Princess - Ship Food - Volume 1

May 2012 - This is volume one of the food review.

This is what we ate, in addition to the buffet food. And in addition to the little cafe with coffee and pastries.  I neglected to take the piles of food that we enjoyed when we went to the buffet.  Most of these meals we had at the any time dining at the Michelangelo Restaurant.

These little delights went along with the wine tasting that was a special event.

Venice (Italy) - Guidecca Canal at Water Level

I took these to give a different perspective. Water level vs 15 stories high.  I hope that you recognize the buildings from earlier posts.  These views are all of the buildings on the Dorsoduro side of the canal.  See if you can recall. I will post the answers at the end.

Venice (Italy) - Giudecca (Laguna Tour)

We started the Lagoon Tour by going on the Giudecca Canal the reverse route that we used to make our Grand Sail-In.  The posts on the sail-in focused on the Dorsoduro side of the canal so as we make the make the turn out of the main stream and in to the lagoon, we can now see Giucecca, the island.

Venice (Italy) - The Crown Princess docks

We turn at the end of the island and prepare to dock.  It is amazing to watch them dock the ship.

Venice (Italy) - Dorsoduro - Sacca Fisola

We are near the docks as we sail to the end of Dorsoduro.  The map shows this long building as warehousing.

Venice (Italy) - Dorsoduro - Wide walkways and Zippy Boats

The wide walkways make this section of Dorsoduro a great strolling area. We are now looking at Fondamenta Zattere Al Ponte Lungo.  "The Zattere", with all of its different street names, is a recognized pedestrian section of Venice with its wide walkways.

Venice (Italy) - Dorsoduro Salt Warehouses and Church of the Gesuati

"A particularly calm and beautiful part of the city that enjoys wonderful views, this area has always been favored by wealthy foreigners when staying in Venice. However, when the heart of Venice was at Rialto, this area was rather out of the way and became the site of numerous religious foundations and public buildings; those large warehouses and vast convent and hospital structures are still awaiting reconversion to more functional uses."

This photo was taken as we moved past the large church Santa Maria della Salute and continued our exploration of the section (sestiere) of Venice, Dorsoduro as we enjoy our grand "sail in" to Venice. Keep in mind that deep tones of the Italian singer floats through the air as we take in our first views of this port.

Venice (Italy) - Dorsoduro - Punta della Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute

Our grand entry in to Venice continued past the section named "Dorsoduro".  We are traveling on the Giudecca Canal.  The canal that we see on the right side of the photo is one end of the long winding Grand Canal. The section of Venice to the right is San Marco, and on the left is Dorsoduro.

Venice (Italy) - San Marco Gondolas and the Grand Canal

The first building on the right is the Hotel Metropole.  We talked about this hotel at the end of the previous post. The next building is a church and the tan building is Locanda Vivaldi Hotel.  Vivaldi?  Yes!  More about that hotel in this post.

Venice (Italy) - Castello Bridges and Boats

We sailed past the Castello sestieri (a municipal district) of Venice.  It is the largest of the six sections of Venice and was built around a yard shipyard (on the other side and out of our view).

Venice (Italy) - First Canals

TEXT is not finished. I'm posting the photos only.

Venice (Italy) - Enter the Lagoon

The Captain announced that we were entering the waters around Venice and told everyone that they really should find a place along the walkways as the "Sail In to Venice" is one of the grandest sail-ins of all.  I went to the 15th deck and squeezed my way around the railings until I found a tiny spot at the front of the ship.  Perfect!

Venice, Italy - Grand Sail-In

We had stopped at many ports prior to coming to Venice, but nothing compares to the beauty of the sail-in here.  Passengers were lining every outside rail for a chance to see Venice from a unique and high perspective.  I was on the 15th deck at the front of the ship.  Italian opera was playing on the loud speakers and it was beautiful.

This map should give you a good idea on our path as we made our way to our berth. (google maps)

Day at Sea - Relaxation day

5/22/2012 - Day at sea.  Finally a chance to sleep in, rest, and chat about all that we had seen.

Athens, Greece

We pulled in to Athens on an overcast day with mild temperatures. Perfect for touring!  The port of Piraeus is a very short distance from Athens.

The port not only holds the cruise ships but the smaller fishing boats as well.

This is my first view of the Acropolis after we entered Athens.  

The Athens temple.

The marble Olympic Stadium was built in 1895.  Totally made from local marble, a relatively inexpensive building material!

Syntagma or Constitution Square is an elegant space in front of the Parliament.  This is the gathering place of protesters.  It was originally built as a home for the Greek kings, and also hosts the monument to the Uknown Soldier.

We stopped for a coffee break at a palace-now-hotel.  We liked the coffee and snacks, especially the pistachio cookies.

A typical street in Athens.  You used to be able to see the Acropolis from every where in the city until the housing boom set in and multiple storied apartments were built.

A good view of the (under renovation) Acropolis.

This is a store on the low budget market street. It looks like they sell everything that you would need.

We stopped at an official store approved by the cruise lines.  Many nice things at a reasonable price such as jewelry, reproductions of statues, ceramics.  I would recommend going to Athens; we felt safe and the city was clean.

Pireas (Greece) - Sail Away

5/21/2012  The visit was yet another delightful sampling of a piece of culture that I have not explored. I liked Greece and will keep Athens on my list of places to visit because I would like to spend more time exploring the Acropolis. I'd like to see it lit at night, and I'd like to sit on a patio of one of the hotels and have dinner in sight of the Acropolis.  All in due time.  Here is our cute little tug boat, ready to help us depart.

Athens (Greece) - Return to the Ship

5/21/2012 - It has been a long day and we certainly have seen a lot of beautiful, new, and amazing sights. Some things were the same, some things were different.  All in all, well worth the trip.

Athens (Greece) - Transportation

5/21/2012 - I think that would be easy to move around Athens and see all of the sights on your own.  I talked about this with my friend Lisa F. and she agreed.  She has spent a few days in Athens on her own while waiting to connect with friends. She said that she was never concerned for her safety and was able to get to the museums and spots that she wanted to see easily.

The ground level trams zip around throughout the city.

Athens (Greece) - What is sold in a kiosk?

5/21/2012 - This mini-stores, kiosks, on the streets always intrigue me and I strain to see what they are selling.

Athens (Greece) – Misbehaving Statues

The tour continued to show us the sights of Athens. 

The department stores lined the street and looked much like the stores seen in a city in the States.