Bowlin Beige

We woke up extra early to watch the ship come through the fjord. What a beautiful sight to see!   The city of Kotor is built into a hillside. The old city walls circle the city and go up to a fort on the hillside. Part of Montenegro is Eastern Orthodox and part is Catholic - we visited several churches of each. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so they cannot make any changes to the outside of the buildings. Walking around it seems like time stood still! Stopped at a little cafe for some lunch, The centerpieces on all the tables were plants (tomatoes, basil, peppers) A typical Montenegran lunch -including cheese that has been soaked in flavored olive oil for 3 months. Eric was feeling a little under the weather so he went back to the ship and I enjoyed some beach time. There's our little ship, the Star Breeze! And.... a little break for some gelato! That night we had a BBQ on the ...

Guess what was following our ship today? They had a great time playing in the wake. We saw more when we left at night - probably 30-40 dolphins swimming alongside the ship! Today we anchored in Gardinias Naxos (next to Taormina). We didn't spend too much time in the town, besides a leisurely stroll along the beach and waterfront shopping. Instead we headed to a winery on the slopes of Mt. Etna. As always, the drive getting there is half the fun, winding our way through small villages and making our way up the mountain. We had a nice wine tasting and vineyard tour, and a delicious lunch with wine pairings. Mt. Etna is always active and smoking (see it in the picture). Another fun night on the boat with our friends, and our group dinner expanded to 6 tonight. Stayed up a bit too late (yet again) but luckily Sunday was a day at sea so we could sleep in! We spent most of the day on the deck soaking up the sun, reading, napping, and visiting with friends. We sailed arou...

When we woke up Friday morning we were sailing down the Amalfi Coast.  It's impossible to capture the stunning coast. The houses are literally built into the side of the mountains, and the narrow streets wind up and down the coast. We took a bus to Pompeii so we were able to enjoy the views without having to drive on the crazy roads! We could see Naples from the top of the mountain as we drove down to Pompeii. We enjoyed a 2 hour tour of the site - amazing how much they have been able to uncover from this huge city! You can see Mt Vesuvius looming over the city.  We enjoyed more amazing views on the way back to Amalfi. We've already made some friends on the trip, and have enjoyed the nightly happy hour on deck as we sail away. One couple we met on our Vatican tour (from California) and they joined us for dinner. Another beautiful day on the Mediterranean!

We visited the Vatican 9 years ago, but you can never really see everything in the museums. We enjoyed a quick 3 hours taking in the world's largest church before heading to our ship. The dome can be seen all over Rome. Entrance to the Vatican Museums - it would take a week to see everything inside them! Dionysus - God of Wine! The ceilings of every room are covered with paintings. You spend as much time looking at the ceilings as you do the walls! This is a tapestry, if you can believe it. The amount of detail and thousands of colors used to weave this is incredible! Another beautiful ceiling along the map gallery. This door is only opened during a Jubilee Year (every 25 years). The balcony where the new pope addresses the people after being elected by the cardinals. St.Peter's Square Front of St.Peter's Basilica (basilica in Italian literally means 'big church') You aren't allowed to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel but we were able t...