Cruise 10
Mediterranean Venice Cruise 

Brilliance of the Seas
June 26 - July 8 
2007


This was a new experience. It was our first 12 night cruise.
This was a very special trip, our second with Michelle, Michael,
Andrew and Lindsay, and our first with my brother Renato and Biota.
We left Boston on June 24 at night, flew to Paris where we took another plane to Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona the following day in the afternoon. Renato and Biota were waiting for us at the hotel, the Silken Gran Havana Hotel, where we stayed. Shortly after arriving we went for a walk through those beautifful avenues toward the Plaza Catalunya and La Rambla, the heart of Bracelona, a very unique and pituresque area full of life and fun. We had dinner there in a delightful restaurant, whose owner looked just like Jason Robart. After dinner we continued strolling through that lovely area before retiring.The next day, after a nice breakfast at the hotel, we went to see this fantastic city. We bought tickets for the Barcelona Tourist Buses , a great way to see the city highlights. You "hop on" and "hop off" at various points of interest. These buses stop at all the city's major  highlights every 15 minutes. The weather was perfect and we all had a lot of fun. The following day, around 9:30 AM a bus picked us up and took us to the Brilliance of the Seas, our home for the next 12 days.
Great memories!


Day 1
June 26th - Barcelona, Spain 
Ship sailed out from Barcelona, Spain at 7PM.


Day 2
June 27th - Villefranche - France
Ship arrived: 10:00AM 
Nice & Cannes on Your Own (8h)
Tour left: 10:45AM 
Tour arrived: 7:30PM
Ship left: 8:00PM


Day 3
June 28th - Livorno, Italy
Ship arrived: 7:00AM 
Florence and Pisa on Your Own (9h30)
Tour left: 8:15AM 
Tour arrived: 6:30PM
Ship left: 7:00PM


Day 4
June 29th - Naples, Italy
Ship arrived: 8:00AM 
Exploration of Pompeii (4h)
Tour left: 9:15AM 
Tour arrived: 2:00PM
Ship left: 8:00PM

Day 5
June 30th - sailing ...


Days 6 & 7
July 1st, 2nd - Venice, Italy 
Ship arrived: 1:00PM 
No tour scheduled
Ship left: 5:00PM - July 2


Day 8
July 3rd - Dubrovnik, Croatia
Panoramic Dubrovnik & City Tour (2h45)
Ship arrived: 9:00AM 
Tour left:10:45AM 
Tour arrived: 2:15PM
Ship left: 6:00PM


Day 9
July 4th - Corfu, Greece
Dassia Beach Hotel Package (4h30)
Ship arrived: 7:00AM 
Tour left: 8:45AM 
Tour arrived: 2:00PM
Ship left: 8:45PM

Day 10
July 5th - sailing ...


Day 11
July 6th - Civitavecchia, Italy
Rome on Your Own (8h30)
Ship arrived: 7:00AM 
Tour left: 8:15AM 
Tour arrivd: 5:30PM
Ship left:  7:00PM
 

Day 12
July 7th - sailing ...


Day 13
July 8th - Arrival at Barcelona at 5:00AM


Michael surprised us by having a streched limo pick us up to take us to Boston's Logan Airport.
We left Boston at 11:30 PM,  Air France flight 321 to Paris, then Air France flight 1648 to 
 beautiful Barcelona.
The hotel where we stayed while in Barcelona.
Gran Hotel Havana Barcelona
Arriving at the hotel, faces of joy upon seeing Renato and Biota.
As usual, Americans "travel light!"
Andrew and Lindsay enjoying Barcelona.                                                                Returning "home" after a very long day.
Dinner at a nice restaurant in La Rambla
The following morning .... ready to enjoy beautiful Barcelona.
Hop on and hop off  tourist buses .... a great way to see the highlights of a city.
In front of La Sagrada Familia, ....between Andrew and Lindsay ... it's not a statue, it's a person posing as a statue.
Plaça de Catalunya
Last dinner in Barcelona at a very nice interior courtyard full of life, 
restaurants, great food, ... and even better company.
This picture was not taken in Barcelona, but it's the only one I have with the ship. 
After we were picked up at the hotel, we arrived very early at the ship, around 11:30 AM.
The cruise begins ... day 1.
As you can see ... we were one of the first ones onboard.
Together again after six years. Our first cruise together ... enjoying each other's company.
First meal at the Windjammer


Go to Page 189 - Villefranche, France

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