Atlantis Back to Back Mediterranean Cruises
August 27 – September 12, 2006
Seven days out from Barcelona to Athens, nine days back...with a few places in between.
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There are two distinct aromas in Cannes...French food and money. I have never seen so many luxury yachts in my entire life as I did here. The old city is charming. The new city makes Beverly Hills look like a hick mall.
I love Rome. I love the fact that you can straddle over 2000 years of civilization almost anywhere you stand. This trip, I found myself fascinated with the Forum (as is evidenced by the multitude of pictures).
Rhodes was our substitute for Kusadasi, Turkey where the Kurds decided to start blowing up tourist sites. Rhodes has the beautiful, ancient, walled city full of winding streets and alleys. It is surrounded by two sets of ramparts. Inside the city is a combination of ancient history and modern knock-off clothing.
This amazing volcanic caldera of an island is still one of my favorite places. With its little towns clinging to the cliffsides and picturesque scenes at every turn, it's hard not to fall in love with this place.
It's hard to imagine a place with so many terra cotta tiles as Dubrovnik's old walled city. During the Bosnian conflict, this city was bombed quite severely, which is why so many of the roofs look new. The Croatians are incredibly proud of their antiquities and rebuilt the city soon after the war ended. It is a city of endless alleys, stairways, and arches. We walked the entire wall in 90 degree heat in about two hours.
What can you say about Venice that hasn't already been said. It is still the most romantic and beautiful city...once you get away from the crowds and just get lost!
Whereupon we embark on three great tasks: find the best gelato, find my favorite Sicilian snack food (Arancini...or leftovers done right), and get Alex a haircut. We managed to complete all three.
Capri is the ultimate combination of beautiful place filled with beautiful people. However, we quickly marched out of Capri town to find the natural arch (some things Mother Nature just does better). After a short ferry ride, we ended up in Sorrento...one of my favorite places in Italy. The ravine is one of those hidden gems that I love to show people.
We ended in Barcelona for a day of tapas, touring, and thundershowers.
As I usually do on these trips, I found a subject that not only intrigued me, but gave me plenty of subject matter. There were dogs asleep everywhere and in the most unlikely places.
By now, you've all come to expect it. The treasure trove on this trip was Dubrovnik where we obviously arrived on laundry day!
© 2006 Joseph Hoffman