Dazzled by the Adriatic’s sparkling jewels
I WAS looking forward to seeing Trieste, where the exiled James Joyce wrote Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man and Ulysses. My son wanted to discover old Dubrovnik. My wife’s priority was merely to enjoy a well-earned rest, while my daughter was happy to add Albania to her list of countries visited.
Ever since my first cruise with Silversea ten years ago, I’d wanted to share the experience with my family – and now I was. With my wife Mo, son Nathan and daughter Lianne, we set sail on an Adriatic adventure from Venice on the Silver Spirit.
We had a Silver Suite on deck ten and our very own butler who ensured clothes were cleaned, restaurants were booked and afternoon tea was delivered.
Each morning we woke up in a different port, ate breakfast on deck in the sunshine, and used the cooler early hours to explore on foot. My highlights were the dazzling Byzantine mosaics on the walls and vaulted
ceilings of the 6th Century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, the Sunday afternoon quietness of Trieste as I ticked off the cafes frequented by Joyce, and a tour of Venice I shared with Lianne. Nathan loved his walk atop the city walls of Dubrovnik, parts of which appeared as King’s Landing in Game Of Thrones.
A photo of Castello Vecchio Di Duino, spotted by Lianne, resulted in us taking a cab to the brooding 11th Century ruin on the coast north of Trieste.
After the cruise, we stayed for a few days at the Belmond Cipriani in Venice. Located on Giudecca Island, this great hotel is a destination in itself.
The hotel’s private water taxi sails to the heart of Venice every 15 minutes. I crossed over the Bacino di San Marco on our final day. The sky was a glorious blue, and within minutes I was back in the narrow streets that Lianne and I had explored ten days earlier.