Crown Princess Tranatlantic, Marseille and Pisa

Marseille France: the tour books generally recommend using Marseille as merely a jumping off point for travel to visit more interesting parts of the French Provence countryside. I considered visiting Avignon, an old town on the Rhone River that was home to the Popes during the 14th century. I also considered visiting Aix-en-Provence, originally a Roman town, now populated with several universities. I selected a Princess shore excursion that included both Aix and Lourmarin, a charming village with a large renaissance castle. This excursion was advertised as ‘on your own’ but the tour guide provided very informative walking tours of both locations.

Our excursion began with a bus trip through the Provence countryside. Upon reaching Aix, the bus parked near one of the major fountains, a good landmark to help us find our way back to the bus. Most of us followed the guide as she walked down the Cours Mirabeau, the main street that separates the old town from the new town. It is lined with rows of plane trees. Interesting houses and shops are on both sides. Aix is known for fountains and several are seen as we walk along the street.

Next our guide led us into the old town where it was market day. Stalls were set up with a variety of produce, art and other goods. Our guide then pointed the way back to the bus and suggested that we spend the next few hours roaming the streets of this charming town.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The bus trip to Lourmarin gave us great views of rolling hills, several large chateaux, and vineyards. The small village was difficult for the bus so it parked on the outskirts and we walked into town. We were greeted with sidewalk cafes and many boutique shops, most closed because of a French holiday. We thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the narrow residential streets admiring the brightly painted doors and hanging plants. We even found a cat sunning in a flower box. We spent so much time wandering the village that we barely had time to tour the castle grounds. This is a beautiful village well worth a visit.


Anecdote: we were told to return to the bus by 3 PM. Everyone was back on time, except for two people. At 3:15 the guide announced that she had received permission to leave but that she was going to wait five more minutes. With one minute less the errant and unapologetic couple strolled onto the bus. This is one downside of shore excursion tours. Has that couple been left they would have been in serious trouble as there is no public transit to that village and a cab back to the ship would have cost several hundred Euros.

Tip: an excursion into the countryside is definitely the way to go in Marseille. One couple of our dinner companions stayed in Marseille in search of bouillabaisse; they were disappointed with the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Livorno (Pisa) Italy: Livorno is a busy industrial port stop primarily used by cruise ships for access to Florence, a few hours away by bus or train. Since I planned to visit Florence as a day trip from Rome I selected another plan. I studied the train schedules and planned to take a taxi to the train station, then go by train to Lucca, a charming walled medieval town. The return train allows a stopover in Pisa where we could quickly tour the leaning tower.

Unfortunately we awoke to a steady downpour which increased significantly by the time of our scheduled departure. Since Lucca is primarily a walking town, it seemed silly to brave the rain for a visit. We decided to wait onboard and see if the weather improved. About 10 AM the downpour lightened. and I went out and chatted with the taxi coordinator. We were offered a private taxi for four people to go to Pisa and back with two hours wait time in Pisa for exploration, all for 120 Euros (about $150 US). Since we were traveling with another couple that wanted to see Pisa, this was a good plan (and somewhat cheaper than the Princess excursion by bus).

Our cabdriver drove carefully through a heavy downpour as he wound his way through the highly industrialized dock area. About 20 minutes later the rain gradually lightened as we entered the city of Pisa. Pisa receives some bad press in the tourbooks, declared to be a destination with few charms other than the “Field of Miracles”, a broad grass lawn that surrounds the major church (Duomo), its belltower (the Leaning Tower), and the Baptistery. The cab parked in a taxi zone about 2 blocks from the famous area.

The Duomo was our first Italian church and it is truly impressive. We took lots of pictures inside the church and, of course, of the leaning tower. We spent almost two hours wandering about this area and really enjoyed our time. This was a nice excursion but I’m sorry that we missed Lucca due to the weather.

Our dinner companions enjoyed their shore excursions. One couple used a Princess shore excursion to visit Cinque Terre, five villages along the coast north of Livorno. The other couple arranged a private tour of Tuscany that included wine tasting.

Tip: many passengers travel to Florence by shore excursion or independently. Two famous museums in Florence are the Academia and the Uffizi Gallery. Some shore excursions include one or both. If traveling independently, it is important to prebook tickets to either of these museums to avoid substantial wait times.
The pictures below depict the Duomo, the leaning tower, inside the Duomo, the Baptistery and a portion of the medieval wall.