Florence, Nice & Toulon

Florence, Italy

Not having time to deal with trains in this port we took the ship’s bus to town—about an hour and a half, and then we had the day to explore on our own. Having been to Florence before, we sought out our old haunts. The market--where we touched the boar’s nose for good luck. The plaza, where there was some sort of military gathering going on and lots of official looking guys in a variety of very snazzy uniforms. We sashayed through the produce market and negotiated a few purchases from the myriad of vendors selling everything from leather to silk to jewelry. Lunch was delicious bruschetta and pasta with truffle oil at a trattoria just off the Ponte De Vecchio. A quick stroll past the Duomo and half a dozen lesser churches—waved hello to the replica of David, and back on the bus. All in all a very successful day.

Villefranche, France

We tendered into the beautiful little fishing port of Villefranche and took the bus into Nice, three miles away.  As the sun was warm and bright we walked down to the Promenade de Anglais rather than taking their snazzy new ultra-modern tram system. As one would do on a promenade, we promenaded with the best of them, and then wandered through the pedestrian shopping mall and into the flower market, where we stopped for lunch.

As it was the last time we were in Nice in 2004, there was a Presidential visit going on, which caused all of the security forces to be on the scene. This time it was the President of China and there were police vans and roadblocks and motorcycle police galore. Most of whom were guzzling beer at the next table to us in the market—we felt so secure!

 At least we got back to Villefranche on the bus before they blocked all of the roads—some of the tour buses got caught in the middle of it all and had to drive into town and turn around and go back to the ship.

Toulon, France

This town is the base of the French Navy and we were going to go to the Naval Museum, but it was closed because today was a strike day in France. In fact, while the ship all-aboard wasn’t until 4:00 we had to take the bus back to the ship no later than 1:30 because the bus drivers were going to join the protests in the afternoon and wouldn’t work any later. I guess we should be grateful for small mercies—that they drove that day at all.

Toulon was a more middle-class community than any that we’ve visited (apart from Naples) and we were there on a Saturday, so the large street market was very busy. The town also had a large Muslim community, so there were lots of ladies in headscarves and we noticed a lot of cafes with groups of men smoking and drinking their espressos.

As this was our last port of call in France, we made sure to have a farewell crepe—and a Magnum ice cream because you never know…

On board after Toulon came the highlight of the trip for me. Royal Caribbean supports the Make a Wish Foundation and earlier in the cruise I had won at auction the right to blow the ship’s horn as we left Toulon. So, just as we were leaving the harbor Fritz and I were escorted to the Bridge. We got to stand just behind the control panels as the Captain and the Pilot maneuvered the ship out of the harbor. Then, after we’d cleared some boats that he didn’t want to startle, I got to sound three long blasts on the horn---and three shorts (as we were turning to Starboard). Then I got to do whatever I wanted so it was da, da, da, daaaaa. Plus, as the Captain was in a generous mood, Fritz got to do three blasts too. How much fun was that!!!