ATV + Zach Galifianakis + Santorini

Today I went ATVing in Santorini. OMG it was incredible! On the ride to the beach I sat behind my friend Nate while he drove. I took pictures of the amazing views going by, waving to my friends in our 5-ATV caravan, and yelling out how cool it was. We rode to Oia, which is where you always see the picture of that white church with the blue roof. It’s the first image that pops in your head when you think of Greece. So we went down to this beach area below the town and I had an amazing greek salad and tzatziki. Then we went swimming, which felt so refreshing in the sun! While walking back to the ATVs, sitting at the restaurant we just ate at, we saw Zach Galifianakis!!!! I couldn’t believe it! Everyone else didn’t believe it was him at first, cause a lot of people look like him. So we stopped and looked back. He took off his sunglasses, had the same kind of chubby build to him, and had the same mannerisms. We stopped a little past him just staring at him and whispering. He looks back, one of my friends waves and he waves back. My day was amazing already, but this just put it over the top! Then I got to drive the ATV back and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! There were some times where a big tour bus was comin my way and not a whole lot of room for me to squeeze by, but that’s what’s gonna happen when you drive the mountain roads in Greece. It was exhilarating!

So that was my Monday of work. I pretty much got paid to do that. We kind of lose track of days on the ship. The only way we can tell what day it is is when we get in the elevator they have the day in the carpet on the floor. So a couple days it was Saturday and I had no idea until I stepped in the elevator! I was telling people it’s the weekend. For us, every day is a Friday or Saturday. Yeah, maybe we play a couple sets at night, but there will always be places to go at night, people to hang out with, and things to do at ports during the day. A lot of crew who have been to these ports many times and have done all the touristy things,usually just end up going to the beach during the day Sometimes people talk about going on vacation in between ship contracts. It’s funny for me, because I feel like I’m on vacation! I love my job. It could not be better.

Proper Fun

Life is amazing! It could not be better right now. I’ve met so many great people on the ship and have made a lot of friends. I’ve keep traveling to new places I’ve never been. And I get to play music everyday. It doesn’t even feel like a job, I’m just having fun and enjoying life!

Last night we played with Journey South. I’d never heard of them before, but they were on the show X Factor in the UK, and then recorded some albums with Simon Cowell. We played songs by Michael Buble, Van Morrison, Billy Joel, and Beatles stuff. It was the best show I’ve played yet. Most of the guest entertainer shows are mostly swing and latin tunes and can drag on for a while, but this one was a fun rock concert! I really did feel like a rockstar playing this show. And the two brothers of Journey South were really cool, they came out to the bar with us after the show to hang out and party with us.

I’ve also gone to the gym more lately. It’s a really nice gym and while I’m running on the treadmill I look out onto the ocean. Plus, everyone’s good friends with the guys who work at the gym, so if they’re not working with a guest they can give us a session. I haven’t done this, but some of the cast has and they say they’ve gotten some really good workouts! It’s also the only gym in the entire world that’s empty from 5-6:30. Who goes on a cruise vacation to spend time in the gym??

I’ve become friends with lots of English people. At first, I could not understand them for the life of me! I’ve slowly gotten comfortable with understanding them, but their lingo throws me off sometimes. They say “proper” a lot. It would be the equivalent of “legit.” Or when we say “that was sooo funny” they would say “that was PROPER funny.”

I still can’t get over how lucky I am to be here. I smile all the time when the thought comes in my head that I’m getting paid to travel. Like I said, playing is fun and I don’t feel like I’m working at all. I’m finally starting to get into a routine and calling this my home. The ship’s my home. The Mediterranean sea is my home. And each port is like my living room. Some of the ports I’m starting to go to again. So I feel comfortable with it. Just walkin around in Croatia feels like my backyard. It’s awesome.

If anybody has specific questions for me, please comment on my postings and I’d be happy to respond to them or even write a blog post about it. Or if you just want to comment to say something, I’d love to hear from you! It’s been nice to read all the comments so far. And my next blog post will be about more specifically what I do on the ship when I’m not working, thanks to the question from Sam Holman. Miss ya

Istanbul, Mykonos, Ephesus, Santorini

The past five days have been amazing! Two days in Istanbul, the next day in Mykonos, then at the ruins of Ephesus, and finally in Santorini. Read on..

Istanbul is the most unique place I’ve ever been. I recommend every single person to go there. Sailing in I saw these huge, beautiful mosques, and towering behind were massive skyscrapers. Walking around town were men and women racing past me in suits trying to catch the next ferry while chanting was coming from two different directions from two different mosques. It was like NYC meets the Middle East, in Europe. I had so much fun walking everywhere. They had a spice market with tons of colorful spices in bins, yummy Turkish delight, and tea leaves that had so many different smells. I walked around off the beaten path early in the morning and walked in this big mosque. I realized I was by myself and hung out there for a good hour, lying down and taking in the decorated ceilings. I ate dinner at this place that had this woman making really thin pitas, kinda like crepes, on this big round stone. And then they put spinach or cheese inside of them. All of the ingredients were so fresh, it tasted like heaven on earth.

There’s more that I did that I can’t even remember, and we’re going there again. Next time I’m devoting a couple of hours to get new cymbals. The drummer on the ship got cymbals for around $130 each, where in the states they’d be $300 each. It’s the same with suits too. You can buy a suit here with pants, shirt, and a tie for $100. And they tailor it for you. Turkey is where it’s at.

Mykonos was beautiful. They have the famous windmills. I climbed up a hill to watch the sunset and look over all the white houses with blue doors and roofs. I walked into this art gallery that had some cool jazz art. I start talking to the English guy who owns the place, and he starts talking about how he grew up with David Bowie and hangs out with him all the time. He’s done album covers for Sony and travels to music festivals around the world to showcase his art. He says he’s been interviewed on MTV a lot, and the guy did look familiar. It was just very random to meet this guy in a small town in Greece. We were lost at the time too and just wandered in. Then I ate 2 big gyros. Most of my paycheck has already been spent towards gyros.

The ruins of Ephesus, which apparently is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, were really cool! You can tell out of all the crew who has been in the Mediterranean all summer, because they always tell you “yeah it’s cool to go see the ruins, but after a while they all start to look the same. It’s all stone.” I can kind of see what they mean, but Ephesus was different. First off, it’s huge and covers a lot of land. Second, a lot of the artwork is still in tact. We saw an area that still had mosaics on the ground where the rich people lived, along with artwork on the walls. Stones still had complete and in-tact sculptures of people and symbols. There was even these markings still in the stone pathway that told visiting sailors where the prostitutes were. Again, Turkey…

The next day was Santorini. WOWWW. That’s what I said the whole day. Little towns perched on top of cliffs. I walked by the edge of it for about 2 hours and saw all the beautiful white houses with more blue roofs. Ate some more gyros. Then drank a Mythos (Greek beer) at this café that had an amazing view of the entire island. It was amazing. Another place everyone should go to.

Oh, I also went to the Acropolis in Athens. Did I forget to mention that? :)

Music Music Music

So the music I play on the ship covers a wide variety of genres. I’m part of the group the HAL Cats. We play sets in our lounge and on the poolside deck. We have 2 books with 300 songs. There’s all different kinds of songs- we’ve done themed nights of 50s/60s, Motown, and more to come!

We also do a night of “Singing with the HAL Cats.” It’s like karaoke with a live band. Sometimes there are some good singers and it’s fun. Other times there are some TERRIBLE singers and I’m trying not to laugh the whole time. Either way it’s a good time.

Then we play the shows at night. Most of them are pretty cheesy but some can be fun. The dancers and singers are all really good and have been doing ships for a while now. Some of them have also done stuff in Vegas, with Disney, and with other cruise lines. We all live in the same area and see each other a lot, and they were all really friendly and welcoming when I first got on the ship. But not anymore… no just kidding, they still are! One of them is a die-hard Alabama football fan, so he keeps me up to date on scores. He broke the news to me about the LSU/Ducks game. I was devastated. But at least we can agree we both hate Auburn!

One show is called GarageBand, and it’s by far the silliest for the band. During one song where the singer sings a love song, the band is dressed up in jumpsuits and angel wings. Again, I’m trying not to laugh while we act serious.

Some of the other shows are pretty cheesy: bad jokes, silly costumes, and weird storylines. But other times they can be really good, and the music and talent of everybody is always top notch.

Sometimes we have guest entertainers. For example, last week there was a guitarist, really funny guy, great player, and the music was fun. We usually have one rehearsal with him and then the show, so we have to be on our game. However, sometimes they don’t need percussion. Like tonight, I don’t need to play, so I have the whole day off! And sometimes there’s a magician or comedian on board. The nice part is since I don’t play, I get to watch their acts. They’ve been pretty funny so far!

Playing is fun on the ship. I get to open up a little and play what I want. I smile a lot since I’m part of the show on stage. People always recognize me on tours and walking around the ship and tell me how they like the music and shows. I kind of feel like a rock star here! By the end of the 12 day cruise, everyone I met on tours and around the ship were coming to watch us play. It’s really cool!

Me, the bassist, and drummer are all Jewish. We’re thinking about doing something cool about it, like playing Hava Nagila at a set. The singer in the HAL Cats is from Colorado, so we automatically understood each other. There’s also a couple girls who went to CSU on the ship. They’re nice but still the enemy.

I could go on and on, but I’m going to be Istanbul today, and I heard you can get nice Turkish cymbals for cheap! Score! Anybody want anything?

Running in Venice

So the past week has been just as awesome as the first! I went to Sicily for my birthday, to this place Taormina. It was this town on this huge cliff above the Ionian Sea with a gorgeous view and an old Greco-Roman Theater. Then we finally went to Greece, where I walked up 700 somethin steps to this old castle in Nafplion. The view was amazing there as well. Then in Corfu I ate some gyros and swam in the sea. Greece is really nice, and the people aren’t as crazy as Italians.

After Greece we were in Dubrovnik. I kept telling myself and my friends “Two weeks ago I was in Oregon, and now I’m in Croatia. WHAT?!?” Dubrovnik’s old city has a wall surrounding it that you can walk the 2 miles around with some more amazing views! Also, surprisingly, they have really good pizza. And beautiful women. Who knew.

The past 3 days we’ve been docked in Venice. The Venice Film Festival has been going on there now and I was hoping to see some celebrities, however that did not happen. There was also this popular Art Festival going on as well, and there are free galleries that represent every country. Some were cool, some were creepy, and most were weird.  You had to be there. But then I had my first scary moment of the cruise. Me and the drummer were out all morning just walking down alleys and getting lost in Venice, because we heard that’s the best way to experience it. But then it was an hour until the ship left and we were on the other side of town. So we ran down the streets of Venice, which, if you know the streets of Venice, most of them are very narrow and packed with tourists. So we were running in between people, swerving, almost running into strollers and old people. Then we had to run through St. Marc’s Square at 2pm on a Saturday. It was an experience. And yes I made it back on the ship!

I’m really excited for the itinerary coming up for this cruise: Split, Croatia; Istanbul; Kusadasi, Turkey; and Mykonos and Santorini, Greece. I’ve heard so many great things about them all so I’m very excited.

I talked last time about the food. Well, I’ve been eating a lot of it. Sometimes 5 meals a day. When we have an hour in between shows, it’s just kinda where we go and hang out. But surprisingly I’ve lost weight. It’s probably cause I’m walking so much everyday on every port. It’s strange.

Oh yeah, and I’ve been playing music every day too! But I can tell you about that next time!

Hope everything’s going well with everyone in the states!

My First Week

I had a really busy first 2 days on the ship playing a lot and then going to meetings, safety trainings, and learning about how stuff works here. But now that that’s all over, it’s been really fun!

Tuesday I didn’t play until 10pm, so I had the whole day in Monte Carlo free! I walked to the casino area, a beach area, and then up the steep hill to this huge old elegant hotel. The neighborhoods around there had some of the most beautiful architecture I’ve ever seen.  I walked for maybe 4 or 5 hours just looking and taking pictures.

I played 3 sets each the first 2 days I was here, which is a lot! One of the performances was on the top deck right next to the pool while we were sailing out of Barcelona. And since it’s a huge ship, when you’re on the top deck you have an amazing view of anywhere you are. So I was playing drums while looking over Barcelona as we sailed by. It was really cool!

The Lido, which is our dining hall, is also up on the top deck. We eat the same food the guests do and sit in the same area as them, which is different than other ships, so I’m pretty lucky. I had quail one night, I’ve had steak a couple times. There’s always really good food and a big variety. But one of the cool things is we can eat outside too. So the first 2 days I was eating breakfast and lunch while looking over Barcelona. Then the next day, I woke up to eat breakfast looking over the insanely beautiful Monte Carlo. I don’t want to say Monte Carlo is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to, cause I’m going to so many other cities… but Monte Carlo is the most beautiful place I’ve been to YET.

Yesterday I went to Rome. There are shore excursions that guests can purchase. Some of them cost a lot of money, but if there are open spots the crew can go on them for free. So I got to go on a $200 tour to Rome FO FREE! First we went to the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, then the Colosseum, then had a lunch of lasagna, tiramisu and wine (remember, I haven’t spent a dime yet), and then walked around to the Trevi Fountains, Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and some other places downtown. It was incredible!

Today I’m in Sicily for my birthday and I’m going on another excursion! I wish everyone reading this could be over here to celebrate with me!

Caio!