italy – Scribbles and Snapshots

Cruise ships, trains, and automobiles

September 17, 2025Posted in Europe 2025, Spain, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Italy Cruise, WineryTagged Brunello, Florence, foodie, italy, NostraVita Winery, travel, Walking Tour, Wine, Wine Tasting1 Comment

September 8, 2025

We woke up really early on Monday (4:45 am) to get ready to disembark from the ship. Normally on cruise lines, you can leave your luggage out the night before and they will carry it off for you, but if you need to leave earlier than 7:00 am – you’re on your own.

We got ready for the day and had breakfast – we were quite surprised how many other early risers there were with us. We made sure that we had everything with us and made our way down to the meeting place. We were quite surprised that they were already ushering people down to the gangway.

We actually think we may have cut the line (oops – it was an accident!) and ended up being the first ones off the ship. As we walked off we knew we needed to get to the train station. On Google maps, it looked like it was a short walk, but it was still dark and figured it would be easier to take a cab. Seeing as neither of us speak Italian, we asked the eager cab drivers to take us.

We were met with blank stares and then no one moved. We figured it was because no one wanted to take us because it was a short drive. Little did we know, it was because they had the whole system figured out. They were waiting until they had a van full of us and they wanted to charge 10 euro a person to bring us over.

Thankfully that took 5 minutes total, because everyone else behind us had the same idea. I had already bought tickets weeks before, but some of these individuals hadn’t yet – and some had mistakenly bought their tickets for the 9 am train (that was 2 hours away). We had to wait a little bit, but before too long we were on our way to Rome!

Our train was pretty full with regional folk and people from the cruise alike, and people were hopping on until the last minute. It was pretty chaotic. (Not as chaotic as our ride from London to Edinburgh, but pretty close!)

We pulled into the station and had roughly 15 minutes to haul from our platform to the next that was leaving for Florence. It wouldn’t have been so bad if we didn’t have all of our luggage, but we had to take that up and down stairs (which wasn’t ideal). But we made it with a few minutes to spare – and we were able to help a few Americans figure out their seats and where to stow their luggage as well even!

We love the high speed trains in Europe – on average our train was going about 154 mph. I really wish we had these in the US – makes travel so simple. When we made it to Florence – Andy and I split up. He took the tram to the airport to get our car rental, and I made my way to our hotel with our big suitcases to drop them and freshen up.

We both had one hell of a journey. He was on a “sweat train” and I was on a battle with cobblestones and some of the dumbest tourists (and yes, I’m aware I was also a tourist!). I also want to note that there are a lot of cities in Europe that are known for pickpockets, and Florence is one of them. And being a single female with two large suitcases, a backpack, and a purse – I wasn’t going to fall prey to anyone. I had my head on a swivel and was trying to memorize my Google maps directions as I was walking.

By the time I made it to the hotel I had sweat through my shirt and my muscles were shaking from being so tense – of course it was so early in the day our room wasn’t ready. Thankfully the hotel had a nice bathroom that I could get cleaned up in. They were able to stow our luggage while we were away.

Andy separately was having a heck of a time getting the car, but he was finally on his way to me with the car and our carry ons. We registered the car with the hotel, which allowed us to drive through some of the “local streets” that would have otherwise resulted in a fine. (Last time we were in Italy it took almost 2 years before the fines showed up in the mail, so we won’t hold our breath – they could still show up!)

And then we were on our way to a winery we went to back in 2019 – NostraVita! We were sad we weren’t able to coordinate with Jon and Yvonne on this trip, funny enough they were going the same week – just a few days later.

We had hoped that we would be able to sneak in another wine tasting on this trip, but due to a few things taking longer than expected we were only able to do NostraVita. But it was worth it. We had a great time doing the tour and seeing all of the new art pieces they had installed and the projects they had worked on since the pandemic.

The last time we were there they had recently lost their daughter/sister – and we were able to see how they were paying tribute to her through the winery now. It was really touching and how beautiful it is to be loved so deeply by a family like them.

We were able to catch up with Annibale with some help from Carlotta translating. He asked a lot about how we kept busy during the pandemic, we could clearly see how he had kept busy. At the end, he made sure we knew that we shouldn’t wait six years next time to come back to visit. It’s just a good reminder how short life is, and it really is beautiful.

While we were on the tour Andy had noticed a label that had said 2014 Brunello – which is the year that we got married. So when we were deciding on what we were going to buy, we asked Carlotta how much those would be. And she was able to verify that they had about 12 left – so we were even able to get some of those! It even made the trip more special – she also gifted a wooden wine box for us as well, which was so sweet.

Annibale- Master of all! (artist, wine maker, author, craftsman, and beautiful patriarch!)

We made our way back to Florence and had dinner in the Piazza della Repubblica, which was right by our hotel. We had a few items we wanted to do while in town. We wanted to buy some leather products, find a wine window and buy drinks from it, and look at the duomo. We had a very productive evening and we were able to accomplish all of them.

We love Italy so deeply and don’t want to wait so long before coming back. We definitely think we will be back sooner next time!

Accommodations:
Hotel Pendini

Up Next:
– Flight to Munich
– Salzburg
– DIY Sound of Music tour

Pompeii and Pizza – Naples, Italy

September 14, 2025Posted in Europe 2025, Spain, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Italy CruiseTagged adventure, Celebrity Cruises, celebritycruises, cruise, Europe, italy, Mediterranean, Mediterranean Cruise, Mosaic, Pompeii, Roman Ruins, Romans, travel, travel blog, Walking TourLeave a comment

September 7, 2025

When most people think of Pompeii, they picture the ash-covered ruins frozen in time. But walking through the ancient streets, it feels less like a tragedy and more like stepping straight into a bustling Roman city. It was complete with bakeries, fast food joints, grand villas, and even mosaics that served as cheeky “welcome mats.” (We even saw one warning visitors to beware of dog because clearly some things never change.)

Pompeii’s fate was sealed in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the city under 21 feet of ash and pumice. The eruption happened so quickly (and lasted for so long – over two days!) that thousands were trapped, their homes and daily lives preserved beneath the volcanic blanket. What’s remarkable is how advanced this city was for its time: courtyards decorated with colorful mosaics, plumbing systems, and even what we’d recognize today as fast food restaurants. It’s wild to think of ancient Romans ordering food much like we do now.

One of the most haunting things about Pompeii is the casts of the victims. Archaeologists discovered that the ash left behind hollow spaces where bodies once lay. By carefully filling those spaces with plaster, they were able to recreate the final moments of those who perished. We only saw three casts of the victims in the market square, but nearly 100 casts have been made over the years out of an estimated 1,300 victims. Seeing even a few was enough to bring the tragedy to life in a way that history books never could. (If you’re interested in reading more about how they make the casts you can read here).

One of the most well preserved buildings was a bathhouse – the roof was still well intact. It was incredible to see inside – shocking that this was over 2,000 years old!

Only two thirds of Pompeii have been excavated 44 hectares so far – 22 hectares – are still covered in debris from the eruption almost 2,000 years ago. Our tour guide said that they are on track to finish it in the next 100 years, she said she wasn’t joking! They can only do their digging during the winter months because of how many tourists visit the site during the summer months. In fact, she is an archeologist herself and is a tour guide during the summer months.

We only had a few hours to explore, but Pompeii has a way of making time stand still. It’s a city frozen in its final day. I know I’ll be thinking about it long after this trip and doing more research into the history.

We could have spent all day there and still not had enough time. Before we knew it we were on our way back to the bus.

The only original part is the white marble at the bottom – I guess Madonna had an event here last year!

Thankfully, we still had time in Naples before the ship left. Naples is the birth place of pizza, so of course we had to eat it there. We had heard that one restaurant was superior, so of course we hightailed it over there.

Naturally, we weren’t the only ones who had that idea. There was over an hour wait. So we started wandering around and finally settled on this other place who had a rather a very charismatic owner who got us seated right away. He was incredible. The food, drinks, and service were all amazing too.

The owner is the gentlemen in the window

We got to talking with a Norwegian couple next to us who were visiting Naples for a concert. It was a really fun conversation and just a nice change of pace and a good reminder why we love traveling so much. They were meeting up with a group of friends to celebrate a 50th birthday and asked us to help record a video to surprise him with, I’m sure we will be part of the blooper reel.

This was our last day on the ship, so once we got back on board we packed up our suitcases and got ready for an early morning.

Up Next:
-Travel day
-Florence
-Tuscany wine tasting

Oh my god, we’re back again… (Barcelona 2025!)

August 30, 2025August 31, 2025Posted in Spain, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Italy CruiseTagged adventure, british airways, celebrity ascent, celebritycruises, cruise, Europe, greece, italy, malta, Spain, travel, Travel Day, turkey2 Comments

August 27/28, 2025

Flights to Europe from San Diego are pretty limited, but there are a few options to London, Munich, and another new one to Amsterdam a few days a week. We were pretty excited because this was our first time that we had converted our AMEX points into AVIOS with British Airways and got Business Class aka… lie flat seats. Yippee!

One of Andy’s coworkers (shout out to Courtney!) had taught me the secret last year – and I’m forever in her debt. Let me know if you want to learn more and I can write more about it!

We are pretty excited for this trip because we are visiting a handful of new countries, but most excited because we are finally getting to Greece. I’ve dreamed of visiting Greece since I was young – I guess probably right after I learned about Greek mythology about Mount Olympus and Zeus. (Not to mention I’ve loved tzatziki as long as I’ve known about it).

We finished out the work day at the airport and then hopped on the plane. I’m not going to get used to flying this way… because on the second leg of the trip we were already back in economy, but it was pretty comfortable when we were able to lay flat!

We didn’t end up landing in Barcelona until around 8ish on Thursday evening – we were so excited that once we got to the hotel that they had upgraded our terrace room that was two chairs to a full terrace with like, six chairs and a full patio! It was stunning!

Andy had to work that evening (Thursday back in California) so we ordered room service. I was dead on my feet – and slipped on my eye mask and was asleep before he even wrapped up his calls.

Accommodation:
NH Collection Barcelona Gran Hotel Calderon

Up Next:
Barcelona
Mediterranean Cruise