VC’s Europe and CB Family TR - July 2- August 8 2018! Semi Live!

Haha, the heat is REAL! Just got in car from being at Piazza Del Duomo in Florence Italy and our driver said it was 41 in the sun! Pretty sure my makeup is melting right off my face!

 

It’s been a very fun and very busy last few days!

On Monday we did our first port tour (Palma, Spain). Really impressed with the private tour we booked, got a mini bus with a driver and guide all to ourselves.

Drove past the marina and spotted Steve Jobs yacht!




Did the Drach Caves. Part way through you come across an area with the underground waterways- they turn off all the lights and have lit up boats arrive playing live classical music that echoes through the caves, really beautiful! The tour finishes with a boat ride across the waterway!



After returning to the boat we hit up the buffet...wayyyy too much to ever try and take pics of so I stopped trying haha!

Finished the day off with a flow rider lesson for J, N and Mr VC. Couldnt believe how awesome they did!

 

One thing I’m still getting used to are the public washrooms!

Many are combined for men and women....at Versailles they even had a row of urinals included in the space.



Then inside the stall you find this..wasn’t sure at first if it was a bidet, but it is not. It has no seat cover.



And many of them are pay toilets. The most surprising one was at The Louvre, a woman was at the entrance with an actual cash register, I believe the price was 1.10 Euro’s. If you could produce a receipt from the food court then cost was waived.

 

Tuesday was likely the most picturesque day we’ve had so far, Marseille and Cassis were stunning!

Driver took us on a winding road up to Basilique of Notre Dame de la Guarde which gave sweeping views of the town.



From there we drove out to Cassis and explored the calenques by boat! Water was clear enough that n areas you could see the fish, it was gorgeous!

 

More pics of Cassis and the calenques...



In the last minutes before we had to head back to the ship the kids went for a swim in the Mediterranean Sea

 

While the kids swam, I bought some souvenirs, we only had about 15 minutes before we needed to head back! Marseille was known for exporting lavender, soaps and perfume so this looked like a good stop.



Happy with my purchases!

 

Dinner!

 

In the day that would never end lol, we also managed to fit in getting A a flamenco dress for dinner that she wanted...



Went to the evening show entertainment that was a really well done ice skating show....



Then girls night out for drinks where I was out of my mind tired by this point. Fun, but OMG - I’m exhausted. And it would be another early morning to come!

 

Wednesday we were off to Pisa and Florence!

As we reached the Tuscany area off in the distance you could see white in the mountains. That is actually where Carrera marble comes from!



The surrounding area was full of marble processing plants.



Pisa!



And no, I couldn’t resist....

 

Florence!



The church that holds the crypt of Leonardo DaVinci!



We tried to go see the statue of David, but this was one time I didn’t get timed entry tix not knowing exactly what time we would be here. Line was too long to wait. Found this guy instead along our walk. I figure once you’ve seen one.........



Grabbed some lunch. One thing that really surprises me are the high cost of soft drinks everywhere here. Not uncommon to be in excess of $5 Euros, at some places after exchange it’s nearly $10 Canadian. Pretty sure beer is cheaper, too bad I hate beer.