Friday, May 2, 2014

This morning we woke up to -- RAIN.  Not what we really wanted on a day that we would be getting off the ship.  We had a tour of the countryside scheduled at 9:00 am so we got off the ship around 8:45 am.  Everything went very smooth and our tour guide was there waiting for us as we got off.  Thankfully there was an awning that we could walk under most of the way.  Our guide, Andrea, brought the van over to the curb and loaded the luggage for us and we were off.

The van was very roomy.  Pat and I sat in the back and Craig and Terry sat in the middle.  Did I mention that it was raining.  It was hard to take any pictures or even know what we were looking at.  We did stop for a coffee/restroom break at a cute little coffee shop.  I think we took longer than our tour guide wanted us to but that's too bad.

On the road again he took us to some little village but he said the streets were closed off to traffic so we couldn't go there.  I really don't know what that was about.  It had quit raining and we could have walked.  Maybe he didn't have time for us to hobble through the streets.  He then took us to a place that used to be a monastery and is now a hotel.  We rode a funicular up to the top (that part was fun) and then walked around in the rain.  We found some kind of museum or something that was kind of interesting.  I think we were allowed 30 to 45 minutes or so up there so we didn't linger.

Once down from the mountain off we went again.  We drove through wine country.  The vineyards were absolutely beautiful.  We stopped again at a vineyard and had a wine tasting.  I don't usually care for wine that much but the wine we tasted -- a sparkling wine was really good.  Craig bought a bottle.  He wanted to buy a case but I reminded him that I didn't know how we would get it home.

I really don't remember what else we saw.  Did I mention that it was raining?  We did tell him we wanted to eat lunch somewhere like the locals would eat so he took us to the most expensive restaurant he could find.  He said we had reservations there so I guess he couldn't change where he took us.  However, we were the only ones in there.  I think everyone except for me enjoyed their food but mine was terrible and I couldn't eat it.  Craig couldn't eat all of his so I finished his up.

After we ate lunch we told the guide that we were ready to go to our hotel.  We were quite a ways from Venice so it took us a while to get there.  He also still had some things to show us.  Once we got to Venice, he took us to Piazzale Roma where we had a private water taxi waiting for us.  I think it took about 20 minutes or so to get to our hotel.  Out hotel had their own dock so we were able to get off at the front door.  Check in was quick an we were on our way to our rooms.

The rooms were small but clean.  We noticed that they were missing something -- wash cloths.  I asked at the front desk about getting wash cloths and they had no idea what I was talking about so we had to improvise.

We went to dinner to a restaurant recommended by our hotel.  We had the most delicious pizza and had really good service.  After dinner it had been a long day so Craig and I went back to the room.  I think Pat roamed around to see what she could find.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Today was the big day -- we would be sailing into Venice. We weren't scheduled to arrive until 1:00pm so we didn't have to get moving quite as early. However, we did manage to be at the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast when they opened. We had a nice leisurely breakfast with the Rosga's before our arrival.

It was exciting as we sailed into Venice looking at everything outside wondering what different things were as we passed. We had a walking tour scheduled for today and were to meet our tour guide outside the cruise terminal at 1:00 pm. We met the Rosga's in the Neptune Lounge and waited for the ship to be cleared. Once cleared, we made our way downstairs and couldn't believe the line of people waiting to get off the ship. I guess everyone was excited as well.

We finally made it off the ship and there was our tour guide, Igor Scomparin, waiting for us. We quickly introduced ourselves and we were off. He had pre-purchased tickets for us to ride the People Mover so we went right to the front of the line. The People Mover took us from the ship to the last place that cars are allowed -- Piazzale Roma. Once there we walked over a glass bridge to begin our walking tour.

There were people everywhere but Igor knew the back alleys so we were able to stay out of the crowds most of the time. He took us off the beaten path and explained the history of Venice and told us a lot of interesting things. The tour was only supposed to last 3 to 4 hours but it lasted much longer. Today was the first day that it was really hot and we were all about to pass out. We finally asked Igor if we could stop for a coke so we did. He continued to sit there and explain to us where we had been and where we were going -- showing us on a map.

After we got our strength back we continued on our way. At one point we needed to cross the canal. I think normally his tours would walk a longer way around but he knew we were incapable of walking much more so he treated us to a gondala ride which was just a way to get from one side of the canal to the other. I was scared to death. I was afraid we were going to tip over. When Terry got in things really got scary and he just sat in the floor of the gondola. I was afraid he would not be able to get up but he managed to.

We walked past the Rialto Bridge and there were so many people there. He was taking us to St Marks Square and on the way he showed us where our hotel was located that we would be staying in for 3 nights. When we got to St Marks Square there were even more people! He said that around 6:00 pm the crowds start thinning out because a lot of people just come into Venice for the day and by that time people begin to leave. I think he thought we were going to stick around a little while but I told him that we were tired and didn't want to miss a meal so needed to get back. We also had to pack our bags since we would be getting off the ship in the morning.

We got back to the ship too late for our 5:45 pm dining which was fine because I was exhausted and wasn't in the mood to take that long to eat. We all went to the Lido and it was good. After eating, Craig and I went back to the room to get packed up. I'm not sure what the Rosga's did but I am sure that Pat went to everything available since she never sits still.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

This morning we woke up to magnificent views as we sailed in to Kotor, Montenegro.  It was almost as if we were on the Fjords of Norway.  It was absolutely beautiful.

As soon as they announced the ship had been cleared, we went down to get on the first tender (or so we thought).  When we got ashore there were already people there.  I think our tender driver was in training because he had a really hard time pulling up to the dock.

Once we got off the tender we went to find our driver/guide today.  We were taking a taxi tour with Milo.  He was highly recommended on Cruise Critic.  I had no idea what to expect.  I kind of figured he was an older man but much to my surprise, he was probably around 30 years old and about 6’5”.  He took us to his taxi and I almost fainted.  It was a little bitty Renault.  However, when we got inside, it was roomier than the Mercedes we had taken a tour in when we were in Corfu.

He took us on a 4 hour tour and took us all over.  We walked through some villages and stopped for some breathtaking views.  We went to the Old Town of Budva and stopped for coffee and snack.  Pat asked about a nice hotel to stay in if she came back and he showed us a hotel that costs anywhere from 1,000 to 4000 euros per night.   I wish we would have had time to go look at it inside.  He just took us to a lookout point to see it.

We had told Milo that we wanted to be back to the ship by 12:30 and he said no problem.  The last tender was leaving the port at 1:30.  On the way back we got into a traffic  jam and I was afraid we wouldn’t make it back in time.  We got back around 1:05 and got into a crowd riding back.  

We still had to eat lunch and the only place open for lunch when we returned was the Lido and it was packed.  We had to circle about 3 times before we found a table and then I circled about that many times to find a short line to get something to eat.  I usually just get a sandwich because that is the usually the shortest line.

As we were sailing out of Kotor, they opened up the bow of the ship.  Craig and I went out there to enjoy it but it was pretty crowded and it started raining.  We just took it easy the rest of the day.  It was formal night and we didn’t want to get dressed up.  Craig went up to get a hamburger on the lido at 5:00 and they were already closed.  They weren’t supposed to close until 5:30 so I am not sure what that was about.  We went to the lido and ate dinner.  They have most of the same things in the lido at night as they have in the dining room.

Tomorrow we will be docking in Venice for an overnight.  The cruise is winding down but we will be staying in Venice 4 nights after the cruise.  We are supposed to have free wifi in our hotel there so hopefully I can get more pictures loaded.  Our internet has been really slow on the ship and then on Monday, the internet went down and I don’t think we will be getting it back.  Hopefully we will be getting a refund.  In fact, this posting that I am writing will have to be posted once I get in my Venice Hotel.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Today we docked in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We booked a tour with the ship today because we couldn’t make a decision on which private tour to take.  Our tour was Riviera Highlights.  When we docked, I looked outside and it was pouring down rain.  I wasn’t sure how this was going to work but we had no choice — either go in the rain or lose our money because it was too late to cancel so we went on the tour.  When we got to the showroom to get assigned to our bus they made an announcement that those that had signed up to ride the cable car that their tour had been cancelled.

They had several buses going on our tour.  We were assigned to bus #8 and we were the first ones on it which was nice.  That way we had our pick of seats so we were able to sit up close to the front.  

We went on a drive through the picturesque villages of the green and fertile Konavle Valley, where we went to the famous Konavoski Dvori restaurant. It was perfectly situated in an old mill next to the cascading waters of the Ljuta River. We had a light snack consisting of local specialties such as smoked ham, cheese, homemade bread and a glass of local wine.  It was quite filling  and tasty.

Next, we enjoyed a pleasant ride before reaching the seaside resort town of Cavtat— the ancient Roman city of Epidaurus. Over the years, Cavtat has been a favorite destination for sailors and yacht enthusiasts. In fact, former-King Edward and Wallace Simpson came here for their honeymoon.  Here we enjoyed a coffee at a sidewalk cafe.  By the time we got to Cavtat, the rain had stopped.

We then went back to Old Town Dubrovnik where we had some time to stroll through before returning to the ship.  It was a charming town and we only had an hour there.  I probably could have spent all day there.  Our ship was not leaving until later in the evening and we could have stayed longer and ridden the shuttle back but it was beginning to look like rain again so we went back to the ship.  Soon after we returned to the ship, the rain did start up again.

We had been told the previous night that our dining room was going to be closed because they were having a special meal served out by the pool deck.  We decided to make reservations at Canaletto Restaurant instead.  They had changed the menu since I had been there several years ago.  Now the food is served family style which meant that Craig and I would have to agree on what we wanted to eat.  For our main course we chose sea bass and it was absolutely to die for.  All of the food was good except for the dessert.  I took one bite of mine and didn’t eat it.  I tasted Craig’s and didn’t like it either.

They were having a special show tonight of a local Dubrovnik group.  They had a group of men singing and playing instruments and a group that did local dances.  The showroom was packed and they were very good.  

After the show, we decided to call it a night because we are having an early day in the morning.  We will be tendering in Kotor, Montenegro and have a tour as soon as we can get ashore — around 8:00 am.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Today we were in Corfu, Greece.  We had a tour booked with a taxi cab driver.  When we met up with him I wasn’t so sure about it but the company was highly rated on Trip Advisor.  This was the first tour that we didn’t have a minivan.  We were in a sedan.  It was a Mercedes but it was pretty tight in there.  

Our driver’s name was Phillip.  Phillip drove us all over the island and showed us some villages and lots of olive trees.  We finally stopped on top of a mountain at a little restaurant.  We had some coffee and a local pastry.  The views were spectacular.  After we were there about 15 minutes, we got invaded by busloads of cruisers so we hit the road.

A little bit down the mountain, Phillip stopped at a small shop where they gave us free samples of olives, and some local liquor if we wanted it.  I had the olives and they were good.  We looked around a little bit and we were ready to go.  

I had no idea this place would be so pretty but it was.  Our tour was for 4 hours and I could have easily spent more time there but it started pouring down rain so we had him to take us back to the ship.  When we got back, Terry told us to go on in the cruise terminal and he would settle up with the driver.  If any of you see Terry, ask him if he knows how to count.  That is all I am going to say about it.

When we got back on the ship the only place to eat was at the Lido so that was where we went.  This was my first trip to eat up there this cruise.  I had one of their good chicken salad sandwiches.  It was so crowded it was hard to find a table but we finally found one overlooking the town.

After lunch we were exhausted.  Craig and i came back to the cabin and took a nap — something we don’t usually do.  We woke up just in time for dinner.

After dinner we came back to the cabin for the evening.  Tomorrow we will be in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Today was a sea day which was much welcomed. Having these long port days has been very tiring.  You would think we would take the opportunity to sleep in but we didn’t.  We set our alarm so we could get up in time to go eat breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill.  All of the previous days we have been having room service.  The Pinnacle Grill is available only to suite passengers for breakfast and there is no charge.  Service is very good and it is very relaxing to eat in there when you can just take your time.

After breakfast Craig and I went and spent some time in the casino.  It was fun but I didn’t win anything.  We had gotten an offer to purchase one entry to the slot tournament and get one free.  I didn’t care anything about playing but Craig wanted to so I watched him do that.  He didn’t place high enough for the finals.

We had a little bit of time to kill before eating lunch so we stopped by the Culinary Arts Center where they were putting on a cooking demonstration.  They also serve samples of what they are cooking.  I didn’t try any of it because lunch was soon but Craig did and he said it was good.

For lunch we ate in the Pinnacle Grill.  Pammy, our travel agent, had given us each a lunch there.  This was the only day that we were going to be on the ship for luck so this was our only opportunity to try it out.  I really like their lunch better than their dinner.  I had a hamburger and it was so good.

In the afternoon, there was a presentation on our remaining ports — Corfu, Dubrovnik, Kotor, and Venice.  We went and listened to hear what they had to say.  They all look like they will be good ports.  It is hard to believe that the cruise will be over soon.  We have had fun and seen a lot of things but it has been so tiring.

I had eaten so much during the day I wasn’t hungry at dinner but I went and just picked at my food.  The sad thing is, if you don’t eat your food, the waiters think there is something wrong with the food.

After dinner we went to listen to Krista sing in the Crows Nest again until the Rosga’s went to the show.  Craig and I were tired and didn’t go.

Pat had listened to the ship’s art tour on an iPod and there were a couple of things that she couldn’t find.  I had seen 2 of them and we found them after dinner.  Another one that she couldn’t find was a full size NYC Taxi Cab.  I told her that I bet it was in the Kids area on the ship.  While Craig and Terry listened to Krista, Pat and I went in search of the NYC Taxi Cab and we did find it in the kids area.  Pat tried to go in and take a picture of it but the workers in there told her to leave that she couldn’t be in there taking pictures because there were kids in there.  Well, she did get a picture anyway so our mission was accomplished.

Tomorrow we will be in Corfu, Greece.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Today we tendered into Taormina.  Our tour was scheduled for 10:30 am to 7:30pm today.  We went and got in line for the tender around 10:00 am.  It was a quick ride and when we arrived on shore our driver/guide was already there waiting on us.  His name was Guiseppe.  He went over the order of the tour with us.  We were scheduled to go to Mt Etna.  It was very cloudy outside and I asked him if we would be able to see anything.  He said that it was our choice as to what we did but if we didn’t want to go up there he would make suggestions for us and we could decide.  We instead decided to go to see where the moving “The Godfather” was filmed.  

I didn’t take notes of all the villages he took us to so I can’t tell you where we went.  Normally I have the write-up of the itinerary of the tour that we signed up for but since we changed it, I don’t have anything to go on.  He took us to several villages on top of mountains and they were all charming.  When we stopped for lunch we saw a wedding procession through the streets.  The bride was having her picture taken in front of a church.  We also saw the Lincoln Towncar convertible that they were supposed to leave in.  Unfortunately it started raining while we were there.  I didn’t see where they went.  I guess they ducked inside a building somewhere. 

When we left that village, Guiseppe said that it wasn’t raining on the other side of the mountain so he took us to another place.  It was freezing cold up there and it then started raining there.  Then he took us to another place where there was a Roman Theatre that we could tour.  We got up to where it was and there was a cost.  Just from looking in it looked like there were a lot of stairs.  Since it had been raining there I didn’t want to go because I was afraid it would be slick.  Pat is the only one that went.  While we were waiting on her it started raining there as well.  When she came back out we found a coffee shop to sit in to try and stay dry.  When it was time for Guiseppe to pick us up we walked through the rain and he was already there waiting on us.  

At that point it was evident that our day was pretty much rained out so we told him to take us back to the ship.  After we caught the tender back to the ship it was around 5:00 pm so we got back in time for dinner.

After dinner we went up to the Crow’s Nest and got a cup of coffee (think Starbucks) and listened to Krista (guitarist) sing and play the guitar.  While we were there, we saw people going crazy taking pictures of something through the window.  Pat went and checked it out.  It seems that Mt Etna was showing for the first time that day.  We got a picture of it.  It appeared that it was snow covered so maybe it was a good thing we didn’t try to go that day.

We went back to the cabin early.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Today we docked in Naples. This was a bank holiday and the beginning of a long weekend for the Italians.  Our driver/guide today was Luca.  He told us to call him Big Luca.  The traffic was already beginning to be bad so he had changed the order of our tour.  

We began with a drive along the Amalfi Coast and stopped along the side of the road at several locations to take pictures.  We went all the way to Postiano where we stopped and took a quick stroll through the village.  We didn’t have long to stay but we did make time for a quick cup of coffee.  

We then drove to Sorrento for lunch.  We told Luca that we would like to eat where the locals would eat.  He took us to an excellent place for pizza which was very inexpensive.  This was a welcome change because previous days our food was expensive.  The 4 of us ate for less than $20 total.  Sorrento was closed to vehicle traffic.  Pat and I walked into town for a quick look.  It was too bad that we couldn’t stay longer.  This was a beautiful place and lots of little shops to look in.

When we left Sorrento we started our drive back into Naples in bumper to bumper traffic moving at a very slow pace.  We had reservations with a tour guide at the Herculaneum.  Our guide was Roberta who is an archaeologist.  We had a 2 hour walking tour with her where she explained everything to us.  She said that this site was better preserved than Pompeii because Pompeii was covered in ash and lava from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius which was very heavy and ruined everything. Herculaneum was covered by mud and this helped in the preservation of the ruins.  It was amazing at what all remains.

After this walking tour we were pretty tired and decided to go back to the ship a little early.  We had a little bit of time to rest before dinner.  

After dinner there was a very good piano player that provided the evening entertainment in the Showplace at Sea.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Today we docked in Civitavecchia which is the port for Rome.  Our driver/guide (Constantino) was there to meet us at 8:30am.  The ship had docked at 7:00am so I think we may have been some of the last people off the ship.

Our tour today was for the Italian countryside.  The drive into Rome was about an hour.  The traffic wasn’t too bad early in the morning.  Our first stop was at the Catacombs, the curious underground maze of tunnels hallowed out of volcanic rock, where the earlier Christians, persecuted by the Romans, had to practice their religion in secret and bury their dead. It was supposed to be 8 euros per person but they didn’t have any change and we didn’t want to use a credit card so they let the 2 of us in for 15 euros.  The restrooms were also free to use.  They had different signs to line up at depending on what language you spoke.  It took them a while to call the English language people because they had a lot of Italian kids there so they were trying to get them through.  

The Catacombs are run and managed by the Vatican.  Our guide was from Australia and really good and easy to understand.  He first took us into a room and explained what we would see inside and then we more or less walked through at a steady pace and he did a little more narration inside.  We were not allowed to take pictures and we had to walk down a lot of stairs which wasn’t too bad going down but coming up was quite a challenge.  

Constantino took us to several small villages where we got out and walked around some.  There was a monastery where we got out and walked some.  The main village that we went to was Castel Gandolfo, where the popes have kept their summer residence for centuries.  On one side is a view of the sea and the other side is a view of the lake.  We had lunch in a little italian restaurant which is run by a couple of women.  They serve a variety of pasta dishes and the pasta is all homemade by them.  It was kind of funny because we were left there by ourselves and the people working there didn’t speak English.  When the waitress came to see if we had finished eating, she walked up and in a loud voice said “Stop”.  We thought we had done something wrong.  All she was wanting to know was if we were finished eating so she could take our plates.  

After lunch we went back into Rome and drove by the Colosseum and stopped at a couple of other places for photos.

Traffic was really heavy getting out of Rome.  We were supposed to be back to our ship at 5:30pm but Constantine told us it would be closer to 6:30pm which was the all aboard time.  The traffic thinned out so we made it back in time.  We were too tired to go to the dining room.  They were having an Italian BBQ out by the pool so we went to that.  

I finally got a chance to try out the coffee bar and it was just like having a Starbucks.  So much better than the other coffee they serve.  The singers and dancers were the entertainment so we skipped the show and called it an early night.

When we got back to the room our cleaning had come so I went to put everything up.  Unfortunately the clothes in the little basket were not ours so somebody else got our underwear and we got somebody else’s.  I turned it in.   I certainly hope they find our stuff!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Today we docked in Livorno.  We had a private tour with Driver in Rome.  In fact, all of our tours in Italy are with this company.

Our driver/guide met us promptly at 8:00 am this morning.  When he introduced himself (his name was Michael), Craig asked him where he was from and he immediately said Italy.  He didn’t have an Italian accent.  I immediately thought New York but didn’t say anything.  When Craig pressed him further it seems that his Mom was from New York and came to Italy when she was 22 fell in love and got married.  She knew no Italian and Michael said she had difficulty learning it.  Along came Michael and his sister.  Michael said that his Mom started teaching him English beginning at 6 months old.  He is fluent in English (with a New York accent) and Italian.  He has relatives in the US so comes back frequently to visit.  He has dual citizenship and hopes to pass that on to his soon to be born child if it is possible.

We had a lot of fun on our tour.  While driving to Pisa we passed by a pretty good sized US Military Base.  The name of it was Darby Military Base.  When we arrived at Pisa, Pat and Terry climbed to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  It took them a little less than 30 minutes to climb up, take pictures and come back down.  They said that the stairs at the top were narrow and winding.  While they were climbing, Craig and I visited the restroom where we had to pay 50 cents (euros) each for one visit.  We then walked around and looked at the outside of the beautiful buildings there.

From Pisa it was on to Florence.  We saw some beautiful views on the way and when we arrived.  I thought it was very crowded there but Michael said that he had seen it worse.  Luckily the tour company had permits to drive us up close to the sites so that we didn’t have to walk a long way to get to them and he was able to wait for us nearby.  

We had lunch in a little sidewalk cafe.  The food was quick and good.  It did get kind of windy while we were eating and was blowing things around.  When we finished lunch we drove to the Accademia Gallery, Europe's first school of drawing founded in mid 16th century and visit several masterpieces including Michelangelo's statue of David.  We could have spent hours in there because there was so much to see.  It would have been nice to have a private guide in there as well or at least have the headphones and do a self guided tour.  

By this time we were getting tired and asked him if we could go on back to the ship.  There were a couple of other things that he wanted to show us so we just drove by and didn’t get out of the van.  Of course we did have time to stop for gelatto.  The name of the place was La Carraia and he said it was one of the best places around for gelatto.  

We were supposed to have been back to the ship at 5:00pm and we got back around 4:40pm so we didn’t cut much out.  When back on the ship we went straight to the Neptune Lounge for a snack.  After all we weren’t going to be able to eat dinner until 5:45pm.  That was another hour we would have to wait!

After dinner we went to the show.  The entertainer was Leanne Mitchell.  She was the winner of BBC1 The Voice in 2012. She really put on a good show.

When we got back to the room to get ready for bed, I realized that our cabin steward did not leave us a card to fill out for room service breakfast.  It was 10:00pm and he was already off duty and the Neptune Lounge was closed.  It took forever to get the front desk to answer their phone and then it took 2 calls to them to get the to finally bring us the form.  Once we got that and filled it out, it was time to go to bed for the night.

Tomorrow we will be visiting Rome.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Today we docked in Monaco — one of the wealthiest places in the world.  

We had a private tour booked here with Ingrid.  She came highly recommended on Trip Advisor.  When we exited the ship at 8:30am she was there waiting for us.  After spending the day with Ingrid we felt like we had known her a lifetime.  She was absolutely wonderful!

We started out the tour by driving on the Grand Prix course.  The Grand Prix will be taking place in Monaco the end of May so a lot of preparation work is currently being done.  We got to see the Grand Casino by passing by.  

Today we had decided to go to Antibes, Biot and Tourrettes.  As we drove out of Monaco, there was so much traffic coming in to work for the day.  Ingrid said that 40,000 people drive into the city each day to work.  Monaco has a population of around 36,000.  The traffic looked almost as bad as the traffic driving into Dallas each day.  Of course, Dallas has bigger roads.  These were only 2 lane roads.

We drove through Nice on the way to our first stop in Antibes.  In Antibes, the first thing we did was stop at a little sidewalk cafe and have a cup of coffee.  It was right beside the daily market.  After our coffee, we walked through the streets of the village.  It was really interesting looking at all the doors on the homes with the different types of door knockers.  Before we left, Ingrid treated us to a local snack called Socca (I think). I don’t remember what she said was in it, but it was very good.  It is cooked in a big skillet and is thin like thin pizza crust but doesn’t have the same consistency.  If I can ever get all of my pictures posted, I have a picture of it.

The next stop in Biot we were starving so we went straight to a cafe to eat lunch.  I had some of the best lasagna that I have ever had.  I guess I should have gotten some french food but this really sounded good and it was the only thing on the menu that I could figure out what it was since the menu was in French.  After we ate, we told Ingrid we were ready for our next stop.

We then drove to Tourrettes.  This was my absolute favorite. I love going to these Villages.  We walked through seeing where these people lived — up and down hills.  There were lots of artists in there working.  She showed us one place that had an amazing view.  As we were leaving, she stopped and bought us an ice cream cone.  The ice cream was violet ice cream.  It had natural violet flavoring which was delicious.  This area is famous for their violets and lavender. Unfortunately it was not the season to see them in full bloom but they did have some beautiful flowers.

As we drove back to Monaco, she drove by some other villages so that we could see them but we didn’t stop.  We saw some amazing scenery. Right before getting back into Monaco, she took us to a lookout point above Monte Carlo.  The view was magnificent!  As we drove back into town she showed us the place on the road where Princess Grace lost her life.  It was a really tight hairpin curve.  They said that it is still not known what actually happened that day.

We had planned on making a short stop in the casino but the traffic was really heavy and we didn’t want to get caught up in a traffic jam and miss the boat so we opted to skip this part of the tour. We had told her that we wanted to be back to the ship by 4:30pm so we could get ready for our 5:30pm dinner reservation.  When we parted, we felt like we were saying goodbye to an old friend.

We had gotten dinner in the Pinnacle Grill as part of the Explore 4 package and this was where we were going tonight.  They have changed the menu since the last time I was there (several years ago).  I really don’t think the menu was as good as before but we did enjoy ourselves.  After dinner, the Rosga’s went to the show and Craig and I went to the casino.  We didn’t stay long because we have another early tour in the morning.

Tomorrow we will be docking in Livorno where we will go to Florence and Pisa.  Pat and Terry are climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa while Craig and I watch.

Monday, April 21, 2014

This morning we docked in Marseille, France around 8:00 am.  We had a private tour booked for 8:15 am. As we exited the ship (a little early), we saw our tour guide already there waiting for us.  She told us that we had a 2 minute walk to her van.  Well let me tell you, she was young and fit and it might have only taken her 2 minutes to get there, but it took this group of old people a little bit longer to get there.

Our tour took us to Aix en Provence where we took a walking tour.  She said it would only be about an hour and a half but we didn’t walk that fast so it took us longer and by the time we finished, I was exhausted.  I’m not sure what made me book a walking tour in the first place.  We saw lots of interesting architecture, tasted different types of food, saw the morning market, and saw lots of people walking their dogs.  It was a holiday being the day after Easter so most of the shops were closed so we just looked in the windows.

After finishing our walk we were hungry and ready for lunch.  We went to a lovely winery where we ate.  It was a nice relaxing lunch and the food was delicious.  We didn’t order wine.  Craig and I just ordered water and they gave us a thimble to drink it in.  The Rosga’s ordered coffee and they didn’t get their coffee until they had finished eating.  

After lunch we took a quick walk around the winery.  They had a lot of interesting sculptures on the grounds that we looked at.  We also got a glimpse of the house that the family used to live in.  The owners of the winery are from Ireland and they still own it today.

We then drove to the village of Lourmarin.  There was  castle there that we got to see the outside of.  It was closed during our visit and would not open until later in the afternoon.  There seemed to be more shops open in this village and there were lots of people there shopping and eating in the sidewalk restaurants.  Just as we were getting ready to drive through another village it came a downpour so we told her to go ahead and take us back to the ship.  It was 2:30pm then and it was an hour drive back.  She was planning on getting us back to the ship at 4:00 pm anyway so we didn’t miss took much of our tour and we were pretty tired after all the walking.  On the ride back, i kept my face buried in games on my iPad.  She was driving like a crazy woman and I was convinced we wouldn’t be making it back in one piece.  In fact we passed a wreck on the way back.

When we got back to the ship, it wasn’t raining there yet so we beat the rain.  As soon as we got inside I went straight to an open bar and got a coke to drink there and one to take back to the cabin.  I was so thirsty.  Once back to the cabin I looked outside and it was pouring down rain and all the buses were getting back from their tours and they were getting soaked!

I was so sore from all of the walking that I decided to take a hot bath in the jacuzzi tub.  That felt so good.  I could have gone to sleep in there but it did relax me before we had to get dressed up for formal night.  I wore my long dress that I wore at Krista’s wedding and Craig had rented a tux from the ship.  I think we cleaned up pretty nice.

Tonight we had reservations for the Tamarind at 6:00 pm.  This is one of my favorite restaurants.  They serve some of the best asian food on the high seas.  All of he servers are female and they really pamper you and take time to explain everything to you.  We were going to go to the 8:00pm show but dinner lasted past 8:00pm.  I think the Rosga’s went in to the show late and probably the 10:00 pm show also.  Craig and I went down to the casino for about an hour.  I didn’t have much luck tonight but I still have some of my credit on my card.

We have another early tour tomorrow.  We will be docking at Monaco and have a private tour to other parts of France as well as making a brief stop at the casino in Monte Carlo.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

We woke up this morning to rain in Barcelona.  We spent a leisurely morning at the hotel and checked out around 11:30am and got a taxi to the port.  It was a very fast trip.  Check in was probably the easiest that it has ever been.  We were in our cabin in less than 30 minutes.  We had lots of paperwork in our room to go through.  We had made reservations at all of the speciality restaurants and had the confirmations for them as well as some gift dining reservations.

Soon after arrival in our room, the Rosga’s came and knocked on our door.  We visited for a few minutes, went to the Neptune Lounge to take care of some business and decided we needed to head to the dining room while they were still serving lunch — after all, there was no way we were missing a meal!

After lunch we went to check out the Rosga’s Aft Wrap Around Balcony Cabin.  It had a really nice balcony.  The cabin seemed to be smaller than the other ships and it had a lot of wasted space.  However, they do have a wifi router in their room so they should have good internet connection.

After our visit, Craig and I came back to our cabin and our luggage had already arrived so we put everything away.  Shortly after that it was time for the dreaded life boat drill that I hate to go to but I understand that it is necessary.  It didn’t last long and then we went to check out what the casino looked like.  It wasn’t open yet so we couldn’t play.  

Our dinner was at 5:45pm so after checking out the casino we went back to our cabin to get ready for dinner.  We then went back to the casino to play about 30 minutes before dinner.  We both had luck so we were happy.  

We arrived to dinner at 5:45 and the doors were already open so we headed to our table — table #1.  We had requested table #22 since it is a favorite of ours.  It was even approved by Holland America and we had a written confirmation from them.  When we were assigned table #1 we asked what happened and we were told that table #22 was a table for 2 and not 4.  We didn’t go check to see if they were telling us the truth since our new table does have a window and it is in the front part of the dining room so we don’t have to crawl over so many people.

Dinner was good and the service was fast.  When we booked our cruise, we received a free package called Explore 4.  This package gives each person in the cabin 15 drinks per day not to exceed $7 each.  This includes bottled water, cokes, coffees, and alcoholic drinks.  We asked how it worked and they said basically our drinks were covered as long as it was served in the dining room or at a bar.  Anyway, they have started charging for cappuccino in the dining room so we were able to use our cards for that.  The Rosga’s like to drink sparkling water with their meals so they were able to use their cards for that.  There is no way in the world we would ever be able to drink 15 drinks a day.  My body couldn’t hold that much liquid.  I just remembered that I should have gotten a bottle of water to take on my tour tomorrow before I came back to the room.  Oh well, maybe our tour guide will have water for us.

After dinner Craig and I went back to the casino where my luck continued.  I hit jackpot after jackpot.  The biggest one that I hit was a little over $200.  Of course I put a lot of the money back in the machine.  After all you have to spend money to make money.  I think I put in about $80 of my money and I now have a credit on my card of a little over $300 so if I say so myself, I think I did pretty good for the day.  I  don’t think Craig did as goo.

We have come back to our room to rest up for our day tomorrow.  We will be in Marseille, France and have a private tour booked.  I would tell you what we are doing, but I don’t remember.  Tomorrow is also our first formal night and we are eating dinner in the Tamarind Restaurant.  This is one of my favorite restaurants on the ship.  

Saturday, April 19, 2014

This morning we woke up fresh and ready to go.  We went down to eat our free breakfast in the hotel and it was very good.  I told Craig that as long as I can have cereal and fruit I was happy and they had both of those along with fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee.

We had a private tour booked today.  Our guide Paloma met us in our lobby around 10:00 am this morning and we got in the car when our driver Alberto drove to pick up the Rosga's.  Our first stop was Basilica de la Sagrada Familia.  She explained the scenes we were seeing on the outside and then took us inside and explained everything to us inside.  It was a very brief stop.  We were supposed to have gone up in one of the towers but the tour company failed to secure these tickets for us in advance and there were not available. (Review about this will be posted in Trip Advisor).

We then made a stop at Parc Guell.  The tour company also failed to get us tickets for this either so we just went around the outside and looked in.  Another disappointment that will be reviewed on Trip Advisor.

Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell are both works by Antoni Gaudi and are both very interesting.  There are several houses in Barcelona that he designed as well.  We only drove by those houses and didn't try to visit them.

After these 2 stops we did a Panoramic tour of the city and we got to see some very good views of Barcelona.  We told her to drop us off near our hotel and asked her for a recommendation on somewhere to eat lunch.  She took us to a place that was very good but the wait was an hour.  We found another place on our own that was ok.  I got pizza which was just ok.   Craig got fish and chips and it was really good.

The Rosga's came back to our hotel to see our tiny elevator that was just big enough for the 4 of us to get in and took a quick look at our private terrace with bathtub.

A little later Craig and I decided to go back to the 7-11 type store and buy some more Coke Zeroes.  He was trying to ask the guy if there was someplace around there where we could buy a sandwich.  Craig said ok, what kind of sandwich do you have.  The guy then said "Thank you very much, have a nice day".  We just looked at each other and said thank you and left.  I told Craig that maybe the guy thought we were trying to give him a sandwich and he was telling us he already had one.

On the way back to the hotel we found a little restaurant that had pictures of hot dogs and hamburgers.  We went in there and got them to understand we wanted to get our order to go. I got a hamburger and Craig got Bratwurst.  Apparently there was only 1 person that spoke good English.  She was the 3rd person that was able to help us.  When we told the 2nd person that helped us that we wanted to get something to go.  She said ok, and walked away.  I think she thought we were telling her that we were leaving and not ordering.  Anyway we finally got our food and came back to the hotel.  We are now in for the night.

Tomorrow we get on the cruise ship and I am so ready to get somewhere that I can unpack and will be around people that speak decent English.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Our flight to Brussels was a good flight.  Craig was in 1K and I was in 2K directly behind him -- we both had window seats.  They served us lots of good food.  I had roasted nuts, appetizer (spring roll and coconut shrimp with mango sauce), tomato basil soup, chicken wrapped tamale, and chocolate sundae with walnuts.  There were lots of good movies to watch.  I never to go the movies so any of them would be new to me.  I watched "Gravity" and "Dallas Buyers Club" and enjoyed them both.  After 2 movies I decided I had better get some sleep.  I only slept around an hour or two before they woke me for breakfast.  I only had the fresh fruit and yogurt.

Once we landed in Brussels we had to decide where we were supposed to go.  The airport was very easy to negotiate.  We had to go through security to get into a different part of the terminal.  The lines went quickly but they had no body scanners, just regular walk through type.  Of course my knee set off the scanner to the agent working there got up close and personal with me if you know what I mean.  Craig's watch set it off for him and he had to be searched as well.  Once through that we quickly made our way to the Lounge.  It was very crowded but we found a seat to relax.  It wasn't long until it thinned out.  It was well stocked with food and drink and the restrooms there were unisex.

About an hour before our flight we went on to the gate to get some different scenery (we had a 4 hour layover here).  We were to begin boarding at 12:45pm for a 1:10pm departure.  The flight was then delayed to a 1:25 pm departure.  They boarded us all on a bus and drove us to the other side of the earth to our plane where we had to walk up 2 flights of stairs to take us to the jetway which took us to the plane.  We were in Business Class which in this case was row 1.  There was no separation of seats on the plane.  We had 1D and 1F -- 1E was left empty.  Business class meant that we got a meal (which neither one of us ate), pre-departure drinks (which neither one of us took) and reserved luggage space over row 3.  The flight had an on time arrival even after leaving late.  The flight was short and uneventful and I slept through most of it.  The jet lag was setting in.

Barcelona has a beautiful airport.  It was very easy to find our way.  It also was not crowded as well.  After a short wait our luggage came out promptly, we loaded it into a cart and off we were to fid our driver. He was there waiting on us and took us quickly to our hotel -- Alexandra Barcelona (Doubletree).  Check-in was quick and easy and we were offered chocolate chip cookies which were very good.  Our room is nice along with a bathtub on our rooftop terrace.  The room was hot when we got there so they promptly sent a maintenance man up who spoke no English.  It wasn't long until we were back in service.

We decided to try and find a grocery store to get some soft drinks.  When asking the front desk for directions we were told that it was a bank holiday for Good Friday and the grocery stores weren't open.  They did direct us to a 7-11 type store which is open 24 hours a day.  It was only a couple of blocks away and they had drinks there.  They seemed reasonable at only 1.75 euros for 2 coke zeroes.  Once we got back to the hotel we called it a day because we were really tired.  I think it was only about 6:00 pm (if that late).  Of course I woke up at midnight and stayed up an hour or so before falling back to sleep.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

I don't remember if I mentioned yesterday but our hotel room was HOT.  It seems this is an older hotel that can either have heat or air.  Well since it was under 50 degrees, they had heat.  When I complained (not that I do that), they opened the window for us which did cool the room off.  However, we were next to a parking garage and the noise kept Craig awake most of the night.  I on the other hand slept like a baby.  I woke up at 3:30am and Craig was up making coffee and eating a snack.  I just rolled back over and went back to sleep.

We went downstairs to have the breakfast buffet and it was really good.  They had cereal and fruit and that is all I need to be happy.  We got a late checkout at the hotel and didn't have to be out until 3:00pm so we stayed in the room all day resting.  It felt really good.

We decided to walk on over to the airport and check in around 2:30 pm to get ready for our 6:00 pm flight.  Check in was easy but Security was the pits.  I had never seen lines so long.  This time I got TSA Pre Check and Craig didn't.  There wasn't any way I was going to send him off on his own so I suffered right along with him.  Once through security we had another long walk through the tunnel to our gate.  We are lucky that the United First Class Lounge is near our gate.

Craig has been grazing on all the good food but I have been trying to hold off.  I know they will serve us so much food once we get on the plane.  I am usually so full from the meal that I never have room for dessert (which is probably good).

Our flight to Brussels is around 8 hours and then we have a 4 hour layover and then a 2 hour flight to Barcelona.  It won't be long until we are there.

I think I will sign off for the day so I can enjoy the lounge.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

We started our big trip today.  This morning our driver picked us up at home promptly at 9:00 am and drove us to DFW Airport.  We checked in without incident at the airport.  Craig got TSA Pre check and I did not.  This means that he got to waltz through the metal detector without taking off his shoes, belt, hat or anything.  I had to completely disrobe and go through the body scanner and then after I got through I remembered that I had not taken my pedometer off so I had to take it off and they had to send it through the scanner.  Once we got that over with we had to walk about a mile to get to our gate.

After United kept changing our flights almost a year out, we decided to break our flights up into two days.  We booked using air miles through US Airways when they were part of the Star Alliance.  After United changed our flight where we wouldn't make our connection, US Airways booked us on their flights to get to Chicago.

We boarded our flight around 11:30 and we took off around Noon.  We will be in first class on all legs of our flights so we will have plenty of room to stretch out.  The first flight was from DFW to CLT (Charlotte, North Carolina).  The second leg was from CLT to ORD (Chicago).

We were the first ones to the luggage carousel.  Craig checked with the office to make sure we were in the correct location and they assured him that we were.  Our bags had priority on them which usually means that they will be the last ones out.  We watched bags come out and ours were not there.  Then I noticed the man from the office bring bags out and put them on the carousel.  They were ours!  I guess our bags had caught a faster ride than we had been on.

We were staying at the Airport Hilton so we wouldn't have to deal with any shuttles.  It is very convenient and the rooms seem to be comfortable.  However, they have no air conditioning because it is cold outside.  They opened the windows for us so I wouldn't burn up.

We decided to go find something to eat and the hotel is very limited.  I spied a sports bar and thought maybe we could eat there.  I ended up getting a hamburger that cost $17 and a glass of coke that cost $4.  I am thinking maybe we should have stayed somewhere else.  However, the hotel did give us a late checkout for tomorrow.  We don't have to be out until 3:00 pm and our flight leaves at 6:00 pm so this will work out good.

Tomorrow we leave Chicago around 6:00 pm and will fly to Brussels.  This leg will be on United and then we have a 4 hour layover.  From Brussels we fly to Barcelona where we will stay for 2 nights before boarding the ship.

It has been a long day.  I think I will sign off now.

Tuesday, April 2, 2014

I am getting ready for another big trip. This time I am going to the Mediterranean on Holland America ms Nieuw Amsterdam.  This is the first time on this ship but she is a sister ship to ms Eurodam which I was on for the Inaugural Cruise in July 2008.

We will be flying in to Barcelona and spend 2 nights there pre-cruise and will be spending 4 nights in Venice post cruise.  I still have lots of things to do to get ready for the trip but wanted to get my blog up with links for the pictures as well as the link for the itinerary.

This is a very port intensive cruise so I don't plan on posting daily this time.  As I get time I will try to update the blog.  The cruise is 12 days and only 1 day is a sea day.  We have tours booked every day on the cruise as well as a tour in Barcelona and 3 days of tours in Venice.  I will need to come home to get a rest.

With us moving into our new home (hopefully this summer), my cruising will probably be slowing down, so enjoy and follow along.