Back to Canada and real life!

We spent our last day in Europe in Paris and spent the last evening walking along the Seine and enjoying the atmosphere of Paris and the sparkling of the Eiffel tower, all reminding us of the reason the city has earned the name the "City of Light".
What a way to wind down a very busy holiday!
Dinner at a lovely restaurant called "Spicy Villa" was a great way to end the day. ( nothing spicy about it: just great food and ambiance)

Well, Au Revoir Paris, je me souviens!


We are home safe and sound and are looking forward to our next adventure, River cruising on the Danube. Be sure to join us next time, and I look forward to cruising with you again!

Omaha beach

Today is our last day to tour the Landing beaches in Normandie. We visited the American memorial site, and cemetery today (including Omamha beach)

Reluctantly, I have to admit that the Americans do it up right! The memorial centre, films, dedications and cemetery were exceptional and gave their veterans the respect and dignity they deserve. Not that Juno was not good, but the American site was unreal,
We were rally surprised to be so emotional over it.
There are 10,000 soldiers buried there and every row of headstones is soldier straight. It is on a cliff overlooking the landing beach and the setting could not be more perfect.
We ended the day just walking in the town of Bayeux before heading back for the night.
Tomorrow we leave here for our last night in Paris before heading home.
It has been a fantastic trip but we are tired travelers and looking forward to the comfort of being home.
Talk to you tomorrow as we say au revoir Paris.

D day landing beaches

Today we toured the Canadian landing sites of Juno Beach of June 1944.
Our tour guide, an Anglo/Irish man named Ed, spent the entire day with us and took us to places we would never have seen without him. He had many stories to share and his passion for history and particularly WWII , was evident. Many of the stories were disturbing and emotional.
Ed is quite a character and if you are looking for the politically correct tour guide, he would not be your man but we enjoyed his candid expressions. We told him ahead of time that we were interested in Canadian sites and he focussed our day on just that, taking us to The Juno Beach Memorial Centre, Juno Beach landing site, the site where the Queens own rifles landed,the Canadian War Cemetery at Beny sur Mer (which isn't very sur Mer) and Abbey D'Ardene. In between visiting all these major sites, he showed us bunkers, tanks and pillboxes, all with a story. The design of these German bunkers was nothing like we have seen from North American media which surprised us
Today was really Bob's day. He and Ed climbed in and out of bunkers, down farmers fields and up onto tanks like kids .
Tomorrow we head to Omaha Beach and to the American sites.

Paris day 4

A hidden gem was found today as we had brunch on the 9th floor terrace of the department store Le Printemps. Who would ever have thought we could experience such a panoramic view of the city for the price of a coffee, but so it was !

Today we spent most of the day at the museums. We are not great Museum lovers so we kept it short. We visited the Louvre and saw the few things that we wanted to see such as the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and the Wedding feast. For the Art lover I imagine there is nothing more special than a visit here. We did exercise a tip and found that entering via the carousel entrance rather than the main entrance was a great tip as there was virtually no line up. We then walked through Les Jardins Des Tuileries which lies between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. At the end of the garden is Musee de L'Orangerie, a converted 19th century greenhouse, which is home to a collection of paintings from the 19th century.
We then topped off the evening with a fabulous dinner at Le Grand Colbert, the restaurant from the film Something's gotta give with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. ( Remember it ?)
It was fun and oh so French !!!!
Tomorrow we travel by train to Normandy to tour the D Day sites. This would be at the very top of Bob's bucket list and is then fitting that he spend his birthday doing just that.

Here are my few thoughts on Paris as we prepare to leave........

10. Drivers are fearless, especially the motorcyclists.
9. Men wear scarves
8. People are generally rude, but communicating was never a problem.
7. Tres Cher !
6. Beautiful and overflowing with ornate monuments and buildings
5. A little dirty ( we actually saw a rat)
4. Great for walking. Although it is huge, it is also fairly flat but so interesting that you hardly notice you have walked 20 miles.
3.Do not even attempt it in less than 4 days
2. Have a plan because you will undoubtedly have to miss something
1. Very romantic.

Paris

Bonjour
we landed in Paris May 10 and map in hand , set off down Champ Élysées toward the Arc de Triomphe. Champs Élysées was not what I expected. I thought it would be quaint and tiny shops and bistros but to my surprise it was lined with high end shopping and was noisy and busy with people and traffic all coming to an end at the Arc de Triomphe. Here, at etoile Charles de Gaulle 12 lanes of traffic converge making it impossible to cross the street so there is a tunnel to get to the Arc. Note that you either have to be crazy or French to drive here!!
The Arc de Triomphe is the largest triumphal arc in the world, and was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806.

Each evening at 6:30pm there is a marching ceremony and lighting of an eternal flame to honour the veterans. We arrived just in time to witness this very moving event. We then continued on to Place de L'Alma where a replica of the torch of the statue of Libery was erected in 1987.It was meant to commemorate the French resistance in WWII but just happens to be over the tunnel where Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were killed in 1997 so has become an unofficial shrine covered in flowers and notes to the Princess.
Day 2: We took the Car Rouge hop on hop off tour that was included in our Paris pass today . It gave us a good overview of the city and enabled us to hop on and off as we wished. (No actual hopping was involved)
As no trip to Paris is complete without a trip to the Eiffel tower, we dedicated the rest of the day to that.

Erected by Gustave Eiffel in 1889, the tower was never meant to be permanent and was almost torn down in 1909 when French radio needed a broadcast tower and saved the tower from destruction. We opted for the elevator over the 1652 stairs and were rewarded with a great view of the city. OOOH LA LA !
Day 3: We took the bus to Ste Chapelle (transit is easy peasy in Paris)
Ste. Chapelle with it's 6600 sq ft of stained glass was built in 1246. It took less than 2 years to build which is quite a feat when you consider that it took 2 centuries to build Notre Dame. That was our next stop. We stood outside Notre Dame on the brass plaque in the ground; the place from which all distances in France are measured. Notre Dame is one of the greatest achievements in Gothic Architecture and is so huge it can accommodate 6000 visitors. Stunning beyond words.

We then visited a much overlooked site directly behind the cathedral. The Deportation memorial of 1945. It was built by Charles de Gaulle in honor of the 30,000 citizens who were placed on boats, from this very spot, for deportation to concentration camps. Both moving and disturbing. From there we walked to Isle St Louis for lunch and not even our very crabby waiter could spoil the wonderful atmosphere as we relaxed by the Seine in the sunshine.
We have found the Parisiennes to be fairly rude overall, even when I have done my best to converse en francais.

Monte Carlo

Good news...We didn't! Lose any money at the casino! Actually high winds and three attempts at docking ended up in a Sea day today. We were unable to dock in MONACO and the port closed due to high winds so we did not get to see Monte Carlo. We are disappointed but c'est la vie! We have spent a great day on board enjoying another day of sunshine. Tomorrow we end our cruise in Barcelona and on to Paris.
I'll Sea you there..... Au revoir !

Florence

Today (Sunday) we dock in LIVORNO, a 1 1/2 hour drive from Florence / Firenze home to the art of the Renaissance. We arrived in Florence at 10:00am and quickly decided that our agenda and that of our guide's did not agree so we set out on our own to empty our short Florence bucket list. See David and buy a purse. (actually I guess this would be my bucket list and not Bob's but as they saying goes "a happy wife is a happy life".... Mission accomplished.
We lined up for just under an hour to see the authentic David "in the flesh" at the Accademia. So worth the wait as he is truly beautiful!
We then proceeded to the Cathedral on a Sunday morning, and the peal of the bells to a crowded square...quite magical.

From there we proceeded to the Piazza del Signoria where the copy of David stands, then we wandered down to the Orno and Ponte Vecchio. Although the view is pretty the bridge is lined with jewelry stores and to me, spoiled the feel of old Florence. On to Santa Croce square where we enjoyed the best pizza yet and great house wine. We sat in a restaurant on the square and simply enjoyed the sunshine we have been blessed with since leaving Dubrovnik. Finally after spending way too much money on a purse of the finest leather I could imagine we met our bus to return to the ship. Tomorrow Monaco. Home to the rich and famous!

Roma

As it is impossible to see Rome in a day we had to make a difficult choice. The Vatican was the winner, although we did, quickly, tour ancient Rome before arriving at the Vatican city. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, so much so that digesting the amount of interesting facts she had to share gave me heartburn. St.Peters square, St.Peters Bascilica, and the Sistine chapel were beyond words beautiful and carry so much history that it was both emotional and heartstopping to consider!

Unfortunately the crowds made it near impossible to stop and take in much of the beauty as the security guards voiced their wish for us to move along. AVANTI AVANTI!
The beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 2, added to the crowds as many came to worship and pay homage to him.
I underestimated the walking involved, as the Vatican is small in area but large in history.
My feet are sore but I would not have missed a single step!

Messina

Hi all,
This is out of order but our visit to Sicily and Messina was Thursday. Messina is considered to be the gateway to Sicily. The main square is dominated by the cathedral and within the square is the fountain of Orion, the mythical founder of Messina.

The fountain was origianlly to be built by Michaelangelo but he was busy and sent instead an understudy who carved the statue and fountain so it is very much in the style of Michaelangelo. Sicily suffered an earthquake in 1908 and much of the city of Messina had to be rebuilt. The square also houses a cathedral and clock tower which has a Spanish influence as Messina was dominated by the Spaniards for 5 centuries. At this date Sicily is separated from the Italian mainland and plans to build a bridge joining it with mainland Italy are being rejected by both Sides. It is that fact that made me realize that the residents of Sicily are Sicilians and those of the mainland are Italians!!!!!!
Ciao for now and Sea you in Florence!!!!

Amalfi,Positano, Pompeii

Hi again, sorry no Internet yesterday so I am catching up today. Friday was a long but wonderful day as our guide Bruno and driver Luciano took us along the breathtakingly beautiful Amalfi coastline. The drive was adventurous to say the least as it seems there are few rules for drivers in Italy and the bus drivers are very skilled at keeping us safely on the road and not down the side of a mountain.

The afternoon was a visit to the ruins of Pompeii. Buried by Vesuvius over 2000 yrs ago, the excavation and discovery of this ancient city began over 260 years ago and archaeologists continue to excavate today.

It was unbelievable to walk through the ruins and imagine life in Pompeii 2000 Years ago. Some surprising facts were shared by our fantastic guide.
On to the Vatican next..... Sea you there!

Hi...It's been two days. Our first port of call was Dubrovnik and we spent a very rainy day seeing a beautiful city, rich in history. Croatia became a nation unto their own after the Balkan war. Old Dubrovnik is a walled city with Streets made of marble from the 15th century.

As we walked the streets of the city, we could only imagine who walked them before us.
Wednesday has been spent at sea as we make our way toward Messina Sicily and the home of Mt Etna.

As this is my first Carnival cruise I have been assessing and comparing, and have to say that everything has been great and the entertainment top notch!

Sea you tomorrow!

The Carnival Magic cast her spell as she made her way out of the port of Venice. With the sun shining on the shoreline and Pavarotti on the seaside theatre big screen, our departure was both romantic and magical.

The ship is huge at 130,000 tons and a capacity of 3690 passengers in 1845 staterooms, It also has the honour of being the 100th ship of the Carnival Corporation. We haven't explored the entire ship yet but so far it is chocked full of everything one could want including a spa that is aptly named "CLOUD 9". Suites are well laid out and very comfortable.



This ship also marks the last ship that lead designer Joseph Farcus, who has been the lead designer for Carnival Corporation for 30 years, will design. So will we see a change in decor for Carnival in the future? We will have to wait and see. Tomorrow is a sea day so I will seek out all the corners of the ship and have more to report by then.

Sorry I have no pics to share but adding pictures on an iPad has proven too difficult for me to figure out so I will try again when on the ship using an old fashioned desktop.
Today we explored more of this charming city and I think we crossed all 177 bridges. The weather has fully cooperated but our feet have complained. The Venetians must be very fit to endure the stairs daily.
Dining in Venice is very expensive in the SAN MARCO area, and for the price of a case of beer and litre of wine at home we enjoyed a draft and glass of wine overlooking the grand canal.
We did however find a great restaurant tucked away down one of the thousands of alleyways.The food was great and very reasonably priced.For 4 of us dining and including 1 and 1/2 Litres of wine it was 100 euro.
Part of the adventure of Venice lies in the mystery of wandering down some of the tiny alleyways and having a wonderful surprise emerge.Today we discovered many hidden piazzas as we took a chance on what lay within, but had many u turns as well.
Tomorrow we leave the magic of Venice and begin the Magic of Carnival. I hope to be able to share some pictures at that time.
Goodnight for now .

Today we spent the day exploring Venice . The city is built on 177 Islands, has 177 canals, 425 bridges and 75 churches. We walked alot and although it may look close, the winding alleys and bridges make the trek around farther than you think. We are staying at an old hotel near the cruise port and train station but a good walk from San Marco. San Marco square which is anchored by the San Marco Bascilica is lively and beautiful to see. Tomorrow we will continue to explore the lesser known areas of Venice.
Yummy Pizza and gelato was had by all !!!

Europeanmagic

Come on along with us as we board the Carnival Magic for its maiden voyage from Venice to Barcelona. I am a new blogger so I apologize in advance for any obvious blunders that a seasoned blogger would not have made, but look to the Magic of the trip and not to the blunders of the blogger.
We leave Canada Thursday to arrive in Venice Friday morning. While many of you will have stayed up to watch the Royal Wedding, we will have slept through it courtesy of Air Canada.

We look forward to sharing with you, and hope to see you starting May 1st as we travel together!