Eternal Rome Through Civitavecchia

After we departed Drubronik, Croatia we were at sea for a day at which time we sailed through the Messina Strait.

(If you are still not approved to cruise free I suggest you get going with it ASAP http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cruise-free.html)

The Strait of Messina is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Silicy and the southern tip of Calabria in Italy.

Early the next morning we docked in the port of Civitavecchia. Civitavecchia is the ancient central Italian port that serves the city of Rome which is about 80 kms distant.

To say I was excited about visiting Rome is an understatement. Both my maternal grandparents were born in Northern Italy and were very well traveled. I remember my Grandfather (with whom I was very close) telling me stories about Rome and his visits to the Vatican. But to actually be there and see it... I was in a state of awe.

Our first stop was the Vatican. Here is a picture the entrance to the Vactican Museum. The Vatican is its own sovereign nation where the Pope is its temporal leader. Interestingly, the Vatican is the only counrty in the World where Latin is still the official langauage.

This is the courtyard leading into the Vatican museum. You can see Arnaldo Pomodoro "Sphere Within a Sphere" sculpture. Its actually a fascinating sight. The center globe remains stationary while the outer globe rotates around it. It is supposed to symbolize how the church remains the immovable center of the world.















I loved the ceilings of the Vatican museum. This is a rather narrow hall lined with priceless art.



















A view of the Papal gardens.















There is an obelisk in the center of St. Peter's Square which marks the spot where St. Peter was crucified upside down for being a believer. He requested this because he did not want to be crucified in the same manner as Christ out of respect. In any event, this piece of art shows the transport of the obelisk from the Valley of Kings in Egypt up the Nile. A picture of the obelisk is below.







What I find curious is how and why there is an ancient and pagan Egyptian obelisk in the center of St. Peter's Square. And why use to it to commemorate such a sacred place?











Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica. Notice it is behind glass that's for protection from further attack. On May 21, 1972 (Pentecost Sunday) a mentally disturbed geologist named Laszlo Toth walked into the chapel and attacked the Virgin with a geologist's hammer while shouting "I am Jesus Christ."

By the way, Italians are always very quick to point out the proper pronunciation of Michelangelo's name which is not "Michael" Angelo as Americans are prone to saying. It is "Meekel" Angelo. Speaking of Michelangelo you will notice that there are no pictures here of his famous Sistine Chapel which is gorgeous. We did visit the chapel but there are no photographs allowed. I asked why because you can freely take pictures anywhere else on Vatican grounds. I was told that in there are restricted photos for copyright reasons which apparently were sold to a Japanese TV network NHK in exchange for funding of restoration of the Chapel. You can read the whole story here.


I did find this public domain photo of the "Creation of Adam" panel of the ceiling compliments of the Web Gallery of Art.








This is a photo of the enthroned St. Peter. It is custom to touch the feet of the statute as you walk be and ask for St. Peter's blessing.














Not really the best photo but I was most interested in the the depiction of the Holy Spirit in the form of a stained glass dove above the High Altar. Here's the thing: it's wingspan is 6 feet across. BTW the Pope is the only one who can say Mass at the High Altar. However, there are Masses being said at one of the many chapels within the Basilica most all day.








The baptismal font within the St. Peter's















An interior view of the doumo. In any event, my visit to the Vatican was a deeply moving and (dare I say) spiritual experience. They say that the Basilica was built with such great beauty to represent heaven on earth. After having been there I can see that...








A picture with one of the Swiss Guards. Their colorful uniform design compliments of Michelangelo.













External view of the Basilica.















St. Peter's Square with obelisk and exterior of the Basilica. From here we headed back to the bus en route the Coliseum. We saw some cool stuff along the way (below).












The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building inRome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.









The Tiber River.















The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) is a monument to honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy.












Same. Supposedly the Allies called this monument the "Typewriter" when Rome was liberated during WWII. Many Romans took to the name.












Exterior of the Coliseum.














The first Triumphal Arch built by Constantine to commemorate his victory in liberating the city from his co-emperor Maxentius in a bloody civil war.












My sign of victory! Claim your victory as a cruise speaker http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cruise-free.html












The interior of the Coliseum.

Black Friday Savvy Shopping & Bonus

Today is Black Friday. Traditionally the biggest shopping
day of the year.

Are you gearing up your Holiday gift shopping?

If so I have an incredible little known resource for you to
get huge bargains on eBay.

And it all has to do with many eBay sellers inability to
speel (er, um spell).

http://www.dealzorama.com/spelling.php

This little tool will take any keyword you are shopping for
and misspell it in myriad ways.

How does that help you?

Because auctions with misspellings are more difficult to
find. Difficult to find auctions mean fewer shoppers and
much lower bids. It generally means huge bargains for those
that find these hidden gems.

Here's another reason to shop at
http://www.dealzorama.com/spelling.php

When you have shopped through that site and you email me
your receipt I'll send you an extra special mystery bonus.
So if your shopping eBay for the Holidays you mind as well
shop here. Email your receipt to daniel (at) speakers cruise free dot com

If you want a finer point on how to use this savvy shopper
technique I've got a more thorough article for you here:

http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/ebay.html

Happy bargain hunting.

A Thanksgiving Message & Gift

It's Thanksgiving morning here in the States. I got up
early this morning. Everyone else was asleep. I shuffled
out to the kitchen to turn on the coffee sent to me from
Puerto Rico by Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club member,
Dr. Scott Brown (http://tinyurl.com/docscott ) and then to
my home/office to check my orders and email. On the way to
my desk I turned on the satellite radio Reggae station and
then ensconced myself in my office chair.

What did I do next...?

I thought about the significance of the day. I thought
about my family and just how blessed my life is. And I
thought about YOU!

A profound feeling of gratitude overcame me. Yes, in fact,
I did tear up a bit. The feeling was so strong that I felt
compelled to write and tell you about it.

So I am writing to let you know that I am thankful for YOU!

Thanks for being a loyal subscriber...

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be in your life...

Thanks for allowing me to help you cruise free...

Thanks for trusting me to help build your business...

I do not take you or your trust for granted. I am deeply
grateful for both.

And this is a perfect day to communicate this fact. No
matter where you live in the world -- Happy Thanksgiving!

As token of my gratitude for you I wanted to give you access
to an interview I did with with Tom Antion in which we cover
the top 10 ways to make money as a speaker and the top 10
ways to be great on stage. You can stream the interview
here:

http://tinyurl.com/thanksu

Enjoy..

Procrastinator's Guide to Authorship

Get ready to harpoon your hesitancy.

...fix your foot draggin’

...and pin-back your procrastination because in 36 hours
Rita Emmett is launching her Procrastinator’s Guide to
Authorship System.

The site (http://www.helpwritingbook.com/ ) will go live on
Tuesday, November 25 at 12 PM (noon) Central Standard Time.

Rita’s program will take you gently by the hand and help you
finish (or start and finish) your book even if you’ve been
thinking about (or writing) it for the last 20 years. And
just so we’re clear when I use the word "finish" I mean
completed, published and making money!

If you know you tend to procrastinate.

If you know you need help finally getting your book finished
and making money. You’ve got to get over to
http://www.helpwritingbook.com/

Let this be your first break through in throwing off your
procrastination shackles.

Rita’s system goes live in 36 hours and there only 500 slots
available. A ton of people have already emailed to say they
want in so be watching for the post "It’s Live, Go, Go,
Go!" then go grab your spot.

Free Cruises & Florida OJ? Say What...?

I really admire when marketing has the potential to go viral. Here's a perfect example....

Brilliant. Thanks to John Kremer for the tip http://blog.bookmarket.com/

Dubrovnik, Croatia - A Very Pleasant Next Stop

I was looking over my blog and realized that I've not posted anything on the rest of that cruise since our stop in Venice. So I'm going to pick up the ball and run with it.

This post is all about our stop in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

First, I must say that I had very low expectations about the place. And shame on me; I did not do my usual research. That being said we learned a bunch during our time there.

What made Dubrovnik so special to me was its old city. Dubrovnik was once the ancient city-state of Ragusa. At one point it was one of the only city states on the Adriatic to rival Venice. It's wealth was derived from maritime activities and the aristocracy were skilled diplomats.

The old city was completely walled. While the walls around the city were stunning it was what was contained within the walls that made the city so remarkable.

Dubrovnik's old city appears to be a perfectly preserved and pristine medieval city. When I say pristine I really mean clean and perfect in just about every way. There is no motor-traffic within the old city which makes it all the more quaint.

Also, because of the ethnic warring that has gone in the region in the last couple of hundred years the place does seem that heavily "touristy".











The people were great too. Very friendly and open. Many of them wanted to talk about the presidential election. Jamey and I had lunch made at a local grocery store and ate on square with a fountain. We had a long conversation with a Croat sea captain who was in for the day. He was drinking a beer and visiting with neighbors. We were instantly brought into the conversation and were treated as old friends. In the photo to the left a Croat musician in traditional dress plays for us. The fountain behind him is actually an ancient drinking fountain which is placed right inside the main city gates. You can see a woman refilling her water bottle.










This photo is taken from top of the wall. There is a walk-way on top of the wall all the way around the city. As you might imagine it has spectacular views. The structure behind me here is fortress designed to protect the North end of the city wall.











The old city is very much still mostly residential. And most of the "streets" look like this quiet & peaceful alley. Here a feline resident takes time for nap.
















But here's the cool thing: trips like this become so much easier to take when you are cruising free as a enrichment speaker. And make no mistake you can do it too (if you are so inclined) and you get some help. That's precisely why I designed my Speak on Cruise Ships program and the Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club. I hope you will allow yourself the opportunity to make your cruising dreams come true.

Cruise Speaker Memory Maker - Alaska, Family and Bears, Oh My!

Okay, and now for a sweet, sappy story that got me a little teary eyed when I thought about it.

My 7 year old son Jeremy (I call him Jem) came home last week with a school assignment. He and I were to create a "bear" project.

Because I am fairly comfortable creating multimedia products, Jeremy and I approached his teacher about doing a short bear video. She was excited and thought that that was a great idea.

At the time, however, I really did not know what we'd do a video on but I was confident we'd come up with something.

Later that day I was talking to my wife about our upcoming Caribbean cruise (we depart December 28) and it dawned on me that during our last cruise to Alaska the family and I had an up close and personal encounter with a bear while riding the Yukon & White Pass Rail Road up into Canada.

I even had pictures of the event (if I could only find them) and thought they'd be great for use in the bear project video. Luckily, after about 2 minutes of searching I found the photos on a CD.

They were much better than I remember and I had bunch of them with my Jem in them (no surprise there) . As I reviewed the photos I became nostalgic and grateful that because I was an approved cruise speaker I can take my family on fabulous cruises all over the world and create one of a kind memories and not have to worry about its effect on my wallet.

The experience was made all the more special when I sat down with Jem to reveiw the photos and come up with a plan on how we would present them in a video. (BTW I used Camtasia studio and you should learn to use it too see this post)

Jem lit up!

He got so much out of the experience. Both the one in Alaska and looking at the photos.

In any event, he pointed to the pictures he wanted to use and I helped him to put his "bear" project together. Using cues Jem remembered I wrote the Alaskan bear story and put in PowerPoint and my Jem narrated it into Camtasia Studio.

It was a thoroughly heart-warming and bonding experience for the both of us because we essentially got to live this wonderful cruise memory.

Want to see the results of the collaboration?

I posted below the video we turned in at school today.



So are you ready to make your own great memories as a cruise speaker?

What are you waiting for?

I've laid it all out for you. There is no guesswork. With my program I take you gently by the hand and SHOW you and then personally HELP you get it done.

What's my success rate?

I've never actually figured it out but the vast majority of people in my Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club have been approved or are on the verge. In fact, here's a video of Tom Antion in which he talks about the experiences of some of the people he has referred to me:



So are ready to get started? Great!

Go get my Speak on Cruise Ships program which includes a free month in the Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club at http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cruise-free.html

The memories you'll make are priceless.

Membership Software: Beginners Making the Right Choice

Membership sites can be a great source of recurring income. Unfortunately, some of the membership software it takes to run these sites can be quite expensive or complicated or both. As such choosing membership software can be daunting and may scare off the beginner. Consequently, I wrote this article to help you make an informed decision.

The big question: Do I want to invest a little or a bunch in my membership software?

There are alternatives ranging anywhere from thousands of dollars to essentially free. On the upper end of the range is a membership software company called MemberGate. This is definitely the Rolls-Royce of the industry with lots of bells and whistles. Problem is - it is cost prohibitive for most beginners with packages ranging from nearly $4,000.00 to over $15,000.00.

In the mid range of cost is membership software from Amember. This software is around $300 and you must host the software on your own server. I use this software for one of my membership sites and I am fairly happy with it. Problem here is it fairly costly for a beginner and in my opinion the membership software is rather clunky and NOT intuitive. That is, the learning curve for using it is fairly steep especially if you are not technically inclined.

At the low end of the investment range is using open source content management software like WordPress. In fact, using WordPress with available plugins you can have your own membership site up and ready to accept paying members in 2 hours or less and you can essentially do it for FREE. And here’s the best part, you can have the same powerful functionality as the more expensive membership software. Namely, you'll be able to:

• Start accepting payments with PayPal so you can make money right away.
• Email your members from within your membership site so you save time and hassle.
• See members and guests on your site so you always know who's there at any given time.
• Offer free content and yet protect premium content so you can make more sales by allowing free browsers a hint at what's available to them in the premium area.

The challenge with using WordPress and plugins for membership software is there is no real roadmap that describes how to set-up the WordPress software and how and where to find the needed plugins. That being said, it is definitely doable with Google searches and significant trial and error.

Alternatively, you can check out http://www.wpmemberprofits.com/ and sign-up for FREE WordPress tips, tricks and insider details for making a WordPress membership site wildly profitable.

===================================================================

Watch the video of this article here:

Free Cruises AND Free Airfare For Two (Here's the Scoop...)

I know you want to cruise free. (Why else would you be reading this blog?)

So I'll bet that you'd also like to get FREE airfare to and from the ship for both you AND your traveling companion.

Am I right?

Well, there's a cruise line offering this incredibly attractive deal and I am hosting a group coaching call this Wednesday, October 8 where principals of this line will be on the conference call and answering your "how-to" and "what-to-do" questions.

To my knowledge nothing like this has ever been offered before... you can get direct access to the actual people at this cruise line that make the decisions!

Here's the thing: The call is exclusively for members of the Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club.

Note to members: Shortly you'll be getting an email with call details.

Not a member yet? Jump in, the water's fine. Get your free 30-day trial membership by getting the critically acclaimed Speak on Cruise Ships e-program.

If you are serious about making free cruising a reality in your life... you won't want to miss this call so sign up now -- http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/

Free Screen Capture Software

Recently I was conducting a coaching session with members of the Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club when I mentioned the great utility of being able to do screen capture video for all sorts of marketing, product and training type functions.

The 800 pound gorilla to do this is a great software program put out by www.techsmith.com called Camtasia Studio. The one MAJOR drawback of Camtasia is its price: $299. My advice is if you can afford it get it (this is the software I use).

However, if 3 c-notes is currently outside your budget range, I recommend you get a FREE open source screen capture program called CamStudio. The downside to this is it has no real support and its a little clunky to get used to.

You can download Cam Studio free at http://sourceforge.net/projects/camstudio/

To make it easier for you to actually use CamStudio, I have posted some helpful CamStudio tutorial videos below:







Lot's more video tutorials on youtube.com. Enjoy!

Oh, and if you have not already invested in yourself by investing in the Speak on Cruise Ships program, what are you waiting for?

Go get it now.

Make Your Book a Residual Money Machine

Fact: A Book Done Correctly Can Make You Wealthy

Fact: My Books Bring $1000's In Residual Monthly Income

Fact: Most Authors Are Money-Making Failures!

Fact: My F-r-e-e Bonus Below Will Blow Your Mind

If you want your book to make you money
- REAL MORTGAGE PAYING MONEY - then listen-up.

My friend Rick Frishman has taken the guess
work out of the process. On October 1-2,
2008 in Atlanta, Georgia, Rick will be hosting
his AUTHOR 101 UNIVERSITY.

http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/101.html

AUTHOR 101 UNIVERSITY is the place to be if you're
an author, publisher or even just an aspiring
author who wants to make money with your book.

In fact, you'll hear top publishing and marketing
experts reveal tools and techniques to get your
book published and double or triple your income
as an author or publisher.

http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/101.html

Plus, the amazing Mark Victor Hansen will be the
MC of the event.

You know Mark--- right--- the guy who has sold
over 100 million 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' books
with Jack Canfield! If you want to learn how to
sell books- LEARN FROM MARK! We will also have 9
other speakers. This is going to be an amazing event
and it is going to sell out fast.

In this incredible two days, you'll be engaged as top
pros share their expertise, reveal the inner workings
of the publishing industry, and discuss various
approaches to common marketing and publishing challenges.


**** Residual Income from Your Book - BONUS! ****

I know that you will benefit by attending this event so
to sweeten the pot, I'm going to throw in a bonus for
the first 5 people who register...

If you are one of the fast-acting people who register
NOW, I will send you my complete online video training
on how you can turn any non-fiction book into a residual
money machine. This training alone is worth the investment
in the event because I will be completely transparent and
show you EVERYTHING - there will be no guess work about it.

Here's how to claim your bonus:

1. Go register at -->
http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/101.html

2. Email me at Daniel@speakerscruisefree.com letting me know
that you are registered.

3. You'll hear back from me letting you know how-to access
your bonus.

But hurry because this bonus extends to the first 5
people ONLY!

Bottom line...if you are a current or aspiring author,
you won't want to miss this event. And if you're as
savvy as I know you are, you won't want to miss my
"Residual Income from Your Book" - BONUS! So go quickly
to the address below before all of the seats are gone...

http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/101.html

I have never revealed my secrets for creating a
substantial recurring income stream from your book
in one place. So whatever it takes... GET THIS Bonus!

Register here --

http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/101.html

Then follow the instructions above...

Speakers Studio Interview

Just finished an interview on cruise speaking with Susan Coates of the Speakers Studio. Go listen http://tinyurl.com/5ep6uh

Take Your Business Profits Up A Notch With Tom Antion

(If you are responding to my email comment on
this post)

I just wanted to let you know that I posted
the call I recently did with Tom Antion.

http://www.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=4129743

Listening to this call alone will help you take your
business profits up a notch...

You should only listen to this FREE replay if you want
to:

* Create buzz when you speak and make more sales
from the stage

* The exact steps you need to take to determine if
a product will sell BEFORE you create it

* Get free traffic (that you can't turn off) to
your website

...plus much, much more.

http://www.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=4129743

Seriously, I could have easily charged $97 for
this call... but its yours free for the taking.

Tom does make an offer (naturally) at the end
of the call for his upcoming Fusion event...

But there is lesson in that, too.

Listen to it and then tell me what you think the
lesson is. Post your comment below.

Scott Brown (aka The Wallet Doctor) Crunches The Numbers & Cruises Free

One of my Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club members, Dr. Scott Brown (aka The Wallet Doctor), sent this video of which I am very appreciative . Check out Dr. Brown's compelling cruise free story. Pay particularly close attention to the numbers -- they will blow your mind!



Ready to join Dr. Brown? Invest in yourself by investing in my Speak on Cruise Ships program. You won't be sorry you did... thanks Doc Brown!

Venice

Wow, Venice! What can I say?

It is probably the easiest city in the world to be a productive and enchanted accidental tourist. We spent two days and one night in Venice and it was sublime in every way. But let's start from the beginning (hum: "I very good place to start")

The day before arriving in Venice I delivered my enrichment program entitled "Venice and the Fourth Crusade: The Doge, The Money and the Knights". This picture captures me right after the program. The medal around my neck was conferred on me as a consequence of my investiture in the Patriarchal Order of Mar Gregorios (an Orthodox knighthood order). Lesson 1: When you have a credential that supports your onboard talk always use it. In any event, the talk went well as I described the historical tensions that existed between Venice and Constantinople and the whole context which gave rise to the tragedy of the Fourth Crusade. Lesson 2: Your destination lectures onboard should always strive to help make the place come alive for audience members. I show my customers and client how to do this in my critically acclaimed program: Speak on Cruise Ships: 8 Easy Steps To A Lifetime of FREE Luxury Cruises. If you have not already invested in yourself by investing in this program, what are you waiting for? Time is of essence, cruise lines are booking next year's enrichment speakers right now.

Speaking of the Fourth Crusade, here Jamey and I are on the the terrace of the façade of St. Mark's Basilica. We are standing under copies of the famous four horses that were originally plundered during the Fourth Crusade from Constantinople. The originals were displayed here until the 1980's when they started to develop effects from pollution. They still are on display just inside the church near this terrace.












Here's a great shot of both one of the horses and the St. Mark's Campanile (bell tower). BTW the horses are obviously quite ancient. In fact, the horses were long displayed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople. I'll bet this photo sells quite well on the stock photo sites. Check out lots of ways that I make money when I travel at www.TravelMakingMoney.com .

Another great shot (if I have to say so myself). This shot was taken from the Rialto Bridge down the Grand Canal at dusk. Honestly, it is difficult to take a bad photo in Venice.

This is the Bridge of Sighs. This bridge connects the Doge's Palace and the prison. It was named this because crossing it meant you were either going to prison or to the executioner. Thus, the condemned usually let out a long sigh as they crossed this bridge. Notice the Gondolier in the canal. As I took this photo he is singing (in Italian, of course) to young lovers sitting forward... ahh, I love romance.

The Bridge of Sighs is actually a two-way street. Here Jamey stands on the left side of that street within the bridge. There is a similarly sized passage coming back that other direction.

Here Jamey and I are on the second floor of Doge's Palace in front of an open window which overlooks the courtyard. Notice the onion shaped domes of St. Mark's in the background.

Here Jamey stands in the "Golden Staircase" in the Doge's Palace. The Doges of Venice were interesting cats. They were elected heads of state of Venice. They were elected for life but did not have absolute power. In fact, the division of Venetian power was quite diffuse, shared between many committees. In any event, the Palace is gorgeous.

The St. Mark's Campanile.

O.K. So I love my name.

The church of Madonna della Salute (Our Lady of Good Health). Notice a portion of a pontoon bridge. The remaining spans of the pontoon are dismantled and floating opposite the church. Every November 21 the Venetians celebrate a "festa" honoring the Madonna for delivering them from a plague. This is the time when the pontoon bridge is assembled and a procession from St. Mark's square crosses over the Grand Canal led by the Patriarch. As you can see, like the rest of the Venice the church is beautiful.

A photo of St. Mark's square taken from the aft of the ship as we cruised by. Man, I love being an enrichment speaker - come join me. Notice the thongs of people, I'm sipping Earl Grey and honey.

Grass is a supreme rarity in Venice. I captured a little of it in this photo. Is the grass always greener?











Please understand that you are always welcome to comment of the content of this blog. I hope you are enjoying it.

Naples / Pompeii

Naples was the second port on our Med cruise. It's such a short distance between Livorno and Naples that we pulled into port about 5am. I watched from the deck as we did. It was such a peaceful, gentle process. The city was just starting to wake up and the glint of the dawn was barely visible on the horizon. It was sublime and surreal at the same time. BTW it was my second port and I still had not been scheduled to speak. God... I love being an enrichment speaker! Why not join me?

Naples was special for me because the ancient ruins of Pompeii are just on the other side of Mt. Vesuvius, very close to the city.

For those of you who don't know, I was raised in a predominantly Italian family. Both of my mother's parents came from the old sod and I was extremely close to my maternal grandfather who I lost when I was 12. What made Pompeii so special to me was hearing my grandpa tell fabulous stories of his own travels there as I was growing up. So for me to tour Pompeii years later was to create a kind spiritual connection with my grandpa. I know it sounds weird but the feeling and "connectedness" was palpable to me.

We booked our excursions through the shorex office and I'm glad we did. Our guide was excellent having been a guide for many National Geographic writers and photographers.

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city in the shadow of Vesuvius which is still a potentially active volcano. Here I stand in the excavated amphitheater. They have plans to make this an active venue again. Isn't that wild? The first act slated for the grand re-opening (2 millennium later) is Andrea Bocelli.

Here's a little history of Pompeii I lifted from WikiPedia. "Along with Herculaneum, its sister city, Pompeii was destroyed, and completely buried, during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days on 24 August 79 AD."

"The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with 2,571,725 visitors in 2007, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site."

What is so cool is that the houses were all built on a zero lot line. Some of the places were quite palatial too. Here Jamey and I are standing in the House of Faun. "The House of the Faun was named for the bronze statue of the dancing faun located, originally, on the lip of the impluvium, a basin for catching rainwater; it has been moved to the center of the impluvium, as you can see in the picture to the left. Fauns are spirits of untamed woodland creatures, which Romans often connected to Pan and Greek satyrs, or wild followers of the Greek god of wine and agriculture, Dionysus." This statute is a copy. The original, picture below, is in the Naples Archaeological museum.




We spent the morning touring Pompeii and we were back to the ship by lunch. This worked out quite nicely because we beat the crowds in the morning and we made it back to the ship, had lunch and struck back out with plenty of time to explore Naples on foot. We walked from the ship to the Naples Archaeological museum (about a mile one way). My big tip for you is that no trip to Pompeii is complete until you have also toured the museum.

Why?

Because most of Pompeii's great treasures are housed there including this faun statute.








Another characteristic about Pompeii is much of it was covered in mosaics. Here I stand between mosaic columns that were found. It is absolutely pristine work when you see them this close.













Another thing I was surprised to learn about Pompeii was the shear number of brothels they had. There was about one every other block. They weren't difficult to pick out as they always had symbols like this affixed to the exterior.

Apparently, the ancient Romans were very nature loving including all aspects of sexuality. The archaeological museum also has an impressive exhibit of the sexually charged art that was found throughout Pompeii. Fascinating.





Naples produces an excellent slightly-sweet liqueur called Limoncello made from the rinds of lemons like this. I had to get a picture with this as this was picked from the bunch of the largest lemons I had ever seen.











On our walk from the ship to the museum I snapped interesting looking photos along the way. Like this alleyway leading to a church.

















I was amused to see this sign for a Coffee shop as I live relatively close to the Mexican border.













This was cool too. I live in Corpus Christi, Texas which is where Eva Longoria is from and where she got here start in modeling. I saw her face all over Europe in ice cream ads like this. The ads reminded me of home. It was also a reminder that great things can come from small starts like Eva herself.










The museum also has a bunch more great art that did not come from Pompeii like this ancient Roman replica of a Greek statute.

Pisa & Florence

By popular demand, I will be posting pictures of our recent Med cruise and side trips as I have time to upload and annotate them for you.

It was by any one's standards a trip of a lifetime. But as a cruise ship speaker you can do this type of trip every year or every six months if you wanted. That's the beauty of it... the whole deal is set up to allow you to trade your talents for luxury cruises anywhere in the world. It's exciting and I am glad you are plugged into the source that can help make it happen in your life, the Speak on Cruise Ships program.

For those of you who don't know I traveled with my 13 year old son Jamey. He's a great child and this trip created father-son memories that neither of us will ever forget.

We were on Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Sea which sailed from Barcelona, Spain. Our first port was Livorno, Italy. Livorno is a port in Tuscany which is closest to Florence and Pisa.

For this port I purchased a shore excursion entitled Pisa and Florence On Your Own. I am a fairly intrepid traveler but because of the distance of these cities from the port and the limited amount of time, I decided it best to at minimum arrange my transportation to and from these cities with the shorex office.

We disembarked the ship about 7 am and boogied over to Pisa. Pisa was once a great naval power whose rivals were Genoa and Venice. Unfortunately, their power waned when the Arno river, which passes through the town, silted over. In Medieval days the Arno was Pisa's only access to the Mediterranean and a naval power without access to a port isn't really a power anymore.

In the glory days, however, the people of Pisa built a great church to which they later added a bell tower or a campanile. Fortunately for Pisa's future fame the architech chose a marshy site to place the campanile and by the time the first three levels of the tower was built it was apparent that the tower would forever have problems with its now familar lean. The architech was disgraced and ran out of town and efforts were made as the tower was finished to correct the problem. To no avail.

In these pictures you can see just how far out of true perpendicular the tower is. In this second picture I do my own impression of the lean.

Over time the tower leaned more and more to the point where it was feared that it would topple over. Consequnetly, officials closed the tower to foot traffic and tried to correct the problem. It took years but through a process of cables and reinforcing and counter-balancing the foundation with lead engineers were able to decrease the lean to what is was measured at in the 19th century. Officials also re-opened the tower and for those who wish to climb to the top
(and pay 15 euros) it is open.

The campanile is Pisa's main attraction although it does have a major university whose most famous alum is Galileo Galilei. We spent about 75 minutes which was not nearly enough but it was on to Florence...

Florence is a remarkable city also on the Arno river. In many ways it was the epicenter of the Renaissance mostly due to the patrimony of the Medici family. The Medici's were a powerful banking family (who were later Princes of Florence) and they commissioned some of the greatest works of art in Western culture. Works like David by Michelangelo and the Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambolgna, the baptisery bronze doors designed by Brunelleschi (shown below) and so much more.

I really appreciated the Piazza della Signoria which is a L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is a splendid outdoor (and free) gallery of some of the best Renaissance sculpture.

The various eye-catching statues in this square include:

At the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, a copy of David. The original by Michelangelo is being kept at the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts.



The "bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I" by Giambologna (1594)

The Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1575)

"The Lion", referred to as "il Marzocco" with a copy of the "Florentine Lily", originally made by Donatello (copy)

"Judith and Holofernes", by Donatello (copy)

"Hercules and Cacus", by Bandinelli (1533)







Just off the the Palazzo Jamey and I stopped for a bite of pasta (of course). It was quite yummy. This is a photo of the table in front of us where some pigeons were helping themselves to scraps of bread left by the previous diners.

I thought it was a cool photo.









Here I am with the Ponte Vecchio in the background. This is the commercial bridge that spans the Arno river. Jewelry shops line the brige all the way over.











One of the projects we were working on during the trip is a video program covering the details of speaking on an actual cruise. For some of the program notes for this video check previous posts.

Here I review video we shot in Florence. Apparently, I was pretty happy with it.

Now if you still haven't joined the family at Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club what are you waiting for? http://www.speakerscruisefree.com/cruise-free.html

Cruise Ship Speaking: Wrapng Up, Signing Off, Following Up (Part 4 - Lessons Fron an Actual Cruise)

As a cruise ship speaker you will be speaking most every sea day. Sometimes you may skip a sea day but it’s only because you were doubled up on another day. For example, on my recent 12-day Med cruise there were 5 sea days and two of those days I was doubled up (having one presentation right after the other) and ended only presenting three of the twelve days. Life is good. This is not the norm but it can happen.

After you wrap up your onboard presentations your cruise will come to an end. You knew it was coming. And on the last day you will sign off the ship. There is nothing special about this you’ll just get off the ship like all the other passengers.

In the day or two after the cruise the cruise director will review and report on all the passenger evaluations. He or she will also do their own report based on his or her own impressions and that of the staff, like for example the activities coordinator we talked about in part 1 of this article series. If you have performed well and in accordance with this article series and my Speak on Cruise Ships: 8 Easy Steps to a Lifetime of FREE Luxury Cruises program (http://www.speakerscruisefree.com ) you will no doubt have received positive reviews.

When you return home you should always send a little gift to whoever booked you. It need not be a lavish gift, but a little something like chocolates, flowers or a plant. I use a wonderful service that will allow you to send beautiful hand printed greeting cards as well as lovely gifts VERY reasonably. You can check out the service and send a free card at (http://www.sendoutcards.com/dhall ). This is my gift to you. (Note: if there are no gift accounts available when you try, email me at Daniel at SpeakersCruiseFree dot com and I’ll set you up personally.)

If you are ready to schedule another cruise contact your cruise contact and set it up (but wait until after your gift arrives). It is quite likely that your cruise contact will call you to thank you for the gift. This is a great opportunity to schedule something new.

Well there you have it the whole cruise speaking process from beginning to end I hope this article series was informative for you. After this last Med cruise I am convinced more than ever that cruise ship speaking is the best gig on the seven seas. I hope that I have been an encouragement to you because in fact I know that if you want it you CAN have it. Get started today. Carpe Diem.