Nearing the End

We are on our last full day, tied up in Marseilles, France, along with four other large passenger ships. I don't have any definite plans yet; we thought we'd be joining another colleague of Ransom's for a bit of touring and perhaps lunch, but that doesn't seem to be happening, so I may well just go ashore on my own, check out the cathedral, and grab a local snack. And I might just stay on board. The ship really is at its best when hundreds of the passengers are ashore.

Two of those passengers have resurfaced since we met them two days in. Ali and Darren are a couple of Brits in their late forties and a delight to hang out with. Yesterday we went ashore in Livorno, had a bit of a walkaround and a long, leisurely lunch before retuning to the Equinox. Joined then again before dinner and for the show at 10:45. More on that in a bit.

Darren is in the diplomatic corps and is about to be posted to Israel for three years. They have decided not to sell their London home but to instead invite Ali's two brothers to live there. That's financially advantageous to the brothers but the main motivation? To not inconvenience the cat! Taking him from their spacious home to a smaller Israeli flat and then, worse, to a six-month quarantine three years from now is more than they are willing to put the cat through. I can certainly understand that; how many decisions have I made based on our dogs' needs?

They're off to Cassis today on an afternoon tour. I'm tempted to join them but have pretty much reached my bus-riding quota for this month. Likewise, I have reached my cruise show quota for this sailing; one is more than enough. It was not awful, it was just too long and too derivative: a dance/acrobatic show with a canned soundtrack and some of the worst costumes I have ever seen. The acrobatics were impressive -- though if you've ever seen Cirque du Soleil or Pilobulus you've seen it before, and better. And why, when acrobats are doing their thing center stage, would you have dancers executing bad dance moves on the sides, distracting from the main event? Ransom bailed before it started; we three stayed through, but only because we were enjoying each other's company and really had nowhere better to be. (It was, for the record, the latest I had been out and about on the ship, returning to cabin 7255 at 11:52pm -- a far cry from my party-all-night early cruises).

The ship continues to impress; even though she is nearly sold out (2800 passengers) she rarely feels crowded. Most of those passengers are well behaved although, for a change, it is not just the Americans who are occasionally loud and obnoxious. Boorishness apparently does not respect national borders.

Tomorrow we disembark in Barcelona, spend the day there and fly home Monday. It's time. I miss the dogs, I miss eating simply and I miss my routine. Having said that, this has been an excellent cruise on an excellent ship. For those reading this blog who have still never sailed, or have not sailed since, say, the late 70s, it's time to do it!

Celebrity Equinox

Queen Mary, tied up at Long Beach

Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 in New York

What a Traveler Needs Most

Yesterday was a tremendous day. Ransom and I signed up for a ship's excursion to Herculaneum. That deserves a bit of elaboration. In 1977, aboard the QE2, Don and I took a shore excursion -- to a voodoo ceremony in Haiti! It was intense and weird and climaxed with the death of a blood-spurting chicken whose head had been bitten off by one of the ceremony's participants. Truth, I swear.

At any rate, in all the years since I have never booked another shore excursion. It wasn't the blood I feared; scarier was the idea of getting on a bus, waiting for stragglers, driving too long through too much traffic and then being herded around like so many sheep with a camera around my neck and a ship's number on my chest, straining to hear the tour guide. I'd rather ride local transit, walk, or, if it's too far for that, take a cab. That has stood me well for the intervening thirty-seven years.

But I'm older, Herculaneum was far enough away from the port, and the price, compared to getting ourselves there and paying our own admission, seemed fair. So we took the tour.

It was well worth it. Wikipedia's article on Herculaneum says it is "famous as one of the few ancient cities that can now be seen in almost its original splendor; unlike Pompeii, it was buried deeply enough to preserve the upper stories of buildings. Additionally, the hotter ash preserved wooden household objects such as beds, doors, and even food. Moreover, Herculaneum was a wealthier town than Pompeii, possessing an extraordinary density of fine houses, and far more lavish use of colored marble cladding."

I found most of the above to be true -- Herculaneum was buried mostly by super-heated mud, not ash -- and was fascinated by our visit, but, more than anything, I then wanted to see Pompeii as well. So as Ransom went back aboard Equinox, I bought a ticket on the pier for the afternoon tour to Pompeii. 

Am I ever glad I did. I have heard from many that Herculaneum was more interesting than Pompeii. That may be true from a scholar's point of view, but as a garden variety tourist I was blown away by Pompeii. The site is so much larger than Herculaneum and the sense of loss so much greater. My tour guide was as intelligent and well-spoken as he was attractive and, better still, he used miniature radios to communicate with us: whatever he said we heard via earpieces. It was a wonderful tour and though I came back from the very long day exhausted and in pain, I was so, so glad to have done both adventures.

Pompeii is of course a World Heritage Site, and deservedly so.

As for the subject of this post: what a tourist needs most is flexibility. I only made it to Pompeii because I decided at the last minute to change plans and go with my heart.

Passengers aboard this ship need that same flexibility today. As luck would have it, there's a national one-day train strike; we are docked in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, but in fact an hour and-a-half drive from Rome. Many passengers no doubt planned to take a local bus or train into Roma; that has just been made intensely more difficult. With no trains running, the auto traffic, always excessive, will be even worse. It is my prediction that our departure from Civitavecchia will be delayed tonight as we await returning excursion buses. Folks onboard those buses need to relax and be flexible.

Ransom and I are doing both . . . on ship.

Herculaneum

How high Vesuvius might have been

Pompeii

Pompeii and Vesuvius

A gift for Ransom: a Pompeii souvenir

Sailing back to Italy

We are sailing the Aegean Sea, on our way to the Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean, back to Italy, halfway through this cruise. In case you're lost, here's the itinerary: Venice - Dubrovnik - Istanbul - Salerno - Rome - Livorno - Marseilles - Barcelona. We had a full day at sea after Dubrovnik and another two sea days starting today. Ransom and I have booked a tour to Herculaneum from Salerno and, if the energy holds out, I may add Pompeii the same day. After that we'll likely just explore the remaining ports on our own, with the exception of Rome. There the ship actually docks in Civitavecchia, a good ninety minutes from Rome -- if you're lucky. So we'll wave to the happy -- soon to be miserable -- bus riders and enjoy a quiet ship.

Yesterday we took a two-hour cruise on the Bosphorus before leaving Istanbul. It was sweet, followed by an excellent set of appetizers at a restaurant on the Galata Bridge.

Celebrity has once again risen to our expectations and we are having a delightful time. Our dining room experience is excellent as well. Eladio, from Guatemala, and Mohanty, from Calcutta, take excellent care of us, and the food, which had dipped a bit on previous cruises, is back up to fine standards. As usual, we can't comment on the entertainment, as we don't partake. (I did watch the first few minutes of a show by London-based Lindsay Hamilton. She apparently starred in Evita at some point, so opened with, what else, Don't Cry for Me, Argentina before launching into a Streisand medley (Don't Rain on My Parade, People, On a Clear Day…), followed by The Rose, made famous by Bette Midler - the gay boys in the audience were ecstatic. I quietly left the room.

We still have not yet met anyone on board with whom we are hanging out, but that's ok as we most enjoy our own company. The days are relaxing, the evenings comforting, the views stunning and food terrific -- what more does one require from a holiday?

View on the Bosphorus

Luckily I only needed to pee

Our boat

The only woman I saw fishing on the bridge

42 years later

I met my first boyfriend on January 10, 1972. Sandy was younger than I by three years or so, but he was much more culturally aware. He had studied piano and took me to my first Richmond Symphony concerts. I particularly remember a Verdi Requiem with Leontyne Price; it was stunning and opened up the world of choral music to me, which was a steppingstone to opera. I wonder if Sandy understands the debt I owe him. Without him, who knows, I might never have heard the Richmond Sinfonia on February 25, 1984, with guest soloist Ransom Wilson.

But I digress. It’s likely that Sandy took me for my first visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It was there that I first saw a video that pictured Hagia Sofia, once a church, later a mosque, now a museum in the heart of Istanbul. I remember the video well; it was displayed in a dim alcove in the Byzantium section and had been created with a pronounced reverence which conveyed not only the grandeur of the space, but also its solemnity and transcendent importance. I returned to view that video again and again; I swore I would someday stand under those massive domes.

Someday has finally arrived.

Celebrity Equinox docked in Istanbul yesterday at 1pm and we headed ashore shortly thereafter: Ransom to give a master class, me to explore. It’s a huge and crowded city, but the tram I wanted stopped very close to the ship and it was a simple matter to figure out what stop I needed.

I visited the Blue Mosque first. With its six minarets and soaring domes and its hundreds of worshippers, it is a stunning architectural gem, a teeming tourist site and an active mosque all at once. I couldn’t count the languages I heard and I couldn’t help but notice the female worshippers sequestered off to the side in their own prayer room while the men were free to commune with their god wherever they found him.

The symmetry and hugeness of the Blue Mosque captivated my camera and me.

Hagia Sofia is just a short walk away and is even more crowded, even though it charges a 30TL (Turkish Lira) fee – about $15. As I said, it is now a museum and one could spend hours reading the various placards and descriptions but I was mainly interested in those domes.

Did it live up to the forty-two year wait? Well no, not really. I mean, what could? In my mind’s eye Hagia Sofia was a mile high and the domes a thousand feet across. It was also dark and magical, with the smells of the old world wafting through the immense space. In reality, HS is grand and busy, rough and unkempt, polished and professional – all the things you’d expect of a fifteen hundred year old edifice.

Huge scaffolding, something any tourist comes to expect when traveling, currently mars the interior. The tour guides compete with each other to be heard in a Tower of Babble constant hum.

But it is still a magnificent place that rewarded my decades long fascination. It was a joy to be there!

Hagia Sofia exterior

Hagia Sofia interior

Dallas, Detroit, Denver

The world is full of famous cities whose names begin with the letter D, cities that are well worth visiting. Add Dover, Danang, Dublin and Damascus as well. No list would be complete though without Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Called the jewel of the Adriatic by Lord Byron, this charming city, once part of Yugoslavia and then a front in the terrible 1990s war, is a lovely small town (pop. 50-60K) with some of the most scenic views I have ever encountered. Celebrity Equinox paid an all-too-short visit today but, with the help of an able and attractive young cab driver, we saw a beautiful slice of it. I would be perfectly happy to come back and spend another eight days.

Dado took us to the top of the mountain overlooking the old town, pointing out not only the stunning views, but also the scene of terrible fighting as well. He was ten years old at the time so remembers it all too well.

Dubrovnik is at the southern tip of the Dalmation Coast. The modern harbor is just around the bend from the old town, and everything is easily accessible by cab, or even walkable. We spent an hour with Dado and then another hour or so walking the old town and having coffee at an internet cafe with free WiFi -- yay.

We don't cruise to see the world; every port stop is too short for that. But it's very nice to be able to get off the ship in a fascinating town like Dubrovnik. It captured me immediately, just as Prague once did. I highly recommend putting it on your list.

Breakfast in bed

The Celebrity Equinox arriving in Venice

Every morning on a cruise I wake before Ransom, go up to the breakfast buffet and have my tea -- green, because it's good for me, though I find it insipid. I then switch to coffee, pouring two cups and heading down to our stateroom. If he's awake I hand him one; if he's not, I head back out, repeating the drill 30 minutes later.

That's pretty much what happened this morning -- except that Ransom was the one up and about, and I was the one staying in bed. How luxurious!

Our stateroom is comfortable, much like every other Celebrity Cruises cabin we've had, though this one seems to be a tad skimpy on drawers for storage. I write this from our balcony, looking across the pier at a P&O ship, the Ventura. We sail shortly -- straight down the Grand Canal, believe it or not -- and thus will begin the heart of this vacation.

Last night's dinner was quite good; we had asked our booking agent, as we always do, for a table for two, but that request never made it to Celebrity. Sitting with seven strangers is just not in our playbook, so we opted instead for Select Dining, the come-when-you-want option, as opposed to the traditional second seating at 8:45. We got very lucky; our waiter, Eladio (from Guatemala) and his beautiful assistant, Mohanty (from Calcutta), were charming and efficient; the location, overlooking the captain's table from the balcony above, was excellent. We hope to return tonight, though there's no guaranteed seating with Select Dining.

It's funny how we shun strangers. Sometimes we get lucky, as with our dear friends Jon and Ann whom we met on a cruise, or Michael and Carol, whom we met on a subsequent cruise. Usually though we are uncomfortable with loud, badly-dressed ugly Americans, so we prefer not to take the chance. Snobs? Yes, tis true.

This cruise, from what I've heard in the elevators -- can you imagine? TALKING in elevators! -- includes folks from all over. Plenty of Yanks to be sure, but Scots and Germans and French as well as Italians and many others. Ship announcements are made in four languages: English, Spanish, German and French, and during the lifeboat drill eight different languages were used.

So far not too many pretty people, but it's early.

Venice

My friend Don asked me if I found Venice overpriced, overcrowded with tourists and stinky. Yes, yes and no. It is a very expensive city, no doubt. And, OMG, the hordes of tourists! One could make a horror movie of just tourists milling about. The soundtrack could be only what the camera picked up. Example: "Is that the Domo?"

Ransom and I spent €74 -- a bit over $100 -- last night for a dinner that included Tagliatelle Bolognese and roast chicken for me, Tagliatelle with duck sauce and a fresh seafood plate for him, a glass of red wine and a large bottle of bubbly water. The pastas were excellent, the secondi piatti less so but the place was absolutely charming; we sat outside under a wisteria-covered arbor next to a side canal; it was delightful. We would have spent just about the same amount in a New York or New Haven restaurant, so it didn't seem a lot to me. I guess it depends on what you're used to.

And the gaggles of tourists didn't make me crazy partly because I'm used to them as well; I see them every time I go to a show in New York.

Stinky? No, not at all, at least not yesterday and the night before. It was a bit chillier than I expected, but during the day the sun shone brightly and the winds blew cordially and sweet. I loved being in Venice.

The highlight was not the Piazza San Marco, or the basilica or the Campanille but, rather, it was the short walk Jon, Ann and I took on the island where the church Santa Maria della Salute is situated. We only crossed three bridges  but in that short space we encountered a cellist playing inside a stone passageway -- incredible acoustics -- and a lutenist in a garden. We also discovered several nice shops, one of which sorely tempted me with hand blown water glasses.

I'm not sure I will come back to Venice, but if I do I will head for those quiet streets, alleys and canals far from the traffic jams on the Grand Canal. And I will love it.

And look what arrived while we were in Venice; what an added treat!

Italy at 100 mph

160 kilometers per hour actually. (Remember when we were told we'd all have to learn the metric system because the US was finally going to join the rest of the world? Ha!)

We're on a train from Milan to Venice, having just flown from Kennedy last night. It was an uneventful flight and tolerable in coach only because we had the few inches of extra legroom that Delta's Economy Comfort provides. I looked longingly at Business Class, remembering fondly the days we used to travel that way. The plane was a 767 in the usual 2-3-2 seating configuration and we had seats on the right hand side near the door. It could have been much worse. I didn't sleep but I watched three movies and the food was actually ok.

Entry into Italy was totally easy, as was the train ride from the airport to the city center. Getting the Venice tickets, some food and a bathroom break were not as easy as one might wish. Note to self: be sure to arrive with at least a few Euro coins; the days of pay toilets have not yet ended in Europe.

Today we hope to check in to our hotel and do nothing more than eat dinner. We are meeting friends from the US in Venice, but will need a night to start recovering from jet lag before we do that.

---------------

A few hours later: at the surprisingly nice and cold-as-we-Americans-like-it air-conditioned Best Western Hotel Bologna in Venice. A short nap, a quick middle-Eastern lunch, some computer work and we're soon off to Venice proper for dinner and a moonlight gondola ride: sure to be ridiculously expensive -- 100 Euros (about $137) for 40 minutes at night -- but a must-do as far as I'm concerned. Tomorrow, St. Mark's and the tourist trail.

Tidbits

Dustin McDaniel, Arkansas Attorney General, has decided to fight a judge’s ruling allowing same-sex marriage in his state. According to the New York Times, “Mr. McDaniel, a Democrat, said he supported same-sex marriage but has vowed to continue defending the ban because he believes it is his duty to do so.”  Hmm, the name seems Irish, but I wonder if he’s from Good German stock.
---------------
I wrote recently about A1 Toyota’s fall from grace, at least in our eyes. Since that post we received the following email, more than five months after picking up the new Prius:

---------------
If you missed it, check out Frank Bruni’s excellent Times piece, Lessons in Catholic Judgment, from the May 11, 2014, issue. He takes on the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati as they attempt to force their 2,000 employees to sign a new contract that spells out how they are supposed to behave. In truth, the only behavior the Ohio church cares about is sexual behavior. While Pope Francis preaches tolerance the diehards in America’s Catholic hierarchy continue to harp on the same tired sexual ethics they harped on fifty years ago -- when someone might have cared.

The church has emphasized sexual morality to the exclusion of any other kind. What is it with these frustrated, constipated old fossils?
---------------

From North Carolina comes word that at a candidate’s debate last month all four Republicans running for Congress denied the existence of climate change. Yes, I said last month, not last century. The don’t-confuse-me-with-the-facts attitude of so many Republicans in this country is mind-boggling. It is also sad, stupid, shortsighted and dangerous.

Move over, Oreck; welcome another bad corporate citizen.

I recently complained about shoddy products and service from the Oreck Corporation, manufacturer of high-end vacuum cleaners. Today I point the finger at another, far bigger corporate entity. Who? Well here are some hints:

NBC News: Toyota recalls Prius, Lexus hybrid for faulty brakes 
Daily Finance: Toyota Recalls Millions of Cars for Numerous Problems
New York Times: Toyota Is Fined $1.2 Billion for Concealing Safety Defects

We currently lease two Toyotas: a 2013 Prius Plug-in and a 2012 RAV4. Within less than a year we will lease just one and, if things don't get better, in two years we will lease none.

The old company -- like so many others trading in America -- just ain't what it used to be.

The story: several months ago Ransom stopped by our local dealer, A1 Toyota of New Haven, CT,  to see what our options might be, as the lease on the Prius we then had was due to expire in a few months. He went only for information, but the sales force was so eager to close a deal that he drove home in a new car. We had done nothing to prep the old one for return: it was dirty and crammed with stuff.

Now, I wasn't there, so much of this story is hearsay, as I got it from Ransom. The salesman made it clear that the returned vehicle was in good shape and Ransom needn't worry about it. There were no extra charges levied for wear and tear and Ransom was happy to be in a new car.

Imagine my surprise when, several weeks later, we received a bill from Toyota (not the local dealer) for well over $600 in "excessive wear and tear."

Let me stop here and tell you that we have leased vehicles from Honda, from BMW and from Subaru. In each and every case (seven vehicles) an inspection was part of the return process, as one would expect. I was present at each of those inspections. I was given a report detailing what was found wrong, what was considered "excessive," and what it would cost to fix those excessive dings and dents. It was my option to turn the car in as is, or to take the car elsewhere for refurbishment before returning it.

No such inspection happened with Ransom and his returned Prius. The service folks moved his belongings to the new car and wished him well. The old car was driven away.

So back to the $600+ bill from Toyota. WTF?! I mean, imagine you rent a car while on vacation and when you return it the staff simply wishes you a good day, never looks at the car and then weeks later sends you a bill for damage. You would have no way of knowing whether that damage was in fact your fault, or whether it happened after you returned the car or, in fact, if there was any damage at all. Would you pay that bill? Hell no.

So we raised hell, pointing out that we had previously been told all was ok and that we had no chance to rectify the supposed excessive wear. A1 told us they would take care of it.

Yeah, and my Mommy told me that Santa Claus brought me presents on Christmas!

Today I opened a bill for $264 -- a dunning letter actually, claiming that Toyota had repeatedly tried to collect this bill. NOT TRUE, this is the first I've heard of it. I thought the issue was closed. I thought I could trust the good people at A1 Toyota. To their credit they did apparently get Toyota to knock down the bill considerably, but they did not pay the bill, nor did they contact us to say what had happened. They simply let their corporate daddy write us a bullying letter.

As Tony Soprano so often said of people who disappointed him, they are dead to me!

Christians 1, Freedom 0

The Supreme Court has once again shown its rightist, conservative, religion-favoring disregard for individual freedom and the United States Constitution. In an opinion written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy the court allowed to stand the practice of beginning a town board meeting with a prayer. The complaint against the Greece, New York, monthly meeting alleged that the prayer leader was an almost-always-Christian chaplain and that the wording was clearly sectarian. One example cited made reference to “the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.”

Why not just put a sign on the meeting room door, “Jews not welcome” or “Atheists stay away”?

The court looked to the 1983 case, Marsh v. Chambers, in which it had upheld the right of the Nebraska legislature to open its session with a prayer by a paid minister. That ruling said that such a practice was “deeply embedded in the history and tradition of this country.”

Well yes. And so was racism deeply embedded in the history of this country, and misogyny and homophobia. The long history of a practice does not make it right.

Justice Elena Kagan dissented, arguing that what the New York town’s actions were not compatible “with the First Amendment’s promise that every citizen, irrespective of her religion, owns an equal share in her government.” She went on to argue that, unlike the 1983 case which affected legislators setting their own rules of order, this case impacted ordinary citizens.

Kagen did not, alas, argue that all prayer should be banned. That would certainly be my argument. Pray all you want, say I, just not as part of an official government function.

Of all the New York Times comments I've read on this decision the two I like best include Dave K’s from Cleveland, OH, who points out “there’s a strong religious argument against praying in public, in Matthew 6:5-6:

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

W. Freen of New York City says:

And this is what is so infuriating about these people . . . you are free to pray 24/7 in any location you choose. Anywhere, anytime you like. You can sit in the Supreme Court Chamber, a schoolroom, Madison Square Garden, Central Park, the moon, anywhere, and pray until your head explodes for all I care. But not as an official act at my government proceedings.

I need add no more.

You get what you pay for. Or not.

We have three dogs. Trying to keep the house even moderately free of dog hair is an almost daily project. I’m not sure what’s worse, the rodent-sized dust balls blowing across the wood floors or the carpets that change color as the dog hair collects and collects. I use a big wet-dry vacuum on the downstairs, non-carpeted floors. For upstairs I have a far-from-cheap Oreck.

I hate it.

I hate the company.

I hate my local dealer even more.

Oreck’s top of the line model retails for $600. Six-hundred dollars to do a job most of us hate. Do Orecks clean well?

Well, yes, when they work. The problem is -- in my experience at least -- they fail a lot. My first Oreck burned through belts at an alarming rate. After a couple years I foolishly upgraded, thinking that spending more money meant getting a better product.

Not so. My current machine, an Oreck Forever – boy what a misnomer! -- is lighter than the original and has so much suction that it’s almost self-propelled. But it clogs just as much as the machine it replaced.

Worse, trying to get help from my local store turned into an ultimately fruitless two-hour waste of time. Their website listed a 6pm closing time; when I got there at 5:40 – after a 30 minute trip – an employee had locked the door and was walking away. After he left I looked at said door; the “6:00 PM” closing time had been covered with a blank piece of paper. So they were open 10 AM until . . . ? Apparently, until whenever they decided to go home. The hell with the customer.

Stuck with a still-clogged useless POS I tried first to get online instructions for unclogging it myself. That didn't work out so well, so I swallowed my pride and drove back to the store. When I told them that the unscrewable collar was not, they (employee AND owner) told me to use a screwdriver and a hammer. Putting aside how ludicrous that is, I asked them to show me what they meant; they refused, demanding money for a service call instead.

The hell with Oreck, I say. They've never done well in Consumer Reports’ survey. I for one know why. Now you do too.

What I should have bought,

Consumer Reports' #1 rated vacuum, the Kenmore Elite 31150