Modena & Reggio Emilia - Italy

After our cruise finished up in Genoa we took the train to Reggio Emilia to spend a few days with our friends, Loverci and Sergio at their place. We originally had plans to take a day trip to Parma but I was still feeling under the weather from what we calculated must have been Norovirus because, lo and behold, Cassio fell ill with it too.

Thankfully,  he did not get as sick as me, but it forced us to stay in the apartment to "nurse" ourselves.  Also thankfully,  this did not put a cramp in the lives of our friends  who we pray are not incubating at this moment!

We did have enough time and health though, to go to near-by Modena to attend the graduation ceremony of Sergio's son, Tommaso and meet Sergio's parents. It was a proud moment for the grandparents of their only son's only son as well as all of us and of course, Tommaso too.  We wish him the very best with his future in science!

   In addition, I was over the moon to discover Loverci and Sergio live right around the corner from an Indian take out place!  I enjoyed the meal immensely,  it having been a long while since I have eaten Indian food. (Still looking for a local place in Santos). Cassio didn't mind skipping the meal...he doesn't care for spicy food, so maybe it was a blessing his appetite had yet to return:)

We also got to stroll through Reggio Emilia one pretty evening and on Friday,  which is the day they hold three outdoor markets in the older center of town.

Cacao, the enormous and solid "little-bear-cat", more than filled our need for kitty contact!  What a sweet creature!

The last couple of pics were taken while Sergio was driving us to the airport in Bologna this morning.  Check out the architecturally beautiful high speed train station.   At the moment, I am writing this while on the plane from Rome to Toronto, where we will spend some time meeting up with friends and family.   I understand the first snow of the season beat us there by two days!

And that's all.... for now!

Messina - Italy

Cassio takes beautiful photos no matter where we are, plus, we can always find something new and interesting to experience in any place we visit...  That being said, Messina, Sicily was NOT the prettiest town we have seen.  Perhaps we would have been happier taking the day trip to Taormina which friends from the ship did and said it was thw kind of place you wanted to spend a week at.  We also had elected to cancel the rental car we had booked with the original intention of seeing Mount Etna, because video images we saw of the place from the promotional excursion material onboard did not seem too appealing.  

We did climb a bunch of steps and get to the outside of a church just before noon on Saturday and were able to hear music coming from the clock tower below.  If the statues moved, (as we expected them to), we couldn't perceive it from that distance. Ave Maria played though and the sun was shining and truly, it was a magical moment.

La Valletta - Malta

Valletta, the capital city of Malta was an interesting place with clear British and Italian influences.  Viddy a got wicked food poisoning, most likely from eating lamb on the ship, so I got out on my own with the task of taking lots of pictures.

The little tip of Valletta, that is the most visited area, is protected by an incredibly thick retaining wall that has beautiful views of the inner harbour and neighbouring islands.

You can see some fishermen huts, fishing boats and a big square official water polo swimming pool on the bay.

There are many steep narrow streets, some with stairs as sidewalks,  but the most peculiar things to me were the wooden enclosed balconies on the stone facades, some painted in bright colours.

Istanbul - Turkey

What a fantastic two days we spent in Istanbul.

The pomegranate is everywhere in the artwork and in the fruit juice stalls.  Istanbul is a beautiful and different city. It is very unlike most of the European cities we are used to.  Sumptuous and lush, bustling with life and smells and sounds.

One of the bridges that crosses the Bosphorus River is double deckered, with little bars and restaurants underneath and the road above,  which is lined with fishermen and their poles.

The Grand Bazaar is a must see! Carpets, tapestries,  scarves, hand painted porcelain,  gold, jewels, halva,  Turkish delight,  spices, teas, knock offs, vases, platters, tea sets, and beautiful,  colourful, wonderful treasures. ..some are very expensive and others are quite a bargain.   It does pay to shop around as you can often find the same thing for a lower price.   I prepared myself for the obligatory haggling I was told to expect, but in fact,  I got discounts of 5 to 10 percent, rather than the 50% I had thought I would get.  Still, good deals!

 Also, they have very tiny coffee and tea stalls in the bazar that have a delivery service on specially designed carrying trays and sugar cubes!

Visiting the Blue Mosque was impressive and it is free and open when not during prayers.  There is a separate entry for visitors.  Women are required to cover their heads and most exposed skin.  Everyone is required to remove their shoes and put them in plastic bags which the Mosque supplies.  Inside,  the Mosque is separated with a little fence. The members can enter the front part. It was beautiful and tranquil and the plush carpet felt soft underfoot.  It felt a little strange being in a place of worship in some ways completely foreign to those I am used to, and on the other hand, exactly the same.

We also had the opportunity to see the Topkapi Palace and grounds.  I was disappointed with the poor lighting of the antiquities and the treasures.  Imagine,  there were two solid gold candle sticks weighing 48 kilos each and encrusted with thousands of diamonds. There were many such valuable, bejeweled items that the Sultan would have used on a daily basis.

The one thing I came away with was that Istanbul really grew in power and wealth mainly due to its strategic and ideal location for trade. Super cool place to visit.  We would welcome another chance to see more another time.