A magical Meditteranean vacation - the Italy road trip COMPLETED - Page 42 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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First I thought ugh, more rain! But then I realized you hadn't just been in Paris! I'm having some challenge keeping 4 TR's straight, and don't know how you do the same with the writing and posting!
First I thought ugh, more rain! But then I realized you hadn't just been in Paris! I'm having some challenge keeping 4 TR's straight, and don't know how you do the same with the writing and posting!
It's certainly an interesting challenge. At least after today, I've only got three to keep an eye on...
Gosh, I always seem to get to this point, and think “where the heck do I start?” as we’ve packed so much in, and this was no excpetion.
This was very much a new type of trip for us, while including elements familiar from previous trips. For example, it included two new countries for me – Greece and Turkey and a whole new chunk of Italy, yet it also saw return visits to Venice and Florence for example.
It was also the first time we’d ever toured with others. We’ve had people stay with us or visit us, and we’ve taken them touring around our country, and in some cases, other countries, like France, Scotland and the Netherlands. With those, it’s a lot easier, as you know all the places you’re going to be visiting, what’s good to see there, what to miss, and where to go for parking, meals etc. With something like this, it’s a totally different ball game.
When we started on this, Mari told me that they’d happily do everything on our itinerary, because I’d already planned it, and in her eyes, it was our vacation and they were just “tagging along”. I did wonder if it would be too much for them, as I do have a tendency to plan a heck of lot into every trip on the grounds of “you never when or if you’ll be able to make it back” and I never want to regret going somewhere and missing things. The only exception to that is a cruise, as you know in general you won’t be able to do and see everything in the ports of call you visit, particularly the big cities.
I have to say Mari was absolutely as good as her word, and they kept up with us just fine, although we did build in as much down time for them and us as we could, as the heat got to all of us. I knew before we left that it wouldn’t be pleasant on some days, but if I’m really honest, it wasn’t pleasant for the vast majority of our vacation. We don’t do well with hot weather, and I know Mari and Raleigh struggled with the humidity. To be honest, apart from the last day, I didn’t notice the humidity, as it felt like a dry heat to me, as that’s what I thought we got at home, but they certainly set us straight on that, saying it was very humid to them on a number of days. I guess it’s just what you’re used to.
Anyway, we survived, although I have to say I did honestly think the one thing the weather was going to defeat us on was the visit to the Acropolis. I really did not think we’d make it up there in that heat, and I am so proud that both of us did. If we go back to Athens, and I would like to, once the underground section is open at the museum, it will definitely be in the winter months!
So we’ve covered the weather, let’s cover the cruise next. I was really interested to see the changes that had been made to the Magic, and I was not disappointed with those at all. What did disappoint me were the other things. The ship is clearly in need of some love and general maintenance, and I find it upsetting that I say that. I know it’s the oldest ship that Disney has, and sadly that is starting to show through, which I hoped I’d never say about a Disney ship. Would I sail on the Magic again? Definitely, if it had an itinerary that interested me, but next time, I wouldn’t have such high expectations. I genuinely thought that when they made all the big changes, there’d also be a full basic renovation, but that didn’t seem to have happened.
I thought, with one exception, which you’ll already know all about from the trip report, so I won’t dwell on that again, the Crew Members were phenomenal, and it was so good to finally have an absolutely stand-out dining team, as while we’ve had good ones, we’ve not had what I’d call excellent ones, and this time we did, and wow, that does make such a difference! I was also impressed by how much we saw of Captain Robert on this cruise, and how personable he was when we posed for photos with him, unlike some of our previous captains,
The food itself was still up and down. I think it just depended on which menu you got, although I thought this menu was a lot better than the Alaskan cruise. I loved the Mediterranean menu, and the Greek night, both of which really added to the experience. In general, I thought the quality probably had gone up slightly, compared to other cruises we’d been on.
As for the ports of call. I really enjoyed them all, although apart from Athens, I can’t say I have any great desire to go back to any of them. I don’t mean to be down on them, I just feel that I saw what I wanted to in each destination, and therefore I feel I’ve seen what I wanted, and there’s no reason to return, which is good, as the list of places to go back to does seem to continually grow. It is hard to pinpoint a favourite, as they were all good, although I think Mykonos with its traditional Greek white washed homes, and the amazing Delos Island has to be up there, with Kusadasi and Ephesus not far behind, but as I say, they were all excellent.
I thought the shore excursions we took were a great mixture. The Athens on your own tour was definitely the right one for us, as it allowed us to take our time, particularly on such a hot day, and to linger as long as we wanted in the museum. Equally, just being able to explore Rhodes Old Town on our own at a leisurely pace, and see the places we wanted to was a nice break. All the other tours we took were very good, although the quality of guides did vary a bit, particularly in terms of being able to understand them, but they ensured that we saw all the major sights in every place w visited, without making us feel too rushed.
I am so glad that Mari found the gondoliera for our evening in Venice, as that was so special, and we saw a lot of Disney Cruise Line excursion people, who honestly didn’t look as if they were having as much fun as we were. Yes, getting there was a real pain, but you know what, that’s what we would’ve paid the extra with Disney for, and while that bit would’ve been easier, the experience of the gondola ride is the important aspect.
The other huge highlight from this cruise was cruising out past Venice, and back again. It was a truly majestic view, and I have to say I felt like a celebrity being on board, given how many people were photographing us! I guess it’s not every day you see such a cool cruise ship here! We both agreed this was pretty much worth the price of the cruise alone, that’s how good it was.
One other thing I must say here is about the embarkation and disembarkation from the Magic. It was, by far, the worst I have ever experienced with Disney, and it was quite frankly an absolute embarrassment to them. I know it’s not the first time they’ve been in and out of Venice, as that was the cruise before, so they should have got things sorted out, but patently they hadn’t, and they really need to get their act together before they cruise out of Venice again.
As for the road trip, well it didn’t start off great with the horrible weather, but once we were through that, it was absolutely wonderful. I know Mark suffered with all the driving, particularly along the narrow and twisting and turning roads of the Cinque Terre, as there were frequent gear changes, but he did a magnificent job of chauffeuring us all around, and hopefully he enjoyed it.
Of the places we saw on our road trip, Verona, Lake Garda, Florence, and the Cinque Terre were the stand outs for me. Of those, I wouldn’t say to a vacation to Lake Garda one day, as there is so much to see there, and of course we could always return to Verona and perhaps finally get to see Padua properly.
It was so nice to go back to Florence and to finally feel like we’d done the city justice, rather than our rushed tour from the Magic. It is a beautiful place, and now we’ve had a chance to explore it properly and enjoy it. I felt the same way with the Cinque Terre as well. I think it’s a case of no matter how beautiful it is, once you’ve driven it once, you have seen it, and it’s not going to get any better.
Padua, as you know was a complete bust for us, and Lucca wasn’t much better. Genoa was good, but edgy, although I adored the aquarium, and am so glad we got to visit it. As for our other destinations, Vicenza was nice enough, but again, been there, seen it, no desire to dash back, while the Ferrari Museum was excellent, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.
Of course, I can’t finish up with saying something about Venice. It is just such a cool city, and even though we really only visited a couple of places, it’s the sort of place you can enjoy just by walking around or taking a boat around it.
As for the hotels we stayed in, I was very pleased with all of them. TripAdvisor really came through again. The stateroom we had on the Magic was fine, although a bit close to the atrium, as sometimes we heard the music from there. Ironically, we have exactly the same stateroom again for our Alaskan cruise next year, as the only other one Sara could get was too far from midship for my liking, and I loved the location, so I think that tells you something.
Of the hotels we stayed at this trip, my favourite was definitely the one in Genoa, which just ticked all the boxes, including location, a superb room, and a great breakfast, but honestly all the places we stayed in had plus points. In Verona, it was the size of the room, in Rapallo, it was the gorgeous old building, and in Florence, it was the location and the breakfast.
Talking of food, we did have some wonderful meals on our road trip, but the one that really stands out is on the square in Florence. It was just such a superb setting, great food, not badly priced and really good service. There were times I had to pinch myself, it was that good!
While we were on our road trip, we played the licence plate game that we’ve played before on trips to Switzerland to see how many different countries we can spot. The last time we did it, we made it to 25 countries, so how many do you think we made this time around?
Higher?
Lower?
Well, if you said higher, you’d be spot on. We got a total of 30 countries, and it was interesting to compare the two lists. In Switzerland, we saw a lot more plates from the northern European countries that used to be part of the old Soviet Union, but this time around, we found more of those countries from the southern end, perhaps not surprising given the geography. We also paltes from the former Yugoslavia, again not a surprise, given how close it is to Italy. It’s a fascinating experiment and it certainly keeps you from getting bored on long road journeys – you can do it with states in America as well.
Anyway, the total was as follows:
1) Albania
2) Austria
3) Belgium
4) Bosnia Herzegovina
5) Bulgaria
6) The Czech Republic
7) Denmark
8) Estonia
9) France
10) Germany
11) Great Britain
12) Greece
13) Hungary
14) Italy
15) Lithuania
16) Monaco
17) The Netherlands
18) Poland
19) Portugal
20) Romania
21) Russia
22) San Marino
23) Serbia
24) Slovakia
25) Slovenia
26) Spain
27) Sweden
28) Switzerland
29) Turkey
30) Ukraine
And to round off, some more figures… how many photos do you think we took?
Want another moment to think about it?
Got a figure in mind?
Sure?
Ok then… here goes…
Mark took a total of 1,093 photos, whereas I managed just a few more… My total? Well, it was a pretty meagre 8,551 photos. I really was expecting to get into five figures, given that the vacation was a total of 17 days, and that’s an average of just over 500 a day. With all the wonderful places we visited over this couple of weeks, I thought it would be more. Oh well, I guess I just need to try harder next time.
I just want to finish by saying that when we got back, I actually felt really refreshed, despite the itinerary we’d had and the heat we’d endured. I felt as if this was unfinished business now closed down, in terms of we’d been back to Florence, done that justice, finally got to experience the Cinque Terre, which obviously we couldn’t do when we were in La Spezia for one sparse day. We also got to go back to Venice and enjoy that, and with the places we visited anew, with the exception of Athens, and Lake Garda, both of which we can easily visit on a long weekend, I didn’t come back thinking “we must go back there again”. I found that a relief, as on so many times, we do come back, having been somewhere, and knowing that we need to return – Hawai’i being a case in point, considering that was going to be a once in a lifetime trip.
Oh, and you know what they say about you putting on weight on a cruise? I’ve heard something about a pound per day on board… well, not me this time. I put on the grand total of three pounds, which I thought was a real result, and left me lighter than when I started to lose weight all the way back in May. That pursuit continues, but that’s a story for another day…
Yes, please try harder next time to take more photos.
Great summary! Thinking back all the way to that long journey to board the ship, and then to your bumpy return into England. What a trip! As always, thank you so much for sharing as who knows if I (or any of us PP's!) will get to experience such an adventure!
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Yes, please try harder next time to take more photos.
Oh good, I like a challenge! I will try harder next time - promise!
Quote:
Great summary! Thinking back all the way to that long journey to board the ship, and then to your bumpy return into England. What a trip! As always, thank you so much for sharing as who knows if I (or any of us PP's!) will get to experience such an adventure!
I hope you do, as it was a wonderful adventure and I'd recommend it to anyone.
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I didn't get around to reading this TR until now but I'm glad I finally did! The Ferrari museum is the one thing we missed on our Italy trip in 2011. Those pictures of Florence brought back great memories - I just love the Duomo! Thanks for taking the time to write this trip report
I didn't get around to reading this TR until now but I'm glad I finally did! The Ferrari museum is the one thing we missed on our Italy trip in 2011. Those pictures of Florence brought back great memories - I just love the Duomo! Thanks for taking the time to write this trip report
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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At least after today, I've only got three to keep an eye on... 
If we go back to Athens, and I would like to, once the underground section is open at the museum, it will definitely be in the winter months! 
I guess it’s not every day you see such a cool cruise ship here! 
to a vacation to Lake Garda one day, as there is so much to see there, and of course we could always return to Verona and perhaps finally get to see Padua properly. 
My total? Well, it was a pretty meagre 8,551 photos. I really was expecting to get into five figures, given that the vacation was a total of 17 days, and that’s an average of just over 500 a day. With all the wonderful places we visited over this couple of weeks, I thought it would be more. Oh well, I guess I just need to try harder next time. 
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
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