My husband and I just came back from a European Cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. This was our sixth cruise with Carnival, and our first time on their new ship, Carnival Magic. The cruise was seven days long, with a different port each day, and we found some time to explore San Francisco on the way back. Our cruise began in Spain...
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| Barcelona, Spain |
We spent a day traveling along the French Riviera, first walking through the streets of Nice, France. We shopped and quickly discovered we needed to trade our U.S. dollars for Euro, then we went to the beach.
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| Nice, France |
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| Nice, France |
We visited the ruins of a 12th century castle and the medieval village of Eze, France.
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| Eze, France |
Then we drove to Monte Carlo to check out the Casino and Opera House. We also visited the Prince's Palace in Monaco and Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where Princess Grace's church wedding ceremony took place. We went to Cannes, when the film festival is held yearly.
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| Colosseum, Rome, Italy |
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| The Pantheon, Rome, Italy |
Seeing Rome was the highlight of the trip for me. We saw the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, and many other things. One of my absolute favorites was The Pantheon. It was gorgeous!
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| Vatican City |
Our tour took us to The Vatican, where we walked through the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel.
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| Perseus, Florence, Italy |
The next day we ported in Florence, Italy. It was breathtaking! We saw the Cathedral of Santa Maria, and Piazza della Signoria where the statues of Perseus and Medusa, Michelangelo's David, and many more.
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| Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy |
With 296 steps, Matt and I climbed to the top of the tower. The passage was very narrow and there was not alot of air circulation on the way up, but it was well worth it. The view was pretty amazing.
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Almalfi Coast
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The drive along the Almalfi Coast was beautiful, but scary. The roads have never been widened and they were originally meant for charriots, not huge tour buses!
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| Almalfi, Italy |
I was glad we were able to see the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Almalfi. It was built in the 9th century and holds the remains of St. Andrew the Apostle. While we were in Almalfi, we had time to shop and try the famous Limoncello liqueur.
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| Pompeii |
Our tour in Pompeii was interesting. The city of Pompeii was much larger than I expected it to be. I was disappointed that the artifacts found there had been moved to the museum.
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| Naples, Italy |
Naples is supposedly the best place to go for authentic Italian pizza, so Matt and I walked with our new friend through the streets of Naples in search dinner...and we found it. Yum!
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| Messina, Sicily, Italy |
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| Cathedral of Messina |
Although the 1908 earthquake in Messina destroyed pretty much everything and we were looking at replicas, Messina, Sicily was still cool to see. In the square in front of the Cathedral at noon each day, Ave Maria plays on the loudspeaker and the astronomical clock in the bell tower begins its' show.
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| Stromboli Volcano |
Our cruise ship took us right by a volcano that has been active for the last 2000 years, and errupting continuously since 1932.
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| Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Ca |
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| Matt in Alcatraz Prison |
Back in the States! Yay! We took a tour in San Francisco. Matt's favorite part of the trip was going to Alcatraz. The audio tour was pretty interesting, but after being gone for nearly two weeks, I was very anxious to go home. The only thing I wanted to see was my family! I am convinced I live in the best place on earth.
