Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Day trip to Timisoara
After a few days of Mr. Pam, Rich and I constantly working we all agreed to finally go out and about. I had already planned a trip to look for a country house to film at and go on to Monte Negro and return through Kosovo, but we all decided we had too much work to do so we had to cut that trip and do something that would take less time and effort.
I suggested a quick trip to Timisoara, Romania, and Mr. Pam and Rich thought "cool!" So we took off to the North-East part of Serbia which happens to be very pretty with amazing little towns with really old buildings that look like the American Old West! At the border the Serbians harassed us a bit (something to do with my video camera) but they left me alone finally (I'm sure the border agent called us "dirty Americans" or something, I just could not tell what adjective he used...I just know his tone of voice was nasty and "Americani" followed it!).
The drive through Romania was equally as amazing, but very different from Serbia. First, the architecture is a world of difference and I could understand many of the street signs because Romanian is a Latin language and similar to Spanish in many ways. We arrived into Timisoara on its ugly industrial side, but then we happened upon the very beautiful downtown with amazing architecture and streetcars. i parked the car and we stumbled upon the main square where we ate a great tasting, but cheap meal. We then walked down to a very interesting church (I think it is Orthodox) and then got back in the car and started our drive back to Serbia.
On the way home we saw what looked like a carnival so we stopped and check it out and what an experience! The carnival was run by Gypsies and they were playing amazing music and selling local items and toys. We hung out a bit and then decided we better get going because it started turning dark and I hate driving in foreign countries at night. We finally got back around 10pm and we all ordered room service and went to bed early.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Day at Sex i Grad on the Ada
After a long night out and Mr. Pam catching up on some sleep too, we all decided to head out to Belgrade's waterfront where everyone goes on the weekend in Summer to stroll and cruise. After eating we met up with some friends at Sex i Grad and relaxed until sunset.
Glamor Pig (aka Super Pam) decided to pay for our drinks...FABULOUS!
Mr. Pam says good evening from Belgrade!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
SERBIA Part 2
After the party in the park Rich and I went back to a small gay bar where this blond thin guy started picking up on me and then I took advantage of his kindness and Rich and I bugged him to show us where the big gay club was. We arrived around 2:30am and stayed until 6am dancing to Serbian Folk-Pop....I loved the music!
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Rest of Italy....a little vacation
When we checked into the hotel I notice a piece of luggage missing: my video camera for business! I was thinking back to when I left the ship and remembered that I did not have it then so I must have left it under the bed in my cabin. Since it was the weekend, the cruise line’s help desk was not open so there was no way for them to help so I went to the website to see where the ship was docking next and noticed it would be in Monaco the next day. The following day after changing hotels I called the Port of Monaco and a wonderful woman contacted the ship for me and it was confirmed
that they had my precious cargo, but they wanted to send it to the corporate office lost and found instead of shipping it to me in Italy from their next port which was to be Livorno, Italy! I made an executive decision to fly to
The next morning I woke up early and took a commuter train from
The following day Rich and I went to Ponpeii which is truly amazing but very hot and dusty! I also stopped in to get my hair cut which was a very interesting experience. Italians LOVE to chitty chat and they so desperately wanted to do the same with me and the hair cut took about 20 minutes longer than it should of, but it was a great experience nonetheless. The next day we drove back
The next morning we took off for
Saturday, August 18, 2007
RSVP Cruise Day 9: Salerno
I fell asleep on the boat ride that first docked in at Almafi before it continued onto Positano. When we finally arrived we only had 2 ½ hours to putz around and have lunch…so that’s just what we did! After lunch and gelato we boarded the boat and I fell asleep again. We barely made the last bus back to the boat and then spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool. Since this was our last night basically the ship started shutting down. At 9pm, when normally there would be a ton of people floating around, I could not find one person anywhere. Eventually I just retired to my room and prepare for the arrival into Rome’s port the next morning.
Friday, August 17, 2007
RSVP Cruise Day 8: Malta
When we arrived at the car rental agency we drove immediately to drop off our laundry and then go to the internet café just blocks apart. Rich and I finished our work quickly, but Roman wanted to stay and finish his work so Rich and I drove off into the Maltese landscape. With Rich as my navigator I took off up the hills towards a town where the JAT Airways office is (don’t ask…well, yeah, I have to fly a model to Belgrade and needed to buy the ticket…JAT still does not have e-ticket ability!) We found the city but the oddest thing is that I parked the car in the main square so I could find the JAT office by foot and guess what? I parked right in front of the bloody office! LOL! We went through a store, then up some stair and into the office where the JAT woman only accepted cash payment so I ran to the ATM, got the money and finished the transaction…back in the car and on the road to a nice beach!
Ok, so this is going to sound really odd, but hey, I am human and also a strange person! For the LONGEST time I have always wanted to go to “
After picking up our freshly cleaned and folded clothes we headed to Valetta that totally reminded me of
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
RSVP Cruise Day 6: Venice
After whizzing by San Marco Square rich insisted we eat at a local restaurant and not a touristy joint. We found a place, but the food was not as good as we both thought, but after we found a way to take a gondola for 50 Euro cents instead of the hefty 200 Euros usually expected. The secret is to take the cross canal public gondolas which are run my gondola drivers all dressed up and running authentic gondolas…a great photo op for just 50 Euro cents!
We made our way back to the ship and we both crashed! Walking all through Venice is a pretty rough work out and the air conditioning of my room really made me conk out! I woke up around 10pm to find another great party going on up on the deck. While in Venice Rich and I bought typical masks from Venice so we put them on and went upstairs with Roman Ragazzi to have some fun! Once again another great party with a lot of energy and DJ De Leon rockin’ the house!
Monday, August 13, 2007
RSVP Cruise Day 5: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Now, back to Dubrovnik! Diane found us a nice restaurant to have seafood at the pretty port and then we all broke in separate groups and ours went on to take a boat to an island and go swimming…it was amazing! We all headed back to the ship where I took a long nap and then another night party on the back deck of the ship. So far, the cruise has been very nice and I met some great people!
Dubrovnik is a must see on any trip to Europe. It is a tiny well-preserved walled in port city that has a truly unique European flare with a beautiful setting right on the Adriatic coast. It is not overcrowded with tourists making it very romantic and a well kept secret!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
RSVP Cruise Day 4: Corfu, Greece
As beautiful as Corfu is, we also needed to do some work so we headed into town to find internet access. After 2 extremely hot ours of sitting in front of a computer we had to haul our asses quickly back to the ship. Later in the evening RSVP threw another great party on the back deck of the ship. Inspired by our recent Greek port of call, the party was a “god’s and goddesses’” party…woo hoo…and of course lot’s o’ fun!