Eze, Monaco, and Monte Carlo

Monday, October 1 found us in the port of Cannes, playground of the rich and famous and home to the internationally recognized film festival. Our boat was much too large to dock here, so we had to be tendered in and out. The harbour is quite protected and with calm waters ferrying back and forth on our small tender was not a problem. Once on dry land we boarded a bus and headed for Eze, a medieval village nestled atop a cliff face.

The streets of Eze

Our tour guide explained that often there were two villages by the same name: one on the seaside and one high up on the cliff. For obvious reasons, the village on the cliffs was easier to defend from pirates who frequently ravaged the seaside villages but would not attempt to climb the cliffs to reach the villages perched at the top. Eze is one of those villages. Today the ancient buildings of Eze are shops, restaurants, and there is even a hotel. There is a small church at the top as well. After an hour or so at Eze it was time to reboard our bus. We were headed for Monaco. Hmmm......was that thunder we heard?

Eze

Yes it was definitely thunder. As we drove along the coast we encountered torrential rains and thunder and lightening. Things did not improve one bit in Monaco. Through our time in England Scott and I have learned that, when leaving to sight see for the day, there are a few things you never leave behind. Raincoats are at the top of the list. But this is France, not the UK, and that morning we had checked the weather and decided raincoats and umbrellas would not be necessary. We were not alone. Of the 50 or so passengers on our tour more than half were Brits who, like us, should have known better, but came away without rain gear as well. We arrived in Monaco to some seriously heavy rain and our tour guide never missed a beat. Off the bus, out into the pouring down rain, and off for a walking tour of Monaco we went. Thankfully Scott spied a small shop with umbrellas for sale in the doorway. Unfortunately, by then we were positively soaked. Be assured for the rest of our trip we always had raincoats packed in Scott's backpack! And, of course, over the next 4 days we did not need them one time. But, back to Monaco.....

The streets of Monaco

No, we don't really know what the purpose of this sculpture is, but it we came across it in Monaco as we were returning to our bus. Notice the people standing below it! This baby is huge!

Monaco is surrounded on 3 sides by France, but sits less than 10 miles from Italy. The total area of Monaco is less than 2 miles making it the 2nd smallest country in the world. With a population of 36,000 people, Monaco is the most densely populated country in the world, due in large part to the fact that there are no personal income taxes in Monaco. Don't get too excited though. Monaco's real estate goes for about $65,500 per square metre! Not surprisingly, Monaco has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world. Monaco was the home of Princess Grace, Grace Kelly, until her untimely death in a car accident. After a nice lunch in Monaco, where we began to dry out, we headed to Monte Carlo. 

Monte Carlo is actually a principality of Monaco and is home to both the Monte Carlo Casino and the equally famous Formula One Grand Prix. 

 The famous curve in the Grand Prix.

The Monte Carlo Casino

This car was parked in front of the casino, along with a few others. The sign says "please don't touch the car", in about 25 languages! Most people just took photos!

A few of the "toys" floating in the harbour in Monte Carlo. 

I just cannot imagine what these are like on the inside!

We have finally found the sunshine, just in time to re-board our bus and journey along the coast to Nice. We wandered around Nice enjoying the sunshine and also walking along the beach. This is our last day in the French Riviera. We are a little out of order with our blog as tomorrow we will be in Italy and our first stop is Pisa. Anyway, here are some photos from Nice, another beautiful seaside town.

Provence

Harbour inCassis

In between the mountains of France and the Mediterranean lies the region of France known as Provence. Our ship docked in the port of Toulon. Due to the size of our ship (huge!), we were docked in the industrial area of Toulon where there was really not a lot to see. No worries, we were off for a tour of two seaside towns: Cassis and Sanary along with a quick scenic tour of Marseille and a stop at the Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica.

Cassis is a small seaside resort village. We visited on a Sunday morning so very little was open. We did walk around the harbour for a bit and we took a few pictures. There was a market along the harbour front full of fresh cheeses, olives, breads, and fruits and vegetables.

From Cassis we travelled on to Sanary, another seaside town nestled between the mountainous French Alps and the Mediterranean Sea. In Sanary we came upon a local parade with folks dressed in traditional costume. We aren't sure what the parade was about, but there was also a large wine festival with tastings going on at the same time.

The waterfront in Sanary. We ate lunch at one of the cafes here.

Local parade in Sanary. 

As you can probably tell, it was a rainy day on the French Riviera. Our tour guide was quick to point out that rainy days are rare here and that the rain was definitely needed. Oh well, on to Marseille. After a "scenic tour" of Marseille, as in looking out of the steamy bus windows as we drove past in the rain, we reached our destination: The Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica.

The Basilica sits on the highest point of the city and faces towards the sea. Locals refer to the basilica as la bonne mère ("the good mother"). It is the site of an annual pilgrimage every Assumption Day, which is 15 August. The inside of the Basilica is quite interesting and we have included some photos here. After leaving the Basilica we returned to the ship where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner and  a great show. Hopefully tomorrow we will escape the rain!

Naples and Pompeii

Part of The Forum in Pompeii

On the 27th of August AD 79
Mt. Vesuvius erupted, and within 48 hours the Roman town of Pompeii was buried under a blanket of ash as much as 25 metres deep. Frozen in time, this city was abandoned and forgotten until 1599. Whilst digging a channel to divert the river Sarno some of the ancient walls were uncovered. The architect was called in. He unearthed a few more of the walls, but then covered everything back up. Pompeii was properly discovered in 1738 when workers were digging the foundations for a palace for the King of Naples, Charles of Bourbon. Because the city was buried so quickly and completely, many of the original artefacts are intact and give a wonderful glimpse into Roman life in the first century.

It is believed that Pompeii had as many as 20,000 residents. A temple, theatre, swimming pool, 4 public baths, and a large forum have been discovered, along with a food market, a mill, a restaurant and a hotel. Pompeii had an aqueduct system that supplied water for as many as 25 street fountains! We were given a guided tour and we learned that the residents of Pompeii saw the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and had time to leave the city. Most of the citizens fled, but they left their slaves behind to guard their homes, shops, and belongings. Searing heat from the eruption and choking ash reached the town about 24 hours or so after the eruption began, and those left behind suffered an agonizing death. Archaeologists found human remains entombed in solid rock and devised a way to make casts of several of the victims, revealing the horrendous suffering that occurred. We spent a morning touring through the remains of this ancient town. I, for one, kept a constant watchful eye on Mt. Vesuvius which remained, thankfully, very quiet during our visit!

Part of the forum. Note Mt. Vesuvius, it's peak shrouded in clouds, in the background.

The theatre in Pompeii. The seats had channels under them where cool water flowed during performances. Early air conditioning!

After a morning spent in Pompeii we headed back to Naples, or Napoli, as they say in Italy. Whilst we were in Naples we learned that pizza was invented here, and we were told that if we did nothing else we had to eat Napoli pizza. Of course we had to try it, and, as we can attest, the pizza was amazing! Of course, the pitcher of wine served along with the pizza might have helped a bit! We also wandered around the streets and through a market or two before returning to our ship where we enjoyed a few hours relaxing by the pool. A nice way to end our time in Italy!

Both our tour guide and the waiter at this cafe told us that in Napoli the pizza crust  is very light and the pizza's are "small" so each person needed to order their own. I managed to eat about half of mine.
Notice the red pitcher? That's our wine! 

Streets of Naples

Ciao  Napoli!

Vatican City and the Basilica of St. Peter

St. Peter's Basilica

After a wonderful lunch in a cafe in Rome our tour continued on to Vatican City. Vatican City is the smallest independent city-state in the world, and is located within a walled compound inside the city of Rome. Contained within the Vatican City are the Vatican Museums. Here you can find an amazing collection of art, sculpture, and artifacts which have been collected by the Vatican over the past 600 years. We could have spent days inside the Vatican Museums exploring the art and artifacts, but on this day we were limited to just an hour or so as we had a specific destination in mind: The Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel is the best known chapel in the apostolic palace: the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. Friends had warned me that they were surprised by how small the chapel is, so I was actually surprised at how large it is! The fresco art on the walls and ceiling is just stunning. Completed by Michelangelo, Botticelli  and others, the detail is simply amazing. What a treasure! I just stood for several minutes gazing at "The Creation of Adam", and then at "The Last Judgement", both by Michelangelo. To think of how long ago these were done ("The Last Judgement" was painted between 1535 and 1541) and the incredible talent involved left me a bit awestruck. But, we had to keep moving. We had one more very special place to go before our day in Rome was finished.

The ceiling of The Sistine Chapel

"The Last Judgement"

 After we left the Sistine Chapel our tour guide led us into St. Peter's Basilica. It is believed that Peter, an apostle of Jesus, was martyred near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero. This obelisk was eventually moved and now stands in St. Peter's Square. Peter was buried and his grave marked with a simple red rock. (You might recall that Jesus told Peter he would be the "rock" on which the Church would be built.) The first basilica to St. Peter was constructed over what was believed to be Peter's tomb about 300 years later and today is the site of the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica. Many Popes have chosen to be buried here, and pilgrims flock to the Basilica each year. In the 1930's archaeological digging was begun to try and discover if Peter was, indeed, buried beneath the basilica. Remains, wrapped in cloth trimmed with gold, were eventually unearthed and these remains along with some other artifacts lead Pope Pius XII to announce that the tomb of St. Peter had been discovered. St. Peter's Basilica is, to this day, one of the largest churches in the world and definitely one of the most recognizable. There was a service going on whilst we were there but we were still able to go in and spend a few minutes taking in the size and beauty of this very special place.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Looking up into the dome

St. Peter's baldachin: Designed by Lorenzo Bernini this is a large bronze canopy over the high altar

After a long day exploring Rome and some of it's treasures we left St. Peter's Basilica behind and walked through St. Peter's Square on our way to meet our bus. The Pope had addressed the people earlier in the day. We were shown the Pope's window, but we did not see the Pope. We were also reminded about the selection process for choosing a new Pope, and shown the famous chimney used to let the world know when a new Pope has been chosen by sending up smoke. 

A portion of St. Peter's Square and the Egyptian Obelisk.

A member of the Swiss Guard stands watch. Vatican City is protected by the Italian army. The Swiss Guard serve as the Pope's personal body guards.

 Wow! What an amazing day we had in Rome! This is one city with lots of treasures, and much more to explore than we could possibly fit into a day. Seems like maybe we need to plan a trip back :)!

Rome!

One of the great things about our cruise was that each morning we awoke in a different place. One morning our ship docked very early in Civitavecchia, the port city for Rome. It takes about an hour to get to Rome from port, so we were on our way by 8 a.m. We passed the Cathedral of St. Paul and the Circus Maximus on our way to our first destination in Rome, the Colosseum. Originally called the Flavian Ampetheatre, construction began in 72 a.d. and it took about 8 years to complete. The Collosseum is unbelievably huge, and could seat 50,000 spectators! Our guide led us on a tour inside the Collosseum where she explained that there were lots of battles fought here, but this was not the place where Christians were killed. A much larger venue was needed for that purpose and, she relayed to us, the Romans used the Circus Maximus for the Christians.

This is the inside of the Colloseum. Most of the seating is long gone, but our guide explained that the most important people sat closest to the stage with higher rows intended for those of lesser status. Slaves and women occupied the very top levels. This photo was taken at ground level, so those alleys you can see would have been under the floor. That is where the prisoners were held while awaiting their turn in the arena.

The floor has been partially reconstructed to give visitors an idea of what it might have been like inside. Apparently there is also an historical reference to a sea battle being fought here. This would have occurred before the floor was added. It is believed that the lowest levels were flooded and ships were floated in the middle of the arena.

The large cross marks the spot where the Emperor would have been seated. 

 There were several "gladiators" hanging around outside, posing for photos. 

After spending some time at the Colosseum it was time to head off for the Trevi Fountain and lunch. We walked from the Fountain to our luncheon spot, and were treated to some beautiful buildings along the way. 

You can see that this is quite a steep climb up. Can you guess why it was built like this
instead of with steps? The answer is that the ancient Romans wanted to be able to bring horses
all the way up to the doorway!

We were amazed to see bits and pieces of ancient columns and sculptures lying along the way as we walked. Our guide explained that the ancient Romans were early recyclers. Once the Colosseum was no longer in use craftsmen came and took pieces to reuse in whatever new building they were working on. Each time there is any excavation work done in Rome there is a high likelihood of uncovering something from the ancient city.

Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous fountains in the world. It marks the end of an aqueduct that carried water to Rome. Made famous by the movie "Three Coins in the Fountain", visitors flock to Trevi Fountain daily. It is said if you throw a coin into the fountain you are guaranteed a return visit to Rome. It is estimated that almost 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. That's about $3800 US at today's exchange rate! Scott and I realized early on in the day that we want to return to Rome to explore this city further, so, yes, we left a couple of pennies in the fountain.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch, but our day was far from done. During the afternoon we went to Vatican City to see the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. At the end of the day we were definitely tired, but what an amazing day we had!