Cruise Diaries Day 7-Naples/Pompeii

On Day 7 of our Mediterranean Cruise, we explored Naples and Pompeii. Our excursion for the day took us to visit a cameo store, Pompeii, Naples and a pizza place for lunch.

We started off by boarding our bus to Pompeii. Along the short drive, our guide pointed out Mt. Vesuvius in the distance as well as the island of Capri.

Once we arrived, we were dropped off and had some moments to use the restroom and look in the Cellini cameo factory and store. We looked around the shop and admired the beautifully carved shells.

When our group got back together, we followed our guide and made our way into the Pompeii Archaeological Site. There were many tour groups here, so in order to stay together and for us to easily distinguish who are guide was, our guide continuously referred to our group as "Family, Family number 20" since our group number for the day was number 20. This became a running joke within our actual family, for the rest of our trip we were quoting 'family family' to stay together.

During our tour of the Pompeii Archeological area, our guide talked to us about the different sites using headsets. The walk around the area was definitely a little steep in some areas, with uneven footing over the rocks and stones. Someone in our group had a stroller, which they ended up folding up and carrying. So I would not recommend bringing a stroller with you, as these are historic ruins without paved roads. We walked inside the old houses and buildings, and looked at all the intricate decorations. It is amazing to me how a lot of the colors, statues, and intricate carvings are still intact today after all of these years.
















We also walked around the streets and our guide told us which areas were most likely market areas. It was interesting to hear how you could tell so much about an area based off of one tiny fact. For example, in the streets were raised big stones. These were used for people to cross the street, so they would not have to step in the sewage on the street. We can tell people in these days had wagons because the notches between the stones were big enough for wheels to fit through. Archeology is very interesting to me in this way how they can tell so much about a culture based on these things.

One, mostly flat, area had a great view of Mt. Vesuvius with some statues for great photos. It was very interesting to be standing there and imagining what the people of Pompeii must have thought when the Volcano near them erupted.

After of tour of Pompeii, we got back on our bus and drove back to Naples for a bus tour through the city. We passed a lot of historic buildings and our guide pointed out popular sites. I noticed there were a lot more homeless people in this city compared to some of the other cities we had toured previously.

It was then time for our tour of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, The National Archeological Museum of Naples. Here we saw more frescoes, historic artifacts from Pompeii as well as statues. There was also a special exhibit featuring the artist Adrian Tranquilli who exhibited different statues and pieces of art focusing on superheroes. "Giorni di un futuro passato" or "Days of a Past Future" was the title of his exhibit. His style was interesting in that the statues were developed in a way that felt very old roman, but were of super heroes, or pop culture icons. So there would be a normal looking old statue then there would be an alien or something in the same style, that only stood out from the rest because the entire thing was blue. I believe his motivation was that super heroes tell epic stories, as did stories of the past featuring Hercules or other Gods. The stories of the past and the present are historic in different ways.

When we finished our tour of the museum, we again got back on the bus and it was time to head to lunch. We passed by the water and saw people sunbathing on giant rocks and saw the island of Capri in the distance, then we arrived at the restaurant. We ate at a local pizza place and were served margarita pizza, wine and salad. The fresh Italian pizza was delicious, and with the wine, we felt very Italian.









After eating, our tour was just about over, so we again passed by the water with a final view of Capri and were dropped back off at the cruise ship to relax for the rest of the day. After the past few days of constantly being on our feet, running around and seeing sights, we needed time to relax and recoup.

Easy Hikes at Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is a great place to visit! Not only for the athletic, adventurous backpackers who spend weeks in the middle of the woods, but for people who have a more average type of athleticism who do day hikes to people who are older or are not as athletic to people traveling in wheelchairs or with strollers, there is something for everyone in Yosemite.

Panoramic taken from Glacier Point

Glacier Point

Traveling with my parents, we were definitely not going to do a week long backpacking trip through the mountains. With the limited amount of time we had, combined with our abilities, we decided a few shorter, more accessible trails would be the best fit for us on this trip.

Most of the trails we hiked were fairly flat, some even paved, and they were short, taking maybe one hour to one and a half hours round trip maximum.






The first walk we did was to lower Yosemite Falls. This path is a asphalt paved pathway that is about 1.1 miles round trip from the trailhead and will take about 30 minutes to complete. There is a section that is a little steep for wheelchairs or strollers, but there is a another path that is more accessible. This path leads to the bottom of lower Yosemite Fall, a great view to see the waterfall up close and to get photos.

Lower Yosemite Fall trail

We visited in early July, so the waterfalls were still flowing strong with water, but as it gets later in the year into fall and winter, they do dry up. At 2,425 feet tall, Yosemite Falls (Upper and Lower combined) is the tallest waterfall in North America and the fifth tallest in the world.

Yosemite Falls is ten times taller then Niagara Falls and about twice as tall as the Empire State Building. This was a great first hike to take, as it was so accessible and the view of the falls was incredible.


On the walk through the woods to the falls, you pass tall trees and cross over a river. We even saw a bobcat just off the trail! This is one of the most popular walks in the park, so be sure to arrive early to beat the crowds! We were fortunate enough to get there early and did not see many people while we were there in the morning, however when we returned in the afternoon for more photos, MANY more people had arrived.

Meadow Loop

Another easy walk to do would be to hike Cook's Meadow Loop. This hike is a 1 mile walk round trip across mostly flat ground and takes about 30 minutes to complete, depending how many photo stops you want to take. Much of this path is paved with a boardwalk, so a wheelchair is not completely out of the question. Throughout this walk, you will pass through meadows (obviously), and see views of the falls, Half Dome and Glacier Point. This trail was more spread out so there were not too many people condensed in one area.

Bridalveil Fall

The next easy hike to complete is the trail leaving the Bridalveil Fall. This trip is about .5 miles round trip and takes about 20 minutes. Bridalveil Fall is the fall that can be photographed from the famous Tunnel View. Unlike Yosemite Fall, Bridalveil Fall is flowing year round.

Expect lots of spray from the fall in spring and early summer. This trail can get a little steep at some points compared to the other two mentioned above, but still relatively easy for almost anyone to do. Be aware that spray from the falls can make the surrounding pathway slippery and water can sometimes flow onto the pathway near the base of the falls.

Again, arrive early before the crowds. We did this first thing on our second day, when virtually no one else was here which was great.








Mirror Lake is another hike we did in Yosemite Valley. This walk is about 2 miles round trip to the lake and back and takes about 1 hour. There is another hike that is about 5 miles and takes about 2 hours to complete that goes around the lake and through a meadow and back. As we discovered, there are two trails that you can go on to get to viewpoints of the lake.

The first one we did was the unpaved path to the right once you get off the shuttle. We figured this would be more 'outdoorsy' since we wanted to see more nature and not be on asphalt. Boy were we right, this path was more 'outdoorsy' soon enough, we were climbing over stones and rocks into fairly steep inclines, which was a little hard for our parents. We were determined so we kept pushing and pushing, even asking people coming the other way if we were almost there. The path kept going up over rocks, but we kept going until we went over the hill and finally saw the lake. Only to realize we had picked the 'wrong' side to be on.

Mirror Lake

The other side of the lake had a little beach you could walk on, and it seemed easier to wade into the water. In our excitement, we had missed a little bridge about half way to the lake that you could cross over to get back onto the paved pathway to the other side of the river. From the unpaved path we had taken, we had to then backtrack down the rocks. My sister,mom and I wanted to walk on the beach on the other side so we essentially did the walk again, only on the other side of the river on the asphalt.

This side was MUCH easier and faster to complete on flat asphalt. There was a little bit of an incline, but nothing compared to the other side. This asphalt road can also be driven on by vehicles with a handicap tag and bicycles. The beach was nice and the water was freezing once we put our feet in, I don't know how people were swimming in the freezing water. If you do this walk, I definitely recommend taking the asphalt road to the lake if your goal is to reach Mirror Lake in a shorter amount of time.

Glacier Point View

An easy walk with great views is the wheelchair friendly walk to Glacier Point. From the parking lot, Glacier point is only about 300 yard away. There are a few different viewpoints and this walk was definitely doable. We even did this walk twice to see the views at different times of the day.

Glacier Point View

The drive to Glacier Point takes about 45 minutes through the winding back roads, but the view is completely worth it! Once at Glacier Point, there are a few different viewing areas featuring Half Dome, Nevada and Vernal Fall and Yosemite Fall. It feels like you are on top of the world.

Glacier Point View

There is also an amphitheater where rangers do talks sometimes as well as a geology hut, restrooms and snack bar.  The views here are stunning and well worth the drive. At night, the stars are supposed to be incredible so I would love to come back to see the sky then. Photos do not do this place justice. Photos of this park period, do not do this place justice.

Glacier Point view

An honorable mention is the meadow in front of El Capitan. Once the Yosemite Valley shuttle drops you off, a short distance away is a meadow with great views of El Capitan where you can wander around and take some great photos.

Meadow, with El Capitan to the right hand side

More advanced hikes I would like to do if I ever went back to Yosemite include the hikes to Upper Yosemite Fall, the Vernal Fall Footbridge, Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall and many others. There are many moderate hikes around the valley I would want to try, full of different scenery and views. I have not even gotten to visit the Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Grove, or Mariposa Grove area! I would especially like to visit Yosemite for sunrise, sunset, at night and during the winter to see how different things look and take in all of the beauty of this park.

I hope these tips helped you and good luck on your planning your trip to Yosemite!

Cruise Diaries Day 6-Rome

The next city we visited on our cruise was Rome! This day was going to be another action packed day full of sightseeing, so we woke up bright and early to join our excursion group. On the drive there we stopped at a rest stop for a restroom break, or a wifi break if you were one of the younger people on our bus. I just remember frantically trying to connect to internet in the precious moments we were stopped for, trying to upload Instagram pictures,Snapchat messages and Facebook posts.

Colosseum

The first site we visited on this sunny day was the famous Colosseum. It was incredible to see something so iconic up close and really take in the scale of it all. We went on a quick guided tour with our tour guide, then had about 15 minutes to wander around on our own. This was not NEARLY enough time to see everything there was to see there or read all of the signs, but we did have a lot to see this day so we had to get a move on.

Colosseum

On our way back to the bus, we passed the Roman Forum, but unfortunately did not have a chance to see it this trip. Once back on the bus, we drove through the winding little streets, passing all kinds of ruins and old buildings along the way. There was so much history everywhere we looked.






At our next stop, I got to live my dream of being Lizzie McGuire. This whole day was me living my dream as Lizzie McGuire. We went to the Trevi fountain next and had about 45 minutes to grab lunch. In these 45 minutes, we of course threw some coins (1 to return to Rome, 1 for love and 1 to get married) into the fountain and took pictures, along with getting a gelato while we waited for a pizza we ordered to cook. Even this stop was a little rushed, so we didn't have enough time for our pizza to even fully cook before we had to have the people get it out early to give to us. So yes, it was a little raw, but it is a funny, yet stressful story to look back on.



From here on we walked around the rest of the city. We left the Trevi Fountain and followed our tour guide to the next big site on our tour: The Pantheon! After passing many more historic streets and sites, we rounded a corner and there it was! It was just bang bang bang, one big ticket attraction after the other! The Pantheon was amazing! We took some pictures outside of it, then walked around the inside and gazed up at the hole in its ceiling. This hole, called an oculus, is the center point of the largest unsupported dome in the world.

Vatican City/ The window where the banner is is
where the Pope speaks from

After a walk around the Pantheon, we boarded our tour bus again and headed to Vatican City. What was nice about being on a tour at this point, was that we got to skip the massive line to enter. We walked right up through security and into the walls of the city. At this point we were also handed little headsets to listen to our guide tell us about everything. We walked through the museum first, looking at all the art, with the grand finale being the world famous Sistine Chapel. After this, we headed into St. Peters Square and St. Peters Basilica. Throughout our tour of the Vatican, the immense crowds of wall to wall people caused us to become seperated from our tour guide. At this point we were also only picking up a portuguese tour on our headsets. Fortunetely we were able to catch back up with our group. After touring the Vatican, we had a little bit of free time to grab a nearby chocolate gelato.



A lot of this day felt like walking around Times Square or Disney World, with all of the tour groups everywhere. But I can definitely see how it would be necessary to be organized at such famous sites and little spaces to see it all.

Left-Colosseum, Center-Trevi Fountain, Right-St.Peter's Basilica

This 10 hour excursion day was a whirlwind of sightseeing, but definitely worth it. We got to see all of the main highlights, although it would be nice to return and spend a few days here to really take in this historic city. I was just so in awe at seeing all of these iconic sights in one day, it was like being star struck. Places like the Colosseum, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain have been featured in so many movies and have so much history behind them, it was just so amazing to be able to visit them all first hand.

Yosemite Valley Shuttle + Getting there

Panoramic from 'El Capitan crossover' drop off point on purple shuttle route, El Capitan to the right

During the summer, Yosemite National Park gets VERY busy. It is HIGHLY recommended that you either take public transportation like the YARTS buses, or drive and once you find a spot DO NOT MOVE YOUR CAR. Parking fills up at least by 9:30am-10am so make sure you get there EARLY! Once you park your car you can take a shuttle around the Yosemite Valley.

These shuttles reduce the number of cars on the road as well as allow you to enjoy the views as someone else drives you to your destination. The shuttle encompasses the entire Valley and has stops at all of the major sites you would want to see, all of the campsites and hotels and at all of the major trailheads for your convenience. You can hop on and hop off at any point as well as transfer to another route.

The green route comes about every 20 minutes and takes you around to all of the main stops like the different accommodation areas, places to eat, shops, The Visitor Center, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Sentinel Bridge, a few different trail heads and all of the day use parking lots. The purple route, a summer only route, comes about every 30 minutes and takes you to El Capitan and another trailhead.

Some of the main stops we got off at were Yosemite Falls, The Visitor Center, Degnan's Deli, Sentinel Bridge, The Mirror Lake Trailhead and El Capitan Crossover.

El Capitan from 'El Capitan Crossover' stop on purple route

Yosemite Falls from 'Lower Yosemite Fall' stop on the green route

View of Mirror lake after hike from 'Mirror Lake Trailhead' stop on green route

The power of the sun vs photography-Tunnel View Edition!

These photos go to show you that time of day when visiting Tunnel View matters! 1st photo was around 8am, 2nd was around 10am, and 3rd was around 4pm. The same goes for when you are visiting Glacier Point. The angle of the sun makes such a difference! For better photos, visit later in the day!

Cruise Diaries Day 5 - Livorno/Florence/Pisa

Day 5 of our Mediterranean Cruise began as a rainy morning in Livorno, Italy. Our plan for the day was to go on an excursion to Florence and Pisa.

We joined our group for the day and got on our bus that would take us to Florence and Pisa. The drive from the Port of Livorno to Florence was about an hour and a half so we stopped about halfway for a restroom break. Our drive took us through beautiful Tuscany with vineyards on either side and mountains in the distance.

1. 

   The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore on the left and Giotto's Bell Tower on the right

Florence

Piazza del Duomo

When we got to Florence, the rain had subsided, although there were still clouds in the sky. As soon as we exited the bus, multiple 'sales' people swarmed our group trying to sell us ponchos and umbrellas. To be honest the umbrellas were kind of cool, with pictures of different Italian landmarks on them, but be aware when you go that these will be overpriced and aimed towards getting tourists to buy these items.


Our guide then took us on a walking tour around the city. The first big place we went to was the Piazza del Duomo, the historic center of Florence. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore being the centerpiece of the square with its pink and green marble. There were a few armed guards around this area making sure everyone was safe, which I appreciated being in a foreign country at a very popular tourist destination.

Piazza del Duomo

After a stroll through the square, we continued our walking tour to the Piazza della Signoria, which displays many statues from the Renaissance period, including a copy of Michelangelo's David. We did not get a chance to see the real David as it was in a museum we did not have time to explore.

Replica of David

After this, we looped back to behind the Piazza del Duomo and went in a few shops to look at souvenirs, my dad bought a leather jacket and the rest of us wandered around until we ended up sitting under an awning waiting for the rest of our group to be done. In the mean time, there were a few gypsies wandering around looking begging for money, so be aware and keep an eye on your things.

Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Once our group was together, we made our way to the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Built in 1345, it is one of the oldest bridges in Florence. Our scenic walk along the water, brought us to a beautiful restaurant I can not seem to find the name of,where we would be having our lunch. This place had multiple rooms filled with mirrors, grand chandeliers and paintings on every wall and ceiling! Our meal consisted of wine (of course), lasagna, some type of meat, and veggies, along with tiramisu for dessert.

Pisa

The restaurant we ate in

When we were finished, our group was guided back to our bus, and we started our short drive to Pisa. Many in the group took this time for a nap after an early start and a lot of walking. It was a welcome rest, and I did end up falling asleep for a bit, even though I tried my hardest to stay awake, convinced I would miss something if I fell asleep.

#GotTheShot

The small town of Pisa did not seem to have much in it. We were dropped off in the big parking lot for the leaning tower and told what direction to head to see it. We followed the herd of tourists and found it! On the way in we passed more people selling things. There were many people with stands selling all types of souvenirs. They had different masks, miniature leaning towers, umbrellas again, and many other different trinkets to take home.

Leaning tower of Pisa

When we got to the square where the leaning tower was it was very pretty. The contrast between the white buildings and green grass was beautiful. The weather had cleared up by now so we even began to see sun peeking through! It was unreal to finally see such an iconic landmark in person. I could not believe I was see THE leaning tower of pisa.


It was great! We didn't have much time here so we could not dilly dally too much but we made sure to find a spot to get the iconic shot to make it look like you are holding the leaning tower. Check! We did that! After we got the shots, we milled around a bit more, reading signs and looking at the other buildings in the square, the Campo dei Miracoli or "Field of Miracles".

Pisa Baptistry

This seemed a bit rushed as it would have been nice to take a look in the other buildings. We had just enough time to get some gelato at a nearby store as well as try and quickly connect to the internet while we waited for our group. After this adventure, it was time to make our way back to the ship!


We had a long day exploring Florence and Pisa, and although we did many of the highlights, we barely scratched the surface. Up next we explored Rome! Just one bucket list city after another! Stay tuned for my post on my experience in Rome!

Pisa Cathedral 

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore