Ports of Call when on a cruise ship around Italy

The first port that our cruise ship Costa Serena berthed at was Bari. As we were to be there for about 4 hours we did not take a tour but walked around the shops then the old town. Being the end of the tourist and summer season, it was very quiet and the street paving in the old town were so white that they looked as if they had been scrubbed clean. Many streets were narrow and resident's laundry hung from balconies above. The laundry was often covered with sheets of plastic, whether to protect it from the rain, or pidgeons, we were not too sure. From the wide walkways around the water's edge it was obvious that Bari would have been a seaside paradise for crowds of holiday makers during the summer season. Our next port of call was the Island of Corfu.This trip rather challenged our holiday timetable becuase the cruise ship was passing from one time zone in Italy, to another in Greece, so we had to arise an hour earlier in the morning to go ashore - dreadful for people like me who do absolutely everything on a cruise ship! Many resort hotels, restaurants and bars on Corfu had closed for the season, which meant that the only tour groups visiting the churches and monuments were from our cruise ship. Corfu is best known for tourism and olive oil production and its seven months of summer! The waters are calm and deep blue and the scenery - awesome! No wonder many people cruise here and also to the many islands of nearby Croatia.
Next we visited Valetta on the Island of Malta. We arrived at dawn, weaving and turning on a five cent piece to get into the narrow entrance of the harbour. Many of the old towns have fortress have walls built right at the water's edge and the houses on the cliff faces above - exactly as you see on pics of Malta. Our walking tour group were all English speaking, and we had a hilarous time laughing with everyone.This was most refreshing as on the ship many languages were spoken so it was good to have a few laughs in English with everyone, including the tour guide. Valetta is very well set up for shopping, and many people in our group peeled off to do so. After we visited St John's Cathedral which houses the tombs of 400 knights of Malta (this was a most interesting story in itself) there were only 4 of us left of our group! So we had a quick peek at an exhibition of Flemish tapestries - not part of the "official" tour then repaired to enjoy the local (and famous) local beer at one of the local cafes. Because it was the beginning of the quiet season in Valetta and Malta we were able to enjoy a conversation with our waitress, an Australian lady who had come to Malta for a holiday and met a man - yes 25 years later she was still here. She told us she misses the mountains and open spaces and if she ever returned to Australia, she might never return!

We had a chuckle upon returning to our cruise ship Costa Serena. Becuase it was such a fine sunny day everyone had gone to the upper decks to sunbathe. And what outfits! No, not bikinis, g's or even shorts! Yes - jeans, boots, jackets, overcoats, topped off with Costa Serena black and yellow check woollen blankets! I kid you not....

Flight called - and more champagne - will write soon....

How to get lost on a cruise ship

For someone who goes boating on a cruise ship for the first time it is very easy to get lost. Because the main foyer or the restaurants may be several floors high one often cannot travel from one end of the boat to another on the same floor or corridor. And do not think that to ask a crew person the directions! On the 4th floor, you will be told, but you will not be informed that you must go up an additional level, around a corner then down again. And do not ask another crew person either! Oh that person was new and did not know, you will be told. Oh well, after all that stress of getting lost I think I will retire to the warm spa and solarium...... Now, purchasing that Spa package and relaxing from the crowds of passengers is more my cup of green tea...... Just a minute, are there not 6 pubs, cocktails of the day,lots of wine,dancing,shopping and art to be enjoyed? Must get travelling around this cruise ship, there is so much to discover! Now where is the library? Ah, found it on the last day of our trip when we had to queue to pick up our passports!

Our Venice Adventure and how to follow directions

Everytime we travel to Venice we enjoy a different adventure and this was no different. This was to be q short stay an overnight one before we boarded the Costa Serena for our cruise ship adventure.

By chqnce we heard that the last day of the Famous Biennalle Exhibition was on. Artists from eighty coutries including two from New Zealand were exhibiting so we went along to have a quick look. As everyone knows we all have different ideas about what modern art is and all I can say is that there was so,ething for everyone there. Take a look at my pics and you will see what I mean. Having enjoyed the exhibits at the main venue we set off to find the New Zealand Artists located at other venues in Venice. However we had forgotten than Venicians cannot or do not give precise directions. The best you might get from them is an area or locality. A main street might be a narrow alleyway; and left at the bridge might mean three bridges down the next canal. Needless to say after battling hundreds of locals and tourists Sunday walking we ran out of time to find them. Oh and did I mention it took an hour to find the locql Jazz Club which was five minutes away..... And speaking of getting lost more about that in the cruise ship item

Visiting Kensington, London - a dreamer's paradise

Kensington, is a very pleasant and convenient place to stay when visiting London. In the immediate area is the Museum of Natuaral History, the Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Kensington gardens and the Underground station, all easy to walk to. There are plenty of breakfast cafes and restaurants a few pubs and a hotel or three.

But what I like best about Kensington, is the shopping. Not the fashion shops like Prada and Gucci and department stores as in other parts of London, but the shops that to make a purchase one must make an appointment.

Kensington is paradise for dreamers!

What bliss it is to gaze in the windows and view the vehicles such as Mozzerati, Ferrari and Lambourgini! The lines, the colours, the detail... sighhhhhh. And for your young ones, there is the Lambourgini pedal car, which at £299, is guaranteed to have zero emmisions...

After leaving a nose print and steamy circle on the window of each shop, it is now time for visiting the exhibition at Christies. Who needs to visit an art gallery when one can inspect the art at Christies, and entertain the thought that it could be ours to own? Ah, dreams! The movie posters and memorablia! Just the thing for movie fans and dreamers! Also on display was a stunning eclectic collection of leadlight lamps due for an upcoming auction. And then there are the furniture and rare book collections it inspect - they all could be ours to own!

Yes, Kensington is a paradise for dreamers. But wait, there is more at Kensington - see the next blog....

London on a Balmy Autumn day but is it balmy for everyone??

Today, Saturday is the latest of a few balmy days in London. As we cruised along on the express train to Gatwick Airport, admiring the disappearing clouds, the black trees with greenish and brownish leaves and looking hopefully at the slowly brightening sky (but for how long, one cannot help but ask) it is hard to imaging that last time we travelled to London it was at New Year, and freezing! Everyone was walking in a hurry, and like me, coughing, snorting, and sneezing. Today the All Blacks are playing Scotland and Twickenham. We had breakfast with son Neil who was kitted out in his AB grear. Nearby some guys in white shirts with red flowers were hanging up their national flag around their breakfast table. In the streets there were several groups of similarly clad people with anticipatory smiles on their faces. The conversations everywhere are not so much that the AB's will win, but about the handball incident in Italy.

It is hard to imagine that up north, a 1000 year flood has altered the lives of so many people and taken one of a very brave policeman. Many people know of folks who live in the area.

However, englist people do keep their sense of humour up. And great to see, in the Daily Telegraph, an add for the all blacks called Longdrop beer.... When I figure out how to, I'll upload it....