Dubrovnik, Split and Sibenik, Croatia - September 2022

Dubrovnik lies in southeast Croatia and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has a long history that traces through the Byzantine Empire, Venice republic, Napoleonic control. Austrian Hapsburg empire and Yugoslavia. 

Modern day Dubrovnik finds itself a tremendous tourist magnet. This is influenced, to some degree, of various settings in Dubrovnik and other Croatian towns for scenes from the Game of Thrones. We had a walking tour of the town that started in the morning. As the day progressed, the crowds in the old city became very dense. I was surprised as I originally envisioned the old town of Dubrovnik as a quaint and charming European setting. It looks like the pandemic is over for some Croatian towns. 

Approaching Noon, the Number of Visitors Increased

"Forced Perspective" was Used so that the Buildings Appear Taller

Cersei's Walk of Shame Staircase from Game of Thrones

Split We started our day excursion with a visit to Galleria Mestrovic, the former home and now art gallery of modern Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (1883-1962). He was imprisoned by Nazi forces in 1941. Shortly afterwards, he was released to attend an event in Venice. He continued to work in Rome and Switzerland and, ultimately, became an American citizen. He declined invitations to return to Split. Mestrovic served as a professor at Syracuse University and University of Notre Dame.

Our bus then brought us to Diocletian's Palace in the port city of Split. This was the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian (4th Century AD). The palace is part of the town of Split and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We entered the palace grounds through stone walls that now hold vendor stalls. At noon, a costumed Emperor and Empress enter through the main gates and greet the visitors. Apparently, this palace was used in filming of the Game of Thrones. 

Mestrovic Gallery

Entering Diocletian's Palace

Sibenik

The number of tourists in Sibenik was much lower than in Dubrovnik and Split. This characteristic and the wonderful informative but entertaining local guide made this my favorite Croatian port visit. This port was not very crowded with visitors and the city population is only 34,300. I think a return visit would be terrific. Though in a few years, I presume Sibenik will have a greater number of visitors.

Although founded by a Croatian King, the area changed rulers several times, from Venetians, to Byzantium rulers and the Kingdom of Hungary. Our guide shared interesting tidbits of information to his group and we ended our tour at the Sibenik Cathedral of St. James, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We entered The Port of Sibenik through Rain and Moderate Seas

A Dog Water Dish in a Building Wall, Possibly from the 1100s. 

Greece, Croatia and Italy - Fall 2022

After returning from Cairo to the US in February 2022, along with a mild case of COVID, we're getting ready for more international travel in Fall 2022. This trip was originally scheduled for 2020 and 2021 but was rescheduled due to the pandemic. 

Our trip will start with a few days in Athens, transition to a Mediterranean cruise and end with apartment stays in Florence and Rome.  

While in Athens, we have tickets for a visit to the Acropolis Museum. This museum opened in 2009 and replaced the first Acropolis Museum. The first museum was constructed in 1874 and located on the Acropolis. In 2009, the new Acropolis Museum was opened. It is located on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis hill. The museum extends over 226,000 square feet of interior space and the collection has over 4,200 pieces.

From Athens, we board a moderate sized cruise ship (less than 1,000 guests) and start our daily stops at Corfu, Kotor and Katakolo, We then move onto Croatia for port visits to Dubrovnik, Split and Sibenik. The ship makes several port stops in Italy before a disembarkation in Civitavecchia, Italy.

From this Italian port city, we board a train to Rome, connecting to Florence. This will be our first Italian rail experience and it looks fairly straight forward. From Civitavecchia, we board a train to Rome and, from Rome, it's a direct rail trip to Florence. The train trip will take about three hours to complete.

Once in Florence, we've planned several museum visits. Besides the Uffizi, we hoping to get tickets to walk the Vasari Corridor. This enclosed elevated pathway was built in 1565 to carry carriages. The half-mile passageway runs between the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of government at the time, and the residential Palazzo Pitti, crossing over the River Arno at Ponte Vecchio. The walkway was used by the de'Medici family in 1565 and allowed family members to move unnoticed and safely between the two residences.  The walkway has been closed for 18 months for safety improvements. Reopening of the Vasari Corridor is scheduled to open at the end of May 2022.

We're also looking into a Vespa tour of Tuscany. We had this scooter tour planned for 2021, before the trip was cancelled.

When we return to Rome, we have tickets to visit the Mausoleum Augustus. This large circular tomb was built by Emperor Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, in 28 BC. The mausoleum was unmaintained for many years and fell into disrepair. It has been closed to the public for the last 14 years. After  comprehensive restoration work, the site reopened in March 2021. Entry is limited to ten visitors at a time and a visit takes about an hour. So, advance tickets are a must.

  
 

 

 

Still Working on Our Travel Plans - July 2021

Hawaii Cruise

Things are looking up for our 15 day cruise to Hawaii at the end of the year. Of course, this presumes Princess Cruises restarts its California port departures to Hawaii in November and Hawaii travel remains open to mainland vaccinated visitors without testing and/or quarantine requirements after early July. This will be our first post-pandemic trip out of California. However with the threat of COVID-19 variants, I'm not sure if we're really in a "post-pandemic" time period. I guess we'll bring a supply of face masks and sanitizers just in case.  

Currently, Princess requires cruise guests be vaccinated, as well as crew members. Thus, the need for face coverings and social distancing while on-board should be limited. The risk of a COVID-19 infection while transiting the Pacific Ocean is not zero but, hopefully, should be managed to a healthful level. 

Once at the Hawaiian ports, we should be able to tour on our own and avoid being limited to ship-sponsored excursions. I'm currently working on car rental reservations, which recently has been challenging due to rental car shortages in Hawaii.

Israel - Egypt - Jordan 

This trip is still scheduled for early 2022. We won't know if this trip will go forward or be cancelled until January 2022. 

Nonetheless, we recently purchased our outbound and returning air flight tickets. Our US to Israel travel will be via a non-stop flight. Not having to transit through Heathrow or some other mid-way airport should result in less anxiety over airplane and airport changes. Unfortunately, we don't have frequent flier points for this airline and the cost of two business class tickets was rather high.

We were able to use our American frequent flier points for our return flight seats. We found a non-stop flight from Jordan to the US and then a short second domestic flight to our final destination airport in San Francisco. Once in San Francisco, we'll use a rental car to return to our residence.

We've prearranged for a private tour guide and driver in Israel. The remaining trip is organized by a major travel provider. 

Mediterranean Ports and Italy

Later in fall 2022, we're scheduled to embark on a small-ship cruise from Athens. The cruise will take us to several ports that are new to us, including several small Greek Island ports and ports in Montenegro and Croatia. This cruise will disembark guests in Rome. 

At the end of the cruise, we're renting an apartment in Florence and also in Rome to take advantage of our time in Italy. While in Rome, we're hoping to be able to visit the Mausoleum of Augustus, which reopened in April 2021. We've been to Florence previously, but were didn't have time (or advance tickets) to visit the Uffizi Galleries. A week in Florence should provide a relaxing tour of the city and the surrounding Tuscany area.

This trip was rescheduled from 2020. We might rebook a Vespa tour of Tuscany that we planned to take in 2020.

Travel Insurance

With travel uncertainties for "post-pandemic" travel, our international trips have some type of travel insurance. The Israel-Egypt-Jordan trip has "cancel for any reason" travel insurance. This type of insurance coverage is more expensive to purchase and often does not reimburse 100 percent of your travel costs. Even with a 75 percent ceiling on expense reimbursement under our "cancel for any reason" policy, we thought this insurance a prudent measure. The high cost of this trip and the strong possibility that a COVID-19 or conflict situation could interfere with this trip led us to purchase the additional coverage. 

If we're traveling to an area that temporarily experiences an active COVID-19 outbreak, travel insurance will help to cover any additional expenses related to unplanned quarantine requirements and/or medical services. The expense of hotel stays and meals over a ten-day quarantine and rescheduled air travel can quickly add up to a substantial amount.