DENVER, COLORADO

When family members move to picturesque locations, they have to know that their relatives will plan a visit. My husband and I both have family in Denver, and it has given us wonderful opportunities to explore the many things to do in the Denver area. This summer, we spent our time in the Denver area exploring coins, tubes, tea, baseball, animals, a weather station, shopping, hiking and eating! Downtown Denver is home to one of the US Mints. We were able to reserve tickets to tour the Denver Mint. We learned about the history of trade and coins in our country. We watched how coins are made today and learned about the history of the metals used to make coins. I thought it was interesting to learn that it costs 2.5 cents to produce each penny. Go figure! After our tour, we walked downtown to eat at the Hard Rock Café. Hey, we had six teenagers with us!

The restaurant is located in the beautiful pedestrian shopping area of 16th Street Mall. After lunch, we spent some time shopping and then headed out for some frozen yogurt and fun toppings! In the evening, we headed east of Denver to the Wild Animal Sanctuary. This is a must see if you love animals and want to support an organization established to rescue abused carnivores. This massive complex allows visitors to walk the mile long elevated cat-walk serving as an observatory to view the rescued animals.

We had a birds- eye view of tigers, bears, wolves, lions, and leopards. We watched the lions relax with each other as they enjoyed the cool evening breeze. The tigers were pacing and wanted to play. The bears were wondering around their playground and some were heading to their cave for the night. The wolves were howling beautifully in their packs. There are posted signs that inform guests about the animals, and why they were rescued and brought to this facility. It felt good to see these animals so healthy and better knowing that our visit would help keep them in this safe place.

We normally go white water rafting while in Colorado but the water level was low this year so we decided to float in tubes down the Boulder River. Sounds peaceful, right? Well, with a steady flow and, true to the namesake, boulders in the river, we were in survival mode as we were tossed and turned downstream avoiding contact with the boulders and our heads. My brother-in-law and I originally planned on a couple passes and quickly decided that we would count our blessings and turn in our tubes and head to downtown Boulder to shop and eat! Boulder is a short drive from Denver and sits in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is home to the University of Colorado, Pearl Street Mall, Celestial Tea, history, arts, and outdoor activities to enjoy daily! Pearl Street mall has boutiques, delicious local eateries, and benches to sit and stare at the beautiful scenery.

The next day we were back in Boulder to tour and sample the teas at Celestial. I highly recommend this free tour. The sample room has a plethora of teas to sample before embarking on journey through the interesting tea factory.

The gift shop has a beautiful selection of products, and they have a delicious café to enjoy a nice lunch. Afterward, we headed to the Mesa Laboratory where the National Center for Atmospheric Research is located so my nephew could get up close and personal with the super computer and check out the scientists at work.

The next day we decided to drive up the mountain and do some hiking. There are many places to hike and it is hard to narrow down what peak to explore. For this hike, we drove 30 miles to Clear Creek Canyon and after driving the narrow winding roads for an hour and having my six teens start to feel a bit nauseated; we pulled out at the ranger station and started our hike. No matter where you choose to hike in the Colorado Mountains, you will not be disappointed. The views are indescribable (check out the first picture in this blog), quite possibly due to your mind being purified by the clean air! After our hike, we headed into the tiny town of Idaho Springs so we could eat at one of our favorite pizza places: Beau Jo’s Pizza with their delicious crust and local honey on the side as a dip. I felt like Pooh Bear after dinner here! The next day we headed out to ride horses. My husband has a cousin that shows horses. We took a quick lesson and bathed our horse.

It was nice to get this experience. We got cleaned up and headed out to watch the Rockies play some baseball. We lived the sweet life in a suite for the game! It is hard to go back to regular seats after being pampered!

The stadium is beautiful and located in downtown Denver. We had another wonderful time in Denver with family and we can’t wait to return! Many thanks to Jerry and Rick for taking care of us all!!  I highly recommend taking time to hike, shop, eat, visit Celestial Tea, the Wild Animal Sanctuary, The Denver Mint, and depending on the season, either skiing or rafting. Notice how I didn’t say tube down the Boulder River!

Eastern Mediterranean Ports

For our June 2012 itinerary aboard the new and luxurious MSC Divina, we sailed out of Venice to Bari, Italy, Katakolon, Greece, Izmir, Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey and Dubrovnik, Croatia. For a 7-night cruise, that is a lot of stops and only one day at sea. However, that is exactly why we chose this itinerary! I must mention that we did enjoy our day at sea and really used this day as a “lazy Sunday”. I spent time reading about the ports and reading port reviews on the individual port websites, the MSC Cruise line website, and my website because we have a contract with Shore Excursion Group (SEG), and cruisecritic.com. I really wanted to know if we would benefit from an organized shore excursion or if we would be better off exploring on our own. After all my research, here are the results:

Bari, Italy~ This southern shore town is an authentic Italian seaside community. Initially, we saw that our cruise line provided a shuttle to the town center and decided to utilize this to get into town and explore on our own. It would have been lovely had it not been a Sunday. All the shops were closed in Old Town. Old Town was the original town center that is nestled behind the walls closing off this portion from the rest of the seaside city. It was a quiet day and we enjoyed walking down the concrete path along the ocean watching the men fishing and showing off their catch. Most of what we saw was octopus. One man stood by the shore banging his octopus on the concrete over and over; we decided he was tenderizing his dinner.

There was a seafood market with men showing off their morning catch and waiting for an offer. We walked through the city to get to the opening into Old Town and stopped at a local food mart for water and a snack and headed back to the ship. We only spent a couple hours walking around and if you are there on a Sunday, I recommend taking an organized excursion or going for a long walk along the ocean. We saw people swimming at a beach in the distance but it looked to be a 2-3 mile walk from the port drop off.

Katakolon, Greece~ Without a doubt we knew we wanted an organized tour to visit the ancient ruins of Olympia to see where the first Olympics were held. We wanted a small group tour and knew that booking through our cruise line would land us in a group of 50 or more, so I researched other companies. When you research companies, make sure they offer a guarantee back to port before purchasing your tour. CruiseOne’s, SEG on my website, did not offer a tour for our itinerary here and I found a lovely tour through Cruising Excursions based in London. They offer a guarantee, fair prices and small group tours. We arrived at the tiny and quiet port and walked out to the main road and found our guides. It was just the four of us in a large van and we had two guides. We drove about 30 minutes to the Olympic site and purchased our entry tickets to the ruins and the museum. It was 11 euro total. Our guide did not enter and we used a map and followed the path reading about each site. This area is peaceful and open to the hot sun but it is surrounded by trees on the perimeter. After touring the grounds, we walked with our guide to the museum and spent an hour looking at the excavated items found at the ancient site.

It was an amazing experience. Outside, the “boys” got a Greek beer as we headed into Katakolon near the port to get our shopping on! We noticed that the stores all had similar items and started to narrow down what we wanted to purchase. Although plentiful, we passed on the olive-branched/toga wearing men and women portraying XXX-rated poses on the coasters and card sets. We did have many laughs though. As we walked down this seaside road toward the port, I realized that I could see myself sitting at one of the small restaurants enjoying a drink watching the water and the scenery.

Although our guide did not escort us into the grounds, she was very knowledgeable about the area and the ancient ruins. Most importantly, we felt safe and enjoyed being able to have conversations with our local guides.

Izmir, Turkey~ After reading port reviews, we knew, without a doubt, that we wanted to be in Ephesus to explore the ancient Roman city and see the current excavation being done on the Terraced Houses. I didn’t spend any time in Izmir but I am sure there are plenty of things to do in this large city. It is an hour drive to Ephesus and we wanted a private tour. Again, we found Cruising Excursions offered the best deal for our itinerary. The port seemed to be in a very busy part of town and we didn’t have to walk far to get to the parking area outside of the terminal. Our driver was waiting with our names on a sign and he walked us down the street to his van. We had two guides and they were very knowledgeable. We learned a lot as we asked many questions on our way out of Izmir toward Ephesus.

Once we arrived, it appeared we were in a country setting that was dry and hilly. Our guide had our tickets to enter the site and we started at the top of the city and worked our way down the main road to the end. Our guide talked with us the whole time and explained the ruins to us and their significance. A little over half-way down, I noticed a large enclosed area off to the side that looked like a tiered glass house. This was the entrance to the Terraced Houses. Tickets must be pre-purchased and they only allow a certain number of entries per day.

Inside, the archeologists were at work. We walked through the maze of rooms up the steep hill on modern-steel staircases giving us amazing views of the excavation being done. This is where the wealthy lived during the BC and early AD years.

We also saw the Temple of Artemis, Saint John’s Basilica and the Virgin Mary House. There were areas to shop for souvenirs and the store men are very persuasive to get you inside. Our next stop was a school that teaches women the art of making Turkish rugs. The manager gave us a tour and we saw the whole process beginning with the removal of the silk from the cocoons to the actual weaving and trimming. We were given traditional Turkish apple tea and lead to the showroom to view the many finished rugs.

After the tour, we made our way back to the port just in time to watch the port in the distance as we sailed away.

Istanbul, Turkey~ I woke up and saw the sunlight coming through the window, opened the balcony door and stood in amazement as we entered the Istanbul port. I was so excited to explore this bustling city where Europe and Asia meet in the land once known and Constantinople! The waterways surrounding the city were busy like a morning commute on a freeway. My senses were on fire with the scenery, sounds, and smells. Istanbul is a city that you could easily spend a week exploring. We had one day to visit and chose a shore excursion combined with some time on our own.

I chose my company’s Shore Excursions Group because, again, we offer small group tours. The port terminal was nestled downtown in a safe and walkable area. Our tour guides were waiting with a sign so we knew we were in the right place. We were in a small bus and there were about 10 people in our group.

Our guides escorted us to The Hagia Sopia, The Blue Mosque, The Hippodrome, and the Grand Bazaar.

We enjoyed the diversity and uniqueness that comes from feeling so far away from home. I will say that these areas are very busy and the Grand Bazaar is so grand, that even my mother and I had met our match and couldn’t handle the massive nature of this shopping venue.

I left with some pillow covers and knew that if I really wanted to tackle the Grand Bazaar, I would need at least three days to walk through this labyrinth of 60 streets and 5,000 stores. We asked the driver to drop us off at the Spice Market after the tour and we would walk home-aka the ship. The organized tour was fantastic and educational but the Spice Market was my favorite!

It was a little bit easier to explore and each booth was full of Turkish delights, overflowing colorful spices, food and novelties arranged as if the shop owners were all artists. We made some lovely purchases and headed out for more adventure. We were surrounded by mosques and, yet, felt comfortable with the diversity of the people. We stopped and listened to the call to prayer on the speakers. We sat by the water and tasted some local treats while people watching.

We walked across the bridge and back to our ship which was visible in the background. This was the most “foreign” of all our port stops but I felt comfortable walking around the city and would love to go back and explore more of this unique area.

Dubrovnik, Croatia~ This was one of my favorite port stops and could be a tie with Istanbul but they are both very different. Dubrovnik is a sleepy sea side town with Italian/Greek architecture, a medieval walled city, clear and warm inviting water and breathtaking views on the mountain tops. Just looking at the landscapes reminded me a bit of Catalina Island or Sausalito except all the homes are the beautiful white stucco with the red-tiled roofs.

After reading about 40 pages of the Dubrovnik Travel Lady’s forum, we knew we wanted to take a taxi to the Old City and take the cable car up the steep mountain for unbelievable views. There are two gates to enter the Old City; we chose the less popular Ploce gate because it was close to the cable car entrance. My parents went shopping in the Old City and my husband and I headed up the mountain. Afterward, we entered the city gate and explored the town. It reminded me of the walled cities in Tuscany.

The narrow alleys were plentiful but not as busy as the main roads (which seemed like large stone walkways) where all the tourists flocked.

As we wondered the walled city, we found ourselves at the main Pile gate and went outside the walls to walk along the water. The water was clear and inviting. I was truly sad I wasn’t wearing my bathing suit. We walked up a small hill for more breathtaking views and saw that there was a swimming area on the other side. We walked through quiet residential area that was clean and felt almost fairy-tale like. Walking through tiny hallways we finally made it to the swimming area. I wasn’t sure if it was private but there were no signs and I felt as if I was in heaven and decided I would take my chances on getting asked to leave (which never happened!) There were about 10 people swimming and I had to get in that water! Rolling up my pant legs, I made the journey to a rock and it was worth it. Just amazing! I could have spent the entire day here.

Their water was so calm and warm and clean. Oh, but how good things must come to an end. We headed back to the walled city and met my parents for a drink and a snack in one of those alleys and then made our way to the taxi stand to head back to the ship. There were some shops at the terminal and once we made another purchase, we headed to our room to watch the view as we left this amazing sea side town that I promised to return to!

Feel free to email me with questions about the Eastern Mediterranean Ports!

MSC DIVINA

The MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) Divina was inaugurated the end of May 2012, so needless to say, we enjoyed her Italian glamour on this brand new ship. I am an avid researcher and learned that as an American I would be putting myself into foreign territory by choosing a foreign line. I chose the Divina because she was new and I loved her itinerary in the Eastern Mediterranean. My only expectations were to relax while sailing in a beautiful and clean environment and experience the foreign adventure on board and at the various ports. That being said, I, along with my family, had a wonderful experience on the week long cruise. Americans tend to have different expectations for their cruising experience when compared to the Italian, French or British guests on board. Remember this if you choose to experience a foreign line.

On day one, we walked from our lovely Venice hotel and rode the people mover (1 euro per person) over to the port. We walked toward our ship and saw a tent with the MSC logo on the top and stopped there for the shuttle. Embarkation was pretty easy. There was a long and wide line outside by the drop off area that we stood in and it moved quickly at our 1:00 pm arrival. We gave them our names and they gave us our tickets, information and luggage tags. They took our luggage and we entered the terminal. We waited in line inside the terminal to check in and that took about 15 minutes. We confirmed everything at check-in because we had pre-purchased beverage packages. After confirmation of our cabin and amenities, we saw that we could board in group 12, and we would be next. MSC had representatives from the ship inside the terminal to sell and inform guests of onboard amenities. Once on the ship, we went to our room to check out our gorgeous and spacious cabin for the week.

We had a verandah on deck 11 with connecting rooms. We had our attendant open our balcony divider so we could expand our space and visit.

We then went to the buffet for lunch and spent the afternoon exploring the ship and watching our extremely large cruise ship snake through the narrow and beautiful canal of Venice.

The ship was stunning. The room was large, clean, comfortable and had a beautiful décor. Our room stewards were so nice and kept our room very clean. It seems that the Divina will retain her impeccable beauty as they had attendants cleaning every part of the ship all day long. Our itinerary put us at port almost every day. We had one day at sea, so most of the time we were quite busy. We had room service for breakfast and then got ready to disembark almost daily to explore each port. We would get back on the ship between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon on most days and would visit the lunch buffet which always seemed to have food for us! We then headed to our cabin to unwind, shower and get ready for dinner. We pre-selected early seating for dinner and we enjoyed having the set time. The dining rooms were intimate and the décor felt like a modern version of the traditional Italian style.

Many tables were set up to accommodate small groups. We had a table of four aft next to the window, and I LOVED going to dinner. Our waiters were wonderful, and the service was impeccable. The food was delicious most meals. There were many choices, and I enjoy trying new things. I was never hungry on this cruise. My husband, who can be picky, always found something to eat. After dinner, we would stroll along the different decks people watching, shopping, and checking out the activities and music in the lounges on our way to the evening show. The shows were a blend of dancing, acrobatics, singing, and theatrics. I loved the shows but I did not enjoy the lip syncing when there were so many talented singers available! The shows were less than an hour and were an eclectic mix each night. After the show, we would head back to our room to wind down and get ready for another busy day on board and at port! The MSC Divina has a lot to offer the guests and, for us, we used this beautiful vessel as a wonderful transportation option to get to all the different ports. We didn’t spend any time at the pools or hot tubs. There were three pools and many hot tubs and it seemed that the European guests spent most of their time at the pool.

I compared their pool time to Americans enjoying the pool while taking a cruise to the Caribbean. Also, these pools were very crowded and if you wanted a lounge chair, you would have to go early or get lucky. We didn’t spend time in the lounges but there were many to enjoy. There was a sports bar with a bowling alley, lounges with live music, and a dance club.

There were specialty dining restaurants and cafes to get Gelato or specialty coffees. There were many shops that I enjoyed though! There was an amazing spa and fitness center.

Children could enjoy the 4D theatre, racecar simulator, arcade or many of the activities available to them on board.

There were a lot of children on board but it didn’t seem to bother us. I spoke to another couple that felt there were too many children on board. Getting off the boat at each port was seamless. We would head to reception to see what deck to disembark and we would meet our tour guide at the port. If you choose not to take a tour, there were plenty of taxis and sometimes MSC had a shuttle to take you to the center of town. I will write about the ports in my next blog. On the last day, we were not able to have room service so we left the room and headed to the buffet for breakfast with our carry-on bags. We received our account details under our door and looked them over during breakfast to ensure the charges were correct. After breakfast, we went to our designated location to wait for our turn to disembark. We were told to meet in the Casino and we would be called out around 9:30 am. Disembarkation was a breeze. We picked up our luggage and headed to the people mover to go back into Venice. It seemed that five cruise ships disembarked at the same time and thousands were in line for the people mover. That was the worst part of the whole week! We had a wonderful time on our cruise and we would take a cruise with MSC again. If you love beautifully decorated ships, enjoy traveling while you sleep and visiting different cities each day, and don’t mind the adventure of cruising with many international guests with varied expectations, than you will enjoy the MSC Divina.

Venice

Venice has its own personality when compared to Rome, Florence and Bologna. I can see how people have a love-affair with Venice. It is a romantic and family oriented city. Families run their businesses here. The restaurants we ate at were all run by family. The college age kids were the wait staff and the grandparents were cooking and the parents, aunts and uncles were collecting the food; mostly seafood as the city truly sits in the water. We left Bologna and took the train to Santa Lucia station. Make sure you don’t buy the Venice Mestre station fare as this is not on the island of Venice. There are plenty of hotels to choose from. Do your research because the rooms fill up quickly. It is also a bit more expensive here compared to the other cities we stayed at. The main form of transportation is water taxis called Vaporettos. They are numbered and include maps of the stops on the boat and at each station. Fares were 6.50 euros for a one way ride and you could also buy unlimited rides for a chosen period of time. There are different routes and many islands to explore and this is a great way to get oriented to the city and get dropped off in various locations to explore. Our first hotel was Rialto 1082. This was on the South side and walking distance to St. Mark’s Square. Remember to research how to get to your hotel because it is extremely difficult to find if you don’t have a variety of directions pre-planned to use. Luckily, I figured this out beforehand and had the exact details written down. Also, these buildings are old, tall and narrow and often do not have elevators so you will be dragging your luggage up many flights of stairs. Our hotel was located in a very narrow alley (road in Italy but NO car would have fit) and it was run by a family. The hotel is run by Damiano but his father was there for the weekend and he spoke NO English at all. We played charades and my dad speaks a little Italian so we got it all figured out. Luckily, the hotel had Wi-Fi and I could use my iTranslate app that I loaded on my phone and we could communicate that way too. The rooms were spacious and each had a large bathroom. There is a rooftop area to enjoy and a breakfast room with a specialty coffee machine. It was clean and cool and in a great location!

We explored the area and went to Doges Palace in St. Mark’s Square. If you are into visiting old palaces then you will enjoy this museum. Also, there are rooms of medieval weaponry that were intriguing to look at. The views from the top floors were breathtaking. Afterward, we sat by the water and had drinks and Italian pizza and seafood. We payed for the location as my iced coffee drink was 13 euros! Cruise ships were sailing out and it is unbelievable to see them wiggle their way through this snake-like narrow canal.

That evening we explored the city and went shopping. The next day after breakfast we explored some more and then took the vaporetto to the stop near the people mover to embark on our cruise. The best information to handle these details was found on the Imboden’s veniceforvisitors.com website. The people mover is a tram that relieves you from the long walk to the port and it costs 1 euro per person. When you get off, you must walk a bit to your ship or your ship’s shuttle area found by the name printed on a tent. I will soon write a review/blog of the cruise for more information. After our wonderful cruise, we walked from the ship back to the people mover and it was SO crowded. It seemed like four cruise ships disembarked at the same time and the line for the people mover was long and people from all over the world speaking many languages were trying to understand what was going on. I ended up helping many people as they were confused again. The language barrier was intense but I must have had that “I can help you face”! I didn’t mind at all. Once we were near the hotels again, we had to find our hotel. I did not research the exact location and only had the address. NO ONE knew how to find this! We stayed in one spot with our luggage and sent my husband on a wild goose chase. The island of Venice is divided into neighborhoods. We knew the neighborhood so that narrowed down the area but there are still hundreds of “streets” here. If you have been to a cornfield maze, then you can imagine the unique maze of Venice (water is the corn in this scenario). About 30 minutes later, he came back with a smile and I knew he found it. Two bridges later and we were at the hotel which looked like a regular building out front with no signs that it was a hotel. It was a big beautiful door on an old building. That’s all folks! I can’t believe he found it! The hotel is called Ca’ Dei Polo and it was one of my favorites. The décor was traditional Venetian style and this palace was large, extremely clean and had a sitting room, Wi-Fi, a breakfast room, a courtyard and fronted a canal. The staff was very nice. Both hotels we stayed at in Venice had 5-10 rooms and provided quality service. We enjoyed this location as it was on the north side of the island allowing us to explore different areas for the rest of the weekend. We had wonderful meals by the water run by families. We shopped for real Murano glass jewelry (make sure it is stamped so you know it isn’t a fake) and we bought masquerade masks, and wine stoppers. We went for long walks away from the tourist areas learning how the locals live. I love being near the water and felt safe wondering around this city.

Have a detailed map handy because it is easy to get lost. The hotels have maps. On our final day we walked to the Piazzale Roma, the bus station, which was near the people mover. We bought bus tickets at the small kiosk but you could also get them from the driver. We used ATVO because they have an express bus to the airport that is reliable and is 5 euro per person one way. There are maps with the times and it is also printed at the kiosk. It took about 30 minutes to get to the airport. I also downloaded “Italian To Go” which is a tiny booklet (that you put together) and it helped me out a little bit each day. It’s found on under free downloads and called Travelers Pocket Phrase Guides. www.livinglanguage.com/content/downloads/Italian_ToGo.pdf I (we) loved Venice and will go back. We could spend a week here, just like we could at the other cities we were able to visit.