Category Archives: Cruises

Cruises, Malta, Travel Notes

Changes at the port of Valletta

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The first time I sailed into the Grand Harbour of Malta’s capital city, I was struck, as most people are, by the beauty of this place.  That was over eight years ago. I’ve sailed into this port three times now and, while it never gets old, there have been many improvements over the years.  From a cruise perspective, these changes make it so much easier to move from the port to the upper city and beyond.

Of course, you can still take a bus up to the main gate where there are buses to take you all over the island.  And there are plenty of taxis offering tours of various lengths. And even horse-drawn carriages. But now, there is also an elevator that will take you from the port to the Upper Barracca Gardens where you will find some of the best views of the harbour (and where they fire cannons).

For this trip, I did opt for a taxi so that my mother could see more of Malta. Our driver took us on a tour of part of the coastline. At the end, he dropped me off at the Upper Barracca Gardens and was able to drive my mother directly to the ship by showing the port authorities her cane. Sometimes, it is good to have this kind of assistance.

I spent the rest of my day wandering the streets of Valletta, visiting St. John’s Co-cathedral to see Caravaggio’s The Beheading of St. John and generally just enjoying being back in a place I love to visit.

Other travel notes … there are public toilets at the Upper Barracca Gardens. Always good to know!

The elevator *may* charge 4 Euros to use, however when I used it to go back to the port, there was no charge. There are also a number of shops, restaurants and bars lining the area near the cruise port as well.

Cruises, Europe, Italy, Travel Notes

A day on Mount Etna

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Sailing into the port of Catania, Sicily was interesting because we could get a great view of Mount Etna and really appreciate the size of this volcano. When I was there in May 2017, it was not erupting, but there were some interesting cloud formations. It also seems that Etna truly is the heart of this land, down the very plants that grow on its slopes.

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Since I had never been to this part of Sicily before, I joined a small, private tour group – and was very happy with this experience! We were met by our driver and eight of us shared a van. Our driver was from the area and knew a lot about where we were going. He also knew about the current traffic conditions because many roads were blocked or restricted because of preparations for a G7 Summit meeting later in the month. With very few roads in and out of the area we were going, I felt sorry about how much this meeting was going to affect the local population.

Our first stop was a fishing village of Giardini Naxos. This was the first Greek settlement in the area and is celebrated with modern a statue of Nike. It has a beautiful sandy beach and many places to eat and drink along the coastline.

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We then headed up the slopes of Mt. Etna and started to see the views from a different perspective, from snow at the top of Mt. Etna, to the coastline of the fishing village.

We also got our first look at the town of Taormina and its magnificent Roman amphitheatre. For this part of the journey, we made two stops, one at a chapel that was built in a cave and one at the village of Castelmola. This is a charming village with great views and access to an Arab fortress.

We then headed back down to the town of Taormina – and what a zoo!  Everyone seemed to be converging on this town and there was construction and preparations going on every where for the Summit meeting. There was limited access to visit the Roman amphitheatre, with one of the major streets blocked.   However, I would love to go back and spend more time here, as it has charming streets to walk through and lots of shops and restaurants along with more great views of the coastline.

Our next stop was for lunch at a winery on the slopes of Mt. Etna. We visited the Gambino Winery, which is the highest winery on the volcano. We were greeted by a member of family who started our wine-tasting adventure. We had a delightful lunch that included tasting four wines with some typical Sicilian food: dried tomatoes, Etna area mushrooms and olives, local salami, several types of cheese, sausage in white wine, and salad. The views were spectacular and I took some interesting photos on the way (and I should mention that the wine was also quite good and plentiful!).

After lunch, we made our way back to Catania and the ship. It was a very nice day!

Cruises, Europe, Italy, Travel Notes

Cruising to Naples

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Cruising into Naples means your are docked very close to the city centre, as well as close to ferries that can take you to islands such as Capri. For people with mobility issues, if you can walk a bit, there is an elevator to the main floor of the port terminal.

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Next, however, is walking past all the taxis lined up to offer you tours of Naples and the surrounding area. The tours offered did seem to be reasonably priced and included Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and Naples (although most drivers did not understand that you might really like to see Naples). They really did not understand that I might just want to see things like this castle — and easy walk from the ship and where you can find the main stop of the hop on, hop off bus. If you can make it to the end of the port area, the hop on, hop off bus may run a shuttle to their main stop, Castel Nouvo. You can see this castle from the ship and the walk is not bad, but is slightly up hill. There was also a lot of construction when I was there.

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For me, I was ready to just explore the city. The tourist information centre in the cruise terminal provides a good map and directions. But, by the time I’d been bombarded by tour offers, getting on the hop on, hop off bus seemed to be an easy solution.

This bus has two routes — one along the coast and one up the hill that winds through the older part of Naples. I took both — but stopped along the way to try to find a specific church. The directions the bus operators gave me were a bit off, but I did see some other interesting churches and wandered through the old streets.

The Archaeological Museum is also a great place to visit in Naples. From the cruise terminal, walk to the Metro stop and get off at Museum — it is very easy! While I did not go to the museum this time, I always like to recommend it. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) had an exhibit from this museum recently. The exhibit highlighted their Pompeii collection.

I do not recommend walking around Naples if you have mobility challenges. The streets are narrow and uneven, traffic is bad, and directions are not always the best. But do find some time to visit Naples before heading off to Capri or down the Almafi coast. There are some interesting things to see on hidden streets.

 

2017, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Denmark, Europe, Travel Notes

Yet another castle #AtoZChallenge

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Sometimes, it seems that there are so many castles!  This one is Egeskov and is still occupied but rooms are open to the public. The castle is built in such a way that the family could move to a separate halve, closing it off from anyone who might attack it.

There are also extensive grounds around it with different gardens, exhibits and other exhibits. One garden, Caroline’s Garden, is interactive, with various types of musical instruments like bells and drums that can be played. It was quite magical!

2017, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Travel Notes

Xperiences #AtoZ Challenge

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I love to cruise and a majority of my cruises have been on Celebrity, which they highlight a Xperiences. In fact, my favourite cruises — one around the tip of South American and one of the Baltic were both on Celebrity ships.

The staff is incredible and you feel you can stop and talk to any of the ship’s officers. During a particularly rough time at sea, one of the officers stopped me to ask if I was ok, as many passengers were not. He found me taking movies of the rough water and comparing it to surfing. He said I had to be the only passenger truly enjoying the adventure!

When not visiting ports, I love the Solarium — it is a quiet oasis on the ship and I find that it is one of the most relaxing places.

My favourite bar has to be the martini bar. It is centrally located and just a great place to meet people — and spent time “drawing” on the ice that covers the bar’s counter.

I don’t take a lot of pictures while I’m on the ship, so just go the the Celebrity website for more details!

My new Greek-style sandals!
Celebrity Constellation

I’ll be on the Celebrity Constellation in just a few days!

2017, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Germany, Travel Notes

Wismar #AtoZChallenge

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My visit to Wismar was part of the Mystery Cruise. Again, we did not know where we are going, but we were sailing very carefully through a narrow channel marked with buoys. The captain then turned the ship around in this very narrow space and backing the ship up into an even smaller docking area. the good news is that we were right in the centre of town. Very impressive!

The city centre had a farmers market and a very ornate fountain that was once the main source of water. This central plaza was also surrounded by buildings that represented various architectural styles.

Our send-off at the end of the day included a concert from a male chorus signing sea shanties and a gun salute.

2017, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Europe, Germany, Travel Notes

Rostock #AtoZChallenge

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Rostock was formerly part of East Germany and was important for ship-building during the Soviet era. The guide I had for this journey was from Rostock. He told several stories about what life was like before and after German reunification. One story he told was right after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He and some friends decided to drive a town that had been on the opposite site of the border. The drive is about 100 kilometers. When they arrived and talked to some of the people there, he learned that, even though the towns were so close, no one knew about Rostock! I found this a fascinating insight to how little understanding there was about the what was on the other side of the Wall.

The central plaza of Rostock  feels very modern. There is a light rail transit system that cuts through the plaza. The central fountain is surrounded by very modern statures  representing Norse Gods. There was a a farmers market, selling fruits, vegetables and arts and crafts. Next to the market were several outdoor cafes, perfect for a coffee — or beer. I settled for an espresso, since it was still early in the morning for me.

 

 Another feature that marked one side of the plaza was a large church. I spent a lot of time outside, watching the play of light on the structure. When I finally went inside, there were so many items to see, it felt like someone had just put everything they thought was important into the church, but there was no rhyme or reason. Nothing went together at all! I was very surprised to see an Egyptian obelisk and sphinx. Definitely not what one might expect in a Catholic Church.

 

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Rostock is a lovely town to visit and I wish I had more time to really explore it more.