Day 24 – May 23, 2010 – Split, Croatia

The best thing about today was that I ran into our pianist/lounge singer Stacy on the tender over to Split today. I brought my laptop, determined to get me some free or real cheap FAST internet. He sat down next to me with his and told me where the best place to go was. I was so thrilled and upset as well that I hadn’t gotten out sooner! Still, I would get a couple MUCH NEEDED hours online.

I went and spoke with personnel today to confirm my debark date – June 26th I’ll be leaving the ship. I wanted to take this opportunity of being in Europe to see some more stuff before heading home. I’ve got great friends in Paris, whom I’ve been dying to visit, and it looks like I can just let them know that I’ll be going home a few days later than planned. Through a paperwork process, it should only cost me to get up to Paris from Venice and then they’ll fly me home from there. YAY!!! I’m sooo excited about that. I was in Paris in high school for 10 days and went around to the typical school group-type sites, which was really great, but I didn’t get to actually interact with Parisiens or see the nightlife in the city so famous for it. Time to go visit the Crew Welfare office and pick up one of their Rosetta Stone laptops to brush up on my francais!

I love getting people’s story about how they started ship work and what their likes and dislikes about it are. Stacy is originally from Memphis and has traveled the world his whole adult life as a musician/musical director. He’s lived in Normandy, France for the last 30 years as well and we talked lots about that. It was really a lovely time sharing the afternoon with my new friend at the internet café and catching up on some business stuff back home. Stacy plays almost every night in a place called Bar City – it’s a lounge in the middle of the Martini Bar, Champagne Bar, Wine Bar and Cigar Club (which is thankfully enclosed). I had no idea about this piano bar-style show that he does for about 3 hours a night, so I made plans to go see him there tonight!

Pieter and I had dinner at the Italian restaurant on the ship, La Cucina and had some really interesting and tasty veggie lasagna. They were out of pasta sheets and were using potato sheet s in the lasagna. I’ve never had, nor heard of such a thing, especially just being in Venice the day before, you’d imagine we’d restock on pasta of all things…. But as it was, I had a new take on lasagna that was very filling and yummy. Then we headed over to see Stacy play for the whiteheads, as Mom would say, haha…. It was so amazing, I want to go there every night! We sat for two and a half hours listening to him sing, singing along with his showtune sets, and learning all sorts of musical trivia and history along the way. It was really a lovely evening doing something not many of my generation understand or enjoy, but I completely adore. He was so sweet and even dedicated a song from Casablanca to me for coming out to support! Every Friday night is Name That Tune, so you better believe where I’ll be after the show!!!

Day 23 – May 22, 2010 – Sunshine makes me well!

Off today in Venice after two days in bed, feeling not so happy. I thought I should get some sun and fresh air in Venice today with Eric and Pieter. We took a water taxi over to Piazza San Marco today for the first time, since I didn’t have much energy and it was a new way to see the city as well. They left from our cruise ship port and went around the southwestern side of the city until we hit the very busy dock.

 
It  was a perfect day, so tons of people were out, especially in the square. We took a terrified Eric through the swarms of pigeons who live there and he hung on to Pieter for dear life, lol.

We got some food at an outdoor café and I had some delicious salad and spaghetti pomodoro.

We   wanted to try to find this one church that you can see from so many of the places we’d been, but didn’t know how to get there. I ended up finding this church on the map that I got from my hotel the first night I stayed in Venice. It’s actually an incredible map of Venice, which is hard to find!

We headed in the church’s direction, passing the Peggy Guggeheim Collection, which is a museum of the American art collector’s pieces (hoping to make it there one of these weeks!). The church was brilliant and was the first massive, very old structure I’ve seen so far. It was quite busy, with lots of tourists sitting on the steps, looking out over the water to Piazza San Marco. The statues embedded in the structure were active and seemed alive. There was so much movement and life in them.

We walked further down the peninsula that the church kind of lived on and at the tip, there is an art museum or exhibition space of some sort. There is a huge marble statue of a little boy holding a frog at the very edge of the peninsula. He’s guarded by a surly security officer and tons of people try to take pictures with him.

We headed back to the ship then and just barely made it in time, again! Oh well… at least we got there. I was wiped out from a busy day on 50% energy, so I stayed in bed the rest of the afternoon until the new Welcome Aboard show – the cast does a couple numbers from the Colorz show and the orchestra plays a bit. It was a nice kickoff to the week, but very little help was needed back stage, so it was an easy night of work for me. Then up to Shadow Dancing in Bliss at 11:30 pm. I got some cool pictures this time and bowled a terrible game of bowling! I’m feeling much better though and excited about that for sure.

Day 22 – May 21, 2010 – Getting sicker…

Feeling reallllll crappy and sleeping all day and night, but being taken care of, so no worries, just trying to sleep it off.

Day 21 – May 20, 2010 – Getting sick…

Today I got sick. It was not fun. Just feeling pretty crappy, but lucky I have an in with the medical staff so I was well taken care of.
This is what it’s like when your doctor friend makes you a peanut butter sandwich. Yes, that’s a tongue depressor. Haha!

Day 20 – May 19, 2010 – Izmir shopping and White Hot!

Today we were back in Izmir and I was on my own to explore. I went out with only my wallet in hand so I wasn’t bogged down with a camera, travel books, etc… It was really nice! I had to find a grocery store to pick up a few things and I desperately needed some white shoes to go with my new white duds from H&M. It was a beautiful day out and it was so freeing to know exactly where I was going, as it was my second time there and I tend to have a great memory of locations. I found a street of the high fashion stores and it was nice to window shop a bit. I found some white shoes and headed to the grocery store where I tried to make out the Turkish writing on the snack bags. I stopped at a little bakery and had one of those amazing sesame seed covered pastries that are everywhere here. It was fantastic!

I hopped back onto the ship after picking up some more postcards at the port terminal and went to work on a t-shirt for Heather, one of our singers to wear for the White Hot Party tonight. It was also the debut of her cabaret show – Ballads and Broadway – that the singers have put together this week. Pieter, Eric and I grabbed some dinner and went to see the show before heading to White Hot. The singers were great and they were especially excited because they got to choose their own songs and introduce each with stories. It just made for a nice change from the impersonal production shows to the intimate and engaging style of a cabaret.

That's Heather (singer from Kansas City) and I and then Gina (dancer from UK) and I.
Then Andrew (singer from NY) and I and Anel (nail technician from South Africa) and I.

Afterwards, we headed upstairs to support the cast at White Hot and of course, debut my new white pants, haha. Being an officer, Pieter must always be in uniform in passenger areas, so he didn’t get to wear his new whites. :) I finally took some great pictures with the cast mates to show you all the very talented and wonderful people I get to work with!

That's Natalie (singer from NY) and Eric (dancer from Miami) and Pieter (doctor from South Africa) and I.

Me and my two Muskateers, Pieter and Eric :) They've really made this experience wonderful for me as far as ship life is concerned! LOVE!

Day 19 – May 18, 2010 – Piraeus/Athens, H&M, and the best Greek food yet!

Today, Pieter and I were on a mission to find the H&M in Athens, Greece. I know it seems silly, but it’s just been too long that we’ve been apart, my favorite clothing store and I. :) Plus, once I got on the ship, I realized I needed a few extra items that I didn’t pack from home, so it was really a work trip, haha!
We walked through stinky Piraeus to the subway station and I was more optimistic about my second trip on it. I knew where I was going and had a map of the subway and of the station where H&M was closest to. It was a nice, humid and unairconditioned ride to Onomia station, which my travel book said was great for shopping, etc. The store was on Panepistimiou, which is like a main drag in Athens apparently, but it didn’t really look too much like one I’d be used to seeing in the states. H&M was pretty close by and we ended up spending at least an hour at the homeland. It was a really good H&M with a whole floor of Men’s and lots to choose from. I had to get some white pants and a white shirt for the weekly White Hot party on the ship, and I just felt like I should have the standard uniform for visiting Greek Islands. Plus, it’s cheaper to get it there than at some souvenir shop in Santorini!

After H&M, we headed to the Gazi district, which is marked by this old foundry that’s been converted into artist studios and exhibition spaces. It’s home to much of Athen’s gay and otherwise metrosexual nightlife and we thought we might find somewhere to eat there. Turns out it was a little harder to find and a bit longer of a trek to get there, but we eventually made it and went to the best rated restaurant in my travel guide, Mamacas. As it was siesta, we weren’t sure if they’d be open, but they were. Mamacas was reportedly a shining example of a neo-taverna, which basically takes a modern twist on the classic Greek cuisine. This sounded like a great idea!

We both ordered Greek Salads and this one put all the others I’ve had to shame! The tomatoes and cucumbers were divine, the feta pungent, and the best part was the topping of salty capers that just made the whole combination really work! The multigrain bread served with it was outstanding….so good that a pigeon came over and tried to eat it too. :) I also ordered two small dishes, the Lemon Potatoes and Grilled Feta and I was clearly in way over my head! First, there was just way too much food to even try to finish, but all had to be sufficiently sampled. The Lemon Potatoes were grilled in a very light, spicy lemon-mustard sauce that was to die for.

The Grilled Feta was brought out next - it was a 4” X 4” square of tin foil pinched together at the top and I was reminded of grilling over a campfire at summer camp. I was not prepared for what lie awaiting me inside the foil…. First, a thin bed of olive oil to cover the bottom of the foil, then the brick of feta, topped with thin tomato and banana pepper slices, more olive oil, and grilled to bubbling gooey perfection. It was worth the burn on my tongue to dig into this creation right away. It was quite possibly on my top 5 foods I’ve ever eaten list (which maybe now I should start?). The feta was so good cooked like that and didn’t taste a thing like it does cold. This is a must try at home!

After being completely stuffed, we got on the closest train, high-tailed it through Piraeus and had to wait forever for our shuttle back to the ship, making us a few minutes late to get back on the ship, eek! Crew has to be aboard 30 minutes before passengers and those extra 30 really make a big difference. All was well though and I had another great time in Athens. We also had a major boat drill today – this time we actually had to walk off the ship –all 1100 crewmembers! You could imagine that took us quite a while. So next time we’re in Athens, I’m going to try to leave the ship as soon as crew is cleared to get to the Acropolis! I want to have as full a day there as crewmemberly possible.

Day 18 – May 17, 2010 – Sea (sick) Day and Colorz

Nothing much to report on this long day at sea, except that it was very rocky and made me seasick for most of the afternoon and evening during the show. :) Boo….. It’s really bad in the theatre and dressing room, because we’re only on decks 5 and 6 and at the very front of the ship. Then, in the dressing room, all the costumes sway back and forth on their hangers and it can get quite dizzying!

Day 17 – May 16, 2010 – Rainy Dubrovnik and the quest for good Mexican food

Today, we were docked in Dubrovnik on an overcast, rainy and cool morning. After doing some research on the city on WikiTravel (my new favorite site! Check it out if you’re traveling somewhere!), I found out that the most notable thing is the Old Town district, which is a completely walled, fortressed city in one area of town. It’s got marble streets and beautiful medieval architecture. The rain made the stones shiny in this really lovely way that made it great for pictures.

The three of us headed out and braved the sea of umbrellas, this time equipped with our own, in search of history, beauty, and of course, good food. We first changed some money into the Croatian currency, the Kuna. One of the main attractions is walking along the wall, which we decided to do next time because it was just too crowded with crazy tourists made crazier as they were armed with umbrellas. So we walked through the streets of Old Town, which of course now are lined with all sorts of shops, restaurants and bars. We’re in the port until 9 pm, so on a nice night, it will be really nice to have dinner outside in one of the outdoor café’s.

We found food on this little side street and sat outside while it cleared up and the sun came out. We all opted for versions of their lasagna, mine spinach and I was amazed when it came out completely homemade and made to order. It’s not often you find that! It was delicious and luckily we saved room for gelato too!

I also learned that the neck tie, or Cravat, originates from Croatia. Who knew!? So there were a few tie stores exploiting that fashion entomology.

The most interesting thing was actually a very sad historical event that has left it’s mark all over Old Town. During the conflict in the early 1990’s between the Serbs and Croatians, the Yugoslav army heavily bombed Dubrovnik and you can see bulletholes and some larger marks of destruction all throughout the charming old town. There’s a memorial and map of the bomb damage at the entrance to the city, which was just devastating to see.

Once back on the ship, we all decided to try out Tequila, the Tex-Mex restaurant on board. Now, I didn’t expect to get any Mexican food while in the Mediterranean whatsoever, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been seriously missing the burrito food group in my diet. I figured since the NCL is an American cruise line, they would be pretty good at producing at least decent Mexican or at least southwestern cuisine. I was so sadly mistaken… I knew it wasn’t going to be good when the salsa was crap, the chips tasted like cardboard, and the guacamole was like pureed imitation avocado. It was just not a good sign. So I ordered a margarita and tried to stay positive… I had a grilled veggie enchilada that was ok, but there was really no making up for bad salsa. The only thing that was tasty was the cheese quesadilla we had for an appetizer, but really, how can you mess one of those up!?

After dinner, we had Dancing with the Stars in Spinnaker Lounge. Pieter and I went to watch, while Eric and the others worked. We got a new cruise director this week, so it was my first time seeing him in action. He’s great, but a little strange…sort of reminds me of a European game show host in a way. He speaks five languages fluently and regularly on the ship to try to appeal to all the different passengers’ nationalities.