Friends & Family

 

Viking "Empires of the Mediterranean"

Some of my favorite peeps that followed our amazing adventure

Lauren

Kimmy

Chloe

Petra

Jayce

Pam

Mishele

Jen G

Sandra

"Likes"

Cindy RM

Amanda

Christina B

Katie

Tati

Madi

Shasha

Jessica

Michelle

May 10: Lake Como

 THAT Was Impressive!

Well, we saved the best day and the very longest day for last.  Some in our group may argue the "best" title, but none would argue that the ELEVEN hour day wasn't the longest day since we left home.  But the 45 minutes on the open waters of Lake Como - for us - was what this extension was all about, and it was "all that and a bag of chips!"  We we were up in time for a 7:15am breakfast call and out the door onto the bus by 8am.  We were about 45 minutes into our two our drive when we were alerted that the highway was closed because of a big accident.  So to the side roads we moved and it took us 2 1/2 hours - without a break, in the essence of saving time - to arrive in Lake Como.  Side note - beginning this June, Lake Como is making it VERY difficult on tours and tour busses to travel to the highly popular area.  And that's one thing we discovered today......it was packed with people today.  Probably more so than any where else we've been on this adventure.  I truly pity anyone who has the idea "Hey, let's fly to Milan and spend a few days in Lake Como."  You will be waiting HOURS just to get on one boat to get to one other part of the lake.  And finding a table - you'll be lucky if you find one.  Fortunately we had Viking on our side as a planned tour group and most of it was very smooth.  But, because of the current rules, the bus had to park a good walking distance from the city center and so we weaved through the crowds to get there.  Walked through the medieval part of town and had about an hour to ourselves.  Most, like us found a café and ordered something light.

Hot chocolate to start the day, with a view....again

Two beers please

The cathedral as it appeared through the narrow, medieval streets

The cathedral was impressive, but not so much more significantly impressive than many other European cathedrals we've seen.  But well worth going in - which I did.  And let me say at this point, I took 92 shots with my iPhone camera today and nearly all the "best" photos I am posting here are from that 45 minute cruise on the lake.  Not that the rest wasn't interesting, but the boat ride - THAT was impressive.  So our group was reunited and we walked down to the pier, about another 15 minute jaunt and there, waiting for us was our private boat.  Again, if you were on your own, the line was massive to get a boat for the ride.  We sped off and each time we came close to a significant villa the captain would move in close and slowly motor on by. Here's a snap shot, a small snap shot of the eye candy that unfolded before us and all around us.......

Typical of what we saw all day long

The villa used in the film "Oceans 11" - which starred George Clooney

Note the expert photography to center the "Oceans 11" villa between us :)

"Just" another villa

The villa where John Legend wrote "All of Me" and married Chrissy Teigen

George Clooney's villa - AND he was home today!

The spectacular scenery - all day, all around

I'm a BIG 007 fan, and my favorite is "Casino Royale" so this was one villa I was especially looking forward to seeing up close and personal - a real "WOW" for me

And, oh yeah....for good measure, the Swiss Alps are right here as well!

Once we docked at the Bellagio we had about an hour and a half on our own, primarily to find a spot for lunch.  We quickly picked a spot with a line, but if we could get it, we thought it would be an ideal spot for our lunch.  We spent a good 45 minutes in line (and there were only about ten people ahead of us, but it was RIGHT on the water.  We were with a couple we'd met on our day sailing through Elphati Islands in Croatia, Bill and Linda from San Diego.  Linda is a retired school teacher and Bill a retired HS principal, so you can see why we connected so easily.  But here's the story that made our relationship blossom so quickly.....  So back track to the day we got off the ship.  We first had a mix-up about the busses and had to re-line up with luggage to get organized correctly and then when our guide Stephania counted us we were two short.  Looked it up and she called out, "the Foxes?"  No reply.  She checked with the Viking people - apparently a "no show."  We begin to pull away and one of the security guards chases us down - oh, we think, the Foxes are late arrivals.  Nope.  Apparently they did not show.  So we proceed with the trip to Lake Maggiore.  The next morning, yesterday, I'm looking over the breakfast buffet and Bill is there, says "Good morning Coach!" and when I sit down I said to Kim, "did you see Bill and Linda on the bus yesterday?"  And she replied, "What if THEY are the Foxes!"  So we went over to their table.  Linda looks like she's been in a heavy weight boxing match and her right hand is all bandaged up.  The day we were in Slovenia she fell in the hall way, took a nasty hit on the side of her head so that her eye was nearly swollen shut and was all bruised.  And somehow her hand was sliced open.  The Viking medical staff were not prepared for this kind of stitching in a key joint area and so Viking took her to the hospital.  Of course the ship left for Venice and Viking put Bill & Linda up in a bed and breakfast.  Got them back to the hospital for more testing and finally released her.  Then Viking arranged to take them by personal car from Venice to catch up with us in Lake Maggiore!  They arrived at midnight and here they were.  This might have been the end of the story but in the lobby we shared this story with Stephania and she had no idea that the Foxes had arrived.  And when she met them immediately began to look after Linda - as did Kim and I.  And when we returned to the hotel at the end of yesterday's adventure, Stephania walked fifteen minutes the wrong way to a pharmacy to buy bandages and medical ointment for Linda's hand.  When she got to the lobby we were with them and she and Kim re-bandaged her up!  SOOOO....fast forward to today, we hooked up with them for lunch (and the farewell dinner tonight) and had our photo taken and our waterfront restaurant!  

Tomorrow we are in the lobby by 7am for the hour plus trip to the airport to begin our journey home.  Another EXCELLENT adventure, but we will look forward to landing in Miami about 8:40pm tomorrow night.  Appreciate everyone who came along virtually.  I'll have a "best of" photo album on Facebook by Monday!

May 9: Lake Maggiore Islands Tour

 Lake Maggiore By Boat

Today was our day to spend on Lake Maggiore.  What you will NOT see in the photos below, for the most part, is what we spent the majority of the day looking at on each island.  What you WILL see are the amazing vistas of the lake from the various islands.  On the first island we were there for more than an hour and so, SO, SOOOOOO many plants and flowers.  To those of you who are into that, you'd be amazed.  I was impressed with just how many different varieties of trees and plants/flowers, etc. there were on this one island.  We then set sail for a ten minute ride to the second island, a small fisherman's island where the "main street" was about 1 1/2 persons wide.  We had lunch here.  It was "funny" in that our guide Stephanie had labeled it "Free Lunch," but in Italy what means you have "free time" for lunch - i.e. YOU pay :)  We were all somewhat surprised by that, but it was a wonderful setting for lunch and the food and wine were good.  Then the third island was less than five minutes away where we walked again for almost an hour through a HUGE mansion filled with artwork .... so obviously filthy rich and it was all designed to show off their wealth to their guests.  Interesting for sure.  But again, the views from the grounds with the lake were what made the day.  Enjoy the photos.....tomorrow we do much the same on Lake Como - the final day of the trip.

Started my day with "hot chocolate with a view" :)

And we're off

View out the boat window :O

Staircase into the garden on the first island

The Palace on the first island

Part of the formal garden

Lunch with a view

The "main street" with cafe's all along the way

The third island & the mansion

Spiral staircase in the mansion

The garden area

That evening we walked to the town center and had dinner with two couples we've become friends with - we all enjoyed pizza.....it's Italy, duh!

Joy & Tommy (from Georgia) - Don & Dee (from Clearwater)

Found out the two guys both fly F-14's in the Air Force and retired as 3-star generals :O

May 8: Lake Maggiore: Day 1

 Good-bye Viking Sea / Hello Italian Lakes

As we got up this morning the ship had already docked in Venice (actually just outside Venice since big cruise ships are no longer permitted in the Venice Harbor proper).  The sun was coming up and I took the photo above.  We had to put our luggage out by 10pm last night, but we kept our carry-ons with us, and we were to be down in the main atrium by 7:45 am to await our call to disembark and board the bus for the Italian Lakes.  After a brief miscommunication with the paperwork we were quickly boarded and off on our L-O-N-G trip.  The schedule called for us to depart around 8:30am and arrive at our hotel around 4:30pm.  That's a long day on the bus.  But the plan was a good one - we stopped about 1 1/2 hours into the drive for a 20 minute stretch & bathroom break.  Drove about two more hours and arrived at an amazing winery for lunch.  The main home of the family that has owned the winery for generations - well it's a villa, not a "home" - was built INSIDE the ruins of a medieval castle, which you can see in the photos below.  They produce several kinds of wines and we got a brief education on them.  Also showed us how they plant a rose bush at the end of each row which helps keep unwanted insects off the vines.  We then went into the restaurant area and were served a four course meal - the main entrée being an exceptional lasagna dish.  Back on the bus for another two hours and change before we arrived at our hotel right on the water.  Checked into our room, and walked briefly around the grounds to snap a few scenic photos - it's just gorgeous here, then took a short stroll down to a café where Kim enjoyed an "Americano café" as we looked out on the water.  We met everyone in our group and our guide, Stefanie for dinner at 7:30pm.

The villa at the winery

The vineyards

Guess who :)

The rose bushes

Lunch

We've arrived at the hotel

The view off the back porch of the hotel

Another view from the hotel

And a third view - wow

On the other side of the lakes.....Switzerland & the Swiss Alps!

Today's picture of the very happy couple

View out our window :O

Tomorrow should be an AMAZING day - the plan is to board a small boat and sail all over Lake Maggiore, stopping at the three main islands on the lake, one stop will include lunch.  Buongiorno!

May 7: Slovenia

 Exploring Predjama Castle & Postojna Cave

Welcome to Slovenia

What an epic end to the cruise portion of the adventure!  We were on the pier by 8:30am and had a 45 minute bus ride to the first stop, the enormous Predjama Castle.  As you can see it's built right into the caverns!  There's even a secret escape passage from the castle into the caves (we did not get to explore here).  Once there we took a self-guided tour (much prefer when the guide himself/herself provides the narration and story!) that lasted about 45 minutes.  We walked through several rooms - reminded me of touring Marksburg Castle on the Rhine River.  But the "highlight" was the B-I-G climb to the overlook.  The steps were much bigger than a normal stair case today and it was a L-O-N-G way up to the top let me tell you :)  But we did it....and then maneuvered our way back down again.

First look at the castle

Approaching the entrance

Interior shots:  the count / the bedroom / the torture chamber

the dining room / the bathroom :O / the "knights' room

Who's ready for the BIG climb?

Back on the bus - after having to wait fifteen minutes for a single guest who was late.  As he got on the buse he simply said, "Sorry, too many steps."  Uh huh - so the other 25 plus of us have to wait because you are a slow step climber?  Hmmmm.  About a fifteen minute drive to Postojna Cave and by the time we got there it had begun to rain pretty good - the first time that's happened the entire trip.  But we stood under cover until it was our turn to board the provided trains that go DEEP into the cave (about a ten minute ride, moving at a fast clip I might add.  And you DID need a jacket as it was chilly, especially on the train.  The cave was amazing while on the train, but when we began walking, even more stunning.  SOOOOOO huge (one cavern they said you could build an entire European cathedral within that single cavern).  You can get an idea of how much up and down we did in some of the photos below if you take note of the size of the people in the photograph.  We explored for nearly 90 minutes deep underground until we re-boarded the train for the trip back to the surface and daylight.  Had lunch and then boarded the buses for the trip back.  A long day but a GREAT day.  We sail to Venice tonight, arriving in the morning for the end of the cruise.  BUT our adventure continues with three nights on the Italian Lakes!

Welcome to Postojna Caves!

Interior - note how FAR down the other guests are :O

Riding the train into the caverns

Another shot on the train ride - NOTE how BIG it is compared to our train

Let the hour-long walking journey begin

NOT a good photo - but it proves we were there :)

LOOK how far down we have to go :O

Impressive - you just can't imaging how gigantic this is

Hi HO....Hi Ho.....It's thru the caves we GO

That is a GIGANTIC cavern

The "Russian Bridge" built by Russian Prisoners of War....YES, we walked across the bridge and looked DOWN.....then were way below - that's PRETTY high my friends

Truly you cannot fathom how big this is from the photo....each of those are at least 20 ft. long

The signature formations of the cave - EACH over 1,000 years old :O

We'll see you from Italy tomorrow!