Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn — Livorno to Pisa (Part 1)

April 9, 2023 by

VIKING OCEAN CRUISE

Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

We took the optional Scenic Lucca & Pisa tour. Lasting 8.5 hours, it was a decent value at $129 per person. We had one of the earlier departure times at 0745 with an expected return at 1615. (The ship was scheduled to set sail for Rome at 1800).

Here is the description of the tour from the Viking website:

Marvel at the architecture in Pisa’s Square of Miracles, then admire one of Tuscany’s best-preserved medieval cities.

Upon arrival in Pisa, walk from the coach park to the Square of Miracles. Here, you will visit the 13th-century Romanesque Cathedral and circular Baptistery. During free time, you can ponder the famous Leaning Tower and explore the Camposanto Monumentale, called the world’s most beautiful cemetery. A scenic drive through Tuscany with your guide takes you to Lucca. The walls surrounding this atmospheric city, built in stages from the 11th to the 17th centuries, remain completely intact; you will feel as though you have stepped back in time as you pass through its ramparts. On a walking tour, follow the medieval bastions and cobblestone streets past the Basilica di San Frediano and Roman amphitheater. View the charming interior and artwork in the Cattedrale di San Martino. You will have time to explore its quiet warrens on your own.

Here is our actual timetable:

  • 0745 Leave cruise port
  • 0820 Arrive bus parking lot in Pisa
  • 0845 Tour Square of Miracles
  • 0925 to 1015 Free time (Visited cemetery and baptistery)
  • 1045 to 1115 Drive to Lcca
  • 1130 til 1215 Lucca tour
  • 1215 to 1400 Free time for lunch and shopping
  • 1400 to 1500 Tour of Cattedrale di San Martino.
  • 1515 to 1615 Return to Livorno

The excursion is rated as DEMANDING. We walked over 7 miles (though not all in our tour group) and surfaces were often rough and uneven cobblestones with steps to negotiate. It wasn’t demanding in the way Pompeii or the Acropolis in Athens is demanding, but it did require stamina and the ability to walk long distances, often on uneven surfaces or cobblestones.

This was one of our favorite excursions on our three-week-long cruise, and for many reasons, some fortuitous. Our tour had only 12 guests (on a full-sized bus). All passengers were highly mobile and were fully engaged for the 8.5-hour excursion. The guide was extraordinarily well-versed in Italian history, culture, and art, and shared plenty of anecdotal tales along the way. The tour was a balanced mix of guided tour plus free time which made for a pleasant day.

Our first stop was Pisa which was a 35-minute bus ride from the cruise port. Once the bus parked at the satellite parking lot, we walked about one mile to the Square of Miracles at a quick clip. No stops. We were among the first visitors, so the views were unimpeded by crowds. Our Viking tour guide was required to hand us off to a “licensed” Pisa guide. We enjoyed a guided tour of the exteriors of the Baptistery, Cathedral, and Leaning Tower, then the “Pisa guide” passed us back to our original guide.

We stopped at a restaurant near the Tower where one could use the “free” bathroom when purchasing a “small item.” This was our first stop on the tour. (0925) We had an hour of free time and were advised on how to purchase tickets if we wanted to go into the Tower, Cemetery, or Baptistery.

Touring the interior of the Leaning Tower and climbing the 296 steps to the top required a more expensive, timed ticket and there was insufficient time and we had no reserved ticket. So we regretfully passed.

Instead, we purchased a 10€ ticket to tour the Baptistery and Camposanto Monumentale (covered cemetery) and spent an hour amazed. The enclosed cemetery is a treasure trove! The sculptures. The marble mosaics. The frescoes. The carvings. And if you look carefully you’ll find the answer to “Where’s Waldo?” We’re glad we saw the Leaning Tower. However, my travel motto for Pisa is “Come for the Tower, stay for the cemetery.” An audio tour is available, but we just explored it on our own.

If a tourist remarks “There was nothing to see in Pisa” or “Don’t bother with Pisa” I would wonder if they did more than look at the Tower. I cannot emphasize enough that this covered cemetery was one of the highlights of not only this tour but of the entire cruise!

The Pisa Baptistery of St. John was begun in 1152 and completed in 1363. It was constructed with two walls, a pyramidal exterior roof, and a domed interior wall, which provided an acoustically perfect space. Every 30 minutes, the building’s guardian stands in the middle of the structure and sings a few notes to demonstrate! It took only fifteen minutes to see the interior but a worthwhile 15 minutes.

We were unable to enter the Cathedral proper because we were there on Easter Sunday morning and the Archbishop was celebrating Easter Mass. We briefly stepped inside the back entrance of the church and took a quick peek at the interior.

After Pisa, we bussed to nearby Lucca. Next post…

Filed Under: Contemplative Creatives Journey

Port of Call – Monte Carlo, Monaco

April 7, 2023 by

Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn
Barcelona to Rome to Venice to Athens April 3-24, 2023

Monaco. Didn’t bother with the included walking tour or one of the optional excursions. Monte Carlo has easy on, easy off cruise port access, so it is easy to walk the streets of Monaco. we gawked at the opulent Casino but decided to forego an inside tour for walks through a few of Monte Carlo’s many gardens. It was 70 degrees F and sunny, a perfect walking day.

We explored the Japanese Gardens, a 1.7-acre garden that featured walks among bamboo hedges, waterfalls, and lily ponds. The Casino Gardens feature nearly 100 sculptures such as the 12-foot Adam and Eve by Fernando Botero. In addition to sculptures in the gardens, many sculptures are located in the Fontvieille quarter where they line a pedestrian walk. Saint Martens Gardens offer great views of the Mediterranean plus a chance to walk through a cactus garden.

Lots and lots of hills and steps, though there are escalators at a few locations. (Worth looking for if you’re not a fan of stair climbing.)

We stopped for a local beer at Monaco Brewery. (Okay beer)

Monte Carlo was a lowkey port of call for us, so I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. It is a beautiful city in a beautiful setting!

Filed Under: Photography, Travel

Port of Call MARSIELLE, FRANCE (TOULON)

April 6, 2023 by

VIKING STAR Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn
Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

Description from the Viking website of In the Footsteps of Van Gogh:

Contemplate van Gogh’s artistry in the fields, monasteries, chapels and villages depicted in his paintings. After wandering through the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, you will be driven to the St. Paul de Mausole Monastery, a masterpiece of Provençal Romanesque art. From the top of the beautiful two-story square steeple, topped by a pyramidal roof, you can see the wheat field that Vincent van Gogh painted during his year of confinement.

You will enjoy a delicious lunch in the amazing eagle’s-nest village of Les Baux-de-Provence. Built on a rocky spur in the Alpilles mountain range and offering great views of the countryside and vineyards, the village is full of Gothic and Renaissance houses. Your guide will take you on a stroll past the 12th-century Church of St. Vincent and the 17th-century Chapel of the White Penitents and along the narrow and winding streets lined with local craftsmen.

Unable to dock in Marseilles due to the ongoing French dockworkers’ strike, we docked in Toulon. Excursion buses picked up passengers a short walk from the ships. One bus with about 50 passengers went on the optional excursion In the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh. ($159 per person, eight-hour tour with included lunch.)

About a two-hour bus ride from the port to Saint-Remy-de-Provence with a not-very-brief restroom stop midway. It was an early spring day in Provence, trees just beginning to leaf, and flowers were in bloom (iris). Four or five-block walk to the convent where Van Gogh spent months towards the end of his life.

Painting reproductions were set up at sites showing where the artist would have set up his easel. Olive groves and mountains, for example. Then toured the interior of the monastery. A flight of steps led to his bedroom.

After the monastery tour, there was free time in Remy for strolling and shopping — ceramics, textiles, perfumes, housewares, clothing.

Twenty-minute drive to a mountain-high restaurant, Le Mas d’Aigret. Salad, sauteed chicken, veggies, dessert. Your choice of red, rose, or white wine. The restaurant was built into a cave. Food was 3.5/5. Lovely setting, and an intimate dining space.

Then to Les Baux-de-Provence, and toured the village. Hour of free time for shopping — artisanal foods, crafts, souvenirs, textiles. The bus drive back was about 90 minutes.

This excursion was well worth the time and cost. Not easily replicable as a do-it-yourself and I didn’t see anything comparable offered by independent guides. This is one time when booking with Viking was fortuitous because we unexpectedly docked in a different port.

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MONTPELLIER (SETE), FRANCE on VIKING STAR

April 5, 2023 by

Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn
Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

We took the included tour, Scenic Sete by Foot, which we enjoyed. Here’s the Viking website description:

Explore the port city of Sète, the “Venice of the Languedoc.” Located on a thin strip of land, Sète received its name from the many canals that crisscross it, linking the Mediterranean to the enclosed saltwater lagoon of Ethang de Thau.

Meet your guide and walk along Sète’s main canal. Learn why Sète is a destination for seafood-loving gourmets as you watch the largest fishing fleet on France’s Mediterranean coast troll the fish-abundant waters. Get a sense of the strong cultural identity of this major port city and of its inhabitants as you stroll the streets of the Old Port, viewing the churches, art galleries, and other historic public buildings that line the quay. Then, experience at your leisure the shopping opportunities and unpretentious atmosphere of this city, different from other resorts in southern France, before heading back to your ship.

The ship docked in an industrial port and all passengers were required to take a 5-minute shuttle from the ship to the meeting point for tours. At the shuttle stop there were town greeters with smiles and maps and an overhead shelter with a couple of benches. Our tour guide met us there.

I think we had the most unusual tour guide ever. A septuagenarian in costume with a metal fife, he skipped, danced, sang, and played his way through the streets of Sete. He’s a member of some of the musician groups in the region and played a repertoire of traditional songs. He was quite the entertainer.

It’s an easy 20 to 30-minute walk from the shuttle stop to the central part of town, although one must negotiate several steep stairs (with handrails). We crossed a couple of bridges and got close-up views of all kinds of boats of all sizes.

We wandered the streets and canals and took advantage of lots of photo ops. Canals, colorful boats strung in a row, reflections on the water. The morning market is a local hang-out and shop where locals hang out and buy their produce and fish for the day. This market is not to be missed but keep in mind it closes at noon.

We examined bins of olives, oysters, shrimp, mussels, clams, winkles, cheeses, and sausages. You can find food stalls where monkfish, cuttlefish, bream, squid, and octopus are featured in authentic local recipes, like stuffed squid or “tielles” (octopus pies).

We were on the main street in Sete on a Wednesday when the outdoor farmer’s market is also open. A treat to see the displays of fresh produce, embroidered pouches of lavender, bakery goods, cheeses, and more.

After the market stop, we left the tour and went off on our own. I sampled fresh-from-the-sea oysters while Bob enjoyed a local wine — “nice, a red blend, modestly dry.”

We had our first adventure at the convenient and friendly staffed pharmacy where none of the staff spoke English. Bob needed a special cleanser for his hard contacts and we were both surprised and pleased by how well one can manage complex conversations using the Google Translate app.

Other cruisers ventured to the top of St. Clair — a hard uphill hike or a bus ride — for the view of the canals and seaport and to admire the painted walls of the Chapel of Notre Dame and the Cimetiere Marin (cemetery).

The included tour was fine and we enjoyed exploring this small French village. Other cruisers spoke positively about their tours to Montpellier and the Thau Lagoon. If we had a do-over, I think we would try to do a half-day optional tour elsewhere, and then explore Sete on our own. Since the ship doesn’t leave port until 2100 there is plenty of time to comfortably do both.

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Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn on Viking Star

April 4, 2023 by

Barcelona to Athens April 3-24, 2023

In Barcelona

From the Viking website, this is the included tour:

Discover Barcelona’s most iconic landmarks on a relaxing drive and a leisurely walk around this impressive city. You will pass the Columbus Monument and Port Vell, the seaside cultural and shopping complex. Admire the Arc de Triomf, a stately remnant from the 1888 World’s Fair. Take in the breathtaking Parc de la Ciutadella, once home to the garrison that protected the city. Next, you will alight from your motor coach and walk into the historic center, stopping to view the stunning neo-Gothic Barcelona Cathedral. The facade of this 14th-century marvel is adorned with many sculptures, including a wide range of animals and mythical gargoyles on its roof. After enjoying free time and an opportunity to take a short walk through the Gothic Quarter, you will return to the ship.

Our included tour was scheduled from 0830 to 1230. We revisited much of the route we took on the Pre-Extension Included Tour, drove past a few of the Gaudi houses, then stopped at Sagrada Familia for a tour of the exterior only. One could look at this church a hundred times and still see something new, so we welcomed the opportunity to visit again.

After looking at Sagrada, we were ushered across the street into a “gift shop that has free restrooms.” The gift shop stocked the typical tourist souvenirs though we did find a few trinkets for our younger grandkids and a nice assortment of postcards.

The allotted time for Sagrada plus gift shop stop was about an hour with a disproportionate amount of time given to the gift shop/restroom stop. We notified the tour guide we would be momentarily leaving the group and he told us the departure time and location. With that info, we headed to a small cafe and enjoyed a cappuccino. I should not be surprised at the length of time it takes for 50 or so adults to use the facilities, nor the frequency that is deemed necessary for doing so; give me another 10-15 years and likely I’ll be looking for the loo, too!

If you’re curious we stopped at Trabucaire for our treat. Just a few doors from the already noted, and nameless, gift store. Sit down, terrace service. 6€ for two cappuccinos and biscuits.

Once we were on our own, we wandered the crooked, narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter and stopped whenever a shop caught our fancy. We checked out stores that carried walls of espadrilles, a one-aisle grocery/liquor store, and a stationary shop. Plus the obligatory stop at a bakery for nibbles. We remembered to look up when we passed under the arches — always saw a few carvings, to our delight.

We eventually ended up at the Barcelona Cathedral. Wow! Interesting in that there was reconstruction taking place high in the spires and steeples, and a huge advertisement billboard for a cell company was plastered on the work area. One way to pay for maintenance! The exterior of the church was spectacular; the square in front of the church was a convenient place to sit and have a bite to eat. We did enter the cathedral, but we took no photos inside the cathedral as we arrived during a liturgy — a super High Mass, the blessing of Chrism (the holy oil that will be used in the sacraments for the coming liturgical year).

The Mass was concelebrated by the Cardinal of Barcelona and attended by all of the Diocesan priests. Quite astonishing to attend this Mass amidst such grandeur. Mass in Italian was also an interesting experience. We knew what was going on, but we still felt a little confused without the familiar English.

Our last stop in the Gothic Quarter was the Picasso Museum. Ooh, la la! What a city! Miro, Gaudi, and Picasso. Part of the fun was getting incredibly turned around in the narrow passageways that crisscross the old quarters. (Also nerve-wracking. Be sure you have maps if you’re here; we lost GPS often amidst the tall stone buildings.) We took the long way from the Barcelona Cathedral to the Museum and were doubly glad we had purchased online tickets. The ticket line wound into the street, but we walked right in at our appointed time.

Our tickets for 2 seniors without audioguide were 15€. If we had added the audio it would have been 25€ for both of us. Tickets are timed; you enter during your 15-minute window. (It always pays to compare. Viator offered a skip-the-line ticket with audio for 44€ for two; more costly and no advantage.)

The Picasso Museum is housed in a set of architectural wonders. From the museum’s website:
The Picasso Museum occupies five large townhouses or palaces on the street Carrer de Montcada. The original palaces date from the 13th-15th centuries, undergoing major refurbishments over time, the most important in the 18th century. The palaces are a good example of Catalan civic gothic style. They have a common structure surrounding a courtyard with access to the main floor via an outdoor open stairway.

The first floor of the museum, accessible without a ticket, offers a few benches for resting, an extensive gift shop featuring high-quality art and other art-related goodies, large accessible restrooms, and pay lockers. No backpacks, even tiny ones, are allowed in the museum so allow time for the bag check if you have a timed ticket. I do recommend this art museum, especially if you have an interest in art or architecture.

My favorites? His series of pigeon paintings. He painted them in a couple of days, looking out from his window in Barcelona, whiling away time as he awaited inspiration to complete a larger piece. My 2-year-old granddaughter would love these as they are similar to chickens and she loves chickens. The palaces are a perfect setting for an art museum. Just look at the exquisite detailing in the room featuring his ceramic work!

By the time we toured the museum and spent a few € in the gift store, we’d walked 5 miles and were a bit weary. Plus hungry, as we’d grabbed a pastry instead of lunch. (May or may not have been a mistake!) We lucked out and caught a taxi near the entrance. The driver spoke minimal English but easily understood we wanted to return to the “cruise port.” 8€. I had my photo of the port’s location just in case…

We were back on board close to 1700 and the Viking Star pulled up anchor and sailed a bit after 1800. Just before we left, we watched the Viking Jupiter pull out of the harbor ahead of us.

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