SYDNEY, DARWIN, SINGAPORE, KUALA LUMPUR, LANGKAWI, COCHIN, MUMBAI, ABU DHABI, DUBAI, MUSCAT, AQABA, SUEZ CANAL, PORT SAID, JERUSALEM, MYKONOS, INSTANBUL, ANZAC COVE, ATHENS, NAPLES, ROME, FLORENCE, MONTE CARLO, BARCELONA, CASABLANCA, LISBON, PARIS, DOVER

Wednesday 27 July 2011

LIVORNO TO MONTE CARLO

MONTE CARLO (Monaco):  WOW, WOW, WOW!!!  Now this place oozes serious wealth!!  As soon as we got off the ship and looked around the boat harbour, our mouths dropped open and stayed that way for most of the day!!  Apart from the magnificent boats lined up one after the other – one even had a helicopter atop (never quite seen anything like these water toys before), we immediately spotted Porsches, Rollers, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and a Masserati!! We walked along the shoreline and Colin had a swim in the Med., said it was very salty and didn’t like the gritty beach but the sun was shining and we were in Monte Carlo….  The Monte Carlo Casino was next on our walking trip, but it was ‘closed’ – so we just gazed at this lovely building and imagined how much fun it would have been to have had a little bet!!  We walked all the way back through the fabulous shops to the Royal Palace set high on the hill, home of the Grimaldi family but we just missed Prince Albert and his lovely new bride as they are no doubt on their honeymoon.  The square around the Palace was surrounded by beautiful pastel buildings, some residential, café’s and more souvenir shops. A leisurely walk back to the ship – just dreaming of what it would be like to be this rich…. 
Photos above are:  view from Monte Carlo Yacht Club;  giant swimming pool;  Colin swimming in the Med;  soft top Rollers;  view from the Royal Palace;  the pretty Palace;  square around the Palace;  pic. taken from the steps of the Monte Carlo Casino;  is this my car?;  the Monte Carlo Casino;  just too big!!!

Friday 15 July 2011

ATHENS TO NAPLES

NAPLES (Italy) – we anchored in the bay of Naples, nestled beneath the dormant Mt. Vesuvius and were fortunate to have a small tour group today with Mariano as our host & guide.  It was not long before we were ogling at the most beautiful scenery along the Amalfi Coast and stopped a couple of times to take the ‘must have’ photos!!  We arrived in Sorrento, a lovely little town with picturesque streets and home of the delightful “Limoncello”.  YES, we also found a lovely little street, full of colourful souvenir shops again and after a quick stroll, had coffee and watched the world go by.  Next stop was Positano and were blown away with the sprawling hillsides, full of wonderful old homes and barely a spare block in sight - & little backyards filled with vegie gardens, olive trees and flowers.  A quaint & narrow, winding shopping walk (with the most beautiful clothes shops I’ve ever seen – just had to buy a dress!!) weaved its way all the way down to a small pebble beach which was filling up quickly with holiday makers.  We had lunch at a great little ristorante, with a view of the sea, and of course devoured pasta, pizza and wine – yum! 

All of this would have been more than enough for the day, but lo & behold, Pompeii was our afternoon destination…..  After being engulfed in ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and consequently preserved in mud, these ruins of an ancient city are gradually seeing the light again.  It’s quite an incredible journey up and down the narrow streets & laneways, with amphitheatres and homes & shops quite distinct from each other, in the most incredible condition – the roofs have gone but the interiors are in very good condition…..  What a great day!!

Photos above are:  our group with Mt. Vesuvius in the background;  rugged Amalfi Coastline;  huge lemons at this little fruit shop in Sorrento;  our view whilst sipping coffee in Sorrennto;  a pretty ‘dress’ tree in Positano;  more beautiful shops;  a timber path over the pebbles leading to the water at Positano;  the beach at Positano;  one of the amphitheatres at Pompeii;  standing in one of the streets lined with shops – the hump in the middle was for stepping across as the water and effluent flowed through the streets;   a bakery with oven and mill for grinding.

 

NAPLES TO ROME

ROME (Italy) – we tied up in the port of Civitavecchia and our small group were one of the first to escape the ship and meet our guide, Andrea, who made us welcome and prepared us for a whirlwind tour of this great old city of Roma….  Would take too long to describe every wonderfully historic site, but we packed in more than I can remember  - including the Pantheon, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, St. Peter’s Square & Basilica, etc., etc., and even ‘The Keyhole’!! Every single place we visited today was totally amazing, the workmanship and grandeur of these beautiful masterpieces is almost unbelievable, given their tools of the trade!
Photos above are:  Colin at Trevi Fountain;  what a physique!;  inside the Colosseum;  “Happy Birthday Garry”;  Helen & Katie ‘eating pizza’;  inside the Vatican Museum;  the Pope (he didn’t come out to greet us);  Judy in St. Peter’s Square with St. Peter’s Basilica in the background.

ROME TO LIVORNO

LIVORNO (Italy) – a great trio of Italian cities and wonderful hosts and guides – and today we met Fabrizio, the grand master of All Around Italy (thanks again to Joanne who organised our tours almost a year ago).  Fortunately it was a little less hectic today but we still managed another full day, starting with a visit to Pisa and the beautiful Cathedral and  Campanile (Bell Tower) or better known as The Leaning Tower of Pisa – which actually started sinking during its construction!  We then went up to the Piazzale Michelangelo (a great lookout) where we had panoramic views and gazed at the beauty of Florence.  Driving around Florence was delightful and there were many more cathedrals and museums to explore, including The Accademia which is home of the original ‘David’, sculptured by Michelangelo, an awesome creation (darn, we weren’t allowed to take photos!!).  There were also a series of unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo which were interesting as he obviously got bored, or not happy and moved on to the next.  The River Arno runs through Florence and the famous Ponte Vecchio (a beautiful 14th century bridge) was a joy to behold – every single shop across this bridge, on either side, was a jewellery shop laden with very precious little numbers!!!  Sadly didn’t make any purchases here but did spend a few Euros at some very nice markets in the middle of the city.  On the way ‘home’ we stopped at a lovely little winery and bought a couple of bottles…..  enjoyed our bus trip with lots and lots of big fat sunflowers and wonderful Tuscan scenery along the way.
Photos above are:  Colin pushing up the Leaning Tower;  beautiful view of Florence;  the Ponte Vecchio;  jewellery shops on the Ponte Vechio;  scrumptious gelato;  she’s not really looking.

Monday 11 July 2011

ANZAC COVE TO ATHENS

ATHENS (Greece) – we arrived at the port of Piraeus and shortly afterwards boarded another big bus for another big day touring Athens, the Acropolis and the Plaka.   A nice drive through Athens and we spotted the Acropolis in the distance, our first stop – WOW!!   We climbed about 80 easy steps (well some bigger than others and also very slippery marble steps) to the marble-columned Parthenon, the Erectheion and the Porch of the Caryatids -- all this beautiful marble -- simply amazing!  These structures didn’t disappoint, and were of course, far bigger in real life than they look in pictures.  There were magnificent views of the whole of Athens and we got some good pics.  We then did a city tour of historic buildings and interesting sights and enjoyed driving through the streets lined with orange trees laden with fruit (the Greeks are not keen on citrus, they are more for decoration) – traffic not too bad due to the holiday season. We ended up at the Plaka – a market area with rows of streets full of cafés and souvenir shops and chose a nice shady little café for lunch where we devoured a fabulous Greek salad, washed down with a very enjoyable Greek beer!!  Bought some souvenirs and headed back – still not able to find stamps or a post office (well we eventually did but you had to take a ticket - we shook our heads as it all looked far too hard with the lingo etc.!!!!)

Sadly we received the news that Colin’s Mum had passed away in England – we were just 2 weeks off seeing her again….   

Photos:  Acropolis in the distance;  view of Athens;  Colin with Parthenon in background;  steep hill with St. George’s Church atop (some of our fellow passengers actually got to the top!!);  tourists everywhere;  a real Greek salad & Greek beer in the Plaka;  the Plaka

ANZAC COVE TO ATHENS

ATHENS (Greece) – we arrived at the port of Piraeus and shortly afterwards boarded another big bus for another big day touring Athens, the Acropolis and the Plaka.   A nice drive through Athens and we spotted the Acropolis in the distance, our first stop – WOW!!   We climbed about 80 easy steps (well some bigger than others and also very slippery marble steps) to the marble-columned Parthenon, the Erectheion and the Porch of the Caryatids -- all this beautiful marble -- simply amazing!  These structures didn’t disappoint, and were of course, far bigger in real life than they look in pictures.  There were magnificent views of the whole of Athens and we got some good pics.  We then did a city tour of historic buildings and interesting sights and enjoyed driving through the streets lined with orange trees laden with fruit (the Greeks are not keen on citrus, they are more for decoration) – traffic not too bad due to the holiday season. We ended up at the Plaka – a market area with rows of streets full of cafés and souvenir shops and chose a nice shady little café for lunch where we devoured a fabulous Greek salad, washed down with a very enjoyable Greek beer!!  Bought some souvenirs and headed back – still not able to find stamps or a post office (well we eventually did but you had to take a ticket - we shook our heads as it all looked far too hard with the lingo etc.!!!!)

Sadly we received the news that Colin’s Mum had passed away in England – we were just 2 weeks off seeing her again….   

Photos:  Acropolis in the distance;  view of Athens;  Colin with Parthenon in background;  steep hill with St. George’s Church atop (some of our fellow passengers actually got to the top!!);  tourists everywhere;  a real Greek salad & Greek beer in the Plaka;  the Plaka