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The early morning sunlight cast a bright yellow hue across the Bay of Naples as we walked down the gangplank and made our way along the busy pier past the 13^th-century Castel Nuovo.  

While Naples rarely gets the accolades that befall more glamorous Italian cities like Rome, Florence and Venice, it’s a great port of call – not only as a city filled with Renaissance architecture and historic treasures, but also as a jumping off point for many wonderful nearby venues. For example, it’s just a short bus or taxi ride from the pier to the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the beautiful seaside town of Sorrento, the sensational Amalfi coast, and the magnificent Isle of Capri.   

Founded by the ancient Greeks in the 6^th- century BC and called Neopolis, the “new city” was eventually captured by the Romans in 326 BC. The Romans loved the natural beauty and mild climate of Naples, and quickly turned it into a vacation retreat area. In fact, they designed and built Herculaneum as an exclusive resort town with large villas overlooking the beautiful bay, lots of nice shops, and water access for boating.

With the fall of the Roman Empire in 475 AD, Naples fell under the control of various invaders including the Goths, Byzantines, and Spaniards before becoming an independent kingdom in 1734, and finally part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy in 1860. As a result, the city’s historic center, which is blessed with many medieval buildings and an abundance of Renaissance architecture, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Gail and I were tempted to spend the day walking around the city, but since our daughters (Lindsay and Samantha) had never seen Capri, we decided to catch a hydrofoil at the nearby ferry dock for the 50-minute voyage across the Gulf of Naples to this romantic island. At 32 Euros per person (about US$46) for a return trip, it was a much better bargain than the ship’s shore excursion to Capri (including lunch) which was priced at US$150 per person!

Capri is sometimes called the “Island of Dreams,” and as soon as we walked off the ferry at Marina Grande we could see why. High above us were spectacular cliffs with brightly colored villas and a narrow road that wound its way up to the top.  

While there’s a funicular that whisks its passengers half way up the cliff face to the town of Capri, it had a long line-up. So we hailed one of Capri’s pretty convertible taxi cabs and made the slow journey up the winding road to the village of Anacapri (30 Euros) at the very top of the island.

For centuries, the only path between Capri and Anacapri was the Scala Fenicia – the tiny, criss-crossing footpath originally cut into the side of the mountain by the Phoenicians.  However, today there is a wider (but still narrow) road that ascends the steep slope and provides breathtaking views of the water and coastline below.

Once we reached Anacapri, we stopped for coffees on a small patio and then boarded a chair lift (La Seggiovia) up to Monte Solaro, which at 1,950 ft (595m) is the highest point on the island. There’s an old stone building at the top with a pretty terrace, a small restaurant, and stunning 360 degree views of the entire island and surrounding bays. On a nice day, this is a “must do” trip for anyone who wants to get great photos – in fact, the girls took lots of each other in various poses with the island and bays below them.

After taking the chair lift back to Anacapri, we jumped in a taxi for the short ride (15 Euros) to the town of Capri where we had lunch at a pretty sidewalk café – a wonderful repast of Caprese Salad (buffalo mozzarella cheese with ripe tomatoes), followed by ink squid pasta with monkfish. After lunch, we strolled through the narrow streets of Capri, which are filled with charming villas, trailing blooms and designer boutiques. There are also some delightful cafes in the Piazza Umberto, which is right next to the clock tower and the funicular.  

It was now close to 3:00 pm and time for us to travel back along the winding road to the waterfront to catch a return hydrofoil to Naples. As we boarded our ferry and took a final glance back at the spectacular cliffs and brightly colored villas of Capri, we understood why it had become the “Island of Dreams” for so many people.

As the bright Mediterranean sun began its slow accession over the pretty Saronic Gulf in the south of Greece, the Celebrity Solstice eased its way into the bustling port of Pireaus, some seven miles south of the historic city of Athens.
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Athens reached its zenith as the artistic centre of Greece during the 5th century BC. During this “Golden Age” of classical Greek culture, the Athenians laid the foundations of western civilization and produced some of the world’s most celebrated buildings, literature, science and philosophy.
While today’s overcrowded Athens is not quite as splendid as its “Golden” ancestor was, the city of Socrates and Plato still offers some of the most inspiring sights in the western world. These include the Acropolis with its beautiful monuments, the city’s central square called the Syntagma, the Temple of Hephaestus, and the old scenic quarter known as the Plaka. And while Athens can still be overcrowded at times, there have been many improvements made to public transportation, buildings, museums and air quality as a result of the massive spending for the 2004 Greek Olympic Games.
Since the Solstice would be in port until 6:00 pm, we (Lindsay, Samantha, Gail and I) decided to forgo the ship’s easy but expensive excursion to Athens (US$75) and take the electric tram (1 Euro each way) on our own from Pireaus into the city’s centre. We reached Monastiraki Station about one hour later, which empties onto a beautiful square that sits right in the shadow of the stunning Acropolis high above it.
We eventually made our way up to the Acropolis, where we met our private tour guide - Sam’s Greek-Canadian boyfriend John, who happened to be spending a few weeks in Athens visiting relatives. According to John, the Acropolis consists of four main buildings that were constructed under the direction of Pericles from 460-430 BC. Those buildings are the Parthenon, the Erechtheum with its porch of the caryatids (maidens), the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Proplyaea, which is the marble-columned entrance that leads to the top of the Acropolis. The Acropolis also overlooks two magnificent theatres - the Dionysos and the Odeion Herod Atticus.
As we walked up the Propylaea’s steps and through its monumental gate, we were struck by the amazing beauty of the Parthenon as it stood high above the city on a glorious canvas of solid blue sky. The first structure built on the Acropolis, the beautiful Doric-style temple dedicated to the goddess Athena is the most enduring symbol of classical Greece, and one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments (even though it seems to be continuously embraced by scaffolding). Consequently, there are always huge crowds on the Acropolis during the tourist season (May to September), so it pays to arrive early or late in the day to get the best views.
After admiring the beautiful buildings of the Acropolis and the amazing vista it provides of the theatres and city below, we made our way back down to Monastiraki Square where we had a delicious lunch of souvlaki and kebobs on the patio of an old taverna. We then strolled through the local flea market in search of tablecloths, linens, pottery and souvenirs before heading off to the nearby districts of the Plaka and Thission.
Athens’ oldest and most scenic neighborhood, the Plaka is filled with a labyrinth of narrow streets, small churches and lots of interesting shops and cafes. It’s also home to the Ancient Greek and Old Roman agoras, the open-air markets where residents once traded and sold their goods.
Just west of the Plaka, we discovered the ancient Temple of Hephaestus, which sits atop a small hill at the northwest side of the Ancient Agora. Completed in 415 BC, the Doric-style temple with its 21 marble columns is the best preserved in Athens. And since its construction was supervised by the same person who helped build the Parthenon (Ictinus), it’s nearly as beautiful.
It was now 3:30 p.m., and time to make our way back to Piraeus to catch our ship. While we had experienced just a fraction of what the city has to offer, we had seen enough to know that we should be eternally grateful to the people of Athens. Grateful for the cultural, scientific and artistic treasures passed on to western civilization by the ancient Greeks. And grateful that inspiring monuments like the Parthenon, the Erechtheum and the Temple of Hephaestus from the Golden Age of Athens had been preserved for future generations like us.

 

 

After sailing overnight from Istanbul through the Dardanelles and south along the coast of Asia Minor, we arrived in the ancient Turkish seaside resort of Kusadasi.

A popular holiday spot on the eastern shores of the Aegean Sea, Kusadasi was once a small fishing village and gateway to some of the most important cultures on earth. In fact, this part of Asia Minor dates back more than 10 centuries B.C., and boasts  links to many civilizations including the Lelegians, Carians, Dorians, Greeks and Romans.  

Named for the old fortified “Bird Island” just off its coast, Kusadasi is today a large town with a bustling bazaar, a pretty waterfront dotted with cafes, and lots of hotels overlooking beautiful beaches. But as tempting as life in Kusadasi can be, most visitors come to see the region’s amazing history, which includes one of the best preserved classical ruins in the eastern Mediterranean just a 20-km drive from town.

The Amazons, Lydians, Greeks, and Persians all ruled Ephesus at various points, but it was the Romans who made the city into the “first and greatest metropolis of Asia” in 27 AD. At the time, the city had outdoor lights, public toilets and a population approaching 250,000. It also had world’s first outdoor advertisement - a footprint and heart carved into the pavement on Marble Street pointing the way to the local brothel!
Today, there is a wonderful museum in Ephesus with many beautiful works, including the Statue of Artemis. In addition, there are nearly 50 structures in the old city including the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, and the Corinthian-style Temple of Hadrian.

We took one of the ship’s shore excursions to Ephesus because it was reasonably priced (US$65), and it really helps to have a guide who can explain the history and significance of the various statues, arches, facilities and buildings.

Our tour began at the top of Kurets Street, a stone pathway that starts at the Odeion concert hall and runs past the ruins of several beautiful buildings including Domitian Square, Trajan’s Fountain, Hadrian’s Temple and the Skolastikia Bath. The latter was originally a two-storey building with hot (Tepidarium) and cold (Frigidarium) water baths, a massage parlour, and public toilets with running water.

At the end of Kurets Street, we arrived at the city’s main square and the ruins of the magnificent Library of Celsus which was built in the 2^nd century A.D. Constructed over the tomb of the Roman Senator who governed Ephesus, the two-storey façade of the library is supported by eight columns, and features three recessed statues representing the virtues of Celsus.

After touring the library, we walked along a beautiful section of street known as “The Marble Street” because it is totally covered with white marble. The street goes from Hadrian’s Gate to the Great Theatre, where St. Paul once preached to 25,000 spectators during a visit. Built into the side of a hill, the present shape of the theatre dates back to the rein of the Roman Emperor Domitian, and represents one of the finest outdoor theatres of its kind.

Our tour concluded with a show by a local theatre company that featured the types of acts that would have entertained the local citizenry some two centuries ago – dancers, jugglers, musicians and jesters. As we watched them perform in period costumes with the Great Theatre as their backdrop, it felt for a moment like we had gone back in time. Back to the days when great civilizations thrived on the eastern shores of the Aegean, and built magnificent cities filled with great beauty.

The mid-day call to prayer drifted through the streets of Istanbul as the Celebrity Solstice sailed past the soaring minarets of the Blue Mosque on its way to the cruise ship terminal in the Strait of Bosphorus.

A bustling and intriguing city of some 12 million people, Istanbul has at various times been the capital of three empires and 13 civilizations spanning a breathtaking 10,000 years. It is also the only city in the world that spans two continents (Europe and Asia), which are linked by a series of bridges over the busy Bosphorus. In fact, many who live here reside on the more suburban Asian side, but work in the crowded downtown European section. 

Since our ship was only in town for an afternoon and morning, we (Gail, Lindsay, Samantha and I) decided to take a tour that spanned both days in order to get the most from our visit. Luckily, many of the major sights of interest are situated close together in the Old City, as this part of Istanbul is almost permanently mired in traffic gridlock.

Our first tour stop was the Topkapi Palace, which for hundreds of years was the centre of Ottoman power and in its heyday was home to up to 5,000 people, including the harem, all serving the needs of one man - the Sultan. There are some magnificent collections housed here, including 4^th and 5^th century celadon porcelain (favoured by the sultans as the pigments are purported to react to poisons by changing colour), and samples from the priceless treasury collections, including the richly bejeweled Topkapi dagger made famous by the movie in which Peter Ustinov attempts to steal it, elaborate gold and jewel-encrusted thrones and furniture, and the egg-sized 86-carat Spoonmaker’s diamond.

After ogling some of the biggest and rarest jewels the world has to offer, we took a brief walk to the nearby Blue Mosque.  Considered one of the finest examples of Ottoman architecture, it was commissioned in the early fifteenth century by Sultan Ahmet I.  At the time, the design of the Mosque was so grand that it was considered impossible to build. 

Today, its domes and gold minarets still dominate the skyline, and it is the only mosque in the world to have as many minarets (six) as the mosque in Mecca.  There is nothing blue about the exterior of the Mosque, however, which takes on various hues depending on the mood of the sun and time of day. But once inside, we were struck by the beauty of its 21,000 blue and white Iznik tiles which create a calm and graceful interior.

Early the next morning we began our tour with a trip to the Asian side of the continent for a photo op of the city’s European skyline, and then returned across the Bosphorus to a carpet store in the Old City. Plied with local drinks ranging from Turkish coffee, apple tea, or, for the adventurous, raki (an anise flavoured spirit similar to Greek ouzo) we were given a short talk about the history of Turkish carpet making and the variety of types and price ranges.

While some stayed to purchase, we made our way to the nearby Grand Bazaar, a rabbit warren of over 4,000 shops and stalls spanning more than 60 streets and 20 stone gates.  Although there is evidence that a marketplace of some kind existed at this location for many centuries, the present design only dates back to the 19^th century, when the bazaar was restored following the 1894 earthquake. The energy is high as locals and tourists alike haggle over everything from antiques to Turkish delight, to clothing and jewelry.

After leaving the bazaar, we strolled through the ancient Hippodrome, home to the omnipresent Egyptian obelisk carved from a single piece of granite around 1500 B.C.  The Hippodrome is located right next to the magnificent Hagia Sofia, which was originally constructed by the Emperor Justinian as a church in 537 AD.  Although the building maintained its status as the largest Christian church until the 15^th century when it was converted to a mosque by the conquering Ottomans, it was turned into to a museum in 1935 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern-day Turkish Republic. 

The Sophia features many beautiful frescoes and mosaics, and has a magnificent dome that at 56 metres (about 15 storeys) high is spacious enough to house the Statue of Liberty with room to spare.  In spite of having been extensively modified over the ages, it remains an inspiring architectural marvel and, like Istanbul itself, a fitting monument to the incredible civilizations that have lived and thrived in this part of the world for so many millennia.

(This post was co-written by my fabulous travel partner and wife, Gail.)

The cool “meltemi” winds gently buffeted our ship as she glided through the warm waters of the Aegean Sea on her way to the beguiling Greek island paradise of Mykonos.  
Surrounded by azure waters and blessed with pristine beaches, pretty towns and the best night life in the Cycladic Islands, “the Saint-Tropez of the Greek Islands” was once the favorite retreat of the late Jackie and Aristotle Onassis.  Today, the island’s spectacular coastline, picturesque windmills, great restaurants and ritzy shops still draw jet setters from across Europe, especially during the peak vacation months of July and August.

Our ship docked near the island’s picture-perfect capital of Hora, a traditional Greek fishing village of whitewashed houses, hundreds of little churches, and lots of small shops built in a labyrinth of narrow, cobblestone alleys. The maze-like layout of the town is no coincidence – it was purposely built this way many centuries ago to confuse marauding pirates. As the buccaneers became confused and disoriented in the labyrinth, the villagers were able to easily outmaneuver and ambush them.

We spent most of the morning wandering through the maze of small shops and visiting some of the town’s main attractions. They include the remains of a small fortress (Venetian Kastro), the pretty Panagia Paraportiani church made up of four small chapels, the Maritime Museum of the Aegean, and the island’s trademark five stone and thatched windmills that overlook Hora.

After touring the town, we returned to the dock and boarded a small boat for a short ferry ride across the channel to the tiny island of Delos, the mythical birthplace of Apollo, which became a great religious and trading centre in the first millennium BC.
Archaeological excavations began on Delos in 1872, and ruins of temples, grand houses, statues, and a theatre now cover most of the island’s four square kilometres. The houses of Dionysos, the Dolphins and the Tritons feature beautiful mosaic floors, and the Delos Museum has an impressive collection of ancient Greek sculpture.

Delos was a large city, and some of the ruins are not well preserved or easy to decipher. Therefore, it’s best to take a tour of the island with a guide or purchase a guide book that explains what you will be seeing.
By the time we finished touring Delos it was mid-afternoon, so we returned to Hora where we found a pretty waterfront tavern in the “Little Venice” quarter of town. This section is named for its Venetian-style houses with their multi-coloured porches and wooden balconies that are built on the edge of the water overlooking the bay.

Little Venice is also home to the town mascot, the big, pink pelican Petros, who can usually be found waddling past diners hoping for a few scraps of food. He’s quite a local celebrity, and is used to being photographed with everyone from the local Mayor to cruise passengers – although don’t get too close because he does occasionally bite!
As we sat at our waterfront taverna sampling the local retsina, calamari and mezes (a plate of traditional Greek appetizers), the bright Mediterranean sun began its slow descent into the cobalt blue waters of the Aegean Sea.

“Life doesn’t get much better than this,” we thought.

As the spectacular Greek island of Santorini appeared off our ship’s bow, its white-washed houses and lava-rock cliffs rose out of the blue Aegean Sea like a lost oasis.
“The islands with their drinkable blue volcanoes,” poet Odysseus Elytis once wrote of the Cycladic Islands, the beautiful Mediterranean archipelago resting on the peaks of submerged mountains.

The most southerly of the Greek Cycladic Islands, the “Pompeii of the Aegean” sits on the rim of a huge caldera formed by a powerful volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC. The eruption caused one side of the volcano and its cone to sink into the sea, leaving 32-square miles of water in the crater, surrounded by a crescent-shaped wall of steep cliffs.
Our ship dropped anchor in the caldera near the base of the cliffs at Mesa Yialos, some 900 feet (290 metres) below Fira, Santorini’s capital city. Fira is literally carved out of the cliffs like a balcony, and the only way to reach it from Mesa Yialos is by foot, donkey or funicular (cable car).

While Gail and I chose the funicular to ascend the cliff, daughters Samantha and Lindsay opted for the more adventurous donkeys. Riding a donkey up the 500 stone steps that criss-cross the face of the cliff sounded like a good idea to them until they got half way up and looked down! To make matters worse, the donkeys kept rubbing up against the outside wall of the staircase, and occasionally kicked when one got too close to the other. Lindsay’s verdict: “It was great, but I never want to do it again!”   
At the top of the cliff, there are beautiful whitewashed buildings, domed churches, narrow cobble-stoned streets, and lots of quaint cafes scattered along the precipice. The view is fantastic, and the town is such a fascinating maze of winding streets and interesting shops that some people never get any further. But for those with the time, it’s well worth taking the 20-minute taxi ride to Oia, which is smaller, less commercial and even more picturesque than Fira.

The girls opted to remain in Fira to shop, but Gail and I made the short trek to Oia and we were glad we did. The town features a large number of whitewashed houses that have been excavated from the face of the cliff, streets that are paved with slabs of marble, lots of pretty blue-domed churches, and the most spectacular sunsets in the Greek Islands. There are also some wonderful, little shops with handmade textiles and artwork from local artisans.
The ancient ruins of Akrotiri are also worth visiting, especially since some believe they have a connection with the legendary lost continent of Atlantis. The excavations there indicate a high level of civilization linked to the Minoan culture on the island of Crete at the same time Atlantis disappeared in the 16th century BC. That’s the same period in which Santorini’s volcano exploded, causing most of the island to sink into the Aegean and creating a tidal wave that also destroyed the Minoan civilization on Crete some 75 miles south. According to Plato’s Dialogues, Atlantis consisted of two islands – a larger and a smaller one – which some believe were Crete and Santorini.  

After spending 90 minutes in Oia, we returned to Fira and met the girls for sunset cocktails on the patio of a small café on the rim of the cliff overlooking the beautiful azure waters of the caldera below us. It would soon be time to leave Santorini and set sail for our next port of call in Mykonos. But for now, all we could think about was our beguiling island paradise and her drinkable blue volcanoes.

The ramparts of the historic Castelo de Sao Jorge rose from the early morning mist as the Emerald Princess sailed up the Tagus River from the Atlantic Ocean into the port of Lisbon.   

Founded by the Phoenicians around 1200 B.C., Lisbon has been ruled by a number of invaders over the centuries, including the Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths and Moors. In 714 A.D., the Moors occupied “Lissibona” and over the next 400 years enriched the city by erecting beautiful mosques, cultural institutions and public buildings. When Lisbon was retaken by Portugal’s Afonso Henriques in 1147, the Christians began blending European styles of design with the city’s existing Moorish architecture.

Unfortunately, many of these beautiful buildings were destroyed during the great earthquake of 1755, when two-thirds of Lisbon was reduced to a pile of rubble. However, the disaster provided city planners with a clean canvas, and they created a magnificent new landscape of grand squares, beautiful palaces and elegant Manueline-style gothic churches that today rivals any city in Europe.

We began our walking tour in one of those grand squares, the Praca do Comercio, which is located near the river in the lower business district of Baixa. One of three main neighbourhoods (bairros) in the city centre along with the Bairro Alta and the Alfama, the Baixa is a series of long avenues lined with shops, bakeries, and restaurants that run for about 10 blocks from the Praca do Comercio straight up to Rossio Square.  

If you like pastry, it’s impossible to walk past the windows of the local bakeries that are filled with sinful but delicious treats like Portuguese custard tarts. We bought a package of six tarts (5 Euros) to share with our waiters back on the ship, but they were so good they were finished before dinner!

Eventually, we made our way up Rua Augusta to Rossio Square, which is surrounded by pretty buildings including the Teatro Nacional de Dona Maria II, and a series of 18^th-century shops and hotels. The square is lined with traditional mosaic pavement, and is graced with two baroque fountains and a large statue honouring Dom Pedro IV.  

At this point, we had to make a choice between taking the Ascensor de Santa Justa up to the Bairro Alta to the west, or taking the tram up the steep slope to the Castelo Sao Jorge to our east. Made of iron and decorated with filigree, the neo-gothic Santa Justa elevator connects the lower district of Baixa with the higher Bairro Alto some 32 metres above. It also provides a stunning view of Rossio Square, the earthquake induced ruins of the 14th-century Carmo Church, and the historic Castelo Sao Jorge. However, we decided to skip the elevator in favour of a tram ride up to the castle, and a return walk through the fabled Alfama district.

Perched high above Lisbon, the hilltop fortress of Sao Jorge was built by the Visigoths in the 5^th century, enlarged by the Moors some 400 years later, and supplemented with new additions by the Christians beginning in the 12^th century. The medieval-looking castle has three distinctive parts: the old castle, the Citadel and the Alcacova Palace, which was home to the Portuguese monarchy until King Manuel built a new palace by the Tagus River in the 16^th century. 

The views from the castle’s ramparts are amazing, and provide a panoramic vista of the entire city stretching from the grand squares of the Baixa, to the red-tiled roofs of the Moorish quarter of Mouraria, to the narrow, sloping alleyways of the Alfama, and to the great Tagus River at the foot of Lisbon where our ship was moored. Within the castle’s walls, there are several statues, including one honouring Martim Moniz, the nobleman who sacrificed himself by jamming his body in Lisbon’s gates during a siege so that Christian forces could gain entry to the walled city.  

After touring the castle, we walked down a series of winding alleys to the nearby belvederes of Portas do Sol and Santa Luzia where we had a beer and enjoyed the marvelous vistas, including spectacular views of the churches of Santa Engracia and Sao Vicente de Fora. The Santa Luzia Belvedere is next to a small garden which backs onto the tiny Church of Sao Bras, where there’s a beautiful blue and white mosaic portrait depicting the Praca do Comercio before the earthquake of 1755.   

We were starting to get hungry, so we decided to walk down the hill through the winding streets of the Alfama and back to the Baxia for lunch. Lisbon’s medieval quarter of the Alfama was the lone neighbourhood to survive the great earthquake, and it still has houses from the 15^th century (the only ones remaining in the city), winding alleys, endless flights of stairs, and authentic taverns with fado music (the national ballad-style singing of Portugal).  

During the national “Saints’ Days” celebrations in Portugal, the Alfama becomes a massive street festival where locals put up decorations and set up stalls to sell wine and grilled sardines. However, while the area’s heritage may stem from Muslim aristocracy, the Alfama today is one of Lisbon’s poorer districts and can be a dangerous place to visit at night.  

After our long walk down from Castelo Sao Jorge, we returned to the Baxia for lunch at Joao do Grao at 222 rua Correeiros, not far from Rossio Square. Gail ordered the Pork and Clams Alentejana, while I had the grilled whole sea bass with green beans and boiled potatoes. The food and bottle of Portuguese red wine were delicious, and so was the price at under $50 Euros. 

It was now time to return to our ship, so we returned to the Praca do Comercio and caught a taxi back to the pier (10 Euros). As we travelled along the waterfront on our way back to the Emerald Princess, we looked back at the Castelo Sao Jorge and the beautiful city that rests beneath it.

In the Golden Age of Lisbon when Portuguese navigators had pioneered the exploration of Asia, Africa and South America at the end of the 16^th-century, this city had grown to be among the grandest in Europe. After spending a day wandering through her historic castle, grand squares, gothic churches and charming neighbourhoods, we were convinced that Lisbon had once again reclaimed her former glory.

 We arrived in the historic port of Cadiz some 36 hours after sailing from Barcelona along the western coast of the Mediterranean Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Located on the southwest coast of Spain, Cadiz is the Western world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, and was once its richest and most important port. In fact, during Spain’s Golden Age, thousands of ships sailed from here for the New World (including those on the second and third voyages of Christopher Columbus), and many returned laden with gold and silver that helped enrich the King’s coffers and temporarily build the region’s prosperity.

Today, while Cadiz is still a busy port, its beaches, stone walls, old churches and narrow streets make the city an inviting place to visit. It’s also the gateway to the spectacular cities of Spain’s Andalusia region, including the glorious city of Seville to the north.

The capital of Andalusia, Seville is an intoxicating mixture of cultures and architecture that date back 2,000 years and include Roman, Greek, Moorish and Christian influences. The North African Moors conquered Spain in 711 A.D., and began blending Roman architectural techniques with their own to build great cities like Cordoba, Granada and Seville in the southern region of Andalusia. When the Spanish recaptured Andalusia between the 13th and 15th centuries, they began blending the existing Moorish style with more classical European designs to create an architectural combination known as “Mudejar” that is uniquely beautiful and distinctly Andalusian.

Since we had visited Cadiz before, we decided to take the ship’s two-hour bus transfer to Seville ($69) and spend the day touring the city on our own. The bus dropped us off at the Plaza de Jerez, and armed with rain jackets and umbrellas to deal with the light rain, we set off on foot up the Avenida Constitucion to the magnificent Cathedral of Seville.

The immense Cathedral is the largest Gothic-style building in the world, and the third largest Christian church after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. Built in the 15^th century, the cathedral sits on the site of the former 12^th-century Grand Mosque of Seville, most of which was torn down to accommodate the new church.

All that remains of the original mosque is the beautiful minaret, which along with its twins in Marrakesh and Ragat, are the oldest surviving Almohad minarets in the world. When the cathedral was finished, a Renaissance- style belfry, a stone crowning and a weather vane were added to the top of minaret to give it the look of a bell tower. Since the Spanish word for a weather vane with a figure on it is giralda, the people of Seville started to refer to the 103-metre high (322 feet) tower as “La Giralda.”

After touring the Cathedral, we walked across the Plaza Triunfo to the imposing walls of the Reales Acazares and into the main grounds of the fortress through the “Door of the Lion.” Built by the Arabs as the city’s main fortification, the Acazares are a collection of buildings and structures from over the centuries. They include the original 9^th century walls and several patios from the Moorish period, and later additions like the 14^th century façade of King Don Pedro’s Palace from the Christian era, and represent the best example of the Mudejar style in Seville.

We then took a stroll through the picturesque Barrio de Santa Cruz, originally the Jewish district dating back to the 15^th century and today one of Seville’s most charming quarters.  With its delightful twisting narrow alleyways, shady palm and orange trees, period lamps, tiled street signs, and delicate wrought-iron balconies, gates and flower boxes, the Barrio de Santa Cruz is a genuine feast for the eyes. It’s also home to a number of pretty squares, gated patios and old landmarks, including the Convent of San Jose, the House of Murillo and the Hospital of the Venerable Priests.

After touring the barrio, we stopped for lunch at one of its many delightful restaurants that are tucked away on small alleys just a few blocks from the Cathedral.  We were among the first to arrive, but the tiny tapas bar was soon filled with the sound of local residents chatting away in Spanish,  and the aroma of home-made Andalusian tapas including prawns with garlic, chorizo sausage, grilled octopus, ham croquettes, sardines and potato tortilla. In our fractured Spanish, we ordered several platefuls of tapas and a nice bottle of house red to wash it down with.

It was now time to leave Seville for our return trip to Cadiz.  Perhaps the wine with lunch had helped, but we had certainly become intoxicated with the beautiful architecture, art and culture of this majestic city on the banks of the Guadalquivir River.  As some great Spanish artist once said back in the 16th century, “Qui non ha visto Sevilla non ha visto maravilla.” Or as we now understood even without the translation, “He who has not see Seville has not seen a marvel.”

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