Day 8 - Barcelona

Sunday morning we left the boat and said good bye to the family.  My sister and Mike were heading back early and my parents had an additional 4 days to tour Spain.  We had one day to tour Barcelona and the weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate.  We had a few rain showers, but it didn't stop us from seeing most of Barcelona and by 2 PM we had beautiful weather!

Barcelona is a fascinating city, home to 1.7MM people. It is a large city, with a small town feel. There are two official languages here: Catalan and Spanish, nether which I can understand! The Spanish here sounds very different than the Spanish spoken in Mexico. Last night we ate dinner at “Ciudad Cantal” and we had to stand by the hostess stand because we were afraid if she called our name we wouldn’t know it because the Spanish accent is very hard to detect.

We discovered Barcelona by the Bus Turistic, which is a double deck bus that drives you around the city. The total ride, if you choose to stay on and not hop off, is approximately 3 hours. This is not because Barcelona is so big, but rather it is because of the numerous sites to see. Barcelona is most well known for its architecture, the city is full of art, whether it is its fountains, statues, buildings, or parks.

After we departed the ship, we headed directly to our hotel, which was located in the World Trade Center of Barcelona. Eurostar Grand was designed by the same team of architects as the famous pyramid of the Louvre in Paris! It was a beautiful hotel and center, which resembles a ship, getting wider as it rises from the ground. This makes sense, as it sits in the heart of the Old Port.

We literally saw over 30 different sites in Barcelona, too many to count; however, what makes Barcelona most famous is its famous architect: Gaudi. Gaudi inspired Barcelona with his infamous works of art. Some of his most notable: Casa Batllo’, La Pedrera, Sagrada Familia, and the Park Guell.

The Casa Batllo’ is an example of Gaudi’s modernistic style, built between 1904 and 1906. The building resembles the skin of a dragon with its painted façade and scaly rooftop. Down the street is La Pedrera, which means stone quarry in Catalan. Gaudi built this establishment between 1906 and 1910. The stone façade, with its wrought iron balconies, evokes the motion of the waves. Outside both buildings, you will see further Gaudi work such as the hexagonal stone pavings and the magnificent benches and street lamps that line both sides of the avenue.

The Park Guell was named after Gaudi’s patron, Count Eusebi Guell. This was originally planned as a residential garden community, but it failed. Today it is a beautiful strolling park and museum and one of the finest examples of how Gaudi incorporated work into nature.

Sagrada Familia is Barcelona’s most famous works of art and defines its skyline. Sagrada Familia was Gaudi’s dream, he devoted most of his life to the construction of this church. Started in the late 19th century, this landmark is STILL not complete! At the time of Gaudi’s death in 1926, only one of the towers had been completed. Today there are a total of four towers, which have been funded by churchgoers and devotees. The government does not pay or contribute to the church. This has become an unmistakable symbol of Barcelona and continues to be under construction. The amount of detail and work that has been put into this building is too hard to explain in words. We did our best to capture this on film, but I urge you to Google “Sagrada Familia” and check it out for yourself. It is one of the most amazing pieces of architecture we have ever seen.

We had lunch at a tapas bar in La Ramla, which is one of the most famous areas in Barcelona. The boulevard showcases the Boqueria Market, flower stalls, the opera house, and endless and unexpected attractions. There are many street performers here vying for your euro. Attempting to take in the ambience and culture of Spain, we lunched on seafood paella, which Jeff hated…I thought it was pretty good. Most importantly we both liked the sangria, so that was good! After lunch, we made our way back toward Port Vell and had a few more glasses of sangria! The Port Vell area is really fun, noted as the oldest part of Barcelona harbor. This area features major leisure and shopping complexes, restaurants, and shops which are open seven days a week. Jeff was intrigued by the women’s bathroom, which you had to walk through to get to the men’s room…ha ha ha.

We headed back to the Eurostar Grand and took a few hours to relax, before heading out for dinner. We had the paella and sangria, we were now interested in Spanish beer and tapas. The concierge recommended that we head towards Placa de Cataluna and dine at Ciudad Cantal. The place was hopping and they don’t take reservations. It reminded me of a sushi bar, where the chefs make the maki rolls in front of the patrons. Here the tapas were being made at the bar for all the guests to watch. It was a really cool spot. The menu was interesting, to say the least, and we didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into, as it was written in very broken English. We munched on papas bravas (spicy potatoes), fried artichokes (which still had the hair), ham and chicken croquettes, some type of goat cheese pepper dish, four cheese baguettes, and Russian Salad, which are the tapas staples in Barcelona. It was okay, we much prefer the American tapas at Café Babareeba….LOL. After dinner we walked down La Ramla and headed home, we wanted to get up early to see La Boqueria Market, which opened early Monday morning.

Monday morning we woke up bright and early, as our flight home took off at 12:40. We wanted to pack, eat breakfast, and walk through the famous Boqueria Market located in La Ramla. The market was crazy! There were fruit, meat, seafood, chocolate, and candy sections, as well as sections dedicated to patrons who wanted to sit down at the counter and enjoy a fresh lunch and cold beer. We walked through at 9AM and there were people already eating oysters and drinking sangria. Each stall at the market was beautifully organized, it seemed like each of them were competing to have the most beautiful stall. In the meat sections, there were literally large cuts of ham and beef hanging from the top of the stands, hoofs and feathers included. We’re not too sure how sanitary this is, but it seemed to be the way of life for the Spaniards. Some of the foods looks really appetizing, the fresh fruit and juice, as well as the handmade truffles looked appetizing! I really enjoyed the market, it gave us a glimpse into how the Barcelonean’s live, eat, and play.

Our vacation was amazing, we got to revisit some of our most favorite spots, as well as experience a few new. We definitely want to vacation in the French Riviera again and see St Tropez, as well as do a tour of Spain.

As always, thanks for reading and till next time.

Xoxo

J&J

Day 7 - Toulon

Toulon was our last port of call, nestled somewhere between the mountains and the waters of the Mediterranean. While Toulon has a beautiful harbor and home to the premier French naval base, it is also a perfect location for tourists to explore scenic regions of Provence and the Cote D’Azur.

It was a hard decision on what to do today. Within a 3 hour drive, you can find yourself as far east as St Tropez and as far west as Aix-en-Provence. It has always been a dream to visit St Tropez; however with limited time, we chose to visit Marseilles and Aix-en Provence. It was a Saturday and we were afraid that St Tropez would be so busy that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy it.  We also had to be back to the ship by 4:30, which would only give us a few hours there.  

Even though we didn't make it out to St Tropez, the trip didn’t disappoint. Our first stop was in Marseille, which is the oldest city in France, as well as the second most populated city next to Paris. Marseille is the largest port city in Europe and is over 2600 years old. The port we see today was made new during the 19th century when trade was expanding rapidly. However, it is facinating to know that people have inhabited Marseille for almost 30,000 years: palaeolithic cave paintings in the underwater caves date back to between 27,000 and 19,000 BC. Recently they have also excavated new the railway station and have unearthed neolithic brick habitations from around 6,000 BC. You can see the old/new while walking through the city.

Today Marseille is a melting pot of many different cultures. The city has served as an entrance port for over a million immigrants to France and in 1962 because of the newly independent Algeria, there was around 150,000 Algerians that moved here. This is why the city has a French-African quarter. Today the central area of Marseille is known as the Immigrants quarter, as there is a mix of several different types of cultures.

Once we left Marseille we headed on to Aix-en-Provence. This is roughly 13 miles north of Marseille and MUCH smaller, only 137,000 inhabitants. This area was made famous by Cezanne and Van Gogh as they spoke about how the “town of art and town of water” inspired them. This is a beautiful town, known for the aroma of lavender and fresh baked bread, there are outdoor café’s and farmers markets on every corner. It is also often referred to as the “city of a thousand fountains.”

Aix-en-Provence is the former capital of Provence from the 12th century to the French Revolution. It has remained a very quant area and well maintained with beautiful architecture from the 17th and 19th centuries. We really loved it here. The city reminded us of a blend of Siena, Italy because of the design and Paris with its cafes and fresh flower markets.

We spent most of the day shopping around and eating at a café. When it comes to leisure, Aix en Provence is known for its high-end beauty products (hand-made soap, perfume), as well as its fresh water springs, which were first discovered by the Romans. It also has a beautiful church, called the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour. This is also located in the medieval part of Aix and was built on the site of a former Roman Forum so it has both 5th and 17th century architecture.

We really loved Aix-en Provence! Marseille was a little too much for us, seemed like just another big city.  Although we may be bias since we live in a large city.  We enjoyed the intimacy of Aix-en Provence and the beautiful small family owned shops.  This is a must for anyone visiting the south of France.    

Till tomorrow.

Day 6 - The French Riviera (Monaco/Monte Carlo, Nice)

I am a few days behind on the blog, wifi is not available in the staterooms. By the time we get back to the boat, we are so exhausted it’s hard to get down to the “hot spots” to upload the blog.

On Friday we visited the French Rivieria, which was amazing! We started the day by touring Monaco, which we arrived via train from Ville Franche. Once we arrived in Monaco we headed straight for Monte Carlo, which is one of Monaco's administrative cities.  Many people think that Monte Carlo is the capital, but it is not.  The capital of Monaco is Monaco!  It is absolutely beautiful - probably one of the prettiest places we've ever been.

Our first stop was to the Rock of Monaco.  The Rock is located in the Old Quarter, full of vaulted passageways, the 19th century Neo-Romanesque Cathedral, the Prince’s Palace, and the Oceanographic Museum (which was founded by Jacques-Yves Cousteau). This is the oldest of the four quarters in Monaco and is home to the current ruler, Prince Albert II.  The palace has been ruled by the Grimaldi family since 1297 and they are still very involved in the daily business of Monaco.  Everyday they still have the Changing of the Guards.  The palace, as most American's know, is the former home of American film star Grace Kelly who married Prince Rainier III.  You can visit Princess Grace Kelly's grave at the Monaco Cathedral (see the picture below).  The people of Monaco had great admiration for her, as her and her husband, during their reign, built a stronger and more secure Monaco.  Her spirit is definitely kept alive here with numerous monuments and statues celebrating her life.

Before departing the Old Quarter, we walked through the Jardin Exotique, which is the cliff side botanical gardens of Monaco, built in 1933 and opened to the public in 1950.  The views were breathtaking!

Even though Monaco holds so much wealth (every car you see is either a Ferrari or Lamborghini), more interesting is that Monaco is the second smallest city-state in the world! The total population is 33,000 and the city is only 2 miles wide!

Monte Carlo is most famous for the Grand Casino, which has been shown in numerous American films, most notably the James Bond films.  Unfortunately it was closed until 2pm, so we didn't get the opportunity to wak through.  However, we got a good feel of how big the Casino was just by looking at it from the outside. We definitely plan to come back and visit the Grand Casino on another trip.

We eventually made our made our way to Nice. Nice is the capital of the French Riviera and it is a happening place, full of sun worshipers taking advantage of the warm weather, to the locals, looking for a nice café to enjoy a good meal. With limited time, we visited the Old Town area.  We found it interesting that Nice is considered to be one of the oldest human settlements in the world, dating back to 350 BC!  You definitley get an idea of just how old the area is by simply looking at the old stone pavements and brick walls located in this area. 

We also strolled along the Promenade des Anglase, which is full of high end boutiques and beautiful landscapes.

Towards the end of the day, we walked towards the Mediterranean Sea, where we found a quaint café on the beach and had lunch. This was definitely an experience.  The menus, which were provided on chalk boards, were propped up at your table, and were written in French. …..so we winged it and we did ok. I had Salad Nicois, which was excellent, and we shared a nice bottle of Rose.  It was a perfect day!

We didn’t have as much time as we would have wanted, but we got a great feel for the area and are planning to come back to visit. Tomorrow we are visiting Toulon, which is a short distance from cities such as Aix en Provence, St Tropez, Marseille, and Bandol….

Till tomorrow….

J&J

Day 5 - Firenze

We docked in Livorno, Italy at 7AM this morning. Livorno belongs to the region of Tuscany, which includes Pisa and Florence, two of the most beautiful places on earth! Located 45 minutes from Livorno is Sienna, which is also a beautiful city, housed within a walled fortress, which has only 3 entrances. We are fortunate and have had the pleasure of visiting this region before, with our most favorite places being Tuscany and Sienna. Since we did not have a lot of time in Florence on our previous trip, we decided to dedicate the entire day to exploring this city and really understanding why so many people love it so much.

This morning we took the Euro Star directly into Santa Maria Novella, which is the main train station in Florence. Livorno is approximately 62 miles from Florence. From the train station, we walked directly to the center of the city, which houses the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. This cathedral is the second largest cathedral in the world (second to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome) and can hold up to 3000 people. The Cathedral has a unique architecture, a mix of Gothic and Renaissance Style, which is notable on the façade of the church. The lines were extremely long to visit the inside of the Cathedral, so we decided to wait in the short line and visit the dome of the Cathedral. We climbed 463 steps to the “Cupola Gallery.” The dome of the Cathedral was magnificent, displaying beautiful painted murals and two large cracks that have been there for over a hundred years. We climbed the last 175 steps, which led to the top of the church and boasted incredible views of the city.

Once we left the dome, we decided to take it easy and enjoy the sights from afar. We took pictures of the famous Bell Tower, which stands adjacent to the Cathedaral and is decorated in colored marble from the 14th century, as well as the Baptistry, which was built in the Romanesque style in the 11th century. Most notable are the famous three bronze gates on the east side of the Baptistry. They were designed by Ghiberti and Michelangelo referred to them as the “Gates of Paradise.”
Since we had already visited the Accademia Gallery where Michelangelo’s ‘Statue of David’ is located, we decided to spend the rest of the day shopping and eating (our favorite pastime experience).

We visited the leather district, which has hundreds of street vendors and established stores selling beautiful Italian leather. Of course I took advantage of this and bought a new leather jacket! And how funny is it that the jacket was sold to me by a man from California….small world!

After a few purchases, we sat and had a bite to eat at Miti. The food was excellent! Jeff had one of the best calzones he’d ever gotten….and it may have been the largest he’d ever gotten too! We definitely recommend eeating at Miti.

Once we finished eating, we headed towards Ponte Vecchio, which is the oldest bridge remaining in Florence, lined with goldsmiths’ shops. This appears to be a normal street in the middle of the city until the River Arno suddenly appears to be flowing beneath. It is really a breathtaking part of Florence. This area used to be the fish market, but the local towns’ people didn’t like the smell, so they converted it into the jewelry district. I think this is so funny!

We needed to be back to the train station for a 3:27 departure, so we headed back to SMN around 2:45. It was an excellent day in Firenze and we cannot wait to come back. We definitely know why people love this city so much. It is full of beautiful architecture and quant café’s where you can just sit and watch the day go by. And what’s even better, you have Sienna, Pisa, and Tuscay just a stone’s throw away. This is a must do, check it off the bucket list now!

Last but not least...we went to the nightclub last night!  Check out the pics...LOL!!

We are so excited for tomorrow’s stop – The French Riviera. We have never been, so it will be our first time. As of now, we plan on visiting Nice, Eze, and Monte Carlo! Jeff and I will be playing a hand of blackjack at The Grand Casino in Monte Carlo, wish us luck….

Ciao.

XOXO

J&J

Day 4 - Roma

Today we visited Rome and as promised, we ate and drank our way through. We were on our own today since we’ve already seen many of the tourist sites. We took a shuttle bus from Civitavecchia, Italy into Rome. The ride was approximately 90 minutes, so we were able to plan what we wanted to do during the drive.  We had a much more relaxed schedule than my family since we didn’t plan to tour the Vatican or the Colosseum. We wanted to go back and see a few of our favorite spots: The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, The Coliseum and Roman Forum (from the outside), Pantheon, St Peter’s Basilica and Piazza Navona.

Our first stop was the famous Spanish Steps, which we arrived to via the Roma Metro. The Spanish Steps, named after a palace that held the Spanish Embassy, has 137 steps and was built by the French to connect the French Quarter at the top, to the Spanish Quarter below. Overtime Piazza di Spagna has became the place of “lovers,” home to many wedding proposals and first kisses.

Between the Spanish Steps and Via del Corso is the main shopping area of Rome. Here you will find more exclusive boutiques and high end designer shops. We strolled down Via del Corso until we reached the Fontana di Trevi.

The Trevi Fountain is one our favorite places in Rome. This is Rome’s most famous fountain, romanticized by the Romans, as legend has it that whomever tosses a coin into the fountain will one day return to Rome. However, you don’t just toss the coin in, there is a process. You must turn around, hold the coin in your right hand, and throw it over your left shoulder. If your coin hits anyone, it will bring you bad luck. We didn’t like our odds, as today was a national Holiday (Italy’s Independence Day), the crowd was thick and we didn’t want to take a chance at bad luck! Trevi was as beautiful as we remembered.

Leaving Fontana di Trevi, we headed south on Via del Fore Imperiali. This road takes you directly to Old Rome, where the Colliseum, The Arch of Constantine, and The Forum are located. Because of the Holiday, the streets were packed, shoulder to shoulder. There was a parade and jets overhead celebrating the day. The Colliseum had a beautiful Italian flag hung over it and the jets were dispensing green, white, and red smoke from their engines...pretty cool to see!  It was definitely an experience to be here on this day, but it was extremely crowded and many of the streets were blocked off for the parade.

Our last planned stop was to the Pantheon, which is located in Piazza della Rotonda and was built in 27 BC and restored in 606 AD as a Christian Church. It is now the burial place for prominent Romans, including Raphael, the painter and many members of Italian royalty. What I find most interesting is that the Pantheon has no windows, except for a small round window at the very top of the structure. They claim that this is God’s window into the church.

At this point, it was around 1PM and Jeff and I had seen most everything on our list….it was time to sit, eat, and drink some vino. We headed directly to Piazza Navona. This is believed to be the most beautiful squares in the world and is home to Bernini’s “Fountain of the Four Rivers.” Not only is this square beautiful, but it has many outdoor cafés, great people watching, and Italian artists selling their paintings on the street. Although don’t let them fool you. They won’t really bargain prices with you, selling their painting for over 200 Euro! This is not my definition of a street vendor!

We found a quaint café and sat at one of the front tables facing the street. We ordered a great bottle of Montepulciano and then the feast began. We started with buffalo mozzarella and tomato, then shared a small plate of spaghetti pesto, and finished the meal with Veal Saltimbocca. It was a great meal, great service and we were completely relaxed and ready for the long, bus ride home!
After lunch, we walked back toward Piazza San Pietro, located in Vatican City, where we had to catch the shuttle. We had a few minutes to spare, so we walked around the square and were able to get some great photos of St Peter’s Basilica. Built in 1626, this is the largest Catholic Church ever built! Some of its leading architects were Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo. St Peter is buried beneath the church altar, as legend has it that he died on this very spot. The Basilica sits in Piazza San Pietro, which is said to hold up to 400,000 people and is surrounded by 284 columns designed by Bernini. This is the location where you can see the Pope address the world. He was actually on the square today day, but we had missed him by a few hours!

It was a great day in Rome. We are full and happy! Off to Florence tomorrow…can’t wait for the Tuscan wines!

Arrivederci!

J&J

Day 3 - Napoli

Buon Girorno! Today was our first day off ship and we were excited for our first destination – Naples! Although we had only been here once before, it felt like we were right at home, sitting at Chez Black drinking wine! The day started early, we wanted to take it all in and share the beauty of Naples with my family, who has never been here.

We met at 8AM and greeted our driver, who would be our personal tour guide for the day. He took us directly from the port of Naples to Pompeii. We had been here once before, but we didn’t go in, so this was a first time experience for us. Roughly 14 miles east of Naples and sitting at the base of Mt. Vesuvius, this was once the thriving empire of Pompeii. Tragically, in 79 AD the city was buried in ash after being destroyed by a volcanic eruption. And it wasn’t until the early 1800s that it was discovered. Sine this time numerous excavations have taken place and Pompeii is one of the best preserved towns of Ancient Rome. As a visitor, we could see the remains of Pompeii, from its Public Administration Building, to its temples, and wool factories and theatre. It was really amazing. Although our time was limited and we only had an hour to spend here, we got a great feel for how the city was designed and how the village functioned day to day. I would definitely recommend that anyone visiting Naples visit Pompeii.

Once we left Pompeii we headed directly for POSITANO!!!!! This is one of our most cherished places on earth. We have yet to find a place that can compare to the charm and beauty of Positano and we were really excited to share our love of Positano with my family. Positano is located in the Amalfi Coast, just south east of Sorrento. The drive from Sorrento to Positano is breathtaking, and is considered to be one of the most beautiful, scenic drives in the world. It is easy to see why, as you have the blue, Mediterranean Sea and the mountains of the Salerno coast to the North. Known as the “Jewel of the Amalfi,” it draws a rare, artist-type of tourist, which creates a much laid back and relaxing atmosphere. Full of local, family owned shops selling Limón cello, delectable Sicilian and Italian Pastries, as well as homemade Italian Leather sandals, this is a place where you come to relax, sit for hours drinking vino at one of the many outdoor cafés. Sitting back and just enjoying the landscape is not too hard and we did just that, as we sat and had a nice lunch at Chez Black. This is one of Jeff’s favorite restaurants in Positano. He enjoyed a nice entrée of flat noodles with four cheese sauce (you just can’t take the WISCO out of him) and nice glass of red….a priceless and enjoyable afternoon. I believe my family fell in love with Positano too, just as we had 4 years ago. How can you not? Look at the view!

We left Positano at 1PM, after lunch, and headed back towards Sorrento to catch the Hydrofoil Ferry over to the Isle of Capri. Capri is located in the Bay of Naples, roughly 17 miles outside of the city. After some confusion of exactly where our ferry was, we eventually found it, boarded and were off to Capri. Jeff and I had been to Capri before, but spent most of our time at the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is located in the Mediterranean Sea, just minutes from Capri’s Marina Grande. It’s a cave with a small opening (literally a 4ft x 4ft opening) where the sun shines in and reflects off the water making the inside of the grotto a bright, aquamarine color. You hire a boat (which is a 2 person paddle boat) to take you inside the Grotto. Because the Grotto is small inside, sometimes you will literally have hundreds of tiny boats waiting to go inside. Once inside the “captains” sing Italian songs together and the tourists enjoy the scenery. It was our plan to take my family to the Blue Grotto this afternoon, but unfortunately, the grotto was closed for the day! We were so bummed. I think it must have had something to do with the large amount of rain they had had in the bay over the last few weeks. The water must have been too high for the row boats to clear the opening to the grotto. We were sad, but made up for it by taking a taxi up to the top of Capri. Capri is a large island, divided into two distinct sections: Capri and Anacapri. At the bottom of the island, where the ferries and ships dock, Marina Grande, there are several café’s and souvenir shops. Once you travel up to the city square, you are surrounded by high-end shopping such as Gucci, Prada, and Hermes. It was nice to see and we really enjoyed walking through Capri. My brother had his first gelato experience and I think he really, really liked it! We had an hour before we had to catch the 45 minute ferry back to Naples, so we sat at an outdoor café and enjoyed a few glasses of wine. When we asked “what kind of wine do you have,” they just simply said, “we have wine from our country.” HA! Okay, well I guess we at least drank some great Italian wine in Capri. I did learn after we got back to the ship that many of the café’s serve the Napoli local wine, which is called Lacrima Christi (Christ’s Tears) which comes from the slopes of Vesuvius.

It was a beautiful day in Italy. And it reaffirmed our love for this country and in particular, Positano. We will definitely be visiting again, The Amalfi coast is a special place!

We will be visiting Rome, The Eternal City, tomorrow. Since we’ve been to Rome before, Jeff and I may eat and drink our way through the day. Sounds good to me…the rest of the family will be visiting The Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, as well as the beautiful Trevi Fountain and world famous Spanish Steps.

Till tomorrow, Ciao.

XOXO

J&J

At Sea - Day 2

Today was our first full day at sea, we are travelling from Barcelona to Naples.  I believe it is approximately 1200 km (although I may be wrong).  We spent the day at the gym and the pool, just relaxing.  Around 1PM the boat passed between St Tropez, France and Sardinia, Sicily, which was really cool.  The highlight of the day today was my parents "wedding."  The ceremony took place at 8PM at the Skylight Chapel.  We didn't think it was possible, but their wedding was smaller than ours!  SEVEN PEOPLE!!!  It was really nice.  They were both dressed to the nines, with my mom wearing a beatufiul ivory dress.  We (the five kids), got her a bouquet of white roses and a boutineer to match.  It was really sweet. They both wrote their own vows, which they had a hard time getting out.  It didn't last too long, but it was perfect and I know it was what they wanted, so we were happy.  After the ceremony, we headed to the champange bar, for a nice wedding toast (by Jeff) for the happy couple.  It was a nice day.

The festivities start tomorrow.  We are docking in Naples and plan to take a private car to Pompeii, Positano, Sorrento, and Capri.  We look forward to seeing Pompeii and showing my family around Positano, one of our favorite places in the world.

Till tomorrow....xoxo