Monte Carlo, Monaco

We recently returned from our Mediterranean trip.  Like usual, I wrote a travel diary for each city we visited.   I always share this daily travel diary post on my Facebook page, but I never share more than one picture with the post.  Luckily, I have this blog to share my daily travel diary with you, and include more pictures.  I will create a new post for each day of our travel.  Enjoy!

Travel Diary Day 10
Monte Carlo, Monaco

1. After our first time visiting here last year, we left knowing exactly what we would want to do if we ever returned.

2. Unfortunately, we realized the night before that we would be anchoring off the coast of Monte Carlo vs docking in town. That changed our plans a small bit, as we then had to add on extra time to get from the ship to the dock.

3. I really wanted to visit the Aquarium. So many people were raving about it last year, but we had run out of time and weren't able to tour it. But we were able to go this time and I'm glad we did. After you tour the aquarium, they allow you up on the terrace to view the city. That was definitely an unexpected highlight.

4. We spent the early afternoon walking the streets, walking the marina and seeing the fanciest private yachts, watching and listening to all the fancy cars go by that constantly reeve their engines. This city speaks, feels, and smells of money. Isn't Monaco one, if not the, richest country in the world?

5. We came back to the ship to rest for a couple hours before our evening plans began. Brent read during that time while I fell asleep on the balcony.

6. Our evening plans included dinner and the casino. Brent had made reservations for our dinner back in January for Louis XV, which is right next to the casino. Also, the casino only allows formal attire come evening time, so it was a fancy night overall.

7. We hit up the casino first because of our late dinner. We spent a couple hours at the Roulette table. If you know Brent, he doesn't gamble (except for the occasional fun at the horse races - and once he's lost $50 he is done) We planned ahead for how much money we would gamble at the casino and be okay with losing. If you're going to be in Monte Carlo, might as well live it up!

8. There are some interesting characters inside that casino that drop money like they've got it all.

9. Every bet I made on the Roulette table was wrong. Every bet Brent made was right. Therefore, I opted to sit back and watch him do his thing and in the end, he doubled our money!

10. We agreed at that point to walk away and cash in. Brent was a happy man!

11. Dinner was reserved for 8pm. Louis XV is a 5 star Michelin star restaurant attached to the Hotel de Paris and is literally on the corner facing the casino.

12. They sat us directly on the patio at a table for 2, overlooking the casino. Amazing!

13. We experienced a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience here. I'm pretty certain nothing will ever compare to it. Ever.

14. We opted to each have the Chefs Gourmet Menu Selections for the evening. That will probably be the only time we ever eat there, so we splurged.

15. Let me tell you how many courses we each had ...... 13.

16. From fish served on boiling hot rocks, to mixes of vegetables I've never even heard of, to foie gras cooked inside of a potato - with all 13 courses served on a silver platter presented by high class waiters or rolled to your table on a silver presentation tray with wheels.

17. The desserts (yes, that's plural because they brought us 4 different ones each) were the best I've ever had. I won't ever forget the wild tiny strawberries in the frozen mascarpone cream.

18. After a 3.5 hour dinner, it was time to head back to the ship that was scheduled to set sail at midnight.

19. Brent and I were the last people to board the ship at 11:45pm.

20. I'll never forgot our day in Monte Carlo 2015. Brent had been planning this very day for 6 months. It was absolutely perfect!

Livorno, Pisa, Italy

We recently returned from our Mediterranean trip.  Like usual, I wrote a travel diary for each city we visited.   I always share this daily travel diary post on my Facebook page, but I never share more than one picture with the post.  Luckily, I have this blog to share my daily travel diary with you, and include more pictures.  I will create a new post for each day of our travel.  Enjoy!

Travel Diary Day 9
Livorno/Pisa, Italy

1. When you dock in Liverno, there are so many fantastic cities within reach to go visit. Taxis, buses, and trains will take you to Pisa, Florence, and many other cities in Tuscany.

2. We have visited Florence and Pisa before, as well as gone to other Tuscan cities for wine tastings. But this trip, we knew we wanted to go back to Pisa and spend the day there.

3. Brent had planned ahead weeks ago and bought our Leaning Tower and Baptistry tickets online, so we already had those.

4. We opted to take on this adventure alone without taxi drivers or a guide of any kind. We were going to make it our own adventure of trying to figure out what city buses to take to the train station, what trains to take, etc.

5. We took a shuttle from the pier into the town square where we managed to make out the bus schedule and identify what bus we needed in order to get to the train station. By the way, it's bus 1 and you want it to say Stazione.

6. We had no problem finding which train tickets we needed to get to Pisa. Love that it's a quick 17 minute train ride.

7. We opted to walk to the Field of Miracles in Pisa from the train station. We made it just fine, but next time I'll take a bus. It was a long, hot walk.

8. Our tickets for climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa were for 12:15 and we walked in the walls of the Field at 12 sharp. Couldn't have timed it better.

9. 257 narrow winding steps up to the top. The stairs lean just as the tower does so it's an odd feeling to climb in my opinion. There are no "breaks" along the stairwell so if you stop to rest, you hold up everyone behind you. So basically, everyone is totally out of breath when they reach the top. Especially me who has a hate relationship with stairs.

10. Stunning views at the top. And yes, you are a bit more cautious when you walk around to the side that's leaning more towards the ground. Bothers Brent more than it bothers me.

11. After the tower, we had lunch at the exact same place we had lunch at 7 years ago when Ashlan was with us. We even ordered the same pizza. We ate lunch while looking directly at the tower in front of us. It was perfect.

12. When Ash was with us last time, she was 4. You had to be 7 yrs old
to climb the tower at that time. Today, we noticed children age 5 climbing, so they must have lifted the age minimum. We also noticed they added higher fence barricades at the top of the tower.

13. We have never toured the church or Baptistry in the Field of Miracles in the past, so we had tickets for those this time. I am so glad we did. Brent and I agreed it was one of the most beautiful churches we've ever been in.

14. After those visits, we did some shopping for Kate, and then decided to take the bus back to the train station vs walking.

15. Such a great day! A fun adventure for us both and glad we managed to figure it all out without any help!

Rome, Italy

We recently returned from our Mediterranean trip.  Like usual, I wrote a travel diary for each city we visited.   I always share this daily travel diary post on my Facebook page, but I never share more than one picture with the post.  Luckily, I have this blog to share my daily travel diary with you, and include more pictures.  I will create a new post for each day of our travel.  Enjoy!

Travel Diary Day 8
Rome, Italy

1. Today was tough at times, on many different levels.

2. Physically I’m in another country, but emotionally and mentally I was with my mom. Her best friend, since childhood, had been fighting a brief illness and wasn’t expected to make it much longer after we left for this trip. I feared she would pass while we were gone, and she did. My family went with my mom to Louisiana today to lay her sweet friend to rest. I wish I could have been there for my mom. I love you, Mom. And to Ashley and Jim, if you are reading this, my thoughts and prayers have been with you both so much over the past few weeks and especially the last few days. I love you both.

3. Our day started with a 1.5 hour bus trip to Rome. Let me be a bit more detailed here – a very POORLY air-conditioned bus trip to Rome. And the fact that I woke up not feeling 100% certainly didn’t help.

4. Loved our tour guide. Young, energetic, knowledgeable, and we could easily understand him under that Italian accent.

5. The plan was to spend 10.5 hours in Rome today. That’s a long time when you already don’t feel well, and the temperatures outside are insanely hot! But believe me when I say today was our 6th time to visit Rome, and if you are going to try and see everything in one day, it’s not possible.

6. We visited the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, The Forum, and the shopping area of the city all before noon.

7. We snagged a super quick lunch (shared a sandwich and a Coke Zero) on the go. I still wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t eat much (big mistake)

8. Our afternoon plan was to spend it at Vatican City, the Sistene Chapel, and St. Peters Basilica. We fulfilled that plan, but it came with many hiccups.

9. First of all, the entire population of the world was visiting Vatican City today. I am NOT kidding! Yes, it’s Saturday and yes, it’s summer, BUT even our tour guide, who has been giving tours daily since 2009, said he has never seen it as busy as it was today.

10. I was miserable during the Vatican City tour. The Vatican was HOT, and it was shoulder to shoulder packed inside.

11. I get claustrophobic. It’s not severe, but it’s a problem that happens often enough. Being claustrophobic and not feeling well are a bad, bad combination. In fact, two different couples in our group LEFT in the middle of the Vatican tour because of issues with claustrophobia (they both paid around $290 to take a taxi back to the ship)

12. I looked at Brent at one point and mouthed the words “I can’t take this. Get me out of here.” He was so sweet to understand exactly what I needed and pushed ahead through the crowds to find me a bathroom where I could breathe and regroup. I love that man.

13. I am proud of myself for sticking with the plan and fulfilling it. Vatican City may have been awful for me (and probably everyone else), but it’s so worth it when you walk through the Sistene Chapel at the end. We really could spend half a day looking at Michaelangelo’s work. There are no words.

14. We ended the day with a tour of St. Peters Basilica. It’s huge, has so many great paintings, and lots of history. Now that John Paul is a saint, he has an area dedicated to him inside the Basilica, which is neat to view.

15. That’s almost too much to do in a day. I felt like crud. It was insanely hot outside. And our Vatican City tour guide didn’t allow us to stop at all for restroom or water breaks.

16. In the end, I was blessed to be able to see this magnificent city again. I just wish I had felt better, that it wasn’t so hot, and that it wouldn’t have been so insanely crowded. It made for a long day.

Amalfi, Positano, Italy

We recently returned from our Mediterranean trip.  Like usual, I wrote a travel diary for each city we visited.   I always share this daily travel diary post on my Facebook page, but I never share more than one picture with the post.  Luckily, I have this blog to share my daily travel diary with you, and include more pictures.  I will create a new post for each day of our travel.  Enjoy!

Travel Diary Day 7
Amalfi/Positano, Italy

1. When we woke up, we were anchored off the beautiful Amalfi Coast. Clear skies and calm waters, so no problem getting to shore on the lifeboats.

2. Once we got to shore, we got onboard a small boat to take a scenic cruise along the coast. We could not have asked for better weather.

3. Our small boat also took us to visit the Emerald Grotto, which is a grotto cave that has light that feeds into it through a shaft and makes the water inside an emerald color. Once we got to the cave, we switched from the small boat to a row boat. Yes, I said row boat. The cave doesn't allow a boat much bigger than a row boat. Our guide did the rowing while we enjoyed the inside of the cave, it's neat features, and the gorgeous emerald water.

4. As we were nearing the end of our morning sightseeing, we noticed a beautiful beach club. Knowing the rest of our day was free from lunch and on, we decided to experience the beach/sea in Amalfi.

5. One problem - we weren't prepared. Our bathing suits were on the ship and it would take about 45 minutes to catch a lifeboat to the ship, get our suits, and get back to shore.

6. Brent's idea was "hey, let's just shop right here in town for bathing suits. That way we don't have to go back to the ship". Panic immediately set in because all I see on these European beaches are women in thong bikinis and men in speedos. What if that's all we could find here in the stores?

7. Luckily, I found a NON-thong bikini and Brent found a NON-speedo bathing suit in the first store we walked in. Success and beach bound!

8. Loved our beach time. We each got a comfortable beach bed, shared a pizza, and enjoyed our new favorite drinks, Aperol Spritzers. The sea was cool but not nearly as cold as the other day. Only downside to this beach was that it was a rock beach (which most here are) And since we didn't have our water shoes with us, the walk from our sun beds to the water was not fun!

9. Lovely day in Amalfi.

Taormina, Sicily, Italy

We recently returned from our Mediterranean trip.  Like usual, I wrote a travel diary for each city we visited.   I always share this daily travel diary post on my Facebook page, but I never share more than one picture with the post.  Luckily, I have this blog to share my daily travel diary with you, and include more pictures.  I will create a new post for each day of our travel.  Enjoy!

Travel Diary Day 6
Taormina, Sicily, Italy

1. I was so excited about today. We were in Taormina years ago with Ashlan, and I remembered the city sitting high up on the cliff, overlooking the sea. It was such a beautiful city and I knew I wanted to come back and visit again one day.

2. Unfortunately, we woke up to the Captain informing us the seas were too rough to get to shore on the tender boats (life boats). Tender boats are used when you don’t have a dock to use. They anchor the ship off shore and you take the smaller lifeboats to shore. When the seas are too choppy, they can’t risk taking passengers ashore via the lifeboats.

3. I never question the Captain’s decision. Sure, I was very disappointed to miss this port, but a few years ago in the Cook Islands, we had a disaster with the tender boats trying to return to the ship in rough waters. Brent and I were on the last tender of the day to return to the ship and the water was so rough, we couldn’t get from the tender boat onto the ship. It was a dangerous and scary situation. We ended up staying on the tender boat for over an hour while they lifted the anchor on the ship to reposition the ship, so we could transfer from the tender to the ship.

4. When we initially booked this trip, I was sad to see that we had no sea days. I absolutely love sailing ALL day long. But now that today’s port has cancelled, we have a sea day. Again, sad to miss a beautiful city, but happy to get a sea day out of it.

5. I found the book, The Goldfinch, in the small library onboard. My mom gave me that book at home, but like I said in an earlier diary post, I forgot to pack any books. So I’m glad I found a book here that I would have packed from home. I started reading that book today.

6. After the Captain cancelled our port for the day, he promised he had a surprise up his sleeve for later in the afternoon to make up for the disappointing decision. Brent took a guess that he was going to take us to see the island of Stromboli.

7. Brent was correct. Around 2pm, the Captain came across the speakers and told us that we would be sailing to Stromboli and we would be able to see the volcanic eruptions happening.

8. Only 400-500 live on Stromboli. It’s a very small, active volcano. We spent a couple hours sailing around the island and watching the steam spew out of its vents and occasionally erupt. Definitely the highlight of our day! It was so neat to see today, and I can only imagine how cool it is to see at night.