Food Glorious Food - Gastronomy on the French Riviera

You may have noticed that most of my photos today are of food, glorious food. I love all these French villages that have a morning market in the central square where local fresh produce is on sale, and meals are prepared around whatever is available in the market that day – kitchen are small and don’t have the storage space that we have - everything is fresh and has its own store or stall – the cheese shop, sausage shop, even one selling horse meat, the fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, chocolate, preserves, flowers, lavender, bread and pastry, nougat, poultry – so much nicer to actually speak to the purveyor rather than the huge impersonal supermarket conglomerates that we have become used to – the supermarkets are small and sell all the household cleaners etc rather than processed and packaged food items – I love the atmosphere as neighbours walk down to the markets with their baskets and greet each other – stop for a coffee in the square and choose the freshest ingredients - so civilised and stress free.

Gostronomy on the French Riviera Part 1

Today was a tender port and we had arranged with the pursers desk to be on the first tender, so we hit the floor running. On our last visit we had Sylvie as our tour guide and so our group of 7were excited to see her again and we were greeted with many hugs and kisses – more like old friends that clients. 

After a quick drive around Cannes, we wanted to stop at the famous film festival hall, but it is all being renovated, so it was behind hoarding - and we missed our chance to act like superstars and walk the red carpet.

Driving along the waterfront, we stopped in front of the Carlton Hotel for some photos. Since someone asked for a bathroom stop, Sylvie suggested we cross the road to the Carlton, and directed us through the foyer, which was hosting a diamond exhibition in honour of its 100th anniversary. We headed into the bathroom while Sylvie was told that the facilities were only for hotel guests so she would have to take us out. Since we were already occupied, she smiled sweetly and asked the security guard if HE would like to go into the bathrooms to get us!!??

 

Apparently, there was a major jewellery heist in Cannes a couple of months ago and so security is really tight - although I can't think what could have given it away that we were tourists and not hotel guests - the lack of diamonds that were dripping from every other guest?? – perhaps the fact that none of our clothing displayed those well-known French labels – Chanel, Dior, YSL???  - the cameras?? Who knows??  

We drove along the waterfront taking in the lifestyle of the obscenely rich and famous and stopped for a walk through the old village of Antibes - the boats at the marina were more like little sisters to our Dawn Princess - one had two speedboats, two jet skis and a car in a compartment under the boat. Apparently, the mooring fees are 7000 euros per week, and then there are the staff who spend their time polishing everything in case the owner decides to come and use it. 

The old markets and village of Antibes was quaint and pretty but parking is at a premium - all these old towns date back to well before cars, so we have to park outside and walk into the village. We stopped at a boulangerie and bought a couple of gooey treats to share with our morning coffee, and then at a cafe where we cut up and shared our purchases. Sylvie shared the local speciality - a pastry filled with Swiss chard, cheese and pine nuts - a delicious savoury flavour.  We filled our water bottles from a spring water fountain which is guaranteed to improve health and take ten years off your age - not sure how much you have to drink for the full effects to take place. 

We only had a short time since all aboard was at 3.00pm, so we had to keep up a quick pace to cover all the places we wanted - the villages of Haut de Cagne and Vence - it would have been better to have had more time but we wanted to see as much as possible.  Unfortunately, our time was reduced even more by the traditional French two hour lunch where everything except bars and cafes closes from 1 till 3pm every day - such a civilised lunch break where everyone including school kids goes home if possible, or to a cafe for lunch - a delicious slice of Asparagus Quiche on the run. Children who cant go home are given a three course lunch at school. The menu is sent home to families each month and each meal consists of a soup or appetiser, main course and chees course and must contain a variety of fruit and vegetables and a different meat each day – and NO chips or fried food – the start of good food habits, I think. The cost of the meals are based on the parents income and are free if the family is poor or has more than one child. 

Captain throw off those lines, and lets head to Barcelona – home of the paella and sangria!!

Glorious Florence

 

We had originally planned to travel to Florence on our own on the train, and I had carefully printed out all the directions and maps, so we were feeling very confident. However, at the last minute Deb had a cancellation on her tour to Florence and Pisa so we decided to take up the offer of a stress free day.

Once again, our driver/guide was Fabrizio, from All around Italy, and this was our third trip with him. He is a fountain of knowledge about the area, and seems to know everyone, although the jokes are a bit stale the third time around – everyone else was laughing with him.

Our first stop was at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and of course, the obligatory photo trying to hold it up – we couldn’t get it right so I think our photo looks a bit off. We wandered around the Field of Miracles, the park where the tower is located, there is also a stunning church and baptistery on the grounds, but unfortunately they were not yet open. We were just walking away when the bus groups started to arrive and descended down the road like a surging pack – we love to be ahead of the pack.

After about an hour drive, our next stop was at the park overlooking Florence for a quick photo stop and the chance to orientate ourselves with the main landmarks.

The Accademia, the museum which houses the famous Statue of David, has two ticketing systems, regular tickets and ‘book ahead – jump the queue’ tickets. Fabrizio had already booked ahead, so there were some astonished faces in the long queues (many from our ship) when we walked straight to the front of the line and walked in.

Lunch time loomed so we decided that we would just have some free time to explore the centre of Florence, the Duomo and San Marco markets and buy lunch on the run, rather than wasting time sitting down for an extended lunch. After so many European ports, we have come to know that the markets all sell the same old, same old stuff – just the name has been changed, so we spent more time in the piazza and them wandered down to the Ponta Vecchio, the famous bridge lined with gold merchants shops – so much bling in one spot and so many dreaming customers!! The railing was covered  with a series of love locks, the legend is that if you and your lover place a lock on the bridge and throw the key into the Arno River – you will be together forever…. this is a tradition that we have seen in Paris, CinqueTerra and Rome … very popular with the honeymooning couple we met.

As we walked back, we both suddenly stopped, wide mouthed, as our attention taken by a stunning mouth-watering dessert display in the window of Gilli – a bakery which has operated in the same spot since 1733 – I am not sure what happened next – but suddenly we were magnetically drawn inside and before we knew it, a beautiful concoction of cream, custard, strawberries and chocolate had materialised with two spoons on the counter in front of us ….. and it was amazing …. I didn’t even get time to take a picture as we devoured the scrumptious light as air pastry… yum, yum, yum!!!

The Uffuzi Gallery was our next stop – we had very limited time but the statues are just so amazing – and the outdoor gallery in the Piazza with a replica of David, Neptune and the fountains are a delight. Florence has such an amazing creative feel to the city that I just love, there is amazing art around every corner and on the front of every building – even the pavement is covered with wonderful chalk drawings.

Afterwards, we sat on the steps in the shade and just watched the wonderful parade of people passing by while we enjoyed another Italian ice-cream – caramel and berry this time – oh so delicious on such a hot day – I have had so many great ice creams in Italy that I am now so confused and can’t remember which one is my favourite now – usually the last one that I had!!!

Despite the crowds, heat and crazy traffic, we had a wonderful time exploring the magnificence of Florence. As we headed back to the ship, we all had a nana nap in the back of the van on the way. After an amazing day, we were blessed with a spectacular sunset as we sailed away from Livorno.

Captain throw off those lines, and lets head to the playground of the rich and famous – Cannes!

Lake Bracciano, the FBI?? and moving staterooms - what a day!!

 

Today we docked back at Civitavecchia, the port for Rome - this is our second stopover at this port so today we headed out into the countryside rather than the hustle and bustle of Rome, where we have been on other trips.

We decided to explore the area around Lake Bracchiano, northeast of Rome, a popular holiday destination in Europe. Our first stop was in the village of Anguillara, on the shores of the lake, where we walked around the lake, popular for swimming sailing and fishing particularly in summer.

The village of Bracchiano reached international notoriety a few years ago when Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were married in the Castle Odescalchi – and we had a guided tour of the castle conducted by a very knowledgable Italian girl Elenora – the castle dominates the local landscape and had a very interesting and chequered past. Particularly interesting was Catherine Medici who was married at the age of 12 – according to legend, she was very promiscuous and had a different lover every night. Outside the door to her bedchamber she had a trapdoor, and in the morning she would send the current lover down the darkened hallway, and he would drop down through the trapdoor into the bottom of a well –later  65 bodies were found at the bottom of the well – however, her husband finally got his revenge – he had her killed when she was 36 and married again. Sections of the castle are open to the public but the current owners still live in part of the buildings – each rooms has a fireplace and  it would be so hard to heat in the winter with the large stone walls.

After leaving the village, we were pulled over by the Carbinieri for a check of our driver, Fabrizio’s, documents. While they were on their computer checking his documents, Fabrizio came around and opened the side door of the van for ventilation, and then stood there while he gave a ‘talk’ through the open door about how wonderful the Cabinieri were in Italy – so much better than the municipal police of each city – in fact, they are the equivalent of the FBI in the US – he was really laying it on thick, knowing that they could hear every word he was saying and they were smiling as they checked the documents – whatever happened – he didn’t get a ticket and we were soon on our way.

The village of Calcata, above the lake was our next stop – it is off the beaten track and a haven for creative types and artists who have set up home here – no tourists here in this hilltop village which time has forgotten – we enjoyed wandering around down narrow laneways and peeping into doorways and windows of the village artisans.

Lunch was calling so we stopped in the village of Ceri for a selection of pasta washed down by the local wine. There was a group of very dapper Italian gentlemen at a nearby table – looking like they had stepped out of a Godfather movie – we concluded that some form of mafia transaction was taking place under our noses – what an imagination - the combination of the Tuscan sun, delicious pasta and some seriously good wine maybe??

Our next stop was at the Museum and Necropolis of Cerveteri. This area was originally inhabited by the Etruscan civilisation and we visited a necropolis from that time – still in very good condition. The tombs are housed under dome rooftops with everything inside that will be needed by family members for their travels to the afterlife. The exhibition has recently added a multimedia display which was very informative. We sat in the darkened tomb under the domed roof while the tomb came to life courtesy of modern technology – very eerie and a bit claustrophobic but well presented.

When we returned to the ship, we were stopped at the gangway as our access cards made a loud screaming sound when scanned and we were quickly moved aside out of the line. The security guard checked and said that there was a message that the back office was to be contacted when we returned to the ship – immediately I started to worry that something was wrong at home, but when the Customer Service Manager came down to the gangway, she told us that our cabin had been changed and we had to get new cards.

Now this was the first we had been told of the cabin change and we were puzzled. Then we remembered that we had been speaking to the Future Cruise sales rep, Ralf a few days ago. Our friends had been offered a cash bonus to downgrade their cabin from a balcony to an ocean view, since the ship is overbooked in some categories and there are more booked on balcony cabins, than there are balconies on the ship. As we were leaving him, we just mentioned that if there were still any of those overbooking offers, we could be interested. He said that there weren’t any more, and that was the end of it as far as we were concerned and didn’t give it another thought…….Until, we couldn’t get back onto the ship. It would seem that he must have mentioned our interest, and overnight someone was allocated to our cabin, and we were moved, but because we left the ship as soon as it docked in the morning, so didn’t get the message.

Imagine the surprise of the newly boarded cruisers when they opened the door to their new cabin, to find it was occupied!!! Apparently, the only thing they noticed at first was the two bottles of wine chilling in the ice bucket on the desk – luckily they didn’t open any cupboards or drawers!!! All evening, others were coming up to us and telling us that there were suitcases outside our door and people trying to get into our cabin!!

 After we got over the surprise, we had one hour to pack up with the help of a couple of stewards and move to the new cabin, so it could be cleaned and made ready for the new occupants – they were being entertained in a bar at Princess’s expense, until there cabin was ready.

It was actually a good thing to have to pack everything and move mid-cruise – we got rid of a lot of stuff we had accumulated and repacked a suitcase under the bed, with all the souvenirs as well as things that we aren’t using, not wearing – so a forced chance to re-organise. We love our new home – on deck 8 forward – with an enormous picture window – we have a better view of the ocean than in the balcony cabin. And of course, now I have more on-board credit to spend – maybe a massage and pedicure in the future!! Every cloud has a silver lining!!

The rich and the famous of Capri, Italy

Yesterday was Father's Day, and we had a special dinner to celebrate with the special men in our lives -for me,  the highlight was when they were presented with letters from home - special Father's day messages from their children at home - what great kids we all have and the sentiments from the messages was very touching to their dads. They loved draping themselves over the steps in the atrium impersonating James Bond!!

Today we docked in Naples and decided to take the hydrofoil to Capri – about 40 minutes off the Amalfi Coast. The ticket office was only a short walk from the ship and we were soon set up with our tickets for the 8.05 am transfer.

The one piece of advice we were given by the onshore port lecturer and friends who had been over to Capri on our last call into Naples was that only one way tickets are available and so make sure that you buy the ticket for the return journey as soon as you arrive at the Capri marina, as there is a limited number and people have missed the ship by returning late from Capri in the past. While I was waiting in the queue, we could hear the woman at the window beside us telling her customers that it wasn’t possible to buy return tickets. As I got closer to the front, I overheard that the guy selling the tickets for our queue was selling return tickets, so we were able to buy the return tickets – another Italian idiosyncrasy – maybe it just depends on the mood of the ticket seller on the day.

Once we arrived at Capri, we walked up the wharf and were confronted by a series of topless taxi – really sporty – I walked over to look at a vintage red Fiat which had been converted and we were approached by the driver, Paolo, offering a day tour of the island – we could just see ourselves swanning around Capri in a red convertible for the day, so we took up his offer.

Our first stop was at an archaeological site from the time of Emperor Augustus – Paolo told us that Augustus went around putting ruins on every point along the coastline – we laughed – maybe they weren’t ruined when he had them constructed!! As a local, Paolo knew the best vantage point for every photo, and at one time was hanging from a tree branch to get the correct angle.

The island is quite small with some very high cliffs along the coastline – the roads are windy and narrow – it isn’t called the ‘Mumma Mia’ highway for nothing – that is what we said at every bend as we met another car on our side of the road, and sometimes had to reverse back to a safe overtaking bay – woo – heart attack material!!! No wonder that Paolo had a small shrine to every patron saint of the island on his dashboard!!

One of the highlights from Anacapri is the chair lift to the top of the Solaro Mountain – now everyone knows how much I like heights – NOT- but I was determined to just suck it up and close my eyes!! It is a single person chair, similar to some ski resorts and the trip to the top takes about 15 minutes. It would have been so peaceful drifting over the tops of the vineyard and fruit trees if I had been able to block out Arnold’s voice – ‘I don’t like this’, ‘it’s a long way down’, ‘I think you would die if you fell from here’, ‘this is really out of my comfort zone’, and the classic….’what would happen if you fainted while you were up here, do you think you would fall out of the chair????’ And I thought that I was bad!!!built in 1719, with a beautiful tiled floor – what a treasure in this small village.

And of course, we were being passed in the opposite direction by children with their hands waving in the air and without the safety bar closed……. while he was hanging on to the pole so hard that one man going the other way yelled to him that his hands were so white they would drop off …… Mumma Mia!!!!

After an ice cream at the top, admiring the view and photo taking, it was time for the return journey – he said that he contemplated walking back down the steep narrow goat track to the bottom rather than take the chair lift down again, but we made it safely and lived to tell the tale.

In Anacapri, we went into the beautiful San Michele church,

Paolo pointed out the homes of the rich and famous who have homes and boats in Capri – a roll call of the stars of business and Hollywood. We felt like stars ourselves as heads turned everywhere we went in our red convertible and whenever we stopped people rushed over to have their picture taken beside the car which was 53 years old in immaculate condition … now I know how annoying the paparazzi can be – and they didn’t even want our photo – just the car.

We stopped for lunch in a café beside the square at the top of the Furnicular and of course, I ordered the Caprese Salad – I wanted to have one in the place where it was invented so I expected it to be good, but it was pretty tasteless and disappointing after the flavoursome red tomatoes we have become used to in Greece.

It is a pretty town ship, so we wandered the streets which are filled with high end shops – you know the kind where the doors are locked to keep out the riff raff like us, so we didn’t find anything to lighten our wallets.

It was a great day, driving around this very pretty island in our red car living the lifestyle of the rich and famous for one day – so much fun!!

Captain, throw off the lines and let us head to Civitavecchia, I feel like some more Italian ice cream……