Venice, Italy [2-6 October] Disembarking from the MSC Fantasia for the final time in Trieste sees us adding to the chaotic scenes in the ferry terminal. Buses, taxis and cars arrive, with little or no traffic control, and no queuing system. He or she who speaks Italian appears to get a taxi, we don’t. Fiona has the bright idea of crossing the main road to the large and very posh Savoia Hotel – we stayed Read more…
MSC Fantasia [27-30 September] As we sail into the vast and vibrant city of Istanbul in the morning, we are anticipating that the next two days will be tiring and full of hassles, but hopefully well worth the effort! Although I spent a few days here for work back in 2011, it’s Fiona’s keenly anticipated first visit. We dock at the huge new Galataport cruise terminal, and get organised to disembark as soon as possible. Read more…
MSC Fantasia [24-26 September] One thing that has struck us on this longer cruise with its multiple stops is the weird feeling of being in Italy one day, Greece the next and Turkey the day after. We are “parachuted” into these amazing locations one after the other, equipped with a smattering of phrases in a different language, sometimes a wad of a different currency, and always different kinds of people, customs and atmospheres. No guided Read more…
MSC Fantasia [21-23 September] After a slightly chaotic embarkation process, we get to our fab cabin and begin to orientate ourselves on the MSC Fantasia. We hadn’t quite appreciated the advantages that buying the Aurea package which we bought for the original cruise to South America, and retained through all 6 reincarnations of the cruise since 2020, until we are ushered past a gaggle of tutting passengers from a variety of countries to immediately have Read more…
Trieste, Italy [20-21 September] We (I really mean Fiona) habitually plan(s) our trips quite meticulously. We leave Edinburgh thinking that we will be visiting 6 countries in the course of our 7 week trip – Croatia (twice), Italy (three times), Greece (twice), Turkey (twice), France and Spain. So we are a bit surprised when it transpires that that will actually be seven countries. We hadn’t realised that the big toe of Slovenia pokes out beween Read more…
Rovinj, Croatia [12-20 September] Our four stage journey started at Seton Place at 07:15am, took us Ryanair to Brussels, then on to Pula, car transfer from Pula to Rovinj, and finally boat to the Island Hotel Katarina, where we arrive about 11:00pm. According to a large sign in the dining room, Island Katarina Hotel identifies as the second best hotel in Rovinj. Presumably it reckoned it was the best, until its futuristic, super environmentally friendly, Read more…
Trip Three’s Blog Zero happily isn’t peppered with major medical issues, or even cases of sublime stupidity on our part. We make do with two unexpected root canal treatments for me, which both have to be done twice and so require five visits to the dental surgery in the two weeks before we leave, plus a crown for Fiona, which grumbles on painfully for weeks before settling down to something like bearable. World issues like Read more…
Sol del Este, Menorca [9th – 23rd October 2019] And so, once more, to La Gardenia in Sol del Este – the first village in Spain to see the sun rise. Brian and Joanne kindly provided the reception committee to greet us, as they had in 2018, and we arrived to a beautifully prepared master bedroom, complete with freshly laundered towels, large bars of chocolate, flowers and a bottle of cava, plus glasses. The domestics Read more…
Lisbon, Portugal [7th – 9th October 2019] Lisbon was another city, like Sevilla last year, which Fiona and I had both visited separately in the past, but never together. In her case, it was on a school cruise when she was 11, so her recollections were understandably hazy. I’d been in Lisbon ten years ago, for a day’s sightseeing, and another day to see Benfica in the new Stadium of Light, whilst I was attending Read more…
Genoa, Italy to Lisbon, Portugal [2nd – 7th October 2019] Our only previous cruise was back in 2011, when Fiona, Sean and I went on a Caribbean cruise with Princess Cruises, leaving from Manhattan. We’d often admired MSC cruise liners when they docked in Mahon harbour, and we wanted to do something different in the middle of this trip. We also have some thoughts about a possible trip in the future with MSC, and so Read more…