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.