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.
Springtime is usually a pretty busy time for my family in terms of work and school as we get ready for the summer, so I haven’t had a lot of time for recreation, exploration, or creative endeavors (although I am working slowly on a few things).
That said, I decided it might be worth making a post about some of the zoological parks that we’ve been to over the years (many we’ve been to repeated times as some of our favorites). We always enjoy visiting zoos and aquariums unless they are overly crowded to the point where you can barely even see the animals.
So, without further ado, here’s a list of some of our favorite zoos and aquariums.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
This is a scenically-situated zoo on the slope of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. We have been here many times over the years and have quite a few great memories as well.
The highlight of this zoo is the giraffe feeding area where you can get up close and personal with giraffes (probably more than you ever wanted to). The zoo also has a terrific variety of animals throughout the grounds. You might get a tad tired pushing a stroller up the hilly terrain (which we experienced when my now 11-year-old was a baby).
Denver Zoo
This is another zoo that we’ve visited many times while living in Colorado. It’s the closest to our home and we actually have free admission through my wife’s employer (although sometimes we have to spend too much time in guest services to use the perk benefit).
This is a zoo is located in downtown Denver and has some newer exhibits like the Elephant Passage and many older areas will be renovated in the coming years. This zoo also has a pretty good variety of animals on display depending on the time of year. It does get a bit crowded though on weekends.
Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
This is easily one of the best zoos in the country and the best I’ve ever visited. We were last there in 2015 and we need to go back. I’m actually disappointed I can’t find more photos from our visits but usually we are busily enjoying the animals.
Henry Doorly Zoo has some of the most innovative and impressive exhibits (Desert Dome, Lied Jungle, Kingdoms of the Night, etc) and the zoo keeps expanding with ever more planned. The zoo is frequently rated number one in America and even the world for good reason.
This is also one of the few zoos that includes an aquarium, and it’s an expansive aquarium at that. I highly recommend this zoo to anyone visiting Nebraska or in the general area.
San Diego Zoo
We lived in Orange County, California between 2003 and 2011 and this is another zoo we frequently visited. It’s one of the largest in the country and one of the few with giant pandas.
This zoo is located in a hilly area of Balboa Park and it can get a bit crowded and hot, so we tended to prefer going in the cooler off-season months. We even went for a Thanksgiving dinner buffet in the Treetop Room which was fun.
I would say the San Diego Zoo is easily in my top five zoos and it is deservedly one of the top attractions in San Diego.
San Diego Wild Animal Park
The San Diego Wild Animal Park was originally a satellite of the San Diego Zoo before becoming its own zoological park. The park is in nearby Escondido, California and is more spread out than the San Diego Zoo. While it doesn’t quite have the number of animals as the SD Zoo, it has a more natural feel with more room for the animals to roam.
We actually enjoyed this park a bit more simply because it generally had fewer crowds and was more relaxed. It still can get relatively crowded, however, and being located in Escondido it can tend to get very hot in the summer.
Our favorite time to visit was actually on rainy days. We had much of the park to ourselves with plenty of places to take cover. And being in the San Diego area rains are never cold to begin with.
Albuquerque Zoo
This is a smaller zoo than the others mentioned but we still had a good time visiting when we were in Albuquerque a few years ago. While I wouldn’t include it in a top five list I think it’s a great stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Smithsonian National Zoo
I do have photos from my visit to the National Zoo which was back in the 90s. Unfortunately I don’t have any of them scanned.
The National Zoo is, however, a terrific zoo of course with diverse wildlife, including many that are not typically found in zoos like giant pandas.
Since it was such a long time ago I won’t say much more than I’ll need to take my family there some time.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
I used to live in San Luis Obispo, California which was about 90 miles from Monterey and this aquarium was one of the first places I visited on a free weekend after moving there in 2001. After that I went with my wife and then we took our kids there in 2015.
This is one of the best aquariums in the country. It has numerous exhibits illustrating the sea life that abounds in neighboring Monterey Bay. One of my favorite denizens was a sunfish which is truly one of the oddest creatures I’ve ever seen.
Scripps Aquarium, La Jolla, California
I’m really not sure where my photos from our visits to the Scripps aquarium went year ago. It was much closer to our home in Orange County, California and we went several times, but unfortunately, I only now seem to have memories in my head.
What I can tell you is that this is a great smaller aquarium and a very educational aquarium as well. I do recommend this aquarium while visiting the San Diego area over the amusement park sea life parks in the area.
Shark Bay, Las Vegas
This aquarium honestly surprised me in a good way. Usually I find the non-gaming attractions on the Las Vegas strip to be lacking and unserious. So when we went to Shark Bay at Mandalay Bay I was surprised that it was as good as it was with marine biologists available to discuss the various animals in the surrounding tanks.
I do think that Shark Bay is one of the big reasons that Mandalay Bay is the best hotel on the Strip if you are traveling as a family as there is just a lot more available to entertain younger guests while not boring the adults.
There are a few other zoos and aquariums I have visited in my lifetime like the Lincoln Park Zoo and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, but since the number of years that have passed since I last visited are too great (I was a teenager), I’m not going to include them here.
However I will say I think we’ll try to hit a few more zoos and aquariums in the next few years and I’ll make sure to post about what I discover along the way.
The vernal equinox is today and that means that the scales have tipped in favor of more daylight each day as we make our way toward summer. Where I live in Colorado the ground is still covered in snow and we’ll likely continue to have snow off and on into May (and some years into June), but summer is inevitably coming.
This is a pasque flower which is usually one of the first flowers we see in Colorado in early spring. It’s name actually means ‘Easter Flower’ since it usually blooms around Easter time. They are a symbol of spring time as well. I photographed this pasque flower on a spring hike and I’m looking forward to a little more time outdoors as the season progresses.
We have not yet seen the first pasque flowers (at least not in our area), but surely they will come. As will the warmer temperatures, early morning sunshine, thawing rivers, and eventually long, enjoyable summer days.
