Day 9: Sicily and the Gambino Family Winery

 Greetings! Day 9 was all about Sicily and the Gambino Family Winery (yes, insert The Godfather jokes here). 

I really have to hand it to Silver Sea Cruise lines for their customer service. At 5pm yesterday the captain came on the speaker system and announced that due to bad weather we would have to change cruise ports to one 20minutes north. He further said all of the excursions would remain the same, just extended by 45 minutes total to account for the longer driving distance. I was amazed they had already done all the work to get the tour buses rearranged that quickly, and to switch tour guides to local ones. What really impressed me though, was the nightly newsletter. Every evening we get a newsletter with a description of where we’re docking and what to expect. Lots of pictures and information. By the time the newsletter got to our rooms, they had already changed to the new port, and added a tour stop there as well. Really good, seamless planning. 

One thing I’m discovering this round of cruising is I either didn’t read the excursion description carefully enough, or the cruise line is throwing in some extras. Today’s made me laugh. The excursion departed at 9am, and by 10am we were stopping. In a bar. For gelato. Yeah….I don’t completely understand it either, but I was going with it. After the bar, we went across the plaza to a beautiful church. So if you’re keeping track so far, the day has gone - bar, church. Then, the winery. So it was - bar, church, wine. All before 11am. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that one. 

I went on the excursion with my neighbor, and we both agreed we wouldn’t order any wines. That lasted until we tried the first one. Really, really good wine. I walked away with a few bottles (they offered free shipping) as well as a t-shirt. You didn’t think I was going to miss the opportunity for a t-shirt, did you? It’s a good conversation piece, if nothing else. 

The thing we didn’t consider today was the weather. When I’m in Charlotte, rainy weather usually means humidity and sweaty weather. Here, it was cold and foggy. And we were on the side of an active volcano / mountain (Mt Etna). You’ll see the picture I took from my seat on the bus, looking forward. After a few moments I just stopped looking and decided to trust the driver. 

……and now, the pictures! 

Cannoli gelato, 10am. In a bar. Okey dokey….

The church across the street / plaza from the bar. Beautiful

You may have to enlarge to see clearly, but this was a sundial clock from the 14th century. One of the oldest pieces left of the original church. 

I couldn’t tell if the guide was saying “coffered” or “copper” ceiling. Either way, typical of the architecture of the region and beautiful to look at. 

Heaters were tucked in the corners. I’m guessing preservation didn’t allow for ripping out walls to install central heating. 

Zoom in to look at the embroidery on this. The work it must have taken…..

I liked this description - G-d is neither a man or woman, but ethereal. If you look closely the face is that of a man, while the body is that of a woman. 

Short story: The tour guide took us behind the altar in order to show us the ancient paint on the columns. All of us froze when she opened the gate and started walking….are we really allowed to step foot there? She had to turn around and assure us it was ok before we were going to walk there! 

Name of the church / museum 

We were handed wine as soon as we walked into the winery. Gelato, church and wine - all before 11am…..

The snacks and wine tasting. 

The view from the front window of the bus. Can’t see anything? Yup, neither could we. That’s about the point I stopped looking….. 

Dinner tonight - Singaporean glass noodles, with added chicken. Really good! 

OOTD: Goodwill sweater, Old Navy pants. And sneakers! I’m too old to wear fancy shoes if I’m doing any sort of walking. 

Dressed for dinner - Goodwill velvet dress by Liz Claiborne. 

Day 7 and 8: At Sea and Valletta

 Hello again! Combining these two days since most of the action took place in Valletta. Day 7 was a sea day…..enjoyed the chance to sleep and relax. There were some really rough seas the night before, so a lot of us didn’t sleep well. According to the room attendant gossip chain (yes, there is a gossip chain among the room attendants) a lot of people were suffering from nausea and seasickness. It was a good day to chill out and get some stuff done, not have to worry about being on time for an excursion. 

The big event of the day was dinner at La Dame. This is the flagship restaurant on Silver Sea….it’s French dining and there’s usually an upcharge. Since my friends were upgraded to higher end rooms, they got complimentary access to the restaurant and I got to tag along. It was a fun chance to dress up and have some really good food - pictures below. Something I don’t get to do everyday, and definitely something I don’t cook at home! 

The next day was a tour of Valletta, part of the country of Malta. I enjoyed Valetta a lot more than I enjoyed Rome - smaller, fewer crowds, and more of a relaxed sense than the madness of rushing from tourist attraction to attraction. My group took a short tour of the history of Valetta, then I got the chance to wander around and see what was there. I also got to partake in one of my favorite activities. I walked until I was tired, then sat down at an outdoor cafe to have a drink and people watch. After I finished my drink, I got up and walked some more. The fancy term for it is flaneur…..walk with no real sense of purpose, just to get some outdoor time and people watch. I enjoyed myself. 

…..and now, the pictures! 

Outfit for dinner - Eshakti from Lift Up Carolinas thrift store

All these glasses are for me? 

Appetizer - lobster with mango salsa and fancy cut veggies 

They served sorbet as a palate cleanser….. 

The main dish - Dover sole with veggies. The waiter took the bones out of the fish right at the table

Chocolate mousse for dessert 

Petit fours after dinner…..fancy, fancy! 

The main government building - nicknamed the Cheese Grater. 

Loved this. The opera house was bombed during WWII. Instead of tearing it down, they turned it into an open-air amphitheater and it’s apparently very popular. 

The Malta Stock Exchange. I don’t know the European system so didn’t go it, but was still cool to see the outside. 

Like other cities, the yachts are HUGE. 

Me, Lou and Nora 

The sign tickled me - so did the fact it was in English and not Italian. 

The art is everywhere……

The church of St Paul. I’m always amazed at the effort that’s put into designing religious buildings. Absolutely beautiful. 

Marble floors - each the resting place of a priest or religious figure. 

Mosaic. Imagine the work that went into this….. 

St Paul 

Y’all…..be nice when you come to other countries. 

Didn’t try the food, but the combination tickled me. 

I almost stopped for an iced coffee…..almost. Figured it would be a sin to do this in Italy, though. 

The shop was in downtown Valetta, the restaurant itself was down by the cruise ship dock. This should tell you all you need to know about the audience….. 

Found a beautiful clothing store, and had a little fun…..  :) 

View from the ship. 

Loved this. If you zoom in on the picture, you’ll see the cranes are painted like giraffes. Makes total sense…… 

Day 6: Rome

Hang on y’all, because I am about to write something controversial and argumentative. I was not that impressed with Rome. However, there are a number of things that impacted my thoughts, and I look forward to hearing what you think as well. 

The main reason I felt this way is there simply wasn’t enough time. We docked in Civitavecchia at 8am, and by the time we could get to the train station (fastest mode of transport) and get into Rome, it was approaching 11am. The all-aboard call was at 6:30pm so we had to be back to the train station at 4pm to catch our train back to the port and the ship. That gave us only about 5 hours to explore a city that should be given days. 

The second reason Rome didn’t make my list was totally beyond its control. We were there on a Sunday, which meant a lot of things were blocked off or closed (the streets around the Vatican, for example). There was also a marathon happening that day, which caused even more street closures. We had booked a hop-on, hop-off bus to see the city, and because of the closures it was more of a large circle than a city tour. Not their fault at all, but still a disadvantage. 

Finally, the crowds! It seemed like there were more tourists than locals. Jam packed with people wandering around with their heads on swivel. Keep in mind, I was absolutely one of those people, but it gave strong “tourist” vibes rather than “authentic Italian experience” vibes. Especially since we were on such a limited time frame that the only spots we were hitting were the tourist spots. On a related note - if you’re on a crowded sidewalk, please, please don’t stop suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk, or allow your small child to dribble a soccer ball. Irritating. 

But…..one of the people I’m traveling with had a good point. This cruise is to give you a flavor of many different cities, he said. You’re not getting a full meal of any of them. In order to get the full experience, you’ll have to do a different style trip and spend multiple days in one city. What he said made sense. So, the short version of the story is we saw the Spanish Steps, had a good meal (really good!) and then saw the Trevi Fountain. That was all there was time for. I don’t think I got the full meal of Rome, so I probably will go back one day. In shoulder season. With a good tour. 

And now, pictures! 

OOTD: Banana Republic Factory (clearance) top, Goodwill skirt. There were no tags inside the skirt, so I think it’s handmade. I was lucky enough to find the matching top at a neighboring Goodwill a week later. 

The Spanish Steps. We walked down the steps, into crowds and a neighborhood of high-end luxury stores. My tote bag is a Longchamp dupe (gift from the cruise line), so I did feel a bit funky wandering into the actual Longchamp store. 

The Spanish Steps. I need more info on these to understand the popularity. 

I love my thrift stores, but I also love my Hermes. Was sad to discover the store closed and the heavy wooden doors locked when we visited. Sunday blues…… 

Lunch was fabulous. We found a side street between the steps and the Trevi, and took our chances. Restaurants near tourist attractions often have higher prices and lesser quality food. This one was delicious, and we were treated to a limoncello shot as a digestive (didn’t see any other tables offered this). 

No historical significance, just made me laugh. 

Before I paid the entrance fee for the Trevi Fountain. At some point, you just have to laugh at yourself and all the picture taking. 

The line to get to the inner area of the Trevi Fountain was less than 5 minutes, so I took advantage of the opportunity. A sweet person standing with her friends saw me doing selfies and offered to take my picture. She was a good photographer! Good reminder that people are kind. 

Pretty landscape shots. 

My favorite souvenir so far - I was gifted a duck! While waiting by the display board my knees just couldn’t handle it anymore, so I sat down on the floor beside some teenagers (it was a very clean floor). After a few minutes one of them tapped me on the shoulder and handed me this little guy. Not sure the significance (when I Googled all I found was the Jeep duck thing), but I’m taking it as a kindness. I also think they figured if this crazy older lady could get all the way down to the floor and sit next to them, she deserved a duck! Ten minutes later they also saved our bacon by getting us to the right train, so double blessing. :)