Cannes on a Wintery Sunday

We travelled by train to Cannes, past towns, seaside resorts, a huge luxury apartment block, more resorts, and as we arrived, so did the rain. Ever been to a tourist town in the wintery off season, in the rain? And being a Sunday, with no shops open? We quickly walked from the train station to the seaside, and walked more quickly towards the old town, past the famous Congress Centre where many events including the Cannes Film Festival is held every May. So we missed the hand prints of famous movies stars and various sculptures. But we did wander - very quickly - through the quaint picturesque outdoor Christmas Market - where stall holders outnumbered visitors and over to the old town and up the hill to get a view of the place. Fortunately the rain let up for a but for us to enjoy the view. A beautiful place, even in the gloom!

By now it was lunch time, but no cafes or pubs in sight. The day was So Gloomy we decided to travel back to Nice. Then we discovered a huge french food market - indoors, then fishmongers and many chocolate shops. One had many religious items for christmas, including something for each of the 12 days of Christmas - all in chocolate! Have a look at the pics to see more.

So that was Cannes! I'd love to return in summer! Back in Nice the day was even more gloomy and we set off in the rain to find a place to have a late lunch as there was nothing else to do - everything was closed. No crowds or tourists anywhere.

Al last, after walking for hours, it seemed, in the rain, and feeling very cold and wet, we finally found a street of restaurants, and some were open! Now, which one..

Hey, look at that! A Le Maori Restaurant! I wonder if it does hangi food. No? Well French fare will do! Look at the menu! All Black and Barvarian items. Someone obviously likes rugby here. I wonder if we should mention that our team the All Blacks one against the French at Marseilles last night?? Well, everyone agrees it was a great game. Look at the cutlery! Handles shaped like the Koru. Dessert? Yes please! Gosh, look at the size of our plates! No small arty servings here. And decent sized Stella glasses too. This seems just the place to stay on a wintery afternoon.

And then back to the hotel to pack for our next adventure!

Monaco - boating paradise in the sun

We travelled by rail from Nice to Monaco. We emerged from the railway station, which is modern, marble paved and set in the middle of the mountain into sunshine, warmth, to a scene crowded with wall to wall boats on the blue waters and wall to wall hotels and apartments piled up against the mountains. After strolling along the waterfront admiring all the yachts we moved on to inspect the Monaco Yacht Club's Racing Mark Laying boat. Instead of using anchors to secure the marks on the ocean floor, we noted that concrete blocks on the end of twine are used. Presumably the twine is cut and the blocks remain on the ocean floor! I wonder what the archeologists in the year 5000 will make of these when researching it for clues of human activities in the year 2009! After retiring to the very modern, classy Monaco Yacht Club for refreshments, we walked to the top of the old town and visited the Aquarium. Built by Prince Albert of Monaco, a passionate ocean and wildlife exporer in the late 1800's, the building hosts many acquariums of unusual and endangered fish and sealife. While inspecting the exhbition, and finding out about the research techniques carried out by Prince Albert and his team, one wonders if these practices would be acceptable today. However the sealife exhibits talk a lot about conservation, preservation and of the aquarium's most successful breeding programme for overseas aquariums. If you ever venture to this neck of the woods, the Aquarium is well worth a visit.

Out into the sunshine again we strolled, and relaxed at one of the cafes near the palace, where royalty still live, to enjoy Monaco's award winning beer. Then, somewhat reluctantly, we wended our way to the beautiful Monaco railway station back to Nice.

Oh, that's right - it is Saturday! Time to watch the New Zealand All Blacks play the French!! And to enjoy the conviviality of the Hotel bar where there is a wide screen TV!

And then, tomorrow, to sunny, exciting Cannes....... uh oh - don't like the look of the clouds - surely that cannot be correct????

The French Riviera

Ah - the South of France - isn't this everyone's neck of the woods dream to visit, lie in the warm sun and mingle with celebrities? We purchased a 'Le Tan' package at a hotel in Nice and arrived on a cool overcast day all set to relax after our cruise. As well as a very good rate which included an excellent breakfast, robes, slippers and products to make our bathroom activities more relaxing, free visits to the hotel solaruim was promoted. That sounds like me! Where are the relaxing products in the bathroom? Oh - there they are - shampoo and bath gel. Oh well, I will just zip up to the solarium and work on my tan. Up on the 12th floor the swimming pool was empty - well it was no longer the summer season. But where is the solarium? Down to Reception to enquire. That area around the pool is the solarium, I was told. What? How can I get a suntan up there? There is no sun!!!!

There was a pause as the folks at Reception gave me a funny look. What did I expect at this time of year? Do you have an indoor solaruim? In the sunny South of France?? You must be kidding....

Ah - Naples, Pompei and Sorrento

Our cruise ship the Costa Serena's last port of call was Naples. Anxious to view Mt Vesuvious we were up early an high up on deck, however mist shrouded this famous mountain and instead we were reduced to viewing the many superyachts lounging about -ready to hibernate for winter. Soon we were on a bus travelling to Sorrento, a quaint seaside tourist town. We left the port, passing many very shabby apartment buildings in the Naples city centre, boarded a train and travelled for about an hour through the Naples suburbs and surrounds. The land is very fertile, our guide informed us and it was interesting to see gardens, lemon tree plantations and glass houses dotted everywhere throughout the suburbs. Upon our arrival at Sorrento, we were directed to a place to have a 'technical' stop, which meant a toilet and coffee break. The local coffee is excellent here. I think it is Neopolitan. It has a unique taste and I have to say that coffee has never tasted the same since - it was so delicious! Off we went on our walking tour. Sorrento is old historic, quaint and very tourist orientated. The streets are narrow - many are just walkways and the whole place is geared for local and upmarket shopping. As it was near Xmas the town was decorated - Christmas trees, leafy bowers under windows and Xmas lights everywhere! It must look so picturesque at night!
Eventually we arrived at the water's edge. Er - not exactly - we were about 50 metres above the water on top of a rocky cliff. In Sorrento it is difficult to get to the sea. And there is no beach! Instead people have to pay to sunbathe on piers stretching over the beautiful, clear, blue waters. At last our walking tour ended -not surprisingly, at a pre arranged shop from where we could purchase almost anything made of and to do with lemons - from a huge array of sweets to lemoncellos presented in most decorative bottles, handcrafts and ornaments.

Thankfully we did not have much time to contribute to the local economy and shop - the prices were Definately for the Well Heeled Traveller, and soon we were back on the train. Oh, look! There are the ruins of Pompei! Why didn't we visit them? other Cruise Ship visitors confirmed what we suspected - one needed a whole day to inspect the genuine and replica ruins on display. I would like to come back to Naples and visit the Pompei ruins, and also inspect the city centre - a group of very tall newish glass buildings soaring like a sore tooth out of the eyesores of apartments in the suburbs by the port's edge.

And now it is back to the Costa Serena and get ready to finish our Italiabn cruise ship adventure at Slovena.

Ports of Call when on a cruise ship around Italy

The first port that our cruise ship Costa Serena berthed at was Bari. As we were to be there for about 4 hours we did not take a tour but walked around the shops then the old town. Being the end of the tourist and summer season, it was very quiet and the street paving in the old town were so white that they looked as if they had been scrubbed clean. Many streets were narrow and resident's laundry hung from balconies above. The laundry was often covered with sheets of plastic, whether to protect it from the rain, or pidgeons, we were not too sure. From the wide walkways around the water's edge it was obvious that Bari would have been a seaside paradise for crowds of holiday makers during the summer season. Our next port of call was the Island of Corfu.This trip rather challenged our holiday timetable becuase the cruise ship was passing from one time zone in Italy, to another in Greece, so we had to arise an hour earlier in the morning to go ashore - dreadful for people like me who do absolutely everything on a cruise ship! Many resort hotels, restaurants and bars on Corfu had closed for the season, which meant that the only tour groups visiting the churches and monuments were from our cruise ship. Corfu is best known for tourism and olive oil production and its seven months of summer! The waters are calm and deep blue and the scenery - awesome! No wonder many people cruise here and also to the many islands of nearby Croatia.
Next we visited Valetta on the Island of Malta. We arrived at dawn, weaving and turning on a five cent piece to get into the narrow entrance of the harbour. Many of the old towns have fortress have walls built right at the water's edge and the houses on the cliff faces above - exactly as you see on pics of Malta. Our walking tour group were all English speaking, and we had a hilarous time laughing with everyone.This was most refreshing as on the ship many languages were spoken so it was good to have a few laughs in English with everyone, including the tour guide. Valetta is very well set up for shopping, and many people in our group peeled off to do so. After we visited St John's Cathedral which houses the tombs of 400 knights of Malta (this was a most interesting story in itself) there were only 4 of us left of our group! So we had a quick peek at an exhibition of Flemish tapestries - not part of the "official" tour then repaired to enjoy the local (and famous) local beer at one of the local cafes. Because it was the beginning of the quiet season in Valetta and Malta we were able to enjoy a conversation with our waitress, an Australian lady who had come to Malta for a holiday and met a man - yes 25 years later she was still here. She told us she misses the mountains and open spaces and if she ever returned to Australia, she might never return!

We had a chuckle upon returning to our cruise ship Costa Serena. Becuase it was such a fine sunny day everyone had gone to the upper decks to sunbathe. And what outfits! No, not bikinis, g's or even shorts! Yes - jeans, boots, jackets, overcoats, topped off with Costa Serena black and yellow check woollen blankets! I kid you not....

Flight called - and more champagne - will write soon....

How to get lost on a cruise ship

For someone who goes boating on a cruise ship for the first time it is very easy to get lost. Because the main foyer or the restaurants may be several floors high one often cannot travel from one end of the boat to another on the same floor or corridor. And do not think that to ask a crew person the directions! On the 4th floor, you will be told, but you will not be informed that you must go up an additional level, around a corner then down again. And do not ask another crew person either! Oh that person was new and did not know, you will be told. Oh well, after all that stress of getting lost I think I will retire to the warm spa and solarium...... Now, purchasing that Spa package and relaxing from the crowds of passengers is more my cup of green tea...... Just a minute, are there not 6 pubs, cocktails of the day,lots of wine,dancing,shopping and art to be enjoyed? Must get travelling around this cruise ship, there is so much to discover! Now where is the library? Ah, found it on the last day of our trip when we had to queue to pick up our passports!

Our Venice Adventure and how to follow directions

Everytime we travel to Venice we enjoy a different adventure and this was no different. This was to be q short stay an overnight one before we boarded the Costa Serena for our cruise ship adventure.

By chqnce we heard that the last day of the Famous Biennalle Exhibition was on. Artists from eighty coutries including two from New Zealand were exhibiting so we went along to have a quick look. As everyone knows we all have different ideas about what modern art is and all I can say is that there was so,ething for everyone there. Take a look at my pics and you will see what I mean. Having enjoyed the exhibits at the main venue we set off to find the New Zealand Artists located at other venues in Venice. However we had forgotten than Venicians cannot or do not give precise directions. The best you might get from them is an area or locality. A main street might be a narrow alleyway; and left at the bridge might mean three bridges down the next canal. Needless to say after battling hundreds of locals and tourists Sunday walking we ran out of time to find them. Oh and did I mention it took an hour to find the locql Jazz Club which was five minutes away..... And speaking of getting lost more about that in the cruise ship item