On to Dubrovnik, Croatia!

Here we are in the early morning coming into the beautiful city of Dubrovnik. You can see the really cool bridge that spans the city.




This little beauty (which I called the 'floating city' because it housed 3,200 guests and 1,100 crew) was my home away from home during my cruise. It's formal name was the 'Carnival Freedom'. Here you can see it--safely in port in Dubrovnik, Croatia and it sort of dwarfs the houses and buildings behind it.

Dubrovnik was a most pleasant surprise. I had no expectations or ideas about it whatsoever and it was a truly beautiful city.








The absolute best way to see Dubrovnik is by water. So we took a boat ride that took us around the newer part of the city (which is what you see in the above photos) and then on to the old city. (photos below)










The only way to get into the 'old city' of Dubrovnik is by foot through the main gate. The city is surrounded by 2 1/2 miles of city walls--and it is truly amazing to walk up on the top of the walls and look down--as well as stroll through the old city itself.












These next photos show the clock and bell tower of the main entrance and a bit of the amazing facades of some of the buildings within the old city--as well as a beautiful old church that can be found there:










Of course, this is lil' ole' me inside the old city of Dubrovnik having the time of my life and stopping to strike a pose! (right before we head over to the island of Lokrum, a 10 minute boat ride from the old city, for a swim!) It was so HOT--and the sea was very refreshing. . .



To give you a feel for what it is like to actually BE in Dubrovnik--I am going to share a FABULOUS little link that will give you an actual taste--and then post a Youtube video that shows this wonderful city by night:

CLICK RIGHT HERE FOR A FABULOUS VIDEO OF DUBROVNIK!

And now here's the nighttime Dubrovnik Youtube video:




After a SIMPLY MARVELOUS MORNING in old town Dubrovnik--it was time to catch the boat to take us over to the small island of Lokrum, which as I mentioned before, is only 10 minutes away. (FYI, Lokrum means 'bitter fruit' in Latin)







You can see the tiny little island of Lokrum in relation to Dubrovnik better from this photo:



This little island is uninhabited (my dear hubby would LOVE that) with the exception of the fire marshal who has a permanent home there.



There are some amazing cliffs you can jump from:





These are some great shots looking BACK at Dubrovnik and the surrounding area from the Island of Lokrum:








They have a beautiful botanical garden there as well as an old abandoned monastery:







And there are peacocks running wild everywhere!





After a FABULOUS day in Dubrovnik and Lokrum--it was time to head back to the cruise ship for some SERIOUS EATING, SERIOUS PARTYING, and SERIOUS DANCING. . . I'm TOTALLY SERIOUS!









That final photo was supplied to me by some friends I met on board the ship--whom I will call 'The Millers'. They got a few shots of me 'cutting the rug' with the cute waiters in the dining room and I had to purchase all the photos at a very STEEP PRICE in order not to be blackmailed later on. . . thanks a TON, guys!

Oh--and here's a little bonus I'm throwing to my DEAR HUBBY who absolutely LOVES finding cool and different places to kayak. All I can say is: "HEY BUB! I got your kayaks right here!" Check this out:

Next stop. . . Naples, Italy!

This was the first full day of cruising and one of the reasons I came on the trip in the first place (besides ROME, of course!) . . . to drive the scenic Amalfi coastline. . . and to see the ruins of Pompei was another 'Bucket list' dream of mine. And I got to do BOTH IN ONE DAY! How amazing is that???

First are some AMAZING pictures of the Amalfi coast:







I must interject here and tell you that the drive was absolutely BREATHTAKING in more ways than one!

First off--the scenery is flat out, not to be believed--for the sheer magnitude and beauty of the coastline, the villages, and the blue Mediterranean water.

And SECONDLY (and probably most important) the road is EXTREMELY narrow and can hardly fit a 'smart car'--let alone a humongous 50+ passenger tour bus trying to avoid scooters, small cars, and (gasp) OTHER BIG BUSES as it wends its way up a very steep climb and hairpin turn switchback road. . . There weren't too many guard rails in sight. And I remember getting quite the aerobic workout just sitting on the bus and watch us come perilously close to the edge on each and every turn. My heart rate climbed easily over 160 beats per minute! (and mind you, this was BEFORE I got off the bus and started walking around!)

So although it took my breath away in more ways than one--it was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC--and I would definitely do it again. (and thank you to Andro, my fearless bus driver. . . and Rosana, my witty tour guide--because of you guys--I lost 5 pounds in ONE SITTING!)

Along our Amalfi journey we got to see the cities of Sorrento, Positano, Praiano and Salerno--before finally heading off to Pompei. I don't know how many ways to say gorgeous and beautiful--so I'll just let these photos suffice:



Positanto, Italy




Praiano, Italy




Small boats in the Gulf Of Salerno. Would you look how BLUE that water is????



This is the Duomo Sant'Andrea, Amalfi Coast and it is just beautiful. Here are more shots:






This next photo is picturesque Sorrento, Italy and then one more shot of the Amalfi coast--because, well. . . you just can't have too many pictures of it!







Oh, I must mention here that along with fabulous Wine, the best Olive Oil, and friendliest people in the world. . . Italy is also known for its lemons! In fact, the Amalfi coast is the lemon capital of the world. (So my tour guide, Rosanna told me) They make this most sought after lemon liquor called 'limoncello' and although I don't drink, they make an amazing gelato of the same name as well. (and let's not mention how many of THOSE I had, OK?)

DON'T GET ME STARTED ON GELATO! While in Italy--I was on the 'gelato-a-day' diet. I had to have at least ONE, (if not two) every SINGLE DAY! Nowhere on earth can you get scrumptious gelato like this. . . and the choices??? You wouldn't believe me if I told you. . .









But I digress. . . . Back to the LIMONCELLO. . . Here are the actual liquor bottles:





Next we have a little limoncello shop:





I became convinced that Amalfi is definitely the lemon capital of the world!





This next photo is an amazing picture of the lemon terraces cultivated right into the cliffs of the Amalfi coast line:





OK. . . I am taking a breather. . . and when I come back I will have a WONDERFUL slide show created (or perhaps more FABULOUS pictures) with the end of the day's trip. . . which was AMAZING POMPEI!

Here's a little 'teaser' of what is to come--just an overview of the city (or what's left of it) There is no way to describe how vast it is--until you go there and try to walk through it yourself. . . (and I highly recommend it!) but the photos will have to do for now:





In this next photo you can clearly see Mount Vesuvius in the background:







OK. . . rest period over--I'm back and ready to rock and roll with more pictures of Pompei. The ruins of the city were amazingly well preserved because the ash of Mount Vesuvius completely covered and protected what remained:



They actually have sort of a warehouse built right on the site where they keep artifacts and articles that were found behind iron bars. . . (so that folks can't steal them) and they have several body casts from actual victims that were found when archeologists began digging through the ruins. . .These poor people were suffocated by the ash that rained down upon them from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79. That eruption destroyed both Pompei and Herculaneum.







Pompei also had it's own Coliseum:




Here you can see some streets of Pompei:

Believe it or not, I entered a brothel, and here is one of the actual 'beds' in the VERY small rooms (or what could be called rooms) that they had. Looks comfy, doesn't it?








This shows the cobblestone streets of Pompei:




We actually got to go inside some of the dwellings and amazingly you can still see color and paintings on the walls. The colors were so well preserved because of the ash covering and protecting everything:







Yes--you can tell I was VERY impressed with the ruins of Pompei!






After a complete day of amazing sites among the ruins of Pompei and the cities along the Amalfi coast, we came back to Naples and the ship to have a fabulous Mardi Gras themed dinner and party. You know, I could very easily get used to this life! Oh! And in keeping with the fun and frolic of the mood--the photo is 'cartooned':