La Spezia, Italy :: The Market

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I was able to shuffle around the watch schedule with my shipmates to have a full day off on Wednesday.  Getting to start your day ashore at 0800 is pretty awesome. I had done a bit of research the last time I was in port (i.e. I visited the tourist information center) and so while I was ashore on Tuesday I got a fresh train schedule.  I've been absolutely itching to get to Cinque Terre - it didn't work out for me last time but this time I had all my ducks in a row before we even got into port!

What's really great is that one of my watch partners has the travel bug like me!  This  part of the going ashore equation is actually pretty critical....not that I mind a bit of solo travel....it is just so much more fun when you have someone to bounce around with!

We weren't going to be able to get on the train until about 1000 and so we spent a bit of time in La Spezia. As we were walking around downtown on Tuesday we saw them packing up a farmers market.  We looked at eachother and both went, 'yep' this is how we'll kill our morning waiting for the train!

We walked straight to the market and it was packed with produce, fresh seafood, meats, cheeses, bread.  You name it they had it. 

We got some sliced meat and cheese for our day and we also bought some fresh fruit.  It was so cheap!  We probably spent about 5 Euro total - which is only 7 bucks - and had a bag full of food!

Next it was on to a bakery for some goodies and a little cappucino (since I had learned that espresso wasn't much to my liking....with it not having any milk and all).  I tried to order a latte....and ended up with a glass of steamed milk!  Ha!  I chugged it down and then ordered a cappucino where I got a well delivered kick in the pants!

This is where my posts of La Spezia will end because with our bellies full we walked to the train station....where the day really began....we were off to the Cinque Terre!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La Spezia :: Out and About.

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This is actually my second time calling on the port of La Spezia, Italy.  I love repeat port calls.  Especially when the port is as cool as La Spezia!  The more you visit a port the better you get to know it - duh.  The better you get to know it the more efficient you are when you only have a few hours ashore!  Efficiency ashore is uber important.  After having a cup of espresso I managed to walk around the city, go grocery shopping, have dinner at a cute cafe, and buy a puff coat and some other cute accessories at Zara.  Three hours baby. Oh, and I also visited the tourist information center for an updated train schedule so that I could plan my adventures for the following day. 

One slight bummer is that everything shuts down between 1230 and 1530.  Which means, that for a large portion of my time ashore there was nothing open!  This didn't end up being too big of a deal because the restaurants stayed open and we were able to walk to the grocery.

It was great to get a second go at La Spezia - my first trip through was a bit of a whirlwind because I was getting relieved and flying home.  This time through I had nothing on my mind other than enjoying myself! 

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A Very Cretan New Years!

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We pulled into Souda Bay, Crete on New Years Eve.  We were met with fog, rain and snow on the mountains.  It looked like winter!

 

Welcome to Crete!

 

After a watch full of hooking up hoses, commencing discharge, blabbity blabbity, I took a nap and went ashore to ring in the New Years!

It was back to Chania (I was lucky enough to get ashore here during my last rotation).

My favorite area is the old harbor.

 
 

 

 

 

I learned that Chania had once been under Venice's rule (from about 1212 lasting 4 centuries).  This certainly explains the Venitian architecture and artistic influences. 

 

 

 

After walking around the town for a bit I ended up in an alley that was strung with colorful glass lamps.  Every single lamp was a different design - some were quite colorful and almost all of them were fairly ornate.  I kept cruising around and ended up  finding an aparment that had its door wide open.  I'm not sure if it was an open house or if they simply wanted people to take a peek and wish to stay.  It was a studio apartment that was adorable. 

 

 

 After beeboping around for a bit it was time to have some food!  Lets order every appetizer!  Is there a better way to eat when travelling?  I think the Saganaki might be my favorite - tomato with feta warmed up and spread on bread ours had shrimp and prawns in it...yum-o!  (The stuffed grape leaves take a close second.)

 

 

Back to work after having such good food isn't easy!  It's also very hard to wake up at midnight if you've spent your afternoon ashore - ha!

Leaving Souda we watched the sun set behind her.  All in all it was a pretty lovely way to spend the New Years!

 

 

HOW DID YOU ALL SPEND YOUR NEW YEARS?!

Gibraltar :: The Monkeys!

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OH. MY. GOD.  THE MONKEYS!

 

 

This was HANDS DOWN my favorite part of the Gibraltar tour.  I've been going through my photos of monkeys for days and days and days.....I couldn't narrow it down!  I finally decided to post every photo that was even quasi decent.

Now, technically the monkeys aren't monkeys - they're apes.  But when I think ape I think Gorilla...and these monkeys were small enough to sit on your head....I know because the monkeys sat on my head!  SERIOUSLY.

When you get to the 'top of the rock' there is a large monkey population.  They are probably the largest tourism draw on the island - and they know their business.  They steal things from you...jump on your tour van and grab the wheel....steal treats from your driver....pounce on your head when you aren't looking....pounce on your back and crawl up to your shoulder so that your tour guide has to feed them to make them happy...I'm telling you, they know their job...which is...entertain the tourists damnit!

When we got to the tippy top of the rock their was a little family a Mom, Dad and two babies.  Ridiculously cute.  The Mom was picking lice out of the Dad and the babies were playing nearby.  One of the babies comes over to bother the parents and the Dad literally swats him away and makes a face!  Ha!  Then the babies move further away and start mock fighting with eachother.  It was awesome. 

I also really liked the mom with her baby playing with a discarded plastic bag.  They looked so lovingly at eachother!

Big Papa sleeping near the swings kinda cracked me up....he was probably the biggest monkey I saw.

I have a bunch of photos of the monkeys scaring the crap out of me as the pull my hair and sit on my shoulder...sometimes dragging my shirt off my shoulders....risque little monkeys!

This is the last of my Gibraltar series but, if you ask me, I saved the best for last!  (The Mom, Dad and babies were my favorite....)

Which ones were your favorites?!

(Don't forget you can easily scroll through this gallery by clicking on an image - there are about fifty so you'll need to open tabs 1,2 and 3....)

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