| 
Read
our first e-postcard:
Postcard#2 WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON | November 17, 2006
En route to Rome, Italy Hello!
It's a bright, beautiful day, about 65 degrees, as we
transit the narrow Strait of Messina that separates Sicily from Italy's mainland.
Since we arrived in Venice last Saturday, we've enjoyed cool but pleasant weather.
Yesterday, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, we experienced one of the most beautiful late
autumn days we've seen in a long time. But we're jumping ahead of ourselves...
When we arrived in Venice last Saturday, it was great
to go directly to our handsome ship, Oceania Cruises' handsome Insignia.
Accommodating fewer than 700 guests, we've enjoyed attentive service and superb
cuisine. After a pretty good night's sleep, we spent Sunday exploring Venice and
two of the charming islands in the Venetian lagoon, Murano and Burano. That
evening, as we dined in the ship's Grand Dining Room, we watched the twinkling
lights of the city as we cruised past the Grand Canal, St. Mark's Square and the
Doges Palace. Speaking of dining, the cuisine on this
ship is excellent. First of all, there are four restaurants to select from. Since
there is no assigned seating or fixed dining times, each evening we select our
dining times and the companions of our choice. In addition to the Grand Dining
Room, with advance reservations, we may dine in the Polo Grill or Toscano. The
latter serves, of course, fine Italian cuisine that rivals the best that we might
find at home. The Polo Grill is a steak and seafood restaurant offering 5 or 6
different cuts of prime beef along with a good selection of seafood including
a full Maine lobster. The final selection each evening is a casual buffet-style
restaurant, Tapas on the Terrace. Celebrity chef Jacques Pepin has planned all
of the dining. We give it very high marks. The first stop in our busy itinerary
was the Italian city of Ancona, a bustling port city that serves as a hub for
ferry service to Croatia and Athens. The ship's excursions visited one of the
world's smallest independent republics, San Marino, as well as the charming old
city of Urbino. Many of us, however, simply chose to wander around Ancona and
stop at a trattoria for lunch. Yesterday we spent an
incredibly beautiful morning in the old walled city of Dubrovnik. We've stopped
here 4-5 times since the end of the war with Serbia and find the standard of living
improving rapidly in this friendly place. Our only disappointment was that our
ship did not stay the entire day. This morning we rounded
the boot of Italy, then sailed north towards Rome. A highlight of our day came
this afternoon when our captain sailed around the Stromboli volcano, as smoke
billowed from the top. Our arrival tomorrow in Civitavecchia
(the port city for Rome) signals the beginning of six consecutive days ashore
along the Italian, French and Spanish Mediterranean. We'll tell you all about
it in our next postcard. Wish you were here! 
Paul and Christine Niskanen
| 
