Rotterdam 11 days in the Med trip review w/photos

[hal lover]

Thanks so much for sharing your lovely review. Am enjoying it so much!

[Lisah101]

 

Today we are in Olbia, Sardinia and its a DIY day so since we have time this morning, I go to the dining room and snap a photo of the menu for dinner tonight.

 

I also was struck by the nice flowers around the ship

 

 

DH has horrible sinus infection and really isn't feeling well. He missed the formal dinner the night before and just had some soup from Lido.

 

Despite this, he does go into town with me to walk around a bit.

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

We didn't get a map so I used my IPad to take a photo of a map another cruiser had with them.

 

 

We did find a barber and got Terry a quick haircut. Since he didn't speak English and i only know a little French (no Italian at all), we managed through gestured and a translation app on my phone.

 

 

 

Then we stopped and had lunch which really seemed to help DH perk up a bit

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

We walked up and down and up and down and had a great time exploring the down and meeting people.

 

Then it was back to the ship!

 

 

 

Drop off my backpack in the room (loooooong walk)

 

and grab a snack on Lido

 

Back on our balcony, Terry caught site of something in the water, jellyfish?

 

And these things were all over the bay - traps for something?

[Lisah101]

after a nap (see a pattern here?)

 

We went to dinner.

 

Rae had the clams

 

I had lamb (it was so so - glad I tried but would not order it again)

 

Terry asked them to hold the cauliflower on his plate

 

 

 

When we got back to our room, Lukemon (no clue how to spell that) our steward had done his magic. THe blanket is one I use on the deck as I am always cold!

[Lisah101]

Sea Day - nothing but relaxation!

 

 

Thursday - Malta!

Another DIY port and I'm glad. It was wonderful to just wander around.

 

Even the view as we sailed into port was amazing.

 

First of all - breakfast on Lido and the coffee cart made many rounds. The gentleman managing the coffee cart called it his "BMW".

 

Then I went to the dining room to check out dinner (I know, I just ate breakfast but some things are worth planning!)

 

View of port - Malta

 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2013 by Lisah101

[Lisah101]

as the ship entered the port and managed a 180 degree turn to dock, we were treated to an unexpected surprise - the Prinsendam was in dry-dock!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

Lisa

Have so enjoyed your pictures and narrative. Wasn't quite sure what to expect if we were to go to Europe. You have sure shown me this is a trip we definitely want to take! Thankyou

Suzanne

 

So glad you enjoyed it. I spent so much time planning this vacation, originally with Carnival. Then they cancelled only 3 weeks before we were supposed to leave so I had to scramble to rebook everything which delayed our trip a few months, but so worth it and I'm so glad we chose HAL. I'll never go back to Carnival after what they did to us and now I can see what I've been missing all these years!

[pearliemae]

We walked up and down and up and down and had a great time exploring the down and meeting people.

 

Then it was back to the ship!

 

 

 

Drop off my backpack in the room (loooooong walk)

 

and grab a snack on Lido

 

Back on our balcony, Terry caught site of something in the water, jellyfish?

 

And these things were all over the bay - traps for something?

These are floats of a mussel farm. We had a very nice mussel lunch in Olbio when we were there a couple years ago.

Did you see any of the large ferries with the cartoon characters come and go while you were docked there?

[RuthC]

Thanks for the pics of the Prinsendam in dry dock. The close-ups of the Lido aft gave me a very good idea of how the new, enclosed portion looks. I love that there are windows that open.

[Lisah101]

Jazz brunch - even though we ate breakfast, when Rae and Nancy told us about this, we had to go check it out. And of course, we ate again! I really need to start reading the daily news thingy.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

Thanks for the pics of the Prinsendam in dry dock. The close-ups of the Lido aft gave me a very good idea of how the new, enclosed portion looks. I love that there are windows that open.

 

THere are more photos if you want to sort through them. They start around page 26 here: http://s1054.photobucket.com/user/lisah101/library/Trip%20Photos/2013%20Europe%20with%20Terry

[Lisah101]

Walking round Malta

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

More Malta

 

We stopped here for a sandwich to share - Terry still not feeling well but they had free wifi for customers

 

 

Interesting Malta stuff

 

 

 

 

Writing a postcard to my son so it will come with a Malta stamp from Malta.

 

[Lisah101]

I could have spent days here just taking photos - so condensing it down to one last post of Malta photos

 

 

 

 

OK, I'm TERRIFIED of heights, but I managed to suck it up and take the elevator to the top!

 

 

and back to the ship!

[Lisah101]

Back on board for a real lunch. We really do like our salads, but notice the plate of cheese and honey!

 

 

At lunch I took a photo of Terry's receipt as he had to pay to use a public restroom in Valletta.

 

The ship was having an inspection done of the hull which took the divers longer than expected as explained by the captain. So we stayed docked in Malta longer than anticipated which gave us incredible evening views of the city from our room.

 

 

 

 

Now and then DH, is able to get the camera and take a photo also - ready for dinner! Notice I was drinking some of the wine we bought in Florence.

 

[Lisah101]

Another dinner menu - I'm getting all mixed up on which meal was which night, but regardless - they were all pretty good!

 

 

I think this was the Malta evening dinner though - here are the food photos

 

 

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

Messina

 

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Today, Terry really was feeling bad. His headaches were awful and the sinus infection seemed to be running wild. We had an excursion with other CC folks but backed out at the last moment and just took the loss. We walked ashore and found a pharmacy on the second try (the first one was a young blonde woman who wouldn't even try to hep us because we didn't speak Italian I think).

 

The second pharmacy was a very nice gentleman who knew a few words of English along with my translation app helped a lot and got Terry some meds.

 

We walked the town a bit and found a place to get a cup of coffee and a coke so Terry could take his pills.

 

 

We actually enjoyed sitting at this corner cafe and watching the traffic, the cars, the local stand and talk, etc. It was like being in a foreign film it felt so surreal and entertaining at the same time.

 

Italian parking

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

The meds were making Terry very sleep so we headed back, but....... I did get sidetracked and bought a really cute pair of shoes. Terry was so supportive despite his ailment.

 

 

Back on the ship, I noticed more nice flowers but I love random photos anyway.

 

Others saw things on this table, but I never did see any liquor on the liquor table.

 

 

Terry slept almost all afternoon and evening only getting up for a quick bite on Lido. I let him rest and meandered around on my own, wearing my new Italian shoes of course.

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

I wanted to mention - every table on Lido had very nice orchids on them. Nice touch!

 

[Lisah101]

Lisa...who did you use for tours in Italy? www.shareashoreexcursioninitaly.com? We did and we stopped at a winery too and the most incredible places for lunch.

 

I used Joe Banana Limos for my tours - there are lots of details on the tour in my blog in the signature line.

[Lisah101]

Naples

 

Terry still wasn't feeling great, but he was a little better. I had hired Joe Banana again for a tour with 3 other cc couples so Terry had to suck it up and make it happen!

 

 

Naples from our balcony

 

 

 

We met in the ocean bar and disembarked together for the tour.

 

 

We met our driver, Paulo and headed off to Pompeii. Along the drive, Paulo gave us some of the history of the area. He was a nice guide, but of all the one we had, he was probably my least favorite. He was a bit flippant and had a lot of one liners you could tell he used often. Since he is Giovanni's brother, I guess Paulo gets away with it. I would definitely use Joe Banana again, but ask for a different guide.

[Lisah101]

it was an extra 110 euros for a private guide inside Pompeii due to Italian tourist laws. The group was a bit hesitant so I offered to pay because I wanted a guide. Many of the group pitched in also and it was well worth the expense!

 

Lorenzo was our guide and he was my favorite Italian of the whole trip! He was a 70 year old gentleman well dressed and wearing a purple velour jacket. It sounds crazy, but he made it look good!

 

He took us on a guided tour of Pompeii and I could have spent hours there with him. When we arrived, it was early and not very crowded, but as we were finishing our tour, the large buses from the cruise ship started arriving and it became a crazy madhouse - people everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lisah101]

 

 

 

to grind wheat into flour

 

 

[Lisah101]

We left Pompeii, said goodbye to Lorenzo and went to a scenic overlook for great views of the Almafi coast

 

 

 

We were standing in front of this church for the view

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A gentleman next door watched the 9 of us take photos and admire the view. He then called our drive over and handed him 2 bundles of herbs. One was lavender so we (tourists) would know how wonderful it was to live there. The other was fresh basil he just picked for us. I held these as we drove, although I once again was sitting front and center, DH had climbed in the back previously. The roads we were driving were steep and giving me bad vertigo. I had to tell my husband he was sitting up front next to me or else!

 

So, with us now side by side in the van... we headed off to Sorrento.