Come aboard, we're expecting you...

I guess most people don't walk up to their cruise ships with large backpacks strapped to their back. You know that we did (traveling freaks that we are!). It just made the most sense with a heavy bag and a long walk. At our table there is a couple from Ft Worth and a couple from Hawaii, and sometimes 2 female coworkers from Ontario. The ship's typical passenger is white-haired, fat, frail, with sunburned shoulders. She's wearing SAS shoes, he's wearing ivory Rockports. Mostly Americans, some British or Australian. What is it about the English tongue that makes us all so slow and fat? And very complain-y.

As we took the mandatory shuttle bus from the boat into town yesterday, we could hear a woman behind us say, "I wonder why they all hang their washing out their windows?" and, "When you look at some of these impressive old buildings, you have to think if they could have just continued to progress how far they could have come!" Yes, and maybe they could then be as superior as us. Grrr. The buildings she indicated were not Roman, but they definitely predated her country, full of washers and driers. These attitudes make us absolutely crazy; we just hope that at least by traveling in another country her preconceived notions of the world will change, just a little.

The food on the ship has been good but not fantastic. We are missing the Italian cuisine (and language) a bit. We are also very disappointed at how much we are charged extra for some things - like juice and bottled water - outside of mealtimes. We feel like the crew is always looking for a way to charge us a little extra.

Most of our fellow passengers are taking all-inclusive tours at the ports, where they drive you on a bus and then herd you around like a bunch of schoolchildren. The fees for these tours compared to doing it on your own astound us. Our fellow passengers are very impressed when we tell them about the places we've been via train or local transportation. I'm sure our smug demeanor will lose its luster once we arrive in countries in which we are not so familiar (ie France, Spain). However, we are determined to still travel on our own skills, and thereby really see the countries and not just the sights.

Mommy, its a good thing you didn't go on this tour to see Davide by Michelangelo. We arrived in Livorno (closest port to Firenze) on Sunday, Maggio 1. May Day. Tutto chiuso (everything's closed). Including David and the Uffizi gallery. Most of the people who went on these tours, however, still managed to enjoy the city, crowded as it was. We planned to take a train from Livorno to San Gimignano (little hill town with many towers) but because of the holiday schedule would have taken 2 hours one way on the regione train (many stops). Instead we decided to go to Pisa again.


It was a gorgeous cool sunny day, perfect for walking and seeing the leaning tower, and eating a delicious pizza - Anth's with prosciutto and mine with artichokes, olives (real ones - not rubbery - with pits) and fungi ('shrooms). Also insalate - no iceberg in sight - and a liter of cheap fizzy mineral water. Then we had a beautiful walk back to the stazione, over the Arno, licking gelato.



This morning we docked outside Portofino.

The town is so tiny, we have to take one of the lifeboats (quite large) into the port. It was another gorgeous morning, and the water of the Mediterranean is so turquoise and clear, you can see huge fish milling around the dock. Because Portofino is a bit of a posh tourist trap, we walked from there to Santa Margherita Ligure. The hike was 3 miles, partly in the woods, partly on a beautiful boardwalk hung halfway over the sea, and partly on the narrow 2-lane road (pericoloso!). We stopped at the edge of town for a refreshing cappucino (how we miss those on the boat!) and then hiked up to the center of town. We ate some of the best pizza of our life (Anth's was swimming in pesto)

in a little place with friendly owners and many locals. At the moment, everything is closed for the mid-day break, so we are unable to buy anything (we need another international phone card, vino, etc). The only things open are the cafes and gelaterias (too full for that yet) and luckily, this internet point.

Tomorrow's port is Genoa, and we plan to take the train to Cinque Terre, one of our favorite places on the earth (we have tiles in our kitchen that show our favorite 2 towns). After that, its 2 nights in Cannes - we plan to visit Monaco and maybe Nice, too.

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