As I’ve been writing my last few blog posts, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to to decide what to write about each port. I don’t know if it’s because we had 7 port days (with excursions) in a row or if it’s because these cities have felt familiar in some way (all Western first world countries) or if it’s because I was not feeling 100%. The more exotic places we’ve been have been easier for me to write about. It’s probably a combination of all three with a little cruise weariness thrown in. None of this, however, has affected how much I’ve enjoyed visiting these European cities. Each one has its own unique feel and today’s visit to Malaga was no exception.
After a much needed sea day, we were taking another independent excursion with some of the same people we went with on our Villefranche tour. This was going to be a half day tour seeing the highlights of Malaga and ending with wine and tapas at two bars. Leaving the cruise port, we drove through the city on our way to El Castillo de Gibralfaro, a Muslim fortress built on the top of a hill in the middle of the city. It was a beautifully clear day and the view from there was lovely. We could even see the bullfighting area below. It made climbing all those irregular steps up to the wall worth it!
We left the fortress and traveled into central Malaga. I admit, I like looking at the scenery.
Once we reached our location, we left the van behind and began our walking tour of the city. I soaked up the sights and sounds of this lovely place.
Malaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso and, in addition to seeing his works in a museum, you could have your picture snapped sitting next to him on a bench.
I hadn’t expected to see more Roman ruins today but we did. This is El Teatro Romano, built in the 1st century BC.
There are wild parrots here, too.
According to our guide’s schedule it was now 11:00 am and time for wine and tapas. Evidently, the two taverns we were going to didn’t have that schedule. They weren’t opening until noon. We now had some free time to wander around the area. Brian and I found a pharmacy where I got some more cough drops and sanitizing hand gel. We also found a bakery that sold the most delicious cookies. We bought an assortment for cabin snacks and managed not to eat them all at once!
Noon arrived and we headed to our first tavern. Each of us got to order one tapa from their menu and could have wine, beer, or a soft drink. We sat at a large table on the sidewalk in the shade. The day was really lovely. Before we headed to the next tavern, I took a look inside this one. Charming!
A couple blocks away was our second stop. This time we sat inside and followed the same procedure: pick a tapa and choose your drink.
We returned to port relaxed from the wine, having thoroughly enjoyed our day. We rested to in the afternoon. Tomorrow we’re going to Marrakech!
I was feeling better today and Brian and I were going to be heading out on a Princess sponsored shore excursion to see the highlights of Barcelona which included a walk in the Gothic Quarter, the center of old Barcelona.
Once we all were loaded on the the bus, we took a drive up to Montjuic Mountain Park, a large green space overlooking all of Barcelona. The views were exceptional as seen in the photo above. The large building in the center is La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s amazing masterpiece. We would see it in more depth later in the day. Here are a few more photos of the park.
We continued our sightseeing tour with a drive through the city. Most of these pictures were taken through the tinted window on the bus.
This is Barcelona’s old bullfighting arena. Since bullfights are outlawed in Barcelona and the whole Catalonian region of Spain, it is now a shopping mall.
There are wild parrots here.
Our destination was to the site of La Sagrada Familia. This church was designed by the architect Gaudi (as well as one of the building pictured above), and has been under construction since 1882. It’s scheduled to be finished in 2026. No one knows the exact cost of the construction because all the construction early documentation was lost during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.
La Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family) has to be one of the most fantastical places I’ve ever seen. I loved it! Our tour did not include a visit inside and it would be worth another trip to Barcelona just to do that. One side of the church depicts the Nativity of Christ and the opposite side show the death of Christ.
Our bus was meeting us a few blocks away right next to a dog park. We also walked past a building that had a most interesting mural painted on one side.
Now we were headed to the Gothic Quarter to see the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia. The streets, once again, were narrow and winding. We walked past medieval buildings and saw the ruins of a old Roman wall.
Our visit to the cathedral was not long. Our guide explained its historical significance and was excited to show us the baptismal fount where three indigenous people from the Americas were baptized when they were brought to Spain by explorers. They were the first people from America to be baptized because, in Spain, everyone had to be Catholic. I, personally, found this to be disturbing. It reminded me of the forced assimilation of the indigenous people in America and the loss of so much of there culture, all in the name of God and westward expansion. That said, the cathedral was, of course, beautiful.
We exited the church by way of the cloisters. This garden area was where priests and nuns would come to pray and meditate. Today there is a flock of geese that live there. Today, workers were doing some repairs on their pond and they were herded into a corner. There was a lot of noise from the workers and the geese didn’t seem to know what to do. They were very quiet which was unusual for them.
There were also old graves under the walkway. Inscriptions in the stone tell about the people underneath. Graves with a skull and crossbones were victims of the plague.
Back to the bus we went with a few of our tour members staying behind to take a walk down Las Ramblas, the main shopping promenade in Barcelona, where they would meet the shuttle bus to take them back to port. We were heading back to the ship for some much needed rest. This tour also had a few people who didn’t want to do any walking. They were not allowed to stay on the bus, so they were asked to wait in a bar or cafe until we got back. Sometimes it took a little time to round them up. That said, while annoying at times, it didn’t affect our enjoyment of the day at all.
I went to my doctors appointment in the morning and I came back to the cabin with this handy portable nebulizer, some very expensive bronchodilators to use with it and really foul tasting throat lozenges. I was to use the machine 3 times a day. However, with shore excursions planned and the fact that the medicine left me very shaky for a long time, I would only use it twice a day.
The ship was incredibly quiet and we enjoyed our relaxing day. We wandered off the ship once to see if there were any shops in the cruise terminal. There weren’t, but we were told that there were shops across the parking lot. A Viking Ocean cruise ship was docked across the way and, after much wandering and confusion, we finally found the shops hidden next to the other cruise ship.
The shops were a kind of market stalls set up outside on the dock. We did find a couple of treasures. Brian purchased a Marseilles baseball cap and I found a beachy tablecloth in Provençal colors. Besides the memory of the nebulizer, we would at least have souvenirs from Marseilles!
Our port today, Villefranche, was the jumping off point of our tour of the French Riviera. We were on an independent tour with two other couples to travel to Nice, the Principality of Monaco, and the mountain village of Eze.
Gregory, our handsome French guide met us just outside the cruise port. He had a luxurious van with a built in speaker system which meant we could hear his explanations wherever we sat. We loaded in and headed off to Nice located right next door to Villefranche. The drive was not long at all, and I enjoyed the scenery along the way.
After we arrived and parked in an underground parking garage, Gregory led us into the town square, pointed out some sights of interest, and set us free to wander on our own for a short while. Brian and I wandered through the square, down some streets and explored the flower market. The market operates six days a week and, in addition to flowers, you can find meats, cheeses, desserts and crafts.
It was time to meet up with our guide. Unfortunately, none of the six of us understood/remembered where we were supposed to meet Gregory. I think it was a combination of his accent and our lack of attention. Fortunately, soon we saw him patiently waiting for us where he said he would be and we were ready to continue on our way to Monaco.
Gregory stopped at a couple of scenic viewpoints from which we could see the entire French Riviera. One of the stops came complete with ruins.
Our drive into Monaco became quite problematic. There was bumper to bumper traffic starting a few kilometers before we got there. Gregory knew a shortcut, so we were able to make up some time. All we could figure out, was that there was a large professional tennis tournament in Monte Carlo and lots of people wanted to go. Of course, there are also just a couple of ways into the city and I imagine that was a factor, too.
As we drove into Monaco, Gregory explained some of the sights we could see and this time, when he dropped us off, he had very clear instructions. We were to meet at a specific time at the Oceanographic Museum by the yellow submarine.
We all headed out in separate ways to explore. Brian and I wandered down by Princess Grace Park, walked up and down the narrow streets, saw the Palace, and shared a panini as we explored.
Even the trash cans by the public toilets were pretty.
The yellow submarine was the perfect meeting point and, from there, Gregory led us way underground to where the van was parked. I guess that, in towns built on cliffs, there is no other place to put a parking garage.
Before we left Monaco, Gregory drove us on the Grand Prix racecourse which was already being prepared for the race next month. Of course, we didn’t go nearly as fast as the Forumla 1 race cars do. Leaving the country, we reflected that in the last two days we been in the two smallest countries on the planet. Vatican City is the smallest and Monaco the second smallest.
The final part of our tour was a trip up into the mountains to visit the medieval city of Eze. The city is perched on the top of a mountain and there is a steep path to the top. My cough had been bothering me again and I knew that the climb was something I’d not be able to do. So, I sent Brian on his way and I found a cafe a the base of the city where I could sit on the patio, enjoy a glass of good French wine, and people watch.
Brian thoroughly enjoyed his hike up the mountain. He brought back a lot of pictures and, from them, I could really get an idea of what Eze was like.
Our tour ended back where it started—at the cruise port. Brian and I weren’t ready to head back onto the ship so, after finding an ATM to get much needed euros, we went to explore the harbor front of Villefranche. We enjoyed a gelato and did a little walking around. Villefranche looks like a wonderful place to spend time.
Back in our cabin, I decided that I should go see the ship’s doctor again about my cough. It was not getting better and I’d started wheezing again. I called hoping I could get an appointment the next afternoon. We were going to be docked in Marseilles, and we had an excursion planned to Aix en Provence in the morning. Unfortunately, the only appointment to be had was at 9:15 in the morning. Reluctantly, we cancelled that trip. Brian stayed behind with me to rest. We had many more excursions coming up and we were tired.
Civitavecchia is where the cruise port for Rome is located and today we were taking a ten and a half hour tour into Rome so do some exploring. The bus ride into Rome was about an hour and a half and, once there, we were going to visit some catacombs, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, and have lunch. The day was packed and included a lot of walking (nearly 6 miles) and lots of people since it was, again, a holiday (Easter Monday).
The first place we visited was the Catacombs of Domitilla, which are outside the walls of Rome. Yes, Rome is, yet again, another walled city. Photos were not allowed in the catacombs. However, I did get some photos of the grounds.
Inside the visitor center, we were handed over to an expert guide and we were led down several flights of stairs to an underground church. While we sat on benches, our guide explained what the catacombs were and began our introduction to early Christian burial practices.
We then started walking down into the catacombs. The hallway was dark and narrow with niches carved into the wall which once held bodies. All of the bones from the catacombs were scavenged by early grave robbers and, most likely, some of the bones were sent to churches as relics. We stopped in a room (one of many) off the hallway. All of the walls had niches cut out and was probably a family tomb. There is nothing ostentatious about these graves. The richer people might have a fresco painted inside, but most were very simple. After an early Christian died, their riches would be found in heaven. We spent some time following our guide as she lead us through the maze-like tunnels and then back out through the underground church and into the sunshine. I find that when I go to places like the catacombs, I come away with a better understanding of how our ancestors lived and how customs that are still used today developed.
Now we were going to head through the city gates and into Rome. It didn’t matter where I looked, history just smacked me in the face.
Now the major walking portion of our tour would begin. Here’s some advice for you: when the shore excursion ticket describes the tour as “strenuous”, believe it! We had a few members of our tour who were very unhappy so much walking was involved. We heard variations of “Are we there yet?” and “When are we going to be done?” throughout the day. Buses cannot park in the center of Rome so, if you take a bus tour, you must walk to where the bus is. Of course, I don’t think there is any better way to see Rome than by walking.
When we reached the Colosseum, we were handed over to our new guide, Vincenzo, who would be with us for the rest of our visit to Rome. Our bus guide walked behind us to pick up stragglers.
The Colosseum will take your breath away. It is certainly an engineering marvel! So much of it is still standing. Of course, some sensitive restoration has been done to bring back its glory. There was originally two circular walls around the building. You can see below where one is partially gone.
Our tour included tickets that allowed us to go into the Colosseum and get a view from the ground level. After that we headed up a lot of stairs to the next level to look down into the Colosseum. I took a lot of pictures.
Some of the original entry gates still have the gate number visible. All those lessons I had in elementary school on how to read Roman numerals came in handy here.
This is a good view of the remnants of the rooms beneath the floor of the Colosseum where gladiators waited and wild animals were kept before matches. According to Vincenzo, by 2025 the floor will be restored to its original state and the only way you will be able to see these rooms is with another ticket. Even today, you need a ticket to go down and explore but a least you can see them from above.
There was a remnant of a fresco showing a map of the old city of Jerusalem.
Leaving the Colosseum, we started walking through the old Roman forum. We saw ruins juxtaposed with street performers and vendors, along with many Romans just out to view the beautiful day. Some of these pictures may not be exactly in the Forum proper but we’re close.
This small building (not the one with the dome) is the old Roman senate. It is much smaller than I had imagined.
Continuing our walk, we passed the Victor Emmanuel II Monument.
To reach the Trevi Fountain we passed through the square where the Vatican University was located.
Eventually, we made it to the Trevi Fountain. There was a huge crowed there, so we couldn’t get close. This is what we saw:
There was no way we’d get close enough to toss a coin into it. One couple on our tour decided to take the time to try. The rest of our group waited 20 minutes for them to return. Our guides were searching for them and they eventually returned oblivious to or not caring about all the complications they caused for the rest of us. Unfortunately, we have gotten used to this behavior. It doesn’t matter if you are on a ship sponsored tour or an independently arranged one, there are often people who think the schedule doesn’t apply to them. While frustrating, we try to shake it off and not let any upset spoil the rest of our day.
We were now heading to our bus which was still a ways away. The street was uphill at times and the roads were crowded.
We were now headed to lunch at a very nice restaurant. Unfortunately, I seem to have taken absolutely no pictures of this at all. It was a very good plated meal of pasta, chicken or salmon with vegetables, and dessert. Prosecco and wine were provided to drink along with water. It was nice to sit for awhile and rest before we headed to our final stop of the tour, Vatican City.
Again, the parking garage for us bus was a few blocks away from the Vatican. There is a simple metal fence dividing Italy from Vatican City. We were now in another country. I have seen so many pictures and videos of St. Peter’s Square filled with people waiting to see or hear the Pope. In fact, some of our fellow passengers heard him speak that morning. He addresses the crowd from the window of the Pope’s official residence. However, Pope Francis doesn’t actually live there. It was too fancy and big for him, so he has rooms at a hotel run by nuns just next door. We were not able to go inside St. Peter’s as the lines were way too long and we would only be there a relatively short time. The Vatican has magnificent architecture and was, all in all, very impressive.
We even got to see the Swiss Guards.
There was a recent (2019) sculpture in the square dedicated to migrants.
Also, the Vatican has its own mailbox.
We said “Goodbye” to Vincenzo and headed back to the bus. We did a little more sightseeing as we drove out of Rome to head back to Civitavecchia. One of the pictures is of the Tiber River.
You really do need a lot of time to see Rome properly. This short visit made us both eager to return one day. Our return list is still growing!
Easter Sunday found us in Naples, Italy, not Sorrento as scheduled. My impression is that, because it was Easter Sunday, Sorrento would not be able to handle our docking needs. While this was certainly an unwelcome change for those who booked independent shore excursions out of Sorrento, it didn’t change our plans at all. We were going to Pompeii on a Princess excursion!
I never get tired of driving through the countryside of the countries we’ve visited.
As our bus of about 40 people drove neared our destination, we were told we’d be picking up an additional guide in Pompeii. There is a size limit to tour groups exploring Pompeii, so we’d be divided in half. Our half of the bus was assigned to the new guide, Guido. We were very blessed to have had him as our guide. Guido was as older man who had been guiding for years. He loved his job and it showed in his humorous commentary. Our bus now divided, each group headed into Pompeii in opposite directions.
This was my first view of a place I’ve wanted to visit since I can remember.
The city of Pompeii was destroyed in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. In about two and a half minutes the entire city and all of its population of about 25,000 was destroyed. Most of the population was vaporized, but some of the people were encased in lava. When they were found, there was nothing left except the outlines of the people. Archeologists were able to use plaster to make very accurate casts of these unfortunate people and they can be seen in Pompeii today. I was uncomfortable taking pictures of them, but photographs can be easily found on the internet.
The first part of our tour took us to the archeological museum where there were displays of statues, frescos and the casts of victims of the eruption, including a dog and a pregnant woman.
There was even some ancient graffiti of a gladiator fighting a wild animal.
Exiting the museum, we were finally entering the city proper. This was a big, bustling city and we saw ruins of temples, forums, and houses. We also saw lots of other tourists. It was a holiday after all.
We went into the ruins of a home of an upper class family. Every room had different mosaic floors.
There was so much of Pompeii that we didn’t have time to see. This is not a small site. It was so easy to imagine what the city must have looked like with the residents going about their daily lives.
After we returned to our ship, we decided to take the afternoon to rest. My cough was still bothering me and we had four more port days in a row. Tomorrow, I was finally going to go to Rome and I wanted to be rested up. Consequently, we never made it into Naples, but we were content with our decision. We’ve learned that you can’t do everything!
We were greeted by a smoking Mt. Etna as we docked in Catania, Sicily’s second largest city. The only impression I had of Sicily, before we arrived, was what I’d learned watching The Godfather movies and heard about the Mafia. Boy, did my opinion change! What we saw of Sicily charmed us and made Brian and me want to visit again and in more depth.
Our excursion today was taking us to the coastal town of Taormina, which has been a resort town since Roman times. The Sicilian countryside was beautiful as we drove to our destination. Mt. Etna, an active volcano, loomed in the distance.
We reached Taormina, parked the bus in a very large parking garage and headed up to the town. This time “up” meant taking an elevator up to the 7th level and onto a lovely terrace. From this area we could see the entrance into the old part of the city as well and the lively modern area.
Our ultimate goal was to see the ruins of a Greco-Roman theatre. Along the way we were shown some town squares with accompanying fountains and statuary. I find I’ve been using the word “charming” a lot, but that’s often the best word I can find to describe these beautiful places. The streets were narrow and lined with cafes, restaurants, shops, and small hotels and bed and breakfast operations. There were narrow alleyways leading to other places to explore. We loved it.
At the end of the old town is the Greco-Roman theatre. Built originally by the Greeks, it was rebuilt by the Romans. After the Roman left, the theatre fell into ruin with the local residents using it as a sort of quarry. Lots of great marble there so why dig more? The ruins were eventually uncovered and reconstruction began. The theatre is still in use for special programs. The view to the sea is stunning.
After our visit here, we were given time to explore on our own, so that’s exactly what we did! We wandered down streets, looked in shop windows and visited a church.
We decided to take a break and stop at a cafe to refresh ourselves. Our guide had suggested we try the granita, which is a kind of fruit ice, and that sounded good to me. She told us that the Sicilian way of eating it was to get a brioche roll and use it like a spoon. I ordered lemon granita and it was delicious that way. Brian enjoyed an espresso and chocolate croissant.
This is a picture of the narrowest street in Taormina. It leads up to a very nice restaurant.
As we drove back to the ship, we were given the option of being dropped off by the Catania city center. It would be easy to walk back to the ship from there, so we decided that this was something we would like to do. We were dropped off with a few other people, walked a little ways down the street and entered the walled portion of the city which opened up into a large square.
We wandered around with the goal of finding a place to have lunch. We found a restaurant with tables outside and sat down to enjoy a lunch.
They don’t do things fast in Italy and we enjoyed every minute of our two hour meal. The food was delicious and when we asked for red wine the waiter said, “I’ll bring you a carafe!” He did, and we drank every drop.
The bottom right photo is a picture of the best tiramisu Brian’s and I have ever had.
The street we were sitting on was busy and provided excellent people watching.
It was time to head back to the ship, so we exited the way we came, turned left, and followed the city wall back to the harbor. The weather was very nice and the walk was interesting.
Sicily exceeded my expectations and, once again, we found another place we would love to return to for a more in depth visit.
Today we would continue our exploration of walled cities. In Valletta, Brian and I were party of an independent excursion that would visit the medieval city of Mdina, Marsaxlokk fishing village, and the Valletta (the capital of Malta and a UNESCO World Heritage site).
In our large van (which would turn out to have mechanical issues), we headed first to St. John’s Cathedral in Valletta. Today was Good Friday and the cathedral was holding a children’s Easter service with lively folk music and children reading scripture. Of course, everything was in the Maltese language so we didn’t understand a word of it. Outside the church (and all around town), there were numerous crosses and Holy Week decorations and inside the church there were frescoes and a vaulted ceiling.
One of the cathedral’s claims to fame is that, during World War II, bombs were dropped near the church. One of them went through the roof and into the sanctuary where 300 people were gathered. Amazingly, the bomb didn’t explode and was taken away to be detonated. This is a picture of the ceiling. The white square is where the bombed entered.
Our next stop was Mdina. The drive through town and out into the country was fascinating. I so enjoy looking at the architecture and art of all the cities and towns we have visited.
Up the hill we went. We were dropped off inside a parking area (after navigating a very narrow entryway) and together we walked into a city seemingly untouched by time if you could ignore all the tourists and school groups. Good Friday is a holiday and everyone was visiting. About 300 people still live in Mdina and the only cars allowed inside belong to those inhabitants and people who offer services to the city. You could hire a horse and cart like these to get around:
We were on foot and had to watch out for traffic.
Mdina is a maze of narrow streets, lovely golden limestone buildings and many, many churches. According to tradition, the Apostle St. Paul was shipwrecked here in 60 AD. The cathedral in town bears his name.
The Carmelite Priory in Mdina is still an active congregation. Again, it is beautiful inside.
The walls surrounding the city are were built very thickly for defensive purposes. This is Brian walking through one of the gates.
Throughout Mdina, I was fascinated by the number of interesting door knockers. There were so many different kinds.
This is a photo of the most photographed door in Mdina. I don’t know why, but my feeling is that guides tell you this and then you feel obliged to take a picture. A self-fulfilling legend if I’ve ever heard one.
Our visit to Mdina ended with us back where we were dropped off. We waited a long time for our van to return. Our guide told us we had gotten a new one. What she didn’t know was that it was much bigger and couldn’t access the narrow gate we had used earlier. We have to walk quite a way to reach the new and way more comfortable van. Some of the tour group was getting testy about the wasted time and was worrying about having not enough time for lunch when we visited the fishing village.
Marsaxlokk was very charming. We had been told that we had a half hour for lunch and that, because of the Good Friday crowds, we should get some takeaway from a restaurant. Brian and I headed out to do just that. Apparently after we were gone, more negotiation happened and we had a hour. In any event, we found a place with traditional stuffed Maltese sandwiches that were delicious and inexpensive. Brian tried the local beer while I had a Coke Zero.
After our lunch, we explored the seaside open market, picked up a few treats, and admired the cute boats.
We spent the extra half hour we didn’t realize we had sitting in the town square and people watching.
Heading back to the port, our final stop was the walled city of Valletta. Valletta is a lively, beautiful city. Again, since it was Good Friday, there were a lot of crowds. There was going to be a Good Friday processional out of the cathedral that evening, so local folks were heading into town to watch. The procession consists of men carrying life size statues depicting the Passion of Christ and takes hours. We would be back at the ship before the procession began.
It would have been fun to have had more time to explore Valletta. From beautiful buildings full of history to a lively street scene, there is much to do here.
Today was the start of seven port days in a row. We headed back to the ship ready to get some rest and prepare for the next day…Sicily!
After our unscheduled two and a half sea days (in which I did nothing but rest), we finally made it to Kotor. A port first settled by the Ancient Romans, it was fortified by the Emperor Justinian in 535. It is a triangular shaped walled city. In fact, our ship’s tour for the day took us first to another walled city, Budva, which is one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic coast.
Our bus drive to Budva took us through tunnels under mountains and along a valley to another point on the coast where Budva was located. There was an ominous sticker on board which proved to be false advertising.
Kotor is on an inlet on the Adriatic and there was no direct path to Budva along the coast. It was a dreary-ish sort of day as these pictures will indicate. At least it didn’t rain. The walled city of Budva lies on the coast in the middle of a more modern area, although development has been halted in some places due to archeological finds.
You can see the gate into the city in the next to last picture.
Old Budva is a charming city of narrow streets and alleys, medieval ramparts and 15th century towers. After a short tour, we were set free to wander.
There were a lot of quirky displays and signage around. I especially appreciated the mannequin torso displaying the designs available at the tattoo shop.
We wandered onto the beach to get a view of the coast line.
Before heading back to the bus, we stopped at a cafe recommended by our tour guide to have a hot tea and a cup of coffee. The host was quite gracious and kept trying to get us to try a piece of his cake. We finally caved, and out came a very large piece of some type of fruit and whipped cream cake. We didn’t know what it was, but it was delicious. We tasted fresh pineapple, tart cherries and maybe peaches. Everyone from our tour, who took the host up on his cake offer, received the piece of cake for free.
Back on the bus, we returned to Kotor. There were some interesting sights along the way.
Once in Kotor, we got ready for our tour in the walled city. We toured some of the squares and saw a cathedral. Kotor was built like a maze for defensive purposes, so it is easy to get turned around. Our tour was going to the Maritime Museum next, however we (along with several others) left before that to explore and get some lunch.
It was a little chilly, so we were looking for a place we could eat inside. We stumbled upon Pronto Pizza which had a very small seating area inside a very old building. A couple were just leaving as we got there and they told us the pizza was good. We took their seats. They were correct. The pizza was very good which isn’t surprising when you consider that Kotor was part of the Venetian Empire for 500 years. Consequently, there is a strong Italian influence in the city. I wanted to try the local version of prosciutto and my pizza came covered in it. It was the best I’ve ever had. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of our pizzas, but I did get them of the table condiments and Brian’s local beer.
After lunch we stopped at the local market outside the city walls. There were numerous stalls selling fresh produce, the dried ham (prosciutto) and the local brandy. We bought some prosciutto and a small bottle of the brandy to try. Our guide swore that doctors said to drink a small glass of brandy in the morning for your health. We didn’t do that, but we did share it with our friends over dinner one night. I thought it was quite good.
The sail into and out of Kotor is exceptionally scenic and, since we didn’t really see it in the morning, we decided to go on deck after dinner and watch it as we sailed away. It was windy and chilly but totally worth it.
Also, the cats of Budva and Kotor:
We would really love the chance to be able to explore more of these Balkan countries. Our return wishlist is getting quite long!
Ravenna was the port that replaced Venice on our cruise after Venice decided to stop allowing cruise ships to dock there. I didn’t know much about Ravenna but, boy howdy, it is a place I would love to visit again! Quite a few of our fellow cruisers took the opportunity to go to Venice for a night since we were going to stay at the port for two days—at least that was the plan.
Brian and my visit started off on a down note. There is a bad cough going around the ship and it never seems to go away. I got laryngitis twice and had a deep cough with wheezing and, after our stop in Greece, I decided that I should see a doctor. I made an appointment with the medical center for the day before we arrived in Ravenna. My visit confirmed what I thought: I had bronchitis. After a oxygen treatment in the ship’s small hospital, I headed back to the cabin with a 5 day supply of prednisone and a week’s worth of penicillin (in case I had a bacterial infection). Since we were spending two days in Ravenna, Brian and I decided to spend the first day on the ship to rest. The shore excursion we had booked was to San Marino and included lots of climbing which I knew would be beyond me. Our friends, Sandra and Darla, took our tickets and we got to enjoy an empty cruise ship. It was an incredibly relaxing day and by Sunday I felt much better.
Our ship was docked at Porto Corsini outside of Ravenna. A free shuttle was provided to get us into town. Brian and I headed out to explore midmorning. The shuttle dropped us off outside the historic city center. Ravenna is known for its marvelous Byzantine mosaics, so off we went to see them.
A few sights from our walk to our first stop:
The old town is most charming and very pedestrian friendly. Cafes were beginning to open, the market was setting up, and, since it was Palm Sunday, after people left church they strolled around holding their olive branches. No palm fronds here. There were very well behaved dogs being walked. The city was spotlessly clean and we found it a relaxing place to be.
We made it to our first destination, the Basilica di San Vitale and, after buying a ticket to see three of the sights, we made our way inside. The church dates from the mid-6th century has the finest Byzantine mosaics in the Western world. The mosaic work was stunning. The pictures will speak for themselves.
Next door to the Basilica is the National Museum and, since it was Sunday, admission was free. We went in to take a look around and discovered there was no easy way out. We went up and down stairs, through galleries and halls and eventually found the public toilets (which was handy). There was a classical music concert with three instrumentalists playing in a room by the exit.
With trusty map in hand, we set off to find our second set of mosaics. Now, the streets in old Ravenna are not straight and the names changed along the way. I won’t say that we were lost, but we weren’t getting where we wanted to go. We were getting hungry, so we found a restaurant and decided to refuel. The food was wonderful. I had a traditional ravioloni (large ravioli) with filled with cheese with a cheese sauce with walnuts. I forgot to take a picture. Brian wanted pizza, however they didn’t serve it until evening. He settled on the world’s largest hamburger and a local beer. He thought it was really good.
As we waited, we consulted the two different maps we had, figured out where we were and plotted a course to get us to our next stop, the Basilica di Saint’ Apollinaire Nuovo. It turned out to be not far from where our shuttle bus would pick us up, so we decided to head back to the ship after we visited it.
Our path was correct, and we made it to the Basilica. Again, the church was filled with 6th century Byzantine mosaics.
We arrived back at the ship tired but happy to have seen what we did. Ravenna is a marvel.
Back in our cabin after dinner, the Captain addressed the passengers over the speaker system and told us that, due to weather, we would have to miss our next two ports, Lubljana, Slovenia and Split, Croatia. We would be spending another night in Ravenna and would leave the next day around noon to make our way to Kotor, Montenegro. While disappointing, this gave me three more days to rest up before our next excursion and, after walking 5 miles today, I could use it.
FYI, the penicillin didn’t work. This cruise cough is viral.
The Macs’ Big Adventure 