Rome again 27th Sept

We had to pack up this morning but there was time for a quick skype to Jim. We were able to leave our luggage at the guesthouse so we checked out and headed to Eataly as it had been recommended. It was ok, just a big supermarket really ,with some interesting food. Then we headed back to some shops we had seen yesterday to buy some presents. We then walked to the Jewish quarter for a great 'departing'  lunch. We had fried artichoke, pasta carbonara and caprese salad. Saw a great recycling shop and tempted to buy a bag made from wetsuits and bike tube. The boys may have liked it but a bit expensive. We did however find a great dress shop and had a final splurge. We headed back to Trastevere for a last wander and found a church with a wedding going on and tourist groups still wandering in. We had a gander too . Then back to our guest house to pick up luggage and high tail it to the airport., via extremely crowded tram and train. Said Goodbye to Italy. Home James , don't spare the horses.

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Rome 26th Sept

 Today we went to the food market in campo fiona, then on the pantheon which I think is awesome. We went to have coffee at the best coffee in Rome (according  to the lady at our b and b) . It was so busy we shared a table with an Irish couple and had an enjoyable long chat.  He was very funny.Then to the  Spanish steps and onto piazza popolo .  We walked through sone of the villa borgese garden down the Spanish steps and sat on them for a rest. Then on our way to the  collessuem we found a lovely pastry shop....Lunch sorted!.It was now quite hot and we walked via circus maximus back home. It was about 5pm so we rested and got ready for tea at a nearby restaurant that was part of our food tour last night.

Cruise ends, Rome begins 25th Sept

We packed our bags last night , had bfst in the dining room and we're off the ship at 9am. The shuttle took us into Civitavecchia where we noticed a bus transfer for 17 euros . This was much more appealing to us than the 25 min walk to the train station, trying to buy tickets and waiting for a train and then negotiating our luggage on a crowded train. Needless to say we jumped at this option. It meant we were dropped off in Rome at a different place but it was still only a 20 min walk to our accomodation and through Piazza Novena  and campo for a as a bonus.. We arrived at about midday and settled into our room and had WIFI at last do spent the next hour catching up on emails, facebook and I skyped Jim.. In the afternoon we wandered around Trastevere and then got ready for our Rome Food Tour which began on Tibor island. We went to a restaurant for fried artichoke abd Prosecco, then a very old wine cellar for anti pasta and wine, then a biscuit maker and bread maker, then we sat down for 3 pasta dishes and finally gelati . This was a great thing to do in Trastevere.

Cinque Terre 24th Sept

We had arrived in La Spezia before bfst in the windjammer. A shuttle bus took us to the edge of town and we walked to the train station to catch a train to Montross a. At Monterossa we walked along the beachfront and nearly decided to catch the next ferry but we would gave missed it ,so we wandered further into the back streets and discovered a whole new part of Monterossa I had not seen before and it was lovely. So glad we missed that ferry.We could gave stayed longer but wanted to see other places, so we caught the train to Corniglia after congratulating ourselves on figuring out how to buy a ticket at the machine. It was quite difficult even though in English. I'm  not sure how any one could do it in Italian. After climbing the 300 odd steps from train station to Corniglia we bought a Basil gelati, their specialty and liked it. After only a short visit we caught the next train to Vernazza deciding that we wouldn't walk between the villages, as walking up those steps was enough walking for today. In Vernazza we went to a pizza place by the Harbour for lunch. The Onion pizza there had been recommended so we had it with salad. From Vernazza we decided to ferry back to La Spezia stopping off at Portavenere, since Wanita has not been there. Walking back to the ship we saw snow on distant mountains. Back on the boat we went to the hot tub and watched us departing again, and just missed the pilot boat man jumping ship. We had a lovely dinner at the dining room and then went to watch the 70's party in the promenade and got in amongst it for a bit of a dance.
Bed at midnight.

Nice, Eze, Villefranche Sur Mer 23rd Sept

The ship was anchored at Villefranche sur mer this morning as the sun rose at breakfast time 7am . We were on the first tendered boat to shore as we wanted to make the most of the day. We got a day pass and caught a bus to Nice and got off at the Harbour and walked around the waterfront to the promenade . We climbed the steps of the cliff for a view over the promenade . We walked then to the flower/food market and into the old town for a good wander. Awesome . We then caught the tram up the main street but not quite as far as Lyndies wedding dress shop and walked back stopping at the church and at a few shops .We looked at the fountains at place Massena and used the toilets at macca before walking up the promenade to where Lyndie and I lived for 2 weeks at #77 We caught the bus back and another bus to the hilltop village of Eze . Here we walked the beautiful cobblestone alleys and had a drink at a cute cafe which gave us some complimentary olives and m and Ms . Highlight of the day . We walked the Neitze path down to Eze station 45 min on very rough path with some great views . Once down we waited for a bus to take us back to Villefranche . After 45 min wait be were started to worry but the bus did come .It was jammed full and we had to sqeeze on but we were not going to be left behind for fear of missing our boat back to the ship. We got back to Villefranche with an hour to look around before our boat was due to depart. It was a bit of a rushed look but we saw the obscure street , church and walked along the waterfront. Back on the ship we headed for the hot tub up on the pool deck with a great view as we departed and followed the coast down past Monaco. We then did trivia and went to dinner where we met 3 Nord women friends celebrating their 40th birthdays. A great Day!

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Provence Villages 22nd Sept

We arrived in Marseille port during breakfast.We had a good view from the windjammer.We had booked a tour today for Wanitas birthday. The tour took us first to an video art exhibition inside an old quarry. It was quite amazing and very different. We then went to Les Baux de?
A village built on a limestone cliff. We had lavender gelati and lemon meringue gelati . We bought a couple of items and then the bus drove us to Saint Remy. We saw the birthplace of Notredamus and the mental hospital where Vincent Van goph  painted his best works. When we got back to the ship we got in our togs and went into the whirlpool to watch the departure. We actually saw the pilot boat man transfer from our ship to his pilot boat as the boat came along side the ship and he climbed down a ladder and jumped on. Amazing! We had dinner with some Americans again. The waiters came with a cake and sang happy birthday to Wanita. We then went to a show called 'Up in the air' ...again excellent. then took some photos of us in our formal wear and went to bed.

Barcelona 21st Sept

We had bfst in the windjammer and got ready for our port day in Barcelona. A shuttle bus took us to the bottom of la rambles, a famous street ,which we walked up until we reached casa Batlio, one of Gaudis famous buildings. I will never tire of looking at it . It is wonderfully creative. We walked to an organic market and then to the cathedral. There were folk dancers dancing in front of the cathedral. We walked toward the old port and found a very cute tapas place with vintage chairs and had some food. Wan had ceviche (raw fish)and I had a quiche. It had free wifi but it was very limited and we couldn't do all we wanted. It was then time to meet up with the Cookes at the Picasso Museum. There was a huge queue but didn't take too long to get inside . Michelle and Robert have had a 24 day cruise and are a bit exhausted. We left them after the museum and wandered around the Gothic quarter back to la rambles and back then you the ship. We watched it being untied and leaving port and then went to the show, an aerial act and juggling .Then dinner in the dining room at a table with an Irish couple and some women from Norway.

Sea Day 20th Sept

We had bfst in the dining room as the ship passed between Corsica and Sardinia . We did a walk around the sporting deck and watched people rockclimbing and on the flow rider . Then we did trivia and towel folding demo , a cooking demo and lunch in the dining room only to discover that there was a poolside Bbq which would have been great to do. We did a line dancing class and watched the belly flop comp then we had a relax in the hot tub and lay around the pool on our towels . Wanita had booked a french wine tasting session so I went and had a coffee at the cafe . We watched the dream works parade down the promenade and the magic show then a late dinner . Full but enjoyable sea day.

Pompeii 19th Sept

I noticed the shudder of the propellers turning the ship ,so I knew we were coming into port. I encouraged Wanita to get up and watch from the deck our coming into Naples. We then went to bfst in the windjammer and headed out to Naples. We walked to the train station, a good 25 min walk and boarded the train to Pompeii, about 35 min. We walked the many many streets of Pompeii in the seering heat. I rested often while Wanita enjoyed an audio guide. I was not fussed with looking at ruins plus I was nursing a headache so all in all I couldn't wait to get back on board the ship . On our walk back to ship we saw some interesting fish markets with bowls of shells . I went back on board while Wanita went off  to find a sightseeing bus for a quick tour of  Naples. She returned to say it is an ugly city . No surprises there. We dressed up for an early formal dinner and went to the ice skating show and then the  Elton John imperdonator/comedian show . Lots of fun. The housekeeping guy used my glasses and towels to make a sting ray on our bed.

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