Surprise, surprise, I went on a cruise! Not just any cruise but an 11 day, 3 country, luxury cruise on a 16 story ship. Okay only 15 as they don't have a 13th floor. Mom turned 75 this summer and we wanted to get together for a family holiday. We decided a cruise would be an easy way to organize 5 people, Mom and Gerry, Cheryl and Jeff et moi!!!
I flew to Rome on the 28th of August to meet up with them. We had a day to explore Rome before boarding the ship on the 30th. I couldn't believe the size of the ship!!! The ship's inaugural sailing was October 2012 so it is as modern as you can get. The occupancy is 2,886 people - that's like a third of Revelstoke's population. We had two rooms, both with balconies. I shared a room with my sister and her husband. On the second night I decided to take my mattress and sleep on the balcony of our stateroom and that is where I slept for the rest of the cruise. Loved it!!! Even the night with 55 knot winds didn't keep me from sleeping outside.
We had two days at sea but the rest of the time we sailed at night and arrived in port early in the morning. Our itinerary was Rome (Civitavecchia), Sicily (Messina), at sea, Athens, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, at sea, Naples and Rome (Civitavecchia). It was a great family holiday. The ports of call were fabulous and most of them I had never been to before. It was such a teaser though to only have a day in each place. I definitely want to go back to Santorini and Mykonos. I would love to spend some time just watching the light as it changes throughout the day - a real paradise for photography. I had to put aside my desire to spend the whole day with my eye in the viewfinder and just enjoy each place and the people I was with. I was really impressed with how organized the whole thing was - to be able to manage that many people so efficiently is quite a job. The food was really good but too easily accessible - I'm trying hard to get rid of the extra baggage that I seemed to get on the cruise!!! We probably didn't take full advantage of all that is offered on the ship. Most nights it was a struggle to stay awake past 11 o'clock. Caught a few of the shows, went to a wine tasting, took advantage of an art seminar, got my eyebrows done. Most of the time though was spent off the boat and seeing some amazing places.
When we arrived back in Ciivitavecchia, we picked up a van rental and drove to Florence for 4 nights. Once again www.airbnb.com was a hit. We rented a three bedroom apartment 10 minutes from the centre. It was awesome. Right around the corner there were two bakeries, a fresh produce shop, a wine shop and the bus stop. We were only a few stops away from the centre of town. We ended up having lunch out but cooking dinner at the apartment. I love Florence even though it's always busy. It's a beautiful city. We did a road trip one day towards Cinque Terra but it was pouring rain, stopped in at Pisa on our way back to Florence as the rain let up. The last time I was in Pisa was 1988 on a Contiki tour! On our way back to Rome we stopped in at Sienna and Multipulciano. I would love to come back and spend some time in this area of Italy. We had one more full day in Rome so we went to Vatican City.
And then, as always, things have to end. It was a wonderful three weeks. I can't believe how fast it went by. I have to send a big thanks to my sister for organizing everything and I mean everything. All I had to do was show up. Thanks, Cheryl!!! It was truly an awesome trip!!!
I flew to Rome on the 28th of August to meet up with them. We had a day to explore Rome before boarding the ship on the 30th. I couldn't believe the size of the ship!!! The ship's inaugural sailing was October 2012 so it is as modern as you can get. The occupancy is 2,886 people - that's like a third of Revelstoke's population. We had two rooms, both with balconies. I shared a room with my sister and her husband. On the second night I decided to take my mattress and sleep on the balcony of our stateroom and that is where I slept for the rest of the cruise. Loved it!!! Even the night with 55 knot winds didn't keep me from sleeping outside.
We had two days at sea but the rest of the time we sailed at night and arrived in port early in the morning. Our itinerary was Rome (Civitavecchia), Sicily (Messina), at sea, Athens, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, at sea, Naples and Rome (Civitavecchia). It was a great family holiday. The ports of call were fabulous and most of them I had never been to before. It was such a teaser though to only have a day in each place. I definitely want to go back to Santorini and Mykonos. I would love to spend some time just watching the light as it changes throughout the day - a real paradise for photography. I had to put aside my desire to spend the whole day with my eye in the viewfinder and just enjoy each place and the people I was with. I was really impressed with how organized the whole thing was - to be able to manage that many people so efficiently is quite a job. The food was really good but too easily accessible - I'm trying hard to get rid of the extra baggage that I seemed to get on the cruise!!! We probably didn't take full advantage of all that is offered on the ship. Most nights it was a struggle to stay awake past 11 o'clock. Caught a few of the shows, went to a wine tasting, took advantage of an art seminar, got my eyebrows done. Most of the time though was spent off the boat and seeing some amazing places.
When we arrived back in Ciivitavecchia, we picked up a van rental and drove to Florence for 4 nights. Once again www.airbnb.com was a hit. We rented a three bedroom apartment 10 minutes from the centre. It was awesome. Right around the corner there were two bakeries, a fresh produce shop, a wine shop and the bus stop. We were only a few stops away from the centre of town. We ended up having lunch out but cooking dinner at the apartment. I love Florence even though it's always busy. It's a beautiful city. We did a road trip one day towards Cinque Terra but it was pouring rain, stopped in at Pisa on our way back to Florence as the rain let up. The last time I was in Pisa was 1988 on a Contiki tour! On our way back to Rome we stopped in at Sienna and Multipulciano. I would love to come back and spend some time in this area of Italy. We had one more full day in Rome so we went to Vatican City.
And then, as always, things have to end. It was a wonderful three weeks. I can't believe how fast it went by. I have to send a big thanks to my sister for organizing everything and I mean everything. All I had to do was show up. Thanks, Cheryl!!! It was truly an awesome trip!!!