We've Crossed the Border

 It's been a while so here is a four day update from 2 days in France and 2 days in Italy.

First up was Nice on Wednesday.  We were docked again in Monte Carlo.  Our plan was to take the train to Nice with the specific intent of eating lunch in a restaurant that we ate in 11 years ago when we stayed in Nice for 1 week.  Mission accomplished!  After arriving in Nice,we walked down to the port.

Then we made our way to the old town and found the apartment we stayed at.

The apartment was across the street from our target restaurant - Oliviera.  The restaurant specializes in olive oil and each dish (including dessert) is paired with a different olive oil.  The owner, Nadim, is a wonderful host and his wife makes great food.  The experience was every bit as good as we remembered it.

We ended our stay in Nice with a walk by the famous pebbly beach.

Thursday was Cannes, our last French port.  We took a walking tour in the morning and then went back to the market to pick up a lunch of socca (a chickpea flat bread), truffle cheese, olives, and baguette.

We finished our day with a walk along the beach and a photo op on the red carpet.

Friday marked our return to Italy with a stop in Livorno.  Our plan was to take it easy and then, the night before, we got an email from our friend Pat Grillo (one of the Oceania Artists in Residence) saying that she and Angelo were on Insignia and were going to be in port with us, so we set up a plan to meet them in the afternoon.  After a relaxing morning complete with a massage, we got to the church in time to meet up.  We had a fantastic few hours of pizza, wine, coffee, spritzers and catching up.

Today, we were back in Civitavecchia.  The last time we were in port here, we were in quarantine so it was good to get off this time.  We took an Oceania excursion - Bracciano Lake and Wine Tasting.  A really good tour.

Tomorrow will be our last port on the west coast of Italy before heading into the Adriatic.  It is hard to believe that we only have one week left on this adventure.

For the past six weeks I've been trying to figure out how to value myself.  Perhaps today's Rule of Civility will help, but probably not!  Rule #63. A man ought not to value himself of his achievements, or rare qualities of wit; much less of his riches virtue or kindred. 

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry