Naked statues on a cold day!

While you shouldn't judge the day by the weather it is perfectly acceptable to adjust the day based on what the weather gives you. 

Our port for today was Livorno which is the gateway to Florence, Pisa and Lucca.   From what I know about Livorno it was originally built centuries ago to become one of the great cities of Italy like Rome, Milan. Florence and Venice. Somewhere over time plans changed and it evolved into an industrial city. I'm sure from an economical standpoint it plays a vital role because of the large port but as far as tourism goes there isn't much to see. 

So we went to sleep last night thinking we'd be spending the day the really cool small town of Lucca. 

Lucca is a very charming walled city that we visited a few years ago. It's filled with what you find   in small Italian towns; churches, shops, restaurants, pastry shops and of course gelato!  

What we enjoyed the most on our previous visit to Lucca was walking the perimeter of the town on the wide path on top of the wall. It was a nice Sunday afternoon and it seemed like half the town was out enjoying a stroll. 

When we woke up and headed out for the day we found a little ice had formed on the top deck around the pools and hot tubs. A fellow passenger said the temperature was a balmy 31 degrees with a "feels like" temperature of 20!  Suddenly the walk on the wall didn't seem quiet so attractive so we made a quick change of plans and took the one hour fifteen minute train to Florence. 

Even though we'd still be outside for the most part Florence would provide more opportunities to duck inside some of it's numerous churches and museums, if needed, plus the train ride was a little longer. We considered the train ride as part of the days events. 

The trains in Italy are nice and run frequently. Today we were especially grateful for the frequency because we (along with a bunch of folks off the ship) got off at the wrong train station in Florence. No big deal. There was another train in fifteen minutes that was going to the right station just 5 minutes further down the track and we had another memory to add to the journey. 

It wasn't our first visit to Florence, however it was the least crowded we'd ever seen this historic Tuscan city. 

The temperature did warm up a bit, probably to about 45 degrees. Thankfully there was no wind so we spent most of the time outdoors although we did enjoy walking through the Santa Maria Del Fiore Catherdral which is commonly referred to as the Duomo. While it is certainly lesser known than St. Peter's in Rome the exterior is very impressive and the stained windows and the adjoining bell tower are certainly a sight to see. 

Although we never planned on going in since we had seen him before we did walk by the Galleria Dell'Accedemia which has been home to Michelango's David since 1873. 

During the busy time of the year getting in to see David requires waiting in a long line or an advance reservation. Today we could have walked right in by simply paying the 12.50 euro admission price. I'm not sure how he was holding up in the cold weather, he might have enjoyed a jacket and some ear muffs today. Good thing he's made of stone or there might have been some serious shrinkage on such a cold day!

Rapidly Roaming Rome

Today was a fast paced day even by Tucker standards. 

We were docked in Civitavecchia which is the cruise terminal for Rome. Now you can pay a ridiculously high price ($150+)for the ship to transport you by bus or train to Rome or do it "Tucker style". 

"Tucker style is walk through the small town of Civitavecchia to the train station and pay around $10 for a round trip ticket. 

The trains run frequently and once you get to Rome there are several options on where to get off including St. Peter's, Trastevere (lots of hotels and convenient to the forum and coliseum) or the central station. 

It was before 9:00 and a little chilly so we opted to get off at St. Peter's and say hello to the Pope. This area is a huge mass (note the catholic reference) in the summer, however on a chilly January weekday morning it was almost like we had the place to ourselves. 

Unlike our last visit two years ago, this time we didn't see the Pope.  I guess he had more important matters to attend to, no hard feelings on our part. 

We did the St. Peter's walk around which is always amazing and headed out to do a walk by of many of the amazing sites of this fast paced city. 

Along the river, into the Pantheon, by the Trevi Fountain, in front of the forum, halfway circle the coliseum, have a nice sit down lunch and catch the 3:00 train back to Civitavecchia

Whew!  Thankfully we've spent enough time in Rome as well as in Civitavecchia that we knew how to navigate our way around. 

Rome is truly amazing and to fully appreciate it you need at least three days. But even if you're on a cruise and have only one day you can cover a lot of ground and begin to develop an appreciation for the Roman culture as well as their ingenuity. It is amazing to stand in the Pantheon or outside the forum or coliseum and think about the fact that these structures are around 2,000 years old. 

We'll be back in Civitavecchia shortly, there's a hot tub on the ship with our names on it!

True Roman Gadiators!

   

Palermo, Sicily And The Italian Beatles!

Living in Texas one of the most commonly uttered phrases about the weather was "if you don't like it just wait ten minutes and it'll change". While I never found that bit of wisdom to apply to summer when the temperature would rise to around a million degrees it was pretty accurate in the other three seasons.

 Although it was rather chilly all day today in Palermo bits and pieces of the weather such as clouds, sun, rain, sleet and wind were constantly changing.  We knew it would be silly to let these little atmospheric changes rule the day. 

The noise and "grittiness" of this metropolitan area that we experienced a few years ago are still there. Maybe because there was less rain and more peeks of sun this time around our impressions of Palermo were much more favorable. 

We enjoyed roaming for miles along busy streets ducking into many of the large and well adorned historic churches. Many of these churches were 500+ years old. They were established well before the 7-10 word praise and worship songs  and theatrical displays we have in so many churches today. Heck, I doubt these old churches even have an audiovisual team but they seem to still be plugging along. 

We wandered far enough to run into the Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel which were added to the world heritage list back in 2015. Touring this palace was like a walk through history since the original construction started shortly after the coronation of Roger ll in 1130. Additions to the original construction continued through the early 19th century. The architecture and artwork from below your feet to the top of the ceiling were really impressive. 

Speaking of impressive and dramatically switching gears. One thing we did on our first visit that we didn't do this time was go to the Piazza Cappucini Catacombe. The catacomb is a big crypt where you are surrounded by hundreds of folks who have been dead for centuries. It's hard to describe but very interesting to see if you ever find yourself in Palermo looking for something to do. 

I'll add a link when I get to a computer, and as was the case with our fall trip I'm doing this blog on my iPhone so pictures and captions are difficult. More will be added at a later date. 

The shipboard entertainment can range from bad to cheesy to very good. The production cast onboard are pretty good. They did a show a couple of nights back that featured a bunch of rock music from the 70's and 80's that was nice. 

Last nights show was a Beatles tribute band called The Moondogs (seriously, that was their name). They were Italian guys so imagine four lads from somewhere in Italy with strong accents and probably named Marco, Guseppie or something  trying to impersonate four lads from Liverpool. 

I'd give them a solid A for effort as for pulling it off ........

No trip to Sicily would be complete without a cannoli!

Main cathedral in Palermo

Sunday in Malta

Yesterday we were in Malta which is an island nation in the  Mediterranean Sea. This was our first visit to Malta and it was quite nice.
We docked in the city of Valletta which seems to be one of if not the largest city in the country.   Valletta has a deep and rich history which has earned it designation as a world heritage city.
While it was a very nice day all the way around one of the highlights was pulling into port. The buildings along the waterfront as well as throughout the city are all made of rock which looks like limestone that has been bleached even more by the sun.
It was early on Sunday and we understand it was also a holiday so the narrow streets and alleyways were pretty quiet which was actually very nice and peaceful.
For the whopping sum of $1.50 euros each (1 euro is currently worth a few cents more than a US dollar) we took a city bus from Valletta to the walled city of Mdina which was about 20 minutes away.
Mdina is much smaller than Valletta and has been around for over 4000 years. It is completely walled in and I can't recall seeing a car inside the walls but keep in mind I can't always remember to pack all my clothes when leaving a hotel.
We learned that according to legend Paul was shipwrecked along the coast of Mdina around 60 AD. He was made welcome by the ruler of the land and cured the rulers father of some unspecified illness.
So Peter might have been a little better with boats and fishing but it seems Paul might have been the better doctor. I guess each of the disciples had their own area of specialization.
The bus to and from Mdina was a great way to see a little of the countryside in this very clean and quaint country.
When we returned to Valletta the city was coming alive. Shops were open, cafes were busy and residents and visitors were out enjoying a sunny but chilly island day.
Tomorrow it's on to Palermo, Sicily. We've been here before and for as quiet and quaint as Valletta was Palermo is gritty and noisy but also interesting and fun.

"Muey stupido in Espana" or "Brittany Spears and I have something in common"

A few years ago we did a repositioning cruise from Malaga, Spain to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  This particular cruise was in celebration of a significant birthday for Beth but I'm not saying which one. 

A repositioning cruise is when they are moving the ship from one home port to another port. These cruises are usually a little longer (15+days), have fewer ports of call and are less expensive. 

Our fall cruise from Hawaii to New Zealand was a repositioning cruise.  We were on for 33 days but many folks started it in Vancouver at the end of the Alaska cruise season and were on board for around 50 days. 

So when we did the one from Malaga we flew over a few days early and enjoyed some time in that region of Spain. Our hotel was in a very convenient location about a mile or so from the cruise terminal. 

The morning of the start of the cruise we woke up and could see our ship docked and ready to take us across the Atlantic to San Juan. 

We packed and headed toward the ship on a sunny day. Being so close, and given we travel light it was an easy walk that we enjoyed. 

As we got to unpacking I realized that I was packed real light because I had left a good bit of my clothes back at the hotel. The ship was leaving in a couple of hours so I hurriedly walked back to retrieve what I had left behind, cursing my stupidity with every step. Thankfully my clothes had been turned in by housekeeping along with a bag full of what looked like old papers that were no longer needed. To lighten my load for the walk of shame back to the ship I discarded the "useless papers" not realizing that our phone and iPad chargers were in the bag. At least we assume they were in the bag because they were never seen again. 

Fast forward to yesterday. Our hotel was a little farther from the cruise terminal than we were in Malaga. It was a mostly sunny and cool day, we were traveling light so we walked to the ship. 

I was unpacking our clothes while Beth went to make some dinner reservations for us. As I got to the bottom of my clothes I realized there was a significant number of my clothes missing. No way would I be so stupid as to repeat my mistake from a few years earlier!  Sadly I came to the conclusion that yes, I had done it again!

Now I could have taken a cab back to the hotel for around $10 but I decided to walk so I would have time to curse and flog myself for this repeated act of stupidity. 

Once again, thanks to a nice housekeeper the clothes were turned in to the front desk where I retrieved them. Feeling a little worn from already walking about 10 miles for the day and sufficiently punished I took a cab back to the ship. 

There is some good news!  At least I didn't throw away the chargers this time and I got the spiffy bag in the picture. I guess it was the prize for stupidest move of the day!

As far as me and Brittany....Oops, we did it again!

Spiffy Bag!

Hola from Barcelona!

With the November flight from Auckland to Sydney to Dallas still somewhat fresh in my little brain it's amazing how short Dallas to Madrid to Barcelona seemed.

We made it unscathed although sleeping on a plane is something neither Beth or I are very competent at doing for more than about fifteen minutes. 

We took the aerobus from the airport to Playa Catalunya which was just a few blocks from our hotel (Hotel Bagues). Our hotel is located on La Ramblas which is in the very center of the gothic old town area . We dropped off the backpacks in the room and headed out for what we thought would be a couple of hours. 

Before we knew it we were caught up in the festivities surrounding the Festival of the Three Kings celebration. This festival included a huge parade through town where the streets were lined 10-15 people deep with families and kids of all ages. 

The Christmas lights throughout the city especially on the restaurant and shop lined alleyways were amazing. The Cathedral de Barcelona which is huge still had their nativity scene complete with live animals on display in their inner garden. 

As is often the case, our two hour game plan turned into about six hours of roaming. Even though we had stayed in this area a couple of times we explored so many new areas and are looking forward to getting out a bit this morning before heading to the ship. We're also looking forward to being back here for five days between the two cruises. 

Our cruise itineraries are posted a few blogs back and we're on the Norwegian Spirit if you want to follow along on seascanner.com

The Three Kings celebration marks the end of the Christmas season in Spain. The kings bring the children who have been nice a gift and those who have been naughty coal.....here's hoping to a coal free year for everyone!

Cathedral de Barcelona

Ending 2016 and starting 2017 on a positive note!

We were not all able to be together on Christmas, however we were so happy to spend New Years Eve (and my birthday) in Fort Smith with Sarah, Joey and SBJ!

On New Years morning Ben flew up and joined us.  Nothing in the world is better than us all being together!

Mimi, Popi & SBJ enjoying a book

Looking Sharp in daddy's beanie!

Coolest Uncle Ever!

Big Buddies

Mom, Dad, SBJ and his new big boy chair!

SBJ the monkey!

SBJ the lion!

Future Cruiser!