ROME to VENICE CRUISE - April-May 2024

Rome April 26-27, 2024

We arrived in Rome about 5pm Thursday evening.  Each of three flights were late, which made for 1 hour connections in Minneapolis and Amsterdam.  Bailey dropped us off at the airport in Madison, and it turned out we had nearly three hours to wait there.  Played two games of cribbage, split a sandwich and walked the terminals.

I like arriving in Europe in the afternoon versus first thing in the morning.  Seems to help with jet lag to spend a few hours exploring, and dinner and go to sleep! 

Our hotel had arranged for a driver, Marco, to meet us at the immigration door and transport us to the hotel.  Made it so much easier, but maybe took out some of the “adventure” away - figuring out the train, dragging roller bags over cobblestones while looking for street names and building numbers!

By just after 6 pm, we were checked it.  Had a little session with the lady from the front desk where she gave recommendations for restaurants and things to see, as well as how to get around.  The hotel, Arpinelli Relais is in a great location and is in a very old building.  Nice, comfortable space and nicely renovated bathroom.

We unpacked, changed clothes and hit the streets for a quick walk to see the outside of the Colosseum before the sun set.  We quickly realized nearly every intersection had a beautiful piazza with statues and fountains, an ornate government building, or a cathedral!  Wow.

On our way to the Colosseum, we overlooked an area where they’re recovering additional space that was part of the Forum” in the ancient times.  We followed the throngs to the Colosseum … following the throng will be the general theme of our time in Rome!

It had been a nice day, but still a bit cool - low 60’s.  We grabbed our light puffy jackets on our way, and needed them when the sun went down.  I led us in a different way back towards the hotel, and the streets are not square, so we got a bit off base, but explored another less touristy area of the city before I pulled out my phone and used Google Maps to lead us back. 

We opted for dinner at a trattoria near the hotel that had a table with no wait.  We walked by a few that had lines that stretched around the block!  We had wine, salads and split a pizza but couldn’t eat the whole thing, as we had to save room for Gelato!  After dinner we poked into a few shops, grabbed our Gelato (funny eating something cold while wearing a puffy coat, but we weren’t alone)!  We walked the two blocks to get our first look at the Trevi Fountain, but the square was so crowded it was hard to get close enough to really see it.  We climbed into bed about midnight this time zone, and I do best if I don’t think about what time it is at home!

By six am Friday, I was wide awake, so I got up, made some hot tea, and did a yoga session while Jeff was still sleeping.  I’d left my Rick Steves Rome book at home, but they have a bunch of books here in the common area, so I did a little research about what we’d see on our walk to the Vatican where we had booked a private tour that started at noon.

We headed out about 8:30am, in search of breakfast and adventure.   Our first stop was Trevi Fountain, where there were some people, but it was easy for us to get down to the front row and take the time to appreciate the beauty!

Next stop - Sant’Ignazio di Loyola.  There was a line forming there, as it didn’t open until 9am, but it was about 8:55 am, so we got in line.  We’d learned about this church last night.  When it was built, they couldn’t afford a dome.  The fresco on the ceiling is painted such that it gives you the illusion of a dome - really cool, but the photos probably won’t do it justice!

From there, it was a short walk to the Pantheon, where the line already stretched two blocks!  We popped into a cafe there for breakfast, where we enjoyed watching people while we ate our omelets and had fresh squeezed orange juice. 

We didn’t go into the Pantheon, just admired it from the outside.  This current version was built in AD 120.  Hard to get your mind around that!  The 16 enormous columns in front are made of SOLID red-and-grey granite.  Each one is 40 feet tall and 15 feet around.  They were quarried in Egypt, shipped across the Mediterranean, barged up the Tiber River and put into place here.  Two thousand years ago!

Next we made our way to Piazza Navona, and took advantage of few people, warm skies and no where we had to be for awhile.  We studied the three fountains from the 1600’s - amazing statues and themes.  From there, we headed towards the river, and crossed on the Ponte Umberto bridge.  Some boats on the water, a bike path at water level, and pop-up shops along the bank reminded us of Paris along the Seine. 

We walked past Castel Sant’Angelo, where another long line had formed!  We followed the crowds along the ancient city wall, and soon found ourselves at Piazza San Pietro, looking across the crowd at St Peter’s Basilica.  We had some time, so we grabbed a panini from a food truck and sat and watched people stream towards the gates.  We started walking (shuffling) with the crowd, but I soon figured out we could cross the street and move faster.  We had time, but I knew we’d be shuffling through crowds all afternoon!

We arrived at our meeting spot.  I’d booked a small “skip the line” tour via Viator, whom I’d had great luck with many times.  They subcontract work out to local guides, and there we met Serafina from Liv Tours.  It could have been up to six in our group, but we were delighted to find it was just us!  Serafina is originally from the Amalfi Coast, grew up in Como.  She knew she wanted to be a guide when she came to Rome as a child.  She got a degree in Art History, and was a fantastic guide for us all afternoon.

We had no idea what to expect with our tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s.  I knew Michelangelo painted the ceiling and carved the Pieta - that’s about all I knew.  OMG - the art in the museum.  On some level, I found it to be uncomfortable that this much history and art had been stashed away, primarily for the enjoyment of past Popes.  Serafina told us they think that half of this kind of art in the whole world, is here in this museum. 

Rick Steves says this: “With the fall of Rome - 476AD, the Catholic Church became the great preserver of civilization, collecting artifacts from cultures dead and dying.  Renaissance Popes (15th and 16th centuries p) collected most of what is here, using it as furniture to decorate their palace.  Combining the classical and Christian worlds, the found the Devine in the creations of man.

It starts in the courtyard with a 12-foot tall bronze Pinecone that is 2000 years old!  Egyptian statues and sarcophaguses, Greek gods, Lacoon - a statue from BC that was considered superior to all other statues, was found buried near the colosseum in 1506.  It was missing its right arm.  Serafina told us a great story that they rebuilt the arm straight, but Michelangelo thought it should be bent, and he used a bent arm in many of his works as a sign of protest what “they’d” done to the statue (it now has a bent arm!).

We entered a round room with a massive purple porphyry marble (empty) fountain.  The floor was a beautiful mosaic, made out of tiny little tiles.  It is 1700 years old and was one the bottom of a pool in an ancient Roman bath - they MOVED IT HERE!  Crazy.  Next came tapestries, not really my thing, but I appreciate the labor and the upkeep, wow.  I loved the “map gallery,” frescos of maps of all of Italy.  Then the Raphael Rooms, which is about the only thing other than the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel that I’d previously heard about. 

The Sistine Chapel was amazing, but too crowded and the guard repeatedly yelling “shhhh” and “no photos.”  On to St Peter’s, and I knew it was massive, but the size is overwhelming!  I found it a bit funny that they’d cannibalized a bit of the colosseum to build St Peter’s!   By this point, we’d already been with Serafina for over three hours, and we were overloaded.  I gravitated to Michelangelo’s Pieta, the one thing I most wanted to see in Rome and was very moved by it.  We shuffled past a few side chapels, but we were mostly done by then.  Perhaps done with the excess of the Catholic Church by then too?

Back outside, we said Grazie and Arrivederci to Serafina and began the shuffle back towards our hotel, scouting the perfect gelato shop on our way.  The streets were crowded with people, and we had to nearly push our way through the Trevi Fountain square!  Up to the room for some rest and showers before heading back out for the night!

It was Eight PM before we were back on the street looking for dinner.  We walked in the direction of the Spanish Steps, and found a restaurant with open tables on our way.  We were hungry and the waiter had too many suggestions for add ons to our meal, so we only ate half our food:  pasta primavera, artichokes, roasted veggies, focaccia bread, veal for me and sea bass for JT.  Just when we thought we couldn’t eat anymore, the waiter brought us complementary cannolis and limoncello!  We finished up, the continued our walk to the Spanish Steps - alive with people on this beautiful Roman Saturday night!  Caio Bella!

April 28 thru May 1, 2024

We slept in a bit Sunday morning after such a big day of sightseeing and a big late meal!  We got up, packed up, and walked to the end of the block to the taxi stand.  It was a quiet morning, other than the traffic as we got closer to the train station.  The station was bustling, and we had about an hour until our 11:10am train, so we had a quick breakfast.  We were relieved to find that the train station in Rome functioned pretty much like any train station in Europe, and even had signs in English!  I’d downloaded the tickets to the Trenitalia app, so when our track was announced, we went through the turnstiles and found track 9.  Good people watching with people running for tight connections … some of them not making it.  With 15 minutes before our train, I walked back to the departure board to find that we had a new track assigned, and it was quite far away!

The train was boarding as we arrived.  It was a smaller regional train, with no luggage storage.  We wheeled our two large suitcases into the spot between two bench seats facing one another and sat across the aisle.  We then survived mean glances from lots of people who wanted those seats!  Lots of stops, even several within Rome, so it was good we’d gone to the main station in order to secure space for our bags!  Lots of people got on, and then increasingly more, people were getting off so it balanced out.  About 30 minutes before the end we were traveling along the sea, traveling through cute little villages.

We arrived in Civitavecchia and got off the train, most of us that remained at that point were lugging large suitcase like us, cruise ship passengers!  We got in a cab for the 1-mile ride to the port (30€ versus the 10€ for a longer ride this morning).

Check in for the Wind Surf (the cruise line is Wind Star, our ship is named Wind Surf) had just opened up, so we were rapidly processed through and were among the first on the boat!  The crew had name tags with job titles, so we met the members of Queen of Aces, the ship’s house band - seems like a great crew! Everyone was happy and welcoming, a terrific first impression!  We checked out our room, had a snack, then went out to explore the rest of the ship.  At the restaurant, a buffet lunch was in progress so we had a light lunch and a glass of wine before continuing on our self-guided tour.

The ship is 34 years old and showing her age in some ways, but it’s a nice size and layout and even though our cabin is the most basic, it is comfortable and spacious.  At the end of the summer she’s headed to the Bahamas for a major overhaul. 

We went back to our room and got settled, before heading out to the pool deck for cocktails and our first “setting sail” ceremony.   We’d made a 6:30pm reservation at one of the three restaurants serving dinner, Candles.  They serve dinner on the outside deck weather permitting, and it was a gorgeous evening with a spectacular sunset.  We had a salads, main course, deserts and drank nearly a bottle of wine.  Afterwards, we went to the lounge and listened to the band - the woman wasn’t performing with them … just 4 guys and they were awesome. They all sang, and it seemed they could perform anything the audience requested!  We drank Bailey’s on the rocks, which made for too much alcohol for the day.  We’d opted for the “All In” package which gives us WiFi, unlimited alcohol and covers gratuities for the staff.  I’ll have to pace the drinking though!

April 29, 2024

We awoke Monday morning and opened the curtains for a view of Sorrento Italy, south of Naples.   We had to meet in the lounge for the shore excursion we’d selected, so we had to hustle to get breakfast before 9am. We met the group, about 20 of us, and were ushered onto the awaiting Tender for a quick ride to the dock.  A “sister ship,” The WindStar, was also docked in the harbor.  She is a little smaller, and quite beautiful!

Our excursion was called “Sorrento - Discovery and Tasting,” and we were greeted by our guide, Luigi, at the dock.  He was very proud of his village and I couldn’t imagine a better tour guide.  Sorrento is built on a cliff above the sea, as most towns along the Mediterranean are - being conquered was always an issue!  We hoped in a small bus for a ride to the top, although I wouldn’t have minded the walk!  We walked through a small square, past shops and ancient churches, to a plaza overlooking the bay.    Across the bay, Luigi pointed out the volcano, Vesuvius.  He said it erupts about every 50 years, last in 1944, so it’s overdue!  The harbor is reinforced with volcanic rock, and the beaches have dark volcanic grains of sand.  He said Sorento is built on solidified volcanic ash.

We poked into a Cloister of a former Franciscan monastery, much like what we’d seen in Tuscany.  I’m sure Italy is peppered with them but wonder how many there were.  Luigi said this one is used for village gatherings with music.  Such a lovely setting.  From there, we walked down a small street lined with blossoming lemon trees - fragrant and gorgeous.  Luigi led us to a shop with amazing hand crafted wooden pieces with inlaid designs - all hand cut with a saw, never a laser!  Also pottery and lace.  I didn’t even let myself look at their pottery, but I did take a business card and they say they ship!  Like all excursions, we were given about an hour to shop.  Jeff and I walked back to the streets with vendors selling leather goods, lemon trinkets and other souvenirs.  I bought a red leather backpack, a scarf, and a lemon Christmas ornament (which I’d first spotted in Rome, but this one says “Sorrento” on it)!

We found a bench to rest until we regrouped for a short drive to the “farm.”  It is the perfect climate with wonderful soil for cultivation, but as we’ve seen elsewhere on the coast, there is no flat land so farming is challenging.  This is an 4 acre terraced farm, been in the same family for multiple generations.  Rosa met our group and told us about the history of the farm, with lots of built in jokes.  She spoofed that “Farm to Table” is such a hot thing in the states, but in this part of the world, it’s all they’ve ever done (same thing we learned in Greece, the original “Mediterranean Diet).  She said the best lemons are grown here (also Sicily) - they need sun, sea and soil - probably explains why my little lemon tree at home produces an average of one lemon per year, it misses the sea - maybe I’ll try misting it with salt water!  They also have olives trees, cherries, figs, almonds, and mandarin oranges.  Perfect climate, limitations are the space.

The lemon trees are harvested three times a year, nearly continuous growth.  Olive harvesting happens in October.  They open the nets under the tree, by December, the olives have mostly fallen from the trees, collected every 2-3 days.  The olives are now processed as a collective, but Rosa explained to us how it was done in the olden days.  Olives pressed the same day are “first pressed” or “extra” as in EVOO.

Rosa walked us to a spot to see Maria, the matriarch of the farm family, make fresh Mozzarella cheese from milk from their cows.  It was interesting to see how when the curd is separated from whey, they whey is boiled and then she skimmed the top which is ricotta cheese (means recooked).  Rosa said Maria couldn’t speak English, yet she still communicated with us using facial expressions - she was adorable!

From there we were led to tables, where we were served Caprese salad using mozzarella cheese made today, bread with fresh ricotta (flavored with lemon and some herbs they’d grown), sausages from their pigs, wine from their grapes, and of course followed with their limoncello and limoncreme.  For €3, you could add on fresh baked cake with lemon crème, and JT opted for that of course!

There was an option to be dropped off at the square for more shopping, or to be driven back to the pier, which we chose.  At the pier, there was a WindStar table set up with iced water and tea, a plate of cookies and cool, scented towels - a very nice touch!  At the tenders, they carefully checked our IDs to ensure we returned to the correct ship!

Back at our room, we had time to relax.  I changed into my bathing suit and napped in a chaise lounge by the pool, while JT opted for a nap in the room.  We showered, then headed to the pool bar to relax and enjoy a cocktail with mixologist, Chris. He was quite a character - I’d listened to him during my napping time in the afternoon.  He’d say “all right, all right, all right” in a perfect Matthew McConaughey accent, even though like most of the staff, he’s a Filipino!  The sailing away ceremony began, with the WindStar on our port side.  Would have loved to see it from a drone as it felt majestic just from my point of view.  There was some fun interplay with the blowing of the horns between the two ships.

We took our cocktails to the lounge, where Captain Tom was doing a welcome speech and introducing his officers to us.  He didn’t give the age range of the passengers, but did comment that there were more younger people than usual (mostly it appears young adult children with their parents, but several young couples too).  He also didn’t comment on how many first-timer WindStar passengers there were, but we’ve met quite a few first timers and long term veterans - and quite a few that are doing back to back, started in Barcelona 10 days ago and stopped along the south of France, and Italy until they picked us up near Rome.

Here is the breakdown by Nationality:

13 Australians

1 Belgium

17 Canadians

4 Chileans

2 French

2 Mexicans

2 New Zeeland

2 Swedes

2 Swiss

2 UK

246 USA

1 Venezuela

 295 total

From there, Captain Tom got a little philosophical with us.  He said “If you’re going to do something, do it today,” great advice.  We know that each day is a gift and there is no guarantee that you get a tomorrow. He was downright emotional about sailing away with “little sister,” which he said is a rare occasion. He was very excited about traveling in a “fleet.” 

Our ship is 34 years old.  Captain says she doesn’t act her age, but she will lurch now and then. We’ve learned to use the handrails on the stairs and the “WindStar Handshake” getting on and off the tender, which will come in handy getting people on and off our little boat - where you align forearms and grab the other person by the elbow.

We had a nice dinner tonight in the Stella dining room, French cuisine.  I had onion soup, a petit filet, and Crepe Suzette for desert, all with generous pours of a French Merlot.  After dinner, the band was doing a Beetles Tribute in the lounge, and they were fabulous.  They finished their last set and we opted to go to Compass Rose on the back deck to listen to the duo.  The women was a talented and adorable South American woman, the guitar player, not so great.  We listened for awhile, then headed off to sleep.

Tuesday April 30, 2024

The Captain had said if anyone wanted to be up at 4:30 in the morning, we’d be passing by an active volcano that usually puts on a show.  We didn’t get up, but heard later they saw three plumes of fire and it was spectacular!  We slept in this morning, it was past nine before we awoke for the first time.  The ship was still underway, headed for our stop near Taormina, Sicily. We dressed and headed to the gym which was not too busy and equipped with everything we needed for a solid workout.  Then to a late breakfast where the staff were switching over to what seemed like would be a spectacular brunch.  We arrived in the harbor and were greeted by several pilot boats from the local harbor.  It was great to watch the crew lower three tenders, and also the deck/stairs used to access the tenders.  We still had about an hour before our excursion, so we walked 2 miles in laps around the deck, stopping to chat with the Captain outside the bridge.

This excursion had been billed as a walking tour to Taormina followed by a boat ride to the blue grotto.  We met our local guide, Grenata, and she started leading us to a boat.  The group revolted saying “this was not in the description, we want to tour Taormina.”  She started to argue that it was a tour by boat, but she quickly checked herself and went to get the WindStar representative at the dock.  He started to argue with a few passengers (who were right, the description was wrong), but finally level heads persevered and encouraged us to go with it and worry about it later.  Very classy, there was a personalized letter when we returned to the cabin apologizing for the mistake and comping us the cost of the tour, which offsets the cost of the awesome bag I bought onboard that’s made in Maine from a recycled WindStar sail!

So we set off in a boat called the White Lotus, name of a US television series that we’ll have to check out, mostly filmed here.  Giardini Naxos is the name of the port, founded in 734 BC founded by the Greek.  After changing hands many times, someone finally built a castle and town on top of Tower Mountain (Taormina).   Towering over everything else, is Mt Etna, still covered with snow!   It makes its own weather, so it was hard to get a clear shot of it, but as we were leaving in the evening you could see the smoke pluming out.  Grenata says it is active all the time and erupts every couple of years.  They channel the lava away from the village, and it’s a pain to have ash covering everything, but no big deal - yikes!

It was a warm day, but clouded over a bit while we were on the excursion.  From the boat, we looked at beautiful resorts, and poked into three “grottos” or sea caves, but they weren’t that fantastic in my snobby opinion.  I think the caves in Lake Superior are more spectacular, and on Kauai, those are the prettiest we’ve seen.  On a sunny day, the Blue Grotto is probably prettier than it appeared today.

They’d been serving Prosecco since we left the harbor, but I passed as I’m opting for an alcohol-free day.  We anchored in a calm bay to have snacks and a chance to swim.  Even though it had clouded up, it wasn’t cold and I’d come prepared to swim.  I was the only one in our boat to jump off the back deck.  The water was chilly, but nowhere near the skin tingling cold of the North Sea last Fall!  A young girl jumped off another boat from our group, and I found it funny that people on our boat were so proud that I’d jumped in first.  Once I climbed back into the boat, the air temperature felt a lot warmer!

Back to the harbor, we caught the tender out to our ship and retreated to the Aft Deck and the hot tub.  There, we met a young couple from Milwaukee and chatted with them until we were all turning into prunes.  Back to the cabin for showers and to dress for dinner.

We headed to the third restaurant for dinner, Amphora.  This one doesn’t take reservations, and encourages communal dinner, so we were seated with Mike and Theresa whom we met on the boat tour today, and John and Carol from CA.  Great dinner and fun conversation about adventures!

After dinner, a “Name That Tune” contest was about to start in the lounge and we paired up with Mike and Theresa to form a team.  PJ, the charismatic Entertainment Director led the contest, and somewhat made up the rules as he went along, which made it even more fun.  But the highlight again was the talent of the guys in the band!  PJ would say “play 8 measures but don’t sing, or play and sing verse two, or play a few notes super slow.”  Our team did well getting 13 of the 15 songs correct.  The two we didn’t know I still don’t know!  It was ok not to win anyway as the prize was a bottle of champagne.  We were all in the “All In” plan anyway so we can drink as much champagne as we like over the next six days!  After the contest, the band kept playing so we danced a bit before retiring about 10:30pm!

Wednesday May 1st - Day at Sea

Hooray Hooray, The First of May!  I’d set an alarm for 6:30am to get up for yoga, but awoke about 10 minutes before it went off.  I quietly dressed and left the cabin with JT still sleeping. 

It is very peaceful to be out on the deck with hardly anyone else around, a gorgeous morning, streaming towards Montenegro with no land in site.  I found a quiet spot on the Star Deck out of the wind and did my morning meditation and some stretching.  I’d added my puffy vest before I left the cabin - it’s odd to now have a guess of the outside temperature until you’ve climbed up to the Deck #4!

The instructor came up to where I was and said we needed more space so we went down to behind the cafe and pushed chairs out of the way.  The instructor is the Fitness Director, Batsiria, from Africa.  She appeared to be very fit and strong and reminded me of one of my favorite Peloton instructors, Tunde (even wore Tunde’s signature red lipstick)!  About 20 people showed up for yoga.  Some, like me, had brought their own mats and the gym didn’t have enough for that size of a group so some used pool towels instead.  Batsiria didn’t impress me with her yoga skills, but it was a good session just the same (too fast breathe in breathe out for my liking).  After class, she announced she’d lead a Pilates class next, so I stayed for that and loved it.  Learned how to use a Pilates ring and a couple of balancing moves to do with a foam roller, as if balancing on a boat isn’t hard enough!  I think I’ll add some Peloton Pilates to my repertoire when I get home!

It was about 9am when I got back to the room and found sleepy head still in bed!  He got up and got ready and we went in search of breakfast.  Each evening our room steward, Asop (he’s fantastic), drops off a newsletter for the next day and an occasional flyer announcing a deal on future cruises.  Last night we got a flyer that shows a cruise that goes from Civitvecchia to Barcelona in May 2025, and stops in Monaco for the F1 Grand Prix.  JT’s always been interested in attending a Formula 1 race, and this included tickets to the race.  After breakfast we went down to talk with Damion about that.  He said it was full, but knew there was someone signed up that had changed their mind - they were just in there as a place holder until they decide what they want to do instead.  He did some fancy finagling to get us booked.   In my mind, I’ve already worked out the logistics of how we can walk the Camino de Santiago before that cruise.  I know I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, but I love working the logistics!

JT decided he needed a haircut, so we went up to the spa and they had an immediate slot open.  I went down to the sunny side of the deck and wrote and napped, mostly napped.  He came to join my after awhile and we just lounged until it was nearly time to go eat lunch!  There were occasional clouds, and it would feel cool when they came over, but hot when the sun was out.  Last week, we’d been looking at the forecast for our stops this week and it looked like rain everyday, but so far we’ve been blessed with good Spring weather!

We stopped in the bridge on our way to lunch and chatted with a very young 4th officer from Poland, who started as a deckhand on a private yacht and is working his way up in his career.  He answered our questions about the sails (they help a little, but they need someone to go and have a look if they need to be trimmed)!  He showed us how the radar detects other boats and it was surprising to see how much information they get about the boats!  He also showed us where we were, as now we could see land off both coasts - Italy to the west and Greece to the east, leaving the Ionian Sea for the Adriatic Sea.

Lunch was busy and we sat at an outside table for two in the shade.  I wrapped myself in one of their fleece deck blankets.  A table in the sun opened up so we moved there when we were done eating and just relaxing.  I got so warm I stripped down to a tank top!

We went down to the lounge and played a few games of backgammon, then it was time for Jeff’s massage appointment, mine later in the afternoon.  I had a deep tissue massage and may have bruises on my shoulder blades tomorrow.  Back to the room, we both felt like vegetables.  We ordered room service and it came as soon as I stepped out of the shower. A low key evening, but we’ve got to go back out in a bit as the band is doing “Don’t Stop Me Now, a tribute to Queen” and we know they’ll be awesome!

Many people were grousing about a day at sea, but we’ve really enjoyed relaxing and unplugging after 5 days of being a tourist!

Tomorrow a new country (Montenegro) and a new language, Montenegrin!  I’m sure it’s a new currency as well!

Thursday, May 2 2024 Montenegro “Black Mountain”

I got out on the top deck for a yoga session at 6:30am, as we were just entering Kotor Bay for the 90 minute cruise through the fiord-like inlet to the village of Kotor.  The bay was dotted with coastal fortified villages, all with churches, waterfront promenades and beaches.  Kotor is a village at the end of the inlet, nestled inside steep limestone cliffs at Mt. Lovcen.  Apparently, the whole Bay of Kotor is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The name, Kotor, translates to “squeezed between the mountains and sea.”

We transferred by tender from the boat to the harbor, where we were met by our guide, Vasco, for the “Taste of Montenegro” tour.  We walked just a few blocks, where we boarded a small bus that quickly led us out of town into the mountainside overlooking the Bay.  That gave us plenty of time for Vasco to give us a quick history lesson. 

The history was long and complicated, starting in 500 BC.  For hundreds of years, land changed hands after various invasions:  Romans, Greek, Austria-Hungarian, Turkish and Venetians.  Throughout history, the boundaries blurred between what is now Montenegro and their neighbors (Albania to the south, Serbia to the east, Croatia to the north 10th century - Duklja (medieval South Slavic state)

1356 - Zeta (medieval Serbian state)

1516 - Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro

1878 - Treaty of Berlin, kicked the Ottomans out and officially gave the Montenegrins independence

1910 - Kingdom of Montenegro, monarchy in southeastern Europe during the tumultuous time leading up to WWI.

1918 - Kingdom of Yugoslavia (translated means land of the south Slavs), included territory around Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia

1945 - Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, lasted until 1992 when it was broken up as a consequence of the Yugoslav Wars. It was a one-party socialist state and federation led by the league of Communists.

1992 - Serbia and Montenegro

2006 - Independence referendum

2017 - joined NATO (Adriatic Charter). 

Vasco said the 1990s were terrible times for the country. They’re not yet a member of the EU, but working towards that.  Last year they started using the Euro, and their economy is a bit unstable.  He said without being a NATO member, he thinks they’d be in a state similar to Ukraine right now.

A few more facts:

624,000 people

7th smallest country in Europe (13,812 square kilometers) Surrounded by Croatia, Albania, Serbia and Bosnia.

Only industry is tourism and unemployment is high, yet, many foreign workers come to work in the service industry. 

They speak Montenegrin, but Vosco said each of the former Yugoslavian countries have their own language, however it’s the same language with a different name and some regional dialect. Interesting that some of the names are Spanish / Italian and he said that’s because sailors would stop here and the terms they used were incorporated into the language - including the name of the country. It was officially Crna Gors, but became Montenegro (Black Mountain).

Our drive took us to the little village of Tici, where we were greeted by Ilija Moric, a university professor and President of the Montenegro Olive Oil Producers Association.  With his two brothers, he is the eighth generation of owners of this Olive Tree farm, in his family for nearly 300 years.  He and his two donkeys greeted us with Grapa and donuts - the donkeys wanted the leftover donuts. 

Their farm has 1000 trees, and produces about 3 liters per tree, considered a small organic farm (he joked it’s a large garden). In commercial production, the get about 6 liters per tree.  We learned olive oil isn’t healthy because of the oil, it’s healthy because of the nutrients. The nutrients come from the pit, which is smashed with the olive. Fresh olive oil will be cloudy for 2 months, so it is left to settle before the oil is bottled. He debunked a few myths (it’s all Cold Processed, and it’s all First Press).

We traveled a few more minutes by bus to an old structure where the old processing equipment was still located (similar to what we’d seen in Sorrento a few days ago). There we had a sampling of: two local cheeses, eggs from their chickens, tomatoes, two homemade breads, battered zucchini, prosciutto, local wines, a yummy apple torte and Turkish coffee.  It was a beautiful setting and we felt immersed in Montenegrin history and culture.  I wondered what this family’s experience was like and how they’d been impacted by the wars.  Had they just survived off the land and kept producing their olive oil and tending their trees and garden?  Wish I’d asked.

During our drive Vasco talked about how the Infrastructure in the country is a mess, and we saw first hand that the roads are narrow, steep and crumbling.  There were occasions where we’d meet a bus or truck, and one would have to reverse, or both pull their mirrors in and squeeze past.  There is no public water or sewer system, must each have a well and drain field.  The power grid is down frequently.  Vasco said winters are still especially rough, with power out and roads inaccessible. 

We drove back to Kotor a different route.  Vasco pointed out major developments with private harbors and yachts, some luxury hotels (Aman) but most privately owned by UAE money, or one development from a Egyptian Billionaire who is also building infrastructure for his development.  I couldn’t tell if Vasco was feeling proud and excited about these developments, or disgusted.  He talked a lot about how hard it is to make money here - the open jobs are all service based low paying jobs.  He has friends working on cruise ships and oil platforms making really good money, but that’s a different life.  He makes good money as a guide, but only has work about 8 months a year and then sits around depressed the other 4 months. I wondered if 100+ years being in a poor socialist country, not enough people know how to make it as capitalists?

Traffic in town was majorly connected.  One lane roundabout at the main intersection.  I had a nap during that part after a big lunch with alcohol.  We finally arrived at the Old Town and got out on foot. 

There are 5km of zigzag walls surrounding the town.  Initially started during the 9th century, they were completed in the 14th century with endless additions made until the 19th century.  Despite all the wars, erosion and natural disasters, the walls are still strong today. 

The fortification was necessary as this was an important trading port, specifically weapons were stored and sold from inside the walls.  We walked together to the 12th century Cathedral of St Triphon, where we said goodbye to our guide and went off on our own.  Jeff and I walked as high as possible along the wall without paying the €15 to walk to the top.  It was fun to poke along the narrow passageways that would open to patios and gardens belonging to the houses built into the steep mountain.  We walked the portion of the wall that overlooks the harbor and newer part of the city, but that was crammed with tourists.

We headed down, grabbed a gelato and headed back to the ship to rest up the the evening. 

We showered and went on deck for trivia and evening entertainment.  The restaurants are closed tonight and the staff went all out for a BBQ.  Great cheeses and salads, seafood, Asian sucking pig, ribs, and chicken.  Then a whole dessert table including an apple pie that was about 40” in diameter.

We ate early, at a table overlooking the beautiful city.  There had been a large cruise ship in town, and it was fun to watch them steam off into the Bay while we enjoyed dinner.  We then cleared out to the lounge to make room for others.  It was quiet and we were into our second backgammon game, when a rush of noise and people came in.  Apparently, the gorgeous evening turned into a sudden gush of rain! 

The band moved inside.  Entertainment tonight included a show of staff performing about 10 different line dances.  It was really fun!  So many of the staff, including our room attendant Asep, have such fun personalities and that really came out in their dancing!

Friday May 3, 2024

Dubrovnik, Croatia

We traveled overnight to Dubrovnik. The sea was rougher, and made for a nice hammock like motion as we were sleeping - I loved it!!

We set an alarm as we had an early start (8am) for our Game of Thrones tour.

We were docked at the Port of Dubrovnik, and a bus came to pick us up for the tour in the Old Town. Felt odd to disembark via a staircase!

Our tour guide was Lydijia (Lydia). Dubrovnik is a sprawling port city. Lydijia said her family is one of about 100 that still live within the walls of the old city, otherwise accommodations have been turned into AirBnB rentals. She was a perfect tour guide, with such deep pride in Croatia, but specifically Dubrovnik! She described the people as “Slavic but Roman Catholic,” I’m not sure what the means.  And she was most proud that a team from here are the Water polo world champions.

We passed a beautiful villa / mansion and she said that was commandeered to use as military headquarters during WWII, and is now the police headquarters. Families that owned property before, didn’t necessarily get it back, they call this “victims of the system.” She listed a number of ways that Dubrovnik has always been progressive: 1418 abolished slavery (trade was wheat from Baltic traded for gold in Spain, which was used to buy slaves in Africa.  They were the first in the world to quarantine patients with the plague (to the island in the harbor), they Welcomed Jews cast out from other areas in Europe.  She told us the town curse is to always “be polite, but never sincere.”  Some kind of “kill ‘em with kindness” I guess?

We learned of the Saint Blaise, Patron Saint of wool and ENT disorders.  We also learned that the origin of the world “blazer” describes the way the peeled the skin from his chest when he was killed.  That’s an image you can’t get out of your mind!

Settlement in Dubrovnik dates back to 872, and its name roughly translates from “ forest of the oaks.”Like many places in the area, this has been 45 years on UNECSCO list. The old town is a former Merchant trading port, with am impressive wall built from 1100-1500. demonstrate commitment to preserve the freedom. Round towers were added to minimize damage from cannonballs

2011 Game of Thrones was just one of many movies/series filmed here. No one knew what a phenomenon it would be. Lydijia said she was always a fan of Science Fiction and the Supernatural, but especially because so much of GOT was filmed here, she and her friends geeked out over the show, figuring out which locations were shown, and how the scene had been modified using CGI. She had a notebook full of scenes, and would hold it up aligned with the setting and would say: “see this arch over Jon Snow’s head?” Or a scene where Daenerys Targaryen was looking for her dragon eggs and she was on the island, but then a structure appeared that is actually a turret on the top of the wall.

I’m a GOT fan and enjoyed seeing “Kings Landing” and I really loved Lydijia’s enthusiasm, but it got to be a little too much for me. She did a nice job of pointing out churches and museums within the old town, but I would have preferred a little more history of the actual town (different excursion!).

She led us up a portion of the wall, but was careful about too much too fast as several in our group have limited mobility.  We should have left the group at that point as we’d have gone further and faster on our own.  We started this tour early, at 8am, which was great as we had many of the views to ourselves, but as noon approached, the old town was packed.  You have to walk the walls in just one direction, which is great, but there was still a lot of jockeying for a position to walk in, and impossible to get a photo without some blocking your view!

When the tour was over, most opted for staying in town to shop or have lunch.  There were shuttle buses back to the ship every 30 minutes which was wonderful!  We rode the bus back with Lydijia, and went to the restaurant for lunch - salads and burgers.  After lunch, we retreated to the quiet of our cabin, a nice respite.  The forecast had been for rain today, and we lucked out in the morning with no rain and moderate temperatures.

We rested / read / wrote for about two hours, then headed to the onboard gym.  We were surprised to see it had rained!  I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and another thirty on the rowing machine, while Jeff lifted weights before going out to walk laps on the deck. 

We cleaned up and headed to early dinner (6:30pm).  The restaurant was nearly empty, but we sat with two ladies, cousins from Florida.  Their fathers are brothers, originally from Honduras.  They moved to the states, and both became Baptist Missionaries, so the families had a very interesting upbringing in Latin and South America!

After dinner we headed to the lounge.  The band played mostly mellow tunes to a small crowd for about an hour, so we danced a bit (we remember about 3% of what we’d learned in over 12 years of lessons, but what we can do always wows the crowd, which cracks me up).  The band took a break, then came back for “Banderoke,” Karaoke with a live band.  We’d seen this several times with the Gomers in Madison!  As expected, it was quite entertaining with a wide range stretching from very talented passengers (or brave ones that did a very good job), mixed in with several that were absolutely terrible (and possibly didn’t know it).  A young man named Ross came up towards the end, asked if he could borrow the guitar, and took control of the band.  He was really great, and it showcased the talent of the band to play along with him.  Really fun (and late) night!

Saturday May 4, 2024 Split Croatia

Hard to believe we’ve been aboard for more than week! We’re just getting into a routine and figuring out the decks and staircases! I was up on the deck for yoga at 6:30am as we pulled in today, appreciating the beautiful morning, solitude, and gorgeous scenery.

We arrived in Split, and apparently had an issue with a ferry blocking our berth, so they found another. Our captain was very apologetic about the MSC cruise ship again blocking our view of the city, not a big deal to me.

Split is the largest coastal city on the Adriatic, second largest city in Croatia with 170,000 people.  The peninsula has a natural bay and the harbor is filled with tourists boats, sailboats, and pleasure boats large and small.

Local economy: limestone quarries, ship building, fishing and tourism.

Dalmatian coast, one of the geographical designations in Croatia (other are Denatic Mountains - extension of the Alps)

We showed up for our excursion, a cooking class, but learned it’d been cancelled due to lack of participation. We were offered the option to do a Dalmatian Tasting Tour and without any research, said yes to that.

We joined a large group, 34 with us, and walked off the ship to an awaiting bus where we met today’s guide, Egorna. She described old town as a “Very Mediterranean place.” The Bell tower is the center. We’ll return here after our trip to the tasting: 15km to the mountains visiting estate Stella, where we’ll taste - wait for it: Olive Oil!

Tasting:

Swirl to warm the glass

Smell - should smell great

Slurp and Swallow - should taste peppery or pungent, burn your throat (but not rancid).

Can’t tell real EVOO by reading the label. If you put it in the fridge for a few hours, it should form large crystals.

Shouldn’t buy/store in plastic bottles, only dark glass.

Consume within 18 months of opening.

The grounds had beautiful botanical gardens, which I’m always drawn to. Really can’t wait to get home and start playing in the dirt!! We had a chance to shop of course: olive oils, tamponades, spice mixes, candy, and soaps and cremes made from their botanical gardens.

Riding in this comfortable Mercedes tour bus, driving back into Split, feels a world away from Montenegro - so much modern development! Multi-lane roads, buildings that look less like a communist concrete development, etc. Fancy cars, and traffic flowing easily on this Saturday morning.

Ancient Greek were first to arrive here, 500 years BC, they called it Aspalathos. 

The name was derived from the name of the yellow flowers that are blooming everywhere.

In 305AD, it became the site of the Palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and became a prominent village then as his 700 member royal guard and their families lived within the walls as well. 

By the 1400s the Venetians were in control, and called it was Spalato, so the name was derived from there.  The Venetians controlled the sea, the Ottomans controlled the mountains and inland, therefore this was an important fortress. The rest of history follows the similar pattern of struggle for control, ending with Croatia being granted independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

The economy was good during the Yugoslav area, with revenues from shipbuilding, textiles, plastics, chemical and the food industry in addition to tourism. The palace was never abandoned or destroyed, and approximately 200 people still live there today (like we’ve heard before, most apartments are AirBnB or “historic accommodation” now. About half is government owned, other half is public. The Bell tower added 15th century in front of the tomb. Sarcophagus was removed by next emperor, who was a Christian, apparently Diocletian had worshiped Jupiter.  We heard a lot of that sarcophagus raiding kind of story over this past 10 days, but I guess it goes with the concept of conquering!

We stopped for a gelato after our walking part of the tour, then headed back to the boat for an afternoon of leisure, lunch, napping, reading and writing.  I was napping on a chaise on the deck when we set sail.  Turning the boat took away my sun, so I was going to head back to the room.  However I walked aft, and spied an empty hot tub, so I jumped in there instead.  PJ (entertainment director) was doing a setting sail performance from the deck above me, singing opera songs - wouldn’t have been something I’d generally find to be interesting, but the combination of the music with the amazing scenery as we headed through the bay gave me goosebumps, even in the hot tub!

I went back to the room and cleaned up.  JT had been there reading, and we headed out to the back deck where it was very quiet.  We had a glass of wine, played cribbage, and watched the amazing scenery unfold. 

May 5 - Rovinj

Our adventure today was the “Rib Boat Sea Adventure,” and it was fantastic - a gorgeous day made it even more so. Our guide was so-so, the boat driver was great though and spoke good English, he could have been our guide!!!  He made a comment about Minnesota with just a brief glance at Jeff’s shirt with the MN Loons (professional soccer team) logo on it.  He said now that Messi went to the US league, he’s studied all the logos!

We toured the coast and saw Rovinj from the sea.  From St John’s Cape to Barbariga, there are more than 20 islands in a protected area - pristine waters, beautiful dense forests of oak and pines.  We got out on Red Island and had time to explore the island.  Jeff and I went off on our own and it felt wonderful to be alone together in nature - a nice respite from the busy week!  We walked to the shore and Jeff spotted a huge jelly fish, about 12x8” with a school of 6” fish tagging along behind it.  It didn’t show up in the photos as it was mostly translucent except for a blue rim!

Back in the boat, we headed north and turned into Lim fjord, billed as one of the most beautiful natural sites in all of Istria.  We traveled the length of the fjord, all natural area except for oyster and fish hatcheries all along the sides. 

We’re close to where we ended the coastal bike tour we took from Italy into Croatia 7 years ago, and the territory feels familiar to me now.  We went by campgrounds and nude beaches, luckily too far out to see the detail!  At the end of the fjord, we stopped at a restaurant for oysters, wine and bread (and we added gelato).  It feels really cool to be in a remote part of the world that few Americans visit!  I loved it!

About a 40 minute ride back to Rovinj, and we went behind Wind Surf and saw the sports platform was open.   We caught to tender back to the ship and headed down there.  We had our suits under our clothes, as the itinerary for this excursion said swimming was possible.  I had brought a waterproof case for my phone, so we got some shots of me on the paddle board and JT on the kayak.  I did pretty well for a long time, but lost focus and fell in - not a terrible shock to the system as it was a warm day.  Since I was wet, I decided to head out to the trampoline walking / crawling on the “Lilly Pads,” which was a lot harder than it looks!

We headed up to the hot tub and hung out there chatting with others and had a margarita (as it’s Cinco do Mayo).  Feeling a little melancholy as we cleaned up for our last dinner and show. 

Can’t report much about Rovinj itself as we didn’t go to town, only saw it from the boat, but it’s another beautiful ancient city with lots of history!

May 6, 2024. Venice

Up before 5am to finish packing and get up on deck to watch the sun rise as we motored through the main channel into Venice. A very moving experience!!

While large cruise ships need to dock outside the city, ships of our size can come into the lagoon area (Canale Della Guidecca). Amazing way to see Venice for the first time, all the side channel and right past St Marks Square. There were many people on deck, and it was a reverent mood with no one speaking. We watched until we arrived at our port, then headed to breakfast. Rather than a small pilot boat, we seemed to be tethered to a large tug boat that guided us until we were docked.

We disembarked about 8:30am, so had some time to watch the luggage be unloaded and relax in the lounge for the last time (until next May!).

Our last excursion was “Venice Orientation and Lagoon Tour,” with transportation to the airport. We’re booked at the Marriott Courtyard near the airport with a flight home tomorrow. We reclaimed our luggage briefly, then put it on a cart (hopefully we’ll see it again after the tour!).

Our guide’s name was Antonella (Ella). She told us that Venice is made up of 132 islands, linked by 189 bridges and 150 canals, most not very deep. Many churches - each island has at least one. Many were erected after the plague - nothing like a pandemic to bring people to religion!

Venice was started as a trading hub, but now tourism is the biggest industry. It was more difficult to see the city from our tour boat, so we’re extra glad we got up early to see it from the ship! We were sitting below water level so our eyes were about water level, and it was amazing to see all the boat traffic in the lagoon - big boats, little boats, boats that were hauling work gear and supplies (that would be hauled by trucks on land), garbage boats, police boats, even an ambulance boat! The water was choppy from all the traffic. Made me wonder how many boating accidents they have?!

We made two stops on this excursion, the first was Murano Island, known of course for its gorgeous Murano glass! We were guided in to a studio to watch three guys, and master and two helpers. They were adding colored layers to a globe that was about 18” in diameter. We’d seen glass blowing before, but this was master crafting! Most shocking was the apparent lack of concern about safety, no gloves or goggles, one guy wearing crocs, a guy using his t-shirt hem to clear the table of glass shards, smoking, etc! After that, we were invited upstairs to see the work of many master artists. I wanted several pieces, but settled for a few small pieces at a shop over the canal.

Our second stop was Burano Island, known for its lace production. Jeff and I skipped the demonstration on that and found a cafe for a sandwich and gelato, perfectly placed to watch taxi boats, tour boats and hotel shuttle boats drop off their passengers! Burano was historically a fishing island, and Ella reported the fishermen would drink too much and then not be able to find their way home, so the houses are painted bright vibrant colors. With the gardens and bright houses, it’s a gorgeous little island.

Back on board our boat, I struggled with staying awake, but it’s wasn’t comfortable enough for napping either! We dropped most of our gang at the Hilton (cruise package hotel) and then I was glad to get back to the port. The remaining six of us claimed our suitcases (sigh of relief), and a van took us to the Marriott Courtyard near the Airport, and then dropped the others at the airport for afternoon flights.

We organized our bags for flying tomorrow, relaxed and are about to head out for food. Looking for some good pasta and wine tonight!

What an amazing trip this has been. Fantastic weather, gorgeous scenery, history, culture and food! We feel so lucky and blessed to have had an incredible adventure like this!