Idyllic Italy

2007 - August 1
Sorrento, Italy

Diane escorted a tour
"Amalfi & Positano: A Deluxe Discovery". It was really
nice. First a beautiful drive down the Amalfi Coast with it's
jagged cliffs. Then free time exploring Amalfi town which is
more of a small Italian village. Afterward she was treated to
a gourmet lunch at Le Sirenuse. It included pasta with shrimp
and fillet of sea bream with aubergines. Then more time to
explore Positano which is another Italian village. Very
charming and interesting.

Paul escorted a tour
"Positano & Don Alfonso Wine Cellars". He crossed
paths with Diane in Positano for a quick photo-op.
Then to the Wine Cellars which were fascinating because
the vaults that were built between the 16th and 18th
centuries descend vertically. Paul then enjoyed a sample
of wine, olive oil and local snacks.
Ship sailed at 12 midnight. Shops closed.
Crew party at night on Deck 5 Aft.
Live Band Night - Engine Room Band and
Abandon Ship (A-Band-On Ship).

2007 - August 2
Sea Day

Shops open 9am - 9pm.
After work at 10pm, the fitness instructor Alwyn
had a "circuit class". We decided to go to kick-off a new
habit of exercise. The only crew to go were just 5 of
us shoppies. Boy did he give us a work-out! More on
how we feel about this tomorrow.

2007 - August 3
Cannes France

Anchored today. Took tender in at about 10am. Spent a
leisurely day walking around, we are so sore from yesterday.
Looked at all the expensive stores. Bought a take-away lunch
from a local stand and found some chairs to just sit and
people watch on a strand at the beach.
We found a movie theatre and saw the latest
"Harry Potter" movie which was in English with french
subtitles. It was nice to do something "normal".
Shops closed all day since overnighting in Cannes.
Went back into Cannes during the evening to walk around
and enjoy the lights and ambience of local street artists.


2007 - August 4
Cannes, France

Ship had anchored overnight. Today we were IPM (in-port
manning) so had to stay on-board. Got caught up on a few
things. Went to the crew gym for some cardio work.
Shops open 5p-11p. Then went to the gym again to continue
with weight machines. On the way saw the most unbelieveable
moonrise. Probably about 3/4 moon which was huge and
dark red.


2007 - August 5
Livorno, Italy

Caught a bus from Livorno to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower.
Ran into a couple of other people from the ship - Kay, a fellow
shoppie and Luke, a gentleman ambassador host, went all
together. Bus ride was a lot of fun. Very local. Went by many
beach clubs where locals go to have fun. It was a Sunday
so everyone was at the beach. It reminded us a lot of the
beach areas near North Wildwood, New Jersey. In addition
to the Leaning Tower their was Duomo which is the cathedral
and there was also the Baptistry. The Leaning Tower was
originally built as the bell-tower for the Duomo. We were on
a strict timeline so didn't stay for long but everything was so
interesting. Grabbed a ham and cheese pizza/sandwich
from Bar Roma in Pisa on the way back. Caught the bus,
- then back to work.
Shops open 9p - 11p.


2007 - August 6
Portofino, Italy

The next to last time we visit. It always feels like home since
it looks like the hotel at Universal. Climbed the cliffs to
Castello Brown and lighthouse above the harbor. Met an
interesting young couple from Hungary and had a nice talk
with them by the lighthouse. All the views and the water
were unbelieveable. The town is so pretty it almost
doesn't seem real. Was sad to leave. Some big yachts
were in the harbor (see pictures). One of the yachts
"Halcyon Days" we've seen in other ports of call.
Went back to ship and saw the movie "Zodiac" in the
Hollywood Theatre.
Shops open 5p - 11p.

Then to the gym for a quick work-out. Leaving the gym we
saw a Princess Cruises ship sailing the other way -
literally - 2 ships passing in the night.


2007 - August 7
Civitavecchia, Italy
(That's pronounced chi-va-ta-vekkia.)

A day on our own. We got off the ship at about 8am. It was
just a short walk to the train station to catch a train headed to
Rome. The ride was about 1 hour. Got off at the Roma San
Pietro stop which is right by Vatican City. We knew there
was going to be a long line for the Vatican Museum and the
Sistine Chapel but it was so much longer than we expected.
At least 2 1/2 hours. After about an hour wait we gave up and
went to the front of the line, said we lost the group we were
escorting and could we get in right away. The guard said OK.
We saved ourselves a lot of time. Another big surprise was the
vastness of the museum. You couldn't do it in a full day much
less a few hours - but we just blew through as fast as we could.
One of the best parts was an exhibit of Egyptian artifacts.
Every single room we entered was awesome. The Sistine
Chapel was completely packed with people. It was interesting
how so much of the paintings included a lot of blue. While the
Sistine Chapel was amazing we enjoyed other parts of the
museum better.

Found a quick slice of pizza and a coke then off to
St. Peter's Basilica. The sheer size was amazing. It really
made us feel small. The statues, arches, doors, paintings,
ceilings, everything were absolutely grand. It takes quite a
while just to wander into all the different alcoves.
Finally we had to go to catch the train back to Civitavecchia.
After getting back to the ship went back in to town to do
e-mails and phone calls (a lot cheaper than on the ship).
Got back to the ship again just in time for the guest safety
drill and then work 9p - 11p.


2007 - August 8
Day At Sea

Shops open 9am - 9pm
Went and worked out again after work. Then fellow shoppie
Kamal turned 30 at midnight so met everyone in the crew bar
for a celebration. Had a fun time hanging out with the group.
Left by 12:30a because had an early day tomorrow.


2007 - August 9
Monte Carlo, Monaco

Where Monaco is the country, Monte Carlo is the only city.
The entire country of Monaco is 1/2 the size of Central Park
in NY City.

Started at 7:45am where Diane escorted the
"Private Cooking Lesson at Le Moulin de Mougins" tour.
After a scenic 1 hour bus ride past Nice arrived at Le Moulin
de Mougins. Moulin means mill. The restaurant so named
because of the olive mills to make oil. This was just a
demonstration - nothing hands on. The recipes demonstrated
were "Italian style risotto with lemon zest and fresh mint" and
"Chicken ballaton with olives past and thyme flavoured tomato
sauce". Both wonderful (of course) and appropriate for the
region. Then a nice drive back.

Also starting at 7:45am Paul escorted the "Eze and Nice"
tour. Diane had previously gone to Eze which is a very
quaint medieval village and also Nice which is really a
wonderful French city.

Both tours were nice because they were just 1/2 day
which gave us the rest of the day to explore on our own.
A fellow crew member told us to walk thru an auto
tunnel to get to an internet area. At the end of the tunnel we got
stopped by the local police. It turns out no one is allowed to go
thru the tunnel. He wanted to give us a ticket, but we talked him
out of it.


Til we write again...........