We had a wonderful private tour with Francesco in Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. It doesn’t belong to Italy, even though Italy would love to own it. He was so passionate about his job, much preferring to do private tours than group ones, where you can’t form any bond with the clients. First he took us through the Vatican Museum, where hardly anyone goes, then the Sistine Chapel, and finally St. Peter’s Basilica. Before beginning he showed us lovely photos from a book about the Sistene Chapel, explaining what Michelangelo did (both painting and architecture) and how his style evolved. He used to paint small detailed pictures on the ceilings, and then realized that they would be hard for people to see, so he painted them much larger later in his life. It was the pope who asked him to do this big job for the Chapel in the 1500’s, and it took nearly 4 years to complete. Luckily the pope didn’t pass away until a few months after the job was complete. Michelangelo first resisted taking on the painting job, since he considered himself to be a sculpture, but since the pope asked him, he couldn’t say ‘no.’ After Michelangelo died, another painter was hired to be a ‘trouser painter,’ in other words to cover up the exposed private parts of the figures in his paintings. Even the pope didn’t have the heart to ask Michelangelo to do this! We were told that there was to be silence in the Chapel (even the guides weren’t to talk) but people did anyway, so periodically someone announced ‘silence’ and ‘no photos.’ One lady was given a scarf to put over her shoulders, as they weren’t supposed to be bare. St. Peter’s Basilica was the grand finale of the tour. It was all truly magnificent!
On our own now, we tried to see the Pantheon, but sadly it was closed, due to the bank holiday. We had lunch at a great restaurant nearby that Francesco recommended. We ordered two different kinds of GF pizza to share. One had pears, Gorgonzola and Parmesan, and the other had smoked cheese, artichokes and Parmesan. We both liked the first one best, but they were both delicious! I’m amazed at the relative ease of getting gluten free food here, and it’s good too. Michael’s comment was “is it possible to get bad food here?”
Next we saw the Piazza Navona, which has fountains, cafes, live music and lots of things to buy. From there we saw the Trevi Fountain, which was amazing but of course very crowded. People were considerate of my wheelchair however, unlike in Naples! Our hotel seemed like a short walk, but we must have taken a wrong turn, so poor Michael did more walking and pushing of me than he should have. After asking several people, we finally got there.
We were so lucky with the weather again on this trip, except for having to miss Ponza island. That was the only bad weather that we had. We were especially lucky in Rome, as they’ve a lot of rain up to when we arrived yesterday.
We’re flying home at 6:30 am tomorrow morning. We have a 3 1/2 hour layover in Amsterdam, and then the long flight to Calgary. It’s been a wonderful trip!
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
April 24/19 - Rome
On our way to Rome, our tour guide talked about family life in Italy, besides describing some of the things we would see as we got closer to the city. Typically a son would live with his parents until about age 40, by which time he would have saved (or been given by his folks) most of the down payment for a small apartment. Then he would marry and have his own family. The grandparents provide free babysitting, as well as giving most of their savings to their kids and grandkids. She dispelled a lot of myths about what, when and how they eat. Lunch is at 1 pm when school is finished, and dinner is at 8 pm, even in restaurants. Meals are home cooked and they don’t eat prepared foods. Italians would never eat a whole plate of pasta for their only dinner. Instead they might start with a small plate of pasta, and then two other courses.
We stopped to see St. Paul’s outside the walls of Rome. Inside are pictures of over 200 popes. There’s only 6 blank spots, and the Catholics believe that once all of those spots have been filled, then it will be the end of the world.
Also on the tour we saw some of the Colosseum from the outside, as well as the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
After arriving at our hotel we had lunch, and Michael was thrilled to be able to have a gluten free pizza! He says they’re much better than the ones he usually has at home. Best Western even has a gluten free breakfast menu!
At the Colosseum it was very crowded, and even though we had Skip-the-Line tickets, it still took us about an hour to get in and clear security. They only let 3,000 people in at a time, and approximately 22,000 enter every day! The Colosseum was a stadium where people used to fight each other, and condemned prisoners were fed to the lions and alligators. Some of the stones from the structure have been stolen, as it has fallen into disrepair. It’s hard to image how something this large could have been built 2,000 years ago. We didn’t take a tour, as I had enough trouble walking as it was, and
couldn’t have stood that long.
Upon leaving we also briefly visited the Roman Forum. This was the centre of daily life in Rome. One building has very tall columns, and some of the buildings resemble the Colosseum in style.
I was exhausted at the end of the afternoon. We couldn’t have managed the wheelchair, and so I had to walk very slowly and sit down frequently, thanks to having spinal stenosis. But I still did it, and that’s all that matters. Tomorrow we’ll take the wheelchair as we have much more distance to cover.
We stopped to see St. Paul’s outside the walls of Rome. Inside are pictures of over 200 popes. There’s only 6 blank spots, and the Catholics believe that once all of those spots have been filled, then it will be the end of the world.
Also on the tour we saw some of the Colosseum from the outside, as well as the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
After arriving at our hotel we had lunch, and Michael was thrilled to be able to have a gluten free pizza! He says they’re much better than the ones he usually has at home. Best Western even has a gluten free breakfast menu!
At the Colosseum it was very crowded, and even though we had Skip-the-Line tickets, it still took us about an hour to get in and clear security. They only let 3,000 people in at a time, and approximately 22,000 enter every day! The Colosseum was a stadium where people used to fight each other, and condemned prisoners were fed to the lions and alligators. Some of the stones from the structure have been stolen, as it has fallen into disrepair. It’s hard to image how something this large could have been built 2,000 years ago. We didn’t take a tour, as I had enough trouble walking as it was, and
couldn’t have stood that long.
Upon leaving we also briefly visited the Roman Forum. This was the centre of daily life in Rome. One building has very tall columns, and some of the buildings resemble the Colosseum in style.
I was exhausted at the end of the afternoon. We couldn’t have managed the wheelchair, and so I had to walk very slowly and sit down frequently, thanks to having spinal stenosis. But I still did it, and that’s all that matters. Tomorrow we’ll take the wheelchair as we have much more distance to cover.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
April 23/19 - Naples - second day
Today we split up for tours again, as Michael wanted to go to Herculaneum, and I wouldn’t have been able to walk that much.
On my tour we saw interesting architecture at the Royal Palace - Greek, Roman, Gothic, Byzantine, Norman, Spanish, Bourbon and Italian statues. Many of the downtown apartments are attractive, and so are the embassies and the buildings in the square with the Palace, but many others are much more worn looking.
Naples is a city of 3 million people, and 85 % are Catholic. Some go to church daily, but those who work full time try to go both days on the weekend.
Naples sits on top of an active volcano, and Mt. Vesuvius is quite close by. It erupted during the time of WWII, so between the war and the volcano, the city was damaged extensively. There was also an earthquake in the 1980’s which caused a lot of damage. Luckily the large fort, built in 1297 seems to have survived these disasters.
Most adults drink espresso, and Naples is where pizza was invented. When we had some free time, I entered a stylish café with many fancy desserts and lots of people drinking espresso. It was so crowded that one could barely move from one end to the other. And when I used their facilities there was a man stationed there to direct the line up! I stopped at a small pizza place, hoping to try the Margarita pizza, which was the first and most popular of all pizzas. It was too early, and when I asked to use the toilet, I was told to go away!
According to my tour guide, pizza was first invented by a chef working for Queen Margarita, who asked for something new. He named it after her, and it consists only of the crust, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and basil. After Michael returned from his tour, he suggested we go to a restaurant where I could try one of them. Our guide book listed the most popular place, which was called Da Michele’s so we took a cab as it wasn’t walking distance. There was a huge crowd outside, and it was impossible to know what was happening. Apparently you were supposed to push your way inside a small door to get a number, and then it was rumoured that you would have to wait over an hour. Someone would come to the door occasionally to call out numbers, and people would push their their way out with boxes. Who knew if or when we could get one? And Michael couldn’t eat it if we did! Fortunately there was another place across the street with tables, so we went there instead. It was after 2 pm and still fairly busy, but nothing like the other place. They brought me a whole pizza, and believe it or not I was able to eat most of it! The crust isn’t like ours - this one is much thinner, but the edge is very puffy. I wasn’t sure what I would think of such a plain pizza, but it was amazing!
On the Herculaneum tour Michael’s group made a brief stop at a cameo factory. The cameos are made by carving pieces of seashell so that different coloured layers are exposed. Herculaneum was destroyed by the same eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 AD. The city was buried by lava rather than by ash (as in Pompeii), so the preservation is quite different. Wood was carbonized but otherwise preserved, and many of the frescos and mosaics are still visible. The citizens of Herculaneum had a bit more time to evacuate, but several skeletons were found near what would have been the waterfront. Michael’s tour guide was excellent, and he gave a good description of life in a Roman city. New buildings have been constructed over the ruins of Herculaneum, since it was only discovered by accident in the 1970’s, so it has only been possible to excavate about 20% of the ancient city.
Tomorrow morning we leave the ship at Civitavecchia, taking a bus to Rome, and then we have one last tour around that city for a couple of hours. We have booked a hotel for two nights, and have a Colosseum and Forum tour booked for the afternoon, and the Vatican City, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica booked for Thursday. It’ll be interesting to see how we make out on our own, especially with the wheelchair. I did some walking today and it went well, so I’m hoping that I can do without it tomorrow, as we shouldn’t be on our feet too long. I’ll certainly need it the next day however, so I hope that
On my tour we saw interesting architecture at the Royal Palace - Greek, Roman, Gothic, Byzantine, Norman, Spanish, Bourbon and Italian statues. Many of the downtown apartments are attractive, and so are the embassies and the buildings in the square with the Palace, but many others are much more worn looking.
Naples is a city of 3 million people, and 85 % are Catholic. Some go to church daily, but those who work full time try to go both days on the weekend.
Naples sits on top of an active volcano, and Mt. Vesuvius is quite close by. It erupted during the time of WWII, so between the war and the volcano, the city was damaged extensively. There was also an earthquake in the 1980’s which caused a lot of damage. Luckily the large fort, built in 1297 seems to have survived these disasters.
Most adults drink espresso, and Naples is where pizza was invented. When we had some free time, I entered a stylish café with many fancy desserts and lots of people drinking espresso. It was so crowded that one could barely move from one end to the other. And when I used their facilities there was a man stationed there to direct the line up! I stopped at a small pizza place, hoping to try the Margarita pizza, which was the first and most popular of all pizzas. It was too early, and when I asked to use the toilet, I was told to go away!
According to my tour guide, pizza was first invented by a chef working for Queen Margarita, who asked for something new. He named it after her, and it consists only of the crust, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and basil. After Michael returned from his tour, he suggested we go to a restaurant where I could try one of them. Our guide book listed the most popular place, which was called Da Michele’s so we took a cab as it wasn’t walking distance. There was a huge crowd outside, and it was impossible to know what was happening. Apparently you were supposed to push your way inside a small door to get a number, and then it was rumoured that you would have to wait over an hour. Someone would come to the door occasionally to call out numbers, and people would push their their way out with boxes. Who knew if or when we could get one? And Michael couldn’t eat it if we did! Fortunately there was another place across the street with tables, so we went there instead. It was after 2 pm and still fairly busy, but nothing like the other place. They brought me a whole pizza, and believe it or not I was able to eat most of it! The crust isn’t like ours - this one is much thinner, but the edge is very puffy. I wasn’t sure what I would think of such a plain pizza, but it was amazing!
On the Herculaneum tour Michael’s group made a brief stop at a cameo factory. The cameos are made by carving pieces of seashell so that different coloured layers are exposed. Herculaneum was destroyed by the same eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 AD. The city was buried by lava rather than by ash (as in Pompeii), so the preservation is quite different. Wood was carbonized but otherwise preserved, and many of the frescos and mosaics are still visible. The citizens of Herculaneum had a bit more time to evacuate, but several skeletons were found near what would have been the waterfront. Michael’s tour guide was excellent, and he gave a good description of life in a Roman city. New buildings have been constructed over the ruins of Herculaneum, since it was only discovered by accident in the 1970’s, so it has only been possible to excavate about 20% of the ancient city.
Tomorrow morning we leave the ship at Civitavecchia, taking a bus to Rome, and then we have one last tour around that city for a couple of hours. We have booked a hotel for two nights, and have a Colosseum and Forum tour booked for the afternoon, and the Vatican City, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica booked for Thursday. It’ll be interesting to see how we make out on our own, especially with the wheelchair. I did some walking today and it went well, so I’m hoping that I can do without it tomorrow, as we shouldn’t be on our feet too long. I’ll certainly need it the next day however, so I hope that
Sunday, April 21, 2019
April 21/19 - Portoferraio, Elba Island, Italy
We’re back in Italy again, in the Tuscany region, on an island just west of the mainland of Italy. I woke earlier than planned, but was so happy to see the approach to Elba island, as it was stunning! The town at the dock is Portoferraio. Since our tour is in the afternoon today, we went ashore to look around. Even though it’s Easter Sunday, a lot of outdoor cafes and some small shops were open in the morning. There’s a gigantic fort along the shore that was built in the mid 1500’s.
This area was originally settled by the Romans, Etruscans and the Greeks. They have excavated pottery from the time of about 400 BC, and these artifacts plus the partial remains of a Roman villa are seen at the Archeological museum. This was one of the stops on our Panoramic Mini Train and Gelato tour in the afternoon. From this wee train we looked out into the Tyrrhenian (part of the Mediterranean) Sea, and I can’t remember when I last saw such beautifully clear water! And it felt warm, even in late April! This was the island that Napoleon was first exiled to. Our captain made the remark that he doesn’t know why Napoleon complained about that, as it’s a lovely island!
This evening we skipped the live show and saw the movie ‘Music of Silence’ instead. It’s a true story about the life of nearly blind Bocelli following his dream of becoming an opera singer. We both really enjoyed it.
This area was originally settled by the Romans, Etruscans and the Greeks. They have excavated pottery from the time of about 400 BC, and these artifacts plus the partial remains of a Roman villa are seen at the Archeological museum. This was one of the stops on our Panoramic Mini Train and Gelato tour in the afternoon. From this wee train we looked out into the Tyrrhenian (part of the Mediterranean) Sea, and I can’t remember when I last saw such beautifully clear water! And it felt warm, even in late April! This was the island that Napoleon was first exiled to. Our captain made the remark that he doesn’t know why Napoleon complained about that, as it’s a lovely island!
This evening we skipped the live show and saw the movie ‘Music of Silence’ instead. It’s a true story about the life of nearly blind Bocelli following his dream of becoming an opera singer. We both really enjoyed it.
Saturday, April 20, 2019
April 20/19 - Ajaccio, Corsica, France
Corsica is a French island just north of Sardinia, Italy, where we were yesterday. Michael and I took separate tours, as he wanted to go to the Greek Village, but it was too much walking for me. Instead I took a bus trip through the Prunelli Gorge, which is beautiful! And the weather was perfect as well. There is lots of vegetation typical of the Mediterranean area - orange, olive and chestnut trees, as well as lovely bushes of white heather. Here they also grow herbs such as rosemary and produce lots of essential oils, which they believe are good for one’s health. (It was good that Michael didn’t hear our tour guide go on and on about this, as well as detoxing, and I overheard someone else on the bus saying “how about just drinking water instead!”) We had a couple of photo stops and one for a light snack of sliced meats, cheese and wine, which I quite enjoyed, even though I’m not much of a wine drinker. We saw a man-made lake set within the mountains and couple of very small towns of about 80 people, which have no services. Food arrives by van once per week, and if someone has an accident they have to be flown out. Apparently this is a popular place for retirees.
Michael visited Cargese, a village with a Greek heritage. Hundreds of years ago some Greeks arrived, much to the dismay of the Corsicans. However they stayed and were assimilated. The village sits high above a deep blue bay, and is rich with flowers, fig and palm trees. The palm trees are being eaten away by a bug that my tour guide says will eventually destroy them. Michael visited both a Catholic and a Greek Othodox church, and had a taste of local meats and cheeses before returning to the ship.
In the afternoon Michael pushed me around some local shops in town, and we went past the building that had originally been the church where Napoleon was baptized when he was 2 years old. As is apparently typical of France, we saw more dog poop all over the place than we have seen everywhere else combined thus far!
This evening we saw a comedian/magician show that I enjoyed and Michael didn’t. This was mostly because he did get some cheap laughs at the expense of others, but I still found him to be funny.
Michael visited Cargese, a village with a Greek heritage. Hundreds of years ago some Greeks arrived, much to the dismay of the Corsicans. However they stayed and were assimilated. The village sits high above a deep blue bay, and is rich with flowers, fig and palm trees. The palm trees are being eaten away by a bug that my tour guide says will eventually destroy them. Michael visited both a Catholic and a Greek Othodox church, and had a taste of local meats and cheeses before returning to the ship.
In the afternoon Michael pushed me around some local shops in town, and we went past the building that had originally been the church where Napoleon was baptized when he was 2 years old. As is apparently typical of France, we saw more dog poop all over the place than we have seen everywhere else combined thus far!
This evening we saw a comedian/magician show that I enjoyed and Michael didn’t. This was mostly because he did get some cheap laughs at the expense of others, but I still found him to be funny.
Friday, April 19, 2019
April 19/19 - Alghero, Italy
Yesterday was a sea day, and there was a lot of activities on board the ship. They have groups such as LGBTQ and singles, many organized group games, board games and puzzles, meditation, morning exercises, a daily movie, an evening live show, cooking demonstrations about local foods, music duos and quartets, plus a casino, pool, spa and gym. I went to the gym to ride the exercise bike and lift some weights, and by noon I was exhausted, even though I had done very little walking on the ship. I can do those activities at home without wearing myself out, but perhaps that’s because I haven’t been able to walk much at home, what with a stress fracture and spinal stenosis. So today I didn’t go to the gym, and conserved my energy by using the wheel part of the time, and that worked much better.
Today we landed at the island of Sardinia, just west of the Italian mainland. This island is now owned by Italy, but was previously under Spanish rule. There are 4 languages spoken here - Italian, Sardinian, French and Algherese. We arrived at the city of Alghero, and then took a bus tour on the island, stopping at several scenic places, as well as for a light snack. The countryside is lush and full of vegetation. The area is also known for a special type of coral that is found in the ocean, and cut and polished to make into jewelry. Because of conservation, they can only take a limited amount at a time.
After the bus trip, Michael pushed me around some streets in the old town, and we had some delicious gelato and purchased some coral jewelry. After dinner we watch a good live show of singing and dancing in different styles.
Today we landed at the island of Sardinia, just west of the Italian mainland. This island is now owned by Italy, but was previously under Spanish rule. There are 4 languages spoken here - Italian, Sardinian, French and Algherese. We arrived at the city of Alghero, and then took a bus tour on the island, stopping at several scenic places, as well as for a light snack. The countryside is lush and full of vegetation. The area is also known for a special type of coral that is found in the ocean, and cut and polished to make into jewelry. Because of conservation, they can only take a limited amount at a time.
After the bus trip, Michael pushed me around some streets in the old town, and we had some delicious gelato and purchased some coral jewelry. After dinner we watch a good live show of singing and dancing in different styles.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
April 17/19 - Barcelona, Spain
Today Michael and I took separate tours out of necessity. He wanted to see the Gaudí (La Segrada Familia) Basilica, but sadly it would be too crowded to push me in the wheelchair, and I can’t do that much walking. I took a bus tour of the city which made two short stops - one was at a lookout point, and the other at the harbour. This is a city of almost 4 million people, and not at all what I thought it would look like. A few of the sites I saw were the Columbus Monument, Gaudí’s Basilica, the Olympic harbour and the Olympic Ring.
Michael’s tour of the Basilica was amazing! The guide told interesting stories about Gaudí himself and about the (ongoing) construction of the building. Construction has been underway for over a century; things went slowly for quite a while because money was tight, but as the building nears completion it has become a very popular tourist attraction. Ticket sales from visitors (over 4 million last year) have provided more cash, and completion is currently planned for 2026 to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of Gaudí’s death. The church is astonishingly bright inside, and Gaudí’s design draws heavily on nature. The roof is supported by 56 pillars that resemble trees. Because the walls do not support the roof they can be very light, and so they are filled with a latticework of stained glass. It’s hard to do justice to the building in words - you’ll have to wait until we post photos when we get home! The tour also visited a couple of Gaudí’s other buildings in Barcelona.
This evening we went to a Flamenco with dinner event. We ate seafood paella at an Andalusian restaurant and watched Spanish Flamenco dancing, accompanied by singers and instruments (guitar, drum and violin). We thought that the best dancer was an older fellow in his 60’s, who brought down the house at the end. On our way back to the ship we had another bus tour of the city, which gave me a chance to take some more photos, and to see Gaudi’s cathderal better than I could see it during the morning tour. It’s such a huge attraction that buses cannot stop in front of it, but with the lighter traffic in the evening, the driver was able to go past it more slowly. Even from the outside it’s a wonder to behold.
Michael’s tour of the Basilica was amazing! The guide told interesting stories about Gaudí himself and about the (ongoing) construction of the building. Construction has been underway for over a century; things went slowly for quite a while because money was tight, but as the building nears completion it has become a very popular tourist attraction. Ticket sales from visitors (over 4 million last year) have provided more cash, and completion is currently planned for 2026 to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of Gaudí’s death. The church is astonishingly bright inside, and Gaudí’s design draws heavily on nature. The roof is supported by 56 pillars that resemble trees. Because the walls do not support the roof they can be very light, and so they are filled with a latticework of stained glass. It’s hard to do justice to the building in words - you’ll have to wait until we post photos when we get home! The tour also visited a couple of Gaudí’s other buildings in Barcelona.
This evening we went to a Flamenco with dinner event. We ate seafood paella at an Andalusian restaurant and watched Spanish Flamenco dancing, accompanied by singers and instruments (guitar, drum and violin). We thought that the best dancer was an older fellow in his 60’s, who brought down the house at the end. On our way back to the ship we had another bus tour of the city, which gave me a chance to take some more photos, and to see Gaudi’s cathderal better than I could see it during the morning tour. It’s such a huge attraction that buses cannot stop in front of it, but with the lighter traffic in the evening, the driver was able to go past it more slowly. Even from the outside it’s a wonder to behold.
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