79 Days to Europe & Back (Days 46-62)

Day 46: Board the Rhapsody of the Seas

Dear Friends,

Today we boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas. We arrived early, but was not a problem at all. Boarding went quickly and painlessly. We watched our muster video, before we boarded, went straight to our station and checked in. I never want to be called over the loud speaker for forgetting. SOOO embarrassing! We had eaten at the hotel for a late breakfast, so we just found a quiet place to relax, plan for the coming days, and play cards. As you recall, we bet cruises on playing cards ( just bragging rights…. sometimes there is a little side wager). Last year Eugene and I tied cruises 3/3. This year I am going to need to purposely book more cruises, because he is kicking my butt. He has 4 cruises and I have1! But I never give up. LOL. At 1:30 our stateroom was ready. This is the first cruise we did not have a balcony. Since it was free(only port fees and taxes) I will definitely not complain. We have an ocean view. It is quite roomy. But, it does not have a refrigerator. No worries, I went to the guest services and an hour later, a little portable refrigerator. Great customer service. We met our state room attendant, (he was very sweet) I asked him to leave ice morning and night and told him I would leave him a treat. I had bought good chocolate bars and noodles in Barcelona, so a little gifts for him. It is important to us, “at least one random act of kindness every day”. Some are small and sometimes, bigger. But it is our promise to each other. Since this is the first time on the Rhapsody, we walked around a bit to get familiar with the ship. I really like the way he ship is laid out. There are tables and personal spaces all over the ship. Very much like the Jewel of the Seas. We particularly like the space in the solarium. It is quiet, the chairs are comfortable and the wifi works pretty well. We had a light lunch and of course shared a piece of the delightful welcome cake. There were things going on around the ship, pretty much the same as other cruises… Spa raffle, Royal shops raffle, jewelry sale, guess the weight of art…… They did introduce to rock climbing (yeh, probably not something Eugene and I would do.. we might pull the wall down). There was a sail away party by the pool and various trivia games throughout the ship. There was also live music by the pool and later live strings music in the Centrum. Both the Strings music with Joanna and the Hot Spice Band were very good. We just hung out until 5:30 and then headed down to the main dining. We were seated quite closely to other couples, we may has well been sharing a table. That was ok, they were super nice and we had a good conversation.. The one thing I hate about the way the tables are set (on other ships too) is that you must squeeze between tables to get to your seat. The inside is a long running bench. This means that you either put your butt towards someones food or your boobs in their face. To me, it is uncomfortable and kinda rude. They really don’t take bigger people in consideration when setting up the tables.. just my thoughts. After dinner we headed towards the casino the get drinks and check out the casino. It was typical of other Royal ships, but the bar was separated by a wall from the casino. That was nice, because if you wanted to just sit and have a drink, it separated you from those playing slots and it cut down on the smoke and the noise. There was a welcome aboard show, which we skipped. We gambled a bit and then headed to bed. I love the king sized beds on the ships. They are always spacious and comfortable. I am spoiled by having my bed ready for me every day. Too good of a life.
Good night to all.

Day 47: At sea

Good morning,

Today we are at sea, the only sea day on the cruise. I think rather than sharing what we did, I will address things we get for free and discounted and how we get them. I think that may be of interest to you. We did get the cruise for free. This is through the Casino Royale program. Once you are established as a high roller (so to say) then you get free cruise offer. So how do you get these offers. You need to go to the casino (you really only need to do this once, if you are just looking for a few random free cruises. It works most quickly by playing the slot machines. You must earn at least 2100 points on a single room key in a single cruise, then you automatically get free offer. It is generally from a selection of cruises within a specific timeline. So how much and how long to you need to play to win a cruise? That depends.. If you win and continue to reinvest.. not that much. The goal is to get to 2100 points. Remember those points accumulate, if you are unsure how may you have in a particular cruise, ask your host. Sometimes it does not show up on the machine. Those points are also like money, so spend them while you are on the cruise. I just gamble with my points. We both have reached the 2100 points on a single cruise, so we both get free cruise offers. Now we just take people with us… Eugene books one room, I book the other and we switch keys. Ok back to free… after you reach a certain status on days cruised than you become a member of the Crown and Anchor club… More days more benefits. We are diamond plus which is the second highest.. We are a long way from Pinnacle, the highest. Crown and Anchor is different from the rewards you get from the casino, which is Club Royale. Below you can see all the things we get from being Diamond Plus.

The casino also gives benefits. Below is the chart. I am Signature and Eugene is Prime. The most important benefit to me is free wifi, for Eugene, its the free unlimited drinks, while in the casino. We each get 5 free drinks throughout the ship, daily, everyday of the cruise. I don’t drink so I often ask others at the bar if they are paying for their drinks, if they say yes, then I buy for them… Random act of kindness task. Check out the chart below to see the benefits. We also each get a free cruise (7 day or less) of our choice. We save them for when the free cruises offered because of play, don’t fit what we are looking for. This trip to Europe, we got the Baltic, this cruise, and the Greek Isles cruise for free… just port fees and taxes.. less than $350.

There was a great offered on the ship on a sea day. There were sales in the shops. Even though you may be on a budget.. make sure you check out the sales.. I got Eugene tee shirts for as low as $5. You know how hard it is to find a 3 x tee for $5? I also got a REALLY cute pair of wide legged dressy black pants for both me and my daughter for $4.99. (I doubt she reads my blog, so I think Im safe with them as part of a Christmas gift.) She’s busy. She is a real estate agent in Ohio. If you need a house or want to sale, message me… she is AWESOME.. She works so hard for her customers. I am very proud of her. We did do a little shopping and then just relaxed and played cards.. and I had to write a little bit. Never enough time. Every cruise does a Veterans Day gathering, for Rhapsody, it was today. You could take a Spanish class, go to a Champagne Art Suction, play table tennis, attend various trivia… the choices were many. Later, we went to the main dining room for dinner. I had the pumpkin soup, it was good, I have had better on other ships. We both got a strip steak. It was done perfectly and was very flavorful. After dinner, there was a Production Show, Ballroom Fever, which we planned to see. However, we ended up in a conversation with another couple and were enjoying ourselves so much we lost track of time and missed the show. It’s ok, the conversation was very informative and interesting. Sometimes, the people you meet are better than the shows you see. Heading to bed. Good night my friends, Jamie & Eugene

Day 48: Cannes, France

Good morning,

We arrived at Cannes, France at 7 AM. We did not book a tour, decided to enjoy the city on our own. When we got off the ship, there was a train of sorts, that gave you an hour tour of the city. It was called “Petit Train de Cannes”. They only accept Euro, but there was an ATM nearby. It was on 10Euro per person. The tour took us around the city to see the famous international cinema, where the greatest stars of international cinema gather each year for the annual awards ceremony. The guide pointed out luxury hotels and provided some history, as well the upscale boutiques and luxurious yachts. We very much enjoyed the tour and met some an awesome family from Texas and a newlywed couple from Chicago. Once again we had great conversation and parted as though we were old friends. After the tour, we walked to do a little shopping. Eugene HAD to get ANOTHER hat. By the time we get home he will have 20 hats. But, in his defense, he really doesn’t spend too much on himself. We wandered around the city for a couple hours and then headed back to the ship for a nap.

Cannes has 15 painted walls throughout the city . We did not see all 15, (I was told there are only 13 left, due to construction)but we found a few. If you had time to kill, it would be fun to seek out all of the murals. I am sure someone has written a blog on it. It was really humid, despite to breeze from the sea. After admiring the yachts along the docks, we headed back to the ship. I love googling who owns what yacht, and as I searched, I found that many were charters for hire. I was shocked that more were not privately owned. Maybe I just did not search the right ones.

When we got back to the ship, we showered and took a nap. Before we knew it, we missed dinner in the main dining. No worries, we went to the Windjammer. It was pretty good. Nothing special, but good enough. One thing that was exceptional, the coconut cake. It was excellent as always, the cake was very moist and the icing was light and fluffy. Always our favorite on Royal. Never disappointing. The art gallery had a Thomas Kinkade exhibition, which is always interesting to walk through and peruse. We won’t buy because I do not have any room on my walls. We do own several Thomas Kinkades, but we gave them to Eugene’s aunt to display and then will them to us, when she is gone. There was a show in the Broadway Melodies Theater, but we really did not feel like attending tonight. We hit the casino for 30 minutes and then headed to bed. We were still tired from the walking and sun. I think I am getting old. Really looking forward to Monte Carlo tomorrow. We ant to say we gambled there, even if it just for an hour or two. I heard the place is wonderful.. I wonder if we will see James Bond…. LOL Good night to all.

Day :49 Nice/Monte Carlo, Monaco/ Villefranche, France

Good Morning,

This is the port of call that Im looking forward to the most. We had breakfast in the Windjammer, packed our bag with a couple drinks and some cookies… in case my blood sugar drops. Off we go. .. Tender to the dock in Villefranche, France. We are told that it is a quick 10 minute walk to the train station. We will see…..

We are back on the ship. If you read my Facebook post you will know how our day went. Here it is….

What a day! We got off the ship only supposed to be a 10 minute walk to train station, yes if you are a cheetah. It took us 40 minutes up hill. Because we planned to go to Monte Carlo casino and the website said long pants, no tennis shoes. So in 80 degrees we are walking up hill to an over crowded train. We get off the train, Eugene sweating so much his shirt was see through. The casino is only up the lift. Just a few minutes away. NOT 3 sets of steps AND over 1 mile to casino. Then it does not open until 2:00. It’s 11. So we go outside and get on hop on hop off bus. Not 15 minutes into the tour , he slams on his brakes. I hit the seat in front of me both knees but ok. The man in front row top slammed his head into the windshield and broke the windshield. The police had to be called and ambulance. I asked is we were ok. They didn’t tell us what to do. An hour later the driver came up and asked why we were still on the bus. We said we didn’t know where to go.  He said walk out of the tunnel a bus would be waiting.  NOT. !! The guy said just take the elevator and you’ll be in the casino and a bus would be outside just up the elevator. No not again. A mike to the casino. We were hot, sweaty, and thirsty. Ordered a small coke and a bottle of water..

$19 !!! We get into line to PaY to get into the casino. After a 20’wait. I asked why are those with shorts allowed in.  She said the website is wrong. Only dress code after 8. Wtf !! Eugene wore dress shoes and long pants. He was pissed. Then it happened. We couldn’t get in the casino. We didn’t have our passports. No where on their web site did it say bring passports. We left angry got the train and headed back the ship. Both of us needed a drink.!! So here we are sitting in the bar relaxing drinking our FREE alcohol!! 

Something I learned on this cruise, the name of the Port is not the same as what is described in your cruise documents. Our itinerary said that we were going to Nice on day 4. In reality, we went to Villefranche. Nice is actually a 20 minute drive to Nice. It’s not like you can walk off the ship and go into Nice. Likewise, Day 6, it said we were going to be in Pisa/Florence. Pisa was 25 minute drive from the port. Florence is close to an hour and half from the port. Unless you are familiar with Europe (I was not), you may not know that Florence and Pisa is not a port city. Our final departure says Rome (which I booked a hotel in Rome) but we are landing in Civitavecchia, Italy. It is an hour and half train ride into Rome. It is almost 2 hour drive. So, not close. Villefranche is a quiet port town. It has rambling streets. I looked at prices on things and they were quite expensive. It does have a nice beach, but is was REALLY crowded. The streets are cobblestone and not kept that well, so if you have difficulty with mobility, be careful. You can take the train to both Nice and Monaco from the Villefranche station. Other than walking up hill, the train ride was pretty painless. Villefranche was quaint and pretty quiet, at least where we walked. The water was so clear, you could see the fish swimming around.

What we did see in Monaco was cool. Monaco is the second smallest country in world. (Vatican City, being the smallest country in the world). The casino was so elaborate. Security was tight and it was very expensive to eat or drink there. To get into the casino must pay to play table games (17.50 Euros) , you must again, have a passport. Dress code after 8:00pm. The gardens around and behind the casino are worth walking around. They have some unusual sculptures. The hand I was sitting is was one.It is entitled, “Hand of Fate” . In the front of the casino courtyard is the sculpture called “Sky Mirror”. Is is basically in the roundabout. It is basically a concave mirror that is polished stainless steel. It is unique piece of modern art. The sculpture was given to Monaco by Prince Albert II and Mrs Lily Safra . The bronze statues of Adam and Eve stand behind the Monte Carlo in the gardens. On a side note, when we were walking around the gardens, some ignoramus was performing inappropriate simulation actions on Eve. There were children around. I guess you will find a…holes anywhere. He thought is was funny.. Of course, there were statues of notable people in Monaco’s history, Grace Kelly, François Grimaldi, Juan Manuel Fangio, as well as many others. For such as small country, there is so much beauty and history. You should check it out for yourself.

The Grand Prix of Monte Carlo is held annually in Monaco. It is raced on the streets of Monaco, ending at the Monte Carlo roundabout. The first race was run 1950. It is over 3 kilometers in length and 78 laps. It is a Formula One Race. I particularly, enjoy learning about racing. When I was a younger woman, I raced cars, canoes… just about anything. It still thrills me to go fast, but not me driving.

The City bus tour took us around the Palace. It told a cool story about the Prince throwing dishes into the sea to show off his excessive wealth. But the staff would put fishing nets in the water and retrieve the dishes, when he wasn’t paying attention. LOL I do the same thing… mine are paper and I never retrieve them. I must be richer. Not!

The tour spoke a great deal about Grace Kelly. I remember her as a kid. She was a class act and worthy of being a princess. I found it interesting that most of Monaco is made up of reclaimed land from the sea. Prince Albert III is inspiring that he has the foresight enough to think of ways to continue expanding an improving his country. He developed a new housing project to make housing affordable for the low income citizens of Monaco. This is the “land of the extremely rich and famous”. But how would it function without the everyday person.

When we got back to the ship, we were frustrated and exhausted. Dinner, drinks and bed. Good night, tomorrow WILL be better. Good night

Day 50: Genova, Italy

Good morning,

We are in Genova today. We slept in a bit, so skipped breakfast and off the ship. We got a taxi and went to city center. I needed to get stamps and spent 40 minutes in the Post Office. So note, if you stamps go to the hotel and buy them and have them mail your letter. After the post office, I started not feeling well. It was very humid and hot. I thought I needed to eat, there were very few restaurants serving lunch, because it was only 11:00 am. We found this little shop in the alley way. The name of the restaurant was Punts Andria Doria. We bought a small pizza and lasagna. It was very good. You could tell the sauce was homemade. There were three women running the restaurant. You could tell it was family. The two dishes and two Diet Coke were only $13 euros. All we had was a $20 bill and they did not have change yet. We told them to keep it as a tip. They were so shocked! It wasn’t a big deal, since the day before we paid so much just two sodas. After lunch, we decided to get on the hop on hop City Sightseeing Tour. We enjoyed some of the sights and learned a good bit.

However, I still wasn’t feeling that well, so we choose to go back to the ship early. When we got back, I took a shower and a nap. Woke up feeling better, had dinner and went to see the Evening with Celine Dion with vocal of Tracey Shield. She was a talented singer and performed Celine’s song well. I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t feeling 100% or what, but the people behind us kept talking, like they were at a dinner table. After, turning around three times, we decided to move. Of course, the man behind us must have been hard of hearing or just ignorant, he too was talking extremely loud. I actually turned completely around and ask him to quiet down a bit. I guess he didn’t understand English because he continued to talk. We just tried to shut him out. Back to Tracy. She was a good singer, but something did not feel natural to me. Her moves were forced. She looked like a combination of Elvis wannabe and … I don’t know. Maybe it was me. I did not think her outfit flattered her and it just didn’t feel complete. But, she did have great vocals. We did enjoy her singing, despite the rude people behind us. After the show, we headed to bed. Maybe Im just on overload. ‘

Good night to all.

Day 51: Portofino, Italy

Good morning,

We opted not to get off the ship today. Though Portofino looks beautiful from the ship. I am just … tired I guess. Remember, the reason we are traveling so much at one time is my health. I am doing great now, compared to six years ago. But in 2020, I had a serious scare and I will attribute it to pushing too hard. My body just sent me a grand warning.. slow down or shut down. I spent a week in the hospital. So today, rest.. it is only one day out of 77.

Eugene I slept in. I did laundry ..You may wonder 77 days .. how to pack? Lightweight switch out , layer, layer. layer.. When you you do laundry? When we are on the ship, which is 47 of the 77 days, I get to cheat a little. Because we are Diamond Plus, we get one free bag of wash and fold on every cruise. We can pay to have other things, washed and press at a discounted rate. So for heavier things like jackets, Eugene’s long pants, jeans and Eugene’s MANY tee shirts… I use Royal Caribbean services. Before we go to bed, I wash light things and personal item by hand. I wash in the sink, rinse in the shower, and soak in the little bucket under the sink (on every cruise… I guess in case you are sea sick.. not me EVER!) I bought these two retractable clothes lines with built in clips and stretch it across the top portion of the balcony. If we are coming into port the next day .. I make sure I get up prior to arrival and take it down. I try to do it on a sea day and they can hang out all day, if needed. I hang my personal items lower not to let any boats passing see my GIANT granny panties LOL. It the morning, generally everything is dry. On land, if there is not a laundry mat nearby, I wash by hand and hang up. I love that the hotels we stay in on land, have towel warmers. I can hang clothes on them and by morning.. totally dry. Remember, we are traveling on a budget. I bring a little bottle of dawn (for stains) and a bottle of liquid detergent in my carry on. Other than long pants, most of my clothes are light weight, so drying is easier. Eugene’s are a little more difficult. So when sending clothes out to be done, 90 percent is his.

The rest of the day, we played cards, hung out by the pool, listened to music and chilled. Of course, we ate.

At 5:30 we went to dinner. Everything was good. We both had steak and baked potato. After so many days on ships with unlimited food, we are a bit spoiled. Having prime rib, steak, fish, shrimp, escargot, …. every day, I feel spoiled. One person said to us on one of our first cruises, ” The food is ok, it good, but we are tired of it.” I thought to myself.. “You are so arrogant! Be happy you have such wonderful food and choices!” Ok, now I get it. Im not complaining, but I am missing some of my own cooking. I could have skipped the steak and had one of my own sloppy joes with my homemade potato soup. Or maybe just a fried bologna sandwich and Doritos. Don’t get me wrong, the food is AWESOME. But Royal runs the same menu, with really a quite varied choices, on every ship. We have been on cruise ships almost 110 days since this past September. By this September, when we started cruising, we will have spent around 125 days on a cruise ship out of 365. We love it, and again, spoiled. I have written about the food many times. Now, it like… “Its good, sometimes even great.. but I’m talked out about it. To move on…

After dinner, we went to the Royal Caribbean Production Show: Piano Man at the Broadway Musical Theater. It was excellent. Now this is something to write about, The performers in this show were great. It was worth the time watching. I can not say this about all the entertainment we have seen on the ship lately. Dont get me wrong, it has been good, like the food.. maybe we are just spoiled. This singers, dancer and musicians did a superb job in this show. They performs medleys from Elton John, Cat Stevens, Stevie Wonder.. the greats….They sang “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, “I Just Called to Say I Love You”, “Hello”, “Tiny Dancer”… to name just a few of many. Great evening.

We headed to bed after the show. Big day tomorrow. Doing a bucket list item, “Leaning Tower of Pisa”. So excited. Good night.

Day 52: Livorna/Pisa, Italy

Good Morning, 

We got up at 7:00, thinking that we would get to Pisa early and beat the crowd. Eugene was apparently in no rush. It wasn’t until 8:15 that we made our way to the main dining room. We happened to be seated next to our new friends, Tony and Mark. As a result, we talked until past 10:00. We felt enjoying conversation with friends was more enjoying than worrying about the crowd. It ended up being a good thing, by the time we got off the ship there were a couple taxi’s available. We paired up with another couple and drove straight to Pisa. We could have walked to the train station and took the train for less money, but we decided to treat ourselves. It cost us $50 euros. It was worth the extra money because again it was sticky and hot. Also we had great conversation with the couple in the cab, so win win! 

Once we arrived to the Cathedral Square, we were amazed. The “Leaning Tower of Pisa” was definitely a must see. Because it was Sunday services were going on, so we did not go inside. We walked around the grounds, admired the architecture, took a lot of pictures, and learned about the history of the area. Afterwards, we wandered around the town checking out open air markets. I bought my daughter in law a really cute Italian made jump suit. Of course, Eugene bought ANOTHER hat, as well as other gifts for family. The prices were quite reasonable. When we were ready to go back to the ship, we easily caught a cab back to the ship 

It was such a great day. We loved walking around Pisa. Bought some more gifts. Defiantly going to need to buy another piece of luggage. It is so much fun buying for our kids and grandkids. Probably need to stop at some point. I am going to post a picture of all the hats Eugene has bought at the end of this trip. Anyone who knows him, he pretty much wears a hat ALWAYS!. not to bed… maybe sometimes after too many.. no that only happened once. LOL . We had dinner, finished packing and off to bed. So tired! Happy dreams.

Day 53: Rome, Italy Depart from Rhapsody Of the Seas

Good Morning,

We packed everything last night, so no rush to get up early we THOUGHT if we left a little later that we would avoid the crowds. I guess a lot of others thought the same. If I were sailing to ROME and my port is Civitavecchia, I think I would spend the extra money to have a private driver waiting for me with a sign with my name on it, to transfer me to the hotel. I have learn today that traveling isn’t always sunshine and lollipops, the transfer from the ship to hotel was hectic, hot and crowded. 5 ships in port, everyone heading in the same direction… out. You can not walk out of this port. This mean personal, preordered transportation or bus (SUPER CROWDED) or Shuttle bus to the outside of the port. This means waiting for everyone to get on the same two shuttles with all their luggage. With 5 ships in… imagine the mess. When we got off the shuttle, there were taxis there. They wanted $200 to take two people to Rome. $20 to run you to the train station 1.5 miles away in a glorified golf cart!!. And, you had to wait. So in the interest of staying on budget. We walked, as did about 200 other people. Up hills, cobblestone, uneven side walks, sometimes no side walks with narrow streets and traffic coming both ways. No cross walk signals, which meant playing walk a mole with traffic. It was hot and humid and we are FAT! I did bring some bottles of water off the ship with me, so at least that was a good thing. It was a bit of a challenge, even for fit people with luggage and such. Eugene insists on pushing both suitcases.. he says it gives him something to lean on. But ,I know he has a hero complex and doesn’t want me to be overtaxed. I love him for his stubbornness, because I could never have lifted the cases up and down off of curbs, over pot holes and up and down steps. We would have had a broken wheel for sure. Anyway, got to the train station, again hundreds of people trying to buy tickets (very inexpensive @$10). The train was packed. There were no seats together and very little space, other than the isle to put your luggage. I felt sorry for the girl Eugene was sitting next to, he was soaked with sweat. It was the last stop on the train… about 1.5 hours/12 stops. Just a note, you MUST wear a mask on the train (June 22).

The good news was that I booked a hotel only 2 blocks from the train station. We were booked at the UNAHOTEL Deco Roma. It was not easy to find because the building blends into the rest of the buildings and it is in the middle of a side street. The sign is very low key (we actually walked right past it twice!!) When we got inside, we were pleasantly surprised. The staff is so very nice, and its is a great hotel. Very modern interior, the seem to cater to business people visiting Rome. Wifi is great, which I really appreciate. There are several elevators, checkin is at 2:00 and the AC works AWESOME (Eugene really appreciates that!) All of the crowds, heat and walking made for a long morning. When we finally got to our hotel in London, we were able to check in at 1:45 pm Eugene showered(much needed, he was wet with sweat 93 degrees and humid) and sound asleep by 2:00. I did laundry and took a quick nap and woke him at 5:00.

When getting up, we went to eat. We ate  authentic Italian that was recommended by the desk clerk. It was just a2 blocks away, called Amedeo. It had both inside and outside seating. White table cloth, but no need to dress up, there are so many tourist, I thing they are accustomed to any dress. I had lasagna ( my favorite Italian.. maybe I sample it all over Italy and find out the best (lol). Eugene had Cacio e Pepe, which was homemade tonnarello pasta with pecornio cheese and ground pepper. It was like an Alfredo sauce. We were given a bag with 4 pieces of different bread. Eugene said my lasagna was better than his dinner. He said it was good, but would not order it again. The bread was ok.. I think we are used to a softer bread, very crunchy and hard. Just a note, you pay for water, and if Im not mistaken, you paid for the bread also. It is not come with a salad or anything and there was no oil or butter for the bread. I noticed that the man next to us ordered a salad, which came after the meal.. OMG I feel so unsophisticated, I am sure that is an European thing. The meal came to $35, not too bad of a price. It was very good and conveniently located, but did not set my world on fire. We may be a little spoiled from the cruise ships.

After we ate, we just wondered the streets of Rome for a few hours. Bought some gifts from street vendors. I KNOW I am going to need a new piece of luggage if I keep shopping!! KIDS!! Grandkids!! Tomorrow we are off to see Rome. The architecture is unreal here. Every building seems to have a story of its own. I posted a few pictures we took today. Tomorrow, we are getting on the hop on hop off bus and starting to really explore. Good night to all,

Day 54: Rome, Italy

We got up at 8:00, got ready and hit the road. We bought a 2 day pass on the Hop on hop off bus. We chose “I Love Rome” tour because it runs later in the evening. Only 32 euros for 2 days. For us, we find it the best way to enjoy the sights. We had the free Rick Steves to listen to, when we are walking around, which is a bonus. We got the bus just a short distance from our hotel. I love the relaxing music they play, gives you a real Italian atmosphere. We choose to visit the Colosseum for our fist stop. We listened to Rick Steves about the Coliseum so we have some familiarity of what to expect. I did not buys ticket’s because I was unsure if our arrival time, so needed  to buy them at the gate. We walked around and around and around… and could not find where to buy the tickets. Spoiler alert: you must buy your tickets ahead of time to enter the Colosseum.

 

We did not buy tickets ahead of time but we could’ve easily gotten our tickets for a little bit later in the day. Eugene started talking to a young man, who’s name tag said Royal Caribbean. He assumed he worked for Royal, he did not. He was just a middle person who gathered people up, explained what was going to happen and get them to their tour guide. It happened to be that today, he worked with a tour from Royal Caribbean. Upon discussing getting tickets with a young man ,we found that the Pope going to be Speaking in Vatican City tomorrow. Which meant that it would be super super crowded  Upon his recommendation, decided to go over to Vatican City,  rather than touring the interior of the  Coliseum. We agreed to meet the young man at 2 o’clock and he was going to include us in his tour group (for a deal)  He said it would be $61 per person. We headed directly over to Vatican City. He then messaged a said 3:00. He said, “I will take care of you’. He did nothing extra at all. It ended up being 3:30. I honestly believed he got paid to send each person to the tour company. We could have booked the same tour, directly from the same company, by just walking up. Everywhere you turn people are trying to sell you something. The tour we took of the Vatican and the Museums was at best, a 3 on a 10 on a scale of one to ten. The Vatican, Sittine Chapel and museums themselves were awesome. The tour itself was poor. We had to walk uphill quite a ways to get to where we entered. The guy almost sprinted, we were not the only ones trying to keep up. He was no very considerate of his guests. Actually he was a bit of a smart ass. Several times during the tour he ask questions, then mocked those answering incorrectly. (My professional opinion .. small penis .. big ego) Speaking of penises. He pointed out insignificant things that had no historical value, such as “look what is wrong with this muse(female) .. look through her dress..she has a penis… ha ha”. He made comments like this a couple times. He had difficult with his mike.. not speaking into it properly or something.. he was  in and out, very garbled. Everyone was complaining. When a man brought it to his attention, he said it must be your mike.. gave him another. He put his back on (property I guess) and we all could hear plainly. He wouldn’t admit that he was the issue. We spent a lot of time looking at pictures and describing what it said (yep we can read) then we sort of rushed through the exhibits. The tour itself yucky, but what we saw was phenomenal!  The Sistine Chapel paintings on ceiling were extraordinary, but the Chapel itself was rather small and plain. But if in Rome, go to the Sistine Chapel, gardens and museums, it is worth it.

When we were done with the Vatican, we were exhausted and sweaty. We had walked over 8 miles. We decided we were too hot and tired to walk back to the hop on hop off bus stop, so we bit the bullet and got a taxi. We did pay dearly for it it was $40 to go about 15 minutes, but it was well worth it. I went across the street from our hotel ordered some takeout and headed up to the hotel room. We ate, showered and went to bed.

Good night. I think I will sleep well.

Day 55: Rome, Italy & Vatican City

Good Morning,

Today, I intended on getting up early and heading out. Apparently, Eugene had other ideas. 10:00 AM he is finally ready. We grabbed croissants and packed drinks and off we went. We got to the Colosseum too early. We had 45 minute wait. Because we didn’t leave any earlier, we couldn’t really do anything ahead of our scheduled tour. We booked through Viator.  It was easy to find out guide. The one thing they kept saying was to arrive early, you won’t get in if you are late. Not true. We were early and we waited for people who were late. Yes they got in. Security was pretty fast also. We did the self guided tour. Since we had listened to Rick Steves which was pretty comprehensive it made it walking around the Colosseum more interesting. Again, it was really crowded and hot. When you go to the first level, it is like a museum. You have artifacts and diagrams describing how the Colosseum was back in the days of the Romans. It is hard to believe how horrible life was for the outcasts of society back then. But, after being in Amsterdam and learning more about the Jews and they endured, I guess it is the way things have been forever. It’s sad. So much ugly in the world. Through the tour we heard that only 2 percent of the gladiators survived. I don’t think I would want to be a gladiator back then. They found the remains of 1000s ferocious animals and human remains, when they excavated the Colosseum.

You know that romantic music I said was so great yesterday, take that back. They play the same track over and over again on the bus. I am hot and tired and am sick of hearing it… did I mention I am a bit grumpy also. We grabbed lunch, and went back to the hotel to shower and eat. Well it is 7:00 PM. Eugene did not want to get up. I took this opportunity to catch up on my blog. We did not get to do and see everything we wanted to. I guess it will give us a reason to come back. We have a few hours in the morning, so maybe we can catch a thing or two more.

When touring Rome, I noticed so many homeless people sleeping on the side walk, begging for money.. so sad. Also surprisingly Rome streets are quite dirty. There is garbage everywhere, not just pieces of paper, cigarette butts, and used masks, but piles of garbage, bottles, cans… trash. A lot of the old buildings have been vandalized by graffiti. So sad, Rome is so beautiful but it is not being cared for properly. Coming from Florida, I guess I’m a bit spoiled. Florida does a great job keeping everything clean, especially in the tourist areas. I don’t know, just disappointing.

A couple things I realized, 1) we are not as young as we once were 2) Rome is hot in June 3) we are not in good physical shape enough to be walking up steps, hills …. As I eat potato chips, while I am typing, not really helping the situation.

Have a great night.

Day 56: Fly to Paris, France

Good morning,

Today we fly to Paris. We must take the train to the airport, then on to Paris. It is a little over a 2 hour flight. One thing that saves us money at the airport is our access to the lounges. Free food, free wifi and a quieter place, less crowded place to wait. But a first, one last sightsee trip around room. The first picture is that of Vittoriano. It was nicknamed, “The Wedding Cake”, by American Soldiers. We learned that the horse is actually big enough to hold 22 people (ok maybe not people as big as Eugene and I) but that is what we were told. The sword is 5 meters long. The Vittoriano is where the tomb to the unknown soldier for Italy is located. It is guarded 24/7. The view from the terrace gives you a great look into the ruins. There are so many beautiful statues, too many for me to remember the name. You will have to go to Rome on your own and find out and share them with me.

At the airport. The train ride from central Rome was smooth, after we found out where to buy our tickets. Just an FYI, if you are taking the train out of Rome to the airport, you do not buy right next to the train entry, that is for local. For the airport, get your tickets towards outside of the terminal, in that machine. A young man, who apparently helps wayward travelers.. expecting a tip, showed us where to buy and walked us to the train we were to board. Yes, we tipped him. It was an easy, and smooth. Once we got to the airport, we found our check in place, only to find that it is overbooked and we may be bumped to a later flight. We also found out that there is no preferred lounge in our terminal. It is going to be a long wait. We were supposed to board at 7:00 Pm. The 2:00 pm flight was cancelled. Ok right? Our flight is at 7:00 pm, we are good. We got notice, our flight was cancelled. We waited 2 1/2 hours in line, with about 300 angry, sweaty people… did I mention that the Rome airport does not have air? When we FINALLY got to a representative, I was super nice. I asked politely why I was bumped AGAIN. She said most people are not flying out until tomorrow evening. We are lucky because they have booked us on an 11:00 PM flight to Barcelona with a connecting flight to Paris at 6:00 AM!! Arriving in Paris at 9:00!! They gave us food vouchers for a drink and a sandwich! That’s it?? Oh no!! I booked through EXPEDIA who handles any difficulties. I expect to get a full refund. Not just a food voucher. We have a hotel booked in Paris. It’s too late to cancel and we need to get in the room after we land. It is going to be a long as…. night. Thank goodness for the perfume counter. I will smell good anyway, Its covering the sweat. We will see… can’t say goodnight… no sleep.

Day 57: Paris, France (via Barcelona)

Well, not good morning yet. It is 2:00 AM. After several delays, several changes of gates, over 4 miles walking in the airport from one place to another in the Rome airport. We arrived in Barcelona. Once again, gate changes, lots of walking.. the big worry now, will our luggage make it. I packed all the important things in the duffel bags and we carried them… just in case. Losing trust in Vueling Airlines. At 9;30 AM, we made it to Paris, finally. We had an empty seat between us, so got an hours sleep. Our luggage did show up.. so good. I got this App on my phone, it is called Free Now. It is great. A bit like Uber. We have used it twice and saved like $40. It gives you choice of taxi, private car, electric car.. van and gives prices. You get to see where the driver is and to communicate via phone or message. LOVE IT . Things are looking up. Got to the hotel, just fine. Our room was ready for us. The place is beautiful. We are staying at Le Grand Quartier. We took a shower and crashed for 4 hours. After our nap, off to explore Paris and eat.

We walked around Paris for quite a while. We wanted to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. According to Rick Steves the tower was originally red toward the bottom and gradually got lighter in color. Today is a grayish brown, Given it was built in 1887, she is holding up quite well. It is built out of iron. and only took two years two months to build. When it was built, the people of Paris were outraged, they hated it and said it was an eyesore. But after over 2 million people toured it the first year, attitudes started to change. It was a main attraction for the Paris World’s Fair in 1889. I think because it is depicted in so many forms of media, it is associated with romance and when you think of the Eiffel Tower, you think of Paris. It truly is a city of romance. Music playing in the streets, sidewalk cafes, beautiful buildings fully adorned. We were coming across the bridge near Notre Dame, I heard someone singing, he was exceptional. We stood on the bridge for almost an hour, listening to these two young people sing, My video clips do not do them even justice. (still can’t load the clips) They are better than many of the performers I heard on the ship. Natural, raw talent… now I sound like Simon Cowell. His name was Edem Omega and her name was Yen. I got their number and hope to play their clips to someone on Royal. They should be on a real stage. We stopped and at at Caffe Botteli. It was reasonably priced and the food was really great. It was relaxing and had a casual atmosphere. If you are in Paris.. try it out.

After wondering through the streets, eating a great meal, we were ready to put our feet up and relax. So far, we love Paris more than any other city. We were told our hotel is in a decent neighborhood, but should not walk around after dark, especially if we didn’t know where we were going. After the hilarious attempted mugging in Barcelona, we will head the warnings of the local.

Good night to all.

Day 58: Paris, France

Good morning,

We have one full day in Paris and we plan to make the most of it. I am glad we went to the Eiffel Tower last night because it is raining today. We will tough it out, not raining too hard. Grabbing crepes on the run. Eugene got a Nutella and coconut, I got an apricot… his was better, but both delicious. We walk about for a bit then caught the hop on hop off boat. It was convenient because we could hope on and off, but, there was no narration. Since it was raining, we stayed on for the full tour and then got off a stop closer to our hotel. With only one full day, it is a lot to see and such a short amount of time. We had to buy another piece of luggage. to many gifts for those at home and carrying the duffle bags is too hard on the shoulders. Only one more flight so paying for an extra checked bag won’t be so bad. We toured, we shopped and we ate. Pictures say a 1000 words and I am too tired to type 1000 words. Enjoy the pictures.. tomorrow heading to Zurich, Switzerland.

Day 59: Train to Zurich, Switzerland

Staying atH +Hotel Zurich

Good morning,

I thought I had everything planned out perfectly. Suitcases backed, early out to train station, take taxi to the station, grab breakfast, and jump on the train. Ok, the good news, we are now on the train and we were 5 minutes early.. A WHOLE 5 minutes. We did not count that our taxi driver took us to the metro, not the train station. After asking 5 different people and 5 different answers, we realized we were in the wrong place. We bought a metro ticket, took it to the train station… ask again where our train was…. found the train.. found our car finally.. only numbers on a few and here we are182 plus miles per hour. With only one change over, we will be in Zurich by 3:15. The country side is beautiful. Rolling fields, farms and beautiful green country side. It reminds me of the Midwest US. The train is comfortable and clean. I would have preferred to get a seat with a table so we could play cards, but Eugene is watching marathon Black List on his phone, so he is happy. I really liked taking the train. Once on, it was roomy and peaceful. Its nice to view the scenery going by. Much less stress.

We checked into the hotel. Couple things to know. Switzerland has Uber. That is good, but it is a little more than states, but gas is $10 gallon. Everything is expensive. We walked around Old Town. It was very busy because they had some sort of marathon and EVERYONE was out. It had a home town feel. Kids riding bikes, kayaking, boating, swimming. The Lake is beautiful, the swans are gorgeous, the architecture is amazing.. One word… RELAXING. We were told that other than pick pocketing, it is safe. Very low crime rate. So far, everyone we have talked to and met were from another country. We spent hours wondering around town, just taking in the views. You would think we would be thinner with all the walking, but with the exploring comes tasting local foods. Maybe too much. Heading back to the hotel, crash and get up tomorrow for another adventure. Renting a car and traveling to three other countries.

Day 60: Switzerland, Austria, Germany & Liechtenstein

Good morning,

We rented a car from the airport today. It was an easy process. We could have saved money (finding out later), that. rather than taking an Uber to the airport (32$), we could have taken the tram ($6) and got to the airport just as quickly. The car rentals are all together and easy to find. Even though we actually rented from Avis, it said Hertz on the counter. I guess this is common, they are 3rd party providers. The car in Switzerland is more expensive than Iceland and Ireland. It was over $400 for two days. But, because we wanted to travel other countries, it was more expensive.. only doing it once, so may as well go for it. Seeing how expensive food is, I went into the Coop and bought things for a picnic.. for on the road. The Coop in the airport was less expensive than the other stores. So off we went, the car was bright yellow and rather small… for big people.. but we managed. Eugene was happy for the freedom. We set our GPS first for Rhine Falls. It is supposed to be the most powerful falls in Europe. We parked in the upper lot, simply because we didn’t know we could park below. When visiting these falls, try to park on the lower or number one parking lot. The walk down was easy, but lots of steps coming back up. There is a ramp on both levels, but it is steep!. The Falls were beautiful. You can take a boat out and around the falls and even walk to the top of a nearby island. We choose to stay on land and view it from the different levels. There was a restaurant, shoppings and a small museum (I believe), We stayed for about an hour and then headed out to Germany. We did not have any particular destination for Austria and Germany. just to drive around and enjoy the scenery. One thing we found that all four countries have in common: round about, churches with bell towers and clocks, cranes and highly overprice food. Spaghetti with tomato sauce (looking at 5 different restaurants… $37-$50!! No meat, no salad included. We really enjoyed driving around. We stopped in Liechtenstein and wondered around the plaza and other scenic areas, We did get some gifts for our family that was reasonably priced.. compared to other places we looked. We drove until dark. By the time we got back to Zurich it was late and we were exhausted.. Below are just a few pictures we took today. Such an adventure. Good night to all.

Day 61: Zurich, Switzerland

Good morning,

Today we went to the Titlis mountain of the Uri Alps. It is the highest summit in Switzerland. It was well worth the money and the trip. It cost around $110 per person. We took a cable car up top, getting off of the typical sitting lift (just the two of us), then to the revolving gondola, that you could walk around and look from all directions. During the. first portion of the trip, we kept hearing a chiming… bell sound. We couldn’t figure out what it was. Finally, Eugene opened the window and looked down. It was cows, hundreds of them with bells on. Every time they would lift their heads from eating, then it would ring. After we discovered what it was, it was almost like music. Pretty cool. At first going up, everything was beautiful and green. Eventually, we were in the clouds. You couldn’t even see the cable car in front of you. Finally, when we were above the clouds, it was magnificent. They mixture of green, ice, mountains, rock fragments.. jetting out from the hillside. Deep crevasses, caves and peaks. Such a spectacular view.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we were able to get off and walk up a ramp and several flights of steps on the exterior of the mountain and do what was called a “cliff walk”. It is Europe’s highest suspension bridge. It was cold… and of course Eugene work a tee shirt and shorts, but we did it. The wind whipped through the air, as the bridge swayed back and forth as you walked across on it. But the view was unbelievable! You could do the “Ice Fly” if you choose. Basically, an open ski lift that transported you over the tops of the mountain peaks. After we completed the cliff walk, we went back down to the Glacier Cave. This was truly memorable. I never dreamed we would be walking inside of a glacier. The entire thing, including the floor, was ice. You could see rocks peaking out of the ice here and there. In one place, they showed the different layers of rocks. When building the cave, they actually had to cut a tree, the upper portion of the tree is in the ceiling of the cave. At the entrance of the cave, is a visual and written explanation of the construction of the glacier cave, it took 4 years to build. This is something you must do when visiting Zurich. Truly memorable. Now we can say that we made it to the top of the Swiss Alps and walked in a glacier. Good memories. After our adventure, we headed down to the city of Luzerne. We drove around, took in the sights and just relaxed. It is time to head back. Once again, tired and happy. Good night to all.

Day 62: Zurich, Switzerland

Good Morning,

Today is a chill day. I needed to get laundry done, get a mani/pedi, Eugene needed a hair cut, and packing.. well just getting stuff done. Nothing exciting. I thought I would share some pictures I took. It almost became a joke. One thing Switzerland does not have a shortage of, is churches with towers and clocks, round about and cranes (construction cranes.. not the bird). Everywhere you went, you could find one of the three. At one point we drove through 6 roundabouts in 4 miles. It was crazy.. The GPS would say.. at the 3rd street exit the roundabout. It would be right across why not say go straight. I don’t know, not a roundabout fan. It has been interesting.

Ok, you get the picture. Lots of churches with clocks. This is only a few pictures that I took. We need to pack and get to bed early. Our train departs at 9:00 am. Don’t want to rush. Good night to all.