24/04/2014 Home

Well!!! So another adventure comes to an end.
36 nights aboard MSC Fantasia, 28 port stops (plus Dubai), several new friends later, we finally arrived home at 1100 on Thursday.

Sure, we had a few little 'dramas' along the way but on the whole, we had a great time.  Would definitely cruise again if the opportunity came up.  It's the best way to see a lot of places in a short period of time.  To me, a cruise is about the destinations and not what is on the ship or not.

This holiday was everything it promised and more.
To those that have followed our adventures, thanks for coming along for the ride - hope you enjoyed it - we did.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho ......

Dubai 21-23/04/2014

Arrived in Dubai a little late.  By the time we got our transfer to the hotel, it was around 0200 before we got to lay our weary heads down to sleep on the horizontal.  Up around 0700 and brekky out of the way, we took a shuttle to the MOE (Mall of Emirates).  By the time we had deciphered our options, we had lost time and it was around 1130.  I was still suffering from a bad headache that I'd had for a couple of days.  Lesley is still crook so we didn't do anything too strenuous.  We had our desert safari booked to begin at 1500 so we made it back to the hotel in time to freshen up and catch our pickup.

Belly Dancer

On the safari, we were taken about 80km out of town into the desert.  The afternoon/evening was an excellent experience.  We were part of a convoy of 84 4WD's.  We had a Nissan Patrol 5.6 litre V8 - one of only a few in the fleet.  Very nice vehicle. There were 6 of us in our vehicle.  The driver asked of our taste - do you want me to drive crazy or slow?  I replied somewhere in between would be great, secretly hoping that I'd judged his meaning of 'crazy' correctly.  Once we appeared comfortable with medium crazy, he amped it up a bit.  Still felt safe though.  The vehicles are all fitted out with roll cages.  On occasions a car would pull out of the convoy so that someone could have a spew.  We saw one bogged along the way - great fun!!!
Our final destination in the desert was a camp where we were treated to some traditional food and a BBQ dinner.  Not sure what we ate but it went down OK.  Also had a short camel ride.  Then we had a belly dancing display.  She danced for about 30 minutes.  I enjoyed this very much.
Around 2100, we departed for home.  A great experience was had by all.
The following day we caught the Hop-On Hop-Off bus as our option to get around the city.  Simply not enough time to see this place in a day.

Burj Khalifa

View to NE from the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa

I had a ticket booked to go to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world).  The girls took time out in the Dubai Mall while I went up.  The Dubai Mall is also the largest shopping mall in the world in area.  It makes Chermside look like a corner store with all the brand names you could expect in specialty shops.  Not my bag but anyway...  The trip up to the 124th floor of the 'Burj' takes 60 seconds and so smooth, you can hardly tell your moving.  The view at the top is spectacular.  Dubai is covered in a haze limiting visibility - not sure if it is all the time but I expect so.
We then boarded the bus for a whistle stop tour of Dubai with commentary.  We ran out of hours to be able to get off anywhere to investigate in detail.  That will have to be a job for another day should it come around.

Burj Al Arab - 7 star Hotel

We finished the day with dinner in a small cafe and caught a taxi to the hotel.
Dubai is an impressive place to visit - just exuding opulence.  Everything is the biggest and best in the world.  It appears they subscribe to the theory that if it's BIG and EXPEN$IVE, let's build it.  With no GST or income tax, a lot of their wealth comes from investment.

Early start on Wednesday to pack and transfer to the airport for our 1025 flight.  We took off about 45 minutes late and arrived in Brisbane at 0630 on Thursday.  The A380 was a little over half full so it was great.  People were sprawled out over multiple seats.

Venice 20/04/2014

As we were escorted into Venice by tug boat at each end, A very biblical sky developed overhead which I managed to capture.  Easter Sunday today.

We disembarked the cruise today.  It wasn't without saga though.
Got off the ship to collect our bags before taking a transfer to the Venice Airport.  Guess who misplaced someone's bag?
After an hour and a half searching, my bag showed up in the second terminal without its colour coded tag.  Murphy's law kicked in and they only had two terminals to choose from but they chose Terminal 2 when I disembarked in Terminal 1.
Anyway, it all worked out in the end - got to the airport at around 1130.  Our flight is at 1550 to Dubai.
So we are holed up in the Business Lounge at Venice Airport right now relaxing in preparation for the flight.
I'll update from Dubai next...
See ya then.

Dubrovnik 19/04/2014

We docked at 0800 this morning.  We arranged to meet up with our previous taxi/tour guide, Marin (from Skrabo Travel) from when we were here last week.
This time Marin took us to the North of Dubrovnik along the coastal road to Trsteno and Ston.  Along the way, we turned into some small villages whose names I can't recall.  There are numerous villages nested in the cliff faces along the coast, each is its own little beach paradise.  You wonder if the locals become complacent to the beauty that surrounds them.  Each of the these little bays is gorgeous and unique.  The water is crystal clear.  I love to see the locals just going about their business as if there is nothing special about where they live.  I suppose we all do the same.
At Trsteno, we visited the botanical gardens where there a species from all corners of the globe.  Even some eucalyptus.

Bamboo plantation at the botanical gardens of Trsteno

Onwards to the Medieval 14th century town of Ston.  Interesting feature of this place is its stone wall is the longest in Europe at 5.5km long.  Very small population of less than 300 people so being Easter Saturday, everyone was a little lay back.  They suffered some considerable damage from an earthquake in the 90's and Ston still bears the scars of that ordeal.  Most has been restored since though and gladly in it's original 'flavour'.

We had a 'cuppa' before heading back to Dubrovnik to board the ship.
We really enjoyed Dubrovnik and its surrounding areas that we visited over our two stops.  Simply stunning place!!!  I'd like to thank Marin for hosting us on our short visits to his beautiful back yard.
We departed at 1400 on the dot, headed for Venice. 

We are due to arrive at Venice at 0800 tomorrow (Easter Sunday) where we will disembark our cruise and fly out to Dubai at 1550 for a three day stop over before heading home.
Mixed feelings right now as we start packing our bags for home.  While it will be great to get home to family, it has been a wonderful time and met many nice people along the way.
Next time I will get a chance to blog will probably be from Dubai so chat then...

Corfu 18/04/2014

The weather had closed in when we arrived in Corfu today.  We held off going ashore to see if the sky would lift before deciding what we would do.  After an hour or so, we decided to wing it and take a taxi for some sight seeing around the island.
We weren't disappointed!!  Our cabbie, George, took us to the NW coast of the island.  The island of Corfu is only about 100km from N to S and E to W, about 20km.
We saw some scenic coastline around a place called Paleokastritza - yeah try and pronounce that!  George patiently taught us how to roll it off the tongue Greek style.

Paleokastritza

 He also told us that the area featured in the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only".  I'll have to check it out.

Agios Georgios

The weather cleared up nicely and we got to see the pristine waters in all their glory.George got us back to the ship with minutes to spare as there were traffic hold ups in the town of Corfu due to Easter festival road closures.
We departed at 1800 on the dot and now headed for Dubrovnik.  Not sure what we'll do there either tomorrow as the weather might be a bit off again and Lesley is still battling a bug which got the better of her today.  She came touring with us today but felt crook by the end of the day.
We're a bunch of walking wounded at the moment - all have been struck by a bug at some time or another.  I guess it's inevitable when you are exposed to this close captivity for this length of time.
Catch ya tomorrow...

Athens 17/04/2014

We docked at 0730 today.  Weather wasn't particularly friendly - cold, windy and threatening to rain.
Lesley stayed indoors today as she is still trying to shake a bug.  Judy and I took the 'Hop On Hop Off' bus for a tour around Athens.  As we've targeted specific sites in the previous visits, we thought it best to just take it easy and get around the city a bit.  Had lunch in a small restaurant in the Plaka which is the old city centre of Athens.  We saw beef burger on the menu so thought yeah that'd be nice.  There must be an unwritten rule (that we abide by) that says a burger comprises of food on a bread roll.
This beef burger consisted of a plate with rissoles, lettuce, tomato and chips - no bread roll to be seen!!  Anyway, it was nice - just an interesting observation.
When you are walking the streets of Athens, you become numb with the presence of such iconic structures as the Parthenon when the Acropolis, it seems, is visible on most street corners.

I think the day never really reached any more than 15 degrees so it was pretty chilly in the top of the open bus and with a couple of short showers, it was a miserable day.
We boarded at around 1500 and departed about 1630 - a bit later than intended.

Santorini 16/04/2014

Santorini Island is the caldera of a prehistoric volcano eruption.  We parked up in the Santorini Gulf and were taken ashore by ferry.  From there we scaled the cliff by donkey to the capital, Fira.  A taxi took us to the small village of Oia where we ambled around taking in the sights of this beautiful place.

Church in Oia

The village of Oia is perched on the ridge of the 'caldera' and at the tip of the main island.  The buildings are densely packed over that landscape and not an inch of wasted space.  It's clear their main source of income is from tourism.  There were two ships in today bringing in around 6,000-8,000 visitors to an island of 13,000 permanent inhabitants.  Our cabbie said that it is not uncommon to have up to 5 ships in the same day during the summer.

The view from our lunch table

I'm intrigued by what motivates anyone to establish a community on the ridge of a volcanic caldera.  I guess this is what makes this place so unique.
The cabbie waited for us and took us back to Fira where we had lunch with a view to die for.  We ended our day by walking down the cliff to the water where we boarded our tender to take us to the ship in the bay.  The walk was a challenge for the crook knee - took about 40 minutes to scale down.  The donkeys took about 10-15 minutes to take us up the same path.
A great day was had by all with a few firsts chalked up.  Went to Santorini, rode a donkey and walked down the cliff.  Well it was big for me!!!

The path up/down the cliff face - by hoof or by foot

We departed at 1700 and are headed for Piraeus (Athens) again.
Catch ya tomorrow...

Katakolon 15/04/2014

Today marks one month since we embarked on the cruise and we're still loving it!!  We docked at Katakolon port at 1100 - two hours early.  The main attraction here is the ruins of Ancient Olympia.  We did that on the third day, so today we just took it easy to catch up on some useful WiFi and had lunch at little cafe beside the wharf in this little one street village/port.
It was a leisurely day.  We boarded at around 1400 and departed about 1600.
On our way to Santorini overnight.  Really looking forward to it.

The view from our cabin this morning - Moonset

Bari 14/04/2014

We docked about an hour earlier than expected.  No touring today.  We only took the shuttle bus into town centre and had a 'Captain Cook' around the older part of town.  St Nicholaus' Basilica is pretty impressive inside.

The seaside views here are amazing with the bluest of blues and the day was perfect to boot 22 deg.  Next stop is Katakolon (Greece).
Catch ya tomorrow...

Venice 13/04/2014

We docked at 0800, grabbed a 12hr 'bus' ticket (18 euro) and cruised the grand canal initially.  We got off at San Marco (St. Mark) square.

We arrived in the square right on 1000 and witnessed the Palm Sunday mass beginning in St Mark's Cathedral.

We walked the streets and back alleys.  I think we got lost a few times but others probably wouldn't admit that.  It's a maze of paths and alleys sometimes only a couple of metres wide where you can only see the sky.  We had a map but as you could imagine it's very busy in it's detail and not every street can be named.  The trick is to just keep tracking in the same general direction and eventually, you'll end up on the grand canal.  From there you can get your bearings.

Had lunch at a small ristorante near the Rialto bridge.  We set out on a mission see if we could find our stomping ground of 2007 when we stayed here a few nights. 
By the end of the day, we were spent and our weary old legs eventually got us back to ship about an hour before we were due to depart.
Today we unloaded a shipload of boat people and took on another - about 2000 turnover.  Included in the exodus were Mark and Karen, our friends from home.  They are spending a couple of nights in Venice before the trip home. 
So now we begin another 7 day cruise which, for us, is the last leg.  This leg takes us to Santorini in the Greek Islands to the South and return to wind up in Venice next Sunday.
Tomorrow, we land in Bari on the SE coast of Italy at 1300.  It will be a short visit of about 5 hrs.
Catch ya then...

Dubrovnik 12/04/2014

Dubrovnik is a little hidden gem on the shores of the Mediterranean (Adriatic)!!!
We decided to take a taxi from the port to take in the sights and history of Dubrovnik and immediate area.  Marin was our very courteous driver.  He showed us through the modern day city and up the mountain which overlooks the area.  You can take a cable car to the old city of Dubrovnik from there - we didn't.

The old city of Dubrovnik surrounded by the wall

We went to the old city of Cavtat which (I think) is to the south.  Postcard scenery here everywhere you look - simply stunning.

A view of the old town of Cavtat

The old city was destroyed in the war of 1991 but has been rebuilt to its original state.  Marin took us by a complex of 5 star hotels that were destroyed during the war but have never been redeveloped.  It's sobering to stand in front of these and see the artillery scars and destruction and can only imagine what it would have been like at the time.  Terrifying.

One of the war damaged hotel buildings

After three hours of touring, Marin dropped us off at the gates of the old city of Dubrovnik where we strolled around town for an hour and a half before he picked us up to return to home base.

This place leaves a lasting impression on you with an urge to return because you just know there is much more to see and experience.
All aboard at 1330 and we were away shortly after 1400 on route to Venice.

Corfu 11/04/2014

Bell Tower in town

 We docked a little early at 1130.  The weather had closed in and raining but within an hour or so it had cleared to a nice day.  We only went into town today for a perusal of the local 'goings on' - no actual tours.  We are back here next week so we will take a trip then.
The town centre was very dense with small narrow streets about 4m wide in every direction packed with markets, shops and of course, lots of boat people.

This bloke approached me and asked me to

 take his picture

There is a distinct variation to the architecture here - Some of the first tiled gable roofs we have come across all trip. 
All aboard at 1700, the departure was a scenic one as we tracked up the coast of Albania with some dramatic mountain ranges (with snow) right to the coastline.
The show tonight was a Michael Jackson Tribute - very professional and spectacular.

This fella is very clever - has all the moves

We are due to dock in Dubrovnik tomorrow at 0800.

Athens 10/04/2014

We docked at the port of Piraeus at 0730 and hit the ground running.  We found the same taxi that we had a couple of weeks ago and we took a drive in the 'bush'.  About 75km out of Athens, we visited the small village of Korinthos where there are ruins of Ancient Corinth.  There stands the ruins of the temple of Apollo.
The detailed work that has gone into these ancient structures fascinates me.  Great photography subject matter.  We spent an hour or so on a small excursion around the ruins.

Remains of the Temple of Apollo

On the way we crossed over the Corinth Canal which was built in the late 19th century.  It would have been quite a feat at the time too.  About 8km long and 60m wide (at the bed), it saves about 200 nautical miles on a trip around the the southern tip of mainland Greece.

Corinth Canal

Then we spent an hour walking the streets of the town of Loutraki.  It was very quiet at this time of year but the cabbie assures us that in summer it is a very busy tourist beach.  The beach is not sandy like we are used to but pebbled.  The water is typical Mediterranean postcard aqua and crystal clear.

Loutraki

Another great day was had by all - All aboard at 1600.  There were a couple of late comers boarding the ship.  Everyone was loaded and the engines running as a taxi came screaming across the wharf with an elderly couple.  Once they boarded the skipper whacked this beast into gear and we were off within a minute.
we head to Corfu overnight - due to arrive at 1300 tomorrow (Friday).
Catch ya then...

At Sea 09/04/2014

Today the weather at sea was the best it's ever been on the entire cruise.  I didn't get to enjoy it though.  I've been battling a bug for the past few days and the last two days, I've had a killer headache so I spent most of today in bed trying to sleep it off.
With the help of toxic chemicals, hopefully I've broken the cycle in time for a big day in Athens tomorrow.  We are due to dock at 0730.

Valletta 08/04/2014

Today we docked in the most beautiful place.  We were blown away at the beauty of the place.  Firstly, the port of Valletta was easily the most visually pleasing port we have pulled into so far.  This is a little paradise in the middle of the Mediterranean.  The entire country of Malta is 17 miles at it's longest point and 9 miles across.

So we pretty muck drove the whole country in a few hours.  We took a taxi on the advice of our friends, Chris and Jen who disembarked at Malaga.  They were here a few days ago and put us onto a small business called Platinum Cabs.  I highly recommend their service should you ever visit Malta.
I sent them an email while we were docking and within 30 minutes, Andre was there to pick us up in his Peugot wagon and chauffeured us around all day.  Well what a contrast to our trip in Naples!!!  Super courteous and obliging - dressed in a suit and opening the doors for us every stop.  WiFi on board.  An all round good bloke.
We took in the sights of Valletta (the capital) then drove all the way through another city to a third city called Mdina.  Mdina (not a typo) is known as the 'silent city' as they don't allow any motorised traffic through the gates except for the residents of which there are are not many.  The tradition in Mdina is that you don't seel anything that is inherited.  So the housing here is passed down through the generations.

Pizza delivery van

Typical alley in Mdiena

The entire city is constructed from Sandstone as is most of Malta.  So the architecture is very distinct and consistent all over.
Oh - and they sit on the right side of the car and drive on the correct side of the road here!!  Because Andre got out and opened the door for me, I didn't even notice until we had taken off and Lesley had pointed it out.

Valletta skyline

Malta was a place, for me, that we visited because it happened to be on the itinerary of stops.  The Maltese are very lay back which is refreshing.  We could come back here - very impressed!!!

We departed at about 1900 - 0ur next stop is Athens which is about 520 nautical miles so tomorrow is an 'At Sea' day.  The weather is perfect over here since we got into the Eastern Mediterranean waters.  Water is like a mill pond, light breezes and temperatures between 15 and 23.

PS - I'll post some photos when I get time tomorrow.

Naples 07/04/2014

We docked at 1200 and were ashore not long after.  Caught a taxi to Pompeii.  What a hair raising ride!!  The cabbie just blatantly ignored 60 kph speed limit signs or at least I think that's what they read.  We went past like a picket fence.  He was doing 120 kph most of the way.
Anyway, we survived the trip and arrived at Pompeii long before the tour buses.  There were four ships docked in Naples today so there were 'boat people' everywhere.

Walking the streets of the ruins was a surreal experience for me.  It is a city frozen in time.  There are casts of some of the inhabitants of the town on display unbelievably preserved by the blanket of ash that covered them for 1700 years. The eruption of Mt Vesuvius took place in 79 AD.  You can only imagine the terror they felt at the time.

This visit was a highlight of the trip for me.  It is unbelievable that the city of Naples is in a situation where it could suffer the same fate at any time - It is a city of 1.5 million people perched at the foot of Vesuvius closer than Pompeii is.
After another quick trip back to the ship, we took a leisurely stroll through the shopping district of the city before boarding at around 1700.
We set off at 1945 behind two of the other ships.  MSC Splendida was here today - we formed a convoy all night to arrive together.
Our next destination is Malta (Valletta) - due to arrive at 1300 tomorrow, Tuesday.

Genoa 06/04/2014

We docked at 0800.  We arrived to a busy port where another of MSC's ships MSC Splendida was already docked.  We unloaded a shipload of people and took on another shipload of people as this is the start of another cruise which takes us to ports in the Eastern Mediterranean, Genoa - Napoli - Katakolon - Malta - Athens - Corfu - Dubrovnik - Venice.

We took our time before going ashore today because we only had to pick up a few supplies and intended just poking around leisurely.  Sunday so no shops were open for business - just lots of small market setups scattered around and of course, street pedlars everywhere.

We arrived back on board around 1330.  After all the new passengers went through their evacuation drill, we set off at 1700.  Both ships sailed off together.

Next stop - Napoli (tomorrow).

Rome 05/04/2014

Today, we caught the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and then a 'Hop On Hop Off' bus.  This time we stopped off at the Colosseum, The Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. 

Colosseum - probably as you never get to see it

Trevi Fountain

Lot of walking today which took its toll on my knee.  We took in a beautiful lunch at a small ristorante in the streets around the Trevi.

Pizza and Lasagna

They say that "Rome wasn't built in a day" - you certainly can't see it all in a day either!!  So it was great that we got a second bite at it to follow our first visit a couple of weeks ago.
The Colosseum is an amazing engineering feat to behold.  There is quite a lot of restoration work going on at the moment so it was difficult get an unhindered view of the structure without including tons of scaffolding and stuff.
The Pantheon is a popular attraction also with thousands of people crawling in and around the place today and, I guess, everyday.  This treasured building was transformed from a pagan temple to a Christian church in 608 AD - the basilica of S. Maria ad Martyres.  It is regarded as the best preserved of the ancient buildings around today.

This dude was trying hard to get off but it wasn't working

Catch ya tomorrow!!!

At Sea 04/04/2014

All day at sea, a very miserable day of weather.  It's been rough, raining, cold and very windy.  Visibility is about 500 metres right now.

Spent the day indoors catching up on some sleep and leisure time.  We are due to dock at Civitavecchia tomorrow at 0900.

Malaga 03/04/2014

We only had a short voyage overnight of about 70 nautical miles from Gibraltar to Malaga (Spain).  We docked today at 0800.  This was a short stop as we were due to leave at 1400 to go to Rome's port (Civitavecchia) some 850 nautical miles.  We are due to arrive there on Saturday 5th April at 0900.
Given our time here was short, we decided to only take a stroll around the city centre of Malaga.  A very clean city with a diverse mix of architecture both historical and new.

The weather wasn't particularly kind.  We had a forecast maximum of 15 degrees combined with very light showers and a 'lazy' breeze.  Short bursts of clear sky and sunlight presented some perfect lighting to pull off a few shots - so I did.

A little bit sad today as we said goodbye to our friends Christine and Jenny.  They disembarked today at Malaga to go onto the next leg of their trip which eventually takes them to the US.  We didn't do any touring as such.

I don't think my knee would have held up to much more anyway.  An easy afternoon with some stiff anti-inflammatory medication gives me some time to catch up on the blog and sorting photos.
Catch you tomorrow!!!