Well, the port didn't change but the city did. We were supposed to go to Pisa and Florence, Italy but Florence was cancelled because of a bicycle event that closed down access to most of the town. We had a private tour scheduled but even Holland America changed around all their tours as well. Mom wanted to see the birthplace of her mother but instead, we went to Lucca followed by the Tower of Pisa in the afternoon. We were split up into 2 vans and ours ha...

We all met at 8am, our group of 8, at the pier and after spotting our driver for the day, got in our van and headed out to explore Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy. The port city of Olbia isn't much so we went to more popular places where the rich people go. We went to several small resort villages where the Arabs and rich Europeans spend their summers, sitting on their grand yachts and comparing each others boats to see whose is bigger or fancier...

Mom had her nail appointment this morning at 8 so she left early. I went up to the pool, grabbed a coffee and worked on the blog until she was finished. Then we got a light breakfast, went to sign up for a kitchen tour that never happened because we were in the wrong room and then went down to the computer room so I could download pictures for the blog. Mom got on the regular ship computer to check email and got so engrossed in Queenie stuff that she used up 75...

Our tour was to leave at 8 this morning and we didn't want to be late. Mom had spent what little time we had free visiting the WC which made us the last to board the bus at different stops along the way yesterday. That memory was still fresh in her mind this morning. I set the alarm for 6, we got up and were up at the breakfast just before 7. No one's here. The place is empty. I look at my watch. It's not even 6 yet so we return to the cabin. My ...

We were up early and off the boat by 8am. We met our driver but, for some reason, their van wasn't big enough for 16 so we had to wait while they exchanged it. Losing about 45 minutes, we headed out to visit Pompeii. Turns out it is located about a half hour away so we got there early enough and started our tour with a special Pompeii guide. Very interesting. The town has been under excavation for over 150 years and very well preserved because of the 20&#...