Dalmatian Cruise: Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor in Montenegro was to be our next destination but as we approached at about 7.30am on Saturday May 14th,

Panorama approaching Kotor

the skies were almost black in one direction and the forecast was for rain. Our ship moored away from Kotor itself, so guests were to be taken across the bay in what looked

Ferrying from ship to shore

like semi-open ferry boats. I didn’t like the look of the weather or the means of transport.

Steep mountains behind a narrow strip of land

We took our usual lot of photos from the ship, noting the incredibly steep and rocky mountains immediately behind clusters of buildings close to the shore and decided to stay on board.

Continue reading→

Dalmatian Cruise: Dubrovnik

Our visit to Dubrovnik was on Friday the 13th May last year. I tried not to think about the day because I am a bit suspicious about a few things; for instance, I won’t fly on a Friday 13^th. Suffice to say that I didn’t have great vibes about the day, and despite not having the opportunity for a guided tour of the city, Susanne and I chose to walk around on our own rather than take an extended trip through the countryside and hopefully make it back in time to explore the city. (Which was probably a smart choice as friends who did, were delayed by traffic and road works and didn’t actually step inside Dubrovnik.)

A Turner sky as we sailed towards Dubrovnik

Looking back towards Split, early morning.

The most picturesque part of the day was as we sailed towards land at about seven that morning. The sky looked even more threatening than it had over Split, but I call these my Turners and am hoping that an artistic member of my family will create a painting from them.

Even from the ocean Dubrovnik seemed to be wealthier than the other ports we had visited. This might be because so many of the residences look fairly new. Everywhere I turned, up and down the coast, terracotta tiles and white or cream walls covered the hillsides, interspersed with trees.

Some houses came almost to the water, where moored boats presumably belonged to the property owners.

Rain and cloud envelop the bridge.

Our ship was turning, heading for the harbour opposite the glamorous homes when, through the rain, we saw a beautiful bridge, seeming to hang in space. With bad weather making further photography impossible, as well as threatening to give us colds, we retreated into our cabin for breakfast.

Breakfast. Even shared it was enormous.

By day four we learned to order just one cooked breakfast with two plates and cutlery as the kitchen staff seemed unable or unwilling to follow our requests for anything other than giant sized portions.

Our ship was moored some distance from the city so, after passing through the usual customs routine, we headed for one of the local buses which were lined up, waiting for us. A notice in our daily sheet had warned us that we’d have to buy a return ticket for about US$12, before leaving the ship. Sometimes the organisation for such simple things struck me as ridiculous. Apparently our shuttle buses were supplied by the cities at earlier ports, but for Dubrovnik, a fifteen minute ride, we had to pay extra. Ship’s crew added everything else onto our bills; why not make it simple for all and just add on that fare too?

Continue reading→

Dalmatian Cruise: Split

Early morning as we approach Split

Split, our next port of call, was what I’d hoped to find on this cruise down the Dalmatian coast. Having read that the scenery was spectacular, we were up and out on our balcony again early on the morning of the 12th May. I missed the sunrise, but as we approached the city, I was

Palm trees on the waterfront reminded me of Nice

struck by its

Shapes of buildings along the quay with mountains behind.

similarity to Nice on the south coast of France. Palm trees lined a boulevard that runs along the water front, the harbour was busy with large tourist ships like ours, lining up to dock, and the local fishermen seemed to compete with leisure craft bustling about on the water which really was a stunning shade of blue.

Part of the ancient palace wall used to create today’s business and living quarters

From a distance everything looked well maintained, but this is an old port city. The famous palace, which still occupies a large area, was built towards the end of the 3rd century when the then Roman emperor, Diocletian, decided to retire from his position in Constantinople (he was very unpopular, so the smart move was to return to his homeland before someone killed him) and use Greek slaves to build his palace, including a mausoleum. (More about that later.)

Continue reading→

Dalmatian Cruise: Off the coast of Zadar Croatia

5.50 am

5.52 am

Up very early (for me) on our second morning, the 11th May 2016, I captured the sunrise as we headed for Zadar in Croatia.

5.53am

5.55am

If I wasn’t taking these photos I wouldn’t believe the way the sky changed from moment to moment.

Continue reading→

Goodbye Venice, Hello Celebrity Constellation

The 9th May was a good day to be leaving Venice.

Time to leave the luxurious Hotel Bauer

Over breakfast,with most guests huddled in the main dining room instead of the balcony, we looked out at grey skies and choppy water in the canal, feeling a little sad because our chances of a future trip to Venice were slim. At the same time we were excited about the next chapter in our holiday – the cruise down the Dalmatian coast and parts of Italy.

Gondolas busy despite the cold and rain.

The private water taxi for our departure from the hotel was disappointing after that initial trip but we were glad of another opportunity to photograph gondolas and the buildings that could not belong anywhere else in the world.

Celebrity Constellation was moored in what looked like an industrial harbour, away from the glamourous part of Venice. We arrived by car (arranged again through the very helpful concierge) and told to leave our cases with hundreds of others, which was a bit disconcerting as anyone could walk in and help themselves.

Continue reading→