Antique Flea Markets

We also went to a Antique Flee Market while in Roma and wow what a place. It was off the beaten tracks and not a tourist spot.

The was about 50 small stalls about 3m to 6m x 3m all in white permanent tents with timber floors. The small streets were paved with white pebbles and the whole place had a fun buss about it. I was in my element but had to say no to the suit of armour and the wrought iron chandelier and matching bed head. I walked into one for the little stalls and the man rattled off at a 100 miles an hour about some great deals he had just for me! Looking stunned and with my first encounter with a store holder said in my best newly learnt Italian (thanks to Margret Lobben)

"Bonjornjo, Non Parlo Italiano, Parla Englasie?" He said straight back Non Parlo Englasie  Parla Itatiano!! And by the time it sunk in he was laugh and started to speak pretty dame good English, Hmmmm a smarty, we really hit it off and before long his wife came over to talk also. They were singers in a band and both took off there jackets to reveal their tea shirts that said "Rock - Stars" they were hysterical and we had to have photos with them. He tried so hard to sell me something but sorry it was all a bit too big to carry home.

Around the corner we come across a guy named Luka his English was not as good but we managed to almost settle on a price when Marina found us and intervened and thanks to her we should have saved 5€ on the 40€ deal. But not before what seamed like a heated exchange and him resigning that he was not ripping us of and it was a pair of genuine antique Cupid bronze door handles from the 1920's  Mousolini Period. I look at him and tried to quite  him down and feeling a bit sorry that my negotiator had tried to rip of his arms. I smiled and said I was going to buy them anyway and gave him the 40 € 

They may be small but they are very heavy (probably better as hand luggage on the way home)

The Aussie $

Still or bubbly water on board is about $5.25 for 1 litre

Mohetto's for $7 and some days they have cocktail specials for $4

Wine starts from $27 a bottle for a small selection of Italian and Chilean with a larger selection of French, Californian from $32 with 3 of the 4 Shiraz were from Australia for $40 with the other from California.

They have a selection of " Interesting Wines" as it is written on the wine list which varies from $28  for a mixed selection to $76 for Moët and $176 for Don Periano so Mark Daly come on over!!!! Susan you would love the whole ship thing with a balcony. I did walked past a port hole room yesterday as they were doing the change over and got to have a sticky beak and I'm soooooooo soooooooo glad I have a little balcony to escape to. 

Saturday when we were in Venice for the day we caught a vaparetto  "water bus" from the dock to S Samuelle which is the area that we will be staying next Saturday for the week at the end of the cruise, check out their web site www.viewsonvenice our apartment .ca Samuelle . Well the vaparetto was so crowded! Personal Space is non existent, my saving grace was Sandy and I were face to face so I could look over her head for that extra few mm's of personal space. She was wedged into some huge guys armpit as he held on the the rail above her head.. And even at 23 deg that deodorant was challenged, I on the other hand had another ladies breasts one either side of my arm and a guy behind me with well let's say I think he must have been please to meet me!!!! When I finally got released from his clutches it was only his veggie shopping that was please to be meet with me. Doing the calculation, you know as I like to do, if we were to have 52 people on our balcony of 6.5 m/2 that ment they could  get another 10 people on. That cost 7 euro each so $9.24 so next week the 80 euro $105.60 water taxi will be the go especially with 2 cases and a few backpacks for just a 10min trip. Think I might invest in a water taxi business in Venice or even a "veggie shop"!

In Croatia we found a little corner store  where water cost $1.04 and a Milka chocolate bar, yum, european chocolate is so good and it was only $1.44

Our $ is not so good in Italy well especially in Roma and the other tourist place so far but last thursday in Croatia we were rich! 

In Slovenia we had 2 Pina Carladers in a side walk street for 5.50 euro so $7 .26 each  and a Cappuccino for $4

While in Venice surely the most expensive city in the world in San Marco Square with a view of San Marco Basicilla and the bell tower with its gold statue on top we stopped for glass of Italian fun bubbly and as you first sit down they put a leaflet in front of you with a smile to inform you it will cost you 6 euro per person for the music so $7.92 for the pleasure of sitting there, but that is only if you going to order something, other wise on your bike kids. 

A Cappuccino was 9 euro $11.88 so $39.60  before we even got to the fun bubblies so with the 2 bubbles it totalled $68.64. The fun bubbles did come with some salted chips and 6 of the best tasting Sicilian Olives, what an amazing place to sit and watch the world go by and the musicians even had the hide to have a 15 minutes break while we were there!! So where is my 2 euro refund? Well that's why we have been saving up for those cups of coffee in Venice for so long!!! It was well worth every € , well it is Venice after all

Last Nights Bed Art

Every few days the cabin boys at your turn down service make little towel animals. The other day it was a puppy out of a bath towel and a washer.

Mid week an elephant from a bath towel and a hand towel, than a penguin and  last night out of a washer we had the cuties little Mouse they are so cleaver.

I pull them apart and took photos so maybe I might be able to do them at the Retreat well with lots and lots of practise or I can show you Julie and Kath!!!

Security Passes & I D

What a great system you receive a I D card that you swipe on and off the ship + you use it when you go to dinner and if you want a drink you produce it at the bars. When they swipe it your picture come up on their monitor so no one can nick your card and try to us it. Also it would stops people at the end of the cruise saying I didn't buy that!!!

Another Day At Sea

It's Sunday and we are on the 2nd leg of the cruise we have covered some 1160 nautical miles  from Rome to Venice. 2000 people got off in Venice was it something I said! But another 2000 go back on. So all good.

So now we are the veterans of the cruise we know it all! so didn't have to sit through the safety drill again just report and then we were dismissed back to our room. It was a wet start and we are being balcony dwellers today in our robes and catching up on some reading and THE BLOG.

Have ducked out to get food rations a couple of times and those glasses are still as still as the sea below, we'll until you pick them up again!

Peter G you can smuggle wine on board it just a mater of how you do it. When you come back on board thought the X-ray if they don't want to take it well that's their problem so happy days..... If they do they just put it away for you until you disembark on your final day. The Slovenian wine that we got on Thursday that just happen to make its way into my back pack have come in handy today, and the cab sauv 2003 that we found in a bottle shop for 10€ was a bargian, so it mayncome out later in the week and when in italy to not have a lemon chello would just be criminal don't you think. But wine everywhere over here has corks Hmmmm didn't pack a cork screw silly Peter. Michael our cabin boy comes to the rescue. Here on the ship over dinner you can opt to have wine by the glass or if you get a bottle and can't drink it all you can either take it back to your cabin recorked or they have a great system where they put your cabin No. on it and give you a receipt and they will get it from the cellars when you want no matter what restaurant you are dining in. So the other day we just couldn't  drink all our bottle at dinner so opt to bring it back to our cabin. Problem solved says Michael have a souvineer cork screw from Norwegian Cruise and said please keep it with his pleasure, maybe he saw our little stash.!!!

See You Next Week Venice

We set sail a bit later than what was planed, some one got lost in Venice no no not us we were back earlier just in case. But one of the other guest must have been lost in the crowds and they called her name for about 30mins over the loud speaker so wether she got back to the mother ship in time we are yet to know, but seriously if she didn't make it back you wouldn't wonder why, with all the people and the little dead end Calla's it could be a place to really loose yourself.

I'm hopeless with out Sands I'd be the lost "one" somewhere in one of those back calla's with little tears in my eyes! Yep I'm sure you get the picture, the whole pitta-full picture, I'm still getting lost on the ship. I was allowed to start going out by myself 3days after we set sail! She must really love me, I mean how lost could I get!!!!

So with drink in hand, still testing the ripple and swell theory, we are on holidays! we retire to our balcony and once again looking over Venice this time in day light and the view is just magic,  being up so high as most of Venice is under 4 stories except for the towers, stepals and of course San Marco. 

So what a birds eye view are we getting, it's as if all this is laid out just for us 2 on our little balcony its just so romantic. Ciac Ciac

9am Now That's More Respectable

It up again and to a bright sunnies day with a expected top of 23deg a great temperature for the walking tourist in Venice.

We make our way off the mother ship following some of the staff as everyone else has left the ship, but as we are coming back in a weeks time for a week we can afford the relaxed exit this morning. The docks area is so well set up for the vast number of tourist, we make our way to the people mover (light rail) and for 1 euro & 2min journey to get us to the other side of the customs area well worth it. Most people would have take the vaparetto from the docks straight to San Marco but our mission today is to go the other direction towards the Pizzale Roma. This is a car park area on the out skirts of venice and it is the meet place for some of next weeks cooking classes. 

Great that one off the list and from there we will make our way up the grand canal to San Samuelle the place that we will be staying for our week in Venice after the cruise. We find it after a short vaperetto ride and a few dead end lanes only 1200mm wide and with the old walls of the houses towering up around you to 3 stories high. The lanes "Calla" great another word to add to the list is where we discover a great deli, funky restaurant (coming back to that one next week) and a local bar where we decide to stop and have lunch but with mixed results! Note to-self don't reorder pasta with fagioli sauce (beans) unless you are a great lover of pasta that looks like magots drowning in a brown hmmmm I will leave that up to your imagination...the  pasta texture was great if you closed your eyes but the bean slurry not so good to look at, tasted ok but don't need to revisit that one! The afternoon was spent walking the Calla's checking out the Glass shops but that will all have to wait till next week.

So time for Cappuccino and some Italian bubbly in San Marco than it back to the mother ship on a small boat again sailing up the Grand Canal.