I recently returned from a great trip and many wonderful adventures. Here's how we started... March 22, 2023
Above, the Riviera, an Oceania vessel headed from Miami to Italy via ports in Bermuda, the Azores, Madeira, Portugal, Spain, Monaco, & Italy. Below, left, Kristine Hughes and I toured the Bermuda Museum housed in an 18th C. fort, part of the Royal Naval Dockyard. More about this soon. Right, the Commissioner's House in the fort.
Though I have crossed the Atlantic by ship several times, this was the first time I stopped in the Azores and Madeira, islands that belong to Portugal but are located far away. The Atlantic is 4478 miles from Miami to Lisbon. The Azores are a Portuguese archipelago about 930 miles west of Lisbon; Madeira is 434 miles west of Morocco and 528 miles southwest of Portugal. Below left, Riviera. Right, some of the famous flowers of Madeira.
Above, the beautiful harbor in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Among our wanderings there, we enjoyed Princesse Grace Roserie, a memorial in flowers, just beginning to bloom. Hundreds of varieties honor the beloved late wife of former ruler, Prince Rainier III, and mother of the present ruler, Prince Albert II, the former U.S. film star, Grace Kelly (1929-1982). They claim more than 4,000 Rose bushes are planted here.
When we reached Civitavecchia, Italy, we were ready to stay on dry land for a while. We spent a few days in Rome revisiting places I last saw eons ago, before I was married. But whatever possessed us to travel to Rome on Easter weekend? The crowds were unbelievable. Below, left, Trajan's Forum, and right, a view across Rome.
Above left, Rome's Villa Borghese; right, sculpture of Venus Victrix (Paolina Bonaparte Borghese) by Antonio Canova (1757-1822).
I loved Florence on past trips, but I am not sure I sufficiently appreciated Signore Botticelli, for example. However, this year, since every teen-ager in Europe seemed to be in town while we were touring, it was dicey to see much of anything!! Below, left, the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River, from our Room with a View. Right, view of Firenze from the Piazza Michelangelo.
Middle Row; Michelangelo's David, actually a copy of the original which is protected from the elements inside the Accademia. Right, a statue of Dante Alighieri stands in the Piazza Santa Croce.
I loved Florence on past trips, but I am not sure I sufficiently appreciated Signore Botticelli, for example. However, this year, since every teen-ager in Europe seemed to be in town while we were touring, it was dicey to see much of anything!! Below, left, the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River, from our Room with a View. Right, view of Firenze from the Piazza Michelangelo.
Middle Row; Michelangelo's David, actually a copy of the original which is protected from the elements inside the Accademia. Right, a statue of Dante Alighieri stands in the Piazza Santa Croce.
Above, Left in The Uffizi: Left: Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci 1472-76; Right, Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480.
Escaping from the crowds, we stayed for several relaxing days in Menaggio on Lago di Como, very much a kind of paradise itself, but not quite what Dante had in mind. Below, left, the lake from our balcony; right, dining al fresco overlooking the view.
Escaping from the crowds, we stayed for several relaxing days in Menaggio on Lago di Como, very much a kind of paradise itself, but not quite what Dante had in mind. Below, left, the lake from our balcony; right, dining al fresco overlooking the view.
Above, the Quelez Palace outside Lisbon from the garden; the Throne room, where the Convention of Sintra was signed in 1808. Below, our cruise on the Douro River from Oporto east to the Spanish border and back, passing gorgeous scenery of alternating olive groves and vineyards. I will soon make a few observations on the British in the Peninsular War in Portugal, 1807-1814. Watch this space.
Readers of this blog will not be surprised to learn that from Oporto, we flew to London. It was April 28 and the the city was gearing up for the Coronation of King Charles III. Since we had been caught up in the crowds after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we decided to leave the city before the big day.
We booked ourselves into the lovely Hartwell House Hotel in Buckinghamshire, from which we could watch the Coronation and visit two more excellent National Trust locations,
Stowe Landscape Garden and Waddesdon Manor.
Stowe Landscape Garden and Waddesdon Manor.
In the coming weeks, I will report in detail about a few of our adventures. Please stay tuned. And watch for the interruption when the Audible copy of Least Likely Lovers, narrated by June de Borahae, is released soon.
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