When In Rome.......

Rome is one of the premier tourism destinations in the world, welcoming some seven to ten million visitors each year. 

This is not only because that empire stood supreme for over 2 thousand years as slowly

what was a small Latin city eventually dominated most of the Mediterranean but also because all their ancient rulers appear to have had such a love for the arts, magnificent architecture and a burning desire to build impressive structures in which to worship their various gods over those centuries.

We the modern people, should be eternally grateful that so much time and effort has been taken by successive Italian governments and world bodies like UNESCO to uncover and preserve the magnificent treasures and establish so many museums  for the education and enjoyment of all of us.

Cars take over  some sidewalks in Rome

Unfortunately though, because of the heavy traffic into the city plus the a permanent population hovering just under three million people, the local authorities seem unable to cope, so the city is quite dirty and covered in graffiti and the absence of parking areas (despite the large numbers of scooters in use and some of the smallest cars you will see in any city) has led to some sidewalks being used for parking, thus leaving pedestrians limited spaces to maneuver.

I had been to Rome once before, but that was such a long time ago, that I had forgotten how magnificent those ancient structures were and the wealth of treasures that had been preserved in one city for the world

 to enjoy.

The beautiful river Tiber

We  had arrived in Rome this time after sailing in to the port of Civitavecchia, the third busiest port in Europe and from the area came into view it was like going back into history.

Then it was time for an comprehensive but a little exhausting. bus and walking tour but I would not have missed it for anything as walking around the streets and admiring the ancient treasures felt at times as if one was actually there in the glory days!

In fact, I dare say that as I stood in the magnificent Colosseum, which in 2007 was voted one of the new seven wonders of the world by the New 7 Wonders Foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland, you could almost feel the  horror and imagine the screams that must have echoed as the Roman elite watched  in enjoyment as lions attacked and tore apart their slaves in what was a brutal  but popular form of entertainment at the time.

However, this Colosseum which has an oval shape  is over two thousand years old with a most impressive design and architecture.

The Colosseum

While most of the archaeological  treasures are black with age, it was quite interesting to learn that they had all been made from the white marble which is found in such vast quantities in the Italian hills.

Then there is the River Tiber. 

I remember as a child hearing about this  great  river, the third largest river in Italy, on whose banks legend has it, Rome was established in around 753 Bc.

That river also played such an important role in developing trade and commerce for the city and during the Punic wars, that actually seeing it brought back all the exciting stories I had heard. And learning and seeing the evidence of how modern these ancient people had been in their thinking that they had actually developed things like running water and a well established sewage system so  many centuries ago.

Then there is the Vatican and St. Peter's Square.

I still remember it vividly from the last visit but my greatest regret was that on this trip I was unable to go inside the Sistine chapel,  for the lines were too long and there was no where to shelter from the rain which was coming down in torrents.

I say my greatest regret, for I remember clearly that inside that chapel lies one of the most magnificent visual experiences one could enjoy.

 For the ceiling there will remain one of the most renowned artistic masterpieces for centuries to come and one cannot even conceive the great challenge that it must have been for the great Michelangelo as he lay on his back on the scaffolding from 1508 to 1512 to try and recreate through art, the creation of the world as the Catholic church preaches it.

Thank heavens I did get  the opportunity to go inside years ago on my first visit, although I have no photographs and cannot remember if it is because photographs were prohibited or it was just because it was the olden days, and I had run out of film! I had however actually hoped I would have gotten the opportunity to capture it on film this time, but no such luck.

St. Peter's Square

One place I had always wanted to go in Rome was the Trevi fountain which is probably the most famous fountain in the world and one which played such a huge role in one of my favorite old films "Three coins in the fountain."

As fate would have it though, although I did visit the site, I couldn't throw my coins in or even get a good look, for  it was being refurbished.
 Despite this one disappointment however and not being able to get into the Sistine chapel, this visit to Rome was an absolutely amazing experience and something I really hope I can do again for in my book, this city is the architectural and artistic centre of the world. 

JOAN WILLIAMS,  moderator of Joan Williams on Line  broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tour+jamaica+by+joan+williams

Contact; gratestj@gmail.com

Robberies on the increase

While the police statistics say robberies are on the decrease, on the ground experience indicates that they have reached crisis level but the police is not recording them, hence they can claim decrease.

I say this without fear of contradiction as over two months ago, my neighbour was ambushed at his gate, tied up and the house ransacked, but not even now has the Half Way Tree police turned up to take a statement, or do any form of investigation, so which statistics would this robbery appear in?

Then on Saturday at noon, a visitor to my home was held up in my yard by two young men using the same   modus operandi  and since then, speaking to friends, I have now heard that at least six person I know,  have had a similar experiences in broad daylight, at the hands of gunmen using the same technique, rushing the victims as they go through their gate ( even an electronic gate in one instance) and forcing them to open their homes so they can take what they want. Further, too regularly for comfort, I am hearing from teenagers how men in the area, ride up on bicycles and rob them at knife point of their smart phones as they walk on the streets.

Robberies going down? The only thing that  is going down is the credibility of the police who seem only able to catch thieves, recover stolen proper and bring the thief to justice quickly WHEN THE VICTIM IS THE FRIEND OF THE MINISTER OF SECURITY!

So why are the rest of us required to pay the salaries of policemen and women WHO ARE QUITE COMFORTABLE DOING NOTHING ( except prepare bogus statistics!) IN THE MIDST OF THIS NEW CRIME WAVE?

Finding Marlis

I suppose you suspect that I got the title from finding Nemo and the answer is yes, but that is where  the similarity ends.

Marlis is a wonderful Swiss woman who along with her husband spent many years as a volunteer family hosting teenagers registered in an international exchange program from countries as far removed as the United States to Zimbabwe  Thailand, south Africa and of course Jamaica

Although we had only visited Switzerland once and very briefly too, my young daughter had been overwhelmed by the beauty of the country and when she got an opportunity to go on the one year high school exchange program ( a few decades ago) Switzerland was her first choice. That was how she met Marlis who became more than a mother to her, not only in looking after her welfare for a year, but teaching her great things including (horror of horrors) jumping out of a plane in the sport of sky diving.

Among Marlis' other  interesting attributes too was her hobby, training dogs to rescue injured people and take them to safety.

For decades therefore I have heard about Marlis and what a wonderful person she is, so when we recently decided do go to Europe for a vacation,  visiting Marlis became a must and it turned out to be a great decision.

To get to Solothurn  from Venice  we took a train to Milan, then Milan to Zurich then another to the final destination.

Actually, I have never traveled by train in Europe before and believe me it is a wonderful experience which I hope to repeat time and time again, due to the sheer efficiency of the integrated system. Also, the landscape was absolutely breathtaking in parts, what with the numerous well kept vineyards and mountains from Venice to Milan.

 However, I now wonder if it is possible to travel through Italy without some mafia influenced person trying to take advantage of you.

We had an interesting experience as we were about to board the train from Milan to Zurich. As I tried to put my quite bag on the train, a huge man (built like  a bouncer) assisted me to lift it. I was a bit impressed by his "gentlemanlyness" but became overwhelmed when not only did he lift it in but took it down the corridor and stowed it in the luggage section. Then although he did not have on uniform, he did the same for the other  two members of my party! It was only when he finished that the real motive became clear, for m,y son in law, thinking he was being generous, offered him a 3 euro tip, only to be menacingly told, he wanted 5!
Quite a shakedown.

Anyway, once started the journey to Zurich the incident was quickly forgotten as we started travelling through a series of pristine valleys that were absolutely to die for. It was as if we were forever accompanied by huge, calm blue lakes dotted with the sails of fun lovers on both sides of the rail and overpowered by the unending range of  variegated mountains of different  shades and sizes.  It left me concluding that it is probably the sheer beauty of the Swiss landscape plus of course the famous Alps, which accounts for that country being  such a  popular tourism mecca, for from my perspective, it couldn't be the weather!

At Solothurn there was Marlis patiently waiting to take us to her small colorful hamlet (population 300) nearby where tastefully laid out agricultural fields with potatoes, sunflowers and vegetables beside the green pine treed mini forests, gives the place the look of a photograph that had been that had been photoshopped!

A homely gem

Not only is the area beautiful, but it is very central, only half hour from Bern (capital of Switzerland) and one could even see Matterhorn (in the Alps) clearly from there.

The hotel that she booked us at too was a homely 138 year old gem which had once been a farmhouse. The only possible drawback there was that it was right across the road  from a church whose bell tolled from 8.45 to 9 am on a Sunday morning but then I have very little sympathy for people who like to lie around in bed!

The church across the street

What was interesting though is that although the bell tolled forever, the church remained closed (the Sunday we were there) for the Swiss, we were told, tend not be very religious people,which is probably why they are so peaceful, giving the country such a low crime rate! (Incidentally, the largest church in Switzerland was built in 1893 and is still  in operation in Bern but more as a tourist attraction than a place of worship.)  It is interesting  also that although Switzerland has had both internal and external peace for years, they take no chances and since 1990 it was legislated that every house built must have a bunker!

Although the weather had deteriorated quite a bit since we got there, the next day Marlis and her friend Rene were early to take us on a tour of Bern (established in the 1700's) which is not only absolutely beautiful with its historic buildings but it is modern and orderly as well, to the point that from the main road, you can tell if the underground parking lots have space without having to bother to enter, as the flashing board outside has all the information you could need. (Boy don't they think of everything?)

Yup, Marlis turned out to be everything my daughter had been telling me for years thus meeting her brought a wonderful European tour to a magnificent and memorable end.

Also, after visiting  Solothurn, Bern and Zurich this trip,  I am reminded that Switzerland is still a charming place to visit,  although socially, women seem to be still under the thumb of the men, for can you believe that up to 2014 there is still no law to guarantee equal pay for men and women who do the same job?. But then, I said the place is charming, not paradise on earth!
                       

                                           Memories.... A pictorial memorial of old Bern

The steepest railway line in Europe is in Bern

Old Bern with is cobble stoned streets

View of a section of Bern from the parliament building

JOAN WILLIAMS, moderator of Joan Williams on Line  broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tour+jamaica+by+joan+williams

Contact; gratestj@gmail.com

Ps. Jasper died in September 2014. Walk good my friend. It was great knowing you.

Music for eternity

http://www.1959bhsmustangs.com/VideoJukebox.htm

JOAN WILLIAMS,  moderator of Joan Williams on Line  broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tour+jamaica+by+joan+williams

Contact; gratestj@gmail.com

Sicily, Really Mafia country?

Graffiti on a wall in Catania

Every since I have heard of the island of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean sea, it has not been the beaches or the \fascinating and historic architecture which comes to mind, but tales of a wicked and vicious mafia.

So it was with a lot of curiosity and a little trepidation that I looked forward to a stop on the island, on a recent Disney cruise.

The stop we had was at Catania, the second largest city on the island which boasts a population of about a million people.

Catania is also famous because it sits right at the foot of Mount Etna, the biggest volcano in Europe which  the news would often have us thinking, is  always on the verge of eruption.

 Interestingly, the Sicilians have found a way to benefit from the lava spewed by that very active and threatening volcano as large amounts of their souvenirs are carved from the molten rock (lava) that it spills out.

Mt. Etna hovers threateningly over the city

I found the city to be absolutely beautiful with its profusion of carefully and lovingly restored baroque architecture dating back from the 16th century, the romantic sidewalk cafes on every block, the bustling outdoor food markets with their anxious, loud  and knowledgeable shoppers,  crowded streets and fabulous green areas.

There was an ease and pleasantness about the entire area that one would never have expected in a place associated with the mafia!
 .
Also after having visited a number of other Italian towns including Rome, the thing that struck me very quickly too was how much wider the streets were in Catania  and how much more modern and larger the cars were,  especially in comparison to those in Rome, where we had seen a profusion of some of the smallest cars every built. 

One of the beautifully landscaped green areas.

Then there was the hard to ignore, number of huge, elegant churches in close proximity to each other.

 
I was so surprised  to see so many churches that I immediately started counting as we walked around and after counting twelve in less than a two block area, gave up the task. 

The vast number of churches was not noticed by only me however as I heard a tourist loudly proclaiming that they probably have so many churches as  since the mafia probably kills someone on every block, the killers need to find a church nearby at which to confess lest they too meet a similar fate in quick retaliation!

With  the bad reputation that Sicily has earned worldwide as being mafia country however, it felt very peaceful and safe and not even the pickpockets that the guides had warned us about seemed to be active in the busy streets.

OH it is not that no one got a taste of what a mafia country is like for my daughter was robbed but not in the way you might expect.

You see, when it comes to travel, she has the discipline of sending postcards to all and sundry and here as usual she sought out as Post Office to buy stamps. We found a huge one on the long, central Via Etnea where what appeared to be a very nice man used his halting English to assist her. 

She had eleven postcards and he supplied her with the stamps and showed her how many to put on each, before stating the total cost was Euro 22. It  was only when we were in the park that she realized how easily she had been robbed as she recollected that she had put stamps with values of 60 and 30 on each postcard and with eleven postcards the total should have been Euro 9.90 but instead he had taken advantage of her inability to communicate properly (and do a small calculation too!) and bilked her twice as much as it cost to post them!

Such is life in mafia country but  despite that experience which could probably happen anywhere when one drops their guard, Catania is a warm, hospitable, historic, attractive and romantic city and certainly well worth visiting even if the graffiti gets a bit overwhelming at times. 

JOAN WILLIAMS, moderator of Joan Williams on Line  broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tour+jamaica+by+joan+williams

Contact; gratestj@gmail.com

Barcelona, A Must for your Bucket List

After even a brief visit to the wonderful city of Barcelona, it is obvious why it  has become the 10th most visited city in the world (according to Wikipedia) and why so many of its buildings have been deemed world heritage sites under the UNESCO convention.For me , it not only one of the most magnificent cities I have ever visited but one of the most fascinating as well.

One of the things that stuck out was, despite over seven million tourists visiting that city annually causing downtown  to be always crowded, how clean and pristine and free moving the city remains unlike so many other large cities. 

One reason for the lack of congestion is of course because so many citizens have seen the practicality of commuting on scooters and bicycles, although I did note that they do not seem to be requited to wear helmets and I did actually witness a young lady on the ground with her bicycle after apparently being hit off by a cab in downtown area.

However it is the architecture, the history and the proliferation of attractive sidewalk cafes that kept me in

absolute awe the entire time I was there.

The black Madonna

Most of the architecture there is of course influenced Antoni Gaudí ( born in 1852) whose work is still admired and being studied by architects from all over the world as his style remains so unique and distinctive that it has been cherished and carefully maintained by all the governments that have had the opportunity to determine the fate of this Spain's second largest city.

On the nearby mountain of Montserrat too you find one of the cherished back Madonnas and the museums there are not only works of art in themselves but contain such important legacies relevant to the entire world, that we would all be so much poorer without a Barcelona as it is today.

What I found especially admirable too is how the old charm and modern development, including the Olympic village built in 1992,  mesh without any era overwhelming or displacing the other and even the narrowness of the streets in the old parts of the have added a certain charm to what is otherwise a really very modern city where flats run up to the three million euro range and new large shopping malls are now the order of the day.

And  when you have had an eyeful or have become a bit overwhelmed by the climate, the wide open Mediterranean sea and the numerous beaches within minutes from the downtown area, are there to cool one off quickly.

Barcelona has a location second to none which enhances the magnificence of that ancient city.

Unfortunately though, I was there the day Spain got a drubbing and was eliminated from the 2014 World Cup and that was only a few hours after the Barcelona Club had been introduced to us with much pride. So for the rest of my stay, the glum looks on the faces of the Spaniards were hide to mask!

JOAN WILLIAMS, moderator of Joan Williams on Line broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tou

Old School American Classics Mix @shaddyofficial

Cruising , the way to go

I think I became addicting to cruises when I went on the first one with my parents when I was 14. In those days I found the huge ship awesome but each year as competition steps up, the cruise industry is growing by huge degrees of awesomeness, with the beneficiaries being those of us who love to travel.

.

This latest cruise was my first taste of Disney and it was really great although I must admit if I was a kid it would have been out of the world.

What I enjoyed most was the really great choice of destinations because for me to have gone to Sicily, the French Riviera, Naples, Pompeii, Rome, Venice in one swell swoop is just impossible to beat. And the excellent tour organisations attached to Disney were so efficient and the guides so knowledgeable,  that one was able to gain a great deal of information and see everything that one wanted to at these wonderful destinations.

One important lesson I learnt from this trip (the cruise people did not mention it at all) and I hope I will not forget the next time I go to Europe and that is, in Europe not only is the US$ not king, (as expected) but no one wants to accept it! So wherever we went we had to change cash into Euros to do any business and in Switzerland, we had to change to Swiss francs. (I had a similar experience in Cuba too as there no one wanted it or the Canadian $ either so you had to go to a cambio to change cash into pesos.) 

As I see it therefore, whenever one is not using a credit card in Europe, it is easier to just  travel with a debit card, go to a ATM machine and collect the withdrawal in the relevant currency for each day the ATM's change their rate in keeping with international standards.Anyway, back to destinations, we had quite a scare on the way to Pisa as the front tyre of the bus we were driving in suddenly burst as we were crossing a bridge. The horrendous blast scared the daylights out of not only the passengers, most of whom had been sleeping and had a rude awakening, but also the driver as well. He was however deft in  bringing the bus safely to the side of the road and as we were only 15 minutes away from Pisa we did not have to wait too long to get a replacement bus.

Actually, there is so much to say and remember about the various places we visited that I swear I have to get around to doing a separate blog for each one soon.

What was especially heartening about this cruise too was the number of Jamaicans who were working on the Disney Magic. I never knew before that  there was an actual recruiting centre in Ocho Rios so it was not unexpected that the majority of the workers came from the St. Ann/St. Mary area, although I did meet a few from Kingston  and elsewhere.Even the head waiter assigned to us was from Jamaica and boy did he make it specially great for  us by arranging jerk chicken, stew peas and rice, oxtail etc to be served to us in addition to the other delicious choices at dinner.

Heartening too was the wide selection of reggae music played in the "fun area"on the 9 th floor (Lido deck) almost every day.

It was clear that whoever the DJ was, his favourite singers were Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley but he did not stick on them too much to make it boring for our music going as far back as Harry Belafonte was played at some point.

As I said earlier, if I were a kid the cruise would have been out of this world, and that is of course because the entertainment was geared towards kids so some nights it left me a bit bored.

 However the Disney ensemble outdid itself on two nights with performances fitting of Broadway. In fact, I had the pleasure of meeting the lead singer from one of the performances, a beautiful African american young lady named Christine from Michigan, with a voice range equaling Whitney Houston's and she assured me that is where she was headed but was just enjoying travelling for a while.

Yup a Disney cruise is definitely more than worth the money for family travel

.

JOAN WILLIAMS, moderator of Joan Williams on Line broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tou

AMERICAN AIRLINES SUCKS

I now have to add American airlines (AA) to Spirit and Delta as total disasters when it comes to travel and companies NEVER TO SPEND MONEY WITH AGAIN AS LONG AS I LIVE. 

For my recent trip to Europe was absolutely wonderful though AA tried their best to prevent it from being so.

On the trip to Barcelona, after I went to the trouble to make sure my family coming from Denver, Colorado would meet me in Miami and we fly together to Europe, behold  AA canceled the direct flight to Barcelona and did not inform any of us beforehand. So when they redirected my family through Madrid and me through London, where incidentally I had to wait seven hours for a connection, they broke the cycle immediately.

Then returning yesterday, all went well with British Airways from Zurich to London then London to Miami, then  the trouble started when I had to connect with AA to Kingston.

First their departure time kept changing radically as they said the flight out of Canada was late in getting in, then when the plane arrived, they said because of the rain the ramp was closed. Then they said the had to change crew, then they said they had to refuel. Result of all the crap was us leaving six hours late and guess what? to add insult to injury, they did not bring my luggage!

Well I thought it was  bad till I spoke to my daughter in Denver only to hear that they too who traveled by AA out of Dallas had a six hour delay at the airport with their three year old child who had been travelling all day.

Yes indeed . AA sucks and all who can avoid this airline should.

JOAN WILLIAMS, moderator of Joan Williams on Line broadcast on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tou