BM's Favorites: 12 Days Greek Isles Cruise

Date: November 9-10, 2007
Place: Venice, Italy (威尼斯, 意大利)

Day 1

we have been looking forward to this trip for a long long time.. wanna forget about work & have a relaxing holiday.. things turned out to be sooo unexpected! it was a very adventurous journey.. a memorable one!

we had an evening flight on Nov. 8.. it was raining that night, & our flight got delayed for over an hour.. i had a quick dinner before getting on board, as i haven't had any good meal on AC flight before.. & as usual, i found it terrible.. the only thing that i ate was the chocolate pudding dessert (& the bottled water!)
this was our meal on the flight to Rome..

this was our breakfast on flight.. orange juice, some bagged apple slices, & a muffin..

it was an 8 hours flight.. we had to take a connecting flight in Rome to Venice.. & that was chaos.. the instruction was so unclear.. the staff directed us to a gate & said we should wait there.. we didn't have the boarding pass yet & the staff said "just wait here".. & when it's time to board, we soon found out that we had to go upstairs to get our boarding pass!!! it was a rush! & that lady in the counter, she didn't even know what is an "e-ticket"! she kept saying that i don't have an air ticket, for which we used e-tickets instead.. she had to make some phone calls before she realized that we could use E-TICKETS!! unbelievable!!

luckily, the flight from Rome to Venice was only ~1 hour & the seats were more comfortable than the AC ones..

upon arriving at the Venice airport, we soon found out that our luggages were lost! almost everyone from that flight lost their luggages.. people were guessing that it must be the strike in Rome airport which caused this.. it was chaotic.. after lining up at "Lost & Found" for ~3hrs, all we had was a claim form!! we even had to give them the key for the lock of our luggage, the staff said it will be returned to us when we get back our bags.. but nope, we didn't get back the key even when our bags came back on the 6th day!!!

anyway, life must go on.. & our trip must go on too.. we were supposed to get on the cruise ship at ~3pm.. but due to all these mess, we didn't get onto the ship until 5:30pm.. & it was dark already..

we were on the Star Princess, which was launched in 2002, 109,000 Tonnage & 2600 Passengers.. we had travelled on Royal Caribbean 2 years ago to Alaska.. we decided to try Princess this time as we heard some good reviews about Princess re its food, + its itinerary best suits us -- we wanna visit the Greek islands, & this cruise covers the most..

we planned to go visit Venice in the afternoon, but unfortunately we didn't make it.. so shortly after we visited our cabin, we got off the ship & took the water shuttle to Venice..

& since it was late, we started looking for food.. from the tour book, i spot out a restaurant which has the cuttlefish risotto.. we had it in Hong Kong years ago & love it! & after asking around, we finally found the restaurant..

Ristorante all'Angelo

Address: Venezia - Calle Larga S. Marco 403

Phone: 041 52.09.299

since we also wanna tried the food on our cruise ship (thought we shouldn't miss the 1st dinner on cruise), we just ordered one dish, Risotto Seppie Nere (30 euro for 2).. it had a minimum of 2 orders, i.e. the portion was for 2 people.. it's rice cooked with cuttlefish black ink sauce..

the waitress was serving the risotto in front of us..

the risotto was "embedded" in olive oil, but surprisingly it didn't feel greasy.. it enriched the flavor of the risotto.. & it was the BEST meal in our trip..

we did some window-shopping after dinner.. & we saw many "Triangel" (from TVB's drama「衝上雲霄」).. they are called "Lucky Doll" in Venice.. very popular..

back to the cruise, we had some appetizers & desserts in the anytime Dining Room..

(left) Coldwater Maine Lobster & Seafood Terrine, Dill Mustard Emulsion

..its texture was like crabcake, but with lobster & other seafood.. & it's a good sauce to go with..

(right) Cream of Porcini Mushroom Soup Perfumed with Tarragon

..it's not very rich, yet tasty.. (given that i love mushrooms..)

(left) The Princess Love Boat Dream (Fluffy Dark Swiss Chocolate Mousse, Flavored with Lady Godiva Liqueur)

..it's a Chocolate dessert that Princess offers every day.. when the waiter brought the cake to me, he asked me to close my eyes before he put down the cake..

the bottom part of the cake was something like rice crispy.. perfect for Chocolate lovers..
(right) Traditional New York Cheesecake (The World-Famous Big Apple Dessert, Presented on a Mirror of Fresh Strawberry Coulis)

..LG said it's just so-so..

so, that's Day 1..

since our luggages were lost, we had no clean clothes, no pajamas.. the cruise staff offered us a sanitary pack, with toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, comb, cotton balls.. glad that there were bathing soap, shampoo & conditioner in our cabin.. we could still shower.. but u can imagine what we were wearing to sleep.. the one & only t-shirt & jeans!! it's a nightmare!!

Day 2

our cruise ship.. Star Princes..

we got off the ship as soon as we finished breakfast & headed to Venice.. (our ship was leaving at 1pm).. in additional to visiting the city, our mission was to get ourselves some clothes (just in case we still couldn't get back our bags).. & we walked to the Coin Department Store to get some "necessities".. it's far from the port, but it was a pleasure walk..

here are some snapshots of Venice..

Gondola @ Riva degli Schiavoni

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore (at the back)

the lady feding the pigeons, & at the same time trying to get rid of them..

Basilica San Marco (聖馬可大教堂)

a panoply of pigeons in the Piazza San Marco (聖馬可廣場).. i read that the pigeon density is highest in Venice, about 3 pigeosn per citizen..

Piazza San Marco (聖馬可廣場)

it's the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri 嘆息橋).. this arched, 17th-century covered stone bridge connects the Doge's Palace with the old prisons.. 相傳死囚在此嘆息而聞名(原因是死囚從小窗看見以前的愛人在橋的另一端與新歡親熱

traditional Venetian masks on display

Craft Shop in Venice

Rialto Bridge.. the striking 28m span, 8m high Istrian stone Ponte di Rialto dates from 1588..

the famous Grand Canal.. it's 4km in length, 30-70m in width & avg 4.5m in depth..

Traghetto on the Grand Canal

Rialto Market

it's a small market located right by the Rialto Bridge.. there is a fruit & vegetable market (Erberia), & a fish market (Pescheria).. i love walking around in the local market, to feel & experience the Venetian's life..

after visiting the market, we enjoyed a cappuccino at Caffe Florian, which is Europe's first coffee house, opened on 29 December 1720, located under the historic Procuratie Nuove, in Piazza San Marco.. there was live band playing at the back, which costed 5 euros per person for the music..

Venice is a really nice place to visit.. a city with no car, only boats.. less polutions.. its narrow alleyways & canals pass between magnificent buildings & churches, & it's easy to explore on our own..

we spent the whole afternoon in our cabin.. waiting for our clothes to be cleaned.. the cruise offered us complimentary laundry, but it took ~3 hours to get it done..

Day 2 Dinner.. it was supposed to be a Formal Night.. but unfortunately, we still haven't got our luggages back.. which means, we were the only one who wore t-shirt & jeans in the Dining Room.. i felt soooo bad.. the waitress at the entrance remembered us since then.. she kept asking us every day whether we got our luggages back or not.. she felt sorry for us, & she said it happened all the time.. can't believe it!

Appetizers

(left) Gently Smoked Supreme of Duck with Wild Greens & a Cassis Vinaigrette

(right) Crab Quiche with a Jalapeno Chili Salsa

Soup: Lobster Bisque Garnished with Shrimp, Flavored with Cognac

..it was highly recommended on the cruise critics forum.. & yes, it tasted good..

Entrees

(left) Tournedos of Beef Tenderloin (Grilled Medallions Enhanced by a Madeira-Entree: Truffle Demi-Glace, Served with Squash, Baby Carrots & Croquette Potatoes)

(right) Jumbo Tiger Shrimp Newburg (Tender Shellfish Flambeed with Cognac in a Pink Cream Sauce, Served on a Bed of Basmati Rice Pilaf)