FUN-photos: Trieste to Venice for Adriatic Cruise – October, 2013

November 11, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Trieste to Venice for Adriatic Cruise – October, 2013 

We arrived in Trieste on October 2nd and were warmly welcomed by Chris’ sister Cinzia. We spent three wonderful days with her and her family before taking the train to Venice to board the ship for our 10 day Adriatic Cruise on Seabourn. Our stops included Corfu, Katakolon, & Igoumenitsa, Greece – Brindisi, Italy – Kotor, Montenegro – Split & Ravinj, Croatia. The pictures are from the places we really enjoyed – Trieste, Venice, Kotor, Split & Ravinj

If you click on the first picture it will allow you to create a slide show. And it turns out they are in ascending order (in other words, the first is actually the last) So if you click the back arrow you will see them in order. Enjoy!


FUN-travel: Venice to Rimini, Italy – End of Seabourn Cruise

October 20, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Venice to Rimini, Italy – End of Seabourn Cruise 

Day 30 – Tuesday, October 15 – End of Seabourn Cruise – Venice to Rimini, Italy – foggy & overcast – 62

What I LIKE

Split, Croatia 2013 6

Split, Croatia

  • 7:00 – my usual hot capp arrives
  • 8:20 – walk out of room
  • 8:40 – breakfast & sandwich to go
  • 9:30 – walk off ship
  • *sit in ship terminal to post & check email
  • 11:00 – take public ferry to train station – only costs $14 for both
  • they have ramps covering steps so easy to schlep bags
  • only have 4 stops before St. Lucia train station
  • 11:20 – arrive
  • **11:30 – locate bag check next to Track 1
  • 11:50 – pizza break – Pizzeria Vittoria – Trip Advisor sign
  • no cover or service charge
  • 1 each diavola & funghi w/drinks only $20 Euro
  • more wandering the alleyways & narrow streets & dead ends
  • 2:00 – head back to train station
  • ***2:42 – board train – have reservations
  • 2:57 – depart on time
  • no changing trains
  • 5:34 – arrive on time
  • elevator @ very end of platform!
  • TI – outside station
  • +taxi to DuoMo $10 Euro
  • 5:50 – arrive hotel – really modern – nice big room w/2 balconies – small but like the fresh air
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Venice

Brindisi, Italy 2013 9

Brindisi, Italy

  • free & fast internet
  • 8:15 – little hungry – Mattia @ front desk recommends Spazi – half block up and around corner
  • Veggie salad w/tuna, tomatoes, onion & caprese (best ever!) homegrown tomatoes & divine buffalo
  • mozzarella melt in your mouth – nice $30 Euro bottle of local wine (grown 15 miles away) 2008 San Valentino Terra di Covignana Sangiovese – total dinner cost $60 Euro & Bellisima!
  • 9:55 – back to hotel for night night

Question to Ponder – How would you like to be the Fed Ex delivery person here? They carry packages on a large dolly/cart. Going up and down the steps proves to be quite challenging as the packages fall off. Then when they have a delivery they leave the cart in the middle of the alley/street and leave it. Made me wonder how many people steal packages off the unattended cart?

What I DON’T LIKE

  • 6:30 wake up
  • no answer for room service hot cappuccino
  • 8:00 – supposed to be out of cabin
  • *still have 25 unused expensive internet minutes!
  • **costs $5 Euros per bag – 5 hr minimum & only need 3 hr
  • ***required & costs additional $29 for 2 and plenty of seats
  • starts spitting rain
  • +no meter & not far (like 500 meters) & really worth about $5 Euro
Katakolon, Greece 2013 6

Katakolon, Greece

FUN-fact – Conde Nast readers vote Florence as #1 favorite city every year. I’m convinced it’s because they can read the map and get where they want pretty easy. Venice is not as easy but you will never be lost very long if you have a map.

 

FUN-travel: Venice to Venice Seabourn Cruise – Day 10 – Full Day in Venice

October 17, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Venice to Venice Seabourn Cruise – Day 10 – Full Day in Venice 

Day 29 – Monday, October 14 – Seabourn Cruise Day 10 – Venice, Italy – mostly cloudy w/sporadic patches of sun – cool, high 63

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What I LIKE

  • 9:30 – fruit & egg white omelet w/sandwich to goS26A5016
  • need strength for big walk
  • 11:00 – take off for wandering through maze of alleys, bridges over canals, and dead end passage ways
  • no agenda
  • *12:45 – make it to Piazza San Marco
  • find really sweet 4” x 4” black murano glass dish/plate – $45 Euro
  • pigeon hops on my bag
  • good thing I had my sandwich
  • don’t have to buy bird seed
  • **1:15 – cappuccino break @ caffe’ aurora
  • continue wandering
  • 3:15 – gelato cone break – only $1.3 Euro
  • 4:15 – back to ship &
  • happy hour on sky deck w/snacks from high tea
  • pack up & shower
  • ***6:45 – jazz on sky deck
  • 7:10 – arrive & they’re done playing (Chris made it though)
  • 7:30 – Mediterranean night @ restaurant 2 – yellow fin tuna ceviche, corn & chicken soup, shrimp ensalada, pan seared mahi mahi, grilled rib eye steak
  • +figured out to call 2 hrs before & check availability – seems there’s always room &
  • we like that it’s less formal & more intimate
  • 10:00 – last chance to dance party
  • 11:30 – luggage outside not a problem

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What I DON’T LIKE

  • *tons of tourists & we’re out of season
  • ** have to send back, not hot &
  • costs $16 Euro for 2 – OUCH!
  • ***totally missed it
  • +you’re only allowed to make reservations here twice in a cruise
  • 11:00 – luggage is supposed to be outside room

FUN-fact – Venetian’s call St. Marks Square simply the Piazza, since it has always been the only one in town deemed worthy of the name.

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Piazza San Marco

 

FUN-travel: Venice to Venice Seabourn Cruise – Day 2 – At Sea

October 10, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Venice to Venice Seabourn Cruise – Day 2 – At Sea 

Day 21 – Sunday, October 6 – Seabourn Cruise Day 2 – At Sea – cloudy, windy, not chilly – mid 60’s

What I LIKE

Katakolon, Greece 2013 1

  • *7:30 – wake up (it’s the thought that counts)
  • 7:35 – order 2 really hot cappuccinos from room service
  • 7:45 – arrive nice & hot
  • 9:30 – breakfast in Veranda – nice fruit selection & typical breakfast choices

    Trieste, Italy 2013 62

    Trieste

  • computer is running faster now
  • 1:00 – lunch in Veranda restaurant – nice salads, jumbo shrimp cocktail
  • 2:00 – room R & R
  • 5:00 – Corfu & Katakolon lecture
  • **6:45 – happy hour in Sky bar Deck 8
  • 6:50 – happy hour @ The Club on Deck 6
  • they have secret stash of 10 gin – martini up extra olives
  • 7:30 – dinner @ Chief Engineer Lars table – truffled artichoke carpaccio w/foie gras , mustard crusted scallops on scallion potato risotto, crème brulle en parade – dark, milk & white chocolate
  • sit next to lovely couple from Yorkshire, Peter & Cynthia – his favorite quote regarding work ethic of young people “they know the cost of everything & the value of nothing”

What I DON’T LIKE

Trieste, Italy 2013 56

Trieste

  • *my love brings me luke warm coffee (restaurant not open so no hot cappuccino)
  • **no bartender because captain’s welcome is tonight (BTDT – been there done that)
  • move clock ahead & lose 1 hr

FUN-fact – As usual, we booked the least expensive cabin on our last cruise in South America. (You save an additional 5%) The balcony rooms don’t have balconies; just a sliding door with a railing on this ship (Seabourn Spirit), our room has a big picture window and is plenty big for us. Bathroom has double sinks and tub/shower, good closet space, a couch and 2 chairs. We are on deck 4 (out of 8) mid ship next to the stairs and elevator.

Trieste, Italy 2013 52

Trieste

FUN-travel: Trieste to Venice, Italy for 10 Day Seabourn Cruise

October 8, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Trieste to Venice, Italy for 10 Day Seabourn Cruise 

Day 20 – Saturday, October 5 – Trieste to Venice, Italy for 10 Day Seabourn Cruise – gray overcast, gloomy skies – warmer, maybe 60 – turns misty & cooler in Venice

What I LIKE

UMR – usual morning routine
8:30 – to train
8:35 – arrive
9:18 – train on time & has 1st class

Trieste, Italy 2013 51

Trieste Roman Ruins

  • 9:55 – starts pouring rain
  • *11:26 – arrive St Lucia train station on time
  • 11:40 – reservation for water taxi to ship terminal www.motoscafivenezia.it
  • plenty of water taxi’s – costs the same $70 Euro – cash only
  • 12:15 – arrives dock (wrong one)
  • **12:20 – arrive correct one
  • 12:35 – board ship
  • easy check in
  • Deck 6 – bar & lunch – different kinds of wraps – nice glass Stags Leap chardonnay & Koonunga Hill shiraz for Chris
  • 2:00 – room ready & my bags are there!
  • nice bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne awaiting us
  • 3:15 – safety drill – don’t have to carry life vest
  • 3:45 – chris’ bag finally arrives (would have been freaking out if it was me)
  • ***3:50 – scope out laundry room down the hall – 2 washers & dryers – free & empty!
  • 4:00 – sail off
  • +4:30 – get 1st load in (nice man shows me how to navigate the wash cycles)
  • turns out he’s my next door ship mate from San Francisco!
Trieste, Italy 2013 44

Trieste Church

  • 5:00 – get 2nd load in
  • 5:30 – check laundry & one’s available – tell lady trying to use other washer to hold it for me & I will show her how to program it
  • ++back to room for last load
  • 6:15 – final load in & end of laundry fiasco!
  • 7:30 – dinner in main dining room – join table w/2 Brit couples
  • lively discussion on politics
  • lamb chops & halibut (not the best)
  • good wine!

What I DON’T LIKE

  • feel sad & wish Cinzia lived closer
Trieste, Italy 2013 15

Cinzia & Me

  • *station packed w/people
  • water taxi chaos – not sure where or how to find ours
  • **have to stand & wait for security to open
  • ***3:55 – somebody already snagged both washers!
  • +very difficult to figure out settings
  • ++she lets someone else take the washer!

FUN-fact – Booking the water taxi from the St. Lucia station is the easiest but expensive. The other option is too walk a long way over bridge with steps to Piazzale Roma.  It never occurred to us how difficult the logistics would be in Venice to get to the ship.
Not so FF – Man on cruise said he paid $180 Euro from airport and then another $180 Euro to get to ship terminal. OUCH!
More FF – Cinzia said the name Crisafulli means “the maker of jewelry.”