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!

Adriatic Sea Cruise - Venice, Italy

On November 1, we departed Amarillo for a cruise out of Venice with my parents and sisters! Grandma Howe came from Dallas to watch the kids for 10 days while we were gone (hooray for grandmas!) I was a little worried about how pregnancy would affect our trip, but luckily I was at the perfect part where my energy had returned, my nausea was pretty much gone, and I still fit in most of  my regular clothes. It was so nice to get away for a trip before we add a new baby to family and stop adventuring for awhile.

We flew from Amarillo to Denver to Frankfurt to Venice. It was a long day and I didn't sleep for any of the journey, but luckily there were lots of good movies to watch during our long flight.

We arrived in Venice in the late afternoon and took a bus to the hotel. My parents, Amy and Jeremy were out sightseeing, so we just cleaned up and relaxed while we waited for them to get back. For dinner we walked through the rain to a little pizzeria that was sooo good! Each person got their own pizza for just 6 euro, made fresh to order. 

VENICE: The next morning we took the train to Venice, dropped our bags at the cruise terminal, and then went out to see the city. We took a water taxi over to St. Mark's Square, and then walked back through the streets and over bridges to get back to the terminal. We got so lucky with weather! It was supposed to be rainy, but stayed cloudy through the morning and we didn't need our umbrellas until we were walking back to board the ship.

The Bridge of Sighs, built in the 1600s was how prisoners would cross from the interrogation rooms on the left to the prison on the right.

In front of St. Mark's Basilica. We had hoped to go inside, but there were no tour times early enough that day for our group.

The tower in the background is St Mark's Campanile. We rode an elevator to the top, which gave us great views of St. Mark's Square and the rest of Venice. 

On our walk back through the city we got some delicious chocolate gelato and admired all the little side canals and bridges. We stopped in a few shops as well and got a new suitcase for me (the zipper broke off mine) and some Murano glass souvenirs. 

A seagull photo bomber overlooking the Grand Canal

With the Rialto Bridge and some canal boats. We saw lots of gondolier outfits in town and I kept imagining how cute Davey and Charlie would look in them, but we didn't buy one.