30th June

Venice. Some cloud but mainly sunny. Temp 24c.

As previously stated we overnight-ed in Venice and after late breakfast we caught the Shuttle Bus to the Shuttle Boat to get to San Marco Square. The shops do not open until after 9.30am so there was no point getting there before that.  Incidentally I do know the difference between Where and were. I have just noticed that I make a mistake in the posting yesterday. I did remember the street we were taken done last night so I was able to show Betty the shops I spoke of. We were on a quest to buy a Venician mask and we saw some nice ones on the way. However I wanted to take some video of the Basilica which I visited last night so Betty went to look at more shops while I did so. She discovered another shop which had what we wanted but at a cheaper price, next time you visit our place you will see it hanging on the lounge wall. For those reading this who cannot visit I will take a photo and add it to the Blog when we get home. We do not want to unwrap it until then. Today we sailed at 12.30pm, so not wishing to miss the boat we decided to head back to the ship about 11am.We did consider having a coffee there but as some of you will know in Italy they charge you more if you sit down and drink it. On the ship we can sit down and it costs less. The sail out of Venice was lovely and most of the good sites were on our side of the ship so we were able to sit on our balcony and admire. Tonight’s entertainment for us in the Princess Theatre was Neil Lockwood being himself. You may remember he is a tribute act for Elton John. We thought he was better tonight than before. He has played with a number of groups including ELO. He sang and played the piano with music of the 60s plus. He finished with Hey Jude and the audience joined in.

29th June

Venice Light Cloud temp 24c.

Overnight we sailed north West across the Adriatic Sea toward Venice and about 11am we neared Venice. Sailing quite slow we passed close to the shore line and eventually docking about 1pm. In the past while sailing in there has been a commentary and often Italian music but the Port Authorities have clamped down and ships must just sail in silently. I am not sure if they have thought what might happen to their economy if cruise ships stopped coming here. Today Betty is feeling a little off colour so she decided to take it easy and mainly stay in our cabin. We did go to the service at 9am and Betty did have some lunch with me. Not long after we docked I decided to go ashore to see what was in the terminal. There turned out to be nothing just an empty shell so I ventured further and caught the shuttle bus which takes you to a boat which takes you to a landing near St Mark’s Square. The journey took quite a while. I then had another decision to make should I stay a while or should I catch the boat back because tonight I was booked on a tour which left at 6.15pm and I needed to have something to eat before then as it was 9.30pm before we returned. I caught the boat back as I did not know how long it would be before the next one came along.

As some of you will know we have been to Venice 3 times before and I have never seen inside the famous St Mark’s Basilica, one time my shorts were too short and other times the queues have been too long. This time I was booked on a ships tour which went into the church after it was closed to the public at night. In 828 the Venetians stole the remains of the Apostle Mark from Egypt and hid them in the city. The ownership of these relics brought both religious status and power to the city and St Mark was quickly proclaimed the city’s patron saint. By 1094 , a church was built to hold the remains and the Basilica of San Marco became the most important of Venice’s many churches.The church is a combination of Byzantine, Roman and Venetian craftsmanship. The inside dazzles you with colourful mosaics and five domes.  Four bronze horses greet you at the entrance; they are replicas of those stolen from Constantinople. The originals are kept inside. Other parts of the church like marble pillars were also stolen from Constantinople. When we arrived at the church mass was still in progress and the usher at the door did not even want to let us stand in the porch to shelter from a thunder storm which had just started. However as there was about 40 of us he would have had a lot of trouble moving us into the rain which by now was bucketing down. After our tour we were guided back to the shuttle boat through some back streets past some lovely shops. If I can remember where they where I will take Betty and show her them tomorrow. We are overnighting in Venice.

 Kotor from the mountain road That is the Dawn Princess.

 Our snack stop.

 The Old Walled Town Kotor Montenegro

 Te Town Gate

28th June

Kotor Montenegro Sunny Temp 28c.

Early this morning we entered the Bay of Kotor . The Bay of Kotor also known as Boka is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwest Montenegro. It is about 28kms long and is very much like a fjord. The sail in to the anchorage was glorious. Kotor does not have a wharf suitable to take large ship so we used the ships tenders (Lifeboats). The trip was quite short. The bay in front of Kotor can only take 5 cruise ships at any one time which the guide on our tour said is good because otherwise the attractions get to crowded. We chose the “Kotor, St Tryphon Cathedral, Njegusi & Catinje” tour. It started with a scenic drive up the narrow mountain road to Njegusi. The road has 25 hairpin bends and has sheer drops on one side but it give some splendid views. We stopped at a look out for a photo stop. Njegusi is a charming village and it was the birthplace of  PeterPetrovic-Njegos, considered the most important leader in Montenegrin history. At a local restaurant we sampled regional foods including smoked ham, cheese and local drinks. Betty & I had a honey drink which tastes similar to Mead. From here we wentto the old capital of Montenegro, Cetinje for a tour of the National Museum which is housed in a former palace. Later we decended to Budva, a popular seaside resort and one of the oldest settlements in the Balkans. We finished our tour in the Walled Old Town of Kotor.

Tonight’s entertainment for us was Andy Wilkins a comedian from Yorkshire, he was very funny. One joke I remember – A man buys a pair of shoes but complains to the salesman that it only has one lace. The salesman says take a look at the box it says Taiwan. There were many others. We finished up in the Atrium having hot chocolate with Bev, Ian, Jan & Bob all from our dinner table.

27th June

Sea Day.Light Cloud Temp  26c.

This morning we went to Deborah’s Port Talk about Barcellona. At 12.30pm Marlin gave another of his World Geography Film Making lectures. This time I talked Betty into coming. The title was Southern Europe and it covered some of the cities we have already been to and some yet to come on this cruise. Again it was a very interesting show. It was delayed for a short while so that they could correctly adjust the replacement video projector which is now temporarily located strapped to a seat part way up the theatre. We had decided to have a late lunch after the lecture even though we knew we would be missing the Fruit Flambe served in the Horizon Court which finished at 1.30pm. However we were able to leave the lecture during question time and just make it to deck 14 before they cleared it away and it was all delicious. Tonight we were invited by the Captain to a deck party for everyone who is in the Captain’s Circle. After you have sailed with Princess Cruises once you are automatically in the Captain’s Circle so there would be quite a crowd. These days we avoid these gatherings and just go to the ones for Elite passengers which is a smaller group. Showtime tonight featured Neil Lockwood who is an Elton John tribute act. Not having ever seen Elton John in concert it was a little hard to know if he was doing a good job or not. He certainly can sing and play the piano and he performed a lot of Elton’s songs. He also dressed in character with a number of costume changes. Tonight we put our clocks back another hour which is just as well as we have an early start tomorrow on our tour in Koto.

26th June

26/06/14

Santorini Greece. Sunny Temp 25c

This morning about 6.30am we dropped anchor in the Santorini anchorage area. Santorini is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200kms southeast of the mainland of Greece. It is what remains after an enormous volcanic eruption that destroyed the formerly single island and creating the current caldera, which is a giant central rectangular lagoon, which measures 12 by 7kms and is surrounded by 300m high steep cliffs on three sides. Fira is the white washed town perched high on the edge of the cliff.

This morning we used one of our Elite Status benefits which is priority seating on the tender boats. Instead of waiting in a long queue we were able to go straight to the boat. Today as we are anchored away from the shore it was necessary to use small boats to get ashore. Normally the ship will use its life boats but on this occasion boats were provided by the port, at a cost no doubt. There were 3 cruise ship in port today so we expected everywhere to be crowded. Where the boats land you is some shops and a couple of cafes but the main town is up on the top of the cliffs. There are 3 ways to get there, walk up 500 steep steps, ride on the back of a donkey or catch the cable car. Deborah our port talk lecturer advised to take the cable car because she did once ride a donkey, the donkey slipped on the path tipping her over his head and she finished up battered and bruised. To make things worse she had a short skirt on that day which finished up around her neck, very embarrassing. If you walk up you are sharing the steps with the donkeys and sometimes they push you into the stone wall and you also have to avoid the little treasures the donkeys leave along the way. We took the cable car, for just 5 Euros and to our amazement the queue was quite short and when we came down we just walked straight into the car. We have been here before and the wait has been more than 30 minutes. Both Betty and I said to each other Ashley and Tanya would have walked up the steps. Once up to the town we found a café for coffee with views you would die for. It was all very magical. Most of the shops were selling the same sort of touristy stuff but Betty found a nice necklace which she liked and I got my usual frig magnet. Tonight was another formal night and they are not that popular on our table. However we all agreed we would come to dinner. Afterwards we went to see a movie entitled ‘Quartet” staring Maggie Smith, Michael Gamborn and Billy Conolly. The story is about a home for retired musicians and it was a little close to home for us. However put way through the screen went blank but the sound kept going. After a while a technician arrived and found out that the projector was faulty and it was going to take sometime to fix. We decided to leave and go to the Visa Lounge to hear Diane Cousins “Wales First lady of Comedy and Song”. She had an unusual act with lots of conversation with the audience. She sang some songs and told some jokes, like when her granddaughter asked “Did God make you Grandma” “Yes” was the answer. “Did God make me” “Yes of course” “Well he got better at it didn’t he”.

In a Chinese restaurant one asked the other “Are there any Chinese Jews”. Lets ask the waiter. Waiter said he would find out. Answer “No Chinese Jews, just Orange Jews or Apple Jews”. Sorry I can’t remember anymore.