Mediterranean Cruise Part 1

My goal is to post more regularly -- but life gets in the way. So, back to my trip last summer. After we left the hill towns in Italy, we boarded our cruise ship home for 24 days, the Westerdam. This is one of Holland America's sister ships, all with "direction" names. I have previously traveled on the Oosterdam and the Zuiderdam, but this one is my favorite. I can't say why, but perhaps since I was on it for 24 days, it began to feel like home.

A trip like this in the Mediterranean/Adriatic is a whirlwind of ports, with different sights, sounds, and smells each day. We began with our first port the very next day. Messina, Italy was drenched in sun. We had to wait in the blazing sun to see the bell tower come alive with moving figures. It was worth the wait.

The second port was Valetta, Malta. As my mother used to say, "it's not hot unless it's Malta hot." Well, it was most definitely Malta hot. The streets were steep, narrow, and crowded. The churches were magnificent. After a couple of hours, it was time to return to the ship for some A/C and relaxation.

There followed two sea days. Well actually, one was a stop in Gozo, Malta where we decided to stay onboard and treat it as a sea day. We needed the break after six days of nonstop touring in the hot weather.