Villefranche

Wednesday, May 30th

This day did not start out as planned!  Wilhelm woke up with a very swollen, painful big toe!  Instead of going off to visit Eze, we took a cab to an ER in Nice!  The wait wasn’t too bad and the diagnosis was Gout!  Total bill including X-ray was 50€!!  Can’t imagine what the cost would have been in the USA!!

After the ER visit, we took the train down in to the Old Town section of Nice. It really was bittersweet....this is where we walked when our friends came to meet Charlie and me when we stopped in this port back in 2015. They had driven overnight to come and see us!

Walking the promenade brought back a lot of memories

See Wilhelm with my purple cane!

Picture from 2015.....This was the time our friends got to say goodbye to Charlie. It was a very special day for me. Although, Charlie and I took one cruise after this.....this really was his last good cruise and I’m so glad Alexandra, Ursula and Wilhelm were able to share this day with us

La Spezia

Tuesday, May 29th

I did not sleep well last night!  I think the jet lag finally caught up with me....also, I may be getting to old for this!  I cancelled me boat trip to Cinque Terre and turned it in to a sea day and a catch up on sleep day!  Charlie and I had been to Cinque Terre before so I have good memories of it.

Alexandra, Wilhelmina and Ursula took the train to Levantine and then to Monterosso and walked around and then took the train back to port. They said they enjoyed the day but I wish I had been with them!  They missed Vernazze which I think is the most beautiful

Guess the walk was tiring!!

Boarding the Celebrity Reflection

Monday, May 28th

My friends picked me up at about 10AM at the hotel. They had flown in from Frankfort that morning and had arranged the transfer to the cruise terminal. It was so good to see them!

Boarding the ship was pretty painless and we were in the main dining room for lunch by 1PM. After muster drill, we headed up to the Sunset Bar for sail away.

Arrival in Fiumicino

Arrived at FCO a little after 10AM.  Don’t think I got much sleep. I’m sure glad I had arranged pick up at the airport!  Would not have been happy to try to arrange pick up to the hotel. It was so nice to see a guy with a sign with my name on it when I got out of customs

The hotel, Domus Lina was a quaint B&B right on the sea in Fiumicino.  It was very nice and I felt very sake on my own.

Walking along sea wall

Enjoying a beer at a little cafe by the hotel

Looking back on our first cruise with our friends

Going thru the canal on our wonderful aft balcony

The first cruise we went on with our German friends was thru the Panama Canal on the Celebrity Infinity in 2002. Since then, we sailed with them to South America and they have come to visit Charlie and I in many of the ports we have stopped at in our many European cruises.  We also spent a wonderful 2 weeks visiting them in Germany and going to Octoberfest to celebrate Charlie’s 70th birthday. They have been our best cruising buddies!

Getting Ready

The first part of this adventure will be an 11 night "Best of the Western Mediterranean" cruise on the Celebrity Reflection with my German friends Alexandra, Wilhelm and Ursula to celebrate Wilhelm and Ursula's 50th Wedding Anniversary.  I will then be going back to their home in Germany to spend a few weeks with them.  I can't believe that the time to leave is almost here!  We have been planning this for close to a year!  This will be my first big trip without Charlie and I will miss him desperately!   I will remember the good times we had in all the places we had seen together.