At Sea Nov 13

 Today we traveled from Crete on our way to Catania, Sicily, where we'll arrive about 8am tomorrow.  We mostly relaxed and rested today after having daily excursions the past 3 days.  We attended an interesting lecture on the Roman Empire, which motivated me to try to find a good book on the topic, with the lecturer saying "SPQR" by Mary Beard might be the best, another being "Imperium" by Robert Harris.

Speaking of books, the Neptune has hundreds if not thousands of books available for browsing in bookcases dispersed on the various floors surrounding the atrium.   There are also ample chess and backgammon games, and some electronic table games which have blackjack, checkers, etc

The cruise across the Mediterranean Sea and Ionian Sea today is fairly smooth. In past centuries, ocean commerce used to be suspended during the fall and winter months due to expected rough seas, but we've been lucky so far.  

We worked out at the gym this afternoon, they have high quality machines and weights.  Diane visited the spa area, and reported it was quite crowded.

Surf and Turf was the specialty tonight for dinner, including lobster, crab legs, sirloin roast, etc.  The food has been fabulous, and with multiple restaurants to choose from, there is something for every taste.

Tonight there was a presentation on Shakespeare & Italy. Most of his plays were set in Italy since to the English, the Italians were known for violence, intrigue, deception, etc, just the ingredients he wanted for his plots.  Plus he dared not criticize English politicians, and some of his plays contained materials that wouldn't have cleared English censors.  The lecturer talked about where each play was set and gave a synopsis of each...it brought back memories of having to read Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet in high school!