Adriatic Cruise – Day at Sea & Slovenia

On our journey north towards Slovenia, Lindsay and I were able to relax and enjoy an entire day at sea.  We were entertained with live shows, great movies, and board games.  We dined and lounged on the deck at our leisure.  We enjoyed every minute of it.
Relaxing on the cruise deck:

The cruise performers after an excellent show:

Lindz with a towel penguin, one of several towel animals we found in our cabin during the cruise:

For our visit to Slovenia, we decided to take another guided tour to two of the tourist attractions near the port of Koper.  As our bus climbed the mountain roads away from Koper, we got a wonderful view of the nearby Italian city of Trieste.  Further inland, we even got to see some snow in the mountains of Slovenia.  Our first stop of the day was to the beautiful Postojna Caves.  Rich with history and ageless beauty, these caves had stunning features around every corner.  Our cave tour began with a train ride that seemed like more of a roller coaster than a people mover, which took us deep into the cave where we began our walking tour.  Our guide satisfied our natural intrigue of the caves with all sorts of interesting information.  Never had I seen such vast openings in caves.  Now I can see what drew the dwarves of Middle Earth to these massive wonders.
Slovenian countryside:

Our tour group moving through the winding caverns:

"Concert Hall" - a huge cavern with great acoustics:

After the caves, our bus continued along the mountainous region to a castle that was nested into the mouth of another cave.  Predjama Castle was naturally fortified by sheer cliffs and a narrow path that led to the entrance.  Enemies who tried to lay siege to the castle failed because of a secret passage through the caves that allow food and provisions to make their way to the people inside the castle. 
The castle with the cave behind:

Us at Predjama Castle:

After the tour, we had a lovely lunch at a seaside restaurant.  People there loved to listen to our “American” English as they were used to it from movies and TV shows.  Slovenians seem to be a very happy people who enjoy the cultural influence of their northern neighbors, Italy and Austria.  Our visit was an unexpected delight!

~Blake

Adriatic Cruise – Arrival and Montenegro

Our adventure began with driving to another London airport, Luton.  There, we checked in with Thomson Airlines and boarded our flight to Corfu, Greece.  On the final approach, we got to see the beautiful cliffs and turquoise water along the coasts of the island of Corfu. Upon arrival, and after customs, we were greeted by various Thomson representatives leading us to the correct bus going to the cruise liner.  We arrived at the Port of Corfu and checked in with the cruise guides, received our boarding cards and welcome package, and were shown the way to the ship.  On the ship, we were guided to our room and were informed of the options for our evening events.  Our ship had 10 decks, 2 swimming pools, 3 dining options, a theater, a game room, a shopping area, a sporting deck, and an auditorium where all the Broadway-style shows took place.  The rest of that day was spent exploring the ship, eating at the dining facilities, and retiring to bed after we watched our ship pull away from port.

The Thomson Spirit:

The next morning we awoke to a foggy Montenegro as we pulled into the clear, calm waters of the Bay of Kotor.  We decided to join an excursion group for the day to best see as much as we could during our visit.  Our local tour guide, Ryan, was very knowledgeable and informative throughout the day as he explained the history, culture, and life of a local Montenegrin. 
The fog lifting from the Bay of Kotor:

Our tour took us to the village of Perast, which guarded the inlet of the southernmost fjord in Europe.   While in Perast, we took a boat to see Our Lady of the Rocks, a small, man-made island in the bay.  For centuries, local sailors have dropped rocks on this spot in thanks to the Virgin Mary for returning them home safely, eventually building the island and its church.
Village of Perast:

Bay of Kotor islands in the distance:

The island of Our Lady of the Rocks:

Our Lady of the Rocks interior:

Us on the island:

Back on shore, we traveled anti-clockwise around the bay, then took a ferry over the inlet towards the city of Tivat.  We only saw Tivat from the bus, because our next stop was in the resort city of Budva (where the casino in Casino Royale was located).  There we visited the Old Town where the ancient city center was located and walked along the Venetian Citadel that guarded the city.  After our return journey, we toured around the Old Town of Kotor, which had a city wall built very high on the mountain cliffs to defend from ancient inland attackers.
A beach in Budva:

The Old Town of Budva:

Sunset from the Budva Citadel:

The ancient mountainside walls above Kotor:

Montenegro was a very friendly and relaxed country to visit.  I liked a quote our tour guide said, “If a Montenegrin sees another person working, they will keep walking and not help him.  They don’t want to bother him.  However, if a Montenegrin sees another person relaxing, they will join and help him in any way they can.”

~Blake

A Good Day for a Race

So, for my 30^th birthday gift, Lindsay got me a 1-to-1 instructor led racing experience at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire (home of the British Grand Prix).  When we arrived at the track, we were directed to the “Experience Centre” near the south-east corner of the circuit.  There, we saw lots of people and various race spec vehicles in the car park, and in front of the welcome centre, were a couple of Nissan 370 Z’s lined up.  After check-in, we scoped out some good places for photography, and then waited for them to call my name for my instructor. 

When they called me up, they asked what race I was preparing for… and I informed them that I was starting at ground zero for my race experience and needed to learn the basics of racing.  One of the instructors must have been used to training noobs, so he greeted me and led me to get a crash helmet and we then walked to the car.

He drove us to the pit area of the International Circuit, the southern half of the Grand Prix.  Then we talked about the basics of braking, turning, and accelerating.  He took us out for two warm-up laps around the track, showing me where to break, where to turn-in, and where to go flat-out after the various corners of the circuit.  We pulled back in, switched seats, then he gave me the go-ahead for my start. 

That car is FAST!!  The fastest car I’ve driven before this was an Evo Ten, and that was only around the streets of San Diego.  This was like driving a full size go-cart, except we were going 130mph down the straight and doing 50-60mph around some of the turns.  Being able to let the tires screech around the turns and flooring it down the straights were invigorating! 

Around the 5^th or 6^th lap, I started turning one of the corners and realized I was going too fast, and naturally, I took my foot off the gas.  Little did I know that when the car slows down, it also leans forward, removing downforce from the rear tires, and caused my tail-end to fly out from behind me and I ended up facing the wrong way on the track;  my first (and only) spin-out!  I’m glad I did it, though. It showed me that I was actually pushing the limits, and another thing was it taught me that more speed is more traction.  We pulled into the pits to talk about the physics of the spin-out, and a few other critiques he had for me, then we headed back out for another 15-20 laps.  Later on, I started losing traction on another turn, and I remembered the lesson and applied more gas and BAM, instant traction! 

After some good racing and even a few overtakes, we pulled in and switched seats once more.  He then took the car to the limits and showed me “real racing” around the track.  It was like a roller coaster!  He broke way later than I did, and he even drifted around a few turns.  He lost it once and we ended up a bit off course, but he quickly recovered and got us back on.  After his laps, we pulled into the pit area to talk about my racing.  He said I showed real improvement on my braking and I was getting more comfortable with the high-speed turns.  He drove us back the centre and I thanked him for his time and training. 

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m glad Lindsay was there to share it with me.  It was truly amazing!

~Blake