This is the sight from my balcony that welcomed me the morning after I arrived home. Usually the leaves peak by October 12 but this year they hung on so that I could experience the spectacular fall colours before winter.
Monday 26 October 2015
SAFELY HOME
Our plane was an hour late leaving Rome as officials there wanted to do a complete check of all the plane's systems. Apparently this happens quite a lot in Rome. Despite the hour delay, in Toronto, we whisked through customs, picked up our luggage, and got it on the connecting baggage carousel, in record time. We even managed an hour in the lounge before being called for our flight to Ottawa. Blue arrived at the airport to meet us just as we were exiting. Very smooth.
Wednesday 21 October 2015
DISEMBARKATION
DISEMBARKATION
We were up at six, had our last room-service breakfast that included a marzipan lemon tart that we saved from our dessert last night - we were too full last night. We were to leave the ship at 8 but for some reason, at this port, all the luggage had to be off the ship before anyone could leave. We waited 45 minutes on the gangway giving truth to the old adage "Hurry up and wait". We were one of the first off the ship, claimed our luggage in the port terminal and hurried outside where we found our smiling driver holding a sign with my name on it.
The drive to the airport was surprisingly picturesque passing by the Mediterranean and through the countryside. We pretended we were on the Amalfi coast that we skipped yesterday. After an hour we reached the Air Canada terminal where we were greeted by two huge lineups. Luckily, we found someone to guide us to the correct one. We waited about 15 minutes and finally got inside the terminal, checked in with Air Canada, got my custom's stamp for a tax refund, through security, and passport control to a shuttle bus to the terminal. Found the smallest business-class lounge I think I've ever been in but here we sit relaxing with a coffee waiting for our boarding call.
We were up at six, had our last room-service breakfast that included a marzipan lemon tart that we saved from our dessert last night - we were too full last night. We were to leave the ship at 8 but for some reason, at this port, all the luggage had to be off the ship before anyone could leave. We waited 45 minutes on the gangway giving truth to the old adage "Hurry up and wait". We were one of the first off the ship, claimed our luggage in the port terminal and hurried outside where we found our smiling driver holding a sign with my name on it.
The drive to the airport was surprisingly picturesque passing by the Mediterranean and through the countryside. We pretended we were on the Amalfi coast that we skipped yesterday. After an hour we reached the Air Canada terminal where we were greeted by two huge lineups. Luckily, we found someone to guide us to the correct one. We waited about 15 minutes and finally got inside the terminal, checked in with Air Canada, got my custom's stamp for a tax refund, through security, and passport control to a shuttle bus to the terminal. Found the smallest business-class lounge I think I've ever been in but here we sit relaxing with a coffee waiting for our boarding call.
Tuesday 20 October 2015
OUR PRIVATE YACHT DAY
OUR PRIVATE YACHT DAY
At the Social Travellers gathering last night (we were the only two there), the Captain announced that due to inclement weather and the improbability of getting us to shore by tender that instead of going to Sorrento, we were docking in Naples. Our hostess, Marla made a face. She said that this would mean that our shore excursions would have an extra hours's drive to get to the port where the shore excursions were supposed to start from. And, of course, an extra hour to get back to the ship. Our excursion was a drive along the Amalfi coast and was already 6 hours in length. At dinner, we met a woman who taught at the college in Cazenovia where Warren and I have friends. She did not attend the social travellers but met us for dinner.
Our shore excursion didn't start until noon so we didn't set an alarm but both of us were wide awake at 6 a.m. so decided to get up. We went for a leisurely breakfast at Compass Rose of those wonderful lingonberry crepes and maple syrup and I googled the weather for Naples and Amalfi. Both reported a 100% chance of rain. We decided to turn in our tickets. Than meant that we could go back to our room for a mid-morning nap. We were up by the time the ship docked at noon and decided to go to the destinations desk and wait for the Naples tourism representative to come aboard with maps and information about Naples. I waited in line to pick up maps and information about Naples while Norma googled the city. I explained to the tourism representative that we were two old ladies on our own and she gave me the same information that she was giving everyone - take off all your jewelry, only go to these three squares, only shop on this street, and never venture into the historic part of the city. I took a map and went to join Norma. She was quite emphatic that we not explore the city. Her google search found that the city was owned by the Mafia, that corruption was rampant, and that it is so polluted as the Mafia is allowing (for money) the world to dump its toxic waste into landfills around the city. Consequently, the incidence of cancer here is astronomically higher than elsewhere.
Hence, our private yacht day. Very few passengers remained on the ship. We had a delightful lunch followed by another 2-hour nap. When we got back, we packed, ate the hors d'ouevres our butler brought us, and are now awaiting our room-service dinner. Sometimes, things work out for the best - we both needed this "sea day" as we were more exhausted than we realized and we have a long travelling day to look forward to.
Tomorrow, Rome and Home!
At the Social Travellers gathering last night (we were the only two there), the Captain announced that due to inclement weather and the improbability of getting us to shore by tender that instead of going to Sorrento, we were docking in Naples. Our hostess, Marla made a face. She said that this would mean that our shore excursions would have an extra hours's drive to get to the port where the shore excursions were supposed to start from. And, of course, an extra hour to get back to the ship. Our excursion was a drive along the Amalfi coast and was already 6 hours in length. At dinner, we met a woman who taught at the college in Cazenovia where Warren and I have friends. She did not attend the social travellers but met us for dinner.
Our shore excursion didn't start until noon so we didn't set an alarm but both of us were wide awake at 6 a.m. so decided to get up. We went for a leisurely breakfast at Compass Rose of those wonderful lingonberry crepes and maple syrup and I googled the weather for Naples and Amalfi. Both reported a 100% chance of rain. We decided to turn in our tickets. Than meant that we could go back to our room for a mid-morning nap. We were up by the time the ship docked at noon and decided to go to the destinations desk and wait for the Naples tourism representative to come aboard with maps and information about Naples. I waited in line to pick up maps and information about Naples while Norma googled the city. I explained to the tourism representative that we were two old ladies on our own and she gave me the same information that she was giving everyone - take off all your jewelry, only go to these three squares, only shop on this street, and never venture into the historic part of the city. I took a map and went to join Norma. She was quite emphatic that we not explore the city. Her google search found that the city was owned by the Mafia, that corruption was rampant, and that it is so polluted as the Mafia is allowing (for money) the world to dump its toxic waste into landfills around the city. Consequently, the incidence of cancer here is astronomically higher than elsewhere.
Hence, our private yacht day. Very few passengers remained on the ship. We had a delightful lunch followed by another 2-hour nap. When we got back, we packed, ate the hors d'ouevres our butler brought us, and are now awaiting our room-service dinner. Sometimes, things work out for the best - we both needed this "sea day" as we were more exhausted than we realized and we have a long travelling day to look forward to.
Tomorrow, Rome and Home!
Monday 19 October 2015
EUROPEAN REFLECTIONS
EUROPEAN REFLECTIONS
I entitled this blog, European Reflections, and so as we near the end of this trip, it is time to put some of our thoughts down in writing.
As we have heard many times from others on our shore excursions, "A B C", to describe what they have been seeing - Another Boring/Bloody Church, Another Boring Castle, Another Boring City. Norma even came up with one of our own, A M V - Another Medieval Village. However, while it is possible to sum up the trip that way, we cannot. We found each city, church, castle, village to be interesting in its own way.
Once we mastered how to not get run down by the bicyclists in Amsterdam (I think bicyclists must be the same the world over - the rules are not made for them), we were absolutely charmed by the different architectural styles of the canal houses. Being at the Van Gogh Museum at the same time as the Van Gogh and Munch retrospective was taking place was a highlight. To see the work of these two masters who lived at the same time but who never met, displayed side by side was so interesting. Seeing the Guggenheim in Bilboa was another artistic highlight. We were awed by the mammoth sculpture, The Matter of Time, and later (after seeing Gaudi's work) saw much influence of Gaudi in this work. We equally enjoyed viewing the architecture of the Museum itself and how it was designed to fit into the city of Bilboa. The Port Building at Oporto, Portugal, was another marvellous example of modern architecture which is a work of art. It was totally unexpected. Genoa was also an unexpected surprise. I had forgotten what a centre of wealth this port was. We enjoyed seeing all of the different architectural styles used in the numerous palaces and the use of materials - black and white marble for the earliest buildings, yellow, red and white pigments on the newer ones. Some were covered with frescoes and trompe l'Oeil paintings. For me, the biggest disappointment was Monte Carlo, Monaco. This city made me feel that I was not rich enough, not beautiful enough, not chic enough to be worthy to walk on its soil. I did not imagine this and it is not paranoia kicking in as we were told that Prince Albert is aiming to keep out the riffraff (like us) and make his tiny country a haven for only the super-rich. To do this, he is in partnership with the Sultan of Qattar. I imagine Russian oligarchs will also be welcome. So if you want to come here, do so sooner rather than later. While it was clean and shiny, they still didn't provide seats on their toilets! I asked the guide today why this was so everywhere we went. She said that not only had no one ever asked her that question, but that she had no idea why. They have seats on their toilets at home. We concluded that they were easier to clean that way. Norma and I have vowed to practice peeing in our toilets at home without using a seat in preparation for our next trip to Europe.
Mont St. Michel, our first AMV, was built with a very dark grey stone so it had an atmosphere of its own despite sharing with others the typical narrow winding cobblestoned streets lined with souvenir shops. I found the atmosphere here to be more sobering than other villages. In Spain, the AMVs, were built with white stone, and thus seemed so bright and cheerful. In Italy, built with yellow and ochre coloured stones, a feeling that they had always been there and always would be. Most of the small villages were built on top of the mountains so they could be defended from attack. It seemed to us that most of the centuries were spent fighting for these strategic locations. I guess not much has changed in the world on that point. The views from them all were spectacular so you can see why today, people want to live in them. As we are at the tail end of the tourist season, the crowds were not too bad. I imagine that at peak season, my claustrophobia would kick in big time. Too many people and not enough room to manoeuvre. I am sure that tour buses only visit certain ones and that if you were on your own, you would be able to visit less popular but equally charming AMVs.
I must say that the Chateaux we visited varied from being in ruins or being so musty you marvelled that anyone would want to live there, to the absolutely sumptuous and beautifully decorated that you wondered why anyone needed that much space and that much wealth.
Now to the ABChurches - all of them Roman Catholic. We found that they differed too depending on when they were built, the materials used, and the purpose, other than worshipping, they provided. The earliest ones were built on a prominent site with very few windows except for ones at the top which were used to defend the building. They were more like fortresses where people took refuge when their village or city was being attacked. As time went on and there would be an extended period of peace, the architecture changed and beautiful stained glass windows were added. The interiors became more opulent over the centuries. The Baroque-styled ones were so 'over the top' there wasn't a surface in them that wasn't decorated. Gold leaf everywhere - so much richness. However, nothing compared to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's crowning glory. To us, this is what a church building should be - we found it more of a tribute to nature - whether he intended this or not. It was not overly florid but instead awe-inspiring. Having a guide with us made this visit all the more worthwhile. Also, on the subject of the Catholic Church, all of the young guides we had disparaged the church, said they never went, would never marry in one. We were surprised by the animosity they felt. According to them, all over Europe, only the elderly are attending services and the church is having difficulty maintaining their buildings.
We have only one more day here and one more shore excursion on the Amalfi Drive -hard to imagine. Despite all the wonderful things we have seen, the highlight of the trip was our 6 hours spent marvelling at Gaudi's works in Barcelona. There is a lightness and sense of humour in his buildings and his genius was apparent in everything we saw.
But the very very best, was meeting and being part of the FAB FIVE - Sandra, Bill, and Tom - made this a trip that we will always remember. From the very first night we met at the Social Travellers, we hit it off. Imagine having a song written about us on the first night of our cruise. Bill taught us everything we needed to know about ordering martinis and other cocktails. Sandra with her indomitable spirit and sassy wit had us all laughing hilariously. May we keep in touch for many years.
Having said that, it is time to bring this A B B (Another Boring Blog) to a close. See everyone soon.
I entitled this blog, European Reflections, and so as we near the end of this trip, it is time to put some of our thoughts down in writing.
As we have heard many times from others on our shore excursions, "A B C", to describe what they have been seeing - Another Boring/Bloody Church, Another Boring Castle, Another Boring City. Norma even came up with one of our own, A M V - Another Medieval Village. However, while it is possible to sum up the trip that way, we cannot. We found each city, church, castle, village to be interesting in its own way.
Once we mastered how to not get run down by the bicyclists in Amsterdam (I think bicyclists must be the same the world over - the rules are not made for them), we were absolutely charmed by the different architectural styles of the canal houses. Being at the Van Gogh Museum at the same time as the Van Gogh and Munch retrospective was taking place was a highlight. To see the work of these two masters who lived at the same time but who never met, displayed side by side was so interesting. Seeing the Guggenheim in Bilboa was another artistic highlight. We were awed by the mammoth sculpture, The Matter of Time, and later (after seeing Gaudi's work) saw much influence of Gaudi in this work. We equally enjoyed viewing the architecture of the Museum itself and how it was designed to fit into the city of Bilboa. The Port Building at Oporto, Portugal, was another marvellous example of modern architecture which is a work of art. It was totally unexpected. Genoa was also an unexpected surprise. I had forgotten what a centre of wealth this port was. We enjoyed seeing all of the different architectural styles used in the numerous palaces and the use of materials - black and white marble for the earliest buildings, yellow, red and white pigments on the newer ones. Some were covered with frescoes and trompe l'Oeil paintings. For me, the biggest disappointment was Monte Carlo, Monaco. This city made me feel that I was not rich enough, not beautiful enough, not chic enough to be worthy to walk on its soil. I did not imagine this and it is not paranoia kicking in as we were told that Prince Albert is aiming to keep out the riffraff (like us) and make his tiny country a haven for only the super-rich. To do this, he is in partnership with the Sultan of Qattar. I imagine Russian oligarchs will also be welcome. So if you want to come here, do so sooner rather than later. While it was clean and shiny, they still didn't provide seats on their toilets! I asked the guide today why this was so everywhere we went. She said that not only had no one ever asked her that question, but that she had no idea why. They have seats on their toilets at home. We concluded that they were easier to clean that way. Norma and I have vowed to practice peeing in our toilets at home without using a seat in preparation for our next trip to Europe.
Mont St. Michel, our first AMV, was built with a very dark grey stone so it had an atmosphere of its own despite sharing with others the typical narrow winding cobblestoned streets lined with souvenir shops. I found the atmosphere here to be more sobering than other villages. In Spain, the AMVs, were built with white stone, and thus seemed so bright and cheerful. In Italy, built with yellow and ochre coloured stones, a feeling that they had always been there and always would be. Most of the small villages were built on top of the mountains so they could be defended from attack. It seemed to us that most of the centuries were spent fighting for these strategic locations. I guess not much has changed in the world on that point. The views from them all were spectacular so you can see why today, people want to live in them. As we are at the tail end of the tourist season, the crowds were not too bad. I imagine that at peak season, my claustrophobia would kick in big time. Too many people and not enough room to manoeuvre. I am sure that tour buses only visit certain ones and that if you were on your own, you would be able to visit less popular but equally charming AMVs.
I must say that the Chateaux we visited varied from being in ruins or being so musty you marvelled that anyone would want to live there, to the absolutely sumptuous and beautifully decorated that you wondered why anyone needed that much space and that much wealth.
Now to the ABChurches - all of them Roman Catholic. We found that they differed too depending on when they were built, the materials used, and the purpose, other than worshipping, they provided. The earliest ones were built on a prominent site with very few windows except for ones at the top which were used to defend the building. They were more like fortresses where people took refuge when their village or city was being attacked. As time went on and there would be an extended period of peace, the architecture changed and beautiful stained glass windows were added. The interiors became more opulent over the centuries. The Baroque-styled ones were so 'over the top' there wasn't a surface in them that wasn't decorated. Gold leaf everywhere - so much richness. However, nothing compared to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's crowning glory. To us, this is what a church building should be - we found it more of a tribute to nature - whether he intended this or not. It was not overly florid but instead awe-inspiring. Having a guide with us made this visit all the more worthwhile. Also, on the subject of the Catholic Church, all of the young guides we had disparaged the church, said they never went, would never marry in one. We were surprised by the animosity they felt. According to them, all over Europe, only the elderly are attending services and the church is having difficulty maintaining their buildings.
We have only one more day here and one more shore excursion on the Amalfi Drive -hard to imagine. Despite all the wonderful things we have seen, the highlight of the trip was our 6 hours spent marvelling at Gaudi's works in Barcelona. There is a lightness and sense of humour in his buildings and his genius was apparent in everything we saw.
But the very very best, was meeting and being part of the FAB FIVE - Sandra, Bill, and Tom - made this a trip that we will always remember. From the very first night we met at the Social Travellers, we hit it off. Imagine having a song written about us on the first night of our cruise. Bill taught us everything we needed to know about ordering martinis and other cocktails. Sandra with her indomitable spirit and sassy wit had us all laughing hilariously. May we keep in touch for many years.
Having said that, it is time to bring this A B B (Another Boring Blog) to a close. See everyone soon.
Mary Lou on the Grounds of the Winery at the Wine Tasting
LIVORNO - LUCCA AND WINE TASTING
LIVORNO - LUCCA AND WINE TASTING
We were up at 6:30 for breakfast for our early start to our excursion, The Hills of Lucca, in the area of Tuscany, Italy.
We drove to Lucca, a medieval gem with its city walls still intact. Our guide walked with us to the main square and gave us maps and directions to some of the highlights. There are over one hundred churches within the city walls for 8000 people! Some dated back to the 8th century. We were let loose on our own for almost 2 hours. We toodled along discovering the ancient Roman Amphitheatre, only part of a wall was left, many of the churches, a palace with a beautiful garden that we could see from the city walls. Wandered back to our meeting place to catch the bus to Montecarlo di Lucca for our wine tour of the Buonamico winery. This winery is a boutique one that only ships to private individuals as it produces on a small scale. After a tour of the cellars, we were offered a small lunch of local delicacies such as Fava bean salad, olives, prosciutto, salami, two different varieties of local cheeses and French bread with olive oil. The oil was so good that I bought a bottle to bring home. They were not stingy with the wine sampling so we each tried a red, a white, and a rose. After that, we went upstairs to try some of the wines that were available for import. It was a lovely end to the tour. I, of course,slept all the way back to the ship. Norma has already hit the sack and I am about to join her. Tonight we plan to go down to dinner for the last time on this cruise.
We were up at 6:30 for breakfast for our early start to our excursion, The Hills of Lucca, in the area of Tuscany, Italy.
We drove to Lucca, a medieval gem with its city walls still intact. Our guide walked with us to the main square and gave us maps and directions to some of the highlights. There are over one hundred churches within the city walls for 8000 people! Some dated back to the 8th century. We were let loose on our own for almost 2 hours. We toodled along discovering the ancient Roman Amphitheatre, only part of a wall was left, many of the churches, a palace with a beautiful garden that we could see from the city walls. Wandered back to our meeting place to catch the bus to Montecarlo di Lucca for our wine tour of the Buonamico winery. This winery is a boutique one that only ships to private individuals as it produces on a small scale. After a tour of the cellars, we were offered a small lunch of local delicacies such as Fava bean salad, olives, prosciutto, salami, two different varieties of local cheeses and French bread with olive oil. The oil was so good that I bought a bottle to bring home. They were not stingy with the wine sampling so we each tried a red, a white, and a rose. After that, we went upstairs to try some of the wines that were available for import. It was a lovely end to the tour. I, of course,slept all the way back to the ship. Norma has already hit the sack and I am about to join her. Tonight we plan to go down to dinner for the last time on this cruise.
Sunday 18 October 2015
14th Century Flemish Tapestry in the White Palace
Another one of the palaces and its collections that were donated to the city of Genoa.
The Red Palace
This palace along with two others and their magnificent art collections were donated to the city of Genoa by their wealthy owner.
This Palace is noted for its Frescoes and Trompe l'Oiel
This palace is still occupied by one man, a descendant of the original owners.
One of the Oldest Palaces in Genoa
Black and white marble was used in the earliest buildings in Genoa.
PORTOFINO, SANTA MARGHERITA, AND GENOA
PORTOFINO, SANTA MARGHERITA, AND GENOA
After breakfast in our room, we headed down for another early start for our shore excursion, "The Splendor of Genoa". We went by tender to the small village of Portofino situated on 'one of the most attractive sections of the Italian Riviera'. The sea was quite rough. After a short walk by the marina, we went to a different pier where we transferred to another larger boat for the trip to Santa Margherita. The narrow winding road would take too long. It is faster to go by boat. From this village, we boarded our bus for the scenic ride to Genoa.
We got off the bus in a square that boasted three palaces which displayed three different architectural styles determined by the time they were built - the earliest from the 12th century - the latest during the Renaissance period. One of them is still occupied by the sole surviving member of the original owner. We walked down Via Garibaldi which is a street of palaces built by the wealthiest people of Genoa, that included bankers, merchants, railroad barons and princes. We had a tour of three of them. Collectively, they are known as the Musei di Strada Nuova. They were owned by the Duchess of Galliera who donated all her possessions and wealth to the city of Genoa for public viewing. At the first, the Palazzo Rosso, we viewed some of the family's art collection which included paintings by Van Dyke and Carravagio. The second, the Palazzo Bianco, held priceless Flemish tapestries from the 14th century and other art works. The marble floors were works of art as were the painted ceilings. Gorgeous! From there we proceeded to the third palace which is now Genoa's City Hall. Its treasure was the violin of Paganini.
We then walked to the Piazza de Ferrari where a market was in full fling selling all kinds of goodies and foods that are specialties of the region. We visited the Church del Gesu whose plain facade gave no hint of the treasures within. Inside was a Baroque wonder - not one surface was undecorated. Incredible. As one member of our group commented, "It was the most baroque church he had ever seen". We then proceeded to the Cathedral which was started in the 14th century and had elements of medieval, gothic and baroque. It didn't hold a candle to the smaller church we had just visited.
We toodled down to the Port where we found the essential public toilet in the building housing the aquarium before heading back via the Ducal Palace to the square and our bus.
I missed the scenic drive as I fell asleep and didn't wake up until we arrived back at Santa Margherita. We were there 1/2 hour before the boat to Portofino and it was raining, so were taken on a quick walking tour of the village and church - another baroque masterpiece. The buildings of this town are known for the Trompe l'Oeil facades which mimic plaster facades and are painted in different colours. Very charming. I should note that the world's very wealthy have villas sprinkled here in the surrounding area and it is populated by 5-star hotels. Lots of big yachts.
Back at our room, our butler provided hors d'ouevres and we poured a glass of wine to aid in writing this blog.
Have discovered that we are without a working toilet - someone is supposed to be coming to fix it. We plan to order room service tonight.
After breakfast in our room, we headed down for another early start for our shore excursion, "The Splendor of Genoa". We went by tender to the small village of Portofino situated on 'one of the most attractive sections of the Italian Riviera'. The sea was quite rough. After a short walk by the marina, we went to a different pier where we transferred to another larger boat for the trip to Santa Margherita. The narrow winding road would take too long. It is faster to go by boat. From this village, we boarded our bus for the scenic ride to Genoa.
We got off the bus in a square that boasted three palaces which displayed three different architectural styles determined by the time they were built - the earliest from the 12th century - the latest during the Renaissance period. One of them is still occupied by the sole surviving member of the original owner. We walked down Via Garibaldi which is a street of palaces built by the wealthiest people of Genoa, that included bankers, merchants, railroad barons and princes. We had a tour of three of them. Collectively, they are known as the Musei di Strada Nuova. They were owned by the Duchess of Galliera who donated all her possessions and wealth to the city of Genoa for public viewing. At the first, the Palazzo Rosso, we viewed some of the family's art collection which included paintings by Van Dyke and Carravagio. The second, the Palazzo Bianco, held priceless Flemish tapestries from the 14th century and other art works. The marble floors were works of art as were the painted ceilings. Gorgeous! From there we proceeded to the third palace which is now Genoa's City Hall. Its treasure was the violin of Paganini.
We then walked to the Piazza de Ferrari where a market was in full fling selling all kinds of goodies and foods that are specialties of the region. We visited the Church del Gesu whose plain facade gave no hint of the treasures within. Inside was a Baroque wonder - not one surface was undecorated. Incredible. As one member of our group commented, "It was the most baroque church he had ever seen". We then proceeded to the Cathedral which was started in the 14th century and had elements of medieval, gothic and baroque. It didn't hold a candle to the smaller church we had just visited.
We toodled down to the Port where we found the essential public toilet in the building housing the aquarium before heading back via the Ducal Palace to the square and our bus.
I missed the scenic drive as I fell asleep and didn't wake up until we arrived back at Santa Margherita. We were there 1/2 hour before the boat to Portofino and it was raining, so were taken on a quick walking tour of the village and church - another baroque masterpiece. The buildings of this town are known for the Trompe l'Oeil facades which mimic plaster facades and are painted in different colours. Very charming. I should note that the world's very wealthy have villas sprinkled here in the surrounding area and it is populated by 5-star hotels. Lots of big yachts.
Back at our room, our butler provided hors d'ouevres and we poured a glass of wine to aid in writing this blog.
Have discovered that we are without a working toilet - someone is supposed to be coming to fix it. We plan to order room service tonight.
COTE D'AZUR - EZE, NICE, MONACO
COTE D'AZUR - EZE, NICE, MONACO
Had breakfast in our room as we had such an early start to the day. We were docked in MonteCarlo, Monaco. Our shore excursion "Jewels of the Cote D'Azur" began with a drive to the medieval mountain town of Eze where we enjoyed a walking tour of this enchanting place. The town had been abandoned in the 1950s and was reinhabited by artists who were taken with its location. Two people arrived back at the bus 15 minutes later than the appointed time.
From here we drive to Nice where we had another walking tour and some free time on our own to explore the farmers' market - much like the Byward Market at home. Flowers, food specialties of the region, fruits and vegetables were available. We decided to head to the seashore for our lunch. The day was cool but not a cloud in the sky. We enjoyed eating our lunch and people watching on a bench on the promenade. We headed back to the market to our meeting place. Six people never showed up. We stood around in the sun - nowhere to sit - for half an hour before the guide decided to leave them to make their own way back to the ship and take the rest of the group to our next destination. To say the group was unhappy about this state of affairs was an understatement.
We drove back to Monaco and had a visit of the old town with its royal residences, gardens, and Cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier were married and are now buried. Once again, after our free time, we had to wait another 20 minutes for some tardy inconsiderate guests to return to the meeting spot.
We then drove to Monte Carlo, which is a neighbourhood in Monaco where the second oldest Casino in the world is located and which featured in some James Bond movie with Sean Connery. (By the way, we also saw his villa in Nice.) We also walked part of the route where the Formula One Race takes place. We were supposed to have over an hour of free time here but because of all the waiting around we had to do, only had 10 minutes. We managed a quick peak into the Casino - I had to pull Norma back - she wanted to walk right in and there is a charge of 10 Euros. We did see the first lobby area. Believe it or not, we had to wait again for some tardy people who cannot tell time. We thought that since we left six people behind in Nice, others would have learned. But No.
Our 8-hour tour took 10 hours. We fell into bed, woke from a deep sleep, to an alarm, to dress for our dinner at Prime 7, our speciality restaurant treat, at 8. I was too tired to be hungry so we just ordered the appetizer and main courses skipping the soup, salad, and sorbet courses. We did manage dessert - a molten chocolate cake for me. For once, we didn't close the restaurant and got to be around 10:30.
Had breakfast in our room as we had such an early start to the day. We were docked in MonteCarlo, Monaco. Our shore excursion "Jewels of the Cote D'Azur" began with a drive to the medieval mountain town of Eze where we enjoyed a walking tour of this enchanting place. The town had been abandoned in the 1950s and was reinhabited by artists who were taken with its location. Two people arrived back at the bus 15 minutes later than the appointed time.
From here we drive to Nice where we had another walking tour and some free time on our own to explore the farmers' market - much like the Byward Market at home. Flowers, food specialties of the region, fruits and vegetables were available. We decided to head to the seashore for our lunch. The day was cool but not a cloud in the sky. We enjoyed eating our lunch and people watching on a bench on the promenade. We headed back to the market to our meeting place. Six people never showed up. We stood around in the sun - nowhere to sit - for half an hour before the guide decided to leave them to make their own way back to the ship and take the rest of the group to our next destination. To say the group was unhappy about this state of affairs was an understatement.
We drove back to Monaco and had a visit of the old town with its royal residences, gardens, and Cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier were married and are now buried. Once again, after our free time, we had to wait another 20 minutes for some tardy inconsiderate guests to return to the meeting spot.
We then drove to Monte Carlo, which is a neighbourhood in Monaco where the second oldest Casino in the world is located and which featured in some James Bond movie with Sean Connery. (By the way, we also saw his villa in Nice.) We also walked part of the route where the Formula One Race takes place. We were supposed to have over an hour of free time here but because of all the waiting around we had to do, only had 10 minutes. We managed a quick peak into the Casino - I had to pull Norma back - she wanted to walk right in and there is a charge of 10 Euros. We did see the first lobby area. Believe it or not, we had to wait again for some tardy people who cannot tell time. We thought that since we left six people behind in Nice, others would have learned. But No.
Our 8-hour tour took 10 hours. We fell into bed, woke from a deep sleep, to an alarm, to dress for our dinner at Prime 7, our speciality restaurant treat, at 8. I was too tired to be hungry so we just ordered the appetizer and main courses skipping the soup, salad, and sorbet courses. We did manage dessert - a molten chocolate cake for me. For once, we didn't close the restaurant and got to be around 10:30.
Friday 16 October 2015
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