Sept 19, 2013 Naples

Last year we were here and took a tour to Sorrento and Pompeii. Today we are going to Herculaneum which is very close to Naples.
Since it was close and a short visit we started at 1pm with a stop at a cameo factory where Sophia bought a ring and then to the site.
Our guide was very knowledgeable but he took forever to get us through the site visit- 30 mins late which meant we were almost late for dinner again tonight.
When we went to the tour desk to talk to the mgr we found that the asst mgr was on our tour bus and noted the delay and attitude of the guide. He apologized to us for the delay.

Herculaneum was a cool sight to visit.

Sept 18, 2013 Rome

Today we took the ship recursion bus to Rome where it will leave us at the Vatican and pick us up at 4pm.
This is our second transportation only excursion where we will have 6 hours in Rome on our own.
The bus tour rep gave us ideas on how to make our own walking tour so we end up at the Spanish Steps.

We started out by going to the Piazza Novona    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_Navona
where we stopped and had a light lunch at Estratto Conto- prosciutto and cheese sandwiches and chips and cokes.

There was a young lady playing beautiful accordion music.
We then headed towards the Pantheon where we stopped to take photos and then headed to the Trevi Fountain.  Last year when we visited with our group the place was packed.

Today we were able to take photos together and of the fountain.

We now headed to the Spanish Steps for photos. It took us 10 mins to reach it.

After photos we headed to a cafe near the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_del_Popolo for coffee and gelato.

After a short rest here we found a cab to take us back to the Vatican to our meeting place.
Here Sophia did some souvenir shopping while I had a gelato at a cafe.

Due to poor planning by our guide the bus was an hour late picking us up and taking us to the ship. We arrived at 6pm and our dinner seating was at 6. We headed directly to the dining room only to be told by the waiter I had to change into long pants which I did.
What a great day- we saw all the top sites in Rome by ourselves by foot.!!!

Sept 16, 2013 VilleFranche France

Today we went to VilleFranche by tender boat. We were here a year ago when we went on a ship excursion to Monte Carlo.


Today we are going on a ship excursion to

Saint-Paul de Vence which is a walled city 1 hr from Villefranche. 

It is a quaint city and Marc Chagall is buried in the local cemetery.

First we walked around Villefranche and had coffee l'x cafe and used the wifi. our tour starts at 12:45pm.

After a short city tour we got some free time and had lunch at 2:30pm. 

We then drove on the boulevard by the sea in Nice to go to the cruise ship.

Sept 15, 2013 Barcelona and leaving for France

Today we left our hotel by taxi to board the ship the Celebrity
Constellation. We will have a Sky Suite for this cruise and the next one as we are going back to back and will be in cabin 6099.
We had a quick boarding and went to our suite. It is very nice and the closet is very big and the bed faces the balcony. It is a very good layout.
The suite includes butler service and our butler was Mode. He is ok.
We went to dinner hoping to find a table full of guests to dine with but we were with one other couple Allen and Pat Weston from 1000 Oaks, CA.

We ended up dining with them every night but one when we had specialty dining and the other when we had dinner with the Captain.
Tomorrow we go to France.

Sept 24 2013 Istanbul

Today we arrived in Istanbul at 2PM.

We were not allowed to get off the ship until 2:45PM and we went out looking to buy a sim card for the
Greek cell phone without success. We were able to gain access to the small shopping area by the gangway only by going a long distance from the terminal to the entrance.
The people who operate the shop were very nice and let us use their cell phone to call the Patriarchate to see about a visit today. Unfortunately the Patriarch is very busy and cannot see us.
I purchased some internet time and was able to use my ipad on our balcony as it faced the shops antenna.

Sept 24 2013 Istanbul

Today we sailed into Istanbul. We arrived at 2 pm but the ship did not clear customs until 3 pm. We tok a walk to the main st. Outside the terminal and found a Starbucks but the wifi was down.
Walking around the terminal we found some shops  where we bought some wifi time.

Tomorrow we start our second cruise to the Black Sea.

Sept. 14, 2013 Girona & Figueres (Dali Museum)

Today we took a bus tour to Girona & Figueres.  

We stopped in Girona to take a walking tour of the old city and had lunch.

Lunch was good.

City your not much and very few tourist souvenir shops - main items to buy were about flies which figure in a local legend & "poopy man" figures. 

I bought a little windup poopy man and will try it when we get home!

We then went to the Dali museum and theater

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal%C3%AD_Theatre_and_Museum

it was great and worth the trip - found out there's a private Dali museum in St. Petersburg, Fl.

What was surprising was the jewelry exhibition in another building.

This was a great experience!,

Sept.13, 2013 Barcelona

Today we just wandered around the Rambles area and ate lunch at The........
After lunch we took a taxi to go to the castle on Montjuic - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montju%C3%AFc_Castle- and spent a few hours taking photos & walking around. We walked down part of the hill waiting for a taxi & then got of at the Placça de Catalalunya http://w110.bcn.cat/portal/site/Turisme/menuitem.7e257cdd389697aa58cb0d3020348a0c/?vgnextoid=0000001192989213VgnV6CONT00000000000RCRD&lang=en_GB.

We went into The Corte Inglés dept store to the cafeteria on the top floor. It had a great view!

After we had a snack we discovered a bakery in the same area.

We got a recommendation from the desk clerk for dinner & it was across from the Hotel Majestic where we stayed last year. We had passed it many times!
Food and service were ok consideringbitbwas a high end tourist place- like eating @ fisherman's wharf at home.

Sept. 12, 2013 Barcelona, Spain

Arrived in Barcelona today. Flew on British Air in World traveller + class- seats comfortable food ok. We brought sandwiches which proved to be a great decision!
Had 3 hr. layover in Terminal 5 & saw all the shops.
Took taxi to hotel.

Sept 11,2013 Flying to Barcelona

Started our trip to Barcelona for  a few days stay until we board the Celebrity Constelation for our trip to Istanbul. We will be staying at the Gran Havana Hotel.
We did not recognize significance of this date when we picked it as the start of trip.
It is also the date of the Catalonia National Celebration which we witnessed last year when we were in Barcelona.