Roma, Italia

Rome is the real destination of the port of Civitavecchia.  I ventured to Rome only on one occasion, having had my fill in the past.  Please don't scold me.  One of the things I love most about cities are their parks and the not-so-easy-to-get-to locations.  I didn't have time to go to the places I enjoy most--Trastevere being one of them--so I often chose to rest up and stay close to the port instead.  Thankfully I've been able to see Rome on multiple other occasions without a timeline.  Tourist attractions are a bit of a "once and done" thing for me, especially in peak tourist season.  I didn't feel compelled to do it again, especially in a sweaty time crunch.

Il Vittoriano in Piazza Venezia

So after an hour and-a-bit train ride, there were only a couple things that were new to me (not like I know all there is to know about Rome, obviously):

Pantheon, Fall 2011

1. The view of the Pantheon (not to be confused with the Parthenon in Athens, Greece) is so much better when it is not covered in scaffolding!  The couple times that I visited during college, there was major restoration going on and the view was definitely a disappointment.  However, I'm not kidding when I say I can't stand the crowds, so I didn't venture inside.

Summer 2013--A view without scaffolding.

2.  Getting your butt grabbed by Italian men -- "The Myth of Italy"

Just because it doesn't happen to you for the entire year you live there, doesn't mean it will never happen.  Apparently it is more than just a myth, and it is really quite unnerving and unsettling, especially when you turn around and have absolutely no idea who, in the throng of people, it was.  My friend Kev was sure to have my back for the rest of the day.

3.  If you have ever seen the Trevi Fountain before, it is not worth it in peak tourist season!! *wildly shakes head, "Hard pass." - Pitch Perfect, anyone?*
(Sorry if I lost you there.  Don't worry about it.)  But if you haven't seen it, just ignore me.  It's not to be missed if you are visiting for a first time.

Fiocco di Neve.  Delicious, non-tourist gelato. 

4.  No matter how fast you eat your cono di gelato, the August, Lazio sun will always win.  Be sure to leave the gelateria with lots and lots of napkins for the impending mess.




The gelato of Fiocco di Neve definitely didn't disappoint. (I mean, it must not have if I took a picture in front of the place!)  However, we found the place I'd been searching for all day...just after consuming our cones.  Oh well.  You win some, you lose some.  Either way, we ate gelato (duh) and it was delicious.

You know, just some roadside ruins near the Colosseum.  What?  You mean they don't have that in New York?

Those are my brief words of wisdom from my quick trip to Rome.

Civitavecchia, Italy

A mouthful, I know.  It is said chee-veeta-vekia.

Just like La Spezia was a port mainly for Florence, Civitavecchia is a port really just to get to Rome.  Of our three Italian ports, this was probably my least favorite.  It had it's little hidden gems, but I felt that they were much fewer and far between than others.  Either way, I still enjoyed it, even if I did use this day to catch up on rest on board once in a while.

One of the great spots here I didn't discover until a little later on.  It was a cute little pizzeria/trattoria overlooking the beach and boardwalk.  The wifi (always a must for crew members) was not too shabby and the pizza was absolutely delicious.  Kristine showed me this little spot before it began to be discovered and inundated by crew members.

My roommate, Carissa, and I enjoyed a day together in Civitavecchia with our cappuccini.

I felt like such a movie star in this pic (for no reason other than its candidness) so I had to include it.

 Another fun photoshoot.  This time with Joan Aguinaga, one of our ship photographers (a department we worked closely with).  If you're gonna have a photoshoot, Europe is the place to do it.  Everything is just so picturesque!  But don't be fooled...I was melting in our not-so-ideal noon sun.

True emotion while trying to get this shot!  A fun time was had by all.

Oh hey Terk!  Good to see you too!

Firenze, Italia

The view from my front door. What a lovely year that was.

Firenze!  I made it! Short and sweet is an understatement for the amount of time I was able to spend here, but I was so thankful none-the-less!  I was the only one of the character cast to make it to Florence.  My manager, David, knew how important it was to me after living here for a year and he made it happen for me.  I hadn't been back since my senior year of college a few years prior.

So here's how it happened.  We ported in a different spot in the La Spezia harbor where we weren't required to tender.  David made sure that I was not scheduled to work that morning and I was off and running the moment crew were allowed on that gangway.  I practically ran the 20 minute walk to the train station to make my train and with that, I was off to Florence.

The strada I called home

Two and a half hours later, when the train approached the station and announced, "Firenze, Santa Maria Novella," it felt and sounded so familiar that I truly felt like I was returning home in a way.  I can't begin to express the joy I felt when I stepped foot back in my city after so long.  I remembered which streets were too crowded, which spots to hold your breath for the smell, which spots I would be "charmed" by the market vendors, and 15 minutes later, I arrived at my front door, where Ilaria, my old roommate, was waiting for me.

Reunited with Ilaria!

It was all so familiar and so surreal all at the same time.  But it was a joyful reunion with Ilaria and with the city.  We ate a quick panino (my favorite spot was closed), caught up on all that we had time for, and then we began walking back to the train station one short hour later.  We stopped for a gelato on the way and then one and a half hours after I had gotten off the train, I was on my way back to the ship once again.

Just in case I needed to be reminded that I really did indeed have a life here in Firenze, I ran into my contemporary teacher, Pietro, from Florence Dance Center.  I rode with him and Valentina (his girlfriend, my classmate) a good portion of my two and a half hours back.  What are the odds?!

By the time I got back to the La Spezia station, I was sweating it (literally and figuratively) to get back to the ship in time for my shift (which David also made graciously late).  I made it with only 15 minutes to spare and I counted the day as a success.  An hour and a half wasn't much time in Florence for two and a half hours on the train each way, but it was worth it to me.

Cinque Terre, Italy

In English, Cinque Terre means "five lands" or towns.  This destination spot is one of the many quintessential images of Italy, placed on the costal cliffs and hillsides of the Italian Riviera.  But let me tell you, it is HOT and CROWDED in the summer time, a season when I had not ever visited.  However, it's charm and beauty make up for these small inconveniences.

Vernazza

If all of the trails are open, (no washouts from the rainy season, maintenance, etc.) you can hike from the first to the last town.  It takes a few hours and although it is beautiful, it is work.  Soaking your feet in the cold ocean is a welcome reward upon completion. If you have been reading my blog since it's beginning, you know that I had the opportunity to visit Cinque Terre a couple times when I spent my senior year in Florence.  It is like Yosemite National Park in California, in that you can visit time and time again and still find it beautiful and alluring.

I was also able to visit several times over the course of the contract.  Riomaggiore is a short 20 minute train ride from La Spezia, making a relaxing beach day pretty doable, depending on the work schedule for the day. (Don't forget the time it takes to tender in the La Spezia port.)  Kristine and I hiked the trail once and I also spent a day at the beach in Monterosso with Kaleigh on another occasion.

A beach day in Monterosso with Kaleigh

Ready to hike with Kristine!  We were so DONE when we reached the end...and then we were off to work.

Riomaggiore

Princess Aurora and Snow White enjoying each other's company

La Spezia, Italia

Setting foot in Italy after two years!

I can't even begin to express my joy, the day I set foot back in Italy.  For those of you who haven't read my blog since the beginning, I began it for my year long adventure of studying abroad in Florence during my senior year of college.  I didn't speak a word of Italian before arriving and knew absolutely nothing about this beautiful, romantic country.  I fell in love with the country and with the language, and it will always have a special place in my heart.

The Port of La Spezia

Our first port of Italy was La Spezia; one we would return to the entire summer of my Mediterranean cruise adventure.  From here, in theory, you can visit many surrounding towns and cities...if time permits--which, for crew memebers, not all destinations were possible.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Today is about La Spezia.  Like Villefranche, we anchored further out in the port and took tender boats to shore.  The process was easy, painless and frequent in Villefranche.  Not so much in La Spezia.  The boats were bigger--which required a longer wait time to bring them to maximum capacity--and the distance was longer (about 20 minutes each way).  Not to mention, waiting for the tender to arrive if one had just departed, and allowing all Disney guests to be the first on the tender as well as the first ones off.  All this to say, if you were cutting it close in La Spezia, you were really playing the odds.

What a joyful day this was for me!  Kristine, Kaila, Kev and myself enjoyed our first Italian meal of the summer

Of the four Italian ports we frequented over the summer, La Spezia reminded me most of Florence, making it my favorite.  I mean, that should come as no surprise since it is the closest of the ports to Florence.  This quaint little town had a small farmer's market and a decent shopping scene, but mine and my friends' destination was usually a little "bar" (cafe) called Lo Sfizio.  The people were wonderful, the wifi was always reliable (and always is not a term used liberally when it comes to this matter).  It may not be a city full of breath taking views and adventures, but it was wonderful to me.

Gelato is always a must.

Una bici pittoresco 

My friend, Princess Aurora, on a port morning.

Monte Carlo, Monaco

The Monte Carlo Casino...The view from the back (featured) is better.

Monte Carlo.  Home of Princess Grace (Grace Kelly) after she married the Prince of Monaco and the famous Monte Carlo Casino.  The people of Monaco were clearly very excited to have an American actress as their new princess.  It was the Golden Years of Hollywood.  Theaters, dance studios, streets, restaurants...they are all named after Princess Grace.
Yes, Monaco is it's own itty bitty country (499 acres) surrounded by France and again, only a short train ride away from Villefranche.  If you are rich, Monte Carlo is the place to shop.  If you want to feel rich, but aren't, Monte Carlo is a place to walk around and take pictures and feel fancy; but not much else.  Every designer, high-end store you could hope for is here in this yacht-destination, I-have-money-and-want-to-flaunt-it city.

Just, ya know, a casual street in Monaco.

The yachts of Monaco

Lunch behind Saint Nicholas Cathedral

Delicious baked Brie

Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where Princess Grace was married

Formal night with Chip and Dale.  Because what's a blog about travels with Disney Cruise Line without a little dose of Disney to go with it?

The French Riviera, Part 3

Nice, France

Said "Niece." Although...Nice was nice.  Just a short train ride away, this was definitely a city, not a town, on the French Riviera.  It was lovely and classy and hot and beachy.  The shopping was plentiful, the wine was delicious, and while I never spent a day on the beaches here, they were beautiful.

Once, when we were eating at a restaurant and couldn't connect to the wi-fi, our server left his phone on our table during our entire meal to let us connect to his internet hotspot.  A moment of immensely appreciated kindness for disconnected crew members.

A lovely day with my dear friend Kristine and the coast of France

A beautiful, seemingly abandoned carousel

Delicious French macaroons!

I found this beautiful bouquet and carried it with me, shopping in Nice.  If only it weren't prohibited to bring fresh flowers on board.  I savored their beauty for the day at least!

All Aboard!

A view of the ocean while it looked as though we were sailing on glass.