Wed, Jun 30 - Pisa (Livorno), arrival 7:00am, during breakfast
The Star Princess docked at the Port of Livorno, with transportation available at the dock to take us into the heart of Pisa.
It was going to be a hot humid day. Annette decided she would like to stay in Livorno and said I should take the bus into Pisa. In Pisa itself, buses are the best way to get around. In addition, most of Pisa's best attractions are centered on the Leaning Tower, so I could be able to cover a lot of ground on foot.
I concentrated on the northern part of the city called “The Field of Miracles.”
The bus dropped me off at the Arno River by the bridge on the lower right of the map. I started my self-guided walking tour at the Plaza Garibaldi and moved northward on the Via Notari. I turned left (top right of map) and headed for the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Leaning Tower of Pisa was designed by Bonnano Pisano in 1173. It was originally intended as a bell tower to complement the Duomo, which was already built. Unfortunately, construction was already well underway before it was discovered that the foundation was made of clay. Of course, a clay foundation is not very sturdy, and over time the tower has listed fourteen feet. (Some argue that the slant was intentional and the accidental business is fabrication.)
Nearby Pisas Duomo (Piazza del Duomo) would be world renowned, if it wasn't perpetually overshadowed by its leaning neighbor. Designed in 1063, the Duomo is an example of magnificent architecture. Pay particular attention to the arches at the top, each arch decreasing in size as they ascend. Inside, the Duomo holds more treasures, including Galileo's lamp, reputed to have belonged to the world-famous astronomer, and an impressive mosaic, Christ Pancrator, dating back to the 1200s.
And then there is the beautiful Baptistery. The Baptistery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, stands opposite the west end of the Duomo. The round Romanesque building was begun in the mid 12th century. It was built in Romanesque style by an architect known as Diotisalvi.
It is the largest baptistery in Italy. Its circumference measures 107.25 m. Taking into account the statue of St. John the Baptist (attributed to Turino di Sano) on top of the dome, it is even a few centimetres higher than the Leaning Tower.
I walked back to the Arno River and picked up my bus for the trip back to the ship. The Star Princess departed at 7pm heading towards Monaco.
Thu, Jul 1 - Monte Carlo, Monaco
Our cruise ship docked at Direction des Ports de Monaco, in Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo has been visited by royalty as well as the general public and movie stars for decades. The Monte Carlo Rally is one of the longest running and most respected car rallies; from 1973 to 2008, it marked the start of each rally season as the first event on the World Rally Championship calendar, but is now part of the second-tier Intercontinental Rally Challenge. However, the rally takes place outside the Monte Carlo quarter.
I left the dock and proceeded over to the Condamine area (see map on right) to where I could take a loooong steeeeep upward climb to the Palace (map of Monaco Villa on right). One guide source said:”Since Monaco is such a small geographical area, it seems like it should be easy to walk around the city. It is if you are a mountain goat!” Plus, it was a very hot day, which explains why Annette chose to stay on the ship.
The Palace was impressive as was the changing of the guard ceremony, much of which I videotaped. The Palais du Prince (Prince's Palace) is located in old Monaco-Ville. The Grimaldi family has ruled from the palace since 1297. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the palace and its owners became symbols of the slightly risqué glamour and decadence that were associated with Monte Carlo and the French Riviera. Glamour and theatricality became reality when the American film star Grace Kelly became chatelaine to the palace in 1956. In the 21st century, the palace remains the residence of the current Prince of Monaco.
I left the square to walk along the western side of “the Rock.” On the map this route is on Avenue Sant-Martin.
My agenda called for a visit to the Oceanographic Museum.
As I continued walking along the Avenue Saint-Martin, I walked alongside some beautiful cliff-side gardens and came to the Monaco Cathedral. This cathedral was built in the late 19th century, and was where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier married. It is also where Grace is buried. Her tomb was quite touching.
Her grave is the only grave permanently honored with fresh flowers.
On Sep 15, 1982 she passed away following a tragic car crash when she was driving along a coastal road in the Cote d'Azur. Her youngest daughter, Princess Stephanie was traveling with her, but luckily young Stephanie survived.
My return walk to the ship was much easier -- downhill. The Casino was not in my lesson plans. I did stop along the way to pick up a T-Shirt for Annette.
The Princess Star departed at 6pm heading for Barcelona, Spain.
Fri, Jul 2 - Barcelona, Spain
Our cruise ship docked around noon at the Port of Barcelona located at Puerta de la Paz 6.
After lunch, Annette and I went for a walk around historic Barcelona. We started at the Princess Berth (see map) and headed for the Monument a Colon.
At the very top of the monument stands a 7.2 m (24 ft) tall bronze statue atop a 40 m (131 ft) tall Corinthian column. The statue was sculpted by Rafael Atché and is said to depict Columbus pointing towards the New World with his right hand, while holding a scroll in the left. As it was sited, instead of pointing to the west towards the New World, the statue points east towards Columbus's supposed home city of Genoa.[3] The statue is atop a socle, on which the word "Tierra" (land) is inscribed. I videotaped the buildings nearby because of their beauty and then we started our walk along Las Ramblas (see map above):
Las Ramblas is often the first landmark that most tourists identify with the city. It is the central most Boulevard which cuts through the heart of the city centre and is a vibrant and lively promenade filled with Barcelona action -- newsstands, caged birds, flower stalls, tarot readers, musicians, and mime artists. Las Ramblas in Barcelona is approximately 1.2 kilometres long with Port Vell (near the cruise port terminal) at the Southern most end and Placa Catalunya at the northern most end.
Our walk led us to the Barri Gotic, The Barcelona Barri Gotic area is also known as the Gothic Quarter and is the area in which the old town of Barcelona is situated. Despite several changes undergone in the 19th and early 20th century, many of the buildings date from Medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona.
In the center of the Gothic District is the city's gothic cathedral, known as La Seu. The first stone of the current church was laid in the 13th century, but it was not until the early 20th century before the cathedral was fully completed. A Roman chapel, the Capella de Santa Llucia, was added between 1257 and 1268. It was later incorporated in the cloister next to the cathedral. Next to a font inside is a plaque with records of 6 Indians Columbus brought here from the Caribbean to be baptized (1493). This is also where Isabel and Ferdinand received Columbus after his triumphant return from America.
We returned to the ship for our last night on board. We packed our cloths and placed them outside the cabin door. We were not going to the airport tomorrow because we planned to stay an extra day in Barcelona, but we would have to transfer to our hotel.
Sat, Jul 3 - Barcelona, Spain
We had our last breakfast on board the Star Princess and picked up our suitcases waiting for us in the terminal. We headed for our hotel to unload our belongings and to take an open bus tour of the city.
The hotel we had chosen was the Barcelona Sants because it is located just on top of Central Train Station Sants Estació in Barcelona with direct connection to the Barcelona International Airport.
This location was also excellent because we could board a double-decker tour bus here and be returned to the same spot,
The bus was ideal because the open air helped cool us off from the hot weather. It was so easy for me to use my camcorder 360 degrees without obstruction. Since we were high above the traffic we had a clear view of everything. We stayed on the bus for the 2 1/2 hour tour.
We caught all the highlights of the city, but we especially were thrilled to see the Sagrada Familia -- Europe’s most unconventional church and Gaudi’s greatest work. It was his life’s work and he lived on the site for 16 years. He is buried in the crypt (where services are currently held). The church construction began in 1883 and is still unfinished. Yet to come is the large central tower.
The Sagrada has should be able to accommodate more than 13,000 people, and the platforms, on the sides, a chorus of 1,500 people.
Another building of Gaudi we saw was the Casa Mila. He departed from established construction principles of the times and was ridiculed. There are no straight walls anywhere in the building.
One architect said of this building: "La Pedrera—'the quarry'—was the name an astounded population gave to this completely unique building. It could be compared with the steep cliff walls in which African tribes build their cave-like dwellings. The wavy facade, with its large pores, reminds one also of an undulating beach of fine sand, formed, for example, by a receding dune. The honeycombs made by industrious bees might also spring to the mind of the observer viewing the snake-like ups-and-downs that run through the whole building. In this last secular building which he constructed before devoting all his energies to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi created a paradox: an artificial but natural building which was simultaneously a summary of all the forms that he has since become famous for. The roof sports an imitation of the bench from Guell Park as well as an ever more impressive series of bizarre chimney stacks." Note: Guell Park, also in Barcelona, is pictured below.
Another one was the Casa Batllo (on right). From the outside the façade of Casa Batlló looks like it has been made from skulls and bones. The "Skulls" are in fact balconies and the "bones" are supporting pillars.
In 1992, Barcelona was given a huge boost by serving as home to the Summer Olympic Games. Our tour bus took us to Montjuic to see the many sites used in the games. The Montjuïc was selected as the site for several of the venues of the 1992 Summer Olympics, centered on the Olympic stadium. Extensively refurbished and renamed the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the 65,000-seat stadium saw the opening and closing ceremonies and hosted the athletic events.
The top of the hill (a height of 173 metres) was the site of several fortifications, the latest of which (the Castell de Montjuïc) remains today. The fortress largely dates from the 17th century, with 18th century additions. In 1842, the garrison (loyal to the Madrid government) shelled parts of the city. It served as a prison, often holding political prisoners, until the time of General Franco. The castle was also the site of numerous executions.
We returned to our hotel for the evening meal. We had had a wonderful day.
The beds at the hotel were comfortable. The cost of lodging was 85 euro, but really it cost us less to stay an extra day because the cost of airfare was much less by staying an extra day. All the way around we came out ahead, because the 14 day cruise portion of our trip was only $750.
Sat, July 4
The train ride to the airport took only forty minutes. We flew to Amsterdam on KLM departing Barcelona at 3:30 am. From AMS we connected to Detroit and then to MSP. We arrived in Minneapolis around 8 pm. Rather than drive to New Ulm that evening we spent the night with Kim in Maple Grove.
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