ollienbertsmum

Excited for you!

This. We have done both on same day and it worked so well. Obviously you go to Lucca first - it is so lovely walking the walls. On the train back you could probably get off at the Campo dei miracoli rather than having to walk from the Pisa main train station. This is what we did because Lucca to Pisa was a local train. It is true that Florence is lovely. It is like an open air museum, but to do it with Pisa is a bit of a rush.

Whichever is the cheapest. All are well recommended. I have stayed at Hotel Suizo and loved the location and price. Three stars suits me when all I want is a clean bed in a good location.

Sorry I didn’t mean to post the last two pictures- they are of Trieste, and Trieste is lovely but the pictures don’t illustrate my point

So I took the first two pictures from the ship shortly after docking at 7 am last May. In the first you can see the taxi rank. In the second you see the actual walk - train station is just beyond the green domed building. So if you can manage your luggage hardly a need for a taxi. We had no delays and could have been at the station by about 8 am.

Sorry I had not attached successfully. So here are our November pics of Ile StM. Along with one of DH trying to get through some brambles that were in our path, it was not as difficult as it looks on the photo. We got through. So pleasant but not spectacular scenery. It would look better with a blue sky. Compare the July pics. The day was so windy that the NCL ship that was beside us did not attempt to go ashore in the tenders. There is also lots of expensive yachts, going up to the old town and the free public beach by the film festival venue. I can’t immediately find any other pictures. I liked Cannes more than the pictures show😊

hi This was our third trip to Cannes, We decided on st M Because we knew the ferry station was right beside where the tender stop. We’ve had a couple of long days and really wanted a relaxing day so we knew this would take about four hours in total. It was lovely. I’ll attach a few photos, including one of where the road suddenly came to a halt because it had brambles all over it. That was a bit of an adventure. In your case you may well do better to do the train trip to Antibes (or similar) as mentioned by the previous poster. I think it would be a pity to miss Cannes completely, which you would do it if you just went out to one of the islands.

And don’t forget to appreciate the sail in to Malta - one of the most impressive ports.

On our second trip to Dubrovnik we got the cable car up to see the views. I’m pretty sure that you could do the walls then walk round to the cable car station- although there was a wait. I’m pretty sure that a taxi from the port was as cheap as a shuttle. You could perhaps take a taxi straight to cable car station. Great views. Then walk back to the walls. It is important to get kids involved with planning, especially because DIY always means getting out early. If they have stayed up late having met new friends in the kids club, early mornings to places they are not invested in can result in grumpy faces. Or just accept that kids just don’t appreciate travel. What we think of as an interesting canal cruise of X turns into the opportunity for a nap to the kids. Mine were polite but just did not get how fortunate they were for travel opportunities as teenagers. As soon as they hit their twenties they have really taken off and have passport stamps that I could have only dreamed of when I was their age.

To be honest you are probably going to be best going directly to Venice - so much to see and you have only a short time there. I looked at your hotel on Google maps. Looks like your easiest bet would be to get off the train and get a water bus ( vaporetto) to the Rialto stop and it is a short walk away. You will enjoy the canal journey if you are not jam packed. It could be that if the bus gets you in that much earlier, then it is worth the extra step from the people mover. It might be nice to repeat the route at night. I did it at 8:30 am on a Sunday morning accompanied by a Rick Steves audio guide and it was great. Rick also had a great guide for St Marks Square. I sat in the shade and listened while taking it all in. if you want to go inside the Basilica and Doges palace I would book for first thing in the next morning. Do you need a guide for Venice - no because you cannot get lost - but see photo for what did happen to me. I had to walk back to the hotel with only half a sole.

I went to Malaga with DD and her boyfriend they live about an hour away, they were dropping me off at the airport for an early evening flight. Malaga was mega busy as it was Palm Sunday. It was late lunch time so a busy time in Spain. Boyfriend who goes to Malaga a lot suggested El Pimpi. There were tables inside so we were happy. I just checked the bill and saw that it was not cheap at €25 per head - probably just two alcoholic drinks in that, but we enjoyed. I kept their card because I thought I would want to return. So I would say if you are there at a weekend, book ahead if you are specific about eating outside. Don’t expect it to be cheap. I don’t think I saw anyone there that looked like a ‘tourist’, mostly families (who could have been staying in Malaga for Holy Week so could have fitted the definition of tourist). I cannot recall what we ate and sadly I didn’t take photos. I know that it was tasty.

I checked out the hotel on Google maps. Great reviews, great location and lots of restaurants around. I do have to add that I have stayed in bcn pre cruise 7 times. I stayed in a different location each time. All locations were great because the city is so accessible.

This is what I was going to say. Also when we cruised midsummer we always carried swimwear and one of those small sport towels. We found a place to swim in most ports.

You have already had your trip. I hope that you had a good day even though the weather was a bit dodgy across the region. For the benefit of others I would say that it is easily walkable from ship to cable car if you are a regular walker. The 2, 3, 4, 9 and 5/10 all go to the cable car station. I often walk by after visiting Alameda gardens with my nephew and notice the queues. They can be longgg. I recommend getting out there early.

In Gibraltar you can use euro to pay for items such as ice creams. Not recommended for larger items because the exchange rate a business would offer you is definitely not in the shopper’s favor. However there are very few places that won’t accept plastic. Even a place I occasionally buy coffee from, only £1.50, will take a card. It is acceptable to ask businesses for change in sterling - we all know the issue of not being able to use local currency outside Gibraltar. Enjoy your port stop in Gibraltar.