Live - Independence Italian Med (7/13-7/27) - European Vacation

[h20skibum]

It is a steep incline, hiking to the rim, and the surface of the path is loose.  You do have some great views of Naples on the way up. 

 

 

If you zoom in, you can find our ship at the dock

 

 

 

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the great photos.

[h20skibum]

Our guide, who we met at the top, talked about the explosive nature of the volcano, and how it would reach Naples in 5 minutes.  That’s why they give you such small cups of coffee, because you may not have time to finish a big one. 

 

 

 

In some portions of the volcano, you could still see steam rising 

 

 

 

We continued our walk around the rim, as far as we could go. 

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Looking toward Pompeii, where we were headed next

 

 

The views along the trail were well worth the climb

 

 

Getting to the top, early in the morning was good, because it was really getting crowded, and there was a lot of traffic headed up the volcano as we drove down. 

 

The road aid has a lot of switchbacks, which make it difficult for the bus to navigate.  Going around each curve, cars have to back up to give the bus room. 

 

This guy, in his rental, was not so lucky. 

 

 

He backed straight into the hillside, and then couldn’t get his car started.  A taxi driver, and our bus driver had to get his car out for him, and of course his girlfriend was not impressed with him. 

 

I hope he took the insurance, because the rear corner didn’t look too good. 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Our next stop for the day was Pompeii.  It was about a 45 to 50 minute drive, after leaving the site of the Audi crash

 

We had about 20 minutes to grab something to eat, and shop before entering the ruins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[grapau27]

8 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Our next stop for the day was Pompeii.  It was about a 45 to 50 minute drive, after leaving the site of the Audi crash

 

We had about 20 minutes to grab something to eat, and shop before entering the ruins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your photos bring the tour to life.

Thanks for sharing.

[h20skibum]

It is amazing, how well preserved things are here, from the wall paintings, to the floor mosaics

 

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Even the artwork on the ceilings, where they remain, is well preserved

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

They had interesting arrows, to point the way to the brothel. 

 

 

One of the paintings from inside the brothel

 

 

The guide told the group they may not want to take children inside, but the paintings were not that graphic, and they probably see worse on tv today. 

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by h20skibum

[h20skibum]

In the temple area, they had a large display of artifacts, including plaster casts of some of the bodies, in their positions at time of death. The ash had preserved many things, and the cavity remained as the bodies decayed away. 

 

Temple area 

 

 

 

Artifacts and casts

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Our excursion in Rome, and this one are two that I would highly recommend. We were totally in awe by the sights

 

Mt. Vesuvius from the ship

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Entertainment for the night was ventriloquist Steve Hewlett. 

 

We thought some parts were entertaining, but parts were dated. 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

With all the long port days in a row, it is really hard to keep current on a live report. But with two sea days now, I hope to get current.  

 

Our next port stop - Cagliari.  Here, we booked the best of Sardinia.  It was probably about a 45 minute drive to Nora, where they are currently excavating ruins.  They are not nearly as impressive as the ones in Rome and Pompeii, but we did see archaeologists excavating in a couple areas. 

 

A few photos from the site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Some of the mosaics were well preserved, and the color really came out when our guide put some water on one.

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Our guide said the beaches at Nora were some of the most beautiful, so here is a beach picture. 

 

 

I saw some blue towels, so some from the ship may have been here for a beach break

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Our next stop was at Capoterra.  A local vineyard and restaurant, they had samples of cheese, salami, and wine for us to try. 

 

 

Roberto was making some cheese for us to try. 

 

 

We were hoping we wouldn’t have arm hair in the cheese, but I can confirm that he washed his hands after using the restroom, and before placing his arm in the pot.  This is the finished product, after packing it in the container 

 

 

And a slice to try, plus a little pastry

 

 

We both found the cheeses and salami a little dry for our taste. 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Back to Cagliari for a tour of the cathedral at Piazza Palazzo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

Dinner was rack of lamb, and tiramisu. 

 

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

The snail??? was waiting when we stopped at the cabin on our was to trivia

 

 

Grease was the word tonight, as that was the main show.  I think it is one of the best Royal Caribbean shows.  We first saw it on the Harmony, last November. 

 

They made an announcement during trivia, that those with the key better go to the theatre if they wanted their seats.  We left when we heard that announcement, and at 20 minutes before show, almost every seat was filled. 

 

 

It was standing room only, so my advice is to go early to get a seat

 

 

I did a short video, so here is a taste of the Grease show. 

 

https://www.pscp.tv/w/cAk6NDEzNzU1Mzc5fDFSRHhsdnJXTGVOR0ztuiSaHI3C_WEENx_xeOrljos_H2Tuy_WmVzWRF55rhA==?t=1m17s

 

 

[h20skibum]

I never thought I would hear Susan say she was ready for a sea day, but after so many long port days, we were ready.  

 

The sea day was just that, a lazy day at the pool.   I didn’t take many pictures, but I did find a couple getting wedding pictures taken. 

[jimbri]

Wonderful photos!

[h20skibum]

Entertainment for the night was Hypnotist David Knight.  

 

I am not sure if any of these people were actually hypnotized, but they were trying to appear they were. 

 

 

We only stayed 10 minutes, then headed to karaoke. We met a couple girls in the hot tub, and encouraged them to go sing. 

 

We told them we would be there to cheer them on. 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

11 hours ago, h20skibum said:

They had interesting arrows, to point the way to the brothel. 

 

 

One of the paintings from inside the brothel

 

 

The guide told the group they may not want to take children inside, but the paintings were not that graphic, and they probably see worse on tv today. 

 

 

 

love those 'arrows'!

[h20skibum]

Hello Cadiz, Spain.  

 

Our last port stop as we head back toward Southampton. Our final cruise ship tour that we booked was Seville Sights and Las Setas. 

 

This would probably be rated as our least favorite tour that we did, and I will explain that as I go. 

 

The morning was sunny and hot, as we docked, and sailboats were out. 

 

 

Our tour group was #8, so we were off on an early departure, and crossing the bridge toward Seville.

 

 

For those wanting the technical details, this cable stay Bridge is about 5 km long, with 69 m of underclear (around 220 feet)

 

[h20skibum]

Seville is about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Cadiz, so about 3.5 hours of our 6 hour excursion would be spent traveling there and back. 

 

The young girl, who was our tour guide, spent most of the trip conversing in Spanish with the bus driver, and ignored the passengers

 

Finally, when we arrived in Seville, she began to tell us a little about it. 

 

The first place we stopped was at Spain square, at the Spain pavilion from the 1929 exposition.  This was a massive building and courtyard

 

 

 

They have benches with mosaics around the perimeter 

 

 

We we actually saw someone rowing a rowboat with the pointy end (🤣🤣 for you non technical types) going in the wrong direction. Evidently, they don’t give novices instructions. 

 

 

The railings are all very ornate.