OCD Planner's Mah-valous Mediterranean Adventure on Serenade of the Seas

[ace1zoe2]

Another booth had nothing but mushrooms. All types of mushrooms. I love mushrooms and FOOD for that matter. I know that I had to have been grinning ear to ear as I walked through this market!

 

 

I'm throwing this picture in just because I had never seen tomatoes that looked like this in my life.

 

 

There was any kind of tomato, fruit or vegetable that you could imagine. It would be have heaven to go to the market for fresh food each day.

 

 

 

 

And then there were the spices...mmm...

 

[ace1zoe2]

Catherine pointed out to us, this sandwich which is Nicoise, like the salad. It features tuna, hard boiled eggs, anchovies, tomatoes Nicoise olives and is served on a huge bread. She said it was a favorite in France.

 

 

Most of the buildings feature an arch or open area above the entry doors which allows airflow throughout the building when the windows are opened. Catherine also pointed out this is French A/C - opening all or part of your shutters.

 

 

 

Next Catherine invited us into this plain building.

 

 

Boy were we surprised when we entered what we later learned was the Chapelle de l'Annonciation, known as the Chapel of Saint Rita. The church dates to the 1600's and outside is probably one of the plainest exteriors I've seen. However, once you walk inside you are in awe. The church is beautiful and there are many works of art, highly detailed marble, copulas, arches and a bell tower. These pictures are of the inside, but again without a flash so they are lacking in quality.

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

 

 

When we exited the church we were in the old town neighborhoods. It was amazing to see how the locals live, work, eat and carry on a normal life in the midst of a tourist mecca.

 

 

 

This was another church in the old town square area and it is referred to as the Nice Chapel. It was built between 1650-1699 and features 3 organs and 10 chapels. We did not go inside of this chapel.

 

 

Instead we took this opportunity to try out the Gelateria! We were told that it had the most flavors of any one in Nice. I think it was 2 euro per dip and was quite delish! Here's our group trying out all sorts of crazy flavors.

 

 

And I just realized that I did get a picture of Catherine... she is the lady in the grey cape second from the right.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

As I have stated before, this was a very port intensive cruise. We sailed 8 nights and of the 8 days, 7 of them were spent in port. There was only 1 sea day which was basically our only down day for 2 weeks.

 

Our first port stop was the Port of Livorno. From here most people choose to go to Florence and/or Pisa and a few to Lucca. Since we had 2 1/2 days in the Tuscany before boarding the ship we had already visited both Florence and Pisa. Livorno is fairly close to Pisa for those who might be interested in doing it on their own. I'd say with 7-8 hours in port you would have plenty of time. Florence would be doable but time there will be extremely limited with the majority of your 7-8 hours in port being spent on a bus or shuttle just getting there & back.

 

 

We were actually pretty lucky, in that we were in port 12 hours which gave us about 11 hours off the ship, if we stretched it to the max. Originally when we booked this itinerary our first port was supposed to have been La Spezia which is very close to Cinque Terre. We had already made plans and gotten really excited about visiting CT when we noticed the port changed... that did not make me very happy since our original itinerary from Venice had already been redeployed.

 

After reading, researching, getting train & ferry schedules, checking on rental cars, tolls, gas prices, times, contingent plans, backup plans to my backup plans... I decided we were going to Cinque Terre after all!

 

The first thing that I did was to reserve a rental car thru Sifra Car in Livorno (http://www.sifracar.com) They have a rental counter inside the port terminal building as do several other car companies. Sifra Car is the local Hertz dealer and that will be the counter that you go to. They bring the cars to the port terminal at 7:30am. We arrived at Livorno at 7:00am which allowed time for us to get off the ship, meet up in the terminal and we only had to wait about 10 minutes for them to get there and open the counter. We were in our car pulling out of the port by 7:50am.

 

 

We rented two vehicles for 10 of us. In Italy the largest vehicle you can rent is for 7 passengers. Anything larger and you have to have a commercial driver's license. I had reserved a 7 passenger van and a 5 passenger car both with standard transmission. It took about 10 minutes to do the paperwork and pay for the rentals. We were upgraded on the van to a brand new VW van with automatic transmission for the same price. Six of our group went in that van with my SNL driving, he was used to it since they had been traveling in Europe for the last few months. Charlie drove our car which was a Ford Fiesta.

 

I think we reserved the cars about 10 months or so in advance and with no deposit. You could pay by cash euros or credit card at pick up. I had emailed ahead and asked a general idea of the time to CT, ask about tolls and the approximate cost of petrol. They were very easy to work with, answered emails promptly and gave us great service at the counter. They ask that the cars be returned to the port by 6pm, left unlocked with the key above the visor.

 

I had read that in Italy you are required to have an International Driver's License and both my husband and son in law obtained one thru AAA a few months before our trip. The cost was $15 and you can apply in person or by mail by supplying a copy of your current DL, 2 passport photos and a signed application. The rental agency didn't ask for the Int'l license or proof of insurance. Pretty much in Italy they require insurance thru the rental and that is what we did. I think where the Int'l license comes in to play is if you are stopped by the Italian police you are fined if you can't produce it. So we went with the "better safe than sorry" philosophy and spent $15 as a precaution. For info visit the AAA website:

http://www.aaa.com/PPInternational/IDP_IADP.html

 

We paid 160euro for the van with all insurance and 90euro for the car. So we took the 250euro plus 9,10euro toll each way per car, 15,50euro parking in Riomaggiore per car and 51euro of petrol (for both cars) and divided by 10. Our cost per person for the transport was 32euro.

 

We each purchased a CT Train Card which provided unlimited travel on the trains between the villages of CT and access to the trails for 12euro per person, children 4-18 are 7,30euro. For lots of information about CT you can visit the website: http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/cinque-terre-card

 

 

Train schedules can be found here: http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/cinque-terre-timetable

 

For the return trip we purchased a one way ride on the ferry which operates up thru the first few days of November. The cost per person for the ferry was 9euro and allowed us to see all the great views of the villages from the sea. Had the ferry not been running we could have taken the train back to Riomaggiore for no additional cost. Current ferry schedules can be found here:http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/boat-excursions

 

We had a great day in CT for a total of 53euro (about $66USD) per person plus lunch. A similar tour thru RCI was priced at $135.75USD and you went by bus, then a train ride then a boat ride and then bused back and you only visited 3 villages. Our group of 10 saved right at $700 over what the RCI tour would have been.

 

I'm not saying DIY port excursions are for everyone. You have to do the research, planning and timing. You have to make sure you will be back to the ship on time and have an alternate plan if things don't work out. Since we had 11 hours, new vehicles, major roadways and access to taxis if there were problems, we were more than comfortable doing this port on our own. Worse case scenario we could have rented a car one way and driven to the next port and caught the ship the following day.

 

Ok, that's my recommendations on how to do Cinque Terre on your own if you feel comfortable doing so. We were there during shoulder season and it was less crowded, the trains were running on time and the ferries were running. Plus we had a 12 hour port day. If we had only a 7-8 hour port day from Livorno we would not have chosen to go to CT - it's just too far and all the majority of our time would have been driving.

 

That's it for tonight. I'll post pictures of the villages that we visited tomorrow and tell you what we saw and/or did in each one.

 

Until then, this is what you have to look forward to:

 

 

 

Still following along after my quick Thanks giving cruise with my son ;)

 

CT is very high on my bucket list as will all my trips I still haven't gotten there. Thanks for the great info on doing it from Livorno, I'm hoping to do it pre cruise some time but great to know you did it on a longer port day.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Wow, awesome pics ;)

[Sheal]

Cindy,

 

Can you tell me what her pricing was like for your group? We only have 6 and I got the impression from the prices noted in my Rick Steve's book that it would be about 130-150 Euro per person for a group of 4-6 for the full day. I pretty much ruled it out thinking I would just wing it in the Old Town.

 

Thanks!

 

Sheal

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy,

 

Can you tell me what her pricing was like for your group? We only have 6 and I got the impression from the prices noted in my Rick Steve's book that it would be about 130-150 Euro per person for a group of 4-6 for the full day. I pretty much ruled it out thinking I would just wing it in the Old Town.

 

Thanks!

 

Sheal

 

 

 

This was the information at the end of 2013. We paid 90€ pp plus each tipped the tour guide 5€.

 

- For 3 persons: 200€/PP (in a nice A/C car or van)please note that we require a minimum of 3 persons to run a private tour

 

- For 4 persons: 150€/PP (in a nice A/C van)

 

- For 5 or 6 persons: 120€/PP (in a nice A/C van)

 

- For 7 persons: 100€/PP (in a nice A/C van)

 

- For 8 persons: 90€/PP (in a nice A/C van - please note that 8 persons in a large van is our maximum)

 

- For larger groups, please consult us: we can provide a comfortable motor coach with a driver and a great day of discovery!

 

[emoji818] PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MORE YOU ARE IN THE VAN, THE LESS YOU PAY PER PERSON BUT YOU ALWAYS CHOOSE WHO YOU WANT TO TOUR WITH!

 

- This price includes: a rented air-conditioned car or minivan, unlimited mileage, insurance, any tolls & parking fees

 

- It does not include: food or beverages, entrance fees of museums, tipping.

 

[emoji818] DO NOT HESITATE:

 

- To form a small group with more people to lower the price as long as you ALL WISH to see the same places!

 

- You will ALWAYS choose who you wish to tour with, friends, family, relative or simply internet pen friends met on line on Travel sites such as CruiseCritic or CruiseAddicts or CruiseMates …

- In the event that I would already have a small group of guests from your ship booked with me that day for a similar tour, would you be interested IN JOINING US to reduce the PER PERSON COST?

 

We had a full day and felt we got a lot of value for the price we paid. I don't think you would have a problem getting a larger group from your Roll Call if you put it out there.

 

Cindy

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sheal]

Cindy,

 

That was very helpful. I wasn't sure if your price would be less, due to a larger group, or more due to the car additional cost of the mini bus rental. This answered it perfectly.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your day.

 

Sheal

[ace1zoe2]

Catherine teased that this building was this inspiration for the Flat Iron building in New York City.

 

 

Again, the buildings were just gorgeous!

 

 

After we toured the old town area we traveled on to another panoramic viewing area located in Villefranche-Sur-Mer. Some of the famous property owners here are Tina Turner & Elton John. We visited the Jardin Botanique St Michel (Botanical Garden) which is situated between Nice and Monaco and overlooks the Bay of Beaulieu, the Peninsula of St Jean Cap Ferat and the Bay of Villefranche. The views were magnificent and Serenade of the Seas looked regal anchored in the bay. However, it was a foggy day and pictures do not do our view any justice at all.

 

 

 

We continued on after this towards Eze Village. Along the way Catherine asked if we would like to stop at the Perfume Factory to which we all replied "NO!" She then explained that it is a nice facility with a "laid back no hard sales" tour and they offer free parking and nice FREE restrooms. After the bathrooms we'd used up to this part of our trip, we all agreed to stop provided that it was a quick tour and we could be on our way.

[ace1zoe2]

So we stopped for a tour which I totally wasn't interested in at all. I have an aversion to perfume, it gives me headaches. I was assured that there were no strong smells, no spraying, etc. and if I wanted to leave at any time I could excuse myself.

 

 

The "science" lab where they combine all of their "recipes" for their perfumes:

 

 

The vats where the perfumes are stored:

 

 

Some of the ingredients:

 

 

These little fragrant soaps are molded, hand trimmed, painted and packed in boxes by hand!

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

We saw some antique equipment that they originally produced their perfumes in:

 

 

There were gigantic mixers & melting pots for their soaps and lotions:

 

 

 

After reluctantly agreeing to do the tour, I am glad that I participated. I learned a lot that I didn't know about what goes in to developing a scent. It was also neat to see how dimensional soaps are made, extruded, molded & trimmed. I guess I never really thought about a person sitting and hand doing that as a job.

 

It was an interesting 30 minutes out of our day for which we received a nice air conditioned tour and a CLEAN, FREE restroom of the quality to which we are used to in the US!

 

Upon leaving the factory and headed back to our mini-bus I noticed a tree that had lots of blooms of assorted colors... I had to check out what type of tree it might be:

 

 

Upon closer inspection, I learned that it was a blooming tour-tag tree!

 

 

This concluded our Fragonard Factory (Bathroom) Tour! Up next is Eze Village.

 

 

We are participating in our local Parade of Lights Christmas event tonight. If we get home at a decent hour I hope to post the next installment later tonight.

[ace1zoe2]

From the parking lot of the Fragonard Perfume Factory we could Eze Village perched high on the mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

 

 

 

Our driver took us up to the edge of the Village and then we walked up to the castle and church areas. Some of the paths were pretty steep, much like what we experienced in Cinque Terre.

 

The entrance to the village:

 

 

 

 

We reached this plaza area that was right in front of the church and it overlooked the countryside below:

 

[ace1zoe2]

The plaza was very pretty with lots of flowers and places to sit. Luckily for us Eze was basically deserted and we pretty much had it to ourselves. I really enjoyed that aspect of it. The shops were mostly closed but that didn't bother me in the least.

 

 

 

We were able to visit the oldest building in the village which happens to be the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix that dates back to 1306!

 

 

 

 

This is something unique that I have never seen before in any of the churches that we have visited. It is an "arm" holding out the crucifixion cross:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Other sights in the village:

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back out the door to the village:

 

 

And looking back at one last shot of the entry to the village:

 

 

For an additional 5 euro you can pay to climb to the top of the "Eagle's Nest" to the Exotic Garden where there are cacti and succulent plants as well as a panoramic view. We chose to skip this and took a few minutes in the town of Eze to purchase some Fleur de Sel (Flower of the Salt) and Herbs de Provence (spices). We also chose to forego a "lunch" to save time we just picked up sandwiches and chips or crackers to eat on the go.

 

Next up is Monaco, Monte Carlo & then we head back to the Port of Villefranche! It was a busy day and we saw a lot of wonderful places.

Edited December 8, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[hipster1]

Cindy,

Did you get to see the town of St Paul De Vence? I think it was maybe 20 minutes from Eze. You have taken some wonderful pictures! I hope you bought something with lavender while you were in the region:) We settled for lavender gelato!

 

Ali

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy,

 

Did you get to see the town of St Paul De Vence? I think it was maybe 20 minutes from Eze. You have taken some wonderful pictures! I hope you bought something with lavender while you were in the region:) We settled for lavender gelato!

 

 

 

Ali

 

 

Ali,

 

Unfortunately we didn't have time to do both Eze Village & Saint Paul de Vence. That is also on my bucket list if we are fortunate enough to be back in this region.

 

I smelled some lavender salts but that's as close as I got ;)

 

Cindy

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ace1zoe2]

Upon arriving in Monaco our driver dropped us off at this building (all of you cruise folks should get a kick out of this). We walked down a couple of building if I remember correctly, then took an elevator and then walked in to town.

 

 

We came out right at the Museum of Oceanography which we were welcome to visit but chose to do other things. First we walked to the Prince's Palace where we just happened upon the changing of the guards.

 

 

 

There was a plaza nearby which offered some great panoramic views of La Condamine, which is known for its expensive yachts that are moored in the wide harbor area.

 

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

We walked thru some of the side streets in the shopping district and this is where we actually bought our pizza and sandwiches for lunch. We walked to a park along the way and sat under the shade trees and had our lunch.

 

 

Some very nice architecture in the town.

 

 

 

The last thing we did was to visit the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, also known as Monaco Cathedral. It was built in 1875 on the site of the first church which was built in 1252. It is the burial sight of many of the Grimaldis including Princess Grace (Grace Kelly, Hollywood actress from the 1950's) and Prince Ranier III

 

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

Monaco Cathedral

 

 

 

Prince Ranier III's tomb:

 

 

A depiction of Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly on their wedding day is at their final resting places:

 

 

Princess Grace's tomb:

 

 

There were more visitors in the church than any where else we visited in Monaco.

 

 

Next up is our final stop of the day when we visited Monte Carlo.

[karinad]

Just wondering if anyone is out there following along? I see there are several recent Med reviews and maybe that is the difference this time. In past reviews there have been lots of questions, responses, etc. but I sort of feel like I'm talking to myself this time :)

 

At any rate, I will continue on and hopefully pick up some followers along the way. I'm currently on day two and we will board the ship on day 5 so if that is what you're waiting for it's coming up soon!

 

You would prefer more pictures, less pictures, more narration, less? Hopefully, someone will see some information that will help them with future cruise plans at least.

 

Cindy

 

Great review! I feel like I'm right there with you! Beautiful pictures! I can't wait to read the rest! Thanks for taking the time to post!

[ace1zoe2]

Great review! I feel like I'm right there with you! Beautiful pictures! I can't wait to read the rest! Thanks for taking the time to post!

 

 

Thanks Karinad! I appreciate your comments & your taking time to read my report.

 

Sorry it's taking so long! Life is getting in the way with work, holidays, parties, etc.

 

I hope to post the next installment later this evening.

 

Cindy

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Bringing back great memories reading your review.

I loved Eze but preferred ST. Paul so hopefully you get back there. There's so much to see and so many places to go its hard to see and do it all, when I read reviews I want to go back to the places but also have so many new places on the bucket list :)

[hipster1]

I agree. I liked St Paul a little more.

 

Cindy, when you go back, hit St Paul and we will visit Monte Carlo;) that's why I love visiting Europe. You might repeat ports but there is always more to see and do!

 

Ali

[ace1zoe2]

Our last stop before heading back to port was in Monte Carlo where we spent about an hour and a half. We were dropped off at the Casino Square and this is where we met back up. A few in our group went to the Casino just so they could say they had gambled in the Monte Carlo Casino. It was a 10euro fee to enter the Casino but they all claimed to have had ten euros worth of fun. I think the most anyone lost was 20 euro and the most anyone won was also about 10 euro. You may enter the lobby area for free but you are not allowed to take pictures. It is worth the time to take a look in my opinion... although I did feel like I was getting looked down upon.

 

 

 

Catty corner across the street is the beautiful Hotel de Paris

 

 

There was a large shopping mall within walking distance that a couple of folks went to. I, not being the shopping type, chose to walk thru a park that sits opposite of the Casino. I enjoyed the water, the ducks, the flowers and statues.

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

The rest of my time I spent taking pictures of cars I had never seen before! There were a lot of tourists doing the same thing.

 

 

 

 

A different view of the Casino looking in the reflecting mirror over the fountain in the middle of the Square:

 

 

It took approximately 30-45 minutes to get back to the port area. We had a wonderful day with a fantastic tour guide. I cannot recommend Catherine enough! She was absolutely wonderful. If we are ever so lucky to return to Villefranche I will hire her for another day to see St. Paul de Vence and perhaps one of the gastromic tours or an off the beaten path tour... there is so much to see one could return many, many times and never see it all.

 

Area near the port you could explore:

 

 

Splendor of the Seas moored in the harbor and the tender boats ferrying passengers back and forth into the port of Villefranche.

 

 

Well, I think maybe that does it for day 7! I think I've taken at least 7 days just to get one day of travel done. I'm hoping to speed things up but I just have so much I want you to see and hear about...

 

Cindy