marco + venice

It was our last morning and we were heading into Venice around lunch time. So what better way to do that than enjoy an incredible meal whilst gliding passed Venice in all it's glory. Rather handily a certain Marco Pierre White has one of his restaurants on board so we decided to pay him a little visit. 

      

     

      

We started with the best peach Bellini I think I've ever tasted before cracking open the prosecco.

                     

                      

   

Our starters arrived and it became all too much for us. This food was incredible. 

   

Buffalo mozerella caprese for me. 

   

Quails eggs hollandaise for Sarah.

    

Annnnnd grilled king prawns for Mel. 

I could have happily eaten this all day and been satisfied but no no, we still had our mains and deserts to come. Hellooooo food day! 

I had sea bass with a king crab spring roll and the girls had the biggest steak I have ever seen (sorry I don't have any good photos of the mains- for some reason they just look awful but they really weren't). 

                   

Finally for desert (by now I'm usually stuffed but I couldn't refuse Marco...) we all had the Amalfi lemon tart with mascarpone and honey gelato. Oh.my.god. That was guuuuuuuuuddd. 

   

By now we had entered the swelteringly beautiful Venice. And I think it's safe to say we had the best view from the boat. 

    

We leapt off and jumped in a water taxi to take us to do some exploring. I've never been so I went snap happy. 

   

            

                   

   

                  

                 

   

It was soooo warm so we ducked and dived along the canals, into opera houses and basilicas to seek some shade.

                  

   

The busiest bridge ever. Makes Tower Bridge look a breeze. 

   

                   

                   

                   

Bella! 

                   

                   

The girls went in search of gifts for the boyfs. I went in search of ice cream. For myself. 

                   

They decided to join in too. Copy cats. 

                   

                   

   

    

    

   

Unfortunately this was only a fleeting visit as we had a flight to catch. Back to reality and back to the 9-5. 

Thank you Italy, you've been beautiful and you've given me a tan for at least a week after. Hurrah!

Until next time. 

           

Happy Sunday!

L. 

  

dubrovnik

Let's fast forward to Dubrovnik. Having left behind Naples and saluted the beautiful Capri goodbye, we headed off into the sunset for our journey to Croatia. 

    

    

    

   

Just in case you don't know (it's not possible, I say this almost everyday), I have been wanting to go to Croatia for about four years now, so I was pretty darn excited on this journey northwest. Imagine a puppy dog, whiling away its day on the sea, soaking up the rays. Yep, that was me. 

We arrived and I quite literally leapt out of bed to get a glimpse of this beautiful country. It was everything I hoped for, and more. Slipping into something cool (it was seriously hot today) we heading down to the Old Town and took in the sights. 

    

   

    

    

    

                   

                   

                   

Climbing up little streets and winding the corners, we explored most of the Old Town. I went snap happy and probably annoyed the girls with my oo-ing and ahhh-ing...

                   

   

We hopped round to the front of the harbour and plunged into the sea to cool down.

    

                   

   

                  

           

Having cooled down sufficiently we grabbed a bite to eat by the harbour's edge and drank in the views. Oh, and ate the most delicious cuttlefish risotto ever. It's black and velvety smooth and I think everyone should try it. 

                    

   

   

                  

            

From here we hopped in a boat and sped around the surrounding islands with this jolly chap. 

                    

I almost think he was my favourite person of the entire trip. He had a jaunty little earring in and I was just dying to ask him where he got it from. I was told to refrain. 

   

   

The water is so beautifully clear and turquoise it had me in squeals for most of the journey. Clearly I'm a bit of a water baby (and yes, I'll certainly be coming back next year for Yacht Week). 

   

   

   

A perfect end to the perfect day, in the most idyllic of places I've ever been. 

I'll be coming back soon, Croatia, I promise! 

Last stop, Venice.

L.