We started the week with a full day at sea. After four straight days of ports, it was nice to have a day to rest and do some laundry. I got too much sun on our day in Athens, so I was also glad to be able to stay out of the rays for a bit. We also really enjoyed access to the workout facilities, especially the weights and the walking track on the top deck.
Our port for Tuesday was Bar, Montenegro. On our original itinerary, our stop was to be Kotor, just up the coast a bit. We heard that the bay there was stunning, but the cruise excursions that were headed to Kotor from Bar felt too expensive. Instead, we hopped off the ship first thing and walked to a local car rental agency. We picked up a little Hyundai and set off for Kotor. The scenery was nice along the coast, even though we were in traffic and some construction slow-down. But Kortor was worth it! A gorgeous old town on one arm of a bay surrounded by enormous mountains and cliffs. We hiked up the steep path to the ruins of the fortress. Then it was time to have a snack and pick up our car. We decided to take the scenic route back to the ship and we got our money’s worth – it was VERY scenic. We took the oh-so-steep switchback route up above town, the view becoming more dramatic with every one of the 16 turns. The road was too narrow for two-way traffic, especially when there was a big truck or a tour bus in the mix. It was exciting to meet up with oncoming cars! We then took an even more remote road through the back country. We could see one way over the Bay of Kotor and the other way to the other side and the sea. It was a really fun day.
It was going to be hard to beat our day in Montenegro and our next stop, Corfu, was our last in Greece, so we weren’t expecting anything too different from previous ports. But Corfu is just lovely and we had a relaxing day walking around town and we had a delicious lunch off-the-beaten path. The island is green and beautiful and a quieter day was just what we needed after our mad dash through Montenegro.
Our last cruise port was Messina, Sicily. There was really only one thing we really wanted to do for that stop – visit Mt. Etna. We were on the tour bus for a big chunk of the day, but it was worth it. We learned a lot about volcanoes and the tectonic plates that are driving the volcanic activity of Italy.we got to walk around on the volcanic rock and around an old crater. It was so cool! We had some time in the city of Catania, which we used to run to a little restaurant for a very tasty lunch of pasta and seafood. And we had a delightful cake made with a sweetened ricotta filling and coated in nuts.
We ended our cruise with another sea day and then we arrived early in Barcelona. We disembarked and then made our way (slowly) to the train station to pick up a rental car. We are now roadtripping around Spain, but I think I will save all those details for the next blog. Have a great week!
She’s Here!
Hi! We’ve had a good week here in Northern Utah. The weather is warming up a bit, there are buds on the trees, and…oh yeah…we have a new granddaughter! Daisy Ray Bauserman joined us about 10 days early on Friday night. Lauren had a crazy day of contractions and running back and forth to the hospital on Thursday with no progress. Then on Friday night, little miss didn’t waste any time and was born just before 10 pm. There was a bit of a hiccup in delivery when Lauren’s blood pressure dropped (and of course, so did baby’s) due to an extra dose of pain meds in her epidural. But she recovered and was able to deliver normally, despite being extremely medicated and numb. Miss Daisy’s a cute little thing and looks an awful lot like her big sister. Needless to say, we are tickled with our newest addition.
Marching On
Hello from beautiful Utah and Happy March! We had a good two weeks in Missouri, playing with kids and helping out. After two long driving days later, we are resting up in Utah for new adventures coming up! Although Nathan was fighting illness the whole time, we had a...
A Very Merry Birthday
We’ve had a good week here in Ohio and West Virginia. Nathan is still in a battle with a cold virus, but it’s been great beside that wrinkle. We’ve played with the kids, done some projects around Lauren’s house, and even found time for a trip to the dentist (Bo :)). We just happened to be around while he was off with his brothers and dad on a hunt, so it was a bonus to be able to help Lauren. She’s in her last month of pregnancy number four, so things are getting exciting! Despite being 8+ months pregnant, she prepared me a spectacular birthday dinner, making ramen from scratch (including handmade noodles) and a glorious flourless chocolate cake. I was spoiled to get fancy chocolates from my hubby, texts and calls from lots of people I love, and plenty of grandkid giggles and hugs. It’s been a good one! We’ll be picking up and moving on tomorrow…Missouri is next!
Because of the few days Ron worked in Barcelona we missed the farmers’ market. Hope you have a chance for a visit there–we have been told it is one of the very best!
Hi, Martha! We were only in Barcelona long enough to pick up a car this time, but we did visit the market when we visited in 2019. It is busy and beautiful!