April 29 - Bandol, France

Today was an unexpectedly lovely day.  The bad weather we were warned could happen has not materialized yet although the wind has freshened up and the sky is decidedly cloudier.

We had no idea at all about what there was to see in Bandol and no tour planned.  We were playing it all by ear.  It turns out Bandol is a little treasure.  It’s in the Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region in southeast France. It’s east of Marseilles and Cassis.  This area is one of the most  recognized wine regions.  With its warm climate and silicon and limestone soil it is ideal for growing the late-ripening  Mourvédre grape.  The rosés from this area are exceptional.

We tendered ashore expecting everything to be closed since it is Sunday. On the tender dock there was a beautiful greeting party of locals dressed in traditional dress wishing us "Bienvenue" (welcome). Were we surprised to find that the promenade along the harbor was hopping.  There had evidently been some kind of a race earlier this morning and along the main road there was a classic Ferrari car show.  Wow, there were some beautiful cars to see.  On the other side of the promenade there were market stands with all manner of produce, cheeses, sausages, olives etc.  All the little shops were open and people were busy buying today’s lunch and dinner ingredients I guess.  There were also lots  of cafés.

The Greeters 

A line of Ferraris

Not a Ferrari but a beautiful Austin Healy

After walking the length of the promenade we found a café that looked good. Not that we really needed it, but we decided a French lunch was in order.  We had a very nice version of their bouillabaisse and a bottle of the local rosé.  Both were delicious!  As an added bonus we got to people watch as we ate.  Right across the sidewalk was a food cart selling Thai Street Food (we just found that funny in this little French town) that was doing an absolutely brisk business.  There were lots of people walking their dogs and little children chasing the pigeons.  The café gave us little bowls of olives and peanuts to nibble on.  Al dropped a couple of peanuts and of course he became the pigeons’ best friend.

Thai Street Food cart

Sidewalk scene

After enjoying the local color we headed back to the tender.  It was probably good that we did then because as I mentioned the wind has freshened up and the seas are choppy.

All in all, it was a very nice day in a little gem of a port!

April 28 - Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy

 This morning we anchored off this lovely little Italian city.  Santa Margherita Ligure is a city of about 10,000 people located 20 miles southeast of Genoa on the Ligurian coasts.  Right next door is its more famous neighbor, Portofino, a resort beloved by the rich and famous. 

We had no tour planned today so we slept in (hooray!) and after a leisurely breakfast we tendered ashore.  It is Saturday and the weather is lovely so the Italians were enjoying this weekend day.  Along the shore in Santa Margherita there is a nice little promenade with trees, benches, and some statues.  Here’s Al with Columbus who was from this area.

 

Al and Columbus

A little shopping street in Santa Margherita

We walked into the little city center and found a small market with fresh produce.  I’ve always been in love with markets so I have to include a couple of photos of some of the most wonderful tomatoes and fresh peas I’ve ever seen.  Oh, to have some of these available at home!

Are these not the most beautiful tomatoes?

There's nothing like spring peas!

After taking in the sights here we decided to get a taxi to go to Portofino.  It’s only 6 km away on a winding and narrow road that hugs the coast.  We had a little wait as two buses going in opposite directions squeezed past each other.  I’m positive we could never ever drive here.  Close to Portofino there was a police roadblock.  There is almost no parking in Portofino so the police only allow private cars to go in as the same number of  private vehicles exit.  Taxis and public service vehicles are waved past the checkpoint.

When our driver dropped us off we walked down to the harbor and its main square.  This place is one of the most picturesque we’ve seen.  The harbor is surrounded by brightly colored buildings, many with trompe l’oeil painting.  There are lots of restaurants and cafes around the perimeter.  We did a little window shopping first and then found a place for lunch.  It was good but took an extra long time.  Everyone around us was served but our food didn’t come.  We’d ordered a bottle of wine and we think they figured we were hooked so we were last on the list.  When we asked for the check (minus the food) it suddenly appeared. Lesson learned for us. 

The harbor in Portofino

Portofino

After lunch we bought a few things and then took a cab back to the tender dock.  The captain has told us that tomorrow in Bandol, France we’ll likely have some rain in the afternoon. We have nothing planned so we’ll go with the flow.

This evening as we sailed away from our last Italian port Seabourn had a classical sailaway.  Up around the pool on Deck 8 the ship’s entertainment cast  and assistant cruise director  did a wonderful show including classic and show music.  Meanwhile the culinary team served caviar and Italian dishes made from ingredients the chef had purchased yesterday in the market in Livorno.

Tonight we dined at the Thomas Keller Grill.  He’s a world-class chef that Seabourn has paired with. We’ve eaten here before last year and the food didn’t disappoint tonight.  So that’s it for today.  Tomorrow we may have a sea day in port if the weather isn’t good.  Since we’ll be in France tomorrow I’ll say “Bon soir.”

April 27, 2018 - Livorno

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 More importantly, it’s our grandson Alfred’s third birthday.  Happy Birthday!!!

Today we docked early in Livorno on the Ligurian coast of Italy.  Once again we had to get up pretty early, have a light breakfast and meet on the dock for our tour to Greve (Gre-ve) in Chianti.  The little town is very close to Florence in the heart of the Chianti district.  Today our driver was Sergio and our guide Francesca and they did a splendid job.  There were only 12 of us in a bus for 60!  Anyway, after getting off the autostrada we came to Greve and had an hour stop.  The main square has a very nice statue of Amerigo Vespucci (does the name sound familiar?) He was the first to figure out that the land mass on which we exist, was not Asia but rather a separate continent. Around the square are lots of shops selling sausages and hams made of wild boar; that’s very big in this area.  There are also lots of wines, olive oils and cheeses.  We found a wonderful ceramic shop (I’m a sucker for ceramic dishes) so we had to buy some.

Lots of wild boar sausage and prosciutto here

Ceramics shop made in Chianti

Wine, wine and more wine!

An old delivery truck

Fountain in the outside courtyard of the Castello

A view from the top of the Castello hill

First I have to tell you the story of the motif.  Legend has it that in the medieval times the cities of Florence and Siena were fighting over who should have dominion over the Chianti region. A duel of sorts was proposed with one knight representing each city.  The knight was to set forth after a cock crowed and he who had covered the most land when the two knights met would gain control of that land for his city. Siena selected a fat white chicken who had been well fed and didn’t get up early to crow.  Florence picked a black rooster which was starving and crowed early.  As a result, Florence managed to win most of the territory.  Because of this the symbol of Greve is a black rooster and the ceramic dishes we bought and are having shipped represent this. It should be a fun memory.

Following our stop in Greve we went to Castello VicchioMaggio, a beautiful castle outside Greve, perched on top of a hill, and with a boutique inn, restaurant and vineyard.  We had a lovely lunch of bruschetta, followed by pasta with wild boar and garbanzos and finally biscotti. Of course there were wines from the vineyard to pair with the courses.

The views from the Castello which sits atop a hill overlooking vineyards, olive groves and cypresses was magnificent and looked like it was from a movie set, but it was the real McCoy. 

After lunch we headed back to Livorno, but our driver took back roads for most of the way so the Tuscan countryside was breathtaking.  We got back to the ship with plenty of time to people watch from our veranda as other passengers came back laden with treasures from Florence.  What a fun day!

Tomorrow and the next day we have nothing booked so we’ll just go with the flow.  No early mornings! Hurray!

April 26 - Bonifacio, Corsica, France

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 I’m already behind and we’re just on our second full day of the cruise.  That’s what happens when you have an all-day tour and a late dinner.  Well as I wait to go ashore here in Livorno I’ll try to get some of this written.

Corsica is an island south of the French coast and west of the Italian peninsula.  The nearest land mass is the island of Sardinia just nine miles to the south.  Through the millennia Corsica has been inhabited and under many different groups’ ownership.  A female skeleton dated to be 7000 years old was found near one of the little towns (Levie) which we passed through on our tour.  The Greeks and Romans were here naturally.  Later Corsica belonged to the Republic of Pisa, then the Republic of Genoa, and after passing back and forth a few times came under the ownership of France.  For us in the USA perhaps her most famous son is Napoleon Bonaparte who was born here in 1769.

The island is covered with a long string of mountains rising to a couple of thousand feet.  We anchored off Bonifacio which is the southernmost city.  The city is perched on massive limestone cliffs rising a couple of hundred feet high.  Fortunately we tendered in to a sheltered  little harbor with a dock.  We boarded a bus and headed inland to the Alta Roca (high rock).  On our way we had some stunning views of the Porto Vecchio, one of Corsica’s most beautiful bays.  As we climbed into the mountains we passed a number of little villages and we drove through lots of forests of pine and sweet (edible) chestnut trees.  Our destination was a place called Zonza where we had a nice lunch at a mountain resort.  It was a warm and lovely day but just two weeks ago they had snow up in the mountains!

Bonifacio perched atop the limestone cliffs

The diagonal line is a staircase from the sea level to the top!  I'm so glad we didn't have to try that.

A beautiful lake near the Alta Roca

Alta Roca

Corsica appears to have no industry that we could see and is completely reliant on tourism and the support from France.  Our guide told us that there was at one time an independence movement.  Frankly, we couldn’t figure out how that would have made any economic sense for the Corsicans so it’s probably good that the movement died away.

A word about the chestnuts here.  Every part of the tree is used.  The chestnuts are made into flour; they are roasted and stewed.  The wood is used for furniture and building and is a very strong wood.  Unfortunately, during WWII when US GI’s were on the island they brought via their wooden ammunition boxes a parasite which attacks chestnut trees.  Of course the soldiers had no idea the  boxes had this pest.  It sounds like the same one which decimated the American chestnut trees.  The good news is that scientists are now working on a cure.  I hope they find one.

Anyway, we tendered back to the Seabourn Quest and sailed away with the coast of Corsica off our port side most of the evening.  After a lovely dinner with the Guest Services manager we called it a night since we had a long day ahead of us in Livorno.

April 25, 2018 - Civitavecchia, Italy

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We’re on board the Seabourn Quest on a lovely afternoon.  There are five ships in port today and we are the little one, or as the Italians would say the “piccola nave.”

Our cabin isn’t ready yet and after lunch we decided to come down and sit outside Seabourn Square on the aft veranda.  As I look out I see the new world’s largest cruise ship, the Symphony of the Seas which carries about 6500 passengers. To put it into perspective our ship can carry 450!

We had an uneventful drive from the hotel this morning with our driver Fabrizio.  Today is an Italian holiday – Liberation Day, commemorating the liberation from the Nazis in World War II.  There are many holidays here; apparently there’s another one coming in just a few days.  Most of the traffic was people on their way to the beaches near Rome.

Since there isn’t much else to write about for the moment I thought I’d say something about the Villa Spalletti Trivelli, the place we stayed.  The hotel occupies a prime piece of land next to a little park across the street from the Presidential Palace.  It seems that the original owner, widow of an earlier Count Spalletti Trivelli, was a niece of Carolina Buonaparte, Napoleon ‘s sister (yes, that Napoleon who conquered most of Europe).  I suspect that her family connection in the early 19^th century helped her to be able to buy this land and then build the palazzo.  Countess Rasponi (the lady was noble in her own right) evidently traveled in elite circles and every Thursday afternoon her home was a gathering place for important politicians, artists, poets and writers.  The house stayed in the family to the present. In 2004 the current count and his wife decided to convert the house into a boutique hotel.  The restoration took three years to complete and now it is the lovely little place which is really an oasis in the very center of Rome.

I took a few photos of the public rooms on the first floor to give you an idea of the beauty of the palazzo and so that I can remember it in the years to come.  It’s still lovely but it must have been quite something to see back in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

The parlor

The library

The afternoon serve yourself bar is set up here

We've settled into our cabin, unpacked, had the muster drill and now we're waiting to sail.  I took a few photos of our home away from home for the next 22 days.

Dining area

Living area

Bathroom

Conservatory

April 24 - Pomario, Umbria

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Last night we had dinner at a little local restaurant just round the corner and down the hill from our hotel. It’s called the Rinaldi al Quirinale and it specializes in seafood. When last I stayed here with Katie we loved it and it didn’t disappoint this time.  We both had a wonderful appetizer of a grilled prawn (the size of a small lobster) and a  grilled calamari.  Our main course was pasta with white sauce, lobster and shaved black truffle. It smelled divine and tasted exquisite.  With it we had a great super tuscan wine.  We sat outside and at the next table we met a lovely Australian couple ending their vacation in Rome.  We’ve found in our travels that Australians are great people to meet and chat with, but then I think I can strike up a conversation with most anyone.

This morning after a light breakfast our driver Fabio picked us up to take us to northern Umbria to the Pomario vineyard which is owned by the Spalletti Trivelli family that owns our hotel.  After an hour and forty-five minute drive we arrived at the place just outside Monteleone de Umbria.  The vineyard is at 600 meters and thus the vines and grapes don’t ripen quite as fast as at lower altitudes.  This place operates in a completely organic manner using no pesticides or chemical fertilizers.  There were a few interesting things our guide Stefania told us.  First, they have nearly 300 varieties of roses planted around the vineyard.  We have seen roses around vines before because we’d been told they ward off aphids.  Stefania told us they act as an alarm system to let the staff know that there is a particular virus which can decimate the grapes.  From the time they notice the virus on the rose bushes they have about one week to care for the vines.  The second thing of interest was that in between the rows of vines they plant a plant similar to a fava bean.  Those plants help to return nitrogen to the soil.  Around the vineyard Pomario has planted a heritage vegetable garden and heritage fruit trees to help to continue producing old fruits and vegetables.  They had a beautiful patch of May peas growing which, sadly, were not yet ready.

These vines receive TLC by hand every single day!

Beans between the vines to give them nitrogen naturally

Part of the impressive vegetable gardens

the last of the French oak casks which the reserve red wine ages in.  The wine spends 24 months in the casks

The cellar

This vineyard only produces 15,000 bottles a year (that’s only about 1250 cases) so they are a very small producer.  They do three harvests of grapes.  The first is in September when they harvest grapes that are not quite ripe and use them to make everyday wine.  The second, a little later, is the grapes that are truly ready and from these they produce their reserve wines.  They produce an excellent sangiovese which is not blended with any merlot which many wineries do.  Their third harvest is for a special vineyard which is located on a slope which gets cloudy in autumn.  There they hope for fog to come which creates a special mold on the vines. From those grapes they produce a delicious dessert wine called Muffato.  It’s a sweet white wine which tasted great with the fig cake we had for dessert.  I didn’t mention that our tour included a very nice lunch with wine pairings to match.  Everything was so good that we felt inspired to buy a case of wine and have it shipped home.  We can relive our time at Pomario in the months to come.

After lunch we had an opportunity to visit a small medieval village called Citta della Pieve but we decided to pass.  Between the walk around the vineyards and the delicious lunch and wine, we needed a little siesta so we headed back to Rome.  As it was we came back around five.  I forgot to say that along the way we passed the city of Orvieto.  For anyone who comes to this area and has the opportunity to visit that city, you should do so.  The place is situated spectacularly on the top of a sort of a mesa with a wall completely encircling it and it is absolutely beautiful. We’ve been there a couple of times and seeing it as we drove by brought wonderful memories.

Back in Rome we enjoyed the hotel’s open bar and ate a salad, some wine of course (the lovely rose from the vineyard we visited), and some yummy homemade gelato.  Who could ask for a better finish to the day? Tomorrow it will be time to say  "Arriverderci, Roma" and board our ship. I tossed my coins in the Trevi fountain so I should come back again some time.

Ciao for now!

April 23, 2018 - Roma

We arrived yesterday afternoon and our driver was waiting to pick us up at Fiumicino.  The airport wasn’t nearly the zoo I remembered.  Going through passport control could have been bad because there must have been close to one thousand people in an endless queue.  Fortunately, we both had walking sticks and a very nice official lady pulled us out of the line and took us to a special desk where we went through in moments.  (I guess aging does have some benefits.)  Our luggage was going around the carousel by the time we got there.  We met our driver and we were off.  I had booked a car through Blacklane and I would have to highly recommend them.  The driver was excellent and the Mercedes van was spotless.

We’re staying at the Villa Spalletti Trivelli, a boutique hotel near the Quirinale Presidential Palace and only minutes from the Trevi Fountain and other sights in Rome.  Our room is large, well appointed, has an enormous bathroom, and perhaps most important, cool!  It’s hot here in Rome.

The Villa's main door behind all those cars

Our room

We were so tired last evening when we arrived that we didn’t go out.  The hotel has a complimentary open bar from 5 to 7 PM.  You fix your own drinks so we availed ourselves of that and sat outside in the garden just chilling out.  The hotel has a small menu that looked good. We had a light meal and a nice bottle of wine from the owner’s vineyard in Umbria.  Then it was time for some serious sleeping.

After a good night’s rest we got up feeling human again this morning.  Our room includes a very nice breakfast.  There are fruits, yogurts, breads, cold cuts and cakes and you can order eggs, sausages etc.  I had a wonderful cappuccino. That’s one of the things I love on vacations but am too lazy to make at home.  After breakfast we headed off to the Trevi Fountain.  The last time Al and I were there it was totally mobbed and half the people there were a group of Chinese Naval Academy cadets. It was funny seeing that group because they were in uniform, all exactly the same height and weight and it looked like an army of clones.  Anyway, today it was still crowded, not as much, and the fountain had been cleaned so it looked quite lovely. Of course I had to throw my coins in.

Trevi Fountain

Tossing a coin (that's me in the green)

Next we decided to take a Hop On-Hop Off bus.  It was interesting and we saw many of the places we’d visited on previous trips.  When we left the bus we headed to the Pantheon, which Al had never seen before. For those unfamiliar with it, the Pantheon was originally built around 27 B.C. as a temple to all the gods.  Between 120 and 124 AD it was rebuilt  by Emperor Hadrian after it suffered fire damage. The building is a circular structure, a rotunda, connected to a columned portico.  At the apex of the dome is an opening called an oculus which allows for light to shine in and illuminate the building.  Two thousand years after its construction the dome is still one of the largest in the world and specifically the largest built of unreinforced concrete.  Those Romans knew how to build, didn’t they?

Exterior of the Pantheon

The oculus

Main altar

On our way there we stopped at a small restaurant and had a nice pizza and a bottle of house wine.  As an aside we have found in our travels that house wines can be very good and very reasonable.  We also saw a palm reader who would tell you your fortune in English, Italian, Spanish or French. (We didn't avail ourselves of his services.) After that it was time to come back “home” for a little siesta.  I think it was the wine and the heat or perhaps it’s our age.  Maybe a little of both.

A multilingual palm reader

Tonight we’re eating at a little place around the corner that Katie and I had been to when we stayed here several years ago.  I’ll write about that next time.  For now buona sera!

On our Way!

The day of departure has finally arrived.  After an uneventful trip up to Dulles International we're now sitting  in the British Airways lounge waiting to board in an hour or so.  We connect through Heathrow to Rome.  This will be a long day!  The weather here is picture perfect and at the other end the forecast looks pretty good too.  No pictures yet and really nothing else to report.  Until tomorrow...

After I posted we had our photo taken sipping champagne before takeoff.  What a nice way to start a vacation!

Almost time to go!

After a  long, and sometimes very cold, winter, it's nearly time for us to set sail.  We leave in less than a week for our next voyage on the Seabourn Quest.  We'll spend a few days in Rome and then board the ship to cruise from Civitavecchia to Dover, England.  There won't be many sea days on this trip and we've been to a number of the ports along the way. I'm hopeful that because of that we won't make too many forced marches in an effort to see everything there is to see in one day.  We have a few tours booked but some days we'll just play it by ear and wander. 

Our itinerary takes us along the coast of Italy and France and almost completely around the Iberian peninsula.  The last few days we'll spend on the northern coast of France including a sail up the Seine River and an overnight in Rouen. We have a day each in a couple of our favorite cities, Barcelona and Lisbon.  At our last port we'll have the opportunity to spend the day at the beaches of Normandy.  That's something I have always wanted to do because so many people have told me how moving it is.

Now all we have to do is pack (not my favorite thing at all!), get Emma the schnauzer settled at her vacation spa, and wait for our ride to the airport next Saturday.