Next up we took a bus to Nice for a city bus/walking tour. The tour guide was filled with lots of knowledge and also you could tell she was a native of the region and had a bit of an attitude, which I think just fit in with the charm of France. They had just held Ironman France Nice the previous day so we saw the remnants of the cleanup. The overall town area had a nice cozy feel and we walked around checking out some shops. The beach area was quite busy as well since it was a rather hot day (a common theme for the whole trip).
We hopped on a bus back to Cannes and then waited in a fairly long queue to tender back to the boat and head off to our next destination. With this cruise having a different port each day, our time on the boat was mostly focused on eating, resting and getting ready for the following day.
Day 3 found us at the port of Livorno. This is the closest stop to Pisa and Florence though it is still a ways away (about 45 minutes to Pisa and a little over an hour to Florence by bus/car). We again used a shore excursion just to get a ride into Florence – this was essentially a ride into town and then you’re on your own and they pick you back up in the afternoon to get back to the boat. The hour-long busride took us through the Tuscan countryside which was nice to see the fields and houses.
Once we arrived in Florence, we had no concrete plans but D wanted to check out Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella – the oldest perfumeria and what people call the “oldest pharmacy in the world”. Aside from the various perfumes and other beauty products, what was even more stunning was the store itself and the art and decor covering the walls/ceiling.
Our next stop was to a leather goods store, Il Bisonte, described as a small artisanal laboratory producing leather bags and accessories in the Italian manufacturing tradition. I picked up a nice leather belt and D almost picked up a handbag but decided against it. Since we still had several hours of exploring to do, we elected to swing by on our way back to the bus to pick it up.
We walk across the Ponte Santa Trinita (bridge) which gives you a great look at the Ponte Vecchio and took some pictures. The crazy thing is that D and I had been in that same area 25 years ago when we went during our high school Europe trip.
Next up was the Boboli Gardens. This was another hot day and we didn’t realize that walking the actual gardens involved some serious inclines and hills. We grudgingly walked around a good part of the gardens but it wasn’t fun. Trying to take in the sights and enjoy things is very hard when you’re so hot and sweaty.
We made our way from the gardens to our lunch spot, which was at Trattoria Giovanni. Here we had some scrumptous pasta. Started off with the Pappa al Pomodoro (a Florentine tomato-bread soup that is less soup and more chunky and definitely filling) and then Pappardelle al cinghiale and a pasta (forget the name) with rabbit ragu. I knew it was too much food but definitely wanted to try the Pappa.
We finished up our time in Florence walking around the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Opera Duomo) before boarding the bus back to the ship.
Our 4th day of the cruise had us docked at Civitavecchia, a seaport about 37 miles northwest from Rome. The cruise bills this as a stop for Rome but given that temperatures were going to be in the mid to high 90s and you had to take a train into town, D and I elected to stick around and see what Civitavecchia had to offer. Both of us had been to Rome back in the last 90s on our high school trip.
Right at the port is Fort Michelangelo, a 16th century fortress designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Our first stop was the Cattedrale di S. Francesco d’Assisi.
Then it was off to the Museo Archelogico Nazionale di Civitavecchia (National Archaeological Museum). It’s crazy to me how people 3000-4000 years ago created these statues, plates, etc that have withstood the test of time to be housed in a museum now.
I wanted to try one of the local pastries called Maritozzi (puff pastry with whipped cream). The little cafe (Chalet del pincio) we found had little maritozziti. Delicious, paired with an espresso.
We continued strolling the town and stumbled upon a local outdoor market. This consisted of everyday items such as tables full of clothes, plants, etc. Further into the market we found where they had lots of fresh produce (vegetables, fruits, etc) as well as meats. A section that was indoors also had some fresh seafood and cheese. I saw that multiple meat stands had porchetta and ended up purchasing some (~100grams) just to try. It was delicious!
Next up was lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Da Baffone which overlook the waterfront area. I had some spaghetti carbonara (since we weren’t actually gonna make it into Rome and that was one of the four classic Roman pastas (carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and alla gricia). D had their pizza – which was quite different from regular pizza as it was cracker thin but still very good. I also had a glass of house red wine to go along with our lunch.
We then walked back to the ship and called it an early day.
To be continued on next post.
-StewsCat
StewsCat 