Spring-break (Amazing race style)

In the Haynie house, all the women love the TV show the Amazing Race.  There have many a night huddled around the laptop catching up on the latest episode, followed by discussions of longed for globe trotting adventures.  Well, this most recent Spring-break, we had as close of an Amazing Race as we will ever have (minus the traveling gnome).  Our pack of travelers covered 5 countries and 8 ports of call.

EGYPT
Our first stop was Cairo, Egypt and man was it amazing.  We had prearranged for a tour guide to meet us there,  her name was Maha, and she was fantastic.  In fact, she was so committed to our experience that she showed up to take us around even though she was getting married the next day.  

As a back drop, tourism is down close to 90% due to the recent revolution that dislodged Mubarek from power.  Egypt is really feeling the pinch as tourism is the #1 industry and everyone is struggling.  We arrived on a Friday, which was fortuitous because the normally horrendous traffic was at a minimum.  Couple that with the fact that there were no crowds to speak of at the major sites, thus resulting in a great time to see a lot of history in a short amount of time.

So pay attention, because I'm going to share with you where we went in rapid fire succession.

First Site:  Mohammed Ali's Mosque.  He was a very influential leader a century ago who built up the Cairo area and furthered the education and quality of life for the Egyptians  

Second site: City of the Dead.  This is a cemetery that has now become a dwelling place for the homeless

Third Site:  Nile River

 

Fourth site:  The city of Saqqara.  Here we saw donkey drawn wagons, carpetry schools, date palms, road side vendors and the first pyramid in Egypt (with its amazing court yard)

       

 

 

Fifth Site was the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx.  I had to keep telling myself that these are the real artifacts and not some LasVegas Hotel's re-creation.  The feeling is overwhelming to look at these monuments to the past.  It really made me wonder about who built them and especially how. 

  

Final site was the National Museum.  Unfortunately, we could not take any pictures of the inside.  Again, I was struck with the feeling of awe as I came within mere centimeters with King Tuts Mask, caskets and all the other remnants of his tomb.  There were countless other priceless and ageless handy works of the antiquities.  50' statues, burial tombs, mummies, King Ramsies exhibits and every other hand carved stone product you can imagine.  

We were able to take in 1000's of years of history in 7 hours.  We also got a taste of modern history in the making as we taxied by Tahrir square - the birth place of the revolution.  On our way back, we got enveloped into a rally for one of the dozen presidential hopefuls.

 

This is a most fascinating time for Egypt.  History was being written as we were there, but it also promises more in the very near future.

BARCELONA
Next our travels took us to Barcelona Spain.  On the plane flight over, I read a newspaper that detailed a strike that just occurred a day earlier.  The issue at hand was the government's recent austerity measures that just passed.  The people were not happy about it and decided to demonstrate their frustrations.  We were a bit apprehensive about any possible aftermath, but theses concerns were soon forgotten as we saw how calm things were.  

Despite Krishna's best efforts, our accommodations were a bit out of the way.  At first we were a little annoyed, but in the end it was a blessing as it forced us to become expert on the rail system - which we did in no time.

Our first night in, we metro'd into the city and exited on to the  Plaza Cataluyn.  Unbeknownst to me, the primary language of Barcelona is Cataluyn, not Spanish.  Although Spanish is spoken often, it is a necessity for the citizens to speak Cataluyn too.  


We opted to purchase a hop on/hop off bus ticket to familiarize ourselves with the city.  Barcelona is so big, so diverse and so rich in history that any other option to explore did not seem feasible.  We bought a 2 day ticket and rode the orange route first, and then we rode the red line the following day.

Rather than attempt to give a travel log of all the sites we saw in Barcelona, I've included a couple of my favorite pics and encourage you to go online and see what else you can find.  Suffice it to say that this city literally has a little bit of everything in it - from architecture, to sculptures, to monuments, to sporting venues (bull fighting rings/Olympic stadium), to food, not to mention a true melting pot of peoples.

Overall we had a great time in Barcelona, and felt very energized and safe.  Emri is convinced that she wants to do a study abroad program here - I don't blame her.




TUNISIA
After a full day of sight seeing, we boarded the MSC - Magnifica to our first stop - Tunisia.    This was our first trip to Africa and we were very excited and curious as to what it had to offer.  Recent political events of another leader being replaced had made us a bit tentative, but we figured that if MSC is still willing to stop there it must be safe enough.


In our attempt to see the popular sights (which meant watching hours of taped advertisements for ideas) without paying the outrageous excursion prices on board, we bartered with a local taxi driver (Fazi) to take us around.

First stop was a famous souk area whose anchor store was the previous home of the king  many years ago.  After walking through a maze of allies we arrived at cramped indoor walk of stores vending every imaginable item.  We had essences, handicrafts and fine silks pushed on us by the proprietors all trying to make a sale.  


Jayci had a goal to purchase a bracelet at every city we visited, and it didn't take her long to find the perfect one.  After this initial shopping was done, Fazi showed us the Kings house, whereupon we were whisked to the top of the building for a fascinating view of the Tunis.  There were some great art-deco walls and once impressive arched ensconces located there, but unfortunately time and foot traffic had taken away most of the luster.

After snapping some pictures, we went downstairs and was treated to a full blown sells presentation of Tunisia's finest carpets.  They were amazing works of art, crafted by local women.  The experience was all the more enjoyable due to an adorable little man who did the heavy lifting while the main sales guy made his pitch.  In the end we opted not to buy a rug, but it made for a great memory.

 We next traveled to Sidi Busaid  This is probably the most photographed site in Tunis because it strikes a defining image of the traditional Tunisian villages.  Here we saw houses with white washed walls accented with their traditional Blue doors and shutters.

It was now late in the day, and our boat was ready to launch so we told Fazi to take us back to port.  It was now time to head to Malta.


MALTA
One of the great things about our cabin was that it came with a fantastic view.  Kris was able to score a balcony at a very reasonable price.  This amenity afforded some amazing views and pics that we would have otherwise missed.


The Malta harbor was extremely interesting and we were immediately struck by the ancient and historic feel.  






Once we docked, we shot down the gang plank and started auditioning the local taxi driver contingent for our budget tour guide.  We settled on Charlie (the kids said he reminded them of G-pa Harry).  The short and sweet of it is that he took us to the following destinations:


1)  Local fishing village popular with the locals.  It is a real working harbor where catches of the day happen daily on these brightly colored wooden skiffs.  We hung out here a short while to soak  up the local ambiance and purchase a few trinkets.  

2)  Blue Grotto.  This is a very scenic spot on the island that attracts many visitors.  It strikes an impressive pose that lends to some good pictures.

3) Hagar Qim  and MnajdraTemples.  These are the oldest known temples in the Mediterranean.  They are thought to be over 3000 years old.

4)  Rabat.  This is a small city made famous for the St Pauls Grotto church.  It was here that Paul, after being shipwrecked, hid from the Romans for many months in a small cave. Unfortunately, the Romans found him and brought him back to Rome to be executed.  The church sits directly on top of the caves/grotto, hence the name.  There have been several popes that have come to visit this site in recent years.

 

5)  Medina.  This is truly a unique and historical site.  It is a completely walled in city built originally by the Maltese, but conquered several times by the Romans and then the British. It had amazing cathedrals, Roman architecture and cool alley ways.  It's definitely worthy googling to learn more about.

6) Valleta.  This was our last stop.  This city consists of a main street replete with shopping of all kinds.  High fashion all the way down to nickle and dime stores.  We grabbed a pizza here to sustains us for a few hours of window shopping and exploring.  There are a couple of important Cathedrals as well as very ornate and historical gardens (Barrakka).

ITALY 
(Sicily- Messina)


As I mentioned before, pulling into these ports was absolutely spectacular.  As you can see, the Madonna was waiting to welcome us to Sicily.  Once we disembarked, we choose to go it alone by foot.  It felt nice to just walk around and not have to worry about trying to be in the right spot at the right time.
  
Highlights included:


1)  The great astronomical clock of Messina.  This tower was built in 1933 and is the biggest and the most complex mechanical and astronomical clock in the world.  At exactly 12noon, a lion begins to roar, then a rooster crows, which then triggers a three tiered procession of statues parlancing through the open windows of the tower.

2)  The girls found a window display that positioned shoes in rather unique places.

3)  We found a great bakery with to die for bread.  We purchased some and had a simple lunch on the run.

4)  Santuario Montalto.  This was built as a sanctuary for the church members.

5)  Cristo Rey.  The most visible and famous church on the Island.  It was at one time a Roman castle.

We enjoyed our time in Messina, it certainly is doable on foot, but make sure you have good walking shoes and bottled water.




VOLCANO at sea.


As noted above, we really enjoyed having a balcony on this cruise.  Another big reason for it was that we were treated to a big unexpected surprise - a birds eye view of a smoke emitting volcano in the middle of the sea.  We were just cat napping after a full day of site seeing, when out of now where appeared this huge rock that shoveled a steady stream of smoke into the air. It was COOL! 

ROME


It was now time for the crown jewel of our cruise - Rome.  Kris did a great job researching the best path to travel to see Rome in a day.  So, with this map in hand we charged of the boat and secured seats on a chartered bus.  It is a 1 hour drive from the port to the city, but it was great to see the Italian country side up close.  It was green and offered vistas of farm land, shoreline, rolling hills and good sized mountain slopes.  


Here is the path we followed once we arrived.


Site 1)  Basilica.  This is an awesome plaza that gives a great view of the church from which the Pope address the masses.  We were there during holy week, so we got to see a lot of the church faithful.  Unfortunately, the line for the Sistine chapel and Vatican was very large, so we decided to pass on it so that we could see all the other sites.

Site 2)  Bridge over Tiber River

Site 3)  ???????????Square.  The fountain here was amazing!  We also saw a real Pigeon lady.

Site 4)  Pantheon.

Site 5)  Trevi Fountain.

Site 6)  Pizza and Gelato  (AWESOME)




Site 7)  Saint Ignazio Chapel

Site 8)  Spanish Stairs

Site 9)  Colosseum  (Make sure you get here early because it closes by 2:30)

Site 10)  Forum

Site 11)  Federal Building

GENOA -ITALY


This was our last stop of the tour.  It's biggest claim to fame is that it's the birth place of Colombus.  We took the double decker tour bus to get a quick look at the city and then walked back to places of interest.  


It's not the most scenic place in Italy, rather it has more of an industrial feel.  The Roman influence is readily apparent, but there are many other styles of architecture on display.  




The alley ways are very narrow and extremely unique.  This is where you find all types of commerce, stores and cafes.




Highlights:


1)  Ducale Center square with a huge fountain

2)  Funny shop  (After hearing some of Emri's jokes, I told her to spend a few dollars here)

3)  A lot of the building had very old frescoes painted on the exterior.

4)  Arch and Gardens dedicated to Columbus.

5)  World famous Aquarium

6)  Columbus house

7)  A great lion statue on the Palazzo San Lorenzo.

There is so much more to share, mainly small vignettes that are best told face to face.  We look forward to telling a few face to face with you in the near future.
































































Site 4)  

(Pics and more of the trip to come)