Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojourn Cruise review (4/20-5/11/2024) with Classical Greek 4 day pre-cruise extension)

[MDperson]

Hi,

I am enjoying your trip report as I will be on the Viking Star Italian Sojourn cruise in January 2025.  I am curious....do you recall any of the optional excursions from Crotone?  Any wine related ones? 

[kctwinmommy]

59 minutes ago, MDperson said:

Hi,

I am enjoying your trip report as I will be on the Viking Star Italian Sojourn cruise in January 2025.  I am curious....do you recall any of the optional excursions from Crotone?  Any wine related ones? 

Here are the excursions that were available. It's a PDF for the entire cruise, so you can look. I don't remember any of the other available ones anymore.

Viking Mars excursions.pdf

[kctwinmommy]

5/3 - Naples, Italy - Pompeii & Sorrento (Optional tour)

 

So, this was the one, big letdown for me. However, I've cruise enough to know not to let it ruin my trip. I also know that going on a cruise is never the way to see things you want or the way you want. You are always at the mercy of the cruise schedule.

 

We had booked, after a lot of researching, a private tour using Viator to take us to Herculaneum and Pompeii on our day. However, 2 days prior to this port, I started to really look closer, and look at our port times, and realized that I couldn't guarantee it would work. Some tours on Viator actually are geared for cruise passengers, the tour companies know exactly what they need to do, the time they have, and that they need to have their people back. This one wasn't written that way.

 

So, on the 1st is when I just pulled the pin and cancelled. I had reached out to the tour company directly to confirm their return time. Of course, they didn't reply until the next morning, and I had already cancelled, that they could NOT guarantee our return to the ship on time. So, it was definitely a good thing I cancelled the night before, because on Thursday morning, it would have been too late and I wouldn't get the refund.

 

Now, while all this was happening, we had gone to guest services because all the Pompeii tours were booked up. A rep at GS said she would put us on a wait list and let us know on Thursday. We came back from our tour on Thursday and she said everything was still sold out, but would ask if she could add 2 more to any Pompeii tour. She eventually told us Sorrento & Pompeii was the only one, so we took it. Had I thought a little clearer in the moment, I could have checked Viator for just a Pompeii tour, as that would have possibly worked, even if the Pompeii & Herculaneum one didn't.

 

Well, Friday comes along, we can tell there's a chance of rain showers all day. We got on the bus to go to Sorrento first. It's a nice drive, you go past Mt. Vesuvius on the way, which was neat to see and get a big perspective of the area. It's so crowded with housing, which is crazy as the mountain technically is still active. It's about a 2 hour bus ride to get there, and no stops along the way. Once you get closer to the coast, it's also a 2-lane road, 1 in each direction, so it's slow going.

 

The entire area is very pretty, the drive into town, along the sea, is beautiful, then we get to a bus parking lot, where our bus drops us off. Again, very common in Europe to have bus lots, or designated bus drop off areas, but then they don't stay there. They have strict laws related to idling busses, which is a good thing.

 

After we got dropped off, we did a short walk to a woodworking shop. They did beautiful wood items, like jewelry boxes, lazy susans, all the way up to large kitchen tables, and they were expensive! A jewelry box was about $250! While it was pretty, just too expensive and not what we cared about. They did a little presentation, but most of us just wandered around, eventually leaving as we had the "on our own" time at this point. We had about an hour on our own, so we did a little shopping. Everything is pretty much yellow & blue, the colors of this area.

 

We met back by the shop to go to lunch. IMO, the meal was barely average and took way too long! It was sort of like a stuffed manicotti, some sort of meat (we think turkey) with mozzarella on top, then a piece of lemon cake. They also took all the bottles of oils off the tables, someone did ask for them at one table. And only mineral water and red wine available for drinks. There was an accordion player doing a little music for the first 10-15 minutes, and a few of us gave him a tip. But then he walked around to each person, giving his hat or bowl, looking for more tips.

 

We finally got back on the bus around 1245 to head to Pompeii. Keep in mind, this 2 lane road in and out gets busy, which is did. The inbound actually had like a 1.5-2 mile backup! We finally got to the highway, which also had backups. I've since been reading about the massive influx on tourists that Italy is dealing with, and they don't know what to do, as their infrastructure isn't designed to handle it. As we were on the highway, Fabio (our guide) kept saying, "You can see the ruins there" for like 20 minutes, and I honestly had no idea what he was pointing to.

 

We got to the parking lots, which are about a block away, and walked over to the entrance. The entrance is a long street, filled with a bunch of junky tourist crap type booths. Like many with offensive, tacky items for sale. Fabio had to get our group tickets and we had another 15-20 minute bathroom break, more time wasted. All this time, it's lightly raining and you can tell it's going to get worse!

 

At around 2:30 we finally enter the city ruins! Even with the rain, it was pretty busy. He was giving information on the headsets, but it was hard to follow along with the crowds of people and seeing what he was talking about in some parts. He did try though, so at certain major points, he pushed to keep the group together. One place was the brothel, which is really popular. But it's small, and a building with workers to keep people moving. A few people thought we were trying to get through them, but they were explaining that we had a tour group we were keeping together.

 

Because there was so much I wanted to see, I often moved around a bit more to see more. Of course, I barely saw a fraction of it though. This was truly a bucket list item for me, so I was quite disappointed. Again, I know it's my own fault, and I don't dwell on it, just being honest so hopefully it helps others. We saw some things, but then the rain started to come. We were out in one of the large open areas when the skies just opened. My shoes were soaked in about 10 seconds. So he ushered the group over the museum to get out of the rain, along with 300 other people.

 

Now, we're all soaking wet, jammed into this museum, which isn't super big, and not quite sure what we're doing next. I even lost my husband at one point, he actually stayed outside and saw a little more. But, he eventually caught up to us and it was time to go to the bus. We spent maybe an hour overall at the ruins!

 

The description in the info actually said we would go to Pompeii first, so not sure why it was reversed. We at least wouldn't have been drenched if we had done it that way.

 

I would NOT recommend this tour at all, and others in our group agreed. Someone on our ship even posted about their similar disappointment in a social media group. There was nowhere near enough time, at either place, to actually enjoy it. The lunch took way too long and their drive times aren't realistic, the roads are way busier!

 

It does appear that taking the train from Naples on your own would not be that difficult at all, and I do wish I had trusted my husband, and myself, to do it that way. I do hope to make it back to Italy again, but mostly because I NEED to spend way more time in Rome! Loved that city, more than I thought I would. That's my next post coming soon!

 

 

Mt. Vesuvius

 

 

Coming into Sorrento area

 

 

We did get some beautiful, blue skies after the rain stopped for some time

 

 

These are the items they sell at the store we went to. This item cost about $300 (American dollars)

 

 

It does seem to be a pretty town, we just didn't get much time to explore

 

 

Walking into Pompeii

 

 

One of the thoroughfares

 

 

The ever popular fast food building

 

 

The bumps in the road let you know what kind of road it is. With the 3 steps, this would be a main road. You can see the ruts from the tires still in it. This was also how they could cross the road when it would be filled with water to clean it.

 

 

Mosaic tile floor

 

 

The casts of a family found in Pompeii

 

 

Edited June 11 by kctwinmommy

[OneSixtyToOne]

37 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:

We met back by the shop to go to lunch. IMO, the meal was barely average and took way too long! It was sort of like a stuffed manicotti, some sort of meat (we think turkey) with mozzarella on top, then a piece of lemon cake. They also took all the bottles of oils off the tables, someone did ask for them at one table. And only mineral water and red wine available for drinks. There was an accordion player doing a little music for the first 10-15 minutes, and a few of us gave him a tip. But then he walked around to each person, giving his hat or bowl, looking for more tips.

We try to avoid any excursion that includes lunch. It’s typically a total waste of time. We would rather be sightseeing. Sometimes it’s unavoidable but given a choice of excursions, if it includes lunch, it immediately goes to the bottom of our list. 

[kctwinmommy]

2 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We try to avoid any excursion that includes lunch. It’s typically a total waste of time. We would rather be sightseeing. Sometimes it’s unavoidable but given a choice of excursions, if it includes lunch, it immediately goes to the bottom of our list. 

Well, as I said in this case, it turned out to be my only option. Technically, had I thought a little more, we might have had other options, but not even sure on that.

 

In general though, yes, we didn't enjoy any of the included "lunches" that were on our excursions. However, we also chose ones that would be like 7-8 hours long, so it seemed pretty common. We had bread, prosciutto and cheese like 4 times, LOL!

[PasadenaDave]

I have really enjoyed your daily summary of the cruise, some of the places we have been with Viking.  The report on Pompei and Herculaneum (or not) was most helpful.

 

We prefer to cruise and with Viking as we loath packing and moving hotels and cities.  We do want to visit both Pompei and Herculaneum plus Rome and Florence.  None are really cruise destinations even from a port, especially Florence.

 

We have decided that we will do something like the following, fly in and out of Rome and spend time in Rome, take the train to Florence and spend a few days and then take the train to Naples and do Herculaneum and Pompei without the pressure of getting back to the ship.

 

We really also want to see Sicily, but that seems a bit much to add on.  Changing as many times as we have to is enough.

 

And no, never do a bus tour in which bags must be on the bus by 0700!

[kctwinmommy]

@PasadenaDave - thanks! And yes, cruises really only give you a brief overview of areas for sure. And usually, with the Caribbean, it's no big deal. We have a few places I'd love to go back to for sure. But along with other places we haven't been to yet, so my list is long. LOL! I would love to go back to Italy, but on the west coast side. The ports we went to on the east side didn't really thrill me. I'd love to go spend a week in Rome, and then head down the coast there.

 

I also know now why people say spend more time in Barcelona. I wish we had, although we were exhausted by then, and I was sick. So it would have been awful if we had stayed.

 

Hope your trip goes well, it sounds like a great plan!

[kctwinmommy]

5/4 - Rome - LimousInRome - private tour

 

This was probably my favorite, or at least right near the top of my list. We had booked this a few months ago and reached out in our roll call, looking for another couple, or even 2, to join us. It didn't really work out, so we just kept it ourselves. It wasn't cheap, but we've paid a lot for other great tours, so we're good with it. The cost was €590 for the tour, up to 8 people, so yes, it's good if you do have more than just 2 people. This is the link in case others are interested. I actually reviewed them on the Italy board already.

 

https://www.limousinrome.com/tours/

 

Anyway, our drive Francesca was there right at 7:30 to pick us up in the Mercedes van. By 8:30 she had us on one of the hills in Rome to see the city! She was able to just park in this little striped zone so we could snap some photos. After that she drove us into the city, pointing out things along the way, to the Colosseum. We didn't have tickets for that, but she dropped us off right by the entrance so we could walk around there for like 20-25 minutes. It's just so impressive to see in person! Then, she drove us over to the Piazza Navona, a really neat place by the Brazilian Embassy with beautiful fountains.

 

Next, she drove us to the Vatican for our 10 a.m. tickets (purchase separately on our own), to the museum. Our timing was pretty good, we were able to walk right in, go through security, and then head up the stairs where we check in with our "Get Your Guide" booth. I made the mistake thinking I had purchase the audio tour option, which I did not. Now, I didn't really enjoy the museum. It was so overwhelming, the variety of pieces, and the crowds were awful. Yes, having the pre-purchased tickets made us get in quickly, but the crowds were already pretty full. Although it only got worse, when we left around 12:30, the line was around the building and down the block. I can't say that I truly enjoyed the museum, although there were some good parts. Loved all the beautiful, detailed map paintings that were close to the Sistine Chapel. I has also made a mistake, thinking I had tickets for both the museum and the basilica, which I didn't. The lines to go through security to get into St. Peter's wrapped all around the piazza there, so we knew there was no way we were getting in.

 

By this time, we were hungry, so we asked her to drive us someplace to get some pizza and pasta. She took us to a cute little sidewalk place, had some food, and rested for a bit. She had a little something by herself, but then waited at the car for us. Once lunch was done, it was around 2:30 p.m., so we only had about an hour and a half left before she had to drive us back. We knew we wanted to see a few more places, so off we went. She dropped us off again (with a block or so) to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.

 

The Spanish Steps were neat, a little different than I thought too. It was pretty busy, but we were able to walk to the top and back down. The flowers were in bloom as well, so that added to the beauty of it all. The Trevi Fountain was also different than I thought. I, for some reason, thought it was more in an open, piazza style area. Nope, it's jammed packed around there, a lot of people, and lots of shops and such.

 

At every stop, she dropped us off in a place that required no more than a block's walk. This was such a time saver. Plus, she knows where everything is and how to get there quickly. For the major places we went to, she also had short little podcast type recordings she would play on the car radio to explain the location, which was nice. She didn't talk all the time, which was also fine. We'd been on tours every day where it seemed like all we did was hear a guide talk. But, she did point out some interesting things along the way (like the balcony where Mussolini declared war) and of course, answered any questions we had.

 

It was nice having the private driver and be in a car instead of a bus. We also commented at how much more courteous drivers are here. She was trying to get through an alley/street, and this other car actually backed up to let her through. Here in Chicago, they would just honk and yell at you! LOL! She was a good driver, we always felt safe. She gave us her card/number as well, so just in case we ever got lost, we would be able to get in touch.

 

I would absolutely use them again. Just being able to pull up, get out to see things, and move on, was a big time saver for us. They also offer a variety of other tours as well, this one is meant for those on cruise ships, because we have such time constraints when you're in port.

 

 

Us getting started, overlooking Rome

 

 

I wish I could remember what/where this was. It's across from us in that picture above, and it had to do with the aqueducts, I believe where they ended.

 

 

Seeing the Colosseum in person is just beyond overwhelming. If we ever make it back, we'll definitely go inside. Even still, just imaging the events that took place is crazy.

 

Colosseum grounds

 

 

Us in front of a fountain Piazza Navona

 

 

One of the 1,000's of statues in the Vatican Museum. It's the largest collection (or one of the largest) of artworks in the world

 

 

Every inch of the museum has artwork

 

 

While we were walking, we happened to spend about 10-15 minutes walking alongside a guy giving a tour to a group. So that's how we know this is a painting, not the sculpture it appears to be.

 

 

This hallway, with all the maps, was one of the areas we DID enjoy. The crowds actually thinned out a bit here, so we could enjoy and see things.

 

 

These maps of Italy were amazing!

 

 

More ceiling artwork

 

 

St. Peter's basilica

 

 

The view from the top of the Spanish Steps

 

 

Looking up the Spanish Steps, the crowds weren't too bad.

 

 

Trevi Fountain ~ But again, while as crowded as it was all around, you can get great photos still

 

 

Thanks to good people who took our photo

 

 

With Francesca, our guide

 

 

Looking up at the Colosseum, again, just fascinating to think about what happened here

 

 

Colosseum

 

 

Arch of Constantine

 

 

Statues at Trevi Fountain

 

 

Statue in the Vatican Museum

 

 

Another ceiling in the museums

 

 

Trevi Fountain statue

 

 

Edited June 12 by kctwinmommy

[kchand]

I wonder how you remembered all these tours. You should publish this.

On page 18 in Crotone you talk about euros.

Did you pay cash (Euros / Dollar ) preferred for a lot of the lunches you had or are credit cards readily accepted. Did you have any trouble getting the excursions you wanted. Thanks

[kctwinmommy]

1 hour ago, kchand said:

I wonder how you remembered all these tours. You should publish this.

On page 18 in Crotone you talk about euros.

Did you pay cash (Euros / Dollar ) preferred for a lot of the lunches you had or are credit cards readily accepted. Did you have any trouble getting the excursions you wanted. Thanks

I kept notes on my phone, but then also brought a journal book with me. So each night, I would write anywhere from 3-5 pages about the day. I tried to make note of times, length of tours, bus rides, costs, etc... Because I know those are questions people have.

 

We took €1500 with us for the month we'd be gone. But, we also knew we need at 500 of that to pay the balance for our Rome tour. When you book that online, you can pay with PayPal or another online way (I forget), but the balance is due in cash when you finish the tour. The rest of the cash we brought was good for small shops, little cafes, and tipping guides along the way. It lasted us almost the whole trip, but we did end up needing another €100 in Barcelona, just to be safe. Now, having said that, a LOT of places do take credit cards, but they also may charge a service fee, just like here in the states more and more.

 

When it comes to tours, we got online right when our time slot opened and booked everything we wanted. Now, making changes on the ship wasn't as easy, but that's because almost all tours were sold out. And while Viking may try to help when possible, it's not a guarantee. I made a separate post, here in the Viking page, about how we booked our tours. It's helpful for those who are new to Viking.

[kctwinmommy]

5/5 - Florence/Pisa - Florence & Leaning Tower of Pisa (optional)

 

I picked this tour partially because it was 10 hours long, so one of those "get a big bang for our buck" kind of thing. LOL! Well, and it was things we wanted to see. We got on our bus and took off around 9:30, getting to Florence around 11. Like many other places, we parked the bus in a lot a little outside of the main area, and had a short walking tour to start. Our guide was Giulia and she was really good! She's from Livorno, so she was also telling us things about the town there.

 

Oh, one thing she had to do on the bus was have us write down our names on a list. I can't remember if this was some sort of legal type thing, or just for herself. We had to do this in Montenegro, and we were told it was something to do with immigration potentially if they were asked. But, she numbered each person, and then it was easy to check in with her later. She told us the story of a husband who got lost and did have to pay for his own transportation to get back to the port because he didn't take the other info she gave us - the tour company phone number!

 

Our guide pointed out some things along the way, giving some history of the town, as she also did on the bus. We had lunch scheduled for 12. We went to the Buca San Giovanni, established in 1882. I will say, our room where we ate, was a neat little staircase to get downstairs to, and it was cute. The place is supposed to be somewhat famous, there were a lot of photos on the walls of I'm assuming Italian celebrities. However, as usual, this was another hour wasted IMO. And once again, the meal wasn't that great to me. Of course, this is always a personal opinion. It was a pasta of some kind, some meat, and a dessert.

 

After lunch, she counted us off and then we went on a 90 minute walking tour with her. We walked around the (Duomo) Cathedral of Santa Marie de Fiore (wish we'd had time to go in!), but it was so amazing! It's the 3rd largest church in the world. To see the difference in the marble outside, from where they had spent 10 years cleaning it, to how the other part looked, just crazy!

 

We headed over to Ponte deVecchio, which was really neat to see. For those that don't know, it's the only bridge here to survive WWII. She took us all around different streets and such, showing us a variety of historical sites. We eventually ended up in the square where they have the replica of the David statue. This is in the Piazza Della Signoria. I know many like to see the original, but we just settled for this one.

 

We ended at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence and we got about 90 minutes of time on our own. As lunch had not been that great, I wanted to get some pizza. We hit a place nearby, and while it was great food, the service was awful, and we ended up wasting way too much time. My fault though... we should have just left when we saw how it was going. But my stomach overrode my brain. Because of the wasted time, we didn't have time to go inside the basilica to see the famous people buried here.

 

I should note, my husband was wearing shorts this day. He's a short guy though, and usually wears shorts that have a shorter inseam, so they don't hang to his shins. We were going to go inside, and actually got in line, so he asked the security guard if he could go inside with his shorts, and he told him yes, they really are right at his knees. However, 2 guys came in behind us, wearing more of a nicer, golf style shorts, but they were definitely above the knee (much taller guys) and the security guard gave them robe type things to wear, it slipped over the head. They were a lightweight material, but disposable, similar to what you might find in a hospital. Again, we ended up not going in as we saw how slow the line to buy tickets and get in was going, and I wanted to shop.

 

We did head back out to the plaza to go to the leather shop here, Misuri. I'm sure the guides all have their places they go to, and I would imagine there's a little kickback of some kind, which is fine. I did want to look and see if I could find something small, which I did. I also picked up a couple of small purses for my friend and my MIL. They also will stamp your initials on the items in gold leaf, while you wait.

 

One interesting/crazy thing that happened while we were here. While the man was stamping the initials on the items we bought, a woman in the employee backroom started screaming. We still aren't quite sure exactly what happened and who was screaming, but the one employee we think had an asthma and/or panic attack, and it's actually possible another employee saw her and screamed. Either way, another customer gave her an inhaler to try and help, plus a nurse was there (although I question her skills because she kept wanting to make her stand up and walk and move). My husband (retired police & military) actually hung around to offer any help he could. He's good at staying calm in situations. And to put it politely, many of the women working there were running around, not quite sure what to do. They all wanted to get in this small room though, to help. Finally, we got them to call 911, or someone did. My husband went in the room and sat with the woman, just holding her hand, keeping her calm. Thankfully, everyone in the shop spoke English too. Eventually, the paramedics came to take her. The ladies in the shop were very grateful for my husbands ability to just keep her calm, and thus, calming the whole situation down.

 

Our group was finally together again, our meeting place was in front of the store, so we had a short 10-15 minute walk back to the bus. Then, it was about a 45 minute bus ride to Pisa. It was a little slow getting to the bus parking lot because there was a major football match that had ended a little bit earlier, so the roads were busier than normal. We got parked and had a 10-15 minute walking to the Leaning Tower area. Giulia gave us a little orientation and then we had about 45-50 minutes on our own. It was too bad that we couldn't go up in the tower, but with tickets not available then, and not knowing the exact time we would be there, we couldn't get any. Still, the crowds were much less. The other group who did this same exact tour (there were 2 buses that did it), did their visit in the opposite order, so Pisa first, and it was packed they said.

 

We did the normal, cheesy photos, because you have to! We walked around the whole area, and went inside the Pisa Cathedral. It actually has services that take place, so you couldn't go very far inside. Friends went into the baptistry, but we didn't. Honestly, we were having fun taking photos and just never thought to even go closer to it. LOL!

 

We were actually in port overnight, and I would say, it's probably pretty easy to catch the train over to Pisa. I would try to find a tour that spends the full day in Florence, and then maybe do Pisa on your own. But even still, we had a great time and really enjoyed our tour.

 

 

When we first started our walking tour in Florence, before lunch, she took us into this little courtyard type area with these beautiful paintings.

 

 

The Duomo in Florence

 

 

I was unprepared for this! It was just gorgeous!

 

 

You can see the difference after cleaning (where it's white now)

 

 

Every inch of the cathedral is covered in art & details

 

 

Duomo

 

 

Statues in the area of the David replica

 

 

Statue of David replica

 

 

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

 

Looking up the tower

 

 

The grounds are just so pretty to walk around.

 

 

Tower of Pisa

 

 

Playing around with photo ideas. 😉

 

 

Ponte de Vecchio

 

Us 😃 

 

 

You have to be cheesy! 😃 

 

 

And then sometimes, people think they're on a photo shoot and take forever, so you get to play around too!

 

 

A better comparison of the difference between the part they haven't cleaned and what they have. She said they have spent 10 years so far cleaning it.

Edited June 14 by kctwinmommy

[kctwinmommy]

I meant to add a photo of what I picked up in Florence. We were at the Misuri Leather store. They had some beautiful leather jackets, but I knew I didn't really NEED one. LOL! And this was much easier to bring back. LOL! In case you weren't sure, purple is my favorite color. 😉

 

 

[Sleep7]

👋🏻Hi kctwinmommy!

So funny you posted your fave "on the way to Florence" purple pouch.

I bought one too last year and use it every day.

Still makes me smile and think of our trip.😊

 

 

[kctwinmommy]

@Sleep7 Cute! Those are the ones we bought for my MIL and my good friend who watched our house. I got the hot pink one for my MIL and a black one for my friend.

[kctwinmommy]

5/6 - Livorno -  On our own for the day. This was our second day in this port, we did the Florence/Pisa excursion the day before. We kept this as a down day though. I'm glad we did, our trip was a long one for us, so having a day with nothing planned was good.

 

We got a later start, had a little breakfast, then headed into town using the free shuttle bus they offer. It drops you off right near the tourist info center. We picked up a map here that had some things highlighted to give us a little idea which way to head. We really had no destination in mind, and didn't plan on spending a ton of time here.

 

We walked around, ending up by the waterfront area and walked around the "new" fort here, from the 1600s, the Fortezza Nuova. It's a nice little walk to go around it. A lot of boats are docked here, so people were working on them. You can actually walk a path that goes along the docks/water, not just at the street level.

 

We wandered around a bit more, stopped in an old church that was just beautiful, again! It was the Chiesa di Santa Caterina, a Catholic church from the 1700s. It has some beautiful artwork inside, but there's also areas that are in disrepair. There was also a musician playing while we were in there, which was nice.

 

We headed back towards the little outdoor market area and found a pizzeria! We commented that in every place, these cafes know how to make a good pizza for the most part, without it taking 40 minutes, and all of them decent size and prices. We're so tired of American prices and serving sizes! I'd rather pay 30% less and get 30% less food here in the states. We of course, also had a little more gelato, because, why not!

 

We decided to walk back to the ship, which is a nice walk, although a little longer along the waterfront there than in other ports. But it was good for us! Also stopped to see the statue right at the entrance to the city there. The Monument of the Four Moors. This is a landmark commemorating Ferdinand I's victories over the Ottomans. It also shows the slaves from this area. It's a really neat statue.

 

I will say, in general, all 3 of these cities from these 2 days, had some of the worst paving stones when it comes to unevenness. Both my husband & I commented a few times as to how uneven is was. And we're both full able bodied, no walking issues at all. But I did make note of it in my journal, so for those with mobility issues, just something to keep in mind.

 

 

Just a building in the somewhat downtown area we started in

 

 

A statue along the way on our walk

 

 

Walking around the fort

 

 

Around the fort

 

 

The Cheisa di Santa Caterina church, it had a very odd facade, for being a Catholic church

 

 

The interior of the dome has a lot of damage to the painting. There was a mesh barrier hanging under it, to keep pieces from falling to the floor.

 

 

I think this was St. Vincent Ferrer.

 

 

Multiple depictions of Jesus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a bridge we walked over that took us to several churches.

 

 

I think this was the best pizza we had!

 

 

Ferdinand on top of the monument

 

 

The slaves

 

 

 

Ferdinand

Edited June 18 by kctwinmommy

[kctwinmommy]

5/7 - Monte Carlo - Included walking tour (leisurely option)

 

I don't know why, but for some reason I selected the leisurely option for this walking tour. Maybe I was just thinking that it would be near the end, so we'd want a little slower pace. It wasn't that much different than any of the other walking tours we'd been on. And this one was pretty minimal to begin with.

 

We started off from the ship, walking through a small traffic tunnel, which brings you out to the backside of the Oceanographic Museum, famous for the work of Jacques Cousteau. The building is beautiful! We considering going in later, but my husband decided he didn't want to spent the money. I think it was around €20. The tour then went through the Princess Grace park there, really pretty, and past the houses that her Princess daughters live in.

 

From there we went to the cathedral, which was built in the 1800s to replace an old one. The royal family does attend masses there, so you can see their seats up at the altar. It's also where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier were married. From there, it's a 5 minute walk to the palace. Our guide was telling us that there really is no crime, we heard later there are like 4 people in the prison there, which overlooks the ocean. They don't have any homeless population and no immigration issues. Of course, they're very strict on people actually living there and being citizens. Plus, we found out that real estate, on average, runs about €90,000/sq. meter! She was also telling us that they have almost 700 police officers for the 40,000 residents, and they're pretty much all over, so you can't get away with things.

 

When we got to the palace, she gave us a little free time, some people headed back, others just wandered around, we opted to grab a spot at the chains for the changing of the guard. The noon one is the main ceremony, but they do smaller ones on the hour, like most other places we've been to. This one fills in much more than the others we saw on our trip, so if you want to see it, get there at least 30-40 minutes early to grab a spot.

 

The ceremony was nice, lasted about 10-15 minutes. We commented that it seemed a little less formal than others as well. There was an officer walking around, watching things, which was odd. But, he also noticed a family before the ceremony started. It was a couple with a severely handicapped, wheelchair bound child. They were at the end, in the sun. So he moved them to other side, making some room in the crowd, and moving the wheelchair in front of the chains, with the parents sitting next to him. Having had a child who passed away, but was medically fragile, we appreciate someone making those efforts.

 

After we were done, we just walked around the area, there's great views from the palace grounds, looking towards the port area, and you could see the F1 racing setup. That race was about 3 weeks after we were there, but takes a long time to set it all up. We did a little shopping here, got my Christmas ornament. Then we headed back down towards the cathedral because we saw a sign that we had to go back - Monaco's Best Burgers! We did share one, and it was really good! We then just walked through the town a bit, stopping in a few shops to look, found a chocolate shop and picked up some treats. Then we also came across a nice little park with some statues.

 

We were finally starting to have warmer weather, so we headed back to the ship, put on our bathing suits, and headed to the water. Right on the pier where we docked, they have these cement steps and there were people hanging out, laying out in the sun, and a few jumping in the water. I took a pass on that, but did throw down some towels, got some sun and watched my husband jump in the water. LOL! He also wanted to try a little fishing, so we came across a couple of conservation police on bikes. My husband asked about it, and we kind of were surprised, because they didn't know! Although they were then speaking to each other in French, and my husband (a retired officer) did kind of call the out that even in another language they thought he was goofy. It wasn't in a bad way, and they were all laughing then. I think they were more surprised when he said yes, he has his own fishing rod, he travels with it. So in the end, we had a nice chat with them and they said go ahead, shouldn't be a problem.

 

We had planned or considered going to the casino, but it was so nice outside, we wanted to enjoy the sun. I also didn't feel like getting all dolled up to go over. Friends of ours did though. But, they "forgot" their passports. I say "forgot" because we think the husband purposely didn't tell his wife so that she wouldn't be able to go in and spend money. LOL!

 

I would definitely come back and spend some time here. I just wish I had the bank account to go with the people who live and visit here regularly. LOL!

 

 

Several of the "little boats" parked in the harbor. There was one that was for sale, only €26 million!

 

 

The Oceanographic museum, backside, facing the water.

 

 

Jacques Cousteau's submersible in front of the museum

 

 

Front of the museum

 

 

Princess Grace statue in her garden

 

 

The cathedral

 

 

Princess Grace's tomb inside the cathedral

 

 

She's buried next to Prince Ranier

 

 

The Royal Palace. We emailed this to our financial guy, joking around, that we found a place to buy. Then sent a 2nd picture with the guard shack circled to clarify that was probably all we could afford. LOL!

 

 

The palace guards for the ceremony

 

 

You can see the stands set up for the F1 Grand Prix

 

 

Us 😃 

 

 

So, we can't 100% verify that they're the best in all of Monaco, but they were really good!

 

Our burger, we just shared it

 

 

A unique statue in some gardens that we strolled though.

 

 

My husband doing a little fishing. No, he didn't catch anything.

 

 

Flowers inside the Princess Grace park

 

 

 

Walkway in the park

 

A shorter video of part of the ceremony

 

 

 

 

 

My husband jumping in the sea, and yes, as he said, it was chilly!

Edited Saturday at 06:34 PM by kctwinmommy

[Goosebear Mum]

1 hour ago, kctwinmommy said:

5/7 - Monte Carlo 

 

My husband jumping in the sea, and yes, as he said, it was chilly!

 

 

haha, loved this! 😂 

 

Thanks for your posts, great to follow your journey, and loved having all the photos added here

 

Mel