Say it with me. “Civitaveccia.” Just about 20 miles south, it is essentially the port for Rome. Since we spent the four days before the cruise in Rome, we decided to go on a tour of the Tuscan countryside.
We visited Tarqania, Marta and Tuscania. All three places were a very nice change of pace. Everything was very casual and everybody was very friendly. Our guide had spent quite a bit of time in these villages while growing up, so we ended up going to very private and out of the way places that had amazing views.
Overall, it was a very nice, but long day. When we got back to the ship, we went and saw Ratatouille – the new Pixar movie. It’s very fun and there is something a bit special about seeing a first-run movie in the big theater on the ship. Too bad Transformers is not a Disney film.
July 12, 2007
July 11, 2007
Three things you'll want to know about Olbia, Sardinia
Before getting to the two things... Olbia was not what we were expecting – although we are not sure what we expected, Olbia was not it. The north end of Sardina, where Olbia is located, has only recently been developed -- over the last 40 yrs -- after the US helped eliminate a huge mosquito/Malaria problem.
Anyway, the three things to will want to know about Olbia:
First, when we asked for a Coca-Cola Light™, the person at the bar counter said “No Coca-Cola Light™, just Coke. I can mix some water in!”
Second, sheep outnumber people there 2.3 to 1.
Third, the bathrooms… Er… Well… Maybe you only want to know about two things about Olbia.
Anyway, the three things to will want to know about Olbia:
First, when we asked for a Coca-Cola Light™, the person at the bar counter said “No Coca-Cola Light™, just Coke. I can mix some water in!”
Second, sheep outnumber people there 2.3 to 1.
Third, the bathrooms… Er… Well… Maybe you only want to know about two things about Olbia.
Naples - Pompeii - Sorrento - Capri
Note: The pics for this post will come later as the network connection on the ship is being finicky tonight.
Remember 6th Grade Social Studies? Remember reading about Pomeii and seeing the pictures of the petrified people? Remember thinking "why do I need to know this? I will never get to see it." Well, we got to see it. It was actually pretty amazing and oddly educational. It was interesting to hear Mt. Saint Helens referenced as a comparison of what happened at Pompeii. Also, our guide looked a bit like Luke Wilson. His name was Luca. Hmm...
From Pompeii, we hopped a bus to Sorrento. It was very picturesque and is what I think of when I think of southern Italy. From the terraces of homes and shops, to the steep roads and staircases down to the sea. We loved our time there and were thinking that nothing could top this.
Then we boarded a jet-foil to the island of Capri. This topped Sorrento! We went up the hill and spent most of the time in a village overlooking the port. It was fantastic. Our time there was way too short.
One of the things we love about cruises is that you go a visit all these different places and find places where you will want to go back and spend a full vacation. Sorrento and Capri are places like this. We will go back.
Remember 6th Grade Social Studies? Remember reading about Pomeii and seeing the pictures of the petrified people? Remember thinking "why do I need to know this? I will never get to see it." Well, we got to see it. It was actually pretty amazing and oddly educational. It was interesting to hear Mt. Saint Helens referenced as a comparison of what happened at Pompeii. Also, our guide looked a bit like Luke Wilson. His name was Luca. Hmm...
From Pompeii, we hopped a bus to Sorrento. It was very picturesque and is what I think of when I think of southern Italy. From the terraces of homes and shops, to the steep roads and staircases down to the sea. We loved our time there and were thinking that nothing could top this.
Then we boarded a jet-foil to the island of Capri. This topped Sorrento! We went up the hill and spent most of the time in a village overlooking the port. It was fantastic. Our time there was way too short.
One of the things we love about cruises is that you go a visit all these different places and find places where you will want to go back and spend a full vacation. Sorrento and Capri are places like this. We will go back.
July 9, 2007
Palermo, Sicily
Today we visited Palermo, Sicily. The day kicked off with a guided tour of the town and open-air market. The market was like nothing we had ever seen before. It’s hard to describe, so we will post some pictures soon.
After getting back to the boat, we went to a “drive in” movie. On DCL, they show movies on a huge outdoor screen on one of the main stacks. It was pretty silly, but lying out on a beach chair, watching “Finding Nemo,” and enjoying the sun was pretty fantastic.
Tomorrow is Naples; which will include a trip out to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. It is going to be a long day, so we need to cut this short.
After getting back to the boat, we went to a “drive in” movie. On DCL, they show movies on a huge outdoor screen on one of the main stacks. It was pretty silly, but lying out on a beach chair, watching “Finding Nemo,” and enjoying the sun was pretty fantastic.
Tomorrow is Naples; which will include a trip out to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. It is going to be a long day, so we need to cut this short.
July 8, 2007
Rome to Barcelona
Okay… Alitalia… We may just have Marci add this to our “never again” list of airlines. First off, they only allowed 20 kg. per passenger. Well, when you pack for 18 days of vacation (cruise included), you are going to have more than 20 kg. After paying an arm and a leg for “extra baggage,” we ended up sitting on the runway for 90 minutes (the flight was only supposed to be 105 minutes) before they could take off because they couldn’t get anyone to sign off on the boarding. Then when we finally landed, we waited almost another 30 minutes for a bus to come and pick us up from the plane. Oh, and that extra baggage cost? Well, we were lucky and got all of our luggage. Many people ended up boarding the ship without any of bags as they were scattered around London, Rome and/or Madrid.
One of the funniest things about the Alitalia flight, was when an Italian businessman just started in on one of the flight attendants in Italian. He was clearly upset and being very animated in his side of the conversation. When he finished, he felt the need to do it again, in English, so all of the tourists on the plane could hear what he said. We felt sorry for him since he was delayed more than 12 hours from Naples to Barcelona – a flight that is not much different from Seattle to San Francisco.
Anyway, we made it to the ship and got checked in. Once we got a bit settled, we hopped off and grabbed a Taxi to go into Barcelona. We popped by Cathedral to see how it looked with all the scaffolding off – last November it was being restored. It was still being worked on, but we got some good photos anyway.
Before heading back to the ship for our safety drill, we walked over to La Rambla and then down towards the port. This is such a wonderful area, and we were sad to have as little time as we did.
One of the funniest things about the Alitalia flight, was when an Italian businessman just started in on one of the flight attendants in Italian. He was clearly upset and being very animated in his side of the conversation. When he finished, he felt the need to do it again, in English, so all of the tourists on the plane could hear what he said. We felt sorry for him since he was delayed more than 12 hours from Naples to Barcelona – a flight that is not much different from Seattle to San Francisco.
Anyway, we made it to the ship and got checked in. Once we got a bit settled, we hopped off and grabbed a Taxi to go into Barcelona. We popped by Cathedral to see how it looked with all the scaffolding off – last November it was being restored. It was still being worked on, but we got some good photos anyway.
Before heading back to the ship for our safety drill, we walked over to La Rambla and then down towards the port. This is such a wonderful area, and we were sad to have as little time as we did.
Check out our checking out!
When checking out of our hotel, we noticed a large, gold bag with tissues and other decorations. When we looked really close, it was addressed to Donatella Versace. I wonder how many pairs of shoes she packs for a short stay in Rome? Okay, she probably doesn’t pack her own bags. So how many shoes does her assistant Elizabeth pack for Donatella? Was it more than Lori packed? The World will never know.
Rome, Day Four
It was really nice to have a full day of free time in Rome to go back and see things we wanted to go back and see again. We also realized that due to the time changes and our sleep schedule, we hadn’t gotten a chance to see any of the sights of Rome at night – so we booked a nighttime tour that would give us that chance.
We spent a chunk of time down at the Tomb of the Unknown Hero, which is right next to the Forum. The structure is nicknamed “the wedding cake” because of all color (white) and all the many tiers to the building.
We also did some last minute junk/souvenir shopping down in the heart of the more trendy Rome shopping area. They even had a Disney Store! We did not buy anything, but it did remind us that we were hopping on the cruise ship on Saturday.
Rome at night was really quite stunning, but a tour may not have been the best way to do it. We would have loved to spend more time in some areas and much less time in others. San Pietro was absolutely gorgeous, but since we never even stopped long enough to take a picture, we made do with “drive by” photography.
We spent a chunk of time down at the Tomb of the Unknown Hero, which is right next to the Forum. The structure is nicknamed “the wedding cake” because of all color (white) and all the many tiers to the building.
We also did some last minute junk/souvenir shopping down in the heart of the more trendy Rome shopping area. They even had a Disney Store! We did not buy anything, but it did remind us that we were hopping on the cruise ship on Saturday.
Rome at night was really quite stunning, but a tour may not have been the best way to do it. We would have loved to spend more time in some areas and much less time in others. San Pietro was absolutely gorgeous, but since we never even stopped long enough to take a picture, we made do with “drive by” photography.
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