Set Sail on a Mediterranean Culinary Voyage- October 10-26, 2023

rFor years we’ve enjoyed sailing Greece.   Setting the anchor & climbing upon our bunks, sometimes gets a fella into thinking - “why NOT click-it-up a notch”!  Take a real sailing boat but embark on a champagne & culinary themed cruise from the Italian Riviera (Riviera Ligure) to the French Riviera

(Cote d’ Azure) and onto the Spanish Riviera.  Take along only about 50 other sailors as well as —

2 MICHELIN Star Chefs.

“Sea Cloud Spirit” has the flair of a fully rigged sailing yacht.  She is 452 feet long, draws 18 feet of water, has 28 sails, and accommodates around 100 guests.  Traveling with a small amount of like-minded sailors from all over the world is just a fun thing to do.

We began our voyage from Genoa, Italy, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.  Interestingly,Genoa is often pronounced here as “ jay-no-va”.  So be careful if you don’t know where you are at?  Melissa is enjoying a walk through Mercato  Orientale.  Popular here are such treats as focaccia, pesto, salami, and farinata.  We need to be onboard by late afternoon.

We’re onboard now on the Lido Deck.  “Fresh tuna” said the Chef!  Let’s take him at-his-word!  Melissa was pleased to find that you could be served raw or quickly seared right in front of your eyes.  But if that doesn’t float-your-boat, there’s prime rib steaks over yonder on the starboard.

Nice, France is the largest city on the French Riviera.  Our local guide, Leo has introduced us to a young German couple celebrating their anniversary with some vino on the back streets of Old Town-with cobblestone streets & colorful restaurants.

Barcelona, Spain is laidback and beachy and known for world famous tapas.  Jamon Iberico (cured ham) is the pride of Spain.  Columbus carried them on his ship voyage to America.  These pigs eat only acorns (bellotas) from special rangelands.  They are referred to as “walking olive trees” because their fat is nearly as healthy as extra virgin olive oil.  Some hams sell for over $2000.

Speaking of sailors, Carlo & Helen have a sloop moored outside of Athens at a marina well known to us.  We’re in our  “Dress Blue” attire having just feasted upon another culinary delight in the main dining room on the Verandah Deck.

It’s about 2200 hours on the Lido with the lights of Nice shining in the background.  How delightful it is to enjoy the city and to be in such a serene setting.   Several days later, we disembarked from our voyage in Valencia, Spain.  The “V” is often pronounced as a “B”  and the city is famous for paella, Flamenco dancing, and Cava (Spain’s answer to Champagne). We were in Valencia for several days and enjoyed our visit immensely-so much so that the visit would require another blog.