Lisa ... and Venice... tomorrow

Tomorrow we get to see Lisa!

Today was Hvar Croatia. This island is 63 kilometers around and we traveled over most of it which is very craggy and mountainous. It was a tender port and our tour left at 7:30 am. The seas were very calm and the ship was close to shore so the tender ride back and forth wasn’t bad.

Our tour guide, Nicolette, was a delight with great English and she was born and raised right here. There are only 11,000 people on this island and their water is piped in from the mainland.

Again we are the first ship of the season and so have it all to our tourist selves. We mosey along the tight streets, up and down, looking at the rustic buildings. We traverse some hillsides with magnificent view of the ocean all around. Eventually we stop in a little town of 2000 people and see their old and new houses. A bay splits this town and the ferries from the mainland come in here. The downtown is quiet and with a few shops open. Their local products are olive oil (the best in the world—of course) wine, and lavender. We eventually purchase some of the latter at one our stops. The lady in town had an unrealistic idea of the value of her lavender.

We stop at a Dominican monastery, lived in by only one monk by now, where there is a lovely, well kept museum. An original Tintoretto painting resides here! We walk around admiring the wonderful wild flowers, blooming trees, and smellingthe wonderful earthen smells.

The strange potential appliances on the old buildings are explained to us including the fact that the kitchens were on the top floor, living quarters on the second, and wine and olive oil cellar on the ground floor. You can tell by the type of door the purpose of the place: double doors: olive or wine cellar. Slender door: dwelling. Upside down L shape: a merchant. Think Dutch doors. This has a full door on the long side and a half door on the shorter side of the L where the merchandise was sold out of the window.

Vino and Olive oil

We stop at a family run place that merely looks like a house but had 3 terraced areas and we sit outside and enjoy samples of the local red and white wine, the local grappa, hard bread with olive oil, ham, cheese, and delicious figs. This is where we buy the lavender and now our cabin will smell of lavender all the way back to LA.

Finally the fort

This has been a disco in recent years but we are here because it is the most magnificent view of the harbor and our ship in the distance surrounded by the other islands. Poppies and lots of other wild flowers grow here.

We must step carefully everywhere as the stones are treacherous.

And finally we are redeposited to the town square. You’d think it was a Sunday. When the cafes open, they pretty much only serve coffee and hard drinks. We have reconnected with Frances and Randy, who were on another bus, and we decide to try lunch together. Ed had hit the ATM earlier so he had kuna, the local currency. They did not take credit cards and were not legally allowed to take euros or USD. So we were in good shape. We all had sodas and cheeseburgers so big it was hard to get into your mouth. French fries were fresh. The waiters were efficient and forgiving and spoke great English.

Tender ride back

Was quiet, tame and totally pleasant. The weather has been chilly all day long but wonderful for touring. The rain clouds threaten but mostly sunshine.

Catching up

I decided to organize all our handouts to the present as the next leg of the trip begins in Venice tomorrow. This way I can start fresh and file away (store somewhere in cabin) the mementos of last leg.

Trivia was pathetic but we had fun with it. Supper was Francis pushing more food. He was good about my salads and fruit plate but did remind me there were more good things to eat. Frances says he’s like a Jewish mother.

Production show

These young people are such amazing professionals and athletes. Not a hint of fat on the guys; great anatomy lessons watching them dance.

Drink raffle was supposed to be at 9 pm but they changed it to 10 so I gave the tickets to the folks with whom I played majority rules before. We have folks coming in the morning to see the sail into Venice. That will be a first for us.

And we get to see Lisa tomorrow!