Anniversary Tour Day 14

This is really the last day of our tour, as tomorrow we fly home. We docked at the cruise port of Civitavecchia, and took the City Centre Tour offered by Celebrity. The port is about 1.5 hours driving time from Rome and with baggage, not speaking the language, and not quite sure where exactly we were going, we thought it was the best option. You boarded a bus along with our luggage for a tour that included the Vatican, the Colosseum and dropped you at the train station in Rome. It actually worked out really well as at both the Vatican and the Colosseum we had a private guide and were able to skip the lines at both places which was great as the lines to get in were huge.

We then took a taxi from the train station to our hotel, relaxed for a bit, then headed out to the city on our own by foot. The Hotel was well located, within walking distance of the major attractions. I really just wanted to see Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, but we ended up seeing so much more. You can wander and wander, meandering through this street, to that street, turning on this corner and when you least expect it, you come across another historical site. It was really quite remarkable, how much is located within a relatively small radius. 

We toured for about 4 hours, stopped and had a few cold ones, then headed back to the hotel. Rested up for a bit, then out again for dinner.  It would have been nice to have another few days in Rome as there really was a great deal to see, alas, we booked a charter flight and didn’t have that option. Maybe it worked out perfect, as Dear Hubby today, stated that he was definitely “Churched Out”.

Anniversary Tour Day 13

Dear Hubby, bless his heart….had a white knuckled ride on the Amalfi Coast today…I loved it, but it was more than Dear Hubby could take….by 10.00 am he’d ordered his first beer and all he kept saying was “this is insane”. The drive from Naples along the coast is breathtaking but not for the faint of heart as the sheer drop along the cliffs can make even the most adventurous traveller a little woozy. To add insult to injury we got the window seat… closest to the cliffs…..I think during the whole trip, Dear Hubby maybe looked out the window twice.

The views were amazing, scenery like I have never seen….terraced gardens of lemons, kiwis, olives and chestnuts. Twisting, winding roads, so narrow that tour buses can only go in one direction and no two buses can go by each other, one has to wait while the other passes. At one point there was a rock naturally sculpted out of the cliff that looked like the Madonna holding a bouquet. Many overlooks were a sheer drop down to the ocean below….and no guardrails.

We stopped and visited the ruins of Pompeii, with Mount Vesuvius as the backdrop.The ruins are spectacular and our guide was very informative. It was amazing to see what Roman life would have been like in the 1st century.

Anniversary Tour Day 12

Our port today is Catania Sicily….we opted to take a bus to Taormina, one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. The town is perched on a terrace overlooking the sea. A really beautiful city where you can get great views of Mount Etna and the coastline.

We visited the Greek Theatre Ruins and had delicious gelato. Amazing flavours, you cannot even imagine the choices…..nutella, lemoncillo, Oreo, black cherry….amazing.  Everywhere you looked were lovely little alleys filled with shops and cafes with steps up or down the terraces.

It was about a 45 minute drive by bus and the traffic was horrendous, just like rush hour at home, lucky for us in the opposite direction. They said that a lot of celebrities from the 30’s , 40’s and 50’s visited here as it was The place to go.

Mount Etna is Europe’s largest active volcano, 6400 feet above sea level.

Anniversary Tour Day 11

I have fallen in love with Malta. Today our ship docked in Valletta….what a gorgeous place. From the moment we sailed into port, until we left I was mesmerized. The buildings and architecture are beautiful and everything is constructed with  light honey coloured  stone. We visited the Blue Grotto which was the highlight of the day. The pictures don’t even capture the spectacular views or the depths and heights of the coastline.

You take a small boat thru caves worn out in the limestone cliffs and in the caves the reflection onto the water makes it glisten with the most vibrant blue. From there we visited the little fishing village called Marsaxlokk…so quaint…we had a wonderful lunch right along the waterfront. Tonight as we headed across the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily the water was very, very rough. Dear Hubby and I both had to take a sea sickness pill, first time the whole trip. It was quite rough so we called it an early night and had the ship rock us to sleep.

Anniversary Tour Day 10

Wow, did we need a vacation from our vacation. I know that sounds crazy, but this trip has been go, go, go and it was great to get a day off to relax. Today the ship is at sea for the day, giving us time to rejuvenate ourselves, before we start again tomorrow.

The day co-operated with sunshine so we were able to sit out on deck, catch a few rays and veg. We both enjoyed the hot tub…I’m still trying to work thru the pain in my legs from climbing the mountain to see St. John Fortress.

The food has really been fabulous, you can get anything you fancy, day or night, night or day. You can eat as healthy as you want, or you can completely clog your arteries…the choice is totally up to you. We have been eating somewhere in between, sometimes it’s ok to cheat, but I do notice my pants are a little harder to get done up.

Anniversary Tour Day 9

Dubrovnik…..beautiful day, sun shining, warm and just a wonderful place to roam throughout.

We had to take a shuttle bus from the port to the “old city” as it is about a 10 minute ride by bus. The “old city” is completely enclosed  in a walled fortress. Everywhere you look there is history and small alley’s dotted with cafe’s, small restaurants and shops. We sat for about 2 hours at a local restaurant, had vino and pivo , ordered a pizza and waited for the kids at home to wake up so we could talk to them on Facebook as the restaurant offered free Wi-Fi.  It was good to have a quick chat with them and make sure everything was ok at home.

One of the highlights of Dubrovnik is walking the wall….you can climb very high stone staircases, then walk around the entire city on top of the stone wall. Very beautiful views of the harbour and the city. Dear Hubby, what a champ….he’s not great at heights, sort of a vertigo sort of thing, but walked the wall anyway…well not really walked, more like crawled along the wall hanging on for dear life…LOL. We both enjoyed the day immensely  seeing the local historical venues, walking through the local market, enjoying the culture, the sights and sounds of his parents homeland.

Anniversary Tour Day 8

Kotor, Montenegro….one of my favourite stops so far. The city is situated at the end of a fiord which took the ship about an hour to travel thru. Unfortunately there was very dense fog this morning so we were unable to see much on the journey in. You almost saw the city awake before your eyes as the fog lifted while we were anchored.

As soon as we got off the ship we headed for a trek up the mountain to the Fortress of St. John. It takes an hour to climb up and just about the same to come down again. To add insult to injury, they charge 3 euros to make the climb. I thought I was in pretty good shape before heading up…..NOT.

The church steeple in the pictures is at about the 1/3 mark of your ascent and it gets more painful each step after that. The payoff though, is an amazing and breathtaking view of the city below. Look how small our ship looks in the harbour. At one point we crossed over a little bridge, thrown together with thin sheets of scrap metal with a sheer drop below. At that point there is really no turning back so you are committed to venture on.

After we reached the bottom, we stopped and had a few beers…boy did they go down good. Dear Hubby and I were absolutely drenched in perspiration.  Sauntered around town for another hour or so, seeing the local sights, churches, gates and of course a clock tower.

Awesome day and the scenery and views as we headed out of the fiord to our next port…wonderful.

Anniversary Tour Day 7

Today Dear Hubby was in his parents homeland of Croatia as we visited Split. Quite a beautiful city with a gorgeous promenade right on the waterfront with palm trees and even though the weather forecast called for 80% chance of rain, it held off all day.

Wandered about seeing the local sights, even managed to find an antique market. I enjoyed the “Romans” and Dear Hubby enjoyed the “ozujsko”.  There is a bell tower in every city we visit and it helps direct you to the city centre so you never get lost. We visited the Diocletian Palace, the Cathedral St.Duje, and the baptistery. Dear hubby hasn’t had this much history, or church visits since 8th grade.

He was in his element today, telling me what people were saying in Croatian as we walked around. He says he’s amazed how much has come back to him since he was a child when his parents and grandparents spoke Croatian at home. He couldn’t get all the dialogue, but words here and there.  It was funny to hear him speak in Croatian as well when he ordered food and drinks at the local restaurants.

Anniversary Tour Day 6

 

Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary….honestly, seems like yesterday, how do the years take wing and fly? We arrived at Ravenna, Italy today where the ship is in dock miles from the actual city. You have to take a shuttle bus into the city. Ravenna is famous for it’s mosaics preserved in heritage buildings. Let’s face it, Dear Hubby is not that into mosaics, churches or museums, and I wanted to go with the flow, so we opted to have a low key day just around ship.  We had originally thought that we would just visit the little village that is at port called Porto Corsini, perhaps walk along the little beach, then head back to the ship. Once we did our quick walk around the village we re-thought our plan and decided to take the shuttle from the ship into Ravenna. We were so happy that we changed our plan, it would have been such a shame not to have seen what we saw today. Even Dear Hubby appreciated the venues.

We purchased a pass that allowed you to visit 5 venues and managed to make our way around to them all. The pictures do not do the venues justice….they were breathtaking. Tiny intricate glass tiles, many just 1/4 inch in size inlaid into huge wall canvases, with the most amazing colors, almost all jewelled in gold. Dear Hubby was even appreciative of the artistry. We stopped for lunch and for a few glasses of vino and birra of course.

Nice way to celebrate a special day together……Dear Hubby, bless his heart at one point says….. “Home depot would have a hard time teaching these guys anything”.

Anniversary Tour Day 5

Rain yet again today……but on and off. We are in port at Koper, Slovenia. We opted to take a shore excursion to the Postojna Caves. About an hour drive by bus where we discovered a subterranean universe of passages, sculptures and chambers. It is a geological paradise and our son the “geologist” would have loved it.

Once back at Koper, Dear Hubby and I headed into to town to see a few sites. We had a lovely lunch at an outdoor cafe, timing it perfectly before a torrential downpour. Dear Hubby ordered pizza and I opted for gnocchi. Delicious.

I know that Dear Hubby is feeling much more comfortable and relaxed on the trip now as today he started using his foreign languages. Yes he does speak a little broken Croatian…very little, a word or two here and there, but the locals seem to understand him…..go figure. What is even funnier, is the language that is all his own….he thinks that by speaking in English with a fake Italian accent, people will actually understand his English better…..it’s so funny to watch. I hate to imagine what he’ll be speaking by the time we get home.

Anniversary Tour Day 4

Finally no rain!  We had booked a shore excursion today and we were up early to go ashore. 

 

We took a chartered boat to the glass factory on Murano Island where they gave a demonstration of glass blowing and glass making followed by a tour of their glass studio and shop. Exquisite….hand blown chandeliers, some valued at 60,000 euro. From there we travelled to the lovely island of Burano which is famous for lace making. There we taken to a shop where they demonstrated it’s art and were able to view some heritage pieces, including a wedding dress, all of lace that took 2 years to complete. Burano was wonderful and picturesque, one of the prettiest places I have visited. Every home is painted a different vibrant color. The homes and businesses line small canals throughout. Fishing boats are moored along the canals and washing hangs from the facades. The bell tower leans here dramatically as well, however we are told it is quite stable.

The muster drill on board for safety was held this afternoon prior to our sailing. The captain appears to have quite a sense of humour. He is on the audio speaker and states that he is totally committed to safety…blah, blah, blah…then states that if he is incapacitated the first officer will take over…if then the first officer is also incapacitated the safety officer will take over…if then the safety officer is incapacitated…you can say you have had better days! LOL