Live from my second home - Journey

[Spursgirl]

As we have two days in Livorno this cruise, I decided to go into town this morning. Because we usually spend the day in Lucca when we are in this port, I hadn't been into Livorno itself for three or four years. It is a typical Italian working town but still has a few very nice shops and I managed to come back to the ship with a few carrier bags

 

Captain Johannes secured the best berth adjacent to the coastguard station so it is an easy 7-8 minute walk into the centre of town.

 

The weather gods are certainly smiling on us this cruise as we are enjoying another glorious day.

 

Tony and Christine left the ship this morning but Eric has returned. I wonder if he has brought a few new grandpa stories with him :D

Edited September 27, 2016 by Spursgirl

[uktog]

As we have two days in Livorno this cruise, I decided to go into town this morning. Because we usually spend the day in Lucca when we are in this port, I hadn't been into Livorno itself for three or four years. It is a typical Italian working town but still has a few very nice shops and I managed to come back to the ship with a few carrier bags

 

Captain Johannes secured the best berth adjacent to the coastguard station so it is an easy 7-8 minute walk into the centre of town.

 

The weather gods are certainly smiling on us this cruise as we are enjoying another glorious day.

 

Tony and Christine left the ship this morning but Eric has returned. I wonder if he has brought a few new grandpa stories with him :D

 

Yes as Magnus said, I back up to just before I hit the coastguards house, - it a superb spot. Did you find the indoor market a great place to see wonderful fresh produce.

 

Today we are listening all day to the Wogan Memorial at Westminster Abbey etc and I just commented, Sir Terry and Grandpa had a lot in common. Hope Eric had a good trip over and is ready for the fray, I'm sure his little brother will knock the holiday rustiness off him.....

[Wacktle]

While I haven't yet tried a liqueur coffee, the guys in Mosaic tell me that if the alcohol in the liqueur coffee you order is on the complimentary list the coffee will be free. So, an Irish coffee will be free but one containing Cointreau or Baileys won't be.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thanks Spursgirl - that's really good news. :)

[Spursgirl]

We have just returned from the Three Tenors Azamazing Evening and it appeared that the majority of guests enjoyed it hugely.

 

This is the second time we have attended this concert. We enjoyed it so much the first time we were happy to repeat the experience. The 3 Tenors we saw tonight were new to us and UKtog will be interested to know that one of them (who was particularly accomplished) came from Scotland. He was called Graham Lister.

 

I am always impressed by how the organisation of these events is so professional and tonight was no different. All the elements worked seamlessly with a huge number of Azamara officers and crew helping to ensure that we were all where we were meant to be.

 

Eric hosted proceedings and if he was suffering from jet lag he hid it very well.

 

Windows cafe was packed when we got back on board because of course this ship starves us! LOL. As usual there was a very nice spread laid on by Chef Monica's team.

 

No Living Room tonight as we need to be up a little earlier than usual for our private tour to Lucca. Mary and Louise haven't been there before and I am hoping that they will love it as much as Lottie A and I do.

 

Will report back tomorrow.

[upwarduk]

We all had a get together in Phil's suite last night....good fun was had by all. The brilliant Bruce Parker was there too, proudly showing pix of his beautiful baby daughter. :D

 

Bruce Parker was brilliant. He left Quest in Cork( 13.09.16) I assumed for home, as he told the audience he was looking forward to seeing his daughter. I saw him showing table mates her pictures.

[Mrs Miggins]

Hi, just thought I would stop by this thread. Mike and I are currently being unfaithful to Azamara on the splendid Viking Sea. Currently using the free, very good, wifi. I am trying very hard, but so far I can find no fault with this lovely ship. I will do a more detailed comparison on our return from Venice, but cabin including wonderful spacious shower with a glass door, fantastic free spa, wonderful food and really great entertainment may be hard to resist in the future. I really love Azamara but so far Viking is fantastic.

Hope you are all enjoying your cruise.

[SteveH2508]

Hi, just thought I would stop by this thread. Mike and I are currently being unfaithful to Azamara on the splendid Viking Sea. Currently using the free, very good, wifi. I am trying very hard, but so far I can find no fault with this lovely ship. I will do a more detailed comparison on our return from Venice, but cabin including wonderful spacious shower with a glass door, fantastic free spa, wonderful food and really great entertainment may be hard to resist in the future. I really love Azamara but so far Viking is fantastic.

Hope you are all enjoying your cruise.

 

Sorry but I have to ask (given your user name) - How are the pies?:D

[tiggertom]

Sorry but I have to ask (given your user name) - How are the pies?:D

 

Hehehe :D:D:D

[Mrs Miggins]

Trying to explain my cruise critic name is a problem. We had the Meet and Greet yesterday so I met a few new people from our roll call. Those from the U S generally have no clue about the sublime Blackadder and the Pie Shop. My husband Mike calls me Miggins. I have no idea why. My name is Pam. We both like pies.

[ellbon]

Trying to explain my cruise critic name is a problem. We had the Meet and Greet yesterday so I met a few new people from our roll call. Those from the U S generally have no clue about the sublime Blackadder and the Pie Shop. My husband Mike calls me Miggins. I have no idea why. My name is Pam. We both like pies.

 

you are so right. as an American i have no clue. never would think pies.

[SteveH2508]

you are so right. as an American i have no clue. never would think pies.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackadder

 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blackadder

 

Especially season 3 for Mrs Miggins.

 

OP - Sorry for the hi-jack:o.

[Spursgirl]

I laughed at the pies interlude!

 

On our second day in Livorno we took a private tour to Lucca, one of our favourite spots. We were joined by a charming Australian couple, Bronwyn and Ian.

 

The driver was keen that we all walk the mediaeval walls which are totally intact, but as this did not form part of our plans we politely declined. We visited a few of the sites with a couple of our friends who had not been to Lucca before. To be honest though, most of our time was spent meandering the charming cobbled streets shopping and making pit stops for coffee, Prosecco and the like.

 

Must admit the driver's boot was filled with bags on the return journey. Us girls can shop for Britain.

 

Last night was Indian Buffet and those that went thoroughly enjoyed it. We ended the night in the Living Room where some of our fellow guests were brave enough to do karaoke. We formed a very enthusiastic audience.

[Spursgirl]

A word on the Internet where they are supposed to be conducting a test which provides faster speed. There is no discernible difference, if anything I would say it is a touch slower.

 

Sadly today is our last day and we are in Bastia, Corsica. It is possibly the hottest day of our week, the temperature gauge in town read 32degrees C in the sun and 27 C in the shade.

 

We thought we would try the little white train as we had not been to this town before but there were far too many people in the queue so we just had an amble around and a glass of champagne to celebrate a really excellent cruise before returning to the cool of the ship.

 

Le Club Voyage cocktail party is to be held shortly and for our final dinner this cruise we have opted to return to Aqualina because we had such a good dinner the other night.

[Lottie A]

Just got back to the UK....presently relaxing after a tiring day travelling in The Sofitel Heathrow and looking forward to a good night's sleep, before travelling home tomorrow.

 

This was a superb Azamara cruise made even more pleasant by meeting up with old and new friends. We had such fun, the food was definitely a cut above Azamara's usual excellent standards, the officers and crew made it such an enjoyable and special time for us and the ports of call were beautiful. Thank you to Phil, Helen, Caroline, Mary, Louise and of course, Hazel for a great time and hope that Phil and UKtog and hubby are enjoying the next cruise. I expect FB pix! :D

 

I can't wait to book my next Azamara cruise and if I can stay awake tonight, I'm going to be looking at the brochures online. :)

[BBMacLaird]

Just got back to the UK....presently relaxing after a tiring day travelling in The Sofitel Heathrow and looking forward to a good night's sleep, before travelling home tomorrow.

 

This was a superb Azamara cruise made even more pleasant by meeting up with old and new friends. We had such fun, the food was definitely a cut above Azamara's usual excellent standards, the officers and crew made it such an enjoyable and special time for us and the ports of call were beautiful. Thank you to Phil, Helen, Caroline, Mary, Louise and of course, Hazel for a great time and hope that Phil and UKtog and hubby are enjoying the next cruise. I expect FB pix! :D

 

I can't wait to book my next Azamara cruise and if I can stay awake tonight, I'm going to be looking at the brochures online. :)

 

I'm Sooo Happy you loved the cruise. I've thoroughly enjoyed following along, even the pie interlude.

We look forward to welcoming you back aboard soon!

[Pam]

I stayed at the Sofitel Heathrow, too; everything about Heathrow is huge, including the Sofitel!

[Spursgirl]

Back home and about to face the unpleasant task of unpacking.

 

This was a very special cruise for many reasons and how I wished it could have lasted just a few days more.

 

I had so much fun with like minded people and we laughed our way through Italy and then finally Corsica until our sides ached. Thank you to them all, you know who you are.

 

Now I'm in my real home I can only look forward to being back in my second home - Quest or Journey some time very soon.

[upwarduk]

----everything about Heathrow is huge, including the Sofitel!

 

Tell me about it; I think the Air Canada flight from Montreal ( just off Quest) landed as far away from Terminal 2 as it possibly could, I'm sure we walked at least 2 miles into the terminal. Then as we had picked up cases and went through customs, we couldn't go back into the terminal to get the bus transfer to terminal 5, but had to walk at least another mile to get the Heathrow express train.

All this because we used 2 different airlines ( Air Canada & BA ) so our cases couldn't be put through to Manchester. Lesson learned- maybe buy my own flight in future, rather than let Azamara, who obviously got group bookings.

 

Back home and about to face the unpleasant task of unpacking.

Unpacking and washing done fairly rapidly, but I still have to complete the ironing. Maybe today, just one week after disembarking Quest.

Edited October 1, 2016 by upwarduk

[Lottie A]

Well, I'm home and have done the washing...not ready to face the ironing yet!

 

This was definitely one of our best Azamara cruises and thanks to the wonderful officers and crew for making it so special. We met up with friends old and new and had so much fun, helped by the glorious weather and the consumption of bubbles! :D

 

I am looking at the 2017 itineraries today and can't wait to book my next Azamara cruise. For anyone thinking about their first Azamara cruise....then stop thinking and book it, because you will have a wonderful time.