Cool Girl & Crazy Mom do the Med-Venice: A (very delayed) review of a Serenade voyage

[kirian]

We have these in Ireland too, they grow in hedgerows, although they are not nearly as common now as when I was growing up ( which is only about 20 years ago thank you very much) I'm slightly scared of your information about tapeworm destroying my liver as we used to pluck them off their bushes and eat away when we were kids. Actually maybe that's the reason some Irish people have destroyed livers and its not from whiskey after all :D

 

LOL - I like the way your think, Irish Cath... NEVER blame any poor health issues on alcohol (at least, that's my plan!) :p So apparently little strawberries are everywhere BUT The States! I'm curious if anyone stateside has ever seen these locally? I just HAVE to try them now :D

 

 

Melissa....loving your review. Thank you for taking the time to write it and take us along on your journey. I'm sure it is very time consuming,but I'm taking notes. My cool mom and I are taking this trip in 2016 for my 40th birthday (yes...2016) so I'm reading as many reviews as I can to find out things to do and I love the idea of Cannes being easy enough to just wander and explore. I was initially thinking I'd be doing this trip solo since DH doesn't really like to travel, but my mom is getting very excited.when you're finished I'm thinking I'll print off the review and send it to her (she's not very good with the internet) bless her heart:D

 

Hahahahaha!!! I love that "bless his/her/your heart" is becoming a theme throughout the review. Every time someone uses it in a post, it cracks me up :D I was 39 when I did this cruise... I will be 41 on the next one. You and your mom with have a blast! I hope you'll stick around for the rest of the review and hopefully I can give you some helpful tips along the way :)

 

Melissa

[kirian]

Loving your Cannes experience!!!! And now we know what those little strawberries really are! I can't wait to read what is next!

 

I know! I think I can finally sleep at night now that I know teeny tiny strawberries have a more "official" name. Now I just have to track some down so I can try them!

[kirian]

Hi folks,

 

Just wanted to apologize for not getting the next post up (Day 3 - La Spezia).... it was a bit of a busy Sunday. I need to finish writing it up, but as with the others, I hope you will find it helpful (and fairly detailed). I will be covering a bit of La Spezia itself, but mainly 2 of the towns of Cinque Terra (where we spent most of the day)... Vernazza and Manarola.

 

I hope to have at least the first part of Day 3 posted tomorrow... so please hang in there with me :cool:

 

Melissa

[Bailey & Sophie]

Hi folks,

 

Just wanted to apologize for not getting the next post up (Day 3 - La Spezia).... it was a bit of a busy Sunday. I need to finish writing it up, but as with the others, I hope you will find it helpful (and fairly detailed). I will be covering a bit of La Spezia itself, but mainly 2 of the towns of Cinque Terra (where we spent most of the day)... Vernazza and Manarola.

 

I hope to have at least the first part of Day 3 posted tomorrow... so please hang in there with me :cool:

 

Melissa

Hey...you're doing this on your own time. You don't owe anyone an apology for anything.

Loving the review.

[joand452]

We have those tiny (even smaller) berries in our yard -- we just refer to them as "wild strawberries," at least that's what a landscaper called them. I wouldn't eat them -- between the bunnies, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks, etc., not to mention our dog, no telling what's on them!!

 

I make it sound like we're out in the country, but we're not. Just good ol' suburbia -- used to be someone's farm, but long ago...

 

Thanks for the animal husbandry lesson, Stef!

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Glad I haven't lost ya, Moondawgie :D

 

 

 

Thanks, Julia! I'm so happy to hear you are enjoying my tale!!!

 

BTW - I positively LOVE the screaming stick figure in your signature. It cracks me up every time I see it. I actually can't help but sit there and watch it "do its thing" at least 2-3 times before I scroll past. Always brings a smile to my face (of course, so did a mini-street-sweeper, so I don't know if you will take this as a compliment or not)

 

LOL, I totally forget it is there cause I have signatures turned off:D

Enjoying and looking forward to the rest of your review, I did a mom daughter trip Venice to Barcelona last year when DD graduated high school, we ended up with a group of 7 but had a fun time for her first EU trip.

I think Cannes has rained 3 of the 5 times I have been there. For MD trip I arranged a private tour to St. Paul and Eze as I had been wanting to go there and then my October trip with hubby we rented a car and it was great getting out of Cannes itself. Idea's for next trip:D:D:D

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Lol --seriously? you guys don't know these? How peculiar:). Here they're called "Walderdbeeren" -- literally translated that would be "forest strawberries". They pretty much grow like weeds -- taste really intense, although not really like regular strawberries. Lol -- the only thing you have to make sure of is to wash them first in case a fox came too close to them .... danger of getting infected with echinococcus multilocularis wich is a fox tapeworm which will basically destroy your liver:(. But once you thoroughly rinsed them, you're good to go --- and boy they are so yummy!

 

Stef

 

After reading this, I'll stay away from these if I ever come accross them:eek::eek::eek:

[Julia’s Journey’s]

LOL - I like the way your think, Irish Cath... NEVER blame any poor health issues on alcohol (at least, that's my plan!) :p So apparently little strawberries are everywhere BUT The States! I'm curious if anyone stateside has ever seen these locally? I just HAVE to try them now :D

 

 

 

 

Hahahahaha!!! I love that "bless his/her/your heart" is becoming a theme throughout the review. Every time someone uses it in a post, it cracks me up :D I was 39 when I did this cruise... I will be 41 on the next one. You and your mom with have a blast! I hope you'll stick around for the rest of the review and hopefully I can give you some helpful tips along the way :)

 

Melissa

 

Bless there hearts, maybe anyone stateside who tried them is no longer around to tell the tape...ooops, sorry I meant tale...:eek::eek:

[kirian]

Hey...you're doing this on your own time. You don't owe anyone an apology for anything.

Loving the review.

 

You are sooooo sweet to say that - thank you! I'm still trying to figure out how a page and half journal entry can turn into 4 single spaced pages in a Word document, but they do seem to grow as I type up each section....lol!

 

We have those tiny (even smaller) berries in our yard -- we just refer to them as "wild strawberries," at least that's what a landscaper called them. I wouldn't eat them -- between the bunnies, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks, etc., not to mention our dog, no telling what's on them!!

 

I make it sound like we're out in the country, but we're not. Just good ol' suburbia -- used to be someone's farm, but long ago...

 

Thanks for the animal husbandry lesson, Stef!

 

Seriously?! Are CM and I the only ones on the planet who had never seen these before :eek: Well, Joan, I see that you are in Virginia, just one state away, so now I might have to plan a short trip up north to search for these berries. If you see a strange woman scavenging in your yard, be sure to say hi :D

[kirian]

Bless there hearts, maybe anyone stateside who tried them is no longer around to tell the tape...ooops, sorry I meant tale...:eek::eek:

 

LOLOLOL!!!!! Good one, Julia!

 

BTW - the guy in your signature is still cracking me up... seriously :D:D:D Please don't even change it - I would be distraught!

[kirian]

OK folks - La Spezia (at least the part onshore) is written. I just have to do a quick proofread to make sure it actually makes sense, then I have to decide which photos to add. I'm going to pour a glass of wine for strength and then get this section posted for your reading pleasure :cool:

[Theredofshaw]

OK folks - La Spezia (at least the part onshore) is written. I just have to do a quick proofread to make sure it actually makes sense, then I have to decide which photos to add. I'm going to pour a glass of wine for strength and then get this section posted for your reading pleasure :cool:

 

just add 'em all, no one will mind :D

[kirian]

just add 'em all, no one will mind :D

 

OK, that will be easier... if you're sure CC won't have a problem with 3000 or so pics on one review :p I'm a terrible picture taker, so I have to take a ton and cross my fingers that 10% will be decent....lol!

[kirian]

Welcome to La Spezia!!!!

 

(Excuse CM... she was saying it was day 4 of our trip... it was only day 3 of the cruise)

 

When we first booked this cruise, I believe the port for day 3 was originally supposed to be Livorno. At some point shortly after we booked, it was changed to La Spezia. Some folks were understandably upset by this, especially if they had been planning on visiting Pisa or Florence. These towns could still be done from La Spezia, but now it would take people longer to get to either of them.

 

For Crazy Mom and me, we were totally fine with this change. I didn’t have a major desire to see the Leaning Tower in Pisa (don’t get me wrong, I would enjoy seeing it one day, but it’s not on my bucket list). Now, I would LOVE to see Florence, but I knew that if I just spent a short afternoon there, I would probably leave feeling more disappointed in all the things I didn’t get to see than in the things I did see. I hate to just rush through a town and see it from a bus window…. Which is what I felt like what we would be doing with the ship now docking in La Spezia.

 

But have no fear, CM and I are “Glass Half Full” kinda ladies, so I set about to investigating what might be interesting to see this day, but that was also a place we could get to without having to spend 2 hours on a bus. My other reason for wanting to avoid this last part is because I wanted to save our energy for tomorrow which would be ROME! So, after doing some research, I found that La Spezia was very close to the towns collectively known as Cinque Terra. So, Cinque Terra it would be!

 

When we went to bed the previous night, we decided we didn’t need to schedule for room service to deliver coffee. BIG MISTAKE! I’m talking COLOSSAL sized error that would NEVER, EVER be repeated again! Why? Because CM is less than a joy to be around when she doesn’t have her coffee (Still luv ya, Mom!). Seriously, you would have thought the woman was dying. I’m surprised she didn’t just open the door and steal some coffee from a passing room service attendant…. She was that desperate. So, I made a mental-note-to-self that this situation would never again occur and we would, from that point forward on this, and all future cruises, order coffee to be delivered each morning.

 

As usual, today we had breakfast at the Windjammer. Sadly, it was just too chilly for us to sit in our usual favorite spot (aft deck), so we compromised and found a table in the enclosed area near the ping pong tables…. At least were technically still sort of outside. (Wait, can you technically be “sort of” something???)

 

After the early morning coffee crisis, I wanted to make sure CM was fully caffeinated, so after breakfast, we grabbed another round of coffee and headed for the Solarium where we enjoyed it in peace (and warm) comfort while waiting for the ship to wake up.

 

At 9a we exited the ship. In La Spezia you need to take a shuttle to get out of the port itself. The Compass stated there was a fee of .75E, but we weren’t charged anything. The shuttle lets you off at the Port Office. This was staffed by 4-5 people who had free maps (grab one!) and offered great directions on how to get to the train station. We were told the station was about a 20 minute walk, but apparently they didn’t notice the shortness of the munchkin’s legs…. It took us more like 30 minutes.

 

It was a dreary walk…. Not because of the scenery, but because of the yucky weather that was still lingering from the day before in Cannes. Today it was around 65-70F and rainy & overcast until about 2p. But, we still found some pretty sites along the walk to the train station… like this lovely little park full of urns and sculptures:

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we arrived at the station and got in line for tickets. When we made it to the window, we were saddened to hear that the trails were closed due to the weather. You see, there are walking/hiking trails that link the towns of Cinque Terra and we were planning to use these in combination with the train to visit the different towns (you need to purchase a ticket to hike the trails, but this can be done at the train station). The initial thought was we would take the train to the furthest town (Monterossa) and hike our way back… or I should say partially back as we knew we likely couldn’t do all 5 towns in the time we had available.

 

No worries! We are hardcore, remember?! We can go with the flow. So, we decided we would just take the train between the towns… this would give us more time to spend in the towns themselves anyway. So, we purchased a single ticket (good for 75 minutes from the time it was stamped) for the initial leg out and then a different ticket (that would be good for 6 hours from the time it was stamped) for the journey back. In hindsight, we probably could have just purchased the latter. Oh well! The total cost was only 15E for the two of us combined. Now that’s what I call a bonus! (I would love to know what RCCL would have charged if they had been offering transportation between the towns… I can only imagine!).

 

When we finished purchasing our train tickets, it was around 10a and the next train didn’t leave until 11a. We used our time wisely to re-plan that day’s adventure. After reviewing the train timetable, we decided to skip Monterossa (which was mainly just a beach town) and instead head for Vernazza (one town closer). We boarded the train at 11:02a and arrived at Vernazza at 11:25a…. not bad at all! This particular train was VERY crowded, but I think it was mainly from tours that had departed from a Norwegian ship that was also docked in La Spezia (the rest of the day’s train rides would be nowhere near as crowded).

.......

Vernazza is considered the largest “resort” town of Cinque Terra, but that’s relative. Yes, it is the largest “resort” town, but it is still TINY! If we weren’t planning to eat lunch there, we probably could have easily seen the entire “town proper” in a hour and caught the next train that came through that way. But, our empty bellies were telling us that was not going to be an option, so we set out to find some vittles.

 

We slowly strolled toward the water (stopping here and there to check out a shop) and around noon (35 minutes after getting off the train) we found Baia Saracena Pizzaria (right on the water) and decided this would be a perfect spot for lunch (plus, it was recommended by Rick Steves and RS is rarely wrong!). We weren’t disappointed!!! We order a ½ liter of wine, pesto lasagna and pest gnocchi (This area of Italy is apparently famous for pesto, so when in Rome… errr… Cinque Terra).

Oh my!!!! This was delicious! I have to order gnocchi if it’s on a menu (it’s just how I roll as you will see a couple more times in the review) and this was a good choice, but CM’s lasagna…. To Die For!!!!! One of the best things I ate during the entire trip!

 

 

 

(The umbrellas show where we ate lunch... I'm practically standing in the water to take this photo)

 

 

The portions were very generous and well worth it. Out total cost for this feast was 27E plus a 3E service charge for a total of 30E. I left a 3E tip (based on prior research, it seemed that 10% was appropriate). I strongly recommend eating here if you ever find yourself in Vernazza. You won’t be sorry!!!!

 

Now, while we were there, one thing did happen that totally embarrassed me as an American. We were seated at an outside table area that was VERY clearly part of a restaurant (and there was a wait… not that it should even matter… but it just adds to the story). Some of my fellow compatriots were not eating/drinking at the restaurant, but they were sitting at the tables with food they clearly purchased elsewhere. A waiter came up and told them they would need to leave (he wasn’t mean about it… just stated the fact). They proceeded to argue with him telling him they bought the food there (it was clear to all they had not). When the waiter insisted they needed to leave, the one “gentleman’s” response was, “Yeah, yeah… We’re going just settle down.” WHAT! This was just disgraceful behavior on the part of my fellow countryman.

 

Anyway… back to happy thoughts and more of Cinque Terra.

........

[kirian]

So bellies full (our bellies were full a lot on this trip, if you couldn’t tell), we made our way back to the train station to catch the choo-choo to the next stop.

 

When we arrived at the station, we both realized that ½ liter of wine we enjoyed with lunch was ready to be out of our systems, so to speak, so we searched out a restroom. We found one at the station (whew!) but it was definitely NOT the type we are accustomed to in The States. There was a separate door for men and women that were clearly marked, so it’s not like we had wandered to the “dark side” or anything. When I entered the women’s room, to my dismay, there was no throne to be had… just a hole in the floor. Now, how exactly is that supposed to work with a woman’s anatomy (especially when you are wearing pants or shorts)??? Well, fortunately this wasn’t my first rodeo with having to use my wits…. And balancing skills… to perform this particular act, so I was able to pull it off and keep my feet and legs dry at the same time. CM and was up next and I gave her some pointers I thought she might find helpful (I think one such tip was to hold onto the door handle for balance). It must have paid off because she emerged unscathed (aka dry) as well.

 

Feeling much more comfortable, we proceeded to the platform to wait for the train that would take us to our next stop…. Manarola. Now, as we found the case to be elsewhere in Europe, you had to be sure to validate your ticket before boarding the train. The first little box we tried was out of order, but a quick search of the platform yielded a second, working, machine. So tickets validated, we boarded the train at 2:52p for the 10 minute journey to Manarola.

 

 

Even someone like me who rarely takes train could figure this out.... Bin is the track, BTW

 

 

We had decided to start at our furthest planned town from the port and work our way back. That way, if something happened and the trains suddenly weren’t running, it would be cheaper to get a taxi or some such to get us back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

Manarola is pretty little town. There aren’t many shops or restaurants, but there are amazing views! After exiting the tunnel that takes you to the town proper, we turned right and headed up a hill to a quaint church. We didn’t find much else up there, so after taking a peek inside, we headed back down toward the water. Since it seemed like we were enjoying this uphill, downhill thing so much, as soon as we got the water, we headed back up a paved trail along the cliffs (I think this may have been a “free” section of the Park Trail that runs between the towns).

 

Partway up, we found some steps and thought, “Heck, let’s go see where these lead.” So up the steps we went.

 

Side note: I swear, we walked uphill more than we walked downhill on this trip… I know you’re wondering how this is possible, but I’m telling you, this is how it seemed to my legs at least… and I was the one with “normal length legs. I can only imagine what the munchkin’s mini legs were going through :eek:

 

These stairs led to a small, somewhat dilapidated church, then up to more steps (because there weren’t enough already) to a small playground. If you happen to find yourself here and suddenly need to use the “facilities” as luck would have it, there is a WC at the playground. I was still slightly traumatized from the WC at the train station, so I didn’t risk going into this one, so I can’t tell you how it was and whether or not it contained any porcelain chairs or not. Sorry, you’ll just have to find out for yourself.

 

Around the corner from the playground is a small cemetery. Now, I hope you won’t find this weird, but CM and I just LOVE cemeteries. They are always so full of history. So, of course, we had to check it out.

 

 

 

 

From here, we found some steps that mercifully headed downhill for a change, so to the relief of our legs, we took this route and headed back to the train station.

 

 

Talk about a gorgeous view!

 

We caught the 4:31p train and decided to skip Riomaggori and just head back to La Spezia. The train pulled into the station at 4:45p. From here, we leisurely made our way through the heart of La Spezia back towards the port. Of course though, we had to get some gelato (hazelnut and cherry) to fuel us (and our legs) for the remainder of the walk (which, thankfully, was flat).

 

Once we got back to the port entrance, we found a coffee shop called Piccolo Faro. We bought a couple of espressos (2E total) in exchange for the wifi code. We figured it was high time we called the States so I could check on my dog…. Oh, and say hi to my dad (the dog-sitter). To say my dad is “technologically challenged” would be the understatement of the year. “Bless his heart” doesn’t even cut it in this case. The man thinks he has the power to break the internet. Just think of the person you know who understands computers the least, then multiple it by 1000 and that would be my dad. Needless to say, there was no way he was going to figure out how to Skype. I had already decided not get an international plan on my phone…. When I’m on vacation, I’m ON vacation. I don’t check email, I don’t check voice mail, I don’t check Facebook…nada…

 

There is a tip buried in this long paragraph, just stay with me….

 

My dad & brother had the number of our TA who would be able to get in touch with us on the ship if there was an emergency. However, since CM and I aren’t totally evil, we did tell my dad we would call him every couple of days and I found a great and CHEAP way to do this. For those of you that aren’t aware, Skype has a plan where you can use the internet to call a landline or cell line. This would work perfectly for contacting my dad. I signed up and the cost was one $2.99 a month for unlimited calls/minutes from Italy/Spain/France/Croatia to his phone back in the States. So, I would just grab some free wifi on my phone (which I kept turned off at all other times), open the Skype app and call him that way.

 

Side note: I have a confession to make, we didn’t exactly tell me dad that the fee of $2.99 was for unlimited time. We might have given him the impression we only had limited minutes and therefore, could talk long… unless of course it had to do with my dog and how cute she was…. Then we could stay on the phone as long as he wanted. Seriously though, we were on vacation in Europe, I didn’t care what the weather was like in North Carolina.

 

So, there’s the tip – aren’t you glad you kept with me until the end of the paragraph (which is technically more than one paragraph at this point)? :D If you don’t want to splurge on an international plan (or if your phone can’t be used internationally) and you don’t want to use the ship’s internet (because you have better things to do with the money you would spend on that…. like buy your own small country), grab some free wifi on shore and get one of these plans through Skype to call back home.

 

Now, let’s get back on board and see what tonight what have in store for us!

 

.....

 

But first, some random photos of today's adventure.....

[kirian]

 

 

Weather permitting, you can also take this ferry between the towns instead of the train

 

I have this weird fascination with taking photos of laundry hanging on the line... you'll probably see more of these photos throughout the review... you've been warned!

 

That little peninsula in the bottom right is where we ate lunch. BTW - does anyone know why they put rocks on top of roofs. We saw this often, but I had no clue it if was for decoration or served some sort of "structural" purpose. Any thoughts?

 

Oh look, it's CM resting her mini-legs on one of the numerous sets of stairs we traversed!

[BuzzBuzzen]

I am really enjoying your review and fabulous photos , thank you :) I particularly like your " normal and mini legs" quotes , they give me quite a laugh , cheers , Buzz.

[kirian]

I love how they "park" their little boats in the street!

 

This run off started high up on the hill side. By the time it reached the sea, it was a torrent....

 

You could hear "waterfall" this from across the harbour!

 

In the distance, you can see the fence along the cliff... that's part of the trail the runs between the towns.

 

Oh look, more laundry!

[kirian]

I am really enjoying your review and fabulous photos , thank you :) I particularly like your " normal and mini legs" quotes , they give me quite a laugh , cheers , Buzz.

 

Thanks so much!!!! My mom keeps telling me to stop making fun of her... ya, ok, I'll get right on that :p:D

Edited July 15, 2014 by kirian

[Kimahri]

Lovin this review

[crvng4mr]

My favorite installment to date! Who said you couldn't take pictures! Loving it and never wanted it to end.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

my guess for the rocks on the roofs is that they serve to weigh them down in a heavy storm....otherwise the roof would probably go flying if a gust catches underneith....but I might be wrong.

 

Stef

[tahqa]

That little peninsula in the bottom right is where we ate lunch. BTW - does anyone know why they put rocks on top of roofs. We saw this often, but I had no clue it if was for decoration or served some sort of "structural" purpose. Any thoughts?

 

The rocks help hold the shingles on due to the strong winds that come in from the sea and the mountains.

[kirian]

Lovin this review

 

Thanks so much, Kimahri!!!!!

 

My favorite installment to date! Who said you couldn't take pictures! Loving it and never wanted it to end.

 

Thanks, Ayasha! Believe me, photo taking is not my forte, so I am loving the fact that we have digital cameras these days that allow me to take 1000s of pics in the hope that a few might be good. I can only imagine how many "rolls" of film this would have taken "back in the day" (not to mention the cost of said film and developing it :eek:)

[kirian]

my guess for the rocks on the roofs is that they serve to weigh them down in a heavy storm....otherwise the roof would probably go flying if a gust catches underneith....but I might be wrong.

 

Stef

 

The rocks help hold the shingles on due to the strong winds that come in from the sea and the mountains.

 

Ahhhh.... there we have it! Don't you just love Cruise Critic?! Not only do we learn about cruising, but also about architecture :D Thank you both sooooo much for your insight.... it was driving my mom and I nuts trying to figure out the reasoning behind this. Now I just wonder why my neighbors here in coastal NC don't have these on our roofs to protect us during hurricanes. Maybe I could start a trend :cool:

 

Melissa