We were surrounded by a sea of blue, sky of blue, deck of blue and Sarahâs new âHokusai” dress …of blue. đ Â Â
⏠Sarah wearing her new âHokusaiâ dress! âŹ
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Tag Archives: Thomson Spirit
âď¸ The Blind Sightseers Melt In A 41ËC Heat Wave In Montenegro! đ
February 13, 2021 
2 Comments
âď¸ #41 The Blind Sightseers “Escape The Lockdown” With Distant Memories: “Kotor, Montenegro”đ˛đŞ(2017)
  Hi friends and welcome to Day 41 of this monumental, inconceivable and definitely memorable blind sightseers tour….! Â
Good Morning friends! (dobro jutro) đ Â
Are you ready for a scorcher today? Itâs going to hit 41ËC as the heat wave moves in! âď¸ Also i had no idea (until looking) that itâs our 41st day of our lockdown memory tour, fantastic! đ  Â
We booked the âBlue Cave Speed Boat Tourâ for today but this tour was cancelled (last minute) yesterday evening. The excursion team told us the Montenegro officials read that your were blind and said âA blind person cannot board a speed boatâ so they cancelled it! We said âWeâve done much more challenging things than stepping onto a speed boatâ but we acquiesced and asked if there were any other tours left.
They only had âHighlights of Montenegroâ a 10-12 hour tour with lots of walking. I said âWow this is going to be magnificently burning hotââŚI wasnât wrong! đ°Â
Well letâs see what weâll be doing…Â
The port of Kotor finds a home on the worldâs southernmost fjord – or the âBride of the Adriaticâ, as itâs also known. As places go, itâs beautiful. Think blue seas. A stony shore. Green mountains. All drenched in the heavenly scent of lemons, oranges, mimosas and camellias. And hereâs your chance to explore this gorgeous part of the world.
First youâll stop at the mountain village of Njegusi to taste the regionâs delicious smoked ham and cheese. Stomach full, youâre ready for…
Cetinje. Known as the âValley of Godsâ, it was once the smallest European capital and itâs filled to bursting with beautiful buildings. Here you’ll visit the King Nikola’s palace before having some free time to stroll around. Next youâre off to…
Budva – the most popular tourist destination on Montenegroâs map. And quite rightly so. Beautiful architecture meets seductive sandy beaches in this spot. Perhaps thatâs why lots of millionaires decide to live here.
Leaving the shipâŚđł Â
After another lovely breakfast we stepped off the ship. âWoahâ i said whilst leaving the lovely cool ship and walking into a hot oven. âHow can it be this hot already?â Sarah quickly replied âOohhh thatâs better the ship was freezingâ. 𤣠Â
On the coach…đ
Yay, the Thomson excursion team has made sure the tour guide saved us the front seats on the coach. The first challenge (for the excellent driver) was to climb the famous Kotor serpentine road. The road was simply amazing, and witnessing the driver expertly navigate the hairpin turns and narrow road was incredible. The guide passed a picture (see below) around the coach and Sarah took a photo of it so i could zoom in on my iMac at homeâŚThanks Sarah đ˛Â
Arriving at Njegusi…
 The serpentine was pretty quiet and didnât have much traffic as it was still early morning. Iâm not sure how he guided this massive coach up and around those bends without flying off the cliff, but iâm glad he did, lol! đ Â
We reached the top and the view was simply breathtaking! Sarah was stunned on itâs beauty and said âWow you can just make out our ship all the way down thereâ. đÂ
YayâŚIâm here too! I thought iâd add a photo of me just to make sure you knew i was here, and didnât collapse into a pool of molten flesh after leaving the ship, lol! 𤣠Â
 The group headed into the mountain top restaurant and sat down at tables overlooking the stunning view. I donât think anyone was hungry as the waiters place a humongous baguette filled with the legendary local ham and cheese in front of all of us. Everyone kept saying âWeâve only just had breakfast about an hour ago on the shipâ, even i was struggling and iâm never full! đ The ham and cheese was super tasty and it wouldâve been nice to take some home with usâŚBut it was time to go!
 We had a few more minutes to take some photos of this stunning place as people were filtering onto the coach.
 Ok just one more shot of Sarah waving and saying hello to you guys, then we really do have to get back on the coach. đ Â
On to the next stop…
It was late morning now and the serpentine started to get a little busier.
And then…
The coach hit the brakes, our group said âWooaahhhâ and the drivers sorted out a way to carry on. Our coach had to reverse (no idea how he did it) up the hill and around some corners until he found a little pull in. It had taken our driver over half an hour to pull off this manoeuvre, and after a round of applause he drove on. Â
We arrived in Cetinje…Â
Leaving the air conditioned coach and stepping out into the centre of a bubbling volcano (thatâs what it felt like to me)we followed our guide towards the museum, but on the way he quickly stopped to talk to us about a church building.
Vlah churchâŚđÂ
Walking along a track the guide pointed out this lovely old church building and started talking about itâs history.
From Wikipedia…
The church was initially made of “plot” (Serbian: пНОŃ), i.e. of sticks, switches and mud. It was rebuilt three times. First as “suvomeÄa” (Serbian: ŃŃвОПоŃĐ°), which means of stones without mortar; then of “klaÄena” (Serbian: кНаŃона), which is stones with lime mortar; and finally, in 1864 the church received its current form. A guard rail around the church was built in 1897 using barrels of Ottoman rifles captured in 1858 during the Battle of Grahovac.Â
The part about the guard rail using barrels of Ottoman rifles captured in 1858 really stuck out to me. I hope my two quickly taken photos showed the guard rail? We didnât get any closer as the guide was moving fast! đ˘
Walking towards the Museum of King Nikola…
Wow it was hot, iâve never experienced heat like this  before! The Caribbean heat is much different and there is always a cool breeze, but here there was no breeze and it just felt like my bones were being steamed in a cauldron of boiling water, whilst my skin was being attacked by a million angry wasps with mini switchblades  cutting into me! đĽđĽđĽ
Then out of nowhereâŚđ˛ Â
I heard cars whiz past and stop close to us, car doors flew open and there was lots of commotion.Â
Â
I said âWhatâs happening? It sounds like the NCIS team has just pulled up and Gibbs and his special agents have just rushed out of their cars?!â I wasnât too far wrong as it was the President of Montenegro and his bodyguards.
Â
Â
The guide told us to stop and take shade under a tree for a while and heâll go and sort out what to do next. He was away for quite a while and whilst he was gone Sarah said âHey Steve thereâs a statue over there letâs go and take a photoâ i replied âitâs boiling out there iâm staying under this treeâ, of course this reply didnât work and Sarah stood me in front of the statue, lol! đ Â Â
The guide returned and told us that the President will be inside the museum we were about to be guided around. So weâll have our break now of about an hour as another group was before us and will be first to go inside the museum. We wonât be able to go back to the lovely air conditioned coach but there is the main square just over there, and there are some shops and a cafe. As the group separated we walked towards the square.
Sarah said âThere is not much here but this looks like a souvenir type shop. Letâs get you out of the heat before you explodeâ. It was a souvenir shop and we bought a lovely painted plate with Montenegro written on and it hangs above the doorway to our kitchen. đ Â
Heading out of the shop we walked around the corner and Sarah said âOOooohhhh look at that dress!!â I knew exactly what the noise meant (as i canât see what iâm looking at, lol) and we walked towards the shop. The dress was hanging up outside the shop and Sarah was completely taken with it. she said âlook at the designâŚitâs all handmade stitching, the colours are beautiful and itâs simply exquisiteâŚI love it! đÂ
Inside the shop…
Minding the step into the shop Sarah had a little look around to see if she could see the dress (the one outside) anywhere inside the shop. The local woman behind the counter said âYou like the dress?â as she held up a black dress that Sarah didnât want or like. âNo i wanted to ask about the dress outsideâ Sarah said whilst pointing out of the window. âThis dress would look really nice on you!â the woman insisted, âno i donât like that dress itâs too dark for me, do you have the orange and red flower dress thatâs hanging up outside in my size?âÂ
The woman continued in her heavy accent âYou donât like? Why do you not like? It look lovely on you!â Just as I was thinking that weâd never get out of here without even looking at the dress the woman said âThere is only 1 of the dress outside but this dress (the one she was holding) we have many. Sarah said whilst looking a little disappointed as there was only 1 of those amazing dresses âCould i have a look at it please and try it on?”
The woman finally put down the other dress and got the one from outside and passed it to Sarah. âWow this is amazing but itâll never fitâ Sarah said whilst trying not to get too excited anymore, but she went over to the changing rooms and tried it on anyway.
âWow, you look stunningâ i said knowing sheâs about to tell me i canât see it very well anyway, lol! âIt fits perfectly, i thought there would be no way it fitsâŚIâve just got to have itâ Sarah said with a beaming smile on her face.Â
Leaving the shop with Sarah (sheâs super excited) still stunned that she’d got the only dress of that kind available and it fitted perfectly, we headed back towards the cafe.
The cafeâŚâ Â
It was really busy and it was the only cafe open around this square and everyone seemed to be here. There was a man selling cold bottles of water under a sheltered bit so we went and bought a couple. Sarah found the only 2 chairs left which were in the sun. As we sat down with a bottle of water each…
Sarah shouted âAArrggghhhhâ and flew up out of her seat (i thought iâd accidentally pushed the ejector seat button like in James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5). At the same time half of the contents of her water bottle hit me in the face and covered mostt of my shirt (i was glad of the cooling down). But i said âWhatâs just happened?â âAwww the burning hot arms of the chair scorched my forearms as i sat down!â OuchâŚI can still feel it as iâm typing this! đ¤Â
Leaving the cafe it was time to meet up with the group to have our guided tour around the museum. On the way Sarah found some art and a fantastic building.
Museum of King Nikola…
This fascinating Museum used to be the royal palace of the Montenegrin King for more than 50 years. So once the president had left we had our chance to see it. đ Â
The museum guide took us around the house and explained the significance and rarity of many of the items on display. She brought it all to life with a passion and pride that left a lasting impression.
The museum has many rooms which were presented as they would have looked when used as a royal palace, including the king’s and queen’s bedrooms, reception rooms, official meeting rooms, etc, and the various displays included clothing, weapons, furniture, medals and flags and other regalia from this historical royal house.
The temperature outside was 41ËC but inside it felt even hotter. We were told not to lean on any hanging wall paintings but the heat coming off any one of our group couldâve melted the painting (and the frame) from 10 feet away! The museum was incredible but everyone was so hot they all just wanted to leave.Â
Just enought time to take one more photo of my beautiful and lovely wife Sarah! â¤ď¸Â Â
Back on the coachâŚđÂ
âAww feel that air conditioningâ i said whilst trying not to melt Sarah with the heat emanating from me! âď¸
Wait a minuteâŚYes itâs that time again!Â
The coach stopped just long enough for Sarah to take a couple of wonderful panoramas.Â
â˘ď¸ HEALTH WARNING…Â
Arriving in Budva…
The guide flew off the coach and continued walking at breakneck speed for about 10 minutes. Sarah and i were tripping up little curbs, dropping down slopes and even started falling away from the group at one stageâŚBut then he stopped to  show us this beautiful place…
The guide said we had an hour free time and to meet him back in the main square ( i think i know where that is, lol). Â
Sarah instantly found a coffee shop and wondered if they did iced coffees like the ones we’d had in Greece? They did even better than that! Sarah got me a massive one and said âIf you stand here in the shade of the coffee shop, iâm going to go and see if i can get onto the beach. âOk iâll not moveâ.
DING DING DINGâŚđ Â
Yes itâs that time againâŚThe sound of the âBlind Sightseers Gastronomic Leaderboardâ bell has just rang as this iced coffee hits the top spot! đŞđź đÂ
I didnât need to move as this iced coffee was incredibleâŚIt even had 2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream with a double espresso poured over the top. I talk about this coffee as many times as i can. WowâŚThe ice cold coffee contrasting that scorching sun, mmmmmm. âď¸Â
Yay, Sarah managed to get onto the beach and put her feet on the sand so we were both very happy! đ Â
Not sure why i took this photo of the path?
We met up with the group and followed the guide back to the coach, the air conditioning wasnât even cooling me anymore i was just too hot. Iâd been boiled for about 10 hours and i think itâs going to take about a week to cool down. đÂ
Back on the shipâŚđł Â
Wow what a day! 41ËC is the hottest Sarah & i have felt so far on our travels, and we always talk about this day. But first itâs time to meet Brian & Ann for the final time on this cruise .
Youâll never guessâŚ?? đ˛ Â
During our lovely 4 course evening meal Brian & Ann gave us this lovely Montenegrian design wooden box as a gift. Ann said âWe didnât go on any trips today so we looked around the town. We found a craft store and found this lovely box, i knew youâd love it and we just had to buy it for you! We were blown away with their kindness and friendship and we keep this box on our sideboard in our living room. Oh we also still have the 2 chocolates inside which Ann was handing out on her birthday! đ Â
Back in the cabin…
We were disappointed not to find a folded towel creature on the bed on our last day of this wonderful cruise. But this was the first of 2 cruises Sarah managed to book at the same price as the Barbados cruise and stay we had to cancel. Sarah managed to book them a couple of months apartâŚBut weâre going to jump ship (Thomson Spirit) and climb a board the Thomson Majesty and sail away to our next destination! đ âď¸ â â´
We hope youâve enjoyed being on this âClassical Greeceâ cruise with us? Did you have a favourite place
Hope youâve enjoyed the adventure todayâŚLet me know your favourite part?! đ¤ Weâll meet tomorrowâŚSame timeâŚSame place for another adventure! đÂ
⏠ Previous Day đ´Â Next Day  âĄ
đ Join us:
- Tuscany Tour
- Transatlantic Sunset Cruise
- Matlock Bath
- Mayan Treasures Cruise
- Classical Greece Cruise
- Treasures of the Mediterranean Cruise
- Seven Isles Cruise
- Barbados – Southern Palms #1
- Tough Mudder 5K
- Tropical Delights Cruise
- Barbados – Southern Palms #2
- Aegean Shores Cruise
- Ancient Kingdoms Cruise
- Ultra Step Challenge
âď¸ The Blind Sightseers Have Coffee, Cake & Conversations in Corfu!
February 12, 2021 2 Comments
âď¸ #40 The Blind Sightseers “Escape The Lockdown” With Distant Memories: “Corfu, Greece”đŹđˇ(2017)
  Hi friends and welcome to Day 40 of this monumental, inconceivable and definitely memorable blind sightseers tour….! Â
Good morning friends! (ÎιΝΡΟÎĎÎą ĎίΝοΚ) đ Â
Wow what a day yesterday, itâs time for a little relaxing todayâŚ.
Glyfada Beach is a Blue Flag strip of sand on Corfuâs west coast. Youâll have three hours to enjoy it during this trip. The soft, golden sand unravels into a crystal-clear lagoon. While behind it, dramatic, tree-peppered cliffs tower over a smattering of shops and restaurants. You can be as relaxed or active as you like â top up your tan as you lie on a sunlounger*, or get stuck in with watersports*. Thereâs windsurfing, waterskiing and pedal boats up for grabs.
How does that sound for a relaxing day at the beach! âď¸ Â
On the dockâŚđł Â
After another lovely breakfast we got off the ship and met up with the excursion team who kindly showed us to our coach. This excursion is a really short one  and is only 3 hours long, but we thought that Sarah could swim and play in the sea whilst i had a lay down on a sun bed and go to sleep . đ´  Â
The coach dropped us off miles away from the beach and we had no idea which way to go. Sarah quickly guided (dragged) me as we needed to follow the other people from the coach. The other people soon split and went in multiple directions and we were soon left on our own. After a few wrong turns (about 15 minutes) we were walking along a path parallel to the beach. âThis looks more like itâ Sarah said as we were walking down the side of a white hotel looking place. âWait a minute, they said there would be lots of shops and cafes etc and there are none hereâ. We continued walking towards what appeared to be an empty beach and Sarah said âNo, not this way either, weâve already been off the coach for about 30 minutesâ.Â
We started heading back to the parallel path and back down the side of the hotel when…
We heard âThereâs Sarah and Steveâ and a few seconds later Brian and Ann (friends we met on the captains night evening) were stood in front of us. âNo wayâ i said âFancy meeting you here?! How areyou doing?â They were not impressed and said âWe were on the bus before yours and weâve walked around the whole place and nothing is open! Weâve paid good money to be on this trip and there is nothing here worth while, weâve wasted our moneyâ. Sarah said âWeâve also been walking around for ages and your rightâŚThere is not much here. Shall we walk down here and see whatâs on the beach?â.Â
Shortly after reaching the beach Ann said âThereâs a cafe type bar over there, let me treat you both to a drink and we can chat for a while and then see what else we can doâ, âWow thank you so muchâ. â đ Â
The CafeâŚÂ â Â
It was a lovely little cafe/bar facing the sea (i think thatâs what the photo shows above?) and when the waiter had put our drinks down on the table, Brian said âWe enjoyed the meals you left when that huge man stole you from our table, lolâ Ann said âOoohhh yeah tell us what happened. Did you get arrested?â 𤣠Â
We had a great time unfolding the events of that evening and told them it was also our 10th wedding anniversary. they both said âWeâve been married 42 years this year, we married in 1975 as teenagersâ. âWowâ i said âCongratulationsâŚI was born in 1975 and itâs amazing to be married for that longâ. đ  Brian and Ann were from Yorkshire so when Sarah said she grew up in Yorkshire and her family were still there, the conversation kept flowing and we connected really well! Time also flew by as we were chatting, laughing and having a fantastic time after the day had started badly, and we were already half way through our excursion time.
Ann said âHeyâŚWeâve been chatting for ages donât let us stop you having your time at the beach. Go and have some time to yourselves. You can leave your bags with us so you donât need to carry themâ. Brian added âIâll get my iPad mini connected to the internet and show you some Facebook photos when you get backâ. Sarah replied âIâm also on Facebook so we can add each other as friends too and stay in touchââŚAnd we have! đÂ
The beachâŚâď¸ Â
I love this photo of Sarah (above) i can spend ages just soaking it in. Sarah works in London and commutes for 3 hours (round trip) into the dull grey and back into the lush greens of home. Her eyes get burned out with all of the close built up areas of London, and they work hard focusing on all of the close up objects and this results in lots of eye strainâŚBut when she is on the ship or on the beach she says âMy eyes totally relax as they love not focusing on close up objects but they rest whilst looking into the distance”. đ Â
Knowing all of this, i donât need to tell you that Sarah really enjoys herself when in the sea…Â
Oh yes I forgot to let you guys knowâŚIâm actually here! Iâm burning hot again but my tactical sun hat is working well! đ° Â
Back at the cafeâŚâ Â
We returned to the cafe after rinsing off the sand under a tap attached to the wall. Ooohhh that was a lovely cold tap, lol!  Brian said (whilst looking sad) âThe cafe doesnât have Wifi so i canât connect my iPad to the internetâ as Sarah said âOh thatâs a shame i was looking forwards to seeing some of your photos, and also searching for my profile and adding you as a friendâ. I thought for a momentâŚâWait a minute! I think i can do a âPersonal Hot Spotâ on my iPhone if i have a cellular connectionâŚIâll just checkâ.Â
I sat down a pulled my iPhone out of my pocket, plugged in my earphones and listened to my Voiceover screenreader. âHey Brian, it says i have 3G so youâll be able to connect and use my connectionâ âWhat? I donât understand what youâve just said?â After Sarah talked him through connecting via hot spot âWow thanks, iâm not sure what youâve just done but thanksâ and he opened up Facebook! đ Â
Ann turned to me and said âHow did you just manage to use your phone?â I turned down the speaking rate to normal and unplugged my earphones, i said âCan you hear it reading out the name of the apps on my home screen, it even puts a box (Voiceover Cursorâ around the app itâs reading out so you can follow along if you have low vision too. âWowâ Ann said âthatâs amazing how it does thatâ. I said âAnd if i tap 4 times with 3 fingers it puts on a screen curtain âItâs gone offâ Ann said âNo, it appears that way but it has just made the screen black so i can have privacy too while iâm using my phoneâ. “Can you read messages too?â Sarah said whilst laughing âOh no donât get him started, we only have about an hour left and he’ll go on for agesâ. We all started laughing. 𤣠Â
Time was simply flying by, and after more lovely conversations on an omnifarious amount of topicsâŚIt was time for us all to head back to the coach.
Back at the dockâŚđł Â
Walking off our coach(Brian & Ann had a different ticket) Â and towards the port shop. Sarah said âMaybe this shop will have some souvenirs as all of the beach shops were closed?!â âI hope soâ i said whilst following Sarah into the incredible air conditioned shop! âHello againâ Brian and Ann said âWeâre looking for souvenirs as the beach shops were all closedâ I said âYeah thatâs why weâre in here too, lolâ.
The handâŚ
Brian, Ann and Sarah had already exited the shop, i was following a few steps behind as i let a man through as he seemed in a rush. I heard Sarah say âCome on Steveâ and then a huge fit of laughter burst out of AnnâŚThen BrianâŚAnd finally Sarah! They were still doubled over in giggles as i got there. âWow what happenedâ i said as iâd just carefully navigated the step upon leaving the shop. Ann said whilst giggling âSarah just grabbed that other mans hand and pulled him out of the shop thinking it was youâ Sarah still with an embarrassed laugh said âCome on you, youâve caused enough trouble , lol!â Now we all burst out laughing! đ¤Ł
Back on the shipâŚđł Â
Before heading back to our cabin Ann said âItâs my 70th Birthday todayâ âWhat?? You kept that quietâ Sarah and i said together whilst both in shock. Brian said âWe booked this cruise for Annâs 70th Birthday treat! Would you like to eat with us later to celebrate at the usual place? We meet you at 7pm outsideâ. Sarah said âYes of course that will be lovelyâŚAnd Happy Birthday Ann!â đ Â
Sarah instantly crafted a plan…The plan was to wait until the ship leaves the port so that the shops can open. Then we can find a birthday present for Ann before we meet them at 7pm outside the restaurantâŚShe executed her plan perfectly and the present was lovely, Ann loved it! đ Â
Annâs Birthday meal…
⧠Brian & Ann â§Â
We met up with Brian and Ann and sat down at a table for 6. There were another couple sitting down too (sorry forgot their names) but they were also from Yorkshire. Sarah & i thought they must be Brian and Annâs friends but Ann said theyâd just met them before we came in and we asked them to join us. đ Â
Brian whispered âDonât say anything but iâve arranged a special birthday cake for Ann and she doesnât know.â âAww fantasticâ i said. And after our starters and main mealsâŚIt was time!
A small group of waiters led by a guitar player and all singing âHappy Birthdayâ they arrived behind Ann. She started laughing as they played (and we all sang a long) the birthday song, and when we’d all finished another waiter placed the cake in front of Ann. She was beaming and happily surprised and thanked Brian profusely! â¤ď¸
After a while Brian and Ann said âWe canât have the rest of the cake as it will make us ill, and the others donât want itâŚWould you like to take the rest back to your cabin?â Sarah said âWooahhh itâs pretty much all creamâŚSteve youâll love itâ i said âWell what can i say? If it will help you out then iâll take this burden from you!â đđÂ
Back at the cabin…
We returned once more to our cabin and were met with yet another folded towel creature. đÂ
What a fantastic day! We thought this day would be one of the worst, as we only book a beach break when there are no other excursions available. But today was great and spending it with Brian and Ann was lovelyâŚOh they are also our Facebook friends now too. đ  Â
Our RouteâŚ..đł Â
On Tuesday evening Thomson Spirit sails to the port of Kotor, Montenegro. Where weâre expected to arrive on Wednesday morning having travelled 185 nautical miles at an average speed of 14 knots
Hope youâve enjoyed the adventure todayâŚLet me know your favourite part?! đ¤ Weâll meet tomorrowâŚSame timeâŚSame place for another adventure! đÂ
⏠ Previous Day đ´Â Next Day  âĄ
đ Join us:
- Tuscany Tour
- Transatlantic Sunset Cruise
- Matlock Bath
- Mayan Treasures Cruise
- Classical Greece Cruise
- Treasures of the Mediterranean Cruise
- Seven Isles Cruise
- Barbados – Southern Palms #1
- Tough Mudder 5K
- Tropical Delights Cruise
- Barbados – Southern Palms #2
- Aegean Shores Cruise
- Ancient Kingdoms Cruise
- Ultra Step Challenge
âď¸ #41 The Blind Sightseers “Escape The Lockdown” With Distant Memories: “Kotor, Montenegro”đ˛đŞ(2017)
May 19, 2020 3 Comments
Good Morning friends! (dobro jutro) đ Â
Are you ready for a scorcher today? Itâs going to hit 41ËC as the heat wave moves in! âď¸ Also i had no idea (until looking) that itâs our 41st day of our lockdown memory tour, fantastic! đ  Â
We booked the âBlue Cave Speed Boat Tourâ for today but this tour was cancelled (last minute) yesterday evening. The excursion team told us the Montenegro officials read that your were blind and said âA blind person cannot board a speed boatâ so they cancelled it! We said âWeâve done much more challenging things than stepping onto a speed boatâ but we acquiesced and asked if there were any other tours left.
They only had âHighlights of Montenegroâ a 10-12 hour tour with lots of walking. I said âWow this is going to be magnificently burning hotââŚI wasnât wrong! đ°Â
Well letâs see what weâll be doing…Â
The port of Kotor finds a home on the worldâs southernmost fjord – or the âBride of the Adriaticâ, as itâs also known. As places go, itâs beautiful. Think blue seas. A stony shore. Green mountains. All drenched in the heavenly scent of lemons, oranges, mimosas and camellias. And hereâs your chance to explore this gorgeous part of the world.
First youâll stop at the mountain village of Njegusi to taste the regionâs delicious smoked ham and cheese. Stomach full, youâre ready for…
Cetinje. Known as the âValley of Godsâ, it was once the smallest European capital and itâs filled to bursting with beautiful buildings. Here you’ll visit the King Nikola’s palace before having some free time to stroll around. Next youâre off to…
Budva – the most popular tourist destination on Montenegroâs map. And quite rightly so. Beautiful architecture meets seductive sandy beaches in this spot. Perhaps thatâs why lots of millionaires decide to live here.
Leaving the ship…
After another lovely breakfast we stepped off the ship. âWoahâ i said whilst leaving the lovely cool ship and walking into a hot oven. âHow can it be this hot already?â Sarah quickly replied âOohhh thatâs better the ship was freezingâ. 𤣠Â
On the coach…
Yay, the Thomson excursion team has made sure the tour guide saved us the front seats on the coach. The first challenge (for the excellent driver) was to climb the famous Kotor serpentine road. The road was simply amazing, and witnessing the driver expertly navigate the hairpin turns and narrow road was incredible. The guide passed a picture (see below) around the coach and Sarah took a photo of it so i could zoom in on my iMac at homeâŚThanks Sarah đ˛Â
Arriving at Njegusi…
 The serpentine was pretty quiet and didnât have much traffic as it was still early morning. Iâm not sure how he guided this massive coach up and around those bends without flying off the cliff, but iâm glad he did, lol! đ Â
We reached the top and the view was simply breathtaking! Sarah was stunned on itâs beauty and said âWow you can just make out our ship all the way down thereâ. đÂ
YayâŚIâm here too! I thought iâd add a photo of me just to make sure you knew i was here, and didnât collapse into a pool of molten flesh after leaving the ship, lol! 𤣠Â
 The group headed into the mountain top restaurant and sat down at tables overlooking the stunning view. I donât think anyone was hungry as the waiters place a humongous baguette filled with the legendary local ham and cheese in front of all of us. Everyone kept saying âWeâve only just had breakfast about an hour ago on the shipâ, even i was struggling and iâm never full! đ The ham and cheese was super tasty and it wouldâve been nice to take some home with usâŚBut it was time to go!
 We had a few more minutes to take some photos of this stunning place as people were filtering onto the coach.
 Ok just one more shot of Sarah waving and saying hello to you guys, then we really do have to get back on the coach. đ Â
On to the next stop…
It was late morning now and the serpentine started to get a little busier.
And then…
The coach hit the brakes, our group said âWooaahhhâ and the drivers sorted out a way to carry on. Our coach had to reverse (no idea how he did it) up the hill and around some corners until he found a little pull in. It had taken our driver over half an hour to pull off this manoeuvre, and after a round of applause he drove on. Â
We arrived in Cetinje…Â
Leaving the air conditioned coach and stepping out into the centre of a bubbling volcano (thatâs what it felt like to me)we followed our guide towards the museum, but on the way he quickly stopped to talk to us about a church building.
Vlah church…
Walking along a track the guide pointed out this lovely old church building and started talking about itâs history.
From Wikipedia…
The church was initially made of “plot” (Serbian: пНОŃ), i.e. of sticks, switches and mud. It was rebuilt three times. First as “suvomeÄa” (Serbian: ŃŃвОПоŃĐ°), which means of stones without mortar; then of “klaÄena” (Serbian: кНаŃона), which is stones with lime mortar; and finally, in 1864 the church received its current form. A guard rail around the church was built in 1897 using barrels of Ottoman rifles captured in 1858 during the Battle of Grahovac.Â
The part about the guard rail using barrels of Ottoman rifles captured in 1858 really stuck out to me. I hope my two quickly taken photos showed the guard rail? We didnât get any closer as the guide was moving fast! đ˘
Walking towards the Museum of King Nikola…
Wow it was hot, iâve never experienced heat like this  before! The Caribbean heat is much different and there is always a cool breeze, but here there was no breeze and it just felt like my bones were being steamed in a cauldron of boiling water, whilst my skin was being attacked by a million angry wasps with mini switchblades  cutting into me! đĽđĽđĽ
Then out of nowhere…
I heard cars whiz past and stop close to us, car doors flew open and there was lots of commotion.Â
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I said âWhatâs happening? It sounds like the NCIS team has just pulled up and Gibbs and his special agents have just rushed out of their cars?!â I wasnât too far wrong as it was the President of Montenegro and his bodyguards.
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The guide told us to stop and take shade under a tree for a while and heâll go and sort out what to do next. He was away for quite a while and whilst he was gone Sarah said âHey Steve thereâs a statue over there letâs go and take a photoâ i replied âitâs boiling out there iâm staying under this treeâ, of course this reply didnât work and Sarah stood me in front of the statue, lol! đ Â Â
The guide returned and told us that the President will be inside the museum we were about to be guided around. So weâll have our break now of about an hour as another group was before us and will be first to go inside the museum. We wonât be able to go back to the lovely air conditioned coach but there is the main square just over there, and there are some shops and a cafe. As the group separated we walked towards the square.
Sarah said âThere is not much here but this looks like a souvenir type shop. Letâs get you out of the heat before you explodeâ. It was a souvenir shop and we bought a lovely painted plate with Montenegro written on and it hangs above the doorway to our kitchen. đ Â
Heading out of the shop we walked around the corner and Sarah said âOOooohhhh look at that dress!!â I knew exactly what the noise meant (as i canât see what iâm looking at, lol) and we walked towards the shop. The dress was hanging up outside the shop and Sarah was completely taken with it. she said âlook at the designâŚitâs all handmade stitching, the colours are beautiful and itâs simply exquisiteâŚI love it! đÂ
Inside the shop…
Minding the step into the shop Sarah had a little look around to see if she could see the dress (the one outside) anywhere inside the shop. The local woman behind the counter said âYou like the dress?â as she held up a black dress that Sarah didnât want or like. âNo i wanted to ask about the dress outsideâ Sarah said whilst pointing out of the window. âThis dress would look really nice on you!â the woman insisted, âno i donât like that dress itâs too dark for me, do you have the orange and red flower dress thatâs hanging up outside in my size?âÂ
The woman continued in her heavy accent âYou donât like? Why do you not like? It look lovely on you!â Just as I was thinking that weâd never get out of here without even looking at the dress the woman said âThere is only 1 of the dress outside but this dress (the one she was holding) we have many. Sarah said whilst looking a little disappointed as there was only 1 of those amazing dresses âCould i have a look at it please and try it on?”
The woman finally put down the other dress and got the one from outside and passed it to Sarah. âWow this is amazing but itâll never fitâ Sarah said whilst trying not to get too excited anymore, but she went over to the changing rooms and tried it on anyway.
âWow, you look stunningâ i said knowing sheâs about to tell me i canât see it very well anyway, lol! âIt fits perfectly, i thought there would be no way it fitsâŚIâve just got to have itâ Sarah said with a beaming smile on her face.Â
Leaving the shop with Sarah (sheâs super excited) still stunned that she’d got the only dress of that kind available and it fitted perfectly, we headed back towards the cafe.
The cafe…
It was really busy and it was the only cafe open around this square and everyone seemed to be here. There was a man selling cold bottles of water under a sheltered bit so we went and bought a couple. Sarah found the only 2 chairs left which were in the sun. As we sat down with a bottle of water each…
Sarah shouted âAArrggghhhhâ and flew up out of her seat like iâd just pushed the ejector seat button! At the same time half of the contents of her water bottle hit me in the face and covered mostt of my shirt (i was glad of the cooling down). But i said âWhatâs just happened?â âAwww the burning hot arms of the chair scorched my forearms as i sat down!â OuchâŚI can still feel it as iâm typing this! đ¤Â
Leaving the cafe it was time to meet up with the group to have our guided tour around the museum. On the way Sarah found some art and a fantastic building.
Museum of King Nikola…
This fascinating Museum used to be the royal palace of the Montenegrin King for more than 50 years. So once the president had left we had our chance to see it. đ Â
The museum guide took us around the house and explained the significance and rarity of many of the items on display. She brought it all to life with a passion and pride that left a lasting impression.
The museum has many rooms which were presented as they would have looked when used as a royal palace, including the king’s and queen’s bedrooms, reception rooms, official meeting rooms, etc, and the various displays included clothing, weapons, furniture, medals and flags and other regalia from this historical royal house.
The temperature outside was 41ËC but inside it felt even hotter. We were told not to lean on any hanging wall paintings but the heat coming off any one of our group couldâve melted the painting (and the frame) from 10 feet away! The museum was incredible but everyone was so hot they all just wanted to leave.Â
Just enought time to take one more photo of my beautiful and lovely wife Sarah! â¤ď¸Â Â
Back on the coach…
âAww feel that air conditioningâ i said whilst trying not to melt Sarah with the heat emanating from me! âď¸
Wait a minuteâŚYes itâs that time again!Â
The coach stopped just long enough for Sarah to take a couple of wonderful panoramas.Â
Arriving in Budva…
The guide flew off the coach and continued walking at breakneck speed for about 10 minutes. Sarah and i were tripping up little curbs, dropping down slopes and even started falling away from the group at one stageâŚBut then he stopped to  show us this beautiful place…
The guide said we had an hour free time and to meet him back in the main square ( i think i know where that is, lol). Â
Sarah instantly found a coffee shop and wondered if they did iced coffees like the ones we’d had in Greece? They did even better than that! Sarah got me a massive one and said âIf you stand here in the shade of the coffee shop, iâm going to go and see if i can get onto the beach. âOk iâll not moveâ. I didnât need to move as this iced coffee was incredibleâŚIt even had 2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream with a double espresso poured over the top. I talk about this coffee as many times as i can. WowâŚThe ice cold coffee contrasting that scorching sun, mmmmmm. âď¸Â
Yay, Sarah managed to get onto the beach and put her feet on the sand so we were both very happy! đ Â
Not sure why i took this photo of the path?
We met up with the group and followed the guide back to the coach, the air conditioning wasnât even cooling me anymore i was just too hot. Iâd been boiled for about 10 hours and i think itâs going to take about a week to cool down. đÂ
Back on the ship…
Wow what a day! 41ËC is the hottest Sarah & i have felt so far on our travels, and we always talk about this day. But first itâs time to meet Brian & Ann for the final time on this cruise .
Youâll never guessâŚ??
During our lovely 4 course evening meal Brian & Ann gave us this lovely Montenegrian design wooden box as a gift. Ann said âWe didnât go on any trips today so we looked around the town. We found a craft store and found this lovely box, i knew youâd love it and we just had to buy it for you! We were blown away with their kindness and friendship and we keep this box on our sideboard in our living room. Oh we also still have the 2 chocolates inside which Ann was handing out on her birthday! đ Â
Back in the cabin…
We were disappointed not to find a folded towel creature on the bed on our last day of this wonderful cruise. But this was the first of 2 cruises Sarah managed to book at the same price as the Barbados cruise and stay we had to cancel. Sarah managed to book them a couple of months apartâŚBut weâre going to jump ship (Thomson Spirit) and climb a board the Thomson Majesty and sail away to our next destination! đ âď¸ â â´
We hope youâve enjoyed being on this âClassical Greeceâ cruise with us? Did you have a favourite place?
To be continued…Â
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âď¸ #40 The Blind Sightseers “Escape The Lockdown” With Distant Memories: “Corfu, Greece”đŹđˇ(2017)
May 18, 2020 0 Comments
Good morning friends! (ÎιΝΡΟÎĎÎą ĎίΝοΚ) đ Â
Wow what a day yesterday, itâs time for a little relaxing todayâŚ.
Glyfada Beach is a Blue Flag strip of sand on Corfuâs west coast. Youâll have three hours to enjoy it during this trip. The soft, golden sand unravels into a crystal-clear lagoon. While behind it, dramatic, tree-peppered cliffs tower over a smattering of shops and restaurants. You can be as relaxed or active as you like â top up your tan as you lie on a sunlounger*, or get stuck in with watersports*. Thereâs windsurfing, waterskiing and pedal boats up for grabs.
How does that sound for a relaxing day at the beach! âď¸ Â
On the dock…
After another lovely breakfast we got off the ship and met up with the excursion team who kindly showed us to our coach. This excursion is a really short one  and is only 3 hours long, but we thought that Sarah could swim and play in the sea whilst i had a lay down on a sun bed and go to sleep . đ´  Â
The coach dropped us off miles away from the beach and we had no idea which way to go. Sarah quickly guided (dragged) me as we needed to follow the other people from the coach. The other people soon split and went in multiple directions and we were soon left on our own. After a few wrong turns (about 15 minutes) we were walking along a path parallel to the beach. âThis looks more like itâ Sarah said as we were walking down the side of a white hotel looking place. âWait a minute, they said there would be lots of shops and cafes etc and there are none hereâ. We continued walking towards what appeared to be an empty beach and Sarah said âNo, not this way either, weâve already been off the coach for about 30 minutesâ.Â
We started heading back to the parallel path and back down the side of the hotel when…
We heard âThereâs Sarah and Steveâ and a few seconds later Brian and Ann (friends we met on the captains night evening) were stood in front of us. âNo wayâ i said âFancy meeting you here?! How areyou doing?â They were not impressed and said âWe were on the bus before yours and weâve walked around the whole place and nothing is open! Weâve paid good money to be on this trip and there is nothing here worth while, weâve wasted our moneyâ. Sarah said âWeâve also been walking around for ages and your rightâŚThere is not much here. Shall we walk down here and see whatâs on the beach?â.Â
Shortly after reaching the beach Ann said âThereâs a cafe type bar over there, let me treat you both to a drink and we can chat for a while and then see what else we can doâ, âWow thank you so muchâ. â đ Â
The Cafe…Â
It was a lovely little cafe/bar facing the sea (i think thatâs what the photo shows above?) and when the waiter had put our drinks down on the table, Brian said âWe enjoyed the meals you left when that huge man stole you from our table, lolâ Ann said âOoohhh yeah tell us what happened. Did you get arrested?â 𤣠Â
We had a great time unfolding the events of that evening and told them it was also our 10th wedding anniversary. they both said âWeâve been married 42 years this year, we married in 1975 as teenagersâ. âWowâ i said âCongratulationsâŚI was born in 1975 and itâs amazing to be married for that longâ. đ  Brian and Ann were from Yorkshire so when Sarah said she grew up in Yorkshire and her family were still there, the conversation kept flowing and we connected really well! Time also flew by as we were chatting, laughing and having a fantastic time after the day had started badly, and we were already half way through our excursion time.
Ann said âHeyâŚWeâve been chatting for ages donât let us stop you having your time at the beach. Go and have some time to yourselves. You can leave your bags with us so you donât need to carry themâ. Brian added âIâll get my iPad mini connected to the internet and show you some Facebook photos when you get backâ. Sarah replied âIâm also on Facebook so we can add each other as friends too and stay in touch”.Â
The beachâŚâď¸ Â
I love this photo of Sarah (above) i can spend ages just soaking it in. Sarah works in London and commutes for 3 hours (round trip) into the dull grey and back into the lush greens of home. Her eyes get burned out with all of the close built up areas of London, and they work hard focusing on all of the close up objects and this results in lots of eye strainâŚBut when she is on the ship or on the beach she says âMy eyes totally relax as they love not focusing on close up objects but they rest whilst looking into the distance”. đ Â
Knowing all of this, i donât need to tell you that Sarah really enjoys herself when in the sea…Â
Oh yes I forgot to let you guys knowâŚIâm actually here! Iâm burning hot again but my tactical sun hat is working well! đ° Â
Back at the cafe…
We returned to the cafe after rinsing off the sand under a tap attached to the wall. Ooohhh that was a lovely cold tap, lol!  Brian said (whilst looking sad) âThe cafe doesnât have Wifi so i canât connect my iPad to the internetâ as Sarah said âOh thatâs a shame i was looking forwards to seeing some of your photos, and also searching for my profile and adding you as a friendâ. I thought for a momentâŚâWait a minute! I think i can do a âPersonal Hot Spotâ on my iPhone if i have a cellular connectionâŚIâll just checkâ.Â
I sat down a pulled my iPhone out of my pocket, plugged in my earphones and listened to my Voiceover screenreader. âHey Brian, it says i have 3G so youâll be able to connect and use my connectionâ âWhat? I donât understand what youâve just said?â After Sarah talked him through connecting via hot spot âWow thanks, iâm not sure what youâve just done but thanksâ and he opened up Facebook! đ Â
Ann turned to me and said âHow did you just manage to use your phone?â I turned down the speaking rate to normal and unplugged my earphones, i said âCan you hear it reading out the name of the apps on my home screen, it even puts a box (Voiceover Cursorâ around the app itâs reading out so you can follow along if you have low vision too. âWowâ Ann said âthatâs amazing how it does thatâ. I said âAnd if i tap 4 times with 3 fingers it puts on a screen curtain âItâs gone offâ Ann said âNo, it appears that way but it has just made the screen black so i can have privacy too while iâm using my phoneâ. “Can you read messages too?â Sarah said whilst laughing âOh no donât get him started, we only have about an hour left and he’ll go on for agesâ. We all started laughing. 𤣠Â
Time was simply flying by, and after more lovely conversations on an omnifarious amount of topicsâŚIt was time for us all to head back to the coach.
Back at the dock…
Walking off our coach(Brian & Ann had a different ticket) Â and towards the port shop. Sarah said âMaybe this shop will have some souvenirs as all of the beach shops were closed?!â âI hope soâ i said whilst following Sarah into the incredible air conditioned shop! âHello againâ Brian and Ann said âWeâre looking for souvenirs as the beach shops were all closedâ I said âYeah thatâs why weâre in here too, lolâ.
The handâŚ
Brian, Ann and Sarah had already exited the shop, i was following a few steps behind as i let a man through as he seemed in a rush. I heard Sarah say âCome on Steveâ and then a huge fit of laughter burst out of AnnâŚThen BrianâŚAnd finally Sarah! They were still doubled over in giggles as i got there. âWow what happenedâ i said as iâd just carefully navigated the step upon leaving the shop. Ann said whilst giggling âSarah just grabbed that other mans hand and pulled him out of the shop thinking it was youâ Sarah still with an embarrassed laugh said âCome on you, youâve caused enough trouble , lol!â Now we all burst out laughing! đ¤Ł
Back on the ship…
Before heading back to our cabin Ann said âItâs my 70th Birthday todayâ âWhat?? You kept that quietâ Sarah and i said together whilst both in shock. Brian said âWe booked this cruise for Annâs 70th Birthday treat! Would you like to eat with us later to celebrate at the usual place? We meet you at 7pm outsideâ. Sarah said âYes of course that will be lovelyâŚAnd Happy Birthday Ann!â đ Â
Sarah instantly crafted a plan…The plan was to wait until the ship leaves the port so that the shops can open. Then we can find a birthday present for Ann before we meet them at 7pm outside the restaurantâŚShe executed her plan perfectly and the present was lovely, Ann loved it! đ Â
Annâs Birthday meal…
⧠Brian & Ann â§Â
We met up with Brian and Ann and sat down at a table for 6. There were another couple sitting down too (sorry forgot their names) but they were also from Yorkshire. Sarah & i thought they must be Brian and Annâs friends but Ann said theyâd just met them before we came in and we asked them to join us. đ Â
Brian whispered âDonât say anything but iâve arranged a special birthday cake for Ann and she doesnât know.â âAww fantasticâ i said. And after our starters and main mealsâŚIt was time!
A small group of waiters led by a guitar player and all singing âHappy Birthdayâ they arrived behind Ann. She started laughing as they played (and we all sang a long) the birthday song, and when we’d all finished another waiter placed the cake in front of Ann. She was beaming and happily surprised and thanked Brian profusely! â¤ď¸
After a while Brian and Ann said âWe canât have the rest of the cake as it will make us ill, and the others donât want itâŚWould you like to take the rest back to your cabin?â Sarah said âWooahhh itâs pretty much all creamâŚSteve youâll love itâ i said âWell what can i say? If it will help you out then iâll take this burden from you!â đđÂ
Back at the cabin…
We returned once more to our cabin and were met with yet another folded towel creature. đÂ
What a fantastic day! We thought this day would be one of the worst, as we only book a beach break when there are no other excursions available. But today was great and spending it with Brian and Ann was lovelyâŚOh they are also our Facebook friends now too. đ  Â
Thank you all for joining us in Corfu. I hope you had a lovely time? ButâŚWeâre not finished yet,
To be continued…Â
Our RouteâŚ..
On Tuesday evening Thomson Spirit sails to the port of Kotor, Montenegro. Where weâre expected to arrive on Wednesday morning having travelled 185 nautical miles at an average speed of 14 knots
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