Our Mediterranean Cruise 2017 - Part 4

Day 6 - Corsica

We wake in yet another port, this time; Ajaccio on the beautiful island of Corsica. Today's excursion is a half day run up a mountain in the ubiquitous air-conditioned coach. The village of Bastelica nestles near the top of one of the many Corsican mountains, that cater for skiing in the winter months, It is a typical village, very rustic, quaint and certainly not spoilt by the tourists that make their regular way up the winding mountain roads to visit. The only concession to this is the little tourist train that rattles around the streets, showing tourists the rustic charm of Bastelica and it's environs.

I have to admit, I envisaged a little narrow gauge train chugging through the woods, so was slightly disappointed to find a seaside "Noddy" train, which would have been more at home in Weston-Super-Mare. Matters not, we were booked on it and enjoyed the twenty minutes or so it took to travel around.. After which we had some free time to do as we pleased, so we headed for the church to take some photos and a quick visit to what seemed to be, the only bar in the village, not for a drink, but a quick toilet stop! You have to take advantage whenever you can, when you reach a certain age. After wandering around some more, it was soon time to depart the mountain and head back to the port and the waiting ship.


As we had an all inclusive deal, it seemed appropriate to jump back on board ship and have a quick bite to eat, before disembarking again and spending some time in Ajaccio town, wandering around the shops and streets. Ajaccio was a lovely place to be, sandy beaches, promenades and shops, a bit like Blackpool, without the bling, the tower, the illuminations. Actually it was nothing like Blackpool at all! Corsica is another place on the list of places to visit again.

As I am writing this - (at sea, in a journal, with a pen, not on the internet blog site, like now, are you with me?) - anyway as I write this, tomorrow is our last full day of the cruise, a day we shall spend at sea, heading back to Palma and the flight home on Saturday. It is 5 o'clock on Thursday and I've tried to find a quiet corner of the ship to write, but I can still hear one of the ship's popular beat combos, having a good go at some modern classics. They are entertaining and deafening the masses, who are sunning themselves around the main pool. If it wasn't for the view and the fact that we are going to depart very soon, this could be any Spanish seaside resort, when we are really alongside a lovely port in Corsica.


Day 7 - All At Sea

It is now Friday morning, I am currently sat in Venue (one of the entertainment venues), the bar is closed, the stage is bare, the dance floor unlit. I am looking out of the window, on to a fairly dull looking Mediterranean sea. There's not another ship in sight. It is very quiet here, just a few passengers enjoying the tranquil environment. It is therefore an ideal opportunity to reflect on our first cruise experience and think of whether we would do it again. Well I think it's an undeniable "yes" to repeating this adventure.

It is probably true of most holidays that the one thing you cannot prepare for is your fellow holiday makers. You can check out the resorts, you can read through hotel reviews, you can research excursions and places to visit, but you cannot predict the nature of your fellow passengers - they are the unknown, although you can have a good guess at the stereotypical demographic.

Mind you, we have met some amazing passengers / holiday makers in previous years, some we are still in touch with. It seems to me, and perhaps I am over thinking this, but there is a huge and diverse range of people on a cruise; from the laddish "Brits abroad" types, to the quiet, reserved, more upper class types. That strikes me as a huge juxtaposition, normally a hotel would cater for certain types of tourist, but it seems with a cruise, those dividing lines are blurred somewhat. As I mentioned before, on the Captain's "Dress to Impress" night, the amount of ball gowns and suits was incredible - where were these people during the day? Certainly not on the main pool deck, which seemed to be home of the sun worshipping, lazy loungers, who also liked the fact that beer and burgers were literally on tap, all day. Who also got louder and louder by the pint. I guess that is one of the downsides to an all inclusive package, some might see it as a comfort when it comes to budgeting for their time away, others consider it a challenge and try to drink the bar dry!
Luckily, this element is limited, however they seem to be the loudest and certainly like the sound of their own voices! I only say that, as there is now a group on the other side of this once quiet lounge, that are consistently talking in a loud and opinionated manner!! They are currently discussing how much they drank last night.

I know this makes me sound very snobby, but I just like the quieter more genteel side of life and not have the air punctuated with loud expletives,from a bunch of brash layabouts!

I am clearly getting old!

I know it takes all sorts to make this diverse world we live in, but do we really need to keep turning the volume up with every pint?

I don't think I have done myself any favours in this blog, but I hope I have captured some of the highs of our time on the high seas, catalogued our adventure, with a modicum of levity and described what it was like for us on our first cruise. Re-reading my journal, which I wrote whilst on the cruise, it seems like I was somewhat obsessed with the clientele, I hope that hasn't marred the overall narrative of the blog, I tried to include my thoughts and feelings of the places we visited, but sometimes it is very hard to describe exactly what you see, when a few well chosen photographs could describe the same. Perhaps I should be more at ease with the inevitable mixture of people we share our experiences with and concentrate more on what we did and what we saw. We certainly did a lot more than what I have described in the last few pages, but would you necessarily be interested in the minutiae of our holiday? Hence the descriptive prose of the our fellow passengers. Maybe I should take sometime and describe a few highlights, right here, right now; for me Pisa was incredible, literally breathtaking, rounding each corner as we walked into the town centre, stealing glimpses of the top of the tower and then it coming into full view was indeed magical. Eating very well in the onboard restaurants with the most attentive service was also a highlight. Not having to pay for such service was also a bonus. Trying something new and enjoying it, getting the cruising bug? Maybe. And, as always spending quality time with the family will always be there as a very treasured moment.

Those of you who have read my previous blogs will know that I don't write these out of some narcissistic desire to be noticed, I write them to remind ourselves of what we did, share with friends and strangers our little adventures and hope that my waffle brings some joy to whoever reads them.

Bon voyage!

Our Mediterranean Cruise 2017 - Part 3

Day 5 - Rome

The port of Livorno disappeared into the distance, as we relaxed the evening away, knowing full well that we had another long day ahead of us. We started day 5 with another very civilised breakfast in the 47° restaurant. It is so nice to have a quiet breakfast, served up by extremely attentive waiters, it makes a lovely change to the free-for-all buffets we're used to. After breakfast we scan ourselves off the ship and onto a waiting coach and another knowledgeable tour guide escorting us on the first leg of our excursion. We left the port of Civitavecchia and headed to the local train station, just a short hop and then it was off the coach and onto the Roma Express. There will be no slumming it on an hour or so coach journey for us! No, no. We have the luxury and exclusivity of an express train straight to St Peter's Square station. OK, so the luxury was a little dated, but it was a plush carriage with comfy leather seats and it was exclusive. Exclusive to tourists who had booked. Matters not, it was lovely and quick, with a modicum of air conditioning to keep us cool.

Once in Rome, we headed to another coach that was waiting for us, where we picked up our Rome tour guide; Anna, who was just lovely - straight talking and to the point though, you did not dare speak when she was speaking, otherwise she would berate you with a motherly scold! Which was perfectly acceptable, we've paid for her services, so the least we can do is listen. She gathered her "family" and shepherded us around the sights, giving us ample time to rest, listen and take photographs.
We started at the Colosseum, a magnificent sight and very busy with tourists. Unlike Pisa, the surroundings were a little disappointing, no landscaping or tidy gardens. Don't get me wrong, the splendour of such an ancient site is not lost on me, I just feel that the modern Romans could take a leaf out of their ancestor's book, put in the effort and make the area more attractive. From certain angles, it looks like a building site! Does that make me an architectural heathen? It's not meant in that way. I guess what it is, is that for years and years thousand upon thousand upon thousand of tourists, have plodded the same routes, taken the same shortcuts and probably ruined the area. Maybe they need to limit the tourist areas and do some beautifying. I digress.

From the Colosseum we drove close to the Spanish Steps, which is where we left the coach and continued through central Rome on foot. It was at this point, as we headed towards the Spanish Steps, that the first rumbles of thunder were heard. Soon after we could feel a few big spots of rain, then a few more. We headed for some shop awnings to shelter from the rain, just as the heavens opened!
Typical, we couldn't move yesterday for "Looky, looky" men flogging umbrellas when there wasn't a drop of rain in the sky, but today, when you needed them most, nowhere to be seen!

However, just as that thought crossed my mind and quicker than Mr Benn's tailor, they appeared! Anna was still providing a commentary through our wireless earphones, interspersed with shouts of "Just give them €3 for the small ones! €5 for the better ones with a cover."
Mrs Dave asked for an umbrella from one chap who was chancing his luck by shouting;
"10 euro, 10 euro!"
Mrs Dave, ever the bargain hunter said;
"No chance!" and pulled out a €5 note, which was soon grasped by this chap, but Mrs Dave wouldn't let go and grabbed the brolly!
"8 euro, 8 euro!"
"Sod off!"
"6 euro lady, 6 euro"
"Give me my fiver back!"
"5 euro, you have it for 5 euro".
There was a moment of quiet tension as each opposing person slowly relinquished the grasp of their half of the deal. All the while, I'm getting quietly soaked.

Soon though we were walking safe and a tad drier, under a €5 umbrella. A quick stop at the Spanish Steps, then on to the  Trevi Fountain. Get ready to throw your coins!

After a quick toilet break at the Trevi Fountain. Not in it! There was a restaurant that allowed us use of their basic facilities. We walked on to the Pantheon, then Piazza Navona and just a quick glimpse of the Corte di Cassazione. All beautiful stops, albeit extremely busy. Anna did her best to keep us entertained and informed. Rome is such a beautiful city, but it might need a bit longer to see and appreciate fully the sights.

We re-joined the coach for another quick tour of Rome, as we headed back towards St Peter's Square and a pre-arranged lunch stop. Lunch was basic, but extremely enjoyable, you haven't tasted lasagne until you've eaten one cooked in an Italian restaurant in the middle of Rome. Delicious! Plus the added bonus of Prosecco for those that like that kind of thing and some really lovely red wine, which went down a treat!

After lunch we took the short walk to St Peter's Square itself. Now unfortunately, the Pope was carrying out some Papal duties that day, so the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica were out of bounds and it was debatable that we would get into the square at all, as the Polizia were standing guard. Luckily Anna had a quiet word and we were able to nip through the airport style security and see the awesome splendour of the square, Now I have been to Rome before, but it is still amazing to see and many photographs were taken in the next hour or so.



We ended that part of the tour, by meeting at the gift shop. Typical! Everywhere you go now, it's exit through gift shop! We then took the short walk back to the station, with Anna still giving us the running commentary on Roman history. Very enjoyable indeed.



We left Rome behind, as the express train took us, in our exclusive luxury, back to Civitavecchia and then onto the coach back to the port and finally back to the comfort of the ship.

 Part 4