Italy Intensive Cruise on the Azamara Pursuit
6/16/24 to 7/2/24

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Page 1 – Pre-cruise in Venice, Italy
Page 2 – Embarkation, Ship, Cabin
Page 3 - Entertainment, Activitiess; Ports of Call: Ravenna, Italy; Sibenik, Croatia
Page 4 - Ports of Call: Kotor, Montenegro; Taranto, Italy; Taormina, Sicily
Page 5 - Ports of Call: Palermo, Sicily; Amalfi, Italy; Sorento, Italy
Page 6 - Disembarkation; Post-cruise in Florence, Italy

Disembarkation

The cruise ended in Civitavecchia, Italy, the cruise port for Rome. With Azamara, disembarkation is just too easy. They tell you the time window for when you are to leave the ship and you can go pretty much whenever you want to. It was even easier, since we didn’t have to go through immigration there. Paul purchased train tickets for us to get to Florence where we would spend three nights. Our first leg would be to Rome. The train would leave at 9:16 AM and get to Rome at 10:03 AM. We got off the ship before 7:30 AM and were quickly rolling our luggage to find a way to get to the train station. We researched the different methods. The lowest cost one, at about 6€ each, was a bus to the train station. When we asked about it, we were told that it doesn’t run until after 8:00 AM. So, we decided to just take the plan B, a taxi for 10€ each. It was certainly the easiest of the options and we arrived at the train station in about five minutes, if that long. It is just over a mile away. We had a long wait but were able to get some drinks and find a table at the café. There is no reason to get to the train station too early. There is nothing to do there except wait for the train.

Since we were waiting at the track when the train arrived, we were able to put our large suitcase in the small area reserved for oversize baggage. When we arrived in Rome, we only had about 20 minutes until our train to Florence. The board didn’t show what track our train would leave from, so we began to stress out. Since we could only see a few tracks where our train arrived, we assumed that we would have to go to a different terminal. We couldn’t find any signage telling us where to go or where other tracks were. We saw an elevator and decided to take it downstairs to get to a different terminal. Big mistake! We had to wait for others to get on the elevator and for it to return. When we got downstairs, we found an agent who told us that we had to go back upstairs to get to other tracks. So, we waited for another elevator to go up. Once there, we kept watching the board to see what track we were on. It finally showed a track number, and we were able to eventually find how to get to the other tracks. We grabbed all our luggage and went through a long hallway looking for signs telling us how to get to track numbers. We dragged our luggage down and up stairs since there were no signs to elevators. We eventually got to the train with just a couple minutes to spare. We couldn’t get the doors to open. We tried several cars and eventually we had to wave goodbye to our train.

We missed our train and would have to find out when we could get another one. Paul and I headed out to look for assistance while the Gail and Cathy stayed with the luggage waiting for us to give them an update. We left the secure area to get in the terminal where we could get new tickets. Once inside we didn’t see anywhere to get assistance, only ticket machines. We eventually found a small booth with a line of other people trying to solve their problems. It moved faster than we expected. The lady in the booth told us that we couldn’t rebook our tickets, we would have to buy new ones. We didn’t have a lot of time to make the next train. The new train was just a few tracks away from where we missed the other train, so we didn’t have to drag the luggage too far. With getting on the train late, it was a challenge finding a place for our luggage, but we improvised. We finally arrived in Florence about an hour after the original train would have gotten there. Pretty good!

Post-Trip in Florence – Day 1

When we left the train station, we headed for the taxi stand. Paul told the taxi manager the hotel he needed a ride to. He was told that no taxis could get there because the roads were closed for the Tour de France bicycle race. It would be over an hour before the roads would open. Now that was disheartening, especially after the morning we already had. We talked about options, but the only one was to walk to the hotel. I had to go to a different hotel due to a stupid mistake I made when booking. I asked about my hotel, and there was no problem getting a ride there. We were thrilled, but we felt terrible that Paul and Gail would have to walk over a half mile with all their luggage. Google Maps said it would take about 12 minutes. Later they told us it took a lot longer and was a miserable hot walk.

It was a quick ride to our hotel, Il Guelfo Bianco (https://ilguelfobianco.it). Being in the center of Florence, it was a 5 to 10-minute walk to the main tourist sites, very convenient location.

I was very lucky to get the hotel, since I didn’t know that I booked the wrong date on the hotel that Paul and Gail were in until a day after the cruise started, when the hotel asked if I was still coming. I was able to get one of the last rooms they had, which meant that it was also the smallest room on the floor. It was still a decent size room, and we were very happy with it. I really liked the ceiling and original brick features of the room.

We were also very pleased with the large shower in the bathroom. European hotel rooms and bathrooms can be quite tiny, so we were happy.

I wanted to show Cathy around Florence, so we checked in with Paul and Gail to see how they were doing. They were still recovering from their walk from the train station. We told them we were going to grab a light lunch and meet up with them after that. They had the same idea. We took the five-minute walk to Florence’s gorgeous Duomo.

It is difficult to not just stand in front of it and stare at the beautiful multicolored marble and decorations.

Since we were hungry, we focused on finding a restaurant on the Duomo square where we got a couple beers and shared a small pizza. It hit the spot. After lunch, we met up with Paul and Gail and decided to walk to Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge. Like the Duomo, the bridge is a symbol of the city of Florence. We took photos of both sides of it from the Arno River.

The bridge is normally filled with tourists and has jewelry shops on both sides and it. Only jewelry shops are allowed on the bridge. The main attraction to me is to take a photo of the statue and of the Arno River from both sides. With it being a cloudy day, the river didn’t look that photo worthy.

Since we were still into exploring, we decided to go to the Pitti Palace that was close by. It is a huge place. In 2012, I went to the Boboli Gardens behind the palace. It is a separate ticket. Since we didn’t have time or the desire to tour the palace, we only got garden tickets. We should have known better with the temperature being 97 degrees. Even though it was cloudy, it was a very hot day. We entered the palace portico and walked to the garden entry gate.

We went to an overlook where we saw nice view of the whole city.

We then walked back toward the back of the palace where we saw the beautiful Artichoke Fountain and garden.

As we turned toward the main garden, we saw the granite Egyptian obelisk from the 1st century is standing atop four turtles.

Statues surround the lower garden area.

We climbed up to the second level and saw that we would have to climb up one more level to see the Neptune Fountain. We were already exhausted from climbing but kept on going. When we got to the third level, we could look back and get a nice view of gardens and palace.

The main attraction was the Neptune Fountain. It is beautiful, but we weren’t sure it was worth the climb.

I looked up three more levels and let my zoom lens get a photo of the Statue of Abundance rather than walking up more level.

We were all exhausted. We sat down on a bench and agreed to call it quits. It was just too hot and too much work to go any further. Paul thought that he had been bitten by something, since his leg was red and itchy. Later that night when we got back to the hotel, we noticed that both of us had very bright red rashes on our legs too, but they weren’t itchy. Gail found that it is an ailment called Disney Rash that is caused by too much exercise in a hot environment. It did clear up a few days later.

We decided to walk to a different section of the garden on lower ground. We wanted to find the grotto. I had seen it the last time here and wanted them to see it too. We walked around to where we had been earlier and saw a statue in a rose garden. These were the first flowers we had seen.

We finally found a grotto, but it wasn’t as large as I remembered. This one was the Madama Grotto built in the mid 1500’s.

We had seen enough. While looking for the exit, we saw the much-photographed statue of a naked man on the back of a turtle. The statue is a likeness of a dwarf buffoon from the court of Cosimo Medici.

While looking at it, Paul called me over to look at something. It was the large Buontalenti Grotto that I remembered from my 2016 visit. Unfortunately, it was being renovated and we couldn’t see the full exterior or any of the interior.

We left the garden and just wanted to sit down somewhere to recover. On the way we saw an unexpected sight, a cowboy on horseback. Rather a unique sight in Florence.

We walked by the Plaza of the Republic where Paul and Gail were staying. There was a merry go round in the middle of the plaza. There seemed to always be festivities going on in that plaza.

We walked to the Duomo square and found a restaurant where we had drinks and a light dinner in front of the Duomo with the sun shining brightly on the beautiful surface.

It had been a hectic and tiring day. We looked forward to going to bed early and enjoying the next day’s tour in much milder temperatures. The short heatwave was over.

Post-Trip in Florence – Day 2

Probably the most popular attraction in Florence is Michelangelo’s statue of David at the Academia Museum. As a result, it can be difficult to get tickets unless you plan ahead. We booked a tour with the same company we used in Venice, The Tour Guy (https://thetourguy.com/tours/florence/florence-walking-tour-with-david). This would give us skip-the-line tickets to the Academia and a nice walking tour of Florence’s main attractions. With the tour starting at 9:00 AM, we had a nice leisurely morning before heading out to the tour meeting place about five minutes away. On the way there, we saw a very long line winding around a building. It was the Academia. We were so glad we could skip it.

Our meeting place was at the Santissima Annunziatta Plaza near the equestrian statue of Ferdinando dei Medici. It was easy to find.

The plaza also had two bronze sea monster fountains. Rather strange looking.

Our guide for the tour, Alessandra, was waiting in the shade checking off names. She was a real pleasure to be with that day. In addition to being a wealth of knowledge, she was an excellent guide and lovely person.

We walked around the corner from the plaza and were able to walk right into the museum. It is a small museum, but it has some wonderful pieces. The first one we came to was the sculptor’s full size plaster model of his masterpiece, the Rape of the Sabine Women. We would see the marble version in Signoria Square later in the tour.

On the walls were Florentine paintings from the 13th and 16th centuries.

There was a musical instrument gallery that was most interesting.

The Stradivarius violin was a popular photo opp.

The below instruments are hurdy gurdys. I had never seen one, but only knew the name from Donovan’s song, Hurdy Gurdy Man.

We then came to the Michelangelo Hall of the Prisoners room with some of his unfinished works. There were four unfinished statues of prisoners that were to be used in the tomb of Pope Julius II.

There was also and unfinished Pieta statue that was originally credited to Michelangelo, but experts now doubt that it was his work. It is still a beautiful statue.

Also in the gallery was a bronze bust of Michelangelo.

In the distance we could see David surrounded by his admirers.

We walked up to the statue and took our required photos.

Alessandra offered to take photos of everyone in front of David. I don’t know how she managed to get photos without others crowded around us.

She then took us around to the back of the statue to see an angle rarely seen in photos of David.

In another room they had the plaster models used for many statues created by Florentine sculptors.

As we left the museum, we could see the crowds waiting to get tickets and/or enter the museum.

We then took a walk toward the Duomo. Along the way Alessandra told us about different building and museums we were passing and/or stopping to look at. It was very helpful for those planning their days in Florence. We then came to Duomo Square where we walked over to the baptistery.

Crowds gather around the golden bronze Gates of Paradise doors. Michelangelo gave the doors their name when he said that they were fit to be the Gates of Paradise when he saw them. The ones we were looking at were copies of the originals, which are now in the Duomo Museum. The copies were installed in 1990 to protect the old doors that had been exposed to the elements for over 500 years. Alessandra told us that the copies were much more beautiful than the originals which have been worn by the weather. I was finally able to get an unobstructed photo of the doors behind the gates, as well as taking one from inside the gates. It is quite a set of doors!

We then focused on the Duomo. While Alessandra was telling us about the building and its history, I took more photos of the building’s beautiful detail.

We then walked to the other side where we could see a different angle of the bell tower and domes.

Continuing our walk, we stopped at Orsanmichele. The building was originally a grain market. It was converted into a church and used as a chapel for the craft and trade guilds. Each guild was assigned a frame space to put a statue of their patron saint. Alessandro told us about some of them.

We then came to Signoria Square, the main square of the Florence. The square is dominated by the Palazzo Vecchio or Old Palace. It is the town hall of the city.

To the right of the town hall is a loggia with many statues including the original marble Rape of the Sabine Women we had seen the plaster model of in the Academia. The loggia is a treasure trove of gorgeous statues.

There are statues all around the square. The Neptune Fountain has always been a favorite of mine.

The statue of Perseus with the Head of Medusa was also a popular photo opp.

Just off the square was the Uffizi Gallery, which is just an amazing museum that we wouldn’t have time to visit. As with many of the museums in Florence, they owe their works of art to the Medici family. I took photos of the statues on the side of the building of two of the families best known members, Cosimo and Lorenzo the Great.

We next came to the Tree of Peace monument that commemorated the victims of the 1993 Mafia massacre. A bomb was set off at the Uffizi in retaliation for the arrest of a Mafia boss. Five people were killed and 48 injured. It also caused a lot of damage at the museum. It is a beautiful memorial.

Our last stop on the tour was at the Ponte Vecchio Bridge we visited the previous day. I was glad that the sun was shining. It made it look much prettier.

After the tour we found a small café to stop at for a light lunch and some cold drinks. We decided to do our own thing for the afternoon and get back together for dinner. I was assigned the task of finding a restaurant for the evening. After lunch, we took our time getting back to the hotel and checked out what was in the area.

There was a cute restaurant close to our hotel called Cantinetta Cavour. Cathy noticed it the night before. There was a good crowd there and wonderful smells coming from it. After looking at other alternatives, we decided that this could be the best one. It turned out to be a great choice.

Cathy ordered a crab linguine, and I had Spaghetti ala carbonara with guanciale.

They were both outstanding meals. Paul and Gail loved theirs too. The prices were very reasonable. When we arrived at 7:00 PM, there was only one other couple in the restaurant. When we left, it was almost full. Italians do eat later than us.

Post-Trip in Florence – Day 3

For our last day in Florence, we were going to see the interior of the Duomo. When we arrived on Saturday, it closed too early for us to see it. It was closed on Sunday, so Monday was our only opportunity. With entry being free, we couldn’t see buying tickets for a tour to skip-the-line. We decided to meet at the church at 9:45 AM a half hour before opening time. We went early to try to find where the line was for those with no tickets. We arrived around 9:30 AM and there was already a long line stretched in front of the Duomo and starting up the side. We didn’t know if it was the right line, so we got in it and asked the people in front of us if it was the right one. It was.

We kept watching for Paul and Gail as it got closer to our meeting time. We used WhatsApp to let them know that we were in line and where we were. By the time they found us at 9:42 AM the line had already stretched around the corner behind us.

Once the doors opened the line moved pretty fast, especially since we had to go through security. Once inside, it is a bit disappointing how plain it is compared to the very fancy and colorful exterior.

As we got closer to the altar, there was much more beauty to see. Although renovation was being done above the altar, there was other beauty to see. The dome was most impressive. Being so high up, I couldn’t see the detail without my camera’s zoom lens.

I did like the gorgeous floors.

The stained glass was definitely a treat.

After leaving the Duomo, we decided to walk around a bit and look at the shops. We also saw some other interesting and pretty sights.

One of the places we wanted to see was the Central Market. It was quite a big place with a great selection of food and other items.

We got a kick out of the small dog who was telling his dad what he would like for lunch.

Since it was lunch time when we were there, we went upstairs to the main eating area to find something. It was easier to find something to eat than to find a table for four. This was one very popular and crowded place. We saw a group get up and we quickly grabbed their table. We had a nice light lunch there.

While walking back to our hotels, we saw the American Diner. I had to take a photo. It is a cute place.

Having been to Florence a couple times before, there weren’t a lot of places that I hadn’t seen that I wanted to see. One of the places I did want to visit was the Basilica dela Santissima Annunziatta or Basilica of the most Holy Annunciation. In looking at photos, it looked like quite a beautiful church. It is in the plaza where we met our guide the previous day. So, it was easy to get to and we wouldn’t have a long walk. The only problem was that it didn’t open until 4:00 PM.

I went there early and was able to get a better photo of the church exterior and of the equestrian statue of Ferdinando de’ Medici.

The church has an interesting story. It was founded in 1250. In 1252, a painting of the Annunciation (when the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus) was started by a friar. It was said that he despaired because he couldn’t paint a virgin with a beautiful enough face. He fell asleep. When he woke up the painting of the face was completed. He attributed it to an angel. Two hundred years later it was moved into this church.

I first entered the covered cloister with lots of paintings on the walls. The glass roof was added to protect the artwork.

When I entered, I was blown away by how beautiful it was. I had seen photos of it, but this was so much better.

Near the entrance was the Chapel of the Annuziata. When I walked to the other side of it, I could see the famous painting that pilgrims from all over the world had come to visit. The archangel is on the left and Mary on the right. I guess that is obvious, since the angel has wings.

The chapel next to it was truly amazing. The photos don’t fairly show that there are reliefs on the dome not paintings. It is something that has to be seen in person.

There were just so many beautiful chapels and statues throughout the building.

I liked the two characters on either side of the altar.

Above the altar was a large fresco on the dome.

There was a beautiful Pieta in one of the side chapels.

This was such a gorgeous church! I was so glad we were able to visit it.

That evening we had reservations to a restaurant recommend by our friend Jim Bellomo. When he visited Paul and Gail in Yorkshire a few weeks earlier, he recommended that we go to the Buca Lapi Restaurant (http://www.bucalapi.com/en/). He had gone there several years ago and raved about how good it was. When we arrived, we were most impressed with lovely interior. Since we arrived when they opened at 7:00 PM, I could get better photos of it.

We were most impressed with the service. We had an outstanding very professional waiter. He gave us great advice and didn’t rush us at all. He would come over if we looked like we might need his assistance. He was really good.

Cathy and I split a Cannelloni “Buca Lapi” for an appetizer. It was just outstanding! So delicious.

For our main course Cathy, Paul and I all ordered the braised beef with onions and polenta. Gail ordered the chicken cacciatore.

Everyone loved their meal. Everything was so good, that we ate it all and had no room for dessert. As we left the restaurant, we could look into the kitchen. Florentine steaks are the restaurants specialty. We had seen the huge one kilo (2.2 pounds) steaks being served. They looked delicious, but way too much meat for us.

Thank you, Jim, for a great recommendation. If we return to Florence, we will definitely return to this restaurant.

After dinner we walked back toward Paul and Gail’s hotel with them to say our goodbyes. We had enjoyed our vacation with them so much. It is always difficult to end a visit with good friends. Especially ones that we only get to see at most once a year. We had to call it an early night since we all had to pack for our flights home the next morning.

Post-Trip in Florence – Day 4

We had a 10:00 AM flight to Zurich, so we needed to be there 3 hours early at 7:00 AM. Looking at Google Maps the previous morning, it said it would take 26 minutes to get to the airport. I had originally planned to order an Uber, but the cost to the airport, which is only 6 miles away, was 70€. The fixed price to the airport with a taxi was just 28€ plus a luggage charge. I downloaded an app, appTaxi, to order a taxi. When I looked at the app, it said to allow an hour to get to the airport. I decided to split the difference and order one for 6:15 AM the next morning. For some reason, when I tried to complete the order, it said I needed to call the taxi office. So, I just went to the front desk and our new friend, Carlo, ordered one for us. Carlo was the desk agent most times we would go in or out the of the hotel. He was always such a pleasure to talk with. A very positive guy and trying to help us in any way possible. We really appreciated him. I’m putting his photo in this review, so that we will remember his smiling face.

The taxi was waiting for us when we got downstairs early. We loaded up and he drove away. Eight minutes later, we were there! I can’t believe Google Maps got it so wrong. He dropped us off and we walked up to the terminal doors. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a sign on the door that said Toscana Aeropuerto. Had he taken us to the wrong airport? Was that why we got there so fast? Hysteria began to set in. I saw a flight crew approaching the door and asked if this was Amerigo Vespucci Airport. They confirmed it was. Thank goodness. We were then able to relax and enjoy our uneventful flights home after this awesome vacation.

Recap

This vacation was so perfect. We had sunny days every day. The temperature most days was moderate. We stopped at wonderful ports, some amazing. The cruise itself was wonderful, with great food, outstanding service, friendly enjoyable fellow passengers and a lovely small ship. Most importantly, we were able to share this wonderful experience with our dear friends. Who could ask for anything more. To use a sometime overused expression, it was an awesome vacation!

Italy Intensive Cruise on the Azamara Pursuit 6/16/24 to 7/2/24