Our ship anchored today in the Mediterranean and we came ashore at Villefranche, France.
We took a drive through Nice and neighboring towns, on our way to the village of Saint Paul de Vence. On our drive we passed the Hotel Negresco, where we stayed for vacation about 40 years ago.
St Paul de Vence
Today is the 80th anniversary of VE day, marking the end of World War II in Europe. As in so many other French towns, there were beautiful commemoration ceremonies going on in Saint Paul De Vence. One of the town squares was the location for a ceremony honoring veterans of World War II. We listened to the local brass band play patriotic songs, while caterers prepared an enormous spread of delicious food for residents attending the commemoration ceremony.
VE Day Celebration
We traveled through the town with an art historian as our guide, and saw numerous galleries where many artists display their work.
Next, we stopped at a local cafe / restaurant and had lunch, consisting of a Tomato and Burrata Mozzarella Salad and a Boeuf Lasagna Maison. Very generous helpings and very delicious.
Boef Lasagna Maison
After lunch, we went to the Maeght Foundation, which houses an impressive number of works by Bonnard, Braque, Kandinsky, Chagall, Miró, Calder, Giacometti, Hepworth and others. The foundation has lovely interior rooms containing sculpture and paintings, as well as beautiful gardens and terraces where the art is showcased.
La Vie by Chagall; Calder Mobile Hanging from Ceiling Maeght Foundation Exhibit
Saint Paul De Vence is one of France’s most visited towns, and we were very pleased to have an opportunity to see it on a day that is a national holiday and a very meaningful one for the French, and all of Europe.
Our ship stopped in Livorno, Italy and many passengers opted to head into Florence or other areas of Tuscany—we decided to take a walking tour of Pisa.
Baptistery Santa Maria Assunta
Pisa is another medieval walled town, which today houses approximately 90,000 residents, and an additional 50,000 students at the three universities in Pisa. The town has huge numbers of tourists (taking selfies at strange angles to show how they are propping up the leaning tower), and a youthful vibe, with bicyclists everywhere, and many cafes, bars and restaurants.
Royal Victoria Hotel in Pisa
The influence of the Medici family and other wealthy Florentines is evident in Pisa – beautiful palazzi line the Arno River, and the Medici crest appears on buildings throughout the town.
Along the Arno River
The Arno River flows through Pisa (and on to Florence, about 40 miles east) and water can be found not too far under the land in this part of Tuscany. Building large marble towers and other edifices carries risk that the land will not support the buildings over time (hence the leaning tower, and other buildings in the city that lean slightly).
Our visit in Pisa included the leaning tower, of course, as well as the neighboring Cathedral and Baptistry, which are beautiful. The Cathedral and Baptistry are slowly sinking, since they were built on the same plain as the tower, but their weight is distributed over a larger base than the tower, so they do not appear to be leaning.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
In recent years, concrete has been injected into the ground to support the tower, and other safeguards have been adopted -the practice of allowing people to climb to the top of the tower has even resumed, after many years when it was not permitted for reasons of safety.
We spent some time in the neighborhood that makes up the campus of the Scuola Normale Superior, a prestigious school that has graduted Nobelists and other award winners such as Enrico Fermi. The curriculum is rigorous, but students who are accepted and earn high grades enjoy a completely free education.
Library of the Scuola Normale Superiore in PisaStreet Scene by the Arno River
And once again we enjoyed a gelato in the course of our trek. Another excellent day in Italy!
Today was very special—we went to see the summer palace for Popes—Castelo Gandolfo. Opened to visitors in 2016, it has served as the summer palace for Popes since the Seventeenth Century. Castelo Gandolfo is about 28 kilometers outside of Rome. Pope Francis never spent a single night there, which is probably why it was opened to the public. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with a new Pope.
Papal Gardens
On the grounds there is a lovely, peaceful green park, overlooking Lake Albano. The palace has many rooms for formal receptions and visits, as well as many private rooms (such as the room where Pope Benedict used to watch soccer games on television).
The palace itself has beautiful gardens, mostly green without many floral areas. We had the opportunity to visit the “secret garden” of the Pope. It contained pathways of crushed white stone where the pope could walk and contemplate. The garden housed many statues and a fountain designed to reflect a grotto honoring Mary. The garden is a very peaceful place.
Grotto Dedicated to BVM
While touring the palace we saw the pope’s bedroom, private chapel, office, and many other rooms.
The decoration of the castle is not very ornate by castle standards. The colors chosen to decorate the rooms reflect the seaside and nature.
Notably the castle has many, many portraits of the popes. Several portraits of the most recent pontiffs are below.
John Paul II official portraitPortrait of Pope Francis
Among other items of note: Pope Benedict retired to Castle Gandolfo, and Pope John Paul II spent a lot of time in contemplation at Castel Gandolfo. Pope Francis visited the castle three times but never stayed overnight.
One of the exhibits at the castle involves the uniforms worn by the Swiss guard and various other uniformed personnel, including the Carmerlengo. (The Carmerlengo administers the temporal affairs of the Holy See during a papal vacancy.) There is a picture below of the uniform the Carmerlengo wore in prior centuries.
Uniform Worn by Carmerlengo in past centuries
Castel Gandolfo is a beautiful place, and it was very meaningful to spend some time in the very rooms where various pontiffs lived when they had a chance to get away from the summer heat in Vatican City.
Room of Papal Museum at Gandolfo
After we finished touring Castel Gandolfo we walked up through cobblestone streets in a very pretty town, and saw a church where a Monday morning wedding was taking place. There were lots of people in attendance with flowers and rice thrown to celebrate, and beautiful attire on all of the participants.
Rome is a bit busy these days, so when our ship docked at the port, we decided to go to a nearby medieval town, Tarquinia. The town dates back to the ninth century BC, and sits on top of a very steep hill overlooking the Tyrrhenian sea.
Overlooking Tarquinia
The town is enclosed by medieval walls and watch towers. There are numerous churches and bell towers within the town, giving it a lovely profile.
Gateway to the City
The old cobblestone streets of Tarquinia are incredibly steep, so we were fortunate to take a trolley train (with a guide to narrate the history) through most of the old town.
Fortunately it was Sunday when we visited Tarquinia, so one of the oldest churches (Santa Maria in Castello) was open for Mass. We were able to visit the interior of the church before Mass started. It was striking in its simplicity and age.
Santa Maria in Castello
Our tour finished with a delicious gelato, and we were back at the port in no time.
That evening we went into the city of Rome for an event sponsored by Crystal for its passengers on the world cruise.
The Main Dining AreaViolinist
We were treated to a delightful evening of music and dinner at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome, a private museum. The chef who prepared the dinner will be responsible for the menu at one of Crystal’s specialty restaurants. One of his restaurants has 3 Michelin stars. The event was pretty amazing – and a great way to end the day.
When our ship docked in Naples, we had the opportunity to visit the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Pompeii was instantly buried beneath 30 feet of volcanic ash and cinder when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. People living in the city perished instantly when the volcanic ash poured down on the city.
Mount Vesuvius in the background of Pompeii
We had an interesting tour of the portion of the city that has been excavated. We saw streets, homes, and shops that were preserved intact as a result of the instantaneous cascade of volcanic ash that rained down on the city. Consequently it provided a glimpse of Roman life as it was 2000 years ago.
Crowds at Pompeii
We then visited the nearby city of Herculaneum, which was a both wealthier and smaller than Pompeii.
Herculaneum in the Shadow of Mt Vesuvius
Nearby Herculaneum was destroyed by massive lava flows from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Before the volcano erupted, some of the wealthy inhabitants of the town were able to leave by ship. Others didn’t make it out. The homes that they left behind were buried in mud and are therefore well preserved. In fact, residents of the city knew how to construct walls in a way that would withstand some earthquakes, which made it even easier to see some of the structures in their original state.
Gladiators’ Quarters
It was interesting to imagine how life was in these towns 2000 years ago, and to see the contrast between the two cities in terms of the wealth of the inhabitants. Also very interesting to see the manners in which the cities were destroyed (or left intact) by natural disasters.
As we approach the final leg of our journey we will have several stops in Italy. The first stop, which we just had, was in Erice, Sicily. It is a small town (pop 27,000) located on the top of Mount Erice. It is about 2,500 feet above sea level and overlooks the town of Trapani.
Overlooking Sicily
Erice is a member of an organization named “Borghi più belli d’Italia” which translates as “The most beautiful villages of Italy.” It’s hard to argue with that characterization.
We went on a walking tour of the town. Typical of medieval towns, it is walled off; there are defendable gates that lead into the city; it is loaded with churches, and it has a few castles.
Tourists Explore Erice, Sicily
We visited Chiesa Madre di Erice in piazza Matrice. The church, which featured elaborate architecture inside, is dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.
Inside Chiesa Madre Duomo
After exploring the inside of the church we headed toward the top of the town where the view of Trapani is breathtaking. Also, while taking in the view from the mountain, we spotted one of the many castles in the town.
Castle in Erice
Of course, before long the place was packed with tourists. And you can really begin to understand why a city whose current business model is built on tourism is getting a bit ambivalent about it. The population is only about 27,000 and by the summer the visitors will come close to outnumbering the residents.
Locals Observe Tourists in Erica, SicilyWoman Tourist in Erice–Before the Deluge
Having said that, when we had some free time, like typical tourists we relaxed, had some pastry and an expresso in a local cafe and then began the ride back to the port. That entailed going through narrow winding roads with lots of hairpin turns. The best course is probably to simply suspend disbelief that doom is imminent and enjoy the sights, which are truly breathtaking.
Kotor is a small city in a small country. The population of the entire country is only about 625,000; the population of Kotor only amounts to about 13,000 people. Nonetheless Kotor has one of the best preserved medieval old towns in the Adriatic. It is also a UNICEF World Heritage Sight, probably for that reason. The approach to Kotor involves navigating some spectacular fjords with views of majestic landscapes that have to be seen to be believed.
Approaching Kotor, Montenegro
After taking a tender ship in, we took a walking tour of the old city. We started the tour by entering through a city gate—all the medieval cities had high thick walls and gates to keep attackers like pirates away. The attackers this time were tourists.
A Gate to the City of Kotor
When we passed through the gate into the heart of the city we quickly came across the Cathedral of St Tryphon which was originally built in 1166. That’s worth thinking about when we Americans have developed the habit calling anything that’s been around for 100 years “old”.
The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in Kotor, Montenegro
Anyway we went into the church with our tour guide and gave it a look. I would say the best description of the inside would be “elegant”.
Inside St Tryphon Church
Which is more than I can say about the hordes of tourists that invaded the city. We started our tour around 9:30 or so and by 10:30 a full scale invasion seemed to be underway.
Tourists are Invading Montenegro
We knocked around the city for a bit more and saw the Serbian Orthodox Church of St Nicholas. The we went out for quite a nice lunch in a local place in town.
St Nicholas Church in Kotor
All in all, Kotor was a really nice place to visit. But it is easy to see why the townspeople have a love-hate relationship with the cruise ships that bring in so many visitors—and the headaches that come with them.
On Tuesday we headed to Zadar, Croatia to a vineyard named Kraljevski Vinogradi, which translates to Royal Vineyards. Needless to say we went there for a lunch and wine tasting. We thus fulfilled a cardinal rule of travel: Never miss a wine tasting.
Entrance to the Vineyard
The vineyard is located way up in the hills with a breathtaking view of the acres of grapevines leading down to the Adriatic Sea, which is clearly visible as well. As it happens, a chunk of the equity in the vineyard is owned by the Zadar Benedictine nuns.
Grapes Growing at Kraljevski Vinogradi
Lunch was very nice and so was the wine. We tried several glasses. First came the Rosé Scuro. Next was a white wine made with the Pošip grape that is primarily grown in the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Finally there was a red wine made with a combination of ancestral Zinfandel and Dobričić grapes. Those grapes are primarily grown in the Dalmatian coast of Croatia as well.
Outdoor Restaurant at Kraljevski Vinogradi
After lunch, which consisted of a tuna pâté, cheeses and figs, we wound up buying a bottle of the Punta Skala white. All in all it was very relaxing and a highly recommended way to spend an afternoon.
On Monday we docked in Trieste. As it turns out we were in for a pleasant surprise. Although we docked in Trieste, Italy as advertised, the tour we signed up for was right next door in Slovenia. It never occurred to us that the tour we booked would be in Slovenia. But it was. And that turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.
Overlooking Piran, Slovenia
Slovenia is a very small country in Central Europe with a population of about 2 million people. It borders Italy to the west; Austria to the north; Hungary to the northeast and Croatia to the south and southeast. It also has a short coastline on the Adriatic Sea.
The country has been part of many different states and Empires, including the Byzantine Empire, the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Republic of Venice, Napoleon’s First French Empire and the Hapsburg Empire to name a few.
It once again became a part of Yugoslavia and then fell into the Soviet Empire after WW2. But Marshall Tito, who had his differences with Stalin, nevertheless declared Yugoslavia to be a Socialist state.
Surprisingly enough, under socialist rule Slovenia was a poor state. Virtually all of Slovenia’s progress was made after the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union imploded, and Slovenia adopted democratic capitalism, a fact emphasized by our tour guide.
Today, according to 2024 statistics, Slovenia’s GDP is about $72 Billion. Per capita GDP comes in at around $34,000. Consequently Slovenia is now categorized as a high-income country, albeit at the lower end of the high-income designation.
Piran, Slovenia–April 28, 2025. Photo of a woman enjoying coffee at an outdoor cafe on a spring day in Piran, Slovenia
Anyway we piled into the tour coach and headed first for the city of Piran, one of the 3 major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town is known for its medieval architecture with the attendant narrow streets. It has become a bit of a tourist attraction, no doubt aided by the fact that Slovenia is the home country of First Lady Melania Trump.
Boats Tied Up in Piran Marina
In any event, the town was beautiful and very clean. Spotless in fact. We ambled around the town, did some sightseeing and had a cup of coffee before heading back to the coach.
Narrow Side Street in Piran, Slovenia
Next we headed for Padna, a small village of about 30 families located toward the top of a mountain. The townspeople, who are mostly farmers, turned out and displayed their wares, which largely consisted of food that they had harvested and prepared.
Townspeople at the Farmers Market
As part of the tour we were given 5 coupons apiece which we could spend on samples of asparagus lasagne, garlic flavored pasta, apple strudel, cheeses, meats, and glasses of white and red wine. We dove right in and the food was delicious.
There were other things for sale in addition to food. For example, there was Bobbin Lace, some of which we purchased. And there was a man from the town who could (and did) play several musical instruments.
Making Bobbin Lace in PadnaPadna, Slovenia–April 28, 2025. Photo of a farmer playing a squeezebox at a farmer’s market in Padna, Slovenia.
In the end, it turned out to be a delightful tour. And we got to see a slice of Slovenia which we never even would have imagined.
