Our Magical "It's All Part of the Adventure" London + 10-Night Med Cruise - July 2018 - Completed!

Day 12 (Continued)

We made it to the Plazza della Signoria. This is where the Uffizi museum is located. They also have many statues on display here. There were a lot of people and it was really hard to hear Lucia while she kept telling about the statues.

The Plaza Vecchio

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The Loggia dei Lanzi


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The Fountain of Neptune was being renovated.

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Michelangelo’s David (the original is in the Accademia Gallery).

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Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli


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And the other statues:

Perseo holding Medusa’s head by Cellini.

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The Medici Lions.

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The Kidnapping of the Sabine.

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We kept getting pushed further into the statuary because cleaning trucks were moving their way through the plaza. Now at this point, while Lucia keeps telling us to move, she keeps saying
“It’s all part of the adventure.”

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Eventually we made our way through the courtyard to the entrance to the Uffizi. The line to get in was wrapped half way around the building.

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We saw more sculptures of famous Italian artists and scientists. By the way, I guess statues of DaVinci and Michelangelo never look at each other.


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We came out the other end and made our way to the Ponte Vecchio.

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We went to the market and saw Il Porcillino. Again, this is just one of many copies. The original is in a museum. I couldn’t get a good picture because of all of the people and gypsies (pick pockets) working the square. We witnessed one go right up to the statue and steal coins out of the fountain.

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To be continued. . .
 
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Day 12 (Continued)

We then made our way up the main shopping street (Lucia pointed out all of the top designers) towards the Duomo.


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Some of the beautiful shop windows.


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It is within sight.

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We arrived at the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, otherwise known as The Duomo. Again, the plaza was packed and while Lucia is trying to explain about the Duomo and the Baptistery of St. John, she keeps telling us to get out of the way for cleaning trucks and horse carriages. Are there no streets? But, “It’s all part of the adventure.” Are you seeing a trend here?


The details on the cathedral are incredible.

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When she starts telling us about the Bronze Doors, The Gates of Paradise, on the Baptistery, I turned around to find that the doors were ¾ covered with a tarp. But don’t fret; the real ones are in the Uffizi! Say it with me now, “Its all part of the adventure.”

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You can see just how crowded the plaza was.


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The famous dome.

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Now, I assume the tour is over, but Lucia never tells us we are free to go until our meeting time. Instead, we all follow her back to Santa Croce.

We passed by the Disney Store.

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To be continued. . .
 
Day 12 (Continued)

Back at Santa Croce, Lucia arranges for us to eat at 2 of the restaurants there. Not really what we had planned, but we had to eat and had already followed her back. The food was good, but not nearly as good as previous days. After lunch, we went to the gelato place that Lucia recommended because they made their gelato on site with milk instead of powder. It was delicious!


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After Gelato we had about an hour before we had to meet in front of the leather store. We headed back towards Ponto Vecchio.

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We walked over the bridge. Stores were literally dripping with gold jewelry.

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The bridge did offer some incredible views.

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We stopped at one of the many leather store stalls at the market, but all of the leather items looked the same. DH was interested in a nice leather glasses case, but it was 20 Euro and the guy wouldn’t negotiate, so he put it back. I was disappointed as I would have liked to get a leather purse, but we just didn’t see any good deals or feel comfortable in the stalls. We made our way back to the Disney Store, which had its own Italian touches. This would make DD's 5th European Disney Store.


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We decided to head back to our meeting place and ran into Devison, a DCL photographer from the ship. He took some pictures of us in front of one building where a garbage truck kept getting in his shot. We laughed about it. “It’s all part of the adventure.” We all walked back to Santa Croce together where he took some more pictures of us in front of the basilica. Honestly, that was the best part of the day!

We were early so we bought some small water color prints from some of the artists in the square and DD bought some leather bookmarks from the leather store. Disney Cruise passengers got 20% off. We also discovered that Pinocchio was really big in Italy and there references to it everywhere. I have to admit, I purchased a Pinocchio ornament.

We then walked back to the bus for our trip to Pisa.


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To be continued. . .
 
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Day 12 (Continued)

When we arrived at Pisa, we had to park in a bus lot and walk through a small residential area to get to the actual tower and baptistery.


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Lucia showed us our meeting place. Instead of giving us a tour of Pisa, she went and had a break with all of the other Trumpy tour guides. We then walked through the juggernaut of tents of vendors selling souvenirs; knock off purses, fans and bottles of water.

We finally made it to the Piazza dei Miracoli, The Plaza of Miracles, where the tower is.


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We were warned by armed guards to wear our backpacks on our front, but nothing is done to actually stop the pick pockets. I kept thinking of the Life Lock commercial where the guy says, “I’m just a monitor.” :rolleyes1 The latest scam is teenage girls coming up to you. Fortunately, we did not encounter any.


We took the obligatory picture of us holding up the tower and walked around a bit. We did not buy tickets into the cathedral.

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We went back to wait for the rest of the group and ran into another family with a Type 1 diabetic DD. We had a nice visit before heading back to the buses and back to the ship.


On the way back to the ship, we passed this old church.

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Camp Darby, the largest US Military base in Europe.

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We made it back to port at about 6:00 PM.


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To be continued. . .
 


Day 12 (Continued)

By the time we made it back on the ship and through security, we headed straight to dinner.


Dinner was in Animator’s Palate tonight.

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I had the soup and I don’t remember, but it was good.


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For dessert . . .

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DD had the crème bulee.

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I had the baked cheesecake, but I didn’t really care for it.

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Dinner was a blur. The others had a great day visiting an alabaster factory.


After dinner, we went back to our room and found this.

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We cooled off a bit. DD took off to go see Avengers: Infinity War in 3D. DH and I headed to Keys for a relatively quiet place to sit and get a drink. I ordered the drink of the day, Sunken Treasure.

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It didn’t look anything like the picture, but it was just what I needed.

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In case you didn’t know, Keys is where those needing handicap access to the Walt Disney Theater go through. Our neighbors went to see Tangled at 7:30 PM. While we were having our drink, they came through Keys after the show. I went with them Fathoms to see String Fever.


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They were a British group made up of 3 brothers and a cousin. They played electric violins and a cello. They were phenomenal, and I really enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I only saw them the one time.

Croatia was playing England in the World Cup and they were showing it up on the Funnel Vision. After String Fever, we went up to the Quiet Cove to join DJ, DT and DR. We caught this incredible sunset.

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While we were sitting there we would hear outbursts of cheers. Croatia won the game.

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While we were sitting at the Quiet Cove Café, Tisa, one of the cruise staff, dressed up as a Viking, snuck up behind my chair and about scared the *$&# out of me! I jumped out of my chair 3 feet. Everybody had a great laugh, including Tisa. At about 11:00 PM, we called it a night and went back to our stateroom. We were really looking forward to tomorrow!


I don’t know if it was being exhausted after 11 days of constant touring or the Trumpy Tour, but I have to admit (as if you couldn’t tell by my report) that Livorno was not my favorite day of the trip; which was a shame, because I was really looking forward to Florence. While we had seen some incredible art, the tour felt rushed and I had a hard time listening to Lucia on the receiver. However, if I learned anything, it is that while on vacation you have to take the good with the bad and remember “It’s all part of the adventure.” It’s just too bad, I didn’t realize that until I got home!

I actually hope to go back someday (most likely not in July) and tour the museums and galleries where all of the original works of art are located and admire the view from the hill outside town overlooking the Duomo.

Next: The most anticipated Sea Day ever!
 
Thanks for sharing your Florence day with us. Even though it wasn't quite what you hoped, it does seem like you got a great overview of both Florence and Pisa. I especially loved all your statue pictures!! Gorgeous!

Out of all our itinerary stops next year, I'm struggling the most with Livorno. I almost wish Disney spent two days in that port; there are literally about 8 different excursions/tours I would love to do for this stop. I'm probably going to set up a private tour for Florence only, and try to get a quick look at both the Uffizi and the Accademia - but I know that we won't have much time for anything else. There are just too many wonderful things to see, both in Florence and in the surrounding areas!

ps . . . you daughter must be off to school now. Is she going here in AZ?
 
Thanks for sharing your Florence day with us. Even though it wasn't quite what you hoped, it does seem like you got a great overview of both Florence and Pisa. I especially loved all your statue pictures!! Gorgeous!

Out of all our itinerary stops next year, I'm struggling the most with Livorno. I almost wish Disney spent two days in that port; there are literally about 8 different excursions/tours I would love to do for this stop. I'm probably going to set up a private tour for Florence only, and try to get a quick look at both the Uffizi and the Accademia - but I know that we won't have much time for anything else. There are just too many wonderful things to see, both in Florence and in the surrounding areas!

ps . . . you daughter must be off to school now. Is she going here in AZ?

We had the same problem, there are so many things to do. DD really wanted to see Pisa, otherwise we would have done something else in Florence. We knew going in that we would just get an overview and not be able to see everything. Rome was a perfect example (trip report coming up soon). You'll be docking in Civitavecchia so you'll be able to spend more time in Rome. Hopefully I can talk DH into going back some time. At least now I'll know what to focus on, like the museum and galleries.

Actually, we take her up to NAU this week. She starts on the 27th. They are the last of the big universities in AZ to start. :confused3
 


I love your attention to the details! Great report so far!

May I ask where you got your door decoration from, specifically the graduation cap?
 
We had the same problem, there are so many things to do. DD really wanted to see Pisa, otherwise we would have done something else in Florence. We knew going in that we would just get an overview and not be able to see everything. Rome was a perfect example (trip report coming up soon). You'll be docking in Civitavecchia so you'll be able to spend more time in Rome. Hopefully I can talk DH into going back some time. At least now I'll know what to focus on, like the museum and galleries.

Actually, we take her up to NAU this week. She starts on the 27th. They are the last of the big universities in AZ to start. :confused3

Good luck getting dd settled into NAU! It will be nice to escape the heat for a few days. I hope the week goes smoothly for all of you!

Yes, I really did *love* that our cruise will start in Rome, so that we can spend a few days there ahead of time. It was one of the main reasons we selected this particular itinerary.
 
I actually hope to go back someday (most likely not in July) and tour the museums and galleries where all of the original works of art are located and admire the view from the hill outside town overlooking the Duomo.

This is actually why we didn't go to Florence when we were docked in Livorno. We've been in Florence at Christmastime and it was magical...I was afraid the crowds,heat,etc would ruin it for me! I keep telling DH we're returning to Italy in December or not at all.

Hope all goes well settling DD into school!
 
I'm really enjoying your trip report. It's so disappointing about your day in Florence, but all in all sounds like some great tours and sightseeing.
 
Still really enjoying reading your trip report. The art and architecture is beautiful, but wowza, the crowds. I'm scarred just by looking at those! Lol. Interestingly I just read a negative review of Trumpy Tours on another forum, I think it was an MSC cruiser who said MSC's excursion used Trumpy Tours and they felt it was truly awful. Not in Livorno, though.

Love the door decor! And Portofino, how beautiful.
 
Still really enjoying reading your trip report. The art and architecture is beautiful, but wowza, the crowds. I'm scarred just by looking at those! Lol. Interestingly I just read a negative review of Trumpy Tours on another forum, I think it was an MSC cruiser who said MSC's excursion used Trumpy Tours and they felt it was truly awful. Not in Livorno, though.

Love the door decor! And Portofino, how beautiful.
The crowds reminded me of New Orleans Square in Disneyland during Christmas! :scared1:

Interesting about Trumpy. Maybe I should have said something to Disney, but they are probably the only game in town to handle large tours.
 
Day 13 – Sea Day

Thursday, July 12, 2018

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Finally, after 5 days on the ship, we have a sea day. Even the crew was looking forward to today. I couldn’t believe we were already half way through our cruise!

Needless to say, I was not up at 6:00 AM to take pictures from our verandah this morning.


DD and I had tickets for the Princess Gathering with our neighbors at 9:00 AM. DD went, but I blew it off. DH and I went to breakfast at Lumiere’s instead.

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I had the French Toast and Pineapple. It was very good.

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Before meeting the princesses, DD walked around the ship and took some pictures.


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After breakfast, we caught up with DD. DH and DD went to play ping pong on deck 10. I headed to the laundry rooms. I was able to snag a washing machine on Deck 6. By the time the morning was over I had either washing machines or dryers running on both Deck 7 and Deck 6.

At 11:15, DH and I met up with DNJ, DJ, DT and DR at O’Gills for Movie Quote Trivia. We had to break up into 2 teams. Neither of our teams won. Right before the answers were given, my app went off and I had to go remove clothes from the dryer. We then met up for lunch at Cabanas.

At 11:30, DD went to watch Jack Jack’s Diaper Dash. Always entertaining. Even Goofy and Max wanted to cheer on the little crawlers.


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At 1:15 PM they were having a Broadway Guest Artist presentation. I had initially thought it would be Susan Egan, but it wasn’t. It was an actress named Elizabeth De Rosa. She is best known for playing the understudy of the original Mary Poppins on Broadway. She did get to play Mary on several occasions. She was brought on-board to play Lady Tremaine in Twice Charmed and Mother Gothel in Tangled. She was wonderful in both parts.

She talked about how she got started in musical theater and then sang a medley of songs from Mary Poppins. The floor was then opened up for questions. After a few, I raised my hand and asked if she had met Susan yet, she replied she had not, but was hoping to very much. I then asked if she would like to voice a Disney character in a movie and of course she said “Yes” most emphatically. After her answer, a voice from the back came through the speaker. It was Lesley, our cruise director. She said she was in the back with a very special guest. You’ll never guess who it was, well maybe you will. It was no other than Susan Egan herself. Elizabeth had a fan-girl moment on the stage. It was so cute. Susan asked if she would rather voice a hero or a villain. Elizabeth, with a smile on her face, stated that she actually liked playing the villains. Another audience member asked if she and Susan would sing a duet. Susan replied that she was thinking of asking Elizabeth to sing with her during her Adult show in a couple of days. You know where I was going to be.

Anyway, it was a delightful hour. Afterwards we were able to go up and meet Elizabeth. Being the rebels we were, we made a beeline for Susan. She was the warmest most down to earth person and gladly posed for a picture with us. I stated that DD wasn’t quite 18 and really wanted to see her adult show. Susan said not to worry and go ahead and bring her.


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We then went to meet Elizabeth. We got a picture and an autograph.


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Afterwards, DD and I went to the Promenade Lounge to make 3D Pascals.

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As soon as that was finished, we stayed for Disney Tune Trivia.

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DNC and DNM joined us. It was brand new tune trivia than we’ve had before. I was impressed with DD’s knowledge on some of the more obscure tunes. They didn’t make it easy.

We ended up getting 28 out of 30 correct, but got beat by a team that had 29 correct.

To be continued. . .

 
Day 13 (Continued)

Dinner tonight was back at Rapunzel’s Royal Table. However, there was no show tonight as it was formal night.


We went down to the Captain’s Reception before dinner and got our free drink and a couple of family photos with the various Med inspired backdrops.

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I ordered the potato croquettes

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DD ordered the Handmade California Roll.

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For the salad, I ordered the Mesquite Chicken Strips. They were really dry and I didn’t really care for them.

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For the entrée, I ordered the Lemon Peppered Chicken Breast. It was much better.

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Next, dessert.


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I skipped dessert tonight.


James made a napkin hat for DD.

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We went back to our room after dinner to this.


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DD and I were really looking forward to tonight. We were finally going to see Tangled: The Musical.


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Oh my goodness, what a wonderful production. Elizabeth De Rosa as Mother Gothel was amazing! But the actor who played Flynn stole the show. He was perfectly cast!! DD loved him! I wish we could have seen it the night before, but we just couldn’t make the 7:30 show.

After the show, we went to bed. As much fun as the sea day was, we had an early call tomorrow for yet another port.

Next: What a colossal day!
 
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Great report! We loved Florence and definitely want to go back but agree the tour doesn't offer enough time to do much. Pisa, been there, done that, don't need to go back.
 
It's so fun reading your trip. I've been to both Florence and Pisa and it's fun seeing statues I took pictures with like 5 years ago. And the new tangled restaurant looks really nice, I can't wait to experience it.
 

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