let them leave without us. (Some people prove their friendship without effort.) Ten minutes late? In Italy? Alert the media.

A view of Mt. Vesuvius from the bus.

This pic was taken for one reason. Our "mega yacht" on the left; a standard cruise ship on the right. I finally got the perspective shot I wanted.

Sorrento is basically a normal, small Italian city that happens to sit above a cliff that faces the sea. I had to share this, the view from the city of the sea. Do you know how hard it is to type "sea" instead of "ocean" when my entire has been spent next to an ocean?

A sea of scooters and a hotel at the top of the cliff. The dock is just to the left, which is where we're headed. After racing all over Pompeii, we needed some pool time.

When you see an Italian woman asleep in this position in her truck that is also a small market on wheels, well, you take a picture and share it.

The tender, waiting to take us back to the ship and the cool water of the pool. (Barbie does a great Price Is Right pose, no?)

Back by the pool. One word. Ahhh.

Editor's Note: People have been telling us that they cannot leave comments. I believe you have to sign into a google or gmail account first. If signed in, you can comment all you like.