Our shore excursion today was into Dubrovnik (the old oaks). Dubrovnik is one of the main shooting locations for the Game of Thrones. Mainly King’s Landing with a lot of CGI added. Basically a medieval town that had been conquered multiple times. When communism fell and Yugoslavia fragmented there was fighting to determine who controlled the other countries which are now Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina,. They were essentially bombed by their own army. The map shows the strikes that happened to this city. You would be hard pressed to find the damage today after all of the rebuilding. We visited a Dominican Monastery and a Catholic Cathedral that are both functioning. (we found it odd that the cathedral was not selling rosaries). During some free time in Dubrovnik we visited some stores and picked up a ... read more

Finally! The covid haze has lifted slightly and next week we are headed out from captivity. Flying into Venice via Munich, wander around Venice then board the boat for Croatia, Montenegro and Greece. If you would like to be removed from the blog, please let me know. Otherwise see you in our travels. Thanks... read more

Rest of pictures because of bad internet connection.... read more

Day 10 – another really lazy day at sea. I finally got my massage and Elke was playing trivia with Val & Derek from Wales. More drinks. Day 11 – Landed at Las Palmas in the Gran Canaria Island. (nothing to do with the bird – it comes from the Latin word for dog. It is believed that when the Romans arrived they saw the fur seals which they called sea dogs) This tour takes us to a family run vineyard and orchard high in the mountains in the interior of the island. The oranges were in blossom and the air was filled with their aroma. When you stood in the orchard there was a constant buzzing noise from the bees. We were treated to 3 of their wines a red, a rose and a white ... read more

Day 6 & 7 - Today is a quiet day after the 12 km hike thru the sections of Barcelona. Wandered thru the Gothic quarter and the Jewish quarter. Tiny shops hidden in each of the narrow streets. All sorts of shops that sell souvenirs, Bogadio’s (sandwiches) meats , fruits and lots of small restaurants. As we were shopping I heard a loud crowd over a couple of streets. Decided to wander over there and found Placa Reiyal. A square surrounded by restaurants and pubs. The noise was coming from Jimmy’s pub where a group of Chelsea supporters had gathered to get ready for the evenings match between Chelsea and Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs. We located a nice bar that had tapas and sat down to be entertained by the ... read more