Europe by the Seat or Our Pants. Part Tre.

Thursday, March 5

Once again we allowed ourselves to sleep in. By this time the effects of jet lag had worn off and our bodies were adjusted to Italy time. 8 hours difference, so when we were getting up at 7am, it was 11pm at home. I am an early riser normally because of my profession, which over the years, has made it difficult to sleep late even if I try..

Because of our initial plans to go to Venice, we were now on own to get to the coast and the cruise ship. The tour group had gone to Florence on Wed and were coming back to Civitavecchia, a 7 hour round trip by bus. We didn’t want to spend that much time on a bus. That was one of the deciding factors to stay in Rome on Tuesday night. Brad had talked to the concierge at the hotel and arranged to have transportation pick us up at 11am. The ride to the cruise terminal was to be just under an hour.

We loaded our luggage and bodies into a Mercedes Van and a BMW sedan and bid farewell to the Hilton Rome Airport. After a couple of stops for goodies, water and potty, we could see the massive ship at the terminal. It was an odd site seeing this modern ship and building mixed with centuries old structures that would be the landing site to large vessels at the time. Those vessels would be dwarfed by the behemoth in front of us. The passenger elevators started at 3 and went to 17. The capacity is 6500 passengers with a crew of 1600. Over 8000 bodies at one time.

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After we unloaded our luggage and paid the drivers, we headed into the terminal. It was a relief to see so few people inside. I have only been on two previous cruises, but the embarkation has always been tedious and time consuming. Our luggage went one way and we went another. Boarding passes and passports were checked, and the final stop before stepping onto the ship was to stand on a spot while a body temperature scan was performed. Anyone with an elevated temperature would not be allowed to board, would be refunded and have travel arrangements made to go home.

We made our way up the gangway and into the ship. After chatting with crew members for a few minutes, we headed to deck 10 to find our stateroom. With the ship only 3 months old, everything was immaculate. It was also HUGE. We had opted for a balcony room and after along walk from the front to the back down a narrow passageway, we found our room. Our luggage was already sitting in front of the door. Very fast! I let Rhonda unpack her suitcase first and then I did so we could store them under the bed. There wasn’t enough room to put them anywhere else.

The ten of us met back down at the buffet to have some lunch while we waited for the others to arrive from the tour group. While we were eating, I looked up to see the familiar gait of my mother coming towards us. I asked how long it took to get on board and she replied that it was quick. There were 2 buses full of people just from the tour, plus others that were coming on, so I was surprised. I’ve never seen such easy loading.. especially for a ship this size. It was obvious that the Coronavirus issue was keeping some people from boarding. The next day I learned that this cruise was unlike ones I had been on previously. The ship made a circle and at every port, people would get on and off. There was no single starting point. 6 ports in a week, with people embarking and disembarking at each one. That’s why were we able to get on so easily.

Later that evening as we all made our way to the dining room, it was obvious that they hadn’t put us together as a group. We had specifically asked to be grouped together, and we were spread all over the large room. We spoke to the Maître d’ and asked to be put together. The next night we were all at a large round table for twelve and a small one for four next to it.

After dinner, we found that there was Karaoke going on in the main theater, so a few of us headed over. Time to release the Kracken! Everyone knows I am a drummer, and most know that I am a singing drummer. Now I am no Pavarotti, but with loud guitars, bass and drums, I can hold my own in a rock band. Clint on the other hand, has a beautiful voice. Sadly, Julia and Brett went to bed so we didn’t get to hear her. She probably would have mopped us all up.

There were two sessions of karaoke and we entered right at the end of the first one. This was karaoke on steroids, not just picking a song and singing for the crowd. There were 2 emcees and a judges panel similar to American Idol that sat up on the second level. There was a camera crew with large screens at the back of the stage for close up shots. As Clint and I looked over the songbook, I admit that I was a tad nervous. For the most part, when I perform, I have a barrier between myself and the audience. I sit in the back of the band, drums in front of me, bandmates in front of me. I always joke that all I see is ass all night. That barrier provides a level of protection between me and the audience. Once in a while, when a drummer friend is at a show, I will get out front with our lead vocalist, to sing a duet. Even then, I always figure the focus is on her.

I looked through the song list for something I had sung in the past. None of my usuals were there. A few minutes later, I settled on the Beatles song, Twist and Shout. I had sung it many times and there was always a mixture of singing and screaming. Clint, the real vocalist of the two of us decided to really shake it up and go with a song that suited his style and demeanor perfectly. Cher.. If I Could Turn Back Time.

Because we were early in the sign ups, we had the benefit of performing in the first 10 minutes. Clint was second or third after a couple of horrendous versions of some forgettable songs. The judges weren’t too nice with him and gave him low scores. In a way, I had to agree with them. His song choice was akin to Bob Dylan singing an opera. He is definitely a better singer than they witnessed. I followed and managed to at least stay on key, which was better than 90% of the participants. A couple of the judges even came down and danced on the floor with me. The crowd reacted well and when it came time for my scores, I faired respectably. I was in the lead for much of the night. Remember that this ship is Italian, so as Americans, we were in the minority. By the time the last person sang, they had given higher marks to a couple of natives. Alas.. I was left out in the cold. I think had performed towards the end, I might have faired better. In the end we all had a blast and there were lots of guttural laughs that evening.

Friday, March 6

When we woke up, the ship was docking in La Spezia, Italy. Our excursion for the day would take us to the Tower of Pisa and a walking tour of Florence. One of the highlights of the day for me didn’t include centuries old buildings, but was a view from the bus as we bounded down the highway. The mountain range to the east of the Ligurian Sea (a section of the overall Mediterranean Sea), in this area of the country are solid marble. When you see them from a distance, they look snow covered. There is no snow at those elevations in March. That is pure marble. Italian marble that is shipped all over the world. As we traveled down the highway, quarry after quarry… for miles and miles. Incredible to think that they are still cutting marble out, 2000 years after the Romans were doing it.

When the bus parked in Pisa, we were given just over an hour to explore. Of course there had to be the obligatory photos of holding the tower up. People lined the walkway in various poses trying to get the perfect shot. It was difficult to get a picture of your own subject, without getting at least one more in the background doing the same thing.

We paid the fee to climb to the top. A circular stairway rose just inside the exterior wall. The center is open from the bottom to the top. It is literally a stairwell with a platform in top. There were numerous bells, which gave distinctive notes when banged on by my fist. What I found intriguing, was how the marble steps had been worn over the centuries. Because of the lean, your body naturally moves to the inside or outside of the walkway, depending on whether you are on the side that leans toward the ground or the other side. The wear on the steps was substantial.

After we gathered a couple of souvenirs, and bought a can of Coke sin zucchero (Coke Zero) so we could use a bathroom, we made our way back to the bus for the drive into Florence. In Florence there was lots of old buildings. They were all starting to look the same to me, even though the tour guides seemed excited to tell us about the history of this Cardinal or that rich family. We did get some free time to stop at a very popular sandwich shop. It was so popular that they opened a second shop right next door. Imagine having 2 of the same business next to each other.. Oh yeah.. we do.. Starbucks. Both shops had lines that were down the street. The sandwiches were large, made with big loaves of focaccia bread cut in half. Mine was stuffed with tomatoes, mozzarella and ham. Very tasty and understandable why the lines were long. After the sandwiches we enjoyed more GELATO.

We got on the bus, and it started to rumble down the highway. Once again I began to study the insides of my eyelids.

That night we found that we had all been moved to a different dining room to be together. It was fun to share with everyone about the days activities. With no more karaoke, and tired feet, we decided to hit the sack to rest up for the next days walking adventure…