Normandy, France

We had a couple of sea days with not much exciting. We started packing which was not much fun.

Today was our longest excursion. Up early and a long bus ride. Notice the fancy bridge we crossed.

Obviously, Normandy is all about D-Day in 1944 especially the artwork.

We went to several areas but spent the most time at Omaha Beach which is mostly American. The beach.

One of the German bunkers.

A remaining German cannon.

The American cemetery. Just under 10,000 graves. Emotional!

And a welcome back to the ship after another 2 hour bus ride.

Monaco

For some reason cruise ships like to dock in Monaco. I do not know why. It is a very difficult city/country to walk in. And unless someone really wants to gamble nothing is affordable. We went for a walk and basically stayed on the ship the rest of the day.

Everyone at least wants to see the casino.

We did enter this on a previous cruise. No big deal for us.

The best view from our ship was someone paragliding over the hills. Dangerous much!

I found my boat. Richard the Lionheart.

I better add a photo of the city.

Expensive and very crowded.

Naples, Italy

Our excursion was mostly a bus ride around part of the city. The traffic was terrible so we didn’t get as far as planned.

We did see some interesting things like fruit stands and umbrella pines.

Then we went to a pizzeria with seating outdoors.

During the day we had some great weather and good views of Mount Vesuvius (the volcano not the pizza oven in Disneyworld).

Notice the cone at the tops and the large city down the hill. Looks scary to me!

We could also see the Island of Capri. Previously we went there. It is for the rich and famous. But very nice.

Maintenance came to fix the ceiling.

Then we could eat.

I had osso buco with some veggies and potato. I saved room for dessert. Creme Caramel.

Messina Italy as we sail away.

There was an interesting cloud formation just as we prepared to leave the port.

Minutes later there was a bridge that was interesting.

Of course we went to dinner in the cafe and sat at the normal “naughty” table. Only this time Casper must have set a trap for us.

Notice the smile on his face and the fact the ceiling tile section has falling several inches as I was sitting there.

Maintenance came to fix it. I will have to add another section. Internet is too slow.

We are docked in Messina, Italy. So is another cruise ship. MSC World Europa. Our ship has 935 passengers. That ship has 6,790 passengers. We look like a dinghy.

We do have a good view from our room as we docked. We are near the Temple of Christ the King. This is important because Richard the Lionhearted used it during his 3rd century Crusade.

Just by the ship is the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele.

Our excursion took us to Taormina basically at the foot of the volcano Mount Etna.

It wasn’t making a scene today.

But the crowds were terrible. It is a holiday in Italy and there is the other large ship also giving tours.

We did find a restaurant to order an arancini. It was good but we have had better in Catania, Italy. We shared this and a plate of pasta Bolognese.

At Sea.

There really wasn’t much to see or photo. The Mediterranean was very calm. I did eat dinner, however.

A salad to start. Actually, we shared this salad.

And then lamb, again. Where are we. In the middle of lamb territory.

Athens, Greece

Our excursion was to the New Acropolis Museum. Kathy and I have been to Athens before and have visited the Acropolis. We haven’t done the museum. Lots of walking and explanations of the artifacts. I loved the cooking pot.

We still could see the Acropolis.

We also walked in the Plaka (a crowded shopping district).

Istanbul, Turkey

We have been to Istanbul before, and Kathy wasn’t feeling great. So we decided to take it easy. The ship was docked within sight of many interesting things. I took the opportunity to take photos.

The ship was docked next to a “boardwalk” of sorts. Since it is a holiday (Ramadan) many people are not at work.

All of the buildings are restaurants on the lower levels and plants growing on the roof.

There are many, many mosques within easy view from the ship. The two most famous are the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

Being a holiday many of the locals are taking ferries. To and from where I do not know.

The weather wasn’t great but I enjoyed seeing the bridge that connects Asia and Europe.

Ephesus, Turkey

Unfortunately we were not able to take our scheduled excursion because Kathy was not feeling well. But the day was not a loss especially for me.

In the afternoon Nigel Cox had his last lecture before he leaves the ship in Istanbul. But it was special.

These issues have been going on for centuries. But for me they were meaningful when I was working in the Embassy in Cyprus. Nigel did include a short section in his lecture about Cyprus. In 1974 Greece sort of decided to take control of Cyprus so Turkey invaded. The result was a partitioning of the island. The American living there (like me) were evacuated.

He closed his last lecture with this.

Then I waited around to thank him and say goodbye.

Because Kathy was not feeling well I went to dinner alone but sat with many of our new friends. I had surf and turf.

Someone in the cafe ordered lobster for the table. But the waiter didn’t remember who. So, Jan at the naughty table claimed them.

She enjoyed every bite.