Hot as Hades Tour Port 3: Kusadasi, Turkey (Ephesus) - Part 1: the House of the Virgin Mary

Port 3 was another early morning. Again, this was partly because the tours wanted to be some of the first to arrive at the excursion locations as early in the day as possible because of both heat (hot as Hades-hehehehe) and people.

Welcome to Turkey

Just a quick side note...Royal Caribbean is very organized with their excursions. Basically you can purchase your excursions ahead of time, from the point you book the cruise up until 4 days before sailing, and also on the ship, either at the guest services desk or on your television screen in your room. The night before your excursion your tickets are placed in your room, when the stateroom attendant turns down your room for bedtime. The tickets tell you: which excursion you are on, any important information to know before you go (such as how much you might be walking or to wear certain clothing for entrance into some sights) and what time to meet in the designated location. Once you get into the room where all the excursions meet you show the organizer your tickets and she gives you a sticker (which is why in all of our pictures we are wearing colored stickers with numbers on them) and tells you where to sit. The cruise has arranged all of this and the buses are waiting outside. Most times there are multiple buses for the same excursion that might take a little different route or go in the opposite order so that not everybody shows up to the same location at the same time. Once a number group is filled, the excursion organizer tells that group they are free to head down to get on their bus. It is very organized and runs very smoothly. For me, it is worth the money just to not have to figure out anything on my own, but like I said previously, many ports are easy to do on your own or with a guide book, such as Rick Steves. He tells you what sort of transportation to take from the port to get you where you want to be. There were also people whom booked private tours from the different port cities...so what ever floats your boat. :-)

The excursion we booked in Kusadasi, Turkey was to see the House of the Virgin Mary and ancient Ephesus. After getting on our bus, our guide, whom was great, began giving out all sorts of interesting information on Turkey. The port city of Kusadasi is Turkey's second busiest cruise destination (after Istanbul). I have to admit that I don't think I really ever considered Turkey a tourist destination and certainly had no idea how beautiful it was. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snap any photos from the bus as we were driving away from the port to prove it. Turkey's location, though a European city, is part of what is called Asia Minor. If you look on a map, Turkey is really in a volatile location, located just north of Syria and Lebanon. Turkey has yet to be allowed into the European Union, but continues to make positive changes with hopes that they soon will be allowed in. On 1 November 1922, the newly founded parliament formally abolished the Sultanate, thus ending 623 years of Ottoman rule. I found this very interesting that Turkey had been controlled by a Sultan for so long. The first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal, made many radical reforms that contributed to what Turkey is today. The people, still to this day, talk about how great he was and how he changed Turkey for the better. They have given him a name that means "Father of the Turks" and have a huge statue commemorating him.

Our first stop was the House of the Virgin Mary. This sight is believed to be the last residence of the Virgin Mary.  At the beginning of the path there is a sign stating, "Historic Notes about the Shrine".

Here is what the sign says:

This place is considered to be the last home of the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of Jesus Christ.

The facts as found in the Scriptures:

• St. John in his Gospel tells us that Jesus, before dying on the Cross, entrusted to him the care of His Mother when He said: "here is your mother" and from that hour St. John took Her to his own.
• The "Acts of the Apostles" relate how, after the death of Christ, His followers were persecuted in Jerusalem.  St. Stephen was stoned in 37 AD and St. James was beheaded in 42 AD further relating how they divided the world between them for preaching the Gospel: St. John was given Asia Minor. Now Mary had been given to his care and with the persecutions he probably brought Her with him.

The facts are confirmed historically:

There are two evidences:

• The presence of the tomb of St. John in Ephesus
• The presence of the first Basilica of the world dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. Also, the Ecumenical Council of 431 AD was held in Ephesus in this Basilica for the definition of the dogma of the Divine Motherhood of Mary. The Council Fathers write about Nestorius: "...after his arrival to Ephesus, where John the Theologian and the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God..."

Finally we find another oral confirmation preserved faithfully by the Orthodox villagers of Kirkince. These people were the descendants of the Christians of Ephesus. They had passed from generation to generation the belief of the Assumption of Mary in this place they called PANAGHIA KAPULU. They have kept this tradition alive through the annual pilgrimage on the 15th of August.

Discovery of this place:

In the last century there appeared a book: The Life of the Blessed Virgin, published in Germany. The material of this book comes from the revelations of a German nun, Catherina Emmerich. She was invalid and had never left Germany. In her visions she described with amazing accuracy the hills of Ephesus and the House where she saw the Blessed Virgin spending her last years.

Accordingly, two scientific expeditions were organized in 1891 and they found this place in perfect and identical correspondent with the indications of Catherina Emmerich.

The Chapel:

The Chapel was rebuilt upon the original foundations of the house of the Blessed Virgin and have been determined to date back to the 1st and 5th centuries. Part of the building is of the 7th century and the last restoration took place in 1951.

I won't bore those of you whom could care less about the Virgin Mary, but if you are interested just google the House of the Virgin Mary and there are many great reads on the subject and you can see some photos of the inside, as it was not allowed for the tourists to take photos inside the house.

As Rick Steves states in his travel guide, Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports, "The experience of visiting the house is powerful to some, underwhelming to others." I had no expectations on this location, just thought it would be really cool to see such a spot...though I left almost in tears by just how powerful it was for me. The rest of my gang...could have cared less as they were way ahead of me as they kept moving forward while I had a bit of a moment.

Once you arrive at the House of the Virgin Mary you just sort of shuffle along in the line up the path to the House and then you shuffle through trying to take in the humbleness of the space and shuffle right out the backside door. Nobody really stops...it was like you were on a people mover...just moving along without a hitch. Once outside you could light a candle if you wanted, but most headed down to collect the coveted holy water. The tour company provides all the excursion goers with a little clay pot for them to use to collect the holy water.

Though the intentions were good, I think only one of our pots actually held water and made it home with water still inside, but oh well.

After you collect the holy water you move past a wall filled with prayer requests...this is when I started to get emotional. I had a few prayers to add to the wall and it became very overwhelming for me. I just sat in awe of all the prayers that were on that wall. What were they? Had they been answered? What a Holy place to leave our most important/urgent/small in comparison to some thoughts and prayers. Though one of my prayers was large, the other just simple, yet placed amongst all the others that only God knows...

After the prayer wall...it was done...just like that.

I thought it was almost cute and symbolic in a way that many of the prayer requests were written on tissue or kleenex, as was my very own prayers. What else do we normally have in our purses when travelling and what do we use to dry the tears of those very thoughts that we pray for?

I think I will leave you this for today. I will continue tomorrow with Part 2 of Port 3: Kusadasi, Turkey with the ancient city of Ephesus. After writing this and reflecting I just don't think the Virgin Mary should share the spotlight with anything.

Instead I'll leave you with the words of Jesus:

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

John 19:26-27

Hot as Hades Tour Port 2: Athens, Greece

When you get to a port like Athens you just wish there was more time.  This is definitely the downfall of a cruise.  You only have about 6-8 hours in a port city, which makes it absolutely impossible to see all there is to see or even, really, to get a feel for a city.  On a cruise you are forced to see the touristy sites and go, usually at a pretty rushed pace.

Welcome to Greece

Athens was just a short drive from our port city of Piraeus.  The excursion we took was to see the Acropolis and limited sight-seeing through Athens.  The limited sight-seeing really just boiled down to the tour bus driving past other important monuments, but due to time constraints we were not able to get off and snap any photos.  I am sure many people have some idea about Athens, but here are some interesting facts.  Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world, with its recorded history going back around 3.400 years.  WOW!!!!!!  It is believed that Athens has actually been inhabited for at least 7,000 years.  Incredible. Athens, of course, was the location for the first modern Summer Olympic Games and has also held the games in 1906 and 2004. I am not sure if people realize this, but I had no idea, even today the Olympic Torch is lit several months before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece and then after traveling a short time through Greece it makes its way to the host city.  I thought this was super interesting. Here is a picture of the Old Olympic Stadium in Athens.

This area was originally a natural hollow part of the ground between two hills and was transformed by Lykourgos into a stadium in 330-329 BC.  Between 140 and 144 AD Herodes Atticus restored the Stadium giving it the horseshoe construction with a track. This stadium is constructed with the same marble that constructed the Acropolis. It is believed to hold 50,000 - 60,000 spectators.  Again...amazing. I don't think it is used at all, except for tours, but I don't know that for sure.

Before we headed to the Olympic Stadium we actually rushed to the Acropolis to try and beat the crowds. Remember in my Port 1 post I mentioned that a 10 am dock time was rare...well this time we had to be up and ready for our excursion by 7:45 am.  I have not been able to find any reliable numbers on how many people visit the Acropolis each day or year, but Wikipedia states that "Greece attracts more than 17.5 million people each year" and I would assume that most of those people visit the Acropolis, but who knows, my point is...there were A LOT of people. :-)

The Acropolis of Athens is the most important ancient monument of Europe.  At the center of the Athens Acropolis, The Parthenon tower stands over the modern city of Athens as a reminder that Athens was once the greatest civilization ever.  The Acropolis and the white marble of the Parthenon's tower can be seen from almost every part of Athens...and it is quite impressive, I might add.

I know sometimes I give a brief history lesson, but I am not sure you can appreciate things like this if you do not understand a little background.  The Acropolis was first a military fortress because of its location.  From this vantage point you are able to see both towards the land and the sea.

It then became a religious center for worship of the goddess Athena.  It was also used as a residential area until the late 6th century BC.  During 450-330 BC three major important temples were erected: the Parthenon, the Erechteion and the Temple of Nike.  The Acropolis took the form it has today in 480 BC.

As we walked towards the Acropolis we saw what appeared to be some sort of performance venue that looked to still be in use today.  This venue is called the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.  Does that name sound familiar?  Herodes Atticus was also the man whom restored the Old Olympic Stadium.  He was a wealthy landowner, whom was a Greek with Roman citizenship. Though we might refer to this as a sort of Greek Theater, the Greeks use the term odeon, because it was used mainly for musical performances rather than theatrical ones.  Odeon comes from the same root as the English "ode", which is the Greek word for "song".  This large amphitheater built in Roman times seats 5,000 people.  The odeon was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus.

The Parthenon is the most important and most famous of the monuments at the Acropolis and even of all the Ancient Greek civilization.  This temple consisted of 8 columns on each of the narrow sides and 17 columns on each of the long sides.  Again...you cannot even begin to fathom construction like this until you are standing in front of it in awe of how something like this even came about so long ago in such a difficult location.

I don't know if you can tell, but the columns are actually formed by individual circular cuts...they almost look like bottlecaps. Here you can see it a little bit better.

The Erechteion is a Temple built on the part of the Acropolis that was considered the most sacred, for it was a sanctuary where the people worshiped the Gods, Athena, Poseidon and Erechtonius.  It is believed that in this very location a battle between Athena and Poseidon took place for the naming rights of the city...I think it is clear whom won that battle.  

There were three entrances to this temple.  The Porch of Caryatids (the six ladies), the north porch (behind the Erechtheion), and the east end (to the right of the caryatids). The Porch of the Caryatids is a balcony that has six beautiful maidens functioning as columns that support the roof.  All of the maidens nowadays are copies of the originals.  Four of the originals are housed in the Acropolis Museum and one was stolen in 1805 and the sixth is in France.  What amazes me about all of these monuments is the attention do detail.  All of the carvings and decorative borders are incredibly detailed.

The Temple of Athena Nike was built between 427-424 BC.  It is an almost square building consisting of 4 columns at both ends.  This temple used to house a statue of Athena holding a pomegranate, symbol of fertility, in her right hand and a helmet, symbol of war, in her left hand.  The term "Nike" in Greek means victory.  I somehow missed this temple going in, but caught it leaving, not aware at the time what it was.

I also didn't take a picture as we were entering the Acropolis through The Propylaea.  I did get one as we were leaving, but the entrance side is much more impressive with all the marble stairs leading up to the entrance.  We were with a guide and thousands of our closest friends on tours as well, so we were jammed in a tight group rushing to the Parthenon (to get the shaded spot...remember it was hot as Hades).  The entrance gate is called The Popylaea and is the monumental gateway of the Acropolis.The Propylaea was constructed in just 5 short years (437-432 BC).  Here is just a little of what I captured as we were leaving.

The Acropolis is incredibly old and with age (and war) comes deterioration and destruction.  Beginning in 1984 the renovation began on the Parthenon and some of the buildings surrounding it.  In many of my pictures you can see the modern day scaffolding and construction materials.  This renovation project first involves categorizing every single stone of the Parthenon.  Next, archaeologists hope to put the 70,000 piece puzzle back together again.  Whenever possible, original materials are being used.  New marble, cut from the same quarries, are being used to replace damaged and missing marble.  You can see is some of the pictures the "whiter" sections or patches.  With time these "patches" should age to become the same color as the old marble.

As you leave the Acropolis you leave through the Beule Gate.  This doorway was built by the Romans around 267 AD.  During Roman times this gate was the official entrance to the Acropolis, making the Propylaea entry even grander.

I also included a picture of an olive tree in this collage because Greece has more than 100 million of these trees. Olive trees are often called "the gift of Athena to Athens."

We were able to spend about 30 minutes in the little town of Plaka for souvenirs.  I will blog at the end about some of our finds along the way.  On our drive back to the boat I was able to just take in a bit of Athens.  I find that with each European city we visit I tend to notice little things quickly.  I found that Athens was quite clean and (in the areas we drove) lacked the graffiti that we see plastered on much of Madrid and other European cities.  There were also many Greek Orthodox churches.  Each church is a sight in itself. They were all ornate and beautiful with the quintessential dome adorning the tops of most if not all the churches. We were also able to get just a glimpse of the Temple of the Olympian Zeus.  According to Rick Steves, this is the largest temple in ancient Greece, which took 700 years to complete.  At completion, it was 360 feet by 145 feet, consisting of two rows of 20 columns on each of the long sides and three rows of eight columns along each end.  Though today, only 15 of the original 104 columns remain standing.

The beauty of having to get up early for an excursion allowed us to be back on the boat in time for a late lunch (though I was dying to find an authentic Greek gyro joint) and a little time for relaxation before we began cruising to our next destination: Kusadasi, Turkey, where we strolled the ancient Greek city of Ephesus and visited the House of the Virgin Mary.  And we thought the Acropolis of Athens was impressive...

Hot as Hades Tour Port 1: Messina, Italy

Our first port on our 7 night cruise was Messina, Italy, which is the third largest city on the island of Sicily.  We made it into port around 10 am.  This was a rare port for us because we actually made it to port a little bit later in the morning.  Normally, we arrived in ports in the wee hours of the morning and would wake up to being in a new spot, but this time we actually got to watch the boat dock itself, which is incredible.  It really is amazing what these ginormous ships can do.  Here was our view as we were docking:

Messina is located on the northeast corner of Sicily.  It is almost literally where the boot of Italy is kicking Sicily.  The body of water seperating Sicily from mainland Italy is called the Strait of Messina.

We took the excursion off of the ship that went to Mount Etna and the little village of Taormina.  Mount Etna is an active volcano located on the island.  It is the tallest active volcano on the European continent.  It is 2 1/2 times taller than Mount Vesuvius.  Only Mount Teide, located in the Canary Island of Tenerife surpasses it's height.  We visited Mount Teide during Spring Break this year and so we were looking forward to seeing another volcano and comparing the two.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity.

Our next top was a short one, but who can come to Italy and not try a cannoli.  The kids didn't love them, but I thought they were scrumptious. A little background on the cannoli.  It actually originated in Sicily and is described as a Sicilian pastry dessert.  Basically the cannoli is a tubed-shaped shell of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet and creamy filling made from ricotta cheese.  Ours had a little sprinkle of pistachio nuts and powdered sugar as well.  

Our final stop on our excursion was the small town of Taormina.  This was such a picturesque little town. Our guide told us that this town is very popular amongst celebrities.  One of the main sites to see in Taormina is the Ancient Greek theatre.  This is one of the most celebrated ruins in Sicily, but unfortunately we didn't make it there.  We had two hot and hungry kids (and Chad) whom didn't want to trek the 30-45 minutes of our hour and a half stay, so food prevailed ruins this time.  It is said that Taormina has popular beaches along the Ionian sea and the water is remarkably warm and high in salt content.

This little town is certainly a location I could go back to and just RELAX near the water.  It was so beautiful...and hot!  We returned back to the ship with only an hour to spare before we disembarked for our next destination: Athens, Greece.  We had an "at sea" day in between Sicily and Greece and lost an hour of time, but I won't bore you with our day of relaxation on the ship. :-) So next up: Athens, Greece and the Acropolis.

Cruising...The Ultimate Mom Vacation

Wow!!!!  Well we have just returned from an almost 2 week vacation in the Eastern Mediterranean.  We have given our trip a name, "The Hot as Hades Tour".  We were so blessed to be able to take a week long cruise beginning in Rome, Italy and going to 4 other ports and then extending our trip a week more to explore Rome and Venice.  I am going to blog about each location separately, but wanted to talk a little about taking a cruise.

Since being in Europe we have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit.  We have gone by pretty much all means of transportation...planes, trains and automobiles...but the ultimate is by far the cruise ship.  This trip was our second family cruise and I want to just give those travelers that have not considered a cruise as a means of transportation a little inspiration.

I am convinced that a cruise is by far the ultimate mom vacation.  Both of our cruises have been with Royal Caribbean and we are beyond impressed with all they have to offer.  They offer something for parents, singles, couples without children, retirees and even the kids.  Our kids absolutely love cruising because Royal Caribbean has an incredible program for the kids called, "Adventure Ocean".  This place is the bomb diggity for kids of all ages.  During "at sea" days, Adventure Ocean is open for most of the day to entertain the kids.  Basically...it really is a glorified childcare program, but the kids LOVE every second of it...and it is free of charge.  They play games, do science experiments, have friendly competitions, arts and crafts and so much more.  It is a place for all the kids on the ship to make friendships and do activities appropriate for their ages.  During "port" days Adventure Ocean does stay open for those children that do not wish to get off of the boat (or parents that wish to explore the port city without children in tow).  Adventure Ocean has sessions throughout the day.  They have the morning session (9-12), the afternoon session (2-5), the evening session (7-10) and the coveted late night party session (10-2 am).  The late night session is for a small fee, but that is when they have themed "party" nights.  Our kids literally wait outside the door until it is time for them to go in for each session.  They just can't get enough of it.  During our first cruise we learned very quickly how this could benefit Chad and I.  We made the kids come to the "fancy" dinner our first night on the ship.  These "fancy" dinners are basically a 3-5 course meal, depending on how much you want to eat.  The kids were full and fussy after the first course.  The kids much preferred the "buffet" style dining.  So from that point forward we would take the kids to the "buffet" style dinner and get them off to Adventure Ocean and then Chad and I could get dressed for our "fancy" dinner and have a quiet and enjoyable dinner, just the 2 of us, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!  Wow....that alone is well worth Adventure Ocean.

The food...well you certainly cannot talk about a cruise and not include something about the food.  Our ship had multiple dining rooms.  The Windjammer Café is the "buffet" style of eating.  They had a breakfast spread each morning to include: made to order eggs, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, sausages, bacon, assorted pastries, yogurts, cereals and really any thing you might have for breakfast, they offered. Lunch was usually different pizzas, salad and a ton of toppings, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, pasta and then a country theme.  The kids' favorite were the fish and chips days.  Dinner's in the café were actually pretty similar to what you might find in the main dining rooms, just in a much more casual fashion. They also usually had fresh sushi and an Asian inspired rice and/or noodle dish along with a soup.  They had soups and breads in the other part of the café along with a sort of tapas/antipasto assortment such as salamis, cheeses, olives and breads.  In the main dining rooms they also served breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We only really discovered what the dining room had to offer for other meals besides dinner on the last "at sea" day.  It appeared that there was actually a menu to choose from.  I don't know if it was the same each day or different.  I wish we would have discovered it and were able to utilize it more, but again, with the kids they prefer the buffet style of getting to choose what they want from a huge array of choices, so they were not happy the day we sat in the dining room for lunch. The dinner in the main dining areas are really a huge part of the "cruising" experience.  We opted for the My Time Dining option where we could make a reservation for a different time each night if we wanted to.  This also allowed for us to eat just the two of us each night, but I don't think we would have minded being with a group at times either.  I think half the fun of a cruise is all the different types of people from all over the world that are on the boat as well.  The dinner is a true multi-course meal.  You could choose a starter, soup and/or salad and an entrée or you could get multiple starters and multiple entrees if you wished. For me, it was too much food. I started out having a starter, salad or soup and an entrée, but by the end I was down to a starter and an entrée.  It was so much.  The starters usually included luxuries such as escargot, scallops, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, and so much more.  There were usually 5 different choices of starters a night along with 2 different soups and salads.  Then the entrée...well they were all so yummy.  Prime Rib, lamb, steaks, pastas and again, much more. There was usually a theme in the dining room as well.  Depending on what port we were in influenced the ingredients.  Last, but not least...DESSERT!!!!  Holy Cow, like we had any room at this point.  All of the desserts were divine and I was not disappointed in any of the offerings, chocolate cake, cheesecake, chocolate mousse, key lime pie and on and on and on...

I think most people, myself included, are/were afraid of the whole cruising process.  It seems a bit daunting and can get expensive.  I think what I have learned is that it really can be as expensive or as cheap as you'd like.  Obviously it costs money, but there are so many stateroom options.  You can be in an interior stateroom, which can start at just $100 a cruise day/person all they way up to balcony suites starting at around $200 a cruise day/person and in all rooms I believe the 3rd and 4th passenger are at a discount.  No matter what sort of room you stay in you still enjoy all the same amenities as a cruiser staying in a fancier suite.  You still get all the same food options, can enjoy all the same shows, partake in all the same activities, lay out by the same pool and the list goes on.  We have opted for the balcony suites both cruises.  This is partly because we do spend time in our room.  I would much rather be in the sun reading my book on my own balcony then with a ton of people on the top decks, but I also take part in that experience from time to time.  Another expensive part of cruising is the excursions.  For ease and enjoyment we do usually book the excursions through the ship, but this is not necessary.  There are many books out there helping you plan your DIY excursion at many popular ports.  This can save a ton of money doing your own excursions.  Of course you will incur, possibly, depending on where you live, airfare to the cruise port location and any lodging before or after the cruise.

Another thing I think about when I am planning our cruises and "justifying" the price is what would it cost to do everything on our own.  On this last cruise alone we saw 5 ports spanning over 3 countries and a few islands associated with those countries.  If you tried to plan a trip seeing all the locations that you get to see on a cruise ship I think the cost would be much more expensive.  Cruising is one of the few vacations that I, a mom, can actually RELAX!!!!  I don't know that I ever really relax to that level.  The kids get to go to Adventure Ocean and play with other kids their age, we all get incredible meals prepared for us for every meal of the day (that I don't have to prepare nor clean up nor shop for), Chad and I get a "romantic type" dinner EVERY NIGHT, Chad and I actually get a few hours each day ALONE, we get to see incredible sights all around the world and I didn't have to plan out all the specifics of what to see and how and I can just sit on the balcony and read my book and watch the waves.  For those reasons alone this experience is truly PRICELESS!!!!!

I could go on for hours on the benefits of cruising.  I can't even begin to explain all there is to do on the boat itself.  There are multiple bars that appeal to different sorts of people, there are Las Vegas type shows every night, there is shopping and eating, casino, discos, spas,  our boat had an ice rink, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, basketball court, swimming pools, hot tubs and an inline skating rink.  The lists just go on and on.  We certainly have had the "ultimate" cruise experience just with the fact that we are already in Europe.  I can't speak much on the destinations from the states, but I will certainly be looking into it for when we return to the good 'ol U S of A.  I don't know if we will be able to squeeze in one more cruise next summer before we return, but we are going to try.  We really do love every second of it and hope that you will take a moment to look into it for yourselves.  Remember, there are many companies that provide cruises, many different destinations and if you choose and book early you can pay it off a little each month.

I hope you enjoy the idea of possibly planning your next vacation and coming soon you can read all about our incredible destinations...the first destination will be Messina, Italy on the Island of Sicily. I will tell you about our excursion to include a volcano, cannoli's and a cute little village overlooking the water.

Our ship was the Navigator of the Seas and was just incredible.

Ceramic shopping in Puente Del Arzobispo

Holy Cow!!!!! Long time no hear/see from me. The good news is that we have been busy seeing and doing many things around Europe.  The bad news is that I am WAYYYYYYY behind in telling all of you about our great adventures. I am going to approach this catch up blogging as I would a scrapbook.  I am going to start with the most current and go backwards.  It has been over a year since I blogged last...so I have A LOT of catching up to do. :-)

I am not sure what you think of when you think of Spain.  I don't even remember what I thought of before I moved here.  Unfortunately, most European countries are not really in the "Marketing" business.  They don't recognize their "treasures" because they have done their certain trade for generations and generations.  It is just their way of life.  Living in Madrid now for just over 18 months, we as foreigners, hone in on these "treasures" pretty quickly and the American in us wants to business plan for them because we recognize how unique their products are.  They don't see it as such.  The "treasures" I have discovered while living here so far: olive oil, wine, jamon, olives, Manchego cheese and ceramics, to name the highlights.  This time around I am going to tell you what I know and love of the ceramics here in our region of Spain.

This past week some friends and I took a trip to one of our favorite places to buy ceramics.  If you didn't know about this "treasure" of a place you would never in a million years locate it.  It is in a little town called Puente del Arzobispo located about an hour and half south of Madrid. This unassuming little town is full of ceramic shops...(and cake, well that is for another day).  There are actual storefronts, and then there is De la Cal.  Now, when it comes to the ceramics in Spain you can almost tell where a piece is from just by the design and colors. Each family has its own unique pattern and style of painting...yes all these pieces are still painted by hand.  De la Cal has their own pattern and depending on where they are shipping the items depends on the colors.  For instance, the little town of Segovia, located about an hour north of Madrid, gets some of their pottery from De la Cal and they have their own color scheme called...wait for it...Segovia. :-0 

 

 Here is the glamourous entrance to De la Cal.  See what I mean...would you ever in a million years be able to find this. Never judge a book by its cover.  What lies inside this faded, rusty gate will knock your socks off.  Let me give you a little background on De la Cal...well...as much as I know.  They are a family of five generations that have hand painted and still hand paint beautiful pottery. They do have some large clients.  They do ship all over, but I am sure you would have to order enough to make it worthwhile for them.  One of their big clients is Columbia Restaurant in Florida.  Now, I may be mistaken, but I think this restaurant is the oldest restaurant in Florida.  If you google Columbia Restaurant and go to their shop tab...you will see De la Cal's Sangria Pitchers made just for them.  I of course have a picture as well below.  These were getting ready to be shipped out.  The woman in charge now, Ana, is phenomenal and the sweetest thing going. What I always notice from these types of families is that their work ethic is outstanding.  They work extremely hard and are very accomodating.  In the winter their factory is freezing cold and in the summer it is excruciating hot. I am sure they do all they can to keep costs as low as possible.

 

 

Now to show you and tell you about their "treasures".  What I especially love about De la Cal and what makes them "unique" to me is that they will customize any of their pieces in whatever colors you want...and if it is a successful color scheme they just might name it after you.  The color schemes that I know came about because of  the "Americans" and I think one "Brit" are the Tiffani, Ashleigh and the Belinda.  The first time I went to De la Cal I brought pieces of my current dishes for them to match.  Though, of course, it turned out beautiful, it just wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

 

 

 So, this was my first round.  I still love these pieces and will use them, well have used them, but wait til you see the others.  I will save that for in just a little bit.  I want to show you a little of their warehouse.  It is located on, what appears to be, a little farm. When you come in this big green gate they have chickens and dogs pinned up.  It is just so "typical" really.  They might live right on the property, I am not sure.  You walk up a fairly long dirt driveway to get into their warehouse.  When you arrive in their warehouse there is pottery everywhere.  They have pieces that are formed and drying, pieces waiting to be painted, pieces waiting to be fired, pieces that have been ordered and are waiting to be picked up and pieces waiting to be shipped out...all on this main floor of the warehouse.

 

 

They also have an upstairs.  On the upper floor they have pieces that you can purchase right there...I suppose you could think of it as an "outlet" or maybe even the "seconds" so to speak.  Maybe these are pieces that didn't pass their quality control test to be sent to a customer or maybe the customer decided it wasn't to their liking or maybe they are "discountinued" patterns or types of pieces or have some small defect.  I am not sure, but it is always fun to go up and look around upstairs.  It is extremely dusty up there, but you never know what you will find.











 

I cannot even put in words how much I love this place.  You can sort of tell by these pieces what their signatures are.  The flower on the vase on the right is one.  You can also see this flower in my platter above.  Another signature are the arches with a design within the arch.  This is seen throughout their sangria pitchers, vases and copas.  Some traditional pottery designs of Puente del Arzobispo are bird and hunting scenes.  De la Cal does these as well.  I believe their signature colors are blue and yellow, which you will see below, but like I said that have created some amazing pieces for us "Americans".  If you were to go to their website you would see mostly these types of peices:

This is a sort of fancy filigree design.  It looks very regal to me.  I bet it is quite the story to hear about how they came up with their "signature" design.  Speaking of designs and colors...many of the "Americans" or foreigners in Madrid, per se, order the Tiffani style.  Tiffani was an American whom lived here and wanted a design that reminder her of Spain.  She basically started with the idea of the colors of the Spanish flag and left that idea with the painters and designers at De la Cal.  The pattern and colors have evolved over the years and, of course, each piece is different.  My most recent pieces are a little different from the pieces people have gotten a few years ago.

Sangria pitcher, personalized, along with copas

Tres pisos frutera.  Three tiered.

Close up of the Sangria Pitcher.

 WOW!!!!!!  If this doesn't scream, "I am from Spain" then I don't know what does.  Isn't this one of the most beautiful sights ever... The pattern seems to have evolved to be more colorful throughout the years.  I am guessing because people have requested all sorts of color combinations and they are not about to waste their resources, so they start to use the colors they have, to make it even better.  As we spoke to Ana this time she mentioned to us that we have an "exclusive" color scheme.  She does not offer these color choices to her mainstream clients, though she should becasue they are beautiful.  You have to know what the color scheme is named in order to place your order.  I suppose Europeans are not as flashy as Americans so they are drawn to the much more subdued tones.  What is the saying...Go big or go home. 

Here is an example of the Ashleigh:

Again...holy cow are you kidding me...beautiful.  This color scheme came about when "Ashleigh" was ordering pottery for a wedding gift in the colors of the wedding and now she has a pattern named after her.  Pretty cool!!!! 

Another fun little fact about the pottery in Spain is that each piece has the idea of a signature.  I like to think of it like art...each piece is signed, in one way or the other, by the artist.  The signature basically is the family name or business name and the region or location.  Here are two examples of what De la Cal does:


 

Here you see Ceramica De La Cal (family), Puente Del Arzobispo, Toledo, Espana (location) and Hecho A Mano (Made by Hand).  I have just recently noticed this stamp on their items. It may be new or maybe just on larger pieces.



 

Again...De la Cal (family), Puente and Espana (location).  These are hand painted on most of the pieces that I have.  I only have one piece with the stamp.  We shall see what comes on the pieces that I just ordered.



One other favorite stop of ours when we are in Puente is Cruz Ceramica.   At Cruz you cannot special order items and if you are there and see something you like you better buy it because it might not be there next time and they might never make it like that again.  The Cruz store we go to is run by two sisters.  There storefront is filled with beautiful things, but if they really like you, they let you go to the back warehouse where they house all of their "treasures".  I think if you just walked in off the street, again, you might never know they have a warehouse full of all kinds of things in the back.  We literally pull up cushions and sprawl out on the cement floor digging through the stacks of platters and bowls and whatever we feel like, looking for the "perfect" piece for us.

Here are some Cruz pieces that I have:

Notice right away the difference in both pattern and color designs. Cruz is very intricate and we actually got to observe one of the sisters hand painting a platter.  It is very time intensive as you can clearly see.  The more times we go back it is apparent that they are training the next generation of painters.  The younger generation is a bit more "free" as in the square platter, yet the older generation likes their clean lines and symmetry.  Also notice the CRUZ signature.  They don't specify their location, but most signatures do.  Another little detail on all the platters and some bowls I have noticed, is they are designed with little holes on the back, within the base, for hanging on a wall.

The ceramics are by far one of my favorite things here in Spain and I am sure to leave with quite the collection.  Like I mentioned before, depending on where you purchase the ceramics, the colors and styles will vary.  I will save a comparison of pottery from different regions for a later post.  Today you have just visited Puente Del Arzobispo.  I don't want to overwhelm you all.

Coming from a country where just about everything is mass produced or made in China it certainly is a breath of fresh air to see these amazing small businesses in Spain that are still deeply connected to their roots.

Until next time...

Jamon, jamon and more jamon

When it comes to "jamon" here in Spain the Spaniards DO NOT MESS AROUND!!!!!!  "Jamon" is basically cured ham, but there are many types and characteristics that put all these "jamon's" into different categories.  According to Spaniards...and Wikipedia...the best of the "jamon's" are called "Jamon Iberico" which is made from Iberian pigs.  Often these pigs are specifically black iberian pigs.

Here is what Wikipedia says:

The black Iberian pig lives primarily in the south and southwest parts of Spain, including the provinces of Salamanca, Ciudad Real, Cáceres, Badajoz, Seville, Córdoba and Huelva. It also lives in the southeast parts of Portugal (Barrancos), where it is referred to as porco de raça alentejana.
Immediately after weaning, the piglets are fattened on barley and maize for several weeks. The pigs are then allowed to roam in pasture and oak groves to feed naturally on grass, herbs, acorns, and roots, until the slaughtering time approaches. At that point, the diet may be strictly limited to acorns for the best quality jamón ibérico, or may be a mix of acorns and commercial feed for lesser qualities.
The hams from the slaughtered pigs are salted and left to begin drying for two weeks, after which they are rinsed and left to dry for another four to six weeks. The curing process then takes at least twelve months, although some producers cure their jamones ibéricos for up to 48 months.
In particular, the ibérico hams from the towns of Guijuelo in the Salamanca province and Jabugo in the Huelva province are known for their consistently high quality^{[citation needed]} and both have their own Denominación de origen. Almost the entire town of Jabugo is devoted to the production of jamón ibérico; the biggest producer is 5J Sánchez Romero Carvajal. The town's main square is called La plaza del Jamón.

The hams are labeled according to the pigs' diet, with an acorn diet being most desirable:

• The finest is called jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn). This ham is from free-range pigs that roam oak forests (called la dehesa) along the border between Spain and Portugal, and eat only acorns during this last period. It is also known as jamón ibérico de Montanera. The exercise and diet have a significant impact on the flavor of the meat; the ham is cured for 36 months.
• The next grade is called jamón ibérico de recebo. This ham is from pigs that are pastured and fed a combination of acorns and grain.
• The third type is called jamón ibérico de cebo, or simply, jamón ibérico. This ham is from pigs that are fed only grain. The ham is cured for 24 months.

Jamón ibérico on a jamonera

Additionally, the word puro (pure, referring to the breed) can be added to the previous qualities when both the father and mother of the slaughtered animal are of pure breed and duly registered on the pedigree books held by official breeders.^[1]
The term pata negra is also used to refer to jamón ibérico in general, and may refer to any one of the above three types. The term refers to the color of the pigs' nails, which are white in most traditional pork (Sus domesticus) breeds, but black for the Black Iberian breed. While as a general rule, a black nail should indicate an Ibérico ham, there are cases of counterfeits, with the nails being manually painted.
Bellota jamones are prized both for their smooth texture and rich, savory taste. A good ibérico ham has regular flecks of intramuscular fat (marbling). Because of the pig's diet of acorns, much of the fat is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol.
The fat content is relatively high compared to jamón serrano, thus giving a rich taste.

Okay...so there is a little background on this treat that Spain is so famous for.  Now that the holidays are upon us this commodity is a hot one.  This is a common gift given during the holidays or common just to have ready for guests.  We noticed these legs of ham hanging on the walls of the supermarkets when we arrived this summer.  We were a bit awestruck at the bizarreness, the smell and the number of these hanging on the walls.  Depending on the category these "jamon's" fall into depends on the price.  These things run from about $40 per kilogram to about $170 per kilogram.  This is crazy.  This all brings us to today.  We had to run to the Carrefour (similar to Walmart) and they have tons of salespeople roaming around with their "product" they are trying to sell...just like Costco, because it is the holidays.  Well their was a representative there today from 5J, which is the biggest producer of these glorious hams.  The sales rep shaved off a little slice of the leg and it literally melted in your mouth.  This was so incredibly delicious that we had to bring some home.  So...of course...just like everything else there are a gazillion choices.  We, obviously, took a packet of the one we just tasted and decided we wanted to see if price "really" did make a difference or were they selling a name.  So the packet we knew we would love was 129 euros per kilo...we only bought a .9 gram packet which was around 12 euro.  We had to pick another kind so we could conduct our test...so we also bought a packet that was 99 euro per kilogram.  I think we got about the same size packet for around 9 euro.  Trying to make our choice was very difficult because of how many types there are.  We decided to stick with the jamon iberico de bellota category.

We got home super excited to conduct our own taste test.  Hands down the pricier jamon took the cake.  The other one was good, but you really can tell a difference.  We like to eat our jamon with queso (particularly manchego...which is another thing Spain is famous for).  The pricier jamon we discovered, that we didn't want to eat it with anything, but itself for fear of masking the awesomeness that it was all alone.  Tanner even had his conclusions.  He loved the expensive one by itself, but admitted that he liked the second one with manchego versus all by itself.  I love that they are starting to understand and distinguish some of these cultural differences.

Now, this is mostly a Spain and Portugal treat, but for those of you in the United States I believe you can order this at latienda.com or maybe you may get lucky in a local Spanish or international type marketplace.  The price truly reflects the quality and is just amazing.  I hope that you get a chance or opportunity to try this lucious appetizer and it would be worth a trip to Spain just for the jamon alone.  Some jamon iberico, manchego, baguette and a glass of red wine...now that is a spanish slice of heaven.

The jamon's line the walls.  There is actually the equivalent to an entire Walmart size aisle dedicated to all of the jamon's.

You can sort of see the "goo" on the outside of these legs.  This is basically a greasy mold type substance.  You obviously cut that off, but they smell terrible.  They have special canvas bags that they place these in when purchased.  They are bags shaped like a ham leg with a handle.

Here are a few legs that have been partially carved.  After speaking with some Spaniards these really don't go bad.  Because of the curing process they can last for months in this state.  The Spaniards say that it really isn't a problem, becuase they don't last long.  Once you start cutting on the leg you just cover it with plastic wrap so that it doesn't dry out.  The key is to shave off the meat in paper thin slices.  This is a true art form and is just amazing to watch.

Challenges, challenges and more challenges

Well...I have been terrible about blogging lately.  I believe it has been two months since I have blogged.  I suppose there is a good and a bad to this.  The bad part is that you all don't get to read about our experiences, but I suppose the good part is that our experiences are feeling a bit more normal and less overwhelming and I hadn't felt the need to rush and blog about it.  As I was chatting with a friend today about how terrible I am at blogging, I thought, I need to be better about this because we can laugh at our experiences here and that may also give all of you a good laugh as well.  So I decided to talk a little about some of our challenges lately where we have had to insert said sense of humor.

We have been here in Madrid now for about 4 months.  We are far from "settled", but definitely feel like we are functioning pretty well.  There are many, many challenges that we face each and every day.  Being 4 months into this these challenges certainly don't feel as strange as they used to and we pretty much accept the fact that whatever we are about to do is certainly not going to be easy.  My friend here always says, "Living here is the good life, but not the easy life".  This is soooo in your face true that we have concluded that if we do not have a sense of humor here we will be eaten alive. :-)  I am going to talk a little about such simple things that become so difficult and our "experiences" along the way.

As a military family we have had our fair share of living in different states, different cities, different military posts and many different houses.  Usually when we get to a new spot we have to "cruise" our current city for all of our favorites.  You know, like our favorite stores, favorite coffee shops, favorite salons, favorite restaurants and really anything that we can "relate" to or "recognize".  Well when you transplant to a foreign land there are certainly no familiarities and definitely no "cruising" the city to look because we would surely get lost.  Then add the language barrier and you are certainly set up for disaster.  So let's take a look at what sorts of challenges that we run into.  Imagine the simplicity of these things in the States and you might be able to understand our frustrations.

Imagine for a second what you do in a day...now imagine doing this in a place where nobody speaks your language and you don't speak theirs.  Here is where you absolutely must have a sense of humor, not only at yourself, but also with the situation.  The grocery store...now this is actually getting much, much better.  I can recognize so many more items on the shelves, have found our favorite olives, favorite jamon and favorite cheeses.  This week, for the first time, I was actually successful at getting a certain cut of meat that I needed.  You don't find as many meat choices that are already cut for you out on display for you to just grab and go here.  There are pre packaged meats, but it doesn't compare to what our grocery stores have.  Plus you really need to know what the cut of meat you want looks like because you aren't going to find a chuck roast anywhere, well no roast for that matter, but that is another blog.  For some reason the pork chops here are paper thin with shrapnel.  Shrapnel, you say, ahhhh yes, shrapnel.  The meat seems to be cut with a bit of wrecklessness.  I have to warn the kids before eating their pork chop that they may find little bones in their meat.  I cannot stand this, but it is what it is, so we just deal with it.  Well...yesterday I ran to my local mercado and went back to the butcher and found the cut of meat I wanted.  Well here comes the hard part...I needed to tell him what I wanted.  I wanted that cut of meat cut thicker and I wanted 6.  So....here it goes.  Hola, Buenas Tardes.  Now remember...I have complete survival spanish...I sound like the local village idiot, but at this point if I can get my need across to them then it is a win win. :-)  Esta. Gruesa. Seis.  Well he cut me the most lucious pork chops that we have gotten yet and it was absolutely AWESOME.  Now you can imagine my pride as I just ordered meat from the butcher in a language that I am not even close to native at speaking.  I was on cloud 9.  It sounds so silly to want to call your husband as you leave the store to tell him that you just got pork chops.  This is just a funny situation that if we were home in the States...who cares...do you want some sort of medal because you bought friggin pork chops...well actually in Spain, yes a medal or girl scout patch of achievement would ROCK.

As a girl this next situation is one that I have been thinking about since we got here.  I am not going to lie.  I am extremely high maintenance and I usually have my new salon in my new city picked out before my new curtains go up.  Again...not here.  I went to an Aveda Salon back home in the States and had looked up the local Aveda Salon pretty much as soon as we landed.  I have been telling my husband for the past 4 months that I need to either go down to the salon or attempt to call to see if anyone speaks English.  This is actually a situation where I absolutley NEED the hairstylist to speak English because there can be no miscommunication when it comes to cutting my hair.  We already had this happen to Ellie and that is a whole other story, but she is 6 and I am not and if my hair is cut way shorter than I had expected there will be tears.  Each week I get an email that talks about recent events and goings on in Madrid.  Well each week they have the Aveda Salon in downtown Madrid highlighted and they talk about one of their services they offer.  Last week in this email it said that a brunch had been organized at this Aveda.  At this brunch you got a consult with a stylist, a free manicure and a mini shoulder massage.  I was certainly ALL OVER this one.  I had been wanting to get my foot in the door of this salon since we arrived and what better way than with a group of other people.  Perfect...this was going to be fabulous.  I drop the kids off at the bus and head into the location to catch the light rail into the regular metro station to take the metro into the city because Lord knows you don't want to drive into Madrid at 10 am, plus there probably wouldn't be anywhere to park.  I arrived at the salon a few minutes early so I popped into the Starbucks right across the street.  Just a little side note, I was so excited when I saw Peppermint Mocha on the menu.  I, of course, ordered myself a Peppermint Mocha and just sat in a little bliss of familiarity as Christmas music played in the background.  It was certainly my happy place for a few moments.  It was now time to head over to my brunch event at Aveda.  I walked inside and was greeted by a Bonjour.  What the...I must admit I sort of froze.  All I could think to say was Hola.  Holy Crap why is she speaking French...wait a minute...THEY ALL ARE SPEAKING FRENCH.  I am bad enough with getting by in Spanish and now I am surrounded by people speaking French.  The coordinator of the event, whom I corresponded with in English, did speak English to me as she checked me in.  Come to find out, this was actually a French Club that had arranged this.  I am not sure how I was included in the original email about this event, but I had to look at it...with a sense of humor.  These ladies did speak Spanish, but not English.  Well, a few spoke English, but they all knew each other and were all speaking French.  It was just one of those moments where I thought, "How bizarre".  The positive that came out of the whole thing was that they were able to get me hooked up with a stylist that does speak English and I was able to make an appointment with him for next week to actually get a cut and a color plus I got a free manicure and shoulder massage.  So again a win win.

I will leave you with one last challenge that is sooo super easy to do in the States that you don't even think twice, but now we are going to figure out how to order a pizza. This should be fun.  Ellie and I were leaving girl scouts and we thought it would be great to bring home a pizza.  So we put Domino's in our GPS and go.  Well, you know how GPS's are.  After the fact we find out that there was a Domino's much closer to where we were to start with, but such is life. So it is pouring down rain and Ellie and I are on an adventure.  Any where you go in Madrid parking is a nightmare.  I am sure this is the same scenario in any major city, but a new one for us to deal with and you certainly must perfect your parallel parking skills. Ellie and I find a perfect parking spot.  I attempt to "fit" into in the spot with my super American Honda Odyssey....ummm yeah...if you see a Honda Odyssey it is a 110% that it is an American driving it seeing as they don't make this Honda model here...even when the Guardia Civil sets up check points...they wave on through the obvious Americans...aka Honda Odyssey's.  So I am trying to parallel park the van into a spot I knew for sure we would fit into.  Well I kept running into something.  So I asked Ellie to jump in the back and look out the back window to see what I was hitting.  She, so politely, says, "Mom, you are hitting the car behind you".  Well that certainly explains that.  I think we will just mosey along to a new spot.  We did find a parking spot and now the real challenge begins...to order the pizza. Now, of course, the toppings are pretty similar, except for the fact that it is all in Spanish and the lady taking your order only speaks Spanish.  We were able with not much trouble to order our hawaiian and bacon pizzas or jamon con pina y bacon.  Whenever I do something new for the first time I swear I feel like I have a mini anxiety attack trying to get through it.  I just freeze up and forget all that I know. So after I placed my order she asked me for my nombre.  Well in the midst of my feeling overwhelmed I responded telefono, because I thought she was asking me my number...nombre/number...they sound the same to me. :-)  Well it wasn't until she called the name of the other lady waiting for her pizza when it donned on me that nombre was name.  I totally knew this, but totally had a brain freeze.  If Chad would have been in this situation his response is always, "No speako the Mexicano," which he totally stole from our friend Ashleigh. You can imagine how far this gets him.  Let's just say I do all the speaking when possible.

Until next time...