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The port was Marseilles and there was nothing that stuck out for us to do, so we decided on something different. We visited an Olive Farm out in the country. We did not know what to expect as these descriptions sometimes leave things to be desired. Paula was really hoping to sit down and have an impressive assortment of olive varieties set in front of her to taste.

                             That did not happen.

                             What we received was a very intensive course on olives and the art of making olive oil by a young lady whose family has owned this olive farm, Moulin a Huile du mas St. Jean since the 1600’s and is located in the a small provincial village in the heart of the Alpilles Region, Fontvielle.

                             These newbies are the second owners; the original family started it in the 1300’s.

                             This area of the world, the Mediterranean, is known for its olives. From Israel north, all around the coastal areas, olives and their by-products are featured with wonderful regularity. It’s that special Med Climate, coupled with various different soils that make this such an important region for these products. Everyone is known for their contributions to this industry, except France.

                             France used to be a larger player in this global marketplace but back in 1956 this region was hit harder than the rest of the area and experienced a Freeze of Catastrophic Proportions and they lost about 70% of their olive trees. Of the remaining 30%, a significant number were cut down, and thinking that they had permanently died, different crops were planted to replace them.

                             Oops!

                             While in fact there were incredible losses due to this catastrophe, the patient farmers were rewarded with a significant number of their trees regenerating and coming back to life.

Unfortunately most of this took almost 12 years to accomplish.

Now, don’t think that these farmers just sat around for 12 years hoping that someday their trees would somehow miraculously re-appear. No, these farmers decided to replant their trees and start from scratch but found that some of the old “frozen” stumps that had been left alone, started themselves back up after their Rip Van Winkle period was over.

                   We saw some of these examples of Eternity Trees for ourselves. What we also saw was a farmer that possessed the same fervor for farming her family’s land that must have also been within her ancestors when they stayed the course here.

                             So began our education on olive growing and their process into olive oil. We learned about the old ways, her grandfather’s reluctance to accept the new ways, and the subsequent modernization of this millennia’s old occupation.

                   I used to sell olive oil when I worked for Ritter Food and Sysco. I’ve probably sold thousand of gallons over the years with different chefs wanting and needing their favorite ones that were used in their recipes. We were always taught that “First Cold Press” was the only way to go. You probably heard of this also.

Well…. It was……at one time.

Not anymore!

It’s all First Cold Press now!

                   Explanation………

 Back in the day when the olives were originally ground up at the mill and then further pressed, this was the First Cold Press, and you can imagine that it was the best stuff.

 Nice, pure, the best of the best, with no further processing needed to get what they wanted.

 But wait! There are still some oils left in those pressings!

 So, let’s dump some warm water in there, swish it around, let the oils rise to the surface, skim them off and Viola!

We’ve got some further extractions to sell (because not everyone needs or wants that expensive good stuff) and help us keep the lights on and the mill wheels turning!

          That was then, this is now….

                   Remember how I said that it is all First Cold Press now? How can that be? What about the other stuff?

                             There isn’t any.

                             The process now does not involve old-fashioned grinding and pressing, that left enough oils to be further worked out.

                             The modern grinders, presses and vacuum systems leave nothing behind anymore. Nothing left to further process.

                             Hence, it is now all First Cold Press, and this industry was smart enough to leave that distinction printed on its labels strictly for marketing purposes.

                             But there is a difference between Extra Virgin Olive Oil and regular olive oil, and this does go back to further extraction and the blending of these oils to make just plain olive oil but all extra Virgin Olive oil is First Cold Pressed by definition and process.

                             So what can make a difference in EVOO you may ask?

                   That is like asking a wine maker why his Merlot tastes a little different than his rival’s Merlot.

                   Olives, and grapes, are all subject to growing regions and their inherent conditions…. soil, climate, and the like. But there are other variables that the vintner/oil maker can use to make their product “better” than their competitors.

                             How long to leave the skins on the grapes?

                             What types of wood are used to store the products?

                             Which varieties are blended?

          Now let’s go to the olive farm where harvesting occurs over several months. Olives are left on the trees and age, accordingly, gathering further character as they go along. This does not mean that the older olives are better than their younger relatives, it just means that they develop characteristics that when blended with their friends gives a certain aspect to that farm’s unique “this is our oil” product.

                             Now it all makes sense!

          Of course every self-respecting olive oil maker thinks that their oil is the best, but I guess that is matter of taste, no difference than our Merlot comparison, you may prefer Chateau Bob’s and my preference may be Chateau Amy’s.

                   Thankfully we were at, and tasted, the oil that thirty Michelin Rated restaurants prefer and use, so it must be good! I’m afraid that this reviewer’s palette is not nearly experienced enough to truthfully evaluate the subtle difference between the top oils, but this oil was rather pleasing when sampled!

                             And besides, it was fun!

          After our Farm Tour we went into the nearby village and had lunch at the Le Cour des 2 Pins café. The meal was fabulous and the fact that our tour today only had 16 tourons in it made for a rather stressless traveling environment! The village was charming, you could tell that not much had changed in oh, the last two hundred years or so….

                   But no time to dilly-dally in this “modern” little town! There were more “Ancient Medieval Hilltop Citadel-like Old Settlements” (and their alleys!) to explore!

                   Off we went to Chateau des Baux!

                   This fortress and the little town it protected had its genesis in the 10^th century and stayed “local” until the 1500’s when it came under the control of the kings of France. Like all of its contemporaries, its influence, and stature waxed and waned over the following centuries until present day when it is now a celebrated destination for folks like us!

Now go and get yourselves a baguette and some nice EVVO, a good wine, and sit on your patio!

La Cote d’ Azur, The French Riviera, or just the plain South of France….. no matter what you call it, the world has been flocking here since the late 18^th century. Someone found that the climate was nice, the waters perfect, and the scenery very pleasing. This was nothing new to the fishermen and their families that had lived here for generations before the great “discovery”!

                   It is not long after something is discovered that entrepreneurs follow suit and blend their unique styles and aspirations into the new local flavors. These new tourists were mainly the British (I’m getting tired of this!) aristocracy including Queen Victoria and her contemporaries, Tsar Alexander II, and Edward, Prince of Wales, to name a few.

                   And if you can’t get enough of Downton Abbey like us, you will recognize the area as the setting for the last Downton movie, (new Era) in which the Dowager Countess, Violet Crawley, inherits that Villa in Southern France.

                   Here are a few more names of places that may be familiar to you, Cannes (of the film festival) Saint-Tropez, (arts and films after WWII, plus the new “jet-set” folks arrived) and Monte Carlo (the Casino section of the Principality of Monaco). Harold and I decided not to wear our tuxedos when we planned the visit to Monte Carlo.

 Don’t laugh!

You can’t get near the place unless you are “dressed” appropriately! And how about that “minimum” for playing at a table?

And I am quite positive that the bartenders are sick of hearing “Shaken, not stirred” from all the “Bond… James Bond” wanna-be’s when they order martinis!

We elected not to go to the Casino. There were so many other places to go to! We started our day with Fouad, our Tours by Locals guide. He lives in Nice, just a stone’s throw from the port of Villefranche where we were berthed. Originally, we had no desire to see Nice, mainly because we didn’t really know anything about it. Fouad convinced us of its qualities, so away we went!

The next photos are here courtesy of fresh vibrant colors, coupled with the natural light that only comes in the early morning or late afternoon. It was a photographer’s delight, and I could not pass it up! So here you are… The Colors of the Market.

Nice……. what a delightful surprise and we were happy that it was included in our tour.

We then worked our way back up the coast with the Principality of Monaco as our destination. Monaco is that teeny-tiny, very rich, quite uppity, country surrounded by France on three sides and the Mediterranean on the fourth. That location on the Med brings in a lot of really nice yachts!

The most obvious one is the Atlantis II, a 1981 380’ beauty built by a Greek shipping tycoon to try and outdo his rival, Aristotle Onassis who owned the Christina O. The Atlantis II is worth 100 million US.

          Unfortunately, I had left my wallet in the car.

We toured The Rock, the location of the Old City, the Cathedral, the Palace, and the Musee Oceanographique de Monaco. The latter of which,my old friend Jacques Cousteau, was the director of for 35 years.

 Check off another ‘Bucket List’ visit for me!

          I hope that you are not getting sick of seeing visages of “Old Cities” and their accompanying alleys, etc. because there is still more to come! We had lunch here, at an outdoor sidewalk café of course!

The Cathedral was the site of Grace Kelly’s wedding to Prince Albert and is also the site of both their resting places. Prince Albert II is the current reigning monarch of this micro-state and is the head of the House of Grimaldi which has ruled Monaco since 1297. Not a bad gig for a guy that doesn’t work!

                   After we left Monaco, we traveled up, and up, and up, to the little town of Eze. Yes, my friends, this is another of those places…. I’m so sorry but someone has to show these things to you!

By now you know what to expect with regards to the next few photos, so here they are, no captions necessary……

                  So, here we are at yet another medieval hill-top enclave that sits there just begging to be explored! At 1400’ above that ‘azure’ coastline, it was a fitting ending to a wonderful day spent rubbing elbows with the fine sights of (you pick the name!) the South of France, the French Riviera, and of course, the Cote d’ Azure!

Rome, the “Eternal City”.

                             Eternal probably because no one can remember when it wasn’t there! This place makes the phrase “older than dirt” seem like it was just yesterday!

                             Our timing for arriving in Rome was not good.

                             Not that we had any control over it…. this is when the ship docked in the nearby port of Civitavecchia, so we really didn’t have much of a choice. The issue was that day was Easter Monday, a holiday here in Italy.

                             And everyone was either ‘vacationing and visiting’ or ‘off work and visiting’. Either way, it made for a crowd! We were scheduled for the Hop On/Hop Off Bus that loops around the city. Usually a great way to get a handle on the city layout and the possible sights to see.

                             Usually.

                             Not that day!

                             The buses were full and the waits a bit long so that ease of hop on/off was not as good as it could have been. But we were there with Sandra and Darla who had pretty much the same goal as us…. just see what we could see and not worry about the rest!

                             Our first stop was the Coliseum, which we were able to walk to even before we boarded the HO/HO bus. Of course tickets were sold out/unavailable unless you went to a “guide”….. Ha! We didn’t have time for that anyway! We circumnavigated the place, it was a gorgeous day, and then we headed for the HO/HO bus stop and worked our way around. It was interesting to just be in this city.

                             It didn’t take us long to figure out that a cruise like this one is not the way to experience the world. It is a way to see some places, but there is never enough time to really experience anything of substance. Having come to grips with that months ago, we did not let the fact that all we did was basically walk around some, disappoint us.

                   Besides, it was a beautiful day, and we were with good friends! Back over on the HOHO bus we made a stop at what we thought was the way up to the Palazzo Venezia, a palace built by a former Venetian Cardinal who later became Pope Paul II. We climbed a significant flight of marble stairs only to find that there was no way to get to the adjacent monument, which (reportedly) has a great view over all of Rome. What we did get to was St. Mark’s church, which is what those steps actually led to.

The view from up there was nice and we decided that it was just fine enough so as to not warrant the retracing of our big steps and then climbing some other big steps in an effort to acquire another (maybe better) view.

Instead we headed for the Vatican.

Back on HOHO for a stop or two, and then a short hike to the Vatican. The route brought us over the Tiber River with a nice view of St. Peter’s from the middle of a bridge. See the photo!

But first things first, we were hungry! And, as they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do….”

So, we had pizzas!

And some wine! (and a Coke)

All finished we ambled up the main drag right into St. Peter’s Square only to find that the line to get through security to get into St. Peter’s was longer than it was wise to stand on, trying to work out a timetable for getting back to our Tour Bus on time. Knowing that this trip to Italy was (hopefully) not the last one for any of us, we threw that St. Peter’s visit into the “Future Bag” and headed back out. (Besides, all the Vatican Museums were closed on Easter Monday!)

          The issue with the HOHO busses was that as the day wore on, and folks needed to get back to wherever they needed to, the lines to get on said busses potentially got exponentially longer and just because a bus pulled up to our stop didn’t mean that someone got off to make room for us! And having a ship almost an hour and a half away, plus holding up all of your bus-mates, made getting back on time or earlier, molto importante!

So took the HOHO all the way round the city until we arrived at the stop where we waited for our tour bus. This was right beside the former site of Circus Maximus. Circus Maximus is just what it was back then, a very large, long, arena that had chariot races and the like all the time. It held about 125,000 screaming pre-NASCAR fans of its day. Gelato seemed to be the right thing to do about now, so Sandra and I went over to the Mobile-Gelato-Next-To-Circus–Maximus-Guy, which apparently gave him a license to charge maximus prices!

          After yesterday’s issues with Peppe, I’ve learned my lesson! There were no prices posted so when we got up to the window, I asked how much it was.

“Five Euro’s Signore,” was the answer.

“No!” was my reply.

                   Five Euros was closer to seven US than anything, and I had witnessed the size of the servings given there. It was not worth it. It’s not the five Euros, it was the fact that I could say “No” to something that was hugely overpriced.

I was very proud of my “really wanted to have gelato” self.

                   Back on the bus, and an hour and a half later, we were back on the ship getting ready for dinner! We are making a note to the Princess scheduling department to check out future Easter dates and advise them to try their best to stay away from Rome at those times!

The Amalfi Coast.

                             Even if you have never been there, you are definitely familiar with both some places and photos of the same, because it is hard to find a ”Most Beautiful….” type calendar, travel book, or Microsoft suggested home page, without a photo of this region.

                             And for good reason.

                             This may have been one of our more anticipated excursions of the trip. My mind’s eye had already satisfied itself, I just needed it to be done for real and for it to be introduced to Paula.

                             But…… (well, not really a but,) although this port started out with a negative/positive aspect. We were supposed to anchor off of Sorrento, which means “Water Shuttle” (Boo). Two days before we arrived, the Captain got on the squawk box and announced that our position would be changed to Naples, where we would dock! (Yay)

                             But…… that meant that all of our arrangements needed to be addressed, which gave us the possibility of cancellation because Naples is a full hour north of Sorrento and not all of these Tours By Locals are geared for that. Plus it added an hour (each way) of “commuting” to our already day-long schedule.

                              But….. it turned out not to be that much of an issue. Our guide-of-record, Peppe, swung us over to Sal who lives in Naples. Peppe lives just above Positano, which is still further south of Sorrento. Sal was right on time (again) and with a slightly heavier Italian accent tainting his monologue we drove off. It was Easter Sunday, so we did not have a clue as to what to expect. Would it be quieter? Busier? Slower? Traffic? Crowds? or no one around?

                                      Yes.

                             We first had a geography lesson on our drive towards Sorrento and points south. One of the advantages of being up in Naples to start was that we needed to skirt the infamous Mount Vesuvius which, on this crystal-clear morning was a treat. Sal informed us all about the Apennines, the mountain range that runs down this side of Italy and its various geologic composition’s.

                             One thing was noted in this region of Italy….

No one goes to the beach.

That’s because there aren’t any!

          The sea pretty much comes right up to the base of these mountains, hills, and cliffs that make this area so dramatic. All of those photos that I alluded to before would not be in existence if there were a “normal” coastline with long sandy beaches and relatively flat surroundings.

                             Instead, it goes like this….

                                      Ocean

                                      Waves.

                                      Rocks.

                                      Cliffs.

                                      Really steep hills.

                                      Mountains.

                                      Sky.

                                      Outer Space.

                   Or something like that, but that’s about it!

                   The way that Europe has managed the terrain for all of these centuries is a sight to be seen. I guess that humanity has pretty much handled whatever hand it has been dealt when it come to living in questionable lands, so this area is not really so much a surprise as it is a delight! Once again, I will let that new camera take over for a while!

                             Driving the Amalfi Coast is quite an experience! I should say “riding in a vehicle” because thankfully Sal did the driving! Not only are the roads narrower, and windier, but toss in a few thousand motor scooter/cycles that all pass in-between you and the oncoming traffic (with surprising ease) and you got a recipe for disaster.

                   But it never seems to come.

                   Instead you get a recipe for some incredible foods!

                   This is because of two main reasons.

1. Everyone drives like a maniac, so this it comes with no surprises, it’s business as usual.
2. They really know their gastro-skills over here, examples a little later!

          Our first stop was the hillside village of Positano. I guess that I don’t need to add “hillside” as an adjective here as these places are all on a hillside, but now you know for sure! If you think that driving here is an experience, you should try parking! Luckily, Sal has been doing this for a while and has figured out all the tricks including probably “encouraging” the guy at the parking area to keep a spot up front for him when he calls with a tour. These parking areas make the ones in NYC look like they are on a prairie in Kansas! Armed with instructions and a time limit we forged our way into the tiny winding streets (?) of Positano. Yes, these are streets because some people have the right to drive (squeeze?) on them, even when there are multi-thousands of “Hey! I’m walkin’ here!” pedestrians. This was “Touron Heaven”, and it was so obvious, but at the same time it was so nice! The weather was awesome, the aromas wafting out of the storefront eateries were incredible, and the colors of everything else were just eye candy for the other senses! Once again, everywhere we turned was another great view…. out to sea, up the hill, or right in front of us, this was the Amalfi Coast Experience that we were looking for!   

                   After Positano we furthered our trip by still more hill-hugging drives on our way to the town that gave its name to this area, that of Amalfi. Amalfi does have a beach of sorts, but nothing like the white sandy beaches of New Jersey! But then, we don’t have the cute cliff-clinging towns of Amalfi either! Sal let us off at the circle in the park at the foot of Amalfi. We went across and entered through hole in the buildings that led us down another “road” and up, and into, the heart of the town. The always present big church was there along with the always present shops. Amalfi was not nearly as neat and tidy as Positano was, may be like comparing Seaside Heights to Beach Haven, but both are great in their own ways  😊

                   Between Positano and Amalfi there are numerous, maybe less famous, but by no means less beautiful, little spots. We chanced a view from a pullout that Sal liked overlooking Praiano, which had this nifty little hotel that I think I want to buy and run forever! Once again, you are all welcome here, we will keep a room open for free, you just need to let us know when you are coming so that we don’t double book you!

          We left the coast after Amalfi and headed up into the hills on our way to lunch, where we were to finally meet our original guide, Peppe. We stopped at a little roadside stand that had a “Dining Room” attached to it. This dining room had a tentlike roof, complete with clear plastic walls that ebbed and flowed with the rather chilly buffeting breezes that were present at this hilltop location.

          We immediately had our doubts as to what was going on. All we could see was a rack full of potato chips and a cooler filled with sodas and Monsters! (I did not have one ☹). Sherry, who is the most vocal one of our group, was not taking any chances so she immediately went to Peppe and asked about our “lunch”. Coming away assured that we were indeed going to receive our “Local Agratourismo” affair that we had planned on, we felt a lot better, thanks to Sherry!

                   We felt even better when the victuals started to arrive. Once again, bound and determined not to be picky, I ate all that was put in front of me, sans the wine. No more multi-glassed events for me! We had some dish that had eggplant, zucchini, and various other unidentified vegetable-type things in it and it was delicious! Sorry, but I neglected to take photos of that lunch, but it was good! During this time we learned that Peppe was the owner of this plastic epicurean haven and that his wife did the cooking.

 All was good until we received the check.

It came to 250E, or 50 Euros per person.

This was about double what we expected and double what it was worth. Now don’t get me wrong, everything was very tasty, but not worth that much, especially considering that everyone split just two bottles of wine. It was even more disturbing realizing that Peppe was the owner and that the plan was to bring us here all along. It seemed a little self-serving. Comparing that experience with the days before lunch in Sicily where we were in a nice restaurant with real walls, no drafts, and multiple courses and multiple wines, which ended up costing less that this day’s (at 45E)…. Well, let’s just say we were not really happy. Once again, our Spokesperson Sherry questioned Peppe about it and was successful in getting our bill reduced to 200E, which was better, but far from acceptable. We racked it up to our inexperience in these parts that requires anyone to first inquire about exactly what one will be receiving and at what price this will be delivered.

Lesson learned!

Obviously somewhat disappointed, but at least sated, we clambered aboard Sal’s van, and we went further up into the mountains to the little hamlet of Ravello, another walled city from a long time ago.

This place was quite nice, a tad chilly as that ever-present breeze was not easing up at all, but all was good, and this village helped ease the smarts still clinging after our lunch.

Sal brought us back home by going over the mountains, as trying to get back through the winding seaside goat paths that brought us here in the morning would have only succeeded in us needing to get rooms at our new favorite cliff-clinging hotel and missing the ship!

Over the mountains we went and Sal (of course) knew of a great overlook that laid Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Mt. Vesuvius at our feet before we traveled back north to Naples and our floating home.

The driver from Tours by Locals pulled up in a black limo. He rolled down his window, gave us a head nod, carefully looked all around, and then rolled his window back up.

                   From out of nowhere we heard the sound of someone lightly playing the violin……. one of the rear windows lowered about half way, and an old man in the back seat motioned us over…..

                   He slowly kept motioning for us to come closer. When we were right beside the window, he spoke in a low marbly voice……

                   “I’ma gonna make you-ana offa you can’t refuse.”

          The violin began to get louder and soon the orchestra joined in as the opening credits rolled……    

That was the way that our tour of Sicily started.

          Yes, you can get a Godfather movie location Tour, but that is not why we were there!  We were there to see this wonderful island and to taste some of the food and as much of their wines as we possibly could. Our driver and guide, Mario, was as pleasant as they come and proceeded to do just that!

          Mario was right on time, (they always are) waiting for us when we pulled into the port of Catania which is situated on the eastern coastline of this Italian island.

          Sicily is triangularly shaped and lies at the “toe” of the “boot” of Italy, akin to a football ready to be kicked.  Sicily is the largest and most populous of all the Mediterranean islands and is one of only five Italian Autonomous Regions, which gives it specially granted powers to have limited legislative control over itself, similar to a State in the US, but less than an independent country. This was done to protect some local customs and languages in an effort to thwart possible Independence Movements and the like, after WWII. By now you are all experts on the various old cultures and ancient peoples that transited this region of the world over the centuries, so they thankfully will remain unnamed here, and there will be no Quiz! You can almost throw a rock from Malta to this island so it stands to reason that those occupying forces of history-shaping entities would be similar. Let’s leave it at that!

          But…… our first destination for the day was the little citadel-like, promontory-dwelling hamlet of Castelmola. For the following I am not going to apologize because we just can’t get enough of old medieval stonework-based villages, so, I hope that you enjoy seeing them also!

It seems that wherever we go now, the vestiges of those ancient times come sailing forth and end up front and center of any travel plans that we, a guide, or even Princess Tours, has to offer!

Our aptly named driver, Mario, must have some Formula One Racing driving experience as exhibited by his deft auto maneuvering while traveling up these impossibly narrow and winding two-way (!) roads that lead to some of these little cities!

Today Castelmola is not home to the guardians of the realm, but to the guardians of contemporary arts as it is now a definite destination for crafts peoples and artists. We were there early in the morning which made walking around quite the pleasure even though not all of the shops, galleries, and studios were open yet.

Mario outdid his upwards performance with his downward spiral-type rollercoaster drive down from the summits to the lowlands below on our way to the nearby city of Taormina which pretty much lies at Castelmola’s base. This old pre-Roman city is much larger than our previous destination and required Mario to drop us off at one side of town so that we could walk through the old city on foot. This was good because on foot was the only way to go as the entire area is pedestrian only.

The cappuccino enthusiasts of our little group were gathering their tastebuds about them in anticipation of the finding of that idyllic pasticceria. This was not a problem as they were weed-like and were everywhere!

Our spot just happened to be on a beautiful piazza with two guys, suitably dressed, playing, and singing the Italian Standards! I do not drink coffee or cappuccino so my transition to the “Ultimate Ethnic lmmersion Level” was not complete yet, but when these guys broke into Volare’ ….. well, let’s just say that Dino and Frank could not have done it better!

But wait! It does gets better!

Super Mario picked us up at the opposite end of the town right on schedule.

“Schedule for what , Don?”

Lunch of course!

Not just any lunch mind you…. This lunch was an Agratourismo affair at a local vineyard and restaurante which obviously featured their wines paired with the onslaught of gastro-courses, (five in total) that were planned for us!

Mario kept checking on our table like a mother hen making sure that her chicks were satiated and happy.

          We were….. both!

Mario rolled us back out of the winery and into his van in time to get us back to the ship before the Captain yanked the anchor and left us.

          Something tells me that we would have been happy to stay.

So, where do I begin?

                   Maybe with an apology.

                   We have now entered the stretch of Ports that are one right after another, leaving little time to put these posts together! But, have no fear! You will be inundated with useless tid-bits of random facts and trivia if I have to extend this voyage beyond its ending date!

                   Really, I have about six days at sea when we cross the Atlantic to have everything wrapped up by the time that we hit Fort Lauderdale. But I will be honest with you, having some “Sea Days” to wind down is now a luxury! I can hear it now…. “Oh, poor Donny, too many days exploring fascinating Ports-of-Call and sampling the exotic foods of these foreign ports! Gee, sure wish I was in his shoes!”

                   My friends, you are absolutely within your rights to think that way only if you think for a nanosecond that we really feel like that!

                   Much on the contrary, we pinch ourselves every day….. we still cannot believe that we are on this ship, sailing around the world, and experiencing everything that we have already seen, and those waiting to be discovered!

                   So, as I said, we are in the stretch of “close” ports. The Mediterranean is a perfect place to cruise if you want lots of interesting ports close together. There is a common thread that binds all of these ports together and it’s a long one….

                             The thread of history.

                             Sometimes it seems as though we could get to the point of, “Yea, yea, been there, done that”, and then we round a corner and come face to face with something that we’ve never seen before. You would think that “Seen one cathedral, seen ‘em all” would possibly be the mantra of this segment but I can assure you that each one has its own incredible mosaic, ceiling, or story to tell, and they are all fascinating.

                   So, let’s start there for today, because that is where we started when Olympia, from Tours by Locals brought us to The Sanctuary Basilica of The Assumption of Our Lady (which is a mouthful) so it is more commonly known as The Rotunda of Mosta, in Mosta, Malta. The Rotunda was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome and boasts the third largest unsupported dome in the world.

Olympia could be the most knowledgeable guide that we have had to date. This takes nothing away from the other guides that we’ve had, it’s just that she really stands out. I’m not sure, but she may have been a History Major because she spewed out facts, figures, and dates better than my old Junior year History teacher, Mr. Dooley, could have ever done! I’m afraid that all of her efforts may have been a bit lost, as there was no way that we could have remembered everything without taking notes and we are glad that there was not going to be a quiz at the end! In the meantime, she was able to convey to us the long tapestry of interwoven cultures that have shaped the tiny island nation of Malta.

                   When it comes to history in the Mediterranean, everything is just basically older than dirt! You can’t walk anywhere without stubbing your toe on some ancient ruins. This is no different on Malta and it may include structures from even a bit earlier. There are some Neo-Mega-lithic formations here that defy our understanding of how they were assembled. Much the same as Stonehenge, Easter Island, or any number of other building projects, we can only surmise and offer theories on how these giant rocks were placed where they are! I’ll show you a photo.

                   Let’s get back to The Rotunda. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on any particular scenario, our schedule brought us to Malta and Italy for the Easter weekend….. oops! While all of the churches and such were obviously open, it meant that we were traipsing around inside and gawking at everything while the townsfolk were in there worshipping. I think it was awkward, but I am sure that they are used to it by now as these places have been visited for centuries by travelers. The vaulted ceiling of The Rotunda was quite impressive and was only enhanced by the wonderful voices of a children’s choir singing during the Good Friday morning service. It made this experience just a little more special.

We then went into an antechamber that held the parish museum and gift shop. This is another way that you can tell that all of us camera-toting visigoths have become an essential part of helping to keep these churches alive. We felt better in the museum, a little less conspicuous than in the church!

                   If Malta sounds a little familiar to you it is probably from a history lesson that was tucked back in the cobwebs of your mind. Malta has been at the crossroads of every conquering invasion of just about anywhere in this region from the beginning of recorded time, beginning with the Phoenicians. This central role has continued right up to and included WWII. Evidence of this inclusion can be found right there in the museum of The Rotunda, for there in front of us was the (thankfully) replica of the 300-pound bomb that was dropped and crashed through the Dome and then just ‘thunked’ on the floor. The three hundred plus parishioners that were in there at the time were as thankful as we were that it did not explode.

                             The parishioners are quite sure that Our Lady had something to do with this miracle!

                   Our next destination was the medieval city of Mdina.

                   No, I did not forget a vowel, that is the correct spelling and is pronounced M-deena. Mdina is another example of a walled city from those times and is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We have yet to visit one of these Sites that has not deserved their designation as such, so given the chance, you should put as many of these historical places on your travels list.

                   Malta, and particularly Mdina, take their place in modern history, (let’s say from the Crusades onward) from the Knight’s of St. John, a holy order (or army if you wish) that wrestled control away from the Ottomans during the Crusades and held sway against any other invaders until even more recent times that saw it come under various kings of Italian provinces. Things were relatively calm for a few centuries when along came the British (not again!) in the early 1800’s who established their Mediterranean Fleet there. Malta is situated halfway between the Suez Canal and Gibraltar (another Brit base!), so its strategic location made it quite important for re-fueling and as a trading partner. Malta remained a British Protectorate until 1964 when it gained its independence. So that explains why we drove on the wrong side of the road while we were there!

                   After our walk through Mdina, we drove down the hills to the rocky coastline where we walked further down to the cliffs until we came to a dock where all of the boats meet. These boats belong to the “Captains” that pilot the boats that take people to the Blue Grotto Caves. We all piled into what was not much more than a large rowboat and away we went. (I did notice that Olympia declined to come with us and the fact that the provided life jackets were perfunctory at best may have contributed to her decision!)

Around a promontory we sailed, and we soon came upon one of about six different caves, varying in size and features. But the one uniting characteristic of these caves was the “color” of the water. It was a wonderfully azure bluish tinted color and was quite striking, especially when the sunlight was as direct as it was when we were there. Photos will do this better than I can!

When we left the caves, we headed for our much anticipated “we’re starving to death” luncheon at a nifty little place in local little fishing village harbor. They were waiting for us as only can be had when you have a “local” call and make arrangements for whenever you may arrive! Pizzas and refreshments later, we admired the colorful little boats lying at their moorings and then piled back in the van for our return.

                             After the harbor visit it was back to the port where we took the “Lift” up to the town’s main area, had a look around, took a few photos, and then booked it back to the ship for a light dinner!  

                   The next day is Sicily!

I will be honest with you.

 Before this trip I did not have a clue where Montenegro was located. I definitely would not have put it where I found it! It does not sound like Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, or Slovenia, not to mention Yugoslavia, the “parent” country. Montenegro sounds like it belongs in Africa, or maybe South America, or even right next door to Monte Carlo! Besides, Montenegro has managed to keep itself out of the more recent ethnically driven conflicts that have occurred in this region over the last thirty years or so, so it never really entered those conversations! I consider myself a rather good Trivial Pursuit player and Geography is one of my better topics, but I cannot tell you how much this world cruise voyage has made any of us better in that department!

                   After missing the two Ports in Croatia and Slovenia because of those fierce winds disguised in an innocent sounding name, the Bora, we slid into Kotor Harbor like it was our home port. Kotor, the cultural heart, and soul of tiny Montenegro could not have been more welcoming. And why not? It has a lot of practice since it’s been around for centuries as the walled Old City can attest. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, this cobbled street throw-back to Greek, Roman, and Ottoman times is home to the area’s tourist attraction …. that of itself!

                   We used Tours by Locals once more and we were extremely satisfied with our Guide, Filip. In an area of the world where boundaries often blur, change, and sometimes get obliterated, Montenegro has managed to hold on to its rich heritage and local stories. Filip could not have been prouder than to be a full-blooded Montenegrin.

                   With just the right amount of prodding, via carefully asked questions, we were able to demonstrate that we knew enough about this region’s political dilemmas, especially after WWII. This let Filip open up and discuss his take on the more recent historical events that have led to Montenegro anticipating its 20^th anniversary of independence, arriving in 2026.

                    This event was quietly admired by Filip, who also offered that their previous alliance with Serbia was not a bad one…… the vast majority of tech jobs and other industrialized employment opportunities lay with that neighbor. Montenegro’s chief business opportunities came with the ebb and flow of tourists, many who arrive by cruise ships.

                   And we all know what happened to that industry in the recent past!

                   Filip zoomed up on his “Razor” type foot-powered scooter and we all laughed about all of us trying to fit on it with him! Luckily our van and driver were just minutes away. Our first stop was at a lookout high above the port. Kotor is situated at the end of a long fjord-type body of water. According to some, this is the most southern fjord in Europe, while others contend that it is not true fjord as it was formed by a river that has since been buried under the remains of many earthquakes. Either way, the results are spectacular as you will see in the photo.

                   It was a brisk and cloudy day, the rain stayed away, even though there was a 60% chance of precip. Even over here those guys can’t get it right! There was some snow showers up in the mountains which will be apparent in another photo.

                   After we came down from the mountain overlook, we drove along the narrow shoreside road. The terrain is steep and most of the houses cling to the hillsides in true European style, as we drove up to our next stop, we saw many examples of their aquaculture here, they farm fish, oysters, and mussels, with great success.

                   Our next stop was out on an island. Not just any island, this one has been made and added to over the years by the locals, especially the fishermen. Here’s how the story goes:

                   (Once upon a time) there were two fishermen on their way back to their dock when sailing past a small rocky outcropping, they spied something in the water. It was an Icon rendering of the Blessed Mother. Being good Catholics, they took this as a sign and decided that they needed to do something about it.  The year was 1452, and the date was July 22. Over the following years they added to this rocky islet by sinking rock-laden old boats and tossing additional rocks on it whenever they returned from a successful fishing outing. Years went by and eventually the outcropping was large enough to have a small shrine on it. The shrine was expended in 1722 and has been renovated several times hence. This shrine, Our Lady of the Rocks, houses some very substantial works of art done by various local (and influential) artists. A small museum is attached and what is readily apparent when visiting here is the number of items that have been donated over the centuries by folks (especially fishermen) who attribute something miraculous happening in their lives, to this Our Lady of the Rocks icon and shrine. Every year on that July day, (from back in 1452, the anniversary of the Icon finding) the local folks keep up the tradition of adding to the rocks by gathering rocks in their boats. They then have a procession out to, and around, the island where they dump their rocks overboard and then have a party!

                             After the Rock Visit, we drove further up the road to a little settlement named Risen. This town is Filip’s hometown and he brought us to a local museum that housed the remains of an old Roman Villa from the Second Century AD. You could tell that Filip was extremely proud of this place, not only because it was local, but because he had worked on it when he was younger. He lamented that none of the sightseeing tours would be stopping there to see these restored masterpieces. Filip showed us around like a proud father would show off his kids works! He painstakingly detailed for us the importance’s and nuances of each swirl, triangle, and leaf, in the artwork.

                                      We did not quite share Filip’s lamentation of the non-visiting tours, at least while we were there! By this time, bathrooms were sorely needed, but the only ones available were in a local café, who kind of frown on non-customers using their facilities (this was obvious by the countenance of the owner lady) We told Filip that we had no problem buying something so, our squirming symptoms abated, we sat down for cappuccinos and a Coke. This short respite from the tour gave us the chance to have further conversations with Filip about what it was like to live here. One of the best things about using this private tour service is that we get the chance to talk one-on-one with our guides and have meaningful conversations about them and their homeland. This would obviously be impossible if we were in a tour group.

                             Retracing our steps, we drove back past the Island with the Shrine on it and wound our way into town. Our new (and Last) destination was the walled and gated Old City of Kotor.

                             Charming right from the start, you need to enter the old city through the Main Gate which opens into a large town square. If all of this seemed familiar to us it is because the city flourished and further developed during the period that the Venetians entered into an agreement to help fortify and defend her. This was in the late middle ages. By now, all of you are probably sick of hearing of the waxing and waning of influences over these various countries that we have visited over here. The issues are many, and the proximity to each other was a tempting piece of these conquestionalble (I just made that word up! But it fits, doesn’t it?) efforts to subdue their neighbors. We need to remember just how close everyone is to each other over here. It is like the northeastern part of the United States all trying to conquer each other. The distances are relatively small and easily traversed by armies, so things evolved relatively quickly and often. So, here is a list of the old guys that had Kotor and Montenegro in a tug-of-war…..

                   In  no particular order….

• Romans
• Ostrogoths
• Saracens
• Bulgarians
• Byzantines
• Serbia
• Venetians
• Bosnia
• Hapsburgs
• Napoleon
• Dalmatians
• Austo-Hungarians

I’ll end it there as this is now getting tedious! Can you imagine how tedious it was for the inhabitants of this nice little country? Such was the way of life in Europe during these times. It is no wonder that the vestiges of these conflicts still haunt today’s politics!

          The best of these time periods was the one under the Venetians. These guys were not really conquerors, they were traders and would do what was necessary to secure a good trading partner and if that meant helping them with fortifications and the like, then so be it. Maybe that is why it felt so familiar walking around these tiny alleys and streets here. Just as in Venice, they ran every which-a-way and were rather confusing.

          For today’s use they are perfect! This maze of little roads gave Kotor a big part of its charm. Couple that with all of the stonework-based architecture and you end up with a town that could have Robin Hood appear from around then next corner and you would think nothing of it!

                   We wandered around the Old City with Filip pointing out the important sites and throwing the history of each into the conversation. Towards the end we asked him to join us for lunch and he agreed to have a Coke with us as he needed to get to his other job. A tiny pub was located (he obviously knew these guys) and we shared a platter of assorted cheeses and some prosciutto, absolutely the best that we’ve ever had!

The goodbyes were sincere as we had all come to have a mutual respect for each other. It is wonderous what can be discovered when we subjugate (in a way) ourselves to a resident of a teeny-tiny country and act as sponges for the collective history and stories of what they deem important, rather than acting as “The Big Country” just coming there for photo ops.

                   Kotor and Montenegro would be a worthy stop for you if you ever get to this ethnically diverse area of the Balkans. Whatever happens, history is on the Montenegrins side, and they will still be here.  😊

Here are just a few other photos from Venice. I mentioned that I took about 250, and so far, you’ve seen a smattering of them, but then, not all photos are worthy of publication! That’s why we take so many!

In no particular order, I introduce you to the rest……

Hope you enjoyed your stay in Venice!

“They Call the Wind Mariah”, Paint Your Wagon, Broadway, 1951 and the movie version from 1969.

                             Over here, at this time if year the wind is named Bora.

                             On board we have a much harsher term for her as it is this meteorological event that has caused us to miss our next two ports.  We will not be calling at Koper, Slovenia or Split, Croatia.

                             Wind?

                             Not just any wind, this particular movement of airs consistently tops out at around 60+ mph, and that is plenty enough to wreak havoc on a ship at sea, or one trying valiantly to come alongside a pier!

                             So, the Captain is not taking any chances and we are bypassing those ports and staying close to the eastern coast of Italy, in the western Adriatic. This girl gets more intense the closer that you get to the coast of Croatia and Slovenia as this wind originates back in the interior of this section of Europe. High up on a much colder inland plain, behind the coastal Dinaric Alps, the air pressure starts to build up. As the air masses move outwards, in this case towards the sea, (where at this time of year, a relatively lower pressure system conveniently sits!) it looks for a channel to flow through. Much the way that water seeks its own level and will flow through a specific place with the least resistance, air is guilty of much the same behavior.

                             When it reaches the Dinaric Alps, it first starts flowing through the various peaks and passes, gathering speed as it compresses itself, racing towards that maritime low-pressure region. There is one more factor that really whips this baby up and that is gravity! As those airs come racing through the passes, she starts her fall down the mountain gathering speed as she sails along, headed for the coast and eventually out across the Adriatic.

                                      “Yahoo! I’m headed to the beach!”

                                      Hey! That’s where we are!

                             So far, we have successfully avoided any real issues. The seas are a tad larger than we’ve encountered before and the stabilizers are performing admirably. Today will be the test as we need to turn to our east and approach Kotor, Montenegro, so we may cross paths with %&#!@ Bora again! Report to follow.

                             In a way, I feel sorry for the Captain. Here he is trying his best to avoid dangerous and uncomfortable situations and the more successful he is the more people say, “This isn’t so bad! We could’ve made port!”

I kind of wish that even briefly we’d get tossed around like that toy boat in the child-induced bathtub maelstrom.

But then they’d complain about that too.

Marco Polo liked the place.

                             He even had a home there.

                   Whenever he and his friends went swimming in the canal, they would call out MARCO!

                   But he remained silent.

                   This really confused his friends because he was the one who invented this game!

                   We called out his name every time we crossed over a bridge (and with 430 of them, we passed over a lot!)  yesterday with the same result. 

 No Marco.

                   What we did find was a city that has changed remarkably little since the days that Marco lived here.

          I need to post a disclaimer here for your viewing information. I took around 250 photographs of Venice and all of its hidden sights. No, I am not going to post all 250 photos here today, but if you think that I could choose just a small amount of them, you would be sorely mistaken! What I can tell you is that you will be treated to a view of Venice that not everyone gets unless you are a resident (or have one show you around!) There will be endless examples of the really photogenic hidden corners of Venice awaiting you if still care to read on!                  

                   So, without any more explanation, here comes Venice!

                   Walking through Venice is like being in a time-warp, there is really nothing modern about this city. Even the problems of today mirror the ones of long ago. Flooding, fresh water, sewage, and transportation in general, are all issues that will probably be with Venice for the next thousand years.

                   We had booked another private tour with Tours By Locals, as along with Jerusalem, this city is too important to trust to a general group tour. By now you know our feelings on group tours vs private tours and the outcome of yesterday just cemented our opinions of private tours.

                   For this tour we had Isabella as our guide. Isabella, or Isa for short, is a resident of Venice. And not just an outskirts-of-the-city dweller, she lives in the heart of this Waterway’s ‘R Us, canal-strewn, let’s build on some islands, little town.

                   There are 118 separate islands, all connected by 430 bridges that span the 26 miles of interconnecting canals. The Grand Canal, the large serpentine waterway that basically cuts the city in half, is almost three miles long and is 300 feet wide at its broadest point. The back water, smaller canals can be just a few feet deep, while the larger, main ones range from about 6 feet to 15 feet deep. You may have seen on the TV a few weeks ago, that “the canals of Venice are drying up”. It is impossible for the canals to dry up as they are connected to the Lagoon, which in turn, is connected to the Adriatic Sea. What did happen was a combination of tidal and meteorological factors. There was a lunar tide coupled with a strong offshore wind which pushed the waters of the Lagoon towards the Adriatic. This happens from time to time, and it seems the only ones to make a big deal about it were the media folks. The Venetian’s use this fortuitous event to clean out some of the canals and do periodic maintenance.

                   Venice is a little over two hours north of us here in the port of Ravenna. Isa had her driver, Daniel, pick us up when our ship docked at 8 am. Daniel, possibly one of the most pleasant persons we’ve ever met, was a fountain of information about Italy and this region specifically. He made our drive north seem like it was just a hop and a skip away. Daniel was also our return driver later in the evening and we could not have been happier. The true professional that he is, he knew that we were exhausted from the day and courteously let us (me) doze off from time to time without interruption.

                   Our exhaustion was a very specific kind of tired, it is called V.S.F. or Very Satisfied Fatigue. Our requests to Isabella were detailed in their generalness….. Please get us into the places that the tours do not, or cannot, take people, but we need to see the Big Three, the Rialto Bridge, The Bridge of Sighs, and St. Mark’s Cathedral and Piazza.

                   These requests were met, and surpassed with results that I could not even imagine! I did not know how to get where we were going, even if I had had a clue! The accompanying blog photos will do it justice, I have no doubt!

The next seven photos are of the beautiful, tranquil, back canals. Think secret rabbit warren, accessed through small underpasses through buildings!

All of these alleys and canals led to some more inhabited areas. The Squares/Piazza’s were all very lively places as you may imagine on such a beautiful day!

We went all over the city, in and out of Piazza’s, through buildings, and up onto a portico that overlooked the entire city! As you can see, we had incredible weather for our day 🙂

We stopped for lunch at a local cafe where we elected to eat inside where the service was a bit quicker and there were no smokers! Isabella asked if we liked pizza! Paula declared, after finishing, that so far this day she has had the best croissant, pizza, and glass of wine she has ever had in her life! So, I guess that the trifecta had been hit! But there was still lots more to come, as we still had hours in front of us!

                             On top of bringing us to all the hidden gems and views, Isabella provided us with not only the necessary information that accompanies this kind of tour, but with some very specific insights and tid-bits of trivia that made the day even more special.

The coup ’de’ grace came when we visited the inside of St. Mark’s Cathedral. There are many ornate and majestic churches around the world and I would be hard-pressed to rank one over the other, but….. (here it comes, the statement after the word but is used 😊) I have yet to see a building where almost the entire interior is one giant mosaic, and a grand one at that! Here Isabella was at her best. This was not just some random tour guide’s knowledge picked up over time, this was a deep-rooted Biblical knowledge that sewed all of the scenes together seamlessly. Laser pointer in hand, she step-by-step started with Genesis and wound her way into the New Testament with ease, and when needed, referred back again to show a prophecy come true.

The next few photos show the interior of St. Mark’s. All of what you see are gold-gilded mosaics! Probably millions of tiny squares on the ceilings and walls all tell the stories that the people of the day came to church to learn. Think of it as an “Illustrated Bible”. Isabell’s laser-pointer was quite necessary to point things out so high up above!

          And then we went upstairs!

          What a view, both inside and out!

We then made our way outside and through St. Mark’s Piazza, over to the edge of the Lagoon where we met Marco, our water taxi driver. It was just the three of us in the gorgeous mahogany-trimmed boat for this end-of-the-day event. Microphone in hand, Isa showed Paula and me (who were perched on the back of the boat like visiting Royalty) the sights that can only be seen by being in, and around, the incredible canals of Venice.

          The water-taxi ride lasted about an hour and brought us back to where we had first met Isa that morning. Daniel was waiting there for us, and after some good-bye hugs and sincere thanks we were on our way back to the ship, where we arrived at about 8:30 PM.

                   A tea, cold glass of milk, and a piece of chocolate cake later, we called it a day.

                   Nope!

                   We called it a V.S.F. day!

Oh, and we found Marco playing in the pool when we got back on board!