http://www.gloria305travels.com/google68e958dd14763a9e.html .

All aboard the Celebrity Solstice in route to Canes, Nice and Monaco

 

BARCELONA, Spain

 

The cruise left from Barcelona, ​​Spain.   I  greatly recommend to spend several days on this great city, since Barcelona is a place full of charm and history.  We did not stay there this time since we visit it last February.  Celebrity offers a tour of Barcelona upon arrival from the cruise in the event that you have limited time there.

 

 

Originally the ship was supposed to stop at the port of Nice, but there was bad weather and we stop at Cannes instead, so we were able to see Cannes and saw where  the famous Cannes Film Festival will be celebrated next year (May 16 to 27) .

 

Nice: We were here only a few hours, Above picture is from the “ Flower Market” which  we visit with our friends, Luis and Merilu.  We were able to walk through the famous Promenades des Anglais,  enjoy the old town, and able to see much more.

 

Monaco is on a beautiful hill called “The Rock”.   Monaco is the second smallest country in the world (the first is the Vatican) as everyone knows it is full of wealth, well-kept and very clean.   I loved seeing the Cathedral where Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier and, and are now buried there. Needless to say the view from there is spectacular.

 VIEW OF MONACO

 

Tower of Pisa

 

Florence and Pisa

The port here was Livorno. We took here a tour of Pisa and Florence, passing through Tuscany, with its beautiful countryside, we arrived at Pisa  to see  “The Leaning Tower of Pisa” .   The tower is in a plaza with streets full of shops and vendors, were prices are more expensive than the shops in the city. Most of the souvenirs sold there are over price and are “Made in China”, I could not find any bargains there, specially if it was Italian made.

 

Plaza Santa Cruz

 

I’ve been to Florence several times and always look forward to going back.  It has so much history!.  Many works of art,  the marvel of its churches, its friendly people, and if you go to the ”Plaza Santa Cruz”  you will enjoy the works  of Michel Angelo, and the Museo di Palazzo Vecchio (all free). Traverse ancient Florence on foot, is to go back to the 1550′s and the time of Michel Angelo, and the Medici.  You will find small cafeterias and restaurants were you can have a snack or a coffee for a reasonable price.  Expresso is usually 1  or  2 euros.

Remember that in these parts of Italy,  you have to pay for public restrooms. so  keep some change with you at all times.  Prices are from .30 euro to .60 euro.

 

Civitavecchia, ITALY

This is the port from where tours depart to Rome, if you have not seen Rome before, it’s best to take the  ship tour, is quite expensive, but it will give you a small idea of Rome;  the famous Coliseum and the Vatican are are among the most important sites.   We decided to go to Civitavecchia instead, since we have been in Rome already, and see the new marina and a boardwalk recently build there.  It was very nice.

DUBRONIK, CROATIA

The beauty of this city took me by surprise.  This city was in war with Montenegro in the 1990′s but it has been totally restored since then.  It is very nice and very clean. Unesco gave them the money to rebuild. We took the cable car there, which took us to the top of a mountain with a beautiful panoramic  view of the city and from where  we could see the walls that surround and  protected the old city.

 

View of DUBRONIK, CROATIA from the view point were the cable car took us.

 

VENICE, ITALY

 

Venice disappoint me a little, I was there 30 years ago, where the pigeons surround you in Piazza San Marco and you  could quietly have a glass of wine or an expresso in the surrounding establishments.  Now the number of people has robbed her beauty, you don’t walk anymore, instead you are taken by the multitude of people.  We took a tour that included  the Palazzo Ducale (Doges Palace),  if you like art and history the tour is worth while as they explain paint by paint , also they tell you how people were torture there and they take you through ”Bridge of Sighs” The Cathedral is a beauty, and the demonstration of Murano also is interesting, but by the time we finish the tour it was  5 PM, and it was night already.  It was cold and getting colder so we decided to have a “cortadito” (expresso coffee with milk) in the Piazza San Marco bu they were asking as much as 12 euros, so instead we walked about three blocks north of the Plaza, and found a very welcoming where we were treated very well, and so we could enjoy our “cortadito” and use the restrooms for 1.50 euro each.   That night we stay on the ship, but going back to Venecia from the ship cost $22 per person and since we had to be on board by noon we decide to stay aboard the ship the rest of the time.  In my opinion it would have been better to arrive to Venetia early in the morning and leave late at night instead of having two half days there.

 Boka Kotorska Bay

Kotor is hidden in Boka Kotorska Bay, on the north coast of Montenegro, it is a beautiful and picturesque town where you can walk through its narrow streets, in a short time.  Do not miss it.

I will cover, in more detail, all these cities that we visit on my future blogs, so keep in touch for more.

 

This part is for those who like more details of the ship

 

CELEBRITY SOLSTICE

Inauguration Nov.23, 2008 Named the best by Frommer’s cruise ship in 2011

Capacity 2850 people

122.000 tons

1041 feet long

Beam 121 feet

24 knots cruising speed.

 

His staff is always smiling, the food could not be more exquisite, and the desserts … it makes me salivate when I think of them.

I want to make a special mention for those who were “ULTRA nice” to us:

 

Ricardo Paisica, Yolanda Burnett, Mariano of Macedonia, Blagoyche Kuzmanoski of Macedonia, and George Roy of India.  A big hug for all of them.  Here is a photo  with our new friends and waiters.

Blagoyche Kuzmanoski of Macedonia, and George Roy of India.

 

 


Photos of Gloria & Vily