Marseille, France

Marseille was a very pretty old French port town! I took the little tourist train to the top of the mountain over looking the harbor. The famous church "La Basilique Notre Dame de la Garge" sat at the top. The views were amazing! Later I had French cuisine with the girls, and shopped around the Sunday market!

PISA!!!

Finally got to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa! The drive there was beautiful as we drove through the Tuscany region where we traveled windy roads lined with trees, and passed over beautiful rivers. Pisa was really cool! Irene and I were on the same tour again so we got so many great pictures posing all sorts of ways in front of the tower. We also got to see the inside of the Cathedral Duomo, which was beautiful! Pisa was really fun, and I enjoyed souvenir shopping and walking around, although very tired from the night before. When we were leaving it started to rain, thank goodness for the timing! The drive back to Livorno was really pretty as we got to see the Tuscan countryside, with many olive trees and farms. I spent the afternoon on the ship napping, and starting to pack my stuff. I think I have bought too much!

A relaxing day in Civitavecchia, It.

I didn’t have enough time to go back into Rome today. There was a crew drill so I had to cover for Paul in the morning. It’s okay because Nikki and I went to the beach. A shuttle took us from the ship to the main city center of Civitavecchia. The beach was nothing special, but nice enough, and the sun was super hot! I also did a little bit of shopping and bought some really cute Italia red polka dot shoes. I had a Panini, and suntanned all afternoon then had the night off at work, so I went to the spa for a facial, which was amazing and so relaxing, and then met the tour girls for dinner in the Lido. At night, went to the White Star party-bbq which was a blast once again!!

Taormina, Sicily

From the port of Messina I took a tour that took us one hour away to Taormina, perched high above the sea on the slopes of Mt. Tauro, a town that has entertained celebrities and artists since the days of the Caesars. It was gorgeous! The view is amazing, you can see the ocean, beaches, and coastline below, and the active volcano Mt. Etna is close by. Our tour took us to the 3rd century Greco-Roman theatre with picturesque views of the blue Ionian Sea below. You could see the smoke coming from the volcano in the distance. Later I grabbed a Pistachio Gelato and wandered the streets lined with little shops and a few cafes. Taormina was a really nice place, and a great place to enjoy a holiday!

Ephesus

This was the most amazing ruins/archaeological sight I have ever seen! Ephesus was a port city for all ancient civilizations over 2000 years old. Only a small portion has been uncovered, but was has is fascinating and you can really envision life back then and how it used to be. It was so hot out it was almost unbearable, but our tour was great! We saw the great theatre (where St. John preached), the Temple of Artemis, The library of Celsus and so much more! I’m not so much for ruins but Ephesus really exceeded my expectations. Later back in Kusadasi, I shopped around their Bazaar and took in the scenery. There was a really nice beach close by. So far I am very impressed with Turkey.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is a great city! When we sailed into the harbor I could see the skyline lined with many Mosques. They are beautiful! I did a full day tour and was very lucky because Irene (tour staff) came with me. Istanbul is very interesting, especially because its spread over two countries, half is in Europe, the other half in Asia. We toured the Blue Mosque where we had to cover our shoulders, legs and remove our shoes. We visited St. Sophia, one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, and Topkeki Palace which was amazing and sat high on a mountain. We saw the underground Cistern palace, which was so incredible, all built underground with waterways, and pillars, it was cool! We enjoyed a traditional Turkish lunch served in a beautiful outdoor courtyard like restaurant. Later we had free time in the Grand Bazaar (2nd biggest in the world). It was a never ending marketplace full of all the clothes, leather, ceramics, souvenirs, and Turkish delight you could ever want! I got some amazing bargains and we had a lot of fun!