We departed Polignano at around 10 and headed to Bari airport. We topped up with fuel along the way which was much less painful than the first fueling attempt thankfully. We arrived just in time to drop the car off at Avis and walked into the airport. There was a massive line up for […]
The drive from Matera to Polignano was very short but as we couldn’t check-in until 3pm, we took the scenic route through never ending fields of wheat and other crops. We planned to stop just outside of Polignano to give the hotel a call, as they had requested, and also for a comfort stop and
The drive to Matera was largely uneventful apart from me having an argument with the petrol vending machine. We arrived in Matera pretty much on schedule and found our way to the accommodation which is at one end of the Sassi. The Sassi, Italian for stones or rocks, is an area of Matera where people
We are off the ship! It’s been a long 36 days and while we’re glad to be back on land, we’re not sure how we will be able to function in society without someone cleaning up after us, cleaning our room, telling us what to eat. Mind you, we are going to a lovely little
After a sea day travelling from Athens, we arrived at Palermo. Kath had booked a walking tour of the city with Francesca, a born and bread Palermo local who also happens to be writing a book on Sicilian food and wine, and just passed her sommelier’s test. Francesca is a lovely lady who is passionate
On ANZAC day we were sailing off the coast of the Gallipoli peninsula at the same time our soldiers would have been 100 years earlier. It was an eerie feeling to be outside in the dark, as the ship moved slowly past ANZAC cove. We woke up at around 3am and were upstairs on the
We’re in Greece now and again we spend 3 days in 3 different cities, well, 2 islands and a city. We started off in Santorini. To reach the island we had to tender from the cruise ship via local tender vessels. These are run by the local operators and while the ship is capable of
We had a lovely 3 days in 3 different cities in Turkey. As we achieved so much on our first day on the peninsula, we decided to make use of the time to see some of Canakkle, the launch point for anyone visiting the battlefields. This is a lovely little town which survives on a
Canakkle, Istanbul & Kusadasi Read More »
One of the key points of difference with this cruise and other cruises taking in Gallipoli for the 100th anniversary is the fact that our cruise is following in the footsteps of the diggers. One of the special privileges of this is the fact that we get to travel through the Suez Canal. This is
Today we are in Safaga, a port town in Egypt on the Red Sea. We have the second of our organised tours today and after being on the ship for over 7 days and just to do something totally different we are going on a boat cruise 😐 I know, sounds totally rediculous doesn’t it,
The last few days have been pretty relaxing and pretty exciting all at the same time. We are at sea still and are heading towards the straight between Yemen and Somalia. With the Bombings on one side and the Pirates on the other we expected to see some military activity and were weren’t disappointed. First
Colombo to Safaga – Part 2 Read More »
We have quite a few days now at sea. As has been the norm, the seas are eirely smooth, and I keep thinking we’re in a scene from Lost or that one where Jim Carey’s life is on film and he sails out to the edge of the set. It just shouldn’t be this smooth.
Colombo to Safaga – Part 1 Read More »
Heading into Colombo I started to get a bit of a sore throat, even though I was steering clear of the Coughing Garden Theatre. All good though as we are well equipped with a wide array of strepsils, butter menthols, cold & flu tablets as well as antibiotics. We arrived in Colombo early in the
Below are a few quotes that we’ve either heard or used over the past week that we thought were post worthy. They need a little back story, but I’ll try to keep it brief. “The fish has been frozen a very long time” The story behind this one relates to one of our first restaurant
Quotes From The Boat Read More »
We crossed the equator last night, at 11:30pm local time. Prior to this, at 11:30am yesterday a cheesy ceremony was held where a fake God Neptune was paraded around the upper deck where he eventually presented the ‘Key to the Ocean’ to a staff member. This apparently allows the ship to cross the equator, although
We have a few days at sea until we reach the Cocos Islands and really all we’ve been doing is relaxing around the ship. Leanne and Gary have been going to the daily talks in the theatre which cover various aspects of WW I and WW II. I thought I’d take this lull in activity
Albany to Cocos & Keeling Islands – Part 2 Read More »
For the next few days we will see no land whatsoever, and in actual fact we saw nothing at all. No birds, whales, dolphins, other ships, nothing at all, not even flotsum or jetsum (whoever they are). Sunday night was the Captains Gala Cocktail, where the drinks were included and we had the chance to
Albany to Cocos & Keeling Islands – Part 1 Read More »
This morning we were off the ship and into Albany. The cruise company had arranged busses to run a hop on hop off service all day, which was a great idea. We had an earlyish breakfast and headed off the ship being scanned on the way out. Kath and I had slightly different plans to
Albany and beyond… Read More »
We arrived in Albany in the late afternoon and prepared for the Gala Concert event. Gary and I in our very expensive (not) suits and Leanne and Kath in black evening gowns. We all scrubbed up pretty well and proceeded to head to the buffet at around 5:30pm. Yes, you heard correctly, we went to
Gala Concert – Albany Read More »
Thursday morning we awoke and had breakfast at the house. We did our final pack and had a shower in readiness for Gary’s cousin to pick us up at 10. The cleaning crew for the accom arrived a little before 10 with Kate arriving shortly after. Kate was driving Sherman the German, a big old
Boarding MSC Orchestra Read More »
