Med and Adriatic Cruise October 2012, Corfu, Greece.

We arrived in Corfu to rain! We had booked a tour around the island so went out prepared to get wet.

We were heading for the Achillean Palace and on the way we passed Pontikonisi Island popularly known as Mouse Island with the Convent of Vlachernas in the foreground.

We soon arrived at the Palace and the rain had eased a bit by then.

There are many statues there.

The most famous being Achilles pulling the spear from his heel.

A mural above the staircase inside the Palace.

The Palace and grounds were lovely but the weather prevented us walking around the gardens as much as we would have liked to.

Our next stop was the Byzantine monastery at Paleokastritsa which dates back to 1228.

The views from the monastery are beautiful.

We had been on this same tour 2 years earlier so knew there would be a lot of stray cats being cared for by the nuns at the monastery. I packed my bag with cold meats and salmon from the ship's buffet at breakfast time so I would be prepared for lots of hungry kitties this time.

This one may have been little but he could more than stand his ground against the older cats.

Although they all seemed hungry, I think it was more that they were making sure they got a share of the food as none looked malnourished.
After we left the monastery we were taken to a local hotel for a typical Greek lunch, then time to look around Corfu Town before we went back to the ship.

As the sun had come out we decided to have afternoon tea on the balcony.
That evening we sailed for Gibraltar. We have been there several times before so just use it as a place to stock up on our duty frees to take home.

The Rock of Gibraltar.
And from there was another sea day and then our arrival back in Southampton.

To Follow: Caribbean Islands and Transatlantic crossing April/May 2013.

Med. and Adriatic Cruise October 2012, Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Our next stop after Split was Dubrovnik, also in Croatia.

Our first sight when we got off the shuttle bus into the town was the beautiful rugged coastline.

A coach tour arrived at the same time so it was busy walking to the gateway into the walled city.

There were already a lot of people walking around the top of the city walls so we decided to keep at ground level to start with.

Clock tower in Luza Square.

If you look carefully you can see one of the two bronze figures that strike the bell. over the years the bronze took on a green tint so they became known as Zelenci - the green men.

Inside of St Blaise church. St. Blaise is the patron saint of Dubrovnik.

St. Silvan who was martyred in the 4th century.

He is known as an incorrupt saint which means his body does not decay. St. Silvan died 1600 years ago yet his body is perfectly preserved even to the gash in his neck. Some say it is a wax replica, others say it is the original body. No-one seems to know the truth, but either way I find it rather creepy.

On a lighter note this kitty doesn't worry either way about what is inside the church. He does look very similar to the kitty we met in Split though.

We walked through one of the stone archways and came out into a small harbour area.

The stalls were selling locally made goods so we bought some mementos there.

Going back inside we wandered around the narrow walkways which eventually led to the top of the city walls.

For some reason I can't remember now, I never took any photos from the top. I think that the camera battery may have gone flat.

Leaving Dubrovnik.

The Dubrovnik bridge is one of the largest single-pylon, cable-stayed bridges in the world.
Our next port of call will be Corfu, Greece.

Med. and Adriatic Cruise October 2012, Split, Croatia.

Our next port of call was Split in Croatia.

Facing the harbour, Diocletian’s Palace is one of the most imposing Roman ruins in existence and is actually the main part of the beautiful old walled city of Split.

A wedding had just taken place when we were there.

A beautiful setting for a special day.

The church tower.

This kitty looked quite dirty and thin but was friendly. He had found himself a nice place to sit in the sun.

This is a statue of Gregory of Nin located outside the Palace's Golden Gate and is a tribute to the Bishop who battled the Pope over the right to celebrate mass in the Croatian language during the 10th century.

After we came out of the old city we sat on the sea front wall where we could see our ship docked behind the masts of the yachts in the marina.

Looking back along the sea front.

Republic Square.

Leaving Split.

Next stop Dubrovnik.