Live From The Carnival Freedom: Crossing the Atlantic for a New Whale Tail

[jam19872016]

There's a little too much sun for me near the main decks.

 

Found a nice shaded spot up on Serenity. 

 

[chryso]

Judging by the crowd you usually mention being in the casino perhaps some sort of cruise gambling guide would be in order.  What games provide the most fun per $ spent and that sort of thing. 

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, Hogladyrider said:

Sorry politely agree to disagree....I am a BIG reader.  Grew up reading and going to the library.

Before I retired and worked in the corporate world I did not have time to read....making up for it now that I am retired and love it...bring my Kindle everywhere!   I do still enjoy holding a book as well.

An overly broad statement, of course people read. My mom is a huge reader and loved the library on Cunard and has even found enough fellow book exchangers on here to keep her happy on Freedom. 

 

Was just speaking in relative terms. I myself read, but my reading involves cruise forums and the like. I can't say I've ever purchased a traditional book for my cruise research or entertainment even though I've seem some great reviews of books on the subject.

[jam19872016]

3 minutes ago, chryso said:

Judging by the crowd you usually mention being in the casino perhaps some sort of cruise gambling guide would be in order.  What games provide the most fun per $ spent and that sort of thing. 

I wish I could find that one myself 😆. They all suck my money pretty quickly. 

 

I did actually buy a book on the subject. A guide to better slot pay. And for the most part I do follow the strategies in that book and find them helpful. 

 

But even the book tells you, you can't beat the casino its just a means of slowing down the beatings 🤣.

[Hogladyrider]

4 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

An overly broad statement, of course people read. My mom is a huge reader and loved the library on Cunard and has even found enough fellow book exchangers on here to keep her happy on Freedom. 

 

Was just speaking in relative terms. I myself read, but my reading involves cruise forums and the like. I can't say I've ever purchased a traditional book for my cruise research or entertainment even though I've seem some great reviews of books on the subject.

Agree....since we live in a relatively small space...we live fulltimein our RV and travel along with cruising I do not purchase books anymore.  I prefer "freebies" on my Kindle and going to the library.  Now my partner reads all day long on the internet....it is still reading as you say a different form.

 

My 95 year old mom does not like that I use a Kindle, she is old fashioned, library books all the way and puzzles as well.  Most of my cruise research is done online as well.

[Hogladyrider]

4 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

I wish I could find that one myself 😆. They all suck my money pretty quickly. 

 

I did actually buy a book on the subject. A guide to better slot pay. And for the most part I do follow the strategies in that book and find them helpful. 

 

But even the book tells you, you can't beat the casino its just a means of slowing down the beatings 🤣.

Exactly why I chose not to gamble!  ENJOY!

[jam19872016]

2 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

Agree....since we live in a relatively small space...we live fulltimein our RV and travel along with cruising I do not purchase books anymore.  I prefer "freebies" on my Kindle and going to the library.  Now my partner reads all day long on the internet....it is still reading as you say a different form.

 

My 95 year old mom does not like that I use a Kindle, she is old fashioned, library books all the way and puzzles as well.  Most of my cruise research is done online as well.

My mom won't use a kindle either.

 

She has also never been on the internet. 

 

1 minute ago, Hogladyrider said:

Exactly why I chose not to gamble!  ENJOY!

I haven't gambled much. It's not fun for me when it's too crowded. I threw in a $20 on Cunard and I gambled some freeplay the first two legs of this trip but none of my own money yet except on Cunard. 

 

I sure would like to though.

[jam19872016]

Ummm....the intermittent bellows of deep black smoke coming out of the funnel make me a little nervous.

[princess76021]

56 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Ummm....the intermittent bellows of deep black smoke coming out of the funnel make me a little nervous.

Oh crap! 

Hugs

[jam19872016]

Still trying to catch up on my port adventures. With all these sea days, I thought I would have made more progress but I don't find myself with as much downtime as I expected. Going to work towards getting caught up right now. 

 

My next port day was Livorno. I did have a lot of must do's for this trip, but I did really want to visit the leaning tower of Pisa. 

 

We did the Easy Pisa excursion offered through the ship for $90 each. This was quite expensive, but it was the option we needed in order for my mom to be able to enjoy a visit as well. This tour provided a tram into the area with all the sights. Bus tours have to park outside the complex and you walk the rest of the way per local regulations.

 

Another even cheaper option would be the train. I heard a number of people who were able to do that without any problems but do mind the time and make sure it is within your comfort level of independent touring as it does come with risks.

 

The tram that would take us inside.

 

 

The ride over from where the busses park.

 

 

 

 

We are inside now and walking towards the Leaning Tower which we caught a quick peek of as we entered.

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

 

 

 

We had an informative guide who gave all sorts of interesting information. I retained almost nothing. 

 

The Duomo di Pisa

 

 

I will have some photos of the inside later as it was not open yet. We beat most of the crowds on this early morning excursion, later in the day it was far more crowded here.

 

Some more of the leaning tower.

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

I would like to tell you my mom saw the rest of these beautiful buildings and sights, but unfortunately this was as far as she could go. Her back was bothering her too much to continue on. She did find some wonderful souvenirs while she waited on the tour to conclude and take us back. She's not as interested in the history parts as I am so I was glad the tower was first because I think that was all she cared about. Hopefully she was happy with her day here and it is just me who is saddened that she did not share in the rest of the day with me.

 

The Duomo

 

 

 

The Baptistery was closed for renovations.

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

The Cemetery. Admission was included with the price of the tour.

 

 

I admit I did not pay attention to most of the narrative inside. I was too busy taking pictures. The details that went into this place were stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[exlondoner]

Even with all the crowds, Pisa is a lovely place to visit. I don’t do spiral staircases and am not good with heights, so we have a series of pictures of me sitting at the bottom of various edifices, taken by my husband from the top. Pisa is one of the earlier ones, taken before it was slightly straightened.

[jam19872016]

I tried very hard in my photos to not include anything "modern" that killed the vibe. I retook one that caught the hand sanitizer, I tried to avoid the ADA ramps. Anything out of place, but this was too cute and I had to capture it. Never heard of it before.

 

 

As best I could tell it was a robot lawnmower. I need one of those, I just wonder if they are practical.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[#55worktoplay]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Hmmm. They read on Cunard. A friend of mine is just about to have his first book published, on life as a Concorde pilot. Then you get invited on Cunard to talk about it. Perhaps that would be the way to go, be an invited author.

He would most definitely need a tux being a celebrity 😀

[jam19872016]

 

 

Robomower hard at work.

 

 

One of the facts I retained was that the original roof was destroyed by bombers in WWII and this was a replacement.

 

 

The bombs also destroyed some of the art on the walls.

 

 

[jam19872016]

By now the cathedral was open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Admission was also included to the Cathedral in the cost of the tour. 

 

Next we had an hour of free time to explore on our own.

 

 

 

 

If you keep going back you come across a shopping area.

 

 

Not interested in anything, I used my free time to do some wandering.

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

 

It was so quiet just steps away from the tourist area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making my way back.

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

The ride was a long one, over one hour each way, but the countryside was beautiful along the way. I could not get very many pictures from the moving bus, but it was simply stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a great tour and I highly recommend it for those with mobility challenges.

 

It is "easy" but not accessible.

 

For those without mobility problems, there are cheaper options for a similar tour.

Edited November 1, 2023 by jam19872016

[jam19872016]

29 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Even with all the crowds, Pisa is a lovely place to visit. I don’t do spiral staircases and am not good with heights, so we have a series of pictures of me sitting at the bottom of various edifices, taken by my husband from the top. Pisa is one of the earlier ones, taken before it was slightly straightened.

It got more crowded later in the day, but it was not overrun with crowds like Barcelona and Naples (and I imagine Rome if I had gone). It was busy for sure, but I felt like the space was able to accommodate the number of people that were there.

 

I did not have time to go up the tower, but I am not a fan for lines I don't think I would have tried to go up if I did have time.

 

22 minutes ago, #55worktoplay said:

He would most definitely need a tux being a celebrity 😀

Every one of the lecturers were very well dressed. I wonder if that is a requirement or just the way they dress out of habit. I would definitely be casually dressed if allowed. It could be part of my, big German word that I had to look up. Schadenfreud or something 🙂