Home Again - October 15

The airlines cancelled and changed our flight home so that we had to make the trip in two days. On the 14th we took a water taxi to the Marco Polo Airport and flew to London Gatwick. Then we took a van to the Crown Plaza near Heathrow because our flight left on the 15th at 7:30am. We went through Chicago and Dallas and finally landed in Tucson around 22 hours later. Jeff picked me up at the Tucson airport and we drove straight up to the hospital in Scottsdale.

Robert emerged from his coma on the 14th. So when I first saw him he was awake but still confused about things. I spent Thursday and Friday at the hospital and let Jeff finally take a break. Jeff had been sitting with Robert everyday 8-12 hours a day for 10 days.

Yesterday, October 23, at dinner time they released Robert to go home. He still has lots of OT, PT and mental therapy to undergo but he will receive this through out-patient services. Jeff's father is flying here to help us out. Robert has to wear a neck brace for the next 12 weeks so we don't want to leave him alone while we work during the day and he will need rides to his therapy sessions. We have arranged a sabbatical leave from school for him until February.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us. It looks like all our prayers have helped. Robert is making good progress and should recover nicely in time.

Venice, Italy - October 11-14

The sail into Venice was absolutely magnificent! We went right down the San Marco Canal to the berth in the port. I stood on the top to take photos and get the best view. I took the shot below from the ship. You can see San Marcos Square, the Doges Palace on the right side where the bridge of Sighs connects the palace to the prison. Just right of the prison are three buildings (a white one, red one then white one again). These three buildings are the Hotel Danieli. This was our hotel for two nights.


The Danieli is impressive. It is a small luxury hotel built from a restored palace. Below is a photo of the lobby, a Venetian Gothic landmark lavishly appointed with pink marble, stained glass, gold leaf columns, Murano glass chandeliers, antiques and is four stories tall.

We are enjoying lunch in the Daneili Restaurant.
We took a scenic gondola ride.

Saint Mark's Square was so close we took an evening stroll to listen to the music.

Dubrovnik, Croatia - October 10

Friends had told us that Dubrovnik is one of the prettiest place on earth. They were right. It's nickname is the "Pearl of the Adriatic." The actual old walled city is framed by a beautiful mountain backdrop. Although there was extensive damage during the recent civil war, they have rebuilt and repaired any any damage.
This view is from the city center up the city walls and into the mountain.
We also went to Cavtat. It is a seaside resort. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a stroll down the promenade and browsed in the shops.

Zakynthos, Greece - October 9

Zakynthos is one of the larger Greek islands. The first stop in the tour was the crest of a hill overlooking Bohali (Zakynthos Town). There was a beautiful little Greek Orthodox Church where I lit two candles for and prayed for Robert. I wish we had been allowed to take photos inside the church. I was very tiny, ornate and decorated in gold.
The last stop on the tour was Lagana by a long sandy beach. The guide told us that in April the area is over run by European college students. Drinking, partying and going wild. Sounds like Spring Break in Florida.

Athens, Greece - October 8

We took a bus tour of Athens. It was Wednesday and the public transportation workers were on strike. So the infamous bad traffic of Athens was made even more terrible. We saw about 50-100 people standing at each bus stop along our route. I don't know why they didn't seem to know that the bus would not come that day.
Athens is another amazing city I want to return to some day. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, the birthplace of democracy and I enjoy history! We saw the Parthenon atop the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus, the old Olympic Stadium and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is guarded by elite soldiers in traditional Greek Uniforms.
Everywhere we stopped in Greece they bragged about their wonderful olive oil. So I had to take a picture of the olives!
After our tour we were playing cards on the balcony of our cabin and we have no idea why we were treated to parts of a fun Greek airshow. I got a couple of photos of the jets. The planes would disappear behind the hill and then shoot up above it again.

Samos, Greece - October 7

Samos is a pretty little island. Tami and I went on the tour together. Dad and Aunt Nannette decided to stay on the ship for a day of rest. We saw the ruins of a temple built for the Goddess Hera, an amazing underground aqueduct built in the sixth century and had time to shop. Tami had worn a pair of new shoes and got terrible blisters on her heels. So we spent some of the time looking for a pharmacy to get band aids and she finally bought some sandals to wear.

This evening was a formal evening. We were invited to a cocktail party by the two couples (Layne and Carmen, and Joe and Charlotte) that sat at the table next to us in the Queen's Grill. They served cocktails and appetizers on their balcony. We had a great time visiting with them and then we went to the Cunarder Party in Queen's Room. Such social butterflies!
I called Jeff as soon as we were at sea and found out that Robert's operation had been successful and everything was proceeding well with him.

Istanbul, Turkey - October 6

Turkey is a very interesting country. I was surprised at how clean and "western" it was. It is quite a melting pot of cultures. There are mosques, churches, synagogues palaces, castles, and minarets poking above the skyline everywhere. It is the only city in the world that straddles two continents. It's strategic location has made it an important city of many major civilizations through history - Greek, Roman, Persian, Ottoman and Byzantine Empires have from here.

We saw the Blue Mosque. It is actually blue on the inside not on the outside. That is because of the azure blue tiles that cover the walls. We had to remove our shoes to enter. The Hagia (eye ya) Sophia, built in the 6th century, was the largest cathedral in the world for thousands of years. For a time it was turned into a mosque but is now a museum. The Sultans built the Topkapi Palace. We visited the Harem and the National Treasury there. The treasury contains the Spoonmaker's Diamond, an 86 carat beauty! Our final stop was the Grand Bazarr. After listening to a carpet demonstration, during which they served hot apple tea, we did some shopping. I didn't buy a carpet though.

At Sea - October 5

The weather was cloudy and overcast and it even rained a bit. But since we had no port or sightseeing it did not interfere with any plans. My father had a reflexology massage, I watched the fencing lesson and the four of us played cards in one of the lounges to pass the time.

Tami and I spent some time in the Internet Center checking emails and I worked on this blog. That is when I got the email from Ken to "call home no matter what."
It was seven am Arizona time, five pm my time - a ten hour difference. I tried using the ship's phone several times and got no answer (at five dollars a minute). In desperation I tried my cell phone and found that it worked on the ship whenever we were not in port.
Robert had been in an accident and was in ICU. He had run into the road and was struck by two cars. He had a head injury with possible brain damage, a broken fifth vertebrae in his neck and lots of road rash. The doctors placed him in a comma and sewed and stapled up his head, and did a cat scan. Then they had to determine how to fix the broken neck. Jeff insisted that the injuries were not considered life threatening and that I was not to rush home. He said there was nothing I could do and Robert was unconscious. I had a very hard time sleeping and was desperate for information from home every day. Jeff spent everyday at the hopsital and updated me as often as he could.
As it turns out Robert spent seven days in ICU. They did surgery on the vertebrae and he has a neck brace to help it heal. He didn't actually "wake up" until yesterday (October 16). I got home on the fifteenth and spent all day the sixteenth at the hospital. Jeff says that this was the first day he was in fact alert enough to communicate for more than a few minutes and he ate a meal. The nurses were amazed at his progress. I believe that he will be okay, but it will take a while for a full recovery. Please keep him in your prayers for us.

Izmir, Turkey - October 4

After an hour bus ride through the Turkish countryside we walked through Ancient Ephesus. The ruins were amazing. Ephesus had people living in the area as far back as 6000BC. It was a port at one time and the ruins we saw were from the city founded by a general of Alexander the Great in 300BC. There was a population of 200,000 people with mosaic sidewalks for the nobles, running water, public baths and a large library and hillside amphitheater. When the river silted up and the people got malaria they finally moved away and abandoned the city. Marc Anthony and Cleopatra had liaisons there many times and the Apostle Paul was imprisoned there for two years. That is where he wrote the letters that are in the Bible. My Dad did an amazing job of walking through the ruins. There were some stairs but it was mostly uneven stones and ground to walk on. He used his cane and my sister held his arm the whole time while she assigned me to run around and take the photos. We were back on board the ship for lunch and an afternoon of rest.

The tall building is the library.

The hillside amphitheater.

Santorini, Greece - October 3

Santorini is an amazing place. I must say, now that the trip is over, it was one of my favorite stops. The crescent shaped island is the edge of the largest volcanic caldera in the world. The eruption that formed the island took place 3600 years ago. The small picturesque villages cling to the tops of the high steep cliffs. We took a bus tour to the two largest villages, Fira and Oia (pronounced /ee/ /ya/).

The buildings were just like all the quaint photos of Greece that you have seen of white stucco homes with blue roofs, shutters and doors. The white and blue Greek flag is very applicable. The bus left us off in Fira and we had to choose how to get to the bottom of the cliff to take the tender back to the ship - walk down, ride a donkey or take a cable car. We took the cable car but had to stand in line for two hours to get on. There were two other large cruise ships in the harbor today. Thank goodness for the wonderful breeze. I have some great photos to post later.

Naples, Italy - October 1

We took a tour that went past Mount Vesuvius, around the Sorrento peninsula, on the Amalfi Drive and through Pompeii. It was an eight hour tour with very long rides in between stops. The scenery was wonderful, however. We stopped and did a bit of shopping and had a nice lunch in Sorrento. The part of the drive from Sorrento to Amalfi was very interesting. The road was very narrow and winding with large drops to the sea on the right side. Buses are only allowed to drive in the northerly direction along the road because two buses could not pass each other on many parts of the road. Many times the bus had to stop to let traffic by because the road was so narrow. They actually have police directing traffic at some of the turns in the road. At one point a small SUV pulling an empty boat trailer actually hit the front fender of the bus; the trailer did not make the turn tight enough.

Narrow road!


Mount Vesuvius

We celebrated my birthday at dinner with a special cake.

Queen Victoria - September 30

Our suite is amazing. We have an area with a couch, TV, bar and desk. Another area with the beds, another TV, dressing table and a walk in closet. The bath has two parts. One part has the sink and toilet; the other part has a separate Jacuzzi tub and shower. We are in the Queens Grill for dining and the menu is endless.

Separate shower and jacuzzi tub.
Dad in the living room area.
The bar and desk area.

We all agree that the Victoria is not a beautifully appointed as the Queen Mary II. It is smaller but there are other differences. On the QM2 the stairwells each have a different color wood paneling and here they just have a different color carpeting. The Grill restaurants are pretty and there is a outdoor patio in between them on this ship, but the QM2 Grills were pretty also.

Rome, Italy - September 27-30

We were all exhausted after the flight from Tucson to Rome. I had a window seat and could see the lights of both London and Paris as we flew high above them. The taxi ride to the hotel was scary; even though it was early on a Sunday morning the traffic was terrible and the driver was crazy. He drove way over (140-150kph) the posted speed limit (100kph), changed lanes frequently, and talked and texted on his phone almost the entire drive. We arrived at 7:30am and waited in the hotel lobby for our rooms to be ready. We were too tired to do much more than explore the street (Via Veneto) that afternoon. The hotel, The Ambasciatori Palace, is very old but rated as a five star hotel. I think the Italian idea of five star is very different from a US five star.

So on Monday we took an open top bus tour around the city. We walked to the Spanish Steps and went to the Trevi Fountain after dinner. But none of us threw coins in this trip. Dad, Aunt Nannette and I had been to Rome before and Tami saw what she wanted to see so we are not keen on returning. The city doesn't change much. I will have to add photos when I get home, I have been taking lots. We walked to an Internet Point at 9:30 on the last day but as usual for Rome the hours posted were 9am -4pm and the shop was not open.

Trevi Fountain

The Queen Victoria's computers have very restricted access; you can't open attachments or add photos to blogs on these machines. If I travel again I want to get my own laptop so I am not restricted to others rules.

Fourth of July

Once again the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Ruidoso gave a super fireworks show. We sat on the top deck of the cabin and had the best view in the valley!

Then Aunt Nannette and I spent three days painting and decorating a bedroom. It was fun but lots of hard work!

Setting Up The Blog

After viewing Eamonn's blog about China I decided to try my hand at this so when I am on the cruise in October I can use this media. I am going to try to add a photo also! I grabbed this photo from last July in Ruidoso.