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...