Atrani to Launceston
Wednesday 24th October to Friday 26th October, 2018
Leaving Atrani we caught the bus in neighbouring Amalfi which took us to Salerno. From here a train to Rome via Naples. Then the Leonardo Express to the airport for the lengthy hop to get home. FCO > DVB > MEL >LST
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Atrani
Sunday 21st October to Wednesday 24th October, 2018
Our final stop is the small village of Atrani on the Amalfi Coast. Not the best weather here however we did explore the towns of Amalfi and the hillside village of Ravello.
Atrani
Atrani
Atrani
Amalfi
Amalfi
Amalfi
Amalfi - On the bus to Ravello
On the Bus to Ravello
Amalfi Coast view of Minori and Majori from Ravello.
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Infinity Terrace, Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
View from Infinity Terrace, Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Infinity Terrace, Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Villa Cimbrone - Ravello
Walking back to Atrani - lots of steps
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Sorrento
Thursday 18th October to Saturday 20th October, 2018
Today would be our last morning on Koningsdam. We disembarked in Civitaveccia and would send the day travelling to Sorrento. Michael, Arbay, Tony and myself boarded a train to Rome where we’d say goodbye to Arbai who had to return early to work back in Taipei. Our train to Naples was delayed then cancelled so we had to transfer to another train.From Naples we caught the Cirmumvesuviana that would take us around the Bay of Naples to Sorrento. We’d spend three nights here in an AirBnB.
Sorrento is known for it’s lemon groves and just about every store sells Limoncello. Highlights here were a day trip to Pompeii and a sightseeing bus tour around the Sorrentine Peninsula and over the Lattari Mountains.
Rome Termini: Fast train to Naples
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Livorno, Italy
Wednesday 17th October, 2018
This is last port of call on our 20 day cruise. The purpose of Koningsdam stopping in Livorno were for passengers wishing to take day trips to either Florence or Pisa. We hadn’t taken any of the cruise line offered shore excursions. Travelling on a limited budget we always did our own shore explorations and today would be no exception. If I was scoring points on all the ports of this cruise, this one would score the lowest.
Although there were brochures for a Hop On city bus tour, today it didn’t seem to be operating so we didnt get to see the best of what Livorno had to offer. We did have a nice lunch in a cafe though. Back on the ship, I had an enjoyable afternoon watching the tugs and other vessels passing by in the harbour.
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Marseille, France
Monday 15th October 2018
After a rough night at sea, Koningsdam berth edin the port of Marseille around 8am. The day is overcast so the opportunity for spectacular photos is rather slim. The photos here tested my Lightroom processing skills! It’s a 1 kilometre walk to the shuttle bus that takes us around the back of the port area and dropped off closer to central Marseille. It starts to rain as we wonder the main marina, so we find a cafe to shelter and have breakfast and coffee. The rain eased so we made the decision to head back to the shuttle drop off point going via the old town.
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Barcelona, Spain
Sunday 14th October 2018
A day at sea before arriving in Barcelona. We caught the Hop On Hop Off Bus tour through Sants - Montjuïc area and downtown Barcelona. No visit here is complete withoput seeing La Sagrada Familia.
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Cadiz, Spain
Friday 12th October 2018
We spent around three hours ashore exploring mainly the coastal walkway of Paseo Santa Barbara. Some lovely gardens here. The old town with its narrow streets and striking plazas.
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Ceuta, Spanish Morroco
Thursday 11th October, 2018
Koningsdam arrived at Ceuta around 1pm. This would be our first time setting foot on the African continent, if only for a short time. We went ashore for a quick look around the town. The beautiful city walls and navigable moats were very impressive as to the more modern architecture like the House of the Dragons.
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Cartagena, Spain
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Koningsdam arrived in the port of Cartagena around 9am. I’d never heard it it so I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and tidy the town was. Located in the south-east region of Spain, it has a naval base and several unique ruins including an impressive Roman theatre.
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Onboard Koningsdam
Tuesday, 9 October 2018
Cruisy day at sea. Enjoyed a free lunch courtesy of HAL as we traversed to Mediterranean Sea from Italy to Spain. Late in the day we witnessed a storm as we passed Mallorca.
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Roma, Italy
Monday 8th October 2018
Koningsdam arrived back in the cruise port of Civitavecchia. We caught a train into Rome for the day. This was our second time visiting Rome. Last here in May 2000. It was good to see some of those famous sights again.
Victor Emmanuel II National Monument
Trajan's Column
Not sure where we are. A surprise find on our way to Trevi Fountain.
Trevi Fountain, were ALL the tourism hang out!
Click!
Spanish Steps
Piazza del Popolo. One of my favourite places in Rome.
The Vatican
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Naples, Italy
Sunday October 7 2018
A day in Naples.
Basilica Reale Pontificia San Francesco da Paola - Piazza del Plebiscito.
Galleria Umberto I - a beautiful atrium in Naples.
The port of Naples with views of Mt Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples.
Koningsdam departs Naples just after sunset.
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A Day at Sea
Saturday 6th October 2018
Our second day at sea as Koningsdam leaves the Greek Islands passes back through the Strait of Messina for Naples in Italy. Storm clouds cleared to reveal a beautiful evening.
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Thira (Santorini), Greece
Friday 5th October 2018
Koningsdam arrived at Santorini and used shore based tenders to ferry passengers ashore. We decided to walk up the donkey track, avoiding the donkeys on the way. Breaking out in a sea of sweat we reached the top at Fira and quickly looked for somewhere to sit down and have a refreshment.
We decided to catch the bus to the village of Oia. Tony and I had stayed here back in 2007 and wanted to see the area again. So did thousands of others it seemed. Oia was very crowded but it copes with the tourist trade extremely well.
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Athens, Greece
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Koningsdam docked in Piraeus. We boarded the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus that would take us to the Acropolis. Huge crowds, long queues and high temperature - actually it was a reported 25 degrees but felt a lot hotter! As we’d been here before we took a few photos from the adjacent “slippery rock” then made our way down into Plaka for lunch.
Afterward we continued the hop on - hop off bus tour around Athens. Hot, noisey, traffic jams etc. Took forever just to cruise a few city blocks. Got off at the Olympic stadium as we’d had enough of the traffic and walked back to the Acropolis bus exchange for the ride back to Pireaus.
Koningsdam berthed at Piraeus .
Aboard the hop-on-hop-off Piraeus line tansfer bus, from the port to the Acropolis interchange. You can then take the Athens line for a tour of the city.
It's a short walk from the Acropolis down to Plaka.
The Plaka markets.
Our lunch spot in Plaka.
The Presidential Guard (Evzones) outside the Parliament building.
Is this the seat of power?
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