First installment of two series of article with same topic.

MEDITERRANEAN SPLENDOR, A Traveler’s Diary …Part 1

By: Paul Najera

I thought I should reward myself for those years of hard work in this far-off alien country, a nation of people with habits and rituals most of which were unfamiliar to me in the beginning when I came to Canada as a landed immigrant. Canada has been good to me and in return I made my small contribution like other immigrants who came to this nation to make it one of the best countries in the world to live in.

Imelda and I have already packed and we are ready to leave tonight. We will be away for 23 days staying mostly on a cruise ship while we dock from one port to another visiting a city in Italy, France, Spain and other European countries in the old continent. This will be the inaugural cruise of our ship The Carnival Dream, the newest and biggest of the Carnival Cruise ships, and this is our first holiday on an ocean liner.

I hope that with this pictorial report of my travel to the old continent, I will be able to share with my friends and kababayans my experiences and thoughts on this particular trip.   

I would like to tell my friends that, honestly, I have seen many places of interest in my travels, but my native Philippines still appeal to me as having one of the best that one can spoil oneself with its charming surroundings. I always take pleasure in remembering the beauty of my native town of Agno, with its unspoiled river and beautiful beaches that I used to explore with my friends and young playmates. Below is a picture of the unrivaled beauty of the Agno Umbrella Rocks in 1970. Ciao!

Paul Najera
October 6, 2009

Under the shadows of the famous Agno Umbrella Rocks

We finally found our way to Europe. We came back to Toronto the other night after the 9 hours flight from Rome. It’s good to be back and sleep in your own bed after being away for a while. Here are some pictures we would like to share with our friends.

Elda walks the streets of Rome. I found the city full of ancient ruins with many ongoing excavations.

Here is another ongoing excavation in the city.

The famous Rome Coliseum built centuries ago

Rome has many manicured landscapes.

Touring down the Alfalfi coast of Italy passing by the cities of Sorrento and Capri.

We have formal dinners each night on board our ship.

On the top deck of our ship overlooking another cruise ship

Barcelona, Spain is a beautiful city with 4 ½ million people. Elda sits in front of the famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral.

The building of the church has been going on for several years with donations and is still unfinished.

The Vatican City is as impressive in person as those I see on television.

Elda is in awe like the other tourists at the sight of the beautiful works of art inside the Vatican museum.

Here is a panoramic view of the French Riviera in Monaco, the second smallest country after the Vatican City.

Downtown Monaco in the French Riviera

Our new ship the “Carnival Dream” at the docks in Monaco could accommodate 4,600 passengers. This is its inaugural voyage.

We are lucky to be one of the first occupants of this magnificent cruise ship which will soon ply the Caribbean across the Atlantic.

Victor is from Iloilo. He serves as our Assistant Head Waiter. Besides treating us like royalty, he along with the other crew members also entertain

us with songs and other entertainment while we dine.  I deposited US $20 bucks in his pocket the 2^nd night, and always being a sensitive man by

nature, I almost burst into tears in the washroom because of what he told me how hard work is on board ship with a meager pay and little benefits.

He has two kids back home with their mom. There are many Filipinos among the crew members with whom I became acquainted.

We were almost lost in the small alleys of Venice.

Walking the wall in Dubrovnik in Croatia. I lost a few pounds with the constant walking during the tours.