I have joined Brian, Carrie and the boys on a couple Caribbean cruises and had a wonderful time. When we got off our last Carnival cruise, we started making plans for our next sail together. Brian & Carrie had cruised the Mediterranean five years ago, and wanted to do it again, including some different ports. Carrie started researching cruises, and we settled on an 11 day Norwegian trip with port stops in Croatia, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. It looked like a fantastic journey, and we decided to further splurge and book a family suite in the Haven. To top it off, we reserved business class seats with lie flat pods for the overseas flights. In preparation, we also booked sightseeing excursions in every port. I really wanted to see some famous historical sights since it was my first visit to the area.
We had a fantastic time, and fortunately, no one was sick or injured this time around! I’ll let the captioned photos below recap our wonderful adventure.
Cruise route
Venice, Italy
Group selfie in Venice
Basilica San Marco in Piazza San Marco
Venitian canal
Split, Sibenek and Trogir Croatia
Gregory of Nin introduced the Croatian language in religious services (to replace Latin)
Lion sculpture from Egypt, nearly 5000 years old.
A beautiful Croatian church
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Croatian coast
Old olive mill demonstration
Old Town Square
View of Old Town walls
This courtyard was used during filming of Game of Thrones
Corfu, Greece
Palace of Empress of Austria, Elizabeth, in Corfu
The Old Fortress of Corfu
Shopping in Corfu
Messina & Taormina, Sicily
Messina, Sicily city view
Sicilian coast
Taormina
Ancient theater ruins in Taormina
Carrie strolling a village street in Taormina
Naples, Italy, and Pompeii
Pompeii theater
The Forum was the heart of the city which surrounded it.
A courtyard that has been excavated
Many paintings and wall art survived the ash destruction and excavation
The volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted so quickly that the citizens of Pompeii didn’t have a chance to escape the city. After the initial explosion, tons of ash fell on the city, burying it and everything in it. Most of the people died from gasses rather than suffocation. Over the years, the human bodies buried in the ash decomposed, leaving a void. Archeologists fill the hollows with plaster, creating reminders of how tragic and devastating the event was.
Naples coast
A group selfie taken on a Naples street
Rome, Italy and The Vatican
This is all we saw of the Colosseum as our bus whizzed past it. No stop or tour this trip.
The Vatican Square. The center balcony is where the Pope makes occasional appearances.
The Vatican Square where the people gather to hear the Pope
St. Peter’s Basilica
Another close up view of the altar of the Basilica
We went in the Sistine Chapel, but photos and talking are not allowed inside.
Pisa & Florence, Italy
Good thing we got there when we did, so I could prop this back up.
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Santa Croce Basilica Of all the churches we visited, this was the most beautiful
Stained glass in Santa Croce
The tomb of Michaelangelo (inside Santa Croce)
The tomb of Galileo
An exact replica of Michaelangelo’s David in the Piazza Della Signoria
Nice & Cannes, France
French coast
Cannes, France
Town square in Nice, France
Palma & Sollen, Majorca
Village of Sollen
Church in Sollen
Riding the train down the mountain from Sollen to Palma
