Aurora's Western Mediterranean cruise

Hello from the Italian sunshine!

At last, after weeks spent in Norway and the north we’re finally seeing a little bit of sun. What a relief. I never seem to function properly when I’m constantly cold so I’m really happy to see the sunshine. Mind you, this cruise has been a really busy one with some very big ports of call.

Barcelona was first, and I managed to head into town and do the ‘tourist’ thing. Historically I’ve always been on a tour any time that I’ve docked in Barcelona (or have flown home from a ship), so I’ve never actually managed to just wander ashore with my camera round my neck. It’s such a fabulous city. It was full of every type of person you could imagine to meet and there was a lovely atmosphere in the air. Obviously it helped that I had my flip flops on and a sun dress and it was over 30 degrees but with a lovely breeze blowing through the air.

I headed up Las Ramblas (which is the focal point of the city). Las Ramblas is the main street that stretches for over a mile from the waterfront, and it’s an area that’s alive at all hours of the day and night. It’s dotted with kiosks, colourful flower stalls, human statues, singers and dancers, and street artists performing all kinds of bizarre acts. Fabulous!

At each end of Las Ramblas there are also shopping opportunities galore. The lower end of town was my favourite part really because there’s a lovely marina area there that’s full of boats bobbing about and lovely bars and restaurants. I spent a couple of hours there before heading back to Aurora for an afternoon of port presentation research ready for next cruise.

Villefranche was our second port of call and for those of you who’ve never been, it’s situated in the French Riviera on the Cote d’Azur - in between Nice and Monaco. I’d never been to Villefranche itself (apart from driving through a couple of times) because I’ve always seemed to anchor in Monaco instead - so it was lovely to see somewhere new.

Villefranche was our only tender port for this cruise. For those of you who’ve never experienced a tender operation, this is basically what happens when we arrive at a destination where there’s no quayside big enough to accommodate our ship. We basically put Aurora’s anchor down a little way out to sea, and ferry everybody back and forth between the ship and the mainland in our lifeboats.

Villefranche is a pretty place, but it isn’t really a particularly awe inspiring destination. It is though, a fabulous gateway port which is why it’s always so popular. From Villefranche, you can easily get to Monaco and the famous Monte Carlo, and also to the glamorous resorts of Nice and Cannes as well.

There was a lovely market set up in the town to welcome our arrival and lots of local artisans were selling home and handmade wares. Restaurants and cafes lined the waterfront and there was a beach within about a 15 mins walk of the terminal where our tender boats were bringing people ashore. Plus as well, to make the place really feel welcoming, the sun was blazing and the trompe l’oeil buildings were reflecting in the bay’s waters. It looked really pretty.

As much of the coastline in this part of France is bordered by mountains and hills, there always seems to be quite a haze in the air which makes it feel very ‘close’. Friday was no exception and it was absolutely boiling. (My hot red face wasn’t really helped by the fact that I spent most of the day stood on the quayside in the baking sun in my uniform). Thank goodness for my factor 50 and bottle of water!

As soon as we lifted the anchor we made our way east towards Italy, and this morning we docked in Civitavecchia (pronounced: chivvie ta veck eeya – nobody ever seems to get it right and we have a lot of fun on board listening to both passengers and crew trying to perfect their Italian pronunciation).

Civitavecchia is the gateway to the eternal city of Rome and it’s located in the Lazio region, about half way along Italy’s western coast. It’s not a particularly exciting town in its own right, but as one of Italy’s major ports, it is a very convenient place to dock a ship of our size so close to Rome.

We were docked alongside our sister ship Ventura today which always excites the crew because we have the opportunity to see friends and family members that we might have been apart from for a matter of months or even years.

Around 60 coaches left the quayside today between our two ships, and there was another big cruise ship docked with us as well, so I don’t think I need to explain how busy Rome was going to get. Hundreds of people flocked to the eternal city to experience for themselves one of the greatest cities in the world, and quite possibly the richest city (in terms of history and culture).

The catchphrase: ‘you can’t see Rome in a day’ couldn’t be any truer, because I’ve never been anywhere else in the world where there’s been so many things to see and do. Tours led off towards the Roman Forum (the original centre of political, commercial, and judicial life in ancient Rome, and also the burial place of Julius Caesar), the beautiful Trevi Fountain (where thousands of people every week throw coins into the water to make a wish and vow to return to the city), the Pantheon (which is over 2000 years old, and is the best preserved of any of ancient Rome’s buildings), Vatican city (home to the Pope and the worldwide Catholic faith, as well as museums, the famous Sistine chapel and St Peter’s basilica), and the Colosseum (which to me, is the most mind blowing of all of Rome’s attractions).

The Colosseum is the most famous, and the world’s most important Roman amphitheatre, primarily because it still graces the city that once epitomised the height of the Roman Empire. Despite being over 2000 years old, and scarred by earthquake damage and neglect, this immense building is still a breathtaking sight, and photographs and descriptions just don’t do it justice. The stories, the history, and the views inside the Colosseum are absolutely spine tingling and when you stand inside, you can almost imagine the roar of the crowd as gladiators and wild animals fought for the Caesar and an audience of up to 55,000 people.

More than 9000 wild animals are believed to have been killed in the Colosseum over the years, in front of spectators who would have been seated according to their social rank. Excavations of the floor have exposed a network of underground rooms and corridors (where the animals and contestants were kept prior to combat in the arena), and visitors can peer down into them to see where so many waited to emerge for battle and eventual death.

I have to say, there’s a very strange and nostalgic atmosphere in the Colloseum, but it really is just so wonderful. I’ll be absolutely shocked if anyone can visit that structure and come back to the ship feeling emotionally untouched.





 

Anyway, the tours are starting to come back and we’ve got a lot of exhausted faces appearing on board. We’ve got another big day in Livorno (the gateway to Florence and Pisa) tomorrow, so I’m off to finish up for the day and then head off to bed for an early night. We’ll be in Gibraltar in a few days time, so I’ll post another blog for you then.

For those of you asking about James, he’s taking a bit of a break from the blog for a while but he’s here on Aurora with me and sends everybody his kind regards. He’s avidly reading my posts and also your responses, so feel free to send him your wishes.

Susie - How great to hear from you! Great to know that you're reading the blog. I hope you're both well and I thoroughly look forward to seeing you again soon. 

Jo x