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I often take a red eye from LAX to board a cruise ship the next day in Fort Lauderdale. This April I spent 2 nights there in a charming mid-century hotel (Kimpton Shorebreak) in a equally charming mid-century beach enclave and enjoyed Yoga on the beach one morning. I visited Bonnet house, a historic artists’ estate unpretentiously unique from the early 20th century, beautifully preserved amongst condos and resort hotels.

Celebrity Ascent is an impressive ship, my ride across the “southern North Atlantic” (as opposed to the “northern” North Atlantic from New York to London…) from Fort Lauderdale to Rome.  They had authentic artisan sourdough on board, part of the their bread making viewable at the Ocean View cafe.  The gelato was divine (a foreshadowing to Italy!). We called at Bermuda, Gibraltar, Cartagena, La Spazia (Cinque Terre), Rome. Our Captains (yes, 2 of them) – Captains Dimitris and Tasos Kafetzis – are brothers and co-captains and kind of Rock Stars in the cruise ship captain firmament. Dimitris was not aboard this repositioning cruise, but we all fell for Tasos, the younger brother, who was quietly, calmly and self deprecatingly hilarious.  At one point a passenger asked during a Q & A had he ever considered a career in stand up comedy 😂 He got in the pool to play officers vs passengers volleyball, told us he’s 44,  recently married (to a Celebrity Dancer of course, so cliche but I love it!)…definitely good at the customer facing part of the job and since he’s qualified to captain Celebrity’s newest ship too – so ….Rock Star.

I had no idea Bermuda was so beautiful! Lush & prosperous, it’s a tax haven with aqua water, sailboats galore, vacation villas, cottages and resorts dotted about. It has some deep history; the British retreated here during the American revolutionary war, St Peter’s church in St. George is the oldest Anglican church in the western hemisphere which dates back to Shakespeare’s time and looks like it inside, and the old State House dating back to 1622 is now a Masonic lodge.

Gibraltar redefines the word tiny as far as size. Residents are proudly British for over 300 years. The airport’s runway has ocean at both ends and a crossing gate for pedestrians and bicycles, one walks into Spain on the other side. Incredible! The tunnels in the Rock dating back to the 1700’s, expanded and also used during WWII to defend Gibraltar, were a lot of fun to walk through and the exhibits are very well done. Really loved this, a 22,000 step day…

There is a Roman Theater ruin in the heart of Cartagena which, believe it or not, was discovered and excavated in 1988! It’s now a wonderful site with a fine small museum and there were more Roman antiquities excavated in Cartagena as well. I’m always impressed by these so visited both sites.

La Spezia Italy (Cinque Terre) was a highlight of this journey, the 5 villages with hiking trails (and train) between, hugging the Italian coast. Beautiful! I was lucky to visit 3 … It was early May and already getting crowded…but manageable. The train makes it easy to get between villages if one doesn’t want to do the walk/hike. I did not get to hike between villages as we just had the 1 day stop but did as much walking as possible while there…steps hit 20,000-ish that day. Lots of B&B’s and AirBNB’s, trattorias, shops and …gelato.

I dashed off the ship in Rome and caught the first coach to Rome airport and flew to Palermo to meet my friend from when I worked with Lufthansa. She flew in from her home in Munich and for the second time when we have met up to travel, we met in baggage claim! Good planning and also good luck! A bit of Laurel and Hardy ensued picking up our rental car and then we were off to Cefalu for an afternoon coffee stop. Then Taormina for an overnight at a cliff hugging hotel with a great sea view! Starting with Cefalu and never ending the beautiful cream/golden stone, stunning architecture, tiny streets, shops, trattorias, churches, and endless charming balconies (tiny and at times sketchy looking), the beauty and history of Sicily is undeniable.

Taormina was dreamy – and busy already early in May. Siracusa and the well known Ortigia section of this town were all so very charming. Another Roman theater and amphitheater here which I visited. We ate, walked, drove, had coffee and pasties & gelato, ate slept, ate, walked walked and walked… and took in all the sights driving through the Sicilian countryside and villages. We were also in Ragusa a sleepy hillside village, Noto with so much golden stone and then Palermo which incidentally, had the best breakfast buffet at the hotel. Everything you can imagine including pistachio cake, cannoli, and a vast array of baked goods. We toured a Royal Palace in Palermo and a Palazzo recently vacated by the last family members and donated to the Catholic church, in very original condition it was incredible. General Patton had signed the guest book here. If you are wondering what about Agrigento –  the hillside city with vast archaeological sites of ancient ruins, we gave it a miss as my friend, who was raised in Rome, said please no more ruins! I was fine with that as I’ve done deep dives into ruins on past trips in Athens & Rome… choices have to be made on an 8 day visit!

Dropped off the Fiat rental car in Palermo…rental car office had moved in the 5 days we were underway – they had not said anything 🫨… it’s Italy. There is a funny gal on instagram that mimics travel disasters and does a great scenario at the car rental counter in Italy, in heavily accented English with a nonchalant disinterest in customer service… “The car you booked is not available…however we have bicycle or a 747…” 😂.  Then we took a 90 minute bus ride to Tapani another charming seaside town and boarded a 30 minute ferry to the Island of Favignana, a tiny picturesque holiday island with beach and bicycles, and charming cafes, gelato and trattorias, did I mention gelato? …white linen curtains at our hotel wafting out the window…you get the picture. Christopher Nolan is using the old Castle of Santa Caterina on the one hill as one of the film sites for The Odyssey due out in 2026, we were told. Apparently, the old Castle was a prison at some point in it’s history…

And then to Munich just to hang out for a few days, eat some Schnitzel, and I was sure to get a stamp in my new German passport (I am a dual US/German citizen) which German bureaucracy, fond of orderliness and stamping things, helpfully supplied. One rarely gets a stamped passport anymore these days and I’ve read that the eventual plan is to do away with paper passports entirely…. but not today! Passed through London, to catch a favorite flight home with Virgin Atlantic’s A350 to LAX. ✈️