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 !!!