Last stop - Croatia!

On Friday, Oct. 12, we sailed into Split, Croatia. None of us knew much about Croatia except that it was once part of Yugoslavia until it gained its independence in 1991. We would have liked to have seen more of the country, but we were on a mission.
Northeast of the city is the Krka National Park. It is famous for its waterfalls and knowing of Ralph's love for waterfalls and fountains, it was a must-see. The bus ride was fairly long, but well worth it.
The falls are formed by a series of travertine falls that run down the 73-kilometer length of the Krka River, broken up by deep blue lakes. During the summer, the pools below the falls are popular swimming spots, but in October, the water is too cold.
As we approached the falls, we came across several small produce stands where residents sold pomegranates, candied nuts, dried fruit and the like at a pretty fair price. We could not resist, bought several goodies and continued walking.

The park was not crowded at all, so we could set our own leisurely pace. The guide left us on our own to explore which gave us a great deal of freedom.
The falls were delightful - not that tall, but full and bubbling with gushing water. And there were fish floating around in the ponds that seemed quite happy. Ralph was in heaven! I took several pictures, but Ralph has better ones.

A series of stone and wooden bridges allowed you to cross over various parts of the river and see the various pools of water and falls at different angles. It was quite a long walk, but leisurely so we all enjoyed it.

I fell asleep on the bus ride back to Split. Back in the city, we went in search of Croatian ties which are said to be world-famous, but we didn't find the shop we wanted. Croatia is said to be the home of the necktie which were discovered by the French and claimed as their own.
Although we didn't find the tie shop, James and Ralph found a very nice pastry shop and we all got something good and sweet.
That afternoon, I went back to the solarium while the guys napped. Then James and I went for massages. Ralph had gone the day before and convinced James to get a hot stone massage while I opted for a lime-ginger scrub followed by a back, neck and shoulder massage. The masseuse was quite good and I felt perfectly comfortable lying nude before a woman. She noticed my crucifix and we discovered that we are both Catholic, so we had plenty to talk about.
Speaking of Catholic, Peter was a little under the weather when I went to Mass on Sunday so he missed the service. A couple of days later, Fr. Clyde Le Blanc spotted me in the solarium and asked about Peter. Once he heard Peter was well, he offered to say Mass in our cabin for Peter's benefit. I was honored that this priest went out of his way to do this, so I accepted and made arrangements for plain, white bread, a small bit of red wine and a white napkin to be delivered to our cabin. Fr. Le Blanc did not have his Sacramentary with him, but I had my Magnificat, which has all the prayers that a priest recites at the Mass as well as the Bible readings so we used that. Peter and I were very pleased.
The next day, we sailed back into Venice and got off the ship without a hitch. So much had happened in just one week and we still had a week to go.
(Next: The land tour of Italy)

Beautiful Corfu

On Thursday, Oct. 11, we arrived in Corfu at 7 a.m. We were a little late for our planned excursion, so the cruise line put us on another tour. What a blessing in disguise!
We first took a bus to a Byzantine monastery atop a hilltop. The island reminded Ralph and I very much of Capri, Italy, one of our favorite spots. The steep, rocky cliffs drop right down into the crystal clear, turquoise water and there were only a few sandy beaches. It's called the Bay of Paleokastritsa. It's definitely a place where I could spend an entire week, just relaxing on the beach and touring the island.

The Monastery of the Virgin was just breath-taking. The Roman Catholics have nothing on the Greek Orthodox when it comes to ornate church interiors. So many silver icons and delicately painted murals on the ceilings! The monks were cloistered in their cells so, of course, we saw none of them, but their devotion was obvious. Like many churches in Europe, the interiors were fairly dark so it was difficult to get good photos, but these will give an idea of what we saw.
We saw where they made olive oil using ancient wood and stone presses.
In an adjoining museum, we saw some of their priceless icons, vestments and holy books dating back to the 13th century.
I even saw a rose and gold and white vestment that I would have looked just fabulous wearing! Ralph just rolled his eyes and quipped, "Why don't you just become a monk!
The monastery was not on our original tour so we lucked out just by being late. It was quite moving and I'm glad we got to see it.


After leaving the monastery, we went to a mansion that was built in 1891 by a very special woman, the Empress Elizabeth of Austria. The views of the Ionian Sea were just spectacular! The grounds of the Achilleion Palace were gorgeous and decorated with marble and bronze sculptures. I even persuaded Ralph to pose with one sculpture where everyone had rubbed the man's toe.
I particularly liked the sculpture above on the left. (No, I did not pose for it! But I wish I had a body that beautiful.)
After the tour, we went into Corfu Town and had a delicious pasta and seafood lunch at an outdoor restaurant that the townsfolk like. As you can see, Peter was relaxed and quite happy as were James and Ralph.
We were done with the tour by noon and spent the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying the ship. I went to the gym again, determined not to gain too much weight on the cruise. (To our surprise, when Ralph and I got home, we discovered that I gained no weight and he gained only a half-pound! Must have been all that walking around.)
That evening was the second formal night so we all got dressed up and posed for pictures before dinner.

On to Katakolon

On Wednesday, Oct. 10, we arrived in Katakolon and took a tour of the site of the original Olympic games. We had an excellent Greek guide who was so psyched about Ancient Olympia that she made the tour extra-special. We learned that the athletes (all male) arrived 30 days in advance of the games to train and were judged not only on winning their contests but their sportsmanship. Anyone caught cheating was dismissed and his name, his family's name and his village's name was inscribed in the granite. Too bad we don't do the same today.
There was one time when a woman slipped into the games, disguised as a man. She was caught, but the judges let her stay when they learned she had two sons in the games and both had been deemed Olympic champions.
We also saw where the recent fires closed in on the ruins and burned all the trees and vegetation. Only a massive fire-fighting effort saved the site of the ancient Olympic games from being damaged. As you can see on the left, there were no stands for spectators; they simply stood or lay on the slopes overlooking the flat area of competition
Our guide informed us that the Olympic torch is lit from the Olympic flame at this location every four years. The Olympic torch itself is a relatively recent innovation and was begun in 1936 because Hitler wanted something special for the Games in Berlin. (You may know that a African-American, Jesse Owens, spoiled the Games for Hitler by winning four gold medals and defeating the "superior race.")
In the adjoining archaeological museum, we saw some beautiful sculptures, including this one of Hermes.
We also learned how the Greeks developed what is now known as the S-curve for sculptures. Previously, nude sculptures simply stood ramrod straight.
But the Greek learned that if you had your model stand with most of his weight on one leg and the other leg slightly lifted, as if to take a step, the result produced much more life and movement. So now I pose with the S-curve!

Touring Athens

The next day, Tuesday, Oct. 9, we arrived in Athens at 7 a.m. We immediately joined an 8 a.m. bus tour of Athens, which took us by the Temple of Zeus, the National Gardens, the Parliment and the grounds of the first modern Olympics. The tour finished at the Acropolis atop a rocky hill overlooking Athens. It was quite a hike uphill but entirely worth it.
There we saw the ruins of the Parthenon, built in the 5th century B.C. as a temple to the goddess Athena. While little remains after the ravages of time and looting by the British, one can still get a historical sense of the glory that was once there, particularly from the porch of the maidens or Caryatids.
Much of the grounds is still undergoing renovation and preservation and was fenced off. As long as you stayed on the public areas, you could go wherever you wished. But if you stepped over the line or even stood on top of a granite stone as I did, a guard would quickly but politely wave you off.
Just below the hilltop is the Rock of the Aeropagos where St. Paul preached to Athenians in 51 A.D. To Peter and I, this place was very special so we climbed the rock. Unfortunately, neither of us had a homily at hand to preach to the tourists.
After a half-day touring Athens, we passed up an opportunity to do some shopping in Athens and returned to the ship. Some of us took a nap, some went onto the Internet.
I opted to go to the solarium, which was virtually empty and just warm enough despite the overcast sky. The large pool was cool and the jacuzzi was warm and it was a very peaceful place to read and listen to my iPod and read a good book.
As you can see, the solarium was nicely decorated sculptures and columns and plants.

Enjoying Mykonos

On Monday, Oct. 8, we sailed into Mykonos at 3 p.m. It was rather late but the weather was sunny and warm. So we got off the ship as soon as we could and took two taxis to Elia Beach. Most gay folks go to Paradise or Super Paradise Beach, but a judge friend of mine recommended Elia Beach.
We were delighted with the place. The beach was nearly empty because October is the end of the tourist season, but the sand was soft and the sky was clear. We nabbed some lounge chairs and settled in.
Peter and I went nude sunbathing, but no one else in our party did. No matter, there was plenty of nude eye candy around, mostly gorgeous, fit, tanned men in their 20s or 30s. (Sorry, we didn't take any pictures of them!)
We spent a couple of hours there just relaxing in the sun and talking, then headed back into town. Most of the buildings were painted white with deep blue trim and looked classic. We found a very nice outdoor restaurant for fresh seafood, then walked around the shops before getting back on the ship about 8 p.m.
We sailed later that evening, wishing we could have spent more time there, but satisfied nonetheless.

Aboard Splendour of the Seas

The next day, Saturday, Oct. 6, we boarded Splendour of the Seas, a mid-size cruise ship by Royal Caribbean. We met a very nice gay couple at check-in and socialized with them throughout the cruise.
This was James' first cruise and he was delighted with our suite. He had his own section that included a queen-size sofa bed, TV, wet bar and our balcony.
Our section included a king-size bed, TV, desk and bathroom. Our cabin steward was just wonderful and very attentive and handsome young man.
We had lunch, toured the ship and settled in for a relaxing day at sea as we sailed for Greece about 5 p.m. It was overcast in Venice, but I was praying for sunny weather in Mykonos.
The next day, Sunday, Oct. 7, was spent entirely at sea so we just relaxed. I went to Mass, had lunch with James in the Windjammer Cafe and went to the gym in the afternoon. Everyone else just napped or watched movies or read. Dinner was the first of two formal nights so Ralph and I dressed up in our tuxedos while James wore a nice suit. We were seated near the center of the King & I dining room got to know our waitress and the assistant waiter. We were moving into another time zone, so we lost a hour of sleep that night.

Starting Greece cruise and Italy land tour

We started by flying on Oct. 3 to Venice via Frankfurt, arriving on Oct. 4. We took a ferry from the airport to the dock nearest our hotel, then walked from there. It was longer than I anticipated and quite a chore for both Ralph and I because of our luggage.
But we managed and found Hotel Ca'Gattordi fairly easily. It was a very nice place with its own dock for the water taxi. We planned to have my best friend James stay with us, but there was no room for a cot, so the hotel moved us to a suite, which was fabulous.
Our friends, Peter and Jonathan, arrived later in the day. Using Rick Steves' guidebook, we went to dinner that night at Osteria da Alberto. Ralph's octopus salad and my mushroom risotto were our favorites. The grilled fish was also excellent.
On Oct. 5, we took the ferry to the island of Murano so Ralph could look at the glass artwork. We found one beautiful piece that was unique of a male torso. We looked to see if any other shop had something similar or better, but no one did. We had a nice outdoor lunch, then returned to buy the torso piece, my gift to Ralph.
That afternoon we returned to Venice, which was overcast and chilly so we had expresso and hot chocolate at St. Mark's Square. It was idyllic and Peter and Jon were quite happy.