DAY 102 - APRIL 15, 2007
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2007
1
14
15
Trip End
May 29, 2007
Sevilla, Spain
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Happy Tax Day to one and to all! I am currently reading about the worst storm New York has seen since 1992 ... do I really need to remind you of all these annoyances? Well, I will share some good news: today was sunny with a high of 79. After 100-plus days here I have concluded that if this isn't paradise, then I will pay the man who finds it.
So, my cruise. After my adventures in Barcelona and Florence, my friend Martin and I made it to Savona on time to embark on our cruise. It's ironic since we took three different trains from Florence to Savona with nothing more than a hiccup; if my travel arrangements were to discombobulate, I had assumed it would be during this stage, not during the two days prior. Go figure. Our room was fine, except we didn't have a window, so we could not decipher 3 p.m. from 3 a.m. Hey, it made afternoon naps a cinch.
Cruises may be expensive, but you do get bang for your buck. We had transportation to six cities - many of which are difficult to get to through other means - and we ate about $600 worth of food. On top of this, we had unlimited access - while open - to the gym, pool, sauna, and Jacuzzi. Not a bad life.
So, the cities: Naples, Palermo, Tunis, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, and Marseille. I could expound on each of these for a page each, but here is the executive summary.
Naples is a large port city with lots of history. Martin and I took the local commuter rail to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, some 30 minutes from the bustle of Naples. Pompeii is famous for being covered in volcanic ashes for 1600 years after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. As a result, while much of the city was destroyed, much of it is preserved incredibly well. You can clearly make out where the streets, sidewalks, and houses were. It has a few amphitheaters and a PHENOMINAL coliseum. It's in much better shape than the one in Rome or the one in Italica that I visited earlier this semester. We finished off our day with some pizza ... and it was just as good as advertised. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would have approved.
Palermo, the capital of Sicily, has one of the most majestic topographies on God's Earth. While many of the cities we saw have a similar backdrop, I felt that Palermo's is the best: a city running along the Mediterranean with a mountain range back behind the city. We ascended - somewhat slyly to avoid security - to the top of Palermo's palace to soak in the sights. It really makes sense that years ago a civilization chose this location to build a city: you have the port, weather, and protection from attack (the mountains). Just gorgeous.
Tunis is not nearly as poor as the Moroccan cities I saw. In fact, it has a main drag that is reminiscent of a grand Parisian boulevard. However, parts are clearly poor which is evident especially in the Medina. Martin and I spent time in both the wealthier section and the poorer one. In the former, we enjoyed sweet crepes, in the latter, we helped a man push his car off the sidewalk onto to the street. We also jumped on the local metro, which opens its doors at each station while the train is still moving a good 10 m.p.h. You think that would be a lawsuit in America?
Mallorca has two sides, one which is traditionally Spanish, on the other, you can find a McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Subway within a city block. For lunch I had nachos at a Tex-Mex bar and for dinner I had Spanish pork chops. The best of both words. Needless to say this city wasn't quite as interesting as the others, not to mention the weather that refused to cooperate.
Barcelona requires no introduction. I saw nothing new from my first two stops there. You can read about it in detail in my blog from DAY 54.
Finally, Marseille. Marseille, along with Florence, is my favorite city in Europe. Of course this is misleading since I spent all of seven hours there, but I was blown away every minute. My penchant for the city is doubly misleading since it was my first time in the country of France. With all this being said, it features a wonderful port that feed into the center of the city. It has a Notre Dame atop a hill that is beautifully done, with scenic views of the city, no less. Its beaches are tame, but pretty. It's park, outstanding. The food, just what I expected (I had pate and steak with fries). It has a quaint trolley system that operates through the center of the city. The list goes on and on. Lastly, I'd like to mention that the people in the city are ethnically diverse - whites, blacks, some Asians, and some Arabs.
After we disembarked, Martin and I took a train to Milan where we were to fly out of. At the airport, as I was checking in, I am informed by an Iberia representative that my ticket to Barcelona (I was to transfer there again to Sevilla) had not been confirmed. I offered my reservation code to the woman checking me in, but she said that I only had a "reservation" not a "confirmation." In other words, my credit card didn't go through and I never bought my ticket, unbeknownst to me. It would have been nice if Iberia informed me that this was the case. Anyway, I was forced to buy a new ticket. Unfortunately, the flight I wanted to take at 6:30 p.m. was booked. So what did I do? I took two buses from one of Milan's airports to another and flew non-stop to Sevilla 12 hours later at 6:30 a.m. That flat-out sucked. When I returned home, my luggage was waiting for me.
Phew. Okay, this weekend was much more tranquil and required much less traveling. I joined my program on a trip to Minas de Rio Tinto and Aracena. Minas de Rio Tinto (Mines of the Red River) is located about 40 minuted from Sevilla. We threw on hard hats and checked out a mine that feeds into a gorge. In the center of the gorge is a lake, literally red in color do to the minerals in the surrounding stones. It is very acidic, but remarkably, some microorganisms are capable of living in it. The surrounding earth is the same red color; in fact, NASA has done research there to enhance their understanding of Mars, since the planet is thought to have the same minerals.
We followed this with a trip to Aracena, a cozy, little, whitewashed town. The centerpiece is its enormous cave with ceilings that are 50 meters tall. The water inside is so pristine that the local community uses it as their drinking water. Inside, stalactites, stalagmites, and other geological formations are rife. Finally, outside, sitting atop the cave is a 13th Century Templar church. Adios till next time.
