Over My Head (Cable Cars)

Our last stop on the cruise before returning to Venice was Dubrovnik, Croatia. It was a beautiful day and really made all of the quaint, red-roofed houses on the hill pop. We decided to start our day by taking a taxi to the cable cars.

 

 

After that, we headed down to the fort on the water to wander around the old town. It was getting to be incredibly hot and we had had many busy days, so Stephanie and Tanya went to walk the walls while the rest of us decided to stay in the town and wander around.

 

We all meandered back to the ship in our small groups, had ice cream and headed to dinner. Afterwards, we split up to pack, make a few stops around the ship and try the show (opera, which we left shortly into because we realized we were not big fans of opera). I also got in one more hot tub, leading me to come up with the list below.

Top 5 Reasons That Evening Hot Tubs Are the Best:

5. No children splashing and/or jumping on you.

4. You can float however you want and take up the entire hot tub.

3. Being able to see the stars as you’re floating and relaxing.

2. No one turning the bubbles on without your permission.

1. The surprised look on people’s faces when they realize there is a person by themselves just chilling in the hot tub.

The Last Greek Island

Our final stop in Greece was Corfu. The island had spent years under different rule, so while it was part of the country of Greece now, the buildings showed a lot of Italian, French and British influence. We started off by wandering the streets and picking up some souvenirs.

We eventually ended up down at the water, where Uncle Brian walked through the fort and the rest of us explored the courtyard areas along the sea. It was just a short stay at the port, as we were off to Dubrovnik the next day and we had to cover quite a bit of ground (water) to get there.

It also happened to be my mom’s birthday, so I had asked our stewardess if she could make my mom a towel animal while we were out and I set out a card I brought along. My mom was definitely surprised! Since there was still a lot of the day left, we headed up to the pool. I had not yet tried out the waterslide and was excited to do so. It did not turn out very well though because, unfortunately, a misbehaving child did not wait until I had gotten out of the way before he came down and I ended up with a big, awful bruise! That was the first and only time I used the slide. Even though we had dinner in the dining room (and mom had some giant prawns), I also decided to try out the room service for a late night snack that night.

No Touch!

Due to our early bedtime and extended sleep the night before, mom and I were up bright and early the next day. We thought we would venture out to find some treats for breakfast and as soon as we stepped out the front door, we could smell the nearby fish market. We hoped that there would be something other than fish and were delighted to see a selection of fruit and vegetables being set up nearby.

We weren’t exactly sure how to go about purchasing from the market, so we scoped it out for a few minutes, but no one seemed to be buying anything! Finally, we decided to go for it and selected a vendor that looked good. We marveled at how great the fruit looked and mom finally reached out to pick up an orange. From off to the side we heard a loud, “No touch!” Apparently, the market doesn’t open until 8:00am.

We headed off to try and find something else, especially a coffee for my mom! We found a nice, little bakery and picked up some delicious croissants and an expresso (the closest we could get to coffee for my mom).

After this, we got ourselves organized for a boat tour of Murano, Burano and Torcello with Tanya. Brian, Esther and Betty Jean were also supposed to join us, but we still weren’t exactly sure when to expect them. We hoped they would be waiting at the vaporetto stop when we got back from the tour.

Our tour was supposed to be an artisans’ tour, so we would see glass-blowing on Murano, lace-making on Burano and the local artists and Byzantine-style buildings on Torcello. We got a chance to check out St. Mark’s Square (or Piazza San Marco) while on our walk to the tour meeting spot. Early morning is definitely the time to check it out because it get crazy busy later in the day.

Our tour started off right away, with the guide telling us about the nearby islands. Some of them were used as isolation for people with dangerous, contagious diseases or as prisons in the past. We also made a quick stop at Lido (we still aren’t exactly sure why) where we learned a bit about the island. It is a long-skinny island that is approximately 12km in length. It hosts the Italian Film Festival each year and was home to the airport until the 1960s, because of its shape, when the Marco Polo Airport was built. It also has cars . . . something that the old city of Venice definitely doesn’t!

We finally arrived at Murano, where we saw a glass-blower at work. We also learned that it takes a lot of work to get into the profession because apprentices have to work with a master for up to ten years before working on their own. We saw some of their beautiful creations, including intricate chandeliers, and picked up some small trinkets, like pendants, as souvenirs.

Next up was Burano, where we would see lace-making. The first thing we noticed about this island was the beautifully-coloured houses. This is something Burano is known for. The residents aren’t even allowed to change the colour of the paint without permission. We saw the lace-maker working on a project and it looked like it would be a lot of work. Then we spent some time admiring the work. I wanted to buy everything in the shop! Like Venice, there were no cars here, just walkways and canals. Even funeral processions proceed down the walkways, since there is no other way to get off the island to the cemetery. Other islands in the lagoon serve as cemeteries, as there are none on the inhabited islands.

Next up was Torcello. The island was heavily populated for many years, but a malaria outbreak caused the island to become virtually desolate as people became sick and others tried to escape the island. Now, the island has a population of eleven people, most of who are artisans or fisherman. It was very strange to see how desolate the island was, but I was excited to see the Byzantine-style architecture, having taken art and art history all through high school.

On the way back to St. Mark’s Square we passed the only green space in Venice, a park. It was created by Napoleon when he invaded Venice! It also reminded mom and I of Stanley Park in Vancouver because people were out running and walking along the seawall.

We finally arrived back in St. Mark’s Square and fought through the crowds to see if Brian, Esther and Betty Jean had arrived. We didn’t see them at the vaporetto stop, but when we got back to the apartment, we found out that they had arrived!

After letting them get settled in, we hurried off for a gondola ride, the number one thing on mine and mom’s list of things to do in Venice. We got ourselves organized into two boats and were off down the canal. We travelled down the large canal and then some smaller ones. I think we’re going to be in a lot of other tourist’s pictures because they were waiting at every bridge we came to get their pictures!

 
We followed up with a delicious pasta dinner (which mom and I were too tired to try the night before). Although I was full after, I couldn’t stop thinking about how good it was! We finished up the evening with some wandering through the shops to pick up last-minute souvenirs and some gelato. Then we headed back to the apartments to get some sleep before embarking on the cruise the next day.