The Other Tip of Sicily (Summer Sailing 2018)

The Other Tip of Sicily (Summer Sailing 2018)

Another sunny, scorching day in Sicily! This time, we were docked on the other tip of the Sicilian triangle. After Messina, I had a really great impression of Sicily in general, and I was looking forward to what we would get to see. One of the main things I’ve noticed? The climate is insanely humid and dry. After just half an hour or so of walking and standing underneath the beating sun, I can feel the sweat start to form. That’s when I really wonder to myself how people manage to live and thrive in this climate year-round. For today’s port, we were booked on a tour that would take us around Palermo AND Monreale, which was another historic hill-town in the Metropolitan City of Palermo. It overlooks a very fertile valley, and was most known for its stunning cathedral which we were going to be paying a visit to.…

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Taking a Dive in Gozo (Summer Sailing 2018)

Taking a Dive in Gozo (Summer Sailing 2018)

We went to bed in Valletta and by the time we opened our eyes, we were in Mgarr, a town on the island of Gozo, which is part of the Maltese archipelago.             This was supposed to be our “kick back and relax” port of call. We were booked on a Sail and Swim excursion and so, our day was looking to consist of just those two things: sailing and swimming. We put on our swimsuits, grabbed our towels, and practically ran off the boat, excited for the day ahead.  This whole trip so far has been so much sightseeing, walking, and planning. For once, we could abandon that for a day and just suntan on a sail boat and swim with the fishes in the Mediterranean Sea.             Our tour guide/sailors led us onto the boat and after a brief introduction, our ship headed off to the Blue Lagoon.…

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Malta’s Capitals Old and New (Summer Sailing 2018)

Malta’s Capitals Old and New (Summer Sailing 2018)

I was excited to be in Malta! I had previously heard so many people express how beautiful the country was, and especially how stunning Valletta was. This was also a completely new destination for us – a new pin on the world map when we would get home. We knew that there was a lot of ground to cover in Valletta, so we chose to book a tour with the ship. Sometimes, in a foreign city that has as many sights to see as this one, it can be easier to be ‘on a leash’, getting dragged to the good places by the expert locals. So we picked the tour, Malta’s Capitals Old and New. Once again, we were going to be whooshed back in time, and then shot forward to the present. We started the morning off by driving to Mdina, which had an extensive history dating back to…

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In the City of Love (Summer Sailing 2018)

In the City of Love (Summer Sailing 2018)

And we found ourselves back in the city with waterways instead of roads and gondolas instead of cars.  We were back in the company of gelato, masquerade masks, and hidden alleys built on water. We were in Venice, and it was so good to be back for the second time. I finished the book, Sapiens, just a couple months ago and the author writes about this whole idea of romanticism that has really exploded, especially in the 21st century. It involves buying experiences over material goods. As human beings, we long to see the world, we invest in trips abroad, we go to movies, or we throw money at cool restaurants that let you eat blindfolded. Because it’s all about the experience and over time, it is this collection of these experiences that make up a life. Our life. We were complete romantics in Venice. For us, the one day…

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Summer Sailing 2018

Summer Sailing 2018

And with another summer often comes another summer getaway. Another series of memorable destinations, another series of blog posts and another couple thousand photos to remember all that was seen and felt. This summer is definitely no different. This year, we’re setting sail on Holland America’s ms Oosterdam for the very first time. It takes a lot for us to stray away from booking with Princess Cruises, but this cruise line offered the perfect itinerary for us. We could only escape during the month of August, and we wanted to go back to the Mediterranean region. The last time we were there was four years ago, and after spending the past two summers traveling to colder regions, we were craving the heat. We wanted to be eating our weight in pasta and pizza in Italy, and we wanted to surround ourselves with the white houses in Greece again, with the…

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