4 wheeling in Santorini

What a riot. We 4 wheeled all around Santorini. We went to Kamari Beach, Perissa Beach and Oia. Perissa has developed just like Kamari in the last 15 years since we were there with Karlina. Perissa has restaurants and small hotels along 3 km of beachfront.

Dalmatian Coast

We arrived in Dubrovnik again today ande we understand why the Russian czars vacationed here. On our last trip, a British couple told us about a village called Cavtat along the Dalmatian Coast. The ferry ride took about 45 minutes and Cavtat is well worth the visit. It is simply beautiful with yachts and fishing boats in the harbour. We had lunch on the water at a place called Ivans. Lunch was lobster soup, tuna butter on bread and a wonderful antipasti platter.

Venice

Sailing along the Grand Canal into Venice was wonderful. The views from the ship were remarkable and we took the shuttle into San Marco and had lunch at the Rialto bridge. We will be here for 3 days.

Today, we took a boat along the Grand Canal from Piazza La Roma to Piazza San Marco. We took lots of pictures of Venice. It is hard to believe that the city is sinking slowly, but in several places we saw caissons around building foundations, where walls were being built to keep the sea out.

Saturday, we went to the Gallerie dell ' Accademia to view the masters. The paintings filled about 28 rooms and the most prominent artists were Titian, Tintoreto, Veronese, Bellini and Carpaccio. Many paintings were massive and all were assembled from many different original locations. It was mind boggling. The tickets cost 13 euro for two. www.gallerieaccademia.org is the site.

The route to the art gallery, took us from Piazza San Marco along the Calle Moise, which looks to be the fancy shopping area, with all the shops you would see on the Champs Elysee. A "must" part of a Venice walking tour.

We didn't find the Jazz Bar where Brad Pitt hangs out currently, but will look again next time in Venice.

We did find Harry's Bar, about two blocks west of Piazza San Marco, on the Grand Canal. The bar is famous for having hosted many luminaries and famous writers, including Steinbeck, going back over 70 years. Apparently it was created by the same Harry who created Harry's Bar on the Via Veneto in Rome. We arrived just before noon and each had an apertif - a red vermouth, and Harry's Apertivo" - vodka, campari, a hint of olive juice, and lots of ice. Yum. 25 Euros!

And then it was 2:00 PM, and we wanted to catch our water taxi shuttle back to the ship. We grabbed two paninis from an enotecha and ate them as we hurried to the dock near Piazza San Marco. And San Marco was as busy as ever, as was the crowd on the Bridge of Sighs.

At 5 PM, we leave Venice, out to sea along the Grand Canal, Dubrovnik next.

Dubrovnik

What a gorgeous place. The war was about 10 years ago and one could imagine the Serbs on the hillside firing down on the buildings and people. And the Serbian generals are still hiding and have not yet come to trial.
We walked the wall and, in some ways, it seemed like the Great Wall of China. The views were magnificent. The main street is marble and it feels so good on your feet. The currency is kuna and about 7 kunna to one euro. We had lunch on a terrace overlooking the port and it was expensive but hey we were in Dubrovnik!

Athens & Poros

We took the hydrofoil from Piraeus to Poros and island one hour away. It reminded us a little of Positano and also the Cinque Terre. We had a great Greek lunch of keftedes, tzaziki, chicken kabob, spanakopita, fava beans and a surprisingly nice bottle of Greek wine
It was hot and we were so glad not to be in Athens. Since we have already seen the Acropolis, we decided that we didn't have to spend time in the city. On our way to the hydrofoil, we found a great men's store similar to Tommy Bahamas called Gulou. We also found two Starbuck locations but the coffee prices were high. It was 3.50 euro for a tall dark roast.

Santorini and Oia and Kamari Beach

Oia in Santorini is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We went from Oia to Kamari beach. Peter, Karlina and I had stayed 15 years ago at the Boathouse at Kamari beach. The Boathouse was owned by Dianne from Vancouver who married a Greek by the name of Spiros. They now own a beautiful restaurant called Almira and they also have accommodation. Fifteen years ago, there wasn't much there and now it is totally developed with a boardwalk, tons of accommodation and 50+ lovely looking restaurants. We had a wonderful lunch at Almira and talked to Spiros who offered to pick us up at the cruise ship terminal next week when we return to Santorini.

Roma to Napoli

It is best to take the Express train from Civittavechia to Rome. Otherwise it is a fairly long trip but once there worth it. The fashion is just so fabulous. Naples today was wild with so much activity. Cars, scooters, people, pollution,shopping shopping shopping! If we think of Naples as fruit, it is over ripe. Naples is to us the Hong Kong of Europe. We bought lots of stuff and had a great thin crust Napoli pizza. The prices for shirts and hats and shoes are about half that of Rome.

Juan Les Pins

We arrived in Ville Franche and took the train to Juan Les Pins, found at the next train stop past Antibes in the direction of Marseilles. The area is so beautiful. We had moules et frites with Sancerre wine in a lovely restaurant right on the beach. We then rented lounges and an umbrella and had an afternoon siesta. Before boarding the train, we window shopped. The fashions here are all about glitter. Over the top. Bling, bling, bling.

Las Ramblas, Barcelona

Las Ramblas was rocking today being Sunday and Mother's day. The street mimes were in full swing and we saw some of the old favourites and some new ones such as Pegasus the flying horse. Checked out some tapas bars past Plaza Catalunya, and we were very impressed with the quality and range. We even found a classy high end Starbucks. We stopped in at our Montecarlo Hotel and confirmed our reservation for June 7.

Valencia & 2007 America's Cup

Valencia is hosting the 2007 America's Cup. This will be the first European venue since 1851 for sailing oldest tournament. There is excitement in this beautiful city and preparation has begun.

The architecture is incredibly beautiful and there are hanging baskets of flowers everywhere. This Spanish city is not to be missed and wouldn't it be fun to be in Valencia for America's Cup!

Mallaga

We rented a car and drove to Granada. The visit to Alhambra was fantastic. The moorish architecture of the palace is fabulous and the gardens exquisite. This was certainly a highlight of this trip.

Gibraltar

Last time in Gibraltar, we climbed the rock and played with the little apes. This time we took the bus to La Linnea across the border to Spain. "Check point Charley" checks passports. We had the best paella negra ever.

Lisbon

We toured around in Alfama which is the old town and where they play Fado music. The Se cathedral was magnificent with lovely paintings and beautiful stained glass windows. The St. Jorge castle is worth visiting and the panoramic view from the top of Lisbon is wonderful. We found a great place for lunch and on the way back to the ship happened upon the Adivinho wine cave. Marie and Philippe started the business 2 years ago. She is French and from a Loire winery family. He is Portugese and they have an extensive selection of Portugese verde wine and port. Marie conducted the tasting and her knowledge of the wines/ports and regions that they had come from was remarkable. Their web site is www.adivinho.com Our favorite was the tawny port and we left the cellar with a couple of bottles.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday we were in Hamilton, Bermuda. We found a wonderful restauraut called Portofino and probably had the best antipasto we've ever had. Next door is the Little Venice restaurant and it is supposed to be very good as well.

This is the first day of our Transatlantic crossing enroute to Lisbon and this evening the popular dances will be salsa and merengue celebrating Cinco de Mayo.