cavaaller

After we had done the circle tour we were tired of evading the cars and the millions of field-trips-students and escaped on to the other side of the river and climbed the hill up to Piazzale Michelangelo. There you not only have a terrific view over Florence but can also breathe a little in a serene little garden paradise away from the crowds. We loved it. Then we stopped for a cappuccino (Vivaldi, Via dei Renai, 15, 50125 Firenze) I highly recommend it not only for the café/gelato but also for the clean restrooms and the very nice staff 😉

The old bridge:

Our impression of Florence was ambivalent: It is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities I have visited. Every corner you turn hides an ancient building full of cultural treasures. But it is messy: While the cities we had visited on this cruise up to then (Malaga, Barcelona, Nice) seem to have taken the full range of infrastructure options to improve the walking and cycling experience in Florence the pedestrian has to fear for his life (of course I exaggerate). Most times there are no pavements at all. You always have to watch out for cars and/or scooters. It is noisy, it smells of fuel and pollution and it is soooo crowded. In my very own opinion cars cannot be the center of a healthy and serene city. That aside - as mentioned. Florence takes your breath away. Just to show you some of the sights: The dome: David (just one of the copies though)

We arrived in Livorno a little bit after 8 o clock. Azamara docks at Porto Mediceo: I really wanted to see Florence - taxi cost about 570 E The train from Livorno Centrale to Firenze S. M. Novella takes about 1,5 h. You can either take a taxi to central station - that is waiting right beside the ship or the bus. Train Tickets cost around 11 E pP. This is the way from the pier to the train station in google maps. The distance is 3 km. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by foot To take the bus to the train station: just walk out of the port, buy a biglietto autobus (public bus ticket) for €1.20 from any newsstand (tabaccheria) you pass (you could buy the train ticket for 11 E here aswell), and head straight up Via Grande to the first bus stop on your right. Hop city bus #1 to the stazione treni in about 15 minutes. train schedule for 04/23: I had a lot of OBC and until then had not spent any on a tour so I had chosen the shore excursion "Florence on your own". We met in the Cabaret Lounge at 8:15 and were guided to our tour bus about 5 Minutes later. There were 30 people on the bus and our guide Cynthia entertained us while the bus (impressive driving skills: driver Tizziano) led us to a leather outlet factory, used mainly as restroom break. The drive was about 1,30 in total and the drop off in Florence was Santa Croce (red dot)

I am running a bit behind on my report - sorry about that! Nice - evening: The white night. We were just AMAZED how much effort every single member of the staff must have put in the organization of this event. The food was amazing, the staff were obviously proud of the wonderful experience they had created - I wish my English skills could explain how much we and the other guests appreciated the devotion to detail. The food was out of this world. I could only take pictures of the dessert because there were so many people around the bbq. but desserts are my fav. course anyway 🙂 All the senior officers were working (even the head chef was serving the best cuts and the Captain was working the tables) My favorite dish was the Crêpes Suzette cooked by Marcelo Affonso (Hotel Director). It was a real pity that it was sooo cold because everybody was participating (everyone dressed in white) so many beautiful people- the atmosphere was great. You will find plenty of pictures and videos on YouTube and/or Facebook of this event!

Today we are docked at beautiful beautiful Nice As a French teacher I should have been so grateful to see Nice on the Schedule. But to be honest, I just thought "OK, at least It is a new port for us". Put my did I underestimate the beauty of this city! Of course it is easy for a city to shine if you have beautiful weather, like we had today! But still - we had such a wonderful time in Nice ! Quelle beauté! Quelle ville magnifique! Je suis ravie! We were docked in the best spot again: Right in the old / little harbour: We wandered around the bay and climbed the stairs to the Colline du Château (red line). usually there is an escalator that departs from the Hotel de Suisse - but right now it is out of order. Up there it was just serene. So beautiful. So calm. So many pretty sights and panoramas. We then descended to the old Ville (la vielle Ville) where we bought some more sunscreen and cherished the lovely Parc (Promenade du Paillon) Then we continued our walk on to the Boulevard des Anglais - a beautiful Promenade. Finally we went back on board for a quick lunch and some frozen yoghurt 🙂 See the amazing toppings here: The weather was so beautiful though that we could not resist and took another stroll. This time we went to the right hand side and went up Mont Boron. It is an easy walk - you just follow the signs and you are rewarded with a stunning view: We saw amazing houses (of apparently very poor people) and we had a wonderful view on our ship:

Some of you recommended, that we should go to breakfast in Aqualina. So of course we followed your recommendation - and a good recommendation it was. You have to bring some time but it is worth it: I went with the granola (a little too sweet for my taste) of course the egg Benedict (very good) DH had the omelet (very good) Very good aswell. Service: as usual impeccable. Cappuccino was less good than in Mosaic café. In the evening we came back for dinner at Aqualina: Greetings from the kitchen: (wonderful! Peccorino and bread with pepper-spread) Chefs special: Shrimps and Pancetta Chefs special II: Spanish Beef stew Eggplant Parmigiana Spaghetti Bolognese Soufflé Crème Brûlée (chefs special)

Sorry I am a bit late to respond. We are on deck 6. The movement is getting worse if you move up a deck (just mho)

Then we headed back to the ship, had another coffee at Mosaic - resisted the temptation of having a pre-lunch snack felt very proud and good about this...😉 and went for lunch at Windows: The vegan options are really good! I must try the pizza tomorrow:

The forecast promised another glorious sunny day and we were eager to get ashore to explore Barcelona on our own. Transport-Options: At the ship you can hop in a taxi (there is also uber in BCN), you can rent a bike, you can take one of two Hop on Hop off busses (e.g. city-sightseeing 30E) Take the Metro (purchase at vending machines T-Casual (replaces the former T10) carnet of 10 tickets Zone 1: 11,35 €). Tipps for the metro. Or OneDayTicket: T-Dia 10,50 €. See the map on this link for better resolution We had seen all the “must sees” ( Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Camp Nou for football fans, Gaudi: Casa Battló/Mila, Picasso Museum, las ramblas, Pard de Monjuïc, Barri Gòtic.) on our previous visits and were looking forward to doing another hike. We were lucky to be docked right in the centre (berth S) so we could head straight up to Mount Mont Juic. Up there you have a beautiful view of the city. Alternatively there is a cable car at Avinguda de Miramar, 30 (15 E) Or you can also take the teleferic that departs right beside the ship. This one goes to either Barceloneta or drops you off at the Hotel Miramar on the Mount. We preferred to walk off some of the calories that were starting to saw my trousers one or two numbers tighter. It was an easy walk. I did map out the route at home (using Komoot) but this was really not necessary as you just keep on walking up. The gardens are really lovely up there. This is the hotel Miramar, facing the Top Station of the Teleferic departing the port: We descended and walked to the left side to Barceloneta and Port Vell. It is interesting that depending on the direction you take in Barcelona you get to see a whole different side and feel a totally different vibe within 20 minutes of a walk. The beach at Barceloneta is really great. Although it being a workday it was buzzing with people.

Although the sea was rather smooth on the way to Barcelona, the very strong winds caused a lot of noise and commotion (again). When we entered the port (punctual as usual) it was all forgotten though:

As a really nice bonus, the ladies were offered a rose and the gents were gifted a bottle of Spanish sangria at the end of the dinner and to top it off, the picture, the photograph had taken at the beginning of the event was waiting at our cabin door, when we returned. It was an outstanding event. We had very interesting conversations with our fellow cruisers and with the captain and chief engineer (who were seated in our vicinity). The atmosphere was very cheerful and relaxed - we enjoyed ourselves immensely. I have to say that imho this is perk, given to the top suite guests is worth much more than gifting them an ultimate / premium beverage package (like they receive on Celebrity) or additional OBC - it shows so much appreciation. If any Azamara representative should happen to read this: Very Well Done and thank you so much!

Main Course: Wagyu Beef and Lobster Pinchos or Iberia Halibut The very charismatic Hotel Director Marcelo Affonso shared a little background on the quality of Waguy beef and how it is often overpriced (as not the real quality) if not bought in Japan - very interesting. In any case - DH was delighted and really enjoyed the dish. The Halibut dish was a little dry but the sauce was marvelous. The last course was Chocolate Cone, Panellets, Leech Frida, Turron and Tocine de Cello served with a Rosé Moscatel Although by that time I had eaten more than I usually eat in a day, I still enjoyed the dessert - just to prove that it was really good.

Palate Cleanser: Orange Cucumber Cava Granita. The Sommelier had helped us at Aqualina the night before and had obviously remembered, that DH does not drink alcohol. His Granita was virgin. I think that is really amazing!

When the third Course Albondigas de Gambas arrived, I was too distracted by the lively conversation and the really funny stories that the hilarious captain Toledo and his friend Mr. Prcan shared that I took the picture when the main character had already been killed: sorry about that. The captain and his chief engineer have such a nice chemistry and were so entertaining. It was a real treat to listen to them.

Second course: Tomato and Yogurt Gazpacho The Gazpacho was to die for, the shrimp melted in the mouth with just the right amount of spices.

First Course: Grilled Eggplant and Oxtopus Funbit: When I RSVPed for the dinner I was asked if there were any food allergies to be mentioned. I told them that my DH doesn't eat fish or shellfish. It was nice, that they substituted the fish/shellfish in the menu without further ado. Unfortunately we did not realize this until after the first course because I had mistakenly gotten DH's chicken substitute so you only see this dish - while he had the octopus. The paired Marlborough was one of the best white wines I have tasted - and I did not think I even likes New Zealand wines... lesson learned: so important to get out of your comfort zone and try new things.

At 18:15 we went to the Drawing Room where the Concierge Rafael greeted us by name (already impressed) and introduced us to the Captain and the Chief engineer. We met the other guests and had a glass of champagne. After some words we proceeded to the beautifully laid out table. Silver cutlery, beautiful flowers, name tags for every guest. Then the Executive Chef (Nathan Shijunath) and the Sommelier (Sachin Raut) introduced the menu they had been preparing for the last 4 days. And then the dinner started with what can only be described as a perfect show. The butlers and some head waiters followed an impressive choreography led by the head waiter (?). Every course was a delight and the wines were impeccably paired.

No, do you recommend it?

For lunch we ordered club sandwiches and enjoyed the sea and the calm on our balcony

After having spent some time on our balcony: we headed to the shops to spend some of our hard earned OBC:

Before returning to our suite we stopped by Mosaic café. I may have already mentioned that I am unfortunately a bit of a sweet tooth so when I heard/read in the marvelous review by "Emma cruises", that the cookies on Azamara where one of the few things that left to be desired food-wise I was a little disappointed. Of course I had to find out for myself (for research purpose only). I had a chocolate cookie that was better than the Starbuck's ones (imho). Delicious! There have been some questions about the Internet Speed. I am happy to report that it is very good thus far. Today - being a sea day - it is a little slower but still operable: We just did a speed test: