Having spent a beautiful day exploring together with my family in Fiera di Primiero on Sunday 9th August, Dad drove down to Bologna early on Monday, hairpin bends, narrow roads edged with mountains (you get the picture!), breathtaking scenery and a thunder storm on our arrival! We continued south on the Tuesday afternoon and arrived in the busy port of Civitavecchia near Rome in the late afternoon and found the hotel and decided to try out the restaurant as it specialised in locally caught seafood and fish.
After joining the ship for a seven night cruise at Civitavecchia (the port of Rome), our first stop was at Livorno, Italy where we travelled inland to Florence. It was great to go back and enjoy the beauty and history of the city.
We then travelled to Cannes in France and went ashore by tender (one of the ships many lifeboats) into the small port. It was great to explore the old part of the town and visit the market and practise our French.
From Cannes we made the trip to Palma, Majorca, we only had four hours in the port so had a short time to walk around before it was time to leave for Barcelona, Spain.
Barcelona was an interesting mix of old and new with some beautiful buildings and interesting sites. We left the main tourist area and had a search for a quieter restaurant. I plucked up the courage and sampled a local paella which I shared with my Mum it was delicious.
Following Barcelona we had a day at sea to rest and relax before arriving in Naples, Italy on Tuesday 18th Aug. We had all been looking forward to this stop as we were to see the ancient city of Pompeii. I had read about the site and was curious to see the excavations and get a feel for the way the city must have been back before the eruption in 79AD. It was both interesting and a little unnerving at the same time, especially when we got to see the artefacts and plaster casts of the remains.
We arrived back at Civitavecchia on the 19th and then travelled in to Rome for the last couple of days. It was lovely to walk around at our own pace and explore a little more of the city.
It was fabulous to spend a little time with my family, relaxing, celebrating birthdays and enjoying exploring the languages, arts and culture.
I missed my train back to Glasgow on Friday afternoon, we were delayed at Rome airport two hours and I had to drive back quite late, which was exhausting, as I had a recital in Edinburgh on Saturday (the header picture is me just before the concert), but I’m now back in Glasgow and raring to go, batteries recharged and feeling energised for the start of the new term and my final year as an undergraduate.
