Have you ever had a moment where you thought you did something a week ago and it turns out that it was earlier that day? I’m sitting here in my living room back in Hawaii at 230am trying to un- jet lag myself thinking about this ocurrence. Journaling my trip as you are reading it helps me to organize and relive our journey step by step while putting pictures to words recapping what ogften felt like a blur at times.
The overview
Port of Rome is where our Princess cruise starts from. First stop is the Greek island of Corfu. Next is the town of Dubrovnik, Croatia followed by Kotor, Montenegro. Naples, Italy for my only cruise excursion to Capri and then we disembarked back at Rome, took a train to Venice for two days.
Rome
Rome is such an iconic city. History around every corner, very walkable too. It was around 90 degrees out so pretty sweaty with all the walking. We went to Navona Square for paninis and dessert and touristy pics. We were able attach credit cards to our phones in order to take the subway.
Take note of everyones haircuts in this pic cuz they all get cut later today. Well not mine.
When we got in we knew that we’d have just an overnight stay. Since we were getting picked up by Joette’s hotel we left our luggage there at her place and went around with day packs.
The tartufo from Tre Scalini is iconic, to me it tastes like Rome. Its the food version of seeing the Statue of Liberty when you visit NYC. Chocolate ice cream covered in hardened chocolate with a chocolate truffle hidden in the center. Getting it to-go is cheaper than sitting like we did.
June scheduled a tour for her and I to go see St. Peters Tomb at Vatican City. In the current Basilica you are surrounded by gold glidden grand opulence in wide open spaces. There are even mini churches within the main church.
A level or two below the basilica lies St Peters tomb which is marked by a three foot pillar and decorated with granite like stone. He doesn’t appear to be buried with wealthy neighbors, his spot looked very humble. The tomb is located below the large dome of St Peters Basilica. His simple burial site was a part of a graveyard type town complete with roads which housed bodies and ashes otherwise known as a necropolis. Just like any town there are nicer areas and more plain ones. The necropolis was leveled about half way down, filled with dirt and built upon for the first St Peters Basilica. Years later it was excavated but only partially as the Basilica you see today is directly directly above and no one wants that caving in, right?
To enter we went through a few side entrances to the start point of the tour. There were 12 or so other people on the tour, so really small considering it was at Vatican City
We were lucky to go as you can only get tickets through a lottery system that June participated in before we got to Rome. The only picture I took was this one of our goth guide who told me not to take any more pictures. So sorry, no pics of the first highlight of our trip!
June sent off a postcard from the Vatican City post office.
Oh, Trevi fountain. Everyone who’s been to Rome has been here to toss a coin.
I found this place on Google to get our haircut at. Ali Baba barber shop. They have something like 4500 reviews. lol. Hudson was game for a trim and picked out a picture on his phone of the haircut he wanted. Paxton told the owner do whatever and eventually June also decided to trim a few inches off too. If you look at the picture on the left take a close peek at the model pics on the wall. All of the owner with different haircuts. lol
Fresh cuts to kick off our trip! 29 euro. Bargain!
Colosseum pic. No pick (pocketing) going on for us today.
Let’s see, Spanish Steps.
My favorite hat shop was not open yet. It’s probably for the best . Too many hats. Literally. I window shopped anyway.
Here’s a sample of our dinner.
After dinner wile walking back I saw someone who looked like June’s cousin. T’was indeed. See you onboard!
Day 2 Rome + embarkation
Campo de Fiori for Forno’s slelection of savory breads that you choose by pointing if you dont know italian. They sell it by weight. Stopping in here is the equivalent of the tartufo from Navona. We stood outside and scarfed. It was beautiful. Hud picked out an orange which we then also proceeded to scarf.
We made a last push to our favorite pizza place before heading to the cruise port. Last time it was located next to a kids learning center which I thought was unusual. They have since moved to this permanent spot albeit a little difficult to get to.
Timewise we were cutting it close so we taxi’d back to Joette’s place to get our luggage and board a shuttle to our cruise ship which took an hour and a half to reach the port.
Yay, boat time!
Day 3-first port Corfu, Greece
Corfu is a Greek island off Greece’s west coast. We were the first cruise boat at port and since it was early in the day we just walked from the boat into a mostly empty tourist town. No shore excursions, no taxiing to other parts of the island in search of beaches.
This old town reminded me of the town of Cituadella in Menorca.
We went to a grocery and bought a bunch of random stuff, nougat, greek delight and ginger beer to name a few. Ginger beer tasted fermented. The Greek delight was softer then the Turkish one. Rose flavor tasted the same. I imagine there must be a cheap womens fragrance that smells like this.
As the day went on the heat quickly built up and we went looking for the water to cool off.
Sulic Beach, if you can call it that. TYhe water was colder than in Hawaii and really clear. Off to one side was a rocky shore that you could enter the water from as well as the main concrete ledge. There was an outdoor cold water shower for us to rinse off with. Brisk!
We read that rooster with red sauce was a specialty of Corfu. From the internet-Pastitsada: Slow-cooked beef or rooster in a rich red wine, cinnamon, and clove tomato sauce, served over thick tubular pasta.
So was the sofrito. Beef in wine garlic with parsley fries. We also had lamb shank and a chicken slovaki.
Food was good. Chicken a bit over cooked.
Corfu hates tourists
This was the most meaningful chat I had in Corfu, talking to the dude who tries to get people to come and eat. I asked if Corfu is tired of too many tourists. He said not really, tourism is the main thing Corfu has, unlike Crete for example which has many other industries-olive oil, vegetables galore, Raki (liquor) etc. Guy complained that the government encourages tourist dollars but doesn’t spend money on bigger infrastructure-roads, parking lots etc. He said he works 8 months and takes a few months off to hang with his kid and go holo holo around Europe using Ryan Air’s 25 euro one way trips. Less than the cost of our meal to travel. Plus too once the cruise ships go so do most of the tourists.
Bye bye Corfu.
Day 4 Dubrovnik, Croatia, the “Pearl of the Adriatic”
Dubrovnik’s old town is castle like with its dramatic white limestone walls and streets. Its a heavily walled historic town that now houses touristy stores and air B&B’s on the interior.
These stairs pictured above were shown in Game of Thrones.
We bought their viral bread which were 8 euro apiece! The other stores are touristy, repetitious and lacking character. The town looks beautiful though.
There was a conveniently placed water fountain near the entry to fill up water bottles and cool off.
Nearby was the Maskeron challenge where we each tried to stand on the head of a gargoyle. You’re supposed to balance on the head long enough to remove your shirt and you’ll end up with luck and love. Deceptively difficult. Hudson came the closest of all of us.
We went to three beaches, the first one was Buza beach, accesible through a passageway in the old city walls…
…on a rocky cliffside below a bar.
Pax had a few jumps off the rocks and then we went to the next beach which was my favorite of the three. Sulic Beach. There were bathrooms and also a shower.
This was the nicest being located in a protected cove that reminded me a little of something you might see in Italy’s Cinque Terra or Amalfi coast beaches.
Before going to beach #3 we stopped for a really nice meal at the Gradska Kavana Arsenal restaurant where we entered through the interior of the old town and ended up walking straight through the fortress wall to a wide open area facing the water on the other side. The pictures don’t do this place justice.
Let’s see-squid, gnocci with browned butter, squid ink risotto, i forget which kind of fish and a bottle of Jana water.
Banje Beach was the last beach we visited and my least favorite of the three. Basic beach but pebbly.
After that we took a cab back to the bus as it was way too long hot to walk.
Day 5 Kotor, Montenegro
Kotor was the only country we visited that although use the euro as its official currency isn’t a part of the EU. It was also one of the countries that my esim didnt work in.
Since we had a late start off the boat the day’s temp was going up quickly. I decided to do the short hike solo up the mountainside to a shack that sometimes sells cheese. Was closed.
Its funny how people casually smoke cigarettes in Europe. This guy was taking a break next to me by the cheese place
June and Hud went to look for cats. This town definitely had the most. Parts of town smelled of it too.
Pax and Joette went rock climbing as their excursion. I actually may have seen them off to the side as I went to the cheese place. When I saw people clinging to the rocks I hoped that crazy route wasn’t where I was headed.
Afterwards we all met up for lunch outside of town for a huge 65 euro plate of mixed meat, salad and fries to be shared with all 6 of us.
I stayed in town with the boys to look at more cats while June, Joette and Lisa went to a nearby beach. Here I am definitely not looking like a tourist.
Kotor had some abandoned buildings and guys drinking beer while pushing carts through the city. I like a little bit of grittiness.
Day 6-At sea + Day 7 Naples
Overview-For Naples- June, Hud and I went on a tour to the island of Capri in hopes of seeing The Blue Grotto while Pax went on a separate hike with Joette to Mt. Vesuvius. What they don’t tell you when you sign up is that seeing the Grotto is not a sure thing. Capri is a quaint island not equipped for the amount of visitors it gets. The islands electricity , water and mostly everything it needs comes from elsewhere making it very expensive to live at. The windy roads might barely fit two tiny cars passing in either direction but barely. Theres one roundabout and a set of stairs running top to bottom of the island in the event that something happens to the roads. The entire drive in the small bus was us pulling over into small nooks each time another car came by. The entire ride we often squeaked by walls bushes and trees on the right by just a few inches each time. One of the most famous roads is known as “mama mia” road because that’s what everyone says while passing other cars on it.
Capri is known for its lemons as well as being the birthplace of caprese salad. Womens’ shorts too I guess?
Here we are at the Naples terminal waiting for the ferry to Capri.
This is the port on the Capri side where everyone gets off the public ferry.
We hopped a bus, drove the windy roads up and back down to the Blue Grotto area. People can either drive there like we did, or boat in-both with the final destination being the Grotto. From there you board a tiny boat which will hold 3-4 people and the operator. Entry into the grotto depends on the tide and most tour guides will have a backup plan to go visit some other parts of the island via boat in case the ocean isn’t cooperating. You can see some of these guys on the smaller boats getting ready to go into the cave.
The boat operator needs to time their entry and exit with the swell. They line up in order and at just the right time they pull the boat in via a chain thats anchored to the side of the rock.
Once you make it in you get sang to told in broken English about some historical facts and are presented with this view.
The bottom of the sea is sand and the light coming in from the cave entry reflects off the sand creating the blue you see.
Worth the wait. We were given the option to bail on the grotto and go see the backup sites. The land line moved slowly and the main guy at the bottom told our group that we would be the last because of changing conditions.
After the grotto we went uphill to the less crowded town of Anacapri for food and views before heading back to town to go back onto the cruise ship before it leaves. Being roughly 1000′ up its a bit cooler but still not comfortable.
Bottom right is a frozen hollowed out lemon thats filled with a lemon sorbet. Creamy and sour! Our pizza was just ok. We always order mahgerita as our standard pizza to compare by.
Our guide explained about the importance of food in Italy. He said that when a man is serious about a female, the two questions he asks are “are you a good cook” and secondly “is your mom a good cook”?
We walked for around 15 minutes to this little viewpoint before walking back while looking at all the lemon themed items-dresses, dinnerware and soaps to name a few.
Day 8 let’s get to Venice
Sadly we packed up our cruise ship stuff and had to figure out how to get from Rome port to Venice where we finish off our trip. We did self disembarkation which meant we take our luggage from the room and simply walk off.
Our once crucial onboard pendants which we used to identify ourselves wherever we went suddenly became useless. It was a rude awakening.
June already bought train tickets from Rome’s train terminal to Venice departing at 1030 am. The ride would be an hour if things were to go as planned. Rushing around with all your luggage and due dates tests your ability to get from place to place. We could just taxi from port to Roma termini but that would be like cheating on a test.
We had one last sit down breakfast where we got to say goodbye to our server Erwin. So lucky because we missed him on our last sit down meal.
730 am Port to local bus terminal €6 pp, 10 minute.
8am local bus from port to Roma termini main train station. €4.60 pp, one hour. I can’t believe how inexpensive this was.
930am get paninis to go and figure out which platform we’re on.
1030 board the train to Venice. 4 hr and more expensive than the last ride.
12 pm land in Venice and try to find our way by water shuttle and foot to our room.
We bought three day public transportation passes for around €144 for the 4 of us which included two kids passes. They allow unlimited on and off. Each ride would be €7pp otherwise.
Venice
Venice is amazingly photogenic. Its also relatively more expensive than the other European places we visited. No cars are allowed, everything is boat or walk. Walking without gps is a wanderers’ type of experience because the streets curve and are not situated in a grid system. Also no mountain or ocean to guide you like in Hawaii.
So many pictures like this. How can be?
One of the first places we went to is called Cantina Ao Mori where we had cicchetti or pupus and tastes of wine before dinner. This place is older than the US, reportedly founded in 1462. These places are small bars where you walk up and order wine or whatever drinks they sell as well as snacks that are sold pp kind of like an okazuya. stick around for a bit then move on. For its snacks this place had quarter sandwiches with the crust cut off, sardines on toast, meatballs and octopus for example. The tastes of wine are smaller than a standard pour but you get to try a bunch of items before heading off to dinner. Here they have 4 house branded wines. My favorite was a refreshing white pinot/prosecco combination.
After that we had dinner while June almost fell asleep at the dinner table. Salmon for me, truffle pasta for pax, carbonara for hud and bruschetta for June.
I want to say it was this place. At least the outside looked like this.
On the way back pax bought a fountain pen for a friend. They have lots of these stores here. They let you test drive the metal tipped pens as well as the Murano glass tipped pens.
Now were back, air conditioned and doing laundry. The machine is on the ground floor. Dry your clothes on the lines outside the windows. No dryer.
Because of the heat we found ourselves going out each day and returning back to the room early each afternoon if not to sleep then just to cool off and relax until dinner time when we’d go back out again.
Day 9 first full day (of two) in Venice
We stayed in a bit to rest and got a late start. First a walk through St Marks Square.
Then we had the most expensive lunch ever at a fine dining place called Ristorante Da Ivo. Our servers wore suits and on the wall are pictures drawn by famous peopl George Clooney included.
After our €350 meal I went for a walk to clear my mind.
I know June wanted to ride the canals with our passes and while wandering I happened upon my family on the number 1 water bus. Reunited we went to a park to cool off and then to the Poli distillery for tasting and purchasing.
Pax found souvenir masks for himself and a friend.
We went to a very popular bookstore that had so much traffic that it was one way travel and the employees were directing traffic and keeping people in line more than locating books for customers.
Dinner was the most meh food we’ve had in Venice so far. In Venice you can find lots of food but not all of it is great. The carbonara had way too much pasta and not enough sauce. Also this was the first place we were asked to tip. That was the cherry on top.
There are numerous fast food pasta places that sell take away food and drinks. They will cook your choice of pasta and make it with whatever sauces they have. No trofie pesto like the pic shows. or vino which is clearly visible in the case. WTF?
At night June and I went to a bar right off of St. Marks square which happened to have “the Lamborghini of grappa” and spritz to cap off the night.
Day 10 second full day in Venice.
Today we decided to go island hopping adjacent to Venice. Boat passes still good.
First up was Murano for glass trinkets and glass blowing demonstrations. around a 30 minute ride via boat. This was June’s stop for things to bring back. We bought knick nacks-rings, necklaces and earrings.
Demonstrations ranged from free to €15 pp. On the recommendation of a shop owner we ended up at Al Dogi where we got to see the blower make the cups that they sell in the store front. Many of these places sell glass items up front and get people to pay to see the glass being formed in the back furnace.
Then off to the island of Burano for lunch, known for its idyllic colorful homes and lace production. The water bus is a 30 minute ride north of Murano.
Da Romano is where we went for lunch, places along a row of many street side restaurants this one brought to June’s attention by Anthony Bourdain. This place has the feel of an old Italian restaurant. The main area has random art on the walls and when you walk to the bathroom the hall is lined with famous people who have dined here. While walking over to the bathroom I stared at the bar to check out their grappa offerings. A server named Alejandro gave me the run down of their grappas. I asked if there was a grappa menu and he looked at me and said “I am the grappa menu, senor!”
The Risotto Romana is a house speciality made with small fish from the lagoon which have been squeezed of its juice. Out waiter explained it was a mild taste with no bits of fish in it.
Big caprese mozzarella salad.
Amongst the breads that arrived at the table were the “s” shaped cookies we saw for sale all around Venice. Our server told us that the cookies are a Burano specialty, it comes in different shapes but the “S” shape resembles Venice’s grand canal. Oh! Makes sense.
After lunch I ordered one of the grappas that Alejandro suggested. Instead he rolled over a cart with three for me to choose from. What class.
After practicing the art of sitting and chatting I began to wonder if i should have a second grappa. After all, I am on vacation.
This is when Alejandro rolled up on us with this unmarked bottle of grappa.
It was an herbal infused grappa which is aged for one year. The herbs are picked right before they die and placed into bottles to age. Both our servers claimed to be the ones to make the custom grappa.
We ended up having such a great meal making friends and learning about Venice culture. Sometimes it pays to share your curiosities with others.
After lunch we headed out to Cimitero San Michele or the island of St Michele (for me mostly) to look at the cematary.
Take that back. We jumped on the wrong water shuttle and headed back to San Marco by accident. I guess it was for the best anyway since the family would be bored.
I napped off my grappa on the accidental ride back to Venice. At Venice the family continued home to rest while I made a second attempt to the cemetery on my own.
San Michele is the Venices principal burial ground. The entire island is sharply walled off at all sides and it appears to be used solely as a cemetery.
Along the way back I noticed a geocache (that i wasn’t able to find) nearby so I followed it taking me to one of Venice’s unusual locations-the narrowest alley in Venice where I strained my eyes looking between bricks for a microcache.
*on the way home i bought Marvis toothpaste as omiyage for the guys. I also tried to stop off at a hat shop for a new feather for my hat. They were closed early for the day. It’s ok because I swapped my plumeria for an ostrich feather that was in my luggage.
Our last dinner was at restaurant Nevodi recommended by June friend located in the more local area of Venice. My ahi was strangely spongy just like on the cruise ship. Two for two leads me to think thats normal for the tuna out here. Maybe a different species or cut.
Last day but…
Not really a day to do much but get to the airport. I woke up around 530am to lightning flashes coming through our closed shutters hoping we wouldn’t have to walk in the pouring rain getting to the airport.
Luckily it cleared, we picked up breakfast and paninis along the way.
Our three day water shuttle passes served us well as trips were expensive. The passes were also but at least they took us all the way to the airport. I think two adult and two children were around €144 total
On our three leg flight back home we overnighted in Phoenix Arizona. June had the Holiday Inn shuttle come pick us up and drop us off from the airport. I got to try Waffle House. It smelled funny in there.
Arrivadercci!
Don’t pretend to be sad. I know you’re already planning where we’re going next.
Afterthoughts now that our trip is over
Luggage-Being that we planned on taking multiple modes-busses, trains and boats to get from place to place we opted for multiple small luggages over one big one. It worked out so that each of us didn’t have more than one larger piece, although I think our luggages must have not been much larger than a carry on. It helped that we were in summer and that the boys can carry their own stuff plus ours if needed!
Temperatures-The temps for us this July throughout Europe were consistently around 80 to 90 degrees and the humidit 50% and up. Almost wherever we went we would be sweating after around 30 minutes unless it was early in the morning. The heat was something unavoidable and we just got used to it. Everyone was sweating.
On the way back our two stop offs in Dallas and Phoenix were experiencing temps of 110 degrees making Europe seem not so bad. Thing is in Europe you mostly walk to get from place to place. It was pretty neat travelling light and being able to public transport without a car. Although I ate as though every meal might be my last with all the walking my weight didn’t change a smidge.
Best Meal-When people ask me about the best meal I had, it was more about the experience and environment than the food. At Da Romano we only had a few dishes, nothing even with meat. The service and casual conversations were what made it special.
The WOO family page 