Notre Dame de Paris, magnificent as ever

Basilica of Sacre Couer, viewable from our hotel room

Statue of Louis Quatorze where we met our guide to the Palace of Versailles

We finally arrive at Paris Gare de Lyon (from Milan) at 9:30 pm. Someone had come around with a trolley and served us coffee on the train. Oddly there are hundreds of people here, and a long queue for taxis. A man offers to take us to our hotel for €70 thus bypassing the taxi queue.  It’s a risk of course but sure enough he takes us to our hotel and brings the luggage in too.

There is a receptionist but there are two Asian women at Reception having a long and complicated discussion about bedding and bookings!  This goes on for several minutes, and there’s a gentleman waiting behind us as well. This hotel has a really pleasant aroma in the public areas.

Finally we are asked for our passports, although I have already given mine online, and our booking is found. I pay for it with my new credit card, and hey it works. I even remember my PIN. There is also a €300 hold on that credit card.

Our room is a lovely big one, with a view of Montmartre and a tiny balcony!  We have been fortunate with balconies, in Florence, on our cruise, in Athens, and again here.  Added to this the hotels in Rome and Athens had roof top breakfast rooms. It’s also really quiet, and we appreciate this, and we don’t miss the regular emergency sirens and the train noises that one normally hears in Paris.

We can have breakfast here at a cost of €25 per person!  But the big room and bed are lovely and the bathroom arrangements just fine.  You can curtain off the toilet, hand basin and shower area. The bed is very comfortable with lots of pillows . There is a welcome luggage rack. The restaurant here has closed but JD thinks we can go to one nearby that is open till 2 am.

So we go out, and to be honest it’s pretty grimy around here, but we find a restaurant that looks all right. It turns out to be Italian and we are served by a very nice young man from Nepal. We share pasta with vegetables with some very nice bread and two glasses of wine – prosecco and Chardonnay and some sparkling water. Really, we are so relieved to be here.

Back at our hotel I sleep well, in spite of the coffee on the train and the wine.

We decide to breakfast here, but the buffet is a little different from our past experiences!  Of course it’s laid out differently, but they will cook you an omelette or fried, poached or hard-boiled eggs if you wish, as well as the nice scrambled eggs, bacon and tiny sausages.

You can make toast here, although it’s French bread, and they even have peanut butter as well as a lovely array of jams.

We go up and I shower and wash my hair and wait for JD to do his ablutions. Then we set out for the Gare du Nord, but JD gets an urgent text requiring him to return to the hotel to set up a payment. So we return, briefly.

USB ports are not around as much as in our last trip; furthermore, they don’t always work. So it’s nice when they do, as here in Paris.

We walk to Gare du Nord and queue up to buy tickets for the two station ride to St Michel, the station at l’Ile de la Cité. We get there and have 1 hour until our free ticketed entry to Notre Dame at 1:15 pm. So we look unsuccessfully for the restaurant where we had lunch in November 2024. I must commend the French authorities here: we could get free tickets to enter the cathedral at a set time, thus avoiding the usual queues.

We eat at another one (Ombre de Notre Dame) but honestly the food isn’t great. We should have chosen to eat further away from the cathedral.

 My quiche Lorraine was disappointing although the generous salad that came with it was all right. Sparkling water and white wine completed the meal. And there is a toilet – down tricky flights of stairs.

Then we went in to see Notre Dame Cathedral. There weren’t actually that many people queuing up to go inside; it’s still magnificent on the outside. But inside – it’s different.  Where’s the famous Rose window? And the chapels obviously need repairing. Still, we’re glad we saw it. We are not quite as “wowed” as we were last time we saw inside it – in 2010, I think? I don’t think we went there in 2016. JD agrees, but we did see the back of the cathedral then, always distinctive and recognisable.

Then we plan to walk to the Musée d’Orsay. We have tickets booked for 2:30 pm for the Renoir at L’Amour exhibition, and it’s a half hour walk. It’s not raining and it’s quite warm.  But in spite of all our previous excursions both our feet get really tired and sore. We are admitted to the museum, initially to the Renoir in Love exhibition, which shows some of the drawings he made in preparation for his famous paintings. Then we go to the main museum, which is wonderful. But we are very tired. There’s a queue for the cafe so JD has a rest while I peruse the gift shops (he hates queues; my view is that if there is a queue, it’s probably worthwhile!). I was hoping to get something for my daughter in law, but I don’t see anything I really want to buy.

We go to the cafe and buy coffee, fruit and a Danish pastry for me, and a blueberry muffin for JD! So original, but it’s a nice break.

Then we go in search of Room 5, with the main Impressionist painters, but wouldn’t you know it’s up on level 5! It’s really hard to get to, and not at all obvious. There are escalators, and there are masses of people there.  So we don’t spend a lot of time there, but I can now see why folks are so enthused about it. I now realise why people really like this Gallery!

In a very French way it’s not easy to find our way out. Seeing a W.C. sign I decide I need a comfort stop, but of course the restroom is up several flights of stairs, and there’s a queue. JD meets me; we try to use a lift to descend, but it’s for official use only. Eventually we make our way out, and then have the task of getting back to our hotel. Google is really frustrating. A lady security guard advised us to go to the nearest Metro and take line 12! She was quite intense about this but across the road from the museum we found steps down to a Metro station that was under the museum; somehow we got back to St Michel, and then with difficulty (again!) took the B line back to Gare du Nord.

And then we found our way out (not easy!) and back to our hotel.

Tomorrow: the Palace of Versailles! Then all our entry tickets, to the Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo in Florence, St Peter’s Basilica and the Borghese Museum in Rome, and the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum in Athens, and Notre Dame Cathedral here in Paris, will have been used up.

It’s now Thursday, our last day in Paris. Yesterday evening we were so tired that we didn’t go out for dinner (it’s really hard to eat well in Paris, especially in this area). Instead we ate what we had with us: a soft chocolate chip biscuit from Musée d’Orsay, some potato crisps and biscuits and drinks from our long train trip. We resolved to eat breakfast here in the morning. I actually slept really well, and woke up with that slightly drunk feeling of having overslept.

EVA Airlines want me to check in for our flight. So I gather all the relevant information, I think, and then they want the flight reference. So I find that too, but no joy, although I tried various combinations of our names. Perhaps I can check in with Air NZ later. I need to know how early we should be at the CDG Airport.

We go down to breakfast and order omelettes. They are very good indeed. There’s nothing quite like a French omelette. We have fruit and cereal and I have toast too: I just love having peanut butter again, and raspberry jam.

Today, the Palace of Versailles. I feel extraordinarily tired now, as though I’ve used up all my energy. Both of us are finding that we have sore feet., and Paris is a tricky city to walk in.

We left much earlier than necessary, fearing that it would be complicated to get there. But actually it’s easy as, despite escalators not working. We go to the ticket office at Gare du Nord and buy return tickets to Versailles. Then it’s the Blue subway South to St Michel (Notre Dame) and then a regional train to Versailles. We have been here before! So we are very early, but go to the same café as last time. They’re not very busy, it’s a fine day, and we’re here!

JD thought he was ordering orange juice but instead it’s orange, lemon, cinnamon and honey flavoured tea. It is delicious.

JD has received his online entry card to Taiwan; I have not. And we can’t check in to our flight to Taipei online.

We joined our tour guide as requested by the statue of King Louis Quatorze (14) on horseback in the large cobble-stoned courtyard in front of the Palace of Versailles. It is a fine statue. There don’t seem to be as many people as there were in November 2024, but once we get inside it’s crazily busy and difficult to keep track of our guide. There are only 10 in our group. But you can’t really take photos. He wants us to look at the high ceilings often, but that tends to give me vertigo. Still it’s good to just look at things. We tour the king’s apartment, and the Hall of Mirrors, and eventually the tour ends. We can go into the gardens if we wish. I need to use a rest room, and I find one but it doesn’t say whether it’s for male or female.

Then while trying to find our way out we are in the long hall of battle paintings, that so impressed JD back in 1974. These include Napoleon’s wins but also earlier battles. They are large paintings and very graphic. Seeing this again was one of our main reasons for coming! Then we make our way out and back to the station. There’s a train there, very full, and we get on it. Sure enough, it takes us back to St Michel/Nôtre Dame station, and then we catch a Metro train back to Gare du Nord.

We feel that we have mastered this section of the Underground! 

That night we are to eat at Hotel Bloom. We arrange to eat earlier, and order a car for the morning to take us to the airport .

So Paris is a bit dirty and grey, but hey, it’s Paris. We’ve been here before, and we know what it’s like! At least it’s not stinking hot.

Nga mihi nui!

Venice: Salute on the Grand Canal

Venice’s famous Rialto Bridge

We have two nights in Venice. We stay at the same hotel as we did in November 2024, and they are very helpful, but our room isn’t as great as last time. Perhaps it’s different if you’re staying 3 nights or longer. But it is fine and sunny, and not too hot. It doesn’t seem quite as crowded as when we were last here. What more can you ask?

In the morning, at breakfast, there don’t seem to be as many people. I wonder about sitting at the window that looks out on a little canal, but the water looks pretty dirty, it’s quite low, and there’s an empty plastic bottle floating in the water!

They have a good toaster and nice bread. I have some scrambled eggs, as well as fruit salad, cereal and yoghurt. And orange juice and coffee, of course.  They don’t have as many options for milk and yoghurt and fruit as some hotels we’ve been to. I know this doesn’t really matter, but the choice of foods available, and the labelling, are very interesting!

After we’ve both showered we set out to walk to Salute, i.e. the Basilica delle Santa Maria Salute, which is the main reason for coming to this beautiful city again. There is a transport strike for most of the day, which means vaporetto aren’t operating for much of the day. But we can walk to Salute, which is near the Peggy Guggenheim gallery. We’ve been there, and don’t intend to go again.

It’s a beautiful fine day, and despite some confusion with Google Maps we get there. So we climb the steps into the church (free entry), but the Sacristy Museum with Not to be Missed paintings by Titian and Tintoretto is closed on Mondays.  In Italy and may parts of Europe some attractions are closed on Mondays. The wary tourist needs to bear this in mind! I really wanted to see these paintings!

Coming back to our hotel we want to go across the Grand Canal and visit St Mark’s Square again, and perhaps the Cathedral. A gondolier (very expensive!) points to a boat that just crosses the Grand Canal for €2 each! It is very bumpy but with help we take the ride. Then we wander through to St Mark’s Square. We share a roll, and some orange juice, but can’t get served for the dessert we’ve chosen to share with coffee.

So we walk to another cafe, this one with a great view of St Mark’s cathedral (the other one had a great view of the Doge’s Palace). Here the service is much better, and we have coffee, a glass of Chardonnay, a beautiful dessert to share, and the waiter brings a covered dish of chippies and another savoury snack!

After this we try to go inside the cathedral, but websites are confusing. Some say entry is free (with identity document); but it’s no use, the guard won’t let us in, he says all tickets have been sold, though it doesn’t look crowded. We did see inside it when we were here in 2024.

So we walk back to our hotel and rest for a while. About 4 pm we go shopping. I want to buy a leather handbag. Goodness knows I don’t really need one, but how can you come to Italy and not buy a handbag? Especially since I saw one I wanted when we were first in Florence but did not have time to buy it, and I’ve been hankering after one like that ever since.

Our hotel receptionist advised us to go the Rialto Bridge area for this purchase. I was doubtful about this, seeing it as a very commercial area, whereas there is a handbag shop right opposite our hotel! But we did walk to the Rialto area. Well, bless JD, I ended up with two leather bags, a green shoulder bag with lovely pouches for my phone and my wallet, and plenty of zipped pockets; it also has the advantage that I can put a Cardigan in it too. I also get a large purse with the red, white and green colours of the Italian flag that I wanted. It actually fits inside the other bag. It just holds my phone and wallet and has a shoulder strap, so I can use it as a handbag too.

We returned to our hotel where I changed into my French linen dress and used my new green bag. We went to Ristorante Noemi for dinner, where we’d been before.  It was lovely although what we ordered was very similar to the night before: pasta with vegetables for JD, and scallopine al funghi for me, in a beautiful sauce. There was also very nice bread to go with the oil and balsamic vinegar. Afterwards we shared a delicious tiramisu. The couple at the next table spoke French! I told them we were going to Paris the next day, and the gentleman advised us to visit the cathedral – c’est magnifique! I’m note sure if he was talking about Montmartre, or Nôtre Dame; I assumed Nôtre Dame, although there’re both magnificent from the outside.

That night was our last in Venice. We have booked a water taxi for 8:15 am for a 9 am train to Milan.  We’ve set both phone alarms for 6:45 am but we don’t sleep very well and we’re awake before that. I get up and shower and finish packing; JD takes a while longer.  Then we go downstairs to have a rushed breakfast before heading to our taxi point. I managed some toast and fruit juice; JD gets me a cup of coffee. Then a very helpful young man takes us to the nearby taxi point, by the Rialto vaporetto stop. It is another beautiful day in Venice. We get to the Ferrovia, and then hire a porter (€20) who takes us into a side entrance to the station this avoiding the steps. We did not know you could do this!

The train 9718 goes from platform 13 at 8:48 am, not 9 am. We are in Coach 8!  It’s a long walk. We get on and sit down and look at the tickets again. It leaves from Venezia Mestre at 9 am!!! Silly me, I’m glad I didn’t realize that. Still, we’re on this very full train and it seems to terminate at Milano Centrale. Then we have about 3 hours to get some more cash, get a taxi to Milano Porta Garibaldi, find a restroom and some food, before catching our high speed train to Paris. Milano Centrale has a beautiful facade but it’s a very busy place.

More adventures ensued!  JD needed to get some more cash, and we found an ATM. Then I decided I needed to use the restroom before we proceeded to Porta Garibaldi.  I had change, and we remembered where it was, but of course there were huge queues.  Furthermore the coin entry system wasn’t working. Someone tried to help in my queue, but without success, do I switched to another queue. When it was my turn, I just gave the assistant the coins and he arranged for the barrier to open. It seems there is little separation between men and women’s facilities.

Then we head for the taxi stand to get a lift to Porta Garibaldi Station. The driver doesn’t speak English; his incorrect instructions about where to go are countermanded by other cab drivers who direct us the other way!

Apparently the main entrance is being rebuilt. We go in, and the Food court is not completed, but has a few fast food options. We get some pizza and some water but decide we need to be nearer the action.  I manage to find the restroom, but it’s ages before the platform is announced. This station is also really complicated. Some trains go at ground level, some lower down.

Eventually the platform is announced, for our high-speed train to Paris, but the police are doing a passport check. We then hasten along the platform – we’re in Coach 18(!); it was coach 8 this morning and that seemed a really long way to go.  The amount of luggage people bring is staggering! We’ve got too much to carry easily but way less than most others.

It turns out there’s coach 1 & 2 on this train, and then coach 18.

Once we find our seats, 838 & 849, on this busy train, we’re all right. And we’re on our way to Paris! We are now on our train to Paris Gare de Lyon. Paris will be our last European stop.

Nga mihi nui!

The famous canal in Trieste

Trieste: the beautiful countryside

Trieste is situated in North-East Italy

We travelled by train from Vienna to Trieste, stopping for almost an hour in Udine. Silly me! The train from Vienna went to Venice! But I didn’t realize. JD and I got to the Vien Haupt Bahnhof in plenty of time, in cold wet weather. To say it was confusing is an understatement.  From Karl Popper Strasse you could get an escalator up to the correct platform: they had display boards there, but they were all in German. By luck we travelled up to platform 7, and it was the correct one, at least it looked correct.  From there you could travel down again to a range of shops and coffee bars.  We bought some rolls and iced tea to eat on the train; then JD found a coffee bar and we had more coffee. I was very nervous indeed; they didn’t have a ticket barrier where you show the QR code on your ticket like some Italy and French trains do.  But eventually we went back upstairs to platform 7, and it seemed we were in the right spot. There weren’t many people around and no one official.

Anyway, eventually a train drew up, and we boarded an economy carriage. It seemed that seats weren’t allocated.  We loaded our baggage at the end of the carriage. Thankfully the train was almost empty. An information screen showed all the timed stops on the way to Venezia Santa Lucia, including Udine, so we expected we were on the right train. We’re we then in the right carriage? I hoped so! It was quite a long train trip, and we had to change trains at Udine. There was an hour between trains, so I thought that would be plenty of time.

We had boarded this OBB  train with no supervision but a guard came and checked our tickets, clicking on the QR code.  It was a really picturesque and interesting train trip!  After getting out of Vienna and it’s somewhat brutalist buildings the rural land was flat for a time. Then it had steep hills and forests although there were some settlements with steep rooves and the kind of German -Swiss architecture one would expect to see. It was a long journey – 5 hours 23 minutes but so much more comfortable than being in a plane! Although the seats weren’t that comfy.

At some point we passed into Italy, and another guard checked our tickets.

During the Austrian part of our journey there were announcements of each upcoming stop and connecting trains and which side to alight. There was no such luxury in Italy but although there were lots of tunnels the scenery was stunning, and at one point reminded me of Arthur’s Pass area in NZ. I thought we would travel through Slovenia, but apparently not.

Eventually we reached Udine. More confusion, of course, but our train will go from platform 3, which is the one we just arrived on. There is about 50 minutes between trains. It’s like Civitavecchia, though: you have to go down a staircase to get to the main station. There seems to be no lift. I am desperate to use the restroom, so I go off in search of one, not carrying any money with me. I’m also scared of losing my way back to JD!

It’s a very long way to the restrooms. I go through the station and past the bar. When I get there, of course it costs €1, but the nice young man in charge waves me through. It’s quite clean and adequate: they usually are if you have to pay. Then I made my way back, thankfully ,to where JD was waiting, in the sunshine and there is even a seat. So we wait in the sun with several other passengers for our next regional train.

When it arrives thankfully there’s no up and down, as is so often the case with regional trains. There is a guard who assures me that this is the right train. It’s due at Trieste Centrale at 20:08.  It’s a very pretty ride, with snow-capped mountains and pretty flat countryside.

We reach Trieste, and it’s almost dark. The signposts are very helpful. We find our NH Hotel, prepaid, near Trieste Centrale, and arrange to have breakfast next morning: it’s cheaper if you order and pay for it the night before.

Jan Morris has written a wonderful book about Trieste, called Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere. Trieste (formerly home of the Lloyd Triestino shipping line, used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the end of the Second World War it was decided that Trieste should be part of Italy.  But the impression you get is that there are still major Austrian elements there as well as Italian. I really wanted to come here, although I can see why some would find it less interesting than other places. You don’t quite get the warmth of Italian hospitality here, there is a slight reserve, although people are kind and helpful.

And what a treat our room is, after Vienna! A big bed, plenty of room, a nice bath with bath and bidet, a mini-bar, fridge and tea making facilities; also a wardrobe and a safe. And a window that opens. And beautiful scuffs but not robes.

We went out to have something to eat. It’s been raining and is still quite wet.

The first place we try is full; there aren’t a lot of restaurants here! We walk for some time and find a pub and go there to eat. It’s pretty amazing: there is olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table, and the waitress brings us a basket of the best bread I’ve tasted for a while. The menu was Austrian: I had ham with sauerkraut, horseradish, mustard and potatoes; JD had a chicken schnitzel with chips, and he ordered a side of vegetables: eggplant (done the Italian way, which I like so much), zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper and endive. JD ordered a carafe of white wine and, of course, sparkling water.

Then we walk back to our lovely hotel and thankfully I sleep.

The next morning we have a pretty amazing breakfast. But it’s a bit of a scrum: the dining room is full! There is most of what I’ve come to expect, in the way of food, plus a few additions. There are lots of cakes, and breakfast goes from 7 am till 12 noon. I have orange juice which is red: blood orange, perhaps? And muesli with peaches, prunes and pears and kiwi fruit! Then I tackle making toast, which is complicated, no wonder no one else is doing it. You put the bread in tongs, and then I guess you have to turn the toaster on, and turn the bread? It’s complicated. But I have scrambled eggs on one slice of toast, and some bacon. The other slice of toast I have spread with peach jam. JD has to queue up to use the coffee machine. Then everyone empties out, and we are alone and wondering why we aren’t doing touristy things as well.

We go back to our room and I shower and dress, and then we go for a walk. We don’t have to checkout until midday, so we leave the bags in our room. I had hoped to go to mass at the famous cathedral, but we are too late for that.

What a gracious place this is! It’s an odd mixture of Austrian and Italian. There is beautiful architecture, reminding me of Paris. We pass the Grand canal. There are two huge cruise ships docked here, and thankfully we’re not on either of them.

There is a beautiful public square, which is not commercialised. Then we come to a market, but it’s all very polite with no hassling.  There are coffee bars but the menus are mostly downloaded from a QR code, so you can’t really tell what they have. None seem to have Sacher torte, and it’s a bit early in the day for it.

Then we make our way back to the hotel and since breakfast goes till 12, we are allowed to have more coffee and tea in the restaurant without paying extra.

We are due to catch the train to Venezia Mestre at 1:27 pm, but JD consults someone who says we can board the train from 2 pm. It goes from platform 6. With Trieste Centrale being the end of a line, it is less confusing than other stations. I trust that we will be able to catch a train from Venezia Mestre to Venezia Santa Lucia relatively easily. It is fine and warm now, much warmer than Vienna.

This has been really frustrating to book. Copilot assured me that there were plenty of trains from Trieste to Venezia Santa Lucia, but after having booked our trip from Vienna, I could not book the train directly to Venice. Being a Sunday may have had something to do with it.

We have lunch at Trieste Centrale – iced tea, and we share a baguette type roll, a cheese cake and some pineapple. Afterwards I go in search of a restroom. It is far away next to the police station and a grimy man charges me €1 to use the malodorous facilities there.

It is a really comfortable train, not full, and we change from our allocated seats to get a window view. It is so sunny and picturesque, a lovely short ride to Venezia Mestre. It’s pretty busy there but JD gets cheap tickets to Venezia Santa Lucia on a Regional train which is going from the same platform, it seems. We remember to validate the tickets, as required!

And so we ride to beautiful Venice, which seems a little muted after the excesses of the Sanchez-Bezos wedding, and although there are lots of people I think there are fewer than when we were last here in November 2024.

JD decides we will walk to our hotel, which is just fine, except there are quite a few bridges (hazardous!) and Google Maps instructions are very confusing. It’s really hard work: normally I drive his Kathmandu wheeled backpack, and he drives my wheeled small suitcase and overnight bag. But the overnight bag is totally unsuitable for such a trip, being quite heavy, and not with wheels or straps. I wish yet again that I hadn’t brought it on this trip.

Many times I felt like giving up, especially since there was a concern about security, not wanting to leave any bags unattended, and there were heaps of people around the Rialto bridge area. Finally we got to our hotel, and went with relief to our room. It’s so nice to come back here – my new phone clicks right into the Wi-Fi.

There is to be a strike here on Monday (the next day) affecting regional trains and local vaporetto, but I don’t think this will affect us, since we want to go to Salute, and we can walk there.

We dine early at a nearby restaurant, and it’s great fun: either we’re terribly early, or they’re not busy. Anyway, the carafe of white wine is delicious, as is JD’s spaghetti with bolognaise sauce and my pork scallopine with lemon. We also order mixed grilled vegetables, which come out first!  Afterwards we share chocolate cake, which again is yummy. I guess I feel it’s a really big deal to be here. And guess what: there is a beautiful bag store opposite our hotel, which has exactly the type of handbag I wanted to buy in Florence. 

Nga mihi nui!

The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

Painting by Caravaggio of David with the head of Goliath

The area where we stayed in Vienna

We left Athens on Thursday morning soon after 10 am. Although we’d checked in online (a strangely complicated process) we didn’t want to take any risks especially since we’d not been to this airport before. It seemed a long way to the Airport. They don’t have different terminals but Austrian Airlines along with Aegean and Lufthansa check in are in Gate 4. It was easy to check in, but the boarding passes we were given were for gate 07. So we were securitized and went through to our gate. There was nowhere to sit, so we went to a nearby cafe to get something to eat. I checked it out and suggested JD get orange juice, fruit, a baguette to share and coffee and something sweet to share. There was cooked Greek food, but no Greek salad, and very few cakes. All help-yourself wooden cutlery, straws and napkins.

The food was all right; we didn’t have coffee thinking they’d serve some on the plane, and not wanting to create bathroom issues.

Then we each used the WC (there were queues, of course) and went to Gate 07. It was strangely empty, yet a man in uniform assumed JD that it was the right gate. Well, yes, our boarding passes (online and printed) said gate 07, but in fact it was Gate 09. I got an email from Austrian Airlines to say it was Gate 09, but of course I was confused since both boarding passes said gate 07.

We walked to gate 9, not too far away, and sure enough a screen said our flight to Vienna, and a woman assured us that the gate had changed. Meanwhile people were coming off the plane, which had just arrived. There were masses of people and they did not separate those arriving and departing as many airports do.  Confusing? Yes! We’re not used to travelling coach where you can’t hear the frequent announcements and furthermore they’re in a strange language. And there aren’t screens to tell you what’s happening. With Air NZ I expect to get a text message if something changes. With emails, my home groups them so it can be hard to read the latest one. Anyway, enough already! Stop sending me emails, Austrian Airlines!

We were in group 3, but I think with us being oldies and seated in row 11 they let us board sooner. They certainly cram people and their carry-on luggage into those planes! I think it was like the Airbus 320’s Air NZ uses for domestic flights, but this was very cramped. It was understood that we’d stow our carry-on luggage (max 8 kg, not 7), plus a personal item (my handbag) under the seat in front.

We were all seated and ready to take off for our 2 1/4 hour flight when it was announced that due to a wind change flights were being redirected and there would be a 50 minute delay on taking off. The hostesses brought water around.

I was very tired but I did have my Kindle with me. I had bad cramps getting on board, but thankfully this went away. I managed to cross my legs but then had great trouble uncrossing them.

There were scary coughs on the plane but I managed to find a mask and wear it.  That made me feel a little better.

The hostesses brought around food and drink but you had to pay for it. In the row behind us there was lots of paper crackling. We did not partake.

In Vienna it is at least 10°C cooler than Athens. I wear my cardigan under my lovely new jacket, to reduce baggage, and when we get to Vienna I certainly need them both.

When we got to Vienna, I needed to use the restroom, but the first one I encountered was closed – out of order. All the signs said Exit (Auskunft) to Vienna, but where was Baggage Claim?

We keep going and eventually we come to baggage claim, but I suspect many passengers don’t have any checked baggage. But a helpful sign directs us to Carousel 3, and our checked bags appear on this quickly moving carousel.

We decide to get a taxi into our hotel. It is Prize by Radisson, and although the photos look a bit weird, I decide that if it’s part of the Radisson chain it can’t be too bad – we stayed in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Durham about 18 months ago. Although it was a 4*, and everything was very expensive, we managed to eat there twice by sharing food we’d ordered, for example, soup and a delicious cheese platter, or starters and dessert. So I thought if this was part of the Radisson chain, it couldn’t be too bad.

Well, silly me. Our taxi can’t find the hotel, then it seems to be Prizeotel and he stops around the back of the building. The taxi was very expensive and then of course he wanted a tip.

We checked in to this strange place, and that was complicated too. A nice young man helped but they wanted a lot of details and both our passports. Although this hotel has a young vibe, and very strange decor indeed, there were evidently several older guests, and I explained to JD that this was the best of the rest. 

We met an Australian couple from Canberra as we went up in the lift – I wasn’t the only older person who’d made this strange choice.

And it was very strange too: we got to our minimalist room, which had 2 single beds pushed together with a generous duvet folded on each one; 2 square pillows, another European specialty; and no spare pillows or blankets; no fridge or mini-bar or tea making facilities; minimal and strange lights and a sort of desk-ledge and chair. The bathroom has toilet, hand basin and shower and heated floor, but no shower cap and only squeezy liquid soap which you use for everything. The lighting is particularly frustrating for me, as there is no lamp over the tiny desk area, and if I’m sitting on the bed the lighting is particularly poor. Our hotel in Paris keeps sending messages, to which I feel I must reply, since I’ve booked and not paid for it, and I don’t want them to sell the room to somebody else! But all these emails make me so nervous!

They only clean your room on day 3, if you’re staying that long, but you can get tea, coffee and toothbrush holders downstairs . You can ask for replacement towels at Reception too. Buffet breakfast at the hotel costs €18 per person. There isn’t even a water bottle on our room! But I didn’t realize at first that we could get water downstairs.

It’s evidently a hotel/industrial area with brutalist tower blocks although there’s a very small park with grass and flowers outside our room on the fourth floor.  There seem to be few eating places nearby, and they are focused on vegetarian/vegan options with hummus ever present. Everywhere we go there are lots of truffles and Caesar salad. 

Eventually we go to a small Italian restaurant nearby, feeling a huge sense of cold and dislocation after beautiful Athens and Italy, where you’re always welcomed in.  We both have risotto and it’s very good. We also buy some water. Then we go back to our hotel, and thankfully I get some sleep. I will say it’s quiet here in our room, and warm, in spite of the creamy light rail nearby, and the bed is very comfortable with big duvets, one each.

I was so tired that I went to bed at 7 :30 pm, waking at 2:20 am, but I went back to sleep after this. What a difference a few hours’ sleep makes!

In the morning I check on my phone for cafes that open early.  JD decides that we will eat breakfast here in our hotel, at €18 each.

There are lot of people at the breakfast buffet, of all ages.  It’s health focussed but not too bad. There is fruit salad and various cereals and milk varieties; they also have Bircher muesli which really appeals to JD, and apple puree. There are three types of fruit juice, orange, apple, and mixed, and water; there is the usual array of sliced cold meats and cheese, and Danish pastries. They haven’t been so great on this trip, and the croissants have been mostly overcooked . But there is a 4 slice toaster and I make myself 2 slices of toast. That’s tricky: you push a lever up, not down, to toast the bread, and then when you go to check it jumps right out. There are several types of jam (konfiture) which like in our hotel in Rome you dispense into containers, in this case, like tiny ice cream cones, which are very breakable. It’s easy to make a mess. They have a butter dispenser: you place your plate and press the button and whoopee a perfect round pat of butter appears.  JD gets coffee from a machine with queuing and then an alarming array of choices. He gets me a double espresso with extra hot water, and it tastes just fine. Later I come down and fill my Oceania flask with water from the juice dispenser. It’s really interesting how food is labelled!

Then we shower and lock everything up and set out for the Kunsthistorisches Museum.  The weather is just like Wellington really: light rain, coldish, overcast and a bit windy. By some magic JD has figured how to get there on the light rail right next to our hotel. It’s magic really. You get on and use the ticket machine to buy the tickets. So we get there, and cross the road and find the ticket office to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. No queuing, and we’re served with a smile, and a comment about swimming to get here. We’re the second couple from NZ he’s had this morning. We came to Vienna because I wanted to see this museum.

It’s a truly wonderful museum, set in an old palace? I must look it up. Wonderful Italian paintings by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, but we can only find one by Caravaggio – there were supposed to be two. It is very similar to one we’d seen in the Borghese Gallery, of the boy David holding Goliath’s head. I think I like this one better. Then it’s time for a lunch break, but there is a queue at the coffee shop and JD isn’t prepared to wait.

So we walk to something called Salt and Honey. It’s strange not to be beckoned in by someone standing at the entrance, as you would be in Italy or Athens. The heavy door is closed, and we have to pull it open. There are at least 2 free tables, but the poor single waitress is very busy and takes a while to come to us. What a relief to sit down, though! There’s no rush. I order bacon and eggs which come with a croissant, and coffee and sparkling water. JD orders iced tea, a glass of prosecco, and pancakes. It’s all good, and quite different from ones we’ve encountered in New Zealand. 

The delicious pancakes have a little chocolate sauce smeared over them; they’re not drowned in maple syrup as they often are in new Zealand; and they come with big blueberries and strawberries.  I entertain thoughts of seeing St Stephen’s Cathedral (no, it costs!), having Sacher torte at a cafe (not after my beautiful lunch), or catching the hop on/hop off bus (€37 pp !). I can see why it was cheaper to come back to Paris through Italy, although Germany would have been more straightforward, perhaps. But we would have had to get a train to Munich, stay overnight there, and then travel by train to Cologne, from where we could catch the Eurostar back to Paris. We could have seen a friend’s son and his family in Cologne, but I really didn’t want to go to Munich again.

Then we made our way back to our hotel.

We got a tramcar, type D, but it was very crowded indeed and people kept getting on! There was no way you could get near the ticket machine, and no one seemed to be checking.  The driver drove jerkily with no respect for the passengers, whom he could not see. After a couple of stops we got off, and walked some more to another stop. There were a few others waiting too. After a while another tram car came, which was much less crowded . We caught that back to our hotel and had a rest. I was able to get clean towels from Reception. But there was only one guy there, and queues, of course!

Later we went to dinner somewhere near – part of the Urban chain. I would like to have had Wiener schnitzel, but it was over €30! So we shared a pizza with corn! That’s a first, and some kind of pepper (jalapeno, perhaps), but not really hot. JD has a glass of Chardonnay and I have a mojito, since it’s our last night in Vienna. That was probably a mistake, since I did not sleep well.

We had breakfast here again; and JD has gone to do some washing. It’s probably far more expensive here than in Italy, but there’s more to see and do there so you don’t want to waste time washing. There is actually quite a bit of washing, and he gets nervous about it. He’s very good at working out how to manage it all!

We are due to catch a train to Udine and the Trieste at 12:53 pm. It is raining quite heavily outside and I’ve dug out my poncho, hoping I won’t get too cold and wet outside on our walk, with luggage, to Wien Haupt Bahnhof.

JD arrived back from the laundrette and we finished packing and delivered our room entry cards to the checkout box and walked to the station . I am super nervous and of course this large busy station is different from Italian or British railway stations, and confusing. But by some fortunate impulse we get an escalator up to platform 7, and it seems our train will go from here. Then we walk through and take an escalator down to the shops and buy some food and drink to take with us. There seem to be no ticket checks before traveling as in Italy.

Wien is very different. Most people speak English but notices are in German and it’s very confusing.  Apparently our train goes through to Venezia Santa Lucia! I did not realize that. But I really wanted to go to Trieste, which is almost on the way. so that’s that. We have a change at Udine. On the train our tickets are checked, and there is a destination board, which is helpful.

Nga mihi nui

Athens Acropolis, the Caryatids

A lekythos; I couldn’t find one in a shop in Athens

The Rooftop Breakfast Restaurant at our Hotel in Athens

National Archaeological Museum, Athens

I wrote a little about our arrival on Athens yesterday after getting off the cruise ship.

It is kind of nice to be uncocooned again:  of course we’ve been watching with some alarm the progress of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, and it seems to get worse everyday.  When you’re on a cruise ship, you’re wonderfully looked after, but you can’t get off the ship!  You’re almost captives there.

In Athens it is busy and hot. Yesterday morning we went for a walk once we’d settled into our hotel room, unpacked a little, booked tickets for climbing the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum for 8 am on Tuesday (the very next day); they cost around $300 NZ but it was a bit cheaper on my phone than on JD’s computer.

We walked around this bustling city where many people walk on the narrow roadway rather than the footpath, but you have to watch out for bikes and cars. Google told me that the Greek people eat lunch after 1 pm, but it was still before 12 noon and many people wanted lunch. We shared pastitsio, which came with very nice toast, and a Greek salad. The salad was very good, with beautiful slabs of feta cheese. Hohepa, your feta is very good, but this is way better!

The meat dish was pretty ho-hum, and we were glad we’d shared. Many other diners had come in, and service was very slow, so we agreed to have coffee somewhere else. The smell of smoking was quite discordant!

We walked through a coffee and cake place, which had gelato but that didn’t look very appealing. So we found somewhere else where I chose a small mocha with double espresso flavour.  I love the way they serve it in wee containers with a spoon and a paper napkin.

Then we went back to our hotel for a rest. After a bit we walked to the nearest DHL facility where they agreed to post back to NZ some of the things we bought and would prefer not to carry back to Paris. They were amazing: they packed the stuff into a plastic container, and it’s on its way! We trust. (It arrived on the following Thursday morning!  NZ Post, you could do far better!)

That evening we wanted to be very quiet, so we ate early at Brera, an Italian cafe. We were very boring – we shared a Pizza Margherita, and some water and a glass of Chardonnay. They were all very good. There was some confusion over the bill – the receipt didn’t show the tip! You select how much (3 options) and it’s added to what you pay. Then we retired, to try and rest before our 8 am appointment next day to climb the Acropolis!

Tuesday 

We were up bright and early for breakfast shortly after 6:30 am. The breakfast restaurant is upstairs from level three with a view of the Acropolis! It’s quiet and beautiful. It was actually quite cool up there, so I came back to our room to get a cardigan. Of course this took a while – I had to find one, after not needing one for the last few days! Breakfast was just fine: fresh orange juice, sliced kiwifruit and golden queen-like peaches and fruit salad with cereal, and toast with a pop-up toaster, sachets of butter, and you helped yourself to jam or marmalade. Coffee too, of course. There is a fridge in our room and tea making facilities and a coffee machine, which we did not have on the cruise ship! 

I had a shower first (pretty slippery, hard water, and an overhead or a handheld water dispenser, and really thick towels. Then JD did his ablutions. Meanwhile I got all ready with my tote bag, spare water, jacket etc but JD comes out of the shower and cuts his toenails!!! Eventually we are on our way to walk to the Acropolis Museum ticket office, and I know we’re going to be late; we are almost there when he realizes he’s left his passport and wallet in our hotel room! Really, how can you do that? You should always keep your passport with you! So I wait while he goes back for them. I suppose we’ll miss our climb now.

Meantime there are lots of bells, lots of churches, and a clock that chimes on the hour.

There’s lots of vegetation, lots of colour, lots of flowers and lots of jewellery shops. Lots of rolls (bolts?) of fabric – I haven’t seen them for a long time. There are lots of fur coats and jackets!  Perhaps it’s fake fur? In this heat, I don’t feel at all tempted by it. There are ATMs everywhere, unlike on one of our trips when it was very hard to find an ATM in Spain. And WC’s! Like in Scotland!

While I’m waiting for JD the souvenir shop across the way sets up, hanging out all their wares, which is most interesting. I don’t feel inspired to buy anything though.

Finally JD returns and we are on our way again. Then we don’t know where to go to start the climb, and a helpful cafe owner tells us. In spite of being so late, we are welcomed and shown through to the climb. I tried to download the audio guide but maybe I downloaded the wrong app, because it wanted more money!! So we went without a guide, which was a relief, in a way.

We were so glad that we’d come early – it was about 8:45 am, and although there were plenty of people about, and some groups, it was nothing to what came later!

The path was uneven and slippery in places, but having done our Ephesus and other excursions, we didn’t find it too bad. Mind you if we had not done the excursions and got used to uneven cobbled stones I may well have refused to do the climb. But it was amazing, and we were so glad that we done it. The Parthenon despite the cranes is amazing, but I think it was the Caryatids that impressed me the most.  Of course the views of Athens on this fine, clear day are amazing too, wherever you look. What an experience! I am quite emotional about it. After a while we get safely down, which is harder in a way, and come down a different way. There are so many tours now! It’s quite a walk, and I’m desperate for coffee, orange juice, sparkling water, something to eat and a WC stop. We get into the beautiful Acropolis museum all right: this time Headout have emailed the 4 tickets and I’ve forwarded them to JD as well.

It is a wonderful museum, but we make our way to the Restaurant on level 2 which is not busy. We’re asked to sit down and a waiter will come (eventually)!  We sit down inside but with a view of the Acropolis. You have to download the menu from a QR code on your table, but there is free Wi-Fi too.

As well as the drinks I order a tuna wrap and JD a sandwich with ham, cheese and so forth. Everything is delicious and although it is early, we decide that this will be our lunch.

Eventually the restaurant fills up, and we decide we’d better leave. On exiting, we have to show our tickets again! It takes me a while to find mine, but there’s no rush, eventually I do and she waves us through. I’m afraid we came back to our hotel after that Adventure!  I think I’ve almost seen enough Archaeological Museums for now.

Our niece and her family are due in Athens tomorrow, so we may have dinner with them tomorrow evening.

JD has gone off to do some washing.

That night we ate somewhere – I had a pork skewer (actually 3) with tzatziki (not very nice), a bit of salad, potato chips (very good) and pita bread which I did not eat. I did have a very nice “virgin” cocktail (I think they meant mocktail) called Red Riding Hood with strawberry puree. JD’s Chardonnay was not very nice. When he doesn’t know the waiter, he should read the menu! Not such a good choice.

Afterwards as we walked back to our hotel we looked at jewellery. At a second shop we went to he bought me a beautiful necklace with 5 blue stones. There is a tax receipt we can reclaim when we leave Paris.  It’s gorgeous, and I feel really guilty about it, knowing that this journey is costing us far more than first anticipated..

That night I slept better, no doubt helped by having better Wi-Fi and being able to listen to audiobooks.

Breakfast this morning was wonderful. The waitress brings juice; the fruit was sliced kiwifruit, peach halves and fruit salad with the addition of sliced banana and strawberries!

Then we showered and set out to walk to the National Archaeological Museum, about 1/2 hour’s walk. It lovely in Athens on the early morning – the streets are quite empty of people and cars, and it’s not too hot.

On the way we looked at clothes shops, and again fell for buying things: a blue and white dress made in Italy for €25, and an amazing multicoloured jacket that the woman had designed! Oh dear, they are both gorgeous, especially the jacket. It is made of coloured multi-coloured denim, and is lined; it goes with so many things, black and white trousers and hopefully my other trousers. As it turns out, I am really glad of this jacket when we come to cooler climates, in Vienna and Italy.

Then we continued our walk to the museum. Thankfully there was no queue when we got there, although I think many people came in after us. We repaired downstairs to the lovely cafe and museum garden first, and shared orange juice and a beautiful orange honey and semolina cake with our coffee.

Then we looked at the museum which was well worth a visit and extremely interesting and well laid out, for the most part. I continue to wonder at the Greeks who made such beautiful things on all areas of Greece. Stylistically they are very similar.

Then we had lunch across the road on a cafe, sharing a baguette which turned out to be wholemeal and filled with ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato. We shared orange juice too but the coffee wasn’t great.

Then as planned we caught a hop on/hop off bus outside the museum. JD was able to pay for our tickets on the bus. We met a couple from Texas and had a really interesting conversation with them. They have been married nearly as long as we have, and their anniversary is August 9! We talked about Nixon’s resignation, and Rebecca asked me about Dame Jacinda Ardern’s resignation. They were on a cruise and got off our bus to get another tourist line to Piraeus . We eventually got off the bus at the Acropolis museum and walked back to our hotel.  We looked in souvenir shops for a miniature lekythos to take home as a memento of our stay, but strangely we could not find one. Very odd. We did get a copy of the famous statue of Aphrodite and a present for our teenage grandson in New Zealand.

Then we returned to our hotel and tried to check in online for our flight tomorrow. Oh dear oh dear! It used to be easy, now what a performance.  It took ages but I succeeded in the end.

We met our niece and her lovely family for dinner at 6 pm at a Gluten-free restaurant opposite the Acropolis Museum. They had just flown in from Santorini. It was great to see them and to compare notes about travel, cruises, Italian trains and other things.

Dinner was good: I ordered cabbage leaves filled with mince and rice with an egg and lemon sauce. JD ordered chicken skewers with chips. Very boring. The others ordered appetizers and we tried beautiful tzatziki with pita bread. The food was all very good.

We shared some frustrations with cruises, tours, ticket validation and Italian trains!  But generally we’re all well and happy. We also have shared some what we hope was honest advice about how climbing the Acropolis is quite hard work! And there’s no way you can drive up. And yes, it’s quite expensive, you have to get separate tickets for the Acropolis and the museum, but in our view it’s worth it.

They head back to Adelaide via Singapore on Friday; we fly to Vienna on Thursday 14 May. Sadly, it’s the beginning of our journeys back to the Antipodes.

This morning we had breakfast again at our amazing hotel. This morning I smelt bacon, and I had a fried egg on my slice of toast and some bacon. We are sorry to leave Athens. It is cooler and slightly overcast today. We catch a taxi to the airport. He delivered us to Gate 4, where Austrian Airlines is found. It’s part of the Star Alliance, apparently! I did not know that when I booked the flight. Despite the fuel crisis, it is still flying.

Nga mihi nui

Piraeus, Port of Athens

Hotel Adrian, Athens

                                                General Observations

We don’t have to wear lanyards on this cruise, thank goodness.  I am surprised that obviously wealthy passengers don’t wear stylish clothes to dinner, as they would in France or Italy, or even the UK. We all had to sign our agreement to the dress code. Although it said “understated elegance”, one woman turned up to dine in jeans, with a nice top! I think they mean no bathing suits or ghastly tights in a dining room, which I certainly agree with, but wearing jeans at dinner is going a bit far for me! I feel quite stylish here, in my carefully managed and packed evening wear: white or black trousers, with a nice top and one of the wraps we bought in Florence, but dared not wear there. I even brought three dresses, although two of them are badly crushed and need pressing. I take advantage of the free option of having my French linen dress pressed; I iron the other one that needs it myself.

It is a carefully curated crowd of passengers, most of them being wealthy white people from the US with a few wannabes like the Australian couple we met, Andy and Rose, and ourselves. The caring staff are almost all coloured people, from various countries: India, Indonesia, the Philippines. The staff are very concerned that we’re enjoying ourselves and having a good time: it reminds me of my eldest son saying, “you don’t have to be happy all the time”. Well, on this vessel, in a very Disney-like way (You’re on vacation), you do! Everyone is very polite.

I am very much enjoying aspects of this: being looked after pretty well; breakfast in our stateroom; a very comfortable bed; a well-arranged bathroom, a couch in our larger room – we have plenty of room, and the laundrette is just down the hallway. JD like to do the washing himself, although the first load of our “free” washing came back three days later beautifully folded and ironed.

When we’re dining, we’re served beautifully, and it reminds us of when we were the only breakfast guests. I think the Miramar hotel in our Hong Kong stopover in December 1973. I enjoy the large linen napkins, even at lunchtime at the buffet. Of course if JD wants a glass of Chardonnay, he has to pay for that in US dollars. Anything. you do pay for on board is very expensive.

But I was going to add that when you order dessert, you can order ice cream as well, and it comes in a separate dish. I enjoy the service, the linen serviettes (napkins?) and linen tablecloths. The dinner menu is changed every night in the GDR, but some of the food doesn’t taste great. Still and all, it’s a nice experience and unusually I don’t mind changing for it.

We are cocooned in this very American, very white environment where English is spoken and I feel a bit weird saying “grazie” or “buon Giorno”, as I have been doing since we arrived in Milan.  It feels as though American passengers have been transported from their home comfort zone into this one, where money means everything, and if one knows a bit about the Classics (what?), and archaeology and classical ruins, including things one has seen in other places on other trips, one write about it, one doesn’t talk about it. I realize what a gift it is that JD and I have a shared interest in ancient classical ruins, in religion, and in Renaissance art. Not many people share this. And he looks after me far better when we’re away!

During rest times in the afternoon I try to record what’s happened. I do this by writing emails, in draft, and sending them to myself. This holds certain challenges, of course, but I’ve done it before.

Another cruise observation: it’s actually nice to unpack and store one’s clothes. There is actually plenty of cupboard and drawer and wardrobe space. It’s very nice to have one’s stateroom made up twice a day, with plenty of towels and nice cakes of soap for hand washing and showering. And did I say the tiny shower is marvellous although tiny? It doesn’t leak, and you can’t really fall over in it.

The excursions are well organized. You meet in the Nautica lounge at the appointed time, on your ticket. You hand in your excursion ticket, and are given a small numbered ticket for your bus, twenty something, to be handed to the bus driver. Then each number is called and you disembark accordingly . As you leave, you click you room key as though you were boarding an aeroplane. On the bus you’re introduced to the tour guide (and helper, perhaps), and the driver. One is supposed to tip them all afterwards, of course. Tipping comes hard to us seasoned colonials; we’re happy to tip for really good service, if we can afford it; otherwise we’re pretty reluctant. Our coach (differing levels of comfort and cleanliness here) takes us to wherever we’re going, and transports us around as necessary.  There is generally a museum, an ancient site or two, and then some free time (shopping?), and a deadline to get back to our coach. This can involve quite a lot of walking, and it can be hard to find the right coach.  There are usually two toilet stops along the way, of varying degrees of cost, modernity and cleanliness. Sometimes there’s no toilet seat; sometimes you mustn’t put paper in the toilet. I know to always come prepared with spare tissues, but so far I haven’t had to use them.

Disembarkation

Last night was the last night of our cruise. We were supposed to leave our luggage outside our stateroom by 10 pm with the labels affixed that they had provided. 

This related to your chosen time of disembarking, in our case 8:45 am, although we had to vacate our state rooms by 8 am.

So after our lovely excursion to Ephesus, and a nice lunch at the terrace cafe, we had to turn our minds to packing, and what we needed in our overnight bags.

I sat out on the balcony before we set sail soon after 3 pm, but it got too hot for me! I had a shower and washed my hair before packing my main sponge bag, since that is key to fitting everything else in my little suitcase.  

So I packed everything in my packing cubes except what I was going to wear to dinner that evening, my nightgown, and what I was going to wear the next day.

I did not put makeup on for dinner as I usually do, it was packed or away. We went to the Grand Dining Room for dinner. People seemed to have really dressed up for this occasion! There was a feeling of celebration before the coming – who knows? We are quite apprehensive, as the next part of our travels, making our way back to Paris, is quite ambitious, and will require a lot more effort on our part!

Actually we celebrated too. We are caponata as an appetizer (not very nice) but I had very nice cod fillet and JD a fillet steak that he was pleased with. We also ordered sauteed potatoes and green peas.

As it was our last night, I wanted to order a special coffee, French Kiss. We tried to find out what it was like beforehand, but you had to order through the sommelier who was Adrian from Romania, and not the person who usually served us if JD was ordering his glass of Chardonnay.

JD ordered an Oceania coffee, and I ordered French Kiss with Grand Marnier and cognac, they were both very good, they tasted wonderful 

 For dessert I ordered a blood orange sorbet, which didn’t really taste of anything; JD ordered a chocolate hazelnut hot pudding, and vanilla ice cream, and it was beautiful.

Then we searched unsuccessfully for our friends the Australian couple before we retired. When we did so, I packed away the clothes I’d been wearing to dinner, and we put two bags outside our room with labels as requested. as requested.  By now there were several others out as well, and they were all far bigger than ours! Although ours were a bit heavy for us, we were so glad they weren’t any larger!

Then we put out our breakfast order, and tried to sleep. One of the advantages of ordering room service breakfast is that they ring you before it comes – it’s better than an alarm clock! Just before 6 am our tray came, and we were already at Piraeus. It did not seem particularly attractive!

So we showered, left the stateroom and duly waited in one of the lounges for our group to be called to disembark. Than we walked through and picked up our luggage before getting a taxi into Athens to Hotel Adrian.

Traffic was pretty gridlocked, but we eventually reached Hotel Adrian. And what a nice receptionist! Our room was almost ready, although it was several hours before check in time. Meanwhile he answered all our questions about climbing the Acropolis, the whereabouts of the National Archaeological Museum, time to get to the airport, and the nearest DHL branch.

We are on the second floor of this hotel: the room has a balcony with a table and two chairs, and it’s in a busy commercial area with narrow streets of shops, churches and marble. There is a fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. There is a rooftop restaurant for breakfast. There are Picasso prints on the walls, and marble stairs, as well as an elevator. There is plenty of room, although not quite the degree of luxury we have been accustomed to over the last few days! There are masses of shopsoutside – jewellery, carpets, souvenirs, leather sandals, even furs!: it’s a strange mixture of ancient and modern.  It feels strangely comfortable with itself. We decide that we like Athens very much indeed.

Nga mihi nui

Ancient Ephesus: one of the easier walking spots

Ephesus – the library of Celsus and Arch of the Emperor Augustus

Ephesus: Terrace Houses Museum being constructed

Theatre in Ephesus

Image of Artemis held in the Archaeological Museum, Naples

Yesterday we were in Santorini, but we didn’t actually leave the ship. We could see 3 other cruise ships; we were anchored some way off the coast so you had to get a tender to the base of the cable car station, and either catch the cable car or walk up a steep zig -zag path to get to the first town.  Furthermore, it was quite cold and windy and overcast, although the weather cleared up later. I wasn’t feeling very well, so I was happy to have a quiet day on board.  It seemed a shame not to go further, but Santorini was never on my list of “must see” places, and it didn’t look anything like the pictures you see!

We didn’t even go swimming; the boutiques were closed so it was very quiet indeed.  We were booked to eat at Toscana at 7:30 pm that evening, later than I would have hoped for; it was a rather disappointing experience too.

We didn’t have an appetizer, but we did have very nice bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and roasted garlic. JD had very nice fillet steak and I had veal scallopine with Marsala, but that was very disappointing. Portofino in Napier do it better! How about some cream and some Marsala wine? We also ordered potatoes roasted with rosemary, but they were not the lovely Italian baked potatoes.  We ordered asparagus spears too. When it came to ordering dessert, JD was busy in conversation with the Canadian couple at the next table, so I ordered tiramisu for him and apricot tart for me.

Since we were eating so late, our stateroom had been made up for sleeping before we went to dinner.

The next day the ship docked at the beautiful Kusadasi, and we were to visit Ephesus.  I did not sleep at all well; our breakfast tray came early as expected but I could eat very little. I was very anxious that the excursion I’d been encouraged (Terrace Houses) by our cruise consultant would be too strenuous.

 But there were several older folk with canes on the excursion. It wasn’t too bad but there were a lot of steps, and the marble was uneven and slippery at times.

We were due in the Nautica lounge at 8:15 am; when we arrived just after 8 there was no one there, and we had to go straight to Deck 3. We’d seen lots of people, presumably on earlier excursions, walking along the side of the cruise ship. Perhaps we should have been there earlier!  But what a schemozzle of cruise ships, passengers and buses! Thankfully we had a good (although grubby inside) coach and a good driver and great tour guide. She carried a blue and yellow parasol, and a sign saying 34 (our number), so it was relatively easy to spot her amongst the hundreds of people. That did make things easier.

We were driven to Ephesus (about an hour’s drive), and then disembarked. It was a downhill walk through the ruins: uneven and a bit slippery (there were plenty of warnings!); eventually we came to the very well-organised Terrace Houses Museum, with lots of steps but handrails and glass floors. These houses (two have been excavated?) were very finely decorated, with pillars, mosaics, lots of cool marble, and frescoes.

Coming down was tricky (uneven steps and no hand rails), but then we were at the library of Celsius, with a very well-preserved front. An amazing spot.

Then it was on (under an archway) to a spot where Paul preached to the Ephesians. I found that very moving. This site had an amazing mixture of Greek and Roman ruins, and then I think the first Chrisian assembly was established there. This place was very special to St Paul, and also special to those who worshipped Artemis: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”. Now her temple is in ruins; in fact, of the site of the ancient city only ruins remain. As with most if not all ancient sites, it is very moving, in spite of the huge crowds.

There was another large theatre, then a grove of cool trees before we emerged into a toilet block (it was just fine) and a market place, where vendors were very keen to sell you stuff. There was no opportunity to browse as one would wish to do. You didn’t dare to look at or admire anything.

Then it was back on the bus. Thankfully our one was easy to find, although it was hard for the driver to manoeuvre his way out. On the way back there was a police stop, and then we were back to the port and an optional carpet demonstration. The demonstration was by a collective who were encouraged by their government to keep the art of carpet making, especially with silk, alive. The work is so intense that the women doing it have to take frequent breaks.

Well I really wanted to see this, and it was a big cool marble floored show room. We saw the double-knotting and admired the silk techniques.  There was hospitality: I had Turkish black tea in a wee glass (very nice) but they offered us quite large rolls to eat, and I refused, although I felt bad about it.

Then they showed carpets, much as the shop in Tunis had done, although this was far more upmarket and sophisticated. Anyway, silly old us, we ended up buying a wee silk prayer mat. This we have to take with us.  They wanted us to buy jewellery too, but the prices were very high, as they were for the bigger carpets. While they are processing the payment, wrapping the carpet, and preparing a statement saying what we have bought, we are distracted by some jewellery: they seem to think that since we have bought a small carpet, we are good for buying jewellery!  When we get home, we unwrap said carpet with trepidation. It is the one that we bought, it is truly beautiful, and the blue background colour changes with the lighting. I think it was a good investment.

Eventually we escaped and walked back to the cruise ship. This was our last excursion on the cruise ship. Once on board, we again ate lunch in the terrace cafe.  Tonight we have to have our packed and labelled bags outside our stateroom by 10 pm! And we’re required to be off the ship really early: I think I said 8:45 am. But we will be able to have room service breakfast.

I have reluctantly done some packing. After dinner tonight it’s my overnight sponge bag and essentials that I’ll keep with me. I’m so glad I brought two sponge bags! A small one and a larger one. They both have the essentials!

Nga mihi nui

Santorini – the file view

Santorini from cruise ship

Santorini cable car access

Last night I dressed up for dinner on the GDR. We looked out for our Australian friends, but without success; they may have been dining in one of the specialty restaurants.

Actually we had one of our best meals: pineapple cubes for an appetizer – freshly cut pineapple; then wiener schnitzel with potato salad, and a green salad to share, with lettuce, avocado and grapefruit with some fancy dressing. The potato salad was not what we were expecting – it seemed like sliced of cooked potato in butter(?), but the schnitzel was amazing – tender, and not quite too much. JD had a glass of Chardonnay which we shared. Then dessert was something else: the souffle was grand Marnier, with an orange sauce. I had that, with vanilla ice cream on the side, and it was hot and beautiful. JD had profiteroles: 3 filled with vanilla ice cream and covered with chocolate sauce. They sounded wonderful but weren’t as good as the souffle – the little choux pastry puffs weren’t great. Overall, though the meal was enjoyable and a success.

Afterwards we were introduced to Wayne and Fiona, another couple from Wellington on our cruise ship.

Then we went to bed. I had completed the online questionnaire; I’d like to complete it for JD, as there are a few suggestions I’d like to make, mainly about excursions.  Today we are not buying an excursion to Santorini.  I know it looks really beautiful in the photos, but today is cold and windy, and it doesn’t look so attractive. It’s also quite hard to get to, taking a tender and then waiting for the cable car access at either end of the trip. The questionnaire was generic questions, about the quality of the housekeeping, the food, room service, the entertainment, the excursions and so on; you manage to say they’re all marvellous or very good and then realise you haven’t really communicated the things that bother you: the crowds, the choice of excursions, the lack of tai chi, singing, or any religious observance, for example.

We had decided that we would not order room service breakfast this time, but since we were staying on board, we’d eat breakfast in the GDR.  It doesn’t start till 7:30 am, and we were awake before 6 am! Still the Internet is far stronger here than it has been.  I have pondered on the fact that once you get used to having no Internet, you do get used to it, and apart from being out of contact with Family in an emergency, it’s actually rather nice.

So this morning we had breakfast in the GDR. They are already taking excursion guests on tenders to the island. We can already see three other cruise ships.

The breakfast menu is more expansive. I am brought brewed coffee, but it’s actually quite strong and not as good as coffee in my stateroom . We start with fruit juice (orange and prune) and JD has Bircher muesli and also orders avocado toast. I order scrambled eggs and English style bacon (soft?) with a slice of toast, but things take a while to arrive: my juice comes much later than his; the eggs and bacon arrive well before the toast. Never mind, the scrambled eggs are delicious, much better than the room service ones (as expected).  I have a remaining half slice of toast with Seville bitter orange marmalade. JD goes back to our stateroom, but I longer over my toast, coffee and juice.

Then I sit on our balcony and enjoy the view.  The high expected today is 21°C, but although fine, it’s quite breezy outside and I’m glad of two lap blankets.

I thought I saw snow on some of the hills, reminding me of Horace’s famous ode, “Vides ut alta stet nive candidum Soracte?” (Do you see how high the white snow is on Mount Soracte?). This turns out to be white houses on cliff tops! Cataracts? Ach so, it was a pleasant reminder.

To get to Santorini, you have to take a tender to the shore; then walk or take the cable car up a very steep hill to the township. We can see three other cruise ships, and I’ve been told it is really crowded there. What’s more, it doesn’t look very attractive!

Tomorrow: Ephesus! our cruise is almost over.

Nga mihi nui

The entrance to Monemvasia

Another view of Monemvasia

Walking in Monemvasia is like this!

Our breakfast tray arrived and we are still asleep. In Greece it seems to be getting darker in the mornings, although summer is coming. In Italy and in Sicily we came into beautiful seaside towns or cities: Salerno, Trapani, Tunis, Catania, but Katokolon and Monemvasia are different: cooler, and overcast, with much fewer inhabitants.

The advertised excursion to Monemvasia was 5 hours long and sounded quite strenuous; it involved a lot of climbing to a castle on top of the hill, and having lunch at a Greek taverna, but during the cruise they’d added more excursions, including a much shorter (2 ½ hours) walking tour of the Old Town, and I’d signed up for that.

There seemed to be no other option: a private tour had been advertised that sounded ideal, but it seemed to have been discontinued.  I had never heard of Monemvasia before. It was one of those places that you had to see, photographs don’t really do it justice. Monemvasia is really a small island/rocky outcrop connected to the Peloponnese mainland by a tombolo.

To reach Monemvasia we have to catch a tender from the cruise ship to the bus parking lot; there are quite a few of us; our guide is very informative and tries to keep track of us all. Some want to go back to the ship later than scheduled, and that’s complicated.  We ride the bus to Monemvasia which is a rocky outcrop along a low bridge-like road to the sheer rock face: we could have walked this! We pass a small necropolis along the way. Then the bus stops and we disembark at the main gate. It looks scarily steep!

From there it is so pretty – with rocky steps and paths, tricky but uniform; some take a tour to the castle on the top of the rock; although we do a bit of climbing, we get to a main public square. There is a church there that I’d really like top see, but it is closed. There are several hotels along the way. What a beautiful place this is! I don’t find it claustrophobic, like the streets in Nimes or some of the Italian towns we’ve visited, such as Ravenna, or parts of Firenze. It is just gorgeous, with flowers growing in some of the rocks. It feels safe and secure here, and there are other crowds you find in many other places, although we are joined by several other groups.  There is a rocky path to a bathing spot. I’d love to come here again, although there isn’t a great deal to do.

There is time for shopping, and we see some very attractive dress shops, where the designs are quite beautiful. JD wants to buy some garments for our daughter in law and our eldest grand daughter but I think it is unwise to buy clothes without being able to try them on. Buying stuff for me is not an option, although I admired an embroidered blouse.

At another gift shop we bought tiles with view of Monemvasia, for our Wellington sons and their wives, and one for me – to remember Monemvasia. It’s wonderful the way they don’t pressure you to buy things.

Then we went to a coffee bar and had very good gelato, served in wee containers. I had mocha, and it was delicious.

The we got on the bus again, and came back to the tender point; the rain was coming – we could see it, but we got on the tender just before it started to rain hard. We were so pleased that we’d negotiated the steps while they were dry and not slippery! We agreed that we were so pleased that we came on this late-addition excursion. It was one of the best, up there with Paestum and Olympia.

We got off the tender and got on our cruise ship again. It was the only one there. Soon after that we went to the Terrace cafe for lunch. Oddly the outside tables were deserted. We went to find ours, on the right hand side, and it was quite sheltered although I needed my cardigan on. We could see Monemvasia and the little cemetery as we sailed slowly away.  It was lovely! The meat today was rolled roast pork, with a filling of dried apricots and pistachio nuts. They found some apple sauce for us; another American woman and I insisted on it (strange that it wasn’t there already). I had it with gravy, and took some lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot and salad dressing. I wish they’d label the dressings! I also took a bread roll and some butter (from Spain, Espana) and cheese.  Of course we had lemonade mixed with sparkling water (they know us now!), and one of the waiters made us double espressos. We also had wee desserts, of course: blue berry crumble for him, and a kind of mini Baked Alaska for me. Then we retired for JD to do the washing and me to have a rest/diary session before dinner.

It is definitely cooler now, and not sunny. One gentleman claimed that he’d been here in September and it was 41°C!! I’d rather have it cooler than really hot: you can put more clothes on. I guess for us it was hottest (thus far) in Tunis.

The housekeeping service here is amazing. In the morning, after we go on our excursion, they make the bed, clean the bathroom, and replace the towels. In the evening, when we are at dinner, they do something magic with the bed (it’s soo comfortable), turn it down, place a chocolate on your bedside, and put out a – prayer mat? Like a pillow case, on the floor. I could get very used to this kind of service.

Nga mihi nui.

Stateroom with Veranda

A view of Ancient Olympia

Another view of Ancient Olympia

Yesterday was a sea day.

Although we thought we’d ordered breakfast later than usual, it turned up pretty early when we were both asleep. After breakfast JD went back to sleep. It was a cooler and a windy day although very calm; I went to the laundrette along our corridor wearing a bathrobe to press my green skirt before showering and wearing it: pretty daring, as everyone I encountered was clothed, and I felt I needed to apologize!  Afterwards I tried pressing my other dress which although light had become very crushed. That went well, although it needed a very cool iron.

Although I’d made rough plans for the day (book a Monemvasia tour, see the concierge about posting a parcel home, and try out my new “tankini” bathing suit), but JD had other ideas, and doing the washing before he showered was one of them. I was going to get washing done as part of our complementary service; I rather like it being returned folded and pressed, but he was adamant. So I left him to it, booking the cheap 2 1/2 hour walking tour in Monemvasia (which had been added to the schedule), getting advice about our stop in Santorini and then going for coffee and exploring the shop.

Evidently there is a coffee bar on the high deck where the pool is, but I couldn’t find it. Anyway, it was pretty cold and windy up there. They did make me an oat latté at the bar outside the Grand Dining Room, and said I could take it back to our stateroom, however the mug was so full that I had to drink some of it before taking it back to our room. It did taste good though.

I had fun at the shop too. They had several “specials” for €10, and a range of pricier goods, but not everything is outrageously expensive. There are also very expensive jewellery boutiques: I admired a tourmaline ring, which cost USD 60,000!

There were bracelets for €10 each, which I thought may do for gifts for our New Zealand granddaughters and our daughter. After telling JD about them I bought two and some lip balm.

Then we had lunch at the wee buffet/bar at the entrance to the GDR, where we’d eaten lunch on embarkation day: nice little “sliders” filled with yummy things, and small cakes and biscuits. They make you a variety of nice coffees there too.  And you can sit in comfortable chairs to partake. It’s less formal than the Terrace cafe.

After that, boring as, we went back to our state room and found the movie “Twelve Angry Men” on our television set, starting the rather wonderful Henry Fonda in a famous old courtroom drama. Actually almost all the action takes place in the hot jury room after the trial, where the 12 men of the jury seem to agree on a verdict (1957, black and white).

Before dinner JD insisted I take him back to the shop, where we bought i.e. signed for a third bracelet with 5 “pearls”, which I will wear until we give it to my daughter. There was a nice string duo playing classical themes there.

During the afternoon I had decided that rather than join one of the Santorini excursions, as I had been minded to do, we would stay on the ship instead and maybe swim, and have a quiet day . I gather Santorini is very touristy, with several ships likely to be docked there are hundreds of not thousands of tourists. You have to get a cable car back to the ship, and there’ll be queuing no matter what you do. Santorini was never on my list as a destination: I know it’s beautiful but there are no ancient monuments that I really want to see. And the crowds are frustrating. So I feel relieved having made that decision.

This morning we docked in Greece, at a place called Katokolon, after our day at sea yesterday. We had met our Australian friends for dinner in the GDR at 6:30 pm, after queuing up in a long line; but the queue moved quickly, and the GDR is a huge space. I had a shrimp cocktail this time in half a firm avocado, followed by a lamb entree (ha ha!), with potato and a stuffing with aubergine; both were delicious, and the lamb tender and tasty, but I felt vaguely unwell afterwards. Dessert took a long time: I chose a vanilla -raspberry vacherin and peach ice cream, and it was a large meringue -like dessert, like pavlova. After that we did not go to the concert with our friends, but retired to bed. I was feeling sick and tired, in spite of doing nothing all day; when we went to bed we had to put our clocks forward one hour; presumably Greece is one hour ahead of Sicily.

I did not sleep well; fortunately I stopped feeling sick after a while. We were due to meet in the Nautica lounge at 8 am next morning for our Olympia tour.When we meet in the lounge there are lots of people there, and there are 41 people on bus #24! Our tour guide is pretty well – informed, if a rather wheezy and colourful older woman.

We drive for a while to the Olympia site, then get off the bus and walk around the remains of temples, and the stadium. As we go, it warms up and becomes sunny, but with a predicted high of 21°C it does become really hot. More and more tour groups join and we find our leader’s colourful umbrella is a very useful talisman.

It is a really beautiful peaceful site, with fascinating remains of not only the main stadium but several altars too. Sadly it is extremely crowded, and it’s hard to keep sight of our guide, to say nothing of our coach!

We go to a facilities area of the park and use the restroom (it’s fine) and then gather to sample kalamata olives, green olives, olive oil, Greek honey, and Turkish delight. My stomach is a bit upset from last night so I don’t do any sampling. But there’s a fascinating gift shop, and I queue up to buy a €7 T-shirt for a grandson.

By this time there are heaps of people and lots of buses, and some of us lose our guide for a few minutes. When she joins us we walk to the nearby village of Olympia, where there are lots of shops, and we have 30 minutes to browse. JD and I eat an ice cream, and buy presents for our youngest granddaughter- a book and some socks. That should be safe and easy to carry.

We also admire their jewellery, with opals; most of it is quite tasteful but reluctantly we do not buy. The Greek people are lovely, there is no pressure to buy here. I remember to say “efcharisto” which I hope is something like “thank you”.

Then we find our bus and ride back to the ship. There is a delay with boarding, since some passengers are exiting to join a later excursion.  Then we go to have lunch at the Terrace cafe. This time we get our sheltered table outside again. Today’s meat is roast chicken – I get given a wedge with thigh and drumstick

 It not terribly nice, but my filled rolls are pretty tasty. There is a raspberry dessert but it not rice pudding this time. JD finds a yummy chocolate cake. We drink lemonade with fizzy water and ice, a good combination, and finish with coffee.

After lunch I snooze for a bit, and wake up feeling ghastly. Tonight we’re eating at the Polo Grill again. I hope it’s better this time!

Tomorrow, Monemvasia. I had never heard of this place until this cruise, but it turns out to be one of our favourite places. It is in southern Greece, in Laconia.

It is now overcast again, and cooler. We set sail at 5:30 pm, pulling away from the Aida Blu, which apparently is a German cruise ship. They watched intently as we pulled out.

We ate at Polo Grill last night (evening of the day we went to Olympia).  JD was grumpy ! We ordered no appetizers – there were no that we fancied, but the the view was amazing. It was quite chilly there: I was glad of my cream wrap and JD wore the blue Van Gogh scarf we’d bought in Florence. The main courses were good, though: I had lamb (Two double loin chops grilled medium rare) and they brought a very bright green mint jelly (it tasted of mint, although there was no visual evidence of mint, and I suspect that RFK jnr would have been suspicious of the unnatural green dye), and I also ordered French fries and asparagus. JD had a Cobb Salad with grilled tuna, although the tuna was all chopped up.

 He pronounced it very good. And of course he asked for oil and vinegar to go with his bread. The containers came, without tops, and then we’re whisked away again. But our meals tasted good.

I had key lime pie for dessert, and some of those lovely fruit jellies they dish up. But JD was still grumpy; he has annoying hay fever, and I suspect I’d tired of the superficial constant bonhomie, where you’re always “having a great time”. The stories in the news, when we have wi-fi coverage, are alarming, including the growing cases of hantavirus on a cruise ship, and the discovery of a growing ebola outbreak in the DRC in Africa.

Tomorrow we have a shorter excursion to Monemvasia, a last minute inclusion.  We are to meet in the Nautica lounge at 8:30 am.

Nga mihi nui