tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51867739489787189042024-03-02T00:07:01.598+00:00Getting About a Bit - CruisingAll about the fabulous cruises that I get to go on with my husband Peter.
We've just come back from a cruise Tilbury to Sydney.I'll keep adding the posts until I get to the end. dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.comBlogger371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-15187417348597499752023-04-19T23:24:00.000+01:002024-02-25T23:40:52.468+00:00Wednesday 19th April – Split.<p> Another easy start to the day, plenty of fuel in the form of breakfast, and we were off the ship around 10am ready to investigate the charms of Split.</p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>I had done a little research before we came away, and I had worked out there were some key places to visit, but I didn’t really understand what I’d read. Once we’d walked the 10 mins or so from the ship to the old town, and then walked through the Brass Gate, it began to make sense.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJcINFDMjhod8NNAxXPSWn7MXk5Cc3ZkYZnYUfIa7EBEHZZmcbHKvakAHOYJ3h3VR_IXTnkCvUlt8tKkMsArKOeIVdqwMK1lyqaBFZeO5AQez1sSZr5OpigMXTci0hxtEnA-61KHG-AWzFsVkGsEcIfcOfbRErtIVPnwjWe4HNK9pwBzTGMRQ-YE4hEFU/s1714/DSC08062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJcINFDMjhod8NNAxXPSWn7MXk5Cc3ZkYZnYUfIa7EBEHZZmcbHKvakAHOYJ3h3VR_IXTnkCvUlt8tKkMsArKOeIVdqwMK1lyqaBFZeO5AQez1sSZr5OpigMXTci0hxtEnA-61KHG-AWzFsVkGsEcIfcOfbRErtIVPnwjWe4HNK9pwBzTGMRQ-YE4hEFU/w640-h360/DSC08062.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very unassuming Brass Gate between these two buildings.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Roman Emperor Diocletian was from Croatia. He’d was a good emperor, and also did something very unusual for an emperor, he retired. He planned it years before and built himself a massive palace to retire to in what is now Split. It was finished in 305 AD, and he lived there for 11 years before he died. A good deal of that palace is still standing, with much of the old town built into it. The Brass Gate that we’d just walked through was one of the doorways into the palace. </p><p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></p><p>Actually, the Brass Gate leads into the basement halls of the palace. It’s a huge area, quite an amazing space with loads of rooms large and small that just seemed to go on one after another after another. For €7 each we could go have a wander, so we did.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHaqbput-OeZIONVxXC9cPvH0C1VspWdXlamXCXvy1nHvvUpdB1i6ob4JsPa7Ugwt3C1Rt_0Xwy8HBgOF7ITlKXFjlsqRgorPtsCCLie_yRxMe_xjU39MxEq7Dvyf7uEGTXLtkgwg_zmGtB2szLQFF3NfzALLz2ajgp2r6dHXfsjCQ-xnLrxxelGbJWjJ/s1714/DSC08064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHaqbput-OeZIONVxXC9cPvH0C1VspWdXlamXCXvy1nHvvUpdB1i6ob4JsPa7Ugwt3C1Rt_0Xwy8HBgOF7ITlKXFjlsqRgorPtsCCLie_yRxMe_xjU39MxEq7Dvyf7uEGTXLtkgwg_zmGtB2szLQFF3NfzALLz2ajgp2r6dHXfsjCQ-xnLrxxelGbJWjJ/w640-h360/DSC08064.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />From there we went on into the rest of the palace grounds. First there was more of the basement, where all the souvenir stalls were set up. There was some really nice stuff, but I don’t understand why rucksacks made in Nepal were being sold on craft stalls in Croatia?<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroItXOkI5xGnOKt3OHvPn7CCTg2_zG-5FL6jV6M4h-D2RlFqSNIM7yxvIvglWvyxbs5nO2dZgYs34x8-SAuKrMv3eMli-GsfXgrduyiLlguahxwiI8NPTaBofvGShAAG0R2fQG2xr5KWmlSrpDmlgJyf9M_MOCqJBqC7J1K-gw96GCzmbkoFoZRzsJhYU/s1714/DSC08066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroItXOkI5xGnOKt3OHvPn7CCTg2_zG-5FL6jV6M4h-D2RlFqSNIM7yxvIvglWvyxbs5nO2dZgYs34x8-SAuKrMv3eMli-GsfXgrduyiLlguahxwiI8NPTaBofvGShAAG0R2fQG2xr5KWmlSrpDmlgJyf9M_MOCqJBqC7J1K-gw96GCzmbkoFoZRzsJhYU/w640-h360/DSC08066.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Onwards and upwards to the ‘Peristil’, a central courtyard in the palace grounds. As we pottered around we came across an operatic trio making use of the acoustics of one of the remaining roman rooms. An awesome sound!<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UOFh9wYL27f31pKtP5E8-aUNOI-APZkRrkrSWE8dXSxrSzdZqRvRPIUsU_JrVGhWzb870_x3HT9k_yUlTWsS2wueRm00VDQFKrTP41zdlWWdtaCEosL1IyFvxO8_x6zfBQPI7qpvz9Pl97UtFCW1P0toSmOe4VroIshUjrm_p7j2XTlxCPKxw388sVzT/s1714/DSC08068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1714" data-original-width="963" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UOFh9wYL27f31pKtP5E8-aUNOI-APZkRrkrSWE8dXSxrSzdZqRvRPIUsU_JrVGhWzb870_x3HT9k_yUlTWsS2wueRm00VDQFKrTP41zdlWWdtaCEosL1IyFvxO8_x6zfBQPI7qpvz9Pl97UtFCW1P0toSmOe4VroIshUjrm_p7j2XTlxCPKxw388sVzT/w180-h320/DSC08068.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>For €12 each, we could visit the Cathedral and the Bell Tower with the Treasury Museum thrown in for free. </p><p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></p><p>The bell tower is relatively modern, with very high steep steps at the bottom before opening out to the space you can see in the photograph below.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeW331sbG7uDSt2mwNccrR70qc5SQ156xJgf8P25JbujFrQw_TGlHHltucHR7aAUiWQEmKZwJV7MVyJvq5VV73e8fVmZBVWxQbKspIhi_3am7iKSpDA417XqQ8W7Wg-mb3PxY7mqiy7Hip_Qu07QVyOjcoCXT7Pt2U2bUXqqkPpe4oeOqT8bhDpmfnM4na/s1714/DSC08072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeW331sbG7uDSt2mwNccrR70qc5SQ156xJgf8P25JbujFrQw_TGlHHltucHR7aAUiWQEmKZwJV7MVyJvq5VV73e8fVmZBVWxQbKspIhi_3am7iKSpDA417XqQ8W7Wg-mb3PxY7mqiy7Hip_Qu07QVyOjcoCXT7Pt2U2bUXqqkPpe4oeOqT8bhDpmfnM4na/w640-h360/DSC08072.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhlN6g7OTfIuzE_I8z8sPDxtEqRkV_EdMc-QjVsULACkK9cDyj_jMzlMq5Ay5jWcYFbVgcZ18zoCAmxOn0UzJdt7ghpe6uEo1VfmWBPORwv5SyOGBtCYqcbtATZ2FoQydR0FHCmReZWgz0sxC59bVsk8VvSFczGXrTVYsEeYRoBg4IimwA0w1piWKR9UU/s1714/DSC08075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhlN6g7OTfIuzE_I8z8sPDxtEqRkV_EdMc-QjVsULACkK9cDyj_jMzlMq5Ay5jWcYFbVgcZ18zoCAmxOn0UzJdt7ghpe6uEo1VfmWBPORwv5SyOGBtCYqcbtATZ2FoQydR0FHCmReZWgz0sxC59bVsk8VvSFczGXrTVYsEeYRoBg4IimwA0w1piWKR9UU/w640-h360/DSC08075.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />The Cathedral is definitely an old roman building that had been converted. The carved lions at the entrance, the huge marble pillars and the hunting frieze circling the ceiling were among the many clues. And to think the original building dates from 305 AD!<p></p><p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></p><p>The rest of our time there, we simply explored. We passed Jupiter’s Temple, walked out of the Iron Gate, bought lunch from what seemed to be the Croatian equivalent of Greggs, took photo’s of the Gold Gate and wandered back into the area of the palace through the Silver Gate. All in all a good day’s wandering.</p><p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLHXPVm7un3LpnhZbp3rEBt5rs-mytydx6gW920evNnTQtPFxJ5W85TrT2YQn_cufHTRjcE0TGBxPH8dyXQ1pFRZr5GOGi5Ma3qxpQ7pDdly898ASCBN08dG786HsZF-fGBK8OnTHWdjLjw1z0mqF6ZXcj_d1WGkaLY9UifX5WnFlc0EPXgGxiLL0H3qm/s1714/DSC08092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLHXPVm7un3LpnhZbp3rEBt5rs-mytydx6gW920evNnTQtPFxJ5W85TrT2YQn_cufHTRjcE0TGBxPH8dyXQ1pFRZr5GOGi5Ma3qxpQ7pDdly898ASCBN08dG786HsZF-fGBK8OnTHWdjLjw1z0mqF6ZXcj_d1WGkaLY9UifX5WnFlc0EPXgGxiLL0H3qm/w640-h360/DSC08092.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter dwarfed by the statue at the Gold Gate</td></tr></tbody></table><br />And that was Split. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcT2FxGJqBM7jWMzMEFWvCToV4xvUgnABEBKe3HyJu8A7FvXuhQJ_b42MQqkzXpjBecfzM02fJWBVWfxaQjkCPNjfjDLHu119RqAn8MomomBEl5tSLmpByfmYchywf59Op2CR0GNZfPP5gkw6jJOEHdD60aZsFU-JleUaFgVFB5aun6zrLx1DHOkI2v-cu/s1714/DSC08102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcT2FxGJqBM7jWMzMEFWvCToV4xvUgnABEBKe3HyJu8A7FvXuhQJ_b42MQqkzXpjBecfzM02fJWBVWfxaQjkCPNjfjDLHu119RqAn8MomomBEl5tSLmpByfmYchywf59Op2CR0GNZfPP5gkw6jJOEHdD60aZsFU-JleUaFgVFB5aun6zrLx1DHOkI2v-cu/w640-h360/DSC08102.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Tomorrow we are in Rovinj, (pronounced Ro-VEEN). No research done on this one, so I haven’t a clue what to expect.<p></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-28670108126663821312023-04-18T22:26:00.007+01:002024-02-25T23:20:14.762+00:00Tuesday 18th April - Dubrovnik<p>We were looking forward to this port, me because I’d heard it was a brilliant place to visit, and Peter because he’d been before and really liked it. He told me it was a brilliant place to visit.</p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>And then of course, there is Game of Thrones. We were both avid followers of the series, and with Peter being a bit of a groupie regarding anything to do with filming, Dubrovnik promised so much.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>We docked in the port, surrounded by hills and mountains on land and islands out to sea. It all made for a gorgeous view as we stepped out onto the balcony this morning. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>We didn’t rush, making sure we had a good breakfast, and caught the 10 o’clock shuttle bus which took us the 3 miles or so to the historical centre of Dubrovnik. The old town is completely walled in, full of narrow and angular streets that criss cross in all directions, climbing up and down on steep sets of stairs. Not a place for a car, van or lorry. Again, after a little online research before we came away, we had decided our aim today was to walk the city walls. The shuttle bus stopped just outside said walls, so we headed straight for the entrance gate.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNbH8bA1uJVUfnMGC39P231uX5tofLPwlZY4ddbJMrhxd1_HnyoQFGAz6adxUIwRU5TDy5msCicOunD9vTA0Z7UCn_xQHqsqCpFPIMHjdBm3OXSn9q2UM_2Mp05pz-MWMixeA9TKc1dba2h1LcMW7cTLoDUv1NhEYrqkaJieSLURk-FE4ELw5s96gHGw3/s1660/1DSC07944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="909" data-original-width="1660" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNbH8bA1uJVUfnMGC39P231uX5tofLPwlZY4ddbJMrhxd1_HnyoQFGAz6adxUIwRU5TDy5msCicOunD9vTA0Z7UCn_xQHqsqCpFPIMHjdBm3OXSn9q2UM_2Mp05pz-MWMixeA9TKc1dba2h1LcMW7cTLoDUv1NhEYrqkaJieSLURk-FE4ELw5s96gHGw3/w640-h350/1DSC07944.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Our first shock came when we realised that in order to walk the walls, we would have to buy tickets at €35 each! We were astounded. But tickets included access to all the museums etc within the walls, and it’s not as if we come to Dubrovnik every day. We paid the €70, got the tickets and set off.<p></p><p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></p><p>There are a LOT of steps up and down the walls, and it’s a good trek to go all the way round, but we loved it. I remarked to Peter that many places that we visited had one or good views to enjoy as you walked round, but here, everywhere you looked from those walls was a view. It was stunning.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06Mk-dOzhc16YnEGPwp1lLnfDuQhK9XFNe-6-DID-r4YWJpe4aUEkZ3NHjAkI-dtagaM8_2GFPig3HaP27eXXXJuTKgx17vfVmc3KHY1QrVuJu1byoqS9fUIFJxE8K0X2ObH8yZVjzkmnf0WANwTeWX1q_M9q-i_aLvK_L-_iPwhNpRiPbKUtcYTZww4o/s1714/2DSC07959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06Mk-dOzhc16YnEGPwp1lLnfDuQhK9XFNe-6-DID-r4YWJpe4aUEkZ3NHjAkI-dtagaM8_2GFPig3HaP27eXXXJuTKgx17vfVmc3KHY1QrVuJu1byoqS9fUIFJxE8K0X2ObH8yZVjzkmnf0WANwTeWX1q_M9q-i_aLvK_L-_iPwhNpRiPbKUtcYTZww4o/w640-h360/2DSC07959.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWDyC0mOigvw0ifw6DQyrS5Su2lFZa8QPRALLk1v0Bx2mHjxaRWZkjrO1sVuPgcDMv4pVNPjUjqPOSaEvFka9SA4I6JW2Q22QFVDYaRnhnRoIstxg6u2ShxxBfbJgjxWmPsQ1sqkky6l0021T7v1hFLns6wNPyBF4v2N2u96Lk5BLDWN6kErCkosTNYem/s1714/3DSC07977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWDyC0mOigvw0ifw6DQyrS5Su2lFZa8QPRALLk1v0Bx2mHjxaRWZkjrO1sVuPgcDMv4pVNPjUjqPOSaEvFka9SA4I6JW2Q22QFVDYaRnhnRoIstxg6u2ShxxBfbJgjxWmPsQ1sqkky6l0021T7v1hFLns6wNPyBF4v2N2u96Lk5BLDWN6kErCkosTNYem/w640-h360/3DSC07977.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6kqwHCc-carOegRma2erAL2pnvsJPNaWirfcB5QXr0wf3Fr-OnsGTWXq8lZf2rOR2SHwOZQagSIaYJdULzZX4ibLmcuzKfkFaAMH1Ifs-FKZJnlgp9pwUyG7J6UitRHWzFXf6Va5yyk5Azj5FX6Y4z_9K16G69pRNoyMsuqCW5lXq3xx57gNBiWdb-fo/s1714/4DSC07986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6kqwHCc-carOegRma2erAL2pnvsJPNaWirfcB5QXr0wf3Fr-OnsGTWXq8lZf2rOR2SHwOZQagSIaYJdULzZX4ibLmcuzKfkFaAMH1Ifs-FKZJnlgp9pwUyG7J6UitRHWzFXf6Va5yyk5Azj5FX6Y4z_9K16G69pRNoyMsuqCW5lXq3xx57gNBiWdb-fo/w640-h360/4DSC07986.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I loved looking inwards from the walls, at the narrow stair ways and alleys running throughout the old town. The tiles on the rooves, the chimneys, ruins of old buildings, cafes, gardens and churches. They all made up the fascinating landscape of the city. Although the it was expensive, we were very glad we’d opted to pay the price and do the wall walk. It was brilliant.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHYdiQGtvCumUG5l7hMTNr-xGOaSEEVYBt_5_CK9KZq5Xec6o6WvYWJinLAmO1KnUKFPWBmtlgqKjdE8eJ34ofrCD3b_fpZjfY8LortBAsw-HIT0PNGLS_HEmax4XCrL50OMrfJ-938QsxAiJQcrFE5YWt6mh-RDGBJtJQ2yTd820uZ6_9kK2a5SxO3NR/s1714/5DSC07967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHYdiQGtvCumUG5l7hMTNr-xGOaSEEVYBt_5_CK9KZq5Xec6o6WvYWJinLAmO1KnUKFPWBmtlgqKjdE8eJ34ofrCD3b_fpZjfY8LortBAsw-HIT0PNGLS_HEmax4XCrL50OMrfJ-938QsxAiJQcrFE5YWt6mh-RDGBJtJQ2yTd820uZ6_9kK2a5SxO3NR/w640-h360/5DSC07967.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-GW7iKDYIOu_F1i_scCiHYOVHhyRGqvDaz_l29H-khHXd-khc8n0fCGZ5LXHmH8bohLQA19KSPgoOPOdNg-M0KhfTngPUauwfHQMfQRCaL9cDHxU6Jr0kNCV5KdM9iJTSdi6DxIyPcdn90dSnKvcsC6js7IDseV9QK4lz-r0zKjLcwb29S8NDzrmqcuP/s1714/6DSC07979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-GW7iKDYIOu_F1i_scCiHYOVHhyRGqvDaz_l29H-khHXd-khc8n0fCGZ5LXHmH8bohLQA19KSPgoOPOdNg-M0KhfTngPUauwfHQMfQRCaL9cDHxU6Jr0kNCV5KdM9iJTSdi6DxIyPcdn90dSnKvcsC6js7IDseV9QK4lz-r0zKjLcwb29S8NDzrmqcuP/w640-h360/6DSC07979.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoL_BgNw7Q6bWBhTfznAVgLUQoh49719355LLQiXJdVq3Kfp4QBoC-HVC-dizQRtvEbOT-uP17go38NT98bNwFvHhKKQa6jtWa-lFMn0pBwaQcdYxitPBl3ZycRfQ7tcytBMhY5v4Qr1cMUtshrhd1HeWdXxXdbKt6ilzrIy4KghJRSaXA2tp-7k_vnlUO/s1714/7DSC07982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoL_BgNw7Q6bWBhTfznAVgLUQoh49719355LLQiXJdVq3Kfp4QBoC-HVC-dizQRtvEbOT-uP17go38NT98bNwFvHhKKQa6jtWa-lFMn0pBwaQcdYxitPBl3ZycRfQ7tcytBMhY5v4Qr1cMUtshrhd1HeWdXxXdbKt6ilzrIy4KghJRSaXA2tp-7k_vnlUO/w640-h360/7DSC07982.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRceHp9bI03IFBPa4bD0N4wjgiZX3p5rDP_EAA6oBKhOZjGX2wVmE-A8BndQuubWjuq9Oze1g9M2tr1bG731vG2JwtPKpPeC8rP2mmXZSeFqvkZafhuUszKAyGbBE3eoFeyGkw97mXQK2nSdqLs_K9x1fItlsgEPMWzLUJoPZMlRp_4bSnJ_7b8IftnoFE/s1714/8DSC07992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRceHp9bI03IFBPa4bD0N4wjgiZX3p5rDP_EAA6oBKhOZjGX2wVmE-A8BndQuubWjuq9Oze1g9M2tr1bG731vG2JwtPKpPeC8rP2mmXZSeFqvkZafhuUszKAyGbBE3eoFeyGkw97mXQK2nSdqLs_K9x1fItlsgEPMWzLUJoPZMlRp_4bSnJ_7b8IftnoFE/w640-h360/8DSC07992.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />We came to the last tower - here's Peter, I made him stand while I took the picture of the backdrop.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8MgSTuY_ovXEim1uYtsWM_PfyKarrhLuhVm-2lFych_HvnyWhc-vOkO3sTmz1cUjPfjnawYpvSvuqBEwhedKZZXzvNVFBkqV9M3KH5QErJ9yp7X7InaWFuxe897x5Vl7pWtEEfAd64xjo8jlPmlyWT9hicV8nYfr2Cdm2A0jr4wC-_Tt-R_ondW3rx8C/s1714/9DSC08001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8MgSTuY_ovXEim1uYtsWM_PfyKarrhLuhVm-2lFych_HvnyWhc-vOkO3sTmz1cUjPfjnawYpvSvuqBEwhedKZZXzvNVFBkqV9M3KH5QErJ9yp7X7InaWFuxe897x5Vl7pWtEEfAd64xjo8jlPmlyWT9hicV8nYfr2Cdm2A0jr4wC-_Tt-R_ondW3rx8C/w640-h360/9DSC08001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />And it turned out it was the one from the Game of Thrones scene where Daenerys can't get into the tower where her baby dragons have been locked away (second series I think). I remember her walking around it, and there wasn't an entrance.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_li-6AtzkJih0xQcZ38VNulBeFYisalcAT4zX7Q1AOHFuODG2FQay6Oe4TEmcMMBUKFsux4aPYRBO2ROpwT-rHAZWxgF2DjApMKnQeKdWOiSJ5gRsj-o0jv58y-E41tugMSC6nDbi9kqdcDhGX3u4Z4e6_dX7mY6w8RDl8Vht8TEOJLWgkUQtiJZZoQWr/s1714/aDSC08015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1714" data-original-width="963" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_li-6AtzkJih0xQcZ38VNulBeFYisalcAT4zX7Q1AOHFuODG2FQay6Oe4TEmcMMBUKFsux4aPYRBO2ROpwT-rHAZWxgF2DjApMKnQeKdWOiSJ5gRsj-o0jv58y-E41tugMSC6nDbi9kqdcDhGX3u4Z4e6_dX7mY6w8RDl8Vht8TEOJLWgkUQtiJZZoQWr/w360-h640/aDSC08015.JPG" width="360" /></a></div><br />In reality, of course there is an entrance, and quite a lot stairs to the top to give excellent views.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBbo_AVGGsb5dClGdYNAsy94_dJpzpHjOwYRS04FHffqwL4ifhbg0tZ3xpGdIdX0y09ZEucyyBdZAeUsfhKaNnA-saLEvrWlBLOpPTd1Gv2ExCLX2ZpZeZyO7a6zv4Lu_BapQwf6g7WQZfh8XwBxalWVuKs4KLJ3N2X0C1pe1bKc1QibHxYeyqJAjNnto/s1714/bDSC08007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBbo_AVGGsb5dClGdYNAsy94_dJpzpHjOwYRS04FHffqwL4ifhbg0tZ3xpGdIdX0y09ZEucyyBdZAeUsfhKaNnA-saLEvrWlBLOpPTd1Gv2ExCLX2ZpZeZyO7a6zv4Lu_BapQwf6g7WQZfh8XwBxalWVuKs4KLJ3N2X0C1pe1bKc1QibHxYeyqJAjNnto/w640-h360/bDSC08007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />And finally, we'd done the complete circuit. So we descended back into the old town and then wandered up and down the streets and stairways to find a couple of locations where GoT scenes had been filmed, one of the most famous of which was the Jesuit Staircase, where Cersey had to make her Walk of Shame.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpVvMHgke_3NLkF5S71zkB6ckpW8yRyXUnQpWaRtGP5mwzOFcFdrGdASbDZrfk4YT9rBHokL31blKJ8UIqSJTliTTeLAE4frSDBMrBOoPAq5htVvko5j5Kc1NgqP8TKCKJ8UoL4AGqtFMEewk5fi_gPSZUNFZVixHtHODWgFJR7oA9VUfP4OBrwtP1SAa/s1714/cDSC08025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpVvMHgke_3NLkF5S71zkB6ckpW8yRyXUnQpWaRtGP5mwzOFcFdrGdASbDZrfk4YT9rBHokL31blKJ8UIqSJTliTTeLAE4frSDBMrBOoPAq5htVvko5j5Kc1NgqP8TKCKJ8UoL4AGqtFMEewk5fi_gPSZUNFZVixHtHODWgFJR7oA9VUfP4OBrwtP1SAa/w640-h360/cDSC08025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />As we wandered we came across an art type museum covered by the Dubrovnik pass, so we decided to pop in and have a look.<p></p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>But our tickets weren’t right? We were told we couldn't go in? Apparently there are two types of tickets: the Dubrovnik pass, at €35 which allows access to the city walls, visit Fort Lovrijenac and all the museums etc, and the city wall tickets, at €35 only allow you to walk around the walls and visit the fort. But that wasn’t explained when I bought the tickets, and the guy in the ticket office never asked if I wanted one or the other. So if you are reading this and plan to get tickets yourselves – check first! I suspect that you can only buy the Dubrovnik pass online.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Anyway, feeling a little miffed, we consoled ourselves with an ice cream as we made our way towards the town gate. And what an ice cream! We certainly weren’t short changed there. Two scoops equalled a mountain, and it took us a while to eat it all. It was really nice too.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Out of the gate, we made our way over to Fort Lovrijenac. Oh my! More steps, up and up and up. But once we reached the top and got inside the fort, we found ourselves looking at more GoT film locations, and even better, more views. The top of the tower at the fort must be nearly as high as the highest point of Dubrovnik old town walls. Looking over, we could see the rooves of everything inside. Fantastic.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6jNTNgsF3uCxA3JOn9sxv_MlH_rX4IJ8cOevt8geQ-c4G6utiJpxFcOhfAyEt7QBAxkfmvzWQH9CvMKXdj3vTIvpPDqp7S-mRdfkZK8X1P6Lz97Gf73031WKcTta0tlbbpA2lTTIFYa1K3m_UIk2wQPoRHwWH3hhwOoXS8MRpUeWX2PJrLuiBl4l5IEK/s1714/dDSC08048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6jNTNgsF3uCxA3JOn9sxv_MlH_rX4IJ8cOevt8geQ-c4G6utiJpxFcOhfAyEt7QBAxkfmvzWQH9CvMKXdj3vTIvpPDqp7S-mRdfkZK8X1P6Lz97Gf73031WKcTta0tlbbpA2lTTIFYa1K3m_UIk2wQPoRHwWH3hhwOoXS8MRpUeWX2PJrLuiBl4l5IEK/w640-h360/dDSC08048.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Then it was down, down, down all the way to the gorgeous little bay used in so many GoT scenes and then on to the shuttle bus back to the ship.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXICHYG3NZpnxGH4-aoKZXJIUG4O4Ps2RP92dhZm2DKlELtU4smN84gzDbsfY6EztLAUfoPC-uQTApOSfDqfZ_Bq-oG5r8aCJbaZfwZhcSTBuO0U_rDk5wpyWWG4Q8ti-E76uiPL4_8byzxM4ru7PzcxmK5X0QQOyYU7GRo5KALjEixygmxPzHOnz7r2Q/s1714/eDSC07937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1714" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXICHYG3NZpnxGH4-aoKZXJIUG4O4Ps2RP92dhZm2DKlELtU4smN84gzDbsfY6EztLAUfoPC-uQTApOSfDqfZ_Bq-oG5r8aCJbaZfwZhcSTBuO0U_rDk5wpyWWG4Q8ti-E76uiPL4_8byzxM4ru7PzcxmK5X0QQOyYU7GRo5KALjEixygmxPzHOnz7r2Q/s320/eDSC07937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />A brilliant day, and somewhere we would be very happy to visit again, which is really good, cos we are coming back in October. <p></p><p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></p><p>Tomorrow we are in Split. I wonder how that will compare.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-29927671007722891182023-04-17T23:32:00.000+01:002024-02-24T23:34:14.152+00:00Monday 17th April, - Another Sea Day<p> Another day at sea, another two art classes in the Coast to Coast restaurant, and all is smooth and well. A few notes for the day:-</p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Peter decided to help me out with my blogging problems and quietly sorted me out with a Wordpress one, tied in with his website at the moment. No doubt he will tidy that up at some point too. I didn’t want him to have to sort out the issue (which was the blogspot doesn’t work on Saga Wifi), but he did anyway. He may regret being such a nice, helpful husband after a few weeks of me pestering him to show me how to do this, or fix that, or change the layout of this. But I’m grateful and am now happily posting my daily cruising diary.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Apparently a bee-eater landed on board. I didn’t get to see it though.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>I heard the first person ever today tell me that they weren’t happy with the cruise. I was really quite surprised, as everyone I’ve spoken to only say’s good things. It seems that this particular lady usually travels with a company called Regent, who are 6 star, and is extortionately expensive I understand. She was happy with Peter’s classes though. Phew!</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Another thing to mention is the water on the balcony. We seem to have a problem when it rains, as there doesn’t seem to be anywhere for the water to drain to. The steward has dried it out a couple of times now, bless him. Another reason this cabin has been given to us and not paying passengers at a guess. We are not complaining though, it is still so nice to be on the ship. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>It is formal night again, the second of the four. I made do with a dressy pair of trousers and top, Peter wore his blue suit again, and felt under dressed again. We were seated with an accountant and his wife at dinner, and it turned out we had a great deal in common, (who would of guessed that?)</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>We retired to the cabin after that, tomorrow is a busy day. We visit Dubrovnik, one of the ports we have been really looking forward to, I hope it doesn’t let us down.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-49955858956013769482023-04-16T22:35:00.015+01:002024-02-24T23:28:41.085+00:00Sunday 16th April – SyracuseWe like Syracuse. We came here last year and loved it. The ship docked at Porto Grande, within 5 minutes walking of Ortygia, the historical centre of Syracuse. Basically you come out of the port, turn right, go over a couple of bridges and you are there. We spent a day wandering around it during our last visit. Today we have other plans.
So today we came out of the port and turned left, with two destinations in mind. The first was the Basilica Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime, a “distinctive church with many chapels”. The reason we wanted to see it was because of that shape, which could be seen from the ship. We had to go look.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8uPKoHzqAgdtLH_awTzuZbKtVXGDGpita1yVGfur7Le22WRSoyHSw2oIekLJBnfzy_ltihCSgulQrKemM4RvOaBNRVyABih_2vI3KWhz_grGvOAIQEiAmepQfncOzg70oWbO-sjvB3nH0MbcO2irZPkjYZr5SHE0JdBYPiIb6QAaPlV7k5PZOxtpKb0Jz/s4896/DSC07852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8uPKoHzqAgdtLH_awTzuZbKtVXGDGpita1yVGfur7Le22WRSoyHSw2oIekLJBnfzy_ltihCSgulQrKemM4RvOaBNRVyABih_2vI3KWhz_grGvOAIQEiAmepQfncOzg70oWbO-sjvB3nH0MbcO2irZPkjYZr5SHE0JdBYPiIb6QAaPlV7k5PZOxtpKb0Jz/w640-h360/DSC07852.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />It did look grand from the outside, but in all honesty, we weren't that impressed with the interior. It sort of reminded me of a conference centre. Yes, the building was dramatic, but even that reminded me of communist era concrete. But we've seen it now so ...... tick.<div><p>From there we made our way to the The Neapolis, an Archaeological Park just 20 minutes walk from the port. I'd researched it from home, and thought it was just our cup of tea. And it was perfect!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EyTiYKE9s3t4xrMB1ShQ0DIsnVe_j_2XstZnuDCWtRwuREofoYowimlR7gvr717QZnW2bO2h4yfPeS6xylnb7ThLosAjpcp30_FlwJLTK1YHJsonI5WwR6jYjz2u4_Ta5UbCyLF052SvlTPOyIkDleS3WKUviYCUemQBGCdG6qo3xvIEy1gVikoqAHyv/s4896/DSC07859.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EyTiYKE9s3t4xrMB1ShQ0DIsnVe_j_2XstZnuDCWtRwuREofoYowimlR7gvr717QZnW2bO2h4yfPeS6xylnb7ThLosAjpcp30_FlwJLTK1YHJsonI5WwR6jYjz2u4_Ta5UbCyLF052SvlTPOyIkDleS3WKUviYCUemQBGCdG6qo3xvIEy1gVikoqAHyv/w640-h360/DSC07859.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stone Quarries, or Latomie</td></tr></tbody></table>OK, so I knew about the caves, and the Ear of Dionysius and the amphitheatres, but no way was I prepared for the Stone Quarries. The area was stunning! Perhaps we were seeing it at it's best, it being spring and all, but the flowers and the smells were wonderful.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcvDKz-b7gg1paWpMBoQ_p8JPehQ0jUmE_il_D17j5q5weqVMKQ-CEF0r6ECPHSzvByp_aOklNz70blrF7bxzUFCRU6IFe8NS1ZxU6TP0U-q_y2h4lS_dI7nWHkasc7HY26i0XrUPmfFpSnwYXa8VgmOw1uDdABxkQXVKwWHZ5MSam63nNWIv1gzblq44/s4896/DSC07865.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcvDKz-b7gg1paWpMBoQ_p8JPehQ0jUmE_il_D17j5q5weqVMKQ-CEF0r6ECPHSzvByp_aOklNz70blrF7bxzUFCRU6IFe8NS1ZxU6TP0U-q_y2h4lS_dI7nWHkasc7HY26i0XrUPmfFpSnwYXa8VgmOw1uDdABxkQXVKwWHZ5MSam63nNWIv1gzblq44/w640-h360/DSC07865.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvM9TmZupb4_BqMFkgmLQ09143-2peF-iLSDV82ELYax6rcPAS4AG2qmUolUKuZZcdMSiOCQtF7PMzyfJa-8UoVW6TIwz4j_ElGIo6cpBfETo-1mqi-PKUqgzhxJ65BBj_Is7eOPhY6ZWEZbDiEhJ_yXM3ZGn2pJOsGgqDTuk0s-BoSkXb3RLYUatTsuP/s4896/DSC07871.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvM9TmZupb4_BqMFkgmLQ09143-2peF-iLSDV82ELYax6rcPAS4AG2qmUolUKuZZcdMSiOCQtF7PMzyfJa-8UoVW6TIwz4j_ElGIo6cpBfETo-1mqi-PKUqgzhxJ65BBj_Is7eOPhY6ZWEZbDiEhJ_yXM3ZGn2pJOsGgqDTuk0s-BoSkXb3RLYUatTsuP/w640-h360/DSC07871.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I can't recommend this place highly enough. There's quite a lot to see, and if we'd read the guide bookwe'd bought (unusual for us), before walking around, then we would have understood and seen a lot more I suspect. But all that aside, we had a brilliant morning there, and will visit again I think. For info, all of these quarries and caves were carved out by hand, and some date back to the seventh century BC.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8lfNwpOozV-iXJYcsJj3WlDQZR5BRGIldpXhG-pAufdaq3TaXB8iHs3Mwg9bE_rHNXfyw0DWs34uhfRLk7TlwNalw-VVsFOGJ24b5t-6WlipgeCOFpPzGy1RwJoGMGj9I4hPohbHpSkcf8sHv6jwIBqCz2UlYuxzPnE94n3jaO11vKuF_ycjBS3Og4IGe/s4896/DSC07879.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8lfNwpOozV-iXJYcsJj3WlDQZR5BRGIldpXhG-pAufdaq3TaXB8iHs3Mwg9bE_rHNXfyw0DWs34uhfRLk7TlwNalw-VVsFOGJ24b5t-6WlipgeCOFpPzGy1RwJoGMGj9I4hPohbHpSkcf8sHv6jwIBqCz2UlYuxzPnE94n3jaO11vKuF_ycjBS3Og4IGe/w640-h360/DSC07879.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the Rope Maker's Grotto</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVEREXc8a8DP6RRsWkacvWUAyGRKsiHZWMN4ZaTOLNEoxY6ezZMaIlywmJHf8X-iHfLAXhP_I6N_2v1Z-qxruvsd_lI2ORxRPKFX2cjneDcH-ve2_rAG92bTwXe4uE8zXSSrzFiMJ4MyyrLAxtEZC6gLM-7EsVRpB18X6frhKEfeiprTZTCiRlyMwOQQY/s4896/DSC07884.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVEREXc8a8DP6RRsWkacvWUAyGRKsiHZWMN4ZaTOLNEoxY6ezZMaIlywmJHf8X-iHfLAXhP_I6N_2v1Z-qxruvsd_lI2ORxRPKFX2cjneDcH-ve2_rAG92bTwXe4uE8zXSSrzFiMJ4MyyrLAxtEZC6gLM-7EsVRpB18X6frhKEfeiprTZTCiRlyMwOQQY/w640-h360/DSC07884.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rope Maker's Grotto, so called because, from the 17th century, rope maker's took advantage of the spring inside to soak their hemp.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSX0tcTiX3P7QCkzcBlkNwwZoWBBogdpH4L0OUCM6_6qH9faKYAAtL_L1LCex5Y8f2-L9KwxNGFfiOiJcvDe7SURjq19I8mZK9o8fJnNlVMPXrxRtt2mPIgdnhH4-4ek9a99SGty9hcBVsSpxByBwusNzuPHnVufnaQmHlUdO9XzhWzR2T1_mW5Mg01eBG/s4896/DSC07894.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4896" data-original-width="2752" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSX0tcTiX3P7QCkzcBlkNwwZoWBBogdpH4L0OUCM6_6qH9faKYAAtL_L1LCex5Y8f2-L9KwxNGFfiOiJcvDe7SURjq19I8mZK9o8fJnNlVMPXrxRtt2mPIgdnhH4-4ek9a99SGty9hcBVsSpxByBwusNzuPHnVufnaQmHlUdO9XzhWzR2T1_mW5Mg01eBG/w360-h640/DSC07894.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most famous of the quarried caves is The Ear of Dionysius. The accoustics are incredible.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvI9ZEEp9sDURQ7vkbTtV-shBLCNkXOo8NIc5rVQluuwGZeK40zQBybZi9X9w-t2Cx6QroX9RQFSHl_j5ZNoR1sJqT23mHxm50923iHmuAtq_MdITQxkkZnqWjqUGpFUvX9yLuipO3D3f_TOJ_6En6WAtErIFga0Te0BwjO5pY7UK5kepY_AKMK8_vhPZW/s4896/DSC07898.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvI9ZEEp9sDURQ7vkbTtV-shBLCNkXOo8NIc5rVQluuwGZeK40zQBybZi9X9w-t2Cx6QroX9RQFSHl_j5ZNoR1sJqT23mHxm50923iHmuAtq_MdITQxkkZnqWjqUGpFUvX9yLuipO3D3f_TOJ_6En6WAtErIFga0Te0BwjO5pY7UK5kepY_AKMK8_vhPZW/w640-h360/DSC07898.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stone Quarries from above</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5aRY42g7_InrA9NjTqomNhDhqjf9V2Xr2GxK4R2WfbriQU35nbC7bhA3I9nN1AmyEKaBzT9BF-hlu5j_BpMdPA8rTEcixuRaagv7p6XaYOvyABsBk64b4WnUdOo7F7IzkthykevlJynXIVh37zABio1OF6NuSeOdIZgAWNbT5vK_fssylwDPZXgOh1Bg/s4896/DSC07896.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5aRY42g7_InrA9NjTqomNhDhqjf9V2Xr2GxK4R2WfbriQU35nbC7bhA3I9nN1AmyEKaBzT9BF-hlu5j_BpMdPA8rTEcixuRaagv7p6XaYOvyABsBk64b4WnUdOo7F7IzkthykevlJynXIVh37zABio1OF6NuSeOdIZgAWNbT5vK_fssylwDPZXgOh1Bg/w640-h360/DSC07896.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Greek Ampitheatre, which I think is the better of the two. Sadly being used for some play or production, which meant much of the original stone was covered. I'm hoping it's clear if we visit again.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmu2uR9YrQCUV1Gmb7-9Aw1Grnu4jroixZ7AK2F9Dkj1j90wObvOMfKQgsXO3h-hwMPidXrzqx5w9H5riTLifPpht1farf_BEiLdKBib2mtosEBKe8kYF9Nnqk57GAvBeTyfJh-WphJFbRHtBrUtQ3-yLcuL9O0ICnkXW-wThXyldfEkf7Cygb5ogxOvmr/s4896/DSC07918.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmu2uR9YrQCUV1Gmb7-9Aw1Grnu4jroixZ7AK2F9Dkj1j90wObvOMfKQgsXO3h-hwMPidXrzqx5w9H5riTLifPpht1farf_BEiLdKBib2mtosEBKe8kYF9Nnqk57GAvBeTyfJh-WphJFbRHtBrUtQ3-yLcuL9O0ICnkXW-wThXyldfEkf7Cygb5ogxOvmr/w640-h360/DSC07918.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Roman Amphitheatre. Gladiators fighting? Stories being told in plays? Chariot Racing? Who knows?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4prEVatIJWkTQOmcomwf_5HYeNg6y3Rd8ETkDIOKQnO_hqWN6f7kuE7tbx0eWr94LBObV8rHilLeXQxQBT826jTlSO1IBcOltnk-_L6X2YygvR1rUoRDs4hV0Pou0wyKZ5dIlazylIyZX803MmxVg7C8wKkWrz3bNOrCCxP9H9Y1uPVS4MKdL7J-3yLMX/s4896/DSC07909.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4prEVatIJWkTQOmcomwf_5HYeNg6y3Rd8ETkDIOKQnO_hqWN6f7kuE7tbx0eWr94LBObV8rHilLeXQxQBT826jTlSO1IBcOltnk-_L6X2YygvR1rUoRDs4hV0Pou0wyKZ5dIlazylIyZX803MmxVg7C8wKkWrz3bNOrCCxP9H9Y1uPVS4MKdL7J-3yLMX/w640-h360/DSC07909.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't know what this flower is, but there were quite a few about, and I thought they were stunning.</td></tr></tbody></table>After our walk around, we stopped for a late lunch in the park before deciding where to go next. We really liked Ortygia during our last visit, so walked back for another wander around. The fountain of Diana is beautiful, and the little narrow back streets are enchanting.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmh77msNPBjWooD-EsNhQTpfhJ0PSV3oGbo3E9_FrZC-HJlmQdFBM4aUhMFYgzMsJT1U_PJEAFlTi1ihcC_8V0CKVsQtlFHuE4RXKZF146DfQg8N24op7PC1fej3kTCrC5Q8cUMoC7wcSNF7TWxvzhPBpCaESvjbi7pG291-AHezz8G8F8LyCnJjNKgJ7/s4896/DSC07922.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmh77msNPBjWooD-EsNhQTpfhJ0PSV3oGbo3E9_FrZC-HJlmQdFBM4aUhMFYgzMsJT1U_PJEAFlTi1ihcC_8V0CKVsQtlFHuE4RXKZF146DfQg8N24op7PC1fej3kTCrC5Q8cUMoC7wcSNF7TWxvzhPBpCaESvjbi7pG291-AHezz8G8F8LyCnJjNKgJ7/w640-h360/DSC07922.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fountain of Diana</td></tr></tbody></table>For the less able, Tuk-tuks flitted around, the only vehicles small enough to fit down the narrow channels.<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4z6k33n01lyMflyJuP5FmOmrxKRGhZenj2ocYdruWCrU0wMLif3b3-QyMX87kf9_4xv0vmOBGGDH-fPes8MMoejO7TXrIe9q6Ojj6Sz60wq9Aub2JQZznKi7XwswXVjrhQc8VRQFKEVlzQXrnbDKLuY-fPBeTAxxDlyeSIBh-xbYaIiCANI5GiR3oYfP/s4896/DSC07923.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4z6k33n01lyMflyJuP5FmOmrxKRGhZenj2ocYdruWCrU0wMLif3b3-QyMX87kf9_4xv0vmOBGGDH-fPes8MMoejO7TXrIe9q6Ojj6Sz60wq9Aub2JQZznKi7XwswXVjrhQc8VRQFKEVlzQXrnbDKLuY-fPBeTAxxDlyeSIBh-xbYaIiCANI5GiR3oYfP/w640-h360/DSC07923.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charming narrow streets throughout Ortygia</td></tr></tbody></table>Finally it was time to get back to the ship. We got back with plenty of time to spare so I took advantage of the fact it was a port day. Normally, a week into the cruise, the 6 washing machines in the two on board launderettes are in full demand. It's difficult to find one empty and get your washing done. But on port days, passengers are busy elsewhere. I walked in with my load of washing and Yesssss, an empty machine. Another job done. <p></p><p>We ended the day by watching another show in The Playhouse - Peter had heard good things about Graffiti Classics - a string quartet, so we went to watch their act. Sooooo funny. The Base player is a bit of a manic, loose cannon. I wouldn't want to be the guy who walked in late (and there was one). A brilliant night. </p><p><!--wp:paragraph-->
<!--/wp:paragraph-->
<!--wp:paragraph-->
<!--/wp:paragraph-->
<!--wp:paragraph-->
<!--/wp:paragraph--></p><p>So that was Syracuse, which we will be very happy to visit again in October, but tomorrow is another sea day. Good, my legs need a rest. </p>
</div></div>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-63677524740162561202023-04-15T23:35:00.002+01:002024-02-24T00:02:07.362+00:00Saturday 15th April - Shearwaters, Black Caps and Jools<p>So today is another sea day, which went as per every other sea day except:</p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>At about 12.45, we went upstairs to The Grill on deck 12 for lunch only to find a very long queue, and the staff were encouraging us to go to the main dining room on deck 6. We'd shared the lift with the chaplain, Paul, and his wife Jackie, (who are really nice company), and we unanimously agreed we'd give it a go as Peter and I were a bit anxious that we needed to be ready for the class at 2.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Now, one of the reasons we like The Grill is that we can get our food quite quickly. Being waited on sort of slows the process, and unfortunately, the dining room proved to be a lot slower than waiting in the queue for The Grill. We managed to get our lunch in time, but we won't be doing that again. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In the afternoon, whilst Peter was teaching, I decided to investigate some birds I'd seen off the back deck, and a rumour that some smaller birds had landed on the top deck. Armed with binoculars and a camera I wandered around the decks a couple of times, looking out to sea. There is an odd sensation sometimes, where it seems like the ship is still and the sea is rushing past. Curious. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>It didn't take long to find the hitch hiking birds, because a man with a very large camera lens was taking photos. It's a small world. It turned out we both knew the same wildlife reserve and person that had created it.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Anyway, the guy was really knowledgeable, and saved me the problem of identifying them, there were four Black Caps. He was also able to tell me that the shearwaters I'd been watching off the rear deck were Mediterranean Shearwaters. Also known as Yelkouan or Levantine Shearwaters. Herewith pictures of the Black Caps - the female is first. She didn't want to pose and stayed hiding under a sun lounger. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuFPKTT9A6Ip-3dWW9IKfmvqaGX4U8YpcHmrmA50dOM7ZINgXZkq7hAhrybJ5O3I_hPZBwrc7CqaCHot9mqMqmn-VZ58HSTnPB3Qu6RARGcOJhHVWrGKbx7RdEzrYghnZSRUGK2V384JJDvK7nFYr-Yw95rCLSLDvzhnvkND3Q9i2tH_SPDth9REfNF1A/s2155/DSC07831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="2155" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuFPKTT9A6Ip-3dWW9IKfmvqaGX4U8YpcHmrmA50dOM7ZINgXZkq7hAhrybJ5O3I_hPZBwrc7CqaCHot9mqMqmn-VZ58HSTnPB3Qu6RARGcOJhHVWrGKbx7RdEzrYghnZSRUGK2V384JJDvK7nFYr-Yw95rCLSLDvzhnvkND3Q9i2tH_SPDth9REfNF1A/w640-h326/DSC07831.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Black Cap</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmymy1k_R9z0k2Z4B4No3eDAJmvjuNwsQf0YGsRLJghp_rr56bXcsORUF3Nj67eIR2pOmqu8yF96_X9sOPZ8ywQn34EVoYJyUUdiATFKlwqmpQTtYF41edN86MBNk4f2bUix6Jo3QVWbxo84bCtmwa5UHlfS_Kh6fPfvaMRJwL4N-45EYJkro7yLM98o0o/s4896/DSC07846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmymy1k_R9z0k2Z4B4No3eDAJmvjuNwsQf0YGsRLJghp_rr56bXcsORUF3Nj67eIR2pOmqu8yF96_X9sOPZ8ywQn34EVoYJyUUdiATFKlwqmpQTtYF41edN86MBNk4f2bUix6Jo3QVWbxo84bCtmwa5UHlfS_Kh6fPfvaMRJwL4N-45EYJkro7yLM98o0o/w640-h360/DSC07846.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Black Cap</td></tr></tbody></table><!-- wp:paragraph -->
</p><p>And the final thing of note was tonight's show. We got to see Jools Holland live. How cool is that! I'll admit I didn't know that he used to be a member of the band Squeeze (Cool for Cats and Up the Junction), but I remember him from Johnathon Ross and his own chat show. I always liked his style. </p><p>I couldn't tell you what makes him and the people he works with sound better than the rest of the musicians on the ship, only that he does. The sound was just quality, and we thoroughly enjoyed the extended hour of his show. Brilliant!</p><p>And tomorrow we are in Syracuse. We've been before and loved it. We plan to visit a different area from last time, so let's see what tomorrow brings. </p><p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph --><br /><br /></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-46820565724677266222023-04-14T23:33:00.001+01:002024-02-24T00:01:39.770+00:00Friday 14th April - Wine has a lot to answer for<p>It's another sea day. Peter ran his classes as usual (one at 9.30, one at 2pm). Numbers between the two have remained about the same - about 45 per day and all is well.</p><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>So nothing to report really, but I wanted to make a note about the wine and it's effects. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The ship is all inclusive - and that includes most of the wines, beers and spirits. There are certain brand names that you may have to pay for, but not much. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Wine is served with lunch and dinner. The wine waiter is constantly circulating, topping up glasses. I don't really like the stuff, and Peter only drinks it with his evening meal (wouldn't do to be pickled while teaching the afternoon class), but quite a few of the passengers imbibe - and then follow with afternoon cocktails, etc. etc. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>So I will assume that it was the wine, and the other forms of alcohol that were consumed throughout the day that accounted for her behaviour. I'm talking about the woman, one of two, that we were seated with for the evening meal. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Essentially she kept hitting on Peter, despite my sitting next to him. I could have taken offence, but it seemed to me that she was a bit drunk, and I know my husband. Firstly, Peter, being Peter, isn't really aware when women are flirting with him and wouldn't respond, and secondly, we have a very, very sound relationship. He was a little uncomfortable with her trying to touch his arm, or his hair, but none the worse for experience and I didn't need to rescue him. I did tease him afterwards though.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>We saw the woman in one of the lounges the next day and I wondered if she was embarrassed? </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The other thing to mention is that Jools Holland is on board. He's giving a performance in the show lounge tonight, but because so many people will want to see him, passengers (and us), have been split into red and green sections. People with green tickets are watching him tonight. We have red tickets, and will watch him tomorrow night. Class eh!</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-55086831827446700742023-04-13T17:35:00.000+01:002024-02-23T23:45:44.351+00:00Thursday 13th April. Gibraltar and a walk up the rock<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">We’d decided weeks ago, when we were
looking at the itinerary for this cruise that we would walk up the rock. It’s relatively easy, we have Maps.me, and
all we had to do was find our way out of the town onto the pedestrian
walkways. So, after a bigger breakfast
than usual, packed with water and a bit
of fruit from the cabin, we set off.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">It’s a good 20 min walk from the ship into
the town centre, and I should point out that as a little bit of the UK, it’s
very easy to find necessities there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite being absolutely certain that I was organised, I’d not brought
some prescription medication with me, but the pharmacies there were very
helpful and sorted me out no problem.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">Using Maps.Me, we then started walking
towards the Moorish Castle, except, for the first time ever, Maps.me did not
help, and we ended up climbing a whole load of steps only to have to come down
them again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually we came to the
well signposted way up the hill towards the Gibraltar Nature Reserve and
subsequently the Moorish Castle.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have to tell you, that is a LOT of steps,
we just kept going up and up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my head,
it was good, because steps are the easiest way to get uphill, but my body
vehemently disagreed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several short rest
stops were required. Finally, we got to the top and enjoyed the view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we recovered our breath a German family
arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt a little better when I
realised that despite their much younger years, they were as out of breath as
we were.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">So now onwards and upwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were at the entrance of the Nature Reserve
and the Moorish Castle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Entrance to the
Reserve is £18 per adult, card payment only, and includes your entrance fee to
the various attractions on the Rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
paid our fee and went to go in, but the German family behind us were having
problems, they had only bought cash, and asked if we could take the cash off
them and pay using our card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having just
walked up the steps ahead of them, I appreciated how it would feel if they
would have to go back down again after all that effort, so I agreed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was my good deed for the day. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdD8kqvPPtzuFBzqgvXqGSRII7gEdgIaSYqO47wSgyGSTBz4M77r1RHiDIvlZuD8Bw80qjO0x2qgGls3mwbNYf3zqdZQ4DQGbk55MPjjzrPP1-F0xHqfXn2i7fJRR3MHKl9Y0YvP5wV0KZcCyt1lDmi4Ej9gl9kybk3N6qU9P3LVXa8j9mFYJxujcXg/s1469/DSC07765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdD8kqvPPtzuFBzqgvXqGSRII7gEdgIaSYqO47wSgyGSTBz4M77r1RHiDIvlZuD8Bw80qjO0x2qgGls3mwbNYf3zqdZQ4DQGbk55MPjjzrPP1-F0xHqfXn2i7fJRR3MHKl9Y0YvP5wV0KZcCyt1lDmi4Ej9gl9kybk3N6qU9P3LVXa8j9mFYJxujcXg/w640-h360/DSC07765.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Moorish Castle and beyond.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Anyway, are now at the Moorish Castle, one
of the sites on The Rock that we’ve not been to before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the fact it would mean up and down a
load more steps, we went in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
very nice gardens, terrapins in the pond and a tower with a fair number of
internal floor levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We enjoyed a
brief look around inside and the fantastic views from the top.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuSk8jzKb4Jxvvd4ayc0F2S7vrP6-NNZwvP1wJkzb61-By13dtbaflgzM68JYpfy2FczmJ4KHkKXhtGhsXy3uC6A0P3ylHxOdrrGkhu1aWsTMHbE3rs_F8mZiHnrQY2RPoyPgGF8JrctbofRuNPQHraoLbP3QssvsOWy5U_UGLm616VAxG43c8VPTzQ/s1469/DSC07769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuSk8jzKb4Jxvvd4ayc0F2S7vrP6-NNZwvP1wJkzb61-By13dtbaflgzM68JYpfy2FczmJ4KHkKXhtGhsXy3uC6A0P3ylHxOdrrGkhu1aWsTMHbE3rs_F8mZiHnrQY2RPoyPgGF8JrctbofRuNPQHraoLbP3QssvsOWy5U_UGLm616VAxG43c8VPTzQ/w640-h360/DSC07769.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking over the Straits of Gibraltar at Morocco, on the African continen</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">Out of the castle and now on one of the
many trails up the rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the
roads are used by the taxi’s and minibus services that take the many thousands
of visitors up, and some of the roads were pedestrian only, and peaceful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the slope of the walk, it was lovely,
taking note of the different plants and flowers along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, we looked down to see several
large, dark coloured birds, pass below us, heading inland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to think they were migrating eagles,
many of which cross the straits from Africa heading for their European breading
grounds. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">Onwards and upwards until we reached the viewing
platform where the cable car disgorges its tourists, and the famous Barbary
Apes congregate. There used to be a café/souvenir shop here, but now it’s a
restaurant, and not somewhere we could buy a quick snack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The apes are a massive attraction, and the
few that were there were surrounded by tourists taking photos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZnhwjUyBlLkjS33cA9hYVjUj0XCF3gX48nf3-Pll8qflKHj9OIY9ikJxZ4wzxbZcqDVoUmF2Hevc3eBdHbzKivFckgNo0hr4w1Bz0E7ZcZoOcE4wQ2jsxzIG1cD9xHZssY0cYspcPiOZCrbaYOVJqwvkQ1Rt8IyHhFdoJsMVlq6ELpf8zEJYFqJ8LQ/s1469/DSC07777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZnhwjUyBlLkjS33cA9hYVjUj0XCF3gX48nf3-Pll8qflKHj9OIY9ikJxZ4wzxbZcqDVoUmF2Hevc3eBdHbzKivFckgNo0hr4w1Bz0E7ZcZoOcE4wQ2jsxzIG1cD9xHZssY0cYspcPiOZCrbaYOVJqwvkQ1Rt8IyHhFdoJsMVlq6ELpf8zEJYFqJ8LQ/w640-h362/DSC07777.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcjoKpGgk4OGLOt-lKwA-40Nzqb6j3V0Kc21klRizkIFPVOSaYtpI0C-h_yERKvFdEJ5vrQ2rc93eagwd6_7UoJiy8gXncedToo5rMiOrCtnpPtsDxsXj8dJwduQ-0gOaT4q3M677mVnRTMRyKFDn7CdEJU_Xz5DtFKi_8ipzDeyyR-oYX_hEjc6g8w/s1469/DSC07780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcjoKpGgk4OGLOt-lKwA-40Nzqb6j3V0Kc21klRizkIFPVOSaYtpI0C-h_yERKvFdEJ5vrQ2rc93eagwd6_7UoJiy8gXncedToo5rMiOrCtnpPtsDxsXj8dJwduQ-0gOaT4q3M677mVnRTMRyKFDn7CdEJU_Xz5DtFKi_8ipzDeyyR-oYX_hEjc6g8w/w640-h362/DSC07780.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">We took a few ourselves and carried on our walk to the next place we wanted to visit, which is the Skywalk, a large glass floored balcony that leans out over the cliff edge.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Again, more fantastic views.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pnOCttYAbr7JpkOHFItU1GjDp3qK0reoTKsBXW265jAudacIjW7xFWXSG99Ywq1XB4beCV-PA2G-Mtm8gxDxDTTb-uXk2FoTRW5LeixnwDYLvjcAwcQ4j7EqtFUjG2_xzj3MuD4MDunr4QApgRgtypWtitLDYpUILosQQs4_ri6rhFbQrBT-w7r_Dw/s1469/DSC07788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pnOCttYAbr7JpkOHFItU1GjDp3qK0reoTKsBXW265jAudacIjW7xFWXSG99Ywq1XB4beCV-PA2G-Mtm8gxDxDTTb-uXk2FoTRW5LeixnwDYLvjcAwcQ4j7EqtFUjG2_xzj3MuD4MDunr4QApgRgtypWtitLDYpUILosQQs4_ri6rhFbQrBT-w7r_Dw/w640-h362/DSC07788.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down through the glass floor on the Sky Walk</td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw5GW0zFkS0niNYWFyP6IQR-uG9dczFJvEozVRtN3QLtTgdRTl89DrJZx5eNryHH4phGF2sDZzsOVRfjAHpVnhFsN8sNFtNYiYknLrtZhBDo8IorN5-jaAizrS9blxzlp1VljHb9H7SarRLixm7BFz_fgWan7kMlVh1TRUVIFZURFaqmdmynX3IauZCA/s1469/DSC07793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw5GW0zFkS0niNYWFyP6IQR-uG9dczFJvEozVRtN3QLtTgdRTl89DrJZx5eNryHH4phGF2sDZzsOVRfjAHpVnhFsN8sNFtNYiYknLrtZhBDo8IorN5-jaAizrS9blxzlp1VljHb9H7SarRLixm7BFz_fgWan7kMlVh1TRUVIFZURFaqmdmynX3IauZCA/w640-h362/DSC07793.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking North along the ridge of The Rock</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then, a little further on and up, a Moorish
lookout point and finally it was time to start working our way down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to go into St Michael’s Cave, which
is absolutely amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were concerned
about the time though, and moved through it quite quickly.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGkib726IgmWuIHygLe_4cgqxuGQyrRaiG_kLgHR1I-g7aI1VKx11WM41dBVb4HcB0L-Vj92WES_JCDR5a__0GKYtvexkHSYsEx4-4NzEdFMpDgWn8wp7N9JGl9uQPEGJD1pOes-jyiBFrU3l-mji0waDSHKJo2RD4SZDRvs2ieuqYqbSpLrTh9FuIg/s1469/DSC07804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGkib726IgmWuIHygLe_4cgqxuGQyrRaiG_kLgHR1I-g7aI1VKx11WM41dBVb4HcB0L-Vj92WES_JCDR5a__0GKYtvexkHSYsEx4-4NzEdFMpDgWn8wp7N9JGl9uQPEGJD1pOes-jyiBFrU3l-mji0waDSHKJo2RD4SZDRvs2ieuqYqbSpLrTh9FuIg/w640-h360/DSC07804.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Michael's Cave is massive, and covered in the most fantastic stalactites and stalagmites. An amazing place to visit. </td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;">On our way down I spent more time admiring
the various plants and flowers, and managed to get a picture of one of the many
butterflies we’d seen during the day. This is a Spanish Festoon</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wfU-MbnSz6OnfOiB-NgaSUD2GDhJGfml2Js9Httsww8BJECKQx6eaDgZicH0qHDmMl4PCmQBYN0z786liZLVHM1kteX-aN7k78VoM_p_Nj02UZolntWnxvNRTq0xVSSl0lqn4a8rcubRxUOAWv-OrKsA_XARdwQTZBbnUmGNpDyt6xBLTOHG8zIKnw/s1469/DSC07809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wfU-MbnSz6OnfOiB-NgaSUD2GDhJGfml2Js9Httsww8BJECKQx6eaDgZicH0qHDmMl4PCmQBYN0z786liZLVHM1kteX-aN7k78VoM_p_Nj02UZolntWnxvNRTq0xVSSl0lqn4a8rcubRxUOAWv-OrKsA_XARdwQTZBbnUmGNpDyt6xBLTOHG8zIKnw/w640-h360/DSC07809.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
also visited the Devil’s Gap Battery with it’s massive guns.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ckp0Rz6FRvl6KAMAM1_zP74EIdnvEtG9UwNPxnJC5oZEb-uusvMP8J0emV2SDRO12Z1vnY24zY1exRfFvtatZVTvjD5LOp-yJ-c4t6SeROFxy_BcDnmelZQcjK31BNXfkfkaiEfiSLqzqVSZ1f_985PyqO5urYlxPYNRzwOYtaj1FmYxUiSnUGAn0A/s1469/DSC07815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ckp0Rz6FRvl6KAMAM1_zP74EIdnvEtG9UwNPxnJC5oZEb-uusvMP8J0emV2SDRO12Z1vnY24zY1exRfFvtatZVTvjD5LOp-yJ-c4t6SeROFxy_BcDnmelZQcjK31BNXfkfkaiEfiSLqzqVSZ1f_985PyqO5urYlxPYNRzwOYtaj1FmYxUiSnUGAn0A/w640-h360/DSC07815.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Someone has been gardening! This little patch looked and smelt gorgeous as we walked through<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtqDIzdp97aabbmLTYW83zOL7qJ9wQXYK0v5HaMhdF0Hx_kbqXUlq0_o9_bl7mA08VfDkCMoIwBcaJ54LBcn0pvH7vzhDXc-a20mJr9OOsJDr9MuEq6eWg-D10qokFz_6QK-YZnvynDh-PLBqkxtUmLDaV_0OT4JLsA4hN7RuS2w4FG3yFXTvnWqhpw/s1469/DSC07818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtqDIzdp97aabbmLTYW83zOL7qJ9wQXYK0v5HaMhdF0Hx_kbqXUlq0_o9_bl7mA08VfDkCMoIwBcaJ54LBcn0pvH7vzhDXc-a20mJr9OOsJDr9MuEq6eWg-D10qokFz_6QK-YZnvynDh-PLBqkxtUmLDaV_0OT4JLsA4hN7RuS2w4FG3yFXTvnWqhpw/w640-h360/DSC07818.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Eventually, we found ourselves back in town and walking back to the ship. A really good day and one we thoroughly enjoyed. We were back on board in plenty of time for the 3.30 all aboard time - watching The Rock disappear from view as we sailed away at 4pm</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8B75b1tf93PkOcTRnHMiQllhwCje4xJY1zccw1-HF-Fo2v2cFCyI2hjVM4mO25BuKrCPSLz3TCaasAjnhGLbFkD_hYTyAmR5buBYV8z7jGHXysCNLu6FZUeCOw4FkXuZJIYsxyaR71eVg_frfzjwte2zDYG64JpB2pLj6_Nc-aF34ZjFhN6tR1xVLdg/s1469/DSC07828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1469" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8B75b1tf93PkOcTRnHMiQllhwCje4xJY1zccw1-HF-Fo2v2cFCyI2hjVM4mO25BuKrCPSLz3TCaasAjnhGLbFkD_hYTyAmR5buBYV8z7jGHXysCNLu6FZUeCOw4FkXuZJIYsxyaR71eVg_frfzjwte2zDYG64JpB2pLj6_Nc-aF34ZjFhN6tR1xVLdg/w640-h360/DSC07828.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I should mention that as we turned into the straits, at one point the wind was very strong, anything left on a balcony was being blown over the side. Our neighbours on the left lost a piece of A4 paper, someone on the right or above lost their unmentionables, they didn't blow overboard though, they landed in the shelf like projection on the other side of our balcony, and they are still there! I'm waiting for more wind to clear them away.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Shower, food and then a quiet night in the cabin to catch up on sleep and rest the feet. Tomorrow is another sea day. Our legs need a rest. </p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-35569077182765769692023-04-12T16:50:00.000+01:002023-04-16T16:51:42.436+01:00Wednesday 12th - rounding the southern end of Portugal and Spain<p> Another day, another dollar. The sea is calm, the classes are organised,
everything is calm.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I say the classes are organised – we were a
bit full this afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last,
rather well spoken lady, came in at 5 past 2 and was quite put out that class
was full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I set up another table for
her, but she wasn’t happy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The only other thing of note was a hawk
that arrived at lunchtime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were a
good 15-20 miles from the coast, so the poor thing must have been absolutely
knackered, as I understand it birds of prey don’t normally manage long
distances unless they are soaring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
wildlife photographer on the next table said it was a kestrel which usually
only have a 3-5 mile range, so it must have blown off course. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Afternote, I spoke to a birder a couple of
days later – he seems to think it would more likely be a Hobby)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Gibraltar tomorrow – I’m really looking
forward to it. </span></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-31124561800790370692023-04-11T16:43:00.000+01:002023-04-16T16:44:48.592+01:00Tuesday 11 April – Another Sea Day<p> The ship’s clocks went forward last night in
line with Gibraltar time, so we lost an hour’s sleep. And though the ship bounced around a little,
I still slept better. The classes start
at 9.30 and we have to set up beforehand, so Peter and I are normally in The
Grill for breakfast by about 8.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Whilst we were eating, the Captain
announced that the ship had changed direction.
This was because we’d turned to head for La Caruna on the Spanish Coast
as of the passengers needed a medical evacuation. A helicopter was on its way. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Before the helicopter arrived the crew had
to evacuate The Grill and the cabins near to the helipad for safety reasons. We were already downstairs setting up in the
Coast to Coast restaurant, but many of the passengers were told to leave their
breakfast and go to the main restaurant to finish. We had a few people late
because of this. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The rest of the day went as expected. The
sea got a little calmer and the weather warmer the further south we travelled. It
won’t be long until everyone is on the outside decks. It was still too cold to spend much time on
the balcony though.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The dress code tonight is formal. Everyone gets
dressed up in their best togs, the ladies in full length dresses, and the
blokes in black tie. I own many dresses
for these occasions, but I’ve only brought one this time, thinking that the
cruise would only have two formal nights, but there are four! No worries.
My dress is a full length burgundy number that I picked up from a
charity shop, with a very nice expensive looking gold designer shawl, that I
also picked up from a charity shop.
Peter was supposed to wearing his tux, but it turned out he’d left the
trousers at home, so he ended up wearing his blue suit. He felt a little underdressed, poor man.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">We sat with the craft tutors at dinner
tonight. We were a little puzzled as to
why there were two, but it turned out one (English lass), was there to show the
other (American accent), the ropes. They
seemed a nice pair, although the English lass was quite a forceful
character. For instance, I’m not sure we
entirely agreed that medical emergencies were exclusive to Saga, having been on
so many other ships, but she was quite insistent that only Saga has helicopter
evacuations due to the age of its clientele. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: times;">Another thing discussed was the points
system – Saga and many other cruise lines ask their passengers at the end of
each cruise to mark the entertainment.
Peter is aware of this but doesn’t worry about it. I’m confident he must score well because
cruise companies keep asking him back.
Our English crafter tried to explain this to Peter, adding that when a
crafter/artist/lecturer gets really high scores, then he or she can more or
less pick their future cruises, (as opposed to be offered the ones that are
left/no one else wants). Yes, Peter
replied, he’d sent his wish list for next year a couple of weeks ago, and he’d
got an email this morning telling him he’d been put on the first two that he’d
asked for, and the office would let him know about the rest. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">“<span style="font-family: times;">Oh!” she replied. LOL</span></span></p>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">We finished the evening in the Playhouse
watching “Richard and Adam”, they were a couple of Welsh brothers that won (I
think), Britains Got Talent back in 2013.
They were good, we’ll watch them again. Another sea day tomorrow and we’re getting
into a routine.</span></span>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-11851863603064270572023-04-10T16:30:00.005+01:002024-02-23T23:46:45.923+00:00Bank Holiday Monday 10 April. First Sea Day, First Classes<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-GB">Last night as expected the sea was a bit bouncy,
rocking us in all directions. As a result I didn’t get much sleep. </span><span lang="EN-GB">The alarm went off at
7.30, and the ship was still rocking, making me feel queasy. I tried to eat a
little breakfast as that is supposed to make you feel better. All I could manage was a few bites of toast
and a bit of egg. I couldn’t even face
the thought of coffee!</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: arial;">Peter is to run his classes in the Coast to
Coast restaurant which is new for him, so we got to the restaurant a good hour
before the class to give us the time to work out what, where, how. We were
scuppered because the chef team also uses that space every morning to hold a
daily meeting, and we had to wait until they’d finished. So it wasn’t till 9 that we started covering
tables and setting things out, just as the passengers started to turn up to
register.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: arial;">Many of the passengers that turned up were
like me, feeling a bit off. One lass felt so queasy she left mid session. But
generally, the class seemed to go well. When it finished, we cleaned up and set
up again for the afternoon session. The sea
had calmed down a little and I was OK to eat lunch in the grill. Breakfast and lunch are buffet style
there. The menu’s are extensive, and you
are served by the chefs and staff, who are happy to put whatever you want on
your plate, and as much or little as you ask for. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span lang="EN-GB">The afternoon class was a bit busier and
Peter started to get into his rhythm. A
couple of the passengers came to me after the class telling me how good he was
as a teacher. I just kept replying “I
know.”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: arial;"> At
the end of the session, we had to clean up and leave the area as we’d found
it. We’d found it with a load of boxes
with art kits in and we hoped we could get away with using those now empty
boxes to store our supplies in until tomorrow.
In a bit of a gamble we left them neatly piled in the corner. A phone call later from Bradley told us that
the gamble failed. We have to accept the
fact that we will have to carry the art supplies the length of the ship on a
daily basis. (It was worth a try.) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: arial;">Whilst Peter has been teaching today, I’ve
been trying to update this blog. It
turns out that the Saga wi-fi will not let me work properly with Google Blogger.
After several frustrated attempts, I’ve started testing a few different sites
and ideas, abut came back to Blogger. Still causing me problems though and can only use it properly when on 4G. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: arial;">After a nap (lots of napping on ships, it
must be the rocking motion), it was a quick wash and change before going up for
dinner. There are several restaurants on
board, but we prefer the Grill up on deck 12.
Our cabin is on deck 7 so despite best intentions, we are taking the
lift up and down. As per last night, we
ended up talking to the couple on the table next to us, he was ex military,
soft spoken and full of stories that we found difficult to follow amongst the
noisy chatter of the rest of the restaurant. He didn’t like Prince Harry
though, that was very clear. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: arial;">We ended the day in the cabin, me battling
with blog issues, Peter just looking after his online stuff. It’s too cold and windy outside to enjoy the
balcony at the moment, although we did try.
I’m hoping for a better night’s sleep this time, but the ship is moving
about a bit again. </span></p>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: arial; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tomorrow is another sea day, I’m hoping it will
smoother.</span>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-52472992998799288892023-04-09T17:00:00.010+01:002024-02-24T00:00:56.866+00:00Sunday 9th April. Easter Sunday and first day on board<p><span style="font-family: arial;">A lovely late start this morning, no rush. Breakfast from Tesco Express was eaten in the car at the side of the road somewhere between Alton and Portsmouth. I say breakfast, but really it was about 11.30, and I say at the side of the road, actually, it was on the verge, in a beautiful area of rolling green fields and trees, under a warm sun. Very nice. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Then on to Portsmouth. We were taking it easy because we didn't want to get there too soon, they didn't really want us until 1pm, but we got there at 12.30. But as before, the whole process was painless. First our luggage was taken, and the shore staff checked we'd got our passports and covid pass. Then we drove to the parking attendant just outside the terminal, who efficiently accepted our car expected, and drove it away to be parked. We walked into the terminal, showed our passports and covid passes, answered the relevant health check questions, and then walked on board. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As usual, the ship staff were on hand to escort us to our cabin. Our steward took us into the salon to wash our hands before we could go any further on board, and I said, "Oh! I need to get my hair cut!" So Peter went on with the steward whilst I booked my haircut with the salon, we agreed I would come back in 15 mins. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">An hour or so later, I leave the salon with a lighter bank account and newly cut hair. In the mean time Peter has unpacked! How cool is that? </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The cabin is as well appointed as the one we had on the Spirit of Discovery last year, and we are very pleased with it. There is only one little downer. We are at the front of the ship, and our balcony does not directly overlook the sea as there is a swathe of metal which is part of the front of the ship in front of it, so we can't quite look down at the water. A very small disappointment, but perfectly understandable that we would be allocated this cabin, and passengers who have parted with very large amounts of money should be allocated those with a better view.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazVev0UmTgGPtwh9m2-nf1PHesAhD16Mepj_NG2VKWtu9ebZbpgcHkUyd2lquxXds5_XhdAbTkfhSSxOSmltCQ9k1_dPNYWpmHWLLVdO2g629ZWscHt5ZdZ3sRYLFBZTuMLNmRsX7G5Dkj_O_ZJwoxSfUz7Py9bWEs0FjzmYoFrJM0CAeeRbs7sJ5hA/s1566/DSC07760.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjazVev0UmTgGPtwh9m2-nf1PHesAhD16Mepj_NG2VKWtu9ebZbpgcHkUyd2lquxXds5_XhdAbTkfhSSxOSmltCQ9k1_dPNYWpmHWLLVdO2g629ZWscHt5ZdZ3sRYLFBZTuMLNmRsX7G5Dkj_O_ZJwoxSfUz7Py9bWEs0FjzmYoFrJM0CAeeRbs7sJ5hA/w640-h362/DSC07760.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yglD2CEql1XJzF4a3gzsq-1ZDUETY_ibjwfEhcZipJp0MPRsVoOZKXIT90flI_NhXfu7QFruNTE9KUR9EAlGwn9eYomkj0xoxOLAJ9PSET9qWp_Mp4vNf93UlCenDlS54D8u0Gm7BY54nnOla-4xAieRXeoHEH83vzOihAEBH_n1JNl24YHIVXrkPw/s1566/DSC07763.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yglD2CEql1XJzF4a3gzsq-1ZDUETY_ibjwfEhcZipJp0MPRsVoOZKXIT90flI_NhXfu7QFruNTE9KUR9EAlGwn9eYomkj0xoxOLAJ9PSET9qWp_Mp4vNf93UlCenDlS54D8u0Gm7BY54nnOla-4xAieRXeoHEH83vzOihAEBH_n1JNl24YHIVXrkPw/w640-h360/DSC07763.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's now about 2.30pm, so we went upstairs to the Grill for lunch. It's a buffet service, with the chefs and staff serving. Ships tend to have an all afternoon open dining session on embarkation days, and because today is Sunday, today's menu included a Sunday roast, as well as fish and chips. I didn't fancy either and went for a stir fry. (Peter of course went for the roast).</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;">Time now for a wander around the ship before the Lifeboat Drill. We can see the whole port of Portsmouth from the top deck. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1wv6mkaTXBs__3W5bRIb95R41XJIs4ymtJLV-9LYjDM_39UQEG25cE0_AErv3nzy_MRP8M_jl3UTe4e3FI7wbB4J_aYccWAyWnLWFxRKEJV3bYnWKe6JiWnqWPLCeQpx7MFZxOArxuvCc8LoTn3cqq9rAS0-qMEFz22NgshRAF8KT0nmsQ0Vs3-Ryg/s1566/DSC07726.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE1wv6mkaTXBs__3W5bRIb95R41XJIs4ymtJLV-9LYjDM_39UQEG25cE0_AErv3nzy_MRP8M_jl3UTe4e3FI7wbB4J_aYccWAyWnLWFxRKEJV3bYnWKe6JiWnqWPLCeQpx7MFZxOArxuvCc8LoTn3cqq9rAS0-qMEFz22NgshRAF8KT0nmsQ0Vs3-Ryg/w400-h225/DSC07726.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzcfKIISajsmsd5mW4aixPwgMvAWfZaDjtwlf23oNZ70yR8Kv71ui-bTKwQasS668R7KKfddlUOpExyHG3LC1A5LfvYBo2rBAN0HrdXqX784ARH-DqiSexclqThaxunTCF8RFbxxEP8yBcNisY4pzR8aSfZl5GDwJLvdvRIdnKzAA1Y43BCSuAPkXEw/s1566/DSC07729.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzcfKIISajsmsd5mW4aixPwgMvAWfZaDjtwlf23oNZ70yR8Kv71ui-bTKwQasS668R7KKfddlUOpExyHG3LC1A5LfvYBo2rBAN0HrdXqX784ARH-DqiSexclqThaxunTCF8RFbxxEP8yBcNisY4pzR8aSfZl5GDwJLvdvRIdnKzAA1Y43BCSuAPkXEw/w400-h225/DSC07729.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjhur7zSZDiNYGMjv4Nj5QvVOUQi9-dqohM4yswGgqUO091rdL6zMmdqtkvfXOyv2j4U7Mpzk7ttV1IYgDUyQywklacnz3kpchK1VnaP8HKYsW4_WgyJkFqSPx7J2pMG81BOonF4GtrGupRP5Tz9LwY9LR4bUwJD3yZC9F-hhN5FAqEXxNGh6AeJclw/s1566/DSC07734.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjhur7zSZDiNYGMjv4Nj5QvVOUQi9-dqohM4yswGgqUO091rdL6zMmdqtkvfXOyv2j4U7Mpzk7ttV1IYgDUyQywklacnz3kpchK1VnaP8HKYsW4_WgyJkFqSPx7J2pMG81BOonF4GtrGupRP5Tz9LwY9LR4bUwJD3yZC9F-hhN5FAqEXxNGh6AeJclw/w400-h225/DSC07734.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The ship itself is just like the Spirit of Adventure (<a href="https://gettingaboutabit-cruising.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2022-05-22T20:12:00%2B01:00&max-results=3&start=3&by-date=false" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">(pictures and posts here)</a>- different decor but exactly the same layout</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9GZHU8qOc-zrPAlSWhCsiPJMNNbrVmO66vscUHbTdZilhAqDNvzbAxHxc1JfiM5x8PdQu-DeZjUk08sEkGRVIDoBXaddbflJAkdmVC_blw_z719UpRNI55HhjbUBd9-PlstU9Rx1OxPh7Tz4E9jAeUtzOm71Yoz44za9Q1N5ULVnnU3w7XLGf0O2pA/s1566/DSC07725.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9GZHU8qOc-zrPAlSWhCsiPJMNNbrVmO66vscUHbTdZilhAqDNvzbAxHxc1JfiM5x8PdQu-DeZjUk08sEkGRVIDoBXaddbflJAkdmVC_blw_z719UpRNI55HhjbUBd9-PlstU9Rx1OxPh7Tz4E9jAeUtzOm71Yoz44za9Q1N5ULVnnU3w7XLGf0O2pA/w640-h360/DSC07725.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pool on Deck 12 Lido Deck</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRrSPj5iDaifn4hu5N-ubiNOsObNz6kpB8nHMsFBVlqY-iGjYugtJ9OE-IyDARP46ekU2-dxQecRsKBc25XN0PUTSjEQpw3-qVCVfHer0TnPS6MDTd8mMwoeoIxwY594c1gDreidQ5H2tIZEGcn5hkdg5kcZVVitwL2lqT2S8vL0jEgfoPwjGzlCdaw/s1566/DSC07731.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRrSPj5iDaifn4hu5N-ubiNOsObNz6kpB8nHMsFBVlqY-iGjYugtJ9OE-IyDARP46ekU2-dxQecRsKBc25XN0PUTSjEQpw3-qVCVfHer0TnPS6MDTd8mMwoeoIxwY594c1gDreidQ5H2tIZEGcn5hkdg5kcZVVitwL2lqT2S8vL0jEgfoPwjGzlCdaw/w640-h360/DSC07731.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun Loungers on front - Deck 13, nearly the very top</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw1H6EsHSRK-2-pFNGu6xj9WtBNyw3c7zFOZZgLVuAQWoQgsi3pa1pEHsKTBB0t4Z53m9KsJAH6AOOI5LBDj2gSLVp9c1AvXq_taJ6oVveRZ_ZYFK1IIqRxTA4nKsEoCBZLpLO73H3lTL17nE5FJPJpmLNf3EMSr5ESDokcZDkin5HDwfPB95vVz3PQ/s1566/DSC07738.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw1H6EsHSRK-2-pFNGu6xj9WtBNyw3c7zFOZZgLVuAQWoQgsi3pa1pEHsKTBB0t4Z53m9KsJAH6AOOI5LBDj2gSLVp9c1AvXq_taJ6oVveRZ_ZYFK1IIqRxTA4nKsEoCBZLpLO73H3lTL17nE5FJPJpmLNf3EMSr5ESDokcZDkin5HDwfPB95vVz3PQ/w640-h360/DSC07738.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tables at the rear of the ship, like a patio area of The Grill - Deck 12</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlS7S5YRTePJ0qPnCWGNjAsP2Ibs2JZBcmOVDh5VV4MFWm1YKt5eGGslQQcIzCW_-xRsy8TwS6DrmB7JT5-PohAghue2OFWC_YE3-iSb7ViCziaQpZ8t7mJO4zC8pSRzGn_SGad-mMTjtPxw3QmRlvkVeXSzM4G6LA4RMKheSQBehEGjWlzKT8zBvPw/s1566/DSC07741.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlS7S5YRTePJ0qPnCWGNjAsP2Ibs2JZBcmOVDh5VV4MFWm1YKt5eGGslQQcIzCW_-xRsy8TwS6DrmB7JT5-PohAghue2OFWC_YE3-iSb7ViCziaQpZ8t7mJO4zC8pSRzGn_SGad-mMTjtPxw3QmRlvkVeXSzM4G6LA4RMKheSQBehEGjWlzKT8zBvPw/w640-h360/DSC07741.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up the back of the ship from the Promenade Deck, Deck 6</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzA55WGUxmgM5l66-EwlrEbMi2rd2QcOrVfrwyI5i7Fk9vwP8cvQD-WDMfE-oclVRbaeGHOhXPwYYDAyQsqI7WASZwf_hKQEES7cyQOw1c5jfvL0537ndSctrqWypmgknMvmE9Xl7opqFOTe8qn3_bh50yqk1gE_jRGi2bJ64whek71vbOeI-wquxRQ/s1566/DSC07742.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzA55WGUxmgM5l66-EwlrEbMi2rd2QcOrVfrwyI5i7Fk9vwP8cvQD-WDMfE-oclVRbaeGHOhXPwYYDAyQsqI7WASZwf_hKQEES7cyQOw1c5jfvL0537ndSctrqWypmgknMvmE9Xl7opqFOTe8qn3_bh50yqk1gE_jRGi2bJ64whek71vbOeI-wquxRQ/w640-h360/DSC07742.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Coffee Lounge area, back of the ship on Promenade Deck 6</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_Gk07t1ypQ34g4d_rEoPyqCPJN5za39tfXdAcVhN1dIHddS1E12hECRFLwvwCH2-hF5edgVlEXoyAe1SUFgzobvIdeQpiUUe2vSLmy5cHCmEfeP6mWRk2ZZJj7HJHI-4zKLrBHYTY6_TGwi6-XbYgVSPdys6YYLU8fy9D9Y72g88G_GjgyX89a48NA/s1566/DSC07745.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_Gk07t1ypQ34g4d_rEoPyqCPJN5za39tfXdAcVhN1dIHddS1E12hECRFLwvwCH2-hF5edgVlEXoyAe1SUFgzobvIdeQpiUUe2vSLmy5cHCmEfeP6mWRk2ZZJj7HJHI-4zKLrBHYTY6_TGwi6-XbYgVSPdys6YYLU8fy9D9Y72g88G_GjgyX89a48NA/w640-h360/DSC07745.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under the lifeboats on the Promenade, Deck 6</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjYeILshqtXqU4TRcKZAH3sraf9gQTksKVZKCDFHQyKWIRvW7ViufdaVOysaJZGPlvm_Rh3pOI4aKkpLskkzdGR1oCMzhFqrAmlLiACs8vqd8mtCZdEGYvcTDuR139mM2Vgaqn-uEog71DFv2xsiKdIharLzeGNyMtV3SUfre6B2S60gliMzReICerg/s1566/DSC07750.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjYeILshqtXqU4TRcKZAH3sraf9gQTksKVZKCDFHQyKWIRvW7ViufdaVOysaJZGPlvm_Rh3pOI4aKkpLskkzdGR1oCMzhFqrAmlLiACs8vqd8mtCZdEGYvcTDuR139mM2Vgaqn-uEog71DFv2xsiKdIharLzeGNyMtV3SUfre6B2S60gliMzReICerg/w640-h360/DSC07750.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Library - Deck 7</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMG7ftkjP2-ueLqN9PydY64fkKjKAqtTI4Z_3My-Go4gQpmlZhmPzQWIv4SziI3PgQq27QZtzd3i4zepNec7XA30IFXoIdN_de8yB5lJrl_19J0_Qt6bgM4t6C49uuaIh847Fl4n3L8kDMsOrXog9E5Nre73ajxqs1M4Lrm71l6p8ruKISdfP6WshNqw/s1566/DSC07756.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1566" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMG7ftkjP2-ueLqN9PydY64fkKjKAqtTI4Z_3My-Go4gQpmlZhmPzQWIv4SziI3PgQq27QZtzd3i4zepNec7XA30IFXoIdN_de8yB5lJrl_19J0_Qt6bgM4t6C49uuaIh847Fl4n3L8kDMsOrXog9E5Nre73ajxqs1M4Lrm71l6p8ruKISdfP6WshNqw/w640-h360/DSC07756.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Atrium - looking down on Deck 5 from Deck 7</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Time for Lifeboat Drill. First we had to watch the safety training video regarding what to do in the event of fire, man overboard, how to put on a lifebelt etc, then, when the alarm sounded seven short whistles followed by one long, we all attended our muster stations. We didn't have to put on our lifebelts or be led to our relevant lifeboats this time, but we will probably have another Lifeboat Drill in two weeks (it's the law), when I suspect we may have to go through those extra steps.<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Lifeboat drill over, now Peter has to attend a meeting of the entertainment team. Peter is part of the Cruise Enrichment Program, so not entertainment staff per se, but still comes under the Cruise Director's wing. The Cruise Director Paul introduced himself, when through the relevant points, and then we all split up to talk to our respective points of contact. Peter will be running classes in the Coast to Coast restaurant which he was a little reserved about at first. But, after seeing where he will be working, he's quite happy that it will all go well. Bradley is the staff member that is going to look after us, and we know him from our days on CMV. After going through the necessary work issues, we ended up talking for quite some time about previous cruises. It's nice when we can connect like that, it makes for an easier working relationship. Whilst we are chatting away the ship sets sail, but as the sea is quite flat and the ship sails so smooth, we don't notice. <br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">All that talking made for quite a dry mouth, so back to the cabin for a quick cuppa. And since it's now about 6.30, sort our selves out to go eat. Our preference is to avoid the restaurants and eat in the Grill, and we will probably do this for the whole of the cruise. A quick wash and change and we were sitting down shortly after 7. Even though the Grill is considered informal dining, it's a menu and waiter service. As usual, the food was lovely (Brie tart for starters, saag aloo main course, crumble and custard for dessert), and we ended up chatting away like old friends to the people on the neighbouring table. I don't think we've talked them into art classes though. <br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">So now I'm in the cabin typing this up. Peter has been working away industriously cutting up overly large watercolour paper sheets, and preparing equipment for the classes tomorrow. The ship has started to move about enough to remind us we are actually at sea, apparently waves will be up to 2.5 metres tomorrow, so maybe will notice. Hopefully I'll be fine and not feel sick. Poor Peter has to manage by himself if I do, and it's not easy, first day on a new cruise. <br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Tomorrow is a sea day and we have to be in the Coast to Coast restaurant ready for the onslaught starting at 9. If the sea is bouncy, who knows? It might be quiet. Let's see what our first sea day will bring. </span></div></div>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-83361798216672359842023-04-08T23:34:00.002+01:002024-02-24T00:00:38.981+00:00Saturday 8th April. Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday - travelling again<p>So this is our first cruise since we moved to Keighley. There is always a "low level anxiety" as Peter puts it, regarding the safety of the house whilst we are away. We don't know our neighbours yet, and we haven't told them we are going away. But as we are now close to my best friend from my schooldays (that was a long time ago!), she and her husband have agreed to check on the house. Everything is unplugged, and I am very efficient at working out food, so the fridge and freezer are now empty and off for the duration, heating is switched off, security alarms and timers controlling lights have been set, and all doors are locked. Not that there is anything in the house to steal,..... but you know how it is.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcmzd6vnCx7uBAeTQdtMzan3NFeQnexetKRMefGIlwykfcw4yJizHFNacFtIMNAkH6cNuY-T78ji0s300aVPcFoU0DZLQzKH4rPAkrQK_17jgv5kAhqMvlMDsGupD-u5swQrd1-Sf-0xoWeFEdx7Zo6rQKmewPBwFWL2wXF8CMKFkkcL_oRjOFhNJGA/s1000/Sprit_of_Discovery.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="1000" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcmzd6vnCx7uBAeTQdtMzan3NFeQnexetKRMefGIlwykfcw4yJizHFNacFtIMNAkH6cNuY-T78ji0s300aVPcFoU0DZLQzKH4rPAkrQK_17jgv5kAhqMvlMDsGupD-u5swQrd1-Sf-0xoWeFEdx7Zo6rQKmewPBwFWL2wXF8CMKFkkcL_oRjOFhNJGA/w640-h352/Sprit_of_Discovery.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>So where are we off to this time? We are on another Saga cruise, "Treasures of the Adriatic", on their ship the <a href="Spirit Of Discovery Cruise Ship - Luxury Boutique Cruising (saga.co.uk)">Spirit of Discovery</a>. This is the first time I am seriously looking forward to spending time on a ship and I put that down to the very excellent cabins provided. I am sooooo looking forward to sitting on the balcony, with binoculars, watching the sea, the wildlife and the world go by. I've gone and bought meself a kindle version of a Whales and Dolphins book, as well as the kindle version of the RSPB Birds of Europe book, (saves me carrying the hefty versions), I've got me moth and insect field books too. Peter has to work of course (and I have to help him a little), but these Saga ships really are quite luxurious in comparison to what we've been on before, so that helps in making up for it. </p><p>I've also spent a little time researching our future ports to get an idea of what we are going to do there. Gibraltar is first, and Peter has been itching to walk up the rock it since his first visit 14 or 15 years ago. He walked up it then, but was probably a bit fitter and didn't have me with him. Still, I've agreed to give it a go....... I wonder how far we'll get up?</p><p>I'm writing this first blog post from our room in a Travelodge. We're in a place called Alton, about half an hour away from Portsmouth. We are due to board the ship tomorrow afternoon, and we could have driven down tomorrow morning, but not only does that mean a very early start, but there is always the worry that something may prevent us from arriving on time, traffic, car trouble etc. The travel lodge option just takes away that stress. </p><p>Now, last cuppa before bed, a lazy morning, and hopefully get on board just after midday... ish. Another adventure begins. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-16972525146608722352022-06-21T23:15:00.000+01:002024-02-24T00:00:04.732+00:00Tuesday 21st June - Peter's not well<p>This morning Peter woke, and it was obvious he wasn't well. He said he was shivering when he woke, I started getting worried. He had a tickly throat too, and I thought he felt a bit warm.<br /></p><p>He had a shower, "to clear his tubes", and because he knows I worry about these things, he said, "OK, I'll do a Covid test, just to prove to you that I don't have it!"</p><p>Famous last words!</p><p>Two lines across the test and we had to work out what to do next. It was about 8.10am, and we were supposed to be in the craft room in 20 minutes for registration. Peter tried to ring Rolando, but couldn't get through, so he rang the medical centre. </p><p>They sent a guy to test us both, he said he'd ring us with the results. Rolando rang back, we explained and asked Rolando to get his art suitcase from the store. The medical centre rang and told us Peter was positive but I was clear. Housekeeping rang, we needed to pack up our suitcases ready to move into an isolation cabin. A knock at the door, there was othe art suitcase. We packed.</p><p>Eventually we were moved, guys in white hazmat suits arrived to take our suitcases, and the corridor appeared to have been closed, no passengers anywhere. We were taken to the service lift at the end of the ship, and moved down a level into a "isolation cabin" near the rear of the ship. Menu's for lunch and dinner were left and that was it.</p><p>So we've been here for the day. It's been pleasantly quiet, we've been on and off the phone sorting out little problems such as not having key cards, disembarkation, luggage etc.</p><p>Curiously, Peter got an email from one of the Art Class passengers "thank you for the classes, sorry you are not well, etc". We decided they were fishing for info, so he's not gonna reply until we are off the ship. We are pretty sure the rumours will be flying, especially amongst the entertainers... it gives them something to talk about.</p><p>So we will miss all the goodbyes, and "the can I have your address" stuff, but we are not too worried about that, Peter is easily found on t'internet. Tomorrow we will be the last to disembark, so as not to contaminate the rest of the passengers. More white hazmat suits!</p><p>Then it will be homeward bound, I am looking forward to my kettle, my bed, and a tesco's delivery. All is good in my world. <br /></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-45151020267705952252022-06-20T21:17:00.001+01:002024-02-23T23:59:20.293+00:00Monday 20th June - Sea Day<p> Old guy appeared to sign in for classes. Wondered where he'd got to. Turns out he had Covid - 9 days in isolation</p><p>Tia back running craft classes</p><p>So Peter didn't have a good day day. After a really bad night with
indigestion, he was shattered, he also had a bit of a tickle in his
throat. At dinner l he could hardly keep his eyes open, so afterwards,
we came back to the cabin, and he slept whilst I watched "Grumpy Old
Men"</p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-48096166024393436472022-06-19T23:50:00.001+01:002024-02-23T23:58:23.567+00:0019 June 2022 - LisbonI don't know why, but I don't have a blog post for this day. So go to Peter's instead:- <a href="https://www.peterwoolley.co.uk/blog/riding-the-lift-in-lisbon/"></a>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-29285644113259239702022-06-18T09:07:00.026+01:002022-06-27T22:47:44.376+01:00Saturday 18th June - Sea Day<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So here we go with another sea day. Not much news</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fearn from the opera quartet has joined the art class, she is doing both morning and afternoon sessions. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I found out from Charlewin that the lady yesterday is fine. Apparently it was an epileptic fit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And after dinner, we went to the Supper Club to listen to Coral and Sam - we love the peace in there. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It wasn't peaceful at the end of their set however, because one of the dancers, Genie, came in to do her very first ever singing set, and she was supported by every member of the entertainment team and a few passengers. The supper club was full. She was good as well.</span></p><p><br /></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-12018245125896728532022-06-17T17:16:00.093+01:002022-06-27T22:41:31.429+01:00Friday 17th June - Medical alerts<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So it's a sea day, Peter and I got up to run registration for the art classes as per normal, but Tia and Gerry are not about today. Tia isn't well. I know that the last time I saw her, she had just thrown herself down on a sofa because whe wasn't feeling well with her indigestion problems, so I assumed it was a continuation of that. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Once Peter's class was up and running, so I sat in the library as usual, ended up talking to Hazel and Phil. Just after they left, I looked up to see the young lad who makes coffee n stuff in the library, Charlewin, helping one of the passengers. He normally does. She sometimes has difficulty standing, and he makes sure she is on her feet and stable before she walks off. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Except this time she wasn't getting up. She seemed to be shaking, saying "I don't know what's the matter with me". She was obviously in distress, he wanted to call the medical centre, but he was holding her up. Of course I dashed over to hold her whilst he made the call. She was shaking, eyes closed. I'm saying to her, "Just relax. Don't be scared. Help is coming." He's telling her to breathe in, breathe out. Nice and calm. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It didn't take long for the medics to turn up. Charlewin told them that she'd had a seizure, and they hurried her away. I hoped she would be OK. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then as we tidying up the class after the morning session, there was a code Alpha up on deck 14. We found out during lunch from Joanne the pianist that a guy had passed out up there. Due to the heat we thought, easy done with too much alcohol. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But maybe it was a little more than that. As the afternoon wore on, the Captain first announced that we would have to turn towards Spain and prepare for a Helicopter evacuation, before following that with a series of anouncements calling staff to prepare and telling us what to expect. The helicopter seemed to arrive in no time, and the patient lifted off and taken away before you could say "The irony is that is is quicker to get a helicopter ambulance to a cruise ship with a full medical team in the middle of the Mediterranean than it is to get an ordinary one to an old guy who's had a fall in England". (It took about 8 hours I think, and he died). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Everybody assumed that the helicopter evacuation was as a result of the Code Alpha on deck 14. I was hoping it wasn't the lady in the library. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">After all that drama, we decided to spend the evening out. It was either opera in the playhouse or guitar classis in the Brittania Lounge. We should have chose the opera. </span><br /></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-53032793744217927362022-06-16T18:05:00.187+01:002022-06-27T15:56:04.856+01:00Thursday 16th June - Cagliari, Sardinia<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We couldn't see Cagliari at first, because of the <b>massive</b> Virgin ship alongside us. Ugly grey, and looking more like the proverbial block of flats than ever, it dominated our view as we woke. I should have taken a picture, but never mind. We noticed all the cabins had hammocks though. Nice. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We weren't in a rush, Peter said he had a vague memory that he liked Cagliari, so we were expecting good things, but once it again, it was hot, and gonna get hotter. We were also feeling a bit lazy after our walk yesterday, so we took it easy, caught the shuttle bus that would take us across the port around 10.<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4x3OvS2Mwk15eJOrsYIvKrCn2csk8uIaPWC9skDvELMBH2vzOzk5GfGPddq6xBXAk9JxiX2Q3GObsPHphBL2X52P9gwrEeMvbHfS-dWW1lpX9tG6g42CMI166kenCghUKKx82mrVnqTo1oZj5woODSC68keN3cN_wpb8jnoiPubCXwpynd07knOyA3w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4x3OvS2Mwk15eJOrsYIvKrCn2csk8uIaPWC9skDvELMBH2vzOzk5GfGPddq6xBXAk9JxiX2Q3GObsPHphBL2X52P9gwrEeMvbHfS-dWW1lpX9tG6g42CMI166kenCghUKKx82mrVnqTo1oZj5woODSC68keN3cN_wpb8jnoiPubCXwpynd07knOyA3w=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Immediately across the road from the bus, we found what looked like some grand government building, which happened to include the tourist information office. Hoping to get an idea of good places to visit, Peter was given a map, but not a lot of information. So we set off walking.<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was yesterday's walk, but it didn't take long for me to start feeling worn out. After resting on a bench in Piazza Constituzione for a bit, we made our way on towards the old town. I think, if I'd been able to see the city and not the Virgin monster, I would have seen that the city is built on a hill. As it was, I found out by having to walk up it.<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiq3uZhix49Tg1ZLq3FzX32SvN0pU5kS3IMeHqc2tbDQYr_6s-ozdq9nTz_zjICLtkF-EUFoEbW_G0n8ETvTUyI8wZPbskFgrF-xGZSVwvMpjCMtUNYCRT58adP8iRIMZsvxu15kUlaKHgOfjK3YoOmuE5L4v_-4szLEWvZvsOmOszNAQn55PkWOdJ9aA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4896" data-original-width="2752" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiq3uZhix49Tg1ZLq3FzX32SvN0pU5kS3IMeHqc2tbDQYr_6s-ozdq9nTz_zjICLtkF-EUFoEbW_G0n8ETvTUyI8wZPbskFgrF-xGZSVwvMpjCMtUNYCRT58adP8iRIMZsvxu15kUlaKHgOfjK3YoOmuE5L4v_-4szLEWvZvsOmOszNAQn55PkWOdJ9aA=w225-h400" width="225" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well, not all walking. There are a couple of lifts that can help. The first was marked on our map, near the Elephant Tower, and takes you up the equivalent of a couple of stories high. We took advantage of it, and found the Elephant tower, which, unsurprisingly, has an elephant on it.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />If you go through the gate and look back though, you'll see that the elephant tower doesn't have a back. A bit like an open dolls house, you can see all it's innards, which are mostly stairs. For a small fee, you can take a tour up the stairs, but these are at set times, it finding the guy with the tickets is difficult apparently.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Once up there, we quite liked wandering the streets of the old town,
which continues to climb up hill. The were narrow and high, the
buildings full of character and interest. We found a church, an art
centre, and eventually, the cathedral. <br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3zB35RlWVmZRwHJgBGbt62SYTEDgWxjXj2xgae0J5WBO62T1Y0GcMuUzZj3i69NYvC3XX8XrQ1D1_PdhOxuUDy8TwA1NJPhO_rR58iWVlHpPOf4akqrTx9p04bQiU0HfUZdDApo4SVbRZewNmSi5v6P09QqSGgxN8w-4onVlYLlzP62HdyA6Q2TOM2g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3zB35RlWVmZRwHJgBGbt62SYTEDgWxjXj2xgae0J5WBO62T1Y0GcMuUzZj3i69NYvC3XX8XrQ1D1_PdhOxuUDy8TwA1NJPhO_rR58iWVlHpPOf4akqrTx9p04bQiU0HfUZdDApo4SVbRZewNmSi5v6P09QqSGgxN8w-4onVlYLlzP62HdyA6Q2TOM2g=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6xxDWi4Zs_q6MyaTUAmCuuXl4KGBd6RZfOgDn7xHh76_KE2ecj4m9l9hFAQzuQdpRjvNtchJpiXgHpJCveSlLS1qVPFIrYQJazDz5iMgsel7OMXArNXrVBtJvt-ccghUQKyJKs2sjvnJOhqGK4NcaQS3kpRbdTfJgIFj8ZtwAk9KD7qOZWSanKWUd0Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6xxDWi4Zs_q6MyaTUAmCuuXl4KGBd6RZfOgDn7xHh76_KE2ecj4m9l9hFAQzuQdpRjvNtchJpiXgHpJCveSlLS1qVPFIrYQJazDz5iMgsel7OMXArNXrVBtJvt-ccghUQKyJKs2sjvnJOhqGK4NcaQS3kpRbdTfJgIFj8ZtwAk9KD7qOZWSanKWUd0Q=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We also found a cliff drop behind the cathedral. A nearby terrace allows
you to see from the top across the city as it extends outwards, and a
lift will take you the fast way down if you want to the to the sports
pitches below.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgodxj4nBWWkw6dzqxG06rqjg1GsPLKMh8SjClxxkyfRIjizxHINnIT85i25-vStZ5IZ3b0AZpGu79dZKSrK1g7kYWiQsCZGTDaSWwga7bZWddIyjaxIVmc2Dq9uLgednL1jIE3eRIlSMaA7Fe1Wm60SnjccYEnBAk7w7l8XpQUMZ3sBQobiXEFvoN_lw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgodxj4nBWWkw6dzqxG06rqjg1GsPLKMh8SjClxxkyfRIjizxHINnIT85i25-vStZ5IZ3b0AZpGu79dZKSrK1g7kYWiQsCZGTDaSWwga7bZWddIyjaxIVmc2Dq9uLgednL1jIE3eRIlSMaA7Fe1Wm60SnjccYEnBAk7w7l8XpQUMZ3sBQobiXEFvoN_lw=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the cathedral, we thought we'd try to ge to the archeological site and ampitheatre we could see on the map. We sort of got lost trying to find our way, partly because we were trying to save ourselves walking up and down hill. Eventually tho', we managed to work our way to the corner of Via Fra Nicola da Gesturi and Via Anfiteatro, just above the roman archeological site. That's when we decided a well earned break was due, and found Luchia's. A small cafe catering for the locals. Beer for Peter, lemonade for me. Sitting in the shade. All was good.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then it was off to the ampitheatre. It looked so promising from above, but as we followed the road around and down, it became obvious that it was closed. So diappointing, cos it looked brilliant. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUBY4iM48KwMMLus1U509Vj_VkHcHfZjyXWrfSTHpZyn0iMVgy0SCk4hdIY7rUW2tIoxczvWnfZF4sUUvP5urS8x7HtjV8G-KFSWuu_KRxkL0VqFclrP72a80FJ-ktCVJx0yfeWLVm9XIje8W-BdqbkONKS4LmUb2BcrdMH33W_I-Fb7VslQ0FJnxLSQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUBY4iM48KwMMLus1U509Vj_VkHcHfZjyXWrfSTHpZyn0iMVgy0SCk4hdIY7rUW2tIoxczvWnfZF4sUUvP5urS8x7HtjV8G-KFSWuu_KRxkL0VqFclrP72a80FJ-ktCVJx0yfeWLVm9XIje8W-BdqbkONKS4LmUb2BcrdMH33W_I-Fb7VslQ0FJnxLSQ=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">After that, it was back to the ship to cool down and eat choc chip cookies in the Living Room downstairs. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And finally, just to finish the day, a lovely sunset <br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsTKSCGAnS2JVsNVA8OpLSjann49dKihews7kiiDWJoYIZ73gH06QVwDz5XJ5xRJUAFU-qFF5F9Phb_3AWfix3XM-JfVKu0CTpSZPHIIC8ateiNJtBQg0jMy8Gh0SIe6Uipap75HfI6pqkwEcOKXoYhZUM4W3cI_s459Efp-HjX4f7Ai0IfemeoknWsw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2648" data-original-width="4825" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsTKSCGAnS2JVsNVA8OpLSjann49dKihews7kiiDWJoYIZ73gH06QVwDz5XJ5xRJUAFU-qFF5F9Phb_3AWfix3XM-JfVKu0CTpSZPHIIC8ateiNJtBQg0jMy8Gh0SIe6Uipap75HfI6pqkwEcOKXoYhZUM4W3cI_s459Efp-HjX4f7Ai0IfemeoknWsw=w640-h352" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><br />before watching Albert the Magician battle with microphone glitches and a drunk "assistant" but still manage to pull off a really good show. I've got bored with magicians after seeing loads of them on Britain's Got Talent, and I was pleasantly surprised with Albert's performance. I had never seen his tricks before. Bravo!</span><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Back to work tomorrow. It's a sea day and Peter will be running his classes. <br /></span>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-14322149578131044122022-06-15T18:01:00.169+01:002022-06-21T21:09:59.294+01:00Wednesday 15th June - Mount Pelligrino, Palermo, Sicily<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'd seen it on a walking blog, checked it on Maps.Me, and as the ship docked last night, we saw it from our balcony. Mount Pelligrino.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9skrrjTu3UCjxhOtm4c8eSVKwh_zcEe8iI7B92nxR0Xuxsb966QESiuY7eT8GuNUEM2nigBro5Fv_s1bCIP2NW15PQTB5RVtA8ir_Tl-V1IAH1d7IXDgnJ5n087Adjp9CUFgaaBYvqWPhDo4mbzf77Q40RbAPjIAQlEVCNuAkpLpzX7K5vPo2_eXXqg/s1224/DSC05976.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9skrrjTu3UCjxhOtm4c8eSVKwh_zcEe8iI7B92nxR0Xuxsb966QESiuY7eT8GuNUEM2nigBro5Fv_s1bCIP2NW15PQTB5RVtA8ir_Tl-V1IAH1d7IXDgnJ5n087Adjp9CUFgaaBYvqWPhDo4mbzf77Q40RbAPjIAQlEVCNuAkpLpzX7K5vPo2_eXXqg/w640-h360/DSC05976.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">At 1,970 feet, it's not really a big mountain but it dominates the port. You can drive up it, or if you are feeling slightly nuts, like we were, you could walk up the path used by the pilgrims visiting the chapel devoted to <span>Santa Rosalia at the top </span></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>We knew it was going to be hot, so we didn't expect to be able to get to the top, but we thought we'd see how far we could go, so after breakfast, we left the ship at about 9.45 (we never rush anywhere), and turned right out the port. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>We'd sort of been warned by Hazel, the port lecturer, who said in her lecture that if you turned right it could be a bit "gritty". And it was. Lots of rubbish piled up on the streets, manic cars with loud complaining horns, push bikes and mopeds everyhere, and the streets and buildings a little tatty and run down. </span>There were trees full of purple flowers though, and their perfume sat on top of the warm busy smell of the city.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was a mile and three quarters, or 45 minutes walking, to get from the ship to the bottom of the hill, but there it was, exactly as described in the walking blog I'd read last night.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiG-1a5y5d_-6zL2HGdVhyCaVhh7UKWZuKYXvwBzuqhm1qtHfltf5QmvpMFRM_S3TxAxXEyRyhMdaD1gQbCg6DVyqRyYr30tFMJ5z_C7xPGXTt8oxaRkg5pMDcPEdc0irSsqAjIJy62o3ElD-Xnhn6BVQuT6r61zqRoyvp0mvNh9sptlm_Tj-iPV4Ezw/s1224/DSC05929.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiG-1a5y5d_-6zL2HGdVhyCaVhh7UKWZuKYXvwBzuqhm1qtHfltf5QmvpMFRM_S3TxAxXEyRyhMdaD1gQbCg6DVyqRyYr30tFMJ5z_C7xPGXTt8oxaRkg5pMDcPEdc0irSsqAjIJy62o3ElD-Xnhn6BVQuT6r61zqRoyvp0mvNh9sptlm_Tj-iPV4Ezw/w640-h360/DSC05929.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The path is paved or cobbled all the way up, making for an easy route, which it needed to be in the heat. The sun was already high, and we were grateful for the shade offered by the occasional tree.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiIZ9cdOPyaIQE-aVmGbeeIDpY7f2dUVwMmwb8D_FdR9JCQZcoOTIGPfvnd4kAecnFWtCmvdVByF1TvCobOOR7M4RwiGHJWlMAlo9F3UdW3Uea5ojNklXAzBY215aBXI2eYQAnzHVmM-0BSDnDr0YUHttZd5Tuk0hpEbYsPUtCJNtojTBqbtQIkHKNQ/s1224/DSC05941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiIZ9cdOPyaIQE-aVmGbeeIDpY7f2dUVwMmwb8D_FdR9JCQZcoOTIGPfvnd4kAecnFWtCmvdVByF1TvCobOOR7M4RwiGHJWlMAlo9F3UdW3Uea5ojNklXAzBY215aBXI2eYQAnzHVmM-0BSDnDr0YUHttZd5Tuk0hpEbYsPUtCJNtojTBqbtQIkHKNQ/w640-h360/DSC05941.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX3BlBokO94TA0OKOT1g8Ao_ijkVt8jUbaoZXUf1xGUXCst0tlZMjSMhetoQ-MxmjOM11YtncKDiHTYanrzBFFHbHIqyfV3DMLF3dJEUCNpBbeBkZ_i6nf8YUOx4pFqVtoIVVeMBj_i7xhbTvoKnzoRQhSBFT0qsHkD-p2iBYxk09aksei2TPOd_t9w/s1224/DSC05942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX3BlBokO94TA0OKOT1g8Ao_ijkVt8jUbaoZXUf1xGUXCst0tlZMjSMhetoQ-MxmjOM11YtncKDiHTYanrzBFFHbHIqyfV3DMLF3dJEUCNpBbeBkZ_i6nf8YUOx4pFqVtoIVVeMBj_i7xhbTvoKnzoRQhSBFT0qsHkD-p2iBYxk09aksei2TPOd_t9w/w640-h360/DSC05942.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3wSBBr9V49vXx2a1rR5pfN07LBXx-nryiDlWsxbcmNhnr2E0jjKJ4wtX1Lf79nZz4e_dNdi7PDVEKouPlV3BaqxEf156r0Y8_MHd8u--vLsuFNJYS3Ql4BM6fQXBU09cbXpmiwFaYg2SOSiuDT8QgUiPJiABG-QKdvfAzYnqVWCH-YCkt5Fs9LXypw/s1224/DSC05946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3wSBBr9V49vXx2a1rR5pfN07LBXx-nryiDlWsxbcmNhnr2E0jjKJ4wtX1Lf79nZz4e_dNdi7PDVEKouPlV3BaqxEf156r0Y8_MHd8u--vLsuFNJYS3Ql4BM6fQXBU09cbXpmiwFaYg2SOSiuDT8QgUiPJiABG-QKdvfAzYnqVWCH-YCkt5Fs9LXypw/w640-h360/DSC05946.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />It really was hot going, and constant breaks were needed. Bodhan, the pianist on the ship, overtook us on his mountain bike. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvcXlafe5Upi0vla3p69yMNwktwXGoyKAJPLtmHxXgIvuqHFb-nD2C-zxVACLFEiIICY2nb6MSTR3FUiAF-fi8IuXk-U2loA1SQHjYEjF_ITvGfUi_0LK-fA-njiY1Y6fbGwGHxwP-nkdU8nJnUNz-RKD6A3NVZtjwFIsmqkuX40alpqIayjOdEFLig/s1224/DSC05949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvcXlafe5Upi0vla3p69yMNwktwXGoyKAJPLtmHxXgIvuqHFb-nD2C-zxVACLFEiIICY2nb6MSTR3FUiAF-fi8IuXk-U2loA1SQHjYEjF_ITvGfUi_0LK-fA-njiY1Y6fbGwGHxwP-nkdU8nJnUNz-RKD6A3NVZtjwFIsmqkuX40alpqIayjOdEFLig/w640-h360/DSC05949.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNqpar79KmKoJ7fLchfIwz0x-a5RGC5n9-KfRcNl8nsmuIGIkc2nashC8A4WtcdqgNKt5y6H4UjHkRQl2NuIhwJDGQPljybl09I3Nycl4_ia13jVNq6lm8zT9EYUjqf_BodW0wo9ssa7nvIIS3XZ47DGz7qg2grr4UBl1BvJIt1Pg8IQjYjVdrF-SIA/s1224/DSC05950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNqpar79KmKoJ7fLchfIwz0x-a5RGC5n9-KfRcNl8nsmuIGIkc2nashC8A4WtcdqgNKt5y6H4UjHkRQl2NuIhwJDGQPljybl09I3Nycl4_ia13jVNq6lm8zT9EYUjqf_BodW0wo9ssa7nvIIS3XZ47DGz7qg2grr4UBl1BvJIt1Pg8IQjYjVdrF-SIA/w640-h360/DSC05950.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9SsLwYjLlh_Lx-n2-Y5BANlrJabkEYSIfUN9OXJsJ4h5g9Uivwq5DnNUK77lOFHTrotg1NpDWsUlH-lCdQFZ_1E86K1xtMUDXalU6ivtcTyNSBmubxcoGJIiHYJDjCV1ymRjgLFhSc4t2FwigWDo5JneT74u2fvCiEk2gdZZkXbqGvAssQEObFNfFQ/s1224/DSC05953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9SsLwYjLlh_Lx-n2-Y5BANlrJabkEYSIfUN9OXJsJ4h5g9Uivwq5DnNUK77lOFHTrotg1NpDWsUlH-lCdQFZ_1E86K1xtMUDXalU6ivtcTyNSBmubxcoGJIiHYJDjCV1ymRjgLFhSc4t2FwigWDo5JneT74u2fvCiEk2gdZZkXbqGvAssQEObFNfFQ/w640-h360/DSC05953.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />And we loved it. The countryside around us was varied and interesting with trees, plants and cactiiT the odd lizard crossed our path and the views were stunning. <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We'd already decided that we'd walk until 12.30. No matter where we were at that point, we'd take a
take a break, eat the fruit we'd brought from the ship, and then go
back. At 12.30, with the brow of a hill just ahead I persuaded Peter to
go just a tiny bit further. And I was pleased I had, we'd reached a
point where we could see over the other side, and Sferracavallo, a port
town on the other side. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6RcPSo876At-u_phrsnP7-gAeyOkGe4ZgihYlY8E5hADGZy_HTyGoXpn0WhIfu-D7sfZroMx2VyqNsoXGulr_hOLLNVUuC6zNU_Xz9kIrHIaaAe2wnTdK41EaATydHV2EqKgyTDxm-ANsykfz6o66VtmeZBIpbj9VD5AjAt7eTOj56i-0OJcnmbeqQ/s1224/DSC05966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6RcPSo876At-u_phrsnP7-gAeyOkGe4ZgihYlY8E5hADGZy_HTyGoXpn0WhIfu-D7sfZroMx2VyqNsoXGulr_hOLLNVUuC6zNU_Xz9kIrHIaaAe2wnTdK41EaATydHV2EqKgyTDxm-ANsykfz6o66VtmeZBIpbj9VD5AjAt7eTOj56i-0OJcnmbeqQ/w640-h360/DSC05966.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlYTR62bGLlCaixKRM6rCWHPb3iVw8Rd614cp22DRlkJSmLqks7QH3L5CT3QUVCPr9yUndPuYfZLw4sgEfteRPzY66djQ5vv7IQWRvIYa13pkkwzH1IOpC561IH8eW-rDDF9mwg25Y7COw6_1AR-BnaO4uiVZ69-wv_k2q17LlncMT2jKCPkTCe43Dw/s1224/DSC05958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlYTR62bGLlCaixKRM6rCWHPb3iVw8Rd614cp22DRlkJSmLqks7QH3L5CT3QUVCPr9yUndPuYfZLw4sgEfteRPzY66djQ5vv7IQWRvIYa13pkkwzH1IOpC561IH8eW-rDDF9mwg25Y7COw6_1AR-BnaO4uiVZ69-wv_k2q17LlncMT2jKCPkTCe43Dw/w640-h360/DSC05958.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sferracavallo</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5WA35I4TyPT0hCynD5EvzlWocjAYuakgTm3XHUgr2iOZ1RckcFpSwjole_pn4mX6pLRQ0n_vCSagNz_7gYJVaEe9F0XDC1FAqcSdIsGF4oWIoo9efjqWxRMCAQ1E1071Ku-HPZ6_3cl7GIAuGUujK3Jtmp-hTxWh-xOPm8t31tTFj6WeviKJKMPYNw/s1224/DSC05955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5WA35I4TyPT0hCynD5EvzlWocjAYuakgTm3XHUgr2iOZ1RckcFpSwjole_pn4mX6pLRQ0n_vCSagNz_7gYJVaEe9F0XDC1FAqcSdIsGF4oWIoo9efjqWxRMCAQ1E1071Ku-HPZ6_3cl7GIAuGUujK3Jtmp-hTxWh-xOPm8t31tTFj6WeviKJKMPYNw/w640-h360/DSC05955.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We rested under the shade of the tree, where a passing Sicillian family stopped to say Hi. They were curious about the mad English people on a ship who just suddenly decided to climb the hill. <br /></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvVsUNM0YrC6GaYk7mQGYWWmJk-xGfGZSdwj5h7YKIrj8kPuerjwHLEvmMgZqmfy8OPoIeeZlswDPZoKPeAQL8fUpWMuxcHakI65jfqZOkBJKSfqfS372nrbHaBbF2nM5Yixd1y3vKd26TWHkmt7K_buC1lh6iVFXbL0pJcKKL5e35L6FLAkzrApTuw/s1224/DSC05968.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvVsUNM0YrC6GaYk7mQGYWWmJk-xGfGZSdwj5h7YKIrj8kPuerjwHLEvmMgZqmfy8OPoIeeZlswDPZoKPeAQL8fUpWMuxcHakI65jfqZOkBJKSfqfS372nrbHaBbF2nM5Yixd1y3vKd26TWHkmt7K_buC1lh6iVFXbL0pJcKKL5e35L6FLAkzrApTuw/w640-h360/DSC05968.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuXidlC8L9tV0CsMXXUuJ3rNCPcFHSRyJQXRXbTP4Bou_awaFEKIwdKGWsy1hIgY_VGJoOOX_zwlt1Smz01HCmsF3tl4pjODqJwNuOr-edtsuUcsoxuBdIiVp4d0BzQ6OEGlMbY4FxSBMQh3GOvfbJpEfAjcIO1oRXB9I2gEMdlxU92A7MWYzcQCkGQ/s1224/DSC05971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuXidlC8L9tV0CsMXXUuJ3rNCPcFHSRyJQXRXbTP4Bou_awaFEKIwdKGWsy1hIgY_VGJoOOX_zwlt1Smz01HCmsF3tl4pjODqJwNuOr-edtsuUcsoxuBdIiVp4d0BzQ6OEGlMbY4FxSBMQh3GOvfbJpEfAjcIO1oRXB9I2gEMdlxU92A7MWYzcQCkGQ/w640-h360/DSC05971.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />As expected, going down was much easier, and also much faster. Much faster in fact than we'd calculated. We had gone through a lot of water though, and were not looking forward to the walk back through town, expecting it to be a bit of a slog. It was. But buyin a couple of ice cold bottles of water from a shop we passed, and guzzling them within minutes sort of made it a little better. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We were back at the ship by 3, well in time for Covid testing, so a quick cold shower was in order before heading to the Living Room for cold drinks and cookies. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The rest of the day's highlights included Peter throwing icecream all over himself, the Crew Show, which was OK, and popping in to Joanne who was playing piano in the supper club.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cagliari (pronounced Cal-i-arr-i) tomorrow, and more heat. Peter seems to have a vague memory that he liked the place, so I'm looking forward to it. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-16295141345960116892022-06-14T17:59:00.037+01:002022-06-20T09:26:13.572+01:00Tuesday 14th June - Sea Day<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's a sea day. We spend a lot of time on the balcony during sea days, usually enjoying a cup of tea before breakfast and between classes, watching the sea do nothing more than ripple, with the odd gently wave. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today our sea watching rewarded us with lots of dolphins, a single, large flying fish that flew on for ever, and three turtles, just below the balcony. The bridge beat us on that one though, they'd seen nine. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Classes were running as usual, and then we got the announcement that we were going into Palermo early, so basically an overnighter. We were of half a mind to go out after dinner, but didn't have that much enthusiasm for it, and ended up in the Brittania Lounge with Bob and Annette, listening to the band playing movie and tv show theme music. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have a walk planned tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it. <br /></span></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-79533817933283602902022-06-13T17:55:00.216+01:002022-06-20T09:03:53.005+01:00Monday 13th June - Syracuse, Sicily<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Oooooooo! We like Syracuse.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>The only thing we knew about the place was that it had an old town so when we got off the ship, we turned left and headed for it. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7DX21adP0QMEUMJrDYUIlTonu-6v6VFv78FPpH--OLS2WLw4wVVvKHoJabgPWEYbgSy4xNm2Qp6gWKArwkldbaVtmyNxr2swySknjQAFiX7S8wbwdi6TVfc4eWX-gBL3dcEIN0A9Eod5-l_sLt3puw2gQm7wXMpgwl_KCp_-vuE84L2qwzqHzoPNvA/s4896/DSC05852.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA7DX21adP0QMEUMJrDYUIlTonu-6v6VFv78FPpH--OLS2WLw4wVVvKHoJabgPWEYbgSy4xNm2Qp6gWKArwkldbaVtmyNxr2swySknjQAFiX7S8wbwdi6TVfc4eWX-gBL3dcEIN0A9Eod5-l_sLt3puw2gQm7wXMpgwl_KCp_-vuE84L2qwzqHzoPNvA/w640-h360/DSC05852.JPG" width="640" /></a></span>In actual fact, the old town we were looking for is actually the island of Ortigia. I say island, - it's very, very close to the mainland, and attached by two bridges, and you wouldn't really think about it until you looked on a map.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span></span></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>We loved the atmosphere of the area, the tall buildings and narrow streets lined with little interesting shops which displayed their wares tightly against the walls. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLD8LET-kjA6IINgxfUGdNcRtUtmXlZPU5pxGzpj1mqlspud15IKZVSOayG8ilExoWkkQecn-odR05fsQ08ULp6A8wG2tp826CZYFsgsTIy_oCu2M8IR_QkCYso-_MteueJ7RdiZS1PawpdmkZbjOYceSROvdcAIzXGY3Z6onOYdVIEVqrCDUy3gVyw/s4896/DSC05863.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLD8LET-kjA6IINgxfUGdNcRtUtmXlZPU5pxGzpj1mqlspud15IKZVSOayG8ilExoWkkQecn-odR05fsQ08ULp6A8wG2tp826CZYFsgsTIy_oCu2M8IR_QkCYso-_MteueJ7RdiZS1PawpdmkZbjOYceSROvdcAIzXGY3Z6onOYdVIEVqrCDUy3gVyw/w640-h360/DSC05863.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Our aim was just to wander and take a look at the main attractions which are:</span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>The Temple of Apollo</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifo4S6-GGGFiXiKjnn5Hw--lxG6cLha_Mt5itrc8OKCAsinfiHloBPS0IsV_wSybeEYmTBbQI7bdc0RIDer6OmqFFhOtSpKcGTgs4u4hK_eVxcHr7q-YvvgwHCZtt2-gCkOOibCUXAPPmkUULupHv2WjnZ1yKg3hHBBH0o9SbRZioP3cEMj4ZaYboGWA/s4896/DSC05860.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifo4S6-GGGFiXiKjnn5Hw--lxG6cLha_Mt5itrc8OKCAsinfiHloBPS0IsV_wSybeEYmTBbQI7bdc0RIDer6OmqFFhOtSpKcGTgs4u4hK_eVxcHr7q-YvvgwHCZtt2-gCkOOibCUXAPPmkUULupHv2WjnZ1yKg3hHBBH0o9SbRZioP3cEMj4ZaYboGWA/w640-h360/DSC05860.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVD423nIGVhhIZaboRbI4uLtU_lkBglTwKkzbrO7wRGFfFviZyIOqIx19gjnLV4D0bn5Fkf-nbZmEz-HZ-HCHcqYNZlAIqmw1bLEX8dk8lHMsXvKsP4qudgiq1tMJR6-0qXCFLn_cWNoOqXxIV7n3f_TH8jh8AS5W33WNNWwCojKqO0WTR6gSZdzd3Q/s4896/DSC05858.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4896" data-original-width="2752" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVD423nIGVhhIZaboRbI4uLtU_lkBglTwKkzbrO7wRGFfFviZyIOqIx19gjnLV4D0bn5Fkf-nbZmEz-HZ-HCHcqYNZlAIqmw1bLEX8dk8lHMsXvKsP4qudgiq1tMJR6-0qXCFLn_cWNoOqXxIV7n3f_TH8jh8AS5W33WNNWwCojKqO0WTR6gSZdzd3Q/w225-h400/DSC05858.JPG" width="225" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /> </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>The remains included a couple of columns still at their complete height, with the remnants of the ceiling they would have held up. I tried to imagine what it would be like walking between those columns. Amazing. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span><span>The Fontana di Diana</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3YGKVKvaRnSFr8wdJXalcgV5xNiHv0odETa7oDnRDkRp4Gt-cCiq9Z_gFRq49MjQ5D4v8xZ_9iPWrBKL0E59o6tfubDNBRlVAODTrSu00IKdbswsqio3CkeQnjqJpNOGmCBT8ry9U21IWjnuMAOaLxYVnc72nmaRVcbtS2yBsaL789QlVbgOZiLXZQ/s4896/DSC05868.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3YGKVKvaRnSFr8wdJXalcgV5xNiHv0odETa7oDnRDkRp4Gt-cCiq9Z_gFRq49MjQ5D4v8xZ_9iPWrBKL0E59o6tfubDNBRlVAODTrSu00IKdbswsqio3CkeQnjqJpNOGmCBT8ry9U21IWjnuMAOaLxYVnc72nmaRVcbtS2yBsaL789QlVbgOZiLXZQ/w640-h360/DSC05868.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span>Cattedrale della Natività di Maria Santissima</span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6hyUyBwsPCgCZWlhMY0V3Yu6SMEkdoNEGabBdatlRpy6uBqiBfGA8Z_IKqgsMVicTOT9XcU4tH0ULYIcdMlx87iLikDqYMXpdWvnEk-ckEU6xu-vX0SnsgKWTIzk1_54trJGYtKcdX6k7Zi8ta6ZUGJqqWtMtk7-gZgChNcYHYSobe2fKPIbr3KK5Q/s4896/DSC05884.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6hyUyBwsPCgCZWlhMY0V3Yu6SMEkdoNEGabBdatlRpy6uBqiBfGA8Z_IKqgsMVicTOT9XcU4tH0ULYIcdMlx87iLikDqYMXpdWvnEk-ckEU6xu-vX0SnsgKWTIzk1_54trJGYtKcdX6k7Zi8ta6ZUGJqqWtMtk7-gZgChNcYHYSobe2fKPIbr3KK5Q/w640-h360/DSC05884.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGF5TVPVIANnEdMUmJ0xnBMvDwd5erV9Edlr27ol6h7pMU55vEDfDzY2-wwyJx6pZ0p4X26iHMqgByAqTGk7VYI7fOCgVEIfRS5UToyeVVrbvcJTTG-cxPE18GNzQ0b4EJAyznfmhOcYpFK8eiS7KREcDFIhmNfVLcPC9-dkwC2hHeMWEf3aOQNJHy4A/s4896/DSC05891.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGF5TVPVIANnEdMUmJ0xnBMvDwd5erV9Edlr27ol6h7pMU55vEDfDzY2-wwyJx6pZ0p4X26iHMqgByAqTGk7VYI7fOCgVEIfRS5UToyeVVrbvcJTTG-cxPE18GNzQ0b4EJAyznfmhOcYpFK8eiS7KREcDFIhmNfVLcPC9-dkwC2hHeMWEf3aOQNJHy4A/w640-h360/DSC05891.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zpTGslbG5arCZ1P_MqUNVNtfdXMHp_YU4m6gJBPTrxdLDbUHh0nwdzfFkkltPkV2fkelzi2DQpAf1xTkOA3TYA6rA87QN5Wv33mwj2TU4-G8bb9Q0TfCUDFtAlSFKBpxNT4pKkTXAvRHtOXbjjSKuPK7CJR56kLWYa48fQQWOpB7gp-RpQ9iMextiw/s4896/DSC05890.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4896" data-original-width="2752" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zpTGslbG5arCZ1P_MqUNVNtfdXMHp_YU4m6gJBPTrxdLDbUHh0nwdzfFkkltPkV2fkelzi2DQpAf1xTkOA3TYA6rA87QN5Wv33mwj2TU4-G8bb9Q0TfCUDFtAlSFKBpxNT4pKkTXAvRHtOXbjjSKuPK7CJR56kLWYa48fQQWOpB7gp-RpQ9iMextiw/w225-h400/DSC05890.JPG" width="225" /></a></span></div></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span>We noticed, both outside and inside the cathedral, that it seemed to be built using the foundations and columns of a previous building. I've just checked, and this was previously the 5th century BC temple of Athena. So these columns are around 6-7000 years old!</span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span>In the square outside the catheral
were various busking musicians, the most memorable of which was a monkey
playing the xylophone. (Actually it was a well designed puppet.) Peter has that photo.<br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6JUc_GvCriiMDWWk1ip5kcdDDxhgyQNr_ooi8aFqSLn_YlIsOzmOklOkeaorD7dqXt6EwxfYUdTUSm7UUgZnoizysFrCEJ6MRwhXo8bTtJ_vYkHT6bEk2nWdJZWt4tKFht3vdJgBm-zoggxv1QsWxaEwiARgEs6P1dTvIPErUgBvhpV8EhAm4DS7rg/s4896/DSC05872.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6JUc_GvCriiMDWWk1ip5kcdDDxhgyQNr_ooi8aFqSLn_YlIsOzmOklOkeaorD7dqXt6EwxfYUdTUSm7UUgZnoizysFrCEJ6MRwhXo8bTtJ_vYkHT6bEk2nWdJZWt4tKFht3vdJgBm-zoggxv1QsWxaEwiARgEs6P1dTvIPErUgBvhpV8EhAm4DS7rg/w640-h360/DSC05872.JPG" width="640" /> </a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>We took a look at the </span><span>Fonte Aretusa - a natural spring of fresh water, right alongside the sea. Amongst all the fish was a humongous coy carp (not in the picture though). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8ch5ExEwhtNtKTv_f0sU5rBWLFSKbLqg64U0iFvjzY92A1-tvHIcXTyppjS_IP4J4jUVCp9-4ltKU-2TXnVSfxCpegDDhwbP6rh1R4JNUTT0DhJalECBuMzFGW63xEaS5AnLHzcOnxwCP7tPSUq6COwlHeJMKn_MfumHBXloT_fkT-jBjSONdE8GAw/s4896/DSC05897.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8ch5ExEwhtNtKTv_f0sU5rBWLFSKbLqg64U0iFvjzY92A1-tvHIcXTyppjS_IP4J4jUVCp9-4ltKU-2TXnVSfxCpegDDhwbP6rh1R4JNUTT0DhJalECBuMzFGW63xEaS5AnLHzcOnxwCP7tPSUq6COwlHeJMKn_MfumHBXloT_fkT-jBjSONdE8GAw/w640-h360/DSC05897.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHReSTLDtDiiRtj02DDO0_XyBYWf6V2_wPUHeExTsOdbC4Mqyxh8M1fKp7Bct7lh_yv5AA_OuCtb1mvdbtD0ZEOFYXXHn2Jzix9Nm3OEBZXVKuT_HRE6t9d1xYiw09rFtI45ZTAV60Ben_hwXRq2rbzJJhMyjj_aWDnJoAsWaDcZLkqcvkwtHjGoqnw/s4896/DSC05898.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHReSTLDtDiiRtj02DDO0_XyBYWf6V2_wPUHeExTsOdbC4Mqyxh8M1fKp7Bct7lh_yv5AA_OuCtb1mvdbtD0ZEOFYXXHn2Jzix9Nm3OEBZXVKuT_HRE6t9d1xYiw09rFtI45ZTAV60Ben_hwXRq2rbzJJhMyjj_aWDnJoAsWaDcZLkqcvkwtHjGoqnw/w640-h360/DSC05898.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Amongst the market stalls and I spotted and bought a black pendant, something I had been looking for for a while. The stall holder told me it was Obsidian from Lipari. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="bwoZTb" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>The heat was building up as we made our way to the fort at the end of the island, but decided we were all castled out and left it this time. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>It took us a while, but we eventually found our way to gardens alongside the Arethusa Spring for short break. We had fruit and water from the ship to bring our fluid levels back up, and we set off again to walk along the other side of the island.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnfrcntdvnsYoTS_MR-EKR-9akvXFq5HbcxpvaHUaMOx_NB8F_Xay4TJQfVz7NkVPrsxe7lQwMF4ljHuYyy0WBlAcW5xxwMGjI8ahR23T_FNPCzYHeC6pwJrff-f3RF0C1kzL_U-XkTJFNh8Kso5hA9QwoxRM3d-wq7qn4s0HH05CPEVSud8GC9EDqA/s4896/DSC05903.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnfrcntdvnsYoTS_MR-EKR-9akvXFq5HbcxpvaHUaMOx_NB8F_Xay4TJQfVz7NkVPrsxe7lQwMF4ljHuYyy0WBlAcW5xxwMGjI8ahR23T_FNPCzYHeC6pwJrff-f3RF0C1kzL_U-XkTJFNh8Kso5hA9QwoxRM3d-wq7qn4s0HH05CPEVSud8GC9EDqA/w640-h360/DSC05903.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9kiLBcLX_7NY-MmBSW1s4Yhr8qv7bFMyTeYkwy469-3hMgmJMkt0ikM5I7Qee5JGcRmuempiPQvqqa_ZOcInTlcW-HX2iwGP9rLA0piGLl4XSyOueVhSV4vCAKlV1W1cD_KwBHCZO1Mx0DR0OXQdK6CEFQ68YOvXx7ivSy_JIt1CyGR8606EdTta-A/s4896/DSC05906.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9kiLBcLX_7NY-MmBSW1s4Yhr8qv7bFMyTeYkwy469-3hMgmJMkt0ikM5I7Qee5JGcRmuempiPQvqqa_ZOcInTlcW-HX2iwGP9rLA0piGLl4XSyOueVhSV4vCAKlV1W1cD_KwBHCZO1Mx0DR0OXQdK6CEFQ68YOvXx7ivSy_JIt1CyGR8606EdTta-A/w640-h360/DSC05906.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDbhWlaBo9ilADbjPvj4T71JYcEvL69G67pwP-CA5B5j5RFMcRyxvkRHPcUiTVqRH5gjf-EbyUp1dDSl_Xa4ycVpwGErPUBCmO1ZCW47mDsDmdB5seX3YiQpWcn_fA8LAthG2u0UuTRCM-haIquuKpGdBRtlwzzs_duWPaXv--SD8rWcQx0dzNHdPZw/s4896/DSC05907.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnDbhWlaBo9ilADbjPvj4T71JYcEvL69G67pwP-CA5B5j5RFMcRyxvkRHPcUiTVqRH5gjf-EbyUp1dDSl_Xa4ycVpwGErPUBCmO1ZCW47mDsDmdB5seX3YiQpWcn_fA8LAthG2u0UuTRCM-haIquuKpGdBRtlwzzs_duWPaXv--SD8rWcQx0dzNHdPZw/w640-h360/DSC05907.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> It was here that we found the locals using rocky platforms for sunbathing and swimming. As we were getting hotter and hotter, I was quite jealous.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>We worked our way back to the bridges, and found a cafe. Vanilla icecream and beer for Peter, mine was a coffee and cream concoction which was absolutely delicious. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>We had hoped to to visit a cone shaped cathedral on the mainland, but as always, the heat is exhausting, and we decided we'd leave that for another day. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Yep. We like Syracuse. Hopefully we'll visit again someday. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span><br /></span></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-49254325797654267212022-06-12T15:58:00.000+01:002022-06-17T17:54:49.635+01:00Sunday 12th June - Taking it easy - sea day<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's another sea day, and the routine of classes runs as usual. We spent a little time talking to Cynthia and Jeff Chandler at lunch. He's not a fan of Peel Talent. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was a formal night, and since we were all togged up, it seemed appropriate to go to the show. It was a Queen night, titled "We are the champions" - there were some good song mixes and blends there, but I'm not sure about the show as a whole. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We finished in the Supper Club, listening to Sam and Coral with their gentle accoustic vibe..</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tomorrow is our first Sardinia port, Syracuse. I have no idea what to expect.<br /></span></p><p><br /></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-91802659527075246492022-06-11T09:38:00.001+01:002022-06-17T16:01:33.547+01:00Saturday 11th June - Bodrum, Turkiye<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another Turkish port which research tells us does not have a lot for us to be interested in. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like Kusadasi yesterday, Bodrum is for shoppers. Except, unlike Kusadas, the atmosphere is much more relaxed. You felt that you could go into a shop, look at stuff and not be mobbed quite so ferociously.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another thing about Bodrum is the boats. Ken Lennox, a keen sailor, has told us that Bodrum is one of the key places for wooden boat building. Apparently they are called gulets, they can be made of steel or wood, they are everywhere in the bay, big, small, fun, or sleek, and they are beautfiul. Most of those in the bay are for tourists, taking passengers out for a few hours or a few days. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrRJvJ5dh0ZNFVg5_4dVuerJRKvzANLRlsqEnRbzMck-tll2oSst_B-vsgWMdtWV8zbTnYGVxCRzsp4msVBvuTH6DYm4Hy_hC8159MMo_zwvhrrv6Td8V0gAoDY8ksFZtDZ2tQjRYYvddkA4UXiF3A2PJ-LX6N6k9VLvEYMyGdH-dmanw-B_oE-59fg/s1224/DSC05754.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrRJvJ5dh0ZNFVg5_4dVuerJRKvzANLRlsqEnRbzMck-tll2oSst_B-vsgWMdtWV8zbTnYGVxCRzsp4msVBvuTH6DYm4Hy_hC8159MMo_zwvhrrv6Td8V0gAoDY8ksFZtDZ2tQjRYYvddkA4UXiF3A2PJ-LX6N6k9VLvEYMyGdH-dmanw-B_oE-59fg/w640-h360/DSC05754.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELgLCeL2dZNY2zjy_DGu3Y0geTXw3gjpyp7zY9Oubq6bj2zwzDDzAAeXNX22rXt2bSNpM_3qMBlb1tPhg2uhNdM76pN-rpbWTRqVyU8aY9z-Ibnrw_t7EDLpNmHYzO6UeI7fX6f4t9abJZuhPo1SY2cDVNw0vbEDJPfJXC3FURQgsiqwQ1_wiUJFWzg/s1224/DSC05756.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELgLCeL2dZNY2zjy_DGu3Y0geTXw3gjpyp7zY9Oubq6bj2zwzDDzAAeXNX22rXt2bSNpM_3qMBlb1tPhg2uhNdM76pN-rpbWTRqVyU8aY9z-Ibnrw_t7EDLpNmHYzO6UeI7fX6f4t9abJZuhPo1SY2cDVNw0vbEDJPfJXC3FURQgsiqwQ1_wiUJFWzg/w640-h360/DSC05756.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I couldn't resist these, they are the sterns of a couple of tourist gulets.<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And finally there is a fort. It isn't described as a fort per se, the call it an underwater archeological museum. The fort was built by the Knights of St John - who were constantly upgrading and improving it for 100 plus years before the Ottoman empire took it in the 1520's. As you go around, you see constant reminders of this in the form of shields and emblems carved into the stonework throughout the castle. I heard someone mention there are summat like 250 to them.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMyH0habVYxyDBPE5dCv8GLxEVLxxdtriX2c86rRPKB0Rr6zSJAg1IuZjC-TgCB9pgjZYW-a11U27IuY8gYr1ZGv60RCVP-DsYHll3EnXpFGtPtFq-3BfUYrU_trkrgrG3oDfe-sPclzqtOVEV2OmezK8dBAY40ApXENxzdAOI85-Ex7o_pHRWhP-yw/s1224/DSC05765.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMyH0habVYxyDBPE5dCv8GLxEVLxxdtriX2c86rRPKB0Rr6zSJAg1IuZjC-TgCB9pgjZYW-a11U27IuY8gYr1ZGv60RCVP-DsYHll3EnXpFGtPtFq-3BfUYrU_trkrgrG3oDfe-sPclzqtOVEV2OmezK8dBAY40ApXENxzdAOI85-Ex7o_pHRWhP-yw/w640-h360/DSC05765.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXnAb6slaQ6_k0FnzfJX3BKDM9CZaMbp40WBFr2SpILDsTUUguUyPpAzXZKzd3J-UqNMYXqa_P0hNMuQDVRmqebU0tEw9VMIAJ0N3HwxyOfecUcmZLw005a5alVcd6FCGpRqTzrbZXYIDLPztwUIgSnvY-iRzvxd0EgwDzLhGq-Y1eimcZ7cZMkKWpA/s1224/DSC05773.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXnAb6slaQ6_k0FnzfJX3BKDM9CZaMbp40WBFr2SpILDsTUUguUyPpAzXZKzd3J-UqNMYXqa_P0hNMuQDVRmqebU0tEw9VMIAJ0N3HwxyOfecUcmZLw005a5alVcd6FCGpRqTzrbZXYIDLPztwUIgSnvY-iRzvxd0EgwDzLhGq-Y1eimcZ7cZMkKWpA/w640-h360/DSC05773.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7J7v9hO6qYaa8by2yY9E4ilyM5VtlM9yHEbq5pP08EIyWhlLEhjoGqgshr3vFK5ZYPnmpk7ZIYwf7QclNaI8VyW8kO_4IMbuKfCHtaluH6kEuii2MP-eZia26W6YFKG8omcHAeKEojJvNBxQf0w4BL-NVhP9fELQdkuysEAkSq5js6YUFKSec8h5IsQ/s1224/DSC05776.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7J7v9hO6qYaa8by2yY9E4ilyM5VtlM9yHEbq5pP08EIyWhlLEhjoGqgshr3vFK5ZYPnmpk7ZIYwf7QclNaI8VyW8kO_4IMbuKfCHtaluH6kEuii2MP-eZia26W6YFKG8omcHAeKEojJvNBxQf0w4BL-NVhP9fELQdkuysEAkSq5js6YUFKSec8h5IsQ/w640-h360/DSC05776.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Veiw through the fort wall, the bay is full of these gulets.<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMweijOuE6FdbSNyQfL8mjOTVLWbAiUhyMSqGiwmuJYHZyY9vN3FRKCBMUQmkRe3z59GR0hRYSABJ7PsUUlndV6H9BeqPAJ7taU-HhpIxrFa8s1t70OMs0nvCnrjifMylpwzW7aMfB3Bj49Dek1S4yIKkqIYH2IPqZGd2ppGp1q7FD5oTSZj4C0J8Vbg/s1224/DSC05800.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMweijOuE6FdbSNyQfL8mjOTVLWbAiUhyMSqGiwmuJYHZyY9vN3FRKCBMUQmkRe3z59GR0hRYSABJ7PsUUlndV6H9BeqPAJ7taU-HhpIxrFa8s1t70OMs0nvCnrjifMylpwzW7aMfB3Bj49Dek1S4yIKkqIYH2IPqZGd2ppGp1q7FD5oTSZj4C0J8Vbg/w640-h360/DSC05800.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /> </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I said before, the fort is now used as museum to display the items from in shipwrecks found in the Aegean Sea. One display shows a life size model of a ship from 1077 AD, and how it would have looked when it sank. We were quite impressed by it.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ3GWER-xuZQSBNvIvlpModNhgrHFcfEYT9ucPH5H3h-tI4ZJkteRi1Mevc9bV1s0gR6zsRisjHcnSDlk07V1s-SOmR123Sv4QY4jqg7TpD7Bx3049V-pLRs4lhsGuCDTWxJjY-SzD-9I8iDWaARWXBJfpj1pbq2shfhLAS4HCjBUP9tT-YpOsW9s_g/s1224/DSC05811.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ3GWER-xuZQSBNvIvlpModNhgrHFcfEYT9ucPH5H3h-tI4ZJkteRi1Mevc9bV1s0gR6zsRisjHcnSDlk07V1s-SOmR123Sv4QY4jqg7TpD7Bx3049V-pLRs4lhsGuCDTWxJjY-SzD-9I8iDWaARWXBJfpj1pbq2shfhLAS4HCjBUP9tT-YpOsW9s_g/w640-h360/DSC05811.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />We were also quite impressed by the Carian princess display. They found
a complete sarcophagus, undisturbed. The display shows a
reconstruction of how the woman buried there would have looked, her treasures, and her bones. (Peter got that picture). They're pretty sure they know who she is - (a historic queen), but they can't prove it. <br /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Looking out from the castle walls gave some brilliant views of the bay too,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB60IqhQyz7oSebm-FKkj6VbJvBFCn4IZY0dlSc8OJMAlre9KpPWWfoiDfl2we8Qs52_oAeE6t1VRwFIobtOJh9YNc_e3ZKVxafkkVAo9EPVldYm3o9FFjcL-5l_GLD9-sInf8Hgid0su2YNn94Eq9SpKjj_Tjzw3hjxCHfyl6xxAJTTiq7cejFwp3rg/s1224/DSC05804.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB60IqhQyz7oSebm-FKkj6VbJvBFCn4IZY0dlSc8OJMAlre9KpPWWfoiDfl2we8Qs52_oAeE6t1VRwFIobtOJh9YNc_e3ZKVxafkkVAo9EPVldYm3o9FFjcL-5l_GLD9-sInf8Hgid0su2YNn94Eq9SpKjj_Tjzw3hjxCHfyl6xxAJTTiq7cejFwp3rg/w640-h360/DSC05804.JPG" width="640" /></a> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Up and up through the twists and turns of the castle, we headed for the highest tower. The place was like a maze, and it took a lot longer to explore than we imagined. By the time we'd finished, and started heading for the exit, we were worn out. Any plans to head for the ampitheatre up the hill were quashed, and we took a slow stroll back to the ship. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The easier atmosphere of the shops made us consider buying Peter a couple of new shirts. This part of Turkiye is known for it's "genuine fakes". Labels such as Dior, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste and so many others surrounded us. Turns out that genuine fakes are not as cheap as Primark. €35 a shirt was a little more than we planned, especially as Peter couldn't get a black one. The salesmen was dead cool about us walking out with nothing though.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_h-9UJ4kpeVPuf67USDWotYq9hbVMdtLNp0h4qfsqRRWPk3cdpCtji6TJz8exlvdnQC1M0MlloI9PKk3boswduXiYz0dySjpp4PKdbw8ynmWo3rJe4zGlA4FkcoEkK7UwEew6-GQZpgMLWFsmdjdjURalqK9-RwInDIySedf-kSgLPpmKO_xjBYilA/s898/DSC05758.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="898" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_h-9UJ4kpeVPuf67USDWotYq9hbVMdtLNp0h4qfsqRRWPk3cdpCtji6TJz8exlvdnQC1M0MlloI9PKk3boswduXiYz0dySjpp4PKdbw8ynmWo3rJe4zGlA4FkcoEkK7UwEew6-GQZpgMLWFsmdjdjURalqK9-RwInDIySedf-kSgLPpmKO_xjBYilA/w640-h352/DSC05758.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These brightly coloured shapes are actually wind and solar powered lamps - used for the restaurant tables next to the bay.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As we got to the marina near by, Peter decided it would be an excellent place to do a little bit of painting, and quickly produced two brilliant drawings of the boats in the marina. I also decided I wanted to buy some turkish delight, so we walked to town and back, again. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Finally back on the ship, it was good to relax in the cool air conditioned Living Room on Deck 5. (Ideal place for a cool beer or a coffee, with excellent chocolate chip cookies available too). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tomorrow is a sea day which will be a bit of rest as far as I'm concerned.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLf9tTR7KEGz-Rn-KQ8VmbGEceJNIPKX8x_HVPdW4Z9BkP2hMad86Zh8QTuscNc7db_Qjbt2Jpb9dc-5KbWoQlrtnFHUN4eMuGIG9w3hVjCMgMs35-Gb-Fbo2kvoIL5Bwa_LEMtsaF9IryDKM0sZIbFvuWWYeEuY335grH8WwMLXBaW8J0x3DQ39PmSA/s1471/DSC05788.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1471" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLf9tTR7KEGz-Rn-KQ8VmbGEceJNIPKX8x_HVPdW4Z9BkP2hMad86Zh8QTuscNc7db_Qjbt2Jpb9dc-5KbWoQlrtnFHUN4eMuGIG9w3hVjCMgMs35-Gb-Fbo2kvoIL5Bwa_LEMtsaF9IryDKM0sZIbFvuWWYeEuY335grH8WwMLXBaW8J0x3DQ39PmSA/w640-h382/DSC05788.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A rather beautiful white peacock. There were two of these in the fort. Lovely.<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-70374912905582385042022-06-10T09:37:00.115+01:002022-06-14T14:56:56.460+01:00Friday 10th June - Kusadasi - Turkiye<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7vXqujNokaVcj7RDwdC4wounnbb2uZpZAtFtaOMX_4Az3EXkml41hgKJ8O_euQ0or-dXpFwCSksCIzg422MIxDqqgJ7e6foGfrcojpFheni14on0TuSG6aotJu9S4Pq28jqlmEPxu4dGGOKhINf67qilW3XE_T1hmLmifanAEL_2o--kr_i5rFYOyQ/s1224/DSC05720.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7vXqujNokaVcj7RDwdC4wounnbb2uZpZAtFtaOMX_4Az3EXkml41hgKJ8O_euQ0or-dXpFwCSksCIzg422MIxDqqgJ7e6foGfrcojpFheni14on0TuSG6aotJu9S4Pq28jqlmEPxu4dGGOKhINf67qilW3XE_T1hmLmifanAEL_2o--kr_i5rFYOyQ/w640-h360/DSC05720.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We loved how the houses had been painted on the hill, very pretty. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Hmmmmmmm. Kusadadi. What should I say about Kusadasi.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuweyCOPN86Zg7Uu_IhQ07LhJsfO6hGGmHSDENYqsamoy_lcTXOYyiAvTzL8I1uiGb19qxNV1_oFUxTYU89DLatJZ5S2qRE1xWcc7itU14RkOm8WYkgkZmxFNt3j0Lzj01jv7Mm3VtQDkeLKDlItOBC-mKHtX3cWVs2CTGO11OuXGnND_JHkFrCwRlIA/s1224/DSC05721.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuweyCOPN86Zg7Uu_IhQ07LhJsfO6hGGmHSDENYqsamoy_lcTXOYyiAvTzL8I1uiGb19qxNV1_oFUxTYU89DLatJZ5S2qRE1xWcc7itU14RkOm8WYkgkZmxFNt3j0Lzj01jv7Mm3VtQDkeLKDlItOBC-mKHtX3cWVs2CTGO11OuXGnND_JHkFrCwRlIA/w640-h360/DSC05721.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Well, research told me that there would not be much for us - with our love of country, hills, rocky coves and wildlife, Kusadasi did not seem to have much to offer, very much a tourist haven, it's mostly about the shopping, and boat trips, and cafe's.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We set off after breakfast, left out of the port to see what the town had to offer and my attention was captured by some old looking wall. From what I can make out, it is called the Okuz Mehmed Pasha Caravanserai, and is used as a hotel. Except it didn't seem to be a hotel when we walked in. It had a really nice atmosphere, cool in the heat, with an exhibition of art and paintings, some of which we really liked.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtshuVjT11w8VZxtxDdg5-j1baMDswGvAfqdfTUk_UJ2Hieyo9HUAXoiQFmMWVqb82j20Tf8he0mDA_1rNyAvVyqjNXgbgJPLYmZ9koVeq2MM2NN3ohB4OY9boy0N8AsWLLydKtcUE7qprLzg3RqRam3XmK31Uij-zkgyZEeE3t5rUIMr-olVzEo3nw/s1224/DSC05723.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtshuVjT11w8VZxtxDdg5-j1baMDswGvAfqdfTUk_UJ2Hieyo9HUAXoiQFmMWVqb82j20Tf8he0mDA_1rNyAvVyqjNXgbgJPLYmZ9koVeq2MM2NN3ohB4OY9boy0N8AsWLLydKtcUE7qprLzg3RqRam3XmK31Uij-zkgyZEeE3t5rUIMr-olVzEo3nw/w640-h360/DSC05723.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebh3ksUDkPc-LCvaYLvcmKNu0Q56SqvTkoJ3KhxzR6tiIdQ7cuJevi_0m09ss67JAXOvoiU_n26TnbVdDvo7osi37EiOGYwkcrH9iPKPntmb2pt9nLo240KkTghN3cwe145dWyaHk3s00dBP72CSZesUrs0qUKrRsqYQHHk0c0Swwd3FTCmnvu9hJ-Q/s1224/DSC05726.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebh3ksUDkPc-LCvaYLvcmKNu0Q56SqvTkoJ3KhxzR6tiIdQ7cuJevi_0m09ss67JAXOvoiU_n26TnbVdDvo7osi37EiOGYwkcrH9iPKPntmb2pt9nLo240KkTghN3cwe145dWyaHk3s00dBP72CSZesUrs0qUKrRsqYQHHk0c0Swwd3FTCmnvu9hJ-Q/w640-h360/DSC05726.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Back into the street, we came across a map that seemed to show a sort of tourist interest route. Taking a photograph, we thought we'd follow it. That proved a challenge to far, we got lost amongst the streets, and gave up in the end. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We decided to head for Pigeon Island and the fort on it, which meant we would have walk through the shopping area. Not a pleasant experience. Even if I wanted to buy something, I wouldn't. The shopkeepers were quite persistent, almost aggressive, trying to capture your attention, and insisting you should interact with them.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05fWT8rm1LjK4WdpTo46ZWUkRObPHRgb__mJcG5vXIfDJPquye0vBoPKsF7-RvAsZ-Hggnwpy2BRhvu1-vmnLpQGZn9LqLrFDJ62c8x5l78FK5vAT77XJ-p7SjD2ybEymirrAsbooZhOz8Zy50eI8osUS3TlZQoxcP6-jBUfH51n6_72ceefxvCc7fQ/s1224/DSC05732.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05fWT8rm1LjK4WdpTo46ZWUkRObPHRgb__mJcG5vXIfDJPquye0vBoPKsF7-RvAsZ-Hggnwpy2BRhvu1-vmnLpQGZn9LqLrFDJ62c8x5l78FK5vAT77XJ-p7SjD2ybEymirrAsbooZhOz8Zy50eI8osUS3TlZQoxcP6-jBUfH51n6_72ceefxvCc7fQ/w640-h360/DSC05732.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQtfIRDXeChZMex9o7MaURNELs_A5YCm5xj9qWW3y7nzl654Y0FeXK8si_GW1QLNq729qbcBWptKiSHHIJXYq25Td63Op3hjgQK6QmxhngyHTCCYs9ClGcCfadcJ3b6CmugVjpvwlgvUOpadhz10nQeaYq5vOcM2p0mu0jRJTUST4fh-CHccI1yoVTw/s1224/DSC05734.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQtfIRDXeChZMex9o7MaURNELs_A5YCm5xj9qWW3y7nzl654Y0FeXK8si_GW1QLNq729qbcBWptKiSHHIJXYq25Td63Op3hjgQK6QmxhngyHTCCYs9ClGcCfadcJ3b6CmugVjpvwlgvUOpadhz10nQeaYq5vOcM2p0mu0jRJTUST4fh-CHccI1yoVTw/w640-h360/DSC05734.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />They did not seem to understand that this is entirely the right way to put off potential British buyers. We got out the other side, and sat on a bench on the waterfront, relaxing after the onslaught, but even then there wasn't any peace. A man approached with cards. He said "Hello" we said "No thank you", he said, "Why you don't want to talk to me, I only said Hello". I sort of got mad, and explained, with controlled anger, that we were sick of being pestered and just wanted to be left alone. I didn't swear, and I was very polite. But he got the message.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Next was Pigeon island. A pleasant little fort, free to walk up and around in, with views across the bay.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOigHS1SnK6myYT6lDtPsQHL8yz6WgvYlN0vAfI7pRSuJfuOFzyvvL_o5er1ktiMJ5izISkJSjJVb5gCFiKwjxYuz4UktgpO-LF5dfTPqR4eug9uWcp5-q3YSph3zuPX_gTz4mmWVPwNUIXuaZOcTMo-Li68vw7C02vuWZabuC98PTnrKXZr10garUfg/s4896/DSC05736.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2752" data-original-width="4896" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOigHS1SnK6myYT6lDtPsQHL8yz6WgvYlN0vAfI7pRSuJfuOFzyvvL_o5er1ktiMJ5izISkJSjJVb5gCFiKwjxYuz4UktgpO-LF5dfTPqR4eug9uWcp5-q3YSph3zuPX_gTz4mmWVPwNUIXuaZOcTMo-Li68vw7C02vuWZabuC98PTnrKXZr10garUfg/w640-h360/DSC05736.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />By now, as there wasn't really anywhere left for us to go, (although Peter wanted to walk up to the Kusadasi sign, I was just too hot), so we were looking for somewhere for a cool drink. Whilst up in the fort, I'd spotted some sun loungers at the bottom, and decided to investigate.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkFuThhVK80Jr734kBoJbGgTp8Q2TS2NvNu5z0cV-8RsmdYnJHopdwGKdURvOlBArFPKxZyottJBNzGov4TN77pKWeSjDmclAaJiOKKXToHtXJloxpRekFT-aAnKw4s2b_HVZ7GePNQnM1cV9o2oa66pJIIJXx1on4slT9a5O5ZD2rhnD6rs7u2IAKg/s1224/DSC05745.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkFuThhVK80Jr734kBoJbGgTp8Q2TS2NvNu5z0cV-8RsmdYnJHopdwGKdURvOlBArFPKxZyottJBNzGov4TN77pKWeSjDmclAaJiOKKXToHtXJloxpRekFT-aAnKw4s2b_HVZ7GePNQnM1cV9o2oa66pJIIJXx1on4slT9a5O5ZD2rhnD6rs7u2IAKg/w640-h360/DSC05745.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDzXVclXIqq9kRQ6c2ZS1XG43kh97S36Ng7nN_wjHXw0bOw2GnR_taDMtsf4JkUuZr531qREW0pk-FYIge0hM-D9IGb0mgbUS6j7_koAe8gyQxwmXHY1PCVGwBwGi4A9DdxC5nRMu2GuFKSIFm8DZlhVAaWi5tMqo1-bZTT3VFCZwHUYHD8shX_SjIg/s1224/DSC05748.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDzXVclXIqq9kRQ6c2ZS1XG43kh97S36Ng7nN_wjHXw0bOw2GnR_taDMtsf4JkUuZr531qREW0pk-FYIge0hM-D9IGb0mgbUS6j7_koAe8gyQxwmXHY1PCVGwBwGi4A9DdxC5nRMu2GuFKSIFm8DZlhVAaWi5tMqo1-bZTT3VFCZwHUYHD8shX_SjIg/w640-h360/DSC05748.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Views over the bay, The Saga ship Spirit of Adventure on the left. Note the parasols and boardwalk at the bottom of the cliff. <br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Well, we now know where we will go if we ever go to Kusadasi again. As you approach the fort, there is a bar to the right. A board walk leads from the bar, around the edge of the little island to an area of loungers, with steps leading into a marked out area of safe water, which is just perfect for a swim. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Peter and I sat at the bar, looking out at the boats, swimmers and fishermen, and watched the island folk and tourists be island folk and tourists. A couple of drinks each, a massive pile of chips, and tons of mayo, and once again we felt like relaxed visitors. Very content.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Back on the ship, we are still undergoing daily covid tests, and today we are still Covid free. Tomorrow is another Turkish port. I'm hoping it will have more for us than today. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <br /></span></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5186773948978718904.post-91825318421134129762022-06-09T14:10:00.120+01:002024-02-23T23:57:11.235+00:00Thursday 9th June - Canakkale and Troy - Turkiye<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Canakkale - pronounced Chan akk ally. Not Cannak kally as I've been saying. Nor, as Peter has kept correcting me for the last week, Cannak karley. The Captain called it Chan akk ally and it turns out he was right and Peter was wrong! LOL!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We've been before, a couple of times, there isn't much in the town to speak of, although we've visited a submarine maritime museum before, which was interesting. Saga made an inclusive visit to Troy available and we decided on that. It was an afternoon tour, so we took it easy in the cabin, had an early "light" lunch (mine was a massive salad), and boarded the bus at 12.15<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We've visited Troy before, back in 2016. Back then, there wasn't a museum, but there is one now, and it's quite impressive. A few of the displays stuck in my memory - the video showing the various cities of Troy building up on each other, the gold jewellry, the images the stuff that has been taken away by the first archeologist, <span class="ILfuVd NA6bn"><span class="hgKElc">Heinrich Schliemann, in 1870.</span></span> (and which Turkey wants back).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJk9qtrfJ8FsrslRePi_mJ6CDsD1pr9v2ZjiZFUItHngOoRFsR1aK-Yb360RZfRmDgkAZmiuk143qpoucQK8QwQ0mP7ULrH9ag_wRkOGXdJSDqBbk188N8a63MKy--i78lFEluQnjHmXpFlRVz-8snkdNHchGM3JNPan6m_zixTbc8c-IAnzsM8LLWSg/s1224/DSC05675.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJk9qtrfJ8FsrslRePi_mJ6CDsD1pr9v2ZjiZFUItHngOoRFsR1aK-Yb360RZfRmDgkAZmiuk143qpoucQK8QwQ0mP7ULrH9ag_wRkOGXdJSDqBbk188N8a63MKy--i78lFEluQnjHmXpFlRVz-8snkdNHchGM3JNPan6m_zixTbc8c-IAnzsM8LLWSg/w640-h360/DSC05675.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /> And the sarcophagii -</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbaeYG0VxBLIc_ZwFcBb0ryG_JoK1jqUd69sAPuQjaHmIC6hpl9qjspLcyrce-8pvsQeoZG2zJJKCjDIec817u2Y35YyWsgY9TeNItf_f-MXSLPGbvNGZ7uYd75HBgH0-HvJaYBENFJ5tyQDwKZRXjZ-F3M5U5BpjqBDm9FC6tqVXHVfPvWw1RG9R4vQ/s1224/DSC05669.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbaeYG0VxBLIc_ZwFcBb0ryG_JoK1jqUd69sAPuQjaHmIC6hpl9qjspLcyrce-8pvsQeoZG2zJJKCjDIec817u2Y35YyWsgY9TeNItf_f-MXSLPGbvNGZ7uYd75HBgH0-HvJaYBENFJ5tyQDwKZRXjZ-F3M5U5BpjqBDm9FC6tqVXHVfPvWw1RG9R4vQ/w640-h360/DSC05669.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Particularly the sarcophagii outside, because Stuart St Paul decided to climb inside one, and be filmed climbing out again. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">From there we went to Troy. The tour was exactly the same as last time, I retained a little bit more than last time, and enjoyed it as much. The thing that struck me the most I suppose was how small it was in total. I don't think I noticed that last time.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPul-hliCDwYOZ9poa-EsBI7sQYboSj0QBSo241wW7dYnAl406fnMvp8nKcye-HKlIasiRP6NwuUfyNhvK7Dw2rhdzTZkvYwZKmWHiOlNV-H4CPNaPJcaNQt4Q1KqeSHjCPYEeDf4FqkbdbrUjIh9Q5gTjnj_O1V91F4LwsKNK8ve01WnqifcXl1g5wQ/s1224/DSC05679.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPul-hliCDwYOZ9poa-EsBI7sQYboSj0QBSo241wW7dYnAl406fnMvp8nKcye-HKlIasiRP6NwuUfyNhvK7Dw2rhdzTZkvYwZKmWHiOlNV-H4CPNaPJcaNQt4Q1KqeSHjCPYEeDf4FqkbdbrUjIh9Q5gTjnj_O1V91F4LwsKNK8ve01WnqifcXl1g5wQ/w640-h360/DSC05679.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As per our last tour, different layers of the Troy cake were explained to us. 9 layers in all, ending in the Romans, who decided to build an Odeon into the walls of earlier cities, disappointing the archeologists who wanted to see those bits.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjqa7pNwwD8iT-qlvD8ApZWg8EOXI7dsm-OZ7DCNjPydiBNzTpm063jXzuptaMgylAqPSKoyKmbRFsR4MfegiVnCoOQV7IvxzUtCWLjhx_PIdFWXJNEFmldd69bMy-exXQjKrQ923t4A0efg6UrIyIJho7yDKPw6vrSNc7Xr1Va1b1XP5J5aeP7nYlg/s1224/DSC05689.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjqa7pNwwD8iT-qlvD8ApZWg8EOXI7dsm-OZ7DCNjPydiBNzTpm063jXzuptaMgylAqPSKoyKmbRFsR4MfegiVnCoOQV7IvxzUtCWLjhx_PIdFWXJNEFmldd69bMy-exXQjKrQ923t4A0efg6UrIyIJho7yDKPw6vrSNc7Xr1Va1b1XP5J5aeP7nYlg/w640-h360/DSC05689.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbHQZILoRMro2nkZgpoda7xB2JnzNyUoWQBGuRcVowH39OhNCLZJzYjpV9IgcrjHhJZOU5q0jrot-ME6N6id_wlJDf2o3rVzoFbIgI1YZn8RlU5NG--P2xcsLXkVlOsfMxYn9a4o_T2KJrSuHo7accPVMB8oAn_f4bvAo6pxp38tT-0Izg-X35_HO0w/s1224/DSC05696.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbHQZILoRMro2nkZgpoda7xB2JnzNyUoWQBGuRcVowH39OhNCLZJzYjpV9IgcrjHhJZOU5q0jrot-ME6N6id_wlJDf2o3rVzoFbIgI1YZn8RlU5NG--P2xcsLXkVlOsfMxYn9a4o_T2KJrSuHo7accPVMB8oAn_f4bvAo6pxp38tT-0Izg-X35_HO0w/w640-h360/DSC05696.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />The model wooden horse is still there at the entrance, but visitors weren't able to climb up inside as per our last visit. I assume for safety reasons.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQ-btcPUgckYCCYhGCiieuWhRvdKdjj93BUC46WEUYNLcz-dLOUtWDhWY6PC_x08bfVDhQNa2HawWwqCrOAmWxY_npn3Aiw7IsJrFdvRATPoPjnQLFRmm2Cl3hj7JAVbP8SDKZXLsqqMiNiwlGoFVP_nZW41XgFlR5RE8sRGp4rrRdiA8x8q8nkKhMg/s1224/DSC05706.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1224" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQ-btcPUgckYCCYhGCiieuWhRvdKdjj93BUC46WEUYNLcz-dLOUtWDhWY6PC_x08bfVDhQNa2HawWwqCrOAmWxY_npn3Aiw7IsJrFdvRATPoPjnQLFRmm2Cl3hj7JAVbP8SDKZXLsqqMiNiwlGoFVP_nZW41XgFlR5RE8sRGp4rrRdiA8x8q8nkKhMg/w640-h360/DSC05706.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Back at the ship, we ate dinner in the Grill as usual. And as usual, the waiters are getting to know Peter, who, as usual, will only eat vanilla icecream for dessert. Thing is, it's normally Dian who gets him four scoops. When Von was asked to get Peter's icecream mountain, he came back with one. 6 scoops! Peter struggled, but he managed it!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Finally, we took a promenade along the promenade deck as we often do. We came inside out of the wind, and heard singing. Following the sound, we came across the Supper Club, and Steve Simone singing along with the Acoustic Duo, Coral and Sam. We decided we really liked the mood and the vibe of the place, and will visit again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tomorrow is another Turkish port, Kusadasi. Research so far shows that shopping is the main attraction of the site. Not our thing, but we'll see. <br /></span></p>dittzzyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15692360473584073575noreply@blogger.com0