Med Cruise On Serenade

We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We enjoyed that occasion on the Serenade of the Seas, somewhere in the Mediterranean between Barcelona and Cadiz, Spain, the first port of our second consecutive cruise. This cruise will end Dec. 12 in New Orleans. Barcelona is where we started (Nov. 15) and ended our first cruise which was 12 days visiting many ports in the Mediterranean. It is quite late in the season to be doing these ports because of cold weather, but we lucked out and only had a few days of rain. First we visited Cannes, France, where we explored the old city and the very enjoyable waterfront promenade area with David & Diane Wilson. Here is a building painted with scenes from the film festival:

Cannes also has some delicious looking seafood being sold all over:

The next day we docked in La Spezia, Italy. The Cinque Terre towns are not very far away, so it was easy to take the train to revisit a few of them. We were there in April for 4 days after a transatlantic crossing, and we explored all 5 of these villages then. This time we went with David & Diane, and also Clare and Charles Austin, first to Monterosso, and then to Vernazza. Here is a picture of the happy group of explorers:

On the walk through La Spezia, we passed many beautiful and historic buildings with sculptures such as this on the facades and around the doorways:

Monterosso was right on the coast, and here was the view near the train station:

We had a sunny day and the trail was open, so Charlie did the hike along the coastal bluffs between Monterosso and Vernazza, while the rest of us took the train. In Vernazza we had lunch at a little pizza restaurant cut into the seaside cliffs, while waiting for Charlie to arrive:

Some other cruise friends, Mark & Peggy Steeves, joined us for the lunch:

Then we took pictures on the seaside cliffs:

This is the view of Vernazza from the hiking trail:

The subsequent port was Salerno, which was the gateway to the Amalfi Coast. Here is the city from the ship:

The Amalfi Coast is a very steep and dramatic peninsula with picturesque villages and palatial homes built all along a very narrow and twisty road. David and Diane joined us for a quick exploration of Salerno enroute to the train and bus station. The park was loaded with whimsical sculptures of animals all in paper mache and lights,

and the very nice walkway along the waterfront was enhanced with plastic penguins situated on a rock breakwater, giving us all a big laugh.

The bus ride from Salerno to Amalfi took about an hour but was very exciting because of all the steep drops down the cliffs alongside the road, and the close calls the bus had with oncoming traffic and rock outcrops on the inland side of the bus. Whenever we encountered another big vehicle such as a truck or bus, the vehicles had to slow down and inch by each other, sometimes with one or the other backing up - passing each other with very little space between. Here is just one view from the bus:

Amalfi was a delightful village with the usual assortment of craft sellers and shops selling tourist goods, restaurants, bars, art galleries, etc. The cathedral was large and beautifully decorated outside, with an interesting fountain in the square.

There were also lots of great ceramics available for purchase in town:

Of course, we had another delightful lunch with David & Diane:

There were more dramatic views on the bus ride back to Salerno:

Back on the ship, we had a delightful happy hour with lots of the cruise friends:

The highlight of the cruise was sailing into Venice and spending 1 1/2 days there. Our ship went right along the large ship passage skirting the city, passing right by St. Mark's Square and the Doge's palace. The ship is so big that it towers over the buildings and we had fantastic overhead views of the Lido, the canals, the outlying islands in the lagoon, and the entire Venice area.

Once we docked, David & Diane went off the ship with us and we learned how to take the People Mover to the Piazzale Roma, where we could catch any of the transportation options. After buying a 24 hour vaporetto pass (these are like buses but they are boats), we walked the narrow, convoluted streets along the Grand Canal, soaking up the ambiance, looking at the goods in the shop windows and stalls, taking pictures, and hoping that the rain which was threatening would hold off. Of course, we saw some gondolas waiting to be hired out:

And there were lots of masks for sale:

It was very different to be in this city as night fell and the lights came on in the streets. Because Nov. isn't a heavy tourist time, most of the people in the streets were locals hurrying home or shopping after work. It was very cold, even though we were all bundled up, so we made it to the Rialto Bridge and then caught a vaporetto back to the ship. The next day the 4 of us headed out early because we wanted to make the best use of our vaporetto pass by going to the outlying islands in the lagoon. All of us have been to Venice several times before, so we didn't feel the need to visit the tourist sites in the main part of the city. Taking the vaporetto to Murano enabled us to see a lot of the canals with the various different areas. Murano is the island where the art of glass blowing has always been the main occupation. Right near the vaporetto stop there was a furnace and showroom trying to charge 3 Euro, but we knew there was a free one further on.

After an interesting demonstration, and a perusal of the showroom which displayed beautiful glassware of many different types, we walked to the center of the village.

There were quiet canals lacing this town:

And even a boat selling produce:

The shops and houses and monuments on this island are very different than being in Venice, with a very relaxed ambiance and of course, lots of glassware shops. There were 2 interesting churches, one with many huge paintings by famous artists such as Tintoretto. But the best one was Santa Maria del Donato, which had Byzantine mosaic floors from the 1100's. In the 1970's, that floor was cut into 4 parts and lifted off so they could shore up the subfloor. Then they replaced the mosaic pieces and cleaned them up. The result was incredible.

Seeing this church caused us to eagerly look forward to our upcoming port call in Ravenna, where there are at least 5 churches with Byzantine mosaics given UNESCO world heritage status. We also saw the ambulance going by:

Next we took the vaporetto to Burano, a smaller island much further out, famous for lace making,

and also the fact that the majority of the houses are painted in a myriad of very vibrant colors.

It brightened up the somewhat overcast day just looking at the red, blue, green, yellow, purple houses! Another phenomenon occurred here as well: the Acqua Alta. This means "high water". At this time of year, they get higher tidal surges and because the canal banks aren't very high above water level, the water floods the streets, squares and walkways along the canals. The locals wear boots and wade through. The stalls sell a foldable type of boot to tourists.

In places like St. Mark's Square, they put out elevated wooden walkways. So in Burano, when we encountered this, we had to walk to the back streets and go around the lower areas in order not to have soaked shoes. It was delightful just to walk around in the streets and look at the buildings. Eventually we ended up in the center, where most of the restaurants and shops were. After appreciating the local lace products and table linens, we had a delicious tuna pizza and beer lunch in one of the few places which offered free internet. Because we had messed up a couple of times and ended up on the wrong varporetto, we were not going to have enough time to visit the 3rd recommended island, Torcello. Now we have a reason to go back! Getting back to the ship just as darkness fell, we appreciated the free drinks and great views up in the Diamond+ lounge as our ship glided out of this picturesque city. Ravenna is only about 70 miles south of Venice, and it was supposed to be our next stop. But the weather was bad and the wind was blowing about 75 km/h early in the morning so the port of Ravenna was closed and we had to spend the day at sea. We were so disappointed to be missing the UNESCO sites with the mosaics, and also seeing this city where we have never been before. The following day we docked near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Happily, the weather was much better. Elaine and I first explored Croatia in a campervan in 1989 so we got to see this walled city on a prominent peninsula jutting into the Adriatic during the time it was part of Yugoslavia.

In 1991 the war started and much of the city was blown up. The war only lasted a few years and when it was over, they quickly rebuilt. The next time we saw it was in 2005 when we were in Europe on a land tour of 7 central European countries, and the city appeared much the same as it had in 1989. In 2008 we visited it on a cruise, so we had been in the port area before. Because of these previous visits, we weren't hurrying, and had lunch on the ship, then took the local bus the approximately 3 km to the old city. Croatia is part of the European Union but they don't use the Euro, so we had to exchange for kuna before we could buy bus tickets. David & Diane were with us and we had a leisurely stroll all over the city.

We also went outside the walls near the waterfront so we could get some pictures of the nearby rocky cliffs, and the walls with the marina and outdoor restaurants near the water.

It was Sunday, so some of the shops and restaurants were closed. One of the most interesting places was a corner where an artist had posted pictures of his home and studio before the war, and then after it was bombed. He had a very good summary of the events which devasted this city in the early 1990's because he doesn't want anyone to forget the turmoil and all that was lost. That was the last port, so we had 2 sea days to get back to Barcelona and the end of the first cruise. On the ship, we enjoyed the company of many friends from other cruises, and we knew that many more would be joining us on the second cruise. Because it is a transatlantic, lots of cruisers like the extended time (15 days) and the many sea days, as well as the fact that it ends in New Orleans.

Brilliance Cruise - Continued

Hi Again - it is a cold day in our last port, Portland, Maine, and we have been here at least 3 times before, so we are currently sitting in the Concierge Lounge where we have a good phone and internet signal. We are waiting for it to warm up a bit so we can go out for a long walk. In the meantime, I will tell you about the port experiences we have been having. Portland was our first stop last week and the day was nicer. Here is a picture of the city:

We mostly walked all over, admiring the old buildings. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived here, so his house has been preserved and there is a museum nearby. The waterfront, where our ship is docked, has nice shops and restaurants. When we were here in our RV 2 summers ago, Boomer friends Gloria and Charlie Goss were with us and we all took a ferry to Peaks Island and walked all around it - then had a picnic lunch. It was MUCH warmer then! We also bought cheap lobster, and taught them how to cook and eat it. We had lobster on this ship when we ate at the Captain's Table and it was overcooked and tough. Boo Hoo. Bar Harbor was the other Maine port. Last week everyone was disappointed because the main attraction nearby is Acadia National Park, and it was closed. We took the tender into town and walked all over, admiring the HUGE and stately old hoimes, many of which have now been turned into Bed and Breakfast places. Here are a couple of them along the beach front.

There is also interesting architecture all through the town, an example being this place:

The town itself has lots of cute little shops selling goods for tourists because they get lots of visitors here, not just from cruise ships.

Last week we had this picture taken to show how the trees were changing colors:

You can see that it was warmer because we are in shirts. This picture was taken in Bar Harbor yesterday with the twins, Lisa and Marcia - the ship is anchored behind us:

You can tell it is much colder by the way we are dressed. Our ship is the last one making this run this season. After a little shopping with the twins, Elaine and I went to the library to do internet and then met them later at Geddy's for lunch.

We all had good food and local microbrews, but Lisa was especially keen on having lobster. Elaine is a very experienced seafood eater and she taught Lisa how to break the lobster apart and get all the meat out:

Lisa enjoyed it, despite the look on her face! For dinner, the twins joined us at Giovanni's, the very excellent Italian restaurant on the ship. We had scallops as a starter and a soup loaded with seafood for Elaine, as well as jumbo shrimp for her entree and I had lamb chops. I always request that they go to the neighboring restaurant (Chops) for some of their delicious forest mushroom soup. Everything was delicious and we had plenty of wine too, supplied by the ship as one of our amenities. Here we are sharing a special night (our 5th wedding anniversary) with special friends:

The first Canadian port was Saint John, New Brunswick. The first week we did a very long walk over to the reversing falls. We have been here before and actually, they are no big deal because it is just when the river reverses because of very high tides, and you have to be there at the exact right time. But we needed a destination, so we walked over along the very pleasant harborwalk. Here is the reversing falls area:

On of the nicer tourist areas is called Market Square and nearby is the Barbour Store Museum. This is an old store that was actually moved about 80 miles on a barge to this site and restored. It is well done, interesting, and free.

Outside the store there are so benches with some really cute carved figures, so we posed with them:

Our second visit to Saint John, we walked around a different area downtown. It was much colder but no threat of rain. It was so cold that we were surprised that flowers were still abundant in the planted beds:

One of the fun places to visit was the City Market, where there were many colorful fish drawings hanging over the stalls, and lots of nice handmade creations by the local people.

Saint John is a very historic city, and there are lots of architecturally interesting brick buildings which could be seen on our walk. These were built after a large majority of the wooden buildings were destroyed by a huge fire in the 1800's.

There were many brick and stone churches with prominent spires which could be easily seen from our ship. Here is the Stone Church:

Many people from America who were loyal to England moved up to Saint John after the Revolution. Some of their houses are still around and on display and they call them Loyalist Houses. The last port was Hallifax, Nova Scotia. This is a delightful city we have enjoyed before and lots of the interesting things to see are within walking distance of the cruise port. We did the Harbour Walk, which is very well done and has many lovely sculptures, restaurants, shops, and sights scattered along its length.

This cute little tugboat was moored along the walk:

The second cruise week in Hallifax we walked over to the extensive public gardens. I'm sure they are amazing in Spring and summer, because they were pretty good even now, despite the cold weather. This is the bandstand there:

The lake in the public gardens was bigger than we expected and quite nicely landscaped along the shore:

It wasn't far to The Citadel, a big fort shaped like a star which is high on a hill overlooking the city.

I had my picture taken with the guard:

There are also many elegant, old brick buildings in Hallifax too:

St. Paul's church is one of the oldest in Canada and has a beautiful pipe organ, as well:

Now for a few more miscellaneous pictures from the ship. This is the staff captain and his wife, from Croatia, who hosted us the second week at the Captain's Table:

This is the very elegant dessert that was served:

This is a picture of some of the beautiful and delicious sushi rolls which we ordered at Izumi, the Japanese Restaurant here on the ship. This is one of our favorite places to eat!

Tomorrow we arrive back in Boston and fly back to San Diego where we will stay with Darran & Marielle again for a day or 2. Then we will drive back to Park Sierra to reconnect with old friends who have returned to the park. Our next adventure starts Nov. 13 when we fly to Barcelona to board the Serenade of the Seas for a series of 3 cruises - the Mediterranean, a transtalantic, and a Caribbean.