S&J Scenic Journeys

Snapshots from Italy...     Part 1 Leaning tower of Pisa and Pisa Cathedral When you think of Italy and all the famous sites, Leaning Tower of Pisa is right up there with the Gondola rides in Venice, the Colosseum in Rome, and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City among so many others.   We have been to Italy previously, spending time in Venice, Florence and Rome, so we decided not to go into those cities at all on this trip, as we also factored in the time is would take to get from the ports to the center of these great cities.  For our cruise, our port city for Florence was Livorno, and for Rome it was Civitavecchia.   It was a 1.5-2 hours drive into Florence and Rome from the ports we docked in.  In addition, cruise ships are no longer allowed to dock in the city of Venice, so they have to dock in alternate ports and take water taxis into the city.  The various replacement ports now take from 45 minutes to 3 hours in a water taxi  to get into Veni...

  South of France & French Riviera Marseille Cathedral From Barcelona, our ship sailed along the southern coast of France and along the French Riviera, also known as Cote d'Azur.  I really did not know anything about this part of Europe so I was excited to see the cities and towns along this coast.  We also made a stop in Monte Carlo, Monaco.  I had always heard of Monaco and who could forget the story of Princess Grace, an American actress who married the Prince of Monaco (more on that later). Sete, France Our first port of call after leaving Spain was Sete, France, which is about 30 km southwest of Montpellier.  It is call the little Venice of Languedoc due to the canals that flow through the city with colorful buildings on either side.  Due to its location and proximity to the sea, it is known for its fresh seafood. Marseille and Aix-en-Provence Our second port of call was Marseille, France.  Marseille was a pretty port city.  We did not se...