We'’re out of it! A summer 14 “MAGICal” Med adventure Day 14/Aug 05 updated 05/05

[dizneeat]

Day 5, July 27

Cinque Terre for foodies …… - Part 3

And after learning that fun tidbit, we headed down to the narrow paved street along the water’s edge.




Umberto explained in great detail, why there were not more entrances to the city and why all the buildings were so high and narrow.





It was fun listening to him, as not only did he give historic facts, he knew a lot of little stories that brought it all to live. Umberto walked us up to the steps that led to the little ancient church, before he said his goodbyes to head back into Portovenere to pick up some Focaccia bread for us to try.











Bobbie, Connie, Tom and I hiked up to the church and a stone doorway that let you look down onto the Mediterranean sea.













We took a few photos and then Bobbie and Connie headed into Portovenere as well while Tom and I decided to head up to the church. We were both happy we had put on proper walking shoes as many of the steps up to the church were made from marble and very slippery.







Finally we made it up there and the view of and from the church was amazing.

To be continued ..........​

Advent calendar ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Tom has been busy and has created two new advent calendars - hope you are going to take a look every day!

Funny hats calendar

Food calendar​

 

[MEK]

You know - I think you may have pm'd me that link before and I probably forgot all about it. We ended up doing a walking food tour that was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it and it was a great rainy day activity. I am interested into the walking tour. It sounds fun so if you pm it to me again maybe I won't lose track of it.

No - we have never been to Key West - sad, I know.

I have a feeling I am interrupting your current update, but I just had to give a guess on why the houses are narrow and high. I am going to guess it has something to do with taxes? And also to be able to build more houses.

I live close to the Mason-Dixon line which is the dividing line for the US civil war. In Maryland the third floor of the older homes are all shorter than the first and second floor and it all boiled down to taxation back in the day. Good thing people were shorter than because they needed to duck a lot.

More beautiful pictures!

 

[franandaj]

So sorry for your friend's loss. That is terrible.

You have been quite the updater! That's too bad about the subpar wraps. But good that you found some chicken tenders that did the trick. Those yachts are rather impressive!

I'm having truffle pursette envy. We were late to our Animator's dinner and I had specifically come to try the pursettes. My presentation as not nearly as neat and pretty as the ones you had. Mine were half hazardly tossed on the plate without a garnish or anything!

I'm interested to hear more about the foodie tour.

 

[perfectmatch300]

What beautiful views! It looks like the walk up, then back down the hill was well worth it.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Beautiful pictures. Tell Tom thanks for the Advent calenders. I am having fun with them.

 

[Poolrat]

Well worth the walk up the hill!!!! Simply breathtaking.

Tell Tom I am enjoying the advent calendars.

 

[Leshaface]

Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry! So young, that's terrible. Prayers for the family of this young man, especially through the holidays.



That is really awesome that they contacted you and Tom to meet up with them. How fun!

Love that they hand out cool towels and have cold water avaiable. Disney is too amazing!

Too bad about that wrap and panini. I also hate throwing away food.

Mmm, your dinner at AP looks great. Of course you had to go with the black truffle pasta! Definitely one of the better plates available, i'd say!

So cool that those basins were used for olive oil. Didn't think you were going to say that, that's for sure!

Love the food and hats calendar. How fun!

 

[KatMark]

Beautiful pictures, Karin. And glad you were able to go up to the church with sensible shoes and get views from up there.

I am enjoying the calendar again this year.

 

[RGirl]

Hi Karin!

I am so very sorry to hear of your friend’s terrible loss. I can’t imagine anything worse than losing a child. I think we all understand your lack of desire to reply to threads and post during such a sad time.

I am very glad to see you back on the DIS though. :

How amazing that your DCL CM friends were able to visit!!!! If there was ever an indication of how close you and Tom become with the DCL CMs, I think that is it! Amazing!!!

Gosh - disappointing about the train on your explorations, but wow - you got some amazing view pictures! Breath-taking!

I’m glad you found some decent food after the disappointment of your first selections. Really seems like the Magic’s make-over didn’t really work out that well in many ways.

You know I love the verandah view pics - my favorite spot on the ship!

AWWWW! French Goofy!!! I may die! AWESOME!

Mmm - your AP meal looks very yummy. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I am so hungry right now…..

Okay I love the idea of your “foodie” excursion! Gorgeous pictures of the sights - I would so love to do a trip like this! I hope the food aspects of the excursion turn out as great as the sights.

 

[jenseib]

This tour looks so interesting. I love how colorful the tall narrow buildings are too.

 

[dizneeat]

You know - I think you may have pm'd me that link before and I probably forgot all about it. We ended up doing a walking food tour that was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it and it was a great rainy day activity. I am interested into the walking tour. It sounds fun so if you pm it to me again maybe I won't lose track of it.

Mary Ellen, I checked the link I had and it is no longer online, but I saved the whole website to my computer. Can you PM me your email address? I can just add it as an attachment. We have followed it several times (never did the whole tour in one go) and it works really well.

No - we have never been to Key West - sad, I know.

If you need some pointers on Key West just let me know. We have been there quite a few times and can help you out.

I have a feeling I am interrupting your current update, but I just had to give a guess on why the houses are narrow and high. I am going to guess it has something to do with taxes? And also to be able to build more houses.

No, it does not have to do with taxes.
Towns used to have city walls, but with the lack of space these houses used to BE the city walls. The windows and doors you see were all added later on, the only windows that were there were small ones high up so they could throw hot liquids and other "nice presents" on attackers. The only way into the city was the one where the olive oil measurements were or the steep staircase, which also was barricaded.

I live close to the Mason-Dixon line which is the dividing line for the US civil war. In Maryland the third floor of the older homes are all shorter than the first and second floor and it all boiled down to taxation back in the day. Good thing people were shorter than because they needed to duck a lot.

More beautiful pictures!

Interesting facts about about the taxes, Mary Ellen. I did not know about that. Thanks for filling me in.

So sorry for your friend's loss. That is terrible.

You have been quite the updater! That's too bad about the subpar wraps. But good that you found some chicken tenders that did the trick. Those yachts are rather impressive!

Food quality lacked when it came to room service and counter service throughout the cruise. I do think it had to do with them catering in Europe, but there were some other "fun" surprises in store as well.
We stopped at some of the more "expensive" ports in Europe and it was interesting to see the different yachts.

I'm having truffle pursette envy. We were late to our Animator's dinner and I had specifically come to try the pursettes. My presentation as not nearly as neat and pretty as the ones you had. Mine were half hazardly tossed on the plate without a garnish or anything!

That's a shame that your black truffel pasta was not presented nice. I just love them and we have been known to eat at Cabanas for dinner just to get a full portion of them.

I'm interested to hear more about the foodie tour.

Lots more to come! It was money well spent - not one minute of regret.

What beautiful views! It looks like the walk up, then back down the hill was well worth it.

It was quite the hike up there. The thing was that the stones you walked up at were marble (as that is a common stone in the area) and were well walked on, so very slippery - even walking up was an adventure.

Beautiful pictures. Tell Tom thanks for the Advent calenders. I am having fun with them.

I am glad you enjoy the calendars!

 

[dizneeat]

Well worth the walk up the hill!!!! Simply breathtaking.

Tell Tom I am enjoying the advent calendars.

It definitely was worth it to walk up there. the views were stunning and to know about the history made it even better.

And we are happy to hear that you enjoy the calendars. Tom takes great pride in making them every year.

Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry! So young, that's terrible. Prayers for the family of this young man, especially through the holidays.

That is really awesome that they contacted you and Tom to meet up with them. How fun!

It was amazing to see Ana and Matija again. We had so much fun when they were our servers on the Dream. Disney started so many beautiful friendships for us.

Love that they hand out cool towels and have cold water avaiable. Disney is too amazing!

This is one thing that I love about them so much. The attention to detail and to just go that extra little bit further.
I am a bad person as I love to see the envious looks from people on other ships.

Too bad about that wrap and panini. I also hate throwing away food.

Mmm, your dinner at AP looks great. Of course you had to go with the black truffle pasta! Definitely one of the better plates available, i'd say!

Dinners were really nice especially if you think about the sub par food they served at the counter service locations sometimes. But the black truffle pasta is one of my all time favourites!

So cool that those basins were used for olive oil. Didn't think you were going to say that, that's for sure!

He had us guessing at what they were used for and no one came up with the thought of olive oil, even though it is really common in that area.

Love the food and hats calendar. How fun!

I am glad you enjoy them. It is so fun to find new hats every year and we came across a few good ones in Paris this last summer.

Beautiful pictures, Karin. And glad you were able to go up to the church with sensible shoes and get views from up there.

I am enjoying the calendar again this year.

Thank you, Kathy!
And even with good shoes it was hard as those marble stones you had to walk on were pretty slippery up AND down.

Glad you enjoy the calendars.

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin!

I am so very sorry to hear of your friend’s terrible loss. I can’t imagine anything worse than losing a child. I think we all understand your lack of desire to reply to threads and post during such a sad time.

Thank you, Roni! We have known him since he was a teenager and gave everyone a headache, but he had turned into such a nice young man - it is a tragedy.

I am very glad to see you back on the DIS though. :

I can't wait for my Christmas vacation to start, to be able to come back every day and not only read but reply and post updates as well. I am blaming it on my age that I just can't keep up with what life throws at me.

How amazing that your DCL CM friends were able to visit!!!! If there was ever an indication of how close you and Tom become with the DCL CMs, I think that is it! Amazing!!!

We had a special bond with Ana and Marija as we had had them as our servers for such a long time and it was wonderful that they felt the same way about our friendship and came by to visit us.

Gosh - disappointing about the train on your explorations, but wow - you got some amazing view pictures! Breath-taking!

In the end it turned out pretty well not taking the little train as we were able to take our time and enjoy the views.

I’m glad you found some decent food after the disappointment of your first selections. Really seems like the Magic’s make-over didn’t really work out that well in many ways.

In the beginning we didn't even realize some of the issues, but if you are on the ship for about two weeks and "things" happen, you get more sensitive to issues.

You know I love the verandah view pics - my favorite spot on the ship!

We just love watching the waves from the veranda. I don't think I could sail without a veranda - we enjoy spending time there.

AWWWW! French Goofy!!! I may die! AWESOME!

The characters were dressed in the "national attire" every day. Unfortunately it never occured to us to take pictures of them every day.

Mmm - your AP meal looks very yummy. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I am so hungry right now…..

Dinners were nice every day, even though some took pretty long and if your meal starts at 8.45 and takes the better of two hours it does get LONG.

Okay I love the idea of your “foodie” excursion! Gorgeous pictures of the sights - I would so love to do a trip like this! I hope the food aspects of the excursion turn out as great as the sights.

I was pretty happy when I found the excursion online, even though the price was a bit on the shocking side in the beginning, but if you take into consideration that we had our guide for a whole day and all the food was included, it was not that bad any more.
And it turned out one of the best days of our vacation!

This tour looks so interesting. I love how colorful the tall narrow buildings are too.

It was one of the highlights of our vacation, Jen. If you ever need a recommendation for one of your clients, let me know, Umberto is definitely one of the best tour guides in the area.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 5, July 27

Cinque Terre for foodies …… - Part 4

Finally we made it up there and the view of and from the church was amazing.



















The church itself was beautiful, even though it was rather bare because of its age.





We had spent quite some time enjoying the view and we it was time to head back to the ship. We chose to walk through the main street through the village and it was amazing to walk along this old narrow street within the city walls.

















There were lots of shops to peek inside but soon we headed out through the city gate and back to the ship, where Umberto was already waiting with a bag full of yummy Focaccia full of taste of olive oil and Rosemary. It was a welcome treat for all of us and yes, I DID forget to take a photo of it.
Once the next ship came into the harbour we got in line and were soon to get on board. Umberto had given us the choice of either finding seats upstairs, where we would have an awesome view, but it would get hot, or downstairs where we would have the view through glass windows, but it would be a bit cooler. Funnily enough Bobbie and Connie chose to sit downstairs while Tom and I had headed upstairs. We had not taked about this before but that was what we had ended up with. Umberto came upstairs and told us that since he was a registered tour guide he would tell everyone about what we were going to see over a microphone and we were more than welcome to stay in our seats. It didn’t take long and we were off again.











The coastline we were gliding by was stunning.

To be continued ..........​

Advent calendar ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Tom has been busy and has created two new advent calendars - hope you are going to take a look every day!

Funny hats calendar

Food calendar​

 

[MEK]

Oh Wow! Those views are breathtaking! Just gorgeous!

I am shocked that you actually forgot a food picture! I guess it happens to the best of us from time to time!

The church is lovely!

Interesting about the houses being built from the wall! I never would have guessed that.

Do you have a suggestion for what would be the best thing to do in Key West when we get off the ship? I think we can off around 10:30 or 11am and have to be back at 5:45. I intend to spend all that time on Key West.

 

[dizneeat]

Oh Wow! Those views are breathtaking! Just gorgeous!

That turned out to be one of our favourite days. The views were awesome all day - and the food and company were great!

I am shocked that you actually forgot a food picture! I guess it happens to the best of us from time to time!

Yes, I know - shocking! What was I thinking stuffing my face without taking a photo.

The church is lovely!

Interesting about the houses being built from the wall! I never would have guessed that.

He had us guessing as well and we could not come up with an answer, but it made complete sense once he had explained it.

Do you have a suggestion for what would be the best thing to do in Key West when we get off the ship? I think we can off around 10:30 or 11am and have to be back at 5:45. I intend to spend all that time on Key West.

If you want to see "all" of the island take one of the trolley tours - they are fun. (Don't book on the ship, their first stop is right at Mallory Square)
I would recommend visiting Hemingway's House - there is such a lot of history in there. It is easy walking distance, no problem. And while you are in the area, climb up the stairs in the lighthouse - AWESOME view of the whole island.
Shopping - best to do in Duval Street, which runs across the island
Don't miss the Southernmost Point, which is a huge barrel and photo spot and while you are there, walk a few more steps and have lunch at the Southernmost Cafe at the Beach - another AWESOME location, with a great view. And btw, the hotel next door, the Southernmost on the beach is the hotel we LOVE to stay at.
Don't forget to try the Key Lime Pie on a stick. Kermit has the best ones!

That's what comes to mind while writing here, but there are lots more interesting places. I am going to put together a few other great things for you during my Christmas Vacation - please remind me, if I don't post it.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 5, July 27

Cinque Terre for foodies …… - Part 5

The coastline we were gliding by was stunning.











Rough, steep cliffs with villages climbing up those hills, with houses in the most stunning pastel colours. We didn’t get off at the first stop, but watched the masses of people who wanted to get onto the ship.





Soon enough we were backing out of the harbour again and we enjoyed some more of the beautiful scenery.





















After an about 20 minute long boatride we heard Umberto making the announcement, that Umberto’s guests were to get off. So we slowly made our way down to the lower deck, not easy on a full ship that sways in the waves. We made it down to the exit with time to spare and got off the ship.





Umberto guided us into the small village.

To be continued ..........​

Advent calendar ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Tom has been busy and has created two new advent calendars - hope you are going to take a look every day!

Funny hats calendar

Food calendar​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 5, July 27

Cinque Terre for foodies …… - Part 6

Umberto guided us into the small village











and pointed out the underground river and other sights before he left us to explore on our own for a while,















while he was getting the next samples of true Cinque Terre food. About 10 minutes later we returned to the meeting place and found Umberto waiting, guarding a small table outside a bar that was full of heavenly munchies.









First we got to try a glass of regional wine, which was wonderful, cold and crisp, just as I like it.



And then we dug into the food. There were sandwiches, some kind of quiche, cheese, salami, Focaccia, sausage in sauce, olives, peanuts, chips and the most wonderful fried calamari and fried anchovies. It was more than enough for the four of us and so we invited Umberto to join in as well. It was wonderful to sit outside, nibble on some incredible food and enjoy this beautiful day. But all too soon Umberto looked at his watch and we all had to move on. But not without picking up a bottle of the wine we had just tasted and Tom got himself a local beer



to try on the way back to the ship. We were stunned when we saw the amount of people who wanted to get on



and were amazed that Umberto had taken us at the right time to still make it onto the ship.



There was no way we would find a spot to sit upstairs, so we all settled with window seats downstairs for the short ride to our next stop.

To be continued ..........​

Advent calendar ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Tom has been busy and has created two new advent calendars - hope you are going to take a look every day!

Funny hats calendar

Food calendar​

 

[KatMark]

Karin, the view from where you climbed is absolutely stunning. And I love the photos of the church.

The shops in the village are adorable and enjoyed taking that "walk" with you.

The coastline photos are spectacular.

 

[debsters41]

Love those fabulous pictures of the narrow walkways. Boy it sure seems worth having a guide. I will definitely do it different next time I go That last village must have been Vernazza, right? I loved it there but all we tried was pesto

How did Tom like the Beer?

Loving the hats advent calendar, too!