Time sure does fly. Last year at this time I was looking forward to our cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas from Venice at the end of July.

We flew on a Thursday night and arrived in Venice Friday morning. After checking into the hotel we went into Venice. Our hotel was right near a train station that took us right to the Grand Canal. Our daughter and her three friends went on their own.

It was a hot sunny day. My dream was to take a gondola which we did. It was great. We walked a lot and had dinner before returning to the hotel.

The following morning we had breakfast and then had our transfer to the ship. Our first port of call was to be Debrovnik. Due to bad weather there, we could not go. So we had a day at sea. A big disappointment for all of us.

We then went to Kotor. It was raining when we got off the ship. As we went up the mountain it cleared up. We made a stop in a small town and the weather cooperated with us. We then went to Budva where the weather held up for a short while before it poured like crazy which was unfortunate. We were in the old city. We then went for a nice lunch and then went back to Kotor for the balance of the tour. We were in the old city which was charming. However, it rained. Still enjoyed it.

Next was Santorini which was magnificent. The ruins we saw were from 1600 BC. We then went to the other side to where the blue domes overlooking the sea are and sat a cafe overlooking the sea.

Our last stop was Katakolon for Olympia. This was something I always wanted to see, where the first olympics took place. It was about a 100 degree’s but well worth it. We then had a day at sea before arriving in Venice to fly home. The end of a wonderful trip to celebrate a big birthday.