Sea Day--Much Needed

Art in the Stairwell
Celebrity Constellation
May 16, 2024

Today was a much needed sea day. We slept in late, took breakfast in the main dining room, and just lazed around the ship. 

It was nice not having to race off to an excursion or to be anywhere specific at a given time. Wow! I thought this was a vacation and not a race. I still think it is a survival episode. 

We are on the Celebrity Constellation and I have to admit, some of the art is hard to understand--like the lawn weeds. Yup, dandelions. There are exhibits on the midship stairs of lawn weeds. 

Rhino in the Woods
Portofino, Italy
May 15, 2024

The sea was relatively smooth and we enjoyed the hot tub during the morning to soothe the worn muscles. We need to be ready for another extensive excursion tomorrow in Naples, the Amalfi Coast and off to Pompeii. Pompeii is one of my must do stops on this trip to Italy! I have been intrigued by Pompeii since I was a child.

As for the sea day, we needed the rest. We have canceled our excursion in Dubrovnik so that we get a rest later in the cruise before the final few days. I think our schedule was just a bit too aggressive. Lesson learned. Tomorrow is another almost 10 hour excursion, but three-hours of it are transportation too and from. 

Ponte Vecchio
Florence, Italy
May 15, 2024

And about some of the strange things we have seen, the Rhino hanging in the woods in Portofino is at the top of the list right now. It was just, out of place. But hey, art is very personal.

One of the highlights of the trip that I have not written about was seeing the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. What a very interesting bridge which dates back to the Middle Ages. Originally a meat market and not the current gold market with jewelers, sadly we did not have time to explore the bridge and the market, but it's history and the fact that it is the only original Florentine bridge not destroyed during WW2 is fascinating. 

There are so many images that Chris and I have captured and we expect to capture many more tomorrow and on the succeeding days as we delve further into Italian history, present and ancient. 

Amazingly, we are not yet halfway into our cruise and only one week into our 19 day European holiday. 

Wow--

Who knows what tomorrow will bring to us?

-- Bob Doan, aboard the Celebrity Constellation in the Tyrrhenian Sea