Mediterranean Part IV

Sailing away from Italy, our cruise arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia. This country is not part of the European Union yet but it's hoping to in the next 2 years. I actually really like this town. We also joined a boat tour in Dubrovnik and actually sat in one of those wooden ships you see in the above picture. It was perfect.

Dubrovnik is unique due to its beauty from rocky cliffs. Can you see the tiny boat trying to sail into the small cave in the above picture?

This city was able to keep its fort from way back when and everything about the town speaks history. I love walking through the shops and towns with all the structure kept as is: the cobbled stone streets, the narrow alleys, the stone buildings. I mean I wouldn't want to live here seeing the amount of steps I'll have to take each day to and from home but it's certainly wonderful to visit!

Leaving Croatia, we also visited Corfu, Greece. It is also our last port city on the cruise. This was the only day I rose early enough to see sun rise. We only did this because our tour had to meet at 7am. Everybody looked half dead as we met.

The main highlight of our tour was to visit the Achillion Palace. It was very pretty inside filled with statues that remind you of when you once learned Greek mythology at school.

Of course, visiting its old town and shopping were also part of the tour! There were lots of narrow streets filled with shops such as the one below. Greece is known for its olive oil and all the souvenirs were hand-crafted with care. However, most of what they sold was...you'd never guess...brand name bags and accessories! Well...of course not the 'real' thing but just like it. I almost thought we arrived in China if they weren't speaking Greek!

Back on the ship, as we sailed back to Barcelona to return home, there were many fun-filled celebrations, such as a Venetian Masqurade Ball, a midnight gala buffet with ice sculptures as well as a 70s disco night. It was a fun ship alright...I beg to differ on the guest services though...but that's another story.

When I returned to my stateroom each night, a cute animal would be waiting for me at various places in various forms. This particular night was a monkey wearing a mask left from the masqurade ball the previous night! The creativity one needs to be a stateroom attendant these days!

Another memorable night was when we had a professional couple from Argentina come and tango for us. They were beyond awesome.

And then, the last sunrise we saw the morning we disembarked...

Mediterranean Part III

Our 3rd Italy stop was Naples. We walked around town in the morning. It's daunting trying to cross the street here...there is no official crosswalk and cars never want to stop for you. When one eventually has to stop because you are right in front of it...the cars behind will automatically honk. I don't know how wheelchairs or the elderly cross the streets here. This seems to be a more commercialized district, which is a drastic difference compared to nearby Sorrenti and Capri. This time we decided to visit the historic city of Pompeii.

We joined a tour and arrived in Pompeii in the afternoon. It was beating hot the whole day, we were all drenched wet from sweat before we even entered the city! Needless to say, it would've been much more enjoyable given some shade or breeze. When I came back and looked at the photos, I realize they all looked similar of stone and it's difficult to appreciate its historical value unless you've been there to see the scale of such a discovery yourself. Above shows the entrance to the city and below shows a seemingly never-ending road in the city. It was so clever of the people back then to put marble stones along the roads equivalent to our present day streetlamps to see in the dark.

Upon returning to the ship in the evening, I thoroughly enjoyed pianist John Bressler's lively performance. As you can see, he was very interactive with the piano as well as the audience. Performances such as this one happened nightly and gave us something to look forward to besides dinner each evening.

The following day came to our last Italy stop -- Venice. This was the only city on this trip I've visited before; yet, I didn't mind it at all that we were revisiting. Venice is such a romantic place and it was extra special that we got to sail in and out of the narrow canal to fully capture the stunning views. Below is actually evidence of, unfortunately, flooding in Venice. This is why you can park your boat and get off to walk and swim in the middle of the sea at the same time. According to the cruise ship captain, Venetian government is suppose to have a plan to stop this flooding, but nobody knows the plan yet.

Another interesting but perhaps dangerous observation we noticed while sailing through Venice is that many of their church bell towers are not straight! We think it's due to old age and perhaps acid rain and water below eating away the foundation of each tower?

The amount of people gathered in Venice, especially at St. Marc's Square is never to be underestimated. Perhaps it's the people causing the rapid detioration of the town?

I was especially happy that we got to enjoy Venice at night this time around. Last time it was just so rushed with a tour group that I missed out a lot of the architecture and details. Turns out there are also tons of things to shop for in Venice. We got some great deals! And then, of course, back to the ship.

Mediterranean Part II

For our Mediterranean cruise, the port city was Barcelona, so naturally that's where we embarked. Our first port city was Cannes, France. Beautiful it was. I think I've never seen so many beautiful people all in one city in my life. It appears as if people look amazing here in body, style and everything else without effort. It's no wonder the red carpet Cannes festival happens here every year.

We then sailed away to Italy. Livorno and Civitecchia were the first 2 stops. These are literally port cities meaning I don't think they'll exist if cruise ships didn't stop there simply because they had no room to 'park' in Rome nor Florence. There's literally nothing but 3 bigger churches at Livorno, a simple 1 hour walk can almost cover the whole town.

Unlike Livorno, I surprisingly discovered that Civitivecchia is mini shopping heaven. Everything is so cheap here we simply didn't buy more because our suitcases would be too heavy nor would they hold. We can even bargain here like in China. However, like many European cities, all the cheap bargains at the markets here are only available from 10am-1pm. Literally everything disappears beginning at 12:30pm sharp and nothing is left at 1pm. That's all the business they do for the day! I want that working life too!

Of course, after shopping much, the body needs to be replenished. What better to do each day after shopping than eat? It's certainly lovely to eat to our heart's content on the ship. But as I soon discovered, all the savoury foods became culprits to my current extra 6 lbs.

During my down times, I simply sit out in my veranda to suck in the view. It is priceless when you see it. You have to be there to recognize the true value of a balcony. For those without one, the pool deck is also great with tanning being a priority for many on our ship. The centre of the ship lobby is also very grand like many cruise ships. And then there are the beautiful sunrises and sunsets...

Mediterranean Part I

This was suppose to be our "trip of a lifetime," since P and I can rarely afford to travel together for 3 weeks to the Mediterranean plus have holidays together this long. But as it turns out, life is filled with surprises and we didn't end up going together. It was a good trip nonetheless, certainly memorable in my lifetime.


The first stop was Barcelona, Spain. I've never been but I fell in love with this place as days passed. The view is stunning; it's not surprising that there are tons of sun worshippers at the beach 24/7. And then there is the architecture. Gaudi is of course a heavy influence in Barcelona and he did a great job.

I was mesmorized by both Sagrada Familia as well as Park Guell. Really, who takes 200+ years to build a church and make what was originally planned to be a housing complex so fancy that it becomes a national park?

Of course, there's also the Spanish/European culture to work late, nap, and eat late. I mean we fit right in with our jet lag. The daily schedule is to wake up to eat, shop, and then return to the holiday to shower and nap. And then dinner at 8:30ish 9 before enjoying a bit more nightlife. This is the life. I have to say I especially enjoyed Spain's "specialty" beer...forgot its name. But it's essentially beer plus soda...refreshing.