It's Shopping Day!!!

In the morning, we went to Pitti Palace and its Boboli Gardens. We were kind of museum'd out, so we went through the Palace rather quickly, although the interior was very amazing. Strolling through Bololi Gardens took some time, but we managed to see the important parts in about an hour.

For the afternoon, I just shopped for things made in Italy (and make sure it was not from China). I knew I had to get some kind of souvenirs for my family, lest I won't hear the end of it.

But since we were in the shopping area, we might as well climb the tower of the Duomo (or Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) and get an aerial view over Florence. The line to get into the main church section was super long. However, there was absolutely no line to get into the tower portion. Still, the climb was loooooooooong....


I am NOT going to get into that line!!

The effort was certainly worth it...high above Florence

Tracing the Renaissance

Today was the day for two of Italy's most famous museums: The Accademia Gallery and the Uffizi Gallery. We used Rick Steves audio tour to walk the streets of Florence and two museums to give us a "best of" tour without having to spend hours and hours at each location. Rick's audio tour was great in explaining the birth of the renaissance and took us through many historical art sites that defined the birth of Renaissance.


The City of Florence...I can so get lost here.

Bonte Vecchio is THE bridge to cross

The Accademia Gallery holds the magnificent David sculpture by Michelangelo. Photography was forbidden, but I used my iPhone to secretly take a snapshot...but I was caught and yelled at by one of the museum staff.


Not bad from an old iPhone

I can kind of call myself an artist, but I have never studied art history. I was very enlightened by Rick's explanation of artists in medieval times trying to paint realistic figures with 3D effect on a 2D surface. I have never understood why some old paintings had the figures' head tilt....it was because they were trying to make it look 3D. How interesting!! Eventually, the age of Renaissance sees some of the most realistic paintings ever.

Too bad these museums don't allow photography. Furthermore, they don't sell CD-Roms with jpeg files of the paintings/sculptures. I guess when I return to US, I should hunt down some good hardcover books featuring artworks from these museums.


Sunset by Bonte Vecchio

Drove all day along Italy Coast

As soon as I got off the boat, Howard and I rented a car and drove up to Florence (or Firenz), stopping by Siena and San Gimignano in Tuscany country.

Siena's center, the Piazza del Campo (where they hold yearly horse races called Palio di Siena), is just like the beginning of James Bond's Quantum of Solace. It is vast and very festive.


Piazza del Campo ...imagine horses running in circles here...

The pigeon sure knows how to pose for me

Some ugly church near the Piazza

Walking the streets of San Gimignano felt like living out pages of some Medieval movie like Excalibur or Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. I can imagine knights in armor on horses gallopping through the streets. As interesting as it was, we only spent like an hour or so and hopped back onto the car.

Around 5pm, we finally arrived in Florence...checked into Hotel David by the river, ate dinner and went to bed. The next several days is going to be full of walking...which is good, weight-wise...after all the eating on the ship.

Walking all day in Naples

As soon as I got off the ship at Naples, I took a ferry all the way to Sorrento Penninsula. Climbed multiple steps again to the top and walk the streets.


Morning at Naples Port

Streets of Sorrento

Not a whole lot there...so onto a train to Pompeii.


Ruins of Pompeii...it's acres and acres of this

At Pompeii, the ruins were quite interesting. I was most taken by the thought behind the construction of the baths (one of the site that is mostly intact). It is amazing what engineers can think of back then. I spent a couple of hours there and could have spent another two more, but the ship was to leave fairly soon. So, onto the train, and back to Naples.

There was not a whole lot there (and there was not enough time to go to the Naples National Archaeological Museum) and most of the store fronts were closed because it was Sunday. So, I got back onto the ship fairly quickly, since I have to pack (the cruise docks back at Civitavecchia tomorrow early morning).


Would have hopped onto that bus if there were things to see in Naples...btw, castle is closed for renovation

Donkey Poo of Santorini

Bright and early in the morning, the ship arrived at Santorini. Overhanging the mountains are a City of (tada...) SHOPS!!!! However, the site is like something out of Lord of the Rings...very incredible. I did not join any excursions, so I figured I just stroll the City. I was given options to either take the tram, ride a donkey, or walk to the top of the mountain. I chose walking, because I needed the excercise....


This was a magnificent sight to behold...buildings over a cliff

OMG, I was dodging donkey poop left and right along the steps...and it smelled mighty bad. This is especially bad, since I was huffy and puffy midway up.


Looks familiar, doesn't it?...without the white and blue!

The shops are just like Mykonos, except there was a lot more of it, though there were lots of glasswork that were quite beautiful. Nonetheless, I was outta there by early afternoon, because I have Greek-Street-Shopped-Out.


The reason why the boat was better than being on Santorini...

Mykonos...I have returned!!

The streets of Mykonos are just as interesting to walk as I remembered.


The beautiful Mykonos with its White and Blue

That's our ship!!!!

First Howard and I rented a little Fiat (30 Euro a day) and drove to the beach to spend some hours in the sun. Afterwards, we returned the car and walked the streets. The beauty of the City's white and blue is just so refreshing that I can walk for hours (not to mention all the shops).


Ahhh....even the beach has a view

After several hours of exploring, we went to one of the pubs at the Little Venice and watched the magnificent sunset along with some refreshing Daquiri drinks.


Cocktail by Little Venice watching the sunset

This is what I came for...just as I remembered

We returned to the boat around 9pm and the ship was almost empty (well at least missing all the young folks). But people were still getting off the boat to go ashore to attend some of the nightlife parties on the Island. Well, I guess this Island is just a big party place, since the boat isn't leaving dock until 4am tomorrow.


Shops are open until midnight...

First of three Greek Islands: Rhodes

Rhodes used to house one of the Seven Wonders, the Colossus of Rhodes...however, it has long been destroyed. It would have been great to see the ship go under such statue at the harbor.


Getting off the boat...it's so BIG!!!

On land, there was not whole lot of stuff to do other than walking within the walls of the Medieval section of the City. There were shops everywhere which reminded me of Mykonos (was there back in 1999). Judging from the merchandise, I should be able to get the same stuff at Mykonos, our next port stop. Thus, I held off my spending addiction.


Streets within the Castle Walls of Rhodes

I guess after Egypt, every port stop thereafter is just not as exciting. Can't wait to return to Mykonos tomorrow...walk the streets and witness its magnificent sunset...


Back on the boat...when are we leaving?

It's sunset...we still haven't left yet :(

Dream came true in Egypt

Egypt is the stop that everyone on the cruise came for. We docked at Alexandria and took a bus into Cairo to see the famous Pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza. It has always been my dream to see these wonders of the world.


The the number "3" has such a big significance?

The bus ride was about 3.5 hours. The tour guide was excellent and was very attentive to us tourists needs. There were over 40 tour busses that were filled with passenger from the Solstice....and the local sees $$$$$$!!! I have not been to too many 3rd world country, but this was sure an experience. All the hagglers were waiting for us at the tour stops. They was a dollar for everything, from selling postcards to having their pictures taken. Some scam-artists would trick folks to get on a camel for $5 then charge over $100 to get down (once you got up).

Nonetheless, the wonders were what people came to see. The Pyrimids were spectacular to behold. The Great Sphinx of Giza was as small as what people say. But nonetheless, at least I can say that I have seen one of the greatest wonders of the world.


Guess what is on the opposite side of the Sphinx...Pizza Hut!

This bugger is pretty small

Drama at the port

Before anything started, there was drama. At the Civitavecchia port, there are busses that take passengers from the port gate to the dock. The driver on the bus insisted that no relatively big hand carry-on luggages were to be brought on board, thus must be stored in the cargo. One of the passenger challenged the driver and just outright forced his way to his seat. The driver flipped and made everyone wait.

None of the windows on the bus were opened, so we urged the driver to at least turn on the air-con. After about 15 minutes of requesting, he finally put his key in the ignition and turned on the air-con. People on the bus clapped their hands and said "thank you." The driver, for some reason, took all the applause as some sarcasm, so he turned off the ignition and left the bus. Folks started to leave the bus because it was getting way too hard and some had trouble breathing.

The driver eventually came back and drove us to the dock. The entire ordeal was almost 30 minutes and it was highly ugly. Now I see why Hollywood protrayed traffic arguments on the road as something of a stereotype for Italians.

The boat is HUGE!!! The boat's name is Celebrity Solstice with over 2500 passengers on this Mediterranean trip. The interior is spectacular and very impressive. It is very "green" with solar panels and a living green lawn on the top deck. This ship was just commissioned last year. I think I am going to enjoy being on this boat.


First thing first....PARTY BY THE POOL!!!!

Me by the Indoor Pool

An evening in Rome

Just got into Rome. Tired. Just went out for a quick dinner....didn't know where to go, so just ate at an Italian Resturant by the Coliseum...the pasta there was mediocore. Gotta go to bed and leave for the port at Civitavecchia to board the cruise boat tomorrow morning.


My famous pose at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam during my 3 hour layover...

Train station at the airport waiting for my ride into Rome

Leaving today!!!!

Soooooooo excited to go back to Europe after four years. It is going to be almost 20 hours of travelling time to Rome, with layovers at Amsterdam.

Europe...I am coming back!!!!!

This August marks my return to the beautiful Europe. My vacation has just been approved by my boss!!!!!

I will be flying into Rome, then board a cruise that will take me to Alexandria (Egypt, if it is safe politically), Greek Isles (Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini), and Naples (Italy). Presently, I plan to stay several days afterwards to visit Florence and Venice....these places I did not appreciate when I was a kid back in 1983.

Stay tuned....

We did it!!! My first win!!!!

After four years of returning to tennis, I finally won my first final in a big tennis tournament at Stanford University. My partner, Dai and I, went through five rounds before reaching the finals this afternoon. There were about 64 doubles team from all over USA competiting. We only dropped one set throughout the entire tournament which was the very first match of the tournament.

I liked playing in front of a crowd, especially having friends cheering us on. Our opponents thought they were going to run us over based on how they have dominated throughout the tournament....but we fought hard and stay focused. The final score were 7-5, 7-5.


Dai and I with our Gold Medal!

Uh oh....

As I was driving back to SF from LA, after getting off the boat, the heard on the news radio that during the time I was in Mexico, there was an outbreak of something called "swine flu." The boat made us sanitize everytime we enter a public gathering place, that I hope we are all okay...


View of LA Port from my Stateroom as the cruise comes to an end...

Great fun at Puerto Vallarta!

Puerto Vallarta, I guess, is what I have been looking forward to out of all the port stops.


Greeted by a local

Those who know me knows that I don't like heights. So doing excursions that brings me to "new heights" can both be exciting and scary for me. At this port, I joined the excursion taking me up to the mountains for some zip line action!!!


Dockey or Mule...you tell me!

On the way up to the top of the mountain, we all rode mules (or are they donkeys, I cannot really tell). My mule was so slow that I was the last one to make it to the top. On top of that, the mule walked really close to edges which did not give me a good feeling.


Almost look like a pro...but I was hella scared...

I was so afraid that I might be one of the persons who gets stuck in the middle of the zip line course and the leaders will have to come and rescue me. Fortunatetly, I was easier than I thought. Zipping between hills and over waterfalls were so exciting and exhilarating....I felt like I was in one of those adventure movies where the protagonist had to flee from enemies.


Last Supper made of sand at the beach front

OH NO....Senor Frog is here, too!!!

A view of PV from my Stateroom

Mazatlan....why did we stop here?

There really isn't much to say about Mazatlan. It was outright boring. This is suppose to be some kind of resort town, but since I don't play golf, it really means nothing to me. I just walked and walked around town looking at really nothing. The museums had nothing and the churches are like any other Catholic churches I have seen in the past.


Don't even care what church this is...

Nonetheless, I did get to meet Señor Frog.


It's Senor Frog!!!!!

Sitting at an old restored theatre...borrrrring...

I hurried back onto the boat after a late lunch (which was the highlight) to attend the ice cream social.


Bye bye Mazatlan...not coming back anytime soon!!

Cabo San Lucas Beach and Snorkling

The tender boats took us all on shore to Cabo. Groups are divided according to each party's excursions. I signed up for some kayaking and snorkling near Land's End. The paddling to this Land's End was a bitch....and took some effort. However, the energy exerted was most definitely worth it. The beach was beautiful, but the sand was hella hot...especially since I had no sandles. Not too smart.


Welcome to Cabo!!!!

Sittin' by the Dock of the Bay...

Cove at the Land's End...don't go near there or you'll get sucked in...

On the beach, there was a camera crew shooting some hot couple making out. My guess was that they were filming one of those Latino soap operas I sometimes see on TV.


Another NG Take...the actress could not stop laughing

My experience in snorkling back in Phuket made it easier for me this time...although there was hardly any fish. Everyone was signalling each other if we saw any. I am just glad there was no fish nibbling at me this time. I am still a bit paranoid of some shark or jellyfish attack.