LIVE from the Eurodam! Our 1st Cruise! July 5th to 17th - Mediterranean Tapestry

[DeeniEncinitas]

You look stunning!!!

Nancy, Paul and you sure are a wonderful couple!!

Thank you for the photos of Toulon!

That is exactly what we have in mind to do when we get in!

Also we are thinking of the beach also!

 

Enjoy Monte Carlo. We enjoyed walking up to the Casino, and Hemmingways

For cocktails along the pier coming back.

Enjoy your cruise!

Denise:)

[SLOTheta]

Can you please tell me the name of the tour company that your friends took that included the 2 star restaurant lunch? Thanks.

 

 

They used bandolwinetours.com and it was 159€ a person for a private tour for 20, 3 wineries and lunch stop. They had 9 seater mini buses and 25 seater buses.

 

Everyone said it was absolutely fabulous. They bought a bunch of wine and paid the $18 corkage when they checked in on the boat.

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

2nd Stop - Monte Carlo! I'm several days behind in posting since the ship internet is horrible or its just plain down.

 

 

Today is the big day! The wedding day and the much anticipated gambling experience at the Monte Carlo Casino.

 

I paid a visit to Location Guide Tom the night before to get tips on waking Monte Carlo. Tom was efficient and very helpful. He gave me a great map that clearly showed how to walk to the gardens, cathedral, palace and the casino.

 

We had to take tinders to the port. In the morning, we head several announcements telling guests that there was a wait and people had to be assigned numbers. There were many early birds who went on shore early to rent cars or partake in tours to Nice. By time we were ready to go, (11am) they had announced there was no longer a wait.

 

We connected with another wedding cruise couple and took a self guided tour of Monte Carlo. We took the stairs to the Jardins Saint Martin - steep set of stairs to the top. The garden was small and simple, but a nice oasis. We then headed to the Cathedral where the Prince and Princess are entombed. It was a hot day, we took several breaks along the wall to rest and take photos. When we arrived at the Cathedral, we walked in a loop inside to take in the stain glass, marble sculptures and paintings. Beautiful cathedral. After the cathedral, we walked along the seawall to the the Palace. The views of the yachts and apartments nestled into mountainside were breathe taking. We spent roughly 2.5 hrs on the walking tour. In retrospect, we should have take the tourist train for 9€ which would have taken us to all the sites and saved us from melting in the scorching heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was nearing 2pm and we were meeting our friends at the Casino. To get to the casino when the Palace, it was about a 25 minute walk along the port. We were hot and sweaty and wanted to grab a little AC before heading into the casino. We went next door to the casino to Cafe Paris. We didn't realize that you had to order food if you wanted to sit inside. We moved to an outside patio table to grab a drink. We waited about 10 minutes and had no luck flagging down a waiter. It ended up working out since it was 10€ for a beer and 20€ for a glass of wine. We decide to head to the casino. There was a queue in front of the casino right at 2pm, the lines to buy tickets to enter the casino were about 10 minutes long. There were 3 windows to buy tickets. It was 10€ to get in and they accept credit cards. For us, it was well worth the admission fee. The dress code during the day is much more relaxed. They refused men who were wearing shorts and flip flops. But, most people were wearing collared shirts and pants. The casino was gorgeous and I wish we were allowed could take photos (I snuck a few from my purse).

 

 

We went to the bar and ordered a bit of bubbly and waited for our friends to arrive. The drink prices were fair for a high end gambling establishment. The house wine was 8€ and champagne was 20€ a glass. I tried to find a bank that had an ATM along the way, but we only saw one and I assumed we would find more. I ended to up taking money out of the casino ATM and was pleasantly surprised there were no ATM fees.

 

Only roulette, baccarat and a strange rendition of Texas Holdem table-game was open. We were hoping to play black jack, but that didn't open until later in the day. I don't typically play roulette, but it was lively a game. There were two tables, one with a minimum buy in of 50€ and the other was a 100€ buy in with a minimum of 20€ inside or outside bet. All the bartenders and dealers spoke English, but they appreciated my effort to speak French. I cashed in 100€. Most of our friends were cleared out within minutes. There was a mix of high rollers and low rollers at our table. Two Greek gentlemen cashed in about 2000€ each and were betting a 100€ a number. I stayed about even until about 30 minutes in when I ordered a glass of rose from one of the 4 cocktail servers standing at the rim of the gambling floor. When the drink came, I tried to pay and the waiter told me (in French) that drinks are gratis if you play a minimum. What a nice treat. I would have orders earlier! That changed everything! I started to make a little, went up and down. My husband, who was playing Lobster Mania slots came by to Le me know we should head to the ship to get ready for the wedding. He also was up 30€ and didn't want to give it back. I was having a great time, everyone was so nice, I didn't want to leave. At the end, I split one of my favorite numbers (11/14) and after I hit it, we decided it was time to go.

 

I left with up 200€, successful gambling adventure at the most famous casino in the world.

 

Secret photo of the casino from my purse [emoji51]

 

 

The long walk back to the port dock was daunting. When we unloaded into the port earlier, there was a vendor passing out fliers for the Bateau Bus (boat bus). The boat pick up was she on in the map as being right below the casino and would drop us off where the tender would pick us up. I asked for directions at the hotel on the water, but we were turned around and ended up taking the long way. We saw the red bateau bus sign and were happy to have found it. We had just missed the bus. We waiting on the bench for about 20 minutes before the next bus came. You pay for your tickets on board. For 2€ is was well worth it.

 

The tinder was jam packed at 4:25pm and was pretty stuffy. Luckily, it was a quick trip to the boat.

 

The wedding is at 5:30pm tonight on deck 12. Off to get dressed for the much awaited formal wedding of our friends Jeff and Daniela.

 

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

Your "we" must be two people then. If there were 3 in your party, you would have had one more bottle corkage free (4 people would have gotten you four free bottles).

 

 

Yes, you are correct. We have 2 people staying in our room so we received 2 free corkage fees. We didn't get stickers, so we have to track those down. Our wine steward in our MDR was very nice about our wine and even though we didn't have a sticker, happily poured our wine for us.

 

We enjoyed a nice bottle of Stags Leap with our meal. Well worth the $18.

 

 

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[Cruising-along]

I'm really enjoying your great review and photos, the Med is my favorite area to cruise. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Catching up -- wonderful review.

Love the pictures.

Hope the wedding goes well.

[RetiredMustang]

Great reports! Congratulations on the wins at the Casino. I am enjoying your thread, and it appears you are having a wonderful time.

 

Enjoy the Eurodam! If you can, try to take a few minutes at least to see the Silk Den and Tamarind restaurant; Eurodam and the Nieuw Amsterdam are the only ships in the HAL fleet with those. We found the Eurodam's Silk Den a nice place for a drink now and then.

 

Dave

[Sce2sr1]

Great thread - my wife and I are on the same cruise next month so following with interest!

 

Thanks for sparing time out of your fantastic holiday to share your experiences.

[HELENPSL]

First Day on the Ship

 

Room:

5152

 

 

Muster Drill:

The muster drill was about 30 minutes long. We gave our room number and hung out in a clump while our group number gathered. The staff member checking us in was a funny fellow. He cracked jokes and tried to make the drill as easy and fun as possible. While we were walking back, we saw several guests in robes and we had to laugh, it seemed like they were caught off guard and were a bit disheveled. Guests were given a good hour warning that the drill was coming, but I suppose a few didn't pay attention.

 

Ship:

After the drill, we took a tour of the ship. Even though the Eurodam isn't a mega ship, it sure felt huge to us. We walked along through the Lido and out the back, it was a bit of information overload. There was so much to see, we resisted stopping to eat at the Lido, we wanted to catch the sail away and the sangrias on deck. We The drink of the day was a tasty sangria ($6.95) we stopped by the Crow's Nest to check out the library. My husband, the history teacher, was impressed with the wide election of books and maps. I popped over to the Explorations Cafe to check out what they had to offer. I wasn't ready for a drink, but the nice counter attendant offered me mini egg salad sandwich and olives. Tasty!

 

After our drink, we headed to the Ocean Bar where they were serving Tapas and the drink of the day. The cheese was good, but after we saw the NY Pizza sign, we had to check it out. We ordered a chicken, mushroom and olive pizza. We enjoyed the sail away while sipping sangria. We were going to stay and eat our pizza on the deck, but we realized that we were in a smoking area. Buzzer rang and we took our pizza to our verandah where we sipped a little wine and ate our pizza in luxurious silence. My husband is quite enjoying the peaceful moments on our verandah.

 

Room:

 

More room than we thought we would have. Our luggage was delivered around 6pm. Perfect timing to unpack and get ready for dinner.

 

The storage was adequate, we managed to unpack our hefty 70 lb suitcases. Again, I realized we brought too much! I took a CC tip and brought an over the door bathroom organizer, that's helps with space conservation.

 

I noticed you can hear just about everything in the hallway and in the rooms next to us (above and to the side) - walking, voices, carts, etc. It's good our neighbors are out and about.

 

Our wedding couple delivered champagne for us, but since we we boarded late, all the ice had melted. I Dialed 90 to get ice. I had to wait for 30 minutes on hold to reach an attendant.

 

 

Our room attendant, Andri came about 30 minutes later and we let him know that the AC does not work. He was kind enough to bring us a fan.

 

I was excited for our first meal in the MDR. We have a group of 50, so we occupied a nice little area of the restaurant. Unfortunately, the food was not great, I would say on the bland side, or overly salted. I love salt, but the Scallops were far too salty. Salmon was tasteless. Creams brûlée was runny. But, the wine steward and our table attendant were very attentive and helpful. I have allergies and they brought the menu for the next day for me to select from and have a few dishes altered.

 

The Casino was dead, but I loved the $5 craps. The groom to be and I had a few rounds and made a little money, but then gave it all back not long later.

 

At 11:30, dueling pianos played. A guy and a girl combo. They were funny and had a good sound - great singers. Their song choices were great. Sadly, They only played for about an hour so I hit the table again.

 

I played 3 card poker at $15 a hand and hit a 3 of a kind. 30-1 on the Bonus bet. Yahoo! No free drinks, but really nice Pitboss from South Africa and friendly enough dealer from Zimbabwe. At 1am, there were 3 people.

 

Second Day:

 

Breakfast today: I ordered "off" the room service menu and wrote in smoked salmon, cream cheese and a bagel. The order that came was disappointing. I didn't get cream cheese, I received cottage cheese. The smoked salmon was rather small, but quite tasty. My capers came in a bowl with raw onions. I'm allergic to onions and I didn't order onions and let them know of my allergy, that was a bit of a bummer. The bagel also was an onion bagel. I sent my husband to the Lido to get me a plain bagel and cream cheese.

 

 

Once he delivered the goodies, I was quite a happy camper.

 

Off to explore Toulon on foot!

 

Nancy

 

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Wonder if the pit boss is Geoffrey Bruyns from South Africa? We met him in 2014 on the Nieuw Amsterdam and again in 2015 on the Eurodam. One of the nicest guys on HAL. If it's him, please tell him that Helen and Angelo said hello. Good luck in the casino!!

 

Helen

[SLOTheta]

Wonder if the pit boss is Geoffrey Bruyns from South Africa? We met him in 2014 on the Nieuw Amsterdam and again in 2015 on the Eurodam. One of the nicest guys on HAL. If it's him, please tell him that Helen and Angelo said hello. Good luck in the casino!!

 

 

 

Helen

 

 

Yes! That's him! He's been in the casino every night and he's hilarious! I'll tell him you said hello!

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

The Wedding is here! The wedding location was moved several times. When the bride and groom had their rehearsal the day before, the wind, sun and direction of the ship wasn't ideal. The ship coordinator was kind enough to move the location of the wedding. With the help of well positioned signs, we found our way to the new wedding location.

 

It was scorching hot, with direct sun on all of us. We had a couple of umbrellas to help, but it didn't protect most of the group. But, baking under the sun was well worth the gorgeous backdrop of Monte Carlo for our wedding view.

 

 

The wedding was short and simple. The bride and groom written their own vows and mixed in a bit of the groom's Jewish heritage. We were told the Captain typically enjoys marrying couples, but a friend of the happy couple is a city council member and served as the officiant.

 

 

After the ceremony, we were directed to the Crows Nest. Almost everyone of the guests took a crazy route to the Crows Nest. We walked through the Lido in our full formal wear, feeling like dorks. We had baked under the sun for so long, our detour made my husband thirsty. Lucky for us, we were passing by the juice machine! Even though we've been to the Crows Nest twice, we couldn't figure out the best way there.

 

 

When we finally made it to the wedding reception, we were greeted with bubbly and appetizers. Unfortunately for me, pretty much all the appetizers had onions and they could make me any that didn't have them. The spanakopita and battered shrimp were quite delicious. We had an open bar for an hour where I taught the bartender how to make a French 75. A few of the officers came by to present the Bride and Groom and groom with a gift, we were hoping to meet the captain, but he didn't make an appearance.

 

We headed to the Pinnacle Grille for the wedding reception dinner. We had a nice area reserved for our group. We didn't book any dinners outside of the MDR, we were excited to give it a try. We had our first Indonesian ship attendant, thus far, as our waiter. Almost all of the service staff we've met so far is from the Philippines. All lovely people, but it was nice to practice our Bahasa, we spent 6 weeks in Bali for our honeymoon. The Pinnacle had special wedding menus created for the occasion on a scroll. I ordered the crab cakes and the cedar planked halibut with shrimp. The crab cakes were delicious, the perfect amount of crab meat and breading. The fish was a tad over cooked for my taste, but the sauce and shrimp were very good. For dessert, we opted for the wedding cake. It was a white cake filled with cream and chocolate, with a nice dense consistency. Quite good.

 

 

 

After we finished dinner, we headed to BB Kings to dance and grab happy hour drinks at the Billboard Bar. Happy hour is 11-12am. Perfect timing. The band was a perfect wedding band! They played oldies and top 40. They were great performers with a nice vibe. We danced away the night until they played their last song.

 

Our group wasn't ready to end the festivities, about 15 headed to the casino where our friends were on a fabulous craps roll. We took over the black jack tables and by 2:30am, we all had won a little money and were ready to call it a night. The dealers and pit bosses have been the same group every night. All have been very nice. I haven't seen any free drinks purchased for anyone yet.

 

Off to bed

 

 

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[sppunk]

That sounds like an awesome day!

[SLOTheta]

Day 3 - Livorno to Pisa

 

A note: I'm a few days behind and also typing my posts on my iPhone. My laptop is on the fritz and the ship wi-fi is essentially non-existent. I've burned through 1/2 my package and can't bring up Cruise Critic or Facebook! Please excuse the typos and not as thorough as I'd like posts.

 

The day after the wedding was a rough one. Most of our group opted to stay on the ship and enjoy the 4 Lido Cabanas that were reserved for our group. It took every ounce of my remaining energy to leave the room. Once I got going, around 11:30am, I was glad we left the ship.

 

We walked down to the Port Terminal.

We were told by the port authority that you had to take the shuttle bus or a taxi to get into town. We didn't see any taxis and had no idea the cost, so we took the cruise shuttle bus. Ship shuttle bus was 5€ a person(at the time, we weren't sure if it was round trip or each way). It was nice new charter bus that had good AC. As we traversed through the port, we realized that it would have been a treacherous and unattractive long walk. We were glad we grabbed the shuttle.

 

We were dropped off in front of the tourist center in one of the main plazas. Don't be fooled by the free Pisa Wifi signs. I tried connecting and it wanted my credit card information. I tried to do it without, but it wouldn't connect. I wouldn't bother.

 

We picked up a Pisa map from the tourist information center and asked how to get to the train station. The bus stop was conveniently across the street, in front of the H&M store. We took bus #1 to the Livorno Central Station. It was 1.7€ per person and the driver spoke English. They have limited change, so it's best to try to give as close to the exact amount as possible. The Bus to the train station was about 15 minutes.

 

We used the kiosks at the station to buy our train tickets to Pisa. You can also opt to wait in line to buy tickets from an agent, but the kiosks were all open. It was 2.60€ a person to Pisa. The trains run every 30 minutes or so. There was an English option on the kiosk and it took credit cards, it was easy. The tickets don't show what platform you need the go to, so you have to look on the board, or ask an agent. 25 minutes later, we were in Pisa.

 

My husband read about one of Keith Haring's last works before he passed away. It was awesome.

 

 

We had taken a photo of our Rick Steves Mediterranean Port guide and followed the walking directions to Pisa. We walked up the main road and found the small, family owned lunch spot that Rick Steves recommended - La Vinera Di Piazza in Piazza della Vettovaglie. Claudia greeted us kindly in English and helped us select two delicious pastas to share for lunch. We also ordered caprese, a liter of their house wine (Sangiovese) and a bottle of water. Scrumptious! The service we swift and attentive. The free fast wi-fi was also a nice bonus. We were the last table in the restaurant, they close after lunch. But, we never felt rushed. Lunch was an incredible 35€, 40€ with a tip.

 

 

There's a small flea market/open shops in the Piazza in front of our restaurant. If you want a scarf or hat, it's a great place to pick up something very reasonable. We had been searching for a hat large enough for my husband and this was the first place we found larger hats. It was 10€ but we bargained down to 8€. We've seen hats for 5€, but not as well made.

 

The walk to the leaning tower of Pisa was about 10-15 minutes from the restaurant. It wasn't too crowded and you could easily take clear photos without too many people in the way. The Duomo was impressive, even though there was construction. We were running out of time after our leisurely lunch, so we had to book it to the train station.

 

 

 

When we arrived to the train station, the one train we thought we needed to take had just left. I went to the kiosk to book the next train which showed to be about a 20 min wait, but after typing in Livorno on the screen, we were presented with several options. We had only seen 1 on the paper schedule, but there was a train leaving in about 5 minutes that was perfect. It was the same price, 2.60€ but the train looked more like a local train. It was fine by us, since Livorno is the 1st stop. A short train trip later, we were back at the Livorno station. The #1 bus was right in front of the station and we hopped on. It drops off a few stores down from the original pick up at H&M.

 

We walked back to the shuttle bus stop and made it back to the ship by 4:45pm. The return trip on the shuttle bus was included in the original 5€ price.

 

Back on the ship for a quick drive by of the Lido cabanas and to get ready for dinner.

 

 

 

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[scm1848]

We have relatives from Florence picking us up at the port in Livorno. Do you know or notice whether they will be able to drive right to the ship, or will we have to take the 5 euro shuttle to meet them? Thanks.

[billijo17]

Thanks for the live reports. We will join the ship in Venice 17th July. Not too long now!!

[SLOTheta]

We have relatives from Florence picking us up at the port in Livorno. Do you know or notice whether they will be able to drive right to the ship, or will we have to take the 5 euro shuttle to meet them? Thanks.

 

 

When we asked what options to get out of the port were available, they said taxi or bus. Since taxis were allowed, I would think your friends could pick you up. I would ask your family to call the port and ask to be sure.

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

Back logged on posts. The ship Internet has been down or virtually non-existent. They had a somewhat fee for all yesterday for a short while, but access to websites were limited.

 

Friday night MDR:

I ordered the salmon tartare, Cesar salad with anchovies and the duck bucatini. The salmon was a bit like a reconstituted smoked salmon that comes in my breakfast. Since I like my morning smoked salmon, this was tasty. The Cesar salad had anchovies, which I love. The duck pasta was incredible. It had large pieces of duck and the pasta was cooked perfectly. We've figured out that every pasta dish served thus far, is the best. My husband ordered fried chicken and corn. The chicken pieces were tasty drumsticks. I had wanted one myself, but by the time we asked for another one, the kitchen was all out, but they brought us a few extra corn cobs.

 

Salad

 

Duck

 

 

 

Our table ordered one of everything on the dessert menu. The best was the snickers dessert! The creme brûlée was disappointing again.

 

At the end of our meal, out waiter brought our new bride a beautiful flower and bird napkin animal. She loved it!

 

 

We headed to the Billboard bar for happy hour again. I ordered what has become my favorite happy hour drink - Wine Country Collins.

 

 

After picking to our drinks, we walked over to the casino where they were promoting their Paradise Lotto. It's a progressive lotto game that is up to $166,000. You can do a quick pick, or choose your own set of 5 numbers for $2 a line. Or, you can buy the package which is $10 (must be charged to your room) and you get 5 lines (you can mix and match quick picks or your own numbers), a deck of cards, a free drink at the Gallery Bar, $5 in match play, and a 2 for 1 entry into the Black Jack tournament on the sea day. 5 of us opted for the $10 package. The drawing was at 11:15pm. Unfortunately, none of us won (2, 3 and 5/5 matches win $).

 

My husband and several of our group hit the slots and actually came away winners. One person hit a 4 of a kind, another hit triple 7s and hubby hit a bonus on Lobster Mania. I wasn't feeling the craps or 3 card table, so I played roulette. We played until 1:30am when we were the last few people standing and they shut down the casino. After a couple hours, I ended up $35. I should have walked away sooner, but we were having a good time.

 

Towel animals from the last 2 days:

 

 

Some of the towel animals have been interesting and not quite fit photographable. [emoji33]

 

Civitavecchia will be a slow day for us since most of our group is off in tours. We are staying in the port and vegging out.

 

 

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Great reporting.

Love your pictures.

[POA1]

Thanks for the great reporting!

[tedcruise]

May I ask how tall is your husband ?

 

 

[scm1848]

I appreciate your taking the time to answer both of my specific questions. Keep enjoying your cruise!!

[SLOTheta]

May I ask how tall is your husband ?

 

 

 

 

My husband is 6'7" [emoji16]

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

Slow day for us after Pisa. It's also Paul's birthday!

 

Slow day for us in Civitavecchia. Most of our group went to Rome for the day to face the gauntlet of hitting all the top spots.

 

 

Paul and I opted to rest up, went into the port town and caught up on the world back at home. Posting on-board ship photos and food pics from our glutinous nights and days on the ship.

 

We found a place with fast wifi, nice staff and inexpensive rose!

 

 

Resting up for Paul's birthday evening by hitting up the cabanas on deck. Our group rented 4 and we haven't taken advantage of them

 

 

 

Little welcome back in the room

 

Birthday card from the ship

 

 

 

 

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[SLOTheta]

The MDR staff went out of their way to make sure Paul's birthday dinner was a nice one. The birthday song was much more fun than the typical birthday song we are used to. The pasta was a hit again and the fish was quite good tonight. The fish in the MDR has been hit and miss.

 

 

 

2005 Cinq Cepages - one of our favorite wines from home.

 

Birthday boy gets his song

 

 

Very tasty birthday cake

 

 

Magic Show was really good. The tricks weren't complicated, but he was a great showman

 

 

 

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Edited July 15, 2016 by SLOTheta

[SLOTheta]

We stopped on the waters of Giardini Naxos and took a tender into the Naxos Cruise terminal at 11:45am.

 

We picked up tickets for the Interbus to take us to Taormina at the dock, there's a sign telling you to go to the booth. But, you can purchase tickets on the bus. It's 3€ for a rountrip bus to Taormina and then back to the port. Our driver spoke a little English and was quite humorous. It's a large, nicely air conditioned bus. It looks like a charter bus, rather than a public bus. There are aggressive Hop-On-Off sales agents all around the port, but from what I heard from people the buses aren't that convenient and often full. It's also 20€. 3€ for a 20 minute drive to the top where Taormina

 

 

Walked through town and stopped by D'Amore which was recommended by the Eurodam's Location Guide Tom.

 

 

 

We have attended his nightly presentations and have found him incredibly helpful. He has great slides and a humorous delivery.

 

The theater is the most in tact theater in Europe. Well worth the 10€ entrance fee

 

 

We finished up at a restaurant right by the funicular with great views of the beach below.

 

We took the bus back and spent a little time at the beach at Giardini Naxos. We were able to access a nice part of the beach by buying a few drinks at Janetta. Reasonably priced.

 

 

 

Nancy

 

 

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