26 days on the Oosterdam-Venice to Fort Lauderdale-Report

[Kittie Ladie]

I am enjoying the stories of your trip and the beautiful pictures. Thank you.

[ZN1300]

The statue above that I said was Herod is, in fact, Hadrian.

[Sonora5]

We had planned an excursion to Herculaneum for our stop there. The scooter sisters had booked an excursion with smartcruisetours dot com, and we decided to join them along with another couple. The driver was there to meet us when we lift the ship. Unfortunately, the van was not equipped with a lift device so it was difficult to raise the scooters into the va,

 

The sisters had been told they could tour Herculaneum with the scooters. This was not really true. I admire their grit, because they walked a little unsteadily through the part of Herculaneum that we toured. Our guide, Suzie, was informative and the features of Herculaneum very interesting. It is like a pocket Pompeii.

 

We then went to Sorrento. The van a/c was not working well so windows were cracked, which caused us all to be treated with car exhaust during the tunnels.

 

We had lunch at a good restaurant called Il Convivio. (order the creme caramel) Then a scenic drive back to the ship.

 

Next: a tour of Etruscan villages from the port of Civitavecchia

[ZN1300]

Napoli

[ZN1300]

Herculaneum

[ZN1300]

Herculaneum. A small excavation because of the surrounding neighborhood.

[ZN1300]

Herculaneum. At the time of the eruption this was beachfront property. The skeletons under the arches are the remains of people trying to flee on boats.

[ZN1300]

Herculaneum

[ZN1300]

Herculaneum

[ZN1300]

Herculaneum

[ZN1300]

Along the road to Sorrento.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just got caught up with your wonderful reports and fantastic pictures.

 

Brought back many memories from when we toured Herculaneum and Sorrento.

[ski ww]

It does remind me of Pompeii,  brings back memories, great pictures.

allan

[Sonora5]

It is like a pocket Pompeii. I am really glad we got to visit it.

 

Thanks for all your kind comments.

[Sonora5]

We had been to the port of Civitavecchia several times before, and wanted to try something new. MrShorts came up with a tour of Etruscan villages and we decided to join them.

 

Unfortunately we were there on a Monday so a lot of things-musuems, etc-were closed. We were lucky that our guide, Luca, had access to Trajan's baths just outside the town of CV. That part of our day was very interesting. We had sole access to the ruins so did not have to fight crowds, etc.

 

We then visited the towns of Tarquinia and Tuscania. A highlight was a 12th century church with a terrace with amazing views.

 

Amazing, but chilly and windy.

 

We also had a very nice lunch in Tuscani, and I cannot recall the name of the restaurant. However I had carbonara alla tartuffo that made me moan it was so delicious.

 

Return to the ship through lovely countryside. We ate in the main dining room and agreed to share a table, which was a mistake, as we got stuck with a bore who spent the meal talking over everyone else and mansplaining everything.

 

Next: Livorno and a fabulous trip to Cinque Terre.

[freestyling]

On 11/17/2018 at 1:39 PM, Sonora5 said:

By now you have all probably heard rumors of trouble at the Pinnacle Grill. We had had breakfast there prior to our Sel de Mer dinner and it was fine, albeit a little disorganized.

We were on for 24 days departing in Barcelona. We ate in the PG for breakfast which was slow but usually is and had 14 dinners with no issues. Surprised about any “rumors” on the PG. We found that Rick and Ice ran a very nice restuarant. So sorry to hear your experience is so different.

BTW loving your review and pics. Thanks for posting

[ZN1300]

Trajan's baths

[ZN1300]

Trajan's baths

[ZN1300]

Trajan's baths

[ZN1300]

Trajan's baths

[ZN1300]

Tarquinia

[ZN1300]

[ZN1300]

Just to let you see how windy it was.

 

[ZN1300]

Church

[ZN1300]

View from church