Leaving from Charlotte

We left from Charlotte and flew directly to Rome.
Boarding the Ruby Princess

We arrived at the airport in Rome about 7:00 AM local time after boarding in Charlotte, and changing airplanes at JFK Airport in New York. Because we could not board the ship, the Ruby Princess, untilLes mer
Pompeii-City of Terror

We sailed overnight from Civitavecchia to Naples. Our guide Antonio was quite knowledgeable. He lives in Herculaneum, and has apparently done a great deal of study on his own about the events relatedLes mer
Lunch in Lovely Sorrento

We stopped in Sorrento for lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Da Gigino. In our free time that followed we visited a store that specializes in the most beautiful marquetry I have ever seen. WeLes mer
The Isle of Capri

The afternoon at the Krups estate was phenomenal. It is beautiful. It is trendy. It is magnificent. We even saw Ralph Lauren just hanging out in front of his house. The Greeks were the first recordedLes mer
Around the Toe of Italy

Today is a Sea Day. In the afternoon we attended a wine-tasting. There was a Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon costing $134 per bottle. It was good, but it was not $100-more-per-bottle worth of good.Les mer
Explosive Santorini

In the morning the Ruby Princess anchored off Santorini. Our excursion group met in the Princess Theater at 8:00 AM. Our guide was a woman named Katerina, “Katie.” She took us all over the island.Les mer
Ephesus, Second City of the Roman Empire

Although Kusadasi is the gateway to Ephesus, it is a charming city in its own right. Our guide, Ergin, was a bit older than our other guides, but he was fantastic--well informed, competent, and with aLes mer
Kusadasi, The Bird's Nest

The name Kusadasi means "the bird's nest." It is the center of activity on this part of the Turkish coastline. Missing the political turmoil of Istanbul and Ankara, Kusadasi has its own quiet take onLes mer
Delos, Birthplace of Greek Gods

Our guide for Mykonos and Delos was Irene. Delos was the home of the Greek gods. This was the sacred island on which the gods were born. Unable to support life now because of the lack of water, theLes mer
Mykonos

Mykonos is an absolutely charming island that boasts a little town with ancient Greek windmills, and a black basalt beach. There are lots of places for eating, shopping and drinking, and for justLes mer
Athens: The Acropolis

The acropolis in Athens is ground zero for the culture of the western hemisphere. The Parthenon affected me as deeply as it did when I saw it the first time as a twenty-one-year-old student. TheLes mer
Athens: The Museum

The museum at Athens makes every other exhibition of ancient Greek artifacts look pale. This is the mother lode. Here we see the development of Greek statuary from its stiff Egyptian antecedents allLes mer
Athens: The City

Walking on the Plaka, sipping coffee at an outdoor cafe, seeing the lights of the Piraeus, and enjoying the re-creation of a Greek stadium for the modern Olympics--all of these are part of the modernLes mer
Katakolon: The Port We Missed

Katakolon is the gateway to Mount Olympus. The day we were to visit the weather was rainy and stormy with heavy winds. Our captain wanted a particular berth. He was advised that to get it he must goLes mer
Sissi: Beauty and Tragedy

Empress Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, known to friends as Sissi, was a beautiful woman with a very unhappy life. Her husband was not interested in her. Yet she dutifully bore an heir, whoLes mer
Corfu: The Paleokastritsa

The Paleokastritsa is a roadway on the island of Corfu (Kerkyra) that goes up into the mountains, past monasteries, extravagant vistas, and quaint coffee shops. We took advantage of all of theseLes mer
Corfu: The City

The island of Corfu (Kerkyra) is a wonderland. It has been domanated by Venetian, Austro-Hungarian and English rulers. The result is a wonderfully cosmopolitan island that bears the stamp of the wholeLes mer
The Chef's Table

One of the joys of taking a cruise occurs when the ship offers something akin to what Princess Cruises calls "The Chef's Table." On the Ruby Princess it involves a trip back to the kitchens to see howLes mer
Dubrovnik-An Unexpected Treasure

We were not expecting much from the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. How surprised we were! I had heard that there were some buildings here from the ninth century. I did not realize that the wholeLes mer
The Wonders of Venice

Venice is magnificent! I stood on the balcony taking pictures as the ship entered St. Mark’s Basin. We went on an organized tour of the Doge’s Palace with our guide Sylvia, a very witty andLes mer
Worship and Water, St. Mark's

We worshipped at St. Mark’s Basilica. We had to walk on little platforms to avoid the ankle-deep water flooding St. Mark’s Square. Even though the service was in Italian, I felt more at home thereLes mer
Corinth Canal

We took the bus to Corinth where we boarded a boat for a trip down the canal. It is remarkable that several ancient and modern attempts to cut a canal here failed. We saw the Acrocorinthos in theLes mer
Kusadasi and Ephesus

I was running a little temperature so I decided not to get off the ship for the visit to Kusadasi and Ephesus. We had been here before, so it seemed to be a good day to rest and recuperate. GlendaLes mer
Hagia Sophia, The Gate of Heaven

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. We arrived in Istanbul about 7:00 A. M., and the first sight I saw from our balcony was the Hagia Sophia. It also turned outLes mer