Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the MAGIC is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on
You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on
Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
Thanks to Daniel Powter (the American Idol hit from last season) for my song of the day.
Now, can I just say, when things are going so well, something has to go wrong and this morning would be the one.
We actually got off to an early start at 7:30 a.m. and got all loaded up and made it to terminal one at the international airport to drop the car and get checked in. On the way we needed to stop and put gas in the car. However, after driving around for 40 minutes, we could not find a gas station anywhere. Now, as we got closer to the airport, we saw the gasoline sign, so got off the freeway and followed the roundabouts for two or three of them and then at the final one, the gasoline picture had a big "X" written over the gasoline picture. Okay, so forget putting gas in the car, we will just return the car and pay a premium to have them put gas in.
Off we go. Get to terminal one to the rental car lot and there is NO sign to return SIXT Rental Cars. The guy in Barcelona had told me to just drive to the returns and there would be a "Meet and Greet" to return the car. So we then drive back on the road thinking maybe we should go to terminal 2, then terminal 3, then terminal 4. Now during all this I am back on the roads and getting further and further away from terminal 1 where we should be.
So, back we go to terminal 1 (it is now 9:00 a.m. and I am getting a little nervous). We decide that I will drop Robert and Jamie off at the drop off area and then worse case scenario I will figure out what to do with the car on my own. The drop off/departure area was a disaster, to say the least, with the amount of people in the traffic congestion and the lines. My anxiety level was rising by the minute.
Finally got them dropped after the police officer came by yelling at me (along with everyone else he was yelling at) to move your cars. Where did he expect people to drop off people? It was the departure drop off point after all.
Then I drove to the short term parking area, driving around for 15 minutes until I finally found someone leaving and parked in the spot. I took the keys, the rental agreement and my carry on and headed off to find Robert and Jamie. Figured I could deal with the car AFTER we got checked in.
Well, Robert and Jamie were in the Atlanta departure line and not the JFK line. So after we got reprimanded by the Delta Agent, she took our passports to her computer and got us listed for the flight I guess. Then we had to go to the check-in line for our baggage check in. The agent proceeded to tell me that our luggage was overweight. I think it was about at that point that I had the tears running down my cheeks and asked her if I got extra luggage allowance since I was a medallion member. I told her we only had 3 bags to check total and one carry on. She then just kinda dropped in and printed our labels and then in the next breath................................
"Oh, by the way Mrs. Neeley, the flight is oversold (I about panicked thinking about our planned trip in New York to see Beauty and the Beast), so I have had to upgrade the 3 of you to Business Class on the flight, I hope that is okay." OKAY? Need she ask more? Jamie was thrilled she was getting a Business Class seat and would eat "real food" and see "real movies" and listen to "real music" all of her own choosing. I have to say, that at that point, there was a silver lining in the cloud. I was just so thankful we had started at 7:30 that morning and not an hour later.
I then asked the agent about SIXT Rental Car and explained my dilemma. She had no idea how to help us, but at that point, we were checked in and it was 9:40 a.m. and we had 40 minutes until we needed to be to our departure gate. She directed us to go downstairs where the other rental car companies were, so we left Jamie next to the check in area with our carry on and off Robert and I went.
Went downstairs and asked all the rental car companies, they knew nothing. Saw the lost and found area and figured worse case scenario that would be where the keys ended up. We walked outside to the rental lot and asked some gal and she said "they are usually inside the terminal in a black and orange business suit" but they don't have an office. So back inside we went looking for the black/orange suit person. After about 10 minutes we finally found Vanessa coming out of the elevator. After we explained our frustration, and she said "oh, you just come in and bring me the keys", we were like, and how do we do that since we can't park at the curb or anything. I proceeded to give her the keys, the short term parking ticket, and told her the row and stall number where to find the car. I am going to send an email to Delta about my frustration with the car rental company since they recommended them as a new partner.
By then it was 9:55 a.m., so we headed back (what seemed like a mile) and if I thought the terminal was bad an hour before, it was now a disaster zone. The check in lines went out the door into the street at the drop off area. I am so glad we started off early.
Went through security (pretty easy) and the customs/immigration area with no problem. They stamped our passports and it was an Adios to Madrid as we headed to our gate.
Our flight was about 30 minutes late taking off. Landed in New York on time though. It was raining. Had to wait about 40 minutes for luggage since we were first through the border patrol since we were in row 1 on the airplane.
Robert and Jamie thought we were headed for a connecting flight to Salt Lake still, it wasn't until I turned left and headed to ground transportation and Robert started yelling at me that I said "Oh, I forgot to tell you, we are staying in New York overnight. We have something special to go to."
Jamie was a little stressed as she had dance camp first thing Monday morning, I told her "no problem" I had already worked out the issue with her dance company.
We headed to the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and arrived at 3:30 p.m. Georgie and Joe arrived at 4 p.m. and Robert and Jamie were surprised to see our guests, although Robert had figured out we were probably meeting up with them.
We visited and showed our stuff from the trip. Georgie and Joe had been to the Disney Store and brought us a really cool poster and fan with Beauty and the Beast on it for closing night. I then told Robert and Jamie we were going to the "Final Bow" for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. Yes, after 13 years, it was closing, and the next show to open there would be The Little Mermaid".
We headed across the street for the 6 p.m. show. Donny Osmond was playing Gaston. I was able to get 4 tickets for the closing (tickets were not sold to the public), and Georgie went along with us and Joe (he is such a great guy) wandered around NYC while we went to the play.
It was awesome. The cast did a tremendous job knowing it was the final bow. There were tears. As Beast sang his final song near the end, I was looking through our binoculars and he had tears streaming down his face as he sang. The audience cheered constantly throughout the whole performance and the cast was really doing an outstanding performance. Donny got loads and loads of cheers everytime he came on stage. I never thought he could pull off Gaston, put he did. It was quite an honor for him to be invited back to do the "final bow" performance considering he only played Gaston for 3 1/2 months during the 13 years it was on Broadway!
After the show, the rain had stopped and we were tired as it was 3 a.m. in the morning to us! We headed up to bed as we had a 7 a.m. flight. Georgie and Joe came up with us and then we said our goodbyes and they headed home.
Off to bed we went at 9:45 p.m. as we need to be up at 4 a.m. to leave the hotel at 5 a.m. for our 7 a.m. departure.
The start to our BAD DAY ended up on an awesome note and it was a wonderful conclusion to our vacation!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
A Horse With No Name (Saturday, July 28)-Barcelona to Madrid
On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing i met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...
Okay, so Saturday morning we headed off to breakfast at Parrot Cay at 8:15 a.m. No one seemed to be in any hurry, so we didn't get off the ship until about 9:30 a.m. Found our luggage really easy, cuz there were only about 100 pieces left in the terminal.
Headed with the porter to the taxi line (about 100 people long). Taxis were pulling in pretty fast, but loading up was taking time. It was while we were in this line that Robert wondered where his wallet was. hm.....I remembered saying last night "Don't put anything in the desk drawer, it is all cleaned out, sit everything on top of the desk). So, off he went back to the Magic to head up to our stateroom. It was about that time Jamie remembered she had put stuff in the drawer (guess they had forgotten all our luggage was gone by 6 p.m. the night before), so she yelled to her dad to check the top left hand drawer for her clothes.
So about 15 minutes later Robert showed up with a laundry bag full of stuff that he and Jamie left behind. Amazing........................
Took a taxi to the car rental place next to the Barcelona Airport. On Delta's recommendation from an email I had received I booked with Sixt Rental Car so I could get 6 times the amount of skymiles since they are a new partner. Picked up a VW luxury car and got directions to get to Madrid which is about 300 miles away.
Off we went. The traffic heading out of Barcelona was packed. Guess everyone was headed out of the city for the weekend. Once we got past the toll booths about 1 hour later, the ride picked up. That is where my theme song of the day comes in. I can describe our journey in two words.....MOJAVE DESERT! If you have ever driven in the Mojave Desert in California, you will know exactly what I mean. There was NOTHING to see, nothing to do and I can't imagine anyone living out in the desert in the heat. There were a few small villages, but besides that NOTHING. The classic song A Horse With No Name by America kept going through my head.
We were driving quickly as our Segway tour was scheduled for 4 p.m. and we had gotten a late start. Got to our designated meeting spot at about 4:04 p.m. and I dropped Robert and Jamie off and had them go ask our guide where I could park. Luckily, it was so hot in Madrid, that everyone had left the city or was inside during the heat of the day. The parking garage was right below Plaza Espana and I had no problem finding a parking spot.
Our segway tour was great. Got a great overview of the city in 3 hours. They have some beautiful fountains and buildings. They have one of the largest palaces in the world. I think our guide said they had over 1,800 bedrooms in the place. Can you imagine? We took our picture in front of the oldest restaurant in the world (even has a Guiness Book of World Records plaque in the window). The restaurant was from the 1700's and is still open to this date and he said they serve excellent food, but you have to have reservations.
Then we stopped for sodas and tapas in the most happening square in Madrid. It was very hot as we sat out on the plaza underneath umbrellas for shade.
After our tour, we got a CD of all the pictures he had taken of our group during the tour. We then headed to our hotel, The Tryp Washington which I found via the Delta website. Drove around the block twice to find the parking garage they told us about. It took me about 10 minutes to park the car is a space so tiny I could barely get the car in to. Another car the same size pulled out and it was the only spot, so I knew I could get it in. Just took awhile.
Headed up to our room and then left our luggage and walked up and down Gran Via where all the action was going on. It was about 9:30 p.m. Headed to TGI Friday's for dinner (Jamie's choice). She wanted KFC and I said definitely no! So we settled for TGI's since we had plenty of Italian and Spanish dishes the last couple of weeks.
By then it was 11 p.m., so we headed up to our room as we have an 11:15 a.m. flight in the morning out of Madrid. We are going to leave at 7:45, as we have a rental car to return and need to get all our luggage checked in. I know we are overweight on the luggage issue.
Okay, another vacation day has slipped away!
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing i met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...
Okay, so Saturday morning we headed off to breakfast at Parrot Cay at 8:15 a.m. No one seemed to be in any hurry, so we didn't get off the ship until about 9:30 a.m. Found our luggage really easy, cuz there were only about 100 pieces left in the terminal.
Headed with the porter to the taxi line (about 100 people long). Taxis were pulling in pretty fast, but loading up was taking time. It was while we were in this line that Robert wondered where his wallet was. hm.....I remembered saying last night "Don't put anything in the desk drawer, it is all cleaned out, sit everything on top of the desk). So, off he went back to the Magic to head up to our stateroom. It was about that time Jamie remembered she had put stuff in the drawer (guess they had forgotten all our luggage was gone by 6 p.m. the night before), so she yelled to her dad to check the top left hand drawer for her clothes.
So about 15 minutes later Robert showed up with a laundry bag full of stuff that he and Jamie left behind. Amazing........................
Took a taxi to the car rental place next to the Barcelona Airport. On Delta's recommendation from an email I had received I booked with Sixt Rental Car so I could get 6 times the amount of skymiles since they are a new partner. Picked up a VW luxury car and got directions to get to Madrid which is about 300 miles away.
Off we went. The traffic heading out of Barcelona was packed. Guess everyone was headed out of the city for the weekend. Once we got past the toll booths about 1 hour later, the ride picked up. That is where my theme song of the day comes in. I can describe our journey in two words.....MOJAVE DESERT! If you have ever driven in the Mojave Desert in California, you will know exactly what I mean. There was NOTHING to see, nothing to do and I can't imagine anyone living out in the desert in the heat. There were a few small villages, but besides that NOTHING. The classic song A Horse With No Name by America kept going through my head.
We were driving quickly as our Segway tour was scheduled for 4 p.m. and we had gotten a late start. Got to our designated meeting spot at about 4:04 p.m. and I dropped Robert and Jamie off and had them go ask our guide where I could park. Luckily, it was so hot in Madrid, that everyone had left the city or was inside during the heat of the day. The parking garage was right below Plaza Espana and I had no problem finding a parking spot.
Our segway tour was great. Got a great overview of the city in 3 hours. They have some beautiful fountains and buildings. They have one of the largest palaces in the world. I think our guide said they had over 1,800 bedrooms in the place. Can you imagine? We took our picture in front of the oldest restaurant in the world (even has a Guiness Book of World Records plaque in the window). The restaurant was from the 1700's and is still open to this date and he said they serve excellent food, but you have to have reservations.
Then we stopped for sodas and tapas in the most happening square in Madrid. It was very hot as we sat out on the plaza underneath umbrellas for shade.
After our tour, we got a CD of all the pictures he had taken of our group during the tour. We then headed to our hotel, The Tryp Washington which I found via the Delta website. Drove around the block twice to find the parking garage they told us about. It took me about 10 minutes to park the car is a space so tiny I could barely get the car in to. Another car the same size pulled out and it was the only spot, so I knew I could get it in. Just took awhile.
Headed up to our room and then left our luggage and walked up and down Gran Via where all the action was going on. It was about 9:30 p.m. Headed to TGI Friday's for dinner (Jamie's choice). She wanted KFC and I said definitely no! So we settled for TGI's since we had plenty of Italian and Spanish dishes the last couple of weeks.
By then it was 11 p.m., so we headed up to our room as we have an 11:15 a.m. flight in the morning out of Madrid. We are going to leave at 7:45, as we have a rental car to return and need to get all our luggage checked in. I know we are overweight on the luggage issue.
Okay, another vacation day has slipped away!
Remember the Magic (Sea Day) Friday July 27
Can you remember
Back to a Simplier Time
Back to the watercolor days
That still run through your mind
Oh, I remember
just my old friend and me
Running' through an open field
The way it used to be
The feeling that our hears could just take wings
We could live out all our dreams
The journey there was never far away
But like a dream come true
That's still inside of you
The secret of tomorrow is to live your dreams today
Remember the night
Remember the feeling
Remember the magic in our lives
Well.....what can I say. Another cruise is coming to an end and there is not any song that better describes the feeling when I hear this song played in the Walt Disney Theatre and pictures from your cruise are flashing through your mind. Always trying to end it on an emotional note!
I can't believe 10 nights have gone by already. It is 11:30 p.m. and we have just finished in the Pub watching the famous skit "If I Were Not Upon the Seas". (I actually did type this that night, but then it didn't post, so now I am retyping from my notes!)
To kind of recap Thursday night, and then our Friday sea day, here is what has been going on:
Thursday night we have the Welcome to Our Family Celebration during the Pirates of the Caribbean Dinner. We were in Animator's Palatte. We dressed in pirates costumes and had a great time. We hurried to the deck for the pirate party. The show was running late. Have no idea why. Fireworks did not happen until 10:55 p.m. (about 25 minutes late). It is really hard with younger children staying out that late. Half the little ones were asleep in their dad's arms.
After the fireworks, they had the buffet on deck. Robert was looking forward to a turkey drumstick (not like we had just eaten), but was quite disappointed that they were not the "traditional" ones served back in the U.S., but a smaller version with bbq sauce. He said they weren't as good. Guess they couldn't get them in the Med (along with the Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the Fruit Loops).
Then we headed off to the stateroom to do some packing. Jamie headed to the theatre for Pirates: At World's End. She rolled in about 2:50 a.m.
We slept in until 10 a.m. then headed to pajama bingo today at 10:30 then to our character breakfast at 11:10. I like the old format of the character breakfast better than this one. I liked the characters coming around the tables.
By then it was noon, so we headed to the store to buy all our merchandise and to get Captain Tom to sign a couple of things. There was NO LINE (unlike our other Disney Cruises!) After that we headed to Shutters to buy our pictures.
At 2:30 we headed off for our Galley Tour. Tom and T'Leene had never been, so we had got tickets for the four of us. Can't remember if I mentioned it or note before, but there are over 1,500 Castaway Club members on board. Next cruise will have the most (if not the highest ever) at over 1,700. Don't know if I mentioned before, but there are over 1,300 kids on this cruise and over 700 DVC members. (You can really tell the difference between the 300 kids that usually sail when we are on the special itineraries and when school is in, to this cruise.) I definitely like a lot less kids. Some parents just let their kids run wild, and when you have to tell kids to quit kicking a soccer ball into the walls at deck 6 midship, you wonder where their parents are. The teenage boys like to sit behind midship elevators at deck 6 because they can see up the short skirts of girls (I think) on dress up night. One guy told me the teenagers were taking off their swimsuits in the hottub at Goofy's pool. If Robert had been around, he would have just plopped himself right in the middle and forced them to leave because they would have been uncomfortable. I am so thankful that Jamie isn't in to all that attention getting stuff. Since Rome, she has been fully engrossed in her Harry Potter book during her spare time. Hasn't even gone to The Stack.
Shortly after our galley tour, Robert got a phone call from one of the ship's engineers he met the other day and he invited Robert for a private tour of the engine room. Robert headed by Tom's cabin, picked him up and off they headed for their tour. They really enjoyed going into the engine room and seeing the workings of the ship.
By the time Robert got back, it was time to head to Studio Sea to watch Jamie perform for the talent show.
The, it was time for "Til We Meet Again" dinner. We got chocolate souffles for dessert from our dining room manager. Alen came by to say farewell if we didn't see him in the morning.
After dinner, we headed to the pub and enjoyed the final evening with the cruise staff.
Robert is now in the hot tub, I am in Cove Cafe.
So basically, we are ready to get kicked off the ship. Our breakfast is the latest breakfast in the morning, so we get to sleep in. We eat at 8:15 a.m. and then they will be kicking us off the ship. Next time we see the Magic, she will be back home in Port Canaveral.
Have loved this cruise. Missed all our cruise buddies. Enjoyed meeting new friends. The time went too fast.
Saturday morning we will be getting a rental car and driving to Madrid Spain and then we are doing a segway tour and spending the evening in Madrid before heading to New York Sunday morning for our mini-meet with Georgie and Joe and to attend the Final Bow for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, which Robert and Jamie have no idea we are doing. They think we are going home Sunday.
Okay, that about does it.
Sea U Later!
Linda
Back to a Simplier Time
Back to the watercolor days
That still run through your mind
Oh, I remember
just my old friend and me
Running' through an open field
The way it used to be
The feeling that our hears could just take wings
We could live out all our dreams
The journey there was never far away
But like a dream come true
That's still inside of you
The secret of tomorrow is to live your dreams today
Remember the night
Remember the feeling
Remember the magic in our lives
Well.....what can I say. Another cruise is coming to an end and there is not any song that better describes the feeling when I hear this song played in the Walt Disney Theatre and pictures from your cruise are flashing through your mind. Always trying to end it on an emotional note!
I can't believe 10 nights have gone by already. It is 11:30 p.m. and we have just finished in the Pub watching the famous skit "If I Were Not Upon the Seas". (I actually did type this that night, but then it didn't post, so now I am retyping from my notes!)
To kind of recap Thursday night, and then our Friday sea day, here is what has been going on:
Thursday night we have the Welcome to Our Family Celebration during the Pirates of the Caribbean Dinner. We were in Animator's Palatte. We dressed in pirates costumes and had a great time. We hurried to the deck for the pirate party. The show was running late. Have no idea why. Fireworks did not happen until 10:55 p.m. (about 25 minutes late). It is really hard with younger children staying out that late. Half the little ones were asleep in their dad's arms.
After the fireworks, they had the buffet on deck. Robert was looking forward to a turkey drumstick (not like we had just eaten), but was quite disappointed that they were not the "traditional" ones served back in the U.S., but a smaller version with bbq sauce. He said they weren't as good. Guess they couldn't get them in the Med (along with the Krispy Kreme doughnuts and the Fruit Loops).
Then we headed off to the stateroom to do some packing. Jamie headed to the theatre for Pirates: At World's End. She rolled in about 2:50 a.m.
We slept in until 10 a.m. then headed to pajama bingo today at 10:30 then to our character breakfast at 11:10. I like the old format of the character breakfast better than this one. I liked the characters coming around the tables.
By then it was noon, so we headed to the store to buy all our merchandise and to get Captain Tom to sign a couple of things. There was NO LINE (unlike our other Disney Cruises!) After that we headed to Shutters to buy our pictures.
At 2:30 we headed off for our Galley Tour. Tom and T'Leene had never been, so we had got tickets for the four of us. Can't remember if I mentioned it or note before, but there are over 1,500 Castaway Club members on board. Next cruise will have the most (if not the highest ever) at over 1,700. Don't know if I mentioned before, but there are over 1,300 kids on this cruise and over 700 DVC members. (You can really tell the difference between the 300 kids that usually sail when we are on the special itineraries and when school is in, to this cruise.) I definitely like a lot less kids. Some parents just let their kids run wild, and when you have to tell kids to quit kicking a soccer ball into the walls at deck 6 midship, you wonder where their parents are. The teenage boys like to sit behind midship elevators at deck 6 because they can see up the short skirts of girls (I think) on dress up night. One guy told me the teenagers were taking off their swimsuits in the hottub at Goofy's pool. If Robert had been around, he would have just plopped himself right in the middle and forced them to leave because they would have been uncomfortable. I am so thankful that Jamie isn't in to all that attention getting stuff. Since Rome, she has been fully engrossed in her Harry Potter book during her spare time. Hasn't even gone to The Stack.
Shortly after our galley tour, Robert got a phone call from one of the ship's engineers he met the other day and he invited Robert for a private tour of the engine room. Robert headed by Tom's cabin, picked him up and off they headed for their tour. They really enjoyed going into the engine room and seeing the workings of the ship.
By the time Robert got back, it was time to head to Studio Sea to watch Jamie perform for the talent show.
The, it was time for "Til We Meet Again" dinner. We got chocolate souffles for dessert from our dining room manager. Alen came by to say farewell if we didn't see him in the morning.
After dinner, we headed to the pub and enjoyed the final evening with the cruise staff.
Robert is now in the hot tub, I am in Cove Cafe.
So basically, we are ready to get kicked off the ship. Our breakfast is the latest breakfast in the morning, so we get to sleep in. We eat at 8:15 a.m. and then they will be kicking us off the ship. Next time we see the Magic, she will be back home in Port Canaveral.
Have loved this cruise. Missed all our cruise buddies. Enjoyed meeting new friends. The time went too fast.
Saturday morning we will be getting a rental car and driving to Madrid Spain and then we are doing a segway tour and spending the evening in Madrid before heading to New York Sunday morning for our mini-meet with Georgie and Joe and to attend the Final Bow for Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, which Robert and Jamie have no idea we are doing. They think we are going home Sunday.
Okay, that about does it.
Sea U Later!
Linda
Thursday, July 26, 2007
YO HO....YO HO (Marseille, France)
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me!
My favorite day of the cruise has arrived. Tonight is pirate night and on the Ariel Vision Screen out on the deck at the Goofy Pool tonight will be one of the Pirate Movies at 11 p.m. and we can stay up late! YIPPEE! I get to sleep in tomorrow morning! NOT! (I know there will be absolutely too much to do on our last sea day.) We have character breakfast tomorrow morning and Jamie wants to go to that, so, so much for sleeping in.
Anyway, today is our last port day: Marseille, France. We got up again at 7 a.m. for our early morning Disney Excursion to the City of Marseille and to the Soap Factory.
We didn't have to tender in today. That saves time. In any case, we were about the 300th guest off the ship. Jumped on the bus and headed through the City of Marseille and up to the Notre-Dame De La Garde. This structure is the highest point in the city of Marseille and has beautiful panoramic views all around. It was build in the 19th century and the cathedral has beautiful mosaics, multicolored marble and a draw bridge. I was amazed the bus made it up the narrow streets to the top of the city. However, we did have to climb 200 steps to the cathedral from where the bus was able to reach. That was a breeze compared to the 294 at the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Marseille is over 2,600 years old our tour guide told us and was founded by the greeks. We are the only ship in port which has been great because the traffic is so bad here I can only imagine what it was like the last couple of days with the Tour de France here. Our guide told us there is a doping scandal going on right now with the guy who got the yellow jersey. All the downtown area (around the marina where the fisherman sell the rock fish everyday) has all the tour stuff and tends and people still here in the city. Then with all the construction, it is a mess!
Anyway, another interesting thing about the cathedral is on one side there are bomb and bullet holes from where the cathedral was attacked during World War II. There is a little sign up on the one side of the building outside. While we headed down I asked Robert if he had seen it. He said no, so he had to climb up 100 of the stairs a second time so he could go take a quick look at it. Can't believe I saw something like that and he totally missed it. My pictures hopefully came out with the bright, hot sun on the outside.
After our visit to the cathedral, we headed back down into town and to this soap factory where they make all this soap, the old way!. The owner didn't speak alot of english, but enough to explain the process to us on all the old, hand operated machines they use to make the homemade soap with olive oils and glycerin. It was quite impressive. We each got to finish making our own bar of soap and stamp it at the end.
I bought some soap for gifts for when I return home. They had all flavors. Can't wait to try them out.
We then headed down to the marina where the bus left us off and we were able to shop for 45 minutes. Bought Jamie 2 cute skirts, a glass ring (for her finger) and one pair of shorts for only 25 euro. July is the month of sales over here in France. There are some really good clothing buys, so they say. But we haven't had time.
Got back to the ship at 1 p.m. and did some shopping outside at the port where the little shops are (around 6-8 of them). Then had lunch at Lumiere's and now I have spent part of my afternoon in Cove Cafe enjoying the time in peace and quiet and listening to relaxing music.
Jamie went with K'Leigh to Ratatouille and Robert went to take a nap. Robert is probably at the pool about now. I am headed to the pool here in about 5 minutes as soon as I finish this and then get ready for Disney Dreams tonight which is one of our favorite shows.
Tomorrow we are going on a galley tour with T'Leene and Tom as they have not been on one. And I'm sure there will be a whole schedule of things going on tomorrow. Can't believe I am going to have to actually pack up our stuff sometime tomorrow and that the cruise will be ending. Time just goes too fast when on a cruise ship.
However, I have a BIG SUPRISE planned for Sunday on our way home from Madrid Spain that Robert and Jamie have NO IDEA about! I'll have to post more about it later. But.............SEE YOU SOON GEORGIE AND JOE IN NEW YORK CITY! I'm so excited for our "little" BIG thing we are doing. Hope the package arrived safely with the tickets and everything. See you on Sunday!
Okay, off to the pool now!
Sea U Later!
My favorite day of the cruise has arrived. Tonight is pirate night and on the Ariel Vision Screen out on the deck at the Goofy Pool tonight will be one of the Pirate Movies at 11 p.m. and we can stay up late! YIPPEE! I get to sleep in tomorrow morning! NOT! (I know there will be absolutely too much to do on our last sea day.) We have character breakfast tomorrow morning and Jamie wants to go to that, so, so much for sleeping in.
Anyway, today is our last port day: Marseille, France. We got up again at 7 a.m. for our early morning Disney Excursion to the City of Marseille and to the Soap Factory.
We didn't have to tender in today. That saves time. In any case, we were about the 300th guest off the ship. Jumped on the bus and headed through the City of Marseille and up to the Notre-Dame De La Garde. This structure is the highest point in the city of Marseille and has beautiful panoramic views all around. It was build in the 19th century and the cathedral has beautiful mosaics, multicolored marble and a draw bridge. I was amazed the bus made it up the narrow streets to the top of the city. However, we did have to climb 200 steps to the cathedral from where the bus was able to reach. That was a breeze compared to the 294 at the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Marseille is over 2,600 years old our tour guide told us and was founded by the greeks. We are the only ship in port which has been great because the traffic is so bad here I can only imagine what it was like the last couple of days with the Tour de France here. Our guide told us there is a doping scandal going on right now with the guy who got the yellow jersey. All the downtown area (around the marina where the fisherman sell the rock fish everyday) has all the tour stuff and tends and people still here in the city. Then with all the construction, it is a mess!
Anyway, another interesting thing about the cathedral is on one side there are bomb and bullet holes from where the cathedral was attacked during World War II. There is a little sign up on the one side of the building outside. While we headed down I asked Robert if he had seen it. He said no, so he had to climb up 100 of the stairs a second time so he could go take a quick look at it. Can't believe I saw something like that and he totally missed it. My pictures hopefully came out with the bright, hot sun on the outside.
After our visit to the cathedral, we headed back down into town and to this soap factory where they make all this soap, the old way!. The owner didn't speak alot of english, but enough to explain the process to us on all the old, hand operated machines they use to make the homemade soap with olive oils and glycerin. It was quite impressive. We each got to finish making our own bar of soap and stamp it at the end.
I bought some soap for gifts for when I return home. They had all flavors. Can't wait to try them out.
We then headed down to the marina where the bus left us off and we were able to shop for 45 minutes. Bought Jamie 2 cute skirts, a glass ring (for her finger) and one pair of shorts for only 25 euro. July is the month of sales over here in France. There are some really good clothing buys, so they say. But we haven't had time.
Got back to the ship at 1 p.m. and did some shopping outside at the port where the little shops are (around 6-8 of them). Then had lunch at Lumiere's and now I have spent part of my afternoon in Cove Cafe enjoying the time in peace and quiet and listening to relaxing music.
Jamie went with K'Leigh to Ratatouille and Robert went to take a nap. Robert is probably at the pool about now. I am headed to the pool here in about 5 minutes as soon as I finish this and then get ready for Disney Dreams tonight which is one of our favorite shows.
Tomorrow we are going on a galley tour with T'Leene and Tom as they have not been on one. And I'm sure there will be a whole schedule of things going on tomorrow. Can't believe I am going to have to actually pack up our stuff sometime tomorrow and that the cruise will be ending. Time just goes too fast when on a cruise ship.
However, I have a BIG SUPRISE planned for Sunday on our way home from Madrid Spain that Robert and Jamie have NO IDEA about! I'll have to post more about it later. But.............SEE YOU SOON GEORGIE AND JOE IN NEW YORK CITY! I'm so excited for our "little" BIG thing we are doing. Hope the package arrived safely with the tickets and everything. See you on Sunday!
Okay, off to the pool now!
Sea U Later!
No Plane on Sunday (Jimmy Buffet)
You can throw your luggage down
Lose your cool and stomp around-
But there's nothin, nothin you can do.............
I just had to post these words from the Jimmy Buffet song No Plane on Sunday because I have heard people basically losing their "kewl" (as Scott would say) over their luggage as if it is DCL's fault.
So statistically speaking here. Guess our cruise has been the best of all for the least amount of luggage not showing up when we left Barcelona, Wednesday, July 18th. Guess there were about 100 pieces still missing from those "airlines". Generally seems to happen when people switch from one airline domestically to another airline for their foreign travel. Have heard many stories about it was American Airlines fault according to Iberia Air and then American saying it was Iberia Air that hasn't sent the bags over.
Well 8 days into the cruise and we were on the elevator this morning and one of the cast members from the hotel staff had a piece of luggage with "BCN" on it. I said, oh so another piece from Barcelona showed up? He was so happy, he said "This has been the best cruise yet! We had a 100 bags not make the ship and with this one we are down to 39!" Then he said, last cruise there were 177 pieces of missing luggage.
Just one more reason, why you shouldn't put all your clothes in one bag and take a carry on.
I had one guest tell me as she waited in line to get a picture with Mickey on formal night (1st sea day) that the dress she was wearing (black) was from a cast member for the evening. She had not received any of her luggage and they had arrived in Barcelona Sunday (three days before the cruise). She had been drinking (it was the captain's welcome reception after all) and then she told me that she didn't have any underwear on because she had none (TMI-too much information for me!)
Anyway, don't know if she got her luggage yet, but I haven't seen any panty lines on her, if you know what I mean.
The table next to us at dinner, had a whole group of people come and sing to them last night at dinner. Couldn't figure out what they were singing about, but finally got it "HAPPY LUGGAGE DAY TO YOU, HAPPY LUGGAGE DAY TO YOU"....... Guess their luggage arrived last night in Villefranche. They only waited 7 days for their clothes.
Now.....here's the real question. So your bags finally show up. You have spent $$$$$$ on new clothes for the last eight days of your cruise. You now have to buy another piece of luggage to ship home all the new items you bought that you had not planned on.
Who is paying for the overweight luggage fee on the way home???????
Lose your cool and stomp around-
But there's nothin, nothin you can do.............
I just had to post these words from the Jimmy Buffet song No Plane on Sunday because I have heard people basically losing their "kewl" (as Scott would say) over their luggage as if it is DCL's fault.
So statistically speaking here. Guess our cruise has been the best of all for the least amount of luggage not showing up when we left Barcelona, Wednesday, July 18th. Guess there were about 100 pieces still missing from those "airlines". Generally seems to happen when people switch from one airline domestically to another airline for their foreign travel. Have heard many stories about it was American Airlines fault according to Iberia Air and then American saying it was Iberia Air that hasn't sent the bags over.
Well 8 days into the cruise and we were on the elevator this morning and one of the cast members from the hotel staff had a piece of luggage with "BCN" on it. I said, oh so another piece from Barcelona showed up? He was so happy, he said "This has been the best cruise yet! We had a 100 bags not make the ship and with this one we are down to 39!" Then he said, last cruise there were 177 pieces of missing luggage.
Just one more reason, why you shouldn't put all your clothes in one bag and take a carry on.
I had one guest tell me as she waited in line to get a picture with Mickey on formal night (1st sea day) that the dress she was wearing (black) was from a cast member for the evening. She had not received any of her luggage and they had arrived in Barcelona Sunday (three days before the cruise). She had been drinking (it was the captain's welcome reception after all) and then she told me that she didn't have any underwear on because she had none (TMI-too much information for me!)
Anyway, don't know if she got her luggage yet, but I haven't seen any panty lines on her, if you know what I mean.
The table next to us at dinner, had a whole group of people come and sing to them last night at dinner. Couldn't figure out what they were singing about, but finally got it "HAPPY LUGGAGE DAY TO YOU, HAPPY LUGGAGE DAY TO YOU"....... Guess their luggage arrived last night in Villefranche. They only waited 7 days for their clothes.
Now.....here's the real question. So your bags finally show up. You have spent $$$$$$ on new clothes for the last eight days of your cruise. You now have to buy another piece of luggage to ship home all the new items you bought that you had not planned on.
Who is paying for the overweight luggage fee on the way home???????
All Around the World-Villefranche (Wednesday)
London, Paris, Monte Carlo, Germany and Rome
Different places, different faces
Still it feels like home................
That would be Boyz II Men with All Around the World. Today we are in Monte Carlo, Monaco and Nice (the French Riviera)
Okay, so let's go with our day in Villefranche, France. First I must say, this has been the most beautiful port of all the ports we have visited and of course, the most expensive also! (No wonder I liked it so much!). Everywhere you look people are driving Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari's, etc., etc. Of course, they are living the lifestyle too!
We again were at a port that we would have to tender into. No problem though. We were on the first tender out on the morning as we had a 7:30 excursion meeting time to go into the Marina, Monaco and the Little Train Tour. The water is so clear you can see to the bottom of the sea from the tender boat.
We were the 115, 116 and 117 guests off the ship this morning. We were in the bus by 8 a.m. and on our way! Took a beautiful, narrow drive up the steep cliffs of Villefranche and headed towards the marina to see the beautiful yachts of Monaco which each cost more than my home in Salt Lake City. It was fun to see the "boat" boys polishing and cleaning the yachts so early in the morning for the rich and famous, and rich and not-so-famous residents of Monaco and Monte Carlo. I am not kidding when I say there were hundreds of very large boats to yachts in the harbor. Makes our 25 foot cabin cruiser at home look like the poor sheep of the family.
The whole French Riviera is amazing. After World War II, Villefranche's port served as home to the United States Navy's 6th fleet (for you history buffs out there). Tina Turner has a villa in Villefranche as well as Bono (lead singer for U2). Didn't run into either one of them though. Their villas were incredible overlooking the sea though. Heard this is the most expensive place in the world to own real estate.
We headed up to Monaco after our stop at the Grand Marina. Monaco is the 2nd smallest independent city-state in the world next to the Vatican City. The current prince of Monaco is available for marriage. (Maybe I ought to hook Jamie up with him!) Monaco is also home to hte Formula One Race the Monaco Grand Prix.
We took our bus into the "rock" and then headed up pass the oceangraphic museum where we saw Jacque Costeau's submarine and then walked through Monaco's gardens as we headed up to the Palace. We walked by the cathedral where we were going to go in and see Princess Grace Kelly and Prince Raneir's tombs, but a funeral was starting, so we had to by pass the cathedral.
Got up to the palace and hooked up with the DCL photographers, getting our pictures taken and then watched the guard march back and forth in front of the palace.
We had an 11 a.m. reservation for our tour to take the train around Monac, so we headed down the street and walked passed Princess Caroline's residence. Got on the train and then rode it through Monte Carlo and along the race track where the actual grand prix takes place. The headed past some extremely expensive homes and hotels and fountains in Monte Carlo.
One interesting thing about Monaco is they have very little crime. Found out that everywhere you go you are on camera as they have hidden security cameras everywhere. Hope I didn't do anything too embarrassing! HA!
It is again an extremely hot day, but the train was open aired and had a cover on top, so it was very nice. At the end of the train ride it was 11:50 a.m. and we stopped again in front of the palace. The changing of the guards was going to take place at 11:55 a.m. (not 12 noon mind you, but 11:55 a.m.) and so we all got off the train and stood behind the chained off area and watched the private police force of soldiers that the prince personally pays himself with his own money. They play music and have one drummer, and do the whole historic thing. One thing I have seen all across our journey is they are very steep in their traditions and carry them on even today. There were about 12 guards in the procession. Probably about 3,000 people in front of the palace watching the changing of the guards.
After that, we met up with our tour guide and fortunately the funeral was over, so we were able to go into the incredible cathedral of Monaco and see the tombs of Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier. There is also an exhibit in Monaco for a month or two of Grace Kelly and her life, but we didn't have time to visit.
We then wandered on back to the bus and headed over to Nice to get an overview of that city. Once again, it was huge. The amount of people they pack into small places is just hard to invision without seeing with your own eyes.
After that, we headed back to the port of Villefranche and tendered back to the ship. Enjoyed the afternoon by sleeping out next to the adult pool and then Jamie and I headed to go see the show "When Mickey Dreams". They have made a few little changes since we saw the premiere on the TransAtlantic Cruise. But basically it is a Cirque de Soleil show with Mickey dreaming about what he can be. I still think they shouldn't have used my favorite music from the Epcot Millinieum Celebration. I just can't see words with the words "dream" in them, when they are playing the millinium celebration music.
We then headed to a normal 8:30 p.m. dinner. It was lobster night. Robert and Tom enjoyed a couple of lobster each (at least two) and by the time we got done with dinner it was after 10:30 p.m. so we headed up to deck 9 for the Party Paradiso. It was winding down. Didn't really miss much, since I had seen it before.
We were late departing Villefranche because we were still waiting on the Monte Carlo Casino Excursion to tender back to the ship, so I finally headed to bed at 11:30 p.m. and we were still waiting for the last tender to come in.
Tomorrow (Thursday) is our last port, Marseille, France and then we have a relaxing day at sea before heading into Barcelona Saturday morning.
(Hey Nina-saw your note-glad work is "quiet" and nothing is going on. Hope to see you before you go on vacation!)
Sea U Later!
Different places, different faces
Still it feels like home................
That would be Boyz II Men with All Around the World. Today we are in Monte Carlo, Monaco and Nice (the French Riviera)
Okay, so let's go with our day in Villefranche, France. First I must say, this has been the most beautiful port of all the ports we have visited and of course, the most expensive also! (No wonder I liked it so much!). Everywhere you look people are driving Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari's, etc., etc. Of course, they are living the lifestyle too!
We again were at a port that we would have to tender into. No problem though. We were on the first tender out on the morning as we had a 7:30 excursion meeting time to go into the Marina, Monaco and the Little Train Tour. The water is so clear you can see to the bottom of the sea from the tender boat.
We were the 115, 116 and 117 guests off the ship this morning. We were in the bus by 8 a.m. and on our way! Took a beautiful, narrow drive up the steep cliffs of Villefranche and headed towards the marina to see the beautiful yachts of Monaco which each cost more than my home in Salt Lake City. It was fun to see the "boat" boys polishing and cleaning the yachts so early in the morning for the rich and famous, and rich and not-so-famous residents of Monaco and Monte Carlo. I am not kidding when I say there were hundreds of very large boats to yachts in the harbor. Makes our 25 foot cabin cruiser at home look like the poor sheep of the family.
The whole French Riviera is amazing. After World War II, Villefranche's port served as home to the United States Navy's 6th fleet (for you history buffs out there). Tina Turner has a villa in Villefranche as well as Bono (lead singer for U2). Didn't run into either one of them though. Their villas were incredible overlooking the sea though. Heard this is the most expensive place in the world to own real estate.
We headed up to Monaco after our stop at the Grand Marina. Monaco is the 2nd smallest independent city-state in the world next to the Vatican City. The current prince of Monaco is available for marriage. (Maybe I ought to hook Jamie up with him!) Monaco is also home to hte Formula One Race the Monaco Grand Prix.
We took our bus into the "rock" and then headed up pass the oceangraphic museum where we saw Jacque Costeau's submarine and then walked through Monaco's gardens as we headed up to the Palace. We walked by the cathedral where we were going to go in and see Princess Grace Kelly and Prince Raneir's tombs, but a funeral was starting, so we had to by pass the cathedral.
Got up to the palace and hooked up with the DCL photographers, getting our pictures taken and then watched the guard march back and forth in front of the palace.
We had an 11 a.m. reservation for our tour to take the train around Monac, so we headed down the street and walked passed Princess Caroline's residence. Got on the train and then rode it through Monte Carlo and along the race track where the actual grand prix takes place. The headed past some extremely expensive homes and hotels and fountains in Monte Carlo.
One interesting thing about Monaco is they have very little crime. Found out that everywhere you go you are on camera as they have hidden security cameras everywhere. Hope I didn't do anything too embarrassing! HA!
It is again an extremely hot day, but the train was open aired and had a cover on top, so it was very nice. At the end of the train ride it was 11:50 a.m. and we stopped again in front of the palace. The changing of the guards was going to take place at 11:55 a.m. (not 12 noon mind you, but 11:55 a.m.) and so we all got off the train and stood behind the chained off area and watched the private police force of soldiers that the prince personally pays himself with his own money. They play music and have one drummer, and do the whole historic thing. One thing I have seen all across our journey is they are very steep in their traditions and carry them on even today. There were about 12 guards in the procession. Probably about 3,000 people in front of the palace watching the changing of the guards.
After that, we met up with our tour guide and fortunately the funeral was over, so we were able to go into the incredible cathedral of Monaco and see the tombs of Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier. There is also an exhibit in Monaco for a month or two of Grace Kelly and her life, but we didn't have time to visit.
We then wandered on back to the bus and headed over to Nice to get an overview of that city. Once again, it was huge. The amount of people they pack into small places is just hard to invision without seeing with your own eyes.
After that, we headed back to the port of Villefranche and tendered back to the ship. Enjoyed the afternoon by sleeping out next to the adult pool and then Jamie and I headed to go see the show "When Mickey Dreams". They have made a few little changes since we saw the premiere on the TransAtlantic Cruise. But basically it is a Cirque de Soleil show with Mickey dreaming about what he can be. I still think they shouldn't have used my favorite music from the Epcot Millinieum Celebration. I just can't see words with the words "dream" in them, when they are playing the millinium celebration music.
We then headed to a normal 8:30 p.m. dinner. It was lobster night. Robert and Tom enjoyed a couple of lobster each (at least two) and by the time we got done with dinner it was after 10:30 p.m. so we headed up to deck 9 for the Party Paradiso. It was winding down. Didn't really miss much, since I had seen it before.
We were late departing Villefranche because we were still waiting on the Monte Carlo Casino Excursion to tender back to the ship, so I finally headed to bed at 11:30 p.m. and we were still waiting for the last tender to come in.
Tomorrow (Thursday) is our last port, Marseille, France and then we have a relaxing day at sea before heading into Barcelona Saturday morning.
(Hey Nina-saw your note-glad work is "quiet" and nothing is going on. Hope to see you before you go on vacation!)
Sea U Later!
Lean on Me-LaSpezia, Italy (Florence and the Leaning Tower of Pisa)
Lean on me,
When you're not strong,
I'll be your friend,
I'll help you carry on.....
Our theme for the day. The port of LaSpezia, home to Florence and Pisa, home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa...more on that later.
Today was a tender port. DCL has hired tender boats that haul about 350 people per tender, so it was pretty fast. We needed to get off the ship as early as possible because we had arranged for a private tour for the day as Celeste had recommended and Shari had agreed it was a great way to see the most in the short period of time we were there.
We were up at 7 a.m. and to the Buena Vista Theatre for our tender ticket to get to shore. There were only 8 of us wanting to get off the ship! Guess the rest were sleeping or on ship excursions. We had to wait about 10 minutes to get the okay to go join the tender. We were on the first tender of the day at I was number 311 off the ship.
We left the ship at 7:40 a.m., arriving to land promptly at 8 a.m. (our scheduled tour time). Max was waiting for us and Robert, Jamie and I followed him to his Mercedes Van that was to be our vehicle for the day. Jamie quickly decided the backseat was the place for her where she climbed directly to and went right back to sleep on the journey into Florence.
We had a nice ride and the weather was overcast and a few rain showers here and there. The temperature was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. Took us about 1 1/2 hours to get to Florence. Max explained alot to us about the countryside on our way in and showed us different sites. Saw huge slabs of granite alongside the roadways at the granite plants that they have hauled off the mountain. The size of the granite was incredible. We drove through Florence pass the city walls and over the Arno River and then up to the top of the city to a beautiful cathedral that looked over the city. This cathedral was only accessible by car. There was no way that the buses could make it up to the top. We took a nice tour through the cathedral and then started down the hill and then Max stopped and there was an overlook where we were able to take pictures and see the whole city of Florence.
We then headed down alongside the Arno River and into the heart of the city. By then it was about 11 a.m. and Max took us to the Plaza S. Croce and gave us one hour to shop and walk to the Ponte Vechhio (where all the gold shops are). The Ponte Vechhio is an ancient Medieval bridge crossing the Arno River. It has been a marketplace for centuries. Many beautiful pieces of gold jewelry were for sale and the prices were way over my budget!
We then walked to the Palazzo Dell Signoria which is the town hall of Florenece. The massive, gothic fortress-palace is impressive overlooking the Plazza della Signoria with its famous statue of David as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia del Lanzi. It was packed with tourists. We asked Jamie if she wanted a picture in front of the naked statues........she declined to get a pic in front of the copy of David (later we were going to see the original). We headed back and met Max at noon and he took us to this lovely little restaurant right by the museum where he had made reservations for us ahead of time to see the David at 1 p.m.
We had a great italian lunch (and only spent 45 Euros today) and then headed for our 1 p.m. reservation over at the museum. It started to rain some, but was still pleasant and not hot. The first day where the temperature has been bareable.
We headed right into the museum and saw Michaelangelo's David. It was larger than I would have ever imagined. And the detail was incredible. Robert was able to "sneak" a picture, so hopefully it came out. We spent an hour in the museum. We really enjoyed the exhibit of musical instruments they had on display. Some from the 1300's. The marble keys and details on the instruments were just amazing. Any one thinking of visiting the museum should definitely make reservations prior to. The stand by line was 2 hours long.
We then met Max back at our meeting point promptly at 2 p.m. and headed to Pisa for our scheduled 3:40 climb to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The traffic to Pisa was horrendous, however, we got a little nap in and we were there in no time at all. Max dropped us off right outside the city walls at 3:15 p.m. and then we proceeded walking down towards the leaning tower. Ran into the Disney photographers so we got our picture taken before we climbed up the tower. I had made reservations on line before going and it was a great way to see the tower. We went right in and exchanged our confirmation for our ticket and at 3:40 p.m. headed up the 294 stairs to the top. (If you didn't have a reservation, the earliest you could have gone up when we got there would have been 7:30 p.m. at night).
Thus, the reason for my title for the song of the day-Lean on Me. Walking up the stairs was an interesting journey. At times it seemed strenuous, but at other times it felt like I was going downhill and was leaning into the towers walls. It was a wierd feeling. You would climb about 30 steps before being able to step out on a kind of platform to see your progress.
I learned that during the second world war, the Nazis used the leaning tower as a watchtower. Also, in the early 20th century, Benito Mussolini allegedly ordered the Leaning Tower to be straightened. They poured more concrete into the base of the tower which only made the tower lean more. The bells on the tower are rung daily. 1st at 8 a.m. and then a second time at 9:30 a.m.
The closer you got to the top of the tower, the more narrow the stairs became. They were marble and you can actually see and feel the imprints of the feet of the millions of people who have taken this journey before we did. The very top of the tower there is a winding staircase that is so narrow and winding that I got a little dizzy, but besides that, the journey at the top was well worth the 294 stairs that it took to get there. The view was stunning and you could see thousands of people down on the ground level enjoying the area by sitting on the grass and walking the area.
At 4:15 p.m. we met Max again and once again it was time to head back to the Magic to continue our journey. We arrived back to La Spezia at 5:30 p.m. and then take the tender boat back to the ship. They were running 4 tender boats (holding 350 each) and it went really fast. Max wasn't quite sure why Disney was porting in LaSpezia. He said everyone else ports at the other port which is closer in to town. I figured it had to do with the number of port spots they had for cruise ships and Disney either couldn't fit in at the other port or it cost alot less money to port in LaSpezia.
We were one of the 1st 500 guests back on the ship. The bus excursions are all taking longer than expected due to traffic and congestion.
Once again dinner was delayed 30 minutes for both seatings tonight, so we would not be eating until 9 p.m.
We headed to the stateroom and headed up to the pool for an hour and then I used the spa shower and got ready for dinner. The swimming pool was once again really warm and felt great after another long day.
Many people on the ship are still missing their luggage.
On Wednesday we are visiting Villefranche and then on Thursday we are in Marseille. It was suppose to be the other way around, but there was alot of port traffic in Marseille early in the week due to the Tour de France so DCL switched the port day and we will go to Monte Carlo, Monaco and Nice first.
Tonight before dinner was Twice Charmed (I think, cuz I'm doing this from memory). Robert and Jamie went, but I stayed and enjoyed the pool before dinner.
That about does it for LaSpezia, Italy!
When you're not strong,
I'll be your friend,
I'll help you carry on.....
Our theme for the day. The port of LaSpezia, home to Florence and Pisa, home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa...more on that later.
Today was a tender port. DCL has hired tender boats that haul about 350 people per tender, so it was pretty fast. We needed to get off the ship as early as possible because we had arranged for a private tour for the day as Celeste had recommended and Shari had agreed it was a great way to see the most in the short period of time we were there.
We were up at 7 a.m. and to the Buena Vista Theatre for our tender ticket to get to shore. There were only 8 of us wanting to get off the ship! Guess the rest were sleeping or on ship excursions. We had to wait about 10 minutes to get the okay to go join the tender. We were on the first tender of the day at I was number 311 off the ship.
We left the ship at 7:40 a.m., arriving to land promptly at 8 a.m. (our scheduled tour time). Max was waiting for us and Robert, Jamie and I followed him to his Mercedes Van that was to be our vehicle for the day. Jamie quickly decided the backseat was the place for her where she climbed directly to and went right back to sleep on the journey into Florence.
We had a nice ride and the weather was overcast and a few rain showers here and there. The temperature was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. Took us about 1 1/2 hours to get to Florence. Max explained alot to us about the countryside on our way in and showed us different sites. Saw huge slabs of granite alongside the roadways at the granite plants that they have hauled off the mountain. The size of the granite was incredible. We drove through Florence pass the city walls and over the Arno River and then up to the top of the city to a beautiful cathedral that looked over the city. This cathedral was only accessible by car. There was no way that the buses could make it up to the top. We took a nice tour through the cathedral and then started down the hill and then Max stopped and there was an overlook where we were able to take pictures and see the whole city of Florence.
We then headed down alongside the Arno River and into the heart of the city. By then it was about 11 a.m. and Max took us to the Plaza S. Croce and gave us one hour to shop and walk to the Ponte Vechhio (where all the gold shops are). The Ponte Vechhio is an ancient Medieval bridge crossing the Arno River. It has been a marketplace for centuries. Many beautiful pieces of gold jewelry were for sale and the prices were way over my budget!
We then walked to the Palazzo Dell Signoria which is the town hall of Florenece. The massive, gothic fortress-palace is impressive overlooking the Plazza della Signoria with its famous statue of David as well as the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia del Lanzi. It was packed with tourists. We asked Jamie if she wanted a picture in front of the naked statues........she declined to get a pic in front of the copy of David (later we were going to see the original). We headed back and met Max at noon and he took us to this lovely little restaurant right by the museum where he had made reservations for us ahead of time to see the David at 1 p.m.
We had a great italian lunch (and only spent 45 Euros today) and then headed for our 1 p.m. reservation over at the museum. It started to rain some, but was still pleasant and not hot. The first day where the temperature has been bareable.
We headed right into the museum and saw Michaelangelo's David. It was larger than I would have ever imagined. And the detail was incredible. Robert was able to "sneak" a picture, so hopefully it came out. We spent an hour in the museum. We really enjoyed the exhibit of musical instruments they had on display. Some from the 1300's. The marble keys and details on the instruments were just amazing. Any one thinking of visiting the museum should definitely make reservations prior to. The stand by line was 2 hours long.
We then met Max back at our meeting point promptly at 2 p.m. and headed to Pisa for our scheduled 3:40 climb to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The traffic to Pisa was horrendous, however, we got a little nap in and we were there in no time at all. Max dropped us off right outside the city walls at 3:15 p.m. and then we proceeded walking down towards the leaning tower. Ran into the Disney photographers so we got our picture taken before we climbed up the tower. I had made reservations on line before going and it was a great way to see the tower. We went right in and exchanged our confirmation for our ticket and at 3:40 p.m. headed up the 294 stairs to the top. (If you didn't have a reservation, the earliest you could have gone up when we got there would have been 7:30 p.m. at night).
Thus, the reason for my title for the song of the day-Lean on Me. Walking up the stairs was an interesting journey. At times it seemed strenuous, but at other times it felt like I was going downhill and was leaning into the towers walls. It was a wierd feeling. You would climb about 30 steps before being able to step out on a kind of platform to see your progress.
I learned that during the second world war, the Nazis used the leaning tower as a watchtower. Also, in the early 20th century, Benito Mussolini allegedly ordered the Leaning Tower to be straightened. They poured more concrete into the base of the tower which only made the tower lean more. The bells on the tower are rung daily. 1st at 8 a.m. and then a second time at 9:30 a.m.
The closer you got to the top of the tower, the more narrow the stairs became. They were marble and you can actually see and feel the imprints of the feet of the millions of people who have taken this journey before we did. The very top of the tower there is a winding staircase that is so narrow and winding that I got a little dizzy, but besides that, the journey at the top was well worth the 294 stairs that it took to get there. The view was stunning and you could see thousands of people down on the ground level enjoying the area by sitting on the grass and walking the area.
At 4:15 p.m. we met Max again and once again it was time to head back to the Magic to continue our journey. We arrived back to La Spezia at 5:30 p.m. and then take the tender boat back to the ship. They were running 4 tender boats (holding 350 each) and it went really fast. Max wasn't quite sure why Disney was porting in LaSpezia. He said everyone else ports at the other port which is closer in to town. I figured it had to do with the number of port spots they had for cruise ships and Disney either couldn't fit in at the other port or it cost alot less money to port in LaSpezia.
We were one of the 1st 500 guests back on the ship. The bus excursions are all taking longer than expected due to traffic and congestion.
Once again dinner was delayed 30 minutes for both seatings tonight, so we would not be eating until 9 p.m.
We headed to the stateroom and headed up to the pool for an hour and then I used the spa shower and got ready for dinner. The swimming pool was once again really warm and felt great after another long day.
Many people on the ship are still missing their luggage.
On Wednesday we are visiting Villefranche and then on Thursday we are in Marseille. It was suppose to be the other way around, but there was alot of port traffic in Marseille early in the week due to the Tour de France so DCL switched the port day and we will go to Monte Carlo, Monaco and Nice first.
Tonight before dinner was Twice Charmed (I think, cuz I'm doing this from memory). Robert and Jamie went, but I stayed and enjoyed the pool before dinner.
That about does it for LaSpezia, Italy!
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