Transatlantic Port Reviews March 14-April 1, 2009

[Coolcruise02]

Thanks for the review and all the good info!

[mountainmare]

Thank you Coolcruise02

Debbie--something to get you started--I looked at my lists from the last few trips.

Driving over Lemons--Chris Stewart

Homage to Catalonia--George Orwell

Death in the Afternoon--Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls--Hemingway

Shadow of the Wind

Cote D'Azur:Inventing the French Riviera Mary Bloom

The French Riviera: A literary Guide ??? (or something like that)

Brunelleschi's Dome--Ross King (he also has one about Rome)

Room With a View--Foster

Enchanted April

A Farewell to Arms

The Family-- Mario Puzo (about ancient Rome--not that other family)

Ides of March:a novel--Wilder

Beyond Heaven and Earth

Not Built in a Day Exploring the Architecture of Rome--George H Sullivan

Under the Tuscan Sun

 

I also have picked up random works when I see that they take place where I'm traveling--I had alot on Italy--but never wrote them down. These made a bigger impression on me.

[Dor]

Hi Linda,

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to compile the book list. I see some old favorites, but many I have not read. I'll be going to the library to choose a few for the cruise. The Puzo one, The Family (thanks for clarifying, not that family!), looks particularly interesting to me.

 

Debbie

[sizzle_sisters]

Mountainmare, I am enjoying your review! And nearly fell off the couch when you got to the part about Fabrizio. I am so killing myself laughing, not about your fond comments of his excellant care, but about our "Fabrizio Experiance". He certainly was a talker. We booked him privately in 2007 for a full day tour of Florence. Eight of us found him too polictically enraged, and preferred spouting his anger regarding German history and the new pope. We all entertained him and allowed him to vent. (His venting did not disrupt his driving, which was good:D )

He took us to numerous places and to the Accademia, which I still can't understand how he got us in, but he did... so that was great.

But the zinger of the day was when he insisted on a visit to the San Lorenzo Market, particularly to a cheese shop. They roped the stall off to other shoppers, plied the women with shop made wine, sent the hubbies off to the ATM machines, and .................. took us to the Cheese Cleaners!:eek::eek:

$4,000.00 US in cheese, vinegar, olives later we left. The women drunk, the men ticked and Fabrizio and Susannah P had pulled off the perfect fleecing....... Wonder if he took his cut from that excursion to start his own biz??? We couldn't believe what we had done, no receipts, just cheese due to arrive even before we returned home.

Moral to story........ do not drink and shop in Italy... just drink!

(yes, the Cheese arrived, it was wonderful) Oh and if you are wondering... yes, the men did voice their opinion of Fabrizio and his little scam, but not until the end of the day, and yes he did get his tip.:rolleyes:

[Bispham Boo]

Sizzle

$4000 on cheese??? wow. Some fondue.

 

Linda - amazing review. So glad you mentioned Enchanted April in your list. My DH's favourite film, and now out on DVD. It expresses the Italy we

all want to love.

 

Boo

[sizzle_sisters]

Sizzle

$4000 on cheese??? wow. Some fondue.

Boo

 

$4,000...... sad but true. But it was Perini Cheese!!:rolleyes:

we embark in another 25 days.... what will it be this time???? Turkish Carpets:eek: Hope they can fly themselves home.

[karen sharpe]

Ah Fabrizio and his side trips to the famous sheep cheese shop! Our group as well had a hazy, expensive but hilarious afternoon there too. We dropped a bundle, drank a lot of wonderful vino and the crate of cheese we bought made it back to Canada before us! Heck we even bought a years supply of Biscotti!!

All in all it was a wonderful excuse for a post cruise party to divide up all the cheese,biscotti,olives, garlic and the most wonderful 21 year old balsalmic vinegar I have ever had.

To think I was in one of the world's most revered and beautiful places and when i think of it all I remember when I think of Florence is a fast talking little Italian moll and how with each glass of wine her sheep cheese kept getting better.

Thanks for your info mountainmare!

[samavarcruiser]

Wonder if he took his cut from that excursion to start his own biz???

 

 

4000 USD in cheese :eek:

This cheese does not cost 4000 US

 

http://www.periniitalia.it/catalogo.asp?id_categoria=2

 

Enough to start your own buisness :)

Thank you for your review mountainmare, great info :)

[karen sharpe]

4000 USD in cheese :eek:

This cheese does not cost 4000 US

 

http://www.periniitalia.it/catalogo.asp?id_categoria=2

 

Enough to start your own buisness :)

Thank you for your review mountainmare, great info :)

I don't know about Sizzle but I can guarantee that our cheese and wine filled group of 8 spent at least $4000.00 US.

Your web site is amazing I think that is the place we were at but were at a cheese concession owned by "Papa" directly across from it in the Florence market.

Makes me want a little Pecorino!

[mountainmare]

Now I am feeling good about being a geek. We just don't shop (as you can see by my budget).

We have survived Turkey and not gone to a rug store and Egypt without spending time in a cartouche and papyrus place (I did pre- order a cartouche--one--the guide gave us about 5 min) and a papyrus (she led us to Bastet and the purchase made, off we went).

I have a feeling there will be some rugs coming home here--all neatly packed in a free suicase after a nice afternoon of tea and presentation.

But truth be told--I do like a good aged balsamic vinegar and know how things can add up really fast when you are picking from the top shelf. I still like Fabrizio and had a great time and will use him again.

With any guide I use--if I'm dragged to shopping I will roll my eyes and just say--"Oh please---I said no shopping" This is one reason we never do ship tours, they all include shopping.

[sizzle_sisters]

4000 USD in cheese :eek:

This cheese does not cost 4000 US

 

http://www.periniitalia.it/catalogo.asp?id_categoria=2

 

Enough to start your own buisness :)

Thank you for your review mountainmare, great info :)

 

http://www.periniitalia.it/index2.asp?lingua=inglese The one and only! And I can vouch that all the cheese and oil ordered, did indeed arrive safe, fresh and exactly what we paid for. I would order from them again for the authentic product. And yes, you could be correct that this would cost the same here, but you forget that most products in Europe are more $$ than we pay.

As to Fabrizio, he certainly had a personality, and could be totally forgiven for all his sins (but not before the current Pope:rolleyes: ) He was an experiance that I wouldn't want to have missed! Well I forgive him for all his wiley ways, all but one..... I'm still ticked he would not take us to Ponte Vecchio for the leather gloves!

[MARIMART]

Hi Linda,

Well I am finally getting around to reading your post' it is great!! You forgot to tell about the golf course at the aqua duct , the water fountain where you put your finger in the bottom hole and the water comes up the front hole...great device:D:D...I hope to post my review on the trip in the next week regards to all it was a blast!!!

Marty;) & Marilyn:)

Then fabrizio has a surprise for us--he is taking us to a traditional (inexpensive) place for poketta for lunch in a small town close to Rome and also to Castlegandolfo--the Pope's summer residence. I had asked to see some out of the way things, but I didn't even know about Castlegandolfo!!

As we drive up to Castlegandolfo it starts to get really foggy--we decide to do lunch first and hope that it clears. Lunch is wonderful, Fabrizio orders an assortment for us, this is really local and excellent. It is clearing and the views are great--we can see farmland in the valley and the sea in the distance. Lunch (I had wine) was 7epp--we had pork (hard to describe but excellent) and anh assortment of olives, dried tomatoes, onions--lots of stuff and great bread.

By this time it had cleared and we drove back to Castlegandolfo. I almost don't want to say too much (stop cheering everyone!) because I don't want to spoil anyone's first visit. I will just say that when you dream of an Italian town high in the hills--with squares, geranium filled window boxes and views that surprise you this is it. Being off season the town was empty and the souvenir stands were about half the price for the same goods in Rome. This was a treat!!!

Another request I had was to see aqueduct park and the big aqueducts. This is really hard to manage with public transportation and now I would finally see them.

Now this is our third time in Rome and we have been to Greece, Turkey and Egypt (and Mt Rushmore). We have seen big old stuff. the aqueducts are amazing--when you think that they went for hundreds of miles in some places you have a hard time believing they are still here. The blocks at the base are massive and they are unbelievably high. You can still see the chambers for the water on the ends, fabrizio points out that there are two sets of aqueducts, the "newer" ones have more elaborate brickwork. I am so happy to see them, pictures just don't let you see the scope of these things and I have researched like crazy and it is very hard to get here using public transportation.

Finally it is time to head to our B&B. Fabrizio called to let them know we were on our way. Since we are staying center city Fabrizio did a drive through of the major sights--and we did stop and see the cats at the Argentina Forum ( also the site of old temples and where Caesar was killed--but I wanted to see the cats). Soon we were at Navona First B&B--a perfect location on a small square around the corner from Camp de Fiori. very close to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. this was right before Easter week and the cost was 130e for a nice room with bath and breakfast at one of two cafes.(let me know if you want more info) Fabrizio showed us some nice places to eat that he knew and we checked in.

By the time we settled in it was raining, but we went out for a walk anyway. We walked over to P Navona and I finally got to see the Four Rivers Fountain with no scaffolding and since it was raining we ran over to the Pantheon to see the rain coming in through the hole in the ceiling (actually its pretty cool). Then we got some take away pizza at a little stand and had pizza and wine--our friends went to bed but we were in Rome, so took a night time stroll--got lost (not too bad) and made our way back to bed.

The next day our friends had an Angel Tours tour of the Vatican at 9:30 and were the only two on the tour. We just wandered Rome and enjoyed the wonderful rooftop terrace at our B&B.

Friday we had to leave. We got up early to go to the market at Campo de Fiori to see the market--it is amazing, in the morning it is a market and by night it is filled with eating places. I was worried about traffic and Fabrizio was picking us up at 9--we had a 1pm flight, then it changed to 2--but I have heard about traffic and the Rome airport. We flew out in March last year, no traffic, no crowds at the airport--but this time we were later in the season and startinh Holy Week so Iwanted to be early. We met Fabrizio in the market--he was early but wanted to go to the market--get a paper etc--and said for us to take our time, he would keep looking for us when we were ready. Soon we were ready to go.

I had checked and knew we were flying out of Terminal C--but Fabrizio said that non-stop US flights usually have checkin at T5, we pulled up to terminal C--he ran in to check and sure enough we checked in at Terminal T5 which is sort of out of the way. Our gate was c23--but we checked in a T5 and took the little bus to terminal C. It seemed like all US carriers--Continental, USAir, Delta etc-had check-in at this terminal.

 

We were early for check-in, but better to be safe than sorry. (but we were way early).

Finally we had to say good bye to Fabrizio--this time I felt that I was saying good bye to a friend--not a guide.

 

The flight on Continental was so much nicer than USAir.

 

So here I am home again--still posting on cruise critic--life is good.

[cwaj45]

Great report. thanks for taking the time to post. Will you please post contact information for Angela for Cadiz if you think she would be interested in touring other people.

Thanks

[mountainmare]

Marty--but I did tell my golf-addicted brother about your "who cares about those old aqueducts--there's a golf course" moments. I'm still sorting pictures--will send you the shot of your plane going away.

cwaj45

I asked Angela if she would mind if I put her info here and she said they would love to help cruisers.

http://www.theluz.com

When you look at their website (which she designed personally) you can see what a wonderful place this is to visit and again I cannot say enough for Angela and the wonderful day we had. She said Paul (her husband) usually does the guided tours. You cannot go wrong with them.