Final Sea Day- Underway to Barcelona

 Our last full day was a sea day. You know we love this. But also, it was the last one!! How could this be??

We were up for brunch- hoping to sit in Valentin’s section one last time. Rich and Ginny met us. We ran into Mike and Diana and Sue and Jerry on the way in- they were just finishing up. We said our goodbyes to Valentin, in case we wouldn’t see him again. What a sweet, young man!

We headed back to our cabin to get packed up. Ugh. Hate it. So annoying. Also, too hard to figure out what we’d need in the next 3 days and then the 2 after that and then the 1 after that. Bleah!

The ship ran a laundry deal- thankfully- where for $30 they’d wash, dry and fold everything you could fit into this brown bag. Well, hold our beer while we cram everything we own in that sucker!! Is that still a rip off? YUP. Did we do it? You’re darn right we did! We need clean clothes and there is ZERO chance of getting a washer on a sea day that’s also the last day. 

Once mostly packed, we headed up to the Sanctuary deck to find the Malbec crew. We all enjoyed a rare (for this voyage) sunny by the pool. 

We had one last group dinner at the Japanese steakhouse that night. We popped up to Rich and Ginny’s beforehand for a glass of wine with their friends from Albuquerque who were also on the ship and then we all went to dinner together. It was lively and fun and WAY too much food - holy cow!! We all went to the Crooner’s bar for a nightcap afterward and that place was hopping! Oddly, there were plenty of seats inside but all the staff were roaming between the outside tables. By the time we got a glass of red, we really needed to head back up and finish packing.

I hate it.

We all had our hugs and goodbyes and promises for the next time - and I hope all of it comes true. What a delightful group of humans from all over the place who share a love of adventure and joy. Cheers to the Malbec crew!!!

What is Raisins!?

The next day, we awoke in Sicily! This was the final port I missed on our ill-fated COVID cruise. I was stoked to get to see it. 

Ginny mentioned the one thing she wanted to do was see a cathedral in the town center. It was legendary for ringing bells at noon and then a choreographed “dance” to Ave Maria, which was played throughout the piazza. We were able to quickly find the cathedral once we walked off the ship. We were about an hour early, so we cruised around and popped in and out of various shops killing time. We found Sue and Jerry and eventually, Rich and Ginny.

When the clock struck 12, the whole piazza fell silent. It was AMAZING. First, the bells rang. Then, while Ave Maria played, window by window, the golden statues moved and told the story of Jesus. Absolutely breath taking. Except for the cafe getting new windows right then and the workers who wouldn’t pause for 11 minutes to allow this gorgeous display to continue uninterrupted. You’d have like 30 blissful seconds and then - a loud drilling sound. Lol. Ah, life goes on, I suppose.

After, we walked around with Rich and Ginny. We were hoping to find some wine bars (enoteccas) but they seemed to all close at 1 or 1:30. We finally settled on a restaurant which was awesome for sure but took most of the rest of the time we had. I wanted to try the regional pasta dish with sardines but, horrifically, it also was rumored to have raisins. RAISINS for crying out loud!!  When I ordered, I said, “No raisins, please.” She said, “what is raisins?” So, to help I said, “Raisins.” Finally she said, “Ah, uvettes!” So now I can speak some Italian and have a delicious meal with no uvettes. We had just enough time after that to have one glass of wine at another place near the cruise port. We shared some arancini (fried rice balls) and a cannoli, as they are known for both. Delicious! 

Rich and Ginny lived in Sicily for a few years in the beginning of their marriage when Rich was moved there with the Navy. It was fun to hear their stories of what like was like there some ~50 years before.

Later back on the ship, we sent Stefan a note and told him what bar we’d be in. He brought us a bottle of Chardonnay and we gave him a bottle of his favorite Nicora- the Euphoric. He was so excited. Rich and Ginny popped in and then we went to dinner together at the restaurant. No one was all that hungry so we mostly had an appetizer or just picked at our food. 

We were thrilled to have a sea day coming up - but also sad as it would be our last full day on the ship!!

I dined with the cats in Corfu

So, we wake up parked at Corfu. Which I had to google map about 87 times trying to remember where it was and also try to understand Greece- it’s really all over the place, if we’re being honest. I freaking love every inch of it so I was stoked.

Also, it was POURING. Like - dogs and cats. Can’t see out the window. That kind of rain. No rain coat. No umbrella.

We walked down to the gangway and decided - nope. We went back up to a coffee bar and grabbed a coffee and sat by a window to wait for the rain to clear out. The captain said the forecast was that by mid morning it should stop.

Sure enough! Around 11:30, things looked like they were clearing up so we headed back down to the gangway. We saw Mike and Diana coming in - they had rain coats and were mostly ok but others were absolutely soaked!! 

We cruised off the ship and tried to make sense of the port. I tell you - having been literally around the world to …I don’t know… a whole lot of ports, there is never any consistency. We thought there was a shuttle to take us to town. In fact, we had a piece of paper we signed to buy ticket for that round trip. But we saw no princess staff - which has NEVER happened. 

What we did see was some bus so we got on it. Listen. I would never do these things in the states. But for some reason when traveling, you just hop on busses. I don’t know what to tell you. Anyway, the bus went like… 1/8 of a mile. Which is to say - 1 minute. And then everyone was like - oh, should we get off? So we did. Where were we? We don’t know. 

Turns out, we were still in the middle of the port. There were 2 signs. One to go to Albania and then one to go to wherever the other place was. We still didn’t know. I’m all for Albania but I felt like staying in Greece made sense so next thing you know we’re walking across a very large parking lot, dodging busses, taxis, etc. and just trying to figure out if we can even walk out of this port.

Frankly, this is not our first port rodeo. We’ve screwed this up in many countries. Several continents. Both hemispheres. #Askmeanything 

So, we finally make it out alive and then realize, you know, we are literally nowhere near town. This is why there was a shuttle to take us. Which we didn’t take. Well. Decision time. We decided to just walk over to the other side of the street where we saw a cafe and have lunch with the locals. That was our goal anyway, right? Maybe we won’t see the “pretty” part of town or go into the tourist area - but local food is our goal and there was a place right there. 

We stroll in and find the dude who tells us to sit anywhere but then shows us a table. Cool. There were some local workers in dining and also - a whole bunch of cats. That’s when we knew this place was legit.

We had yet another absolutely terrific Greek meal. We got a pitcher of local white wine which was…ok. Doable. We later learned the restaurant owner bought the grapes every year and made it for their own use. Mad props, man! How cool. Not our fave, but a pleasure to try it. 

The rain was completely gone and the sun was out. What a treat! We walked back to the ship and unfortunately COMPLETELY forgot the one thing we wanted to buy on this island… they are known for their kumquats! My grandpa used to grow these and my brother and I love them. I was going to buy him a bottle of the liquor they make from them. Dang it!! We did find a Christmas ornament in the terminal shop before getting back on the ship. 

Later that evening, my brother sent a text asking what was going on and I said, “I dined with the cats in Corfu.” He said, “That sounds like a jazz song.” Maybe it should be.

We went up to the sanctuary deck and found the Malbec crew enjoying the sun. Another beautiful day in a beautiful place. We dined together in the sanctuary restaurant and headed to bed earlier than the night before, praise the Lord.

“So, the thing is…” one crazy day in Montenegro

So at this stage of the trip, we’ve established a great relationship with Stefan, our sommelier. He sends us a WhatsApp ping every day to see where we are dining. Sometimes we bring a bottle to share with him and sometimes he brings a bottle to share with us. It’s a solid friendship.

So when he, a Serbian, asks what our plans are in Montenegro and we say we don’t have any- he lights up. “Aha!,” he says, “I have a great place for you. I will text it to you and tell you what to eat.” 

Perfect. Let’s roll.

We get the text for the restaurant along with what to order. We do a quick Google Maps search and see it- just an easy stroll from where we will get dropped off outside the port. We told the crew in case they wanted to go, too.

That morning, we did the slow roll off the ship since we basically only had lunch plans in town. Also- it was raining some so no big rush. 

Once off, we quickly found the restaurant and then did a few big laps around town to check things out. We found a local grocery and you know I love a local grocery. We cruised inside to check it out and I bought a few interesting chips. This day was really coming together well already. Man I love chips from other countries! I got some tzatziki flavored wavy chips. I got these weird crunchy balls with …I mean listen, all kinds of flavors listed. Also, they weren’t called crunchy balls, which would be weird. Instead they were called Hrusty. Which is obviously so normal. Surely not a word in any language. We tried to buy some chocolates but couldn’t find any that were actually Montenegrin. 

From there, we headed back to the restaurant.  We’d also told our Floor 10 For the Win friends, Sean and Louise, about the place so we were hoping they would stop in at least for a beer.

We walk in and find the old guy running the place. We sit and he brings us menus. Jason looked up what Stefan said to order and we found it on the menu. Bam! We ordered a tall bottle of still water (no gas!), a bottle of local wine (a Chardonnay arrived!), and all 3 things Stefan recommended food wise. Our waiter seemed very pleased.

The wine was delicious- I had just been reading about the winery, which was one of the largest in the country. Not usually our jam but hey, I like delicious wine and this was it.

Then the food starting rolling out. I really didn’t know what to expect. There is no Montenegrin food scene anywhere I’ve ever been! 

The first thing that came was a salat- and man did we devour those fresh veggies. Shredded cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers with a light EVOO and salt and pepper. 

Then we had this interesting looking…hot dog thing. I don’t know. It was terrrific. 

And then there was this kebab plate with a big side dish of beans. Holy smokes. SO stinking good. My good friend was once married to a Persian guy and learned to make some amazing dishes including a kebab that she formed by hand and cooked. This reminded me somewhat of that. So great. Even the fresh fries were good but I wasn’t trying to fill up on those.

We ate and ate and took pics to show Stefan later. We never saw any ship buddies so we decided to head back towards the port entrance. We saw an open air cafe there and thought we’d sit and enjoy some more drinks before it was time to board and watch for friends. We met a waiter who had been living in California and loved it but had to move back home when his parents died. Nice young man. Sad story. I hope he’ll make it back some day. Also, was super surprised to see this place there-

We got back on the ship and had some down time before heading to a specialty restaurant that Mike had gotten us all a reservation for. It’s a cool collab between an artist we like, Britto, and a chef. Place was called Love by Britto and it was lovely:)

We weren’t too hungry after the lunch feast, but thankfully the portions weren’t too big and we could just try bites of things. They also had a better wine list up there. There was a wine “made” by John Legend (who knew he bought a winery) and honestly, it was a solid red blend. A hat tip to whomever the actual wine maker is!

So, we go down to find Stefan and tell him about our awesome visit the place he recommended. He was so excited and we said - check it out we took pictures! He grabbed the phone and looked for a minute and then said, ‘So, the thing is, you went to the wrong place.” 

HAHAHAHHAHA.

Because of course we did. Also, how are there 2 restaurants in the same VERY small town in Montenegro with the same name and honestly, the same menu. Like - HOW CAN THIS BE? Also- ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Stefan said the place we went to was fancy. Which is hilarious because I would not have described it as such. The place he intended sounded more like a walk up counter. 

We will forever wonder if the place we went to was better or not. #sigh At least we will share this giggle with Stefan.

Related- the food is amazing. Should you ever have the chance to visit - GO EAT. 

We should have gone to bed early because of all the reasons but instead we stayed up late chatting with Sean and Louise and I was absolutely killing it at 80s trivia. Too bad the old brain doesn’t fire up like that all the time.

We crawled into bed anticipating Corfu the next day - our last day to visit any part of Greece. One last chance for the delicious food! Good thing we’re getting a whole lot of steps in!!!