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Medriatic Sojourn

April - May 2022
A few weeks cruising around the Mare Nostrum followed by a couple of weeks in Italy—what could be better! Read more
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  • 58footprints
  • 9countries
  • 35days
  • 661photos
  • 6videos
  • 13.0kmiles
  • 8.8kmiles
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  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 1

    Arrival in Barcelona

    April 9, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    It has been two years and two months since our last international trip. The COVID-19 virus seems to be subsiding and we are ready to travel again. A short bumpy flight to the airport in Newark was followed by a leisurely hiatus in the fabulous Polaris lounge. A Boeing 767 brought us to the airport in Barcelona, where we found that Spain was no less meticulous in enforcing its Covid regulations at the airport than it had been online. We went through multiple checkpoints to have our documents confirmed, and then re-confirmed, to have our temperature taken, and finally to spit into a test tube. So far it looks as though we are Covid free, and now we’re safe on board the Viking Sky. We have put away our clothes, met our new room steward (Yassin from Tunisia), and have our stateroom immaculate. We’re getting cleaned up after a long trip, and we’re looking forward to a beautiful meal in the restaurant tonight.Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 2

    Palm Sunday in Barcelona

    April 10, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Although we had prepared ourselves for yet another lackluster bus trip through the city, the included excursion provided by Viking turned out to be a real treat. We started with a drive-through of some of the more picturesque neighborhoods of Barcelona. Martha our guide eventually led us to the church of the Sagrada Familia, designed by the world-famous architect Antonio Gaudi. Despite the grotesque ugliness of the building, it is a treasure trove of Christian iconography. Martha gave us a fascinating detailed description of the exterior of the church. Next we went to the Gothic part of the city where we saw artifacts going back to the time of the Roman Emperor Augustus, the cathedral of Barcelona, and the royal palace of the kings of Spain used in the 15th century. It was this palace that Christopher Columbus visited when he petitioned the rulers of Spain for funds to finance his voyage. Narrow streets and ancient buildings exuded charm in this historic neighborhood. I was particularly impressed by worshipers coming out of the cathedral bearing elaborately woven palm fronds and doing the traditional dance of Barcelona to music provided by a live band. We viewed the four huge columns formerly located at the Roman forum, reminding me that the ancient fortress overlooking the harbor was built by the Romans. We returned to the ship around 1:30 PM where I ate pizza in the World Cafe onboard the Viking Sky. Glenda let me finish her salad for her. Afterwards I went down to guest services to see whether I might be able to arrange for the use of a piano for practice while we are on this voyage. We finished the evening with a musical presentation in the Star Theater featuring American music from the 1950s and 60s. The ship’s departure was delayed by about four hours. We won’t leave the Port of Barcelona until 10 PM. That means we’ll get a later start tomorrow morning.Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 3

    Welcoming Sète

    April 11, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    Although we were delayed in leaving yesterday’s port of Barcelona, we arrived this morning at the charming little seaport of Sète in Occitania. A squadron of powerful little tugboats met us at the mouth of the harbor and led us in a delicate little dance. At the end of it our ship backed in to a small pier. This tiny Seaport is too small for any of the mega-liners that block the sun in major harbors, but our ship of 720 passengers with the help of half a dozen tugs slipped right in despite the forty-mile-per-hour winds that wanted to push us against the rocks. At one point our bow was less than fifty feet from the jetty. I observed that parking an ocean liner is an art. No one does it better than the crew of the Viking Sky.

    This part of France has its own unique character. It certainly is not Paris. The region derives its name Occitania from a peculiarity of linguistic history. The Franks north of here said “yes” by using their word “oui,” which became standard over most of the country. However, in this little corner of France, speakers would say “yes” using their word “oc.” Their dialect became known to the other Franks as “the language of ‘oc,’ or Languedoc. The region thus became known as Oc-citania.

    This area has been the theater for many cultural and religious revolutions that have marked French history, including the attempted reformation of the Roman Catholic Church by a group of ascetic reformers called the Catharii. But more about them in the next footprint.    Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 3

    Carcassone and the Crusade

    April 11, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    The settlement of the site of Carcassonne dates to the sixth century BC when it was a Celtic fortress. It was part of the Roman province of Narbonensis until the 600’s AD when it was incorporated into the Visigothic kingdom that ruled this remnant of Roman Gaul. A hundred years later the Muslim invaders coming up from North Africa through Gibraltar and Spain became its overlords. In the 800’s it became part of the kingdom of the Franks.

    In the early 13th century a small group of monks in the nearby town of Albi became dissatisfied with the wealth, corruption and immorality of the Church. Their public criticism of the excesses of the Church won many converts, and the monks’ success alarmed the civil and religious authorities. Some of the more extreme converts became known as the Catharii (meaning “the pure, or cleansed ones”). They took literally Jesus’ ethical teachings, giving away all of their possessions to the poor, even their clothing. Many gave away all of their food as well and died within a few days from starvation or exposure. Nevertheless, the contrast between their selflessness and the venality of the priesthood was apparent, and adherents came to this new reform movement in droves, even including many noblemen such as Raymond Roger Trencavel, Viscount of Carcassone.

    Pope Innocent III declared these Albigensians to be heretics and mounted a crusade to exterminate them. Count Simon de Montfort was appointed as commander of an army to march to Occitania to erase the heresy. A number of military operations were conducted in the area around Albi against the Catharii. Given their literal interpretation of Jesus’ teachings, the pacifist Catharii offered little resistance. Most of these military operations can only be described as slaughter. Still, Trencavel offered the Catharii the use of his castle at Carcassone as a place where the reformers might have some sort of defense until God provided a miraculous rescue or until the Pope lost interest in his crusade. Neither occurred. While the castle was never breached, in 1209 de Montfort poisoned the water supply upstream until most of the resistors in the castle died. The few remaining Catharii surrendered and were executed by the civil authorities at the request of the Church. In 1226 the castle was handed over to the King of France. For centuries thereafter it served as a royal fortress protecting the border between France and Spain.    Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 4

    Marvelous Marseille

    April 12, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Marseille is the third largest ship port in Europe. It is exceeded only by Amsterdam and Hamburg. We have come through this amazing city a few times before, but we have never docked at the port here. The first time we came to this area France we docked down the coast at Toulon. The next time we were here we flew out of the airport following a cruise down the Rhône river. Today we get to see the port in all of its glory. It is a busy place, currently hosting at least four cruise ships docked nearby. One can understand why the Romans settled at this place, since it is the doorstep to the rest of the south of France.Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 4

    Coming Home to Aix en Provence

    April 12, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Glenda and I had been here before on a voyage onboard the Ruby Princess. Then we fell in love with Aix-en-Provence (pronounced like “Ex on Provonce”). It’s amazing how sometimes it’s the little, out-of-the-way events that stick in one’s memory. For example when we were here before, the day was very cold and we had no plans for lunch, so we stopped in at little crêperie located in a dark underpass right by the Fountain of the Rotonde. I remember how the woman flipped that crêpe around with something resembling a yardstick. We went back today just to see if she was still there. She was not, but the crêperie was still there, staffed by two young women. We wandered for over an hour, retracing our steps back to the city market, and then to the church of Sainte Savieur. Earlier Dominique our guide delivered the clearest explanation of the connection between politics, art and architecture that I have ever heard. He pointed out how baroque art and architecture were a product of the Catholic counter-reformation. We stopped at a little coffee shop and enjoyed the warm espresso with a piece of lemon cake. These are simple memories, but they are the ones that stand out so vividly when the cruise is over. Many tourists come here to retrace the steps of artist Paul Cézanne, but we came here simply to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of this strikingly beautiful French village. Of course, pilgrimages here to find Cézanne often end at his home on the north side of the town, which is preserved exactly as he left it the day he died. (See https://www.cezanne-en-provence.com/en/ ) Whenever we return to Aix en Provence, though, we come simply because it makes us feel as though we have come home again.Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 4

    Where are the Romans?

    April 12, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    When we were leaving Marseille, I went on deck to take some pictures of the sail out. I was surprised to see half a dozen beautiful arches spanning the canyons near the coast. I suppose there have been stonemasons and brickmasons here ever since the Romans built their settlement in Marseille. Reading history sometimes gives us the idea that the Romans left and then the Visigoths came. Then the Visigoths left and then the Saracens came. Actually I suspect that the transition from one government to the next seemed much more subtle to the people who actually experienced it. So the question arose in my mind where are the Romans? Looking at these arches one might be persuaded that the Romans never left. They are still here. Or at least their children are.Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 5

    Monaco—The Living Fairytale

    April 13, 2022 in Monaco ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Coming to Monaco was not high on my list. I’m probably the person least likely to enjoy a city that is nothing but a playground for people who are extremely rich, extremely famous, or extremely beautiful. After being here I see that Monaco is all of the above. However, there are some remarkable features to this fairy land kingdom. For one thing, there is no income tax here. The vast majority of the country’s income is derived from gambling and luxury taxes on expensive cars boats and helicopters. Although many of the buildings look old, most are relatively new. A section of the palace was built in the thirteenth century, but with renovations and reconstructions, I would swear that not a single stone of the “old” part is over one hundred years old. The result is that all of the buildings here are utterly beautiful, especially the opulent casino. There is not a piece of litter nor a mark of graffiti in the streets. Every public toilet has a full time janitor keeping it spotless. Already streets are blocked and grandstands are being built for the formula I auto race that will take place on the main streets at the end of May.

    Before one can move here, he is required by the government to open an account in a bank in Monaco and deposit enough money to buy an apartment and sustain the kind of lifestyle expected here. This is the only place I’ve ever been where most of the women I see on the street (except for tourists) are wearing clothes and makeup that probably cost more than my car. Most really do look as though they just stepped out of the pages of Vogue magazine. Yet their beauty is not all cosmetic. From the time our ship arrived early this morning I have seen women (and a few men) of various ages out on a dockside exercise area receiving coaching in kickboxing, judo, and weightlifting. They were working hard.

    People of my generation remember the wedding of movie star Grace Kelly to Prince Renier in 1956. It was depicted as a union that would make the girl from Philadelphia the Princess of a fairytale kingdom. I assumed all of that myth was merely Hollywood hype. Now that I have come here, I see there was more than a grain of truth in that description. Renier, like his father Prince Albert I, was an absolute monarch, but both were also astute businessmen who ran the kingdom like a corporation. The wealth concentrated here is truly astounding. The 64-year-old son of Renier and Princess Grace, Albert II, is the current monarch, and he is more concerned with the environment and with social issues. A special interest is the preservation and renewal of the oceans. He has founded an institute for oceanographic studies that operates a fantastic museum and aquarium, which we were privileged to visit today.

    Monaco is a remarkable place of unusual beauty. The oceanfront on this windy day is magnificent. The architecture is glorious. I do hope you can come here one day—for a visit, of course. No one I know could afford to live here.    Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 6

    Livorno

    April 14, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    We are in Livorno ancient capital of Liguria. Once this seaside city was the capital of a large republic that extended along an arch marking the north of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Now it serves as the gateway to Pisa Florence and other inland towns.Read more

  • Medriatic Sojourn
    Day 6

    The Plaza of Miracles

    April 14, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    We had visited Pisa once before, but the sun was setting and our light was leaving. I took a few interesting photographs of the exterior of the cathedral, the baptistery, and the famous Campenille. Today we were actually able to see much more of the interior of the buildings. I was particularly pleased that since today is Maundy Thursday, a mass was being celebrated at the cathedral by the archbishop of Pisa. We saw Cathedral doing what a cathedral is supposed to do—housing a liturgical gathering. Unfortunately because the service was in progress, we were not allowed to take photographs inside. So we went over to the baptistery, made our photographs, and then returned to the cathedral to enjoy the rest of the worship service.Read more

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