nikimro: June 2007

Amidst great excitement, hair blowing in the wind and a glass of red, my Mom and I set sail on the Royal Carribbean 'Splendours of the Sea' from Venice on Saturday, 16 June 2007. It may have been 17h00 'Romantic Standard Time', but Casanova was no where in sight. Not theat either of us would have noticed. The thought of the 7 nights' cruise to come and chill time in the sun was definately at the forefront of our minds.

Being an American cruise line, the majority of the passengers were American or Canadian and our table of 10 at dinner was definately entertaining: 2 from South Carolina (with stories of their neighbours akin to something out of Jerry Springer - an inbred niece and Uncle couple who call each other 'Him' and 'Her' and their inventive outfits as they had no luggage for the first 4 days of the cruise); a couple from Minnesota; a rather rowdy couple from Vancouver and a divine Mom and daughter from Houston, Texas. Lots of Laughter and our Romanian waiter, Lawrence, kept trying to join in the fun with some of the oddest jokes I have ever heard. 10 out of 10 for trying though. The first full day was spent at sea sailing past Dalmatian Coast, lounging up on deck with a Cosmopolitan in hand and enjoying the fact that the sun was out and I was in the middle of no where! That being said, we did have e-mail in the little internet cafe and coffee shop, in the midst of on board mall and self contained modern conveniences. I did manage to avoid the shops (for the most part) and spent most of my time on board reading, relaxing and running in the mornings. The runs were one of my favourite times as the sun was rising as we sailed into port - blissful.

Day 2 found us arriving at the island of Mykonos. We caught a boat out to the small, uninhabited island of Delos, which was once the religious center of the entire Aegean area. Today, its archaeological ruins are one of the most important historical sites in Greecebeing touted as the birthplace of Apollo. After exploring the ruins, we headed back to explore Mykonos, wander the winding streets and have a much needed drink at a local Taverna. Along the way we encountered the local resident pelicans who wander the streets in search of tasty tit-bits left by the tourists.

The next day, we docked in the port of Pireaus, Athens. We first headed out to Cape Sounion along the grogeous Grecian coastline before stopping on a gorgeous peninsula where the remains of the Temple of Posiedon still stand. Gorgeous views of the crystal blue water and little yachts bobbing about definately made it worthwhile. next we headed to a traditional Greek Taverna for Mousakka and Baklava (not to mention a touch of Greek wine - although it was a bit watery for the South African palate). After lunch, we headed past the temple of Zeus to the Acropolis where we explored the Parthenon and climbed way too many stairs in the hot summer sun!!

That night I was very relieved to get nack on board the ship and we had another great evening, filled with a Motown Jazz show, which had us up in dancing in the aisles. The next day we arrived at Katakolon, a charming fishing village on the Ionian Coast, before heading to Ancient Olympia, which is the archaeological site of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. Ancient starting blocks, the old gymnasium, and the site where the flame was lit were all very interesting, although I think that after I learned that the ancient Olympians competed naked intruiged me the most. You learn something new every day!

The next day we arrived at Corfu and enjoyed a gorgeous drive through the Corfiot countryside, full of olive groves, pine, cypress, lemon and orange trees. The Bay of Paleokastritsa; known as the “Capri of Greece.” was breathtaking and we also stopped briefly at the Byzantine Monastery, and resident monks aside, the views were breath taking. Meze, watery Greek wine and some Greek dancing completed the day. Our last stop before heading back to Vencie was Split and Trogir in Croatia. Gothic Chapels (best viewed from the outside) and an intriguing warren of narrow cobblestone streets of the historic quarter set the scene and some scrumptious local delicacies were sampled before heading back on board for some much needed chill time and packing of bags before the final supper and docking in Venice early the next morning.

Upon arrival in Venice, we caught a water taxi (what a way to travel) to the stop right near our hotel. After quickly depositing our bags, we took a short walk past the Bridge of Sighs to St Marks Sqaure to feed the pigeons and find a cafe for a cup of coffee. We spent most of our time, in cafes, shopping (Italian Leather mm..), wandering the little winding streets and bridges over the canals and hopping on a Gondola to wind our way up to Rialto bridge and the Grand Canal.