Both The Journey and the Destination

When it comes to cruising, it is as much about the journey as it is about the destinations. 

Approaching Ibiza

I was reminded of that on our recent western Mediterranean cruise as we sipped room-service-delivered, piping hot coffee each morning on the balcony of our cabin watching some new port of call come into view. 

Morning coffee brought to our room at no extra charge 

Those coffee deliveries rank high on my 'feeling pampered' list and are among the reasons I so like cruising. But I am usually so focused on the vastly differing destinations that we are heading to -- both new and old favorites -- that my tales focus on them and not the ship that gets us to them. Yet, with cruising, the ship and its amenities are as important as those ports of call. 

Onboard the Oceania Vista

Our Mediterranean cruise was a rather last-minute travel idea for us. We decided to take it only three weeks before the sailing. We can do that because among the pluses of expat life is the ease of getting to other European countries.  Getting from Athens to Civitavecchia, Italy from where the ship departed was a three-hour journey; two for the flight and an hour for the shuttle from the Rome airport.

We chose this cruise because it would take us to four countries in 10 days, giving us an introduction to some new places and a refresher course of others. We'd not have more than a day in any one place, but long enough to get a feel for it and decide if we would one day return for a longer stay. 

Oceania's Vista, our ship, barely a year old

Oceania's Vista ship, barely a year old, was repositioning back to the Mediterranean for its summer season from the Caribbean where it had sailed last winter. It is one of the larger ships in Oceania's fleet, accommodating1,200 passengers and a staff of 800 who hailed from 51 countries.

We selected the 10-day segment based on the ports of call, price and our previous experiences with the cruise line. Oceania and its new ship didn't disappoint. Our standard class stateroom was simply spacious. Suitcases were stored under the bed after clothes were put in the large closet and the room's many drawers. Another plus for cruising is that we unpack once. No hauling suitcases from city to city, through airports and train stations.  

Our floating home for 10 days

Its bathroom was as large as that of a luxury hotel and the shower was so large that it could have accommodated several people.

Our cruise was a segment of the longer repositioning cruise that had started in Miami, Florida. It ultimately ended in Trieste, Italy, several days after we departed the ship in Malta.  Many of our fellow cruisers had been on the ship since it left the United States and stayed on until Italy.

With nearly a week of sea days spent crossing the Atlantic, those cruisers had time to take advantage of the educational and enrichment activities on board: among them, brushing up on computer skills or creating art in a dedicated studio staffed by two Artists in Residence. Several took advantage of the large culinary arts center where one could sharpen culinary skills under the guidance of the chef. 

With a port of call each day we had no time to indulge in any enrichment pursuits on board. We had plenty of culture and history indoctrination with our explorations.

Entertainment options included performances by a string quartets, singers and pianists. Shows took place each night in the ship's theatre, lectures on ports of call were held, and late-night dancing and music was regularly offered. A casino opened for gaming as soon as the ship entered international waters. 

Sun seekers at pool side

For the sun seekers there was a pool, and hot tubs, running track, a putting green, and a popular bocce ball court.  

One of three rooms that make up the ship's library

One of the most impressive amenities (especially for us, who live in an area without English language bookstores or libraries) was the ship's expansive, three-room library located next to Barista's specialty coffee shop. It was one of the most beautiful -- and well stocked -- libraries that we've ever seen on a cruise ship.

Medical center on board - well equipped and staffed

Of course, since it played prominently in our cruise experience (see my last post), I must note, the ship also has a well-equipped and staffed medical center. While one never expects to need it, it was great having it there when we did. (Medical care is not provided without cost. A visit to the doctor was $150US, medicine an additional $30US.)

Formal dining room is but one of many dining options

'Wining and Dining' is always a highpoint of cruising for us, and we had more options than we knew what to do with on this ship.  

Sail away happy hour Livorno Italy

Specialty restaurants including a steakhouse, Asian and Italian, were available at no extra charge (other cruise lines do charge for the specialty offerings). The days of dressing up and heading to a big stuffy cavernous dining room are over on this cruise line.  We could choose when and where we ate, whether to join others or to eat by ourselves. Casual dining or formal dress was up to us.

The ship offered a 2-for-1 Happy Hour each evening in several of its lounges and bars that brought the per glass price of drinks down to a reasonable rate ($14 to $15 was the average per glass rate for wine on board). 

Morning in Malta

Cruising isn't for everyone. And it is good we don't all like the same modes of travel. But for us, it is an easy and cost-effective means of having an introduction to places that would require a lot of time, effort and planning to get to otherwise.  Sometimes, as in this case, it was a quick but comprehensive get-away.

Thanks for being with us again.  We hope wherever and however you are traveling this spring and summer that you will have smooth sailing ~ and that you'll be back with us again when I write about the need for the tastes of travel~

Barcelona ~ The Tripping Point

One minute he was walking next to me. Then he wasn't. 

He was laying on the sidewalk. 

Las Ramblas - Barcelona

And not just any sidewalk, but one found in one of Barcelona's more famous areas, the tree-lined Las Ramblas. 

Elegant buildings line Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas, was laid out ages ago along the city's medieval wall. It is lined with stately buildings completed in the 18th century and is one of the more popular tourist destinations in this Spanish city; although its popularity is a bit diminished these days by the warnings issued to visitors about pickpockets and touts who roam the area.

Oceania Vista

Our stop in Barcelona was mid-point in the 10-day Oceania cruise we had begun in Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy.  We'd made two stops in Italy and two France on our way to Spain.  Those ports of call had been a delightful mix of ship-sponsored tours (two outings came as part of our cruise benefits) and taking off on our own, which is our favorite way to explore when cruising.

Approaching Cinque Terra

One of our ship's tours was a small boat trip from La Spezia to the Cinque Terra in Italy. . .

Garden at Van Gogh's asylum - a trip highlight

. . . another was a motorcoach tour from Marseille, France into Provence with a stop at Van Gogh's asylum just outside St. Remy.

A visit with friends and tour of Lucca, their expat home

In Italy's Livorno, we headed off on our own, catching a train to Lucca, where we had a delightful visit with American expat friends of ours who graciously spent the better part of a day showing us around their adopted city. 

Entrance to Nice's train station

We'd also hopped a train in France, again on our own, and traveled a short distance from Villefranche where we were docked to spend a delightful Sunday roaming the streets of Nice before catching the train back.

We'd opted to 'do' Barcelona on our own as well. We strolled the length of Las Ramblas in the morning, we spent time exploring neighborhoods and the Gothic Quarter and were making our way back to the ship's shuttle bus in the early afternoon via Las Ramblas when we hit. . .

The Tripping Point

The culprit was a curb. Plain and simple. 

An old curb that had been rounded and worn smooth by time and footsteps; the kind that has a surface as slick as ice.  And we watch for those things. Living in Greece we've been trained to recognize streets and sidewalk hazards. We know that centuries-old European cities have walking surfaces worn smooth over the ages. But The Scout was also keeping an eye on approaching cars as he stepped off the curb. . .and it took him but a moment to go from upright to lying flat on the sidewalk.

In retrospect, there are two good things about his fall. First, was the immediacy with which people came running to help. Could they help him up, could they summon an ambulance, could they stay with us? We were surrounded by willing helpers. Not like the US big cities where passersby often ignore pleas for help. We've seen time and again people offering help in European cities but this time we were on the receiving end of the kindness. 

Several men -- from nearby businesses and a couple of taxi drivers - helped him get to his feet.  Three young women in their late teens wanted to call an ambulance and wouldn't leave us until he demonstrated he was able to walk, if slowly, to the shuttle bus. One of the taxi drivers offered to drive us to a hospital.

The other good news was that he didn't break a hip, leg, arm or head.  

However, the bad news was that he cracked or broke a few ribs and bruised his sternum.  

Visiting The Ship's Medical Center

A cruise 'first' - the Medical Center

Over the last couple of decades we've taken many cruises, and we've been fortunate in never having seen the inside of any of the ships' medical centers. This was our introduction to that cruise ship amenity, and I am happy to say, this one was nothing short of amazing!

There were three patient rooms, one intensive care unit, two medical assistants and a doctor.  The medical center is equipped with defibrillators, external pacemakers, pulse oximeters, an ECG, thrombolytics and lab equipment.  

"We even have a morgue," noted the doctor as he pointed to a door off to the side of the reception area. 

Modern well-equipped medical center on Oceania's Vista

The Scout was examined and prescribed some heavy-duty pain pills.  The doctor offered to make on shore hospital referral that day or subsequent day if symptoms worsened. (They didn't).

Smooth Sailing

Climb every fortress - Ibiza our last stop

The Scout wasn't about to miss out on the remaining ports of call, and we logged almost as many steps with each stop after his tumble as we had before - and that equates to several miles of walking each day.  

This promenade was flat in Alicante, Spain 

The cruise segment ended in Valletta, Malta. We'd sailed some 1,837 nautical miles around the Mediterranean. We spent a day and night in Valletta. The shortest distance we traveled was 85 nautical miles between Livorno and La Spezia, Italy and the longest was 665 n.m. between Ibiza, Spain and Malta. The cruise segment we had booked was part of a cruise that had started in Miami, Florida and would end after another 10-day segment in Trieste, Italy. Several hundred passengers were doing the full 35-day trip.

Setting sail from Ibiza, Spain 

We've been back in Greece for a week now. And Greek Orthodox Easter Week is upon us. The Scout is still moving gingerly.  We've reapplied for our residency permits so no more travel or cruises outside of Greece for a while.  But we've got some great memories and other stories from the cruise that I will be telling you about in the next post.  

Until then safe travels to you and yours, watch those 'tripping points'!

Then Comes a Time to Travel

We've become complacent in this Greek expat life of ours.  It is easy to do when the sea is a stone's throw to our left and mountain peaks are to our right. 

It is easy to become content until one day, you aren't, and you know it is time to travel.  

The sea is a stone's throw away.. .

In the Peloponnese, where winters are mild and storms mighty, but few, there is no burning desire to escape inclement weather as we did in our Pacific Northwest life. A good book and fire in the fireplace on the bad days and a coffee at the beach bar on the good days. . .who needs travel, we've asked ourselves in deepest winter here.

Beaches are empty in the winter here

As I wrote last week, in addition to complacency, we had one of our 'fur kid' family members traveling toward the Rainbow Bridge in recent months and that meant we weren't traveling anywhere until her journey was completed with us at her side.  

Maggie's journey is completed.

The last time I packed a suitcase, and we boarded a plane was last September for our return to Greece from the States. Now that is quite a stretch for these two vagabonds who once spent as much of the year living out of a suitcase, as we did at home. And we also recognize that we are aging vagabonds, so we have far fewer travel days ahead than there once were, so . . .

Then Comes a Time to Travel

File photo: way too long since I've packed a bag

The Scout had his work cut out for him: something that would allow us to see as many places as possible, with as little effort as possible, and in a window of time no longer than 10 days. 

(Regular readers recall our residence permits expire in late April and our travels in Europe will be forbidden until a new permit is issued, likely some 10 months from now. We will be able to travel in Greece and to our home country.)

Our route to adventures

He met the challenge and soon we will be headed to Rome from Athens. And there, we will board a cruise ship and set sail for ports of call in Italy, France, Spain, and Menorca (not Mallorca as shown on the map) before ending in Malta from where we will return to Athens. 

The sea from the ship is mesmerizing.

It will be our third cruise on an Oceania ship; this one the line's newest, the Vista.  The routing takes us to a few places we've been to and introduces us to three new cities along the way. From Marseille we will head to Arles on a bus, from Livorno we will hop a train to Lucca to visit friends there. Valencia is home to the largest municipal market in Europe, we will spend a good deal of time in it. We will spend a night in Valletta where the cruise ends, staying in its old town in an ancient building turned modern hotel. Its address is Old Bakery Street, can it be any better?

Sea daze

And we plan to spend a good deal of time simply gazing at the sea.   It is one of our favorite things to do on a cruise.  

We know many of you have traveled to the destinations we are soon to be visiting and welcome any recommendations you might have for us.  Shoot us an email or leave a comment.

The olive grove shorn for summer.

And as I close, I want to say thank you for the many comments we received after my last post about Princess and Maggie and lessons they've taught in the olive grove. Maggie's departure has left a significant gap in our world.  Your kindness was most appreciated!

Until next time, safe travels to you and yours~ and thanks for being with us today!

Olive Grove Lessons ~Life, Love, Loss

 A stiff breeze rustling the branches of the olive trees and making the terrace grasses sway, was enough to pause our stroll in the grove. Sometimes, it was the raucous cry of birds swooping to nests high atop nearby cedar trees that stopped us mid-step. 

Each new noise or movement, they taught me, was a wonderment. We had to pause, listen and watch.  Every time . . .because it might just signify something new and exciting.  

In the grove at The Stone House on the Hill

In the spring, the grove beckoned for a game of hide and seek at the rosemary bush. Sometimes on hot summer afternoons, it was where we watched ants at labor marching across the soil cracked by the intense Mediterranean sun. In the fall, it was games of chase using olive twigs cut during olive harvest that filled our time in the grove. 

Olive grove games

For several years now, I have spent a portion of nearly every day in our olive grove, simply for the purpose of enjoying it. 

It wasn't easy to do that at first. I thought I needed to be pulling weeds, trimming, doing something. That is, until my two feline mentors, Princess and Maggie Mae, decided it was time that I understood the concept best defined by Italians as, dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. 

Dolce far niente in the olive grove

One can't help but notice the proliferation of self-help tips that fill social media these days. There are mantras, memes, and meditations, all offering ways to improve one's life/outlook/happiness by slowing down, simply calming oneself. Indulging in sweet nothingness. I guess the teachings of my fur girls were much in the same vein - they just taught by example. Peace and happiness could be had just by watching a bug crawl past or a butterfly flutter above.  

The key, I learned from them, is taking time to notice, then allowing oneself the time to enjoy it. 

My grove getaway at the Stone House on the Hill

I honestly can't recall when our trips to the grove became a daily ritual.  I was doing it 'for the cats' in an effort to keep them interested in something far away from the road that passes by the other side of our home, I reasoned.  

Princess, left, and Maggie, right, explore the grove.

In truth, I was getting as much out of those grove hours as were the two felines who accompanied me there.  

Life and Love in Greece

The two - Princess and Maggie Mae -- as we named them after they each had made clear upon arrival -- one year apart and nearly a decade ago -- that they would be making their home with us. While not related to each other, after their initial skepticism at sharing our attention, they were to become inseparable sidekicks.  

Dolce far niente at the Stone House on the Hill

The lessons in the grove took on new intensity back in January as the spread of Maggie's skin cancer was clearly bringing her to the end of her life. During these last three months, our trips to the grove increased and each time we lost ourselves in the sweetness of doing nothing . . .together. 

Savoring those last days. Maggie continued to find wonder in sniffing the air to catch its scents as she sat, watched and listened.  

Maggie Mae Smith

We buried Maggie 10 days ago next to the rosemary where she had spent so many hours enjoying life. Princess and I haven't resumed our trips to the grove. We are both adjusting to Maggie's absence, but we continue to indulge in dolce far niente. 

Maggie was not a fan of our travels!

I've taken a break from the blog in recent weeks to experience that sweetness of doing nothing with my fur girls.  As Maggie's health deteriorated, The Scout and I cancelled all travel we'd planned for the first months of this year. (cat people do those things) With Maggie's recent passing, we have a small window of opportunity to travel in Schengen countries before our residency permits expire the end of April and we are no longer allowed to travel (pending the new permits).  We are ready for some travel adventures again. And he's scouted out a good one - I'll tell you about it in the next post.

Maggie 

Thanks for being with us today - and our wishes for safe travels to you and yours. 

And a big welcome to our new subscribers!!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Just like that, our hibernating village awakened to spring! Eateries are reopening, fishing boats are being painted and readied for the season. And celebrations are underway.  

Our village, Agios Nikolaos, awakens to spring.

I write today during a three-day holiday weekend in Greece. We end three weeks of Carnival celebrations on Saturday and Sunday, then on Monday kicked off Lent with meat-free feasting and flying kites and outdoor gatherings of families and friends.

Clean Monday's kite-flying tradition. Photo credit

Saturday and Sunday were filled with activities to end Carnival, here called Apokries.  Dressing up in costumes and masks - and often referred to as Halloween -- the events were fun and festive community-wide parties.  

Carnival comes to the village.

Carnival really got underway two weeks ago on Smoked or Charred Thursday, Tsiknopempti,  when barbeques appeared outside businesses and homes throughout cities and villages. Souvlaki (usually chunks of pork on a skewer) and other meat was served in generous portions and eaten with gusto.  

A Tsiknopempti celebration makes ready in Kalamata

But like all good things, celebrations must come to an end, and this weekend moved us from Carnival's frivolity to a more somber celebration of Lent, which is heralded in on Clean Monday. In Greek the day is called Kathara Deftera, the day that officially starts, the seven-week period of fasting, and self-moderation before Easter. 

Clean Monday is similar to Ash Wednesday in western religion.

Kathara Deftera is celebrated with non-meat feasting and flying kites. (For those wondering about the kites: It signifies the ascension and purification of the soul; symbolic of the human spirit flying closer to God.  And for kids, it is just plain fun, no matter what the reason.)

Clean Monday's kite-flying tradition. Photo credit

Mother Nature has been a bit fickle this celebration weekend with rain and hailstorms dampening parades and concert plans in the region on Sunday but allowing for outside activities on Saturday and Monday.  

Kite flying at Pantazi Beach on Kathara Deftera

Monday's sunshine and light wind was just enough to bring early morning hopefuls to Pantazi Beach just below our home.

And it worked!

The holiday weekend brought a surge of visitors to our village. The rural villages often draw large numbers of city dwellers on holidays weekends; many are returning to their roots, their family homes, and others are simply seeking a change from the city.  Some 60,000 cars were recorded leaving Athens on Friday on the nation's highway - thankfully not all were headed our direction.  

Section of Agios Nikolaos waterfront road opened!

The weekend was such a big celebration that our village has even managed to completed repairs to a section of our main beach road and open it to traffic.  After a near nine-month closure, let me tell you, that is BIG news! And even more reason to celebrate!!

Close up of roadwork at To Limeni in Agios Nikolaos

And restaurants in the still-under-construction part of the roadwork, didn't let that stop them from opening their doors to the new season.

Seafood pasta a popular Lenten dish

I realize that some of you are all set to celebrate Easter on March 31st, as that is Easter's date in western religions.  Here, the Orthodox church is celebrating Easter on May 5th.  

Another feast: tzatziki, horta, falafel balls and calamari

As long-time readers know, the weeks leading up to Easter are my favorite time to be in Greece. I honestly think that the three Easters we spent in Greece prior to becoming expats here helped to tip the scales in favor of moving here.  There is no other season that highlights the coming together of families, culture, history, religion and traditions as well as do the weeks leading up to Easter.

Stuffed squid one of my favorite non-meat dishes.

Next weekend is another three-day weekend, the first of Greece's two Independence Day celebrations this year. One is in the spring and the other in October.  Both are times of celebration and pride in country and marked with strong displays of patriotism.  

Spring is here!

So, we are welcoming spring and the celebrations that it brings each year.  We hope that wherever this finds you, you are enjoying your surroundings as much as we are ours! 

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