ANDIAMO DI NUOVO VENEZIA!!

{Click Me}

Nicolo Paganini's delightful "Carnival in Venice" in the background announces: 

"Time to Buckle Up" 

Dear Hearts and Innocent bystanders, for another AMAZING Adventure of the Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady & The Wacky American Tourist, for as the title declares....

 We're off to Venice... Again!!!

"Why Venice again?" you hesitate to ask, {anticipating another of his long-winded answers}  

And without hesitation Chucky answers ever so briefly:

"Blame it on the Tempelshifs!"

Well now, blame is a tad strong for what actually happened on our last sea day together during NOWAT BRITANNIA. We were watching as they were taking advantage of on-board discounts for booking Back to Back cruises to the Greek Isles and more when Donna says:

“Wanna come along?”

To which, of course, Dragon Chic says:

"Why Not?"

And that - Dear Hearts - was that! 

Since "Her Wishes" are His Mandate to "make it so", Chucky promptly plunked down a deposit on the same deals. 

Wait, weren't they planning to get on with the 2nd leg of The Dragon Lady Does America Tour this summer {which actually started back in 2009 with NOWAT ALASKA} by jumping on Route 66 in St. Louis and just heading west with scenic stops along the way including the Grand Canyon, Napa Vineyards and beyond.  

Oh well, maybe next year.  

{Hmmm, so much for brevity.}

Soooo, what this all adds up to this Fall is 2 {back to back} 7 day cruises out of Venice, down through the Adriatic Sea to the Mediterranean with stops in Montenegro, Croatia and various Greek Isles with a half-day layover in Venice between cruises. 

As usual, the agenda, excursion tidbits, etc. will be highlighted in the posts that follow, although something was mentioned about a Donkey Ride up a slippery zig-zag in Santorini... 

Uhhhhh - we'll just have to see about that.

OK, that's enough for now, HE has to get back online and finalize a bunch of stuff SHE decided is necessary to enhance this adventure, not the least of which is locating a new DSW Outlet {her favorite one is under renovation}... 

Aww come on... you had to know it was gonna get down to shoes sooner or later. 

And of course a little Scotch... 

OK, OK - lots of Scotch.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The Soooo Ready for more Italia, 

Dragon Lady

ITINERARY & AGENDA

Welcome Back, which means you’re still as curious as we remember, or else you would have rolled your eyes at the last post and begun binge-watching reruns of the Breaking Bad, or continued your game of Ma Jong, or whatever.

So, here’s the Deal about when, what, how and more importantly what to wear… where. 

Since you can never get enough of Venice [or so they say] we all fly into Venice 2 days ahead of the Cruise to tour around and catch up on what we didn't get to the last time around. What we don’t see then we'll fill in on the layover between cruises.

Chucky found a GREAT AirBnB “Family Suite” {2Br/2Ba } for We4 on the mainland in Mestre. 

Much less expensive for 2 nights than two rooms in an over-priced aging property on the island and much easier to get in and out of. 

Dragging LUG-gage on and off a vaporetto and through Venice, over stepped bridges etc. is a pain, not to mention trying to get it all to the Venice Cruise Terminal which ain't easy either.

Transportation in and out of Venice will be a snap.  The bus stop for a €1.50/15 minute ride to the vaporetto docks at Piazzale Roma {P.le Roma} is right on the corner which makes this apartment at Via Milano 15 an ideal spot. 

And since we'll be there for 2 days, we plan on buying a €20/24hr or €30/48hr Transport Card. With these you can ride the bus and vaporettos as much as you need, for way less than individual one-way tickets for each.  An alternative is the {Venezia Unica} pass that, for an additional fee, includes transportation and entrance to any number of museums and attractions, AND Free Wi-Fi via the city-wide hot spots. Both passes are available online or at various kiosks around town.

While in Venice, we have also booked a half day walking tour with Nadia Danesin, whose business name is Friend in Venice, the same guide we used in NOWAT TOSCANA who was wonderful.  

The rest we'll figure out on the fly.

Rather than itemize each stops agenda including tours, etc., we'll save it for that stops post.

{As usual, to save space in all posts, more in-depth details about whatever, is highlighted and can be had by Clicking the Blue Links in each post}

As mentioned in the first post, this will be two back to back {B2B} 7 day cruises  from Venice on:

Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas

{most European routes are on the older, smaller vessels - they save the Floating Palaces for the more lucrative Caribbean routes]

ITINERARY 

8-15 September

VENICE - out 5PM

KOTOR, MONTENEGRO {we're here on both trips}

CORFU, 2^nd largest of the Ionian islands

ATHENS We’ve been here, Tempelshifs haven’t.

Mykonos

Argostoli {Kefalonia, Largest Ionian island}

Sea Day

VENICE - in 7AM

15-22 September

VENICE - out 5PM

SEA DAY

KATAKOLON {Olympia}

SANTORINI {Donkeys?!?}

SEA DAY

KOTOR [See above}

SPLIT, CROATIA  {Game of Thrones}

VENICE -  In 7AM

Depending on the stop, and how many other ships are in port that day, if we have plenty of time in port, we'll be booking private tours. Otherwise we'll book ship sponsored excursions when we need to insure we won't miss the boat, particularly on the stops where we anchor off-shore and TENDER in. 

We've already been warned that Santorini can be challenging, more on that later.

Keeping it short for now, HE has to get on with checking the rest of the tour offerings in Santorini and Split before the pre-cruise discounts dry up.  

Hmmm, looks like we didn’t get to the part about "What to Wear… where", probably ‘cause she’s still working on it so that'll have to be another post, maybe the Packing Ballet, after, of course, HE locates a “fill in” DSW Outlet.

Hey, it's after 5PM so you know what that means... 

It's Dewar's Time!!!

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck &The already sorting wardrobe,

Dragon Lady

WAIT...WAIT...Don’t Tell Me!

Or

2, count 'em, 2 surprises in 1!

  

This was supposed to be a brief update on Trip Preparation, such as it is, and it really started out to be until... uhhh... well, just read on.

So as the story usually goes, Chucky dutifully accompanies the Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady on all pre-trip shopping excursion [welllll... somebody has to carry the bags] in search of What to Wear… where. Which of course always includes that purveyor of metatarsal torture [or pleasure as it may be]: 

D S W.

Now as erroneously reported previously, her favorite emporium of decorative discount digit coverings was NOT closed for renovation. Rather just a minor face lift due to an errant auto - piloted by an overly excitable octogenarian, who swore that the cat jumped in front of her - which rearranged their front entrance [no cat was found… or injured in the telling of this tale].

Sooooo, off to Aventura they headed with the usual expectations of zero success for her [while he usually scores something that will sit in his closet 'till time to consign it to the Goodwill bag] but hey, they were damn sure gonna try!

As alluded to above, this was supposed to be the brief part:

SHE SCORED

on the first try, [if you count first as: after 2 hours - in the 8th aisle - of left foot, right foot - this shoe 'n' that - sauntering up and back].

And thus, a new pair of Sperry Topsiders [with cute little leather tassels] will be adorning her ever-so-lovely toes on the treks through Rocks – Ruins & Temples throughout the Greek Isles this fall.  

Rest assured this will probably not be the last “Shoe” trip… there is still lots of time till the Packing Ballet - and just prior to boarding Delta Flight 541.

With all that it was time to feed her.  And while he had intended this to conclude the brief update... so much for brevity - Yup... read on.

After the not so hastily decided upon spot for chow [their favorite Italian Eatery, Allegria in Downtown Hollywood turned out to be closed for Vacation] the Greek Joint won the coin toss - following which your erstwhile Wacky Travelers arrived home to find... 

A fervent email from Royal Caribbean International [OK not so fervent for RCI, but it was for our dynamic duo] regarding Itinerary changes for the 2^nd of the Back to Back cruises.

Remember the mention in a previous post of possible congestion in some of the ports of call on the cruises, that may or may not dictate shore excursions?  

Well it seems that after a lengthy query from Chucky [another long tale for another time] regarding tendering options in certain ports RCI must have re-examined the scheduled occupancy for all the ports and decided to re-arrange their itinerary:

“Due to Port Congestion”

–Hmmmm where did we hear that term before-

This of course caused mild panic and a scramble on Chucky’s part to see what excursions, or private tours may be affected by this little tidbit. 

Fortunately the only excursion affected was one that was booked through the ship, which they said would be adjusted accordingly.  

What “accordingly” means is anybody’s guess so we'll see how that goes once we get onboard for the first cruise and make our own adjustments “Accordingly”.

So just for the record the NEW itinerary is:

15-22 September

VENICE - out 5PM

KOTOR, MONTENEGRO 

SEA DAY

SANTORINI

KATAKOLON 

SEA DAY

SPLIT, CROATIA

VENICE -  In 7AM

Surely there will be more to report on all of this but for now that’s enough excitement for one day, and besides John Dewar & Sons await HIM for a well deserved nightcap... 

but of course you knew that.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The SCORING 1^st at DSW,

Dragon Lady

Chucky, Dove sono i miei collirio?

Or

“Oh Chucky…Where are my Eye Drops?”

Contrary to popular belief, not all NOWAT are about shoes, the quest for, or even joyous acquisition thereof.  We'll mostly not all. 

The day started like most other days with Dragon Chic bounding with joy from bed to shower while Chucky played hug-a-bed with another neck cramp.  Just a normal day except… from the bathroom comes the nervous question noted above.

“Which ones?” HE grumbles while trying not to roll out of a warm, cozy, just right spot.

“The ones Dr. Z gave me for the crusty eye,” SHE calls out through the steam.

“All gone. Uhh… Crusty eye – not again?” now fully awake he manages to find the floor, right where he left it the night before.

“Well, just a little. It’s been off and on for the past couple days.”

“Let’s not let this get out of hand again, we’re just a couple weeks from our trip,” he mumbles,  “I'll call Dr Z,” as he heads for the phone.

Yeah… just a little of the usual pre-trip drama. But not about shoes… yet.

HE manages to score a 3pm appointment with their Ophthalmologist and Chucky’s former Golf buddy Dr Harvey Zalaznick [hence “Dr. Z”] which was intended to supplant their annual November exam along with a treatment for her present “condition”.  But… Dr. Z finds that it’s just a repeat of the last pre-trip stress related blepharitis and sends them packing with an Rx for THE Eye Drops, with orders to come back in November like they're supposed to.

Now, of course, being in Aventura, and right next door to, Taa-Daa:

DSW

what else could they do but make another stab at. “Left foot- Right Foot- Up and Down the Aisle”, for her of course, he’s been set for months.

Surprisingly however, SHE vetoes DSW in favor of a trip up the road to the Aventura Mall, which she claims will have more options for travel togs, additional metatarsal sheaths and just plain What to Wear – There… and elsewhere. 

Dropping the car at “Aventura’s Finest Carwash” beats trolling for a parking spot at the busier than usual mall, and they head into Macy’s where wonder of wonders…

SHE manages to stock up on enough “Que Cute” blouses and “Oh So Cool Capris” in record time which will surely make the Packing Ballet even more fun than usual.  Seriously, when this chic sets her mind to it – SHE CAN SHOP!

And of course you just know there had to be the brief, but necessary visit to the shoe department which almost netted another “Great Pair” when she abruptly announces…

She’s good to go with what she already has. 

This revelation of course has Chucky frantically checking her pulse and temperature to make sure she isn’t coming down with something else ‘cause… this was Waaayyy TOO easy.

After a leisurely dinner at Rosalia’s [their favorite Italian spot in the mall] it was off to spend 40 minutes in traffic to pick up the Rx for THE Drops, and head home for coffee and a little TV for her.

HE of course found it necessary to record this day’s events for your amusement, or maybe just his, because, well, just because he can, as he enjoyed a little of Mr. Dewar’s fine craftsmanship.

Tomorrow He’ll get around to confirming the private tours and related transportation as well as transports in Venice – to and from the apartment, the Cruise port and back to the Airport at the end of the cruise.

Oh, And a quick Thanks for all the many encouraging comments, as well as offers to carry her bags {that job is well in hand, thank you very much}. Maybe next time YOU too can get coaxed by the Tempelshifs into coming along. 
[They just LUV to cruise with an entourage]

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The Savvy Shopping,

Dragon Lady

ROLL CALL

Most Veteran NOWAT followers, and you know who you are, will recall that Chucky is an avid subscriber to Cruise Critic Roll Calls whenever THEY plan a cruise. 

Cruise Critic, for the NEWbees, and those that barely skim the alerts, and you know who you are, is a very popular website that has tons of information regarding… wait for it:

CRUISES

The Best Cruises for {fill in the blank}, What to wear-where, Where to go when you get there, loads of pertinent Articles, Reviews … 

OK, just lots and LOTS of info.

Roll Calls are a very important part of Cruise Critic for avid and even rookie cruisers where cruisers on a particular ship, of any particular Cruise lines and particular itineraries meet up to exchange information and/or connect to take advantage of other cruiser experiences, ask or give advice, share booking shore excursions etc. that aren’t ship sponsored and/or generally like seeing who else may be on board.

And, those that know the Wacky American Tourist and Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady, know that they prefer doing much of the “Rocks, Ruins and Temple visits on their own as much as possible. Roll Call is also where we met Sarah and Phyllis, those Wild & Wacky School Teachers from Ohio that we had a Fabulous time with on MEDCRUISE-2008 [and whom we still stay in touch with].  

This cruise is no different.  

And as such, through the Roll Call's for these two cruises, Chucky has managed, to “Hook Up” with several other cruisers to book private excursions in various ports.  

This is most often more economical than the ship sponsored excursions as you share the cost of a reasonably priced tour, generally managed by locals in smaller vehicles, thus a more intimate experience than being on a big bus, with 40-50 people to “be tightly scheduled with Get on the Bus - Get off the Bus…” etc. 

The “Private” tours allow for much more flexibility, for example: Having more time at a particular Historical site to take that Great Selfie overlooking the Blue Mediterranean that only you and 200 of your dearest friends on Facebook will ever see,  or “Oh that’s a cute little Tavern, let’s have a drink and snack before we go on” or, well you get the idea… hopefully.

Aside from the Private Walking tour in Venice previously mentioned, We4 have managed to connect with a couple from San Francisco to make a party of 6 for a tour of Athens, booked with a delightful “Certified-Licensed” Greek tour guide and private Van, that will take up most of the 7 hours in Athens including the Acropolis, and all the “Necessary Historical Sites”.

In Argostoli, we have hooked up with a Group of 8 from Montreal to share a Van and Guide for the various sites there.

We had, prior to the Schedule Change by RCI on the 2^nd cruise, had a tour in KOTOR [the second time around] booked with another Canadian Group, but with the change they elected to go another way that involved a speedboat ride and swim somewhere that had us nervous about getting back to the ship on time so they're on their own.

This caused us to book a Ship Excursion in KOTOR on the first cruise and plan a DIY of some kind on cruise #2 - Maybe a Bus to Perast to see the Our Lady of the Rocks, or sumthin' like that.

Now if all this has you staring glassy eyed at whatever device you read NOWAT’s on, then you know how Chucky feels after the last few weeks of trying to get all this planned. 

Oh common, you just know he has to have ALL the Details in order, long before he gets on the plane, if for no other reason than, well… Hey it’s Chucky and that’s how he rolls.

The rest of the stops will involve Ship sponsored excursions when we need to insure not having to chase the ship down the pier because we had one too many cocktails at that cute tavern and got stuck in traffic on some winding road filled with other bleary eyed tourists in private vans or sumthin’ like that. Or just wandering around the port or wherever looking for cute taverns closer to the pier.

Which brings us back to the Roll Calls and another advantage it offers.  In addition to being a Forum for idea exchanges etc., it also allows the opportunity to have a Ship Sponsored “Meet and Mingle” if you get 25 or more cruisers signed up, where everyone has a chance to plan more things to do with, supposedly, drinks on the house [we'll just see about that] and even plan “Cabin Crawls” [more about those later] etc.

Speaking of Bleary Eyed, that's HIS condition after trying to get this all down with the help of a Fine Bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzo so we'll let you go get your own favorite beverage and rest up for the next edition of:

“What in the Hell is he talking about now”.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The also bleary eyed,

Dragon Lady

JUST FOR THE RECORD...

Or

““What – They Haven’t Left?!?”

Ok, show of Hands…

Who thinks the Wacky American Tourist and Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady are already in Venice?

Unh-Hunh, 1...2...3...4... Uhhh-Oh...

OK...Ok, let’s try this:

How many think they're already Back?

Unh Hunh... we see.

Well now, seems like many of you aren’t completely following the bouncing ball [BlogPageReadStats report that at most, 30% of current NOWAT subscribers are participating] and at that it appears by most reports and a few comments that many of those are just skimming.
Seriously folks... 

"There's lots of Gold in Them Thar hills"

as the saying goes.

We also realize that there are several NEWbee’s who may have not gotten the hang of Chucky’s erratic if not obscure style of reporting yet, so here’s the low down.

News Flash - They don’t leave until Sept 5^th. 
He’s still in his bat-cave knocking out Pre-trip Preparation updates just to get his journalistic juices in gear for what's to come. You know, those rambling recaps of the various searches for {fill in the blank} or HIS or HER latest Faux Pax, or Whatevah, that tend to get some of you rolling your eyes and heading for the Vodka Bottle, or whatever, to steady you nerves.

Hey, these aren’t called 

Notes of a Wacky American Tourist 

fer nuthin’!

Speaking of NEWbee’s, we would like to welcome aboard the NOWAT Train, several more of the Tempelshif Entourage in Las Vegas who, we are told, are anxious to read all the antics of their Wacky Cruise Aficionado friends, [that Mr. & Mrs T don't tell them about]. Also joining us are some unsuspecting relatives of Chucky's former hotel colleagues who naively agreed to participate but apparently have no idea what they’re in for.  We'll save you all embarrassment by not mentioning your names since these notes generally only involve the antics of those in the current traveling party… unless you act up. 

Consider yourselves forewarned.

Another thing for NEWbee's and other Innocent Bystander to note,

The NOWAT aren’t just some obscure Travel Blog with loads of where to, what to, how to, when to, etc., it's main focus always has, and always will be, to recount, for their ardent{?} followers, i.e Friends, Family and Other Innocent Bystanders, the Exploits, Foibles and Faux Pas, both PRE-trip as well as during, of the Wacky American Tourist and Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady… and whoever just happens to have the dubious pleasure of accompanying them on said Exploits.

And of course while we’re on that subject [well, he is anyway] for the benefit of the NEWbee's as well a those who continue to ask, just for the record, One-more-time...  

It is pronounced NO-WAT, not NOW-AT or 

NO-WAIT  or NOW-WHAT. 

Got it? Good, now you may continue.

So the gist of this whole diatribe is either:

A. They ain't left yet

B. He's’ just reiterating the rules of the game

C. NEWbee’s beware

or

D. More importantly… he's just out of Scotch and is rambling on in a sober stupor.
{is there such a thing?}

Whatever the case,

Stay Calm 

and 

Keep on Keepin’ on

As he will surely do, just because he can.

Last but most important, you will note below the signature block, a section for comments, feel free to use it... if you dare. Hey, he might even answer you directly and allow your comment to be published. 
Others have and are still allowed to show their faces around their neighborhood. 

There’s lots more to report on Pre-trip Prep, etc. but why waste it all here. You'll just have to hang in there till the next ***ALERT***, because...
the Dewar's delivery just arrived.

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The now Rolling HER eyes,

Dragon Lady

PRE-SORT?!?

Or

Another Double post.

Part One.

NOWAT Veterans are well aware that prior to every Adventure there is the "Packing Pre-Sort", i.e., the pre-sorting of HER wardrobe to identify what fits, what don't - what matches, what don't - what may, or may not go and what's missing.  Not unlike most savvy travelers.

All of which will mandate another "Mall Run" to supplement the already growing collection on the bed that will be later sorted for what actually may be part of the final [there is never a final] selection that will go into the bag, only to be removed and replaced, etc., etc., etc... 

For NOWAT NEWbee's, the final element of this exercise is called "The Packing Ballet", wherein SHE will put it on the bed,  HE will put in the bag, SHE will most certainly take it back out of the bag, re-hang and replace, only to reverse the last step, many - many times... all to HIS amusement and mild frustration.  

FYI NEWbee's, having mastered the art of Mega Tight Packing while in the Military, [yes there is art to it] Chucky does all the packing, she just does all the "Sorting".   

So Yes... The Pre-Sorting has begun and much to his dismay, the pile is getting MUCH larger than the last trip which only adds to his panic that it won't all fit into the Carry On and he'll have to check a bag - which he hates as he subscribes to Peter Greenberg's [google it] mantra: 

"Checked Luggage, is LOST Luggage- 

especially when changing planes in Atlanta"

And of course, realizing that there are several gaps in the fashion palate for this trip SHE declares a Mall run is immediately in order to include [where else] DSW, Oh Happy Day...

Part two.
It was a record setting Trek to Aventura, [the car is well trained-it found Aventura without a hitch]
Once again, in an attempt to keep it brief [yeah...right]

HE is happy to report:

DSW = 45 minutes, 2 – count ‘em 2 scores and a giggle from the cashier who recognizes them from the last sortie.

MACY’s = 30 minutes, 2 direct hits,

[SHE’s on a ROLL]

And yes, it was time to feed her so naturally, a stop at Rosalia’s for a lovely Salad of Mixed Greens, Walnuts, Fetta, Cherry Tomatoes and a marvelous Raspberry Vinaigrette, followed by a delightful Snapper Francaise, accompanied by a wonderful bottle of Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio and Great Crusty Bread.  All of which was topped off by Sorbetto d’Lemon and Capucino’s.

Yeah, he’s just getting warmed up for reporting on the great grub to come in Bella Italia and elsewhere.

OK... Nothing left to see here for now folks.

You may now resume you’re your regularly scheduled activities, while HE slides the ever growing pile over for a brief nap. 

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The shopping MAVEN,

Dragon Lady