28th April 23 - Lisbon

I remember the first time I came to Lisbon.  I wasn’t impressed with the graffiti, the beggars and the gulleys full of cigarette ends.  Things haven’t changed much, there are still an awful lot of cigarette butts everywhere, and graffiti, but I can sort of see past that.  When the sun is out, and Lisbon is in a good mood, it’s a lovely city.

But not today.  Roadworks, building works and Commercial Square closed off for a schools event sort of took over.  It seemed like there was scaffolding and metal fencing everywhere.  I am sure it will look wonderful when it’s finished.

We did our usual thing and walked (although I did look enviously at the people on hired scooters and electric bikes – maybe next time).  We walked from the ship to Commercial Square, going down to the steps that lead from the river enjoy the view of the bridge.

I wonder if it there are ever occasions where it is all set up in all its glory, with some visiting royalty or diplomatic stepping out of their boat onto the steps and onward into a pristine Commercial Square.  I often think that would be a grand thing to see.

From there we walked through town, heading towards Edward VII park.  We passed restaurants, fountains, the station, Starbucks, wine stores, tourist tat stores, exclusive stores, grand buildings and tatty crumbling buildings, columns, statues, graffiti, beggars and homeless.

It became obvious that maybe Edward the VII park was perhaps a little out of range, so we diverted off towards a different area of greenery seen on the map.  This turned out to be Botanical Gardens, with a fee of €5 each.  Since it had taken so long for us to find our way there, we decided to pay the money and have a look around.

The gardens in Cagliari were much better to be honest, but we did see Ring-necked Parakeets, as well as a Redstart.

We also used the bathroom facilities. (Who puts a glass door on a toilet cubicle, even if it is smoked glass?  Peter stood guard!)  And treated ourselves to an ice cream there.

And then we walked back to the ship.  It turned out we’d walked about 7-8 miles.  No wonder my knees hurt.

The ship sailed at 4pm, heading out to open sea.  We, like many others, we went up on deck to watch Lisbon go by as we sailed down the river.  A must for any new cruise visitor to Lisbon is to be on the top deck as the ship sails under the 25^th April Bridge.  The way the bridge has been built means that as traffic travels across it, it makes noise.  The more traffic, the more noise, and it sounds like swarm of angry hornets!  Quite awesome.

So that was Lisbon and now we are on the last leg home.  Two more sea days and then Portsmouth.  Despite being so well looked after whilst I’ve been here, I am really looking forward to getting home. 

 You can read about a previous visit to Lisbon here : 8 January 2017 - Lisbon

Thursday 27th April – Gibraltar Straits

I was looking forward to this bit.  As the ship passes through the straits, there is a good chance that you can see loads of migrating wildlife, especially at this time of year.  The Captain had said we would go past Gibraltar at about 9 am, which would give time to get breakfast and then the art class ready before going out on deck.  Part of me did think it would be wise to go out early – but that would mean getting up!

At breakfast, about 8.15, dolphins were seen alongside the ship, and the photographer leapt up to go on deck saying “this is it, time to go…”, but I kept to my original timetable and was finished at the Coast to Coast by 9 am, and went out to see what I could.

And there was nothing!  We’d gone past Gibraltar a good hour earlier, and now we were heading on out to the Atlantic.  I felt quite depressed – I’d missed it all.  (Although to be honest, I don’t know if there was a lot to see)

I wandered around the decks, looking out to sea.   I could still see land, maybe there would be something………

I noticed a few moths on the decks, and that cheered me up slightly.  I took photos for ID later.  Then, as I was checking out a few sea birds, I realised I was watching something large and brown flying just above the waves.  Not a sea bird, an eagle or raptor of some kind probably.  It looked tired as it flew, just skimming the waves, I really hoped it was going to make it.  A couple of birders alongside me also saw it, if I see them again, they may be able to tell me what it was.  I felt slightly better now, I’d seen one of the things I’d wanted to see all this trip, one of the birds of prey crossing the straits.

And as the day went on, things got better.  Walking the decks later with Peter, we came across more moths, including a very nice Striped Hawk-moth.

Later we were entertained by a couple of wagtails hopping around the decks.  It took the help of another birder to confirm that they were Yellow Wagtails. 

And a little more icing for the cake, (or should that be ice cream?) We cleared up after the second class and this time decided to go to the Lido Deck for ice cream.  They have a whippy machine that you can help yourself too, and it is reeeallly nice, thick, whipped ice cream.  Two massive tubs later, we decided we’d had enough.  

The other thing of note today one of the other passengers recommended that we watch tonight’s show, a comedy ventriloquist called Jimmy Tamley – he’s been on BGT.  He was very entertaining, and had us giggling away, although admittedly, we knew the end of  a lot of his jokes. Tomorrow is Lisbon.  I checked, tomorrow will be Peter’s 14^th visit and my 9^th.  We have no plans for tomorrow, just a walk – let’s see where it takes us.

Wednesday 26th April – Sea Day

Back into the routine again, up early – take the kit from our cabin, (front of ship, Deck 7) to the Coast to Coast restaurant, (back of ship, Deck 6).  Then it’s up to The Grill (back of ship, Deck 12), for breakfast, (from where Peter spotted a few dolphins through the window), before going back down to the Coast to Coast again to set up the class (back of ship, Deck 6).

At 9.30, I leave Peter to do his thing and then usually walk back to our cabin, (front of ship, Deck 7) and decide what to do for the hour.  Today, I went up to the Britannia Balcony (front of ship Deck 11), to look ahead and watch out for any wildlife. I was dead chuffed to find two Turtle Doves taking a break on the ship, hitch hiking a bit of the way no doubt. At 10.30, it’s back down to the Coast to Coast (Back of ship, Deck 6) to help Peter clear up and then reset for the afternoon class.

We'll be done by about 11.30 and we usually head back to the cabin, (front of ship, Deck 7), to have a cuppa and maybe do admin stuff.  Then about 12.30 it’s back up to The Grill, (back of ship, Deck 12), for lunch.  After lunch we may go for a little promenade around the top decks (Decks 12 and 13).  At 1.45pm, it’s back to the Coast to Coast (back of ship, Deck 6), to get the afternoon class going.  I leave Peter to it at 2pm and then either go back to the cabin (front of ship, Deck 7), or up onto the top decks (Decks 12 and 13) to wander around and see if there is anything about.

At 3 pm, it’s back down to the Coast to Coast, (back of ship, Deck 6), to clean up after the 2^nd class, and then we take all the equipment back to cabin, (front of ship, Deck 7) for about 4pm.  We usually then just wind down for a bit and relax, spending time on the balcony, maybe napping, supping tea etc. Or we may go down to the Living Room (middle of the ship, Deck 5) for a drink and a chocolate chip cookie.

We normally go to dinner at The Grill about 7.30pm (back of ship, Deck 12), and then after dinner we might go to the show. Today though, we went back to the cabin (front of ship, Deck 7) for an episode of Friends and then The Last Ship before bed.

And why have I written in boring detail of all the back and forth on the ship.  Well, I put a pedometer on and clocked up 12000 steps!  This might be why I don't put any weight on when on board, despite eating like a horse.

Tomorrow is another sea day.  We’ll be going through the Straits of Gibraltar about nine o’clock in the morning so the captain tells us, and the hope is that there will loads of birds flying overhead as we go through.  Fingers crossed.

Tuesday 25th April - Cagliari, Sardinia, Itialy

Cagliari is somewhere we’ve been before.  It’s a nice enough place, but I wouldn’t say it was our favourite port, so we weren’t in a hurry, thinking we’d just have a short wander.  We had thought about walking to the Salt Lakes or a nature reserve type park, but they were both a way off, temperatures are rising (finally), and we had to be back on ship for 3.30pm, so we decided to leave it for this visit.  Maybe next time.

Instead, we walked the opposite way around to our last visit.  We knew the layout of the city a little better this time, so we didn’t meander quite so much and made a better job of it.  Today was a bank holiday in Sardinia as they celebrate their Independence Day.  There was a parade going on in the city centre just as we walked through. Police had closed off the roads as the people of Cagliari marched through, waving flags and singing patriotic songs.  There were a lot of people too! All the cars just had to wait.

From there we went on to the Botanical Garden, a cool, pleasant space we’d not visited before; €4 each.  I was really impressed at the way the cactus garden was laid out.

Then on up the hill to the amphitheatre we’d seen last time but couldn’t get into.  Apparently work is still ongoing, but the gates were open this time, and we could go along a path at the top of the site to have a look down.  €3 each.

After taking a few photo’s and watching the hooded crows, we continued uphill until we found a little café for a break. Smoking is much more common than at home in these Mediterranean countries, and the cigarettes have a much stronger, rougher smell, more like cigars.  Not too pleasant to sit next to when eating, but we did find a café and a clear table eventually. And then it was upwards just a little further.  There were quite a lot of view points along our route, but not a very good view to be honest, ports and industrial land mostly.

Eventually we came to a gate inside the old city wall.  Here the streets are very narrow.  Most of the cars that drove through were small, seemingly speeding along narrow streets with pedestrians hopping out of the way to let them pass.   Many of the streets are too narrow even for small cars, with motorbikes and mopeds being the preferred transport.

We arrived at the Cathedral of Santa Maria and Santa Cecilia, which we’ve been to before.  It’s free to visit, inside is absolutely beautiful, and in a condition that I think puts the Basilica in Venice to shame.

A little further on are terraces, sited at the top of the cliff on which the old town is built and giving extensive views of the rest of Cagliari, which looks like a pleasant modern city.

Further along from the terraces, pedestrian walkways slope downhill to a large open square, with a grand arch and more views.  Sadly, there was a lot of graffiti and despite the fact small planted areas were well tended, it looked sort of disused.  A shame really, because it seemed to have so much potential.

From there, it was back to the shuttle bus, the ship and the living room for extra rations of chocolate chip cookies.  Mmm mmm. 

We have a couple of sea days now until Lisbon.......

Read about our last visit to Cagliari here:- 16 June 22 - Cagliari, Sardinia

Monday 24 April – Stromboli, Smoke and Sea views

Well, in essence, not a lot to report really.   Peter has been running his classes, I have been helping him set up and clean up, and we’ve been eating far too much!

It was formal night last night – but as before, I teamed my blue trousers with a posh looking top, and got away with it.  Most of the other women were not in full length evening dresses either, so all is good.

Today was a little bit more interesting scenically.  We sailed North through the Messina Straits, which is the bit of sea between the toe of Italy’s boot and the triangular ball which is Sicily.  Then we went on to have a quick nose at Stromboli, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  To be honest, it’s best seen at night, as it has been active for much of the last 2,000 years and its eruptions are visible for long distances, making it known as the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean".   Our visit today happened this morning, but the volcano did blow a couple of puffs of dark smoke into the air, making us feel that as least we’d seen something of its activity.

And I’ve discovered the small deck at the front of the ship on Deck 12 above the Bridge.  It’s perfect for looking ahead dolphin or bird watching, but only when there isn’t much wind.   I’ll be visiting it regularly from now on, but not today cos got really quite blowy out there this afternoon, so much so that them there knickers that have been sitting just outside our balcony since Gibraltar have now gone. Good! I was sick of the sight of them.

Cagliari tomorrow.  We are not quite sure what we are gonna do yet, but I am sure it will involve a lot of walking!

Saturday 22nd April - Zadar

So this is the 5^th Port Day in a row – another day off for Peter, but to be honest, we’ve walked so far, and climbed so many steps over the last few days, I feel like we need a few sea days and classes for a rest.

A nice slow lazy start then, with news from home, before getting to the shuttle bus into town at around 10.30.  The terminal was more like one you’d find in an airport, and we had to walk for ages to find our way out, and as we did, it all got a bit complicated because passengers coming back. (Yeah, I know, coming back already?)  

They told us that there were so many people waiting for the shuttle, it would take an hour before we could get on. And it was an hour walk into town. This caused the ‘frail old dear’ ahead of us to persuade the girl at the tourist info to order an Uber and also persuade us to share it with her.  We agreed, but when we got outside, there wasn’t any waiting for the bus as extras had been laid on.  So the woman jumped on the bus, and we, feeling guilty, waited for the Uber (despite the fact we could have got on the bus).   Shuttle buses left. We waited. The Uber Taxi arrived and the door opened. But it stunk so badly of of really strong cigarette or cigar smoke, we had to walk away.  Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for the next shuttle, but we’ll definitely be thinking twice before helping out any other “helpless’ old ladies.

Zadar though was lovely. Like Dubrovnik and Split, Zadar has an old town within old fort walls.  The bus dropped us off at the end of the peninsula and we happily walked, enjoying the sunshine, the pleasant surroundings and just being there.

The first thing we investigated was the sea organ.  A little bit of genius to be honest.  Somehow, someone engineered the steps in such a way that as the waves of the sea hit the steps, the air inside was pushed around, to  be forced out of grills and holes in the steps themselves.  Each step section had a different sound and the result was a continuous off beat and random melody.  You could sit and listen for ages, and many people did.

From there it was a walk around the old town, investigating the various points of interest.  There was an old church building, which I think re-used a previous Roman structure which made it interesting inside.

We found a square of Roman remains, known as The Forum, a little harbour, a botanical garden, the old wall itself that you could walk along and a 3D model of the city (no fotie).

Spotting the Chiff Chaff (at least that’s what I think it is), and the little newts in The Forum greenery just added to it.

We really enjoyed our pleasant few hours in Zadar, made better by trying a couple more Croation meat pastries and then a couple of ice creams. 

It was then a shuttle bus back to the ship.  I must admit, that we’ve taken to dropping into the ‘Living Room’, the main lounge on Deck 5, when we get back from port visits.  Mostly to partake of the very excellent chocolate chip cookies or ice cream, as well as a cool drink, such as a beer for Peter, lemonade for me.  Everything is all inclusive, and if we wanted we could eat ourselves sick on the goodies there, but we have to remember we’ll be having dinner later, so we don't.

And that was Zadar.  Now we have a couple of sea days before Cagliari.

Friday 21st April – Venice

I think I was expecting good things of Venice – I mean, you hear how it’s the city of romance – a beautiful, gorgeous city that everyone wants to see, and that you need to take out a mortgage if you want to buy a coffee in St Mark’s Square.

Cruise ships are no longer permitted to sail alongside the city, so our actual port was Marghera. From there we were taken on a shuttle boat (provided by Saga) across the bay to the island.

Not the prettiest of routes, but interesting, as we passed a variety of industrial zones.

I hadn’t done any research, so I had no idea of what we’d see, apart from the stuff I might have seen on the tv.  I knew about the square, the canals and the gondolas. But that was about it.

The shuttle boat travelled down Giudecca Canal, a wide tranche of water that was previously used by cruise ships.  Boats of all descriptions, but mainly ferries, obviously use this as the main motorway in and out of the city. It separates the main island of Venice from Guidecca.  This was my first view of the city.  In a way, it reminded me of Amsterdam, with all the buildings right up to the water’s edge.

Our shuttle pulled up to one of the many piers along the canal, and as we got off, we were told, “Four bridges to the left and you get to St Marks Square”, so that’s where we headed first.

The first thing we did when we got there was to queue to visit the Basilica.  I was thinking it would be on par with some of the fantastic houses of worship we’d visited in the past – The Blue Mosque, the Hagir Sofia, St Pauls in London, St Peter’s in Rome, The Church of the Spilt Blood in St Petersburg.  But I was left feeling a little disappointed.  The Basilica is an absolutely stunning building, and I am sure that in its new pristine form, it would have definitely given those other edifices a run for their money.  But as we entered, it seemed dark and uncared for.  The beautiful designs on the ceiling were dulled with soot.  Carvings and colours dulled by thick dust.  I can imagine that it would be difficult to clean such a massive and ornate building, and obviously it has to be carried out in such a way as not to damage anything, but surely the huge number of paying visitors would help raise money to do that?

The price on the door was also a little bit of a con too.  €3.  But it wasn’t until we were inside did we realise that ticket only allowed you to visit the main church floor, everywhere else is additional, and we were stopped by signs asking for another €7 to go on.  I wanted to go upstairs to the balcony that runs around the top of the Basilica, and to see the Marble horses, but we were feeling a little cheated at the time, so left it for our next visit.  I’ve since looked online to try and work out what parts of the building are worth visiting and how much that would cost.  So far it’s not very clear.

St Mark’s Square next, which, in my head, would be a big open space filled with covered café tables where people were waited on by staff from up market Italian restaurants.  There might be a little classical music oozing out from restaurant speakers or maybe a violinist somewhere and the square would echo the sound as well as the chatter. 

In reality, there was one restaurant towards the side of the square that kept up with the imagined scene.  It even provided a small classical orchestra, but the rest of the square was empty apart from tourists, a stand selling hats and a couple of packed up sets of furniture that made me think of scaffolding.  There was no romance or beauty about it. The Basilica at the end of the square is quite stunning but even that was surrounded by netted fencing which just spoiled it.  Despite the grandeur of the square buildings, I was left feeling a little depressed.  Was this it?

We now left to look at the other must see sights of Venice, Accademia Bridge and Realto Bridge. As we made our way through the narrow streets and walk ways, my heart lifted.  The streets, squares and narrow walkways of Venice in themselves are pleasant enough, but all those canals! And all those little bridges!

I loved the canals, and the manic manoeuvring of the gondolas, water taxis, ferries and cargo boats.  I loved all the little bridges, and the views from the bigger bridges, and I loved the contrasting shade and sparkle of the canals themselves.  I took so many photos.

We had to be back for our shuttle boat back to the ship at 5.  As usual we were early, and sat in the sun at the edge of the Giudecca Canal watching the world go by.  We are coming back to Venice in October and I am now looking forward to seeing more of it.

Tomorrow we are back in Croatia, to a town called Zadir.  We have absolutely no idea what it’s gonna be like.

Edit: Our October cruise was cancelled. I don't know when we'll be able to visit Venice again now.

Thursday 20th April – Rovinj

Rovinj (pronounced Ro-veen) doesn’t have a pier big enough for a cruise ship, so we anchored out in the bay, and used the lifeboats as tenders to take the passengers across to the small local quay.  Peter and I got there around about 11.

It’s quite a large town - a very lovely, clean, friendly, holiday town to be honest. And central to it is the lovely little Old Town.  Little is a key word here, the Old Town sits on a small mount rising out of the sea.  Top and centre is the local church of St Euphemia and her remains reside in a large stone sarcophagas behind the altar.

All around and leading downwards from the church are the quaintest of narrow streets, lined with art and craft shops. And to top it all the peninsula is surrounded rocky little bays, some of which have been levelled and paved to make patio areas on which to sunbathe and swim from.  Idyllic.

The Old Town is a small area though, so once we'd spent a couple of hours there, we decided to walk a little further, past all the holiday resort hotels, along the coast to the Golden Cape Park.   It’s sort of advertised as a nature reserve, but it’s very much a leisure park, for things such as cycling, climbing, walking, sunbathing and swimming. There are plenty of trees, flowers and wildlife though. Peter and I enjoyed a good few hours wandering.

Having investigated as much as we wanted, we turned to make our way back.  Time was getting on and not having eaten since breakfast, we stopped at a lovely restaurant with a view of the sea and the Old Town.

It was such a lovely warm day, in such a lovely town, we didn’t really want to go back.  We dawdled our way back to the pier, then decided to sit and watch for a while before boarding a tender back to the ship.

So that was Rovinj.

Tomorrow is Venice, one of the reasons we came on this cruise and a place I’ve never visited. As Peter says…… “Bring it on!”