The Aegean Sea Cruise: A Day At Sea

One of the things I enjoy most about cruises are the sea days. Longer cruises typically have multiple days at sea, for example the Panama Canal Cruise, which was 21 days had 9 sea days! Sea days are the ultimate luxury for me because they force relaxation. I take breakfast on my private balcony, hit the Promenade deck for early morning laps and enjoy the sea air. I usually review the list of activities and events published in the daily newsletter; there is something for just about everyone. I usually go for things like the lecture series, art auction, wine tasting, afternoon tea or perhaps a movie. The list of other on-board activities is amazing: ceramics, mini-golf, basketball, water volleyball, book clubs, dance lessons, card game tournaments, bingo, classes on cooking, photography, etc. The spa, fitness, and multiple pools/hot tubs are open all day everyday. Sometimes I just like to find a cozy spot in the library or atrium and curl up with a good book. All of these things I would never do off ship during the work week. So being on a cruise with sea days really forces me to RELAX. Yesterday afternoon we went to the Maitre D’ Hotel Wine Club tasting event. It started off with canapés, cheeses and crackers and offered 8 different wines to enjoy. The hosts of the event each shared some facts about wine and the particular winemakers featured in the tasting. Last night’s dinner was one of the three formal nights on this cruise, which meant tuxedos for the dining room. Regular readers know that I am comfortable wearing my tux, and I enjoy getting all gussied up. So last night was no exception. Its always fun to see everyone else in fancy gowns and black tie. I think it takes it up a notch, but that's just my opinion. Before I close, I thought I’d share a few more photos from our day in Capri. There was a group of nuns ferociously lapping up cones of gelato which caught the attention of passers-by. I couldn’t resist getting these photos. It just seemed funny at the time. I didn’t think nuns were supposed to enjoy anything- other than spanking children, that is.



Hope those pictures of gelato-eating nuns made you chuckle. Enjoy these photos from Capri....




Thanks again for stopping by. Today we are in Athens, Greece. So I should have plenty of photos to share, so please stop back.
-Rick Rockhill

Aegean Sea Cruise: Video Blog Post

Hi there- I had some free time on our full day at sea, so I filmed this quick video blog post for you. I hope you are able to view it.

Thanks for watching!
-Rick Rockhill

The Aegean Sea Cruise: Beautiful Capri

Welcome back to the Aegean Sea Cruise blog series.
Yesterday we sailed due south along the Mediterranean Sea and arrived in beautiful and sunny Naples. Just offshore in view were the islands of Capri and Ischia. We were briefly in Naples last year, on our way to a very memorable day in Sorrento. I still talk about Sorrento to this day. The name of Naples dates back to when the Greeks founded this spot calling it “Neapolis” which translates to “new city” and later evolved to Napoli when the Italians conquered it sometime in the 4th Century BC. This region has incredible natural beauty from its highly fertile lands that produce copious amounts of food products. During the Roman Empire, Naples was known as the bread basket to the empire. Today Naples is a busy densely populated city with charming hustle bustle. Naples has a thriving art scene balanced with its history, traditions and local southern Italian culture. Since we've been to Naples before, we decided to spend more time in Capri. This photo below is what we saw when the hydrofoil arrived at the port.

Capri is a charming island whose name means “goat island”.  It is stunningly beautiful with a base of limestone so the rocks look white. Emperor Augustus built a villa here because of the natural beauty of the island, so there is a fair amount of history still evident. As we walked around Capri, we saw some incredible villas with such beauty it made me humble. I could easily live here!
While exploring Capri, we took the Funiculare (cable car) up the hill to the 
main area of Capri where we found shops, restaurants, bakeries, churches and all kinds of fun things. I passed by a pasticerria (bakery) that was baking. It drew me in and I had to buy a brioche, which was still warm. Later, we passed a restaurant that was making the dough for its pizza right in the open window. We went back to that restaurant for lunch; we had fresh Capricciolo pizzas, fresh  home-made ravioli, fresh crusty Italian bread and vino rosso, of course! It was a delicious lunch for sure!

We took a ride up to the town of Anacapri, situated way up high over Capri. This tiny yet elegant neighborhood was so beautiful. Mostly residential, its shops and restaurants gave you the sense this was all for the locals. This was where we spent a great deal of time. Without a doubt, this ranks up as one of the most beautiful places I have seen throughout Europe. For some reason it just clicked for me. A brief 12 minute ride up a chairlift brought us to the very top of the mountain, offering stunning views of the island, its rocky coast and of the azure-blue waters below.

Despite having facilities and shops for tourists, the island of Capri does not feel like a heavy tourist destination. It has the sense of an island that is primarily occupied by locals who allow tourists to stop by. One interesting observation was that among the winding, elegant streets of high end retail shops and restaurants, there wasn’t a single vacancy or closed store. (This contrasts sharply with what I’ve seen almost everywhere else I travel, where lots of shops went out of business). Even high end places like Beverly Hills in LA have lots of stores that have gone out of business. For some reason Capri seems to be doing well. Perhaps a testament to the popularity of this wonderful island. Here are some photos of Capri. Sorry they are random, I can't seem to arrange them properly:

My apologies for the crazy formatting of photos and descriptions. I'm really struggling with the new Blogger software. While still early on the journey, Capri is sure to remain a highlight of this cruise. Today we are at sea all day, en route to Athens! Thanks for stopping by today, I appreciate it.
-Ricardo Rockhillo

The Aegean Sea Cruise: Departure from Rome

Welcome to The Aegean Sea Cruise: Departure from Rome. After several marvelous days in Rome, we reached our sail away day to begin the fabulous Aegean Sea Cruise. We have an exciting itinerary: Naples, Capri, then onto various ports in Greece, Turkey, Egypt and then back to Rome again. I’ll leave the exact details until they happen.

We spent yesterday enjoying the day in Rome, savoring the time at our hotel, which really was fantastic on every level. (see patio breakfast photo at left). We had a car drive us through the countryside to enjoy the view along to the coast, to Citivecchia, the port of departure for our cruise. Since we are now frequent cruisers, we had “preferred boarding” so we were able to board quickly and with no delays. After unpacking our bags and settling in, we decided to enjoy the ship right away.
First up was a lovely reception with a cheese tasting table, which was a perfect compliment to the champagne.

The sail away party was fairly low key, in that Citivecchia isn’t much of a port.  So we went to the Wheelhouse Lounge to partake in a pre-dinner beverage (see photo below). 

All in all, a nice relaxing start to the big cruise. Today we’re in Capri, and the weather is supposed to be perfect. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you can follow along as the daily cruise blog begins.
-Ricardo Rockhillo

Rick’s Roadshow: Rome Makes Me Want to Roam

Welcome back to Rick’s Roadshow: Rome Makes Me Want to Roam

I started the day with an early morning swim in the hotel’s fabulous pool. I ordered coffee poolside and figured I could do my laps and then relax in my fluffy bathrobe. It was still quite early so I had the pool to myself. After a mere four laps I was completely out of breath and thoroughly exhausted. I swear the pool must be an Olympic size pool. I was huffing, puffing and heaving so I clawed my way out of the pool and sat on the side trying to catch my breath. The coffee sure tasted good at that point.

For our second full day in Rome, we planned an itinerary that had us doing some serious walking. It started at an eerie church Santa Maria della Concezione. I say eerie because the inside walls of the chapel was decorated with the bones of over 4,000 monks dating back to the 1500’s. Talk about creepy. These poor monks bodies were dug up after having long decomposed, and then assembled on walls as the décor. There were alcoves with piles and piles of carefully placed skulls all to make patterns. Let’s just say it was one of the strangest things I have ever seen.  

From there we went to visit the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, which remains today the private home of the Doria Pamphilj family. Part of their Palazzo is open to the public, with multiple rooms on exhibit with a stunning array of art on exhibit. This noble Italian royal family dates back over 500 years, with important historical connections throughout the Mediterranean. Andrea Doria led independence from Genoa, and Giovanni Doria Andrea  fought a famous battle against the Turks in the battle of Lepanto in 1571. 

But it was later in 1644 when the Doria family’s own Cardinal Giovanni Battista was elected as Pope and became known as Pope Innocent X. Without question, having a pope in the family during this era brought enormous power and prestige to the Doria Pamphilj family. Photo left: the colonnade entrance to the Palazzo. Photo below: the bathroom salon at the Palazzo. Photo below the bathroom salon: a lovely iron grate outside the windows of the Palazzo.

The princes and princesses who followed Innocent X maintained their family passion for art, assembling an enormous private collection that continues to be open to the public here in Rome. Being received at the Palazzo was quite an exciting opportunity, it is on the level of The Vatican, Windsor Castle of Buckingham Palace. Exquisite paintings, incredible tapestries, beautiful sculptures and marble everywhere. 

Having toured many of the great palaces and art museums across Europe, what struck me as we visited this Palazzo was the abundance of talent and culture that emanated from Western Europe over the past 600 years. Clearly a passionate people inspired by a wide array of historical events, and public figures. One could argue that at times, the inspiration may have been driven by flawed individuals, egomaniacs or even conquerors of holy wars. Regardless of why, what resulted was an unprecedented outpouring of talent that translated onto canvas, stone, jewelry, fabric and much more. Modern art collectors such as The Smithsonian continue to acquire art from the past and the present, seeking to preserve culture for future generations to appreciate and hopefully inspire. I never profess to be an art historian, but over the years I have come to appreciate art- in its various forms as an important part of our shared society. The Palazzo Doria Pamphilj is a delightful way to spend an afternoon in Rome, even if you aren’t visiting a member of the family. I highly recommend visiting its public galleries, they are open to the public for a small entrance fee. 

Our day of walking continued with a brief visit to the Castel of San Angelo, adjacent to The Vatican at the foot of Piazza San Pietro (St Peter’s Square).  We checked out the site of the tomb of Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome. It was under substantial renovation and excavation so we couldn’t really see much. I would have thought that this would have had a more grand memorial, considering the importance of Augustus to the Roman Empire. Perhaps that is what they are working on restoring-even if it is over 2,000 years later! The square around the tomb has some interesting buildings, including some Fascist-era buildings (see photo above) built by Mussolini complete with art deco style décor. And in stark contrast also adjacent are contemporary modern structures with glass and steel, as well as a Papal monument and Renaissance era church. So in just one city square you can see four great representations of Roman history. It is a simple, yet remarkable site, which goes unnoticed by most passers-by. It was further evidence to me, that Rome truly is The Eternal City.

Please join me again tomorrow for a fresh edition of Rick’s Roadshow, as we begin our fabulous Aegean Sea cruise. We set sail from Rome and head south to Capri and Naples and then journey to some exotic sites…it should be a memorable trip. Thanks for following along.
-Ricardo Rockhillo

Rick's Roadshow: Rome The Eternal City

It’s so good to be back in Rome again. It occurred to us that in the past 12 months, we’ve taken three trips to “The Eternal City”. It has quickly become familiar and comfortable to us. Of course my command of the Italian language helps demystify it all (okay that was an inside joke for anyone who has heard me speak Italian). These are my people, so I understand the culture, particularly when it comes to eating. But more on that later. One of the nice things of having been here several times is that when we return there is no pressure to “sight see”. Instead we play things by ear, and just enjoy the city as local Romans would. Sunday was a nice and relaxing day; we had a very relaxing breakfast poolside, enjoying the most delicious coffee I’ve had in a long time. Afterward we strolled the grounds of our hotel. The Cavalieri is part of the Waldorf=Astoria hotel collection and certainly lives up to their standards. The Cavalieri sits atop a very high hill overlooking Rome, offering stunning views of this magnificent city.

 








We decided to spend Sunday in the Park, at the famed Villa Borghese Park. It was quite pleasant- mid 70’s and sunny, a perfect day to be out for a stroll. We came across a great dog park where there must have been a hundred dogs roaming around quite happily; mixing and mingling with other dogs, all barking in Italian. 
Below left: Entrance to the Gardino Zoologico (zoo). Notice the details of the sculptures on the entrance gate- there is an elephant head at the top.

 

This statue of the eagle was at the entrance to the park from the main road.

This waterfall statue is of a woman with water flowing from her water jug down into the lake. 

above & below: Picasso Lake. There were people rowing boats amid swans and ducks.

 

We stumbled on this cute cafe in the middle of the park called Casina Del Lago

At night we went to a nearby restaurant called Luciano’s for a dinner the locals would enjoy. Let me just say that I’ve never had a bad meal in Italy. This dinner was no exception. The photos don't do it justice...I didn't want to look ridiculous taking photos of my food because it was a local family restaurant. For a starter we had home made ravioli with spinach and cheese, in a butter and brown sage sauce, and also a home made fettuccine with fresh mushrooms. For the main course, we had veal Marsala with mushrooms, and Stuffed veal stuffed with prosciutto ham and mozzarella cheese. We also had a side dish of grilled vegetables. It was Molto Delicioso! After dinner we went back to our room, sat out on the balcony and enjoyed a bottle of wine while enjoying the  view of well manicured grounds and heard the sound of the dolphin waterfall flowing gently all night.

                                        Thanks for stopping by Rick's Roadshow: Rome, The Eternal City. We're in Rome another day, so more from Rome before we set sail on our fabulous Aegean Sea cruise. Stay tuned...

-Ricardo Rockhillo

Rick's Roadshow: Rome or Bust

Well I'm finally off to do a bit of personal travel for a change. We head off to Rome today, then onto an Aegean Sea Cruise. Stay tuned for fresh updates to Rick's Roadshow. I'm back with all sorts of interesting sights to share. Since I'm flying today, nothing exciting to post yet....but oh to I have a story to share that happened to me last night that ALMOST made me think I might have to cancel the entire trip. Let's just say it involved a foreign object piercing my hand. Oh it was gross. I'll write about it on the flight and post soon!

I'll be on Marta Stewart Living Radio Today...

As I mentioned in Wednesday's post, I'm scheduled to give a few interviews here and there about the pet nutrition; in particular why feeding better quality foods are so much better over the lifetime of your pet. Today I'm scheduled to be a guest on the Marta Stewart Living Radio channel, on Sirius XM radio on the Marc Morrone show. The show begins at 8:00 PM EST. If you have a chance I hope you can tune in. I'm sure it will just be just a few minutes at most. Hope you can tune in, or even better call in with a question!

This photo at left is Marta Stewart with Marc Morrone, the host of the show to which I will be calling in. The next time Martha is back in Palm Springs I'll be sure to get a similar photo of her with me, Sheldon and Duncan!