Tortoise Time!

The only onshore excursion I was really excited about (before we left Scotland!) was on the last day, on Corsica. They have a tortoise protection centre with over 170 species of tortoises. A colleague of mine had also done this and highly recommended it, so when it was advertised as something to do with children - I didn't worry! And it was very special. Very different from World Heritage Sites or classical Roman structures. Both Alan and I loved it!

The second part of this excursion was to visit Porticcio Beach. Well anyone including a beach stop to me gets extra points, except for today. Don't get me wrong, the beach is beautiful and the sand is interesting. Coarse and obviously very finely ground rocks.

I loved the feel of this between my toes, and also dipped the same toes into the (very cold) water! Then that was it! A few shops, nothing else to do but drink a local beer made from chestnuts, and very good, and wait for it to be time to leave. Even a beach loving Florida girl like myself could have given this whole thing a miss!

We were concerned about losing a precious hour in Ajaccio (the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte).

Once we got back to Ajaccio, we were not enamoured with it either. Walked around a bit, got a coffee and free wifi at a coffee shop, then boarded the ship.




What does this disappointment tell me? Probably time to go home, we have had too many fantastic experiences and are possibly becoming jaded. Time to go home and make my own bed and wash my own dishes!

But before going home, we did enjoy the Great British Sail Away from Corsica!  Both P&O and Princess Cruises do these and they are a very unique experience!  But I took a few pictures to try to share the feeling of this -

We were very lucky with the weather for the sail away, a storm came up shortly after it was finished and we were sailing away.  This was the roughest sea we had for the whole cruise, and the requisite sick bags were placed conveniently all over the ship!  It was difficult for the passengers to walk but we still all filed into the Arena to watch the very talented Headliners do their final show.  It seemed a bit odd that the show did not start at the time planned.  This had never happened before.  Ten minutes went by, then the Director of Entertainment came onstage to announce that the show would be further delayed by 5 - 10 minutes due to some of the dancers feeling unwell.  I had expected him to say due to the danger of dancing on a flying stage!  But once they came out, they performed without a trace of illness or unsteadiness.  They are so talented and I loved watching all their shows!  Here is a taste of one of their shows: 

I am home now and enjoying using my proper laptop. Never again will I travel with my iPad, it just does not work well with this blogger program!

Rome -3 of the Best

Alan and I had never been to Rome before so we looked at all of the shore excursion options and chose one that was unguided, but with 3 stops - the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain and the Vatican. It was a whistle stop tour, with only one or two hours at each stop. But this was perfect for us to get an overview of this huge and bustling city!

Alan at the Trevi Fountain

I did manage to get to Trevi Fountain and made 3 wishes. Lo and behold, when Alan phoned home later, one wish had already been granted! Ok, days ago but no one had told us! Does that count as a wish granted?

We were also fortunate, due to having a lovely tour guide who did guide us a bit and gave us masses of information!

We were not able to go into any of the stops, but if we ever return, the Vatican will be a definite priority! It was very special just to be on the grounds.......and other churches we stopped in during our day were so spectacular, we simply cannot imagine what the Sistine Chapel must be like. But that is another tour in another year, maybe.

I quite often tell friends and family to let me know when they will be in Europe, just in case I can make use of our budget airline and have a chance for a visit. So far, it has never worked! And yesterday was one time I was incredibly close to a good friend from Atlanta. She and I were volunteer Docents at Zoo Atlanta and have kept in touch all the years I have lived in Scotland. We have also actually seen each other a grand total 3 times, in Scotland, San Francisco and Atlanta. Who would have predicted that we would be within less than a couple of miles from each other in Civitevechia!?! I knew she was in Rome, but we had booked our trip by then, and how on earth would we have found each other anyway? Then on her way out of this area, she and a friend drove past our ship at Civitevechia! Maybe next time!

Today is our last port at Corsica and then the journey home tomorrow. I am not ready!

Our Last Sea Day

Yesterday we arrived at Corfu! Neither one of us had ever been to Greece before and this part was beautiful! And we can add another UNESCO World Heritage Site to our belts!

Corfu Old Town, the Old and New Forts are all included in this recognition. Alan and I spent a very relaxed day exploring all three areas, and I had the requisite Baklava with a lovely iced coffee before returning to our ship.







Today is another very slow and relaxed day. The morning spent at the pool as the ship navigated through the Straits of Messina, at times Italy and Sicily are only 4 miles apart in this area. We are on our way back now, but this part of the journey down was in the wee hours of the morning last week.

As I sit on our balcony, we are just about to pass Stromboli, one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. So we have seen them all! But this one lies in the middle of Tyrrhenian Sea, all by itself!

Today is American Mother's Day. But this being a British ship, there is no mention, since British Mother's Day was in March. This helps me, since this is only my second Mother's Day without my own mother.....

There was a poolside BBQ for lunch and the rest of this lazy day lies ahead. Then the last formal evening.

I am certainly NOT ready for this trip to end!

Visiting the youngest country in Europe

When we booked this cruise, I didn't even know Montenegro was an independent country. Today I learned it declared independence in 2006, I hope I remembered the correct year! That makes it the youngest country in Europe, so far anyway.......

The city of Kotor is up at the end of Tivatski Bay, and,the ship goes along fiords to get there! We got up at 5:45 am to watch the whole 2 hour journey in the fjord to get to Kotor. It really reminded me of our last cruise to Norway. Beautiful scenery and gorgeous churches, much warmer than Norway though. We are the same sort of climate as Northern Spain here! Which means it was in the 70's or higher today, hot and sunny all day!

The coast of this area is unspoiled and still feels as if modern times have not made much of an intrusion. I am afraid, though, it is just a matter of time before things change.

Alan and I took an open top bus along the shore to see some other villages. One had Roman mosaics, another had a fire station and a delightful looking place over the water for snacks. We couldn't stop though because we had to get back to Kotor.

Kotor is another walled city that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, like Dubrovnik. The difference to me is Kotor looks and feels lived in and used. In a good way, not so cosmetically perfect as Dubrovnik. Kotor is more compact too, with loads and loads of churches! Both cities are amazing and I am so glad they are protected.

Ventura is too big to dock at Kotor, so we were tendered in. This is a fun way to leave the ship, but you have to be careful not to miss the last tender at the end of the day!

Long day, early night - Corfu is tomorrow!

Sea Day Bliss

Our second day in Venice could not have been more perfect! We caught the "People Mover" from the port, then the Vaporetto (water bus) to the Rialto Bridge. Wandered this area a bit, including visiting the market stalls! Then back on the "bus" to St Mark's Square.

Boy oh boy, is the Grand Canal busy! I have never seen even an 8 lane interstate quite so intimidating - traffic wise! But everyone just takes it in their stride and no accidents were witnessed! The pictures of the Grand Canal and all the chaos of every kind of boat, including gondolas, delivery boats, police, what must be the equivalent of garbage trucks and Pink Lionesses in their rowing boats are not exaggerated!

Our evening journey past Venice as we left was breathtaking! Even more beautiful than coming in the day before. The little tug boats, one on each end, push and pull the giant ship so there is absolutely no wake. At only 6 miles per hour, there was ample time to drink in the view and take a few pictures!

We are now resting and recharging our batteries with a sea day. I just got my nails done at the spa. It was a necessity, twice the price of home but a nice experience anyway. Spent most of the day at the pool, in the lovely sunshine, and just about to get ready for our third formal evening.

Good Morning, Venice!

The overnight stay in Venice was what sold us on this cruise - especially because the rules for how cruise ships enter this city are supposed to change this year.

 And Venice has lived up to its reputation - beautiful, romantic, exciting......so instead of saying anymore, I will share a few photos! Even one of the P&O Aurora being escorted by tugs through Venice on her way out. If all goes the way we understand, this event will be a thing of the past in the near future.

Just waiting on the port to open so we can go back!

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Water Taxi

View from ship as we entered Venice

The Beautiful City of Dubrovnik

We spent a magical time in the lovely city of Dubrovnik today. The old town is listed I the UNESCO World Heritage sites. We were told it suffered massive damage during their war of independence, which ended in 1995. People from all over the world came to help repair this damage. And they did a fantastic job!

The first thing we did was take the cable car to the top of one of the mountains overlooking the city.

Then we spent the rest of the day just enjoying the beauty of the surroundings. From the smiles on all the returning passengers, I think Dubrovnik worked its magic on all of us!