An Epic Cruise of the Mediterranean

October 3 - 9, 2016

Monday,  the first full day of our cruise, was a sea day (my favourite). Nothing to do but lounge around in Posh quaffing cocktails and reading while soaking up some sun. I could do this for weeks as people that have done Transatlantic cruises with me can attest! But, this cruise has a number of stops most of which Linda and I have plans to explore or at least grab a few local delicacies.

Tuesday we docked at Cittivecchia and decided to stay on board to enjoy another day of sun and lounging. It can be addictive ...

Wednesday morning we arrived in Naples and wandered around town on and off the beaten track. 

Our first attempt at getting pre-lunch drinks was scuppered by an extremely rude Irish couple that "stole" our table and stubbornly failed to yield it to us even when the waiter intervened. My illusion that all Irish were happy go lucky was shattered but eventually we found a nice table on the opposite side of the restaurant and ordered a couple of glasses of Prosecco. 
 

Apparently it is the custom in Italy to provide a bite (mini pizzas, peanuts and potato chips) whenever alcohol is served to make sure people don't feel the drink so quickly. Our appetites primed and our whistles wet, we headed to a restaurant that Linda had picked out for pizza - da Attilio. I picked out the star-shaped fungi/buffalo mozzarella pie with 8 points in the crust stuffed with pillows of fresh ricotta while Linda selected a pie with prosciutto topped with arugula. We shared both the pizzas and I can honestly say it was the best pizza that I have ever eaten (or likely ever will).

Heavenly pies

What we didn't have for lunch!

After lunch we popped back to the cafe to pick up some sfogliatella, a shell-shaped filled pastry to have as a snack later and then headed back to the Epic.

 

Thursday we docked in Livorno and decided to head to Pisa rather than Florence as it was closer and I'd never been there. We finally found a taxi to take us to town for 25 Euros to catch a train.  We asked about the cost to go to Pisa and since it was "only" 55 Euros we decided on the convenience of door to door service. After a quick stop to take the typical tourist shot of holding up the leaning tower, we toured the surprisingly beautiful city before heading off in search of lunch.

I can't stop it falling ...

Baptistry

Fallen Angel

It's Friday and are off to France.  First stop Cannes, playground of the rich and famous. The day we were there was a port cleanup underway. Apparently the rich and the famous just dump their trash off the sides of their yachts. Lots of folks were taking photos of the tires, batteries, furniture and other junk that had been thrown overboard but I opted not to!

A seat with a view!

After a leisurely stroll along the boardwalk, I convinced Linda that we needed to head back to the ferris wheel set up on the Esplanade Pantiero in front of the Old Port. For a few euros we hopped into a basket to get a bird's eye view of Cannes. While the big wheel is "only 40 meters high", it was high enough to remind me of my fear of heights. We were treated to three turns around (two too many for me, lol!).

 

 A look of sheer terror!

 Views from the wheel

 Back on terra firma safely!

 

Back on the ground we headed to a cafe and had a great lunch - wine, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and some great bread. After a bit more exploring, we headed off to find our daily gelato. Today's cone was presented as a beautiful flower with petals of luscious chocolate, pistachio and refreshing raspberry.

Sated, we headed back to the ship for another evening on the EPIC. 

Saturday and we are docked in Marseilles. After a walk around town and some shopping window and actual, we headed to a small cafe off the beaten track that Linda had selected for lunch. Pur first course was a savoury creme brule with fois gras and a succulent fig. After that we shared a charcuterie platter all washed down with vin rouge. Yum ...

Sunday and we are back in Barcelona checking out some of Gaudi's masterpieces before our flights home. Thanks Linda for being such a great travel companion.