Travel Blog

After a sea day we arrived back in Greece at the port of Katakolon which is only 20 miles from Olympia where the Olympic Games began in the 8th century BC.  We were not booked on an official tour but were reliably informed that there were a number of options…

We stopped at the Italian port of Ravenna and I was torn between the Ferrari museum in Modena in one direction and the Republic of San Marino in the other. San Marino won (which is something you don't hear very often). San Marino is the fifth smallest country in the…

Slovenia lies at the top of the Adriatic and is the most northerly of the six or 7 former Yugoslavia regions. Kosovo would be the seventh but it is not recognised by the UN and is claimed by Serbia despite a desire for independence.  We disembarked the ship at our…

News came through that Venice was experiencing its worst flooding in 22 years as an "acqua alta" hit St Mark's Square caused by high tides and strong scirocco winds. I'd already been woken in the middle of the night by a lightning storm and high winds and we were expecting…

We sailed into a breezy Split this morning with the prospect of a rainy overcast day. It actually turned out quite nice and it never ceases to amaze me just how much nicer places are in the sunshine.  Me and the the old folk (Barbara 79, Brenda and Larry 63,…

Bari is an industrial port and capital of the Apulia region of Southern Italy. It's the first of 6 stops in Italy so the solos and I sauntered around the old town visiting all the main sights of Bari. The old town is a warren of narrow streets and a…

Not on the original itinerary, Albania was added when the troubles in Turkey began some months ago all because passenger safety is the most important thing to Holland America! Anyway, Turkey's loss is Albania's gain and by the look of it they need all the tourist dollars they can get. …

Sometimes described as the ultimate gay destination, Mykonos is a very pretty place indeed. I ventured out with three of the solos, Larry, Jone and Diane and we strolled around for a couple of hours through the multitude of narrow streets. The 1989 film Shirley Valentine was filmed in Mykonos.…

From landing at Athens airport to getting into a taxi took 17 minutes which was a personal best. First in the passport queue, bags came off almost immediately and off I trotted to the taxi rank where Mikis was waiting to take me to the Novotel. Although better than my…

Although this is trip number seven to Antigua it's the first visitation as a blogging traveller therefore I thought it would be only right and proper to make some kind of record of the trip. Antigua is 21 miles by 14 so you can easily drive round it in a day.…

Despite numerous trips to Antigua, I hadn't ever ventured to Antigua's sister island Barbuda which lies 30 miles off the North coast however this was about to change and Anne and Keith needed little persuasion to join me. There are four ways to get to Barbuda (or five if you…

Norway is a mixture of natural beauty and man made ghastliness. My top place was Flam with Geiranger close behind. The least likely place I will revisit is Trondheim. Norway has a population of just under 5m and has an abundance of wealth through natural resources giving it the third…

Alesund was a revelation. A pretty town/city of about 45,000 people. Me and the trio of Aussie ladies decided to climb the 414 steps to the top of Fjellstua. Fabulous views from the top and worthy of being the number one attraction.The local church was supposedly worth a visit but…

A couple more sea days before the final three stops. We're heading south again so it should get warmer. I have to say though, the sea days on the MS Amsterdam earlier this year were far better in terms of activities. The two daily quizzes are both later in the…

Sea Day Saturday was a sea day, heading north and at five something in the morning we crossed the arctic circle. I think they thought we might get up early for it. No chance. I went to the 11am seminar for a "flat stomach" with Serbian Alex. He's an energetic…

I've had worse days. Whilst I was still sleeping the captain sailed stealthily into Geiranger fjord which is the one featured on most of the fjord holiday adverts. It's supposed to be he most picturesque and by golly it's quite something. Five of the singles crowd were due to meet…

On Monday morning we arrived in a small village called Eidfjord in the Hardanger district. Eidfjord has a population of 950 and ranks 406th in Norway. It's a very picturesque place and despite there being some temptingly expensive tours on offer, I decided to go freestyle. There was a 5…

It was actually quite odd spending the day with a bunch of complete strangers. Not one person all day that I'd ever met before. How often does that happen? Of course it didn't stop you lot all texting me with little reminders. The flight to Schiphol was just under an…

Well the chaps and I have had a terrific week sailing on the water. I don't think I've laughed so much for years. As the week progressed our behaviour became increasingly juvenile but we managed to survive and I got my deposit back. The weather was fabulous for the first…