Venice - "Tranquil canals, artful footbridges and Gothic splendor"

This was the last stop on our Mediterranean Cruise.  As we approached the city, the splendor of the past Venetian Republic was an awe inspiring sight.  The magnificent buildings, the ships, and the sleek boats cruising beside us.

As we traveled along the coastline to the pier where we would be moored we continued to see many Venetian Gothic structures as seen on the left. The arches and stained glass are characteristics of the this style of architecture.  It should be noted that these huge buildings are built on large timber piles driven into the mud.  The entire city was built on a swampy area and that is the reason that canals are used even today as the only form of transportation in the city.

Even today gondolas are still used to transport people about the city.  Water is essential for all services.  The police, ambulance service, and fire use boats.  Cars and bicycles are banned in the city.  So you either walk or take a boat. 

Because canals are everywhere stone bridges are used for pedestrian traffic.  We had to cross four stone bridges to get from our ferry to St. Mark's Square.

This bridge was used to transport prisoners from the justice building where trials are held, to the prison across the canal.

On our walking tour we walked through calli which are like narrow alleys. They are maybe five feet wide and with the tourist traffic it was slow going to get to St. Mark's Square, but it was worth it.

St. Mark's Square or the Piazza San Marco was spectacular. We viewed St. Mark's Basilica and its bell tower which are amazing and date from 1060 to 1100.  The pictures below show the beauty of the structures and the congestion in the piazza.

 

Also located on the piazza is the St. Mark's Clock Tower.  You will notice the lion near the top of the tower. It is the symbol of the city. 

Although this was the last day of our adventure, it is one that we will never forget.  The adventure was a great celebration of our 50 years of marriage.

Who knows what is next in our future, but we look forward to many more years of marriage. 

Split - Roman Palace of Emperor Diocletian

Split is one of Croatia's oldest cities, built around the ancient Roman Palace of Emperor Diocletian. He built the palace for his retirement on the Adriatic Sea. Harbors were essential for commerce and the growth of a city. Greeks were located at this location in the 6th century BC while the palace was built over 1,700 years ago.

We entered the palace through one of the basement passageways. We were told that after the emperor was killed people moved into the palace, but they did not have a way to get rid of their trash and the basement became filled with rubbish. Today, the cellar rooms have been cleaned and shops now flourish in the basement.

At noon we greeted by the Roman Emperor with his wife and Roman Guard.

This tour gave us the best understanding of Roman engineering which was some of the best during ancient times. Many structures had arched ceiling which could carry more weight. Before the ceiling could be built scaffolding had to be built and

we saw where the huge beams had been placed.

As we walked through the palace it was evident that architecture

was present from several different periods including some modern structures.

The bell tower has survived conquests and wars. It remains as a focal point in the middle of the palace and the bells continues to peal on the hour.





We not only enjoyed the tour of the palace, also the breathtaking views of the coastline.

Dubrovnik, "paradise on Earth"

Dubrovnik is a historic jewel on the Adriatic Sea with gleaming 12th-century medieval streets and incredibly preserved structures. The town is all surrounded by a towering medieval wall. From our veranda we could see this beautiful city spread out across the hillside.

Notice the bright orange tile roofs. They are common to most of the buildings.

We were limited in taking pictures due to the rain, but when we were ready to disembark the rain let up. In front of us was one of the three main gates which allowed us to enter the old town.  We entered through Pile Gate.

As you can see it was quite busy. There were at least four cruise ship that had docked today.

One of the first things we saw was Onofrio's Fountain. Water was piped to the town in the 14th century and this fountain is still working today.

Many people could be seen filling their water bottles with the cool refreshing water.







Next on the left, was the Franciscan Monastery. We were

fascinated that this is the location for oldest continuously operating pharmacy in the world.




Dubrovnik has many churches, monasteries, and mosques. Many of the churchs' treasures were destroyed by the eartbquakes in 1667, but still there are many church artifacts on display awe inspiring.

There are several steps leading to the Jesuit Monastery. You may recognize the steps from the TV series, "Game of Thrines".

We had a great day inspite of the rain. Tomorrow we are off to Split.

Corfu - Old Town and Fortresses

Corfu is an island off the southwestern tip of Greece that has been shaped by conquerors and royalty. Old Town and Fortress were built by the powerful Venetian Republic.

On our bus tour we saw the beautiful coastline, the Fortress, and wonderful Venetian architecture.

All types of boats can be found in the harbor, from small fishing boats to the huge cruise ships. The small island with the white church is called mouse island because it resembles a mouse.

The Old Fort protected the town which was inside the fort walls. Cannons protected both the harbor and later new construction outside of the fort.

The Venetian Republic governed Corfu and much of the early construction was influenced  by this government.

 The Liston Promenade was used only by the Venetian nobility. You had to be on the list or you were not allowed to walk down the promenade.

Religion played an important part in the development of the town. For that reason there are many churches an a synagogue.

 This Greek Orthodox church is the wealthiest church in Corfu. 

The British governed Corfu in the 1920's and built the Palace of St. Michael and St. George. Britain ruled Corfu for the next 40 years. Their influence is still felt today. Cricket is a very popular sport in the island and is played in the Spianda Square.

After the tour Bettie and I enjoyed a dip in mineral springs spa. It was very relaxing. This was followed by sitting in a 115 degree sauna and then spending time in the snow grotto which was -10 degrees. Very invigorating.

No History Lesson Today!

Hi, this is Bettie, we are at sea today with no port of call so I am going to tell you about our daily activities. Each morning we have our breakfast delivered to our stateroom and enjoy dining alfresco on the veranda. We then leave our bed unmade, dirty dishes  and water spotted bathroom and join the others for an exciting day in a new city. Greg has given you a great description of our daily adventures so I will not repeat. After a day of sightseeing we return to the ship and are greeted with a cool cloth to wipe the days sweat away . We then proceed to our state and...voila, the bed is made, dirty dishes have disappeared, and the bathroom is spotless! After getting a light lunch in one of the 3 restaurants it is now time to relax with our feet up and sometimes our eyes shut too.  Our next chore is to decide where to dine that evening. One of the venues specializes in Italian fare. This is a five course menu with wine choices of red or white. Another option is a themed dinner with a different cuisine each night. The third restaurant features the products of the country where we are in port. Now if we don't want to "dress" for dinner we can choose from the pool side bar or two other buffet style eating areas. They also have specialty dinners. The night after visiting Marseille France we had fantastic Bouillabaisse. No lack of outstanding culinary delights on this ship.

Each evening we go to the Star Theater for entertainment. One night it was the music of ABBA. We have not been disappointed in any of the performances. Needless to say this has been an adventure of a lifetime for us.

Napoli- Greek, Normad, Roman, Spanish, French?????

Napoli, Naples in English, was occupied by many different peoples. It was founded by the Greeks and later occupied by the Romans. Today, Roman ruins have been found such as the Roman baths.

Later the Sicilians ruled Napoli and the royal family built the Royal Palace of Naples which is still standing today.

During WWII Mussolini's forces occupied the city because of the importance of the harbor. It was the second largest city in Italy, and he heavily invested in buildings and infrastructure for the city. Because of the importance of the city it was heavily bombed by the allies. Many of the historic buildings and structures were destroyed. Priceless artifacts were gone forever.

The Napoli train station is building of importance still today.

People around the world have a warm attraction to the city due to the abundance of elegant fountains, statues, and churches.  They all have detailed and intricate carving that is not to be found in today's towns.

This church was rebuilt to its original style after a bombing during the war.

The last stop on the tour was at the Villa La Floridiana Museum. The displays were amazing including many priceless artifacts from many past eras.

Today, excavation is continuing and many artifacts have been found from the past.

We had another day of wonder as we explored different places and cultures.

Rome in a Day

Rome wasn't built in a day, but we toured it in a day.

Our tour bus picked us up at Civitavecchia and we began our trip to Rome. We traveled through the countryside where we saw variety of crops including melons, corn, grapes, and olive trees. It like the hillsides you often see in the movies.

As we approached Rome I had a new respect for the drivers as they drove through heavy traffic, dodged small cars and scooters, and avoided pedestrians. It was relaxing to leave the driving the professional.

In Rome we saw several sites  of Roman ruins and walls.

Two other famous site that we saw on the way to St. Peter's Square were the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. The Colosseum is where the gladiators fought and other contests were held in this 80,000 seat arena. It was interesting to note that in each of the archways there in the past had a sculpture and the holes in the walls held intricate decoration of brass and other materials. The Circus Maximus was where they held their charriot races.

Our next stop was at St. Peter's Square where the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica is located. This rich pocket of Italy is one of the world's greatest repositories of history and civilization. It is also the residence of the Catholic Pope and therefore an area of power and wealth.

Two additional stops that Bettie and I wanted to see were Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps which were both movie locations. Bettie even got to throw a coin in the fountain and make a wish.

Off to Pisa

Last night we had an excellent meal at the Chefs Table which is a gourmet restaurant. The meal was Asian themed with 5 courses and each course was paired with a wine. In addition to the memorable meal they also gave us a cake to celebrate our anniversary.

This morning we left our port in Livorno to travel to Pisa. Of course we wanted to see the leaning tower of Pisa, and it was worth the trip. Indeed it is leaning. Pisa has tried to correct the problem by drilling under the foundation and pumping water out. This initially worked but now it is continuing to slowly increase its lean. Originally only 3 floors were built before it was noticed that it had shifted. Thirty years later they continued to build except the new construction was built to lean to the other side, therefore the tower is not straight. The top layer has shorter walls on one side to help correct the problem. One thing is certain the decorative carving in the stone is amazing.

We also visited the Baptistery which is where early baptisms were held and then the Romanesque Pisa Cathedral.

After lunch we took the shuttle bus we thought to Florence, but to our surprise to traveled to Livorno. Still it was a beautiful city with a fort, and many churches.

Fortezza Nuova - early fort which is now a park.

Early churches flourished because during the founding of Livorno the citizens were guaranteed religious freedom.

This early church is being reconstructed and has 6 naves.

The church to the right served Greek Catholics.