Canadian World Traveller / Summer 2016 Issue

medleys, hors d’oeuvres and flutes of
champagne as guests donned tuxedos,
pearls and sky-high Manolo Blahniks.
Darwin, our server, mysteriously knew my
name. And so it went for the rest of our
journey.
We dined in the Crystal Dining Room amid
Riedel crystal and fine Villeroy and Boch
china. I enjoyed the chef’s suggestion of
sautéed jumbo shrimp, northern crab soup
with brie cheese, followed by broiled fresh
Norwegian salmon fillets, a homage to our
Norwegian captain. As we dined we sailed
past the isle of Corsica, Napoleon’s birthplace
to the Ligurian Sea.
Our first stop was the picturesque seaside
village of Portofino. Weathered buildings in
sunflower, peach and pale blue hues
enveloped the brightly bobbing fishing
boats or gozzi. The Romans named this
coastal sanctuary Portus Delphini, “the Port
of the Dolphins.” These days it is an exclusive
stomping ground for wealthy and aristocratic
Italians. Shore excursions are
available but we ventured on our own to
tour the town and its neighbouring city,
Santa Margherita. We hiked the promontory
laden with canopies of aromatic jasmine
and ascended the cobbled stone steps to
visit the Castello Brown, a medieval castle
overlooking the harbour then finished our
tour with a gelato at the lighthouse.
Life along the Italian Riviera is pure La
dolce vita from the cuisine to the spectacular
scenery to the azure blue Mediterranean
Sea. The piazzas are filled with sun-glassed
patrons of Prada sipping cappuccinos.
Their only burden was lugging shopping
bags from Pucci, Gucci and Ferragamo. It’s
a cocktail of elegant social life and
supreme privacy behind luxe villas that
cling to the cliff tops.
The Symphony then sailed effortlessly to our
next stop Monaco where fairytales really do
come true. The world’s second smallest
kingdom after the Vatican was made
famous by starlet Grace Kelley who stole
Prince Rainier’s heart in 1955 on a visit to
Cannes during the premier of the Hitchcock
classic, To Catch A Thief. With the Cannes
Film Festival in full swing and the Monte
Carlo Grand Prix a few days away we chose
to avoid the crowds and took a group shore
excursion along the famous Cote D’Azur to
Nice, France.
Considered the capital and queen of the
Riviera, Nice sits on a stage surrounded by
a natural amphitheatre of mountains that
reign over the Baie des Anges (Bay of
Angels). Lavish hotels and a casino erected
during the Belle Epoque period make Nice
a constant rival to Monaco. You can still see
vestiges of the old days along the famous
Promenade Anglais that skirts the famous
pebble beachfront.
Matisse’s studio was here and overlooked
the frenzied street market in the old city.
There’s a caricature statue of Miles Davis
outside the exclusive Hotel Negresco. Bono,
Elton John, Tina Turner and Bill Gates all
have heavenly pads between Monte Carlo
and this exclusive seaside resort town.
After a lunch of wine and cheese samplers
in the historic old Jewish quarter we
returned to the ship. At night, passengers
reminisced and romanticized about the next
day’s stop in Livorno, a popular cruise port
for visits to Florence, San Gimignano, Pisa
and other Italian hillside villages.
Later that evening, snuggling in matching
Frette bathrobes and sipping a robust
Merlot from Napa Valley we cued Under
The Tuscan Sun, a complimentary DVD
rental from the ship’s library to prep us for
the upcoming sights. But really we were
counting down the hours to see our friends
the next day in Florence.
Over a simple penne pomodoro and white
wine from Santa Margherita, our Florentine
friends Amy and Duilio described their
thrilling adventure done a week before to
see the island of Capri and Pompeii. In
Capri, the couple traipsed through the
imperial villa of Tiberius, the ruin a silhouette
against the blue sky that continues to
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dominate the island’s skyline. Duilio
explained few passersby visit this stretch of
Via Tiberius which starts in the Piazzetta
and meanders up the terraced gardens and
whitewashed villas passing million-dollar
estates named, “Serenity” “Calm” and
“Paradise.”
“You could spend all day roaming the ruins
of Pompeii,” they suggested and recounted
how the ancient port city in its hey days contained
mammoth-sized buildings of forums,
amphitheatres, a gladiator court and a stadium.
Uncertain of our own plans, Stephen and I
high-tailed it back to our ship, contemplating
our visit to our final coastal city,
Sorrento, which hugs the dramatic Amalfi
coast. We were to spend two days there so
there were boundless opportunities to
explore the area. “I’ve heard so much
about Sorrento,” I murmured leafing
through my Rough Guide and Lonely Planet
guidebooks.
But come early next morning, a copy of the
daily newsletter “Reflections” made its way
to our doorstep. The sightseeing dilemma
was solved. “Hey, we’ve got a chance to
visit the Isle of Capri and Pompeii,” I raved
about our good luck as both destinations
were outlined, making this dream now possible.
We both smiled broadly and knew there
were more Italian treasures yet to discover.
www.crystalcruises.com
Photo: Crystal Cruises
Canadian World Traveller Summer/Fall 2016