Our Amazing European Adventure! Navigator of the Seas & Norwegian Epic Review w/pics

[ShellDil]

HI all!

 

Well I'm finally caught up on this amazing trip! Your pictures are fantastic!

I really like the one with the blue shutters for some reason. What a lovely time you had making memories with your family. Thanks for doing this.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

 

 

Love this review! Definitely the trip of a lifetime.....thanks so much for sharing!

 

 

I agree with all the others - I look forward to reading your updates daily and am sad that this is soon coming to an end. Your photography is beautiful & you have given all of us great information. I know how much time & effort this is taking, so THANK YOU, from a grateful follower :)

 

 

Thanks everyone for following along! I've really enjoyed sharing our adventures with everyone here! And thanks for the compliments on the photos! I'm never sure how many to include! I actually have tons more~! I think in all there were close to 3000!!!

 

I'm working on our last two days now! (So sad!!!!) I hope to get something posted by tomorrow or Monday at the latest!!

[joand452]

I'm still here, too! I'll be sad to see it end, too (I'm like that with really good reviews. Some I start to follow along, but then my eyes glaze over, too! ;))

[CherryFling]

I've spent the weekend reading through your review. I am absolutely blown away by your gorgeous photos and attention to detail. On October 6th we'll set sail the Navigator for the same 7-day Eastern Mediterranean cruise. I've been wondering a lot about the sites, ports, how the money will work out, etc. - and your one review has pretty much answered every question I had!

 

Thank you SO MUCH for the time and effort you put into this review!!!

[ShellDil]

I've spent the weekend reading through your review. I am absolutely blown away by your gorgeous photos and attention to detail. On October 6th we'll set sail the Navigator for the same 7-day Eastern Mediterranean cruise. I've been wondering a lot about the sites, ports, how the money will work out, etc. - and your one review has pretty much answered every question I had!

 

Thank you SO MUCH for the time and effort you put into this review!!!

 

Thank you so much! I'm glad I could help you out in planning for your cruise! I think you'll LOVE the Navigator! If you think of any other questions, let me know! If I can help out - I'd be glad to. I got so much help here for our trip, it really is what made our trip so successful!

[English Rose]

Thank you for the most wonderful and probably the best review on these boards. Amazing! You must have spent so much time and effort doing this and it's so much appreciated.

 

Doing the Western Med on the Liberty of the Seas in September and have been on both the Navigator and the Epic so understand all of your topics.

 

Fantastic!!

[ShellDil]

Thank you for the most wonderful and probably the best review on these boards. Amazing! You must have spent so much time and effort doing this and it's so much appreciated.

 

Doing the Western Med on the Liberty of the Seas in September and have been on both the Navigator and the Epic so understand all of your topics.

 

Fantastic!!

 

Thank you SO much for the wonderful compliment! Brought the hugest :D to my face!!

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Liberty! I'd love to return to the Med, and the Liberty would certainly be a ship I'd consider!!

 

At least by writing my review it's sort of kept me busy so I don't have time to really be browsing for new trips, somewhat anyway! ;) But once I'm done this I know I'm going to start really obsessing again about where to go next. I'm one who gets really antsy when I have nothing planned! Unfortunately I have no $$$$ for the next trip! I better start saving I suppose!

[ShellDil]

Before starting the post for today, I'll just mention that there aren't nearly as many pictures for today as in past days. Our tours today really didn't allow photos in the best spots, which is a bummer! So, it's a bit wordy and not as pretty! Hopefully you don't mind reading along!

 

It’s Thursday morning and it’s starting to hit me hard that we only have today and tomorrow left of this vacation. I have loved every minute of this trip and am so sad that it’s coming to an end.

 

I’ve traveled a lot, not as much as some, but more than most of my friends and I’ve never felt so comfortable in a place as I’ve felt here in Italy. I’ve loved Europe, but Italy itself has pulled me in. Is it some part of my heritage? Or is it something else? I just don’t know. There are places I’ve been to that I keep returning to, Mexico has been one, Costa Rica another. But that’s different – I go back to those places for a vacation and for the tranquility.

 

But here, well I feel like I belong here – like it’s natural to be here! And while the rest of my family has enjoyed this trip immensely, they are at that point in their vacation where they are ready to go home. Me, I’m feeling rather down. After three weeks, I’m not ready to go home at all. So, today and tomorrow I know are going to be very hard days for me. Very bittersweet! I know I will enjoy them, but I feel like the minutes are ticking away until I have to get on that plane home. I feel like I have to sort of absorb every possible moment as if it's the last one here. I may never get the opportunity to come back! Dramatic right?

 

On the other hand, my better half, Keith has had enough! I mentioned before that this would not have been the vacation of his choice. While he has enjoyed many things about this vacation for sure, he’s had his fill of ruins, and history and standing all day long. He stands all day at work (he’s a chef) and he needs a break. He didn’t come out and say it, but I could see it in his face yesterday. He hasn’t complained about the tour after tour or the endless history lessons. But I know that for him to have to deal with today’s plan, which was the Vatican, would just possibly push him over the edge.

 

Last night after dinner I suggested to him that he enjoy the morning alone at our apartment while the rest of us went on our Vatican tour with Walks of Italy. Or that he go out and find some specialty food shops - find those great meats and cheeses that he has been wanting! We had the Pristine Sistine tour booked and we were to be at our meeting spot at 7:30 am! I knew there was no way I wanted to be around him in the crowds at the Vatican if he didn’t want to be there. So he seemed shocked that I suggested he stay back and we agreed he would meet us for our afternoon tour. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I made all trip!

 

Since we had such an early meeting time, we decided to just use Walks of Italy for transportation to our meeting spot by the Vatican as well. We didn’t want to have to deal with taxis or public transportation at 7:00 am, so we had arranged to be picked up at 7:00 am. Our driver turned out to be the same driver we had from the port the day before! A little familiarity is always nice!

 

Our designated meeting spot was at a café near the Vatican, which gave us some time to pick up a quick breakfast (pastries, cappuccinos, and water) before our tour was to start. I wonder if they plan this meeting spot with the café? Several different tour groups were meeting here. We were very happy that our guide for today was Juvita again! Our group had about 12 people in it. I forgot to mention yesterday that we decided for all of our tours with Walks of Italy to go with their semi-private tours instead of paying extra for their private tours. They limit their tour sizes to 12 I believe. We figured that since we were six people already that if the start time worked for us, a group of 12 would be a good size. It wouldn’t be worth paying extra for a private tour to just limit the size to only the six of us. This turned out to be a good decision. All of our tours with Walks of Italy were phenomenal. I would highly recommend them. Also, when you book multiple tours, I believe 6, you receive a 10% discount. This includes transfers.

 

Ok - now that that’s out of the way!

 

We got our headsets from Juvita and began! We walked a couple of blocks from the café to the Vatican. The Pristine Sistine tour allows your group to enter before the general public is allowed to enter the Vatican. So the only people in the Museum are those with special tour groups. We only had to wait for these groups to be allowed to enter. While we were waiting, maybe 15 minutes or so, Juvita handed us all pictures of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and had some time to go over in detail all of the panels so that when we got into the Chapel we would know what we’d be looking at.

 

 

Our first stop of course would be the Sistine Chapel. We walked up and down steps, through winding walks and Juvita told us not to worry – we’d be back through this area we zipped through later. Our mission now was to get to the Chapel!

 

We arrived and there were maybe 30 or 40 people there? It was amazing. I know, everyone says that. We had our handouts to look at as we looked up at the ceiling. We had maybe 20 minutes to a half hour, virtually alone, or so it seemed, to take it all in.

 

It was stunning. Now, we’ve seen a lot of ceilings and frescos since this journey started nearly 3 weeks ago! I couldn’t imagine how this could compare! What would make it so special! And then I stood there. Just gazing up and back and forth. Looking over the alter and back to the ceiling. The more I stared the more I could appreciate the work. The size itself for one. The detail. The story and the emotion. The way the more you look at each panel the more the figures seem to be reaching out to you. It was moving. That’s what I felt at the Accademia as well, when I looked at David – that it was moving. I suppose that’s what made Michelangelo so gifted. His work produced a feeling, an emotion. The room was so empty as a matter of fact, there was barely one “SHHHH” from the guards!

 

After the time in the Chapel, we went through the various parts of the Vatican Museums. Juvita picked out several pieces to go into details about.

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The longer we stayed the more crowded it became.

 

The vast amount of objects there is stunning! Now, we were there on a Thursday morning in June. Not yet the peak of tourist season, but approaching it. We arrived at 8:00 am, as early as one could be in the museums.

[ShellDil]

By the time we walked through the Hall of Maps and the tapestries I had almost had enough of the wall to wall people. The crowds were unbearable. It was so crowded you could not take a step on your own – it was the feeling sort of when you are maybe at the most crowded concert and trying to exit with everyone at the same time out of one exit! We walked for nearly an hour this way. And as you can probably tell by now, I’m a very tolerant, patient – go with the flow type of person, but at this point, you couldn’t see anything – so it was just shuffling through to get from point A to point B hoping to not get separated from your group.

 

Here I just kept thinking, Thank God Keith didn’t come….he could not have tolerated this crowd! Whew!

 

Anyway – what did we see? Several sculptures, tapestries, paintings, and lots of people’s backs!

 

 

 

 

 

The Rotunda in the Vatican Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

I do think, other than the Sistine Chapel, my favorite was the Raphael Rooms. These paintings were so different from the others. We had some space here and Juvita could take some time to really explain the details of some of the paintings and what and who was represented here. I loved the “School of Athens” painting. I found that fascinating!

 

 

 

 

From here we went back through the Sistine Chapel to get out to St Peter’s Basilica – and I was so thankful that we did the early tour. It was now wall to wall people. It was loud and it was stuffy. It was nothing like when we were there a few hours earlier. We had such a peaceful time there. We tried to make our way through the crowd without pushing anyone, and we went out the door on the side to exit.

 

Next we went to St Peter’s Basilica.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, it was very crowded. But we did make it through! The crowds made it difficult for me to “feel” the peace here though. It wasn’t like when we went to the Duomo in Florence when it felt solemn. Or even in St Mark’s in Venice or the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. In my mind it’s supposed to be the church of all churches, but it’s treated the least church like really. Here it was loud and like a spectacle. But it was beautiful and it was large!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

The real star though was the Pieta. Again, Michelangelo shines! There is no question of the gift he had. Of course, if you could even get close, it’s now behind glass. But you can’t help but being drawn to this work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juvita took us through parts of the Basilica. However in many places our headsets weren’t working well and it was hard to hear her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[njmomof2]

I have been following your review for the last few weeks, and was so glad to catch up with it today. I am awed and amazed at the amount of time and effort you have put into this review and the absolutely stunning photographs you have posted.

 

I am also terribly envious of you being able to do such a "once in a lifetime" trip with both of your parents and your kids. With my dad gone many years now, and my mom getting older (not to mention the 2 replaced knees, the replaced shoulder, the rod in her leg), I don't see her ever being able to manage this type of trip, even if it were a week instead of 3 weeks. The photos of your family together are just an unbelievable treasure.

 

I'm looking forward to reading the remainder of the report, as one day in the future I would hope to be able to take my boys (now 15.5 and 11) on one of the cruises so that they too could experience some of the history you've shown us in your report.

 

Thank you Shelli.

[ShellDil]

After the Basilica, our tour was basically done. She said we could stay here if we wanted and climb, or take the elevator up the dome. Neither my parents nor the kids wanted to, which really disappointed me. I wanted to – but we exited the area before they realized I wanted to.

 

We went out to St Peter’s Square and walked around a bit, took some pictures and tried to decide what to do next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

I will say that I was extremely glad to have visited the Vatican. I was however very disappointed in the crowd management. We visited so many places this trip and this was the only place that we experienced crowds at this level. Why let so many people in at one time if the crowds get to the point where the visit becomes less enjoyable? Sell timed tickets maybe? I don’t know what the answer is, but we were all glad to be out of the Vatican, and yet at the same time, we knew there was so much more there that we didn’t even scratch the surface!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was this kind of morning and feeling once we got outside I suppose!!!

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

We were hungry and we had another tour this afternoon! Crypts, Bones and Catacombs! But we had some time before that was to start. We weren’t exactly sure how we’d get from the Vatican to our meeting spot for that tour. But my initial plan was to take the metro. If that didn’t work, a taxi would be plan B.

 

We wandered a bit right around the Vatican and initially we wanted to stop at Pizzarium, as recommended on Katie Parla’s food app, but we never made it there. My parents were hungry and didn’t feel like trying to find it. Instead we made the mistake of walking into one of the first places we walked by, right near the Vatican. While the food was fine, and the service was also nice, the prices were extremely high! It was basically a self serve cafeteria type place with waiters walking around to see if you “needed anything else”. But for the 5 of us Panini type sandwiches and water or Coke Light’s were close to 90 Euro! Oh, we may have gotten some fruit on the side and fries I think too! But we did get to sit and relax for a bit – there’s the bright side.

 

 

 

So from here, we had some more free time, so we decided to walk to Castel Sant’Angelo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m pretty sure we took the most round about walk because as we arrived, we turned around and voila, there was the most perfect view of St Peter’s again!

 

 

 

 

How could that be? Didn’t we just come from there? Although I think we came from a different side…but in any event, we had a nice stroll to get there.

 

 

[pamletx]

So looking forward to this ..

 

My sister and family will be getting off the Epic tomorrow - so I've been scouting reports - looking for pictures .. laugh.. BOY did I come to the right place!

 

Love that you did both the cruise and "on your own" .. DH and I have been discussing how difficult "on your own" would be in Europe .. You're giving me hope!! ( He has no trepidation .. his theory is grab a translator app and you're good to go.. laugh)..

[ShellDil]

 

We left off at Castel Sant'Angelo after our morning at the Vatican~!

 

Megan and my mom sat on the wall overlooking the Tiber River. Again, here there were so many street vendors selling their goods. It sort of reminded me of a street festival atmosphere, but I would assume this is how it is here daily. My dad, Alex and I walked along the river for a bit.

 

 

And here, Alex would get yet another pair of sunglasses to replace the pair that broke yesterday! This would be the final pair! And now that we're home, he’s still wearing these Ray Ban knock offs! I'd call that final pair our best sunglass investment yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

We took some pictures, and Alex wanted to walk down to the river and walk along the path down below back to Mimi and Megan. Sure…I’ll go with it. My dad walked back up above and Alex and I went down below. Other than some bike riders and joggers, it was pretty quiet down there. I can always count on Alex for doing something just a little bit different when we travel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course by now, we were cutting it a bit close on time, so we had to catch a taxi and quickly get across town to our meeting point for our next tour! And hopefully Keith was able to find our meeting spot as well! He would probably be walking – map in hand. Let’s see how well he was able to navigate the streets of Rome!

 

I’m pretty sure our taxi driver went the longest way possible! We had to get from the Castel Sant’Angelo to Piazza Barberini. On the map it looked pretty straightforward, but the ride seemed pretty roundabout! But then again, I don’t know which roads are the best to take! We barely arrived on time, but we made it! And Keith was there too! Whew – we did it!

 

Next up....our afternoon!

 

[ShellDil]

We met up with Keith who was very proud that he had managed to navigate the streets of Rome alone and made it from our apartment to Piazza Barberini on his own! Apparently the map I left him wasn't the most detailed and the people he asked for directions kept pointing him towards the Trevi Fountain when he told them he had to meet at the fountain at Piazza Barberini! But we made it and we were all together and on time!

 

Once again, our tour was with Walks of Italy and it was their Crypts, Bones and Catacombs Tour! Italy Underground! We were all really looking forward to this one. Something really a bit different! Our guide was Mike and he was awesome!

 

Unfortunately no pictures were allowed at any of the sites we went to. But if you google each of the places you can pull up images. They are fascinating! Each and every place was unique and incredible! So this is where the pictures for the day sort of stop. I think I have maybe two more! Then it was cameras away. It about killed me! EEK! :eek:

 

First we took a van to the Catacombs of Santa Priscilla.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is where the first Christians buried their dead. This was absolutely fascinating! I do have some postcards from here that I could probably scan and post if anyone is interested.

 

 

Waiting for our group to start the tour!

 

 

We saw the tombs of the wealthy – which included the “woman in the Robe”, the middle class, and the regular class people.

 

There were tombs that would have been for children, including infants. It was absolutely incredible!

 

We also saw an image of what was believed to be the first painting of the Virgin Mary.

 

Our guide, Mike, was so enthusiastic; he made the place come alive for us. Which I suppose is a bit ironic since it's a burial site! :)

 

After the Catacombs, we got back into the van and went to the Capuchin Crypts. This is where the Capuchin Monks decorated the walls of the crypts with the bones of their dead. They had nowhere to bury them. So in order to honor their brothers they positioned their bones in this way. Each crypt has a different symbolic meaning in its arrangement. Again, it was totally fascinating. There is a small museum that you walk through before entering the crypt area.

 

Our next stop was the Cathedral of San Clemente. This is a Cathedral built in the 12th century, which is built on top of a Cathedral built in the 4th century, which is built on top of a 2nd century structure below! They even believe there may be another structure below that one!

 

We got to go all the way down to that 2nd century structure! Can you imagine discovering this? It was discovered because the person in the 12th century church kept hearing running water. They dug for it and found the 4th century Cathedral. They still heard running water below that and kept digging and found the 2nd century structure where you can actually still see the running water! There is a natural spring that runs through there!

 

Mike just kept bringing us deeper and deeper into the ground and telling us the history of this building and what was below each level. He told us the symbolism of the pieces that were found in the 2nd century area. I was hanging on his each and every word!

 

After visiting the underground areas, we went into the current day Cathedral of San Clemente which is quite pretty. The floor seems to be a bit off level and you wonder as you stand there why it’s not collapsing into the ground that we just walked below!

 

This was another fantastic tour! Alex talked Mike’s ear off during this tour. It was his kind of afternoon! Bones, underground, and crypts! Mike was a terrific guide!

 

My parents and Megan decided to take a taxi back to our apartment. This Cathedral was fairly close to the Colosseum so Mike pointed us in the right direction and Keith, Alex and I decided to walk back to the apartment.

 

We sat out on our balcony with some wine and relaxed a bit before heading to dinner. We ate at a place fairly close to our hotel. It was good. I think it may have been one of the only meals we had where we ate inside though! On the walk back, we stopped for some gelato and called it a day.

 

Tomorrow is our last day in Italy…we head to Fallo! The purpose of the trip after all! Mimi gets to go to the town where her family came from!

 

Of all the pictures, I'd say the ones from today are probably my least favorite. First because the Vatican was so crowded I felt so rushed taking them! And second because I couldn't take pictures of the places I enjoyed the most...The Sistine Chapel or any of the afternoon tour. Not that I don't like the ones I have, but I feel like there's a big gap in today's photos!

[justforkicks]

What a great review, one of the best I have ever read and the pictures are stunning! Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us! Can't wait to read more!

[ShellDil]

What a great review, one of the best I have ever read and the pictures are stunning! Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us! Can't wait to read more!

 

Thank you!!! I'm hoping to post about our last day in Italy this afternoon!

[HighlandGirlEB]

Thank you!!! I'm hoping to post about our last day in Italy this afternoon!

 

lol hurry before I have no nails left to chew off x /hugs

[ShellDil]

lol hurry before I have no nails left to chew off x /hugs

 

Funny!!! :)

 

 

I'm going to be sad when I'm done though!!! What in the world will I do with my free time???

[HighlandGirlEB]

Funny!!! :)

 

 

I'm going to be sad when I'm done though!!! What in the world will I do with my free time???

 

 

Cruise again and give us another review??

[Travel R]

Funny!!! :)

 

 

I'm going to be sad when I'm done though!!! What in the world will I do with my free time???

 

I posted the last entry of my review today and actually feel sad that it (the review) is over. Writing the review allowed me to relive my vacation for an extended six weeks, but now it is done.

 

But all the more reason to go on our next cruise!