We left Denver while the East Coat was enduring the “Bomb Cyclone”. Our departure was delayed and we arrive at JFK just as our connecting flight was scheduled to depart, but it too was delayed. After about an hour delay to push off and about an hour and a half waiting to take off, we were on our way.
We arrived in Niece, France the next morning and were bused the short distance to Monaco where we boarded MS Nautica. The rest of the day was filled with check-in and lifeboat drills before our underway at about 6 PM. Unfortunately we did not not get to visit the town at all.
The next morning we anchored in the harbor of St. Tropez. After a short boat ride to shore we boarded busses for our visit to St Martin vineyard and winery.
It was about an hours drive to the winery. After leaving the town we drove thouugh the countryside filled with vineyards. Upon arriving at the winery it was overcast and a little rainy.
Afterwards we returned to St. Tropez for a walking tour of the city
We docked the next morning, again just about sunrise, at Livorno on the Italian coast, the port city for Pisa and Florence. We boarded a bus for the 90 minute scenic drive through the Tuscan countryside and on to Florenc
On this day we were on our own, but our tour guide took us to our first stop, the historic St. Croce Square where we saw the 13th century Sant Croce Basilica which contains the tombs of both Michelangelo and Galileo. Since it was Sunday and masses were being held the basilica was not open to tourists.
From there we visited the famous Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore. Again closed, thongs of tourists wondered at the cathedral from the outside.
We headed to the Uffizi Gallery, visiting the local street leather market along the way. The Uffizi Gallery contains impressive masterpieces from Leonardo da Vinci and other famous artists.
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from the museum we had a great view of the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge
Some street Scenes
Afterwards we decided to sample some real Italian pizza at a local restaurant, Balcovin Bistrot before boarding the bus for our return trip to the ship
We arrived in Civitavecchia, the port city for Rome, at about 8 AM and boarded our buses to the Eternal City.
On the way to our first stop we passed the Circus Maximus, the Colosseum, and the Cathedral of St John Lantern. We stopped at the Piazza della Popolo and had 90 minutes to sightsee and have lunch. We made quick visits to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.
After lunch we made our way first to the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. The crowds in the Chapel were amazing. On our last visit in 1980, the Chapel was empty by comparison. After this truly memorable visit, we boarded our bus for the drive back to the ship and were underway at 8 PM.
We anchored out in the Bay of Naples at about sunrise and boarded our tender to the city of Sorrento shortly thereafter. A bus took us up to the top of the impressive cliffs that border the harbor there and on to Pompeii.
We entered the ancient city from a bustling parking lot and entered a city frozen in time 2,000 years ago. Now excavated, that area reflects Pompeii’s former glory, as you’ll discover by meandering the city streets and exploring the mansions and private homes, many of them adorned with mosaic floors, brilliant frescoes and other works of art that provide an impression of Roman life as it was 2,000 years ago.
After touring Pompeii, we had a “light” lunch at a local restaurant consisting of pizza, salad, pasta, veal and dessert and then drove to the the ancient city of Herculaneum, a city that suffered from two major volcanic eruptions, the first in 63 AD and the second in 79 AD, which was the eruption that also destroyed Pompeii. Unlike Pompeii, which was buried in volcanic ash, entombing many of the residents in eerily body “casts,” Herculaneum was buried in mud, which helped preserve the buildings, many of them opulent homes. The mosaic at Casa del Nettuno de Anfitrite, for example, still shows intense color, and the deities adorning some of the private baths and fountains are remarkably vivid. At the two-story House of the Deer, paintings and furnishings reveal wealth and opulent lifestyles.
We then returned to the ship and were underway at 6 PM observing a beautiful sunset
We moored at 8:00 AM and departed on our tour shortly thereafter. We first stopped at a scenic overlook then on to cathedral where according to legend, England’s king Richard the Lion-Hearted worshipped in 1190 at the beginning of the Third Crusade. One of the cathedral’s highlights is its unusual astronomical clock. Proceeding along the Via Garibaldi, we came upon the 12th century Catania Church and the ornate Teatro Vittorio Emanuele, originally built in 1852. Our tour finished back at the ship early so we walked out in town and had lunch at a local restaurant.
After setting sail in the evening, The Naval Academy Alumni travel group had dinner together in the main dining room.
Arriving in Valetta at 8:00 AM our tour bus left shortly after 9. Our first stop was the fantastic cliffs of Dingli, and Madliena Chapel the highest point on the island.
Arriving in Valetta at 8:00 AM our tour bus left shortly after 9. Our first stop was the fantastic cliffs of Dingli, and Madliena Chapel the highest point on the island.
From there it was on to the city of Rabat, the provincial township that was once part of the Roman city of Melita. St. Paul is said to have lived here in 60 A.D. after being shipwrecked. We visited St. Paul’s Catacombs, the earliest archaeological evidence of Christianity in Malta. A few murals in the catacombs are of considerable interest since they constitute the only surviving evidence on the islands of paintings from the Late Roman and early medieval periods.
We next visited Mdina, Malta’s original captial, and saw the landmark Baroque Cathedral of St. Paul. Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Vallette, the founder of Valletta, lies in a crypt in this church.
Friday the 25th was a day spent at sea. The journey was dampened somewhat due to the ten foot seas that we encountered that day. We did manage to have a afternoon tea.
We arrive in the port of Plama just at sunrise. We boarded busses shortly thereafter and drove to the city of Valldemossa.
While there we visited an old monastery of the Carthusian order that was later home to the Polish composer, Chopin, now a museum.
After the museum we toured the city before a group lunch.
After lunch we boarded the bus again and after stopping at a scenic overlook along the route, we arrived in the small but picturesque town of Soller. We strolled around some before boarding a rustic train for the return to the port. We were underway about 6 PM.
After lunch we boarded the bus again and after stopping at a scenic overlook along the route, we arrived in the small but picturesque town of Soller. We strolled around some before boarding a rustic train for the return to the port. We were underway about 6 PM.
We arrived in Valencia about 8AM. Clocks had shifted back during the evening as Europe went back to Standard time. We signed up for the “Valencia at a Glance. and Wine Tasting” tour. We passed several of the city’s sights before stopping for a wine tasting of Valencia region wines. After the tasting we visited the city’s medieval Cathedral and then the central Market which has existed in the same location since the 13th century.
We arrive early in Barcelona and were off the ship by 7:30.
Our trip home was not smooth. There were three delays in our departure time and were two hours late in leaving. Additionally one of the two navigation computers was not working which required that we modify our route to never be more that about 100 miles from land. Arriving about 5:30 PM, we missed our connecting flight in Newark. We were automatically rebooked on the last flight to Denver but with the rest of our flight, we had to retrieve our bags and then retrieve and retag our bags and go through customs for the last leg of our flight. With the large volume of passengers it took about an hour to get through. We loaded on the plane but sat 45 minutes on that tarmac before taking off. We arrived in Denver at 11:15 PM to a temperature of 16 degrees and six inches of snow.
