European On Me!: Day Six: Messina, Sicily; and Day Seven: Sea Day

Day Six: Messina, Sicily

On this day, there was "scenic cruising" as we entered the port of Messina and glided past the Stromboli Volcano, but we missed taking pictures of it. We went up to the Lido Deck for a late breakfast, since we still had several hours before we actually got to Messina.

Then it was time for our couples' massage in the Greenhouse Spa! That was part of our "romantic voyage" package. First, because we got there plenty early, we changed into our bathing suits and went swimming in the hydropool. It was hot water, with penetratingly hard streams of water that we used to massage our backs and shoulders. It felt wonderful. We only stayed in for about 15 minutes, before it was time to don our robes and visit the relaxation room. There, we lounged on comfortable chairs and ottomans, filled out our information forms, and ate fruits as the Sicilian waters streamed by the giant windows.

When our masseuses finally arrived, I was ready. I don't know about you, but I am not one to be able to just sit and relax. That doesn't mean I don't know how to loaf and be lazy, but I have to actually be DOING something, not just sitting there chillin'. I have to read, or crochet or knit, or some darn thing. Plus, I was worried about the time factor; we were getting short on it, with our Mt. Etna excursion looming.

Fortunately, I was able to relax and enjoy the massage. Rob was on a table right next to me, and we had a good back, neck and shoulder rub. I don't know what my lady (hee) did to my back, but it felt so amazing for the first day or two after. (I have back trouble.) And I know Rob felt great after his, too.

Afterward, we quickly said adieu and rushed to meet our tour in the Vista Lounge. We were just on time! We got our stickers, met our tour guide (I believe he said his name was John, but I could be completely making that up), and boarded the bus for the two-hour drive up to the top of Mt. Etna. Not the tippy-top, that is, but as far as they allow one to go.

So along this two-hour drive, "John" talked about the capital of Sicily, Palermo, and its one million inhabitants. There are a total of five million on the island, the largest in the Mediterranean. There are only 22 rainy days per year, with a very short water supply. The tap water only runs in their sinks - except for hotel guests - from 6 - 7 AM! If you miss your shower, or whatever, in that time, too bad, so sad.

More details I remember: The scirocco (sp?) wind from comes from Libya, "where that bloody Moamar Qadafi lives," said John. St. Francisco's church was built in the 1200s. They call a highway a "motorway." There are 21 bridges and 21 tunnels to get up Mt. Etna. One can see the Calabria region of Italy from "here," wherever "here" was at that point in the conversation.

Anyway... the picture above is from when he started talking heavily about trees. He was a high school teacher of English and German, but botany was his main hobby. He pointed out every species of tree - giving both its common and scientific names - on the island, I swear. It was impressive, but not altogether interesting for all those of us on the tour. He talked about the citrus plants, the pines, the eucalyptus and oleander.

Here, climbing higher, you can see the lava amongst the flora. The lava contains potassium sulfate, so everything is fertile about 75 years after the eruption, which is why so many different kinds of plants are able to grow. There are three levels up the mountain:

From sea level to 600 meters, everything grows
From 600-2000m, it's just woods
From 2000+ meters, there is no more flora

Here, we're getting near the 2000m point, so the trees are disappearing.

We're getting there, lots more lava to be found everywhere

Our first few of the top of Mt. Etna!

Ready for its close-up

Our guide, possibly-John

Finally, we reached our limit. You can see almost all of the flora was gone except for some mossy-licheny type stuff. Everything was covered in lava.

Down into one of the craters

Another crater, the Silvestri canyon. Some of it is red because the lava contains a lot of iron that oxidized (ie, rusted)

Rob in the canyon. He wore his jacket, because we were 2000m above sea level, and it got quite cold compared to the boiling heat down in Messina!

And then he climbed the top of the "lava window" and took a picture of me, way down below...

Another lava hill, heavy with iron

One last view of the lava

After we were done touring around all the lava formations, we went to both of the "bar" cafés at the location. Yes, even up there! At the first one, we each had a piece of pizza and a cannoli. I probably had a soda, and it looks here like Rob was completely smashed! Really, he probably just blinked. He saved his big drinking for the ship. ;)

The best cannoli I've ever had in my entire life. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Pausing outside before going across to the second bar and seeing what they had to offer

La Capannina, the second bar, where we bought some post cards, a few snacks, and some lava souvenirs. I bought a vase covered in Mt. Etna lava for myself, and a small ashtray - to be used for some other purpose, like holding coins or a small candle - as a Bunco prize.

The hazelnut chocolate sticks we bought for the long, two-hour drive back. I was very glad John didn't talk much on the return trip. His voice was loud and abrasive; it was very harsh on the ears to listen to his rhythm of speaking for so long. For the first time on a tour, I brought out my iPod and zoned out.

We saw a herd of goats on the way back down.

One little straggler

Ah, back home, sweet home, at last.

It was late at that point, so we changed and went right to dinner on the ship. This time, we were seated with one American couple, and another lady from L.A. who was traveling with her teen-aged grandson. For dinner, Rob and I both had the tuna tartar and "grandma's" chicken noodle soup. This soup had nothing on Grandma, I tell you what. Or Rob - his chicken 'n' dumplings are waaay better. He had the mussels and fettucine for a main course, and I had the silk salmon with rice and currants. For dessert, the L.A. granny brought out - surprise! - a box of cannoli she'd purchased in town. It was good, but nowhere near as good as what we'd had up on Mt. Etna. Seriously, that was out-of-this-world. The dinner cannoli, well, we get better at our local pizza joint, I'd say.

We didn't have enough time after dinner to go back out and tour around Messina, so instead we went up to the Observation Deck for the first time, to take pictures from up there. This old church stood out among all the other buildings.

Another pretty building, in the far-off distance

The streets of Messina, Sicily

Ooh, look, one of those little Smart Cars that's like half a regular car! Isn't it so cute? I want one.

Rob looking down at the scene below and pretending to be oblivious to my picture-taking

The other side of the ship. Can't read Latin, something about a city?

Eventually, we put on our bathing suits and went down to the Lido for the Sail-Away piña colada party. We had piña coladas out of pineapples and swam late into the evening.

Makin' coladas

There was a pretty lame ice sculpture contest between two of the crew members who normally make them. The commentary , by "party planner Joy," was beyond lame. And one of the sculptures broke in half by accident. That part was entertaining, at least.

My piña. They actually kind of tasted like crap. We ended up bringing our drinks down to our room to relax and have a late-night snack. But we forgot about the drinks, and by morning they had leaked all over our coffee table and the papers we had there. So here's your lesson of the day: pineapples aren't leakproof!

Day Seven: At Sea

I have exactly zero pictures of this day.

We lazed around in bed all morning, and then Rob went to the art auction, to see about that Britto on which we bid, while I lazed around in bed for half the afternoon, reading my book and writing tons of postcards. It was just the sort of lazy day we needed, after all the touring around.

And guess what? He won the auction! The Britto is ours!!!!! Whenever it arrives, I will take a picture and show you our lovely new piece of art.

And guess what else? He bid on a second piece of art and won that, too! That was an "Oh, really?" moment, with eyebrows raised, when he shared this upon his return to the cabin. But it's okay. I really wanted about three more of the Brittos - and oh, a Picasso and a Rembrandt - but alas, we are not Warren Buffet here!

Finally, I got up out of bed, and we went up to the Lido Deck for lunch before going down to the Front Desk to spend another fortune in postcard stamps. Each one cost over a Euro, and I must have sent out at least five dozen cards during the trip. Hey, I like it. I like getting them, too, so if you ever go anywhere... ;)

Then we came back to the room to dress up, since it was the second Formal Night of the cruise. We went to the show, which was the Zuiderdam singers and dancers, and again they were very good. Then we got our portraits taken, and oh, wait! Because we received a free portrait with our "romantic voyage" package, I do have a picture to show you after all:

Neither of us likes it. Oh, well. You want it?

We went down to the dining room and got a pager for the 20+ minute wait for a table. In the interim, we went into the adjoining study and read some coffee table books that we both wished we owned! For dinner, we were seated with an Australian couple, Dennis and Denise, whom we later saw many times during the remainder of the cruise. Rob ate some greens and feta cheese, chicken and spinach with barley soup, and a feta- and spinach-stuffed breast. I had grilled scallops, pumpkin soup, and the same yummy entrée.

There was a late-night take-off game of the Newlywed Show in the Queen's Lounge after dinner, so we went to that hoping to be picked. We were chosen by the Cruise Director as a "maybe" couple, which the audience then voted on by applause. In the end, we weren't picked, but we stayed for the whole game and it was pretty hilarious. For the next few days, people pointed us out and asked us if, after seeing the bawdy questions and topics discussed during the game, we still wished we had played, our joint response was, "Oh, yeah! We would have knocked it out of the park!"

And we would have.

Tomorrow: Stay tuned for Navplion, Greece!

Fin.