After spending a few days in Rome, we now made our way to the coast for a cruise of the Mediterranean and some southern European cities.
Norwegian Epic
From our hotel in Rome we made our way by train to the port city of Civitavecchia where we would eventually board our cruise ship the Norwegian Epic for a 7 day Mediterranean cruise. From the train station we walked to the port. We were pleasantly surprised by how pretty this little coastal town was and enjoyed the short walk.
After arriving at the port, it took a fair bit of time to get through the port security and customs? After which we checked our bags and bused out to the ship. At the time I believe the Norwegian Epic was one of the largest ships in the fleet and getting up close to it you could really see and feel it. As we waited for everyone to get onboard, we explored the ship, enjoyed the food and settled in. We set sail for our next port of call, Florence.
Florence
The next morning we had arrived in Livorno. This was our disembarkation point and we had two options for the day: train to Florence or Pisa. Our family decided to train to Florence.
Santa Maria Cathedral
Our first stop after arriving in Florence was to make our way to the Santa Maria Cathedral.
This is an iconic cathedral in the middle of Florence with a large dome at the top which affords an amazing view of Florence. It’s a bit of a steep climb to get to the top, but once you get up there it is certainly worth it!
It was up here that I got to snap a candid moment of my parents enjoying the view. I am so very blessed to have them as my mom and dad, they are amazing people, and after all these years are still very much in Love!
Campenelli di Giotto
Right beside the Cathedral is Campenelli di Giotto or Giotto’s Bell Tower. It stands alone beside the Cathedral is something to marvel at in its own right!
Piazza della Signoria
With the Cathedral behind us we walked through the streets of Florence, eventually arriving at the Piazza della Signoria. It is a large square with many unique sculptures all over the place! We also took this opportunity to pick up some Gelato.
Ponte Vechio
Our final stop for the day was to visit the Ponte Vecchio. It is one of the oldest bridges in Florence, and is quite unique as there are shops on both sides of the bridge. We spent some time browsing the different shops and looking out over the water.
Sadly, it was time to leave Florence and catch our train back to the ship (lest we get left behind). I will say that this is one of the reasons I’m not a fan of cruising. You are too constrained to a timetable that you don’t have enough time to adequately explore the different destinations. Florence remains on my list of places to re-visit and explore “properly” in the future.
Our next stop on our Mediterranean cruise would be Cannes, France.
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