Ravenna is notable for several reasons but we will have no time to examine it. It was the last capital of the Western Roman Empire until it collapsed in 476. A number of buildings still stand from that time. Dante Alighieri, the poet, is buried here.
The mausoleum of Theodoric who died in 526, king of the Ostrogoths that followed the Romans, is shown at right.
Our stateroom is 7077 as shown here. We've had staterooms in this general vicinity on prior cruises.
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As usual, we worried too much. We bought the Ravenna tickets (second class, only class on "regional" trains) on-line for 21 Euro. Put the tickets on my iPhone to show conductor. Waited in our room 'til check-out time, checked out and asked for a taxi. It came to the back door, we piled in, and were driven to Bologna Centrale.
We found the departures board, which showed our train would depart using track 11. Walked the underground passage that connects all platforms but the high-speed ones and ascended at track 11. We found seats!! Waited for the train with lots of people. We entered and took a pair of seats in an area adjacent to the door. Our suitcases fit next to one chair and the small cases fit under the seats.
The train zipped away, doing up to 120 Km/H. But it was clearly a "local" train, stopping every 10 minutes or so. We, and much of the crowd, got off at Ravenna. Nice little station on a roundabout. A slip of water leading off into the distance. The only taxi was on the other side of the roundabout in the shade of a tree. But then a young man with an Azamara sign stepped out. Eureka!! We waited as advised for the next shuttle to the ship in a small Piadina (shack with liquid and small food items). The bus showed up and started for the ship.
The un-swabbed played musical chairs leading toward the medical tester. It came our turn to get swabbed and then to wait on the other side of the tent to await results. In 20 minutes or so we were given our "negative" badges and released to return to the pier head. Then we were ushered through a long shed/tent into the ship and up to the dining room. We were given our mandatory what-to-do-when lecture and demonstration. Then we could go to our stateroom.
Our verandah stateroom 7077 is in the area of the ship we always try to get - close to the on-board laundry but not adjacent. After the hot stations and walking we needed showers. And after seven days in Italy we wanted to throw everything we weren't wearing into the laundry.
When we finished this, we noted it was time for the Cruise Critic Meet-and-Mingle affair in the Drawing Room. There we found about a dozen people swapping experiences and stories and information. Stewards presented us with bubbly and wines, plus small bites. We chatted until I noted it was 1900, near time to get underway.
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We sat on the verandah with wine. The ship got underway, turned around, and left the harbor. Very comfortable.
Now we're in the Adriatic.
The Windows room is set up for set dining in the evening (real buffet for breakfast) but the veranda was so comfortable we elected to eat there. While we ate, the sun set giving us a few good pictures.
Some people are wearing masks indoors (even outdoors) but most are ignoring masks unless really crowded together.
Cruise Director Stephen joined us briefly at the M-n-M so we decided to see his show tonight. It was very good, a snippet of dancers and singers, then a song each by the specialists. I loved the piano player banging out ragtime. Stephen himself put on a good song. At the end of this show we were exhausted so we ended the evening and settled in.
We slept fairly well. I woke up congested at 0400 and took another antihistamine. Ok after that.
But as were were starting the day, D came down with a terrible attack of diarrhea. She grabbed the Immodium and waited out the attack. She stated she wasn't going anywhere today and ordered a few small items from room service. I went to the shore excursions person to tell him we're not going on the tour (above). He said that D should see the doctor and get a medical note that she should not go ashore so the tour tickets would be refunded. She did go to the doctor and got advice and was told to stay close to home until the Immodium takes effect. So we will.
Which is sad because it's a beautiful day in the shade and good for the tour this morning. I'm on the verandah in the shade and breeze doing these notes (for now).
The picture at left shows housing and a commercial building in Koper, with the Mosque sticking up beyond them.
Finally, D said she could take a short walk - so we did. Off the ship, turn right, go through a small kiddie park. We came to a small beach, heavily used - a couple of floats offshore to dive from or lay on. Small cantinas on the shore. Further, we came to a marina and another park. That was far enough so we turned around and walked back to the ship.
We did trivia on colors with two ladies from cruise critic. We did respectably but not enough to win.
Then it was dinner, the show (featuring a Slovenian group doing Dixie and Slovenia songs plus a young dancing couple - all very good. O recognized the Dixieland song "Root, hog, or die."
And then off to bed. O slept better on non—feather pillows.
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We must be careful… the Euro is not the currency (yet) of Croatia, but rather the Kuna. Kuna is Slavic for Marten, the weasel-like animal we have in northern states. The marten's skins were an original currency. The Euro will be the currency here, effective 1 January 2023.
Up, breakfast, etc. We waited for the word that the tenders have started running. We went down in the elevator and stepped out into the midst of a departing tour. We stepped aside, that group departed by tender. The next tender took us and a Canadian family to the pier in the middle of town. The old Roman Forum or Theatre is clearly visible from the pier; so we headed in that direction. A sign directed us to the opening where tickets are sold for admission. We bought and entered. It's not as large as the Colosseum in Rome, but maybe one-third the size. Its capacity was about 20,000 for big events. Still, it's quite impressive.
As the sun warmed us up, we went through the gift shop and bought a few things. Back on the street outside we found the HOHO bus, quite by accident.
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The HOHO took a while to get going. It was the first trip of the day at 1000. There were two European families at the head of the line with children that took a bit to sort out. We paid by card, got our hearing devices, boarded and took seats. The vehicle took off a little late, but it did the entire route advertised (see the last linked photo). The features we noted were the coves with numbers of swimmers, cars from many EU countries (vacation season), and a generally nice environment. D said she'd like to spend a season here.
But it was warming toward hot. We walked to a couple of gift shops, then down through the little park to the pier. The next tender got us back before noon. We loafed a bit, then went to the BBQ in the Patio. Drank lots of water before we started on the Riesling.
At 1600 we played trivia with some of the other Cruise Critic people. The first was on Science, which we won. The second was on Elton John's music, where we were terrible.
We took it easy for a bit then did dinner in the Dining Room. Again our waiter was Sanvoy from Indonesia.
The Captain's Toast in the Cabaret came up next, where we all got free drinks and nibblies. The Captain introduced his officers and wished us a wonderful cruise. He's a likable person, from Croatia.
The show was next, a full-bore Tango exhibition with interspersed segments of Argentine history. Very good dancing.
Then bed.
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A bit of an odd day but not too bad. First, a tender brought us ashore to where the shelf along the sea is 200 meters deep, then the land goes straight up. We walked out to the gates of the city and a few more meters to connect with the bus. Our guide was yapping the whole time.
The bus ran up a narrow road with a considerable drop-off on the right side. Once it had gained altitude it cruised along the face of the mountains to a place past the airport. There it turned inland into a sloping valley and went perhaps five miles up that road. Then it pulled into a vineyard. The owner (multi-generational) spoke in Croatian which the guide translated for us. The white and the red were quite drinkable, rather like Pinot Grigio and Cabernet.
Then we were introduced to the train. The "engine" was a farm tractor with sheet metal formed to look engine-ish. It pulled three farm wagons made to look like train cars. No springs. No padding on the plastic seats. Poor roads. It sufficed to move from A to B but it moved grudgingly and with malice.
We "trained" on to the next small farm winery. The owner spoke through the translator to welcome us and give a few details of the place. The wines were ok, and they served a sort of ploughman's lunch - hard-boiled egg, cucumber and tomato slices, bacon, onion, bread. We ate and chatted until it was time to go to the next and last place. Here a young lady speaking good English told us the history of the place, in the family since 1600. We had wine that was ok but for one variety which was sage; they use it as cough medicine but I wouldn't touch it. She introduced her mother and grandmother, still in the business. The temperature was getting right up at this point.
Now, praise God, the yellow train went away and the bus returned. It brought us back to the city gate. We walked downhill to the harbor where a small group was petting three cats who seemed to like it. We boarded the tender to return to the ship. O ran through the shower and we changed clothes. Then up to trivia at which we didn't do well.
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We took the tour Brilliance of Boka Bay, a common thing to do here. We were driven 16km in a mini-bus to the place where boats take you to the island of interest. Our outstanding guide Ilija Kovacevic gave us Montenegrin history and what's happening currently.
Ilija contracted a boat (of several) to take us to the man-made island in the middle of the strait. Hundreds of years ago, it was decided that everyone who passed the island by boat would place rocks onto it. Over time it grew to be an island, and a church was built on it to commemorate the sailors lost at sea.
We toured the church and its ante-rooms of art, mainly renditions of ships lost at sea, plus religious paintings. We left to go to the tourist shop (you knew that was coming, didn't you) and the toilets.
It took a while to get back to shore due to a mis-count in the number of passengers outbound.
Ashore we toured the local church and wandered the street of the pedestrian-only area till we got to the mini-bus. Now, it's getting hot. The mountains break the breeze, so there's no help there. The mini-bus took us back to the old town, surrounded by old city walls with three gates.
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Here, the crowd was much bigger, since Viking Sea is anchored in the harbor (we're at the dock). Our tour headed off (with D) but O stayed in the nearby cafe. O ordered a large beer for 4.5 Euro and did people-watching until D returned. D had a local Cockta, the local copy of Coke. Then she had a gelato (did I mention it was 102*f?) and wandered an adjacent shop.
After all that we walked under the street to the far side where Journey was tied up. O worked the ATM and we returned to our cabin for showers and dry clothes.
O did notes as we waited for a later trivia contest. At trivia on Authors and Books, we tied for top place but lost in the tie-breaker (we contested the answer as faulty)(Ed: we were upheld and thus won). In the following trivia on music, we did not do well.
We dashed directly from there to the Sunset Bar where the Captain's greeting to multi-cruise members was in progress. We participated in the general chatting and comparing voyages.
Then up to Aqualina, the Italian food emporium. We ate good food and drank good wine.
The evening show was by Branden & James, vocals & cello. Quite unusual. Powerful voices, unique arrangements. D thought they were very good, O was less enthusiastic.
Finally we wandered off to bed. Tired.
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At last a day off. We can loaf. We can do what we want as we round the heel of Italy.
Actually, we loafed. Went to a wine-pairing educational thing at 1400. Four wines were arranged with six food pieces. The object was to bite the food piece, then sip the wine and repeat to show how your perception of the wine changed. Very interesting.
We attended Bingo at 1500; neither of us did all that well. The lady who won noted that the $570 would help with the expenses she incurred in losing her wallet with credit cards.
We raced to the Living Room but were late for Trivia. Our team of two did fairly well in the first one, but only scored ONE the second one (on Disco music).
Off to dinner with Mary Kay & Dave from NH. Lots of chatter, comparisons of travel, etc. Passed through the strait of Messina as we ate, so now we must be in the Med. We'll anchor at Amalfi in the morning.
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