Our Amazing European Adventure! Including 2 cruises and 7 days in Italy!
Jul 12th, 2013, 01:34 PM
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HappyTrvlr - I just wish we would have had more time there! I'm sure there were plenty of great places to eat. Like you mention, we often found just going a street or a block past the main tourist streets was the perfect solution. We just didn't have the time. Our own fault! We did this one other time in Rome and while the food wasn't bad, we paid far too much for what we got! When you're hungry or in a rush - that's when you end up at the worst places! Although I will say, my meal here wasn't bad - I had a salad with fresh tomatoes and avocados that was pretty good - the rest - well, live and learn! 
Jul 13th, 2013, 07:58 AM
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Sunday, June 15th, Sea Day #2 on the Navigator of the Seas
Today was a mixture of relaxation and yet somehow busy, if that somehow makes sense! We slept in just a bit. Maybe until 8:00 or so! Alex didn’t get in until super late again, so I didn’t sleep well until he was safe and sound in his cabin.
Anyway, Keith and I went to the buffet today, just the two of us and had a nice breakfast together. Somehow when it’s just us it’s not nearly as hectic as when all 6 of us or even 4 of us are there! When we got back we woke the kids up and tried to convince them to not waste the last day sleeping and watching tv.
I decided I wanted to do the Walk for Wishes, which is a charity walk for the Make a Wish foundation that Royal Caribbean sponsors. You donate $10 and get a t-shirt that you wear while you walk. Then you meet at 10:30, I believe it was, and the whole group walks around the track until you walk 1 mile. The money is donated to the Make a Wish foundation so that terminally ill children can have their wishes granted. Some kid’s with wishes to be on that ship were there on this cruise. It’s a very heartwarming thing to do. The ship officers and captain participate in the walk. Mimi and I did the walk, five times around the track. When we were done they took a group picture, which I have no idea where that went – I would have thought you’d get one since they have your Sea Pass from when you bought the t-shirt – but it wasn’t with our pictures. Oh well! But we were told that just in that walk that morning they raised over $2000!
It was an incredibly windy morning out on the deck. I planned to go sit out with Keith and read in the sun, but it was too much like being in a wind tunnel. He stuck it out though. He was determined to make use of this day of relaxation!
Meanwhile I took Alex to the teen speed rock walk climb. He didn’t have high hopes. He figured there were much faster teens. The older guys had to be faster than he was. They got everyone signed in and each teen was timed individually with stop watches. There were boys and girls. Turns out – Alex came in FIRST place for the boys! He was shocked. So were some of the older teens who thoroughly expected to win! There were about 10 boys in all. However, overall the fastest speed was by a girl. I had to smile. It was a lot of fun to watch and Alex got a gold medal.
Meanwhile Megan finally had the chance to ice skate. We had time and it was finally free skating! My parents took her down to get the skates and Alex and I met them down there. She was doing great! Ice skating can be challenging enough, but on a moving ship? People were going down fast. Helmets are mandatory here. One woman fell and hit her head hard – she had to be carried off the ice. I had some fears, as a mom, watching Megan skate, but she seemed to be skating pretty cautiously and she was doing well. I can see though how someone could take a nasty fall. I’d hate for her to get hurt, let alone with 2 weeks of vacation still to go! I have to say I was relieved when she had her fill of skating for the day! My dad tried to skate and it turns out skating is not like riding a bike after all…he used to skate a lot as a kid and even as a younger adult. But he just couldn’t do it at all now. And as I said about Megan, we were ALL relieved when he came off the ice. We certainly didn’t need him getting hurt at this point in the trip! I think a fall for a 68 year old man would be much worse than an 11 year old girl! Whew~!
After lunch the wind calmed down a bit and I was able to sit out and read a bit. When it got to be too much, Keith and I went to the Solarium and enjoyed the hot tub. This was definitely a perfect day. Time with the kids, time in the sun. Time with Keith. Being on the open sea and watching the scenery just go by. We went through the Straight of Messina. Passed Mt Etna again. And this time saw the beautiful Stromboli Volcano.
However, this cruise was coming to an end, so I knew I had to go back to our cabin and pack. We were doing self debark or is it disembarkation? I’m never sure. So I didn’t have to get our luggage out that night. But I wanted to be done before dinner. Off I went to tackle that mess.
We enjoyed our last night in the Main Dining Room, and as I mentioned before, even with My Time Dining, we had the same waitstaff every night and the same table. They were fantastic and got to know us and our likes well. Every night I had an iced tea brought to me without asking. Alex had his 2 steaks brought to him. They knew our names. The service was fabulous.
After dinner, we went to the arcade a bit as a family. That was fun! And then we had our usual routines – Alex to the teen club for their final night together. Keith back to the cabin to watch the same old thing on the tv, and my parents, Megan and I went to see the final show. It was pretty good. A physical comedy type show and then the staff cheers.
After the show Megan and I went to the Circus Parade. It was definitely a silly type thing that you couldn’t help but smile while watching. It was a fun atmosphere. Somehow in the crowd we met up with Alex and walked back to the cabins together.
It was our last night and tomorrow we’d be the beginning of a whole different adventure…our land journey. We’re taking a train to Venice!
Here is a link to our 2nd Sea Day on the Navigator of the Seas pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tripsnp...7634608703979/
Today was a mixture of relaxation and yet somehow busy, if that somehow makes sense! We slept in just a bit. Maybe until 8:00 or so! Alex didn’t get in until super late again, so I didn’t sleep well until he was safe and sound in his cabin.
Anyway, Keith and I went to the buffet today, just the two of us and had a nice breakfast together. Somehow when it’s just us it’s not nearly as hectic as when all 6 of us or even 4 of us are there! When we got back we woke the kids up and tried to convince them to not waste the last day sleeping and watching tv.
I decided I wanted to do the Walk for Wishes, which is a charity walk for the Make a Wish foundation that Royal Caribbean sponsors. You donate $10 and get a t-shirt that you wear while you walk. Then you meet at 10:30, I believe it was, and the whole group walks around the track until you walk 1 mile. The money is donated to the Make a Wish foundation so that terminally ill children can have their wishes granted. Some kid’s with wishes to be on that ship were there on this cruise. It’s a very heartwarming thing to do. The ship officers and captain participate in the walk. Mimi and I did the walk, five times around the track. When we were done they took a group picture, which I have no idea where that went – I would have thought you’d get one since they have your Sea Pass from when you bought the t-shirt – but it wasn’t with our pictures. Oh well! But we were told that just in that walk that morning they raised over $2000!
It was an incredibly windy morning out on the deck. I planned to go sit out with Keith and read in the sun, but it was too much like being in a wind tunnel. He stuck it out though. He was determined to make use of this day of relaxation!
Meanwhile I took Alex to the teen speed rock walk climb. He didn’t have high hopes. He figured there were much faster teens. The older guys had to be faster than he was. They got everyone signed in and each teen was timed individually with stop watches. There were boys and girls. Turns out – Alex came in FIRST place for the boys! He was shocked. So were some of the older teens who thoroughly expected to win! There were about 10 boys in all. However, overall the fastest speed was by a girl. I had to smile. It was a lot of fun to watch and Alex got a gold medal.
Meanwhile Megan finally had the chance to ice skate. We had time and it was finally free skating! My parents took her down to get the skates and Alex and I met them down there. She was doing great! Ice skating can be challenging enough, but on a moving ship? People were going down fast. Helmets are mandatory here. One woman fell and hit her head hard – she had to be carried off the ice. I had some fears, as a mom, watching Megan skate, but she seemed to be skating pretty cautiously and she was doing well. I can see though how someone could take a nasty fall. I’d hate for her to get hurt, let alone with 2 weeks of vacation still to go! I have to say I was relieved when she had her fill of skating for the day! My dad tried to skate and it turns out skating is not like riding a bike after all…he used to skate a lot as a kid and even as a younger adult. But he just couldn’t do it at all now. And as I said about Megan, we were ALL relieved when he came off the ice. We certainly didn’t need him getting hurt at this point in the trip! I think a fall for a 68 year old man would be much worse than an 11 year old girl! Whew~!
After lunch the wind calmed down a bit and I was able to sit out and read a bit. When it got to be too much, Keith and I went to the Solarium and enjoyed the hot tub. This was definitely a perfect day. Time with the kids, time in the sun. Time with Keith. Being on the open sea and watching the scenery just go by. We went through the Straight of Messina. Passed Mt Etna again. And this time saw the beautiful Stromboli Volcano.
However, this cruise was coming to an end, so I knew I had to go back to our cabin and pack. We were doing self debark or is it disembarkation? I’m never sure. So I didn’t have to get our luggage out that night. But I wanted to be done before dinner. Off I went to tackle that mess.
We enjoyed our last night in the Main Dining Room, and as I mentioned before, even with My Time Dining, we had the same waitstaff every night and the same table. They were fantastic and got to know us and our likes well. Every night I had an iced tea brought to me without asking. Alex had his 2 steaks brought to him. They knew our names. The service was fabulous.
After dinner, we went to the arcade a bit as a family. That was fun! And then we had our usual routines – Alex to the teen club for their final night together. Keith back to the cabin to watch the same old thing on the tv, and my parents, Megan and I went to see the final show. It was pretty good. A physical comedy type show and then the staff cheers.
After the show Megan and I went to the Circus Parade. It was definitely a silly type thing that you couldn’t help but smile while watching. It was a fun atmosphere. Somehow in the crowd we met up with Alex and walked back to the cabins together.
It was our last night and tomorrow we’d be the beginning of a whole different adventure…our land journey. We’re taking a train to Venice!
Here is a link to our 2nd Sea Day on the Navigator of the Seas pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tripsnp...7634608703979/
Jul 14th, 2013, 09:31 AM
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Sunday, June 16th, Traveling to Venice
Today is Father’s Day! We got up and gave out the cards to Grandpop and Keith at breakfast. I told Keith that our plan for a Father’s Day gift was to get him the week Spa Pass on the Epic so he would have a place to go to relax every day. He seemed to like that idea, but then again also felt like in a week with only one sea day, he wouldn’t be able to make full use of it. We’d think about it and decide when the time came. Maybe just a massage instead.
We went to the Windjammer one last time and then carried our own luggage off, as we had a driver coming at 8:30 to take up to Termini train station for our train to Venice. We decided not to take the train from Civitavecchia to Termini since my parents would have to walk their luggage from the Port to the Civitavecchia station, and the once at Termini possibly have to take their luggage up steps to transfer trains. Convenience of the driver won out here and it was well worth it.
We walked off the ship very quickly and found our driver from Walks Of Italy, who we would be using for several tours while we would be in Rome later. When you book multiple tours you receive a discount, so our transfers were with them as well.
We arrived at Termini with plenty of time to spare. We had prepurchased our tickets to Venice on the Trenitalia website and rather than cutting it close on the earlier train, we had booked the 10:50 train. Better have time to wait, than rush we figured! Of course we now had more than an hour at the train station. However, we were very pleasantly surprised at how clean the train station was! We found a café with a table for 6 and room for our luggage next to the table. We sat down, had some brioches, croissants and cappuccinos and relaxed for that time. We really couldn’t get over the quality of the food in a train station! It was all so fresh! We each also got a Panini for the ride, well, except Megan who couldn’t resist getting McDonalds!
Our track was posted and we had no problem finding our train. Now, when I booked the train, I couldn’t seem to get 6 seats in one transaction, so my parents ended up in one car and the 4 of us in the next car. Not a problem. I was able to pick seats right at the end of each car near where the luggage was so we could keep an eye on our bags during the ride.
However when walking to our train I said out loud to Megan and my mom, “now you’re car 6 and we’re in car 5” and that’s when apparently we got “gypsied!” as the kids say! A woman totally latched on to us and even though she never really helped us, she kept telling us which car to go to. We firmly told her we knew and didn’t need help. Keith and Alex were ahead of us and knew where to go. She waited at the entrance to the train and pointed to where to put the luggage – we told her firmly “we know” and when we caught up to them, Alex told her to go away – we know. She then rearranged the luggage “for us” and followed us to our seats holding our her hand. I told her that she didn’t help us. She just stood there. So I gave her four 1 Euro coins and she said she wanted FIVE Euros from EACH of us! I told her NO WAY! That she didn’t help us at all! Finally she left and moved on to help others. I was pretty annoyed that she tried to take advantage of us, but at least I was able to get away with only giving her 4 Euros, I suppose!
Anyway, we felt pretty proud of ourselves that we managed to successfully navigate our first Italian train trip. We got through the station, luggage and all and onto the correct train and into our seats! We settled in for our approx. 3 ½ hour ride to Venice. We played some Uno, tried to nap and just enjoyed the scenery. It was a great way to travel. Although I will say, facing one another the leg room was a bit cramped!
We arrived at the Venezia St Lucia train station, got our luggage and met my parents off the train. We were anxious to see what Venice would be like!
We had prebooked a water taxi to take us to our hotel. The Al Ponte Mocenigo. We are staying here for two nights, which gives us this afternoon and one full day to take in this city. Not a lot of time, but we’ve gotten used to making the most of what time we do have. This is the first we’re really on our own though in a city we haven’t been to. How would we handle it?
We walked outside the train station and even though I’d seen pictures, for me, nothing could really prepare me for “Venice” until I set foot on the island. For me, immediately I had that magical feeling! In case you didn’t notice, traveling is in my blood! The water, the sounds of the water taxis and the gondoliers. The tourists. It was all just what it was supposed to be. And we were only there for 5 minutes!
So, now we had to find “our” water taxi. This was a little confusing, and maybe we had instructions, but I had no idea where to go. I asked at the first taxi stand and they pointed me in the right direction. After a few docks, we found someone who knew where to go. They made a call and before we knew it, our water taxi arrived. As soon as we saw the crowded Vaparettos we knew we made the right decision. At this time of day, I can’t imagine we could have fit the six of us with our luggage on a vaparetto – and if we could have, it would not have been quite the introduction to Venice that we had.
The water taxi ride was short, but it was comfortable and we didn’t have to manage our own luggage. We pulled right up to our hotel, which had a water entrance. Our luggage was put right into the lobby for us and we confirmed our early morning pick up for two days later. We were taken to our rooms, which were up a pretty large flight of steps, but we knew that would be the case. Our group had a quad room that was very RED! Very traditional and large enough for the four of us. Two sleeper chairs I’d call them for the kids, but they were fine. They pulled out to twin like beds and both slept like logs. Anything would be fine as long as they didn’t have to share a bed! We had a queen bed I believe. And a very nice, modern bathroom. My parents had a classic double room.
We got our stuff settled in and went out to explore Venice. We had a gondola ride set up for 6:30 and had plenty of time to get to our meeting point. We asked at the front desk for some recommendations for dinner on our way back for later and off we went, map in hand. We had a very leisurely walk to San Marco square, which is near where our Gondola ride would be. We stopped for a snack of pizza for Alex and my dad. We stopped and looked at many of the masks that are handcrafted there in Venice. We just took it all in. This was truly a unique place!
Our hotel was a bit of a distance from the main tourist area of San Marco square which was nice. It gave us a chance to walk through some of the streets and wander around a bit.
After our very touristy stroll, we found our gondola meeting point. We did feel that with six of us it really felt off balance most of the time. And we were mainly in the back canals and in the Grand Canal. We weren’t even in the open water. Maybe it was how our weight was distributed. I can’t say it was a very relaxing ride or even comfortable, it sort of felt like being in a tipsy canoe! But I enjoyed the sights and it was a nice introduction to Venice, especially at this time of the day. I think Mimi enjoyed it the least, yet she probably wanted to do it the most. She was too afraid we’d tip over, yet you don’t often see gondolas tipping left and right. She’s quite a worrier and this came out on this ride.
After our ride, we started our walk back to the hotel, through St Mark's Square - which I promised myself to come back to at night tomorrow! But we made a detour and walked up to the water and then decided to just take a vaparatto. Again, we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves for figuring out the transportation system! We got on the right vaparetto, going the correct direction and even got off on the right stop! It was a successful day!
We then found the recommended restaurant with no problem – we had a pretty good map! It was a bit off the main walk back and it was mainly pizza and pasta, which we’d asked for. The service was painfully slow and haphazzard. Slower than the typical Italian service we’d later come to be used to. However the food was very good. I had my first Prosecco here and that was quite good! Some of the group had pizza, I had gnocci, some had Carbonara…everything was delicious.
After our meal, we went back to the hotel and crashed. Tomorrow we’d be seeing Venice! We had a full day highlights tour scheduled!
Here is the link to our traveling to Venice and 1st day in Venice pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tripsnp...7634624909926/
Today is Father’s Day! We got up and gave out the cards to Grandpop and Keith at breakfast. I told Keith that our plan for a Father’s Day gift was to get him the week Spa Pass on the Epic so he would have a place to go to relax every day. He seemed to like that idea, but then again also felt like in a week with only one sea day, he wouldn’t be able to make full use of it. We’d think about it and decide when the time came. Maybe just a massage instead.
We went to the Windjammer one last time and then carried our own luggage off, as we had a driver coming at 8:30 to take up to Termini train station for our train to Venice. We decided not to take the train from Civitavecchia to Termini since my parents would have to walk their luggage from the Port to the Civitavecchia station, and the once at Termini possibly have to take their luggage up steps to transfer trains. Convenience of the driver won out here and it was well worth it.
We walked off the ship very quickly and found our driver from Walks Of Italy, who we would be using for several tours while we would be in Rome later. When you book multiple tours you receive a discount, so our transfers were with them as well.
We arrived at Termini with plenty of time to spare. We had prepurchased our tickets to Venice on the Trenitalia website and rather than cutting it close on the earlier train, we had booked the 10:50 train. Better have time to wait, than rush we figured! Of course we now had more than an hour at the train station. However, we were very pleasantly surprised at how clean the train station was! We found a café with a table for 6 and room for our luggage next to the table. We sat down, had some brioches, croissants and cappuccinos and relaxed for that time. We really couldn’t get over the quality of the food in a train station! It was all so fresh! We each also got a Panini for the ride, well, except Megan who couldn’t resist getting McDonalds!
Our track was posted and we had no problem finding our train. Now, when I booked the train, I couldn’t seem to get 6 seats in one transaction, so my parents ended up in one car and the 4 of us in the next car. Not a problem. I was able to pick seats right at the end of each car near where the luggage was so we could keep an eye on our bags during the ride.
However when walking to our train I said out loud to Megan and my mom, “now you’re car 6 and we’re in car 5” and that’s when apparently we got “gypsied!” as the kids say! A woman totally latched on to us and even though she never really helped us, she kept telling us which car to go to. We firmly told her we knew and didn’t need help. Keith and Alex were ahead of us and knew where to go. She waited at the entrance to the train and pointed to where to put the luggage – we told her firmly “we know” and when we caught up to them, Alex told her to go away – we know. She then rearranged the luggage “for us” and followed us to our seats holding our her hand. I told her that she didn’t help us. She just stood there. So I gave her four 1 Euro coins and she said she wanted FIVE Euros from EACH of us! I told her NO WAY! That she didn’t help us at all! Finally she left and moved on to help others. I was pretty annoyed that she tried to take advantage of us, but at least I was able to get away with only giving her 4 Euros, I suppose!
Anyway, we felt pretty proud of ourselves that we managed to successfully navigate our first Italian train trip. We got through the station, luggage and all and onto the correct train and into our seats! We settled in for our approx. 3 ½ hour ride to Venice. We played some Uno, tried to nap and just enjoyed the scenery. It was a great way to travel. Although I will say, facing one another the leg room was a bit cramped!
We arrived at the Venezia St Lucia train station, got our luggage and met my parents off the train. We were anxious to see what Venice would be like!
We had prebooked a water taxi to take us to our hotel. The Al Ponte Mocenigo. We are staying here for two nights, which gives us this afternoon and one full day to take in this city. Not a lot of time, but we’ve gotten used to making the most of what time we do have. This is the first we’re really on our own though in a city we haven’t been to. How would we handle it?
We walked outside the train station and even though I’d seen pictures, for me, nothing could really prepare me for “Venice” until I set foot on the island. For me, immediately I had that magical feeling! In case you didn’t notice, traveling is in my blood! The water, the sounds of the water taxis and the gondoliers. The tourists. It was all just what it was supposed to be. And we were only there for 5 minutes!
So, now we had to find “our” water taxi. This was a little confusing, and maybe we had instructions, but I had no idea where to go. I asked at the first taxi stand and they pointed me in the right direction. After a few docks, we found someone who knew where to go. They made a call and before we knew it, our water taxi arrived. As soon as we saw the crowded Vaparettos we knew we made the right decision. At this time of day, I can’t imagine we could have fit the six of us with our luggage on a vaparetto – and if we could have, it would not have been quite the introduction to Venice that we had.
The water taxi ride was short, but it was comfortable and we didn’t have to manage our own luggage. We pulled right up to our hotel, which had a water entrance. Our luggage was put right into the lobby for us and we confirmed our early morning pick up for two days later. We were taken to our rooms, which were up a pretty large flight of steps, but we knew that would be the case. Our group had a quad room that was very RED! Very traditional and large enough for the four of us. Two sleeper chairs I’d call them for the kids, but they were fine. They pulled out to twin like beds and both slept like logs. Anything would be fine as long as they didn’t have to share a bed! We had a queen bed I believe. And a very nice, modern bathroom. My parents had a classic double room.
We got our stuff settled in and went out to explore Venice. We had a gondola ride set up for 6:30 and had plenty of time to get to our meeting point. We asked at the front desk for some recommendations for dinner on our way back for later and off we went, map in hand. We had a very leisurely walk to San Marco square, which is near where our Gondola ride would be. We stopped for a snack of pizza for Alex and my dad. We stopped and looked at many of the masks that are handcrafted there in Venice. We just took it all in. This was truly a unique place!
Our hotel was a bit of a distance from the main tourist area of San Marco square which was nice. It gave us a chance to walk through some of the streets and wander around a bit.
After our very touristy stroll, we found our gondola meeting point. We did feel that with six of us it really felt off balance most of the time. And we were mainly in the back canals and in the Grand Canal. We weren’t even in the open water. Maybe it was how our weight was distributed. I can’t say it was a very relaxing ride or even comfortable, it sort of felt like being in a tipsy canoe! But I enjoyed the sights and it was a nice introduction to Venice, especially at this time of the day. I think Mimi enjoyed it the least, yet she probably wanted to do it the most. She was too afraid we’d tip over, yet you don’t often see gondolas tipping left and right. She’s quite a worrier and this came out on this ride.
After our ride, we started our walk back to the hotel, through St Mark's Square - which I promised myself to come back to at night tomorrow! But we made a detour and walked up to the water and then decided to just take a vaparatto. Again, we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves for figuring out the transportation system! We got on the right vaparetto, going the correct direction and even got off on the right stop! It was a successful day!
We then found the recommended restaurant with no problem – we had a pretty good map! It was a bit off the main walk back and it was mainly pizza and pasta, which we’d asked for. The service was painfully slow and haphazzard. Slower than the typical Italian service we’d later come to be used to. However the food was very good. I had my first Prosecco here and that was quite good! Some of the group had pizza, I had gnocci, some had Carbonara…everything was delicious.
After our meal, we went back to the hotel and crashed. Tomorrow we’d be seeing Venice! We had a full day highlights tour scheduled!
Here is the link to our traveling to Venice and 1st day in Venice pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tripsnp...7634624909926/
Jul 14th, 2013, 05:20 PM
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I am really enjoying your report too! We stayed at the same hotel in Venice... our room was small but well-appointed; Loved its location and easy access to the vaporetto. Looking forward to tagging along on the rest of your trip!
Jul 14th, 2013, 05:54 PM
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So great to read about your trip, how nice to be able to take a multi generational holiday. You sound like you've done an amazing job of planning your excursions from the boat. I couldn't believe how much you crammed into the first day, not to mention what came afterwards! Your trip shows there are lots of different ways to see Europe and that different things work for different people, glad to hear about it all, thanks for posting.
Jul 16th, 2013, 07:30 AM
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FWIW, we were in a train going from Siracusa to Naples and crossed the Straits of Messina. After waiting what seemed a looong time, to be moved to the ferry, we got out and found to our amazement that the train cars were already IN the ferry!
Loved the shots. The circus parade looked like fun and your Venice shots were wonderful. Sighing for Italy, TDudette
Loved the shots. The circus parade looked like fun and your Venice shots were wonderful. Sighing for Italy, TDudette
Jul 16th, 2013, 07:48 AM
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Monday, June 17th, Venice all day!
Today is our full day in Venice! On our own! We got up and ate breakfast at the hotel. It was served in the courtyard. I had some pastries and coffee. I really enjoy this European version of breakfast!
We were to meet at the front of the Doge’s Palace at 8:45. We had a full day tour with Dark Rome Tours for both the Secret Itineraries as well as the “Best of Venice”. We’d have a two hour break between the two for lunch. We decided to take advantage of the morning and walk to our meeting spot rather than take the Vaparetto. Megan was however not happy about this. Why would we walk nearly a mile, in the heat at what she considered to be such an early time of day! Unfortunately it made for a long and cranky walk – the whining! Keith and Alex however had become familiar with the winding walkways and bridges and took off on their own and never heard a peep from her. They enjoyed their what seemed to be a sprint, to the Palace!
We finally arrived and met up with Keith and Alex, got some water since it was already hot, and we found our guide!
I’ll mention here that at some point over the past couple of days, Alex has become more and more European! He now much prefers Acqua with gas! The boy is now a fizzy water drinker. When did this happen? Even now at home, he’s got to have his fizzy water!
Anyway, that aside…we were on what I’d call a semi-private tour and our morning tour was the Doge’s Palace Secret Itinerary. This tour we’d have the headphones so we could hear our guide. As I mentioned, the tour was officially with Dark Rome, but once we went into the Palace, we were transferred to a guide who works at the Palace itself. There were about 15 people in our group. Our guide was very, very good. It was a very hot day and the rooms in the secret part of the palace are not air conditioned. So the fact that she held the attention of most of the group in that heat is a testament to her story telling abilities!
We started in the main courtyard, which you can only see from the inside of the Palace and she told us the history of the Palace and gave us many details of who the Doge’s were and how they lived. Then we went into the Palace itself. We went into the secret rooms and learned about what they were used for. This was all very interesting. We learned all about Casanova and his time in the prison and his escape. This was probably the most interesting part of the tour.
After this area we went to the main parts of the palace and spent a good amount of time looking at HUGE pieces of art. I have to say though by this time much of what our guide said was lost on me, and definitely lost on the kids. I think it was the heat and the length of time standing. I really wanted to enjoy learning about the paintings, but I was fading fast! Now, I wanted to enjoy this part, I was definitely interested in what we were seeing but Keith, Alex and Megan were absolutely miserable by this point though! They were hot and they were bored and most of all they were tired. We were ten days into touring and other than the prisons and torture area, they didn’t care about this tour! Ok – make a note of this mom! We needed Gelato fast! We needed air, we needed outside!
Now, the tour was beginning to wrap up, and I will say that the Palace was huge, it was beautiful and I’m sure it had some fascinating art work! There were secret passages and there was so much gold! But now we got to walk across the Bridge of Sighs and see more prison cells. This was more like it! Everyone perked right up! We thanked our guide and were off to have lunch.
We walked away from St Mark’s Square to find a place off the main path for lunch. Something just a few blocks – not sure if that’s the right term here in Venice – but that’s the idea – away from all of the hub bub- so maybe we could pay a little less and get a little more. We found yet another pizza and pasta place we could sit at. Do you see a theme here with us? That’s what we like and we stuck with it! It was really good – pizza, pasta, prosecco, acqua with gas for Alex and wine and water for the rest of us!
After lunch we split up for awhile. We had some time before we had to meet for our afternoon portion of the tour. Alex and Keith went to find a candy store they had seen earlier in the day. Alex loves sugary candy and he wanted to get some! Off they went! Mimi and Grandpop left to get some space from the kids and their crankiness! And Megan and I went to get some Gelato. It’s true what they say, it really becomes a fuel to get you through the hot touring days in Italy! Don’t skip it! My new favorite is Limone and Chocolate! The break was just what we needed and we were all ready for Part Two of our tour – the Best Of Venice – again with Dark Rome Tours.
The first hour of our afternoon tour was a private water taxi tour. It was the six of us and another couple. This was great! It seemed like we went everywhere! Through every canal! Our guide told us about so many buildings and the different districts. So much history – you name it, we heard about it! We definitely went into the non-touristy areas and then we went down the Grand Canal. This was my favorite part of the day. It was so relaxing and such a great way to see so much of Venice!
After the water taxi tour, we met up with another guide for the walking part of the tour. Again we were given the headsets and we started walking. This guide immediately started walking fast! She didn’t say where we were going, but started practically sprinting. It was difficult for my parents to keep up at this point. What could be so urgent to get to? We walked and walked, dodging crowds of people and then we arrived…where you ask? A public WC! Yes, a bathroom, that was apparently our first stop! She now started talking. She said it was hot and she wanted to get out of the sun. This would also be the last time to use a bathroom for some time, so it would be important to go now! I really thought this was a very strange way to start at tour!
Ok, so after those who needed to used the facilities, we started walking again – off we went to our first real stop. St Mark’s Basilica. First we went up to the terrace. We spent some time taking in the view of the Piazza and the harbor. Then we went into the Basilica. The size was just massive. There was a lot of gold leaf and mosaics. No pictures were allowed. Though there were many people taking them!
Then we walked around Venice with the guide. She pointed out various important squares (Campos) and sites. We made a stop for gelato during the tour. That would make two gelatos so far today!
All in all, I think during the morning the Secret Itinerary was good and in the afternoon the water taxi was great, but the rest of the tour felt rushed. However it was a great way to get an introduction to Venice given that we only had one full day here. I feel like we definitely got a great feel for this amazing place with this tour!
Afterwards we were all pretty wiped out and hot and sweaty. We went back to the hotel to rest up a bit before dinner. Keith, me, mimi and grandpop took our last bottle of wine we had from Rome (yes, we still had one left!) and went out to the courtyard of our hotel and had a little happy hour! It was a great way to relax and enjoy the calmness there after such a busy day.
We then walked to another recommended restaurant from our hotel. It was just a short walk and again – you guessed it, pizza and pasta! It was very good.
I really wanted to go to Piazza San Marco at night to get some pictures and Alex wanted some souvenirs, so the two of us made the trek again, while everyone else went back to the hotel. We had a nice walk, although with him, it’s never what I’d call a stroll! It was a fast pace! When it’s just the two of us, he sure does talk! I always enjoy that time together!
He got his souvenirs and I got my pictures. The Piazza was very pretty at night. Very festive with the musicians playing. We were both glad to have made the walk.
By the time we got back to the hotel, my fit bit logged close to 9 miles for the day! Hopefully that will counteract some of the gelatos I’ve been eating!
It was time to pack up, our short visit to Venice had come to an end! We knew we’d only have a day and a half here. Was it enough? For this trip, I think it was. Of course we could spend more time here! I would love to go back, if for no other reason than to take more pictures! But the time we did have here definitely gave us the introduction we needed to really get a feel for Venice. We all truly enjoyed being here. It was a very special place that I honestly don’t think can be explained with words! It had a magical feel for me. It was so worth the whirlwind between cruises to get to Venice for this short time!
But tomorrow we’d be taking the train early for a day in Florence…again – just a day! It’s all part of the plan…
The cost for the full day Doge's Palace, Secret Itinerary Tour, and Best of Venice including the Water Tax Tour was $994 USD for all 6 of us. Sounds steep - but remember this was USD. And I do think it was a bit pricey for this particular tour. I had a hard time finding a tour that covered everywhere I wanted to go in one day though, which is why I ended up choosing this tour. In the end, we were happy with it overall, and the 2 hour lunch break was definitely needed!
Link to my full day Venice pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tripsnp...7634656530018/
Today is our full day in Venice! On our own! We got up and ate breakfast at the hotel. It was served in the courtyard. I had some pastries and coffee. I really enjoy this European version of breakfast!
We were to meet at the front of the Doge’s Palace at 8:45. We had a full day tour with Dark Rome Tours for both the Secret Itineraries as well as the “Best of Venice”. We’d have a two hour break between the two for lunch. We decided to take advantage of the morning and walk to our meeting spot rather than take the Vaparetto. Megan was however not happy about this. Why would we walk nearly a mile, in the heat at what she considered to be such an early time of day! Unfortunately it made for a long and cranky walk – the whining! Keith and Alex however had become familiar with the winding walkways and bridges and took off on their own and never heard a peep from her. They enjoyed their what seemed to be a sprint, to the Palace!
We finally arrived and met up with Keith and Alex, got some water since it was already hot, and we found our guide!
I’ll mention here that at some point over the past couple of days, Alex has become more and more European! He now much prefers Acqua with gas! The boy is now a fizzy water drinker. When did this happen? Even now at home, he’s got to have his fizzy water!
Anyway, that aside…we were on what I’d call a semi-private tour and our morning tour was the Doge’s Palace Secret Itinerary. This tour we’d have the headphones so we could hear our guide. As I mentioned, the tour was officially with Dark Rome, but once we went into the Palace, we were transferred to a guide who works at the Palace itself. There were about 15 people in our group. Our guide was very, very good. It was a very hot day and the rooms in the secret part of the palace are not air conditioned. So the fact that she held the attention of most of the group in that heat is a testament to her story telling abilities!
We started in the main courtyard, which you can only see from the inside of the Palace and she told us the history of the Palace and gave us many details of who the Doge’s were and how they lived. Then we went into the Palace itself. We went into the secret rooms and learned about what they were used for. This was all very interesting. We learned all about Casanova and his time in the prison and his escape. This was probably the most interesting part of the tour.
After this area we went to the main parts of the palace and spent a good amount of time looking at HUGE pieces of art. I have to say though by this time much of what our guide said was lost on me, and definitely lost on the kids. I think it was the heat and the length of time standing. I really wanted to enjoy learning about the paintings, but I was fading fast! Now, I wanted to enjoy this part, I was definitely interested in what we were seeing but Keith, Alex and Megan were absolutely miserable by this point though! They were hot and they were bored and most of all they were tired. We were ten days into touring and other than the prisons and torture area, they didn’t care about this tour! Ok – make a note of this mom! We needed Gelato fast! We needed air, we needed outside!
Now, the tour was beginning to wrap up, and I will say that the Palace was huge, it was beautiful and I’m sure it had some fascinating art work! There were secret passages and there was so much gold! But now we got to walk across the Bridge of Sighs and see more prison cells. This was more like it! Everyone perked right up! We thanked our guide and were off to have lunch.
We walked away from St Mark’s Square to find a place off the main path for lunch. Something just a few blocks – not sure if that’s the right term here in Venice – but that’s the idea – away from all of the hub bub- so maybe we could pay a little less and get a little more. We found yet another pizza and pasta place we could sit at. Do you see a theme here with us? That’s what we like and we stuck with it! It was really good – pizza, pasta, prosecco, acqua with gas for Alex and wine and water for the rest of us!
After lunch we split up for awhile. We had some time before we had to meet for our afternoon portion of the tour. Alex and Keith went to find a candy store they had seen earlier in the day. Alex loves sugary candy and he wanted to get some! Off they went! Mimi and Grandpop left to get some space from the kids and their crankiness! And Megan and I went to get some Gelato. It’s true what they say, it really becomes a fuel to get you through the hot touring days in Italy! Don’t skip it! My new favorite is Limone and Chocolate! The break was just what we needed and we were all ready for Part Two of our tour – the Best Of Venice – again with Dark Rome Tours.
The first hour of our afternoon tour was a private water taxi tour. It was the six of us and another couple. This was great! It seemed like we went everywhere! Through every canal! Our guide told us about so many buildings and the different districts. So much history – you name it, we heard about it! We definitely went into the non-touristy areas and then we went down the Grand Canal. This was my favorite part of the day. It was so relaxing and such a great way to see so much of Venice!
After the water taxi tour, we met up with another guide for the walking part of the tour. Again we were given the headsets and we started walking. This guide immediately started walking fast! She didn’t say where we were going, but started practically sprinting. It was difficult for my parents to keep up at this point. What could be so urgent to get to? We walked and walked, dodging crowds of people and then we arrived…where you ask? A public WC! Yes, a bathroom, that was apparently our first stop! She now started talking. She said it was hot and she wanted to get out of the sun. This would also be the last time to use a bathroom for some time, so it would be important to go now! I really thought this was a very strange way to start at tour!
Ok, so after those who needed to used the facilities, we started walking again – off we went to our first real stop. St Mark’s Basilica. First we went up to the terrace. We spent some time taking in the view of the Piazza and the harbor. Then we went into the Basilica. The size was just massive. There was a lot of gold leaf and mosaics. No pictures were allowed. Though there were many people taking them!
Then we walked around Venice with the guide. She pointed out various important squares (Campos) and sites. We made a stop for gelato during the tour. That would make two gelatos so far today!
All in all, I think during the morning the Secret Itinerary was good and in the afternoon the water taxi was great, but the rest of the tour felt rushed. However it was a great way to get an introduction to Venice given that we only had one full day here. I feel like we definitely got a great feel for this amazing place with this tour!
Afterwards we were all pretty wiped out and hot and sweaty. We went back to the hotel to rest up a bit before dinner. Keith, me, mimi and grandpop took our last bottle of wine we had from Rome (yes, we still had one left!) and went out to the courtyard of our hotel and had a little happy hour! It was a great way to relax and enjoy the calmness there after such a busy day.
We then walked to another recommended restaurant from our hotel. It was just a short walk and again – you guessed it, pizza and pasta! It was very good.
I really wanted to go to Piazza San Marco at night to get some pictures and Alex wanted some souvenirs, so the two of us made the trek again, while everyone else went back to the hotel. We had a nice walk, although with him, it’s never what I’d call a stroll! It was a fast pace! When it’s just the two of us, he sure does talk! I always enjoy that time together!
He got his souvenirs and I got my pictures. The Piazza was very pretty at night. Very festive with the musicians playing. We were both glad to have made the walk.
By the time we got back to the hotel, my fit bit logged close to 9 miles for the day! Hopefully that will counteract some of the gelatos I’ve been eating!
It was time to pack up, our short visit to Venice had come to an end! We knew we’d only have a day and a half here. Was it enough? For this trip, I think it was. Of course we could spend more time here! I would love to go back, if for no other reason than to take more pictures! But the time we did have here definitely gave us the introduction we needed to really get a feel for Venice. We all truly enjoyed being here. It was a very special place that I honestly don’t think can be explained with words! It had a magical feel for me. It was so worth the whirlwind between cruises to get to Venice for this short time!
But tomorrow we’d be taking the train early for a day in Florence…again – just a day! It’s all part of the plan…
The cost for the full day Doge's Palace, Secret Itinerary Tour, and Best of Venice including the Water Tax Tour was $994 USD for all 6 of us. Sounds steep - but remember this was USD. And I do think it was a bit pricey for this particular tour. I had a hard time finding a tour that covered everywhere I wanted to go in one day though, which is why I ended up choosing this tour. In the end, we were happy with it overall, and the 2 hour lunch break was definitely needed!
Link to my full day Venice pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tripsnp...7634656530018/
Jul 16th, 2013, 11:53 AM
#94
Again, I have to say how much fun it is traveling along with you.
In years to come, you are going to be so happy that you documented your day to day travels as you went and didn't try and rely on memory when you returned. You have packed so much into your journey. It truly is the "trip of a lifetime" that many refer to.
Jul 17th, 2013, 12:44 PM
#98
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Thank you everyone for still hanging in there for the ride through Europe! And for the compliments!
Before I go onto our next day, Florence...I want to go into a bit of what I call..."The Plan"! It's at this point in the trip where some of you, and myself at times may be wondering just why the heck we took a train from Civitavecchia all the way to Venice for just under two days, and now are apparently taking a train to Florence for just under 24 hours before apparently heading BACK to Civitavecchia for yet another cruise??? Why didn't we spend another night in Venice? Why go to Venice at all? Why not just stay closer to Civitavecchia or plan different cruises - say one that began or ended in Venice?
Well, in the beginning we really had no intentions of going to Venice. We were going to do one long Mediterranean cruise, but as I mentioned we couldn't fine one that really fit everyone's needs. Then the more we discussed the ports my parents wanted to see, Greece (Athens in particular) kept popping up as a must see. That's how the semi-back to back cruise came about. Somehow Venice was thrown into the mixture and when we found out we had three days between cruises we became quite adventurous! Sure - we can fit that in, why not? This is a trip of a lifetime, let's go for it...all!
Our original plan was to rent a car after the first cruise and DRIVE from Civitavecchia to Venice, stopping along the way in Fallo, which is in the Abruzzo region - to find my mother's family's homeland! Sure - this was a great idea! Drive through the mountains, in some of the most non-English speaking areas, and just wander into a town and say "hi!" But that was our plan. I had mapped out the route, planned some stops on the way for breaks. And we'd spend the night on the Adriatic coast. Then get up early, head to Venice and have our two days there. I knew the drive to Venice would be long, so I even included a stop in Verona to break up the drive.
We were going to do a one way van rental and take the train back to the port on the day our cruise left. But in the planning, someone here, or maybe another site, cautioned that maybe we should reverse the planning and train to Venice first and drive back, making our distance from the ship closest - we should not be in Venice the morning the ship left in case of a rail strike or train issues on our end. Who knows what could happen! I agreed.
But then, I stumbled upon a guide who would actually TAKE us to Fallo! This was huge! We wouldn't have to just drive into a town you likely couldn't even drive into anyway! A translator as well! We booked them, and everything changed! How would that guide work out? Well, that's day 20 of the trip!
But, now we had 2 days booked in Venice and a "free" day for on the way back to Civitavecchia. As I mentioned, we wanted to be a bit closer to the port than Venice, so where to spend it? Well, it seemed the obvious choice would be Florence! Even though we'd have a port day of Livorno on the next cruise - we decided to spend one day and one night, basically 24 hours in Florence. This was more than we'd get in the port day, especially once you take out travel time from the ship! And then our port day? Well, of course a wine tour in the Chianti Region! This was our way of having our cake and eating it too, so to speak! The only thing I felt like we would be missing was Pisa....would we get there?
Well, we did have to travel to the ship....could we do it?
So, next up is Florence!
Before I go onto our next day, Florence...I want to go into a bit of what I call..."The Plan"! It's at this point in the trip where some of you, and myself at times may be wondering just why the heck we took a train from Civitavecchia all the way to Venice for just under two days, and now are apparently taking a train to Florence for just under 24 hours before apparently heading BACK to Civitavecchia for yet another cruise??? Why didn't we spend another night in Venice? Why go to Venice at all? Why not just stay closer to Civitavecchia or plan different cruises - say one that began or ended in Venice?
Well, in the beginning we really had no intentions of going to Venice. We were going to do one long Mediterranean cruise, but as I mentioned we couldn't fine one that really fit everyone's needs. Then the more we discussed the ports my parents wanted to see, Greece (Athens in particular) kept popping up as a must see. That's how the semi-back to back cruise came about. Somehow Venice was thrown into the mixture and when we found out we had three days between cruises we became quite adventurous! Sure - we can fit that in, why not? This is a trip of a lifetime, let's go for it...all!
Our original plan was to rent a car after the first cruise and DRIVE from Civitavecchia to Venice, stopping along the way in Fallo, which is in the Abruzzo region - to find my mother's family's homeland! Sure - this was a great idea!
Drive through the mountains, in some of the most non-English speaking areas, and just wander into a town and say "hi!" But that was our plan. I had mapped out the route, planned some stops on the way for breaks. And we'd spend the night on the Adriatic coast. Then get up early, head to Venice and have our two days there. I knew the drive to Venice would be long, so I even included a stop in Verona to break up the drive.We were going to do a one way van rental and take the train back to the port on the day our cruise left. But in the planning, someone here, or maybe another site, cautioned that maybe we should reverse the planning and train to Venice first and drive back, making our distance from the ship closest - we should not be in Venice the morning the ship left in case of a rail strike or train issues on our end. Who knows what could happen! I agreed.
But then, I stumbled upon a guide who would actually TAKE us to Fallo! This was huge! We wouldn't have to just drive into a town you likely couldn't even drive into anyway! A translator as well! We booked them, and everything changed! How would that guide work out? Well, that's day 20 of the trip!
But, now we had 2 days booked in Venice and a "free" day for on the way back to Civitavecchia. As I mentioned, we wanted to be a bit closer to the port than Venice, so where to spend it? Well, it seemed the obvious choice would be Florence! Even though we'd have a port day of Livorno on the next cruise - we decided to spend one day and one night, basically 24 hours in Florence. This was more than we'd get in the port day, especially once you take out travel time from the ship! And then our port day? Well, of course a wine tour in the Chianti Region! This was our way of having our cake and eating it too, so to speak! The only thing I felt like we would be missing was Pisa....would we get there?
Well, we did have to travel to the ship....could we do it?
So, next up is Florence!
Jul 18th, 2013, 04:42 AM
#100
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It's very easy for others (and you) to second guess. What's the phrase? 20/20 hindsight? It all goes in the pile marked "experience" -- hopefully, we build on it rather than repeat!
More soon, please.
More soon, please.
