One of the nice little "touches" provided by Royal Caribbean is that they display the day in the carpet of each elevator on the ship. These are changed at some point in the wee hours, so that when you have finally arrived at the totally relaxed vacation mode, you have some help remembering which day it is! On Wednesday we arrived in our first port in Italy, La Spezia. Again, where we were docked it was more of the commercial cargo area, but to the left you could see where the smaller ships and sailboats were anchored, probably the original town harbour.
The more picturesque side of the port at La Spezia
Beautiful buildings and the mountains in the background, behind the shipping containers
Early morning, very few people up on deck -- most of them were in Windjammer restaurant enjoying a big breakfast before heading out on their excursions! On long tour days, Windjammer was absolutely packed by 6:30 a.m.!
Shuttle buses were provided for those of us with half day tours to travel into town (towards the more picturesque side of the port) to walk around and sight-see. It was not a long drive, but it helped by taking you through the commercial port area and dropping you off at the beginning of the harbour promenade, which was very pretty, lined with palm trees. The Tall Ships Regatta was starting that day, and you could see preparations being made all over to welcome them into the port.
Walking along the promenade
Beautiful little park at the foot of the main shopping street, Viale Diaz
The Garibaldi statue in the park
Mom and I walked along Viale Diaz, which was a pedestrian street, and window shopped, looking for a vest for Dad. Although vests are apparently in fashion this season, they tend to be of a padded material, and Dad is looking for cotton. Of course, with the winter fashions being displayed, a cotton vest was not likely to be found! There were lots of clothing and shoe stores to look at, and prices were quite reasonable. I resisted, however!
Busy Viale Diaz
A quiet side street -- I love the balconies
After spending a couple of hours walking and window shopping, we returned to the ship, had a quick bite to eat, and then headed out on our tour called Wine Tasting in Tuscany. Having to take the main highway, we didn't really get to savour the heart of the Tuscan countryside, but we did get glimpses of the hills covered in olive trees, the beautiful cypress trees and the houses dotting the hillsides. The picture below, taken on the bus at 130 km per hour (hence not that great!) is a picture of the huge gray mountains we passed, which had people puzzling over whether they had snow on them. Our tour guide, Viola, explained that the white sections showing were where the Carrera marble had been carved out of the mountains. The Carrera marble is the marble used in carving all the beautiful statues you see in museums these days, including the David by Michelangelo.
Speaking of our tour guide, Viola.... she was the BEST guide we had! Before we had even left the port area, she had everyone on the bus in hysterics with her commentary, which was extremely witty and irreverent, poking fun at herself, her fellow Italians, and how the lady at the vineyard/farm would be treating us. Not only for the tour itself, but for Viola's added "flavour", this was my favourite of our excursions. The farm was located on a hillside in the town of Monte Carlo (not the famous French one!), about 12 km from Lucca, one of the main cities in the Tuscany region. It is also a hotel where you can stay in one of nine apartments, or six hotel rooms. There were quite a few people staying there. It is such a peaceful, beautiful location, with a lovely view.
The entrance courtyard
The visitors' apartments
Before "tasting" we were given a brief talk about how the wine is made, which grapes they use, and which wines they produce. This small vineyard produces about 45,000 bottles of wine each year.
The oak barrels in which some of the wines are aged. These barrels are imported from France, as the French oak barrels are best for aging wine. I'm sure my son-in-law will agree!
We then went out onto the terrace where we were treated to platters of proscuitto, cheese, olives, red peppers, bread drizzled with the delicious olive oil the farm also makes and sells. We tasted first a white wine, and then two red wines. As Mom is not much of a wine drinker, I tasted two whites, and four reds!
One of the seating areas enjoyed by our wine-tasting group
The town of Monte Carlo overlooking the farm.
As you can see, we had a glorious sunny day today!
Mom and I sat at a small table under an umbrella right on the main terrace.
Salute!! (Sorry, Cathy, I ate the meat and cheese before thinking of taking a picture!)
Mom displaying the bread with the olive oil drizzled on it.
I could have eaten an entire loaf of that, it was so tasty!
We took a stroll down to the field of vines, and olive trees after our tasting.
The view is lovely, and it is so quiet and peaceful.
We headed back to the ship, arriving at about 6:15, just before the "all aboard" time limit. As some of the people on our tour had purchased bottles of wine, and had been drinking them on the bus on the way back, it was quite a merry group by the time we returned! My first day in Italy was fabulous!
CATHY'S CORNER:
Again, I missed taking pictures at dinner, but I did manage to take a picture of my nice big breakfast this morning. Since I never eat breakfast at home, this is actually quite a feast for me, but nothing compared to the plates of food I saw most people consuming! My dinner this day was Caprese salad, garlic tiger shrimp for the main, and a cheese plate for dessert. Not bad, considering we were full of bread and cheese from the afternoon tour!
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