Days 39 and 40 - Santa Margherita Ligure

Day 39 – Santa Margherita Ligure

Today was a definite down day. I was quite exhausted from the last tour through Utrecht and the Rhine River. It was a great tour, but bordered on being too many days away from ‘home’. This is something I’m deliberately monitoring to make future holidays just the right length. It’s looking like 10 days of travelling is enough. I’ll keep monitoring.

As to the day’s activities, nothing of note. I did my washing (four loads in the small washing machine here), did a little shopping to put some food in the cupboards, worked on another big blog entry, and read a lot. A good day.

Reflecting on the Rhine River Cruise, I think that it was all that I imagined it to be. The highlights were the scenic and touring opportunities through a part of Europe (Germany, mostly) that was really fascinating and the food on-board. Also, I got to actually cruise on this trip (unlike my Nile River cruise 13 years ago) and that was satisfying. For the rate that I paid, the cruise was not as luxurious or the cabin as spacious, as they show on the ads (of course!), but it was sufficient for my purposes. If money wasn’t an issue and especially if I was travelling with someone, I would get a stateroom above the waterline, and even a suite. That would suit my introverted purposes better than having to hang out with my shipboard ‘friends’ all the time. I should say, all the people I met on board were lovely (80% American passenger complement) but not really ‘my people’. The staff were unfailingly pleasant and friendly, a couple even a little bit too much so. The on-board atmosphere, managed by the Program Director, Sam, was friendly and welcoming, but also a bit too forced ‘Summer Camp fun’ on occasions. He’s got to do that, of course, but it doesn’t suit me so much. That’s one of the reasons that a larger (or just apparently larger with full-height windows) cabin/stateroom would have suited – to make my withdrawal from the ‘compulsory fun’ more comfortable.

In summary, the cruise was definitely worth it. I am so satisfied with the experience that I plan to do two more cruises with Viking over time: another river cruise, this time the Danube, and their ‘expedition’ cruise to Antarctica. Both of these future adventures will be the sole component of the holiday that they represent.

I should also note that I really enjoyed my brief stay in Utrecht. I loved this little, old city and would definitely go back if I’m ever in the Netherlands again.

Daily facts: Location: Santa Margherita Ligure Temp: 16 Weather: Sunny, patches of cloud

Day 40 – Santa Margherita Ligure

This morning, the full moon was visible through the bedroom window. I’d seen amazing pictures of it online last night. I tried to photograph it a few times because it looked big to me through the window. However, the camera lens wasn’t seeing the same magnification through the atmosphere that I was.

A few attempts to capture the harvest moon

Today was another down day but administratively busy. I’d got home on Wednesday night thinking that I had several days in SML before heading off for my Naples trip only to discover yesterday morning that I didn’t. I’m off to Naples tomorrow! First, I prepared another long blog entry to finish off the cruise part of my adventure. Then I booked rail tickets from SML to Naples for Friday and return on Wednesday next week. Then I did some quick, shallow investigating on Trip Advisor for some tours to do in/around Naples as there is much to see in that area and I wanted to try to get it all. I found two day trips to suit my purposes: one (on Sunday) will visit Herculeaneum, Vesuvius, and Pompeii; the other (Tuesday), will visit Sorrento, Positano, and Amalfi. That leaves me with Saturday afternoon (after arrival) and Monday to investigate Naples on my own. It’s a big agenda, but I want to check everything out even if only superficially, to know what to come back to at some later time.

Other activities involved ironing and packing, treating myself to lunch in a restaurant, and more reading. I went to bed early satisfied that I was prepared to leap out of bed early for my train trip.

Daily facts: Location: Santa Margherita Ligure Temp: 12 Weather: Sunny, patches of cloud