Our adventure last summer came to an end on the Spanish island of Majorca. We spent some time in the cities of Soller and Palma. Palma is the capital city of Majorca and is famous for its beaches. Soller is a typical Mediterranean town with narrow streets, cafes, open markets and beautiful architecture. Upon arrival to Palma, we rode a bus over to the Palma Railway Station. There, we boarded the Ferrocarril de Soller, an electric train. This vintage train leaves the capital of Palma and heads north through plains, the Sierra de Tramuntana mountain range, verdantwoodlands and a valley of orange groves en route to the city of Soller.
The ride to Soller took about an hour or so. Once we arrived, we took a walking tour of the city. Like all our other excursions, in addition to our Adventures by Disney guides, a local guide was there to provide the history and highlights of this city. Eventually, our tour lead us to an olive oil experience and tasting at Tafona Can Det. Tafona Can Det is a family owned business dating back to 1561! The olive mill has not changed much and the way the oil is produced has stayed the same. The family feels if it were to move to a more modern continuous production, it would lose its high quality.
We watched a short video on the history of the mill and then saw how the oil is made, beginning with the olives being washed and ending with with a delicious meal. We were able to sample the delicious oil, along with breads, meats and freshly squeezed orange juice. It was amazing. We were given a bottle of olive oil to take home and an orange or two for the road. Once we finished our tour of the mill, we enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the center of Soller, Plaza de la Constitucion.
When we arrived back to the center of town, we headed to lunch at La Vila Hotel. It is a quaint hotel with a beautiful garden in the back. This is where we enjoyed our traditional Spanish lunch.
Our course, like every other meal on this trip, it ended with gelato from a local gelato cafe.
After lunch, we had some time to shop and take in this charming little city.
Soon it was time to head back to Palma. Instead of taking the electric train back, we took the Soller Railway. This was a trolley that ran between the two locations and made numerous stops along the way. It reminded me of the green line in Boston.
Once we were back to Palma, we were treated to this view.
It was a great way to end our vacation. I hope you have enjoyed following along our European vacation. I have loved reliving the memories and look forward to sharing more trips with you all.
Today I are going to talk about Day 6 of our embedded Adventures by Disney (ABD) trip. For those of you that don’t know, an embedded ABD is an Adventures by Disney trip that is done while on a Disney cruise. Instead of booking excursions through the cruise line, all the excursions are done through Adventures by Disney. I highly recommend it and looking forward to doing many more in the future.
The boat docks about an hour and half away from Rome. We were the first ones off the boat, onto the bus and off to our first stop…the Vatican. I was looking forward to visiting Rome, especially the Vatican. I am Catholic and as a Catholic, this is it. This is the where it all happens. There is so much history and power in this tiny little country. With that being said, as beautiful as it was, I was kind of sad that is has become this big tourist attraction. I had always envisioned walking up to it by way of the square. Well.. you don’t. You enter from the back (you do see the old Vatican wall, which is cool) and it is like entering any other museum. Oh and by the way, the square looks so much bigger in t.v.
First, our ABD guides and our local guide took us aside and told us what we would see in the Sistine Chapel. They had a map and pointed out all the different paintings. They did because, no is suppose to speak inside the chapel or take photos. I was disappointed about the photos, but I understood.
However, prior to touring the Sistine Chapel, we walked the museum. It is very lovely and holds so much history. It is also very crowded. You really don’t walked the museum, you do the Vatican Shuffle. There were different rooms that we walked though along the tour. There is a Gallery of the Maps, the Gallery of the Tapestries, the Gallery of the Candelabra and much more. Here are a few shots as we moved room to room.
The last room we were to see was the Sistine Chapel. I wish we could have taken photos. However, the photos probably would not have done it justice. It is simply breathtaking. Prior to going in, I mentioned our guides gave us a bit of history lesson on the chapel and Michelangelo. The chapel was created in 1508-1512. It is named for Pope Sixtus IV. Despite what people think, he did not paint the ceiling lying down. He had special scaffolding made so he could stand. There are over 300 figures painted in the chapel. There are numerous biblical scenes, such as the creations of Adam and Eve, the sacrifice of Noah and the Great Flood. Thousands of visitors tour the chapel each year. It is also where the cardinals meet to elect a new Pope. I encourage you to look online for photos. It is quite remarkable.
After visiting the chapel, it was on to St. Peter’s Basilica. This was another breathtaking work of art. I was hopeful we may run into Pope Francis. He has been known to wander about and meet people. No such luck for us. Inside the Basilica, we saw The Pieta, the statue by Michelangelo depicting Jesus in the arms of his mother after the Crucifixion. My photo does not do this justice either.
After visiting St. Peter’s we had our photos taken and then some time for shopping. From there we had another fantastic lunch. The food in Italy was amazing. Even our oldest, who will not eat pasta here at home, loved it. From there we did a walking tour and saw iconic sights, such as the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia where the Vittoria Emanuele ll Monument is located, ancient Rome, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.
The Trevi Fountain was another must on my bucket list. While it is beautiful, it was extremely crowded. One has to really push their way to the front to have their picture taken. Of course, we had to throw a coin over our shoulder. This will ensure that we will return to Rome one day.
Our last stop in this incredible city, the Colosseum. This was remarkable. From a distance, it looked fake. It reminded me of a backdrop on a movie set.
The adults and kids split up and the kids did a separate tour that involved gladiator costumes. My oldest did that, but my 13 year old stuck with the adults. In his words, he did not need it to be dumbed down for him. God help me. This kid a something else! Some interesting facts about The Colosseum. It was built in under ten years, mostly by Jewish slaves. Over a million animals and over a half million people died in The Colosseum. Also, The Colosseum had a marble facade and marble seats, however when St. Peter’s Basilica was being built, they took the marble from the Colosseum and used it there. Finally, it is the most visited site in Italy. The Vatican does receive more visitors, but that is not part of Italy. It is its own principality.
All and all, it was a fantastic day in Rome. We saw so much, yet there is still so much to be seen. I am looking forward to heading back in the next few years.
Today’s adventure takes us to the French Riviera. When we first booked this trip, the place was I most excited about was Rome. Though I loved it, the French and Italian coasts stole my heart. Simply breathtaking.
Villefranche is a charming fishing village on the Riviera. It is located in between the city of Nice and the country of Monaco. We left the ship early, took a tender, and caught a bus to our first stop, Monaco. Along the way, we saw a beautiful coastline. Though a lot of the bus rides were a bit long, Adventures by Disney goes out of their way to make us comfortable. The busses all have reclining seats and air conditioning. Each day, James and Dusty had plenty of water and snacks for us. We really could not ask for more. As we made our way to Monaco, were told a bit of the history. It is the second-smallest country in the world (Vatican City is smaller). It is notorious for tax havens. As one of our guides said, “It is where the shady go to get sunny.” It is also known for the annual Formula One Grand Prix. Upon arriving, the bus parked next to the Oceanographic Museum. Though we did not tour the museum, we took in the views and snapped some photos.
We walked through a beautiful garden that is paid for and maintained by the royal family. We continued to St. Nicholas’s church. If you remember, before Meghan Markle, Grace Kelly was America’s princess. St. Nicholas’s church is where she married her Prince, Prince Rainier, III. It is also where the royal couple is buried.
After exiting the church, we continued walking through the streets to the Palace. We toured the Palace (no ac!!!), but no pictures are allowed inside. We did get a coupled of good shots in front of the Palace and overlooking the harbor.
After leaving the palace, we had a bit of free time. We shopped and had a crepe. Later, we met up with the group and drove to Monte Carlo. It was interesting to see the streets of the Grand Prix. We were told that to dock your boat in the harbor for the Grand Prix; one must pay 50,000 Euros per day for a minimum of 3 days. Yikes! I guess we won’t be doing that any time soon. LOL! The next stop was lunch. We enjoyed a great lunch on the rooftop of the Fairmont Hotel, overlooking the water. The food and atmosphere were excellent. We had a little bit of time to explore, but we chose to hang back at the hotel and enjoy the views. We also got to know a bit more about our fellow adventurers. It was a lovely afternoon. About an hour or so later, we were off to the village of Eze. Since this post is long enough, I will continue this trip report in the next couple of days. For now, au revoir!
Our first stop on the cruise was Marseilles, France. Marseilles is the 3rd biggest city in France and the largest port. Once the boat docked, we boarded a bus and drove to Les Baux-de-Provence. Les Baux -de-Provence is a commune in France (what we call a town here in the US). It has been named one of the most beautiful villages in France. It certainly lived up to that description. It is a picturesque village, perched on a rocky hilltop. It reminded me of the village in Beauty in the Beast.
At the top of the town are the ruins of a 13th century stone fortress. Lavender fields surround it. The show, The Amazing Race, was filmed at that very spot. It has many historical buildings, such as a hospital, church, chateau, town hall, houses, etc. The views were gorgeous. The village has been restored and is just so charming. There were many craft shops selling Provencal products and goods. I bought some lavender satchels and cookies from this amazing bakery.
We left the village and headed to lunch at a local restaurant. The restaurant was closed to everyone but our group of 40. The adults were seated in one section and the kids in another section. The restaurant was warm and cozy. It was like being in someone’s home for dinner. After lunch, we went to Carrieres Des Lumieres. Carrieres Des Lumieres is an abandoned limestone quarry that featured over 2,000 digital images projected on the surfaces. The photos were of Picasso’s work. It was amazing.
Of course, the day is not complete without heading back to a wonderful dinner on the ship and a photo or two with the characters.
As you can see, day 2 was full of adventure. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip report over the next couple of weeks.
Last summer we went on a trip of a lifetime. We spent ten days cruising the Mediterranean Sea. We sailed on the Disney Cruise Line and booked all our excursions through Adventures by Disney. It was an amazing trip. I wanted to share our experience, just in case one of you may be looking to book this adventure.
On July 4th we flew to Barcelona and stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar. It was a 5-7 min walk to the beach and across the street from a mall. We spent some time touring Barcelona on our own and seeing a lot of the local sites. Upon arrival, we went straight to the beach and stuck our toes into the Mediterranean.
The next day we did a city tour and visited Monserett, the home of the Black Madonna. Barcelona is a beautiful city. There was so much we did not see. I look forward to going back some day. Monserett was gorgeous. It was a must do for me and did not disappoint.
On Saturday the 7th, we checked in with the cruise line and was told to also check in with Adventures by Disney. We went over and met James and Dusty. They were our Adventure Guides. We liked them right off the bat. They handed us our gift (duffel bag), some information about the welcome reception and took our picture.
In addition, gave us a new boarding number.. number 1!
We got settled on the ship and went over to the reception at 5:30. There were appetizers and drinks served. We received our name tags, lanyards and our first pin of the trip. I loved receiving the pins. I am not a pin collector, but love the fact that these are unique to this trip. Dusty and James gave us an overview of the cruise and then our navigator for the next day. For those that don’t know, a navigator is basically your interinary for the day. You will receive one from the cruise line each day, but ABD also has one specific to ABD. It told us when and where to meet in the morning and what time we would be back. It also told us if a specific dress was required.
Oh I forgot to mention, this time around we were sailing on the Disney Magic. This is our 8th Disney cruise, but only our second time on the Magic. Our very first cruise was on the Magic and it holds a very special place in my heart. Since, this was not our first cruise, we took it easy that night. We had a great dinner and off to bed we went. With Adventures by Disney, the days are early and long. Tomorrow’s adventure… Marseilles, France.
