OCD Planner's Mah-valous Mediterranean Adventure on Serenade of the Seas

[cruzinlady1947]

Cindy, I just found this thread yesterday. I just got off the Grandeur last Saturday and was busy trying to catch up on things.

 

You are off to a great start. I really enjoy reading all your reviews. Your pictures are awesome and I love your writing style. I just wish I was as organized as you are.:o

 

I will be cruising again in 2 wks., so I might have to finish reading this when I return Dec. 9. By then, It will be over and I can read it straight through without waiting for the next installment. ;)

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to do your reviews. It is so greatly appreciated by me and many others. That is the only way I can visit some of these places. And without spending a penny......:p Although, I know, the real thing would be much better.

 

 

Gwen :)

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy, I just found this thread yesterday. I just got off the Grandeur last Saturday and was busy trying to catch up on things.

 

You are off to a great start. I really enjoy reading all your reviews. Your pictures are awesome and I love your writing style. I just wish I was as organized as you are.:o

 

I will be cruising again in 2 wks., so I might have to finish reading this when I return Dec. 9. By then, It will be over and I can read it straight through without waiting for the next installment. ;)

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to do your reviews. It is so greatly appreciated by me and many others. That is the only way I can visit some of these places. And without spending a penny......:p Although, I know, the real thing would be much better.

 

 

Gwen :)

 

Thanks Gwen for your kind words. I remember you from my other reviews. Have fun on your next cruise. We are sailing again in January after visiting the Grands for Christmas in Florida... then it will be a long wait until Sept. 2015 for the next one which is the Pacific Coastal cruise from Vancouver to LA with an overnight in San Francisco... every port will be new except Vancouver.

 

Cindy

Edited November 16, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[windjamming]

Another avid follower here! Don't change a thing - my favorite part of reviews is the personal experience, so keep all the photos, stories, descriptions coming! We did a cruise on the Serenade (Venice itinerary) last year, and I love reading how different everyone's days were when even at the same ports!

[ace1zoe2]

Another avid follower here! Don't change a thing - my favorite part of reviews is the personal experience, so keep all the photos, stories, descriptions coming! We did a cruise on the Serenade (Venice itinerary) last year, and I love reading how different everyone's days were when even at the same ports!

 

Thanks for the encouragement! I also like reading about what everyone does in port, it helps me decide what I would like to do when I'm there. We choose our cruises based on ports, not ships, and normally choose port intensive cruises because we cruise to see the world.

 

I know some folks want just the facts and don't even like pictures but it's easy to skip over a review if it's not your style. I'm glad that you are enjoying mine :)

 

Cindy

[ace1zoe2]

After having spent more time than originally intended at Frattoria Montecchio we decided to skip San Gimignano and head back to our Villa.

 

When making reservations for our accommodations at the winery over about a year and a half ahead of time I had inquired about doing a tour of the winery. We had emailed back and forth a couple of times with the agritourismo who books the rooms for the winery. Finally we settled on 4pm on Sunday as we would be leaving early on Monday morning.

 

We arrived back at the Vineyard at 4pm precisely and looked around for a while trying to find someone. We had flashbacks of our arrival morning when we never found a soul around and finally let ourselves in to our room. We wandered around the house and then went out back admiring the rows & rows of grapevines.

 

Way out in the vineyard we saw an older woman who waved to us and was probably wondering what the heck we were doing. We waited around and she finally walked up the row of grapevine to see what we wanted. She turned out to be the owner of the property and she spoke good enough English that we could carry on a conversation. We told her what we were here for and she informed us that Sunday is a holy day and they don't do tours. She asked us to come back tomorrow and they would be happy to do one in the afternoon.

 

We explained that we would be leaving early to head to Rome which she could not comprehend as we had only been in Tuscany for 2 day. She told us we needed at least a week in Tuscany to appreciate all it had to offer and we agreed whole-heartedly with her.

 

She advised that her husband was at the Cantina (which in Italy is the wine production facility) on the back of the property and she would try to locate him to see if he could at least do a wine tasting if we would like to wait around. We took the time to enjoy the views and take more pictures. She came back to say that she was unable to find him. At this point we were really disappointed for two reasons... one, we wanted to tour the winer and two, we skipped San Gimignano and now it looked like we'd be seeing nothing.

 

About that time a woman came out of the worker's housing asking the owner what we needed. After the Italian conversation the owner came over and said that Betri, their overseer and husband of the lady, had volunteered to take us to the cellar for a wine tasting. We agreed to do this figuring it would be better than nothing.

 

Betri came out and walked us over to other side of the house to the cellar. On the way we asked if we could see inside the chapel... that is when we realized that Betri spoke not one word of English and we knew about 5 words of Italian. Debbie then remembered that we had both downloaded the iTranslate app on our iPhones so she pulled hers out and that was the beginning of one of the best tours of my life!

 

First we went inside the chapel and were allowed to stay as long as we liked. We took some pictures and asked some questions about the chapel. It was used as a church up until about 35 years ago. After the new owners purchased the property it has only been used for personal worship and for weddings at the vineyard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This information is from the website talking about the property:

 

It was built Around the year 1000 A.D , the canons of Siena's cathedral decided to construct a new abbey not too far from the city.

 

The abbey was to be located on a panoramic hillside in the middle of a forest filled with "cerri" - turkey oak trees- and it was here that Canonica a Cerreto was built. The word "Cerreto" derives from this particular kind of tree, quercus cerris.

 

Located on the old border between the former republics of Siena and Florence, the monastery witnessed years of fierce fighting between the two rivals including the historic Battle of Monteaperti, described by Italy's most famous poet, Dante Alighieri.

 

In 1400 A.D., Canonica a Cerreto was bought by a noble family from Cerretani, who renovated the villa according to the popular Renaissance style of the time.

 

In 1700 A.D., it returned to Siena's clergy, who converted it into a summer villa for the bishop. The interior of the villa's chapel was refashioned to a style more appropriate for the age, and its rooms frescoed by Sienese painters.

 

More than 300 years later, Canonica a Cerreto returned to private ownership.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I just found this review and am very excited to read it! We are hoping to do the Med in 2017 with many family members. Subscribing!:D

[ace1zoe2]

Following the chapel, we headed to the cellar. Our apartment was on the far end on the second floor. The entrance to the cellar was the first door on the left which you entered to go underground.

 

 

The original winery production facilities were directly across from the entrance to the cellars. The building only serves as storage now as the owners built a new modern "cantina" on the back of the property.

 

 

We entered the door into a formal dining area and beyond it was a sitting area with fireplace.

 

 

The first cellar was built over 1000 years ago by the monks from the Cathedral in Siena. It has remained intact throughout the centuries with very little changes by the Bishops who owned and resided at the Rectory for over 3 centuries.

 

 

This cellar is where we went for our tasting. Betri offered us our choice to try as many wines as we wanted however we decided on the Chianti Classico Reserva which was 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon & 5% Merlot. The wine was wonderful, so much better than what we had earlier in the day. Using the app to converse, we learned that Betri has worked and lived on the property for the past 23 years. We guessed that he was mid to late 30's. His family, including a wife, 2 sons and a daughter all live and work on the property as well. He told us that all pruning and harvesting is done by hand.

 

[ace1zoe2]

Debbie & I very much enjoyed talking with Betri and hearing his stories about living on the property and the work he does. We also very much enjoyed the wine!

 

 

We asked about what type of wines were aging in the barrels behind us and were sad to learn that they are all empty now and are just for show. All of the production has been moved to the new facility which was built in 2003 with all modern stainless steel vats and equipment.

 

Betri then asked if we would like to see the new facility and we eagerly agreed that we would love the opportunity. He then asked if we would prefer to drive or walk. We all agreed that it would be more fun to walk thru the vineyard down to the new Cantina and talk along the way. Betri then advised he had to open another bottle as everyone needed a big glass of wine for the walk. What a great idea!

 

We headed out down the path and soon came upon the owner and his wife headed back to the villa in their car. He rolled down the window to see what was up and Betri explained he was taking us on a tour. He asked us to wait just a minute and next thing we knew he was joining us. He was a very educated business man who spoke excellent English. He was a former banker in Milan before purchasing the property some 40 years ago. He was very proud of his vineyard and the new production facilities. He allowed us to ask as many questions as we wanted and he stayed the entire time and walked back to the Villa with us afterwards.

 

The new stainless steel vats like what we have in the US:

 

 

And the oak barrels for aging:

 

 

The tour lasted a couple of hours and we felt like we were having a fun night with new friends. The owner invited us to come to the main villa the next afternoon when he returned from a business trip to Florence. He wanted to show us the interior of the grand estate and have his wife cook for us. As much as we would have liked to do so, we had to decline his offer since we had plans to leave early the next morning.

 

The last couple of pictures I took were a wonderful ending to this most fabulous two days in Tuscany!

 

The setting of the Tuscan Sun:

 

 

The Tuscan Moonlight... the end of our day

 

[ace1zoe2]

I just found this review and am very excited to read it! We are hoping to do the Med in 2017 with many family members. Subscribing!:D

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to follow along! The med is fabulous. I would either go for a 10-12 cruise or extend a 7-8 day cruise on one or both ends to maximize the cost of the flights.

 

 

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[Sunny AZ Girl]

Yes. We do hope to do a 12 night and extend the time before &/or after to be able to have some time to explore the embarkment/disembarkment areas more completely. At this point, since we are looking at over a year until itineraries open I am just absorbing all the options.

 

I am also an OCD planner. I love your style and have already picked up some excellent tips!

Edited November 16, 2014 by Sunny AZ Girl

[ace1zoe2]

Day 3 - Tuscany to Rome

 

Our original plans for Monday morning was to go to Castello de Verezzano for another tour and tasting. However, it is a gigantic winery in castle and was an hour and 15 minutes in the opposite direction... so we decided to head on towards Rome and stop somewhere along the way for lunch and picture opportunities.

 

We had the guys start loading the luggage around 8:15am. Shortly after going outside Tim came back up to the apartment and said Betri was outside trying to talk to him and he needed one of us to come with the iphone app to translate.

 

Debbie wasn't quite ready yet so I went down to see what he needed. Betri said that he just wanted to come to tell us all goodbye and to thank us for visiting the winery and spending last evening with him. We had asked during our conversations the evening before where they shipped the wine to in the US. He had brought a bill of lading to show me that they were shipping 70,000 bottles of wine to Illinois. It would be boarding a cargo ship in Livorno (which was our first port stop).

 

We thanked him again for the tour and for taking time away from his family to spend the evening working. He said he was very happy to do it. The tour was free and was one of the best things we did. We had given the owner a few euros we had in change and notes and asked him to give it to Betri the night before as a thank you and I think he really appreciated the gesture.

 

We all said our goodbyes and headed out towards Rome!

 

During the trip to Rome, Debbie looked online to see somewhere interesting that we could stop along the way for lunch. The first town we decided on we just missed the exit and it was probably 20km to then next one, then 20 km back to that town so we kept on driving. Soon she came across a recommendation for Viterbo, Italy.

 

Despite heavy bombing in WWII, Viterbo survived mostly intact. It is one of the best preserved Medieval walled towns and is located about 65 miles north of Rome. It is favorite with film companies looking for authentic locals. Sadly there are also hot springs located nearby that we didn't find out about until after our trip.

 

The town is a walled city and has dozens of buildings and churches with great architectural history. We actually drove through one of the narrow arches below to enter the city:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Day 3 - Viterbo continued

 

This was a legend for the layout to the town. We could have easily spent an afternoon or perhaps a full day exploring this quaint village.

 

 

There were churches, war memorials, statues, pieces of history everywhere.

 

 

This column dates back to the XVth (15th) century and comes from the ruins of the Holy Cross Church:

 

 

I believe this was their version of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

 

 

One of the many churches:

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Day 3 - Viterbo continued

 

Random pictures of architecture and cobblestone:

 

 

 

 

One of the great modes of transportation that we saw while in Europe. Debbie was showing me that it had a motorcycle-type handle bars inside instead of a steering wheel.

 

 

Next up we were on the hunt for some lunch. We found this little hole in the wall and decided to take our chances. It was on a back road in the "neighborhoods" and not on the main square.

 

 

One of the best food decisions of the entire trip!

 

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Day 3 - Viterbo continued

 

As we walked in to the restaurant we were greeted with the meat cooler:

 

 

From there we stepped down into the dining hall which featured arches and stone walls. When we first arrived only a couple of tables were taken. This picture was about 20 minutes later and the place was packed wall to wall with no table to spare.

 

 

We choses the fixed menu 4 course meal for 13 euros per person. There was antipasti plate, a choice of salads, a choice of pasta, a choice of meats and a set dessert.

 

First up was this plate. PER PERSON not to share! I could have been done after this one course.

 

 

I think that we all chose the salad for the second course. Then it was time for pasta. We ordered three different types and all tried some of each. The noodles were much larger (thicker) than the spaghetti that we have in the US.

 

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Day 3 - Viterbo continued

 

The guys both ordered Hamburger for their main entree. It was a hamburger steak (no bun) served with a packet of mayo and ketchup.

 

 

I chose chicken and Debbie ordered "fish". This was what we got:

 

 

 

Mussels, not fish. She tried it and liked it so all was good.

 

 

A great place for lunch if you ever find yourself in the area :)

 

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Edited November 16, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

Day 2 - Canonica a Cerreto Tour

 

Just realized I left these pictures out of my review of our time there. These are from when we were walking the property trying to find someone.

 

 

 

 

 

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[HardHeadedWoman]

Following along! Love reliving my 2012 honeymoon Med cruise on Celebrity. :)

 

Lissette

 

 

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[ace1zoe2]

Following along! Love reliving my 2012 honeymoon Med cruise on Celebrity. :)

 

Lissette

 

 

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Thank you Lissette for following along and taking time to post. What a wonderful honeymoon you must have had!

 

 

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[lacubanita]

Hi Cindy !

 

We were on the navigator with you guys in Feb of this year .

Love your posts and can't wait to read more.

We are looking into planning a Mediterranean cruise some time in near future!

 

Lacubanita

Mary Esther

[ace1zoe2]

Hi Cindy !

 

We were on the navigator with you guys in Feb of this year .

Love your posts and can't wait to read more.

We are looking into planning a Mediterranean cruise some time in near future!

 

Lacubanita

Mary Esther

 

Good Morning Mary Esther! I do remember you from the fun group that we had on Navigator's first sailing out of dry dock. You, your husband (Ernie?) and brother & sister in law if I remember correctly.

 

Great to see you again on CC. A Med cruise is a ton of planning and scheduling but so worth it to see all the amazing historical sights in person that you've only seen in movies and pictures before.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions or if there is any thing I can help you with. I am by no means an expert but I'll be happy to help if I can.

 

Cindy

Edited November 17, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

We finally made it back to Rome around 3:30pm and located the Apartment which we had rented for the next two nights. Traffic was crazy! Driving in Rome is not for the light-hearted for sure. I had to close my eyes a few times and hang on for dear life.

 

Our younger daughter, Taryn & son-in-law, Paul, left Texas on June 28, 2014 for their "Round the World Trip" as they called it and we had not seen them in almost 4 months! They met us in Rome and had already checked in to the apartment and had done their laundry by the time we arrived. It was great to be reunited with my kiddos!

 

I found this apartment originally on Home Away but they also have their own website with several properties if anyone is interested. The link is: shortstayinrome.it

 

shortstayinrome dot it

 

 

We stayed in Martina's House and it was a great lay out for our group of family & friends. The kids (my adult kids) used the sofa sleeper and shared a bath with us. We had a separate bedroom and Tim & Debbie had their own bedroom with on-suite bath.

 

 

 

 

 

We literally walked out the front door, turned right and walked past 2 or 3 buildings, turned right, walked up a flight of outdoor stairs and were standing in front of the Vatican Museum entrance within 2 minutes! It was a great location that worked out well for our needs.

[ace1zoe2]

The apartment also featured a great terrace with a BBQ grill, table & chairs, loungers and a washing machine. I had really looked forward to sitting outdoors with a glass of wine discussing everything we had done each day... only we did so much and it was so late when we got home we never really had a chance to use it.

 

 

 

It would be a fantastic apartment if you would be stretching out your vacation 3-4 days in Rome. You could use the corner market and cook at the apartment and lounge in the sun... maybe another trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After unloading the luggage the guys returned the car to the Hertz dealer a few blocks away. We made arrangements to meet the across the bridge of the Tiber River and head to the Pantheon before it closed at 6pm. For anyone who is unaware (as I was until I started researching) you can visit the Pantheon for free! That was my goal for today - to see the Pantheon. Our schedule was full for the next 48 hours and this would be my only chance.

Edited November 17, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

Grazie Amici (Thank you friends!) for continuing to follow along in my journey to see as much of Italy, France & Spain as one can possibly see in two weeks on the ground.

 

Within 15 minutes of leaving our apartment we saw all of these wonderful sights:

 

The Basilica of St Peter:

 

 

These statues were on the bridge that we crossed:

 

 

 

Castel Sant'Angelo viewed from the bridges crossing the Tiber River:

 

 

One of many statues around the bridges:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Another statue:

 

 

Streets scenes along our walk:

 

 

 

And then.... there it was, in all it's glory... The Pantheon!

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

We visited Rome during shoulder season, the off-season, less crowded time of the year... boy was I glad! If this was less crowded, I would have hated to see the crowds during peak season.

 

 

Once inside you are eyes are immediately drawn upward at the beauty over head of you.

 

 

With each step it was more amazing.