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/ Peggy Kaplan's Recent Cruise Review!
MEDITERRAINEAN/GREEK ISLES CRUISE
On Monday October 15th fourteen people gathered together at the
Columbus International Airport.
We were a group on our way to Venice,
Italy
to board the Star Princess Cruise Ship,
which would be our floating hotel for the next 12 days, for a
Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise.
Our first sight of the magnificent Star Princess floating
majestically on the blue waters of
Venice
was a breathtaking sight. Once
on board we knew that the ship would overnight in Venice,
giving us the opportunity to discover
Venice
that first afternoon. A short
ride on a water shuttle took us to the mainland and we headed for
HARRY’S BAR for Bellini’s
(a must for visitors to Venice).
As we walked along the waters edge we became surrounded by the
pigeons of St. Mark’s Square (it looks just
like the pictures). A little
further on was the famous Bridge of Sighs
with a romantic black gondola approaching.
We were rewarded as the couple kissed under the famous bridge.
The story is, once a couple has kissed under the bridge they will be
together forever. The beautiful
black gondolas float in abundance just waiting for the tourist to take a
ride for a view of the city and float on the
Grand Canal, and
observe the quaint, colorful buildings right at water’s edge.
The next day we were up early for a boat ride to
Murano to see the glass factory and
Burano, famous for hand-made lace and houses
painted in a variety of bright colors. Burano is a charming city. Murano
glass products make wonderful souvenirs as well as many choices of lace
items.
Venice is a very romantic city and we were thrilled as our ship
slowly departed and we watched the boat traffic and various famous sights on
the Grand Canal.
As we approached
Dubrovnik from the
sea, what we noticed first were the ancient walls and red-tiled buildings. Dubrovnik is an ancient
walled city. We began our tour
with the old town’s main square, the Stradun.
We enjoyed lunch in a sidewalk café of delicious Dubrovnik style pizza.
The
island
of Corfu
is noted for it’s wide boulevards, sidewalk cafes, sparkling harbors and
Venetian architecture which welcomes you to this anamoly of the Greek Isles.
Our tour stopped at the Cumquat factory where we sampled, and of
course, purchased Cumquat liquor.
Katakalon is the port
for Olympia where the ancient
ruins are among Greece’s
most popular places. Here we
found the sites of the first Olympic games, including the famed Stadium and
Hippodrome.
Few destinations can claim the 7,000 years of history
that Athens
can. You’ll find it everywhere you walk from the renowned Acropolis to the
historic Plaka. The photographs
of Athens do not do the
ancient sights justice. It is a
must to see these places in person to appreciate the beauty of the
architectural structures. It is an incredible feeling as you see the sights
and touch the history of Athens.
Unfortunately our stop on the island of
Mykonos did not
happen because of high winds.
Mykonos
is a beautiful island with
white-washed buildings and many windmills as
well as beautiful beaches. We were all disappointed with the weather.
However, it just means we will have to take another cruise to include
Mykonos and other sights of the
Aegean Sea.
Our next stop was the island of
Kusadasi.
We started with the quaint shops and markets of the
port of Kusadasi
and proceeded to board a motor coach for the world’s greatest ancient
sites—the ruins of the city of
Ephesus.
As our ship approached
Santorini we could see the island off in the distance.
The village is situated on the top of the mountain and from a
distance the white-washed houses looked just like the mountain was covered
with snow. In order to visit the
village, on top of the mountain, you can take a cable car ride up or a
donkey ride on a snake path to the top.
Some members of the group took an excursion of the island and
were taken by a small boat to the
other side of the island an reached the city by bus, then came down by the
cable car or donkey. From the
top of Santorini it appears that “on a clear day you can see forever”.
Our arrival in
Naples/Sorrento/Capri created many options to spend the day.
Some of the group decided to take a bus tour of the sights of Naples.
Others selected the all-day excursion to Sorrento and Capri.
Sorrento
features a central Piazza Tasso, which we explored, then we boarded a motor
coach for a drive along the
Amalfi
Coast.
They we boarded a ferry boat for the famed isle of
Capri. We spent a
lovely afternoon exploring the ruins of Pompeii.
On the fourteenth morning our ship arrived
in Civitavecchia,
the port for Rome, Italy.
We were all rather sad for the vacation to come to an end.
We became quite a happy family, celebrating two 50th
wedding anniversaries, watching the Super Bowl, so far away from home, being
invited to a special private cocktail party, receiving a special gift bag
from our tour leader. (The
little travel umbrella actually came in handy in the light rain of
Ephesus.)
We all have many photographs to remember this
trip of a lifetime and will enjoy sharing them with family and
friends.
Some of the group were bused to
Rome
the airport for the return trip to the US.
A small group elected to continue the vacation and stayed in Rome for an additional two
days of sightseeing.
The ships cruise the
Mediterranean/Greek Isles from April through October.
Call Bexley Travel for your “Dream
Vacation”
614-235-8813
Questions
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