I think of all the places we were going to be visiting on the trip, the one that most excited me was Athens. The reason was simple: it had the most bucket list sites and I had never been there.
Our NCL ship docked early at the port of Piraeus and with our luggage in hand we set about the process of self-debarkation. It was rather easy since we were literally one story above the exit gangway and didn’t need to use the elevators (which are always packed on embarkation and debarkation day).
Almost every time we’ve ben on a cruise the last day has been rather depressing. But knowing we had two days to enjoy Athens, and having gotten to the point we had in dealing with lackluster food, pushy people, and generally unfriendly staff, we were ready to get off the ship and be done with the cruise.
We had paid more to go on a Norwegian cruise and at the end of the cruise I can genuinely say that the only great thing about it was the itinerary. The food quality was subpar except at Cagney’s Steakhouse, the shipboard entertainment was pathetic, and we never even bothered trying to use the pool because we were kind of jaded by the pushy, rude people on the decks and around the ship.
Once off the ship we set about finding our driver who would take us to our hotel in the Plaka district. We found him and he helped us load our luggage and ourselves into the van for the drive to the city.
Driving into Athens was interesting. The city was certainly sprawling and full of graffiti. I mean, covered in it in places. It was somewhat unsettling.
Plaka, he told us, was one of the most beautiful places in Athens. We had chosen well. That was something I was counting on. I wanted to be as close to the major sites as possible, in a district that offered plenty of good restaurants.
As we neared the hotel he told us he could not drive all the way to the hotel itself. There was a pedestrian walkway that led to it. All we needed to do was going about 100 feet up the walkway and the hotel would be on the corner.
We exited with our luggage and found that the pedestrian walkway was indeed the case, and yet other drivers would in fact drive the narrow path causing some startled looks from pedestrians. Was it a walkway or a street?
The Kyria Boutique House was right on the corner. Well actually the doorway was right next to the souvenir shop on the corner. We arrived at the door and after a quick Whats App message the maid appeared to allow us to stow our luggage. It wasn’t yet even 9:00 AM and way too early to check in.
I chose the Kyria Boutique House because of the location and chose the largest suite room for our family. Two rooms and a big bathroom with a tub. Ideal for a family of four
But the location. I kid you not, the location is the best probably in the entire city. From the doorway to our room we literally needed to walk about fifty feet to the entrance of the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum was just a tiny bit farther on the opposite side. We could walk to dozens of restaurants and souvenir shops. The location was utterly fantastic. Just what I intended.
With our luggage safely stowed we could visit the Acropolis Museum. The museum opened at 9:00 but our debarkation and trip to the hotel had gone so effortlessly well we were in line before the museum even opened.
People were gathering on the steps in front of the museum and we took our place there as well. It was good to be there when the museum opened because the museum was sure to get crowded shortly thereafter.
The Acropolis Museum
A Visit to the Archaeological Museums of Athens
Once inside we found that we needed to check our backpacks in at the entrance. No big deal. I had a smaller, sling pack I bought on Amazon that was allowed in the museum, and into which I could put everything I needed for perusing the museum. Including my GoPro.
Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum contains the treasures taken from the Acropolis on the hill next door. Well, almost all the treasures. The Elgin Marbles aren’t here yet.
The museum collections are fascinating of course. We often think of the statues as having been colorless marble, but in many originally were painted and traces of the original colors can still be seen. In certain cases the museum displayed a reproduction to show how it would have looked with color.
The museum collection also spans centuries, as does the history of Athens. Classical Athens which covered the period from about 500 BC until around 300 BC is the most represented, as would be expected since the great monuments on the hill above were largely constructed in this time frame.
Before coming to the museum I had heard about the Caryatids and in particular their complex hairstyles. It’s interesting to think that women in ancient Greece might actually have had hair long enough to be styled in such a manner.
Regardless of whether the hairstyle was really possible, the statues are something to behold, as well as the fact that for over 2400 years they supported the weight of the Erechtheion Porch on the Acropolis. Now they are safely inside and replicas stand in their place.
After we had a rather slow breakfast in the museum cafeteria, we spent some time viewing the area below the museum. There is not a single area of the modern city that doesn’t have history buried beneath it. And that includes the ground below which the museum stands.
Beneath the Acropolis Museum
Beneath the museum are the ruins of an ancient neighborhood dating back to Roman and Byzantine times. The entire museum is supported by pillars just over these ancient dwellings.
As it was now approaching lunch time, and it was still not yet time to check in to the hotel, we wandered down one of the Plaka streets to find something to eat and drink. It was hot and a cool drink would help. Athens is always very hot in the summer, though we were fortunate to have arrived after a heat wave the prior week.
As we sat there eating, a tour group appeared behind us. The guide was talking about the craziest Athenian of all: Diogenes. We knew right away who he was talking about. He’s our favorite philosopher. If that term applies to a guy that lived in a barrel in the Agora. Because he wanted to avoid earthly comforts. Or so he claimed.
So after eating and discussing Diogenes and whether or not we’d find his barrel the next day in the Agora, we were ready to check in. We walked over to the hotel and were finally able to crash in our terrific suite. Right in the heart of everything and yet somehow quietly away from it all once inside. The perfect place to be in Athens.
We took some time to rest and relax. We were far from done that day, of course. But it does help to have some air conditioning to counter the midday sun in Athens.
Once we were fully rested, or rested enough, we walked down to the outside to a taxi stand. We overpaid for a ride to the National Museum of Archaeology. But getting there was worth it.
The National Museum of Archaeology
National Archaeological Museum
If you go to only one museum in your time in Athens (which would be a shame), it needs to be this one. As good as the Acropolis Museum was, it paled in comparison to the National Archaeological Museum.
The collections in the museum cover all of Greece, through every era of its history. You’ll find Minoan artifacts, artifacts from Troy (yes, the city burned in the Illiad and Odyssey), artifacts from Mycenaean graves including the death mask that Heinrich Schliemann called the Mask of Agamemnom.
You’ll see the evolution of Greek art as it became more sophisticated and they began making statues. You can see the artistry grow ever more intricate over time and by the late Classical and Roman era the statues are utterly beautiful (look at the statue of the girl resting).
Finally, there is the artifact that was the inspiration for the Dial of Destiny in the latest Indiana Jones: the Antikythera Mechanism. Of course modern research has determined that it was actually useful for tracking moon phases, which is an incredibly sophisticated achievement in itself. As well as a replica of Ptolemy’s astrolabe.
So by the time we were finished exploring we felt pretty convinced that this museum was the best we’d seen in Greece.
Return to Plaka
You can use Uber in Athens and it turned out to be the easier and cheaper way to hail a taxi. For half the price of our ride to the museum we got a ride back to our hotel. We walked a short distance and found a place tucked away beneath the hustle and bustle in the neighborhood above.
Having Dinner in Plaka
The restaurant was a bit pricy and kind of pretentious (we don’t really care what famous person ate there – especially if it’s a politician), but we were all feeling good and looking forward to exploring Athens more the next day.
Somehow along the way we had been managing to overcome a number of challenges throughout the trip, and one of those was Shelley’s fall. She was wearing a sling on her right arm and was reliant on pain medication to get through each day, but we were still able to continue on with our plans for the most part.
When it came to Mykonos, however, my original plan was to take a small sailboat excursion (basically a private tour) from Mykonos to Delos and Rhenia Island (a nearby uninhabited island with beaches). We intended to visit the archaeological site of Delos on our own and then snorkel, swim and lounge on the beach at Rhenia for a couple hours.
The problem was it wasn’t a very easy tour to do now that she was injured. The boat would dock at Delos, but it would not dock at Rhenia Island. She would need to climb in and out of the boat, something I knew she could no longer do. Besides that, the Aegean Sea was choppy as the winds were picking up and we’d certainly have to hang on to the boat in rough seas.
Strangely, we got a blessing in disguise. The tour operator contacted us the night before to tell us that he would not be running our tour at the reserved time and we would have to take a late afternoon tour. Since we were on a cruise, that was not possible. We then contacted Viator and were able to cancel with a full refund since we were unable to continue with the originally planned tour.
So what now? The cruise ship had a guided tour of Delos still available to book. Taking this tour would mean no beach time or snorkeling, but it was a little less expensive and we’d have a guided tour of Delos. As I mentioned earlier, having a guided tour of ruins really helps in interpreting and understanding them.
So we booked the ship excursion to Delos the night before and were set for the next day.
Arrival in Mykonos
The New Port in Delos
Mykonos has an Old Port and a New Port. The cruise ships dock at the New Port, which is about a mile away from the Old Port where the ferries depart for Delos, and where the historic town is accessible.
Since we booked through the cruise ship the transfer ferry ride from the New Port to the Old Port was taken care of for us. Sometimes it’s just easier to use the ship’s excursion in certain places.
Once we arrived at the Old Port we disembarked and walked over to the ferry that would transfer us to Delos. It was a larger ferry that could hold a couple hundred passengers. It was fortunately not full (we would end up being the first ship to arrive in Delos that day), but I was glad it was a substantial ship nonetheless.
The Aegean Sea was very rough on the crossing and the big boat was rocking quite a lot. The Cyclades Islands are known for being windy and Mykonos was thus far not disappointing. The winds were actually something of a relief though because the prior two days had been stifling and a bit of wind felt good once we were on land. As the day went along the wind and the seas did subside quite a bit.
When we arrived at Delos I was surprised, but glad, to see we were the first visitors to the archaeological site. Usually the group tours arrive after the smaller private tours, but the ship’s excursion was already showing itself to be well-organized and worth the cost.
Delos Archaeological Site
We had been traveling backward in time since the start of the trip and now that we were in Delos we were in a place that was occupied from as far back as 1400 BC, but whose heyday occurred primarily between 500 and 200 BC.
Delos is a special place amongst all the ancient sites of Greece. The island held important religious, political and cultural value to the ancient Greeks, far beyond what you might suppose possible for a small island that had no natural water sources beyond rainfall.
Delos was the ceremonial birthplace of the twins Artemis and Apollo. It was also considered the center spoke in the Cyclades Islands, since it was located in the middle of the other islands on the map.
Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and walked us through the site explaining the history of Delos along the way. We were first led to the ruins of homes that were once owned by wealthy residents around 200 BC. The mosaics above depict a tiger and a dolphin with a trident.
Next we saw the cisterns that supplied water to the residents. To this day they still collect rainwater.
As we continued we arrived at the theater. Only the front row seats remained intact but it was fun to sit together in the place where the ancient Greeks once came to enjoy a performance or discuss civic life. The theater was the center of Greek society.
While the theater was the center of Greek social life, the religious and cultural center of Delos was closer to the port. Here, massive temples were built to honor Apollo. The temples are largely gone now, but some restoration work is continuing to save and reconstruct what remains at at the site.
Numerous cats also make Delos their home. They were eager to make friends, but we wisely avoided touching them if we could. We don’t need to risk getting bitten by an unvaccinated cat.
Finally we arrived at the Colonnade of the Lions before being given about 15 minutes to explore the site on our own. Daniel and I made a quick trek to toward the central peak to get a closer look at some distant temples.
We really enjoyed the trip to Delos and especially the narration from the tour guide. Again, I really don’t think a visit to Delos without a guide is a good idea unless you really have a good map and a solid understanding of the site.
Old Town Mykonos
Old Town Mykonos
Rather than taking the ferry back to the New Port and the ship, we opted to stay in the Old Town area to enjoy lunch and see historic Mykonos. Certainly we were in no hurry and we could take a bus on the opposite side of the port back to the ship.
Old Town Mykonos was a very attractive place with winding corridors of white-washed buildings and windmills set up on the surrounding hills. We wandered a bit until we found a place to grab a Greek lunch, then did some souvenir shopping.
We enjoyed our morning in Delos and found Mykonos to be a pretty island. I have to admit though that the souvenirs for sale were not always the most family-friendly. We were constantly advising our 11-year-old not to comment on something he saw for sale or on display.
Mykonos was the last port stop on our cruise. The following day would take us to Athens for two days in the great capital of Classical and modern Greece.
After a great day visiting Olympia our next stop was the small island of Santorini, one of the Cyclades Islands of Greece.
In the preceding year when Shelley and I researched things to do on a cruise stop for Santorini, we were often left without a clear answer. There were a couple small museums, some small wineries, and further away the site of Ancient Akrotiri and the town of Oia. There were also a couple very small beaches.
The cruise ship offered some horribly overpriced excursions, but we were also looking at the overall budget for the trip and were picky about what we spent our money on. For the most part we had either decided to make our own day like we had in Cannes and Rome, or used a transportation only tour to visit places like Lucca, Taormina, and Olympia.
But when it came to Santorini, knowing we had two kids with us, none of the attractions seemed to warrant the effort and expense to go out of our way. The most intriguing and popular activity to me as a hiker, was the Fira to Oia trail, which followed the cliffside around half of the island (6.5 miles one way).
We watched a video together of the hike and Shelley admitted it didn’t look very exciting to her. A lot of the trail follows passageways in crowded tourist areas of Fira before it finally opens up to a very dry, cliffside trail the rest of the way to Oia. The videos also made it clear that it was usually very hot, and just getting to Fira from the tender port meant ascending a switchbacking trail right up the cliffside.
So when we arrived in what was once the island of Thera before a massive eruption destroyed most of the island, I was not surprised when Shelley told me that partly due to her arms, she was going to take a day to rest on the ship.
But not only was Shelley in need of a rest day, 17-year-old Daniel also had a sore throat and wanted to rest. Typically, he’s been excited to do a hike, but he was simply feeling under the weather and wanted to relax.
And finally 11-year old Evan, who I would have happily brought with me onto Santorini had he been interested, wanted to take a day to chill out on the ship. Which left me alone going to Santorini. If I chose to go.
I debated staying on the ship too. It was going to be another day of 100F+ degree weather making the full hike to Oia in direct sun somewhat of a no-go. But I did know what I was getting into if I at least started out on the hike, and it wouldn’t hurt to try for a less distant objective like Skaros Rock…
Well, I could decide when I got there. But whatever I did I would go it alone.
Arrival in Santorini
When the ship arrived in the caldera of Santorini the sight of the island with the whitewashed buildings and surrounding volcanic islands was rather fascinating. Most of the ship gathered on the decks to watch the ship make its way to anchorage.
So, using the priority access we had to board the early ship tenders (they were backed up all day and when I returned from the island many people were still waiting to depart), I departed the ship with my backpack and water bottles for a day of hiking.
On arrival at the Old Port which sits at the halfway point on the coast of the half moon of the island I realized I would benefit from a hat before starting on the journey. As a rule I usually don’t buy food or souvenirs right at the point where cruise ships unload tourists since the prices are usually terribly overpriced, but I did find a fairly nice Greek fedora for 10 Euros.
With that done is was time to start the steep ascent up the donkey trail to Fira.
The Donkey Trail to Fira
Hiking Santorini: From the Old Port to Skaros Rock
The ascent up to Fira was a long section of switchbacks straight up the cliff to Fira above. It’s the equivalent of 800 steps (or so I’m told). It kind of reminded me of hiking up to the rim of the Grand Canyon because of the heat and exposure.
You can take the gondolas as an alternative and I would recommend this for anyone with mobility issues. The donkeys are both a blessing and a curse on the trail. They are fun to see but they do leave stinky manure on the pavement. Also the surface gets hot and a little slippery. I saw one guy fall, and with all the manure remnants it’s not a good place to lose your footing.
Fira to the Skaros Rock Trail
The Fira to Oia trail to Skaros Rock
Once I arrived in Fira I was met by a throng of cruise port travelers all packed into the narrow alleyways of Fira. It was a little discomfiting, to be honest, but by walking a little ways further I was able to get some much needed breathing space.
At first I admit that I found the hike to be a bit frustrating. The sun’s heat radiating off the white walls around me and the crowds of people made for a very uncomfortable experience. Fortunately, I think the heat had pushed a lot of people back indoors because the further i walked from Fira the quieter and more relaxed it became.
There was still quite a climb even after reaching Fira to reach the high point of the trail at Imerovigli just before the Skaros Rock spur Trail. Finally, at Imerovigli I was able to enjoy some of the unique and historical architecture of Santorini: the old churches with blue domes, the windmills, and the striking views back over the town and over the ocean where far below the cruise ship sat in the blue ocean of the caldera.
I didn’t come to see souvenir shops and cranky cruise ship passengers. I came to see a Greek island. Now I found it. Even if I was sweating like crazy and needed a cold drink.
Skaros Rock
The trail to Skaros Rock
To get to Skaros Rock you need to take a spur trail of about a half mile down from the Fira to Oia trail. Since I had decided the Oia hike would take too long and I lacked the water and resolve to complete the journey to Oia, Skaros Rock was a perfect option.
The descent down to Skaros Rock was my favorite part of the trail. You have views in every direction to the surrounding seas and islands and back up to Imerovigli, the town that sits above it and has the blue-domed churches I mentioned earlier.
Skaros Rock itself appears to just be a promontory jutting out to the sea from the caldera rim. But there was a Venetian fortress built on the site that no longer exists (or at least I could find no indication of it even after hiking to the opposite side). Signs also indicate that earlier archaeological artifacts were found dedicated to Athena from the Classical era.
After my brief foray at the rock I started back, first stopping for a cool drink then a Greek pita lunch. The heat by now had really driven people indoors because the areas that were previously packed with tourists were calm and largely empty.
With my lunch eaten, it was time for a souvenir shot glass in the more peaceful souvenir shops. With one in hand I returned to Fira, and then hiked back down the donkey trail.
Santorini Sunsets
One thing we had heard prior to coming to Santorini was that the sunsets were something to behold, particularly from Oia. The trouble was that Oia was reputed to be very crowded every evening at sunset, and whatever majestic value was to be found was lost while standing in a packed crowd.
So before departure we made reservations for a restaurant on the NCL Getaway called Cagney’s Steakhouse. The nice thing about Cagney’s is that it has outdoor seating and the ship is aways oriented while at anchor at Santorini with the restaurant facing to the west. Toward the sunset.
So we had our romantic dinner (the only really great meal we had on the ship) watching the sunset. We’ve seen some very beautiful sunsets in our lives and I’m not sure where Santorini ranks. It was certainly charming. But it was the ambience of the moment that made it particularly great.
The following day would take us to Mykonos and an journey to the ancient city of Delos.
Originally NCL had designated Corfu as the first stop in Greece. The stop was supposed to be a total of six hours, which really meant around 4 hours of actual time to visit the island. With such a short amount of time available, we were effectively limited to taking the ship’s excursion to a beach on the north side of the island (which was sure to be horrendously crowded by cruise goers).
Also, I know Corfu is a scenic and historic island, but the stop just wasn’t that interesting to me in comparison to much of the rest of Greece. There was simply nothing “bucket list” worthy for me among the sites available within a four hour window. If the original itinerary offered more time, we could have taken a boat to some of the beaches on nearby islands, which are often the most photographed in Greece.
So when NCL announced a month before departure that the port had been changed to Olympia, I was really quite excited. We would also now be in port from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, giving us eight hours of time to explore. A port stop that felt like a throw-away day now featured something much more interesting: Ancient Olympia.
Also, I really felt like seeing the Peloponnese was important to really getting to see Greece. It’s a separate region historically and culturally from Attica (where Athens is located) and the islands. Visiting the Peloponnese (even for five hours) was better than not visiting.
Soon after the announced change I looked online and found a Viator private tour in a car for a maximum of four people. That was perfect. We could get away from the crowds and be by ourselves and go where ever we wanted for five hours. I booked it and looked forward to arriving.
But now there was one problem, as I mentioned in the prior post. Shelley had fallen in Sicily and hurt her arms. Her right arm was in a sling and her left arm felt only marginally better. The x-rays taken the prior day revealed no bone fractures, but the medical staff on the ship suggested that she could get a CT scan at a medical clinic once we arrived in Katakolon to check for soft tissue damage.
As it turned out in the intervening hours, the medical staff wasn’t able to make contact with a clinic in Katakolon to have a CT scan performed. So there would be no trip to a medical clinic after all. And since we were taking a private car for the day, it would be much easier for her to take the excursion with us than otherwise. So we would be visiting Olympia together as a family. The way it should be.
Also, with her arm immobilized and the vacation only continuing for four more days, we had started to conclude that waiting to return home for an examination would be a better option. The x-rays showed no breaks and she could see an orthopedist once we returned home. Until then she would just be reliant on pain medication and our help to assist her as needed.
The next day we told the medical staff we would decline further medical care until we returned home.
Arrival in Katakolon
Our ship arrived at 11:00 AM in Katakolon and we quickly exited the ship to find our driver for the day. We found her rather quickly holding a sign with my name, and the four of us climbed into the seats of the nice, air-conditioned car while the rest of the cruise tours waited to board buses.
We started off toward Olympia and the driver told about the local area. The region between Katakolon and Olympia is an agricultural region and the orchards and vineyards made it feel similar to California’s Central Coast. I always enjoy traveling into rural areas and seeing how life is enjoyed away from the cities. it was a pleasant drive.
As we neared Olympia she suggested that we go first to a Honey Farm since we mentioned that being one of the places we would like to visit in the area. The archaeological site, she said, would be particularly busy and if we waited many of the tours would depart before we arrived.
Klio’s Honey Farm
Figs at Klio’s Honey Farm
I’m not sure why we don’t have any more photos than my single one of a fig tree, but Klio’s Honey Farm was a quiet respite from all of the craziness over the last week. The honey farm is a genuine farm alongside a stream where honey is produced as well as other products like lotions.
We enjoyed sitting and drinking fruit juice while learning about the evolution of beekeeping in Greece over the centuries. We did not get to see the bees themselves, but we did get to see the equipment and they told us to look for an ancient bee-keeping smoker in the archaeological museum (we did find it).
We bought some honey and it is very good stuff.
Olympia Archaeological Museum
The Olympia Archaeological Museum is nearby the Archaeological site. We first went to the museum which was air conditioned on a very hot (104 F) day to see the incredible display of artifacts from the Olympia site.
I was fascinated by the helmets and other artifacts to be found in the museum. The ancient Olympic games dated back to 700 BC, but the site itself has artifacts dating back to the Mycenaean Period going back to approximately 1000 BC.
There were two helmets that were particularly interesting to me situated next to each other in a display. One was the helmet of Militiades, the general that led the Athenians to victory over the Persians at Marathon. The other was a Parthian helmet (modern day Iran) that was captured by the Greeks and kept it as an offering to Zeus at Olympia.
You can see the helmet in the video, which also includes the archaeological site.
Exploring Ancient Olympia
Olympia Archaeological Site
Now for what we were most excited to see. The site of Ancient Olympia. Where the ancient games were held from 700 BC until around 300 AD.
The heat was stifling. It was 104 F and it was humid. But there is no way that was going to stop us from enjoying Olympia.
Olympia Archaeological Site
We started at at the gymnasium and worked our way through the site, stopping by the Philippeion (the partially circular structure), The Temple of Hera, the Treasuries, the Stadium, and the Temple of Zeus, before deciding it was time for a cold drink.
The Philippeion was ordered constructed by the father of Alexander the Great, Phillip II of Macedon. Phillip II successfully conquered and united all of Greece before his son went on to create a huge empire stretching into Egypt, Persia, and into India.
The Temple of Hera is the oldest structure at the site. It is at the Temple of Hera that the Olympic flame is lit every Olympiad (and 2024 is an Olympic year!).
Next we were very excited to enter the stadium under the arch and to do as the ancients did thousands of years ago. Daniel and I didn’t care how hot it was and neither did the dozens of others who ran the length of the ancient stadium. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Afterward, we wound our way back to a onsite shop selling cool drinks. And boy did we need one! Then we made a quick visit to the gift shop (and the air conditioning), before deciding it was time for an authentic Greek lunch. We were all smiling brightly, as you can see.
Enjoying Olympia
The Town of Olympia
We asked the driver where we could get gyros in Olympia and she took us to this restaurant. The food was good but the restaurant was a tad pricey. Still it was nice to sit outside and enjoy the day and the wandering cats while we ate.
Afterward we did some shopping and found the first of the Pythagoras Cups that were a priority of ours to find in Greece. And we got some shirts and a shot glass.
We were tired and hot but it was a fun and enjoyable day. I highly recommend taking a private tour if you can. It made it more relaxing and we never felt rushed. The driver was nice and taught us some Greek words and how to pronounce various letters. We had a few more days in Greece so we needed all the help we could get.
I mentioned in the last post that by the time we finished the Naples stop we were feeling pretty good. Though we felt rushed at times having to return to the ship each day, we had been able to see and do quite a lot thus far and all of our pre-trip planning was working out well.
The next stop on the cruise ship itinerary was Messina, Sicily. I had never been to the island of Sicily and for a long time the island was kind of off the radar due to the association with the mafia. In recent decades the island has become one of the most intriguing places to visit in Italy with its beaches and history some of the most beautiful in the country.
Originally the Messina stop was supposed to be short, only 7 hours, which for a cruise passenger is effectively 5 hours due to the time necessary to debark and reboard the ship. However, about a month before departure NCL notified us that they were extending the Messina stop by 2 hours, which gave us more latitude to enjoy ourselves in Siciliy.
Arrival in Messina
A Statue in Messina harbor
We had decided beforehand to travel down the coast to Taormina, a resort town on the coast about an hour away. Initially I expected that visiting Taormina would use up all of the time that we had in port, but with the additional two hours I now expected to be able to walk around Messina a bit before boarding the ship.
To get to Taormina we booked the only cruise excursion we planned for on the trip: ‘Taormina On Your Own’. This turned out to be a blessing and a curse as you will find out later. Effectively the excursion was simply bus transportation, which had the advantage of taking us right to the city and not to the train station below the city (at least 45 minutes walk up a cliff or a taxi ride). This in theory would give us more time.
Shelley also had wanted to take family portraits at a stop on the trip. For once this was a day where I didn’t have anything in particular that I wanted to see (other than the Greek Theater in Taormina). This was probably the last time we would vacation as a family since our eldest was a high school graduate and intended to move away to start his life, and this was our 20th anniversary trip.
We booked a photographer through Flytographer in advance and scheduled the meetup to occur in Taormina at a time when we would be there after taking the bus ride for the excursion. We bought matching clothing that would be suitable for both the portraits and the hot, Mediterranean weather, and contacted the photographer to let him know we were on our way.
As the bus left Messina I saw that the city was more attractive and interesting than I first assumed. There were entire blocks devoted to parks and attractive historic buildings in the city center. The tour guide on the bus pointed out some civic buildings as having been built during the Mussolini era that were unpopular with the locals, but were historic reminders of World War II. Had we more time that day I would have liked to look for more connections to WWII in the city.
But certainly, once we got back from the excursion we would have time to explore the city near the port. Or so I thought.
Taormina
We arrived in a parking garage and after ascending the stairs to the top level I did not see much that was particularly interesting. It wasn’t until we passed through the city gate that I realized just how beautiful Taormina really is.
These few pictures really don’t do justice for Taormina. We just didn’t have much time to explore the city on our own and to take photographs. But I will tell you unequivocally it was the prettiest city we visited on the entire trip.
And we did choose the right city for family portraits.
We entered the city gates and walked the narrow streets, quickly following Google Maps to find the Public Gardens. It was there that we had arranged to meet the photographer. We entered the gardens, found a bench to sit on, trying not to be sweaty, and messaged the photographer. We mentioned being near a statue and he found us quickly thereafter.
I have always had a personal policy of not posting photos on my blog that are not my own. The following photos were taken by Guiseppe who you can book under ‘Guiseppe and Guiseppe’ (we didn’t see the other Guiseppe) on Flytographer for Taormina, Italy.
Family portraits in Taormina
The photo locations were terrific throughout the town and we were very happy with the results. The only problem was that my wife had to do the entire session in a lot of pain.
Just after we started the portrait session Shelley tripped on uneven pavement in the Public Garden and fell very hard on her arms. We were instantly concerned that she had broken bones and certainly severe sprains in her wrists and elbows. By catching herself with her arms on a hard surface she saved herself from further injury but was in immense pain throughout the rest of the day (and trip).
She refused to stop the portrait session and after all we had done and gone through to get there, we were not about to quit. She put on a strong, smiling face for the next hour and a half and we walked from one location to another to continuing posing for photos.
Once we were done with the portraits, we were near the city gate. We stopped for some much needed gelato (it’s always needed) and Shelley wisely ordered granita, since it comes from Sicily (or so I’m told). Despite the pain she was in we would have explored the city a bit longer and gone to the Greek Theater, but the tour guide gave us only enough time to finish the portrait session and eat a little before we needed to return to the bus.
Once we were back on the bus the adrenaline wore off and Shelley said the pain and stiffness were becoming more severe. We needed to find a doctor and get x-rays done. Being in a foreign country this would be more difficult. But the ship did have a clinic on our floor with an x-ray machine, so we could go there.
Seeking Medical Care
Travel Medical Insurance
To a certain extent we’ve always had good fortune over the years and have never been in a situation where we needed medical care on any trips (that I can recall anyway). We have had to stop at pharmacies and shopping centers for pain medicine, band-aids, cough medicine, etc.
Now we had a situation that would require seeking medical care in a foreign country. So I needed to check on the coverage provided by our insurance from GeoBlue.
In the past whenever we have traveled outside the country I have gotten some form of Travel Insurance. Usually I do a cost-benefit analysis to decide how much and from whom.
Most travel insurance covers both medical and trip cancellation or disruption. While trip cancellation or disruption can be costly it pales in comparison to the costs of receiving medical care for serious injuries or illness while abroad.
GeoBlue is ONLY travel medical insurance. You can buy reasonably priced plans for an entire family that cover up to $1 million in expenses. It is run by Blue Cross and it is generally considered one of the best travel medical insurances you can get. It also is more streamlined for getting reimbursement and finding providers since it’s not an umbrella travel policy but is focused on just the medical insurance aspect.
I have two Chase credit cards that provide some travel insurance to cover the other possibilities including disruption and cancellation, along with lost luggage. I also often pay extra for plane tickets and cruise fare so I can cancel up to the day of departure and still at least get credits for future travel. Also I almost never prepay for a lower rate on hotels just so that I can pay when I arrive and cancel up to the date of departure.
So basically, my primary concern is the medical aspect and GeoBlue provides great coverage for that purpose.
Still, I needed to call GeoBlue and make sure there were no catches before we used the medical clinic on the ship. We were still docked in Messina a couple hours and if we needed to use a medical facility in Italy we could. Though it was a bit risky now since the ship would depart without us if we were late.
I called GeoBlue and fortunately we could use the medical clinic on the ship and we would be covered. If we were docked in a home port in our home country we would have to exit the ship and seek care in the port with our non-travel insurance. But away from home it was by far the best option and we were covered.
X-Rays
Shelley was in a lot of pain and we were lucky to have the medical facility literally just around the corner from our room. We called the emergency line (the clinic isn’t always open for non-emergencies and they let us in).
Both arms were affected and x-rays were done from the hands to the shoulders. Fortunately, no broken bones were visible on the x-rays, which was at least a partial relief. What the x-rays could not show was soft-tissue damage, and only a CAT scan would reveal these injuries.
Still, at least for now the trip could and would continue on. Our next stop was Katakolon, Greece, the port for Olympia. The medical clinic would attempt to get Shelley into a clinic there to receive the CT scan and further treatment as needed.
Because we were on a cruise-sponsored excursion and no alcohol was involved (they gave her a breathalyzer test), we were not charged for the x-rays and medical care. So in the end we were covered, but it was complimentary. Also, NCL suddenly became a lot more accommodating and helpful to her (and us by extension). We were able to order free room service meals the rest of the trip.
Onward we proceeded toward Greece. It was the country I most looked forward to visiting on the trip. I had never been to Greece and since I am a history buff there are very few places that an match the archaeological sites to be found in Greece (probably only Egypt surpasses it in my mind).
But Shelley would now be wearing a sling and would have to limit her activity considerably. The trip was becoming a gauntlet of challenges to overcome, but we were taking it in stride as much as we could.
By the time we arrived at our port stop in Naples, we were feeling pretty good about the trip. Things were going well after the rocky start with the canceled flight and the lost phone in Barcelona and we had a relatively easy day planned logistically in Naples.
I remembered well my visit to Naples in 2000 when I was backpacking in Italy. It was noticeably poorer than Rome and Tuscany and I remembered well the pickpockets that stood in plain sight in the train stations ready to pilfer from the turned backs of anyone that didn’t know who they were and why they were there.
I also remembered walking outside of the Pompeii archaeological site and feeling a bit more unsettled than in any place I had been on the backpacking trip. I had a sense that if I walked down the wrong street or gave the wrong look to the wrong person, I might regret it.
I decided before we left to take the easy approach and just book an excursion with Viator. I felt the family should go to Pompeii and decided a guided tour of the ruins would be better than visiting it on our own. Pompeii is huge and finding the most interesting locations and really knowing what you are looking at is difficult without a guide.
Since combo tours were offered I chose Mount Vesuvius National Park for the second stop on the tour. With all of the time spent in archaeological zones, museums, and in cities I thought a little nature and hiking would be good. It would also link well with the Pompeii visit since it was an eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii.
The cruise port is right in the city which is convenient, but unlike at the other ports the second you exit the fenced port area you are met by an onslaught of pestering ‘tour guides’. We repeatedly told the swarm of tour guides that we were not interested and were already booked on a tour. I was also mindful to keep my backpack secure while amid the crowd.
Once we found our tour guide we waited while the rest of the group arrived before being led to waiting tour buses. The tour seemed to start a bit later than we hoped. But after a few extra stops in Naples to pick up more guests from hotels (which filled the bus) the tour was underway.
Because it was the height of tourist season, Pompeii was going to be unusually busy. The tour operators decided that we would be better off going to Mount Vesuvius first, then come back to Pompeii when the crowds were lighter in the afternoon.
Mount Vesuvius National Park
The drive up to Mount Vesuvius took us from the urban sprawl of Naples and into a more pleasant region of vineyards and pine forests. I have to admit that I find the city of Naples to be fairly dismal, with crumbling buildings and graffiti visible throughout the urban center. Even the historic castle near the port looks less stately than it’s royal past would indicate.
On the other hand, the city looked more lively and tourist friendly than when I visited in 2000. I didn’t get the eerie, unsafe vibes I got in 2000. There just seems to have been an effort to modernize and improve many of the cities and tourist sites. That was particularly obvious to me at Pompeii. In 2000 the area around Pompeii seemed rundown. Now it was developed with many restaurants.
In the countryside, on the road to the crater of Vesuvius, the surrounding views were rustic and vintage Italy. It also felt good to be away from the swarm of tour guides at the port and on our way to enjoy a late morning hike with views over the Bay of Naples.
The road itself became narrow enough that two tour buses could no longer always pass each other safely. When that happened, one tour bus would be forced to back up until it arrived at a wider section of the roadway. Then we would proceed to pass. Fortunately the game of chicken only occurred a couple times on our trip up the mountain.
Once we arrived at the parking area for the crater trail, we made sure we had some water with us for the short, but steep hike to the crater rim. It was a hot day (in the 90s F) and on Mount Vesuvius the foliage is limited to bushes and wildflowers that provide little shade. Make sure to put on sunscreen as well, since you will be exposed to direct sun for over an hour.
Ascending Mount VesuviusAt Mount Vesuvius National Park
The hike up to the rim takes about 30 minutes. For Daniel and I it was an easy climb. Shelley and Evan also made it up to the crater relatively quickly, despite the heat.
The views into the crater and the wildflowers around the crater were enjoyable. Unfortunately it was a hazy day and we had limited views of the surrounding Bay of Naples.
After hiking back down as a family, we returned to the air-conditioned comfort of the tour bus. Well, actually the bus was more comfortable than the one that we rode in Tuscany, but the A/C still left something to be desired.
On our way back down the tour stopped for a limoncello tasting at a limoncello maker’s store.
Evan holding a gigantic lemon
Evan may not look thrilled to be holding this gigantic lemon, but these are the actual lemons that are grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Monsters they are. And they make some delicious limoncello. We bought 6 small bottles of various flavors.
After enjoying the limoncello tasting, we continued down the road to Pompeii. Before entering the archaeological park, part of the day tour included a pizza lunch. Even if it didn’t, I wouldn’t go to Naples and not have pizza. Naples is the home of pizza.
The pizza was delicious and authentic. The tour took us to a pretty good restaurant near Pompeii at a place where you could watch the pizza be cooked in a wood fire from your table. Outside grapes were growing on a trellis overhead (still too immature and small to be the dark purple they will become).
Despite the nice lunch, we were all getting antsy about getting to Pompeii. We didn’t want to lose any of the promised two hours at the site. Fortunately, even though the lunch seemed to go a bit longer than any of us needed, they didn’t cheat us out of any time in Pompeii.
Pompeii
Exploring the Ruins of PompeiiA Visit to Pompeii
Visiting Pompeii is fascinating. Roman ruins in other areas of Italy have usually suffered the ravages of two millennia of weathering and looting and wars and the structures are only minimally reminiscent of their original form.
Pompeii lets you walk back in time in a way that can’t be matched (except in Herculaneum). The streets are intact. Many of the houses are intact. The art still adorns the walls. The life of the citizens is on display, in all of its often tawdry glory.
I highly recommend taking a guided tour as the guides will take you to some of the most interesting and best preserved areas of the city and offer an explanation of the ruins that would be hard to understand if you visited on your own. When I came in 2000 I walked the vast city on my own and missed everything that I saw on this visit. Last time I saw many of the homes, but the frescoes and details were nothing like I encountered on the tour.
We were led into the city at the Quadriportico and to the best preserved theater that we saw on the trip. That’s the difference between being buried in tons of pumice versus exposed to the open air.
Next we visited the homes of some wealthy residents and enjoyed the frescoes of hunting scenes and beautiful gods and goddesses and everyday Romans in daily life. We saw the mosaics and reliefs and the everyday items that survived the hellish, gaseous inferno. We even saw childrens’ scratches depicting gladiators on a wall. Never would have seen that on my own.
It soon becomes obvious that the residents of Pompeii enjoyed two past times in particular: gladiator fights and lovemaking. Yes, they were not prudes and frescoes depict what was on offer at a brothel and at the bath house. The same Romans that were amazing architects and engineers and scientists and philosophers and statesmen were also good at enjoying life. Except for the gladiators, who had to fight to retain theirs.
I had considered going to Herculaneum instead of Pompeii, but decided that my family should visit Pompeii first, even though the ruins of Herculaneum are even better preserved. The reason is that Pompeii has something that Herculaneum doesn’t: the eerie plaster casts of the deceased residents.
The casts are haunting and horrifying and fascinating at the same time. You can see the residents as they were, in their last moments. The tragedy really hits home when you see the casts of entire families that died together in the museum. Everyday citizens lived and died in Pompeii in AD 79.
After the tour we were ready to have some gelato before the drive back to the ship. We did get our gelato, but only after dealing with some very ride and pushy people that literally stepped in front of our child before he could order. We even said we were a family and were ordering together, but to no avail. They had to have their gelato before our child. We just encountered a lot of rude people throughout the trip.
Fortunately the gelato was cool and delicious and what we needed after a long hot day. We were happy even if we had to deal with some rudeness to end our day.
In the next blog post, I’ll tell about our visit to Sicily, from the port of Messina to the very beautiful town of Taormina.
If there is one city that is particularly difficult to visit on a cruise port stop, it is Rome. The city is a full 1.5 hours away from the port by train or vehicle from the port city of Civitavecchia. Still, there are few cities in the world with more to see and do and more centuries of history to explore.
I had decided in advance that we would make our own way to Rome and not take one of the very expensive cruise excursions on offer. There were two main reasons for this: 1) The sheer cost which was around $300/person for breeze-through visits to a few sites 2) I wanted at least one day to take the trains and metros like I had done when I was a much younger backpacker.
Norwegian Cruise Lines did give us a longer stop in Rome, docking at 6:46 AM and departing at 7:00 PM. But the logistics of the stop are daunting. As I mentioned the train ride is 1.5 hours each direction (slightly shorter if you stop at the San Pietro station nearer the Vatican). You have to also take a bus from the port to the train station. And then you have to take metros, buses or taxis to points of interest in Rome. Sites aren’t all nearby each other either, so expect a lot of walking too.
My plan for the day was to focus on ancient Rome since I knew it was simply not logistically possible to see both the Vatican and the ancient sites in one cruise stop day. We would take the 8:00 train from Civitavecchia to the Roma Termini station. At 9:30ish we would arrive and take the metro to the Colosseo stop (about 10 minutes away). We would visit Palatine Hill first, followed by the Colosseum (at designated times of 11:15 and 11:45 (I’ll explain below the two different times), and then walk through the Forum.
Afterward we would walk over Capitoline Hill, have lunch and visit Trevi Fountain before visiting the Pantheon at 3:00 PM (when we had entrance tickets). Finally we would taxi across the Tiber to visit Castel Sant Angelo and then return to Civitavecchia on the 5PM train (cutting it a tad close).
What ended up happening was more limited and is a reflection of the time and logistical constraints of visiting Rome on a cruise stop.
Arrival in Civitavecchia
Taking the train from Civitavecchia to Roma Termini
We arrived in Rome at 6:45 and since we had pre-purchased our train tickets for a 8:00AM train on the TrenItalia site, we had a relatively easy time making it to the train station on time. We could have taken a slightly earlier train but we didn’t know how busy the cruise port buses would be (very busy) and wanted to avoid risking missing the train.
Once aboard the train we realized that the scheduled time for the arrival in Roma Termini (the station closest to the Colosseum and other sites in central Rome) was a bit longer than the posted time. Instead of the 1 hour and 15 minutes that was posted on the app, the arrival time was closer to 1 hour 30 minutes.
Also, upon arrival you realize that Roma Termini is a huge station and just getting from the platforms to the metro can take quite a while and be quite a distance (we really found this out on the way back). Finally, when we arrived we needed to make a bathroom stop and went to a cafe outside to do so (buying a cappuccino to get entrance to the bathroom), not realizing there was a convenient bathroom inside the station.
So by the time we actually arrived outside the Colosseum from Metro Line B, it was already close to 10:30 AM. We also saw crowds that dwarfed even those we encountered in Pisa the day before. The area outside the Colosseum was a mass of humanity and the lines to enter the sites were very long with more security than anywhere else we went on the trip.
Visiting Rome on a Cruise Ship Stop
Ancient Rome
First let me state the obvious to anyone that is coming to visit Rome in the height of tourist season: you can’t just show up at the Colosseum and other sites and just walk in. You have to buy tickets in advance and if you want to see special sites or take particular tours, you will need to buy them days in advance (and the minute the sales begin for certain tours like the Colosseum Underground). The ticketing site is colosseo.it. Note also the site is down at hours in which the sites aren’t open in Italy time.
I had pre-purchased tickets for everything on the trip, but the most challenging by far was the tickets I needed for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Forum. My initial plan was to buy four Colosseum Underground tours (under 18 is free) as soon as the tickets were available online. The same tickets give you access to all the sites on Palatine Hill (including the SUPER sites which I’ll mention below), and the Forum, as well as the arena floor and 2nd and 3rd levels of the Colosseum).
What ended up happening was at 1:00 AM, 30 days before our arrival day in Rome, I ended up somehow only buying 2 adult tickets to the Colosseum Underground tour. I emailed their customer support to try to add our two kids and received no response until only a couple days before we left. And that response was of no use whatsoever.
Since we had only two full access tickets to the Underground Tour I ended up buying additional tickets to the SUPER sites (which also provide access the the Colosseum and the Forum, but not the Underground or the Arena) and 2 tickets for the Colosseum Arena (which only allows access the the arena).
Confusing? Yeah, but still less expensive than the hundreds of dollars we would have spent going through a third-party and we knew exactly what we were getting. A lot of times the third-party tour vendors sell tickets they don’t even have and cancel if they can’t get the tickets.
We had to make a decision, though. Who goes to the Underground and who goes to the Arena and spends more time on Palatine Hill at the SUPER sites? I had heard the Underground Tour was the most sought after tour in all of Rome (seriously). The reason I didn’t have 4 tickets was they were gone instantly and the system didn’t give me the chance to update the request. We had two tickets and we didn’t want to lose them.
But we couldn’t leave the two kids and go on the tour as two adults. Eventually I made a decsion to give the tickets to Shelley and our youngest son Evan. I decided Daniel and I would find the Palatine sites more interesting than Evan would, and Evan would benefit more from a tour that explained the history of the Colosseum.
On arriving, we found the entrance and security lines were so long (the security process was only a step below that of an airport) just to get into the Palatine Hill/Forum area that once we entered we had to separate. Shelley and Evan had to go check in at the Colosseum for their tour at 11:15 (where even longer lines awaited). Daniel and I set about quickly locating the Palatine Hill SUPER sites.
Palatine Hill
Sites of Palatine Hill
There are seven SUPER sites on Palatine Hill and you need special entrance tickets to visit the SUPER sites.
SUPER stands for Seven Unique Places to Experience in Rome. Of the seven sites Daniel and I were able to visit the House of Augustus, The Palatine Museum, and the Aula Isiaca and Loggia Mattei. We would have visited them all but needed to leave Palatine Hill to visit the Colosseum at our timed entry time of 12:00.
Our first stop was the House of Augustus (which is displayed above as the rooms with red frescos and geometric floors). Even though we had passes to enter the house, we still had to join a tour to see the rooms. Since we were time constrained we joined a tour in Italian and though we had no idea what was being said, we found it a very interesting site.
Our next stop was the Palatine Museum. The Palatine Museum provides a more in depth look at the full history of Rome, starting with the earliest settlements. There are some interesting artifacts and exhibits to peruse, although the museum itself is rather small. We only went through one of two wings, due to time.
Finally we went to the Aula Isiaca and the Loggia Mattei. The Aula Isiaca was an underground room of the House of Augustus. The ceiling of the adjoining Loggia Mattei is really impressive (the white ceiling fresco above).
All of these sites appear in the video that I made which I linked above.
Colosseum
Our Journey through the Colosseum
I just finished watching The Gladiator. It such a great movie and one of my favorites. Interesting fact: the last time I was in the Colosseum was the year 2000, when the original was released (I was 24). 24 years later, the sequel is coming out in 2024. And here I am again.
Daniel and I were not on the Underground tour. I have to admit I made another booking error, which is easy on that stressful ticketing site. I booked our Colosseum entrance time for the arena at the exact same time as our entrance to the main tourist areas. The gate manager at the arena told us to go into the main area first and then when we finished he’d let us into the arena.
The unfortunate reality of the Colosseum is that on a typical summer day it has simply too many people to enjoy. It’s very hard to find any free space and it was simply not very enjoyable being in a moving herd of people. The Colosseum is an awe inspiring site, but there is really such a thing as overcrowded. I know they tried to alleviate that with the timed-entry, but it’s just better to try to go when the crowds are lighter (evenings or off-season).
We also noticed just how many concurrent, and lame, tours are being led through the building at the same time. And many of these tour guides are clearly not qualified to lead a tour. I heard a woman point to some artifacts and say “And over here there are these things”.
Once we were sufficiently done with our attempt to find a place to take photographs, and done shaking our heads at the less-than-educated tour guides who tourists overpaid to listen to, we were ready to go to the arena. We walked back over and the security guard let us in as promised.
The arena was less crowded, though the video shows it was hardly empty. It was also nice to be able to look at the Colosseum from the viewpoint of the gladiators of two millennium past.
Interestingly we saw and waved to Shelley who was still in the Underground Tour just below us.
The Underground
I mentioned earlier that the Underground tickets are some of the most sought after and hard to get tickets in Rome. People will pay hundreds of dollars to get into the Underground of the Colosseum.
We were surprised that Shelley and Evan were still in the Underground, however. And even after Daniel and I were in the Forum for a half hour, they were still in the Underground. The tour was just a lot longer than they or we expected even though there really wasn’t that much to see. The tour guide apparently just repeated herself over and over to the point where they were eager to be done.
The Underground was interesting and the exhibits and views were something the average visitor can’t enjoy. There is a lift to demonstrate how animals were elevated to the arena. There were helmets and the labyrinth of passageways. But when they finally met us in the Forum a while later, they were clearly disappointed to have missed out on many sites on Palatine Hill. They also do get to see the arena floor and the rest of the Colosseum.
I think if you have limited time I would NOT do the Underground tour. It’s interesting, but eats up a lot of time and there’s just not that much more to see there than in the other areas. It is more intimate with far fewer people and you do get a tour (although they repeat the same information over and over). But I think with a limited time window you’re better off getting the arena ticket and the SUPER pass for the rest of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum.
I think everyone should see the Colosseum at least once, but truthfully, I don’t think I will go there the next time I am in Rome. There’s just too much else to see and do and the crowds are a lot to manage.
The Forum
Sites from the Roman Forum
While the Colosseum was hard to enjoy due to the crowds, the Forum was more relaxed and enjoyable. We first went to view the Arch of Titus which stands at the entrance (look closely at the engravings on the inner surfaces of the arch – one depicts the sacking of Jerusalem and the other a four horse chariot), then made our way to the Temple of the Vestal Virgins.
I somehow missed the Temple of the Vestals when I was younger, and like much of this trip, everything was new to me. It’s clear that Rome has spent time improving the layout of the exhibits in the past 24 years and I found it much easier to find specific sites within the Forum.
I next went to two of the better preserved buildings: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the Temple of Romulus. In both cases (especially the Temple of Romulus) it’s clear that a conversion to a church saved the building from destruction. Much of the glory of Rome is best found in ancient buildings that were for a time a church (even the Colosseum).
When we exited the Temple of Romulus we received a text that Shelley and Evan were finally in the Forum and we walked back up to meet them at the Arch of Titus. They were tired and we were all hungry and it was now 2:00 PM.
How were we going to get to the Pantheon by 3:00 PM. The plan was unraveling quickly.
Change of Plans
We were quickly realizing that Rome was too big and our time too limited to stick to the original schedule. To get to the Pantheon we would need to either hail a taxi, or return to Termini Station to get to the other metro line. Getting a taxi amid the mass of humanity near the Colosseum was going to be impossible so we started back to Termini Station.
Once we got to Termini Station it was already 2:15 PM. We were never going to make it to the Pantheon at 3:00 PM. Now what?
I had booked train tickets from the San Pietro station which was not even directly accessible from Termini. You had to get off at the Ottaviano stop on the A line (near the Vatican) then walk about 3km to the station.
I was also now realizing that leaving that station at 5PM would be perilously close to the cutoff for returning to the ship, depending on how how slow the train was (expecting at least 1 hour 15 minutes from that station plus another 20 minutes for the bus ride).
The hard reality was that not only were we going to miss the Pantheon but we really ought to just start back to the ship now. We had seen the central core of Ancient Rome and that would have to be enough. You can’t expect to see more than a limited area on a cruise ship stop.
I went onto the Tren Italia phone application (be sure to install it before coming to Italy), and bought us four new tickets to Civitavecchia for 2:45 PM. Once I finished purchasing them we strated off toward the train gate.
If there is one thing to 100% know about the Roma Termini station in advance is that it is HUGE. We were already at the station but to walk to the gate was a long, long walk. We ended up having to run to make it to the train on time. Once aboard we breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly remembered we hadn’t eaten lunch.
Back in Civitavecchia
I felt good about our day in Rome even if it didn’t include many sites I had wanted to see. We still got special access to the Palatine and Colosseum sites and enjoyed the Forum. We rode the train into the city (as a true traveler to Europe should – at least once) and then rode the metro. But we had no time to even get a cool gelato.
The train station in Civitavecchia had some desserts in an adjoining cafe so we got some cannoli and other desserts. I ate my cannoli too fast for it to be photographed. It was on my must-eat list for Italy.
Final Thoughts
I think Rome has so much to see and do that even if you had multiple days it’s really hard to see more than just the surface. Even when I came to Rome in my 20s I had three days and could devote whole days to places like the Vatican, and still felt rushed. Coming on a cruise ship…forget about it.]
You have to have limited expectations for a visit to Rome on a cruise ship. Pick a small area and just see the sites there. And see them well. Don’t let the crowds usher you in and out. Don’t take a whirlwind tour and try to see it all.
Rome is 2700 years old. It’s the Eternal City. Plan on coming back and seeing more.
The next post will take us to Naples to visit Mount Vesuvius and the archaeological site of Pompeii.
While the trip had started off on a rather rocky note, by the time we arrived at our first stop in Italy, we were beginning to hit our groove.
Arrival in Livorno
Our cruise ship docked in Livorno, Italy at 6:00 AM and we were immediately hit with a bizarre concern: would we be able to exit the port?
Livorno’s cruise port is in an industrial area and for safety reasons, you are not allowed to walk from the ship to the city. The city provides shuttle buses to transport passengers to the city center of Livorno for 7 Euro (my 11 year old was free if I recall).
The problem was we had not picked up any Euros in the previous days and had only our credit cards. Additionally we had booked a non-ship excursion so NCL would not cover our transportation for us.
We called the Guest Services in the early morning and were told the buses only accept cash. I then checked for any blogs or YouTube videos by recent cruise ship passengers that might know better (because we were quickly realizing the NCL staff seemed to be rather uninformed). We found one blog that mentioned paying by credit card.
Finally, since our family ocean view cruise cabin on the 5th floor was right above the gangway on the 4th (it really was an ideal location), I just exited the ship and walked over to the shuttle bus ticketers.
I want everyone here to know: THE SHUTTLE BUS TICKETERS IN LIVORNO, ITALY DO ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS. So no worries. But do stop by an ATM when you arrive in Europe or wherever you go soon after arrival and get some of the local currency.
I bought our shuttle bus tickets from the nice lady who told me I could just show our receipts and hop straight onto the bus when my family returned with me an hour later. There was indeed a much longer line when we were all ready to depart so perhaps as a tip to all the cruise passengers out there hoping to save time, either be off the ship right when the gangway opens or have one of your party buy the bus tickets on arrival and save time with boarding the bus later.
After we had all showered and eaten some breakfast, we walked off the ship and right onto the bus, getting dark looks from the poor souls in the bus line who thought we must be somehow cutting even though we had receipts. Once onboard it was a quick ten minute ride to the center of Livorno.
We had two cities planned for the day: Lucca and Pisa. Most of the cruise passengers make the jaunt to Florence. And that is understandable. I went to Florence when I was 24 years old and the city is filled with some of the greatest art and architecture of all of Italy. Really the world.
But coming on a cruise stop is difficult since you are arriving in a time window with other day trippers and even in the year 2000 the city was absolutely crushed by tourists midday. Additionally if you go to Florence via train from the cruise ship don’t try to go elsewhere during the day. Make it your only stop or you will see very little. More on that in the Rome section.
We decided to find another Tuscan town that would be a lot more relaxed but still give us the opportunity to really enjoy Tuscany. After quite a bit of reading and video watching we decided Lucca was the place. Close enough to visit by train too, with Pisa a logical stop along the way.
But just to give you an idea of the logistics of this cruise port, from the point where you are dropped off by the port shuttle buses you still have to take another bus to the train station. And then the trains take you to the local train stations in Lucca and Pisa which aren’t right by the areas you want to visit. In Pisa it’s an hour walk.
After considering that reality, we found a Lucca and Pisa On Your Own tour offered by the Shore Excursions group. I decided it was ideal for our purposes and would remove some of the logistical hurdles from this cruise stop.
We got into Livorno an hour before our excursion would depart from the same city square, which gave us time to shop for necessities and to stop at an ATM.
Church in Livorno
One complication with the tour was that if you wanted to go up the leaning tower you’d have to know exactly when you’d be in Pisa. I knew in advance that to climb the tower you were limited to a time slot and that those time slots would fill up quickly in the primary tourist season.
You can buy those tickets in advance here from the official site: Piazza del Duomo in Pisa. Notre that third party vendors sell these tickets for a massive markup. Don’t waste your money.
But again, now that we were on an On Your Own excursion I had to know when we’d be in Pisa. So from reading the tour description and the start times….if it was an hour from Livorno to Lucca and the tour started at 10:30 AM, then we’d spend 3 hours in Lucca before a half our bus ride to Pisa, where we would spend 1.5 hours. So we’d be in Pisa from 3PM until 4:30 PM. If the description was accurate.
So I held my breath and bout tickets for 3:45 for the tower. If we missed going up at least we’d have ticket entry to everything else in the square. Again, it was an On Your Own tour so they were providing no tickets to anything but were just providing transportation to the cities.
Waiting to start the tour in Livorno
Once the tour time arrived we boarded a surprisingly full tour bus (it appeared that a couple different cruise lines were in port and it was a popular excursion) and off we went on our way to Lucca.
Lucca
Lucca was one of my favorite places on the trip. It was relaxed and offered a real taste of genuine Tuscany without the massive crowds we would have faced in Florence.
First Sights of Lucca
We arrived in Lucca just outside the city walls and proceeded through the huge gates into the historic city center. We made our very necessary stop for gelato first and wound our way through the labyrinth of narrow streets (with cars and trucks sometimes passing through) to find first the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, then the Guinigi Tower.
Guinigi Tower
We read about the Guinigi Tower in the months prior to the trip and that not only was it the tallest structure in Lucca, but trees were growing on top of it. And you could climb to the top via 233 steps.
Climbing Guinigi TowerViews from atop Guinigi Tower
After enjoying Guinigi Tower we wanted to go ride bicycles on the city wall. It’s a popular activity and our youngest Evan really wanted to do it (and so did we).
The bicycle rentals were over near where we entered the city through the wall so we started back in that direction. As we were going, Daniel noticed a Torture Museum. It wasn’t mentioned as being a highlight of the city in any guides, but I figured we could afford to make a quick stop there.
The Turture Museum was small and obviously macabre. It had some interesting exhibits but overall it was a bit of a time waster since we only had three hours in Lucca. Most of these devices of torture can be seen in other novelty museums and they didn’t have any real relevance to Lucca (thankfully).
Exhibits at the Torture Museum
After exiting the museum we made a swift walk to the bicycle rentals. We rented four bikes and chains to lock them and off we went on the path atop the city wall.
City Wall
The ride was really easy going and enjoyable. We still needed to eat lunch and along the way I saw what looked like it would be a good place to get some pizza (because what else would be a higher priority on our first day in Italy).
The pizza was indeed very good and authentic. Shelley had a calzone.
One thing I enjoy about eating at restaurants in Europe is the seating is usually at least half outdoors. I like eating outdoors because it feels more relaxed and it’s less of an echo chamber with loud diners (which we are not). Also it’s fun to watch birds and other critters hop around nearby.
After our meal we hopped back on the bikes and completed the circuit of the city wall. At that point we didn’t have much time left so we quickly went to get some souvenirs (I have a shot glass collection and I needed one from Lucca), and then we walked back through the gate to the waiting tour bus.
The bus was pretty hot. I’m not sure what the issue was with the air conditioning, but it was not very comfortable. Pisa was even hotter.
Pisa
I had mentioned earlier that I bought the Leaning Tower entrance tickets a couple months in advance and chose what I assumed would be the middle of our visit time. We actually arrived a little later than 3 PM and then the parking area was about a half mile from the Piazza del Duomo.
So once we arrived in the piazza we were very hot and we needed to get a quick drink, then get in line to enter the tower. But we did indeed get there at the right time for the entrance tickets.
The Piazza was also very crowded, unlike Lucca. There were thousands of people in the walled courtyard and it was definitely a foreshadowing of what to expect in Rome the next day.
Leaning Tower
The climb to the top of the tower is a little disorienting since you really feel the lean. As you are ascending into the lean it feels like you are on a gentler slope that suddenly gets steeper as you wind your way around the tower. Shelley did not fell well on the steps and decided not to climb the whole way.
At the top you have the satisfaction of seeing the surrounding duomo and baptistry as well as the surrounding city. Pisa is also very pretty, but crowded.
After enjoying the views and seeing the bells atop the bell tower (it is after all a bell tower that happens to lean), Shelley and Evan decided to start back on the walk to the bus. The heat and the busy day were definitely fatiguing.
Duomo
Daniel and I had entrance tickets for the other sites in the Piazza and first went to the Duomo.
I have been in many cathedrals around the world and I found the one in Pisa is among the most impressive. It’s certainly on par with the more famous Duomo of Florence, even if it doesn’t have Brunelleschi’s dome. Of course I do need to get back to Florence some day.
Unfortunately I realized later my camera lens had now acquired a smudge so some of the photos look a little out washed out at the bottom. But I still got some good camera and video coverage in Pisa.
After briefly enjoying the Duomo, we went to the nearby Baptistry.
Baptistry
The Baptistry was nearly as ornate but was also a very interesting visit. We walked to the upper level and around to see a great view of the piazza toward the Duomo and Leaning Tower. I recommend watching the video linked above for a better view since the photos were affected by the lens issue.
Camposanto
Daniel encouraged me to to go to one more interesting structure just to the north of the Baptistry. The maps called it the Camposanto but I really didn’t know what it was at first. We learned shortly after that it housed the tombs of many great Pisans, including Leonardo Fibonacci.
The Camposanto
Of course, being a computer programmer, finding Fibonacci’s tomb was extra fun (1,2,3,5,8,13,21….). Yu can see more in the video of our exploration.
Afterward we jogged back toward the bus until we were sure that we were safely on time (and caught up to Shelley and Evan). We stopped for a few more souvenirs and then hopped on the bus back.
Interestingly the bus took us all the way back to the cruise ship. I’m not sure why we were able to be driven in on the return, but it was a nice time saver.
The last time I was in Europe I was 24 years old, which was ironically 24 years ago (the year 2000). And strangely enough this year happens to be 2024.
Too much time had passed since I last traveled to Europe and we had never gone as a family. We wanted to wait until the kids were old enough to really understand and appreciate the places we would be going. Additionally, traveling as a family to Europe is relatively expensive so it wasn’t something we could afford to do without a bit more time planning and saving. Which was well over a year.
Finally we just decided 2024 was a special year, being our 20th wedding anniversary year and both kids graduating (my oldest from high school and my youngest from grade school into junior high). So it was the right time to make not only a Europe trip, but a BIG Europe trip.
We spent time looking at a number of different trip concepts that might visit various countries before deciding that, because we were traveling as a family and were no longer twenty-something backpackers, it would be easier to not have to relocate our luggage frequently from hotel to hotel and train to train.
So we decided to look at options for a Mediterranean cruise. But if we were doing a cruise I wanted to make sure it hit a lot of ports that we wold find interesting as a family. While I had visited Italy in my twenties, the rest of the family had not. I have always been interested in Greek history so that was another country that was high on our interest list. And finally, Spain and Barcelona in particular, was a country I had missed the last time I was in Europe and was pretty determined to visit the next time I made it to the Old World.
So if we could link together a cruise to those countries, and any others that might be come with it, we’d be pretty happy. Fortunately we did indeed find a repositioning cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines that would travel from Barcelona, Spain to Cannes, France, to four ports in Italy, and three ports in Greece before disembarking in Athens.
A nine day cruise with two additional days in Barcelona and two more in Athens. Thirteen days (fourteen with the flight time). I did look into extending it a little more too so we could visit more of Spain, but realized that we would be better served just focusing our time in Barcelona and saving the rest of Spain for a future trip. And I also knew our work schedules just wouldn’t allow going past fourteen days. So there it was.
While a cruise would seem simple to plan, it was actually quite a bit more challenging since we would be flying out in the height of the European travel season and had to fly into and out of Barcelona and Athens on specific days with no flexibility in the schedule. And for whatever reason the price of flights to and from Europe has just been much higher than it has been in previous years. Part of that is travel demand. Part of that is fuel prices. Part of that is just BS from the airlines.
But we had over a year to plan and watch prices. Eventually in December of 2023 we realized the flights weren’t going to decrease in price and just booked what seemed the best flights to fit our work schedules and to arrive at the best possible times. And I watched all the local ticketing sites to be sure to buy our entrance tickets to attractions ahead of what I knew would be massive crush of other tourists in many of the cities.
We put so much time into researching everything about the places we were going and getting every itinerary for every day hammered out in advance that we were almost tired of it by the time we were ready to depart. But we knew that because we were taking a cruise, we’d have to be extra diligent about our time on shore at each stop. Additionally, we didn’t want to pay the inflated prices the cruise line wanted for excursions. We’d either do it on our own or book with a third party.
I will say at the outset that all of the many, many hours spent planning was what made difference in the eventual outcome of this epic journey. I will also say that we had to overcome a lot along the way and we learned a great deal from the experiences. No, this was not a relaxing vacation. It was never meant to be, but it was also at times highly stressful. To a degree we’ve never endured before on a vacation.
I do hope that if you have read this far you’ll take the time to read the whole account. And truly, it is a story that is filled with highs and lows but ultimately I think it’s one that is a testament to our ability to persevere and take on every challenge that comes our way.
The Flight Out
We booked flights on United Airlines. We’ve been Mileage Plus miles collectors for years. We have United Explorer visa cards and we typically convert our Chase Sapphire points to United miles. We used United for almost all of our recent air travel, either cashing out miles for free flights or buying the flights and acquiring the miles with it.
And on top of that we booked the cruise with United Cruises. Just to get the bonus miles post-cruise. Basically, we pile up miles so that we can travel more. On United.
We were never going to have enough miles to get free flights to Europe so we decided to just buy the flights (reluctantly) and earn the resulting miles from trans-Atlantic flights. Since we had the visa cards we can board the plane early and we could use the United lounge in Denver before the long flight out.
Almost nothing went without a hitch in the days leading up to our departure, but fortunately we did manage to all get in the car and arrive at the airport on time. And even though the parking experience was chaotic, we did get through security and to the lounge without too much trouble.
The United Lounge in Denver was a lot more crowded than we expected, but at least there was free food and drinks before the long flight to Munich, where we would connect on a Lufthansa flight to Barcelona. And clean, private bathrooms to get ourselves prepped to sleep on the flight.
When it was time to arrive at the gate for boarding we were there. We got into line right at the front of our boarding group. And readied ourselves to board the flight.
Then it was announced. We were delayed. Not because of weather or a late arriving plane. We were losing our pilot and crew to another flight to London that had been delayed two hours already. The unprofessional employees at the gate assured the waiting travelers that another crew was on their way. In the meantime we could eat snacks and drink bottled water.
We weren’t concerned. We have given ourselves a five hour cushion on the connection. That cushion would save our butts. Or so we thought.
We waited with several hundred agitated travelers as the hours passed and the delays continued to be extended. The gate employees laughed and chatted while frustrated passengers explained that they were now unlikely to make their connections and if there were other flights available. The employees nonchalantly either ignored the passengers or repeated the claim that a new crew was on their way.
We’re ok though. The hours were ticking by. The five hour window was now whittled down to two hours. No longer enough time to eat a restaurant meal in Munich.
At midnight, we were suddenly slammed with unbelievable news. The flight was canceled.
The Flight is Canceled?! Are you !*#$@& Kidding Me?
No, the flight was really canceled.
Now what do we do? Ok, we did have two full days in Barcelona planned before boarding the cruise. But the number of flights available to us at such short notice that could accommodate four passengers was limited.
Had United not toyed with us all night we might have had more options. But now our entire trip was in jeopardy.
My wife Shelley and I looked online for a substitute flight. We got on the phone with United customer care and booked the next, best available flights: Air Canada from Denver to Montreal, and then to Frankfurt, followed by a Lufthansa flight to Barcelona. We would arrive a day late and would lose a day in the hotel. Would they even keep our reservation?
We demanded a hotel at the hotel from United and were given two rooms at a hotel several miles away (fine), and then went to reclaim our checked luggage. By the time we arrived at the hotel it was already about 3:00 AM, and we still had to check into our Air Canada flights online and call the hotel to let them know we were still coming. Just a day late.
We had to get up at 6:00 AM in order to shower, eat breakfast at the hotel, and take an Uber back to the hotel (the shuttle was already fully booked for the time we needed). We ended up getting no sleep. While lying in bed I booked a new entrance time at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona since we would no longer be there at 9:00 AM the following day.
We managed to get back to the airport and checked in with Air Canada. And luckily this time we took off on schedule. At last we were going east now.
We arrived in Montreal and went through passport controls. Our next flight to Frankfurt was another Air Canada flight which made the connection easier. Still, we had to deal with an announcement that Air Canada would force everyone to check their luggage if not enough people voluntarily checked their carry-ons. We began stuffing clothes into our backpacks. The entire point of the carry-ons was to cover us just in case there was a problem with our luggage.
Despite the threat, we were never forced to check our carry-ons. We boarded the plane and had an inner section of four seats all to ourselves. Had it not been for the two obnoxious German twenty-somethings sitting behind us we might actually have been able to sleep. Instead we spent the flight having our seats pushed and listening to them loudly chat and laugh. A couple of Deutsche bags.
We did cross the Atlantic. That was the hard part. Even if the Lufthansa flight was somehow screwed up, we had many options now with all the regional airlines in Europe. The only thing we had to deal with now was our own exhaustion and getting through the Frankfurt airport security.
And another delay. This one only an hour. I had canceled our Welcome Pickup from the prior day an had booked a new one for our arrival in Barcelona. I messaged the driver on Whats App that we’d be coming in a bit late but we’d hurry through security and baggage claim. Fortunately, there was no security check on arrival in Barcelona.
Exhaustion was taking a toll and we were starting to get irritable, but inevitably we arrived in Barcelona. Our checked luggage arrived too. And after a quick stop at the bathroom we were almost feeling relieved.
Day 1: Barcelona At Last
I mentioned Welcome Pickups in the prior section and I want to tout it here again. I first heard about it on a YouTube video by a guy that does travel videos in Spain. I looked it up and booked us a pickup from the airport to our hotel: Hotel Balmes.
Our Welcome Pickups driver Cesar was great. Friendly, full of information, and ready to assist us any way we needed. I looked at the time and reluctantly admitted we were not likely to make it to the Sagrada Familia in time for the 2:00 PM tower visit, Another set of tickets lost and the opportunity to see Sagrada Familia in person gone.
Well, it was only 1:15 PM. There’s still a chance. Right? Cesar called our hotel and arranged for us to drop off our luggage and then check in later. And to have a taxi waiting to take us from the hotel to the Sagrada Familia. How cool is that?
Sagrada Familia
When all seemed lost we were walking around the outside of the cathedral looking for the entrance. We found it, showed them our tickets, and we were the very last people into the tower before closing on a Saturday afternoon. Everyone in Barcelona seemed to be really nice.
At Sagrada Familia an hour after landing in Barcelona
Again we landed at the airport at 1:00 PM and we were taking these photos at 2:00 PM. The very fact that we were able to visit Sagrada Familia with it closing only moments later and with no availability the next day was an enormous win. We took the stairway down the tower (the view from the towers is admittedly not that great), but we were able to enjoy the stained glass at its best.
After an hour we decided it was in our best interest to head back to the hotel and check in, as well as get desperately needed rest. Well, at least a shower and a change of clothes.
Hotel Balmes is in the Eixample neighborhood and I highly recommend it. It’s very difficult to find rooms in Europe for four people. Hotel Balmes has some great family rooms set on two levels with outdoor porches that worked great for us. Also the staff was very nice and helpful. And finally, it’s not necessarily a short walk to most of the attractions, but if you are willing to do a bit of a hike, you can get to the Gothic Quarter or Sagrada Familia.
Both kids wanted to sleep, which was absolutely fine. Shelley and I wanted Tapas. We didn’t go all this way to be denied our Tapas. And luckily there is a great Tapas restaurant only a couple blocks from the hotel called Cerveceria Catalana.
Enjoying Tapas in Barcelona after staying awake for 24 hours
I had effectively done 24 hours+ without sleep when this picture was taken at the Tapas restaurant. I know the food was great though and the two beers we each had hit the spot. I remember the cuttlefish in particular. Oh to have had another night and a slower pace in Barcelona.
The Gothic Quarter
After two hours of bleary-eyed tapas enjoyment, Shelley and I took our churros and chocolate desserts for the kids back to the hotel. They were both largely awake and I said we would go to the Picasso Museum as a family. After all, I had paid to book new tickets for a new time and we were not going to miss out on anything we could do before boarding the ship.
I will admit that was a mistake. The family was past the point of exhausted. We should have just gotten some food and let everyone sleep. Instead we hopped in a taxi and hopped out in the Gothic Quarter a half block from the Picasso Museum.
As we were standing in the museum our teenage son Daniel asked to see my phone. He wanted to check Live 360. He had left his phone in the taxi, and we could see it was moving from stop to stop nearby.
I didn’t know what to say other than to console him. Getting it back would be a tall order. I won’t go further into details but the rest of the evening was not much fun because he simply wouldn’t keep his emotions in check.
Losing a phone is hard. I broke one several years ago on vacation, and another time I dropped one in the San Antonio Riverwalk right at the start of our vacation. In many of the photos you’ll see myself and Shelley with lanyards either at our hip or over our neck. The lanyards are there to protect from the potential of either dropping our phone or having it pickpocketed. I highly recommend getting one.
The Gothic Quarter
We managed to get through the museum and to be honest, it wasn’t as good as I was hoping but the medieval palace that houses the museum was itself worth seeing. It was hard (impossible) to relax though because of the complicated phone situation.
Because of the flight fiascos and the my son’s losing a phone I felt like Barcelona got short-changed on the trip. Shelley and I want to come back and we’ll probably do it as part of a Spain-only trip (Portugal and Morocco might sneak in there too).
I will say that of all the places we went, the Barcelonés were the nicest and most welcoming.
Day 2: Barcelona and Boarding the Cruise Ship
With all we had been through in the past 48 hours it was feeling as if our vacation was going sideways badly. The next morning we made a last effort to recover the phone before we left the city, while still trying to regroup enough to get the vacation back on track.
We ate breakfast in the hotel and then I left my phone with Daniel so that he could remain in the room and respond if anyone did report finding his phone. Shelley, Evan, and I walked to nearby Casa Mila.
Casa Mila
Casa Mila was enjoyable and quite impressive. We needed a chance to decompress and the whimsical house was a perfect place to do it. We could do nothing about the missing phone and Daniel was still aggrieved over it, but we also needed a chance to enjoy ourselves.
Enjoying Casa Mila
Barcelona was Antoni Gaudi’s personal art studio and his architectural dreams are to be found all throughout the city. I was disappointed to not be able to visit Park Guell (we were supposed to go that morning), but I think Casa Mila was in many ways a bit better for us at the time.
What I enjoyed the most was the attic space where his vision came to life in the exhibits. Gaudi loved the natural world and looked to it for inspiration. He also was a brilliant architect and understood how to take simple chains and turn them into models for his structures.
As noon approached it was time to walk back to the hotel and check out. Daniel’s phone was still missing. We would have to leave without it. Perhaps it would be returned to the hotel after we departed and could be sent back from there.
We took a cab to the port and got in line. Daniel was still upset but was gradually beginning to accept the reality that his phone was gone. The trip had to go on. We made it on board and ate the first of what would be many less than stellar meals on the Norwegian Getaway.
Aboard the ship
Norwegian Getaway
Our cabin was a family ocean view on deck five, and it was in am ideal location for debarking and reboarding the ship since we were only one level above the gangway. And the bathroom in the cabin was quite nice since it had a double sink and a bathtub.
Once onboard we really needed to go to sleep. Desperately. We eschewed everything going on on the ship and called it a very early night. We’d been through a lot and just needed a rest. Tomorrow would come soon enough and we were ready to start the voyage.
I will tell you a lot more about this ship as we continue in the blog post, but to cut to the chase, while we really liked the ports that the cruise took us to, we didn’t care much for the ship or NCL as a whole. Of all the cruise lines we have been on we found that NCL was the most lacking when it came to matching price to value.
Day 3: Ile Saint-Margarite and Cannes, France
We had one stop in France on the cruise and and it was to Cannes. I will say that there are two sides to Cannes: The old, historic section, and the obnoxious wealthy red carpet film festival area. Don’t bother with the red carpet area.
I had researched this port and decided that we would enjoy most taking the ferry to Ile Sainte-Margarite which is just offshore. The island is about 30 minutes by ferry and the ferry departs right next to the same port where the cruise ship tenders arrive.
Cannes is a tender port, meaning that cruise ships cannot dock right at the city port but must anchor offshore and then use ship tenders to ferry passengers to land. We bought the priority pass from NCL to be among the first group with access to cruise tenders. On a ship with 4,000 passengers that makes a huge difference in terms of how soon you will be ashore doing activities versus waiting for your turn on the tender.
If you enjoy nature and history and just want to enjoy a quiet getaway from traffic and commotion, Ile Sainte Margarite is a great place to go. In many ways I wish we had just spent our entire day there and didn’t head back into Cannes, because we lost the chance to find some secluded beaches to enjoy. On the entire trip, despite being on numerous islands and in places known for beaches, we had zero beach days. 🙁
Fort Royal
As you can see from the video and photos we first made a stop at Fort Royal which has an interesting history as a prison fortress. The Man in The Iron Mask was held in a cell here, as were many other political prisoners over the years.
The fortress also house a Museum of the Sea and displays many of the artifacts found in the seas nearby dating back 2,000 years (although to be honest the signage at the museum could be improved). The ramparts are also a terrific location to take in views over the surrounding coastline.
Fort Royal and Ile Sainte-Marguerite
We greatly enjoyed walking the trails that criss-cross the island. We really needed a respite from all the craziness that had occurred the last couple days and it was relaxing to just wander about the island. Daniel was also finally starting to smile and enjoy himself. He enjoys hiking and he taken some French classes in school which he could now, years later, put to some good use.
There are some restaurants on the island and if I would have known that another museum on the mainland would be closed I probably would have just had us stay on the island until it was time to go back and skipped the dreadful red carpet area.
Old Town Cannes
After a couple hours we took the ferry back to Cannes and set about finding some authentic French food somewhere in the Old Town. Cannes is frightfully expensive the closer you are to the port but I had done some research in advance and found a fairly authentic and reasonably priced restaurant up the hill in the Old Town called Le Bistrot de Grand Mere. It was indeed good and we enjoyed sitting outside.
Old Town Cannes
I wanted to go to the Musee des Explorations du Monde partly or mostly because it is housed in a medieval castle (and can you go to Europe and not see at least one castle?). Unfortunately once we walked up there from the restaurant we found that it was closed. Apparently the museum is closed on Mondays and we were there on Monday.
So other than getting an opportunity to walk the streets of the Old Town and have a pretty good lunch, we didn’t accomplish much.
I didn’t really want to go to the Film Festival area and think the entire glitz and glam side of society is stupid. But Shelley had said she wanted to take a picture on the red carpet so we walked down the very hot streets along the port to the Film Festival site. It was also closed except for the souvenir shop. We didn’t buy any souvenirs there. Not our thing.
We walked back up the street along the port and stopped at a couple souvenir shops. We bought our youngest son Evan a red fedora. He wanted it and then later said he felt uncomfortable wearing it, then decided he like it again. But I will tell you it was a great thing for him to be wearing amid the huge crowds in the European cities. You could pick him out easily in that red hat.
We could have stayed longer in Cannes, but knowing we had to take a tender back to the ship, and the fact that we had covered most of what we could and wanted to do in Cannes (other than find some pastries to eat), we decided to call it a day.
So in the end, I highly recommend visiting Ile Sainte-Marguerite. It’s a great place to unwind and enjoy the southern coast of France. And just skip the stupid Film Festival area.
