Vacation Time!

We landed our ship in Messina, Sicily this morning and offloaded 7 am for a tour of Taormina - a Sicilian city that does not even open until 9 am.  We basically had the place to ourselves as we were the first tour bus to arrive.  We did miss Russell Crowe who was here last week.  Oh well.  Taormina is a quaint hill town on the SE side of Sicily.  And for the record, the Sicilian people do NOT consider themselves Italian.  No, they are Sicilian!   We spent some time looking at the architecture, the theater, and the bakeries - oooh, the bakeries!  Beautiful views of the ocean as well as Mt. Etna. Paul, the apostle from the Bible, was here as was the Virgin Mary.  The port even had a statue of Mary and her blessing for the city posted in the harbor.  Needless to say, Christianity is wide-spread here.  Although the Orthodox Jews and the Muslims also built temples here, they were destroyed by the Christians and the island has been Christ...

This morning we all left at the same time but on different tours.  Bill, Austin, Andy, and Michelle went on the Pisa Tower climb.  Grandma Barb, Sandy, and I went on the Pisa & Florence city tours. We all started together at Pisa.  We had time to tour while Andy, Michelle, and Austin climbed the tower.  Bill did not attempt the climb - wisely so.  We grabbed some drinks and took photos on our long walk back and forth to the bus.  See photos below. Then it was 90 mins on the bus to the valley that is Florence.  And it got HOT there - 99 degrees F.  We took lots of breaks on our walking trip around the town.  Took 2 taxis as well to avoid a 90-min walk to the bus!   Lots and lots to see in Florence.  We started in the Michaelangelo plaza looking over the city.  Then down to a basilica and then around to the statue of David after a real Italian lunch on the street. Grandma Barb and I logged 3.9 miles while Sandy logged 5.1 or ...

Woke up this morning to a beautiful view of Nice, VilleFranche, and Monaco.  We had to tender into shore as we anchored in a clam and deep bay.  Very hilly.  Roads are super narrow.  Took a tour bus up to Monaco and saw the chapel where Grace Kelly was wed, watched the changing of the guard at the palace, and then took a photo with France, Monaco, and Italy all in the same frame. We drove on up to the casino in Monte Carlo but did not see James Bond there!  We know because we looked for him.  The casino is smaller than I imagined yet very ornate.  Saw lots of “supercars” driving around and even caught a flash mob.  Are lunch on the “streets” that I would have called sidewalks.  And then returned to the bus for a drive back across the hills through Eze and Nice. The walking today included escalators, elevators, and some steep inclines.  Not many miles but difficult terrain.  Totally worth it. This morning’s view from our balcony The ...

We pulled into port in Marseille at 0600.  We met for breakfast at 6:15 and then queued for our tour at 7:30.  We took a small group tour through town and then up to the Notre Dame De La Garde cathedral on some very narrow streets.  So glad I was not the driver! Climbed up 180 steps to the top and visited for 45 mins - and yes, both Pa Bill and Grandma Barb climbed.  Then back down through the city to the center.  Had 90 mins to shop and get some French pastries - where both Old People were glad to sit a rest a spell.  Received some history of the city and how it has changed over just the past 25 years.  Tourism and shipping are the largest industries. Marseilles has a population of 1.65 million (880k in city proper), making it the second largest city (next to Paris) but has a larger land mass of almost 93 sq miles (240 sq km).   Back to the boat for lunch and sun and even some water slides.  Explored the ship to learn where most things are l...

 We slept in a little this morning and then boarded the shuttle bus to the ship at 11:00 am.  Boarding was waaaay smoother than anticipated.  No issues at all. Got on and sat at the pool deck, well some of us did, Boppum Barb, Pa Bill, and Michelle took naps.  The rest of us were on the pool deck enjoying the sun and water slides. Went to buffet dinner and then back to rooms by 8:30 pm.  Andy, Michelle, and Austin went to a Beatles Cover Band concert.  The rest of us returned to our rooms. Got some good photos as we left port.  Next stop if France in the morning.  Gonna be an early one too as we disembark at 7:30 am.   Sun going down over the hills of Barcelona Sandy sitting on ship balcony working on tomorrow night’s dinner reservations From the upper sun deck on the ship On top that hill?  That’s the castle we visited yesterday. Different view from the ship. Pushing out to sea! The ship’s water slides that Andy and Austin are on The po...

Ate lunch at the snack bar in the hotel.  Wasn’t too shabby.  Grabbed two cabs and drove to the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia.  The Pope was here last week to bless the facility, and we are glad we didn’t have to fight those crowds!  The exterior of the facility is finally complete, like after 200 years or something.  The cranes and scaffold can still be seen, but they are being removed.  Next remodel is an addition and then interior work.  Very tall, very massive building! Walking up to the Basilica Standing in front of the building.  Tickets to enter are not available until Fri, Jun 26! Plan ahead if you’re ever wishing to see it from the inside! Next we took a taxi to the Castillo de Montjuic (built in 1640) - a beacon of Barcelona’s rich history standing like a sentinel atop Montjuic hill.  To get there, we took a single cable car up, but broke ourselves into two cable cars coming back down just for more room. One side of the “crew” as ...