Category: Northbound

We got another early start today after porting. It was about a 90 minute ride to Saint-Tropez across the French coastal countryside. Tons of grape orchards and forests on each side of the road were interspersed with towns and forests. Simply beautiful.

We arrived at the port of Saint-Tropez about 9:30 and took a tour of the nearly empty streets and harbour area. There were more multimillion dollar yachts docked next to local fishing boats in the harbor. The walk through the town allowed some fantastic history and photos as we walked in and around the old city walls. The town was named after a man who was beheaded and his body was sent afloat into the harbor. (No body but a depiction of the event was presented).

We sat for a coffee and water at a cafe in the city center and watched the city come alive with locals and tourists. There is a distinct difference with the attire here than at other locations. People are out for a walk, a coffee, or shopping staying on off the fashion shows from around the world. I was glad I chose to dress more presentably than usual today, even though the Greg Norman shirt was a bit lower end here. lol.

We got to enjoy three hours of wandering before heading up the road about 20 minutes to a cute little town called Grimaud. We only had an hour here but it was a nice look at another canal city that needs to be visited again. Cool place.

We we are off to Mallorca for tomorrow. Having a blast.

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We started the day off slowly and enjoyed the peaceful marina views. The tender dropped us off in this peaceful little town and we walked around a bit before meeting this nice couple from Massachusetts. We sat for beverages with them and discussed the cruise, the USA, kids, etc. they were nice.

We continued the walking tour through the 2-3 streets with shops and restaurants. We found an old fort to explore that now was a hotel and conference center. There was a local wedding gathered there and we followed the procession back into town.

A while later we had hiked up the hill to the church but noted a mass going on so we just peered inside. The bride and groom were seated before the altar, apparently this was the wedding mass. We bowed out and headed back to the port.

We had lunch on the ship and relaxed away the afternoon napping and watching the yachts and boats pass.

Today was a tender day and we had a tour scheduled so we were up at 6 to catch the 7:15 tour. Once on the bus we rode to the center of Cannes and were dropped off to walk around for an hour. There was a food market to wander through and we bought some cherries to snack on. There were tonned of lavender and rose packets on sale everywhere. Cannes was a place where sick people traveled to get well as the sun and air were better suited for TB sufferers, and a lot were artists like Henri Matisse and Anton Chekhov. It now is famous for the Cannes cinema festival.

We walked to the beach to gaze at the blue water. The beach had huge sand grains here that looked more like river stones, which were about the same size. lol.

We got back on the bus and drove up through the city and into the wealthy part of town with the amazing views. There were no opportunities for photos here.

We stopped at the town of Eze for a quick tour. And when I say quick, I mean we had 30 minutes, which really irritated me since this was the stop I wanted to see. We walked around a bit but never really got to see much before getting back on the bus.

The last stop was Monaco. We at least got a good tour here and a couple of hours for lunch and shopping. Monaco is interesting in that it is less than a square mile and has 40k people living there. We toured the Monaco Rock (palace area) and gardens. Very rich and beautiful. The cathedral is beautiful inside with the lighting and columns. And we saw where Princess Grace was buried (in the church, of course, with other dead people).

We also saw some of the streets and tunnels along the Formula One route. That is some tight racing.

And speaking of racing, part of the tour was watching in amazement at the skillful bus drivers here. We’d have a hard time with our cars and these guys navigate busses through the inches of clearance without hitting anything.

Back to the boat to get on the ship for a quiet evening. We rode the tender through a parking lot of yachts owned by the wealthiest people on earth. The big one was owned by a Russian billionaire that cost a cool $360 mil. (I wonder which church he’ll want to be buried in?) lol

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We made a stop in Corsica. We did not have plans for a tour, only to find a beach and get into the gorgeous water, and this is what we did. The beach was a 20 minute walk and we enjoyed it for a couple of hours. The water was a bit cool but not cold, the sun was warm and the sand was soft. We watched the swimmers, sailboats, and kayaks pass by for a couple of hours.

We packed up so as to not get too burned and found a beautiful cafe under some thick mulberry tree shade and had some lunch. We ordered some authentic French Fries (as we are now in France) and a Mozzarella and tomato salad with some bread (yes, French bread). The salad was delicious with the fresh mozzarella and olive oil and herbs.

We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing the shops along the streets and hanging out in the port city.

After dinner the ship was having a 4th of July party and balloon drop so we joined in to celebrate.

Our second stop, and last in Italy was the beautiful little totwn of Portofino. We had breakfast on the ship, caught a ride on the tender, and had a cappuccino on shore at a cute little cafe. We walked up the one road and did a bit of window shopping and then went on a little hike to the lighthouse and to an old castle.

The lighthouse was private but there was a nice cafe at the edge so we had a spritz and enjoyed the views. We walked back and stopped at the castle and paid the fee to view it. It had been converted to a villa, remodeled several times, and then sold back to the town where it is now open for viewing and for special events. What a wonderful place it would be to live.

https://www.castellobrown.com/en

We walked back down through the forested path (a steep descent) and sat in the post and watched the boats, a couple with a spirited dog, and the plentiful fish. What a beautiful day.

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Day 11 – Italy – Port Carrera, Lucca and Pisa

We had a late night watching a performer in the theater and then got up early to meet our tour to Lucca and Pisa. The morning weather is perfect here. It was 85 today and we know better than to complain about that.

First stop was Lucca, a walled city that used to have a moat. This city is different than other walled cities in that the wall was build after the Middle Ages around the old Roman city. Their focus was liberty for their citizens, free from the battles of the other regions. Turns out Napoleon ruined it all, but the set days it is famous for the city music festivals where Elton John, Rod Stewart, Ed Sheeran, and many others play. It has the remnants of the old Roman colosseum that was present in Roman cities, only this one has been rebuilt into apartments and restaurants. We even found where Starbucks stole their iconic symbol. Oh, and we saw dead people (this one is smiling). Cute place.

We then headed off to Pisa to take the tourist pictures of us holding the thing up. Out tour guide was great and explained that this area used to be a Roman port city and later a Christian center for all of the people coming in from the north. It has the largest baptismal basilica alongside the church. (You could not enter the church until you were baptized). The tower was near to see along with the thousands of people seeing it with us. I guess no one has ever found out why it leans or how to correct it. Some work was done in the 90’s and it now leans less than before. And they said it should be stable for at least the next 200-500 years.

We meet the tour group and headed Buck to the ship for some TLC and some dinner.

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Serenade of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruises.

There are not a lot of photos for today. We got up early, packed, cleared the hotel room, hauled our luggage to the corner, hailed a Taxi, and got a ride to the train. A cappuccino, orange juice, and some croissants and we boarded the train to Civitavecchia, an hour from Rome. A quick bus ride to the port and we checked in to the Serenade of the Seas, a radiance class cruise ship that will be 21 years old this month.

Serenade of the Seas is currently on its Ultimate World Cruise tour and we are joining a section of its Europe Journey, about 7 months from where it began in Miami on December 10, 2023.

We have settled in and enjoyed lunch, a beverage, and a quiet nap. There is a nice thunderstorm outside, Kathy is in for a massage, and I’m hanging out in the Solarium. Tomorrow is a Pisa and Lucca excursion and only a few miles of walking. We have been averaging over 7 miles per day, with 9.3 miles yesterday the high.

Not a lot of pictures today. But here are a few.

We slept in a bit today and then managed to get the rental turned in without having to do a round trip to the airport. My fender scrape only cost $150, so not bad.

We headed for a brunch down the street and got the full tourist treatment. (It’s better to head off the path to get food and to find honest businesses.) lol. We ordered an omelette and a croissant, two spritz and a still and fizzy water (at 4€ each). It is funny because the restaurants make a big show of opening the water bottle for you at the table and pouring a bit into your glass, and some say “I’ll open and pour for you”. And we sat there and watched the waitress refill the bottles from a fountain and replace the caps from a stash on the shelf. It was filtered water but at least be honest about it. I left them a 1 star review on Google.

We decided to do some window shopping as the day heated up, before heading to the room to cool down and wait out the midday sun.

Later, we decided to get some food and then catch a tour bus to do a couple of laps around the city. On the way we hiked up the Spanish steps and stopped for a water and spritz. We met this great couple from Florida that had been touring similarly to us. They were wearing those bracelets that we were given to us by the sheister the first night in Rome that tried to steal money from me. We inquired about them and they said they had gotten them in Venice from an African peddler who showed them his kid who was having a birthday. lol. Same story. We recounted our story and we all got a good laugh.

Note: watch out for the African street peddlers walking around, striking up a conversation, showing you their kid, and telling you a relatable story, before offering free wrist bands and beads. They are looking to steal from you.

We had another spritz and met another tourist from DC who was here for a month to take a guilding class. It was time to catch the bus so we headed up and around the corner and climbed aboard.

We snapped pictures from the top floor seating and talked with a couple of gents from Texas who were touring the opposite direction as us on their vacation. They gave us a few sites to see in Paris that impressed them. There are a lot of Americans here.

The bus tour was nice and hot but we got some good pictures. We got off at the last stop, had a beer, some calamari, and a spritz and then made a short walk from a castle and the Vatican. Beautiful area. We did not go inside St. Peter’s because by then it closed, and you have to reserve tours days in advance. It was a beautiful site nonetheless.

And on a side note, after 14 years, we found a donor stand, so I enjoyed this regional delicacy. The donor is not Greek, it’s Turkish, made with chicken, and mixed with salad, yogurt sauce, and placed in a bread (like a taco). Delicious.

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We managed to get to Rome by about 6:30 PM. The driving wasn’t all that difficult coming into the city, but parking, that’s a different story. We unloaded and got checked into the hotel with the car and its flashers on outside. Fortunately, as I was driving away, Kathy was looking at the window and said hey there’s a spot right here. She actually guided me from two floors above into the parking spot right below our room. That’s not a small feat in Rome on a Saturday night.

We got all settled into the cute little room, and then headed out to get some dinner. The hotel is actually only a couple of blocks down the road from the Colosseum so we found a restaurant that was close by and had some pizza and salad.

We walked around for about three hours that night, which is really special with all the light effects. I am attaching some pictures.

Our impression is not that great, as it is a big city, with lots of people, and it is not well kept. I guess we kind of spoiled ourselves in the northern part of Italy. I even met the scammer that was trying to give us bracelets, but ended up, trying to take money out of my wallet. Fortunately, he didn’t get anything but a receipt. An interesting note, we met an American couple the next day who had the same bracelets that he had given us, and they had gotten them from a similar scammer in Venice several days before. I guess they have a scamming school class somewhere here.

We’re going to see Rome.

We continued on our drive down to Rome. And on the way we decided to stop at a 13th century city called Orvietto. It has one of the oldest basilicas, Duomo di Orvieto. Orvieto is built on the top of this rock mountain and is an absolute gem. We paid to take the tour of the Basilica and all I can say is absolutely huge. The fresco paintings are spectacular. I’m attaching the site for reference as I’ll not do it justice.

The city is also beautiful and filled with pottery artisans as well as olive wood artisans. After leaving the Basilica, as we walked out, there was a car tour coming in with a bunch of classic cars. It was interesting, seeing all the old cars, which included a mustang.

Orvieto has a bunch of interesting streets as well. We had a gellato and headed back to the car as our hotel was texting to check on us. I thought we’d be in Rome by 1PM and it was now 5. Back on the road.

https://www.duomodiorvieto.it/en

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