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  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    1
    Day 90

    Positano/ Sorrento (2 Days)

    April 7 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    Off to Positano, but along the way came across the Ceramiche Casola ( recommended by Morris's cousin Davina). They do the most beautiful handpainted tables, chairs, dishes, etc. So, of course, we ended up getting a custom 20" Lazy Susan (w/lemons, of course) for an outdoor table. Can't wait to see the artist's design.

    Town of Positano is carved even closer into the hillside with cute lanes and steep steps everywhere. The road is one way through town so don't miss your destination 😉 Enjoyed an afternoon in the town overlooking the views and beaches.

    Later that afternoon, we arrived in Sorrento, a larger town on the west side of the Almafi Coast, to our lovely Hotel Eden. In the courtyard of lemon trees, we were greeted by "Michael" the GM of the hotel . When we asked where we could dine and listen to music at night, he graciously offered his home for a homemade dinner and to meet his family. We joined another couple from Ireland and had an amazing evening as Michael showed us his underground winemaking, olives, and garden. His wife prepared a delicious meal of sphagetti w vegetables and sauce made from their garden. The bread was from a home bakery down the street. We ended up spending over 4 hours there as the time flew. Simply wonderful evening!!

    In the morning, we took a ferry to the Island of Capri, then Boat Tour around the island to see the Light House, white grotto, green grotto, blue grotto. Quaint island that gets a lot of tourists. Enjoyed the town and local beach, a little too cold for a dip. After a full day there, it was back to Sorrento.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Day 89

    City of Amalfi

    April 6 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    Ahhhh, the Almafi Coast! As we drove along to the city of Amalfi, we couldn't help but admire all the terraced lemon groves nestled in the terraced hillsides. This is why this area is home to limoncello liqueur production.

    As we entered the town of Almalfi today, we, of course, had to have a lemon slushy that is served in the lemon itself andcthese lemons are massive. It was very refreshing and delicious!

    We continued through town as we headed to the Amalfi Paper Museum that is housed in an old paper mill dating back to the 13th century. We were given a tour as we admired the centuries-old machines used in the production of handmade paper, a process learned from the Chinese.
    that the Arabs later replaced
    with fabric.
    The mill used wooden hammers, which, driven by a hydraulic wheel (water from the local river), would shred and beat the cotton rags that were collected from the houses into a watery pulp that could be screen and pressed into handmade paper.
    At one point, Almalfi had 18 paper mills and supplied paper worldwide. Bank of America (Bank of Italy, originally) had its paper printed here when it was first formed.

    Had dinner in the Byzantine Church Square and met 2 young couples from San Diego who had just attended a friend's wedding in Rome. We loved watching the Wonder in their eyes.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    1
    1
    Day 88

    Salerno/Ravello/Priano (Amalfi Coast)

    April 5 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    From Caserta Palace, we drove south and spent the night in Salerno, the start of the Amalfi Coast.

    After exploring the town and its castle on the hill, we drove west to Ravello because we were advised that it's a great place for lunch. WHAT an understatement!

    Excelent lunch and billion dollar view

    We then drove further west to check into our hotel in Priano. That sounds so ho-hum, BUT did I mention that this is the Amalfi Coast?

    Please allow me to break that sentence down. "We then drove" - our first rookie mistake. Driving on the Amalfi Coast is an act of danger and adventure at the same time. I could call the streets narrow, but a better way to put it is that I've readjusted my definition of a close call from a few inches to a few centimeters. On a road that can barely support one lane of cars, there are large vans and busses driving towards you, double parkers everywhere, Italians driving scooters zipping everywhere, and people crossing the street around blind curves. My knuckles were white.

    "Checked into our hotel in Priano." To check into a hotel sounds simple, but there are multiple steps required. First, you need to find the hotel, and we drove through town twice because there was no way to stop or make a U turn. Then you have to park, find the hotel lobby, and check in. We double parked (like a true Italian), and Morris finally found the hotel hidden down 200 stairs on the "hill" while Susan watched the car and luggage. Heck of an experience, but what a gorgeous view.

    The stairs definitely gave us a workout, but that won't stop us from returning to this beautiful place ... but without the car 🚗.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Day 87

    Caserta, Italy

    April 4 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Set off today for the Amalfi Coast, but first, a stop at the RoyaI Caserta Royal Palace and Park. (Italy's Palace of Versailles).

    As we arrived, we were amazed at the granduer and scale of the Palace. It has influences of Versailles, Rome, and Tuscany and was designed according to the wishes of Charles of Bourbon III by Luigi Vanvitelli, one of the greatest Italian architects of the 18th century.

    The grounds were so impressive as we walked out the back of the Palace, and fun to explore. A series of cascading waterfalls (first 7 represent days of the week, next 12 the months) were built in line and continued until it reached the natural waterfall set into the hillside.

    The grounds have been the set for major films such as Star Wars and Mission Impossible.

    What beautiful grandeur!    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    2
    Day 85

    Ostia, Italy

    April 2 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    We found ourselves slowing down, R&R ing, and enjoying several days at the seaside town of Ostia, which is just outside of Rome. Beautiful ocean views.

    After regrouping, we took the metro into Rome and spent a day exploring the neighborhood of Trastevere. It's a colorful, funky bohemian area of Rome where you can still feel its centuries-old working-class homes.

    Also, we have to give a shout-out to the Nuns in line ahead of us at the Gelatto shop. It was a sure sign that this Gelato was ... heavenly.

    The next day, we went to Ostia Antica. It is an archaeological site that was once the ancient Roman port city of Ostia, located at the mouth of the Tiber River. We had been to plenty of archaeological sites before, but we really enjoyed this one because this site told the full story of how people lived here.

    Ostia served as Rome's main port during the 7th century BCE. It was founded for trade and also served as a military base.

    The city of 100,000 was located on the banks of the river Tiber, and the name ‘Ostia’ was derived from the Latin ostium, meaning mouth.
    The site has remarkable ruins of streets, squares, residences, bars, bathhouses, theaters, and temples. It was quite a puzzle to reconstruct.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Day 81

    Off to Rome

    March 29 in Qatar ⋅ 🌬 82 °F

    Headed to Rome today via Qatar Airlines ... and, well, this certainly is the way to travel. Individual pods for sleeping, top-notch service, home cooked meals (yes, a chef on the plane to prepare meals!!).

    After a 4 hour flight, we had a layover at the beautiful Qatar Airport. Since we had a 3 hour layover, we checked out the airport, and needless to say, there was a lot to see!!!! And a LOT of money here. The shopping at the airport is like Beverly Hills on steroids.

    Gold everywhere, high-end fashion, sports cars, interior gardens.....and our favorite, an Oreo Bakery Cafe that serves only Oreos made into elaborate desserts that have gold dusted on each cookie!!!! Everything was over the top.

    Landed in Rome after a 6 hour flight and headed to the seaside town of Ostia, Italy 🇮🇹    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Day 80

    Cochin, India Day 2

    March 28 in India ⋅ ⛅ 91 °F

    Well...on our own now. Much of our luggage was shipped back home and we are now down to 2 small bags each

    Staying at a hotel near the airport as we head to Rome tomorrow. Currently in the middle of Ramadan, so most are fasting till after sunset, and the hotel cafe was empty.

    We had breakfast and learned about "Appams: Indian Rice Pancakes"....Light, thin, delicious. Oh, how we missed good Indian food.

    Headed out to Lulu shopping mall to try and get Morris's cracked tablet screen fixed, and what a mall it turned out to be!! Couldn't get his tablet fixed, but in walking around, we came across a bridal shop selling traditional Indian attire. Inside, we discovered 3 men sitting at a large floor loom hand sewing all the bead work that goes into the fabric!!!! What a beautiful yet tedious process. Such a treat to watch them work as they created beautiful works of art for a bride and groom to wear.

    As we took the cab back to the hotel, we were reminded of a lecture we heard before we got off the ship. The speaker talked about the Indian head shaking. No can mean yes, yes can mean no, and shaking head from side to side means kinda yes or maybe. Getting to see this in action from our taxi driver was actually fun to watch while we were trying to interpret what he meant.

    Had a lovely swim in the tile inlaid pool before dinner. Fun relaxing day.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    11
    Day 79

    Cochin, India

    March 27 in India ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    After 11 wonderful weeks on board the Viking Neptune, today is our last day on the ship. As most people know, the situation going into the Red Sea is unsafe for all ship traffic. So Viking Cruises was required to go around the tip of South Africa in order to make it to London by the originally scheduled arrival date of May 9. Viking gave us the option of staying aboard or given ship credit for future cruises, and we decided to accept the credit.

    Our new plan is to fly to Rome and tour the major cities of Europe in order to finish our world adventure. Our last stop would be Paris, France 🇫🇷

    Cochin, India, was our last port of call, and we were warmly greeted in India by 2 women that placed flower petal dust on our foreheads as we cleared customs. The first stop on our tour was to St. Francis CSI Church. Cochin was first a trading port for the Portugese, then Dutch, then the English in 1809 till their Independence in 1947. You can certainly see the English influence in their architecture and language development. Their major spice export was Black Pepper.

    The Chinese Fishing Nets
    established on the Kochi shores between 1350 and 1450 AD. are a sight to behold. They appear suspended in mid-air and work off a cantilevered system with rock weights as they are raised and lowered to catch the local fish.

    We then advanced to the Mattancherry Palace History Museum, a 16th-century Dutch building now housing a Hindu Temple. Intrigued with the various Howdar carriers we saw that were used on elephants to carry people.

    A short walk from there led us into a narrow street surrounded by colonial era buildings where we were surprised to see a sign board on the entry that read “Jew Street”, followed by a few more that pointed in the direction of Jew Town. The streets are lined with antique, textile, and handicraft shops. At the end of the street is Paradesi Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in India, built in 1568.

    Cochin Jews are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. As per some accounts, the first Jews arrived at the Malabar Coast around the 1st century BCE as sailors on King Solomon’s boats. They were welcomed by the then king and, over time, were provided everything from land rights and exemption from taxes to religious freedom and special ceremonial privileges.

    Returned to ship for luggage and to say our goodbyes to all our ship friends. Off to the Cochin Hotel to start the next phase of our journey.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Day 77

    Colombo, Sri Lanka Day 2

    March 25 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 93 °F

    As opposed to the heavy rain we had yesterday, today is a bright sunny day, and we are ready to hit the town. Started out with a Tuk Tuk ride that quickly turned into a day of touring with "Kevin," our driver/guide.

    He took us to learn about tea, and we sampled 5 different teas. Being coffee drinkers, we learned so much about teas and how Sri Lanka became such an important tea hub to the world (and how it played into the Opium Wars in China).

    We then went to see a Buddist Temple, the Red Mosque, and Independence Square before stopping at a local Curry restaurant for lunch.

    Since today was a holiday, the Elephant Sanctuary that cares for Orphaned Asian Elephants had brought them to town for the celebration and had them at the local park for us to interact with. What a treat to see the elephants up close.

    Our final stop was to a very nice shopping mall to pick up flowers for Josh and Robin's anniversary dinner party tomorrow on the ship. What an adventure bringing them back w us on the TukTuk.

    BTW, in the group photo, we're wearing the shirts we had made in Vietnam!    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    1
    Day 76

    Colombo, Sri Lanka Day 1

    March 24 in Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 90 °F

    The highlight of our City Tour in Colombo, Sri Lanka, today was the historic Gangaramaya Buddist Temple and Museum. It has the largest collection of Buddist statues and artifacts, as well as a library. What a fascinating collection of colorful images. We were fortunate that today was a holiday, and many families were there to prey and pay respects.

    The lowlight, however, was that a thunderstorm started, so it cut our city exploration short. C'est la Vie.    Read more

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