Cruise Days 1-4

 Our first stop was Split, Croatia. As we emerged from the ship and the port terminal, there were red buses waiting. For 20 euros, one could have a sight-seeing tour, including the Diocletian Palace, which I was eager to see. Dan preferred to walk into the city and look around on his own. The bus part of the tour wasn’t remarkable; we had an overview of the city of Split. We got off at a stop right in the center of the promenade along the water. Our tour leader was very knowledgable; I suspect she was a history major. We walked through the palace, which was actually a very large fortification and walled city. It was built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who retired here. The outlines of the palace walls are still there, and inside you could follow the streets between the gates to the north, south, east and west. The area was overrun by the Venetians in the 15th-16th centuries (lots of interesting info at this Wikipedia entry). They destroyed most of the so-called pagan temples and mausoleums and made them into Christian churches. The very center of the palace still stands, a large round room that is open to the sky above. When we were there, a group of men singing a cappella were performing (and selling their CDs). It was quite impressive in a very resonant space. 

On an upper level of the Palace

In the center of the Palace (round room through the doorway)

This is the Dalmatian Coast, and of course I had to snap a photo of a Dalmatian dog that was posing for the tourists. 

Yes, a Dalmatian dog!

Saturday's port was Kotor, Montenegro. I don’t know much about this city or country and was looking forward to seeing it. However, there were high winds and the captain decided it was not safe to go ashore. (Kotor is a tender port, where we would have to ride in small boats from the large ship to the city.) The surrounding area was beautiful, with houses all along the shore just below looming mountains. The departure, earlier than scheduled, went through a long area, almost like a fiord. So we saw lots of stunning scenery.

A village along the waterway

This island was near the town of Kotor

On Sunday we were in Taranto, Italy, a very old city tucked up inside the boot heel of Italy. Here we were offered a bus ride from the ship to the city. It was still a long walk over the bridge and into the town. The old town is actually an island that protects an inner bay, with bridges at both ends of the island. We wandered around several streets. When we first arrived, there was a band practicing in a piazza. Near the end of our walk we saw a large church, with several flights of steps to the entrance. I wanted to go in, and was glad we did. The band was playing in the church, where a statue of a saint was enshrined at the front. (I never found out who was being feted.) It was impressive.

A narrow street of steps

Typical balcony gardens in Taranto

We walked back to the bus stop; I believe we did over two miles altogether. I was happy to get back to the ship and get some lunch. During lunch we watched several small sailboats coming into the harbor and backing into their slips.

On Monday, September 19, we were at sea for the entire day. It was Queen Elizabeth's funeral, and we were glad we had good BBC coverage on the TV in our cabin.

Blog not happening

We are on our ship. The internet allows limited browsing, email, and messages, but no apps, downloads, or uploads. So I’m not going to continue the blog for now. If I get around to it, I will post some info and photos once we are home.

Friday we were in Split, Croatia. I took a tour that included a walk through the Diocletian Palace, first built around 295 CE. It was very interesting and our tour guide was very knowledgable on the history of the city. Today were were scheduled to stop in Kotor, Montenegro, but the weather was too rough to go to the port. We did travel through an impressive passage, kind of a fiord of the Adriatic.

We’re Off Again

We left home on Tuesday, heading for a Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Barcelona. We flew into Venice and are here for one night; we take a bus from the airport to the cruiseport at Ravenna tomorrow morning (Thursday).

We changed flights in Zurich. I was very happy to look out the window of the plane to see our bag ready to be loaded onto our second plane, always a concern, especially the past number of months when we’ve read a lot about baggage delays in many locations (the blue one on the left).

On arrival in Venice, we collected our bag and headed for the water transport. It is connected to the airport, but is quite a long distance. I was glad for the moving walkways most of the way. The Alilaguna ferry’s first stop is the island of Murano, and the dock was right in front of our hotel, the Hyatt Centric. The room is two-level, with a nice living area below a loft bedroom.

                        

Looking down into a small courtyard from our window. The newer hotel building is surrounded with brick walls, I’m guessing so it will fit in with all the other old buildings around.

                        

After settling in, we took a walk around the area. This building was across the canal. The paintings are definitely showing wear. And it looks pretty deserted.

A bit further on was a large church, but it was covered with scaffolding and not open. Even the bell tower was completely shrouded. But this little statue area was right next door.

Heading back toward the hotel and off in the other direction, we found an alleyway that had a nice gelato shop, a potential restaurant for some supper, and a grocery. We bought some sandwiches for breakfast in our room. We will take the ferry back to the airport in the morning to catch the bus to the cruiseport. I’m hoping the wifi on the ship will be strong enough for me to write about the sights along our way.

Test Post

I am trying to figure out how to make posts here from my iPad. This is just a test.

Percheron 6-horse wagons at the Indiana state fair in August 2022.