Days 5-9 Florence—Rome—Naples—At Sea
By day 5, we truly had our “sea legs” and were beginning to master this cruising thing! We enjoyed a quick room service breakfast so we could get going on our early excursion. Arriving in Livorno, Tuscany's port city, was disappointing…it was much more industrial than the destinations from the earlier days and just not a pretty view. So we happily headed out in a coach bus, destination Lucca. Our guide kept us interested with commentary on the surrounding countryside, including a distant view of Pisa. Incidentally, the wifi service on the cruise ship was spotty at best so we often used our time on the tour coach to catch up on emails and social media. I think I did most of my posting en route to our excursions!
Lucca is a quaint little town whose ancient walls still surround the town center and was the perfect distance from the port. And what better way to tour the pedestrian promenade atop the walls than by bicycle? Our group met up with the cycling guide, Linda, who escorted us to the bike shop, got us outfitted with bicycles (most were quite rickety, honestly) and we set off, buzzing in and around lots of locals—some walking their dogs, some just out for a morning gossip stroll with friends as they too made the 2.5 mile tour around the exterior of the town center.
We saw the beautiful gothic cathedral, San Martino, and several other Romanesque churches. Our guide informed us that Lucca was once known as the town of a 100 churches but sadly many are in need of restoration today. We also took a spin by the memorial statue of Giacomo Puccini as the town was the composer's birthplace and remains the site of a music festival in his honor. After our very informative tour, we had free time to wander the streets, shop and grab a snack of prosciutto + cheese (JB) and tomato + basil + mozzarella (moi) sandwiches.
Back to the port to board the ship….a rich and decadent dinner at Prime 7, crabcakes, scallops, wedge salads, steak and lobster, and for dessert: an amazing cheese plate (moi) and the infamous caramel corn sundae (JB). We retired for the evening fat and content!
The next morning we arrived in the (frankly) ugly port of Citavecchia, a commune of the city of Rome. We hopped on our coach and headed to the tiny town of Anguillara Sabazia on the coast of Lake Bracciano. We traipsed around the sleepy little commune and found a delightful cafe/wine store at which to enjoy a cappuccino, some Italian cookies and to purchase a local bottle of wine.
Our trip back to the ship included a stop at a local winery where we tasted their housemate spreads made of everything from asparagus to peach to herbs as well as local honey. Oh, and the wine varietals of course. We chatted with a nice couple from Edmond, OK, whom have retired to Crested Butte and it was interesting to hear their perspective on our voyage, being first-time cruisers as well.
We returned to the ship early on this day and enjoyed a little relaxation by the pool, reading, working crossword puzzles. Dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant, classical piano concert, after-dinner drinks in the Meridian Lounge and we were out for the night. And as quick as that, we were midway through our trip!
The following morning afforded no leisurely breakfast as we docked into the hustling and bustling port of Naples. Here we boarded a small group bus that took us directly to Pompeii. Our guide, Mimma, was a pro…an enthusiastic historian who fed us such interesting facts and details. I really wanted to spend two more hours with her, thoroughly exploring the ancient city. This may have been my favorite tour of all, other than the crowds. I loved it so much that I went so far as to ask Mimma when would be the best time of year to return so as not to fight the masses of humanity and discover the area in depth! Alas, our tour lasted only two hours and after consuming the most delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice from a street vender, we boarded our transport to return to the port. We thanked Mimma profusely, ran aboard, changed our clothes and headed back to the city of Naples to find PIZZA!
Naples is rough. So much graffiti, too many tourists, lots of taxi drivers trying to take advantage of naive Americans, and many twisty, turn-y little streets. We caught a cab to L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, listed in the Michelin Guide as “one of the oldest and best” pizzerias in Napoli. The restaurant gives out numbers for patrons and the crowd outside the tiny shop was…enormous. Our cab driver recommended the restaurant opposite the tourist favorite, Pizzeria Trianon, and as it was 2pm and we were famished, we abandoned our original plan and headed upstairs to find a table.
Seating was haphazard and grab as you can so we shared a large table with a pair of locals. Our order: 2 Margherita pizzas, 2 glasses of house red wine, 2 bottles of sparkling water and the grand total was 30 euro. Mamma Mia, when that steaming hot pie hit the table in front of me, I could not care less that the silverware arrived in a little paper sack with one inadequate napkin. I died and went to carb heaven. The chewy, charred crust, perfectly balanced tomato sauce, melted cheese and bright fresh basil…I truly still dream about that first bite. I swear that I tried to finish the entire 10-inch pie but I failed; meanwhile the skinny Italian girl beside us polished her’s off without a pause. Maybe I should move to Naples to master the art of consuming an entire pizza at a meal?
We caught another cab to the high end shopping district to well, you know, shop. Nothing burns calories like spending money, am I right? Because we arrived during siesta, we were forced to find a gelato shop and kill some time before the stores reopened. (Hey! It’s a palate cleanser!) We were cutting it a little close with our cab ride back to the Splendor, as we were expected onboard by 6:30 (we may or may not have been the last to return this evening) but we made it back, tired, a little poorer but happy. Arrivederci, Napoli!
Our one and only day completely at sea followed our trip to Naples. I would love to share that we took advantage of the many onboard activities that we’d missed while on excursions off the ship. But we did not. Instead, we delighted in a lazy, caviar and mimosa breakfast at La Veranda, dozed on the sun deck, walked a few laps around the ship, lunched at the pool grill, read books and caught up on the ‘gram. I don’t even want to see my cellphone bill this month! Our third dinner at Pacific Rim did not disappoint once again. A really nice day to unwind in the middle of our voyage and it was absolutely perfect.
One more segment to go…stay tuned!
