Marseilles, France. We pretty much walked across the city to the train station and headed to Cassis, a little seaside town about half an hour southeast, where we hiked to the calanques (Mediterranean fjords). The more spectacular calanques were beyond our time scope, but we did make it to the first, small one before we had to turn around and retrace our journey (hike, cab, train, walk, shuttle) back to the ship.
The next day the ship tendered in Villefranche-sur-Mer, which is between Nice and Monaco. It was a picturesque little town built into the hillside with sweeping views of the Mediterranean. We wandered around town a bit, soaking up the lack of crowds, narrow lanes with refreshing sea breezes, and the bulging bougainvillea.
Then we hiked up to Fort Mont Alban, which sits on the hill between Nice and Villefranche. It was closed, but had amazing views of the town, sea, and our massive cruise ship anchored at the mouth of the bay.
After our hike, I felt I had earned a crepe (this one topped with melting gelato)! Then we walked down to the pebbly beach for a few minutes before returning to the ship.
It was pretty marvelous to wake up and realize that you are in new city/country/scenery every morning. The next stop was La Spezia, Italy, where we opted to join a large cruise walking tour of Florence (2 hours away), mostly for the transportation into town. The drive was comfortable and we got to enjoy the lovely Tuscan countryside (vineyards, marble quarries, hilltop towns) out of our windows.
And finally, Florence! I can totally see why people could spend months here studying the Renaissance. It was incredible - overloaded with details and symbolism all throughout the old town. It was also packed with tourists, but at least they only allow pedestrians through the main area. My favorite was probably the cathedral with duomo and campanile. Cliche, I know.
Of course, Florence = the David. We had to settle for the replica outside of the Palazzo Vecchio, since the museum was booked up. Still pretty impressive, and he was next to a dozen other stellar outdoor sculptures.
When our 2-hour guided walking tour was up, we headed to get a quick pizza lunch al fresco with wine, of course. We had 3 hours on our own!
We did have tickets to the Uffizi Gallery after lunch, where we saw many Renaissance masterpieces, including the Birth of Venus by Botticelli. It was lovely, but if I had to do it again, I would probably just stroll around Florence taking it all in at a slower pace.
Ah, Rome. Chaotic, crowded, cringe-inducing traffic, but stunning historical, cultural, and religious significance on every corner. We ended up with a private driver for a very reasonable price, and he fancied himself a historian. I loved it! He took us around to all of the major tourist traps: The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, and the Pantheon.
And because there were just two of us, we got to spend time where we wanted to, see some sweeping overlooks of the city, and stop at some additional sites, like the Monument of Victor Emmanuel II (Italy's first united king) and the Fountain of the Four Rivers.
After another pizza lunch, it was on to the Vatican City. We had 2 hours to explore the Museum's tapestries, maps, and art covering every surface. I was most impressed with the ceilings as we shuffled from room to room with the crowd.
The School of Athens stood out in the Raphael room, and sadly they don't allow photography in the Sistine Chapel, which was beyond words.
Our 2 hours also included St. Peter's Basilica and Square. The sheer size (overheard a guide say that the gold letters near the top of the wall are 7 feet tall) was mind-boggling considering its age, and once again every surface was covered in incredible detail by master artists.
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