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Exploring Explorer--Live--September 14-24--Rome to Venice

RachelG

By RachelG,
in Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Rachel

Really liking your posts from Explorer, also reflecting how much my Dad would have enjoyed reading them, maybe he is somewhere! We are on Voyager in a couple of weeks from Southamton to Barcelona, last cruise before the refit so hoping all ok.

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

P

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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Rachel

Really liking your posts from Explorer, also reflecting how much my Dad would have enjoyed reading them, maybe he is somewhere! We are on Voyager in a couple of weeks from Southamton to Barcelona, last cruise before the refit so hoping all ok.

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

P

 

Aww, so good to hear from you. And I know your dad would have loved this. Miss him so much, and if fact, just spoke of him the other day saying how much he would have enjoyed this!

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poss

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Thanks very much for continued reporting. We've never been to Ravenna, but it's one of the ports that's on a Med cruise that I'm coming near to deciding on for next June. (Voyager) When I read about San Marino, I somehow got the sense that it was a whole bunch shops (I guess as what port is not?) We virtually never shop; it's about the last thing that gives us any kind of enjoyment. What you and George did sounds just like the kind of day we enjoy. Question though: How strenuous was the walking? Lots of up-and-downing I think. But were the trails difficult to navigate? If one wanted a 2 or 2 1/2 hour walk (roundtrip) would the views be handsome? Or does one need to go a good deal longer?

 

Did you get any sense of how others enjoyed Ravenna? And what sorts of things they liked?

 

So great that you're having all the fine weather.

 

Continued thanks! (I think you have stock in the pizza industry.)

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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Poss, we probably do need to take stock in the Italian pizza industry.

 

Regarding the walking in San Marino, you could definitely do it. It is easy to navigate, and all the paths intersect so you can do as much or as little as you want. George and I did the max,but you could easily do less and have a great day. There are shops, but it is easy to get up and above them. Views are easy to access.

 

 

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poss

poss

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If you hear from people about the Comacchio excursion, I'd be interested in knowing if it was enjoyable. The town certainly sounds handsome.

 

(We thought Bologna was wonderful when we were there for a couple of days many moons ago.) (Or maybe it wasn't even Ravenna from where one visits Bologna.)

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newlondon

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poss, DO NOT miss the mosaics in Ravenna. DW and I have been twice and would go again. May I suggest you get a private guide to give you appropriate time. I would also suggest doing some research ahead of time as they are so spectacular and so many that explanations at the site leave something to be desired. We have not been to San Marino because we heard walking is not easy. I defer to Rachel.

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

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September 21, 2016--Koper Slovenia

 

Unlike almost every other morning, it was quite overcast and chilly this morning. It looked as though it could rain at any moment, with temps in the low 60s and a bit of wind. We were signed up for a hop on hop off bus tour which did not seem too promising weather wise.

 

I put on my rain jacket. George was optimistic so wore his usual uniform of jeans, boots, cowboy hat. He doesn't like to get his hats wet, so I was a little worried. The bus picked us up right at the port. It went on a circuit from Koper to Isola to Piran to portoroz then back to Koper. You could get on and off wherever you wanted then catch a later bus. We were given coupons for various food items at establishments along the way as well. An espresso, an ice cream cone, a piece of cake, salt tasting, a couple of glasses of wine with snacks.

 

We got off in Piran which is a cute old town. Very clean with tiny pedestrian streets, lots of little shops and cafes, and a central square where some children were having a musical performance competition. We walked all over and stopped for Apple strudel in a cafe. George declared it the best ever. We then got ice cream with the coupon and it was outstanding.

 

Next stop was Portoroz where we tried the local wine using the coupon then went to eat pizza (yes, again Poss) at a seaside place. By this time, the clouds had cleared, and it was considerably warmer, so I had to shed my layers.

 

Portoroz is more of a summer resort town with a real beach and new big hotels. Since it is the end of the season, it was not crowded at all. The pizza was totally different, thicker crust and heavier cheese, but still good. A lot of the shops had stuff on sale, and we picked up some gifts.

 

We caught the bus back and walked through the old town of Koper. Disappointingly, our next coupon stop was closed, despite the hours listed in the brochure so we missed out on the tapas offered there. But the old town is very clean and safe feeling. The people in Slovenia are very nice and friendly. We strolled back to the ship.

 

In time for trivia--we won, though we missed two questions. What color does acid turn litmus paper? I said pink because in my office, the litmus paper we have turns pink. The correct answer was listed as red, but I still think pink is correct as well.

 

And what is the largest country in Scandinavia ? Apparently it is Sweden, but we thought Norway. I am going to have to look at a map, because I could have sworn there is a large amount of Norway far up north. We were in Nordcapp once, and I know there is more of Norway past that. Sweden must be really fat.

 

Dinner in prime 7. My fish was excellent as we're all my sides, but George wants to know why they use canned corn. Really?! So do I. Fresh or frozen corn is so much better.

 

The Peggy Lee show tonight was excellent, the best by far which the performers have done.

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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So there you go. Another trivia question should be is the bed in the G and H suites smaller than the other beds on the ship? And the answer--direct from the head of housekeeping is yes, they are slightly smaller, because the ones in the other suites would be too large to fit into the space allotted in the G and H. How much smaller I don't yet know for sure. I am going to try to measure on disembarkation day. She says it is only a couple of inches, but they looked the same size as our queen bed at home to me. The beds in the D and the rest of the ship is 72 inches wide by 80 inches long which is the same length as a normal King and queen but narrower by 4 inches than a king which is 76x80. A California King is 72x84. And a queen is 60x80.

 

 

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September 22,2016--Trieste Italy

 

Another bright sunny day though distinctly cooler than previously. Our guide says it is due to the wind coming off the Alps which can be seen in the distance.

 

Trieste is a northern Italian town which was once part of the Hapsburg Austria-Hungarian empire. It has been a part of Italy a few times in the past, but most recently was added after WWII. It definitely a sort of Austrian flavor mixed with Italian.

 

The port is right down town alongside a busy shopping area with lots of upscale stores and pedestrian streets. This seems to be a very prosperous town. Very clean with lots of busy cafes and shops, lots of fashionably dressed people. This is not a tourist town, so no tacky tourist shops. I could spend a lot of money here if I had an easy way to get stuff home.

 

Our tour was to Aquileia which is an ancient Roman city which is only partially excavated. It was a port in Roman times. There is a large basilica there with a very unique mosaic floor. It is quite detailed with intricate scenes and designs. They have a plexiglass walkway built over it so you can see all the detail without walking on the mosaics. Even George, who think once you have seen one Italian church you have seen them all, was intrigued. It was quite amazing.

Ng

We took a walk through the excavation site, then went to a family run winery for one of the nicest tastings I have been to in a while.It was just our group of 16. They had bread and local meats set out, and you could taste any of their wines. It was good, relaxed, and with very good prices. We bought 6 bottles.

 

After returning to the ship, we had lunch on the pool deck, a first for this trip as we have just been so busy. I really like the way it is set up. Service was very fast.

 

I then went for my window shopping trip which was fun. Security here was tight getting on the ship, with both passports and ship ID required to get into the port.

 

Trivia was a bust today. Not enough science and medicine questions.

 

George and I had a little private wine and cheese party on our balcony. Really like the tables on the balconies and in the suites. They are large enough to be actual dining tables and very stable as well. No need for that extra piece to be placed on top like the ones on the other ships required.

 

Because we were kind of full of wine and cheese, we went up to Sette Mare and had salads. We sat outside which was quite pleasant watching the sun set. They turned on the heaters, and it was very comfortable.

 

The show tonight was a 60s show. Very good. Amazing energy with the dancing.

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Henk123

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In time for trivia--we won, though we missed two questions. What color does acid turn litmus paper? I said pink because in my office, the litmus paper we have turns pink. The correct answer was listed as red, but I still think pink is correct as well.

 

And what is the largest country in Scandinavia ? Apparently it is Sweden, but we thought Norway. I am going to have to look at a map, because I could have sworn there is a large amount of Norway far up north. We were in Nordcapp once, and I know there is more of Norway past that. Sweden must be really fat.

And here are the answers:)

When blue litmus paper is dipped in an acid, it turns red. When red litmus paper is dipped in an acid, it just appears to get wet

 

Norway: total: 323,802 sq km

Sweden: total: 450,295 sq km

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September 23,2016--Venice Italy

 

We had already sailed in at 6 am, so we were docked by the time I woke up. A bright sunny day again, with a nice breeze.

 

This is my third time to Venice. We have embarked from here twice before but have never disembarked. We have an overnight onboard before disembarking tomorrow. So today, a full day of touring.

 

Since we had been here before, I selected something different that I have wanted to do for a long time. A visit to the Peggy Guggenheim museum. We set off by water taxi . Note: this is an included tour and water taxis are very expensive. A group of 12 so two water taxis. After a wonderful ride down the Grand Canal, we arrived like VIPs. We had a Canadian docent lead us around, so she was easy to understand and really helped with knowledge of the modern artists. I actually learned a lot.

 

We then had an hour of free time where (you guessed it) George and I got pizza, probably the best of the trip at a tiny no name hole in the wall place. Back to the ship by water taxi.

 

It was a sad time--time to pack. George went for a massage while I did the dirty work. A final trivia game where we cam in 2nd.

 

Then our second included excursion of the day--Bacari di Giro. This is a tapas type tour where you go to little restaurants that serve small plates and drinks. We went again by water taxi. Our group was small, only ten people, so we really did feel very special. We went to two places where we had wine and tapas. A very fun tour.

 

Back for a quick bite in compass Rose then final packing.

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