Discover Italy and Greece at their best, when towns and beaches are less crowded and the weather is just right for strolling historic ruins and admiring Greece’s 5,000-plus wildflowers. Feast your eyes on the smooth bone-white columns of Athens’ Parthenon, and the honeycombed spires of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia. Inhale the heady aroma of wild rosemary and thyme mingled with fresh-baked guttiau bread in Cagliari, and the citrus tang of kumquat liqueur in Corfu. In Messina, watch as the bell tower clock’s bronze characters come to life, announcing noon with a lion’s fierce roar and a rooster’s loud crow. Spot bright pink flamingos stilt-walking the white salt flats in Trapani. Enjoy the sweet sound of Argostoli’s street musicians playing kantades on mandolins. And discover the tranquility of Delphi, where oracles channeled the prophecies of Apollo to kings and commoners. On this voyage you’ll visit ports reserved for small ships like Itea, dock closer to key attractions than larger ships can in Trapani and Barcelona, and cross the Corinth Canal, too narrow for most modern ships but just wide enough for your small ship.