Adriatic Sea Cruise - On Board & Headed Home

Our original itinerary had no days at sea, but the revised schedule included two. I would have loved to see Santorini and Kotor, but it was nice to have some days to rest and relax. We used our time for games, puzzles, and eating.

After returning to Venice, our group split in two. My parents, Nat, and Brodie stayed an extra day to sight see and the rest of us went to the airport to fly home.

Dad was the champion of ladder golf and ring toss!

A puzzle we completed on our second day at sea

All dressed up for dinner - we got to eat at three specialty restaurants (Tepanyaki, Brazilian. and Steakhouse) this time and all were delicious!

On our way home we had a layover in Germany again and Dave fufilled a dream of eating a frankfuter in Frankfut. 

So exhausted after many hours of travel, but just one flight away from home now!

The kids with some of the souvenirs we brought - a Venetian mask for Sophie and a Captain's hat for Davey! We also brought them some wooden toys form Corfu and a small box of cereal from the ship.

Adriatic Sea Cruise - Argostoli, Greece

Argostoli was our final port stop of this cruise and we lucked out with another beautiful day! I finally got to wear my blue shirt I had packed just to wear in Greece. Argostoli is a coastal town on the isle of Kefalonia. We walked through the town to the De Bosset Bridge, the longest stone bridge over sea water in the world. There were lots of fish in the bay and Nat and Brodie even spotted some sea turtles! 

On the other side of the bay we went searching for a church that was said to built into the side of a cliff. Our directions were vague and morale was low after hiking up the wrong road, but we eventually found it!

Inside the church - you can see all the rock formations that they built around

Near the church there was also a bell tower on top of the hill and mom was able to fulfill her dreams as we chimed eleven times at 11:00!

Looking out over the sea bridge

There were pomegranate trees growing in town - I wanted to pick one so bad!

We popped inside a few more churches on our walk back through town

Our ship, the Norwegian Star

Adriatic Sea Cruise - Corfu, Greece

We arrived in Greece after an unplanned day at sea. The weather was too stormy for us to go ashore in Kotor, Montenegro, so we ended up skipping that port and continuing on to Corfu. Our main activity in Corfu was exploring the Old Fortress. It was first constructed by the Byzantines in 8th century, then reinforced throughout the Middle Ages. Later the Venetians dug the moat that now separates the fort from the land. The British gained control during the 1800s and added several buildings including a hospital and church. There were great views of the city and harbor from the top of the fortress.

Tile mosaics from the 8th century

These were the stoutest canons I'd ever seen

The lighthouse at the top of the Old Fortress

We chuckled at this sign that warned against the dangers of kicking Tetris blocks :)

This church was actually built by the British, but they were faithful to the Greece Orthodox traditions in their design.

After the fortress we walked through the town and did some shopping. Corfu is known for olive wood products and we all found some great souvenirs to take home. Mom also found some bells not on a tower that she could pretend to ring.

We noticed dark clouds in the distance and decided to start the trek back to the ship. Luckily the rain didn't let loose until we were just minutes from the dock. 

Adriatic Sea Cruise - Dubrovnik, Croatia

We stopped a second time in Croatia the following day in the city of Dubrovnik. The skies were threatening the whole time we were in port, but it never rained - hooray! The main attraction are the city walls, which encircle the entire Old Town and run right up to the Adriatic Sea. 

On our way back to the port, Dave and I were riding backwards on the bus and didn't realized until seconds to late that we missed our stop. The bus continued around the peninsula to the neighboring town. It would have been a very long walk back, but luckily the bus passes were good for one hour and we were able to catch a return without too much trouble and get back to our ship - phew!

I love how the walls are built right on the edge of the cliffs

Just pretending to drink from the public fountain because no one wants to get sick

The walls are over a mile long and have 1,080 steps!

Turrets and cannons were spaced all along the walls

Looking back over Old Town

This beautiful clock tower has been destroyed and rebuilt several times due to earthquakes, the original was one of the first public clocks in all of Europe, dating back to the 1500s.

Inside the walls we walked the cobble stone streets, toured museums and stopped at a monastery with the world's oldest operating pharmacy. 

After all the walking through the city and atop the walls, I barely survived climbing even more stairs to reach the Lovrijenac Fortress. Detached from Old Town and built on a cliff, the fort had great views of the city walls. 

Fire away!

Adriatic Sea Cruise - Split, Croatia

The morning we boarded the ship we found out that our entire trip itinerary had changed. Due to a problem with one engine, the ship could only cruise at half speed so the most distant ports were cancelled (Santorini and Mykonos) and Split, Croatia was added. I was so disappointed that we wouldn't be stopping in Santorini, but Split turned out to be a fun destination and I was glad we were able to stop here. We had gorgeous weather for our day in port and loved exploring this historic city.

Passing through one of the gates into Old Town

Dave found a side entrance next to the main gate that popped out into the courtyard of a little cafe

The Old Town has several ruins that date back to the Roman Empire, the largest being the Diocletian's Palace. It's a massive complex that sits in the center of Split. We toured the basement halls that were only excavated a little over 100 years ago and are largely intact. The vaulted ceilings and stone work were very impressive!

Sitting just outside Old Town, planning what to do next

After Old Town we climbed up the stairs to the Prva Vidilica Na Marjanu viewpoint. It's on a hill on the west side of the city and had great views of the harbor. On our way back to the ship we walked the palm tree-lined promenade and enjoyed some delicious gelato!