Day 11: Genova and saying goodbye to Italy

After leaving Livorno, our next stop was supposed to be Portofino. Now this port is so small, that only a ship of our size could dock there. Still, the main places to see in Portofino were miles away, so I wasn't terribly excited about what we might see there. Still, as we left Livorno, the seas were getting rougher. It was quite the thing to be in the theater and feeling the ship roll. I get car sick no prob, but the rough seas haven't yet made me sick. Of course, being on a cruise ship along the Alaskan coast or in the Mediterranean is nothing. so I'm sure I would be in really rough seas.

The seas were so rough that in the morning, Portofino advised us from docking there (we would have had to take tenders in to the actual town. Our captain went close to there to check for himself and agreed. Luckily, we were able to dock in nearby Genova, Italy. It is an important economic city in Italy.

The cruise arranged free shutle service to the main part of Genova. After breakfast, Mom wasn't feeling well, so I rode the bus there myself. It was raining that day, so I just walked around. There was a cathedral to visit, which was very pretty.

Outside the cathedral. Watch for the lions.

The Cathedral

More of Genova

Around the Ferrari fountain (the fountain at the top of the post). Genova was very pretty and had a lot of great architecture, but with the rain and being by myself, after a couple of hours I was pretty much done. I went back to the ship, then realized my Mom must have felt better and went to Genova herself. I had lunch and just hung out until Mom came back. She walked around too.

At the time, I wasn't that impressed with Genova. I realize now that a lot of it was the rain, how everybody felt after a night of 'rocking and rolling' and that after all the Italian cities we saw, this wasn't as impressive. Still, I'm glad I went there. It was a nice town and I'd like to go investigate more some time and see all that Genova has to offer.

Later in the evening, there was an improv class. It was fun. These two were leading it. They are actually two of the five Journey Singers. They're both from Las Vegas, and they both like men. I didn't realize that until this improv class. He's very funny though, and we danced together at the dance party later in the cruise.

I think my favorite thing of this port though was the sunset, with all the clouds in the sky. If this darn HUGE cruise ship wasn't in the way, I would have had AWESOME photos of the sunset. I figured it'd be gone by the time I got off the ship and walked around the ship. Too bad, because I could tell it was just BEAUTIFUL!

Most nights after the performance in the theater, there was the Kristen Lee Trio, this band that would play and we could dance to. She's great, and could sing all kinds of genres. Most nights there was hardly anyone dancing. I kept thinking how I really needed my friends Joan and Jill and we'd show them how to dance. But the activities staff would be there dancing, and that got some of us out of our seats. It was fun!

And with that we left Genova and made our way to Monaco. It was our last stop in Italy, after spending 9 of the past 11 days there. I miss that place!

Day 10: Part 2: Leanin' a bit in Pisa

We had about an hour and a half drive from lunch to Pisa. It was a nice drive for the most part, as most of that was in Tuscany, with all the beautiful hills. Tuscany reminds me of the Napa Valley, but prettier, with slightly more sharp hills.

There's a law all over Europe that some vehicles can't drive in the city center. Because of that, supposedly our bus had to stop about two miles away at the public parking and walk to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We found out later that other excursions had a shuttle bus. So we had to waste all that time walking there and back. Now, I don't mind a walk, but there were several older people there, and it really cut into the time we had in Pisa. We only had about an hour total there, and could have had at least another half hour to explore. Anyways, we walked past all the guys trying to sell us handbags (saw this in several places, such as by the Vatican - and they were all black. I don't know why, but of the hundreds I saw, I never saw a white, Asian, or any other people selling them. I think they were from somewhere in Africa). And we finally made it to the Field of Miracles. A lot different than I thought. I always imagined a large green open field with the Leaning Tower in the distance. But it's all walled in. I guess the whole ground is called the Field of Miracles.

Anyway, knowing we only had an hour, we first went to see if there were any tickets left to climb the tower. There was! So I paid my 10 euros and waiting for my time to climb. We went around and took pictures.

The Tower of Pisa is really not all that much. It's just the bell tower for the cathedral, that has all the fame because they messed up. As they were building it, they realized it was leaning and stopped for awhile. The real marvel is the gorgeous Cathedral, and the pretty impressive Baptistry. Still, it's of course such a wonder that you just have to see it.


Is it just me, or is something off here?


Thank goodness I was there to help keep it upright. I'm standing right by the cathedral.


I think this was my favorite cathedral. I wish I had more time to take pictures here, but after snapping a few nice pics, I had to go get in line to climb the Tower.


This is the baptistry. Back in the day, only baptized Catholics could enter the Cathedral, so they needed a baptistry to get people to be Catholics. Funny that now ANYBODY could go into the Cathedral. I didn't get a chance to see this place at all, since I ran out of time. Still, you had to pay to enter the baptistry, so this is pretty much all I could look at anyway.


Finally, 4:00 came, and I told Mom I'd meet her at the rendevous spot at 4:30. So I climbed up the 288 steps to the top. Now, after the climb up the St. Peter's cuppola, this was nothing. Much more space and not quite so steep. It's a little weird climbing, because you can tell you're at an off angle. Well, I couldn't as much, but I heard other say they could really tell. Maybe my equillibrium is off. Still, I could tell a bit, and it was fun to stop at the little windows and see what the orientation was.


Breathtaking views once you get to the top. This is looking out at the Cathedral. The Baptistry is behind it.


You can look out over the city


A nice security/police lady took this picture for me.

We made the long walk back, during which several in our group were complaining. Our tour host didn't tell us anything about Pisa and explained that to do so, she'd have to be licensed as a tour guide and she hadn't taken those tests yet. So it was a bit disappointing, in that originally Pisa was the place I wanted to see the most, and we had such a short amount of time there and not much explanation while we were there. Still, I got to climb the Tower and at least briefly visit the Cathedral. It was beautiful. And after that great lunch and seeing Volterra and the beautiful Tuscan countryside, I couldn't complain much.

We got back and I believe had a buffet at the poolside that night. All in all a very good day and a great excursion for me. I can't wait to go back someday!

Day 10: Part 1: A little Tuscany

Although Malta was my favorite stop, Livorno, Italy was a close second. . I counted all the pictures from going to the Tuscan countryside, our wonderful lunch, and then going to the Tower (and Cathedral) of Pisa, that I think it's best to break this one into at least two parts.

We arrived in Livorno, Italy in the morning. After getting our room service breakfast, we made our way to the theater to await our excursion to be called. They called us, and we made it to the bus. Now, when we were trying to determine what we wanted to do. The port of Livorno is by Florence, Pisa, and the Tuscan countryside. I really wanted most to see the Tower of Pisa. I kind of wanted to go to Florence so I could see David, but I was flexible, and Mom would rather go to the Tuscan countryside. I'm glad we did!

Our shore excursion consisted of a drive to somewhere in the Tuscan countryside, lunch at a bed and breakfast, and then a visit to Pisa.

On our way to the Tuscan countryside, our tour host (not a tour guide) said we were on our way to Volterra. Now, for those who have read the Twilight series of books, Volterra is the home of the most ancient vampires that kind of run the show. So it's gotten a lot of attention because of that.

Volterra

She asked if any of us had seen New Moon yet, but since it just came out a couple of days before our cruise, nobody had. (I still haven't!_)

Our drive was just awesome! There's a reason that area is known for its beauty. It was absolutely fabulous. My camera needed a break from all the pictures I was taking.


Volterra was quiet. It was Sunday and a lot of shops were closed. I remember thinking that the city in New Moon was pretty large, but the main square was pretty small.


The main square. In New Moon, this is where Edward is about to reveal himself. Anyway, there was a tourist center in town, and they definitely had some Twilight swag. It was kind of fun.


It was just beautiful. Surrounded by all those Tuscan hills.


The main clock tower.


Their roads are so much cooler than ours.


Yep, I could live here.


I love this picture. So 'picturesque'



After spending about an hour and a half there, it was time to head out to lunch. I wasn't all that excited about this at the time. The way they described it, I didn't think it'd fill me up, and I'd rather just gone to Pisa. Again, glad I was wrong. This was an awesome stop!


It was very pretty there. Our tour host said that a lot of Europeans bought these old farms and turned them into bed and breakfast places, and had these lunches for tour groups.


Mom having fun before lunch.


There were all sorts of great meats and cheeses and some pasta. Awesome garlic bread and other treats. They also had wine to drink and water. So we had the water.


It was nice and warm in the room. We found out that one of the people at our table is from Benicia. So it was fun to meet some neighbors of mine.



The lunch was so great. They had a great biscotti type of dessert. They had a shop on the premises, besides their bed and breakfast. In the shop you can buy wine and olive oil. I bought some olive oil.

We got on the bus and headed to Pisa. More on that in my next post.

Day 8: Sicily - An Offer I Can't Refuse

Our next stop was a short trip up to Taormina, Sicily. We actually docked in the harbor and took a tender boat to a town below. Then we paid $15 for an all day pass to go to Taormina and back in a bus. The above picture is a view from the ship.


Taking pictures once we got to the top.

Just awesome views!


Mom and me in front of a fountain, picture taken by friends we met. Those friends had us take their picture earlier in some other port, and it kind of just seemed that we took a few excursions together and take each other's picture.

We decided to explore on our own on this trip as well. We basically walked up and down the main street, then took a side trip trying to find an ancient stadium that was around (we never did).

A pretty shop along the way. You might notice the no photography signs in the window. Uh, ignored.


A church along the way. I should point out that I don't think I've ever been in more churches over a two week period than on this trip. They were all amazing in their own ways.


I watched the Godfather for the first time on TV within the last year, so I just had to get a cannoli. Pretty good! I think this was me trying to do a mobster look.


I kept looking, but couldn't find my house here. But it must be there, because I must live here! This picture was taken as we were searching for the ancient stadium/ampitheater. We ended up in a non touristy place, and it was nice. There was a school nearby.


I took so many pictures of stairways on this trip. It's amazing how nice a stairway can look.


I have a friend who says this picture is just screaming to be made into a painting. Oh that reminds me, I owe her it in an email.


Overlooking the bay


That's Mt. Etna, the most active volcano in Europe. It spews steam all the time.


So after a nice day of enjoying the late Fall sun and checking out the shops, it was finally time to go back to the ship and head out. This is a shot of us leaving, with Mt. Etna in the background.

Our captain was really cool. After leaving Sorrento, he took us for a closeup view of the island of Capri, which was really cool. After leaving Sicily, he took us really close to Stromboli, another volcano and has created a volcano island. Unlike Mt. Etna, Stromboli erupts frequently with lava flows, so it's very spectacular. I couldn't take any really good pictures of it, but it was amazing, even though some of the people on board were annoying. Before we turned to go by the spot where you could see the lava flow, some people were starting to complain because they couldn't see much. Then they kept joking that the ship must send a signal and then the volcano comes on. These bright people evidently didn't see us turning around the island to see it.

Anyways, eventually almost everyone left and I ended up the only one still on the top deck looking our at the volcano miles and miles away as we made our trip up the Italian coast.

OK, the next day was our day at sea, so I'll take that time to talk more about life aboard the ship and some of the other highlights of the cruise that I haven't mentioned, as I've been so focused on the destinations, and not the journey (which ironically is the name of our ship).

Day 5: Exploring Pompeii

(Don't forget to check previous entries. This is my third post today!)

Day 5 had us still in Sorrento. We had a scheduled shore excursion at Pompeii. I'm sure you all know what Pompeii is, but just in case, Pompeii was a fairly large ancient Roman city that was completely buried by ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted around 79 AD. It was known as a very... open society, I guess is what the modern term is (they had lots of sex - with lots of partners).

Anyway, Pompeii was rediscovered by accident in 1748. During all the years farms had popped up over the remains of the city. Even now, only about 2/3rds of the city is uncovered. Archaeologists are so busy taking care of what's uncovered that they're allowing the farms over the rest of it to remain until they can excavate it. But because of being buried, it offers a great glimpse of life back in early Roman civilizations.



It was cool to see the original streets and to find out that they had food vendors by the stadium and how they tried to keep food hot. They also had big stones in the middle of the street for people to walk on when the rains flooded the street.



We didn't really go into any of the red light district places, but let's just say the ancient Romans had a much different view of sex than we do.


This is the Pompeii forum, with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

I haven't included any pictures of the plaster casts of people here, but it was cool how they came up with them. When the hot ash buried the people, it quickly cooled and formed a hard layer. However, the body would decompose, leaving the outline of the person who had died. When archaeologists discovered these cavities, they filled them with plaster, which would harden, and then they'd have a cast of what the person looked like when they died. It's kind of eerie to see the look of horror on most of their faces. Kind of surreal.



So we finished our trip. It was a lot of fun and great learning adventure. I definitely want to go explore on my own (rather than an excursion) some time in the future.

We took the bus ride back to Sorrento and did some more (window) shopping there, showing my mom all the places I looked at the previous day. We did stop at a shop before we left where we got several souveniers, including a nice bowl I bought. It was a great stop and I can't wait to check it out sometime in the summer (not this summer, but some summer).