Canne, France and Florence, Italy

From what I was told, Canne, France is a wonderful city. However, I wouldn't know because our ship did not go there. We were informed shortly after we left the port of Barcelona that they had 50 to 60 mph winds along the French Riveria coast and that the port of Canne as well as a number of other ports had been closed. The captain tried to find another port we could go to for the day but we were on a 113,000 tonne vessel so you can't just park it anywhere. Genoa, La Spiza and Liverno - our final port of call - were the only options and they were all full. So, we spent an extra day at sea which was nice too.

After our extra day at sea we arrived in Liverno, Italy. Most of use went from there to Florence for the day. We had a public guided tour which was different from our other excursions which were private just for our group. A private tour allows you to interact with your guide more. You can ask questions, slightly alter how long you stay at a site and so forth. The public tour is generic and pretty boring. So, after our guide talked about a bridge for 10 minutes of a 3 1/2 hour tour I decided that was enough of that. I simply left the group and wandered the city. We had been told to meet at Piazza St. Croce at 3 PM so I had 6 hours to explore.

Florence is a beautiful and very pleasant city. I spent much of my time visiting their churches. I spent a few minutes in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of each church which was very moving as well. I also had a very wonderful experience in the Church of the Annunciation. Just after I entered the church a group of religious sisters had gathered in a side chapel to pray the rosary. As they began I realized they were praying the rosary not in Italian like I assumed they would but in Latin. So, I joined them. It was a very awesome experience.

That evening we left for Rome and flew back home that next morning. Overall it was a wonderful experience. I got soe see some places that I doubt I'll ever see again. I have to give the glory and praise to God for giving me this opportunity. It really makes you realize what wonderful blessing He bestows on you.

I am going to have to comtemplate what direction the blog is going to go next so until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 19:13 | link | comments |
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