This time I did my real-time blogging on Facebook. Here’s the collection of posts:

August 20 — TRIESTE, ITALY

Buon giorno! With the boys getting older and developing lives that don’t include us, I decided to plan one last major family trip: a Mediterranean cruise. I’ve been planning and looking forward to it for well over a year, so I was none too happy when Westjet started randomly cancelling flights in the days leading up to our departure…but the stars aligned and we made it to Trieste with only minor delays.

The most nerve-wracking part was actually the taxi ride from the airport to our pre-cruise hotel. The cabbie blithely drove 145 kph on a winding highway, ignored all road markings, and weaved around any car not doing double the speed limit. While I was gripping the seat and quietly chanting “ohmyf-inggod”, Brayden leaned over and whispered, “I like this guy.” (!)

The story gets better: I mistakenly thought we’d left my bag in the taxi, so I chased it for two blocks yelling and screaming, finally catching up to the guy at a red light…only to discover Brayden had had it the whole time. My actions were so insane that my family didn’t even feel they could mock me; they clearly thought I was coming unhinged. Not my finest moment.

On a more serious note…today we took a sobering tour of a former rice mill that was used as a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The prisoner cells remain much as they were, while the crematorium was destroyed by fleeing Nazis to cover up their crimes. The museum also houses photos, documents, and objects given by camp survivors. It was really well done, and a very moving experience.

Tomorrow we sail!

August 21 — SETTING SAIL

And…we’re off!

August 22 — SPLIT, CROATIA

The plan today was rafting on the Cetina River. Chris had a sore neck, so he skipped rafting in favour of a (crazy expensive) massage on the ship. The kids and I went ahead, though, and I can unequivocally say Chris made the right choice—no one with a sore neck would’ve survived the rafting experience.

It was three to a raft, with the strongest person (Brayden) assigned as captain. So he was in charge of steering while Justin and I paddled for momentum. It didn’t always go well—we ploughed through branches, got stuck on rocks, and argued constantly about what each of us was doing wrong. Some of the rapids were fun, and B says he genuinely enjoyed it, but we were mighty tired and sore by the end.

On to Dubrovnik!

August 23 — DUBROVNIK, CROATIA

Game of Thrones fans, eat your heart out: here be Dubrovnik, otherwise known as King’s Landing and capital of the seven kingdoms. I only vaguely remember the show, but certain locations were instantly recognizable, like Fort Lovrijenac (the Red Keep) and the inside of the Rector’s Palace (the Spice King’s Mansion).

The medieval city walls that encircle the old town are 20 feet thick in some places and as high as 80 feet tall. We walked the full circuit, or at least I did (the others bailed about 3/4 of the way through due to heat). You get amazing views of the homes, shops, churches, etc in the city centre—we even saw a couple of modern sports courts that looked really out of place among the ancient buildings. It was awesome, but damn it was hot, and *so many stairs*. We were glad we did the wall walk as soon as it opened—by the time we finished it was noticeably hotter and the crowds were noticeably larger.

Chris and Justin then sat down by a fountain while Brayden and I wandered around the old town. We ended up inside the Rector’s Palace, former seat of the rulers of Dubrovnik and current home of the cultural history museum. Brayden was completely fascinated by the place, and we spent an hour exploring the exhibits. One room even had air conditioning (!) so we took our time there.

Later on Brayden and I also checked out a museum near the port that detailed the history of communism in Yugoslavia. It had immersive and interactive exhibits, but no air conditioning—the guy at the desk handed us cardboard fans and wished us luck. We could only stand it for about 20 minutes before we gave up and headed back to the ship.

August 24 — CORFU, GREECE

What stood out most about our day in Corfu, Greece was the unholy temperature and oppressive humidity. As I write, it’s currently 34 degrees with a humidex of 42. And while the Greeks have given the world many things (democracy, philosophy, etc), they do not seem to have discovered air conditioning. No matter where we went—shops, restaurants, museums—there was not the slightest whiff of cool air. We walked over 8K while marinating in our own sweat. Whew.

We started at Mon Repos, the now-slightly-derelict villa where Prince Philip was born in 1921. We didn’t go inside, but we did enjoy the (shaded!) walk through the surrounding park.

We then walked 30 minutes back to the old town. At this point we were seriously dehydrated, so we stopped at a roadside kiosk, where 3L of water cost only 2 euro (roughly $3 Canadian). I had to ask them to repeat the price cause I couldn’t believe it was so cheap. Wow.

Next, Brayden and I explored the Old Fortress, originally built by the Venetians and added to by the French and British who followed. The fortifications were really interesting and we got some amazing views!

After a tasty souvlaki lunch at a cute little taverna, we wandered around the old town, did some souvenir shopping, and dragged our sweaty asses back to the ship.

Day at sea tomorrow!

August 25 — AT SEA

Sea days have never been my favourite, but I have no complaints about this one. The great thing about a cruise is that everyone can do their own thing. I played some Yahtzee and mini golf with Justin, cooled off in the ship’s awesome grotto waterfall feature. and then enjoyed a special family meal at the Brazilian steakhouse.

Next up: Malta!

August 26 — VALLETTA, MALTA

The early morning sail-in to Valletta, Malta, was easily the most impressive one we’ve seen. It really felt like we were stepping into the Middle Ages. (I got a video, but it’s long and slow and I won’t subject anyone to that.)

We docked early but had to be back on the ship by noon, so we were determined to make the most of our limited time. We walked around town long before anything was open, and it was neat to see so many monuments and historical sites with few people around.

Due to the time crunch, we split into two groups: Chris and Brayden went off to the war rooms while Justin and I toured the Grand Master’s Palace. Built in the late 16th century by the Order of the Knights of St. John, the palace now houses the office of the president of Malta. We saw the state rooms and the armoury. The palace had been closed for renovations for five years and only reopened this past January, so I felt fortunate we were able to see it.

By the time we finished, the streets were mobbed with people (damn those cruise day trippers, hey?) so we made our way back to the ship. After lunch three of us joined in a game of trivia in the ship’s atrium—I came in second out of 30 people!

Italian ports for the next three days…

August 27 — NAPLES, ITALY

Our day in Naples got off to a bit of a rocky start: Brayden’s had a cold for the past few days and really didn’t feel great this morning, so we did a quick pharmacy run and left him to chill on the ship.

The rest of us toured the royal palace, once used by the Spanish viceroys as well as the Bourbon and Savoy kings. It was far more opulent than I was expecting—well worth the price of admission!

Our main adventure today was a pasta cooking class at a local restaurant. Along with a British couple and a young Mexican woman, we donned plastic aprons and prepared fettuccine and ravioli from scratch. The chef was both entertaining and understanding—we had *no idea* what we were doing, but the meal still turned out great. An awesome experience!

B recovered enough to go souvenir shopping this afternoon (he’s collecting flags) so hopefully he’ll be good to go for the rest of the cruise.

August 28 — CIVITAVECCHIA, ITALY

Most people use the port of Civitavecchia as a launching point for Rome, 75 minutes away. But we’ve already seen the Eternal City, so instead I booked us a private tour to a lakeside castle and an ancient necropolis.

The driver picked us up right next to our ship (in an air conditioned van no less!) and took us to Anguillara, a lovely little town on Lake Bracciano. We had a few minutes to walk around and take pictures before heading to what I considered the main attraction: Odescalchi Castle.

The castle was built in the 15th century and is one of the largest in Italy; it’s also famous as the setting for the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in 2006. We walked through a bunch of impressive interior rooms, but it was the outside of the castle and the views over the lake that really stole the show. Absolutely gorgeous.

After lunch we explored the Cerveteri necropolis, an Etruscan city of the dead. It contains hundreds of tombs dating back to the 9th century BC; some are shaped like huts or small houses while others are dug into the rock underground. As history nerds, Brayden and I both found it extremely interesting (albeit hot; at one point we were literally just chilling inside a tomb to get out of the heat.)

Tomorrow: Tuscany!

August 29 — LIVORNO, ITALY

The port of Livorno is the gateway to Tuscany, and most cruisers who dock here head for Florence or Pisa. But I wanted to zig while others zagged, so after doing some research I booked a private tour to a place I’d never previously heard of: Volterra.

This hilltop town was one of the main city-states of ancient Etruria and is still surrounded by both Etruscan and Roman ruins. It’s also somewhat off the beaten path, so crowds really aren’t an issue. Score!

Brayden and I started by exploring the 13th-century town hall. It’s the oldest in Tuscany and is still used for city council meetings. Loved the views from the top of the tower!

We also checked out the Etruscan museum that holds hundreds of elaborately carved funerary urns made between the 4th and 1st century BC. It’s incredible to think of the effort ancient people put into having a place for their ashes.

Other highlights of the day included the ruins of a Roman theatre and the Etruscan arch from the 4th century BC—you can see how the three stone heads on the arch have eroded away after being outside for more than 2,000 years.

Only two trip reports left, I promise!

August 30 — CANNES, FRANCE

After days of private tours and independent exploration, it was kind of annoying to join a ship excursion with 40 other people. But Cannes is a tender port (meaning the ship anchors offshore and ferries people in on lifeboats) and tendering is way easier when you’re part of a ship tour; also, I had no interest in Cannes and wanted to go to Monaco, which is a bit of a drive. So we sucked it up and did the group bus thing.

Our first stop was in old Monaco. We walked through a beautiful garden with a statue of Princess Grace, toured the cathedral containing the royal tombs, and saw the outside of the Prince’s Palace. We didn’t have time to go into the palace cause we took 20 minutes to shop for souvenirs and wolf down a sandwich (@#$ restrictions of a group tour!)

The bus then dropped us near the Grand Casino. Even peasants like us are welcome to take pictures of the foyer, so we did that, and then we found the famous hairpin turn of the F1 circuit. That meant nothing to me on my first trip here in 1998, but I’m a Drive to Survive fan now, so it was pretty cool.

One more day!

August 31 — PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN

What a great way to end a cruise. We didn’t arrive in Palma until noon, so for once we didn’t have to be out the door first thing in the morning. Justin and I played some games and even joined in a speed trivia session in the atrium—he came in third and won a deck of cards, so that was pretty cool.

This afternoon we took a ship tour that was basically just a ride to Palmanova beach. None of us are really beach people, but I’d heard about an awesome mini golf place near there, and that’s something we all enjoy. We played 36 holes in a lush setting and then relaxed with some slushies. Brayden even bought a little pack of seed to feed the fish in the course’s water feature.

Tomorrow we fly home from Barcelona. Sad to see the end of our latest family adventure!