Athens - Yvonne

Yesterday was Athens and we had a ship tour to the Acropolis Museum.

After we disembarked, we boarded the bus for a tour of Athens. There were rows and rows of apartments, very dense. 80 percent of the people live in apartments. The Greek government allows them to make apartments out of the old houses but they are not allowed to tear them down.
We then visited the stadium where the original Olympic Games were held.

 

 

The eternal flame lives here and it is passed on to the country that is doing the Olympics that year.
On to the Acropolis museum. We were all disappointed that it was not on the Acropolis but the Acropolis was up the hill. 

The musem is built on top of ruins which visitors magically float over on a layer of plexiglass.  

Joyce and Kathy went up to see the Parthenon on the Acropolis and they were thrilled The rest of us stayed for the museum visit.
It was very informative but our tour guide was very detailed and unfortunately most were bored.

I loved every minute of it.
Chris, Gerry's daughter, asked what the difference was with the Roman remains and the Greek ones.

Well, it's all about the Art. The Greek art was very beautiful and very detailed. The folds on the clothes, the fingernails, the muscles all added up to some very fine works of art.

When the Romans conquered Greece, they took a lot of the Greek Art to Rome. They learned and studied the Greek ways of Art.
Even Michaellangello and Leonardo Davinci studied the Greek Arts.
After the museum, we were let loose to go shopping.The stores were much the same as we saw in other places.

We then boarded the bus and rode back to the ship.

 

Rome Tour of Colosseum, Forum & St Clements Church

We were met at our hotel by Rahul, our tour guide, and taken to a church, a short walk from our hotel. St. Clement was built in the Middle Ages but an older church was found underneath.
The older church had been a temple originally but had been turned into a church when the Romans had turned to Christianity in about 300 AD. 

The old church was made of brick and stone 64 ft. below the sidewalk.
We also walked through some houses from the second century AD. These were 70 feet below the road.

Segways are the New Sightseeing Tool!

The Colosseum was next. A huge circular building, it had 3 levels and 630 arches. 

 

The Colosseum was originally mamed the Flavian Amphitheatre.

They were cleaning it up and restoring it.
This is where the Gladiators fought.
They were either slaves, military or ordinary men who wanted to make it their career.

Later on, animals were introduced for more excitement. When Nero was emperor, Christians were persecuted here. The floor of the arena was made of sand so it was easy to clean up the blood etc.

Games became so important to the Roman people
that, along with the food., many people believe it was the reason for the fall of the Roman Empire.
Our last stop for the day was the Roman Forum.

 

There were many arches, statues and stones carved and dedicated to various Gods and important people. There were games here before the Collosseum was built. This is where the Roman Senators spoke and this is w here Julius Caesar 
was assassinated.

After all the History, we were hungry and we all went for a delicious lunch. The biggest surprise was my artichoke. Well, I won't say anymore. Just look at the picture!

 

After our lunch, we each went our own way and eventually made it back to the hotel.

Firenza - Kathy & Linda

Il Duomo Cathedral.....for the blog.  
We arrived in Florence after a very picturesque train ride.  

The first thing we saw was the La Cupola Del Duomo....absolutely magnificent!  The architecture here is so different from Rome.  We are now having lunch and wine and beer at a sidewalk cafe.  I will continue with the blog tonight.  
Have a great day!
Salute or UKE!

   We walked thru the plaza of Santa Marie del Fiore and saw the magnificent cathedral and headed towards the Pontes Vecchio.  The old bridge - formally the home of butchers and tanners - the Medichi didn't like the stench from the animal products so they turfed the tanners and butchers and rented to the gold merchants who didn't smell and they could charge more.  They are there to this day.

We tasted the wine and all agreed that Tuscany produces "the best".

Tour of the Celebrity Ship Reflection - Bruce

 On the second day of our cruise we attended the Captain's champagne reception. All of the ships officers were available to chat with and I had the opportunity to speak with one of the technical officers. I asked if I could get a look at the engine room and was informed that there was a formal tour available for only 16 people. The following day I was put on the list and waited to see if I had been cleared to go on the tour. Luckily, I was selected and attended the tour on the last sea day. We spent 3 hours with various crew members and saw the inner working of the whole ship:
1. Backstage:
We were greeted by the "Marcie" (Stage Manager) of the ship and saw the mechanics of the stage, the automation controls, audio and video management tools and dressing room available to the production crew. An interesting fact is that video of each production is analyzed to correct any missteps of the dancers and performers to advise them and correct any problems.

Dressing Room for Performers
2. Crew Quarters:
Crew members are housed in various state rooms depending on their crew status. Rooms are located on deck one and two and are accessible from "I-95", the main roadway that runs 1100 feet down the center of the ship on deck 2. 

Some are 3 to a room, some 2 to a room and the ships officers all have there own single rooms. 30 different nationalities are represented among the crew. Internet rooms and lounges for relaxing are located throughout the crew areas. 

Several eating areas and crew bars are available to the crew. 

 

Just like the passengers 3 main meals and late night meals are available. Off duty crew members can have a beer or a glass of wine or liquor but anyone caught with a blood alcohol level of .05 or greater will be dismissed and let off at the next port. This could be a problem for our group!
3. Supplies Area and Meat and Fish Prep:
We saw the areas that the thousands of pounds of groceries and supplies are stored. The meat and fish preparation areas were busy handling fresh lobster and rack of lamb for the evening meal.
4. Engine and Systems Monitoring Room:
After a security check and individual body scan we were permitted entry to the ships systems monitoring room. This area is crewed by 2 engineering specialists and includes about 20 computer monitors and about 40 live video feeds of the various mechanical services on the ship. 

Logs of all systems are constantly recorded and manually logged. The crews work 6 hour shifts and typically are onboard for a 6 month contract.

Everything on the ship is powered by 4 main diesel generators backed up by 3 smaller units dedicated to essential services. 

While the ship is underway, typically 2 main generators are running and supply the two propulsion units called "Azipods" with enough power to run at 22 knots. If the maximum speed of 24 knots is required due to weather, tides, sea conditions or schedule all four generators must be operating. The ship can run with only one generator and achieve 12 knots. All in all, there is quadruple redundancy for most systems on-board which is much like a 747.
5. Mooring Deck:
This area manages all of the shore lines and the main anchors. An interesting point about use of the anchors is that they cannot put out all of the anchor chain due to the weight. 

 

A maximum of 7 seconds (About 1000 feet) with the anchor freewheeling out is the max weight the winches can retrieve the tremendous weight to bring the anchor back in.
6. Navigation Bridge:

 

The Greek Master of the ship greeted our tour and gave us an overview of the bridge from the Port side bridge extension about 24 feet outside of the main ships hull. There was a 4 foot square window in the floor 

 

which the crew can look down at the water from. The captain was very leery of standing there! 

 

The second-in-command took over and explained the controls and main computer monitors on the bridge.

 The Azipod system for the main propulsion make the ship very maneuverable. By rotating the two Azipods 360 degrees they can move the stern of the ship in any direction avoiding the tugs required by conventionally powered vessels. The Bow of the ship is maneuvered using 3 Bow Thrusters which can move the Bow horizontally in a Left or Right direction.
In addition to at least two navigation officers on the bridge when underway there are two lookouts posted at all times observing traffic and the water below. The navigation equipment and systems monitoring capabilities are similar to what you would find on a 747 jet.

7. Galley Tour:

This tour was much the same as Gerry's experience but we had the head Chef leading the tour.  They were preparing for lunch on my visit to the Galley.

Celebrity Reflection: Galley Tour - Gerry

We all wondered how they produced the meals so fast for every sitting on the ship so off I went to find out their coveted culinary secrets.  Half of the passengers turned out too but luckily we were divided.  

Creative Fruit Carvings Demo

We were given a number at the door and limited to about 20 per group. Bruce was on a ship tour at the same time as me and did a tour with the head chef - a German.  Each floor has its own complete galley and I assume their own freezers and fridges.  We first saw the salad/cold prep area.  

They were working on about 60 small plates at a time - they looked like appetizer plates for that evening.  Two stations were working simultaneously.  Then on to the soup prep area  - it looked like a big square stainless steel sink in which he was stirring a steaming liquid.  The soups were either the hot or cold variety but  always delicious!

In the distance we could see the bread area.  

We did not go into any of the food prep areas and none of the food servers are allowed either.  They don't cross the red line - ever.  The meat is brought on from the USA and kept frozen until needed.  

Pictoral Menus for Each Day

  Fresh produce is brought aboard every few days and kept in a progressively warmer fridge to encourage ripening.  There is absolutely NO SHORTAGE of FOOD on board.  They store: 3000 lbs of beef tenderloin,  4500 Lbs chicken, 1900 lbs chicken breast, 12300 lbs potatoes, 2300 dozen eggs, 75000 lbs fresh fruit, etc.  for a 10 day cruise.  They didn't mention shrimp but we consumed enough to keep us going for awhile!  

Water is a big concern on board.  The ship can not carry enough water for all the passengers. 

 They have a de-salination plant on board to produce all the water required for showers, pools, even drinking and cooking.  It is tested four times per day so it is potable.

None of us have been sick from the water (or ice) so it must be true. Some of us have blamed Margarita consumption for sea sickness, however.

One of us celebrated his birthday onboard.  The ship celebrated one year in service on Oct 9 this year so we got more CAKE!

Dining in a Roman Crosswalk - Gerry & Bruce

We discovered that dining can be very flexible in Roma!  We set out to find a place for dinner at 8:00 pm Saturday right in the middle of rush hour for diners.  We finally found a place with a table for 10 outside!  We were thrilled!  He set the tables right on the corner almost in a crosswalk!  Our waiter was Arindo from Albania.  At Pasqualino al Colosseo we enjoyed pasta, chicken, seafood and limoncello.  All while seated on the corner in a crosswalk on a streetcorner near the Colosseum in Rome!

We were approached by several street venders selling singing dogs, glowing clocks and green lasers.  And this guy selling scarves. 

Our waiter Arindo - at 23 he is a catch girls!  

Pompeii - Yvonne

The date was 79 AD. It was a hot August day, but something was happening, something on Mt. Vesuvious. For days now, the mountain had been shaking and spewing out flames. 

The shaking was causing huge waves which made it impossible to escape by sea. Herculeum was close but was also affected by the mountain. The rest of the area was mountainous and very difficult to travel through. Mothers watched nervously as their children played in the streets.
Suddenly, it was all over. Mount Vesuvious blew and within minutes covered the entire city with poisonous ash. Everyone died on the spot, being asphyxiated by poison. No one was spared. Even Herculeum was covered by lava.

The whole area was now covered and hidden from view. There it stayed for a long long time.
15 centuries later, a man who was doing some excavating work, came across an unknown article.
Thus the digging began!
Now, 75 percent has been uncovered and that is we saw today.

An amazing find this Roman city shows us what life was like in 79 AD.
There were lots of houses and some were very large and beautiful.
All houses and all streets were built at right angles to one another. The streets were all made of large stone slabs and the houses were brick and stone. There was an area where the restoration crew had stored the plaster casts of bodies and genuine artifacts. Lots of vessels and pots were there.

The most popular place, however was the brothel.

We couldn't find it but John apparently took a video of it. The many customers spoke many languages and they eventually had to paint their many services on the walls.
Later, I found out that this was only one of twenty five brothels in the area.  It must have been a very lucrative business!
After walking around for a couple of hours, we headed for the bus and rode back to the ship, our last tour of the cruise.