Vacation Time!

We left the ship at 7 am.  The cruise is officially over.  Our driver brought us to our hotel in downtown Rome (or Roma) not two blocks from the Colosseum.  We walked up and started taking pictures.  Four of us signed up for a “45-minute” walking tour that started in “10 minutes.”  Well, thirty minutes later we started walking - the opposite direction from the Colosseum.  Turns out we went to the far right in the second photo below to the prison where Peter and Paul were held.  Said prison was an old cave, and it only took 3 guards to secure it as the only way in or out was through a hole in the ground.  Some very neat history in the jail / museum.  We did not know this bit was included and was a nice surprise - even though we walked a mile to see it. Once we returned to the Colosseum, we got to jump the tour lines and walk straight in with our personal guide.  However, Sandy became “Michelle” as that was the name on the ticket.  Mi...

Got up early this morning and at breakfast at the deck 15 buffet, as per norm.  Got on a bus and drove from Solerno (think Naples, or Napoli in Italian) to Pompei.  A roughly 30 min bus ride. We waited in long lines in oppressive heat to get in, by which time Bill and Michelle had tagged out.  They reserved us a seat at the cafe which was a win! The rest of us waited in lines for about an hour to get into the archeological site.  Sandy and Barb bailed early and returned to the cafe.  Andy, Austin, and I toured as long as we could, which was about 1 hour.   Understand this:  Pompei is a very large site - you could spend a week here and not see it all!  It is also very hot - up to 97F (36C) with no shade nor breeze.  But what an amazing place.  We have more pictures than you have time to see them.  Wow.  Well worth the time. Returned to the ship and took a stroll along the beach so Mom could get her feet into the Mediterranean Se...

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...