The Smirkonian Sightseer

Athens hot spot

Athens, Greece
Thursday, 4 October 2018

Koningsdam docked in Piraeus. We boarded the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus that would take us to the Acropolis. Huge crowds, long queues and high temperature - actually it was a reported 25 degrees but felt a lot hotter! As we’d been here before we took a few photos from the adjacent  “slippery rock” then made our way down into Plaka for lunch.

Afterward we continued the hop on - hop off bus tour around Athens. Hot, noisey, traffic jams etc. Took forever just to cruise a few city blocks. Got off at the Olympic stadium as we’d had enough of the traffic and walked back to the Acropolis bus exchange for the ride back to Pireaus.

Koningsdam berthed at Piraeus .

 

Aboard the hop-on-hop-off Piraeus line tansfer bus, from the port to the Acropolis interchange. You can then take the Athens line for a tour of the city.

 

It's a short walk from the Acropolis down to Plaka.

 

The Plaka markets.

 

Our lunch spot in Plaka.

 

The Presidential Guard (Evzones) outside the Parliament building.

 

Is this the seat of power?

A short day in Katakolon

Katakolon, Greece
Wednesday 3rd October 2018

Next port of call was Katakolon. While some of the passengers enjoyed a day trip to the Ancient Olympia site, we decided to stay and have a look around the port and its many souvenir shops.

Corfu Greece

Tuesday 2nd October 2018. Tendered ashore, Corfu town was only a short walk away. On my wish list for this cruise, was to visit the plaques for Gerald and Lawrence Durrell. I’d read some of their books and seen the tele-movie My Family and Other Animals as well as the recent tv series.

From Boschetto Durrell Park we looked over the old fortress that’s separated by a moat. and them wandered the alleyways of Corfu and had some old favourites for lunch, moussaka with a Mythos beer. Then it was a brisk walk back to the ship tender as an afternoon rain shower came down.

Boschetto Durrell Park

Gerald Durrell plaque. There's a similar plaque for Lawrence nearby.

A moat separates the fortress from Corfu town.

The Old Fortress

Corfu town

Lunch

Koningsdam sailed out of Corfu at sunset. Next stop Athens.

Kotor

Monday October 1st, 2018. In the early morning, Koningsdam slowly manoeuvres through a calm fjord like entrance to Kotor, Montenegro.

It’s was our first port of call to use the ships tenders to go ashore. Kotor is nested at the foot of some wonderful mountains that surround us on all sides, adding to its isolated charm.

The climb to the old fortress is a popular ‘must do’.

A still morning as Koningsdam arrives at Kotor, Montenegro

Climbing to the fortress

View from the top at the Castle of San Giovanni

Our Lady of The Rocks

Konimgsdam heading to its next port of call.

Dubrovnik

Our first port of call on our three week tour of the Mediterranean is Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Koningsdam arrives in the port of Dubrovnik. 

 

Dubrovnik old town.

Walking the city walls.

Walking through the old town looking for lunch!

 

One of the entrances to Dubrovnik old town.

 

A cable take us to Mount Srd for a spectacular view of Dubrovnik.

 

A Day At Sea

A day at sea aboard Koningsdam, so time to explore the ship…

 

Just in case you forget what day it is.

 

Konningsdam was built in 2016 and operated by Holland America Line.

 

Plenty of entertainment to choose from.

 

The World Stage.

 

Roof open over midships pool deck.

 

A feature of the Konningsdam is the stair case that extends out over the sides connecting decks 9 and 10.

 

During the morning we passaged through the Strait of Messina that connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north and the Ionian Sea to the south, catching sight of the Aeolian Islands, Sicily and the western tip of Calabria (the boot of Italy).

Passing the Aeolian Islands

 

Passing by Sicily

 

The Strait of Messina

 

Civitavecchia

The Italian cruise port of Civitavecchia is built on history and our departure point for three week cruise around the Mediterranean.

Fort Michelangelo

 

Fort Michelangelo

 

Porta Livorno is a very prestigious architectonical work by will of Pope Clemens XIII to connect Civitavecchia with its port.

 

Vanvitelli Fountain, a feature built into Civitavecchia’s defensive wall.

 

I have a fascination with tug boats.

 

MS Koningsdam, home for the next three weeks.

 

Kiningsdam departs Civitavecchia at sunset for Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Genoa

Although we could have travelled from Nice to Civitavecchia in one day, we decided to split the journey up with an overnight stop in Genoa.

 

 

A day trip to Cannes

During our week in Nice we did a day trip to Cannes. Popularly know for its fannual film festival, the most interesting part of Cannes is the older Le Suque area.

Cannes

 

Musee de la Castre

 

Musee de la Castre

 

Le Suque

 

Le Suque

 

Pina Colada

A week in Nice

We spent a week based in Nice, France. Our intention was to go to a variety of nearby towns along the Cote d’Azur. I don’t know whether it was jet-lag or what, but we only managed to visit Cannes. Here’s a selection of photos from that week….

Relaxing stroll through Castle Hill.

A refreshing artificial waterfall on a warm evening.

 

Beautiful toy cars for sale in the market.

It's selfie central at the sun sets over Nice.

The beach front along the Promenade des Anglais.

Meet the invisible man.

Dusk settles over Nice.

 

The alleyways of the old town. 

Love these little back alleys in the old town.

Travelling to Europe

During September and October 2018, Tony and I travel around the Mediterranean with our friends Michael and Abei. Over the next few weeks I’ll upload a few photos and some details about where we were.

Let’s start with the journey getting there.

LST>MEL>DXB>NCE

From Launceston, Tony and I travelled to Melbourne for the international flight to Dubai and then on to Nice. The last sector into Nice was interesting as there were about 100 people or less on the A380 flight. We saw more crew than passengers.

It’s time to go.

 

Qantas Dash-8 Launceston to Melbourne.

 

Flying over Melbourne

 

Arriving in Dubai at 5.15am. It’s 33 degrees.

 

Empty plane to Nice.

 

Flying over the Black Sea, Northern Turkey.

 

 

Next up… We spend a week exploring Nice, France.

Europe Tour coming soon

During September and October 2018 Tony and I travel around the Mediterranean with our friends Michael and Abei. Im still processing a million photos but I plan to have some of them posted soon. Stay tuned!

Little Blue Lake, just metres off the B82 between Derby and Gladstone, is a natural phenomenon resulting from the pioneering mining days of South Mount Cameron and the surrounding areas of the Far North East of Tasmania. Originally a mine hole, the lake reflects a vivid aqua blue from the minerals in its base.

Worst blogger ever

Grrr. I just realised I haven't posted to The Smirkonian for an entire year. This will change. I have some great photos from the pst 12 months to share and an exciting overseas adventure coming up later this year.

Stand by to be amazed!

Regards, Andy.

iPhone selection...

Today I spent a few moments looking back through the photos Id taken on my iPhone over the back 10 months. Here’s a few I picked out and posted to Instagram.

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:12pm PDT

 

#tamarvalley

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:19pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:27pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:32pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:37pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:52pm PDT