Europe - Passports Overloaded

Ajaccio-Corsica, France

July 30, 2018

Today Nano, John and I hired a taxi to drive us to Calanche of Piana which was breathtakingly beautiful. Mother nature at her finest. After seeing the beautiful sights, we had lunch with a fantastic view at La Table de Neptune. Afterward, we drove to the Cargese Village which was founded by the Greeks in 1676. After that, we headed back to the ship. Along the drive, our taxi driver ended up having a fist fight with this guy and his wife while they were riding their bicycle. Unfortunately, I was fumbling with my cell phone, and I didn’t get the video of the fight.

Amalfi-Positano, Italy

July 29, 2018

Today Nano, Mariya, Adrian, Irene, John and I took the tender boat to the port and we then took a ferry to see the Emerald Grotto which was pretty. When we got back to Amalfi we then we took another ferry to Positano and had an amazing lunch at Le Sirenusa. After lunch, we headed back to the ship.

August 7, 2018, Second time

Today we took the tender boat to the port and then boarded a ferry boat to Capri. We walked around a bit and had some lunch at this place called Isidoro Restaurant where we ordered the Caprese salad and it was the best Mozzarella we ever had. After lunch, we did some shopping and took the ferry boat back to the ship. Capri is a place that we would like to go back and spend some more time there.

August 22, 2018, Third time

Today John, Evan and I decided to take the tender boat to town and walk around a bit and grabbed a bite to eat. Afterward, we went back to the ship to finish packing since we were getting off the ship tomorrow.

If you would like to see what we ate while in Positano, Italy.

Messina-Taormina-Sicily, Italy

July 28, 2018

Today John, Nano and I decided to grab a taxi, and I need to let everybody know that you need to be aware that some of the taxi drivers there will try and rip you off. We almost got ripped off, but luckily we spoke to another taxi driver, and he gave us a good price.

Another thing you need to be careful about is that all the drivers will tell you they speak English until you start driving and start asking questions. Unfortunately, we ended up with a taxi driver that barely spoke any English and drove like a nut.

The first place we went to was Taormina which was a nice little town afterward we went to Castelmola which was nice. The next stop was this cool gorge called Gole Alcantara it also had a waterfall afterward we went back to the ship.

August 8, 2018

Second Visit to this port on the same cruise – We did four back to back cruises and we visited 29 different ports so we were happy to spend a day on the ship. We decided since we were already at the same port we would stay on the ship and relax.

Mariya, Nano, Adrian, Irene, Maria, John, Samantha & Evan

Valletta, Malta

July 27, 2018

Today we got a taxi to take us around Malta for 5 hours. The first stop was the fishing port called Marsaxlokk which was a cute little town with colorful boats. Then we went to the Blue Grotto which was also really lovely. The next stop was the Hagar Qim Temples. The temples were pretty amazing and unbelievably big.

The next stop on our tour was Rabat and where we visited St. Paul’s Catacombs. They were amazing we couldn’t believe how many there were and how big some of them were.

We then drove to Mdina for a panoramic view of Malta which was nice. While we were there, we took a horse and carriage ride through Mdina which was pretty cool. On the tour we found out two scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed there. The next place we visited was
The Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady also known as Rotunda of Mosta or Mosta Dome. The one thing we learned while at the church was that the church narrowly avoided destruction during World War II, since April 9, 1942, a German aerial bomb pierced the dome and fell into the church during Mass but failed to explode. This event was interpreted by the Maltese as a miracle.

The taxi dropped us off back in Valletta where we walked around a bit and got lunch in a nice outdoor restaurant. After lunch, we visited the St. John’s Cathedral which happens to be the most beautiful most elaborate church we have ever seen. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

If you would like to see what we are while in Valletta, Malta.

The Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady also known as Rotunda of Mosta or Mosta Dome

Rhodes, Greece

July 24, 2018

Today we met a friendly taxi driver named Michael (his business card is down below) who took us around the beautiful island of Rhodes. Michael took us to a beautiful place to have lunch in Haraki Bay then we drove to around to a few different beaches.

The best one we saw was called Anthony Quinn Bay. If we had a chance, we would’ve spent a few hours there. After a brief stop, we then drove to the old town where he dropped us off in one spot, and we walked through this fantastic place and met him at the main square where he picked us up to continue our tour.

Our last stop before heading back to the ship was this ceramic shop where they handmade and handpainted pottery. There’s a video of a man making something down below.

If you would like to see what we ate while in Rhodes.

Mykonos, Greece

July 25, 2018

Today John and I rented a car and drove around the island we saw the nicest homes which were located on a secluded part of the island. There was only one way in and one way out which was pretty neat. We also visited some of the cool beaches that I have heard about for many years.

Some of the beaches we saw were Ornos beach, Psarou beach, Gialos beach, Paradise beach, Elia beach, Kalo Livadi beach also visited Ano Mera village and just walked around a bit. After about 3 hours of sightseeing, we returned the car and had lunch on the ship.

Santorini, Greece

July 21, 2018

Today we took the tender boat to the cable car ride which takes you to the top of the mountain where you can walk around the town. We decided to rent a car from Hertz and drove to Oia.

While we were there, we walked around for about an hour and then drove to Perissa which is where the famous black sand beach is. We had a lovely lunch at a place called Perigos the food was delicious. After that, we drove back to Fira (Thira) and returned the rental car walked around town a little bit and then took the cable car back down to the tender boat to get back on the ship.

July 23, 2018 – Second Visit to Santorini

Today we walked around Santorini with our good friends Nano and Mariya, and since we had already rented a car and driven around the island, we decided to stay back and find a nice spot with a great view and have a cup of coffee and a glass of wine and beer. We walked with Nano and Mariya to the rental car place, and they rented a car and drove around the island.

We found a great spot overlooking the beautiful water hung out for about an hour and then went back to the ship.

If you would like to see what we drank while in Santorini, Greece.

Patmos, Greece

July 20, 2018

Today we took the tender to the port, and we rented a taxi, and the first stop was the Cave of the Apocalypse where St. John wrote the Book of Revelation.

Afterward, he drove us up to the Monastery of St. John and we walked around a bit and then we went back to the ship had lunch.

After lunch, we decided to take another cab to a little town called Kambos to have a glass of wine by the beach. Afterward, we met up with Samantha, Evan, and Frederic in town and had some coffee with them and then took the tender back to the ship.

If you would like to see what we drank in Patmos, Greece.

Image result for monastery of st. john patmos — Photo credit:http://www.monastiria.gr/monasteries/st-john-the-theologians-monastery-in-patmos/?lang=en

Limassol, Cyprus

July 18, 2018

Today we took a taxi to the Kolossi Castle and then visited the Timios Stavros Monastery in Omodos Village and then went back to the ship to have lunch.

Image result for Monastery in Omodos Village — Timios Stavros Monastery in Omodos Village – Photo Credit: Pinterest

Timios Stavros Monastery in Omodos Village

Heraklion, Crete – Greece

July 13, 2018

Today we visited the Palace of Knossos, and then we went to the Monastery of Kera, and then we had coffee at Hersonissos afterward we went to the ship had lunch and decided to take an afternoon was to the Koules Fortress with our friend Samantha.

Alphabetic Links of Where We’ve Been