Day 7: Montril, Spain.

Arrived at the port at 8.45am and after a leisurely breakfast we headed off for a 7 hour excursion to Grenada passing the Sierra Nevada ranges and onto the Alhambra. The Alhambra was the most fantastic places I have ever seen and while much of it is in ruins there were still many areas that remains much as it was over 600 years ago. It is considered one of the finest examples of Islamic art. It was a series of palaces build for the Sultans and it was the most amazing place. All the walls were covered with the most fantastic ornate plaster work, Arabic script and mosaics. There were also many beautiful gardens where the women of the harem and the sultan would spend their days.
After dinner we were entertained by a frog race!

Day 6: At Sea

Lazed the day away under the sun and sails. Starting to feel like all we do is eat and sleep. During he day there are various classes such as navigation, language and bridge. On board there is a large tour group from the Smithsonian Institute that are taking the cruise and learning about the influence of the Moors on southern European culture. They have several lecturers with them and they hide themselves away a lot of the time

listening to lecturers. Celebrated Ron's Birthday with a great dinner and our new friends.

Day 5: Ibiza, Balearic Island

10am we sailed into the very large harbour of Ibiza. It is apparently the second largest habour in the world after Pearl habour. Every where we sail people on the shore are taking photos of our ship as it only comes their way onced a year and looks very impressive when under sail. There was no excursion as the day was Columbus Day and everything was closed. We landed and walked around he city. At night we were entertained by a local dance troop.

Day 4: Mahon, Menorca

Enjoyed most of the day relaxing on board while we sailed calm seas to Menorca. Many intrepid soles (Ron included) dared to scale the ropes up to the crows nest. At 3pm we arrived at Mahon and took a 4 hour tour to see ancient ruins which reminded me a little of Stonehenge as well as a local monastery that was set on the top of their highest peak. The island is a favourite holiday destination for many Europeans. We set sail at 7pm.

Day 3: Bonifacio, Corsica

It was smooth seas, beautiful weather and 10am as we arrived at the beautiful and dramatic cliffs of Corsica. Multi-story old buildings were perched atop sheer cliffs and they completely followed the topography of the land; some being set high on the cliffs while others were in the deepest ravines.
We were taken around the cliff by the ship’s zodiac launch into the beautiful coastal village of Bonificio which is located at the base of a walled city. We walked the coastal streets and then made the steep ascent to the walled city where we enjoyed not only the quaint town and a local coffee, but also the wonderful view down to our ship.
So fare we have meet some wonderful and very interesting friends including a couple from Perth, the ex-Swedish ambassador to Russia and his wife, Susan from North Carolina and Avi and Noleen a wonderful Jewish couple from Boston.

Day 2: Rome and All Aboard the Royal Clipper

After a half day visiting the Borghesi gardens we set out by bus for the port of Civitavecchia and our ship the Royal Clipper. What a sight she was! She’s the largest tall ship in the world and inside she was luxurious. After settling into our room and attending the welcome dinner we set sail at 10pm. During the official welcome it quickly became apparent that there were many people on board having taken several previous trips on this cruise line’s ships. In fact they line proudly boasts a 60% return rate – the highest in the industry. It will be interesting to see if we feel the same way.
As we stood on our balcony the ship slipped out of port to the raising of the sails and the inspirational sound of an orchestral piece written especially for the Clipper to set sail by. Rome slipped silently into the distance.

Day 1: Rome

After leaving Melbourne we arrived in Rome at 7am tired but excited to start our long awaited holiday. After checking into our hotel we set off to explore the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

I was not expecting the incredible engineering and workmanship that went into the Colosseum nor did I expect to be able to see so much of a Palace that existed for Emperor Augustus. Inside there are still some wall that have original art work that maintain much of their original variance of colour.

The next morning we travelled again into Rome and spent the morning discovering the many gardens and tourist locations.