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| colorful fruit stand, Livorno market | 
What a perfect way to end the summer: with a cruise aboard the luxurious Azamara Quest from Nice to Athens. It was a working holiday for I was aboard to give a series of enrichment lectures about the ancient civilizations that once thrived in the Mediterranean.
At the first
port, Livorno,  most passengers  travel to Pisa and Florence since it is their first time in Italy. We enjoyed staying in Livorno for a   canal boat tour  and  a visit to  the Art Decò market, one of Italy's largest . Write "Livorno" in the search box at the top of the page  to find the many   articles about Livorno and what to visit there.
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| sculptures adorn Livorno market | 
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| art dèco architecture of Livorno market | 
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| sign in Livorno market | 
Rain kept
us aboard the ship in Civitavecchia but
many  passengers  went off 
to Rome and some spent the day cooking  at Fontana del Papa, 
atop the nearby hill at  Tolfa. 
 The
situation at  Civitavecchia  has become ugly  with local police  being called in to stop harassing  of  visitors at the  cage like “visitors’ center”.     Cruisers
 and crews are fed up with the  exploitation  and paying for the unnecessary  bussing in order  to take the train to Rome.   
No wonder 
the port has such a bad reputation and is  considered 
one  of the most "tourist unfriendly"  in the
Mediterranean.  For more  articles about the  problems at Civitavecchia,  use the search bar. If you have experiences and comments  please leave them at the bottom of the page and use the icons to share  on social media .   
Our classic
Mediterranean  itinerary  continued 
on to a sunny  Sorrento  and then to  Messina where  we visited  a lovely  ceramics shop near the port and  munched freshly made  cannoli at the pasticceria   near the Duomo. 
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| I Particolari, ceramics shop, Messina | 
The  Azamazing Evening  went as scheduled but instead of transferring everyone  to Taormina, the  singers  and orchestra  braved  the weather and drove from Catania to perform aboard for the passengers .
 
 
   
Late departures and overnights in ports makes it possible to see how people live in the different countries after the sun goes down.
On Santorini the cable car brought us up the cliff to visit the town of Fira and its Prehistory Museum where frescoes and pottery date from before the volcanic explosion that created the caldera where our ship was anchored.
Don't forget to visit my award winning website award winning website
 
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| arriving in Chania port, Crete | 
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| tourist carriage, Chania port | 
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| selling honey at the Saturday market,Chania | 
Late departures and overnights in ports makes it possible to see how people live in the different countries after the sun goes down.
On Santorini the cable car brought us up the cliff to visit the town of Fira and its Prehistory Museum where frescoes and pottery date from before the volcanic explosion that created the caldera where our ship was anchored.
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| Arriving at Santorini and the zig zag trail up to Fira town | 
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| the cable car wheel | 
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| plaster casts of 3000 BC furniture | 
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| blue monkey frescoes (3000 BC) at Thera Prehistoric Museum | 
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| buskers at the Orthodox Cathedral, Santorini | 
Don't forget to visit my award winning website award winning website

 
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