Europe 2011 - Day 9



The Franciscan's Leather School

We docked at Livorno, Italy which is the gateway to Florence and Pisa.

We knew how to get to the local train station by taking the Carnival shuttle to the center of the town and then a local bus to the train station. So we were out of the cabin early and on the 9:28am train to Florence, skipping Pisa. It took the train about 1 ½ hours to get there.

Our round trip cost for the train was $33 dollars total and Carnival charged $180 per couple to take their bus to Florence and return. The only danger in using local transportation is that if you don’t get back to the ship on time, you are on your own to make it to the next port – more about that later.

We met a nice couple and their daughter from Canada on the train trip and shared some fun experiences until they got off at Pisa. Once we got to Florence it was off the train and into a taxi to take us to the Church of Santa Croce, the largest Franciscan church in Europe and also home to a leather-working school taught by the Franciscan Priests.



Barb's scarf is here



We found the school in the back of the church and wow was their workmanship fantastic - as were their prices. But it was fun to visit this school.

We ate lunch in a little café and then spend the rest of our time in Florence in the big open air markets that specialized in leather goods and scarves. Florence is the leather capital of Europe as far as leather clothing is concerned and we had a lot of fun and bought some “needed” items.

It took us longer than expected to get a taxi to the train station and we were within 50 yards from our train as it was pulling out. The next train was to leave at 3:48pm which would still put us back in the port in time to make the ship, but not with a lot of time to spare.



Buying a purse

As we were waiting for the train to leave, the conductor came by and told us that things had changed and we had 6 minutes to get to another train, which would take us to Pisa and then we would have to transfer to another train to get to the port. There were about 30 from the ship altogether when we got off the train at Pisa at 5:15pm and waited for the next train. We were supposed to board the ship by 6:00pm and the ship would pull out at 6:30pm. We arrived at the port train station at 5:50pm and jumped into the only cab around. We made it to the ship at 6:03pm!! That was way too close.

Dinner was with our new table and we are enjoying everyone.

After dinner, Ed qualified for the blackjack tournament; however, in the finals he did not win. He was in second place going into the last round and his last hand if he would have gotten one of 68% of the cards, he would have won – but he didn’t. Maybe next time.



The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fore

We had a very long day today so we decided not to play in the casino but make it an early night.

Tomorrow is a sea day, a slot tournament and the first formal night – life is good in paradise.

Don't forget you can click on any picture to make it bigger.  Night for now.

Sunset from our deck

Europe 2011 - Day 8



On the train to Rome

Rome – we docked at 9:00am at the port of Civitavecchia, which is a little more that an hour train ride from Rome.

We took the shuttle bus from the ship to the end of the pier and walked about 4 blocks to the local train station where we boarded a train to Rome. It is always fun using local transportation and reading all of the names and directions. We have been this way before so it wasn’t really a problem and, it is a lot cheaper than using Carnival’s transporation.

Carnival had a bus to town where they simply dropped you off in the city and picked you up 10 hours later to take you back to the ship. Carnival charged $80.00 and we only paid $13.00 for our train ride which included unlimited subway usage. Not a bad saving and we didn’t have to wait for anyone.

Shopping

In Rome, we first took a subway to the largest flea market in the city – a huge area in the south of the city that is open every day from 7am – 1pm and then they all clean out and the street opens.

Barb bought some things and Ed bought some shirts. Then it was back on the subway to see their WWII memorial which is next to the Coliseum and the ruins of the old city. The Memorial has an elevator to the top and it is about 14 stories up with a great view of the city.

Then we took a taxi to the Trevi Fountain where we threw coins in for luck in returning to Rome. The first time we visited Rome we did this with no intention of coming back and we have now been here four times!

The Coliseum

Next was pizza for lunch and a trip to St. Peters; however, when we got there the Pope has just finished an open air mass and the place was jammed with people. So, we walked around the shopping area between the Vatican and the subway stop and finally headed back to the train station for the ride back to the port.

We moved to a new table with our new friends that we met last night and had a great time with our new tablemates. We now are at a round table for 10 and we all seem to enjoy each others company – dinners will be fun.

No show tonight so just the casino and then on to an early bed as we arrive at the port leading to Florence tomorrow.

We'll be back!!

Night

Snack time

Europe 2011 - Day 7

Lunch

Instead of Naples and Capri we stopped at Marseilles, France and we know that it is not Carnival’s fault, but it was not a very good trade. Marseilles is the second largest city in France and also a very, very industrialized city. The port is not made for the tourist trade as we had to take a shuttle bus 25 minutes from the port to the center of the old city.

The city was pretty, but really not very much to see. They also do not have any real beaches.



The Prison

We did hop on one of the little trains like we did in Monaco and took a tour of the city and it did also take us to the top of the mountain to see Notre Dame De La Garde Cathedral, which was impressive and the view was wonderful of the entire port.

We then had lunch at a little sidewalk restaurant in the center of the town and took the shuttle back to the ship.

By then it was time to get some more sun, which we did for about an hour and a half.

The Salmon - 6th course

As we left Marseilles, the ship passed very close to the tiny island that was a prison in olden times and where the Count of Monte Crisco was held capture. It was also where they filmed The Man in the Iron Mask.

Then it was time to clean up and go look at pictures that had been taken last night. We picked out, as usual, one picture to keep.

We had signed up for the Chef’s Table Experience and we met the head chef at 6:30pm in the Piano Bar to meet the head chef. We found out from him that Carnival has 30 head chefs for 23 ships. They basically work 9 months and then have 3 off. He was very impressive and we enjoyed his presentations.

Desert

We started out with campaign and to different canapés. Then it was down to the kitchen for the actual meal. We had a long table for 12 actually set up in the kitchen. The dinner was an 8 course dinner and had been prepared by 20 chefs during the day and evening. It was a wonderful meal.

The 6th course was Salmon with herb pesto, cured tomatoes, carrots, fava, mushroom earth and condensed beets. The 7th course was “Wagyu” consisting of slow stewed short ribs, potato pebbles, pumpkin fudge and tomato dust. No I am not making this up and yes Ed ate it all!!

The Chef's Table

The dinner was truly spectacular, just like it was on our last Carnival cruise.

We also met a couple from South Africa and it looks like we will join them at their table starting tomorrow evening. We sat with them at dinner tonight (they are on the end) and they are really nice. Our current table has not been that much fun and this couple, Ian and Sam seem to be very enjoyable.

The show tonight was “Destination: Unknown!” and they called it a night of extraordinary illusions and the magician was really good.

On to the casino, where we did well and then to bed.

Tomorrow - Rome

Europe 2011 - Day 6

Our first port – Monaco and Monte Carlo.

Part of the harbor

The first picture is what we awoke to, the harbor.

We are docked right next to the mega-yacht, Atlantis II which was built in 1981 and is the 17 largest moor yachts by length in the world! It is 380’ long – wow.

Then next to it was the Lady Moura. When it was launched in 1990 it was the 9th largest yacht in the world and now it is just the 25th. It is owned by a Saudi businessman and is 344 feet long. The lettering on the sides and the back are 24 caret gold. Yes, yes, the rich are different.

When we left the ship, we walked into the old city and then took a ½ hour tram ride around the country of Monaco and the city of Monte Carlo. It was fun little ride and it shows you just how small and rich this country is. There are only 32,000 inhabited in the entire country and there sure are a lot of yachts.


Two mega-yachts next to us

 We then walked around the city, ate at a little café on the street and then walked back to the ship.

After changing, we walked to the local bus stop and took a bus to the only beach area in the country. It was interesting in that the beach had no sand but small pebbles. There were several sections of the beach, some owned by private companies and some owed by the country.

We stayed till late in the afternoon and then took a bus back to the waterfront and walked along the docks looking at all the yachts. It was amazing to us that you could walk right up to these yachts and no one would stop you. Of course I am sure you would have a problem boarding any of the big ones.  (Astrid and Maurice - no one even notice Barb here!!!)

The tram

When we got back to the ship we got a couple of pieces of pizza for a snack and then went and took a jacuzzi.

Dinner was fine and we were short one couple and last night she had been sick so we hope she is still not sick.

After dinner, we skipped the welcome aboard show because we have seen it many times before and it is just a bunch of introductions with just a little bit of entertainment.
 

The beach

So the next thing to do is to go to the casino and play for our first night. We had fun and also spent most of the time meeting the staff. Our host offered to send us to the extra charge steakhouse, so we will do that at a later date in the cruise.

Tomorrow is Marseilles, France and we were able to do a little research on it tonight so it should be fun to see this new city.


Pebbles on the beach - no sand



Night for now.

Europe 2011 - Day 5

Time to go to the ship

After a wonderful several days in Barcelona, we awoke realizing it was our last day there until we finish the cruise and we really had a wonderful time. Barb and I got to spend some quality time together just enjoying.

We packed and were out of our room at 10:30am and into our cabin on the ship at 11:30am and were eating by noon.

Then it was time to change and work on our tan. We are up front on the spa deck, deck 12 and there is an adults only deck on 15 with a direct elevator only steps away from our room so we went up there and relaxed for a couple of hours.

Barb's Flowers

After getting back to our cabin we found out that the itinerary for the first few days has changed due to a potential general strike in Italy that could affect the scheduled itinerary. Major demonstrations are also planned in the center of Rome on Tuesday, so they switched our Rome arrival day to Wednesday. They also cancelled the port of Naples and substituted Marseilles, France in its place.

We have been to Naples and Capri several times and have never been to Marseilles so that change will be good. We had a tour of the gardens at the Vatican scheduled for Rome so the ship is working on getting that changed for us – what great service.

The schedule for the next four days is therefore as follows:
Monday – Monaco
Tuesday – Marseilles, France
Wednesday – Rome
Thursday – Livorno, (Florence/Pisa)



No room for anymore shoes!!

So if you read about any problems with strikes in Italy, hopefully we will be in a different port.
Then we went for a walk around the ship and stopped for Pizza. And later we stopped for some snacks – so by 6:00pm we had eaten three times since Noon!!

The ship left the dock at 5:00pm and we were on our way for 12 fun days sailing on this brand new ship, the Carnival Magic.

The shops opened at 7 pm and of course we went and bought our normal souvenirs and then it was to the Comedy Club to hear a comedian do a very funny show.

Dinner was at 8:15pm and for the first time we actually had the table location that we wanted without having to ask for it once we arrived on the ship. Our table is in the forward dining room, downstairs on the main floor and in the center. It is a round table for 8 and should be perfect.

Our Room

Our table mates are going to be just fine. Two couples are related, Mom and Dan and Son and his girlfriend and the other couple are from Indianapolis. It should be an enjoyable table.

After the show, we went to the Casino and introduced ourselves to the Manager, Troy and our new Casino Host, Carlos. As far as we call tell we don’t know anyone in the Casino, but of course we will. We never play on the first night so we then went to the 10:30pm adult comedy show which was really funny.

Then it was time to crash and be ready for Monaco and Monte Carlo tomorrow – docking at 9:00am.

Europe – 2011 – Barcelona – In Barb’s Own Words

What a beginning to a fabulous time…I am sold on Barcelona!!!!!!!the people are kind, fun & the beaches unbelievable…like 3 miles of beauty & NO prudes just natural & no one cares…The history is wonderful including folk dances in the street, not for tourist but young & old sharing their heritage!!!!

Our hotel was well unbelievable, I was NOT born to be pampered, don’t handle it well and they were everywhere making sure I am happy,,,very good at what they do!!! So I am happy now leave me alone I can manage!!!!! Seriously the other half live VERY differently, VERY!!!!!

We are now on to the ship wow in less than an hour from leaving the hotel we were in our room , changed & laying in the sun, not bad….everyone happy & even unpacked.. I really miss everyone, but not wishing I was there more wishing you were here!!!!

Love you all, mom

PS I am a very, very lucky person!!!!!

Europe 2011 - Day 4

Lots of street sweepers are out every morning

Thanks goodness we didn’t have to get up early this morning as we had been up late the last two nights and also walked a lot each day.

Today we started out at 10:00am with a 1 ½ hour walking tour of Barcelona’s seafront. Then we took a 1 ½ hour boat tour of the harbor and along the entire city coast line, about 3 hours.

After the tours we got a cab and ate lunch at an outside restaurant close to the hotel.

The entrance to Mar Bella Beach

Then it was up to the Mar Bella Beach for an afternoon of sitting out and walking on the beach. What a wonderful beach it has been and we will hate to leave it. This has been the most relaxed, family friendly nude beach that we have ever been to – and it is right in the middle of the city, not hidden and /or a long walk to get to like a lot are. The United States should be so free and neither words nor pictures could describe this environment.

Back to the hotel then to change for the evening.

The most famous opera house in Barcelona and maybe in all so Spain is the Palau de la Musica Catalana. It opened in 1908 The site was named a World Heritage Site in 1997. We were lucky enough to get tickets to tour the building in the early evening. The building and inside was amazing. It was the first structure built in Barcelona of steal and then they encased it with beautiful glass and mosaic columns.



Locals Dancing



Then we walked to a Tappas restaurant we had seen the night before and along the way came across dozens of locals dancing in the square outside the Cathedral to a band. What fun they were having and the tourists were having watching them.

After dinner, we had box seats for a performance. – Wow was it special. The show was a performance by an international guitar master named Manuel Gonzalez who was brilliant on the guitar. I wish we had a video because you cannot describe his talent and how his fingers moved on the strings.

After the concert we walked for a little bit and then it started to rain so we came back to the hotel.

Dinner

A wonderful day – tomorrow it is the ship – the Carnival Magic.

Our seats for the concert

Outside of the conceert hall