We began in Barcelona, one of my favorite cities in the world. It was my fifth visit to this city, and I have to say I love it more than ever. Barcelona is where all the world comes to eat, drink and party. One of those rare cities where you can spend a day at the beach, swimming in the warm, clean waters of the Mediterranean, stroll up past some of the best shops in Europe, eat like a prince and party like a rock star all in the same day. It was the fourth of July, and we started off the Grand Tour with fireworks.

 

The next afternoon, we made our way to the port to board Royal Caribbean's massive Navigator of the Seas. When the taxi rounded the corner and it came into view, my mind could not comprehend that the huge, hulking structure was actually a boat. Picture the MGM Grand Hotel in Vegas floating in the Mediterranean. It holds 3200 passengers and another 1200 crew. It features a shopping mall, 10 restaurants, 3 pools, 6 Jacuzzis, a gym and spa, a miniature golf  course, an ice skating rink, dozens of bars, 2 concert halls and a disco. This floating pleasure palace is more than three times bigger than Titanic was! The ship is so huge, that when she set sail, no one on board noticed. She glided out of Barcelona Harbor and into the Med while thousands of men (and 37 women) danced on her decks in the afternoon sunshine.

 

The ship sails over night giving us time to enjoy the onboard entertainment. You can catch a Broadway style show, see a magician or comedian, or party the night away in the disco. The aging, but still magnificent Broadway legend Chita Rivera was part of the roster. Each morning the great ship arrives at a new port of call, giving us the day to explore the city.  The first port was Marseilles, in the south of France, and the second largest city after Paris. The French tend to look down their noses at Marseilles, and it may be because of that, that Freddie and I found it so alluring. We walked to the top of the hill to see the famous Our Lady the Guardian cathedral with its huge golden Madonna, and then strolled down cobbled streets to the Old Port where all manner of sea creatures are sold. The port is flanked by dozens of restaurants all serving up the catch of the day. Sweet.

 

The following day brought us to the port in Livorno in northern Italy, where a coach tour took us to Pisa, home of that famous Leaning Tower. There is fuck-all in Pisa other than said Tower and the ornate basilica next door. The half hour stop was more than enough time to see the throngs of idiot tourists taking pictures pretending to be holding up the tower. Luckily the coach continued on to Florence, where we had 6 hours to explore Italy's most famously beautiful city. Florence has been called home by many of mankind's most influential people: DaVinci, Machiavelli, Raphael, Galileo, Dante, Michelangelo and many more. It is considered to be the birthplace of The Renaissance, and indeed many of the periods most memorable works are here.

Michelangelo's Statue of David resides in the Piazza Delle Signoria which is a town square that is more like an open air museum. The Fountain of Neptune is the centerpiece of the square, and is one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen. The 450 year old fountain is at the end of a still functioning Roman aqueduct. The milky green Arno river slowly flows through town, and the ancient Ponte Vecchio bridge is the focal point of the city with its multitude of little shops and cafes crammed together across its short span. The Basilica de Santa Maria is the fourth largest church in the world, and its orange-red dome can be seen from any point in the city. This gorgeous cathedral was begun in 1296 and took 170 years to complete. After several hours of exploring the city's highlights, Freddie and I found a little trattoria on the river's edge with a full view of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. A plate of carpaccio and a bottle of prosecco never tasted so good.

 

Early the next morning we arrived in Naples. Like Marseilles, it is a port city of dubious reputation, but it is also the gateway to the Amalfi Coast and some of the most picturesque coastal towns in all of Europe. We boarded a small coach with a darling old lady tour guide named Annamaria for a full day of sightseeing. It was on this trip that we met Jeff and Erik, a couple of kindred spirits from San Mateo, California who immediately became our Best Friends for the rest of the journey. We lunched in the beautiful cliff top town of Sorrento, and then continued along the hairpin roadway of the Amalfi Coast to the exquisite town of Positano. This colorful hillside town is built up in steps from the black sand beach and it is so picturesque it begs to be photographed. The lush cinematography of 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' was filmed here.

 

From there our tour headed to the ancient city of Pompei at the foot of the fabled volcano, Mount Vesuvius. The town was wiped out by an almighty eruption in 79 AD, killing all its inhabitants and covering the city in a thick layer of volcanic ash and mud. Pompeii was preserved in incredible detail, as if a spell was cast and froze everything in time, until it was discovered again in 1750. Although most of the artifacts have been placed in museums, the stone buildings and roads are all pretty much intact, giving us a glimpse into life in Italy 2000 years ago. We spent a few hours learning about this city that has given man-kind a snap shot of its ancient past. Passing by another group of American tourists, we had to laugh when we overheard a woman ask "didn't this place have somthin' to do with Jesus?" Oh dear, some people just shouldn't travel.

 

When we arrived back in Naples, we boarded The Navigator for a day and a half voyage across The Mediterranean to deliver us to the rugged glamour of the Greek Islands.