Sailing into Monte Carlo this morning the rain finally caught us, with most of the principality obscured by low cloud. We knew we were in Monaco because of all the boats and their size. Amongst them was this, the worlds largest yacht, only slightly smaller than Riveira when we went past. The tender was as futuristic !

After brekkie, and with the rain easing, we ventured out to visit the personal collection of cars belonging to the  ruling family. A number of firsts for me including a Lancia 037, a rallying Aston Martin and propeller driven cyclecar.  

We had seen numerous Ferraris, but wondered how the police could catch them with an electric Renault Twizzy ! Mind you with the principality being 1.5 miles wide it wouldn’t be much of a chase ! 

In the afternoon we took a tour to visit a perfume factory, the City of Nice and then a drive back along the Riviera. We must of been the sweetest smelling tour bus. Tomorrow is our last full day of a very enjoyable cruise.

Known to you as Florence, this was our destination today, yet another hot long day ahead. First up Plazza del Duomo, with its magnificent marble clad exterior. 

Then onto Plazza del Signoria, with some magnificent Renaissance statues scattered around, and numerous towers and guild halls. The Ponte Vecchio was extremely busy with the Garda chasing hawkers and beggers around in circles, so we observed from a distance.

Finally the interior Sante Croce, with numerous tombs (Dante, Gallelio and Rossini amongst others). We enjoyed the peace and serenity of the cloisters.

We are presently docked in Monte Carlo. Despite rain today we have managed a walk to the motor museum, and gift shop……..After lunch a drive to Nice, then back along the Riveira to Riveira. Hopefully the weather will improve, and I can blog again later on. Au Revoir 

With it being National Republic Day here in Rome we were uncertain what would unfold, as was our guide Carmelo. As it turned out the crowds were not too bad, and by late afternoon the roads had really thinned out from the mornings congestion caused by parades. First up was a drop off near the Trevi Fountain, which is BIG ! Gleaming after refurbishment it was certainly impressive, as was the Pantheon. Whilst visiting here the Italian Air Force decided to do a low fly past with coloured smoke. The noise was tremendous and the smoke floating down did funny things for the colour of photos. Next up the Piazza Navona, then lunch at Carmels’s favourite spot down a side street. Much quieter, and cheaper, the Margarita Pizza and ice cold beer went down well. 

After a short bus ride we were then ready for the Vatican Museums. By now the temperature was in the 30’s, with heat rolling off the black pavements. One of our group looked like he was going to have a heart attack, but carried on with us taking turns to give him a hand. The queues were emormous, but luckily we were pre booked. Past galleries of sculptures, tapestries and paintings we eventually reached the Sistine Chapel. Full of people it was overwhelming, in size and sheer volume of painting to look at. We then carried onto St Peters Bassilica and Square. Again the sheer scale of it was over whelming, along with the thousands of people and heat.

By now we had been walking for 5.5 hours and we’re starting to whilt. Luckily Roberto was just around the corner with his bus to save us. With traffic thinning we drove past Circus Maximus, the Colosseum ( doing a u turn so both sides could see ) and Monumenta Vittoia Emanuele 2, as well numerous gates, walls, shrines, ruins, pyramids and needles. Overall a tremendous day, but extremely tiring. I’m glad we didn’t do it later on in the season, when it’s busier and hotter.

Just one more pictures of our drive up to Ravello. The lemons are enormous, most being used to make lemoncello. Some grapes and figs were also grown on the steep terraces.

This is the sight that greeted us this morning, the Amalfi coastline emerging from mist.

Our tour today took us up a switchback road, past terraces of lemons, to the hilltop town of Ravello. With few tourists, quality shops and amazing views it was simply magical.

The brightly coloured pottery was well priced, this piece now going to Tasmania !

All in all a magical day, topped off with a fine dinner and new friends. Tomorrow Rome, 10.5 hour long tour and its National Republic Day…..it’s going to be full on.

Another warm day, this time at Taormina, at the foot of Mt Etna. Our enthusiastic guide this morning wanted to make sure we knew where we were by saying we were in Sardinia about to embark on a 3 museum tour……..a big joke Fabritzio ! In fact we are in Scilly, about to see some beautiful towns and their churches.

First up Catania, and a wonderful Cathedral with astrological clock. A hole in the ceiling let’s light in at times which you can read the time off, on where it strikes on the floor.

Also some great light posts, statues and fountains within University Square.

Then at drive to Acireale via the Cyclops Riviera Road. Another beautiful church with a fantastic ceiling. All too soon time to drive back for out tender…..Ciaio Ciaio

A few more shots from today’s exclusion. Grand Harbour and Riviera

Walled city of Mdina and its tiny entrance, narrow roads and high walls.

Finally a few more at the aviation museum, and the amazing lift from the Cruise ship terminal to Valetta

After a day at sea yesterday we were looking forward to our Malta visit. I’ve read extensively about the siege of Malta during WW2, so was impressed upon entering the Grand Harbour, and could imagine the stricken oil tanker Ohio limping in with its vital cargo.

Our prime reason to visit was to pay homage to Hazel’s father who served here at Ta’Qali airbase in the RAF from 1940 -43 as an ground engineer during the siege. The site is now an aviation museum, and I’d been in correspondence with its Curator. First up was to get there, on the hop on/hop off bus. This was mainly off than on, with numerous bus changes and waiting. We did get to visit Mdina before all the other tourists. Being a hilltop village/fortification it had very narrow streets, easily clogged with traffic, let alone tourists. After another bus wait we finally got to Ta’Qali and was given a warm welcome by Ray Polidano. He was most interested in the photos we’d bought along, and promptly scanned them. Then he made our day and invited us to sit in their Spitfire cockpit and have a Hurricane pic ! A dream realised, even though Hazel found it a challenge to get out. It’s incredibly tight and not good visibility, let alone being shot at !  He then spent 2 hours taking us around and giving us coffee. THANKS RAY, what a treat !

Even starting at 8.30 it was now 2.30, with a couple more hours on the bus…….after visiting Valetta we pulled the pin at 6pm after a long hot day, but very rewarding. More pics to follow after a shower and dinner.

An early morning start saw a 6.30 breakfast sailing up the fjord to the old port town of Kotor. It was that warm already with some beautiful reflections in the water. I know very little about Montenegro, so was looking forward to our excursion.

We then drove on a heritage listed road with 25 hairpin bends up to a height of 900 meters. Being only single track there was some skilful coach driving, and a few gasps from American lady’s being suspended a inch from the road edge with sheer drops. The view from the top was spectacular, like Norway but a lot warmer. Riviera is the docked ship.

A cheese and ham sandwich was provided as morning tea, before visiting the King Nicola museum at Cetinje, a bit squeezy with a lot of buses. Thankfully the return trip was on a more modern, but no less impressive road to Kotor. The old town reminded us of Talin in Estonia, smart shops and restaurants crowded between narrow streets and squares. However the numerous churches and impressive mountain backdrop will leave a lasting impression, as did the afternoon tea on returning onboard.

A late morning arrival at Dubrovniks spectacular modern port,  and bridge,  saw another hot day. The drive to Cavtat was along a spectacular cliff edge road overlooking the old town. It was a pretty, but busy, little town with a lot of cafes and large motor yachts.

A quick drive back to the old town, and it’s massive medieval walls. Whilst much of the city has been rebuilt from earthquakes, fires and wars, it struggles to cope with the shear number of visitors.  The monasteries and their cloisters were lovely and cool, whilst little side streets were incredibly narrow and steep.