My third trip alone with Dad; we had a great time and met some lovely people on our table. I put my dancing
lessons into practice and found myself quite in demand! Ashore, I found the city of Florence breathtakingly beautiful and I was so
overwhelmed in St Peter's in Rome that I nearly
had a religious experience! I then went on to have an accident, falling over, gashing my arm and needing the
attention of the medical staff on-board. But my goodness, it was all worth it!
Welcome Aboard!
At Sea Again
Dad & G&T on his balcony
Me & Jean, my dance partner
Thursday 5th September
Barcelona, Spain
They joke that the statue of Columbus doesn't so much point towards America as towards the nearest McDonalds but Barcelona
is a lovely city blessed with, amongst other things, some pretty wild architecture by Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Most famous
is La Sagrada Familia - not the Cathedral but probably better known because of its multiple spires and "melted wedding cake"
appearance. It was begun in 1882 but quite when it will be finished is debatable. There are other buildings by Gaudi here as well;
2 of them below are accessible to the public, although
on this occasion, there was a power-cut just as I was in the queue of the first one, so the lift and all the lights went out and
I had to be content with exterior views.
Columbus Monument
La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi
La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi
Gaudi Architecture
Gaudi Architecture
Worth a visit is the Pueblo Espagnol or Spanish Village. Built for the Great Exhibition of 1929, it has examples of building styles
from all over Spain. It's now mostly tourist shops and restaurants.
The Spanish Village
The Spanish Village
The Spanish Village
The Spanish Village
The Spanish Village
Friday 6th September
Monte Carlo, Monaco
We came ashore by tender at Monaco-Ville, the old city, and Dad took a fancy to the little "Train Touristique". While it
does rather reduce Monte Carlo to a kind of "Disney Ride",
it's a useful way of getting around as a tourist and you get to see the Palace, the centre of Monte-Carlo, the Casino etc, and
it's only 6 Euros. On this trip, we decided to spend the afternoon in the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium. Inaugurated in
1910 by Prince Albert I, it occupies a spectacular position on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean and it is quite
impressive on the inside too.
Le Train Touristique
Oceanographic Museum & Aurora
Oceanographic Museum
Oceanographic Museum
Saturday 7th September
Florence, Italy
This was my choice of day-trip from the port of Livorno. I had high (if somewhat romantic) expectations of Florence and was
not disappointed. The architecture was simply breathtaking. The crowds were breathtaking too, and I lost our guide twice! However,
P&O had innovated a very clever tour compromise whereby you had the benefit of the guide until about 12 noon, whereupon you were free
until about 4pm when you would all meet again at the designated spot for the return by coach. This simple but brilliant
idea suited me down to the ground.
The Ponte Vecchio & the River Arno
Perseus slays the Medusa
Restoring the copy of Michelangelo's "David"
The Baptistry Doors
The Duomo West Entrance
The main square, Piazza della Signoria, is where you will find the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. Or at least a copy
(itself being restored), because since 1882 the original has been in the Galleria Accademia (see below). Here also is the famous
Loggia di Orcagna sheltering a number of other statues and sculptures. From here, you can visit the Uffizi Gallery or,
like me, head for the Cathedral, or Duomo. It was here on the western steps, admiring the beautiful bronze Baptistry doors
that I had my "Merchant Ivory" moment when the tower bells rang out and a great flock of birds took to the skies. It was one
of those heart-stopping moments that I was going to experience more than once on this holiday.
The Duomo (Cathedral)
The Duomo Interior
View west & Giotto's Campanile
View south to the Tuscan Hills
Chiesa Santa Croce
The present Cathedral is early 14th Century and the magnificent facade is carved in white, red and green marble. The adjacent Campanile
is by Giotto and was built around 1334. The 42m wide octagonal dome of the Cathedral, by Brunelleschi, is an amazing feat of engineering when you
realise that it was built of brick and, because of its unprecedented design, without the use of scaffolding. I climbed the
463 steps to the top of the cupola for these breathtaking views over the city to the Tuscan Hills beyond. A short walk across town
is the famous church of Santa Croce, also 14th Century and the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its interior is
particulary noted for its frescos and tombs which include those of Rossini, Marconi, Galileo and Michelangelo.
Michelangelo's David, Galleria Accademia, Florence
There was a long queue to get into the Galleria Accademia but nothing prepared me for the experience of seeing Michelangelo's statue of David "in the flesh" as it were,
and only recently restored. It is stunningly beautiful and once you have seen it, all other statues
seem insignificant. Michelangelo was only 26 in 1501 when he was commissioned to do it. More than 5m high, it was originally
placed outside the Palazzo Signoria (where the copy is now) but was removed when the people of Florence realised how valuable
the original was. It was intended to be viewed from all angles and where it is now placed enables precisely that in near-perfect
conditions. It is the most famous statue in the world and now I know why!
Pictures reproduced from the Galleria Accademia souvenir booklet
Sunday 8th September
Calvi, Corsica
A welcome break after a hectic day in Florence, Calvi claims to be the birthplace of
Columbus - a claim disputed by Genoa (and a number of other places). Nelson laid seige to the citadel, and lost an eye in the process.
View from Aurora
The Old Town
The Citadel
Aurora at anchor
Monday 9th September
Rome, Italy
My day-trip from Civitavecchia, this was another in which we were taken on a guided tour until about 1pm and then left to do as we pleased until about 4.30pm.
Rome is such big city, and it seems littered with ruins and monuments everywhere! The traffic is chaotic and we were whisked around on the guided part of the
tour by coach, with photo-stops at the Colosseum, the Forum and finishing-up at St Peter's Square.
The Colosseum
Arch of Constantine
Victor Emanuel II Monument
Swiss Guard
Swiss Guard
When I set foot inside the Basilica, I was quite literally overwhelmed by the sheer scale of everything. Of course, this is just what
was intended when it was designed; you see it and think, "This is so magnificent, surely there must be a God".
Via di Conciliazione & St Peter's
St Peter's Basilica
St Peter's Basilica
The Great Dome
Piazza San Pietro
This is the largest Christian church in the world. The dome rises to 394 ft above the floor and that lettering around the
frieze is 6 ft high! Michelangelo was only 37 when he finished decorating the Sistine Chapel, now part of the adjacent Vatican Museum,
but I decided against the queue to see it, in favour of seeing as many of the other sights of Rome as my legs would take!
The Pantheon
The Pantheon
Castel Sant'Angelo & River Tiber
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps
The Pantheon was re-built about 125AD and was actually a Roman Temple. The hemispherical dome is 43.3m in diameter,
equal to its height above the floor. It remains today the world's largest unsupported masonry dome. Amazingly, a 9m
central occulus is the only source of interior daylight!
My "accident"
I concluded that the Trevi Fountain was a bit vulgar and too big for the small square it was in, and that the Spanish Steps
were lopsided, and I was hurrying back to meet the coach-party when I lost my footing and fell on the rough gravel beside the Tiber.
Luckily, by this time my camera was safely in my back-pack but I gashed my arm and there was blood everywhere! Risking
arrest by rinsing my wounds with water from a public fountain, I bandaged my arm with my handkerchief
and returned to the ship, a little shaken but undaunted. Later that
evening, I had to make a hurried exit from dinner when I realised that blood was seeping through my shirt! The on-board medical
facilities were excellent, if costly, and I spent the rest of the holiday with a bandaged arm, re-dressed daily!
Wednesday 11th September
Gibraltar
Arriving at noon, this was only a duty-free shopping stop on the way home but Dad & I decided to do the standard tour.
This proved a bit of a disaster because there was another cruise-ship in that day and Gibraltar's
minibus/taxis were already stretched to capacity. We had to wait for them to return before Aurora's tours could set-off.
From the Rock to Algeciras
The peak from O'Hara's Battery
My Nuts!
The Old Rotterdam(1959)
By the time we got to the cable-car, we had to queue for 90 minutes. Dad was not at all happy standing all that time in
the sun. Considering the money the cable-car takes, it is about time they invested in upgrading it to handle the volume
of people! Still, the view is spectacular and I did get a good photograph of the beautiful old S.S.Rotterdam,
in the harbour after having been brought back to Europe for restoration
as a museum-ship, to be based eventually in the city of Rotterdam.
= ports at anchor
