Genoa

We walked into Genoa from the port on Sunday, 20th May. We enjoyed seeing the main sights as we wandered around.

There are many palaces in Genoa that were used to house visiting dignatories.  Every year they are open and you can visit for free! It was called Rolli weekend. Ma and I loved looking at the entries of these palazzos and even went into one. It is now used as a bank so there are desks etc which does seem strange. We saw the Palazzo Ducal and the Palazzo Tobia Pallavicino.

We then wandered further and came across this old church, the Chiese S Donato. Parts of it were from the 7th century. Just then the congregation poured out of the church. We think it was a First communion perhaps as many of the children were dressed up. We then went inside quickly to have a look....before we were encouraged to leave.

Lucca

On Saturday, 19th May, we caught buses and trains to Lucca and back. The weather was warm and it was so special to visit this lovely town once more. We enjoyed wandering around the small medieval streets, looking at the lovely shops and admiring the old churches and squares. We enjoyed a lovely Italian lunch at the Piazza Anfiteatro, which was originally a Roman amphitheatre.

Bruce climbed up the tower above and this is what he saw.

Rome

We had another sea day on Thursday and then arrived in Civitavecchia, the port closest to Rome, on Friday 18th May. We had train tickets booked to Rome so after a bit of a walk we were on the train. We then caught the metro to St Peters Baslica for a look once again at this wonderful building. We ended up walking far too much for Ma but she managed it....just!

 We then wandered past the Castel Sant'Angelo and decided to go inside. Not sure it was such a good idea as there were many steps up to the top. We made it to about 2 thirds of the way up to the restaurant and enjoyed having lunch there.

 Bruce then went right to the top and below are the views from up there.

 We were searching for the Place Navona and eventually we stumbled upon it. It was nice to enjoy this beautiful plaza and enjoy a gelato too. There was a fellow making amazing bubbles that you can see in the picture below.

We then headed back to the train station by bus! It was an experience but I must admit the people in Rome were so kind to Ma and instantly gave up their seat for her. Our train was delayed but eventually came. We were running late but just made it back to the ship in time.

Our trip overseas...Barcelona

We are safely home after a month away in the UK and Europe. It is lovely to be home even though it is chilly and it is good to have time to post about our adventures. There were stressful days especially when we were transferring to a new desination but all in all these went smoothly. As Ma was with us, our holiday was planned to be easier but we still had busy days. After our time in Winchester, we caught a bus to Southhampton and then a taxi to the ship. As always the ship is easy as you unpack once and to start with we enjoyed 3 days at sea. We did enjoy some of the ship's activities and also having time to read and stitch. The food was very good too.

On Wednesday, 16th May, we arrived in Barcelona. We enjoyed wandering along the Las Ramblas. We then caught the tube (longer version as we got on the wrong platform) but made it to the Sagrada Familia. We had bought tickets earlier so had a 3pm entry and no waiting! It was amazing....inside and out.

We also caught a taxi to the old gothic cathedral and wandered in the narrow older streets. We then enjoyed an icecream, checked out the markets and headed back to the ship.