ollienbertsmum

I cannot recall how many ships were in when we used the train back in 2012. We didn’t have to worry about not getting back on though. We took the train that went on a single route along the coastline. We got off at a Napoleon monument and then at the end stop. Train gave us a time to explore, get back on the train (same seatS) and then continued the journey. It was a nice little outing. Not sure about timings of queues to actually get on, I am sure that we would not have queued. I have read that there is a route that tours the town. Ajaccio is walkable. There are mixed reviews on Trip Advisor - I found a few photos of the trip to give you an idea.

That is amazing. I love the way you have changed the sky too. My only experience of removing objects was when youngest was called to the bar and her boyfriend took photos. He didn’t notice that besside her was one of those yellow slippery surface warnings that cleaners leave around. I found a free app that did a bit of a removal job. Nothing as smart at this.

I love as much as you have time to share. Vicarious travelling is not quite as good as the real thing, but I enjoy it.

I was randomly trying to find something on tv to pass the time while i was checking my emails. I found Joseph’s amazing technicolor dreamcoat (Donny Osmond was Joseph). It reminded me of why this thread was started. We used to have free streaming of plays and musicals to keep us entertained. Joseph was one of the shows i watched. I loved this endeavor, but really such a long time ago. How far we have come.

I have been through Malaga airport several times this year. No mention of COVID. No mention at the Gibraltar Spain border either. I cannot recall the last time I travelled and COVID was an issue. Was it 2022?

First I think I didn’t post properly and then twice. Sorry.

I have been on a quest to tidy up my photo album since retiring at the end of last august. Today I have come across photos from exactly ten years ago. This is me on the very pebbly beach at Capri while waiting for the ferry to take us back to Naples. It was hot but a good day. Capri is beautiful (I know this is the France board, but I thought it was appropriate given the thread).

I know this is true, but i still always ask if I know the card is my only form of payment. I always think ‘what if the machine is not working today’. It has never been the case though!

I have to agree that swimming in the Med is a good way to spend a couple of hours on a port day. For me it is preferable to trying to squeeze into the pool on the ship. When we used to go in the middle of the summer it never failed to amaze me how families seemed unprepared for the fact that there are beaches in Med ports. I have seen numerous children from ships who end up bathing in their underwear. I used to wear my bikini under my day wear when I knew that a swim might be an option, I also always carry one of those very light travel towels in my bag. I do always run for the shade, but we have never stayed long enough to need an umbrella or beach beds. What I am trying to say is that I do not think you need to spend a whole day at the beach, in some port stops you could have a lie in, do a wander around a port and still have time to relax and swim. Cannes is a place that we have stopped for a dip, we have also had nice swims in Palma, Civitavecchia (although swim shoes to cope with the rocks are needed), Valencia, Ajaccio, Cagliari and Capri. We could easily have bathed in Sorrento but chose to eat a pizza instead! The picture below is however in Cannes from our trip mid July 2011. The weather was not for bathing, we were actually lucky that the tenders were running. It does show some of the facilities. These cheaper beds are situated along La Croisette. The first beach clubs are supposedly expensive. We never asked how much. One of our trips to Cannes was in November. Obviously not beach weather either but we took a boat trip to Ile St Marguerite. That would be a place for bathing in the summer.

You don’t need to book. Taxis are plentiful at the cruise port in Barcelona. I think you could slow yourself down by trying to work out the meeting point. If we are trying to get off early, we take snacks to our room the day before. One person has gone to the buffet to get coffees but this avoids the breakfast queues which can really slow you down.

Being smart - so important. About ten years ago on the BCN metro system I noted how the local women were sitting with bags held tightly on their laps. The train was not really that busy, they were clearly just used to it. I hope that we all stay safe, but do not let these stories of thieves take away the joy of travelling.

Your question was “was it worth it”. I have been into the Basilica a couple of times. I think going into the Basilica was more impressive than the towers. I reallly remember the former, not got much of a recall of the latter. Could just be me.

I live in the southern med, but we benefit from sea breezes. Even so the heat at the moment is brutal. Take your water, take your umbrellas and put your heath first when it comes to planning your day in southern europe.

I am a recently retired speech and language pathologist. Happy to give an opinion when needed.

I have not heard of any positives for some time. A good reminder that we have to remain vigilant. I especially worry about visiting my 94 yr old parents (now about 4 times a year and I have to fly there). They have never been positive because neighbours have been so good with the support for shopping (and they still do, what great neighbours my parents have).

Aww that is so lovely. My brother in law is a priest and I know how much this sort of event means to him.

Same in Norway and the Baltic. Wonderful places in the summer if you want to get no sleep at all.

That is good to know if you are going to cruise with Celebrity, but how many times does it happen that there are technical issues on phone/tv whatever and you assume that it is you (or your Mum). Then when it is finally resolved it is nothing to do with you. The default is always “my fault”. We should have more confidence.

Not sure what is being referred to, it has not come out. If you are referring to the rick Steves App - yes it is free. The audio guides are free too. I hope that you have a great trip

I think that I have put on this thread or somewhere near, that we stayed at La Locanda di Osaria when we went in September 2019. The location was perfect, hotel was the most expensive I think I have ever been in, but it was not the poshest. I would stay there again for the location. It was fun having a real key to open the room door. We did not have view of anything - perhaps a wall, I can’t recall. I did not feel that this was important. There was no point that I would have wanted to sit in the hotel. We had lovely views walking around and when we stopped for refreshments. We were just one bridge over from the train station. It was not that much of an effort, but I have a two wheeled case. Four wheels might have been harder. My luggage comes out at about 15 kg. I can just about carry that for short distances. We were right in front of the second Vaporetto stop for the line 1. We stayed for 2 nights prior to a cruise (which at that time left from Venice ). We had a 24 hour pass which we used from the morning of our full day. I will now tell you more about my experiences. Cant recall if I ever did a review. So when we travel, I like to get up early and DH prefers to set off at around 10 am. First morning I went off to work out how to get the vaporetto pass and how we would get on to the people mover the next day. Came back for him. We went out to get on the vaporetto because we wanted to see Murano and Burano. By this time the queue for the vaporetto had got much longer. We had a wait, got to Murano and loved it. I had booked a restaurant on Burano (Trattoria al Gato Nero). So about 90 mins prior we went to get to boat that would get us there. Walked round the corner and found the mother of all queues. We waited for ages until it was clear that we had missed our booking and was wasting our day in Venice in a queue so we went back to the main island. After listening to other reviews, the only way we could have done this would have been DH getting up early. We strolled around, getting to the Arsenale area. I broke the sole of my shoe with the walking. Passed through St Mark’s Square where it was crowded with tourists. Didn’t linger. We wanted to find food and drink, so mindful of reviews we bypassed St Mark’s Square. We really still could not find anything cheaper than 7 euro for a beer (our yardstick for the day). In fact further away seemed more. So we just stopped somewhere and ate and drank. The only high part of the bill was the imposed 20% tip (we are europeans). On the morning of the cruise (a Sunday) I had a couple of hours to explore a bit more while DH slept. He always opts out of the tours, so at about 8.30 I was on vaporetto 1 - it was not crowded so I sat near the front and listened to my downlloaded Rick Steves audio tour of the Grand Canal. We really interesting. I got out at St Mark’s Square. I had 9 am tickets for the Doge’s Palace. In fact that early pre booked tickets were not needed. I did the tour with an audioguide. I was a bit underwhelmed to be honest. I think that I should have gone to the Basilica instead. However the prison part was eerily unpleasant in a way that has stayed with me. I went out to the Square, Noticed that the Bell Tower queue was getting longer. I could not have climbed and still got back to the hotel in time for check out. Our bags were not in storage. I listened to Rick Steves telling me about the square in another audio guide. Interesting again. Back on the Vaporetto and back to hotel. On disembarkation day of the cruise we had time in Venice before an early evening flight. We left our bags in a storage and went off to pass the time. Walking around Venice is just so wonderful. Kodak moments at every turn and you cannot get lost (for long). Google maps was usually helpful, but I think being among so many buildings affected the signal. I get confused navigating anywhere so I recall being confused in Venice. I had booked 15 minutes on the viewing terrace of T Fondaco dei Tedeschi. we did not have to pay, but booking ahead meant we did not have to wait. Views were lovely and the whole department store was lovely. We were not interested in a gondola ride. Looked too corny and there were traffic jams of gondolas. The only tourist gondola photo that looked lovely was when my youngest went in July 2020. She and her friend paid 50 euro. They had no queues but it was not the most sensible time to travel. So getting an early start seems to be the best advice when it comes to St Mark’s Square. I dont think going to the islands is wise for a single day in Venice but there is plenty of time to wander around this glorious city and get a sense of the history of Venice. I will never forget that short trip.

Let a sink and a bar of soap be your best friends.

We stayed near to the two transport hubs, Santa Maria train station and Piazzale Roma. This required us walking over just one bridge to our hotel when arriving on the bus from Venice airport. It was then convenient for travel in and out of Venice. It was also right opposite the Vaporetto stop. The hotel was called La Locanda di Orsaria. It was quite basic but clean and comfortable, good breakfast and i loved the location. We went to St Marks Square a few times (some intentionally and some by accident as we were just wandering around Venice). I just searched it and notice that it is currently much cheaper than we paid in Sept 2019. I suspect there are fewer overnights in Venice. Spending the last night of the cruise in Venice makes complete sense. I am sure that you will not be alone. I am trying to decide if I would spend a night in Florence and then move on to Rome, but think that you would then be moving on to Naples rather than Civitivecchia. It does seem like a lot of travelling. It will only work if you travel light. Here I mean Rick Steves type rolling luggage. You will be an outfit repeater in your photos but it will make a great deal of difference as you are moving about. Where is your second cruise going?? Sounds like a fantastic summer.

Another suggestion is to stay in Villefranche. I have to admit that I have never been, but I have seen enough photos from other people that make me disappointed that I have not yet been. There clearly is lots to do - and assuming that you are going in the summer, there will be the opportunity for the children to swim. It is on my wishlist.

I have just been reading up about how pickpocketing is viewed in the law in different countries. I didn’t realise the difference. I certainly did not realise that in Britain it was once punished by hanging. For sure prevention is certainly the best way. I recall one time in the BCN metro that I was probably being targetted. It might have just been begging. We had arrived by train, clever me thought that we could get to our hotel by the metro. We could but it required taking our luggage via steps and long corridors. Not sure why but DH and I were looking at different ticket machines. Possibly we were each buying our own ticket ???? A middle aged man came up to me to give me information about how to buy a ticket. I may speak to my DH in English but I can read Spanish and did not need help. I recall being confused like ‘why is he telling me this’ because I could see that he was not an employee. We got rid of him, but I felt rude in doing so, after all he may just have been a helpful bystander. To this day I wonder what his motivation was. Having had my purse stolen in the Malaga taxi on the way to catch a cruise, I am wary. I was so lucky that my passport was not in the bag that was stolen because for sure we would have lost the cruise. This makes me think that when people are asking for advice about getting to their hotel, lugging cases should not be only a consideration from a weight point of view. Using taxis while you have luggage and orientation of the city to work out may be a sensible way of reducing vulnerability to thieves.