PortofiNO, Firenze si

On the overnight on our way to Portofino, there were big storms, or so we heard - thunder and lightning on shore. Dennis saw them, too, in the morning. I woke up a bunch of tiimes in the night with the ship rocking and eventually a bottle of wine rolling around in the cabinet. I figured our chances of seeing Porotfino, a tender port, were slim, and in fact the captain informed us at around 7:30 that morning that we would not be getting off the ship that day. At about 7:50 Dennis got the call we had been expecting to give a lecture that morning.



We had a rollicking breakfast, passing lot of seasick bags on the way that were conveniently left around byt the staff. Many of them got used, too. Dennis did his lecture, barely making it through without needing one of the bags himself. It was in an enclosed, dark room without windows. Not the place to be on rough seas! So we spent most of the rest of the day on the top deck in the high winds with an eye to the horizon.



The winds subsided enough by dinner time that we could enjoy a final dinner with our new firends and then watch the show. They had to change the show, too, since a couple of the dancers were too seasick to perform.



Princess kindly put us on a bus to the Ostiense train station in Rome the next morning, and we took the Metro across town to the main train station and caught a train to Florence. The Eurostar gets you there in 1 1/2 hours, quite a change from the 4 hours it used to take and in much comfort. Our friend Rossella met us at the airport with our large suitcases, one of which is now fondly named La Bestia - the Beast. Emilia was working so we headed to their house, had a bite to eat and headed into the countryside to Greve in Chianti to look at the pretty piazza there. Then we headed to Emilia's pizzeria/trattoria for dinner with Wilma and Wanda (aka W2 - names speeled with a W but prounounced with a V). Emilia's place was packed. They sent out 36 pizzas to go while we were there, and there wasn't an empty seat in the place either. It's good to have the business, but they were working hard! Emilia sent out some tasty fried pasta with mascarpone and then we had a fritto misto di carne and fritto misto di verdure (fired meats incuding beef, chicken and rabbit and fried veggies). Somehow they wren't heavy, just delicious! She also brought out some tasty squid with cannellini beans for Dennis.

The next day, Emilia was off. Dennis plated Cicero, the teacher, for her as she alwyas likes. We headed into the center of Florence to visit the museum of the Opere del Duomo, which we hadn't seen in years. It was great. We picked up lunch from a little place that makes panini and sells coldcuts where the guy who runs it was a classmate of Emilia's and ate our lunch at home. Then we headed tot he countryside to Pienza in the hills beyond Siena. It has a quintessential Renaissance central piazza and lots of cute shops to visit. After a glass of wine there, we headed to the nearbyt tiny town of Bagno Vignoli to visit the hot springs and the cute town. We ate outside there at a great little trattoria - pici pasta, which is a thick, hollow spaghetti from the area, some with a sauce of cinghiale (boar) and some with breadcrumbs and anchovies, followed by a mix of grilled cheese and veggies. Very tasty and a beautiful evening. In fact, we have had great weather ths whole time here. It finally got hot again today - must be time to go home!

Yesterday, Dennis and I headed into the center again and walked all over town before heading back out to Emilia's. Then we all went to Montelupo to a great museum about the ceramics from the area. We had some fabulous gelato and checked out the ceramics stores.

Then ot was off to W2's for la festa della carne - the festival of meat. Barbecue Italian style rocks! Wilma spent a good coule of hours in front of the grill cooking chicken, gorgeous steaks, little ribs, two kinds of sausages, little brochettes of lamb, and thick slices of pancetta. We washed it all down with some good wine and their own limoncello and arancello. Yum! Wilma and Wanda are leather workers who have a studio behind their house. They work independently, making purses for Jimmy Choo, Halston and other designers. They showed us some of what they are working on now. It's gorgeous stuff!

We finally got home and went to bed after 2 this morning, but what a great time. After dragging ourselves out of bed and packing la bestia, Dennis and I headed into town again for a couple of hours and visited San Marco to see Fra Angelico's murals in the Dominican friars' cells there. Gorgeous. We wandered to the Oltrarno for lunch at Quattro Leone before heading back to grab our bags an have Rossella drop us at the train station.

Now we're at a hotel near the Venice airport. We'll find a pizzeria for dinner, we think, and then head out early tomorrow morning to fly home. Whew. What a time! Basta already. Wer'll be talking to you all soon live!

La belle Antibes

We landed in Monte Carlo this morning. After a quick breakfast we hightailed it to the station just in time to catch a train along the Riviera to Antibes. So we get to stamp Monaco and France on our passports today! We wandered through the old town, stopping at a great outdoor market for jambon, salami, yummy cheeses (the French sure do know cheese!), olives and what Dennis has dubbed the best baguette EVER!

From there it was a short walk to the Picasso museum, continuing our routine of culture then beach (or beach first, depending on the day). The museum was both the regional museum that featured local modern art and the museum of Picasso's work while he was in Antibes. He stayed at the house that is now the museum for two months in 1946, and completed a huge amount of work while there. They have done a great job of restoring the place and turning it into a fine museum.

After that stop, we found a small beach and dunked the flab. It was a bit rocky, but the water was geat.

Then it was time to get back to the train station for our return trip to Monte Carlo, picniking on the train as we went. In Monte Carol we wandered through a posh neighborhood in the hills before making our way down to the royal palace and the cathedral where Princess grace and Prince rainier are buried. Gorgeous views from the high hills here of the yachts in the harbor. I've never seen so many posh boats in one place.

Now we are headed back to the boat. Dennis speaks this evening before judgine the dance show. Just one more night after this. How quickly it's coming to an end!

Corsica? 'Course we can!

Today's stop is in Corsica. We arrived at 11 am so we had a laid back morning with a shuffleboard game. I'm sorry to say that Dennis has taken the last couple of games, but I feel a resurgence coming on!

Ajaccio, Corsica's capital is a nice city on the island's east coast. It's a mix of city and resort town. Lots of foreign visitors from all over. We went by Napoleon's house, but he wasn't home so we went on. Found a beautiful public beach on the edge of town near the cathedral. Nice sand and clear water. The best yet! After the beach, we went in search of lunch, which proved a harder task than you'd think. Nothing was looking quite right until we found a great sandwich shop outside the cathedral, which we had just visited. I guess it pays to go to church! Dennis went in search of a Napoleon tchotchki to share with his lecture-goers, and I am doing my blog duty. Back to the ship soon for a dip in the pool. I wonder what the drink of the day is? Dennis speaks at 5:15. Tomorrow he has been conscripted to be a judge in the Royal Princess version of Dancing with the Stars. He will be playing the Bruno Tonioli part. Should be amusing.

Now I need to cancel our reservations in Tarquinia and make train reservations for Florence. We decided to head stright there since we weren't sure our big American suitcases would fit in Emilia's small Italian car. And now we can have her cook for us at her restaurant that night. Yum!

Au revoir!

Ritorno a Sorrento

We're on the beautiful Amalfi coast today, stopping in Sorrento after taking the ferry to Amalfi this morning. We saw the beautiful cathedral there (photos later - the computer isn't finding the drive). Lots of tourists and crowds there, though, so we hightailed it over the hill on a path through the town and along the cliffs to the next town, Atrani. There as a pretty cove where we swam looking up the cliffs at the houses that climb up and up. While we were in the water, someone on the breakwater let loose a bunch of LOUD fireworks that echoed off the canyon walls and set off car alarms and made all the church bells chime like crazy. We picked up a couple of panini and headed back to Amalfi for the return trip to Sorrento.

Yesterday we laned in Messina on the Sicilian side of the Straits of Messina. There isn't a lot of there there so we decided that instead of fighting the crowds to scenic Taormina in Mt. Etna's shadow, we would do a trip across the straits to Reggio di Calabria, which sits at the tip of Italy's boot. What a nice city! I had expected it to be just a tranpost spot, but it's a lively place with a long pedetrian boulevard lined with tony shops and a lovely lido.

Our first stop was the museum to see the Riace bronzes, two 5th century BC bronze statues that were recovered form the bottom of the sea nearby and are some of the finest examples of statues of that era and very rare. They wre most impressive warriors. Then we did a little window shopping on the boulevard, sampling the arancini along the way - tasty fried rice balls. We hit the beach for a couple of hours, managing to avoind the jellyfish that were floating around. We did see one poor girl who was very sad because she had gotten stung. Wah. Tere was lots of beach glass for collecting, too. Then we found some yummy panini and gelato and took the ferry back and visited the duomo in Messina before heading out.

We passed Stromboli around 9 pm, and I got to go with Dennis on the bridge as he narrated the sailby. The volcano cooperated and blew two lava plumes in the air as we went by. So cool against the night sky.

Tomorrow we land in Corsica, birthplace of Napoleon. Hard to believe we're on the back side of the trip already.

The Maltese Cremins

We're in Malta today. Our first stop was in the old town of Mdina, formerly a hilltop fortress that is now home to just 300 people but is beautifully preserved. Then we toured the capital city Valletta, visiting the cathedral of St. John (lavish decorations and a couple of great Caravaggios) and the grand Masters' Palace. Now that we've had a bite to eat we have a chance to update the blog a bit. We'll hit the scenic gardens before heading back to the ship. Dennis is doing the sailaway today aboard the beautiful Royal Princess.

Two days ago we were in Corfu. We had an easy day. No tours. We slept in in our little cave of a cabin and then took a bus from Corfu town to a beack south of town. We hung out there for a few hours of sun and sea before returning to the ship.

Yesterday was a day at sea. It's surprising how fast a day of doing nothing can go by! We had a couple of shuffleboard games, both of which I won (and no, this is NOT Dennis!). I am looking forward to defending my championship later today. Dennis lectured in the morning but then had the rest of the day off.

For all of you Cake Boss fans or soon to be Cake Boss fans, we are cruising and partying with the cake boss mom! She is here on her honeymoon and is an absolute hoot! She easily has enough energy for 5 people. She and one of our dinner comapnions held the karaoke microphone most of the night and belted out the tunes. And she managed to get on the Mr. and Mrs. show on the boat - a newylweds style game. She is a riot. Tune her in Monday nights on TLC!

That's our story so far. Tomorrow is Messina. We are torn between visiting Taormina and heading across the straits to Reggio to see some cool statues in a museum there. I'm thinking the beach at Taormina may need to win...

Venice, Ravenna, Split & Montenegro - now with pictures!

Getting to a computer has been a difficult task, but I thought I'd try to catch up in Montenegro. We are in Kotor today, in the bay of the furthest south fjord in the world. It's a gorgeous bay with mountains shooting up all around. We climbed the medieval walls of the city up the side of the mountain to visit the ruins of a church there. It's a hard 45 minute climb with spectacular view once you reach the top. Man, were we ugly sweaty though! Then it's a quicker trip back down. We headed back through town and jumped into the water in the bay. Delightful.

Working backward, yesterday we visited Split. It was another lovely stop. We went to Trogir, a medieval walled town close by and then went to Diocletians' palace in Split. I was successful in finding a beach there, too. Lovely, warm water. It's such a great way tocool down after these warm days.

We've done great witht he weather in fact. Not too horribly hot. Quite manageable over all.

Ravenna was our first stop. What a great city. They have closed the center to cars, and everyone rides bikes inthe streets. Saw some mosaics in the churches and had a nice lunch. Luckily for our bak account, the stores were all clsoed after lunch so I couldn't shop. And there were saldi signs everywhere! I'm sure there will be more opportunities.

Our second Venice day was also good. We had breakfast on the canal at our hotel and then went to the Accademiz to see some art. Afterwards, we wandered the streets of Venice looking for a pizzeria I head read about. It was cklosed, but we found a nice cafe nearby and ate as we watched the thunder clouds roll in. The heavens opened up, but we were under cover outside the cafe. We kept scooting our chairs further under the canopy to stay dry. After the storm passed, we haded back to get our bags. And yes, we DID take public transportation to the ship. Idon't think we'll make that mistake again! getting to the vaporettp was no problem. The stop was near the hotel. However, at the other end, we had a bit of a hike including going over a bridge and around the big car park. We were happy to finally make it on board to cool off!

Dennis lectured that very evening to a packed house, and the crowds continue to show up to his talks. He's a very popular guy. He did the sail in this morning at 6:45 and he was everyone's wake up call since they broadcast him over the ship's PA. Okay, so maybe he isn't popular with everyone anymore!

It's time to head back to the ship. Dennis starts lecturing in 15 minutes and then does the sailaway immediately after. Time to be he supportinve wife! Tomorrow's stop is Corfu. More beaches is my MO, and maybe a cultural attraction or two to boot. I'll see if I can get some photos going, too. We need to get them off the camera as a first step. So hard to do those chores when cocktails and shuffleboard call.

Back in the saddle again

We're back in Venice and the living's easy. Dennis arrived at the Venice airport on Sunday and headed for an overnight in Padua to visit the Scrovegni Chapel. It was a fabulous visit to a fabulous site. Rebecca arrived yesterday with no problems and took a bus and vaporetto, suitcase in hand, to the hotel.

We love this hotel! It's called La Calcina and is on the Giudecca canal. It has an old world charm, but also supplies wireless access. The best of all worlds! Our room has a balcony that gives us a sliver of a view to the canal and a straight shot of the Redentore church across the canal. It's great to sit on the balcony and hear the sounds of the canal below.

We wandered to a modern art show yesterday and then dinner at Il Ridotto behind San Marco. Yum and more yum. We had a four course fish dinner with the freshest and interesting dishes - a tomato emulsion and mussel amuse bouche, roasted mini octopus with rolls of escarole stuffed with brioche and black and green olives, seafood risotto, and pan fried sea bass with sauteed veggies. Lemon sorbet with berries for dessert.

Today we are off to the Accademia and then plan to wander the streets and canals to see what we find. Hopefully, that will include a pizzeria we've read about. Oh yeah. That reminds me that the pizza lady from last year was back in business yesterday. Had a fine piece of artichoke and prosciutto pizza.

It's off to the ship this afternoon once the vaporetti start running again at 3 pm. It's scioppero time! A planned strike is in the works from 12-3. At least we saw the signs adveritising it. So lots of walking today.

It's looking a little cloudy, but that should just help to keep it cool today. Delightful.

I'm hoping we can get some internet access as we go along. More later!