Last days in Italy

Lucca - church started before the plague. Afterwards, there were not enough stone masons to complete it in marble, so bricks were used instead.

This was originally a Roman ampitheatre, but has been converted to modern condos!

Puccini's favourite coffee shop

Roman wall of a summer house garden.  The flowers are still blooming in late November!

The house and garden

The house

 

Barcelona is a fascinating city, with more different kinds of architecture than anywhere else. The buildings range from gothic churches to strange modern creations, with, of course, Gaudi masterpieces thrown in.  The buildings are really spectacular, each in their own way.  

Flat Stanleys at a Gaudi House

This Gaudi church might be finished by 2030.  It has been under construction through most of the twentieth century.

Detail view from the back

                                                    An apartment building

Looking down on Barcelona

We are now in a nice hotel in the shopping district of Barcelona, but it is Sunday, so the shops are closed.  There is, however, a Christmas market that is open, and very busy.  They have the most wonderful items for Christmas villages and nativity scenes!   There is also a traditional Catalonian character who represents the fact that we need to keep the land fertile to receive the blessings of the coming year.  I will leave it to your imagination as to how he fertilizes the earth (not animal manure).  Of course he will become a subtle additional to our Christmas village.  Other characters have been created in the same position, including Bart Simpson and the royals.  It is all great fun.

Can you imagine what you might find at the "Christmas" market?

Hams curing at the restaurant where we had a really nice dinner

We went on the Hop on Hop off bus this afternoon, and into the evening - beautiful!

Tomorrow we will be embarking on the Celebrity Solstice for further explorations in Spain and Portugal, before crossing the Atlantic to Fort Lauderdale, and then home. We miss all our loved ones and friends. Two more weeks till we see you again.

Serenity at Barcelona harbour

Sicily and Naples

The shipped docked at Catania, a very old city with a lot of new parts that were built following bombing in WWII.  The influences here range from early Greek, Romans, Saracens, Normans and Bourbons, living in the shadow of Mount Etna, an active volcano.  We had visited this famous landmark on a previous trip, so went exploring the nearby towns this time.  It was the first day of rain on this voyage, but that didn’t stop us from seeing all the sights.

John went on a tour to Syracuse, a city that was once part of the Greek empire.  There are more well preserved Greek ruins here than in Greece, as well as many Roman ruins.  After all, Archimedes was a Sicilian from Syracuse and not a Greek.   Gail went to Taormina, which was founded in 358 BC, but looks like a Baroque town, as it has also been rebuilt more than once.  We were both escorting tours from the ship, which is always good, as lunch, with wine, is included.

2300 year old Greek theatre

Remains of the Temple of Appolo in "downtown" Syracuse

Cave from which St. Paul spoke

Roman ampitheatre, about 200AD

Balcony in Syracuse from 1800's shaped to accommodate women's large skirts

Looking up in Taormina, a home with an English garden - unusual for here

Taormina is built into a mountain, so everywhere is either up or down stairs

We did not sign on for a tour out of Naples this time, as we were quite ready for a day of relaxing on the ship.  We did get off and walk around a bit, remembering when we had our first taste of lemoncello with an authentic Napoli pizza many years ago.  The city seems somewhat depressed.  Maybe it was the drizzle, but it is more than that.  The centre near the port is all torn up for construction of a subway, so it is less than beautiful right now.  The streets were quite crowded, and twice someone tried to pick pocket John by undoing the zipper on his jacket pocket.  One guy actually had his hand in the pocket when John pushed him away!  Nothing was stolen, as we are very aware of these dangers. 

The Galleria shopping area looked partly empty, so that was not very exciting.  We went for a nice walk along the waterfront when the rain let up, so it was, after all, a pleasant outing in Naples.

square in Naples

Slavic Splendors

We have been sailing through the Adriatic Sea for the past few days, with stops at Koper, Slovenia and Dubrovnik, Croatia.  These places share the Mediterranean climate with Italy, but there is a different flavour here.  We have continued to visit medieval towns and to enjoy the sights.  Yesterday John and I each went on different tours.  His was in 4X4 vehicles through back roads.  I was fortunate enough to be on a luxurious bus.  Both tours ended up having lunch at the same place.  They offered the local grappa with herbs, like slivovice ( a Slovak drink that John’s parents used to have sometimes)  It is a strong brandy type beverage that they serve with fresh figs as a welcome into the home.  My tour visited two homes, one was a local artist where they make their own, called Konavoska Stara Rakija ( I have no idea what this means, but it is supposed to be good for you.  John actually surprised me by being able to get along with many of the locals in conversation, as the language is not too different from the Slovak dialect he knows.

Flat Stanleys arrive in Dubrovnik

Outside the walls

Inside the walls

View from above

                  Birds in the square at lunch time.  Maybe Alfred Hichock had been here!

Here are some of John’s artistic photos:

                                 Mill where flour is ground in the traditional way

When he is not taking pictures, guess what John likes to do?  (This pub was in Koper)

There is much more to share, but Internet is slow here.  We are still able to get email, though, and love to hear from family at home, whom we miss, as the adventure continues.

More Venice

We have been told that this is the perfect time of year to visit Venice, as there are fewer crowds and the odour from the water is less evident.  If there are more people here in the summer, some of them must end up falling into the canals, as it has been quite crowded while we have been here.  This has not prevented us from exploring and enjoying all that there is to see.  We have also been blessed with perfect weather.

The buildings never cease to amaze, especially as they are so old, and have not changed much over the centuries, though some have apparently been slowly sinking, and there is evidence of that with some of the crumbling walls and crooked windows, all of it picturesque.  We went up the 300 foot Campanile   bell tower (okay, we admit there is an elevator, rather than climbing up Heather style).  The city looks spectacular from that height, and there are so many churches, each with bells.  We were aware of the bells, as at least three different ones could be heard from our hotel, and they all chimed at slightly different times, which was somewhat disturbing as they counted the hours through the night. 

             Flat Stanleys at the top of the tower, overlooking San Marco Square

Waterfront view from the tower

                                            John enjoying afternoon "tea"

                            Our little friends liked to join us wherever we went

Traveller's tip:  In case there is no wine glass available in the hotel, there is always an alternative.  Just be sure to pack a corkscrew.

Ahhhh Venice

Departure from Milan on the train and arrival in beautiful Venice all went smoothly.  We were not sure about how to get to the hotel... water taxi had been mentioned, but it turns out, there are actually water busses that are easier to access with luggage, so off we went.  As we proceeded, John was already craning with   his camera, as there were so many lovely vistas, just like in all the   pictures you have ever seen of Venice.  We got off at San Marco (Saint Mark’s Square) and then began to search for the Best Western Monte Carlo.  Finding it on our own was not possible, as Venice is a labyrinth of narrow streets that twist and turn between the canals.  Beautiful, yes. Negotiable, only with great difficulty.  A man offered to take us for two Euro, which was worth every penny.  We were pleasantly surprised by our Rococo style accommodations, and a full breakfast is included.

                                                                Milan train station

                                                            Local "bus"

                                                        Gail in San Marco square

                                                        Gondolas parked in waiting

                                                     Flat Stanleys relaxing in the hotel room

The hotel was offering a free trip to the island of Murano, famous for its glass making, so off we went in the morning, through the canals on a water taxi.  The factory was fascinating, as the process has not changed since it began, and we were able to watch a master form a glass horse as we watched.  Of course, this was followed by a tour of the showrooms of elaborate glass of various styles, all available to be purchased, and of course they will ship anywhere in the world.  It was all beautiful, but we were able to say “No Thanks!” 

The glass is red hot as it is formed

The rest of the day was spent wandering through this incredible city that feels like you have stepped back in time.  The Bysantine influence is evident in many of the buildings, and the fact that there are no cars makes it other worldly.  We thought we had seen narrow streets until we came here.  In front of the hotel, two people can barely pass each other. 

                                                John in the "street" outside the hotel Monte Carlo

                                                       Gail on the Rialto Bridge

Looking the other way from the bridge

"Cheers" once again

In the pictures, we are wearing our Tilley hats with wide brims.  This is partly because it was a bright sunny day, but the other practical reason to wear a hat here is to deflect the pigeon droppings, as the lively little creatures are everywhere.