Category: Mediterranean 2025

We just made it back. We started out in Venice, Italy, twenty-four hours ago. It took several hours to get to the airport. British Airways had delays in both Venice and Heathrow, but somehow they still managed to get us where we needed to go on time. I think they build in a lot of extra time.

The U.S. Customs folks were not very inviting—they’re living up to their reputation. If I were coming to the U.S. as a tourist, I wouldn’t feel very comfortable.

In any event, it’s off to pick up the dogs. Our next cruise is in October. For now, we’re definitely ready to stay home for a while

Yesterday, we visited Albania for the first time. We went on a shore excursion that took us to a fortress overlooking the city. Although it had been converted into a tourist trap/restaurant, it offered a wonderful view of the ocean and the Albanian countryside.

Next, we visited an old church built on the site of an ancient temple. It was mostly in ruins, and a restoration team was at work, so we couldn’t go inside.

From there, we headed to another restaurant in the countryside, where we watched a local dance group perform—and, of course, I had my obligatory local beer.

Our last stop in Greece was Olympia, home of the first Olympic Games. Not much remains of the original site, as many structures were carried off by locals over 2,000 years ago. What remained was largely preserved due to being covered by silt from the river that once flowed through the area. Much of what has been uncovered is now housed in local museums. I will include a few of the pictures I took below

I also found a new use for AI today. I uploaded a picture to chatgpt and it was able to read the inscription on the base of a statue that had been taken away long ago.

According to chatgpt the inscription is as follows:

“The city and the council
honored Kleodemos,
son of Agion, grandson of Philodamos,
of Gaius Memmius Syllamus,
descendant of Lucius Poulius,
[grandson] of a councilor,
for his excellence and virtue
and his public-spiritedness toward the people,
and appointed him to the Heliaia (jury court)
during the archonship of [name].”

We had been to this port before and had already seen the ruins of Ephesus, so we opted for lunch in the countryside. We were driven approximately an hour from the port, where we participated in a wine tasting, enjoyed some Turkish coffee, and had lunch. Since we were in a very small group, we literally had lunch in one of the locals’ homes. She does this to help pay for her granddaughter’s education. The meal was excellent. All in all, it was one of the better shore excursions I have been on in a while.

We took a wonderful tour of the Blue Mosque, an ancient Roman underground water storage area, and a boat tour around the bay. We had an amazing time! One downside was that we got scammed by a vendor in the Grand Bazaar. We bought some candy and nuts, only to later discover that they had charged us over 500 for our purchases. We will dispute the charge with the credit card company. Oh well—there’s always some risk involved. We’ll try to use cash in the future to avoid issues like this.

Here are a few pictures for the day…

Today is the start of the second half of our journey. Unfortunately, the shore excursion we had booked was canceled. I’m also recovering from a cold I caught on board, so I’m taking it easy today. At least the weather is perfect for relaxing on the balcony!

On the 4th, we spent an exhausting day wandering around Corfu. Our seven-and-a-half-hour tour included a mediocre lunch and missed stops, making for a frustrating experience.

Yesterday, we toured Argostólion, Nisos Kefallinia. The visit to the monastery was mildly interesting, but the winery tour turned out to be a major disappointment. The flies swarming the food, along with having to sample four wines using a single glass, made it far from enjoyable. We did manage to pick up an acceptable bottle of wine to bring back to the ship, but overall, the tour felt like a waste of time.

Today, we left the ship briefly to visit a local grocery store and grab some peanuts. Not exactly an exciting day. I slept through part of it and honestly, I wish I could have slept through all of it. Apologies for the negativity—just hoping things turn around soon. Staying on the ship for the remainder of this segment of the cruise might be the best option for me.

Below are a few pictures of Corfu. This hasn’t been one of my favorite Holland America Cruises, and I’m starting to think it might be time to explore a different cruise line

Haven’t had enough time for updates. Will try to catch up this evening. Stay tuned…

After reviewing the available activities and considering that the country’s government does not support Ukraine, we decided to stay on board. (I cannot support those who back Nazis.) I haven’t had much luck at the casino, but I’m an expert at bar hopping, so I think I’ll find something to do. I discovered a bar at the back of the ship that offers several Belgian beers unavailable elsewhere on board. Maybe I’ll be hanging out by the pool today…

“We had visited Dubrovnik once before and had walked the city walls. Although we spent half an hour in the old town, most of our time was at a winery outside the city. There, we were given a demonstration of a horse-drawn olive oil press and enjoyed a wine tasting. The wine was excellent. The sommelier mentioned she was trying to get some onboard today—I now understand why.”

Below are a few pictures of our day. I didn’t get a whole lot of great ones but here is the best of what I have