Barcelona

The first time I visited La Sagrada Familia, I thought I was unlucky to visit when it was under renovation… Yes, I was ignorant and then when I realized the construction was not yet finished I was happy I was traveling alone, so nobody knew how ignorant I was. That was 19 years ago, in my defense I didn’t have internet nor owned a computer, but I should’ve bought a bookguide.

Anyway, I remember when I was in front of La Sagrada Familia, I was impressed about the magnificence of its design and architecture.

Iam lucky I went again and this time, I was still impressed, but I have to say a lot of things changed. The first time I went I was able to take a tour inside, I bought my ticket and went inside. Last time there was a sign that said sold out for the day and I think they told me I had to buy my ticket online.

It is incredible the number of tourists that were there, not only Barcelona but also in other cities of Europe as well. Still Barcelona was great and the people were very helpful and nice. After La Sagrada Familia, I went to El Barrio Gotico, La Pedrera (more Gaudi) and Las Ramblas ( I visited a market there).

Barrio Gotico

El mercado

Cannes

Amazing, no running, no traffic. Just a relaxing time in the beautiful city of Cannes.

The tender boat will take you to Cannes.

Full of cruisers.

It took around 15 min to Cannes.

Here take a map.

The local market

Hmm hungry? You will find bakeries, restaurants and mc donalds.

So beautiful!!!

Lot of shops

The communal beach

The train station if you want to go to Monaco or Nize.

Livorno, Pisa and Florence

From the port of Livorno to Livorno’s train station I took the bus arranged by Norwegian cruise ( Epic), cost was $15 roundtrip. By train to Florence 1 hour and 20min.

When you arrive, in front of the train station there is a tourism office. You can get a map for free and information.

I wanted to see David. (20min walking from train station)

The queue was soooo long, it was impossible.

I didn’t have time to see Ponte Vecchio, next time!

From Florence train station to Pisa train station took me around 1 hour and from the station to the Pisa tower 30 min walking. I don’t know if I took the wrong way and took me longer to get there. I forgot to bring a map and kept following tourists. Anyway, it is a must see, so I don’t regret it. Also by walking you can see a lot if colorful streets. Next time don’t forget the map!

From Pisa to Livorno only 20 minutes and when I arrived the Epic bus was waiting at the parking lot.

It is possible to see Florence and Pisa in one day . Remember to bring running shoes^^.

Rome

Rome was spectacular.

If you are on a cruise, one day ( hours) to see Rome is not enough to see all. You get a glimpse of Rome. I recommend to take the hop on hop off sightseeing bus.

Beware of traffic in Rome, it takes time to go back to Roma Termini (train station).

Rome is definitely one of the places I want to return. I didn’t have time to go to Vatican city TT, next time^^.

How to go from Civitavecchia to Rome

Second stop was Civitavecchia which is 80 min by train to Rome. The cost of a shore excursion was $399 -$299 per person with the cruise. I decided to go by myself.

To go to Civitavecchia,

1.Take the free shuttle bus that takes you to Civitavecchia. There you will see the buses to the train station.

2. Take the bus to the train station, cost is around 2 euros and a lot of cruisers are doing the same, so you won’t get lost.

3.At the train station buy your roundtrip tickets to Rome. It should say Roma Termini and they will give you two tickets. I bought train tickets and the Big bus hop on hop off touristic bus. Everything was around 40 euros. If you just want to buy the train ticket, the cost is 5 euros aprox.

4.Validate your train ticket in this machine before getting into the train.

If you don’t validate, you will pay a fine. I heard it was 40 euros, so don’t forget.

5.Make sure to board on the correct train.

6.This is where you buy the train tickets. Also when you come back, you need to buy the return bus ticket here.

*The person who sold us the train tickets gave us a little paper with wrong information about the time of departures. There was no 15.12pm train to Civitavecchia. He also said take the 10.44am train to Rome Termini which was non existent. The next train was at 10.53am, so it made sense to have only one train instead of two with 9 minutes difference.

Although it seems like a lot of stress, it was easy and I saved a lot of money^^

I

Naples and Pompeya, Italy

My first stop was Naples. I took a taxi with my parents for 180 euros to Pompeya. Our driver Genaro waited for us while touring in Pompeya and then gave us a mini tour in Naples.

When he returned to the cruise, we realized that there were touristic buses at the entrance of the port. The cost to Pompeya 15 to 20 euros roundtrip per person TT. You need to pass all the taxi drivers an keep walking straight until you see the colorful buses.

Pompeya

Naples

From the port is easy to walk into the city of Naples. The city is full of graffitis, it looks a little bit dangerous…

Pompeya was 25 aprox min by taxi, full of tourists, you can also visit Sorrento and Capri in this port.

Next stop Civitavecchia!

Norwegian cruise Europe

I had a wonderful time cruising with Norwegian Epic.

The cruise departed from Barcelona.

My cabin for three people was comfortable. Although the sheets were old.

The Garden buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There was a different specialty food for each night.

Shanghai, the chinese restaurant with a noodle bar.

There are two main restaurants, The Manhattan and Taste.

There is another restaurant with fast food and snacks.

As you can see, a variety of food for everybody. I liked the food in this cruise.

I didn’t go to any shows, almost everyday I had a excursion, so at night time I just wanted to eat and sleep.

The cruise is not as big as the Oasis or Harmony, but I think it was great for Europe.

Highly recommended.

Visiting Ikea

I went to Ikea in FL and dreamt about my future home. I love the designs, the furnitures, the showrooms.

One day I want to have a room like this one.

But now, I can enjoy the famous meatballs.

Cirque du Soleil

I went to see Kurios, a great show from the Cirque du soleil. They are now in Miami until the end of January.  

They featured great acts.  My favorites were the contortionists, the yo yo and the upside down chairs.

Highly recommended

Cozumel and desserts

My pictures of Cozumel dissapeared, but I just want to say that it was one of my favorite ports. The Mexicans are very friendly, there are lot of activities to do and of course shopping.

So the sweet ending of my cruise  trip comes with dessert.

I had ice cream, tiramisu, fruit salad, pavlova, chocolate mousse, cookies, new york cheesecake, apple pie,etc .

A Happy ending.