Good morning Sicily Monday

Nice to have a sleep-in after a big night on the ship last night. Dinner at the Brazilian restaurant  and the fillet minion  was so tender. It was the sort of restaurant that they bring out various meats on skewers and you opt for what takes your fancy served with rice, the creamiest garlic potato, black bean but not like a Chinese style, not salty but full of flavour and soft texture of butter beans and banana fried in like a choux pastry.The other meats chicken, lamb cutlet with rosemary and a beef which was thin slice just with a hint of heat to cook it. The chilly sauces was the winner on flavour with green chillies and parsley with olive oil with a hint of sweetness. 

Brunch on board this morning from the top deck looking over the town of Mesinna. The city has a  population 250K and was totally rebuilt after the earth quake and 2 mins later a tasanami of 1908 with the loss of some 150K only to be again flattened by the 2nd world war. At town with lots of spirit to rebuild. In the quake and the war the main church from the Normandy Period  1066 with it's amazing marble and 25 tone of gold was spared on both occasion so this was where we start our tour. 

Then up the hill (everything is up a hill in Italy) about 1 hour south of the port city to a new church. Yes Yes another church but this one is different it was only constructed 30 years ago it was also amazing to see the marble and mosaics, in an old world style with the modern application and it was sooooo over the top and beautiful, very  important tourist attractor for this little hill village of 100 people. The money came from donations from the locals but looking at the street scape as we walked up the hill I couldn't see which of the locals could have donated that much cash!!!! perhaps make a more modest church and donate the remainder of the funds to the poor!!!!! Sorry personal opinion.

Good Bye Naples

Leaving Naples 7pm with the sun low over the city and the view of mount Vesuvius in front of us we choose to sit and watch the scenery from our private deck, glass in hand and with some italian chilly tartos, the end of a great day sight seeing. Will head down the west coast of Italy tonight and will see the amafi coastline great side of the ship for tonights sail. It is just so surreal  to watch mount Vesuvius just glide by it is so smoth the wine in our glasses is not even moving. Tonight which one of the 15 restaurants will we choose? Should we do it before or after the 9.30 show.....so many decision for the traveler to make. Sea gull flys below us as Sandy feeds them, we are very high up on the ship and the boats below look so small. Can't believe how big the ship is. We agree on a later dinner after the show and will miss breaky as our tour tomorrow of Sicily  is not till after lunch. The show tonight is right up my ally hits from Aretha Franklin, The Suppremes Gloria Gaynor and more I will be dancing in my seat I'm on holidays and no one knows me YET!!!!

Arriving Into Naples Sunday With The Help Of Dad & Dave!

It's 6am and I hear the sound of a boat shooting past and get up to see a foggy and smoggy, cool Naples in the distance . We are due to embark 8am for our 1st day and tour of the lost city of Pompeii.  From the distance the city with its old buildings looks like a line of little commonwealth bank money boxes on the shoreline. 

2 funny little Italian men, lets call them Dad and Dave to hide their real identity are several stories below and perhaps today was their 1st day on the job to catch and then connect the large ropes to the dock. Well what a site I think Dad had just invented a new way of getting in the ropes with a mechanical  turning device connected to the middle of the tray of his 1 tonne truck. But Dave was more of the hands on sort of a guy. Dad caught the lead in rope and connected it to his new device while Dave rowing his own boat wanted to do it by hand to impress any girls on board and with lots of Italian hand action much more violent then I'd experienced in the past. I could tell that Dave was not going to have a good day with Dad in charge. As the rope was being winched in and mind you I'm sure it is heavy  with the weight of excess water dripping of it, Dad starts his motor and away it turned until it got caught on the side of the dock, obviously this was Dave's fault and as the rope tighten it all-but threw poor young Dave into the water. More yelling and hand action and with the 1 tonne rearing up like a stallion on a mission and the lead in rope snaps and the main large rope retires to the water like a relieved serpent.

The on board crew now giving out and with their own hand action (it Italy the spoken word is very much tied to the hand action so it always looks like one is have an argument with the other anyway) but today I think the hand action spoke louder Italian than the voice only. The lead in rope is retrieve by the ships crew and re sent to Dad. Dave by this time has turned the one tonne around and is reversing it very fast back towards Dad and with the brakes hit hard it stops millimetres away from Dad. So with the lead in rope reconnected to the mechanical turning device and with the motor whirring again Dave proceeds back to the edge of the docks to help by hand.

 Again it gets caught so Dad hops into the truck and starts to drive forward to take up the slack ,  the truck rears again and with a stupid Dave still handing on the the lead-in rope  is all but trapped between the rope and the deck,   with a miracle , the serpent, tired of the struggle gives up and is pulled ashore to the applause of the many spectator that witness the Dad and Dave show live!!!!

Our 14 days Will Include

Sat Leave Cititaveccchia Rome in Italy      ( 27th April )

Sun Naples / Pompeii in Italy

Mon Messina on the island of Sissaly part of Italy

Tue A day at sea

Wed Dubrovnik in Croatia

Thu Split in Croatia

Fri Koper in Slovenia

Sat Venice in Italy                                                ( 5th May )

Sun A day at sea

Mon  Corfu in Greece

Tue Santorini Island part of Greece

Wed Mykonos in Greece

Thu Olympia, Katakolon in Greece

Fri A day at sea

Sat Leave our cruise in Venice                       ( 11th May )

So What's The Drill

I have now taken my 3 ginger tablets and put on my acupuncture wrist bands, had a puff of my magic panic spray so this little sailor is ready for action!!!! Sandy looks at me with her usual smile and laugh's, are you for real. Yep I'm cruisin' and with a big cheesey smile back reply  its only 14 days to go!!!!

We get to the emergency drill just a few minutes early, you know I like to be prepared its the libra coming out in me!!

We are sitting in the Grand Dining Room which looks like a scene from the Titanic, well the earlier bits and i hope it stays that way. It is opulently appointed, the fit-out of this place is amazing. The MC thanks us for being early and continues by saying that the rest of the people will soon FLOOD in!!! I look at Sandy and say hmmmm NOT the best choice of words....Do Yah Think!!

Our Floating Hotel Room

Our State Room is surprisingly big!!!! Well big compared to some of the other state rooms. They are all called state rooms suppose it  makes them all sound big!!! But ours is just that bit bigger by 1.5 m wider as it is one of the  "accessible room". 

With a full bathroom, at long last a shower that you can have a party in, well with limited invited guests !!! 

Shelves with little metal galley rails to keep things from rolling off!!! Hmmmm  Drawers and loads of very well designed storage space as this ship was built in 2007

You may very well ask why an accessible room? Well I do have "a little problem" yep yep be nice. I have over the last year or so been having little panic attacks and have become a little bit claustrophobic  (Sandy says I'm snobofobic) perhaps just a touch!!! But really without my therapy (oh dear now its all coming out), and my  panic spray! This little boy was not going to get on a plane!!! Let alone down a long, long corridor 1 m wide x 2.1 m high into our little floating hotel room.

When we first got on the ship I was pleased that the clouds were gone, but once in my room I couldn't shut the door to the corridor until I could work out how the door to the balcony would open. Sandy looked at me and asked are you OK??Hmmmmm once I can open this door I will be. I was thinking that the door was going to be closed until after we had set sail and as I could see furniture on the balcony I figured it would open eventually but I wanted it opened NOW, so thanks to our little cabin man who came to my help and with a touch of a button beside the door it was like magic and the door slid open, then life was all good once again!!!

Our "State Room" is 5881 mm x 4213 mm with a balcony 1355mm x 4213mm so all up we have 24 .77 m/2 as our space, and it has all that these 2 little floating hotel  occupants could need....... well except for an iron! That's right your on holidays and that means all drip dry, good packing  Pete!! 2 deck chairs and a sun lounge for the necessary out door activities!! You know the spot with glass in hand and with views to be had as we float around the Medditerain. Our bathroom has beautiful little 25mm x  25mm nonslip teal tiles on the floor with a laminated wall paneling in teak, and is the warmest space some where to dry your smalls.

It's a king bed with the softest white dooner and loads of pillows, the walls are cream and the cabinets are finished with real teak and all sitting on a carpet that looks like it come from a scene from an underwater adventure. There is a purple 3 seater teak cane couch sitting opposite the end of the bed.

Well its up stairs in 30mins for our Emergency Drill ....oh goodie goddie this will be fun all the stuff you DO and DON'T want to hear!!!

Internet Service

As we are on the high seas the Internet is not away going to work so blogging may be intermittent! We apology for the break in service and will resume normal programming as soon as possible!!!!

"Keep watching the test patten"as it may surprise you!!

Looks like no service in Croatia but I will keep writing......