Tue June 4 Florence / Pisa (Livorno), Italy

We had a private group tour planned for this morning so we ordered room service as a wake up call. 

It arrived at 6:20am and we were off the ship by 7:20am. Met our group on the pier and then waited for our bus, and waited and waited... Turned out the bus was not allowed onto the pier and we had to take a shuttle to the bus. It was almost 8:30am by the time we were finally on our way.

We arrived in Florence at almost 10am. We headed towards the Duomo which is a huge church. 

Walked around and then headed across the river and climbed up to Piazzale Michelangelo which has an amazing view of Florence. There is also a copy of David there.

We headed back down and crossed over Ponte Vecchio. 

Lots of gold sellers on the bridge. 

We walked around seeing more sights and then headed to San Lorenzo market. This is a large outdoor market with lots of leather goods.

Stopped for lunch and had a beer and shared a mushroom and prosciutto pizza - very yummy!

More walking, and we came across another copy of David and many other beautiful statues.

At 4pm we met our group at our bus but had to wait another 15 minutes for everyone to arrive. The ride back seemed very long as we were tired and my feet were killing me from all the walking.

We were back at the ship by 5:30pm.

We sat out on our balcony and had a few glasses of wine while sitting in the sun.

Up to the buffet for dinner and I played a whopping $10 at the casino.

Back to the cabin to watch a movie and rest my feet.

Monte Carlo, Monaco tomorrow!

Wed June 5 Monte Carlo, Monaco

We woke to a beautiful morning in Monaco and what a wonderful view we had from our balcony!

We stopped at the tourist info desk on our way out of the port and found out about a ferry (which was free today) that would take us over to the casino and from there we could get a bus to Eze. 

Eze is a hilltop medieval town in France. It is very charming and the view from the garden at the top is breathtaking!

We spent a while walking around the town and then caught the bus back to Monaco. We got off at the top of the town at a look off with more wonderful views.

We walked around enjoying all the sights and the cars and the yachts and the money. This place oozes money!

We stopped at a place for lunch where we had stopped when we were here in 2008. It is a busy pizza counter outside a grocery store on the main street on the waterfront. But the pizza was not as good as last time. Nothing stays the same... :(

At 3pm we headed back to the ship and had a quick nap. I think all the walking and the sun is catching up with us.

Woke feeling refreshed, at 4:30pm we headed back out and took the ferry back to the casino. What a beautiful building! We went in and I played 10 euros in the slot machines just so I can say I gambled there - just like Bond, James Bond.

Walked around for a while and then it was time to head back to the ship. We were back on by 7pm with all on board at 7:30pm.

Buffet for dinner and then out on deck to watch sail away.

It was great to be docked in Monaco and not Villefranche which is were we were anchored (with tenders) the last 2 times I was here. It makes getting around so much easier.

Marseille, France tomorrow!

Thu June 6 Marseilles, France

Another beautiful day in France!

We got off the ship by 9am and took the shuttle (14 euros pp return) into the old part of town.

Sat at a cafe and had a cafe au lait with the locals. Then followed a few walking paths on the map into not so great parts of town. More walking and then we stopped for a beer with a view. We sat at a cafe overlooking the harbour which was full of boats. It was a lovely view!

Took the 1pm shuttle back to the ship and then headed up to the lido deck for burgers.

2:30pm, I headed to the Spa and Wayne headed to the gym. I had a facial, hand/arm message and foot/leg message - my feet loved (and needed) the foot message!

At 4:45pm there was the past guest party with free drinks!!

Back to the cabin and it was laundry time. So glad Carnival has self-serve laundry.

For dinner we took our food from the buffet and sat outside. It was a beautiful evening. The ship was hardly moving and the sea was so calm and there was a whale near the ship - very peaceful.

Walked around the ship and then went back to the cabin to watch another movie.

Tomorrow is a sea day!

Fri June 7 Sea Day #2

We had a wonderful day cruising the Med.

Blue skies, calm seas, drinking beer and reading books in the sun. We are both a little red - maybe a little too much sun. Just a great day!

Tonight we went to the comedy show and we had seen the comedian before. We are not sure which ship but we couldn't forget the puppets... 

Tomorrow - Palma de Mallorca, Spain!

Sat June 8 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Today is the last day of our cruise.

We spent a wonderful day roaming around Palma. At first the skies were dark and it rained a little but then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day.

One of our first stops was for a delicious cafe con leche.

We walked around the old part of town and then stopped in Placa Major for tapas and beer. More walking and sightseeing. Palma is a lovely town!

 We were back on board by 3:30pm - all on board was 4:30pm and sail away was 5pm.

Our last dinner on the ship was in the buffet. We then sat and watched Mallorca as we sailed by. A very interesting looking island with lots of jagged cliffs.

Back to the cabin to pack...

Barcelona, Spain tomorrow!

We have booked an excursion for tomorrow that will take us from the ship to Montserrat (a monastery high up in the mountains) and then to our hotel.