Tricia’s Travelogue

The sun never emerged yesterday in Kavala, but Charlie spent some time on the balcony anyway.  Sometime in the afternoon, the ship (anchored, not moored) turned around, allowing us to watch the tenders coming and going. Charlie captured a nice sunset as we sailed away. We returned to Luminae for dinner.  The amuse-bouche was a shrimp croquette with aioli. We both chose asparagus with hollandaise for the appetizer. Charlie had a sirloin steak over puréed cauliflower and enjoyed it.   I chose roast chicken with a delicious spaetzle on the side. For dessert we both had a chocolate covered mousse with pretzel ice cream.  Very tasty! This morning we docked in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece. It is named after Alexander  the Great’s sister.  The Apostle Paul visited here about 50 AD, later writing the two letters to the Thessalonian church that appear in the Bible.  Fortunately, it was in the 50s and not raining.  We left the ship about ...

Here is a map from our TV showing where we’re cruising, in the Aegean Sea.  Kavala is near the top of the map. Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed sitting out on our balcony for a long time, sipping the champagne that was in an ice bucket when we arrived, waiting for sailaway. We finally went to a lounge for drinks by a big window to watch, as we were delayed leaving. About 6:45 we went to Luminae for dinner. We started with an amuse-bouche of pea purée topped with crab. Then Charlie had a spicy crab cake for his appetizer, and I had a grilled apple salad.  Charlie ordered the duck , and I chose the penne arrabiata. Not pictured — sorry! — the chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert.  Both the food and the service were again excellent. This morning when we arrived in Kavala, it was raining, with a feels-like temperature of 47. Both of us are fighting off colds, and since our excursion was canceled, we decided not to take a tender into the city. It’s chilly just walking aroun...

Our driver picked us up at 10:00 this morning and drove us to the Port of Piraeus, which has existed for 2,500 years! We walked a few feet to the Retreat luggage drop, then a staff member led the two of us to the Retreat lounge in the terminal. They had food and beverages available.  Just before 11:00, we were allowed to board.  We checked in at our muster station, dropped our carry-ons in our room (which wasn’t quite ready), then headed to the Retreat lounge for some champagne. Here I am as of 11:11. Our suite is very nice, with comfortable seating and enough storage. We have a bathtub/shower, but the bathroom is tiny.  The balcony is spacious, and I expect we’ll enjoy it when we’re docked in the different ports. Here I am in Luminae, the dining room for Retreat guests, ready for lunch. Charlie asked for a green salad (not on the menu), and they obliged. I ordered the kale, quinoa, fennel, and pistachio salad, and it was delicious. We both opted for the lobster roll with...

For today, we scheduled another Culinary Backstreet food tour.  We really enjoyed the one in Barcelona, and this one did not disappoint!  We walked about 15 minutes to the meeting place and met our guide, Constantine, and another couple (from Oklahoma City).   First, we got to try a sesame seed encrusted, slightly sweet bread that we’d seen and wondered about. It was tasty plain and also dipped in Greek coffee later in the tour.   Our meeting spot  Constantine, our guide, with the sesame bread rings Our next stop was at a bakery specializing in phyllo dough.  We managed a photo of the man stretching and folding the dough, but not of the spanakopita or the custard-filled sweet pastry.  Constantine pointed out some local graffiti. Next, we walked through the meat and fish markets.  The meat market, especially, almost convinced me to become a vegetarian.   Then we went to another part of the market where parakeets were for sale (as pets, our gui...