Today we docked in Toulon and we were supposed to go to Marseille, however, we were so tired we cancelled and stayed on the ship to try and catch up with our blog, unsuccessfully.

Lou took me to Bingo. Yep we lost..

In the afternoon we discovered the Wake View bar on the 16^th floor at the rear of the ship to watch the ship leave the port.

In the evening we dined in the market place and we will pass on that.

Monaco and the French Rivera but first we had a visit to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.  This villa was donated to the nation after the death of Bertice Rothschild.  She was the granddaughter of the original Rothschild and she inherited from Alfronz.  She was married however she was childless.  Her hobbies were gambling, gardening, animals and travelling especially cruising. She spent her life collecting art, much of which has been donated to art galleries throughout the world. She needed a place of piece so she found a mountain near Nice and started.  She blew the top off the mountain and created a flat area for the house and the garden. She was what you would call an eclectic designer. I can appreciate the wealth spent on this house however I didn’t like it much. She loved pink so as you can appreciate everything is pink and the design is eclectic.

The other thing is you can now appreciate the workmanship of the churches we have visited.  I know the churches spent quite a lot but this was the mansion of the one of the wealthiest people in the world. The workmanship is not there.  There is concrete cancer and cracks throughout the building and even though it is only 100 years old it needs a lot of money spent on it. There’s the negative.

The positives…The location is amazing.  If global warming ever happens our home will have a similar outlook.  (lol) The gardens are to die for. It has various design themes such as Rose, Exotic, Provencal, Japanese, Stone, Florentine, French, Spanish, Sevres garden. The designs of the gardens are made to take advantage of the views and to me it is the best feature of the establishment.

It was then onto to Monte Carlo. There is no space in the country for roads so the exit roads are all underground.  It is the first time I have seen a roundabout underground. 50,000 people work in Monaco.  It has a population of 38,000 with 9,000 citizens.  The other workers come daily from France and Italy.  Needless to say, in the mornings the roads are a little congested.

It is a great place if you don’t want to pay tax, as no one including companies pay tax. Income for the country is from the Casino and VAT. The 9,000 locals pay a lot less for rent than immigrants that is why workers commute each day.

I think there are a few high value residents in this area.  The vessel “A” is owned by a Russian Billionaire.  Check out the two doors at the back of the boat.  They are for their tenders (lol).  Drive on drive off and I would be happy to swap my tinnie for a tender anytime. This is one of many privately owned boats/ships here.

Sean Connolly, Putin, Bono, Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, Shirley Bassey, Ringo Starr, lots of Formula 1 drivers, the three tenors and many more have homes in Monaco.

We have been on the Monaco Grand Prix track…..in a bus.  We stopped at the start line and the bus driver must have engaged the ESP because we laid no rubber.  We also went through the tunnel that the F1s go through at 260km at 25kms. The Grand Prix isn’t until May however as you can see they have started preparing the track.

We then went to the top of the hill to pay a visit to the royal family.  Prince Albert, Princess Charlene and their twins live in an amazing hilltop palace with a view over the bay. We saw where they were married and where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were buried. We walked past where Princess Caroline lives.

The Prince has ultimate control over the parliament and like his Dad he has a vision for the Principality.  They are presently reclaiming 6.0 hectares of the bay for a residential development. So much for the real estate value of the present shoreline unit dwellers, however, I am sure that the Prince will have a clear view from his cliff top palace.

We also saw a driverless bus while in Monaco.  Our tour guide was worried about her future prospects of employment. We had a great lunch Avenue 31 started with focaccia, a light margarita pizza, chicken done in honey and a small piece of cheese cake all washed down with wine of course.

 

We booked some shore excursions quickly before we left not really taking a lot of notice of the fine print.

Docked in Livorno this morning.

We thought we had said goodbye to Italy and bus trips, but no our first trip was to Cinque Terre and Portovenere which involved three hour return bus trip; one and half hour boat trip and ten minute train trip to see the spectacular Italian Rivieria.

Cinque Terre means five villages and our boat trip took in all five. These little towns are built on severely steep terrain.  One of them, the boat does not even stop at. This is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is also known as the Italian Riveria.

The first at Portovenere we had a little walk through and up to church of St Pietro.

The picture below features two tubs that were used to measure the wine for tax purposes.  A plug was put in the front wine poured in and the tax paid on the amount.  At least it was oxygenated, not sure about the cleanliness.

Lord Byron and a few other English poets lived in this area and used the coastal vista as inspiration for their works.  It was also known as the Bay of Poets.

He also was a great swimmer and this plaque reads “This grotto was the inspiration for Lord Byron. It records the immortal poet who as a swimmer defied the waves of the sea between Portovenre to Lerice.”

 

We then caught a public ferry to Riomaggiore, Corniglia and lastly Monterosso where we had lunch.  Beautiful spaghetti with mussels and clams, misto of seafood and a shared walnut tart and wine of course.  This is the Noosa of the area and found the worst toilets of the trip.  Beach very rocky and you have to pay for a spot on the beach.  We are very fortunate in Australia to have such wonderful sandy white and free beaches.

Our last day in Roma.

Our driver turned up on time much to the surprise of the hotel receptionist.  Hour and twenty to the port of Civitavecchia.  Should mention they are allowed to do 140kmh.

 

Me thinks hotel bought books at market ……..2nd from end

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early and easy access onto the Majestic Princess the newest cruise ship in the world. Takes about 3500 passengers I think.

We went up to 16^th floor for the Majestic Sail away Celebrations – live band – lot of hype.  It was great.

 

Up early…not likely. Today’s mission was the Spanish Steps, the Bourghese Gardens again the Gallery of Modern Art.  Unlike us we achieved all these, plus a little bit extra in the day.  The steps were high and long however they afforded a great view across the city.

A quick trip to the gardens and lunch (wine included) and a short walk to the Art Gallery where we saw Gustav Klimpt’s The three Ages of Women which we learnt about in one of our ADFAS lectures. We also saw some very interesting pieces of mud that was called art and a cow peeing. They were modern but I am unsure of whether, in my opinion, it was art.

Where you tie up your horse.  Wish I had one

We then thought about a taxi, but as Maria would say tiredness is not an illness and we decide to walk home.  We were rewarded with coming upon a huge square at the base of the Spanish steps and walked down a fabulous street of designer shops that I was glad to see Louise was too tired to go into them. The hardest part was battling through the crowds at the Trevi Fountain to get home.

Today was going to be an easy short day.. 20m down the street is a leather shop, the smell of which lured us in. We didn’t want to leave and wish we had more tourist dollars to spend.  Lou scored a great leather hat and lots of other little trinkets. We then had to go back to the motel to drop off the purchases.

Our aim was to head to the Jewish Synagogue however a few wrong turns later we were at the Victor Emmanuel monument which we had planned to visit after the Jewish area. Emmanuel was the man who unified Italy in 1890.  Before this Italy was a number of independent states. It is hard to describe the building but we will try.  It is imposing and spectacular and it is impossible fathom the scale of the building. There is one picture we have included from the balcony of the monument which shows the courtyard and building where Mussolini gave his addresses to the people and the building dead in front with the green balcony was Bonaparte’s Mum’s place.

The Jewish Museum was amazing. The artefacts held there represent the journey these people have taken over the many years. The Jews were part of the Roman community for the last 2000 years, however the Catholic church didn’t like them much.  At one stage they had we told they could only live in one area of Roma was gated and locked every night, could only have one Synogogue and couldn’t do their own occupations and could only be money lenders and sellers of second hand cloths.  Later this was extended to include that the men wore yellow caps and had yellow cloth sewn on their clothes and the women had to wear yellow scarves.  At the time the yellow scarf indicated the profession of women as prostitutes. They have been continually persecuted at every level including only allowed to build in an area that was under the level of the Tiber.  This meant that their homes would be continually flooded unless they built higher than three floors. This type of pressure was put on them with the hope they would convert to Catholism. The guided tour of the Synogogue was interesting including that this is the largest vaulted ceiling and is only 1cm lower than St Peter’s.

We walked home and collapsed for a while before going out to the Opera at a church.  We were conned….. so we decided to walk the streets of Roma and it was an amazing evening discovering more ruins in Roma and ended up at the Colosseum and walked all the way back.  Great Night..

Surprise, the cab driver couldn’t find the motel so he ordered us out of the taxi and told us to find it ourselves.  Luckily it was just up the road.  Just down the road(20m) was the Trevi Fountain.

Today we set out on foot exploring…where is Maria and the local guides. First past the Trevi Fountain, too many tourists and onto the Pantheon. It was conceived in 31 BC and Hadrian did a reconstruction on it in106 AD and in 608 AD it was changed from a pagan temple to a Christian church.  It has the largest dome constructed by brick (43.3m in diameter) and is open at the top.  The floor is concave and there are drains in the floor to take the water away.

Raphael, the artist, was buried here in 1520.

 

We were then walking down the street and I came across this..  In Australia women have padded bras but in Roma we have padded undies. I don’t whether this is to make their butts look bigger or to protect against pinching by Italian men.

We had a great lunch which we can’t remember where it is because we would love to go back to it. Near the kitchen was a large square table that the family sat around.  I am still not sure whether it was a true family or the other type. The next picture we snapped on the way to the Jewish Ghetto.  While it was a lovely picture there is no way we were going to eat there.  For the people who didn’t have the assistance of Maria; Ghetto means foundry area and the name just stuck with the area.  One of the Popes in the 1500s issued a Papal Bull directing that there would only be one Jewish Synagogue in Rome and that all the Jewish people would be rounded up and put in the Jewish Ghetto.  I will have more on this tomorrow.

We walked over to the Islo Tiberine or Island in the Tiber.  It was a milling site however it is now houses the main hospital.  We walked along the river bank, paved with marble, and passed under a 2000 year old bridge.  At the end of the island we could see the remains of one 2000 year old bridge that they got horribly wrong.  The angle was wrong for the river and the holes too small.  The first flood destroyed the bridge and a new one had to be built.

It rained tonight so we had dinner at a restaurant near the hotel.

We have an early start this morning to beat the line to see David.  At 8.00 am there was quiet a line.  At 10.00 when we exited the museum the line was much much longer.  15,000 people a day see David. Prince Charles and Carmello were there the day before, sorry we missed them actually.  It would have been a brag note along with the cuppa with the Pope.  David spent the first 400 years of his life in the open air.  A few years ago they moved him inside and a person attacked the statue and smashed his foot.  It has been repaired and the security has been improved.

Michelangelo won the right to carve David in a competition run by a President who had defeated the Medici Family in an election. He only lasted one term.  The idea of David was of the little man defeating the unbeatable competition. This concept “rang a bell” the President and so Michelangelo got the commission to carve David.  He surrounded himself in a wooden enclosure inside the workshop and carved David over three years.  The stature is 5m high and the reason it was so acclaimed was because the body of David was in good proportion. Given that he didn’t work from a plaster model rather he worked from memory, makes the final product all the more exceptional.

Pictures of David.

 

The forth and last Piete

Notice the Piete has a very large arm.  Michelangelo start the sculpture and had his apprentices finish it off.  The arm and the size of it is a reflection of the skills of the carver.

This where David stood for 400 years before being moved inside out of the cold.

The Merdici family believed art should be for everyone.  The second picture is a modern addition to the landscape.

This was followed by a walk around the city centre and shopping in a jewellery and a leather shop. Louise and I had a great lunch in a small restaurant followed by Florence’s best gelato.

Once again the church was centre stage white green and white marble and all sides had been cleaned except one.  Da Vinci designed and built the crane that got the golden ball to the top of the dome.

 

 

Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence

The Golden Gates of Paradise

 

Modern art in Florence and my artistic flair

In the evening we went to the castle where Machiavelli lived or was exiled to in 1511 to 1513. The host was very interesting and made us all at home straight away.  The aperitif was blue sparkling wine. We went on a special private tour of the home and showed us the cellar and took us through the under road tunnel which Machiavelli would use to go to the pub in the evenings rather than crossing the road. The meal consisted of salami, two types of pecorino cheese, mortabella, prosciutto, crusty bread with olive tapenade, green pesto and tomatoes. First course was ricotta filled ravioli with truffle and cheese sauce and rigatoni with wild boar sauce. Second cause was beef off the bone with roast potatoes and the final course was panacotta and anniversary cake.  These meals were all matched with wines from the Tuscany and some from their own winery.  We were entertained by a brilliant singer and a guitarist.  The floor show was provided by Mario and Maria (Our guide) dancing the salsa a couple of times resulting in all the males having to commit to dancing lessons. This was a fabulous evening with the group having a fantastic night and even the festivities continued on the bus with great music, joyous singing and seeing the lights of Florence.

Louise looking splendid in the country side

Our host, come waiter playing Machiavelli, the tunnel under the road to the pub and the view of the Tuscan landscape from the restaurant.

Today we went to Pisa.  On the way we saw rice fields, the region famous for Asti Spumanti (a favorite from our younger days), Campari and Nutella.

On the way we saw Genova.  Its claim to fame is Green Pesto and is also very famous for stone cutting and even though the marble mines will run out, some time, there will always be an industry cutting stone. It also had lots of tunnels and bridges with very steep mountains. Also we saw the Marble Mountains. We thought it was snow on the mountains however the mountains are made of marble.  These are the mountains that Michelangelo came to pick his marble blocks to carve except the block he used to carve David; it was given to him.  There is only 100 years of marble left in the mountains and they only pay 5 Euro per tonne tax to mine it.

This is not snow, it is marble aptly called the Marble Mountains

Pisa was all that was expected. A little bit of information was that the tower was leaning when it was being built.  It was simply built too high for the soft soil foundations that is was built on. If you look at the structure about five floors up they tried to straighten the structure; they failed.  The whole area was once a swamp and the soil is very soft, hence the problem. The tower was closed in 1990 and a committee was formed to solve the problem of the leaning tower. A number of solutions were tried. They have poured lead around the base of the tower opposite the lean (600 tonnes).  It is holding the tower at the moment however they are concerned that the pressure halfway way up the tower on the inside may be too much and it may explode like a similar tower did in 1989.  They now have a monitoring system in place and you can climb the tower but we didn’t take that option up.

Everything has a lean to it including my head

Even the sculpture had a lean, joking it is a sculpture of the fallen angel

We then traveled to Florence, Firenze or flower and arrived late and went to a 600 year old castle.  It really did need heating.  They have heated one room and it cost 40,000 Euros; the other rooms are on hold. Although it was a quick meal it was traditional home cooking done by the owner’s aunt.  We had spelt soup, tomato and bread sauce, pasta with vegetables and cheese, roast pork, homemade salami with fennel and peppercorns, cheeses, olive tapenade with tomatoes on crusty bread, biscotti with desert wine all washed down with lots of their own wine. We also had saffron flavoured jelly on pecorino cheese.  The saffron is grown on the estate and last year they harvested half a kilo (50,000 Euro)  It is the only privately owned castle in Italy.  It had a room called the conspiracy room.  It this room the owner plotted to over throw the Merdici Family.  Sadly for him, he failed and he was exiled to the castle and if the castle hadn’t been designed by a very famous architect the castle would have been destroyed.

Alberto, our host, cousin of the owner, Dud in the cellar, the courtyard and the courtyard.

We had great home cooked food tonight, with wine, and we were looking forward to our bed in Florence.

Ops just realized we posted out of order.  We have been fighting the internet and this is the result.  Will work on it tonight

 

Ciao