Corfu, Greece

Greetings from the island of Corfu, Greece! Today we took an all-day tour of several locations on Corfu, a large island in the Ionian sea with around 140,000 inhabitants. The weather was very sunny and hot again today, with a high of 108 degrees. One of the places our tour took us to was the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a small monastery dating back to the 13th century, high on a hill above the small town of Paleokastritsa. The cove by Paleokastritsa was filled with vacationers bathing in the azure blue water, and there were signs pointing toward various grottoes and sea caves along the rocky coast. The sea looked so inviting and clear!

A view of the Corfu coastline

The drive up and down the hills was gorgeous and required an expert bus driver to navigate the tight turns and steep slopes. All around the island, the landscape beside the road is covered with olive trees, many of which are hundreds of years old - our guide told us that the oldest olive tree on Corfu is 2,000 years old. Once we got up to the monastery, we took a tour and looked inside the chapel, with its ancient icons covered in gold. There are still some monks living there.

A mosaic in the monastery near Paleokastritsa, Corfu

Later on in the day, we stopped at a viewpoint with a café to get a snack and take some pictures of the dramatic coastline. We both sampled the local beverage of choice, a non-alcoholic ginger beer made with ginger and lemon juice. It was spicy and just the thing to refresh us on a hot day! Items made from kumquats are another local specialty that's unique to Corfu; the Corfiots make kumquat liquor, candies, and preserves. We ate some kumquat cake, and later on I bought a jar of marmalade. Tomorrow we're off to Katakolon. Look for more photos and reflections on Corfu from my mother later on!

Lemon ginger beer, a local specialty on Corfu

A view of the old town in Corfu

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Today we visited beautiful Dubrovnik, Croatia. The old center of Dubrovnik is a city surrounded by medieval walls enclosing quaint streets. All of the buildings are constructed out of cream-colored stone with red-tiled roofs, and today it was sunny and very hot. It's a very picturesque city, perched on the rocky shore of the crystal-clear and blue Adriatic. We didn't take a tour today; instead we just walked around inside the walled city, looked in the cathedral, and took in the sights. After a while, we sat in a cafe and refreshed ourselves with some iced coffee - it turns out that when you order iced coffee in Dubrovnik, what you get is actually cold coffee with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream in it. Other than some postcards, our sole souvenir purchase was a jar of sea salt mixed with local herbs, particularly lavender, which seems to be very popular here. After our coffee break, I went up on the city walls and walked around, which gave me a great view of Dubrovnik and its surroundings.

Here are some photos from our visit:

Venice and the Crown Princess - July 11, 2012

Another bright and sunny day in Venice!   After a leisurely breakfast we  said goodbye to Rosalba, the wonderful lady who took care of us at breakfast each morning, and made a last shopping trip to get some bubble bath and a couple of cookies at the pastry shop near the hotel (as if we really needed cookies!)

Katie and Oliver near the beautiful coffeemaker

Rosalba and Katie in the hotel lounge

Our water taxi came to pick us up a little past noon and after saying goodbye to Armando and Oliver at the hotel we were on our way to the ship. As we traveled down the Grand Canal on our way to the Marine Terminal,  I was again taken by how beautiful this city is especially when seen from the water!

A beautiful palazzo on the way to the ship

Boarding was quick, our luggage arrived right after lunch and we were settled in quickly. The ship spends overnight in Venice, but we decided to stay onboard today and tomorrow and pretend that they are days at sea since we’ll have so few of those on this cruise. We walked around the ship a bit and noticed that the pools were closed.  In the daily patter it said that because of the shallow depth of the channels entering and leaving Venice they would remain empty until we cleared the lagoon.

In the early evening we went up to Skywalkers, the lounge at the top and all the way aft, for a drink before dinner.  Tonight we ate in Sabatinis and thoroughly enjoyed our veal chop and lobster.  By the time we finished it was after 11 PM and it was time for bed.

A day at the Rialto Market, Murano, dinner with friends and more wandering - July 10, 2012

Our last full land day in Venice dawned sunny, hot and humid.  Katie began with a run around the city.  After another lovely breakfast we headed to the Rialto Market.  As usual the sights and smells were marvelous and intriguing.  I did get the impression it was a little smaller than in the fall when we've been here.  I wonder if it's because many locals are on vacation.  I hope it's not because people are going to big supermarkets instead.  Katie bought a couple of the most juicy and sweet plums we'd ever tasted!

Some beautiful scallops!

Next stop was the vaporetto to Murano.  We walked to the factory at which Al and I have bought several things. I asked the salesman Marco to take us to an air-conditioned showroom he has upstairs so Katie could see some glassware pieces that are truly works of art.  I saw a few beautiful, but my sales resistance accompanied me today.  After walking around a little we had pizza and salad at a restaurant along the little canal.

Colorful buildings along the canal in Murano

This evening my friend Judy and her friend Julie came to our hotel for drinks and the four of us went to dinner at Al Paradiso Restaurant. We'd never been there but it came highly recommended by the staff.  The food was outstanding and we all enjoyed both the food and, better yet, the company.

Judy, Julie, Katie and Ann July 10, 2012

After dinner we parted ways at the Rialto Bridge so Judy and Julie could take the vaporetto back to the ship (they get off tomorrow and then we board).  They promised they left the ship clean for us!  As we walked back to the hotel the neighborhood gelateria was calling us so we made a little stop.  This could become a habit!

All in all it was a grand day!

The Doge's Palace & Grand Canal - July 9, 2012

This morning after a delicious breakfast on the hotel terrace we were off for our tour of the secret part of the Doge's Palace.  The Doge was the titular head of state of Venice during the time when it was a republic.  His palace, which was also the seat of government, adjoins San Marco.  Part of the palace was open to the public but there was a side of it that was kept secret and included the archives of the city, tribunals, torture chambers and prisons.  Perhaps the most famous prisoner was Casanova.

The tour was interesting as we made our way through the second and third floors of the palace.  Unfortunately, it's not air-conditioned so it was also incredibly hot!  One of the things we saw along the way was the Mouth of Truth.  There were a number of these around Venice.  People could put in an anonymous letter accusing someone of a misdeed of any kind.  The matter was then investigated.  If it was found to be untrue, efforts were made to determine who the slanderer was and he would receive the punishment that fit the crime he had wrongly accused someone of committing.

After the tour we bought vaporetto passes and did what I think is one of the most incredible things to do in Venice.  We took the vaporetto to Lido (the end of the line) and had seats in the bow.  Then we rode back to Venice across the lagoon and saw the city from the water level along the Grand Canal.  Each time I have done this I see something new that I missed before.  Each building is unique even in the shapes and embellishments of the windows.  Depending on the time of day and the light,  one gets different perspectives.

The Doge's Palace from the No.1 Vaporetto

Arrival in Venice - July 8, 2012

After on time and uneventful flights, I arrived at Marco Polo airport where Katie was waiting to greet me.  It was good to see her; she looked tan and happy. We walked down to the dock and hired a water taxi to take us to our hotel, the Al Ponte Antico, in a great location on the Grand Canal within sight of the Rialto Bridge.  Though Katie had been in Venice for the last three days, it was her first time approaching it by water which gives a different perspective.

The Al Ponte Antico with its lovely terrace

Our hotel is a small family run place and one of the nice things is that the staff has been the same for the several years I've stayed there and they call you by first name.  After checking in and cleaning up, we set forth on our first walkabout.  We were drawn to St. Mark's Square.  When Katie had been there a few days before, the place had been absolutely packed.  Today because it was later in the afternoon there were less people (though it was still busy).  I was hot and needed to sit and have something cold to drink so we stopped at one of the cafes in the square and had expensive but refreshing Aperol Spritzers and listened to the dueling bands. It was a pleasant interlude!

Flags flying in the breeze in front of St. Mark's

Katie's group, the Women's Voices Chorus of Chapel, had the honor of singing the mass on Friday evening in St. Mark's.  To hear them and see some of the sights they saw and members of the group follow their link.

For dinner we went to a little restaurant close to the hotel and recommended by them, the Il Barababao (the Devil).  We had a pleasant meal of salad and pasta with seafood and a nice house wine.  On our way back to the hotel we stopped for gelato to finish off the evening. It was a nice first day of our 2012 adventure.

Our 2012 voyage will begin soon.  I'm sitting in the lounge at Dulles waiting to fly to Venice via London Heathrow.  Katie is already in Venice and I'll meet her there tomorrow.  She has been on a concert tour with the Women's Voices Chorus of Chapel Hill.  They began in Budapest and then traveled to Llubljana, Slovenia.  Their last stop was Venice.  In each location they did a couple of performances and have managed to get in some sightseeing.

After a few days in Venice we'll board the Crown Princess for a  cruise of the Greek Islands, Ephesus in Turkey and Naples and Rome, Italy.  We're hoping for good weather and not too much heat!