Home at last

5/18-Long story short-made it on our flight out of Venice literally by the skin of our teeth, and got the last two seats in business class, which was a real blessing, since it was an 11-hour flight to Atlanta. We were late arriving in Atlanta and missed our connection, but got the last 2 seats on the next flight, and made it to San Diego 24 hours after getting up on the ship. We'll spend some time here recovering from jet lag and enjoying our new grandson before returning to reality at home. It was an awesome trip and we will always carry the memories with us!

At sea

5/15-stopped at Katakolon, Greece yesterday and took a tour out to Olympia to see the ruins. As interesting as it was, it took a lot of imagination, since earthquakes and floods have taken their toll. Stopped at a winery on the way back to the ship-really a nice tour of a very old estate, and a nice snack was served along with wine tasting. (California has nothing to worrry about from Greecian wines) Today we are at sea enroute to Venice. Weather is a little nasty, but not too rough. We have had a great time, but are ready to head for home now. Our cabin stewards (Taufik and Adi), have been great, as have all the waiters and other personel on ship. Their attitude and friendliness is pure joy. Hopefully, we will be able to get on a flight tomorrow and be in San Diego by dinner time. (This is the part of traveling we don't look forward to)

Santorini

5/13-Docked at Santorini, Greece. Took a tour again, and spent a couple hours in the small village of Oia which was definitely the most picturesque area we have been to so far. Had Capuccino and a light snack on a high bluff over the Agean sea-can't say enough about the natural beauty of that area. Returned to the main town of Thira for the afternoon, then returned to the ship. Could've ridden donkeys down, but opted to take the cable car. Weather is still good, with the exception of a few light sprinkles this afternoon. Two more days, then back to reality!

Kusadasi, Turkey

5/12-New ports are coming fast and furious now, with no sea days to recover. Arrived this morning in Kusadasi, Turkey, which is on the Aegean Sea. Left early this morning for our tour of Ephesus, a wonderfully preserved ancient city and a center for the early Christian movement. Words cannot describe this awesome archealogical site, and it was the highlight of our cruise thus far. Returning to town, we walked through the local bazaar until the hawkers got to be a little much, then took a walk along the promenade, once again checking out local restaurants and deciding on a lunch and coffee at the local Starbucks. I guess we're not very adventurous when it comes to the local cuisine. In our defense, however, we were served local food on some of our tours, and that probably influenced our dining choices.

Mykonos

5/11-Docked in Mykonos, Greece this afternoon and took a tour around the island. Mykonos is known for its whitewashed buildings (they whitewash them every spring) and windmills, which are merely decorative now. Also, Mykopnos is known for its beaches, nightlife and party scene, so we fit right in (Yeah, right). Returning to town, we meandered the topsy-turvy streets and checked out some of the local restaurants, opting to return to the ship for dinner.

5/10-Istanbul

5/10-Arrived in Istanbul yesterday afternoon, decided to walk a couple of miles into the old town to the spice market, across a very busy auto/pedestrian bridge. It was Sunday, Mother's day, and things were very crowded and hectic, but was an interesting and enjoyable experience. On the return to the ship, stopped at a Turkish candy shop to try some of the local flavors and probably the best baklava we have had. Took a long (9 hour) tour today and visited the "must see" sights of Istanbul, ending up at the Grand Bazaar. On a side note, tried the authentic Turkish coffee, but had trouble "chewing it" (more grounds than coffee). Fortunately, we came across a Starbuck's, the first one since leaving home, and treated ourselves to some familiar java. Life is good! `

5/9-Athens

5/9-Spent, yesterday in Athens, where we took a tour through the city and then up to the Acropolis and the Parthenon. It's hard to comprehend what it must have been like some 2500 years ago to construct such a building, which is 228 feet long, 101 feet wide and a total height of 66 feet. Quite impressive! Today we are enroute to Istanbul, cruising now through the Dardanelles Strait, which is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Tonight we plan to walk into town to the spice market, then tomorrow we have an all-day tour planned. We continue to be blessed with good weather.

5/7-at sea

5/7-Having Left Split, Croatia yesterday afternoon, we're now enroute to Athens, Greece, cruising off the coast of Albania. We had our last time change last night, so we are now 10 hours later than California. Sea days are good for catching up on sleep, reading, doing puzzles, playing games on the ipod, exercizing, and of course, eating. In order to compensate for the extra calories, we have been trying to stay active. Our exercizing consists of walking around the boat deck (3 times around equals one mile) hiking in port, and climbing stairs. I think by the end of the cruise we will have walked about 100 miles and climbed about 500 flights of stairs. (Bring on the dessert!!) Weather is good again, and seas smooth. Although the wifi is a little slow on ship, what a technological feat it is to be able to watch a video of our new grandson smiling and laughing for the first time!

May 5-Venice

5/5-It's our third day in Venice-Yesterday remained blustery all day, so we never made it

off ship. Today was a little better, so we ventured down to San Marcos Square. Thanks to a

little-known trick in our guide book, we were able to bypass the long line for the basilica

and walk right in. It is quite an awesome sight, especially the detailed mosaic tile work

and some of the historic artifacts. Once again, we wandered the meandering streets back to

the ship, stopping for yet another pizza and a little shopping. Tomorrow it's back to Split,

Croatia.

5/4-Venice

5/4-Arrived in Venice yesterday morning. The ship is docked some distance from central Venice, so we proceded to the transportation area along the Grand Canal and hopped on a "Vaporetto", which are the city's "water buses" and made our way to Piazza San Marco. Nothing can quite prepare one for the throngs of people milling about or the lines waiting to get into the Basilica. So, we decided to just wander for the day and get our bearings, since we have two more days in Venice. And wander we did. As our favorite European travel author wrote, "just wander and explore-you can't get lost, it's an Island". And what a great time it was, traipsing up and down the narrow streets, arriving at new and picturesque sights around every corner! Eventually, after a pizza and coffee lunch and more wandering, we wound up walking back to the ship, tired but fullfilled. This morning we plan to visit the Basilica and Droges Museum, but it is raining right now so we are going to wait a bit.
The adventure continues!

5/2-Split, Croatia

5/2-Split, Croatia was a great port, a combination of historical architecture, interesting shopping, a beautiful seaside promenade, good (and cheap) coffee, and free restrooms. We had a great day of just strolling the neighborhoods as well as the tourist area, which included the Roman emperor Diocletian's palace, built in 295 AD. Originally, the entire medieval city was located within the palace walls, until the population outgrew its confines. Around the palace there are several pedestrian squares with shops, restaurants, and outdoor cafes. The Croation people were very friendly and accomodating, and weather was perfect. After three days onboard ship in Venice we will be returning once again to Split, and look forward to continuing our exploration of the city.

5/1-Sarande, Albania

5/1-Arrived this morning in Sarande, Albania, which is located on the Ionian Sea not far from Corfu, Greece. This is a relatively new cruise port, and though a pretty setting, there is little to do but stroll down the promenade by the sea. It is Saturday, and the area was bustling with local families enjoying time together. They are very friendly people and it was an enjoyable, relaxing day. Weather is still good and seas smooth. As a sidelight, the entertainment in the evenings has been very diversified and enjoyable.

4/30-Messina, Italy (Sicily)

4/30-Docked in Messina, Italy (Sicily). As we had been to Messina before, we decided to visit Taormina, a medieval cliff-hanging town about an hour's bus ride from Messina. It was a very pretty and interesting area with narrow streets and beautiful views of the coastline and Mount Etna, an active volcano and popular skiing area. Unfortunately, our time became limited and we were unable to see all we wanted to, but enjoyed just wandering the streets and stopping for cappucino and gelato, as well as some local bakery products. Took a quick stroll in Messina before leaving for Sarande, Albania. Weather still perfect!

4/29-Naples

4/29-Arrived in Naples this morning and had time for a quick breakfast before meeting for our first tour of the cruise, the ruins of Pompei. We have spent a day in Naples in the past, and a description by European travel author Rick Steves says it best: "Naples is Italy in the extreme-its best (birthplace of pizza) and its worst (home of the "Camorra", Naples' family of organized crime. To me, it is like New York on Steroids. Pompei in its heyday was a booming Roman trading city, a perfect example of typical Roman life. in 79AD Mount Vesuvius errupted and buried the city under 30 feet of hot volcanic ash. It was rediscovered in the 1600's, and excavations began in 1748. Our tour was extremely interesting, and it was easy to imagine what it must have been like back then. Once again, it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. We leave tonight for Messina, on the island of Sicily.

4/29-Rome

4/28-From Civitivecchia on the Italian coast where the ship docks, we hopped a train into Rome for a whirlwind overview of some of the sights. After an hour and fifteen minutes on the train and another half hour finding our way out of Rome's main station (via the restroom and the tourist information center), with map and camera in hand we began our trek, heading first for the Colloseum. We spent quite a bit of time there doing a self-guided tour with telephone-like devices to guide us in english. From there we headed for the forum. After a lunch of pizza (what else?) at an outdoor cafe, we continued on to the Trevi Founhtain, the Spanish Steps, and then worked our way back to the Pantheon before heading back to the train station for the return trip to the ship. We will have to return someday to complete our Rome experience, but we thoroughly enjoyed the time we had there. We have been blessed with perfect weather and smooth seas so far. Departing Civitivecchia at 8:00PM, we will arrive in Naples tomorrow morning.

4/27-Ajaccio (Corsica) France

Ajaccio, (Corsica) France is the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, as several statues in the area attest to. It was a nice place to wander around, with a nice beach area, an old town section and a more modern pedestrian area with lots of typical French eateries and cafes. Once again our day was spent sightseeing on our own and trying to decipher menus (without much luck.) We finally managed to order sandwiches and coffee, which turned out to be quite good. We have been having problems with the wifi aboard the ship-very slow, and sometimes unreliable, so we will limit the number of pictures we post, but will continue to update our blog. Weather is still nice, but rain showers are forcast for our day tomorrow in Rome.

Almeria, Spain-4/25

April 25-After passing through the straits of Gibralter last night, arrived at Almeria this morning, on the southeastern coast of Spain. The Straits of Gibralter are quite narrow, with just 7-1/2 miles separating Spain and Morocco. The highlight of our visit was the Alcazaba, which is a hillside fortress built in the tenth century to defend Almeria from attack. I won't go into detail here, but I'm sure there is information on the web if you are interested. The new part of the city is very beautiful and clean, with many pedestrian streets and parks. Also, as in most of Europe, there are many "squares", where it is nice to take a break and have a cappuccino. (Also a good place to use the "facilities", which can sometimes be a challenge!) All in all, a great port, and as usual we did plenty of walking and climbing. (Now, bring on the food!) Tomorrow is a day at sea, then we will land at Ajaccio, Corsica.

Cadiz

April 24-after another day at sea, we docked at Cadiz, Spain, which is just south of Seville. Cadiz is said to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western world, dating back to 1100 BC, when the first Phoenician merchants landed here. It is a great city for walking and exploring, especially the narrow streets in the old town (barely wide enough for a small car to drive on-As a pedistrian you quite often have to step into a doorway to avoid them). Without the painted lines on the walkway to direct the tourist, it would be easy to get lost in their winding paths. It's also fairly compact, so it was easy to see the highlights in one day. No more time changes for awhile, thankfully. Weather is perfect, no rain yet, and no volcanic ash.