We arrived at Split to not very nice weather to start off the day. As we didn't berth at the dock we were ferried to the dock by tender (life boats). The sea was a bit rough and we were thrown around a bit in the tender - I was thrown against a pole in the tender and ended up with a very black bruise but otherwise okay. Split is the largest Dalmation city, and the second largest urban centre in Croatia on the shores of the Mediterranean, more specifically on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. A very popular tourist population destination being one of the oldest cities in the area approximately 1700 years old although archaeological research establishes the city as several years older. We decided to just walk around the town and ... read more

We were on an organised tour for this day - Kusadasi is in Turkey. One of the main attractions there is the huge number of Greek and Roman ruins found there at Ephesus which is a gloriously reconstructed city. Lots of rubble I say.... sorry but am not a lot into the history or seeing so much of rocks etc... but do appreciate that others do. There was also remains of the municipal baths and a brothel. One area which I found fascinating was the communal toilets where you could sit next to many people .... not my idea of privacy. From there we went to a carpet making factory where everything is made in the traditional way and quite fascinating to watch. We saw how the silk was taken from the cocoons and spun ready ... read more

Hi again, Our cruise to Istanbul went through the Dardanelles . Many of the 700 Australians/New Zealanders onboard were up very early to watch the sun rise as we went through the Dardanelles - during which time the events Manager did an impressive and much appreciated presentation on the Anzacs at Gallipoli. A photo with the sun rising over Gallipoli was taken by John. We then continued onto Istanbul where we did a tour of the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market that afternoon/evening before heading back to the ship for dinner. We tried some turkish delight - nothing like we have at home at all and were told by our Tour Guide where to buy some - well $45EU later we have a large and heavy box full of all types of turkish delight - ... read more

On our last day in Venice we decided we should go and have a look at the Venice Casino - so off we went and walked until we found it and on arrival had to register and then in we went to play - well, even John decided to have a bit of a flutter on the pokies. Almost instantly he won around 53 free games and walked out with 60 Euros!! I walked out empty handed but amazed that one - John even played the pokies and secondly that he won... cheeky bugger. So what did he do - yes he went and bought those tartan pants...so look out! Our Adelaide friends & tour group arrived in Venice and we all went to the same restaurant for dinner where we went ... read more

Hi everyone, Honeymoon trip! We're off again leaving Australia on 29th September bright and very early in the morning for Melbourne to catch our flight to Bandar for a few hours stopover before flying onto London. We have about a 7 hour wait for our 2 hour flight to Venice... must be shops around there somewhere or a bar.... to fill in the time. We're flying Royal Brunei again - business class. More cost effective than paying Qantas economy. Yes we have to supply our own wine again so will be taking it onboard... it's a Muslim plane - they will serve your own wine to you but don't provide it. We will endeavour to keep you updated on what we're up to again, well some of it anyway! Love from John & Lyn Mitchell xxx ... read more