Venice!!!

I finally got to see Venice!!! I was up early and out on deck to watch us sail into the harbor. It is incredible, we actually sail right past St. Mark's square. I got off the ship on my own, and decided, after a quick look at a posted map to get my general bearings, I would wander around without buying one and just allow myself to get lost in Venice, which I've heard is really the thing to do. So I took my time wandering in the direction of San Marco, exploring the narrow streets and canals and going whichever way I pleased, on my own time. It was a great way to experience the city for the first time. It is really stunning. I did a bit of shopping and came away with my very own Venetian masks, two of my favorites after looking in a dozen shops. I wanted to find one that I knew was made in Venice by a particular artist, and not imported from China for cheap tourist souvenirs. I love the ones I found, made by artist Gastaldi Amelio in Venice. After a few hours I finally reached the famous square, and took in the moment for a while. I saw a few people covered in pigeons, but didn't feel the urge to buy bread and place myself in a similar possibly dirty situation.

At that point I finally bought a map in preparation for the next part of the day - meeting up with my friends for lunch. Gianni, our resident handsome Italian drummer, had invited us to meet in San Margarita square for lunch at 1pm. Having no idea where to start I did buy a map, quickly realizing I had much further to go than I assumed, and raced across bridges and through narrow passageways for half an hour in order to get there close to on-time. I found Gianni and 4 others from our band at the far end of the square at a restaurant Gianni had picked out and recommended. It was a wonderful lunch, in a beautiful place!! I felt so happy and satisfied with my day. Wandering on my own and discovering Venice without worry about anything other than which corner I wanted to peek around next, and then a leisurely and tasty Italian lunch with friends. Mmmm….pizza in Italy…. Gianni insisted on paying for everyone - which was so generous and sweet of him. He really acted the host as we enjoyed being in his country.

Tonight's show is Hayden Smith - who I played for two or three times on the Rhapsody - so it was nice to see him again. Just before the show he asked us if we'd mind him recording our horn parts during the show as we performed, so he can use them when he has to perform without a band. Oh, and he'll pay us a hundred dollars each to agree. Hmmm….no brainer! Get paid twice to play the same show I get paid to play anyway? Yes please.

Ports and In Port Manning

On the Queen Elizabeth, there is a rule that a certain amount of crew must be on board at any one time, in case of an emergency. This translates to "In Port Manning" or IPM for us - there is a set rotation so that one in every seven ports you must stay on board and be assigned a specific IPM emergency duty, possibly different to your usual one, in order to make sure every important position is covered in case something were to happen while we're docked requiring action on our parts. Yesterday I was assigned IPM, but my boss Tim was staying on board and offered to cover it for me. It is quite easy to switch your IPM or even pay someone to do it if you really want to get off in a particular port in which you happen to have IPM. Some companies don't require IPM at all, some only require it from key personnel, and some require it as often as every 3 ports. So one in 7 really isn't bad, especially with it being so easy to switch to get out of it. Some random info for you there.

So anyway, my boss was nice enough to cover my IPM, so I went ashore on my own in Messina. I've been there before so I felt comfortable on my own. I did some shopping and then sat in an outside café with some espresso and read a book on my kindle (a lifesaver!! really loving it!) for a while. On my way back I passed by a café where lo and behold, two friends from past contracts were sitting. At first I didn't believe my eyes, but this really is the only job in the world where you can expect something like running into your buddy Tony the Swedish guitarist from the Rhapsody, and Jordan the English shoppie from the Voyager, while walking around in Sicily. It was great to see them both, such a nice surprise to catch up with them! They are both working on the Navigator of the Seas, a Royal ship that was docked with us that day. Love this life….

Today we were in Cephalonia, a Greek Island. It is a really beautiful sunny place, and man, was it hot. Despite the heat, I walked and explored a lot with Christy and Adrian, even climbing up a big hill so we could see a view of the other side of the island. We did a bit of essential (and some arguably non-essential) shopping, sat for a while at a café to cool off (I had fresh squeezed orange juice….yum) then headed back to the ship.

Oh, the other night for one of the guest acts I got to play Michael Buble's version of Cry Me a River - which has been one of my favorites for a while now! So exciting to be able to actually play the arrangement and rock out!!

Oh also - I am now famous (or infamous) on board because for some reason my crew pass didn't scan properly when I returned to the ship yesterday. They thought I wasn't on board, announced my name over the P.A. (which I didn't hear since I was already in rehearsal), thought they were going to have to leave me behind, and finally called my supervisor (Tim) who turned around to look at me with a funny look on his face, then replied in an amused tone that I was sitting right behind him. :-)