Monte Carlo Monaco.....Part 5 (the final part)

Last port on the cruise before heading back to Barcelona was Nice, France. Since it neighbors Monaco we opted to take an excursion to Monte Carlo to see the world famous Aquarium and walk the Palace grounds.

The port where we dock is really the prettiest port! We had no real dock to dock at, so they anchor in the bay area and you take a tender boat to shore from the cruise ship. Jeff and I had an excursion that didn't leave until around 1:00, so we were able to eat breakfast on the ship and enjoy the beautiful view.

The view from the cruise ship

Another view from the ship

So we headed to shore and got on a bus to head to Monaco. Beautiful curvy roads that leave France and head into Monaco. The weather that day was great too, so no rain and lots of sunshine.
Monaco is really where the "other half" lives. Amazing in beauty and you can just tell everywhere you look that only the richest can afford to live there. The bay area is filled with yachts and the palace grounds overlook the city. The Grand Prix was to start the weekend after our cruise so they were set up for Grand Prix already and we got to see the stands lining the streets and all the signage. And even though a lot of the roads were blocked off we were able to ride the bus along a short route of it and experience the narrow and curvy roads.

Our first stop was the aquarium. Jeff and I had really been looking forward to seeing it. Boy was I a bit disappointed. It's a nice building to see and there is a lot of nice things in the museum but it's just not what I thought it would be. Lots of tanks filled with blue formaldehyde that encased dead animals like doves, sharks and even a sheep slip in half so you could see the inside! They call this ART! And we were told that no pictures were allowed. The place was filled with security and it was impossible to enjoy the parts that were nice. Our guide wasn't great that day and she took us all over the museum part and then only allowed us about 20 minutes to enjoy the aquarium and the fish. But we did see a HUGE sea turtle!

The artist advertised on the banner is the one that does all the dead animals in formaldehyde

Monaco Aquarium, main entrance

This was also outside the aquarium. Kind of creepy if you ask me!

Our next stop was the cathedral in Monaco where Grace Kelly is laid to rest. Beautiful cathedral!

The cathedral in Monaco

We walked along the Palace grounds and got to overlook the city down below. We were suppose to go by the Grand Casino but there is some construction and such going on there so we didn't actually end up going by. But Monaco is really beautiful and the gardens surrounding the area are beautiful as well. I wish we would have got to see Nice too or went to Cannes as well but we just didn't have enough time to do both and we really wanted to see the aquarium. I think in hindsight, had we known what the aquarium was going to be like, we would have opted to take a different tour. BUT it was really neat to see Grand Prix area while it's set up and it was really nice to see the harbor area.

Overlooking part of the harbor from the palace grounds. You can see the blue stands for Grand Prix

The harbor from the palace grounds

The palace in Monaco where Prince Albert lives

Some of the beautiful gardens in Monaco

All in all the cruise was really nice. We had a great time and we made a new friend on board. We really enjoyed Barcelona too. I couldn't have been happier with the opportunity to see Italy.

So that's it for the cruise. I guess now I have to find something new to blog about!

Pizza....I mean Pisa anyone? Part 4

We spent our last full day in Italy in Pisa and Tuscany. Wow.....beautiful country. Again, like most ports there, it's not pretty until you get away from the port a bit. But once you get away form the port......wow! It was a rainy morning in Pisa and the skies were filled with gray and gloomy clouds. That didn't stop us though, or our hike from the bus parking lot to Pisa's town center. Of course we did get bombarded again with men trying to sell us umbrellas. Beautiful umbrellas with scenes of Pisa on them. I would have bought one had I not been so completely annoyed at their persistence and unwillingness to just let us be for a moment.

On the rainy bus trip we could see Pisa in the distance

Jeff and I had seen a show on the Leaning Tower of Pisa just weeks before our trip. The long years of efforts for them to try and stabilize it has continued on. But in recent years you are actually able to go up in the tower if you'd like. Let me just say that after watching a show about all the efforts to stabilize it, along with going against everything I know and understand on structural engineering............I don't feel it's part of my lives ambition to go up in the Leaning Tower. So we choose a tour that would take us to see it, but not go into it. And it was great! We got a nice little tour around the Pisa square and were told about all the different buildings and their architecture. Personally I couldn't take my eyes off the leaning tower because it's just amazing to me that it's still standing after all these years. Pisa is a small little place and you can see the whole place in a matter of minutes. We spent a few hours there and learned that Pisa was where Pinocchio originated. There were tons of little Pinocchio's all over the place for sale.

That bush growing in the wall is the bush that capers grow on!

Pisa, Italy

The basilica in Pisa

The basilica had these beautiful "3D" doors

I wish there was a lot more to say about Pisa but what we set out to accomplish was to say we had seen it and take some pictures. Mission accomplished!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The top of Pisa and the bells

So that afternoon we set out for wine tasting in Tuscany. Ever seen "Under the Tuscan Sun"..........beautiful Tuscany hill sides covered in olive trees and grape vines and houses that look just like what you think every Italian house looks like?! THAT is really what Tuscany was like for me. The winery/B&B we visited reminded me of a setting in a movie about Tuscany! We had another great tour guide that was informative but knew we were all there to taste some wine and enjoy it and he let us be. He did tell us something that had never occurred to me. Biscotti is their word for biscuit, or in our case, cookie. So it refers to a much more brood array of "cookies" than what we refer to as biscotti. Jeff and I bought some chocolate and nut biscotti and it was FAB! Soft and more bread like than it was crunchy and firm like the stuff I have tried in the states. And we tasted some great wines that were made right there. Along with olive oil and olives from the trees that are there as well. It was wonderful! We bought a bottle of wine and brought it back with us. Hoping that we can hang on to it for a while and it will make the trip back to the states with us one day.

The beautiful view from the vineyard

The vineyard on a cloudy, rainy Tuscany day

Our time in Tuscany flew by quick. But it was a nice relaxing day and we had so much fun. I only wish we could have spent a little more time there.

Loved this little sign as we were walking into the wine cellar

Final stop..............Nice and Monaco!
To be continued.....................

When in Rome........Part 3

Next stop was Rome! Oh how I have dreamed of seeing Rome. I don't know what it is about Rome that fascinates me but I have just always looked forward to seeing Rome. It was, hands down my favorite stop on the cruise. Jeff and I had said all along that he really wanted to see Vatican City and I REALLY wanted to walk through the Sistine Chapel. Again I go back to me studying art and architecture in college and I never dreamed I'd get a chance to walk through the Sistine Chapel and see Michelangelo's work in person. So when we were looking at excursions Jeff found one that took us to Vatican City and also did a walking tour through Sistine Chapel. We were torn the whole time because as much as we wanted to see Vatican City we also wanted to see the Colosseum. But we decided that we'd rather see Vatican City and that we'd have to try and go back one day to see the Colosseum.

It was a bit overcast that day and raining and sprinkling on and off. It was warm though........probably in the upper 60's. We weren't bothered with the weather much though. But one thing you will learn about Italy is that the peddlers are deep and VERY persistent. I think in every place we went we were greeted by half of dozen peddlers as soon as we got off the bus trying to sell us umbrellas. They don't just stop with a simple "no" either. And we were deeply warned about pick pockets in Italy too. Thankfully we weren't bothered by anyone and no one we knew in the group was either.

When we set off that morning on our tour we got a pleasant surprise as the tour guide let us know that we were going to be stopping for a restroom break before we went to the Colosseum. At first I was wondering if we were on the wrong tour but then she went on to say after that we'd be on to lunch and then Vatican City. So yay........we were gonna get to see it all.

The Colosseum

Our tour guide was really awesome! She's an archaeologist that works in Vatican City and two days a week she does tours. Yay for us because she had A LOT of knowledge and told us things I never knew. She was a real treat to have as a tour guide. She took us to the Colosseum and while she gave us some free time she spent a lot of time telling us about the Colosseum and just painting a picture of how life was back then. She told us that the various tiers of the stadium was based on where you ranked in society and women and children were not allowed to sit with the men. So the men sat at the bottom, women and children on the second tier and then slaves and servants on the very top. Of course the emperor had his own area. It's amazing to me that the Colosseum is still standing to this day.
She told us that they had a concert there last year and she said the sounds from the singer literally caused parts of the walls to fall down. So it's under constant moderating to make sure that it remains stable and safe.

Inside the Colosseum

See where part of the wall is missing at the top and you see the rock, that's where the walls started coming down after the concert

They teased us with a drive by Vatican City on the way to our restaurant for lunch. But we went on to a great lunch of Italian pasta, dessert and coffee. Italian coffee is REALLY good. And you all know how much I love my coffee!
So after a good lunch the sun came out and we set off to Vatican City. I can't say enough positive things about our tour guide and I wish I had the time to tell you all the wonderful history she shared with us. But since I can't, I'll try and focus on some of the highlights and tell you about the visit.

Vatican City

She spent a great deal of time talking about Michelangelo's time in the Sistine Chapel. She said that the Pope back then was an emperor type in that he told people what he wanted and he didn't ask. So at that time the Sistine Chapel's ceiling was blue and had kind of little stars on it. The Pope didn't like it and so he called Michelangelo there to paint the ceiling. He told Michelangelo he had three weeks to paint it. Michelangelo told him that he couldn't possibly paint it in three weeks that he'd need that long to decide what to paint because he was a sculpture, not a painter. The Pope told him not his problem and he had three weeks. So Michelangelo prepared and locked himself inside with scaffolding and he began his work. He was locked in there for five years! So when he was finally done he came out and the Pope came in and he said to him it was "okay". But he refused to pay Michelangelo. And Michelangelo ask him why he wouldn't pay him when he'd practically blinded himself painting and spent five years never coming out. The Pope reminded him of telling him he had three weeks to paint it and he took longer, so therefore he was not going to pay him. And so Michelangelo was never paid for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
When the Pope decided he wanted him to paint the wall that has Judgment Day on it, again he called Michelangelo. This time Michelangelo locked himself in and it took him 4 years to paint it. He painted it in such a way that the good people and the people that would be delivered to heaven are on the right and the bad people and the people that were doomed to an eternity in hell are painted on the left. The Pope is painted on the left for never paying him.

A VERY small fraction of the sculptures inside the hallways

I wish I could have taken pictures inside the Sistine Chapel. But unfortunately there is no pictures allowed, even without a flash. However you can take pictures in the hallways leading up to it and they are remarkable. Our tour guide studied under the man that did the cleaning of the Sistine Chapel years ago. And inside they left a spot that has been untouched and it's amazing how much they were able to clean and restore. That one spot is practically black. She said that he said while he was up there that there were paintings where the hand alone was bigger than his face. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around being able to paint something to that scale. Even when I seen some of the large paintings at the Louvre I thought the same thing.

Beautiful mosaic flooring in the areas of the hallways

Just a small part of the ceilings inside Vatican City's hallways

One of the many hallways leading up to the Sistine Chapel

This is the rotunda of as you turn to go into the Sistine Chapel

So from the Sistine Chapel we headed to St Peter's Basilica and got to go inside and take a few pictures and just marvel at it's beauty. The area to the crypts is secure but I tried to take a picture peering down to the door and it was very difficult to get a good shot. The area going down is very beautiful and it's got lots of red velvet and brass and gold trimmings.
And I couldn't help but take a picture of the Swiss Guards in Vatican City.

The door into St Peter's Basilica. All those that pass through it, sins are forgiven

At first glance inside St Peter's. It's huge and there is so much to see and not enough time to take pictures of it all

One of many sculptures inside

The door to the crypts

A view of Vatican City square from St Peter's Basilica

It was an amazing day! I really think that Rome is my favorite place that I have got to visit and see history in all my travels so far. It was not only a treat to see it but it was a treat to have such a great tour guide.

Swiss Guards

The to the right of St Peter's, where you see the small square atop of the roof is the Sistine Chapel and that is the famous chimney that the people await the white smoke when a new Pope is determined

Next will be Pisa and Tuscany!
To be continued.................

Part 2, Naples Italy

Let me first start by saying that the negative thing about sailing the Mediterranean is that it is kind of a rough sea. So even on a massive cruise ship........you feel the boat rocking. Just wanted to get that out there! So the plus side to that is that the ports are so close together that you only spend one full day at sea going and the rest of the time you are only at sea from about 7pm at night until about 7am in the morning, at the latest. Kind of helps with the rocking of the boat but you do have some serious sealegs when you return to shore.

First day on the cruise ship was at sea. We sailed from Barcelona all the way to Naples, Italy, which is "right above the ankle of the boot" as the tour guide in Naples informed us. We had a fun day at sea and the weather was perfect. Spent some time in the sun sipping beer, and I spent a little time in the spa getting a little pampering. Our ship had come all the way from Galveston, Texas. In the off months it's the ship that sails from Galveston down to the Caribbean and then in the summer months it sails across to Barcelona and then makes the weekly trip through the Mediterranean until November, then it returns to Galveston again. And there were actually people on the boat that had sailed over from Galveston and then spent a week on the cruise with us to Italy. I love cruising, but that's a little long for me!

So the second day we arrived in Naples and Jeff and I had an early start. The cruise ships dock in very industrial areas. So at first glance it's not a pretty place when you get off the boat. But thankfully the tour buses take you off to the pretty parts of Italy and you get to see the picturistic places you see in the movies and in photos. Let me first say our tour good was really great. She was Italian (of course) and she has the classic Italian voice. She was really a pleasure to have as our tour guide. So our excursion was off to Almalfi to start. To get there we had to take a small boat ride about 45 minutes away along the coast.

The coast headed to Almalfi

Almalfi Italy

Unfortunately the weather in Naples wasn't great and so the water was really choppy and it made for an extra long choppy boat ride! When we got to Almalfi the waves were so bad that it took 4 guys holding down the plank and people running across. NOT the highlight of the tour. But we walked along the streets of Almalfi. A little quaint village with just your typical Italian look. We got a brief tour from the guide and then free time. Jeff and I found a nice little bakery and had some real Italian pastries and a cappuccino. It was really good.

Our pastries from a little cafe in Almalfi

The streets of Almalfi where we had pastries and coffee

So after Almalfi we took the boat ride back and then we took a guided tour to Pompeii. Wow! I guess in my mind I always thought Pompeii was this small little village. But it's huge! I couldn't even begin to take enough pictures of how big it was or the amount they have excavated since the volcano covered the village in ash. There was a house that was still in tact enough that they could go in and see the detail of the art and painting on the walls. And lots of mosaic flooring that some how managed to survive the volcano.

One of the many walls in the house that is still standing and the paintings that survived the volcanic ash

Mosaic flooring at Pompeii

A small part of Pompeii's market square with the volcano in the background that erupted and buried in ash

So the creepy part of Pompeii for me is that as they were excavating they came across places where people had died under the ash. They were able to pour casting (concrete) into these places and get real castings of the way the people laid as the ash covered them. Sad in ways and at the same time it puts a real feel on how traumatic and scary it must have been. It makes me wonder why people would want to live around a volcano. The tour guide said that for a lot of those people it's their land, all they have known and it's land that's been passed down through generations. Still, seems so scary that it could erupt again and they could lose so much, possibly their lives.

One of the several castings they had. This is one of the more pleasant ones. I couldn't bare to take pictures of some of the ones that were not so "peaceful"

A better picture of Pompeii's market square. Such a small part of Pompeii!

Pompeii is amazing to see though. I'm glad we got the opportunity to see it. Naples was great. An opportunity of a life time to see it all.

These HUGE lemons were all over Naples and Pompeii. These are the lemons they use to make the lemoncello liquor the region is known for

Part 3 will be about Rome.
To Be continued....................

The Honeymoon is over!

LOL......well in the literal sense it is! The long awaited (and postponed) honeymoon was fantastic! We had such a great time. I can't even begin to tell you how thankful we are for the opportunity to have got to experience and see the parts of Italy and France we did. Not to mention a couple of fun days in sunny Barcelona.

We got to Barcelona a couple of days before our cruise and stayed in a great hotel recommended by a friend. It's one of the tallest buildings in Barcelona and at the very top they have a panoramic restaurant with an incredible view of the city. Jeff and I had breakfast there both mornings and just enjoyed the view over Barcelona. The hotel was aware that it was our "honeymoon" trip and so they left us a nice little cake and card in our room our first night there. I thought that was very nice!

One of the many views from the restaurant. It was over cast in the mornings there.

We had some fantastic food while we were there. We ate at a nice seafood restaurant at the harbor our first night. Food was really good and the service was great too. Then the next day we had some tapas and also enjoyed some gelato after lunch. We also took the hop on, hop off bus that day and toured all over Barcelona. If ever in Barcelona it is the way to go. You pay a flat day rate and you can get on and off as much as you want all day long. We spent the whole day going around Barcelona and getting on and off. We even took a cable car over the harbor and seen the boats from the sky. We also got to see the Sagrada Familia. When we first came up on it Jeff said, "wow what an ugly building". But I find it fascinating and remember studying about it in Architecture class and also in art history and the Gothic era. I think Jeff warmed up to it the more we looked at it. And we hit the famous Park Guell. It really is pretty neat to see. But I will never forget the hike up the steep road to get to the park from the main street. The Mosaics in Barcelona are really something. They are everywhere! We seen so much more but just know that Barcelona is a beautiful city and lots to see. If ever you get a chance to go, you must!

A shot of a few of the ships from the cable car we took over the harbor

Sagrada Familia

The entrance into Park Guell

The famous Mosaic lizard at Park Guell

The beautiful mosaic ceiling at Park Guell

Self portrait at Park Guell

This mosaic bench at Park Guell is atop the roof and it goes all the way around the whole roof

The following day we got on the cruise ship there in Barcelona. We took a Royal Caribbean ship and we set sail from Barcelona and we went to Naples, Italy; Rome, Italy; Florence/Pisa, Italy; Nice, France; and Toulon, France and finished by docking back in Barcelona. Like I said, it was fantastic. But you'll have to wait a few more days to hear about the ports. :)

When we docked in Nice we had to take a tender boat to the dock from the cruise ship. This is our cruise ship sitting in the harbor of Nice/Florence.

To be continued.....................