Our View of the Monaco Classic Week

Okay we’re travelling back in time (a real test of my memory). I can’t believe it’s already a month today that we were docked in Monte Carlo, Monaco. 

It’s Day 9 of our 10-day Mediterranean Cruise Saturday, September 16, 2017.

We have visited Monaco in the past during one of our many trips to France a few years back. Therefore no big tourist sightseeing plans for today! 

A welcome relief. Even though we’ve been travelling “freestyle” on the cruise as far as shore excursions are concerned ... it’s been a busy time at each port of call.

We started the day with breakfast at the Terrace Café. Stunning views of the Marina/ Harbour from our table.  

No shuttle buses, taxis were required today to go ashore ... an easy walk off the ship along the quay and away we went to stroll the streets and harbour/marina area. 

There was quite a bit of activity happening in the water and at the Yacht Club of Monaco quayside and we soon discovered it was the Monaco Classic Week - La Belle Classe. 

The YCM (the Yacht Club of Monaco) was founded by Prince Rainer III in May 1953.

It was the 13th biennial Classic Week ... first one being held in 1994.

It was a grand event. This year with a roaring 20’s theme. The attendees dressed to the nines in flapper dresses, etc. 

The sea vessels included small recreational boats, luxury classic sailing yachts, tall ships, dinghies and motorboats. 

The regatta of various boats was amazing. Each boat’s participants were dressed impeccably in coordinating outifits. 

Later in the afternoon there also was a touching tribute to the Italian motorboat engineer / designer Carlo Riva (who passed away April 10/17) ... 

Many turquoise blue balloons (a colour associated with the Riva brand) were released from all the Riva boats in Port Hercule.

If you look closely you can see the floating balloons.

The Riva is a mahogany hulled motorboat. These gems were a favourite of the 50’s /60’s jetset with many famous actors owning one ... Brigette Bardot, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to name a few.

We had a busy day in Monte Carlo ... this is only part of our self-guided tour. 

Stayed tuned more to follow ... will be writing another post and sharing more photos about the rest of our day.

Home Sweet Home!

Good morning everyone. 

We arrived home safe and sound Saturday, October 7th after a long day of travel!

                 “HOME SWEET HOME”

During our 32-day adventure we travelled in excess of 19,000 kilometres (or 12,000 plus miles) by planes, trains, automobiles, buses, cruise ship and our own two feet. 

We flew a total of 13,500+ kilometres from Toronto to Paris, Paris to Barcelona and returning from Toulouse to Paris, Paris to Toronto via Air France. 

Our cruise ship travels on the MS Riviera throughout the Mediterranean Sea covered (2165 nautical miles) 4009 kilometres. 

Our lovely rental car “the Orange Captur” transported us over 1285 kilometres of highways, city streets, narrow rural roads throughout France and Spain.

And luckily the built in “Molly the GPS” didn’t take us through any vineyard dirt tracks like it did in 2005.

There was no question that we would not find our car wherever we parked it! The bright orange colour made it easy to find! 

Our TGV train ride from Barcelona, Spain to Perpignan, France was a flying ride of only 159-kilometres ... oh how I forgot how we used to travel only by train while in Europe, a relaxing and enjoyable method of travel. 

I’m not sure how much distance we travelled by bus, taxi and on foot but it seemed like plenty.  

 

We visited/ explored many communes, cities, towns and villages in the countries of France, Italy, Malta, Monaco and Spain.

Using our five senses we fully experienced the life and culture of the many places and people we met during our travels. 

We spent two days in Barcelona one on each end of the 10-day cruise, rented the same apartment “Ciel Bleu” in Céret, France for a couple of weeks and then spent our last week in the Lot Valley visiting “lots”of friends. 

We are just getting ourselves sorted, back into some regular routine and catching up on some lost sleep. 

Still working on laundry and putting things away, did get the grocery shopping done on Sunday in between an emergency call to the plumber (no hot water, yikes) ... bad news is not just a repair, water heater needs to be replaced and we are still dealing with this today (Tuesday) ...it  was a holiday weekend here in Canada celebrating Thanksgiving! 

I’m very thankful for our friends and family for hot showers and a delicious “Turkey Supper”! 

I still have many photographs to cull and edit plus many stories, posts to write and share on the blog. 

I’m writing and posting for Monsiuer Honey and myself so when we are old and grey, okay maybe I should say “older and more grey”  sitting in our rocking chairs we will be able to look at the photos, read the stories & reminisce about our wonderful travels! 

A big part of our travels is meeting up with old friends and making new friends ... so a big thank you for being part of our adventure to you all!

A big shout out to the new friends made in Barcelona from Monsiuer Honey’s birthplace aka Geordie land, South Shields, Great Britain ... Dawn & Ian, Pippa & Darren, and our new friends made on the cruise Kathy and Steve from B.C. and so many others. 

Thank you so much to our New Zealand/ Céret friends, Karen and John! 

Thanks again to our “old” friends in the Lot ... Laury, Clare, C &B (original French Connection)! 

Everyone of you were a special part of our travels! 

Life in Livorno

Day 8 - Friday, September 15, 2017 we docked at the port "Molo Italia 42 Nord" in Livorno, Italy this morning. 

I say this is the gateway to Tuscany when you're cruising. Many excursions, sixteen in total were offered by the cruise line from here today (as they were from all ports)! As we had been to this region before visiting Florence for several days and spending a week in the Tuscan countryside a few years ago, we had planned not to venture too far. Plus I wasn't looking forward to sitting on a bus or in a car for two hours each way to reach Florence.

We had an enjoyable day just strolling around the city of Livorno getting a feel for the life /beat and culture of the locals. 

There was a bustling outdoor market of fresh fruits and vegetables in the Piazza Cavallotti with many choices.

Later we discovered the Mercato Centrale (the Central Market) housed in a giant neo - classical building constructed in the late 19th Century overlooking the main canal. 

It is said to be the largest covered market in Italy with approximately 30 shops and 230 vendor stalls. 

It has 5 grand entrances! 

Here you could stock your fridge and larder with everything you need; however the best part in Europe most of the locals shop fresh everyday!

I love this, fresh food and I'm sure less waste! 

There were many prosciutto vendors at the market ...

and if you are a real connoisseur you can buy your own slicer. I think my father in his day would have loved to have one these slicers in his butcher shop/ deli! 

We strolled the tiled, covered walkways that looked similar to cloisters along the Via Grande where we found many shops, boutiques and cafes.

Everyday, on the ship we received a newsletter about our next port with detailed info and suggestions of points of interests, etc. Signore Honey had read that we should try the local dish ... schiacciate! 

Time for a some lunch in the Piazza overlooking the Duomo. 

 Delicious! That's one of the great experiences of travelling being able to try a different cultures' food and drink! 

We then headed to the ship. 

Tonight we were celebrating being in the Tuscany region with dinner at the speciality Italian restaurant Toscana. 

I'll be writing a separate post about some of the restaurants/ our dining experiences later.

Tonight we are cruising the shortest distance of 120 nautical miles from Livorno, Italy and in the morning we will be docking Monte Carlo, Monaco! 

Coming soon ... our last days on the cruise: Day 9 Monte Carlo, Monaco / Day 10 Marseille, France and then our continued adventure in Spain and France.