Back from the Mediterranean
Jul 26th, 2007, 02:28 PM
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Back from the Mediterranean
I want to first thank everyone that gave so much valuable info to me in preparing for our trip. You are all great! We went on the Disney Magic to the Mediterranean for 11 days and it was GREAT!! We took our 7 and 9 year old and they had a blast!
Day 1: Barcelona: Nobody can do a sailing away party like Disney!! The only problem for many passengers 170 cabins out of 320 cabins received no luggage. What a nightmare! It was major problems with connecting flights and only 10 of the 170 received their luggage during the trip. I am thankful we got ours!
DAY 2: At sea.
Day 3: PALERMO
We took a fabulous excursion called Palermo for kids. We took a walking tour of the city and ended up at an old palace where the children got to make their own pottery piece and received instruction from a potter that sold his goods there. Afterwards, we were treated to gelato! Now I understand what the big deal about this sweet treat is! We wanted to eat this around the clock! We then went to an authentic marionette show or should I say the puppet opera? It was a delight! Although in Italian (good thing it was as the script we were given was about 2 married men with children wanting to start an affair with a woman!), it was quite entertaining! The kids were taken behind the stage afterwards and were allowed to sit on the stage with all of the puppets! Of course, we couldn't leave without buying marionettes!
Day 4: NAPLES
This was my favorite day! I posted about doing Pompeii, Vesuvius, and Herculeneum in one day and many told me that it couldn't be done. Well...it was done!! I investigated it thoroughly and had train schedules and everything and it went like a dream. We took the #1 tram from the port to the Napoli Centrale train station and boarded a train to Sorrento. We exited at the Pompeii Scavi exit and went into the ruins. UNBELIEVABLE!! It was like stepping back into Roman days! We arrived at 8:30 AM when they opened! We stayed for 4 hours as it was EXTREMELY hot and we got through all of the major sights. One regret, we should have taken a guided tour. Pompeii is huge and until you get your bearings straight and figure out the lay of the land, it is difficult. There was alot of yelling between my husband and I due to being frustrated but, we got the hang of it! We were moved by the body casts...quite sad and makes it so real. We showed our girls an A and E special before we left about the site and they had great delight looking for the particular houses that were on the tape. They did get bored after awhile and had more fun counting how many stray dogs there were in the ruins! To our surprise, they were nice animals...they were quite picky in what they ate so, they could not have been that hungry! We purchased a great book at the bookstore called Pompeii's Monuments Past and Present with the neatest overlays that would be placed over the ruins pictures so that you could see what the buildings actually looked liked. This was a great tip from a Fodorite!! We left out where we came in at the Porta Marina entrance. By that time, it was mobbed! Get there first thing if you go. We stopped at a kiosk outside the train station and purchased bus tickets for the Vesuviana Mobilita. A very nice bus ride to the 1,000 meter point of the volcano. From there, we purchased a ticket to climb to the top of the crater. We underestimated the climb. I understand why they give you a walking stick! It was an uphill climb for 30 minutes to the top. My 9 year old ran to the top, my 7 year old pooped out half way up and my poor husband carried her along with backpack and camera bag! I pooped out half way up and refused to give up....I was going to make it! Vesuvius is on borrowed time and it must be seen while it can be seen. Well...I made it and what a treat! The crater is eerie and to realize that this is what caused the destruction in 79 AD is surreal! A tour guide was pointing out a smoking area of the crater...it is easier to see in the winter. My 9 year old wanted to know what would happen if it exploded...I said, RUN!! The view from the top is great! It was a clear day and we could see for miles! The climb down was equally trecherous as your feet could not get a grip on the volcanic rock and we practically slid the whole way down! This climb is not for the weak of heart! We boarded back on the bus and headed to the train station at Pompeii and went to Ercolano (Herculeneum). We were quite disappointed in Herculeneum as we had heard how much more preserved it was. Unfortunate for us, a good part of the excavations were under scaffolding and drapes and the major sites were closed for refurbishment. We were disappointed that they did not have any display of the skeletal remains in the boat houses that were found as the body casts were displayed in Pompeii. The boat houses were inaccessible and also covered with drapes. We only stayed for 40 minutes...quite upsetting and spent $90 to do it. Check before you go so that you won't be disappointed. Back to the train, the tram, and we arrived to the ship at 7 PM. Many people on board could not believe that we accomplished this and we were so proud of our little ones!
DAY 5: OLBIA, SARDINIA
We were going to stay on the ship as nothing seemed interesting here to us but, to our surprise...we decided to go to Coda Cavallo beach for the day and it was beautiful!! Turquoise waters and what a beautiful island! Disney had a private area at the beach with umbrellas, etc. for us and served lunch there. It was very relaxing and our girls loved it as the water was knee deep forever!!
DAY 6: ROME
By this time, we were exhausted and we decided to leave the girls on the ship for the day. I am glad that we did as it was 90 degrees and the PEOPLE!!!! We had a 12 hr. excursion and it is obvious why you need 12 hours! The ride to Rome is 1 1/2 hrs. and once you reach the sites, the lines are unbelievable! St. Peter's Square should invest in canopies to keep people covered while in line!! The basilica was beautiful! We then had lunch at an authentic restaurant and we really didn't care for the food. We had a walking tour of the Roman ruins which was very interesting and then ended up at the Colisseum. We did not go in. There was over an hour wait. We got the flavor for it by seeing it only. Disney placed gladiators at the site which was a treat. We had phenomenal photos taken with the gladiator pulling my husbands hair and holding a knife to his throat! From there, we had a PRIVATE, yes PRIVATE viewing after hours of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel! My feet were killing me and I wanted back to the ship! The Vatican Museum was fabulous and we got to see the Pope's car collection that has been closed to the public for security issues. I was surprised how small the Sistine Chapel was but, how beautiful!! They allowed us to take photos inside.
DAY 7: At sea
DAY 8: FLORENCE
We took a great tour of the city and ended up at the leaning tower of Pisa. It is the neatest thing!! Of course, the photos holding up the tower were being taken everywhere and it was amusing! The girls enjoyed this alot! We had dinner at a fabulous hotel and the food was to die for! Funny....we got an appetizer and then they served rigatoni and risoto. We had seconds because it was so good! Well..little did we realize that this was only appetizers! Out came beef, potatoes, veggies! Tiramisu ended it all! Many of us ere wondering where the Roman vomitariums were!!
DAY 9: MARSEILLE
This was our least favorite port. Shops were closed and we were in port for 12 hours on a Sunday. We did take the Little Train to the Notre Dame and it was breathtaking. We headed back to the ship for a relaxing day that was needed badly!
DAY 10: VILLEFRANCE
We enjoyed this port alot! We took a tour of Monaco and Monte Carlo. We went to the palace and the church where Grace Kelly was married in and also saw her tomb inside. The tour driver took us to the road where Grace Kelly died. Monaco was unbelievably beautiful! You could smell the money there!
DAY 11: At sea
I hope that I didn't ramble on. If you have any questions, please post them.
Kelkel
Day 1: Barcelona: Nobody can do a sailing away party like Disney!! The only problem for many passengers 170 cabins out of 320 cabins received no luggage. What a nightmare! It was major problems with connecting flights and only 10 of the 170 received their luggage during the trip. I am thankful we got ours!
DAY 2: At sea.
Day 3: PALERMO
We took a fabulous excursion called Palermo for kids. We took a walking tour of the city and ended up at an old palace where the children got to make their own pottery piece and received instruction from a potter that sold his goods there. Afterwards, we were treated to gelato! Now I understand what the big deal about this sweet treat is! We wanted to eat this around the clock! We then went to an authentic marionette show or should I say the puppet opera? It was a delight! Although in Italian (good thing it was as the script we were given was about 2 married men with children wanting to start an affair with a woman!), it was quite entertaining! The kids were taken behind the stage afterwards and were allowed to sit on the stage with all of the puppets! Of course, we couldn't leave without buying marionettes!
Day 4: NAPLES
This was my favorite day! I posted about doing Pompeii, Vesuvius, and Herculeneum in one day and many told me that it couldn't be done. Well...it was done!! I investigated it thoroughly and had train schedules and everything and it went like a dream. We took the #1 tram from the port to the Napoli Centrale train station and boarded a train to Sorrento. We exited at the Pompeii Scavi exit and went into the ruins. UNBELIEVABLE!! It was like stepping back into Roman days! We arrived at 8:30 AM when they opened! We stayed for 4 hours as it was EXTREMELY hot and we got through all of the major sights. One regret, we should have taken a guided tour. Pompeii is huge and until you get your bearings straight and figure out the lay of the land, it is difficult. There was alot of yelling between my husband and I due to being frustrated but, we got the hang of it! We were moved by the body casts...quite sad and makes it so real. We showed our girls an A and E special before we left about the site and they had great delight looking for the particular houses that were on the tape. They did get bored after awhile and had more fun counting how many stray dogs there were in the ruins! To our surprise, they were nice animals...they were quite picky in what they ate so, they could not have been that hungry! We purchased a great book at the bookstore called Pompeii's Monuments Past and Present with the neatest overlays that would be placed over the ruins pictures so that you could see what the buildings actually looked liked. This was a great tip from a Fodorite!! We left out where we came in at the Porta Marina entrance. By that time, it was mobbed! Get there first thing if you go. We stopped at a kiosk outside the train station and purchased bus tickets for the Vesuviana Mobilita. A very nice bus ride to the 1,000 meter point of the volcano. From there, we purchased a ticket to climb to the top of the crater. We underestimated the climb. I understand why they give you a walking stick! It was an uphill climb for 30 minutes to the top. My 9 year old ran to the top, my 7 year old pooped out half way up and my poor husband carried her along with backpack and camera bag! I pooped out half way up and refused to give up....I was going to make it! Vesuvius is on borrowed time and it must be seen while it can be seen. Well...I made it and what a treat! The crater is eerie and to realize that this is what caused the destruction in 79 AD is surreal! A tour guide was pointing out a smoking area of the crater...it is easier to see in the winter. My 9 year old wanted to know what would happen if it exploded...I said, RUN!! The view from the top is great! It was a clear day and we could see for miles! The climb down was equally trecherous as your feet could not get a grip on the volcanic rock and we practically slid the whole way down! This climb is not for the weak of heart! We boarded back on the bus and headed to the train station at Pompeii and went to Ercolano (Herculeneum). We were quite disappointed in Herculeneum as we had heard how much more preserved it was. Unfortunate for us, a good part of the excavations were under scaffolding and drapes and the major sites were closed for refurbishment. We were disappointed that they did not have any display of the skeletal remains in the boat houses that were found as the body casts were displayed in Pompeii. The boat houses were inaccessible and also covered with drapes. We only stayed for 40 minutes...quite upsetting and spent $90 to do it. Check before you go so that you won't be disappointed. Back to the train, the tram, and we arrived to the ship at 7 PM. Many people on board could not believe that we accomplished this and we were so proud of our little ones!
DAY 5: OLBIA, SARDINIA
We were going to stay on the ship as nothing seemed interesting here to us but, to our surprise...we decided to go to Coda Cavallo beach for the day and it was beautiful!! Turquoise waters and what a beautiful island! Disney had a private area at the beach with umbrellas, etc. for us and served lunch there. It was very relaxing and our girls loved it as the water was knee deep forever!!
DAY 6: ROME
By this time, we were exhausted and we decided to leave the girls on the ship for the day. I am glad that we did as it was 90 degrees and the PEOPLE!!!! We had a 12 hr. excursion and it is obvious why you need 12 hours! The ride to Rome is 1 1/2 hrs. and once you reach the sites, the lines are unbelievable! St. Peter's Square should invest in canopies to keep people covered while in line!! The basilica was beautiful! We then had lunch at an authentic restaurant and we really didn't care for the food. We had a walking tour of the Roman ruins which was very interesting and then ended up at the Colisseum. We did not go in. There was over an hour wait. We got the flavor for it by seeing it only. Disney placed gladiators at the site which was a treat. We had phenomenal photos taken with the gladiator pulling my husbands hair and holding a knife to his throat! From there, we had a PRIVATE, yes PRIVATE viewing after hours of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel! My feet were killing me and I wanted back to the ship! The Vatican Museum was fabulous and we got to see the Pope's car collection that has been closed to the public for security issues. I was surprised how small the Sistine Chapel was but, how beautiful!! They allowed us to take photos inside.
DAY 7: At sea
DAY 8: FLORENCE
We took a great tour of the city and ended up at the leaning tower of Pisa. It is the neatest thing!! Of course, the photos holding up the tower were being taken everywhere and it was amusing! The girls enjoyed this alot! We had dinner at a fabulous hotel and the food was to die for! Funny....we got an appetizer and then they served rigatoni and risoto. We had seconds because it was so good! Well..little did we realize that this was only appetizers! Out came beef, potatoes, veggies! Tiramisu ended it all! Many of us ere wondering where the Roman vomitariums were!!
DAY 9: MARSEILLE
This was our least favorite port. Shops were closed and we were in port for 12 hours on a Sunday. We did take the Little Train to the Notre Dame and it was breathtaking. We headed back to the ship for a relaxing day that was needed badly!
DAY 10: VILLEFRANCE
We enjoyed this port alot! We took a tour of Monaco and Monte Carlo. We went to the palace and the church where Grace Kelly was married in and also saw her tomb inside. The tour driver took us to the road where Grace Kelly died. Monaco was unbelievably beautiful! You could smell the money there!
DAY 11: At sea
I hope that I didn't ramble on. If you have any questions, please post them.
Kelkel
Jul 27th, 2007, 05:02 AM
#9
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I definately want to go back to Naples. I would like to spend more time in Pompeii, and visit Stabia ruins, and see the archeological museum. I would also like to revisit Herculeneum since we didn't get to enjoy it. Another hile up Vesuvius would be grand!
Our tour guide in Olbia took a liking to my family and she invited us back to stay with her in her home. That would be a lovely vacation spot!
Our tour guide in Olbia took a liking to my family and she invited us back to stay with her in her home. That would be a lovely vacation spot!
