Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy - Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Through Jenny’s niece’s arrangement we had a private shuttle to take us to tour Pisa to see the famous Pisa Leaning Tower, and then drop us in the city center of Florence.

The 1st place we visited is the Ponte Vecchio which spans the Arno River and filled with shops with jewelry and gold.

Then we visited Piazza della Signoria, the heart of political life in Florence. In the square are a monument to Cosimo di Medici and the Fountain of Neptune. It served as the government center for the city.

Then we visited Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Flore) and Campanile (the Bell Tower).

We also visited the Pitti Palace. However, it requires 8 euro for entrance. Judging by the outside and the time constraint, we did not go in. We just see the outside and took some pictures and have lunch picnic on the front court.

Afternoon was shopping time and quite a few success shopping stories.

This evening we had a special event of supporting Victor and John in their Karaoke contest. Both of them did a wonderful job. They were the hits of the night.

Marseille (Provence), France - Tuesday, September 26, 2006

We arrived Marseille via port Provence. We took bus shuttle to the city and were lucky to find a tour for Notre Dame de la Garde.

Notre Dame de la Garde is a enormous Basilica sits on a hill overlooking the city with a superb view of the Vieux Port. The 19th century cathedral is decorated in a Neo Byzantine style and the interior boasts impressive multicolored marble, mosaics and murals.

Then we took Metro to visit the Longchamp Palace. It was built to celebrate the opening of the Marseille canal in the 19th century.

It is a little bit lack of maintenance; however, it is beautiful and elegant.

Barcelona, Spain - Sunday - Monday, September 24 - 25, 2006

Leading by Sophia, we toured Barcelona and enjoyed many attractions.

The 1st stop is Picasso Museum. We enjoyed a lot of master pieces by him and amazed with his talent and master productions. We were able to view a video clip showing how Picasso see things differently from everyone else and how he was able to translate his viewing into different abstract master pieces.

The best part is that we were there on Sunday and the entrance fee is free.

We also toured the Gothic Quarter, La Sagrada Familia, Palau de La Musica, Montserrat and the famous Las Ramblas street.

Montserrat is an exciting attraction. We took 40 minutes train rides to get to Montserrat. However, the scenery is definitely worth every minute of the train ride.

Montserrat is the Catalonia’s spiritual center, a 1,000-year-old Benedictine monastery set against spectacular mountain crags. Its Romanesque basilica is home to the Black Madonna of Montserrat, Catalonia’s patron saint.

We were able to ride a Gondola and climb up to the top of the mountain to enjoy the breathtaking scenary.

Of course, we could not skip the famous Tapas. We ventured out the 1st night in rain to find the best Tapas restaurant. We only know the general area with no name and no address. With everyone’s determination, we finally find it. We had the best meal in Barcelona.

Princess Mediterranean Cruise - September 25 to October 7, 2006

Fei and Tony went with 12 other friends to take Princess Mediterranean Cruise starting on September 25, 2006 to October 6, 2006.

We left Houston on September 22, 2006 and arrived Barcelona, Spain on September 23, 2006 and toured the city for 2 days. We arrived Venice on October 6, 2006 and toured Venice for 2 days and came back to Houston on October 8, 2006.

A total of 17 days of fun with the following schedule:
09/22/06 – Leaving Houston
09/23/06 – Arriving Barcelona
09/24/06 – Touring Barcelona
09/25/06 – Embarking Grand Princess
09/26/06 – Touring Marseille, France
09/27/06 – Touring Florence/Pisa Italy
09/28/06 – Touring Rome, Italy
09/29/06 – Touring Naples, Pompeii, Capri
09/30/06 – Enjoying Grand Princess at sea
10/01/06 – Touring Mykonos, Greece
10/02/06 – Touring Istanbul, Turkey
10/03/06 – Touring Kusadasi, Turkey
10/04/06 – Touring Athens, Greece
10/05/06 – Enjoying Grand Princess at sea
10/06/06 – Arriving and touring Venice, Italy
10/07/06 – Touring Venice, Italy
10/08/06 – Leaving Venice, Italy and coming back to Houston

As usual, we have lots of good food and entertainment on the Grand Princess. Maybe we had too much good food. However, everyone was able to maintain the weight by doing a lot of walking, dancing and ping-ponging. Everyone had a great time, tired but enjoyed the trip.