Last Cruise :(

So I’m on my last cruise. It’s a 17-day cruise that started in Venice and ends in Ft. Lauderdale. We will arrive November 13^th, and then I’ll get on a flight home. However, I’m very sad to leave this ship because it’s incredible! All the people I’ve met here are amazing and I consider them good friends. It’ll be sad to say goodbye to them, but I’m sure I will see them again in the future. The great part about this job is that I meet people from all over the world. I have friends now from the Philippines, Argentina, South Africa, India, England, and many more. I can add them on facebook, and now I have even more places to visit! Many other things I’ll miss about this ship- having lots of food available at most hours of the day, a commute of 30 seconds to work, a full gym, the amazing sunsets at sea, and 95 cent beers.

Our last time in Venice we had to say goodbye to the cast of singers and dancers. I became very good friends with them over the past 2 months and it was sad to see them leave. They felt like a family, because we all eat, hang out, work together, and live right next to each other. It was more difficult saying goodbye for them, having spent 10 months together, 8 of them on the ship! However, I hope to see them in the future and hopefully work with them again.

So now we have 11 new singers and dancers of the cast. They are all nice people, but they’re very busy because the first couple weeks they’re here they are rehearsing all day long. Their second day on the ship they were in rehearsal from 7am-2:30am.

Tonight we’re playing a Halloween party for the entire ship. I’m planning on dressing up as a bumble bee, as long it doesn’t get in the way of playing everything. It was funny walking around in Italy today seeing Halloween decorations and little Italian kids with masks and capes. It’s kind of strange, I don’t think the holiday really fits in here.  But either way, I’m looking forward to spending a Halloween on the ocean!

Istanbul cymbals, ATV in Mykonos, and late-night Venice

I have done so many things the past 2 weeks. A lengthy blog post, but worth reading!

I went to Olympia a couple weeks ago, where the first Olympics were held. It was out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by rolling hills and green trees. It was very peaceful and relaxing. Originally this was a place of worship, and the games tied into this theme. The stadium was really cool and I ran across it!

We had 3 days in Venice and spent as much time as I could walking around the city. I basically ate pizza, gelato, and pastries. Nothing else. I found the best pizza though! I was walking and looked around the corner and saw a huge line full of Italian teenagers. (That’s usually a good sign.) So I looked inside and there were these MASSIVE pizzas that looked INCREDIBLE. They were also about ½ inch thick, which is not typical of Italian pizza. I got a huuuge slice right as the pizza came out of the oven, sauce was dripping down. It was delicious! One night I went out with some of the band and we went to this place called frulala. Our singer had been there before and says they have the best sangria in the world and is her favorite place in all of Venice. So they opened early for us and gave us some hot sangria, which was delicious on a cold night! They also gave us these smoothie shots/drinks. They were Strawberry-Grape-Vodka and Mango-Pineapple-Rum. They were made with fresh fruit and very tasty! Walking around Venice on a Saturday night was cool because the streets were pretty empty, but every once in a while a bar would be crowded with people. What was also fun is that every so often we would hear a loud crowd down this small side street and there’d be tons of people in this random square. So we’d go join them for a little before continuing to explore. Then we went to St. Mark’s Square. During the day it’s overcrowded with tourists, but at about 2:30am it was deserted. We were the only ones there standing in front of this masterpiece of art. It was surreal.

The next day we were in Korcula, Croatia. My description of it: paradise. I took a tour that cruised around the Dalmatian Islands that surrounded Korcula. It was peaceful and absolutely gorgeous. I think if I wanted a quiet vacation spot, this would be the perfect place.

After 2 sea days (we couldn’t land in Athens because of protesting), we made it to Istanbul again. I was looking forward to this for a month because me and the 3 other drummers on board were going to the Istanbul Mehmet cymbal factory! This factory is one of the only factories that still makes their cymbals by hand without modern machinery. After taking a 30 minute taxi ride through the massive, sprawling city of Istanbul, we came to this industrial area full of garages where the cymbal factory is. We took a tour and saw them putting these metal discs in a 1000 degree fire and flattening them into cymbals. We saw them hand hammering the cymbals and shaping them into what they become. We played and tested cymbals out, which was really fun. Since all the cymbals are hand made, each one has a unique sound, even if they are from the same model. We were in the same place that famous drummers like Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams were when they tested cymbals. I bought a pair of new hi-hats and a ride. They were so new that we had to wait an extra hour there so they could paint the logos and print on them. We also got a picture with Mehmet Tederger, the man who started the factory, and he even signed our cymbals! It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had, and all of us couldn’t believe we were actually there.  The next day, we walked around this street that is FULL of music stores and another hot spot to buy cymbals. I went alone in this store and asked this guy if he had any cymbals. He barely spoke any English but he said “follow me.” We go in this dark tunnel and up this old spiral staircase. I thought he was going to mug me or something, but instead he took me to this small room full of old and unique cymbals. I spent some time in there and found a crash cymbal that I bought for $120! Cymbals are much cheaper in Istanbul. Out of 5 people on the ship, we bought 7 cymbals and 2 pairs of hi-hats. All for probably a 1/3 of what we would pay for them in the states.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for 2 days, the next day a bunch of us rented ATVs in Mykonos and drove around the island, stopping at beaches and looking at the beautiful landscape. We saw farms, sheep, and cows in big pastures, as well as big expensive houses on tops of cliffs overlooking the sea. The views of the oceans and small islands in the distance were incredible. We stopped at a couple beaches far away from any towns. Since it was late October it was pretty cold, so no swimming, but there was also practically nobody there. We went to this beach called Paradise, which apparently is the 2^nd biggest beach party in the world. In the summer they have 4,000 people show up everyday to party all day and night until the next morning. We were practically the only ones there now, enjoying the quiet, sitting in the small-pebbled sand, watching the light blue waves. It was really beautiful.

I now have 3 more weeks on the ship. I’m enjoying myself very much and making use of my time here. It feels like I’ve been on the ship for longer than 2 months, and I feel like I’ve known these people for longer too. I’m having a great time and loving ship life.

Nice is niice. So is Florence and Pisa.

So after being super exhausted from Barcelona, I decided to still get little sleep and push through the next two days. Why? Nice, Florence, and Pisa.

Knock another country off my list, one I wasn’t expecting to go to. We docked in Monte Carlo after Barcelona and I took the train to Nice in France. Nice is nice. I thought it would be a quiet little town, and I was completely wrong. Nice is pretty big. Luckily I took the train with some friends who have been there before and showed me where everything is. So I walked to the old town, which is a really cool area! It has tons of hip places to eat and restaurants that have music at night. I definitely want to spend more time there, especially for the beach! The beach is massive and on a Wednesday at 3pm was packed! There were many toursits, and many people my age there. It seems like a hot spot for young travellers. I took an elevator up to this huge hill that looked out onto the whole town, the mountains behind it, and the ocean with the sun setting into it. There’s also a big fountain that goes over these old stones, and it made me really miss the nature of Colorado. I’ll have to visit soon.

The next day I took an excursion to Florence and Pisa. First we went to Florence and did a walking tour. The Duomo was massive and totally different than any other church I’ve seen in Europe. We went by the square where the fake David is, and went into the church where Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo, and Rossini is buried. Beautiful artwork everywhere. We had a great (free) lunch with pasta and the best tiramisu I’ve ever eaten. Everyone I’ve talked to, including some girls I met on the train to Nice, said the gelato in Florence is the best in all of Italy. So I had some, with homemade whipped cream on top, and it was very good. Fresh, rich flavors, light and creamy, homemade. It was great. We then went to Pisa where I saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It’s pretty awesome when you turn the corner and there it is. It’s actually leaning. It’s in a very beautiful square with grass and other big buildings. It was a very cool experience and I was very excited to be there. Here's a picture of me there!

Hope all is well at home. Missing everybody and hope to see you all soon.

Ciao.

Rome & Barcelona

This past cruise I think I’ve gotten the least amount of sleep. People stay up very late here. And when I go on tours or want to spend the entire day in Rome, I have to get up pretty early in the morning. But I’ve gotten used to it, and I can usually nap in the afternoons before a show or something. When in Rome, right?

Speaking of, one day recently I went to Rome by myself. I took the train in from our port and walked around by myself. I went to the Vatican, Castel Saint Angelo, Piazza Navona, the Jewish Quarter, and then Piazza Venezia where I saw views of the Forum, the Colosseum, and some other ruins I never figured out the names for. It was nice to do things on my own and go at my own pace. Rome was beautiful, and I had the most amazing pizza and gelato. Their pizza has a thick crust but you can still walk and eat it. I saw this one place that was packed, lots of locals, and the freshest looking cheese and toppings. It was a great choice! I also chose this great gelato place. I was told to look at all the gelato and if the colors are very bright and colorful, then it’s probably a brand that produces the gelato with preservatives. But if the colors are bland, which they were, then they make it in the shop, all homemade gelato with no preservatives. And this place was like that. The chocolate flavor was super rich and the coffee flavor was very strong.

Then we had three days in Barcelona. The first day I went out to Parc Ciutadella at sundown and saw the Arc de Triumph, a huge fountain with a gold chariot at the top, and a massive elephant statue. That night I also went to this huge club called Opium. It was a massive place right on the beach. For a Sunday night, the place was packed! It would be like a Thursday night at the Walrus times 6, and every person from a different part of the world. I heard many different languages being spoken around me. I met a lot of Germans and Russians actually. At one point this guy was playing saxophone to this house music and the crowd was loving it. He was really good though and it sounded amazing! We were with a big crowd from the boat so it felt like I knew a lot of people there. It was a blast! We left at 4:30am and there was no sign of the club stopping anytime soon. We got back to the ship and went into the bakery where they make the sweets for the ship. OH MAN! The bakery guys were super nice and gave us muffins and pastries to eat. Que magnifico!

The second day in Barcelona I finally got to this sandwich place called Bo de B that all my friends who studied in Barcelona told me about. It was incredible! A huge sandwich with tons of chicken and veggies and these amazing sauces! Then patates braves, like fried potato wedges with the sauces were unbelievable! Probably the best potatoes I’ve ever eaten. So thank you Gabe, Colton, Mindy, and cousin Mike for all separately suggesting this one place off the beaten path. That night I went to the club yet again until 5am. Then I woke up bright and early at 8am to see some touristy places in town with friends. We went to Sagrada Familia, which is really REALLY cool, and Parc Guell.

Barcelona has some amazing art and it’s a very unique place. It kinda reminds me of NYC because there’s so many different areas and there’s lots of different sights to see all over town. I would definitely love to go visit Barcelona on my own again because there was still so many things I didn’t get to see that I wanted to.

Adios!