Category: Italy – Costa Diadema

The Retirees return to Italy – On board the SS Costa Diadema – Mallorca

We rise early and breakfast in our cabin as the bus leaves at 8.30 am. We are going to Las Cuevas del Drach (Dragon’s Cave), a limestone cave about 1 hour drive from Las Palma the major city on the island. The bus ride has some interesting aspects particularly the large number of windmills in every state of decay – restored through to tumbled down. These windmills were used throughout history of Mallorca as pumps to drain the lowlands. Las Palma has over 400,000 people out of a population of 800,000. We passed through Manacor the second largest city having a population 40,000 people and Raphael Nadal’s tennis school as he is a native of the island.

Once we arrive and alight from the bus, guides take us into the below ground entrance. The caves have been known since the middle ages, but were not fully explored till 1880 by a German speleologist who drew up the first detailed plan of the caves and then by a French speleologist Martel who gave his name to the lake in the bottom of the cave system. We enter the system through the cave called Luis Salvador and follow a formed path with lighting highlighting the limestone features within. Stalactites and stalagmites abound. There is a large pond of clear but bluish water called Diana Baths and many of the other formations have been given names to reflect the image evoked by the formation. Our journey reaches a climax when we arrive at an amphitheater facing Lake Martel.

The amphitheatre has been modeled as a theatre. Once all the stragglers have arrived the lights are dimmed and the concert begins. A quartet made up of two violins cello and harmonium playing classical music sails forth upon the lake accompanied by two other boats each illuminated along the edge of each boat. At the end of the concert lasting about ten minutes the boat with the orchestra sails into the caves and some are lucky enough to get a trip on one of the other boats whilst others like us trail through the Cave of the French completing the 1200 metre journey through the cave system. Awaiting us there is the usual gift shop and cafe but not much more.

Once we all emerge and all of the group is on the bus we traveled literally 200 m to our next point of interest – a pearl shop. As we had been through the fresh water pearl factories in China this really did not hold much interest and like China was set up as a honey trap for tourists. And that was it the tour was over and we were headed back to the ship. We were left feeling a bit flat. The caves were interesting but we were left with not enough time to visit Las Palma and too much time to go back to the ship. The bus stopped across the road from the Cathedral tempting us to venture forth and explore some more but with the choice of rushing around the old town or relaxing on the ship – the ship won. Tomorrow we start the return trip to Civitavecchia.

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The Retirees return to Italy – On board the SS Costa Diadema – Marseilles and Barcelona

Sailing along the Gulf of Genoa and the Ligurian Coast, past the Principality of Monaco, Nice, Cannes and Sanry sur Mer, our next port of call is Marseilles. Daylight saving starts tonight so we find ourselves waking at 8.20am to see “Marseille” out the starboard window.  I spot an island with a fort and a church with a tower on a hill. But this is Sunday a day of rest for us too. So, we spend the day on ship in the spa having an ice cream and finishing with massages and a movie. We set sail with the next stop Barcelona.

Arriving at Barcelona, we find ourselves caught out by the time change for daylight saving. We rush to have breakfast to ensure we are on board the first coach to the city centre. The coach drops us near the World Trade Centre and we see the Red Bus nearby. We are not sure what we want to do in Barcelona and we decide that with grey skies and sprinkling rain we should catch the bus. One thing we have learned about Barcelona is that it is spread widely so the bus trip took a long time to get anywhere.

The first sight we see is the cable car tower at Port Voll which connects with Mont Juic. We board the Red Bus which climbs up Mont Juic past Anella Olimpica which is a renovated building converted into a stadium for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Further along we encounter the Arenas de Barcelona (the former bull fight ring) now a shopping centre. It had to be raised to fit the new use. This was on the way to the stadium for FC Barcelona.

The bus returned to Port Voll with over 4,000 moorings and some rather decent boats. From there we visited La Barceloneta and the main beach of the town. Unfortunately, the day had not improved and wind and rain now swept the beach. My goal was to see Sagrada Familia the most popular of Barcelona’s works by the famous architect Gaudi. We changed from the red west line to the green east line to see the Familia but it was not to be. In fact, it is so popular that you have to purchase tickets to visit. By the time, we got there the tickets had sold out until the following day. So, we strolled around the Familia and I was able to take a few pictures even though it was still under renovation/repair.

We found a warm bar across the road and ordered a paella. We made the decision to abandon the bus and try our hand at the Metro to visit the old part of the town. After investigating the available lines at the nearby Metro, we decided on the purple line to Paral-el. Once we arrived at the station we found it is situated on the Avenue Paral-el and very close to the cable car tower where we started our trip. We were still not in the old town so we headed to the wharves and took a left-hand turn to Avenue la Rambla and into the heart of the old town. On the way, we passed a reminder of Barcelona’s industrial history, and a reminder of it is medieval past. The old town was drab and although it had its fair share of old churches, medieval bridges, and Roman relics, it did not capture our interest. The sky had lost its cloudiness and the warmth of the sun could be felt and appreciated but it did not last long. We stopped at a small bar and enjoyed a fruit smoothie each and decided to head back to the ship. Our excitement was so great that we left without paying which I remembered when we were halfway back to our collection point causing us to retrace our steps pay our bill and start again. Tomorrow is Mallorca and Palma de Mallorca.

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The Retirees return to Italy – On board the SS Costa Diadema – Savona

Our next port of call is Savona. During the night, the ship navigates around the Ligurian coast past Portofino and Genoa. Our plan is to travel by bus to Genoa and check out the old town. It is a bit overcast when we arrive in Genoa. It is an early start and an hour by autostrada to Genoa and we are dropped off at a square beside the aquarium and a fake galleon donated by Roman Polanski after he finished making a pirate movie.

Genoa is a much lively place with its ancient buildings having covered footpath hiding the retail premises beneath the residences above. For the naval historians reading this, you will know of Genoa’s maritime history, its long – time battle with Venice for dominance of the sea lanes and the wealth of the town but those who don’t need to see our photos of the city gates and how residences and shops have all but swallowed it up, the streets lined with shops, the continuous apartments and the piazzas, the public icons on buildings, the churches (including San Maria Madellane where an Italian playing bagpipes played a lament on the anniversary of a deceased husband for the grieving widow and San Pietro in Banchi) and banks that line even the smallest streets.

Following the back streets led us to the mall in Via San Lorenzo. Here the more extravagant monuments could be found in Piazzas San Lorenzo (Cathedrale San Lorenzo) Matteotti (Chiesa del Gesu) and Ferrari. Outside the Chiesa del Gesu a protest to abuse of children. After the fountain in Piazza Ferrari we followed into Via Dante and the house of Christopher Columbus, that famous mariner who discovered and claimed for the King of Spain the Americas and all the time he was Genoese not Italian or Spanish. Remember Genoa was a city state with its own government, and naval force and Italy would not be unified until 1861 under Garibaldi.

Columbus’s house

After the house of Columbus, we passed into Piazza Dante and there stood two towers and another town gate. So, we sat in the sun with our stolen rolls from the ship and had our morning tea looking at a Roman ruin and the city gate connected to the remnant of the city wall. Following the city wall, we passed little trattorias, doorways in the wall, and the Piazza di Sarzano. After calling into a ship’s chandelier to pick up a thingo, we made our way back to the bus in Piazza Caricamento and return to the Diadema.

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The Retirees return to Italy – On board the SS Costa Diadema – La Spezia.

After sailing all night passing the lights of the islands of Giannutri and Giglo, we arrive at La Spezia. This huge ship reverses into the berth by the wharf. We can see all the tour buses lined up waiting for us and the town is awaking to another visit by tourists.

After breakfast and before our tour, we stroll the ship and find the basketball court, the adventure castle and Peppa Pig water park.

We have some free time in La Spezia. This is very close to Cinque Terra which is to the north so there are some aspects that seem familiar such as the colours of the buildings along the shore. In the town, there is a strange church on Piazza Europa and the buildings are very grand. An adjoining square has these simple but effective sculptures highlighting the unitary colours of the buildings around. Mandarin trees laden with fruit line the streets. Not a lot to see or do but the stroll through the town and along the waterfront is very enjoyable. It gives us a chance to see our ship at berth and take a portrait.

After we have lunch, I am a little ashamed to say, we went to a shopping village by bus. Even so it allowed us to see some of the rural areas outside of La Spezia and like most of Italy there were always hilltop villages in view. But I have withheld the shopping photos through embarrassment. We visited one of those villages, Sarzana which of course had a Roman heritage and was one of the towns controlled by the Medici family in the middle ages. The bus dropped us off outside of the town walls so that we entered through the Town Gate and then proceeded to the top of the wall for a view down the main street. Crossing to the other side we came across a Medici fortress with its clone on the hilltop behind the town. It was here we lost the rest of the tour and made our own investigations.

Kerry and I followed the streets through typical Italian village squares (Piazzas), past remnant pieces of history such as the village well now water fountain, workshops (this one being the workshop of a motorbike restorer), the memorial to lives lost in conflict beside a children’s merry-go-round, houses built on remnant parts of the old wall, and a building that appeared to be something to do with injured servicemen. The village is very much alive and a place still in use but having its roots in Roman times. Times up and we fight the evening traffic to return to Diadema, dinner and bed.

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The Retirees return to Italy – Farewell Cesi hello Civitavecchia

Our day starts, as usual, with a manic trip to Terni by bus this time with suitcases which run a muck in the bus leading to a collision between my head and the overhead luggage racks. Kerry found this most humorous. We board the train remembering to validate our tickets and bid Roberto farewell. The trip to Rome was going smoothly until we reached Orta when there was a delay of some 30 minutes throwing out our timing to catch the train to Civitavecchia and the departure point for our ship.

Of course, we arrive at Platform 1 EST the furthest point from the station. We then walked with suitcases to the station, where we try to purchase tickets but due to a misspelling of the name of the port Kerry is having difficulty when a “helpful” local intervenes then begs for financial assistance for his services. Fair enough I think he helped except that we got tickets for the next train to Civitavecchia from Platform 28 which is the equivalent of Platform 1 EST only on the opposite side of the station. Panic ensues as we charge up the platform. My suitcase has suddenly got very heavy. Finally, I drag it onto the train much relieved that we made it. I then examined my suitcase to find one of the wheels to be frozen. The ride to Civitavecchia went smoothly and we resolved to get a cab to the ship – it proved a great decision with the cab delivering us and luggage to the door for €10.

We were finally able to relax. From our cabin window, we see the other ships at anchor and the land disappearing in our wake. Our room is large and comfortable, the ship luxurious in its fitout and we look forward to our trip to La Spezia through the Tyrrhenian Sea.

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