Barbara's Travels

The End

If you look at a map you see that it isn't far from Livorno to Civitavecchia, where we will dock for Rome. So we spent a full day at sea going VERY slowly, just marking time.

This is a view of Civitavecchia looking back toward the sea as we set out on our bus ride to the airport.

This was a pleasant trip - nothing spectacular however. The Crystal Serenity is all it is advertised to be - comfortable; smooth sailing; super breakfasts and lunches; some good and some not so good dinners. But oh those freshly made frozen yoghurt desserts! If you like being waited on hand and foot (the waiters even shake out your napkin and put it in your lap at all meals and recall what type of tea you prefer to drink) and access to nearly around the clock entertainment (Bob saw a lot of movies) this is your cup of tea. There were guests on board who were making their 30th cruise on Serenity and plaques on the wall noted some who had made 100 voyages. I can't imagine doing that. The ship is simply too big and there are too many people.

What else didn't we like? Assigned seating at dinner where we ate with the same group every evening. Little chance to meet others and you soon run out of things to talk about with the same people night after night. The AHI group got together only 3 times so aside from our table companions, we didn't get to know many of them. Bob missed the camaraderie we have experienced on prior AHI trips and we prefer open dinner seating so we can meet others. I don't think we will take a large ship cruise again. It's just not our thing.

The AHI escort turned out to be the same man who was sent out from headquarters to untangle the mess of our running aground in the Ukraine years ago. He remembered that occasion very well. Fellow travelers from Ukraine were on our Egypt trip. It's a small, small world.

Our next trip is to Guatemala in February so be prepared for lots of pictures of Mayan ruins.



 
 

Church Interior

Notice the Moorish style striped piers and columns. And no statues, just frescos and murals. Mass was being said while we were there.



 
 



 
 

The Baptistry

A beautiful, quiet and cool building with fantastic acoustics, which a guide demonstrated for us. This is the baptismal font.



 
 

Pisa and its Leaning Tower

To get here you drive around the countryside and then to a parking area quite far from the site itself. There was supposed to be a shuttle but we never did find it and walked through the side streets until suddenly, there it was. This is just a cluster of buildings on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by lots of green space. The incline of the tower is better represented in picture one as picture two seems to be canted. We saw lots of people posing, arm outstretched, so that the subsequent picture made it look like they were holding up the tower. Seems to be a favorite pose. The domed building in the forefront is the baptistry.



 
 



 
 

Lunch

Had a very nice lunch at this restaurant just off the main square. Too much food! Followed by the usual free time to shop, which Bob and I spent walking around, people watching. Eager to be off to our next stop, Pisa. Bob had been there many years ago but I had not.



 
 

Roman Amphitheater

The old Roam amphitheater still exists, and from the outside you can see its walls and arches which have been incorporated into buildings. Inside, it is a round plaza. About a dozen years ago it was gentrified with the buildings which now surround the plaza. Very expensive housing.



 
 

Towers

Medieval Lucans protected themselves in fortified towers and each tried to be just a bit taller than the next. The one in pictures one and two managed the feat by planting trees on top. Only a few towers are left for us to gaze on. As you can see the plazas are connected by narrow streets. Everything was so clean and ship-shape. However, motor vehicles managed to get down even the narrowest streets!



 
 



 
 



 
 

Churches

We saw two lovely old churches. First is St. Michael - that's the archangel on top of the facade - and St. Martin.



 
 



 
 

Friday, August 12

Last excursion of our cruise today. We docked at Livorno, which is the port for Florence. There were many options for excursions for this day, including 12 hour round trips to Florence. There is so much to see in Florence that I did not want to spend 2-3 hours on the bus there, rush past the prime spots - and there are a lot of them - and then 2-3 hours on the bus back. When I get to Florence it'll be for a week or so, so we can look at everything slowly.

So we selected Luca and Pisa. Luca is a pleasant town, still surrounded by its medieval walls. However, they have been turned into broad promenades and parks, as can be seen in this picture.



 
 

The Beach at Nice

We had the usual free time at the market so Bob and I wandered over a block or so to the beach. As you can see, it is not a sand beach, rather it is pebbles and cobbles. Can't be very comfortable to lie on but the beaches were crowded with people toasting themselves as tan as they could get. There are cooling stations on each section of beach where you can go and cool off from the heat of the sun, or rinse off after a dunk in the sea (picture 4). The blue umbrellas are on a private beach. You need to be a hotel guest to use it.

Beach volleyball, anyone?

Our tour guide was super chatty. She didn't have much to say and lots of time to fill so she said it all 3-4-5 times in poor English. Was glad to get back to the coolness and comfort of the ship.