Monday, Sept. 19th – We are in Iraklion, Crete, Greece. Today Susan and I bought a tour of the Palace of Knossos built as early as 1700 B. C. It was the center of the elusive and mysterious Minoan civilization. The tour took us through the labyrinth and the excavated and partially reconstructed palace complex. We saw the living quarters of the monarchs, the storerooms, potters’ workshops and the theater. It was very hot and lots of stairs and uneven pavement but I was so glad to see a palace built over 3,700 years ago. The five other old broads took a taxi tour of Iraklion, had a great Greek mean and drank ouzo.

Saturday, Sept. 17 – Today was a remarkable day. We hired a taxi driver named Pino to take us around Naples. He spoke a little English and Susan spoke a little Italian and very soon they became buddies. We had quite a day. Pino said he was a professional and he took us on a drive around the Amalfi Coast and because he was a professional he took the scenic route and not the long tunnel to Sorrento. We toured around Sorrento and Liz, Susan and I had a cappuccino at a restaurant in the busy square. We did some window shopping and then met up with Pino. On the way back to Naples he played music by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Pavarotti, Bocelli and Elvis. I can not describe how wonderful it felt to be driving to Naples with a fun taxi driver singing Italian songs. We even amazed pedestrians as we had our windows down and were singing very loudly. What fun!
Pino then took us to a beautiful church here in Naples and drove us to the old city center where the tour buses cannot go because of the narrow streets. They were very narrow indeed and he sped around like the professional he was. He dropped us off at our entrance and we paid him and said our goodbyes. He asked us for kisses and we all kissed him goodbye. It was a wonderful day.

Friday, Sept. 16 – We woke up this morning to thunder, lightning and rain. We had arrived in Civitavecchia, Italy and most people on board were getting off the cruise so it took a while for us to leave the ship. We found a taxi guy who we hired for an hour to drive us around the city. Actually there is very little to see here but we tried. The driver took us up into the mountains to some ancient ruins which no one wanted to visit. As we drove around I dislike him more and more and so did everyone else. After about 45 minutes we asked him to drop us off in the center of town. We walked around and found a very nice restaurant and we had our first real Italian meal. When we got back to ship I found I had a Facebook message from a Morro Bay golf buddy, Linda. She was also in Civitavecchai and wanted to meet us for a glass of wine. We didn’t have time to do that but what a coincidence!

Sept. 15 – Today five of our group took a tour of Florence. Susan and I took a guided tour of the Tuscan village of Lucca, the birthplace of Puccini. The village is famous for having a huge red brick wall around the old part of the city. In 180 B. C. the village became a Roman colony and the first walls were built in 56 B. C. The Duomo of San Martin is the most outstanding example of Pisa style outside of Pisa. It was begun in the 11th century and completed in the 15th. While we were in the village it began to rain and it rained hard. Of course we didn’t bring an umbrella and we got a little wet. When we returned to Livorno the streets were flooded and the bus had to take an alternate route to our ship. We arrived and had lunch. Afterwards we walked around the Lido deck and looked over the side of the ship. Huge amounts of fresh produce was being loaded onto the ship and a police officer and a bomb niffing dog was checking everything out.

Today I took another computer class and asked the teacher why it took so long to download pictures and she said because WiFi is slow onboard and I should wait until I get home to upload my pictures.

Wednesday, Sept. 14th – Liz, Susan and I rode the Hop On Hop Off bus all around Monaco. We survived the narrow streets up to the Royal Palace. We got off the bus and visited the church, Saint Nicholas Cathedral which was built in 1875. The church is famous for having the tombs of Princess Grace and Prince Ranier side by side. Princess Grace has flowers all over her tomb. Then we walked around looking at shops. Liz found a few things to buy. We jumped back on the crowded bus. Susan looked up the stairs for empty seats and then told us that the rest of the old broads were riding on the top. As soon as the bus unloaded we went upstairs and rode around the whole bus route. We didn’t go into the casino as everything was so busy we just wanted to go back and have Happy Hour on the ship.

This morning we arrived in Calvi, Corsica. We looked out the window and on a hill we could see this beautiful citadel which dominates the island. After breakfast we rode a tender to the old part of the city and Liz, Susan and I walked up to see the Calvi Citadel. The streets were cobblestone and it was all uphill and so after a while I said I would wait for them to make a tour on the top level of the citadel. The citadel had panoramic views of the city. Liz and Susan walked up to see the 13th century St. Jean Baptiste Cathedral and it was closed. They also saw a house that Christopher Columbus lived in. He was born here. Then we walked around the city center and visited an imposing pink church, L’Eglise Santa Maria, which is a distinct city landmark. The church was open and we went inside to see all the artwork. It was a small church but worth the visit. Then we walked around the city and mostly shopped and looked in stores. Susan bought a most unusual blouse that can also be a pair of pants. The colors are beautiful and it was on sale for only 10 Euros. What a bargin. Liz also found a cute blouse. Then we caught the tender back to the ship. It is now almost Happy Hour and you get two drinks for just $1.00 more than the price of one. At 4:30 we play Trivia and we have almost won three times. Then we go to dinner in the dining room.
Tomorrow we go to Monte Carlo.

Sept. 10th – Today we are in Palma de Mallorca. We met Liz and caught another taxi tour of the city. We went to Castell de Bellver, a Gothic style castle on a hill built in the 14th century. The castle is one of the few circular castles in Europe. We had a fabulous lunch at St. Ambros Trattoria y Café and I posted a picture of Susan and Liz toasting each other on Facebook and a friend commented that she had stay a week in an apartment by that restaurant. What a coincidence. Then we visited the fabulous church, Cathedral de Santa Maria de Palma de Mallorca begun in 1229 and finished in 1601. The height of the central nave reaches 44m, the highest of all Gothic cathedrals. Antonio Caudi worked on the church from 1904 to 1914. Then we rode the shuttle back to the ship, rested awhile and then had dinner with Liz, Patt and Shirley. Tomorrow is a day at sea and we are on our way to Toulon, France.

I have tried to post pictures on my blog and it is almost impossible. I will keep trying but I have posted pictures on my Facebook page. Last night I tried to email them to my computer guy and they wouldn’t send. A very nice young man in guest services tried, unsuccessfully, to help me send the pictures.

I was very impressed with Malaga, Spain. We left the ship and saw taxis waiting. We caught a taxi tour with a very nice man named Tony. He drove Susan, Liz and I on a wonderful tour of the city. We drove to Castillo de Gibralfaro, a military garrison and coastal lookout post from 1487. It was very impressive and everything was uphill. Then we went to a house that Pablo Picasso was born in and it is now a small museum with some of his artwork on display plus family history and photos. Then we walked a little with Tony showing us the sights. We saw Teataro Cervantes and we walked around a plaza. We visited a Roman theater and we continued our walking tour of the old part of town. We entered a restaurant named Bodega Bar El Pimpi and there were pictures and autographs of famous people who have visited the restaurant. Antonio Banderas has been there many times and I learned that Malaga is the city he was born in. Be still my heart. As we left the restaurant we saw our other four friends entering and they were having lunch at that restaurant. It was a good day and we were exhausted when we arrived back at the ship. It has been very warm everywhere so we were happy to settle in and rest before Happy Hour and dinner.