TheDJsWifeinEurope

An amazing sight this morning as we sailed towards Santorini.    Awesome high jugged black volcanic cliffs above an underwater caldera (crater).    So stark against the jumble of whitewashed dwellings on top.    We had the option of taking a donkey up to the town, or walking ourselves or the vertical (I kid you not) cable car to the top.    Yes, we took the cable car – terrifying but great views and we really could not believe that some adults took the donkeys up – poor beasts.   The beaches here are made up of white, red and black lava pebbles.      Santorini was named in the 13th Century Latin Empire and is in reference to Saint Irene from the name of the old cathedral of Perissa – Santa Irini.     It was a glorious walk about in the town with all the usual touristy shops but a glimpse on every corner of the most amazing sea views wit...

Arrived today in Corfu a lovely Greek island which we last visited 34 years ago for our honeymoon!.    The island has been the a fought over jewel in the Ionian sea since time began due to its location and natural abundance of food and water.    The old town looked the same (hmm might be a song in there) and overflowing with tourists.    We enjoyed a stroll around and decided to catch up on our laundry..... since the ship charges were extortiante and we have another two weeks travelling to do. Well what a fiasco!      We looked on Google and found a great self service laundrette with high ratings 'CorfuLaundry at Kontokali' near the yachting marina.    Asked a taxi driver to take us there - he looked a bit unsure and quickly consulted another driver (all Greek to me) and off we zoomed.    Screeched to a halt outside a little hut with a sign on the door 'laundry' in the middle of a marina.... hmmm it didn't l...

So wonderful to wake up in the beautiful harbour of Valetta the tiny capital of Malta which is a fabulous walled city established in the 1500s by the Knights of St John.    The city walls tower high on rock – every shade of terracotta.   What a glorious sight.    Museums, palaces and churches galore.     The St John cathedral is home to the famous masterpiece ‘The Beheading of Saint John’ ( no time to join queues to see it).  We took a bus over to Mdina and enjoyed seeing the inner island -   Lots of very small fields beautifully tilled – reminded us a bit of Jersey.    Mdina is known as the silent city but, it was very noisy, crowded and hot – reminded us of Mont St Michel is France.    Got bus back to Valletta and just loved how they have retained the ancient features and buildings while blending with the new.    Wish we had longer here. I...

Arrived in Sicily and after a walking around the town of Messina and seeing the Norman Cathedral with its amazing gothic portal, 15 th century windows and an astronomical clock on the bell tower, we also visited the Church of St Frances of Assisi with its beautiful golden lit alter bathed in sunlight through the yellow glass windows.     Messina is best known for one of the oldest and most important sanctuaries in Italy dedicated to the Virgin Mary and related to the war of the Sicilin Vespers in 1282. Popped on bus along the coast – bit disappointing with litter and signs of infrastructure disrepair.     If we’d had more time we could have visited some of the famous scenes where The Godfather was filmed, but instead saw some likely real-life characters hanging about the town anyway!      Happy to get back on-board.         Went to see a spectacular musical production on-board i...

Woke up in Naples and when disembarked we were not so impressed.     All around the port huge building sites and untidy bill boards, litter and very noisy, busy traffic.      Decided to jump on local bus out to the quieter traffic free area for a lovely walk around the bay.     Stopped for a cheeky beer which was served with the most delicious selection of appetisers.    Great value in Italy!     Fabulous show in the evening by James Alexander – a Magic Circle magician from London.   Chatted to more charming Americans – guessing guest population about 80% from USA.    They all say they love listening to our accents 😊

Used little tender boats to get into Cannes for our first port excursion.  We were quickly reminded that everything shuts in France on Mondays and it was the day after the end of the famous film festival...  you could see the tumbleweed blowing through.    Still nice to mooch about.    Epic Beatles show in evening – excellent.    Probabaly the best Beatles cover band we have ever seen.    Got the amusing impression some of our American cousins thought they were the real thing... Many other entertainment events throughout the ship including Karaoke where DJ Jeff got into action. Next day we moored up in Livorno and jumped on local bus to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower and enjoy the lovely town.     Couldn't resist trying aperitivo dishes on offer with sampler wines.   Just had light evening meal although hard to resist the many restaurants to choose from on-board as we set sail to Naples....

Yip she's a big boat carrying over 4,100 guests and about 1700 crew.  Everything seems to work with precision and at the same time its all about relaxation.      Popped into Cannes today just as the film festival closed.... so typical French town on a Monday - everything shut!