27 - 29 August Slovinia and Croatia

On our second morning we docked in Koper, Slovinia at 6 am. It was a quaint little seaside village and we were able to walk to the old city and have a good look around . 

We then returned near the ship and took a bus trip to Piran a seaside resort along the coast.

It was wonderful to see another part of the world.

The next morning we found ourselves in Split, Croatia - another ancient roman medieval town. Our first adventure was a tour to the town of Trigor - an island that is only 100 metres by 300 metres. Took us no time to find our way around, listened to an accappela group and also visited the open market - the most magnificent fruit and veg.

We then returned to Split, visiting the Diocletians palace - a marvel to think something that old still remains -  built in the 4 century AD.

Off we sail again - a sea day tomorrow and then onto Mykonos ( really looking forward to my "Shirley Valentine" moment)

26 August - Boarding the Dawn Princess

After spending a beautiful 3 days in Venice, we were picked up and taken to the Dawn Princess by water taxi. We very quickly found our cabin - and finally unpacked .

We spent a relaxing night , sailing for Koper, Slovinia.

Day 3 Venice

It rained overnight, but this morning the sun has come out again. We are spending a little time this morning attending to email etc as we are to board the Dawn Princess tomorrow.

Peter has not had good news this morning. His father is still in hospital , now with pneumonia and Sandie has been informed by the staff he is very "poorly". At this stage all we can do is await further updates and keep everything crossed.

Irene has heard both her parents are now home and additional assistance in the home has been organised for them.

We are very lucky to both have sisters that are able to deal with these family issues while we are away - THANKYOU 

Our plan today is to take in a bit more of Venice via a boat trip through some of the backstreets ( oops - canals) out of the tourist areas.

 Thomas was our driver / guide for a backstreet stroll through Venice. It was really interesting and we saw a number of canals not frequented by tourists and a number of pubs and cafe's popular with locals - this info may have been useful 2ndays ago. Thomas was a captain in the army ( Milan) and has now returned to Venice. 20 years in army.

Anyway the tour was interesting and even saw the police having a "blitz" with the sped camera ( see below)

 So it seems the same things apply on water as the road. This is truly an amazing place and I am gob smacked by the logistics necessary for every day life.

Once we had returned, we decided to have our usual spritz - sitting out the front of the hotel, and low and behold a large cruise ship went slowly past - just seemed like a normal event...you can just see the top of the ship in the pics below.

Another interesting thing - at high tide, the water starts to come up through the manholes in St Marks Square - pools of water very quickly make their way across the cement.

Well this is our last night in Venice, we have just had a very nice dinner and have been watching a very large thunderstorm arrived- it has been so entertaining from our balcony to watch people scatter, restaurants rearranging the seating and the mobile vendors packing up in a few minutes.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and would certainly make a return visit - so vibrant, busy  and artistic.

We board the Dawn Princess tomorrow and we are so looking forward to unpacking. But, I am not sure when the next blog entry will happen - that will depend on access to wifi - so keep having a look and I will update when able.

By for now...

Venice Day 2

Before we start on the activities of day two, we have to provide some info about our accommodation ( forgot this yesterday) . We had upgraded so we had a front room with a view and we have not been disappointed. Irene in particular loves the hustle and bustle and being able to look out on the square . The room is decorated in "true Italian style" including the "baubles" or "pom poms" along the edge of the curtains.  The room is large, and we again had a laugh as we think it is almost three times the size of the Nottingham hotel room.

Today, we eventually got going after having a bit of a sleep in - (the Italian lifestyle must suit us.) and mid morning we went for a cruise to Murano Island to have a look at a glass factory. The glassblowers are very clever and the work is so beautiful - not all of it to our taste . We knew that being taken by the hotel is only a way to get you there to buy- we had also done some homework on buying Murano glass and the advice was not to buy at the factory as it is much more expensive - as there are a number of people involved in the process. We did see a couple of pieces we liked - but they were a little steep in price. It was a good way to spend some time and see another area of Venice.

Oh, forgot to say - we did buy a small piece of Murano glass yesterday ( not from the factory)- we think it will go nicely in the house ( as long as it gets to Oz in one piece)

We then made some enquiries of how to get to Burano - another little island where they make lace by hand. We found out we needed to get a water bus, and the most direct one was from Fondamente Nuove - Thomas ( the concierge ) said about an 8 minute walk, over near the hospital. Mind you, this 8 minute walk was through tiny little streets etc, but armed with our map off we went. Well, we only had to ask twice ( we are getting good with the language  -"scuzzi") for directions and made it to the bus stop.

Burano is a lovely colourful island - the houses are different from what we have seen on our island and most try and have some garden or colour on their house. The lace was beautiful and I managed to find a couple of light scarves / wraps that will be most useful .

It again has been an eye opener , previously while knowing that Venice existed on water - it's the little things. This morning when waiting for our boat to Murano, there was a "traffic jam" of Gondolos ( because a garbage barge had to get through ), we saw a garage for boats- fuel pumps, outside the hospital emergency was a fleet of ambulances, and just up the road (oops - canal) was a funeral boat, and it is amazing seeing the transportation of goods by "truck" barges - the water highway is so busy at times . 

Again we had a little afternoon tipple ( spritz) Peter reckons he is turning into a drinker with a travel problem!

To Venice on the Thello Train

Well we managed to find our way to Gard de Lyon and eventually found the platform for the Thello train - this was after three different directions from information people. They were all very nice - just not providing the right info.

We managed to find coach 93, seats 41 and 45 - no luxurious but plenty of space for us and as we xpected and the train left on time at 7.59pm.

Later in the night there were two beds in the cabin and yes Irene got the top bunk - no, there are no photos to show her "nimbly" climbing the ladder - but she did it with ease .After a night of "rest", we had the complimentary breakfast and arrived in Venice on time at 9.35am.  We were met by our booked driver and were taken to our hotel via water taxi.

The orange coloured building is our hotel - on the recommendation of our good friends Matt and Jennie - great location, great facilities. We have a front room that overlooks the grand canal - so busy.

Day 1 we have just spent walking around St Marks Square and to the Rialto Bridge and Rialto Markets - getting acquainted with the area. 

It has been a lovely day which we ended with a simple but great meal at a little restaurant in one of the back streets. 

Tomorrow e are off on a complimentary cruise with the hotel - not sure yet where we will end up after that - who cares , any where will be great!

Last night in Paris - a cruise on the Seine

After having a lovely dinner in a nice restaurant ( don't know the name) somewhere in St Germain we thought we would spend our last night on the Seine - seeing the sights from another perspective.

We made our way to City Island to wait to boards the vessel ( we organised tickets via the Internet the day before). There is a park on the island and it was full of people having a relaxed picnic or others sitting on the side. It is so nice to see this informal happy way of life - made you feel like joining them.

We waited until 9.30pm to ensure  it was dark enough to show of the lights . Again we were not disappointed and even saw the Eiffel Tower "sparkling" on the hour. We also saw a far share of wilde life - ducks asleep on the bank, pigeons asleep under the bridges, the usual amount of dogs ( the French enjoy their dogs - they are everywhere, even shopping) and a few rats scurrying along the bank.

The other thing we found fascinating was the amount of people who were out and about - and these were not just tourists. The natives were out in droves - on both sides of the Seine - drinking, eating, laughing - generally having a good time. Where there were lunch spots the other day - these were now dinner areas or some were not there at all . So they must come and go mobile businesses....so interesting.

On one part there was even music and dancing going on - three different groups in alcoves. Apparently it started a few years ago and now people come down for free lessons - looked terrific.

Now I have not mentioned ant shopping - yes I have been to different shops and department stores - so many things - if only I was a few sizes smaller. I could just go mad on shoes and bags. Although I think it is fairly expensive - if I was here longer I would suss out the cheaper areas - but next time, as I will be back....just love this city.

Next stop Venice, on the Thello Train ( should be interesting how Irene will climb to the top bunk).