Messina, the historic gateway to Sicily sits along the spectacular Strait of Messina. On our way into this port at about 4:15 am we passed by Stromboli one of the world's most active volcanoes. Having just visited Herculaneum and with a visit to Pompeii still to come, it seemed only fitting for us to get up to see this volcano. It's dark at 4:15 am so the pictures aren't great but it was still spectacular and worth the effort.
Our time in Messina started with another Chef Market Tour - for this one we travelled again by bus and visited a small but interesting open air market, complete with the opportunity to taste some local wines and followed by coffee and a treat. 
After returning to the ship briefly we headed out again to see the city and get some more architecture photos. 

This piece of street art was created in 2015, by Italian street artist NemO's in memory of migrants who lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean. 4 humans attached to a clothesline - people hung out to dry by society.

Photos from our Pizza and Wine gathering - only 12 days left onboard this cruise...

Today we took the ships excursion into Herculaneum. The city of Herculaneum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was founded around the 4th century B.C. copying the geometric regularity of the layout of Naples. It's "decumani" (main Streets) have an east-west orientation, while the "cardines" (narrower streets) run north-south. There is undeniably a "feeling" about Herculaneum, quite different from Pompeii, where you get the impression that it's ancient population of 5,000packed up and left only moments ago. Herculaneum was smaller than Pompeii but is better preserved simply because, while hot ashes consumed the wood of Pompeii's buildings, Herculaneum was covered by hot mud which sealed and protected entire city blocks. This means that the marble floors, mosaics, painted and carbonized woods can still be admired today.
Before reaching the UNESCO site our tour stopped at a Jewellery factory where artisan's still hand carve sea shells into cameos, that are then mounted as jewellery, lamps and other pieces of art. After touring the Herculaneum we were dropped back in Sorrento's city centre where we had a wonderful lunch before returning to the ship for the captain's welcome event and a spectacular sunset. Sorrento is on the Amalfi Coast - with the city centre high up on top of the cliffs and the port, where our tender dropped us off, below on the water. It's one of my favourite places.

Before entering the site we visited two museums. One contained many artifacts from the site and the other displayed a boat that was found with the wood and original ropes clearly visible. 

Today was a changeover day in the port for Rome. It was quite a short day in port - two short to go into Rome. Not much to see and we had our worst meal of the trip. I did however manage to get some of the group photos taken by others during the trip. I was too lazy to put them wherever they went chronologically so they are below the very boring pictures of Civitavecchia.

Finally got copies of some of our group photos - first leg, this is at a private reception for the 12 of us doing the 80 day voyage

This is another private event for the 12 of us and the President of Windstar.

Mary and me - being pampered while swimming off the ship

Today we were lucky enough to visit another small Italian port on the Tuscan Coast. One of the best thing about this cruise line is their small ships - and the access they provide to smaller less touristy locales. There are hills on either side of the town, each with their own Fortress. Our first hike was to, Forte Stella, built by the Spaniards in the 1500's,  overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea and was built in the form of a star. From there we crossed though the town and headed up the hill on the other side to Forte Filippo. These were great hikes and we were both pretty well drenched by the time we completed both.
Fortunately the ship was anchored off shore and the swimming platform was available. I got to spend another couple of hours swimming in the Mediterranean. Life doesn't get much better.
Tonight we had dinner in Candles, one of the ship's outdoor dining options, in celebration of our friends 20th anniversary. It can be windy in Candles when the ship is sailing - the ship is anchored until 9:30 pm tonight so we were very lucky.

Another beautiful day in Italy. The sun was shining when we ventures ashore, ready to start climbing. Elba is the island made famous in modern times as the location of Napoleon's exile. The island has in fact been inhabited since the Neolithic Age and wad featured in mythical tales such as the story of Jason and the Argonauts stopping here on their quest for the Golden Fleece.
We docked right in the main town of Portoferraio and could walk right onto the waterfront promenade and from there into the Old Town. We hiked to see both the Forte Stella  (built in 1548) and Fort Falcone, the backbone of the city's fortifications. We even walked by one of Napoleon's homes, Palazzina del Mulini, now a museum. Napoleon also had a home in the countryside which we did not visit. 
Adrian enjoyed a local Elba beer and a Caprese salad  while we both admired the yachts on the waterfront and people watched. Eventually we had lunch in a small restaurant, I had the most wonderful Eggplant Parmigiana and Adrian had a pizza, very rare lunch fo him since he doesn't really like pizza! 
After tonight's deck BBQ we went for a walk to see the beach, and ferris wheel!

We had a great day in Portofino today.  Portofino is a small, perfectly coiffed coastal village that sits on it's own peninsula. It's known as the playgrounds for the jet-set and celebrities of the world. It has 400 residents and rules in place to ensure it stays his picturesque self and modern development doesn't arrive. Adrian got a few great shots as we sailed in and anchored. We took the tender into town and then walked the community, including the mountainside walk to the point.
I tried a delicious piece of Focaccia with cheese - a local specialty.  The weather was overcast and a bit drizzly and humid. After our long walk we returned to the ship and I spent a couple hours swimming off the back of the ship. A lovely day on the Italian Riviera

A very sunny and warm day for our "Chef Market Tour" today in Cannes. This market was less crowded and had the regular things we've seen: amazing cheeses, olives, baked goods etc. It also had many wonderful looking herbs and spices. Chef provided tastings of peaches, plums, olives and nougat in the market followed by an unexpected and wonderful wine tasting paired with local meats and cheeses at a nearby bar. We got to try a rose, white and a red wine paired with three types cheese, strawberries and local cured meats. After the market Adrian and I walked around Cannes, did some shopping and shared some treats with a cappuccino. We were anchored today so the ships water platform was available for a much welcome afternoon swim. 
Tonight we were invited to join, Chris Prelog, the president of Windstar for a cocktail. Rumour has it that the cruise lines owner is also on board.

Last night we had this lovely tray of sweets delivered to our cabin! 

We had a lovely day in Monte Carlo. At just one square mile in area, Monaco is the second smallest country in the world, second only to the Vatican City. This is the playground of the wealthy, the harbours are full of super yachts and the businesses we saw primarily supported that yachting industry directly or were the banks financing it. 
Yacht watching was the order of the day! We visited the Oceanographic Museum, Princess Graces Gardens, The Royal Palace, old town Monaco and of course the casino. It's a beautiful place, built on the side of a hill, tonnes of steps up and down as well as plenty of elevators and escalators so no one has to work too hard! There are no income taxes or inheritance taxes or capital gains tax es here. They do have a 20% sales tax but the country's income comes from the Casino. Interestingly local residents are not allowed to gamble. Small price to pay for no taxes!

Gorgeous day in Provence! We're anchored today and we took the tender to shore to do our walk-a-bout. Just a few steps away from where the tended dropped us off was the local market, the usual vegetables, and other products, along with bottle of the area's famous fish soup. Our friends said we needed to try the local bread type product made from chick pea flour, olive oil, salt and cooked in a large flat pan like the ones used for paella. We did as instructed and it was great when served hot!
After the market we continued our walk along the promenade first then along a coastal trail. Great way to get some exercise while getting to enjoy the view. The community itself is quite small and although described as more of a working fishing port than a tourist destination - it seemed touristy enough to us. The water front had numerous shops and restaurants lining the street and catering to the many people enjoying the city beaches.
I insisted we be back onboard the ship in time for me to swim off the back - a highlight for me and this was our first opportunity. We should have several more ports where we can swim as well, fingers crossed the weather allows for this - it's so much fun. I didn't convince Adrian to join me today - he tested the water while we were on shore and declined, maybe next time. We did share a lovely hot tub after my swim though.

We had a perfect day in Palamos. We had coffee in bed at 8 am and then headed into town around 10. We spent two hours hiking the coastal trail before returning to old town where we did some shopping. After managing to hit a few stores prior to siesta we ended up at a lovely waterfront restaurant for nachos and hummus and of course a beer. We were back onboard in time to shower before sail-a-way and the Captain's Welcome Party - where we are now very accomplished at maximizing our irst free booze opportunity on this leg.