day 9 Kotor, Montenegro

Another beautiful day in a gorgeous location. Kotor is located at the end of an hours sailing through steep gorges dotted with little villages that must surely be accessable only by water. It looked like a fairy tale with princesses and princes and magical beasts.

On the way in I was sound asleep but we were up and ready for adventure in time for disembarkation via tender to this lovely town.

The bus drove us up and up along switchback roads till we reached a look out where we got off the bus to take pictures.

Back on the bus we drove more switchback roads, this time on a two way road no wider than the bus - we had to wait for a car to back up to get out of our way. There was a little village with a small stone from the 1400s. From there we walked down a lane to a tavern with tables laid out with wines, juices, cheese, meats, small donut things with honey. A man poured everyone a smalll glass of grappa, the local firewater. Two men played folk music while we ate and drank. Soon people were clapping and singing along. It was a great time.

After lunch was over (it was actually before 11am), we drove back down to Kotor to do a walking tour of the city. Another European town with narrow cobblestones and charming shops.

After the tour was over we hopped onto the tender and went back to the ship where I promptly fell asleep. I felt like crap all day and couldn’t wait to lie down. This is the worst cold I’ve had in a long time…

I stayed in bed while everyone went for supper - Carm brought me back some rolls.

Sailing away from the land of fairytales.

day 8 at sea

AHHHH CHOOO… sniff sniff sniff… It hit me at about 8:30 last night, suddenly and  like a ton of bricks. A cold. Or maybe allergies. Thankfully today is a sea day so I’ve been able to sleep in and nap for much of the day.

Carm brought me breakfast in bed this morning: scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and french toast. Room service brought the coffee. I dragged myself into the shower after the coffee and then did some laundry in the sink. We have these nifty little laundry soap sheets which are perfect for a few undies.

I was ready for lunch by noon, tempted by the thought of the sushi that was on the menu today. Unfortunately for me, I wrecked the soy sauce by putting too much wasabi in it. Good thing I brought my  new purse that I had filled with tissues cause that horseradish cleared my sinusus!

Back to the room for a few more hours of sleep - I woke up in time for happy hour - a cranberry juice cocktail for me…

Now I’m back in the room for a rest before heading out for supper. Tonight we have reservations for a specialty restaurant - I’m not sure I’ll do justice to a huge steak but I’ll give it the old college try.

Tomorrow we dock in Kotor, Montenegro. Another adventure awaits. I am getting homesick though - I thought I felt Spike on the bed this morning.

day 7 Santorini, Greece

The alarm clock played its wicked song this morning before the sun was into the sky. 5:45 am and yes, we are on holiday! I cracked open the curtains to get a first peek at Santorini, Greece.

White buildings spilled down the side of a high cliff - a straight up several hundred foot cliff. Santorini was much rockier and more mountainous than I had imagined.

We got showered, grabbed a quick breakfast (I love not having to cook), then headed to the meeting spot for our excursion. The four of us waited patiently (mostly) for our turn to be ferried to shore. Today we weren’t docked but were anchored in the cauldera.

The day really was a blur of driving switchback roads and walking through tiny streets with whitewashed houses. We did stop to view an excavation of a 3500 year old city which was fascinating.

The woman wouldn’t get out of my way!

Carm wouldn’t either ;-)

We stopped for lunch at a winery - lovely buffet lunch with Greek food and a wine tasting.

Beautiful place, lovely day. Long lovely day.  I’m glad tomorrow is a sea day as I’m exhausted!