Naples, Italy

The port of Naples is located in the heart of the city and the first structure viewed by passengers leaving the cruise ship is Castel Nuovo (New Fort).

From Naples our tour headed southeast along the Bay of Naples past Mount Vesuvius which in 79 A.D. erupted and buried the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Mount Vesuvius  is still an active volcano.

The first stop on our tour is the town of Sorrento and the coastline becomes very steep as we approach.

Sorrento…

Sorrento is noted for its inlayed woodwork and our is shown one of the many shops selling beautiful  woodworks.

This shop also sold figurines and one of them  was very real.

Photos from the streets of Sorrento …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a lunch in Sorrento our tour headed for a drive along the Amalfi Coast.

Coastal villages cling to the steep hillsides.

 

Roadside markets are common along the Amalfi coast.

One of our finial stops was the town of Amalfi which was a rich trading port.

 

 

Santorini, Greece

Santorini is noted for its hillside homes built on the steep cliffs. The cliff on the island of Santorini were formed by the explosion of  the volcano Thera in 1600 B.C.

Cruise ships now anchor in the center of the old  volcano. Passengers from the cruise ship arrive at a dock at the base of the island.

 

From the dock passengers have a choice of cable car, donkey ride or walking to reach the top.

We selected cable car.

 

A view of our cruise ship from the top.

There are many donkeys on the island and some signs related to donkeys.

We took a van tour of the island. Our first stop was the beach town of Kamari.

Even though it was a warm sunny day, this is the off season for tourists and the black sand beach was empty.

Our next stop was a hillside winery at Athinios with a great view of the island and our cruise ship.

Hill top homes.

From Athinios we traveled through Fira where the locals had Christmas decorations out.

 

A local market in Fira.

Our last stop, the beautiful town of Oia on the north end of the island.

 

 

Rhodes, Greece

The old town section of Rhodes was the walled medieval city, home to the Knights of St. John. The fortress built to defend the city is still in place.

 

Inside the walls of the fort are many of the buildings and publis squares from 500 years ago.

 

 

 

Many of the streets ans sidewalk had stone desiigns, including the symbol of Rhodes, the stag deer. 

The stag deer also mark the location of the Colossus. A 110 foot high bronze sculpture of the sun god Helios. The Colossus, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancident World, was toppled by an earthquake in 224 B.C.

Walking the streets of Rhodes.

The sport of “Rabbit hunting”.