I guess that is the right word for my feelings as I walked among all of those treasures, Kathy. There must have been a couple of hundred huge tapestries hanging on both sides of a long hallway and marble statues everywhere I looked. Put that together with the arches and domes and frescos and it overloaded my senses. A person could spend a month in there and not be able to grasp it all. I'm with Janice, there are just no words.

Jim

Jim, you captured everything beautifully!! ( down to the Smartie, which is a great mode of transport in Rome due to its tiny size!!) The Vatican is splendid!
Thanks so much!!

Yes, I forgot to mention the Smartie. There is a blue one in the first Vatican picture. It seems like a cross between a car and a cycle. They allow 14 year olds to drive them. They don't go very fast but then nothing goes very fast in Rome. I also wanted to mention that it was hot in Rome. More so than in the other places.

Jim

Rome is best in spring and fall. It can be brutally hot! It's so great to see your pics. I loved Rome and would move there in a heartbeat! I felt completely at home there.

That's the way I felt about Barcelona, probably because I spent 8 years living in Latin America.

Jim

Ah!

We pulled out of Civitaveccia in the early evening and headed north along the Italian coast to the port of Livorno. Not only is it the port for Pisa and Florence but it is also a NATO naval base and the home of the Italian Naval Academy. We arrived in the early morning and set out by bus for the 1 and a half hour journey to Florence. The Tuscan country side is beautiful and the weather was cooler and refreshing. In Florence we set out on foot to visit Brunelleschi's masterpiece cathedral in pink, green and white marble, and it's adjacent bell tower and baptistry. We saw Michelangelo's statue of David in the Plazza della Signoria and visited the Church of Santa Croce. The original statue of David is squirreled away in some museum and the one we saw is a copy set in the original location. Nontheless, at 17 feet tall, it is impressive. We ate lunch in a local Florentine restaurant and it was very good. We had some free time to shop and then it was off to Pisa where we saw the Piazza dei Miracoli Cathedral and its leaning bell tower. The bus parked about two miles away and we walked through end to end street stalls which took some of the glamor out of the place. Enjoy the pics.

Jim





















A couple of comments here. I can't remember the complete story of the bronze wild boar but the custom is to rub its nose for good luck. We did of course. Note the lady scrubbing the inscription of the tomb in the floor of the church. The young lady in the last photo was our tour guide. Now on to Pisa.





I just had to get a picture of Patty holding up the tower.

Patty's picture holding up the tower is great!
Jim, I am right there with you, enjoying the wonderful architecture, marvelous statues and everything else. The details on the Cathedral are amazing, I love the ornate door.
The best travel log ever!!

You are awakening many memories I have with your great pics!!!

You have taken fabulous photos, Jim! I am so enjoying all the beauty. Thank you!

Me too!

After 11 hour tours in both Rome and Florence, we were pretty tired. We went to bed early and woke up in Marseille, France. We caught the 8:00 AM bus for a look at the old Port where the Greeks landed in 600 BC. Then we drove along the Corniche J.F. Kennedy to the Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica which was built in the Roman-Byzantine style in the mid-1800s. We had to climb 120 steps to have a look inside but the view was worth it. On the way back to the ship we stopped at the old port to stroll among the shops and cafes. After visiting Rome and Florence, the basilica seemed a bit ordinary and the old port lacked the charm of the other places we had visited. We sat in one of the sidewalk cafes for 30 minutes and could not get service, even after I went inside and asked for a coffee. I'm not sure if we were being snubbed or if the employees simply didn't care about waiting on the customers. It seemed like no one was being served. Strange folks. Here's a look.

Jim















I'll just call these last few pics "French Faces in the Crowd".





I almost forgot, we saw another wedding while up at the Basilica and overlooked a soccer game.

Great views and love the altar of that Basilica and the painting of the visitation. Cool portraits too. Did you see Fanny et Marius??

No Kathy, I did not see that opera.

We left Marseille in the late afternoon and arrived back in Barcelona the next morning. We had paid up front for transfers to the airport and I'm glad we did as the ship's personnel helped us with our bags. The flight back was uneventful but the customs at JFK in New York was brutal. That's a good airport to avoid if you can.

Onboard the ship, our cabin attendents were great. When we returned to our room at the end of the day, our bed was turned down, chocolates were on the pillows and an animal made out of towels was waiting for us. Check them out:



Also, there was entertainment constantly. There was a movie theater, a performance theater, a piano bar, a jazz lounge and my favorite, a wine and cheese lounge featuring The Adagio Strings. Four pretty young ladies from the Ukraine made up a string quartet and played classical music into the night. I bought their CD and spent hours listening to them Here is a pic.



We'll, that's it. Thanks for coming along. It was enjoyable. We'd like to cruise the Baltic in a couple of years, health and money permitting. I'll leave you with a professional photo taken on the ship.

Fabulous trip Jim. Thanks so much for sharing all your wonderful pics.
(BTW, Fanny and Marius were 2 wonderful plays of a trilogy written by Marcel Pagnol and set in Marseille. All French people read them. There are also movies of them from the early 30s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M... )

Thanks, for the pictures and sharing your trip , Jim!
Love this last one of the most handsome couple!

Such a beautiful portrait, you two look happy!!

Jim, Klaus and I thank you for your wonderful trip report. Your last grouping is again interesting, informative and fun.
Much appreciated.

Ursula

Thanks so much Jim,
I'm exhausted and I think I've gained 15 pounds just from tagging along!

Well, I went shopping a couple of times....pretty jewelry for sure. I am flat broke.