I’d never heard of Taranto. Sorry, Taranto. It was a little town on the southern tip of Italy that I think is a new port for cruise ships and is trying to rapidly modernize. It was a bit of a strange experience.

We had chosen to avoid the excursions at this port because none of them seemed particularly appealing, so we disembarked and took ourselves on a walk. We made our way through the seaport and then headed into town along a narrow, oddly grip-free pavement that ran alongside a busy, narrow street. The sea was blue and beautiful, but the buildings we walked alongside sometimes seemed tired and dilapidated.

After about 15 minutes, we found ourselves at a rickety road bridge next to a small fort, so we crossed over (quickly!) and kept walking in search of food. The first place we came across was a sort of restaurant, sort of buffet. We loaded up with focaccia bread and lasagna and ate outside in the glorious sun (albeit in a covered area because it was really hot!)

After lunch, we decided there wasn’t much more to Taranto, so we headed back to the boat. Not wanting to walk along the weirdly-slippy pavement again, we took a detour down some side streets (after finding a place to buy a magnet!) and found ourselves in a maze of buildings that felt old. These places had clearly been standing for hundreds of years, but the whole area felt like it had also been more or less deserted for at least a few decades. We stumbled upon a church and decided to look inside, as there wasn’t much else that we were coming across to do or see.

After St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, I don’t think I’ll ever be that impressed by a building ever again, but this little church did a decent job of trying. The roof and anteroom at the back of the church was, once again, incredibly delicately designed, and must have been standing there for hundreds of years.

After this, we went to the boat, got our swimming gear on, and went to float around.

The indoor pool was a hydrotherapy spa, with water containing a high salt content, so you could just float about and stare up through the glass ceiling at the sunny skies above us. It was a really lovely way to spend a few hours of the afternoon – alternatively floating around and returning to the loungers to read and enjoy alcoholic drinks from the bar next door. Cruise life is where relaxation is truly possible.

That evening we finalized our art purchases at the gallery – paperwork signed, etc., and enjoyed a dinner out on the terrace from the buffet. Eating in the open whilst the sun disappears behind your big-ass boat is, I assume, one of the reasons why billionaires like to own yachts.

That evening, entertainment was by an incredible violinist whose name I sadly did not note down (expecting not to be still writing this 8 months after cruising), but she was amazing and wowed us all in the Reflections Lounge.

Here’s some pics from the day from my camera rather than phone, and the violinist.