Salerno – November 10, 2015

We dock early, in fact we are so early and we are so tired we barely wake.  I try to get online but again having a hard time getting a signal in the cabin.  In fact, even when I go to the public areas I can access my Facebook and email but it is just taking so long to access my blog’s website, which is not uncommon even at home. 

I have made the decision that I just can’t post my blog easily and take up so much of my valuable internet minutes.  So I will continue to write the blog off line and if I can I will post but otherwise I am sorry but will have to post only when I get home.

here we are tied up.  The shuttle drops you off just at the end of the buildings on the right side

The port of Salerno is just north of the Amalfi Coast area and a gateway for Pompeii and easy access to Amalfi Coast.

shuttle buses waiting and a tourist info and taxi stand are there too

One thing you should know is we dock in a very industrial port.  Taking a shuttle from the ship is mandatory.  But at least it is complimentary.  If you are on a shore excursion thru the ship, no worries because you will be picked up right at the pier.  Our friends did a private tour and the tour company was able to come right up to the ship to pick them up.  We did see some guides/taxis trying to sell tours to the Amalfi Coast right at the pier.

So we are both suffering a bit from last night.  Not only all the wine but the food, I am still stuffed.  So we shower and head ashore around 10 am. 

The shuttle bus is right there and they are filling up quickly.  It is very warm again today, no jacket needed at all.  Many people are in shorts (including Bernie).  Temperature on ship’s channel says it is 21.

The shuttle takes a bit of time as it wanders around the port, and out to the road and then down the street to the drop off spot.  It is not far in distance from the ship but far if you have to take the bus, but there are no other options so we are on the bus.

Right where they drop you off is a lovely park and the spot for the Jet Foil Station if you are taking a boat to the Amalfi Coast.  We stroll down the beautiful pedestrian walkway along the water and then cross the street to many of the smaller streets.

loved this art piece - the penguins are not real, but the birds on them are real

First stop is a coffee shop for cappuccino and a croissant each – total cost is 4.50E, a steal.

We spend the next few hours wandering around, checking out shops, sites and many churches.

We do wander into a stunning church called the Cathedral of St. Mathew.  At first we are in awe of the size of the main church, but then this woman says “make sure you go downstairs”.  Which we totally would not have done if not told and boy are we glad we did.  As soon as walk in we are taken aback WOW who would have thought this was here.

We walk east along a large pedestrian street and stop and get some French fries from this little shop called Queens Fries – Amsterdam.  We have seen this type of shop in a few spots we have stopped but never had any.  Today we decide this is perfect for us know.  We share a medium size fries with sauce.  So good and boy love the home cut fries – 4E.

The train station is not far from here, but about a 15 minute walk from the drop off of the shuttle, but it is doable.  So if you are wanting to do the train to Pompeii you could do it easily from here.

We are both tired, it is now 2 pm and we need a nap.  We purposely decided not to do too much today because we have a couple very busy ports coming up, and we need to pace ourselves.

the art here is very impressive - these pieces are plastic bottle bottoms

We walk back to the shuttle bus pick up spot where in no time a bus arrives and fills up quickly.  Many of the crew are heading back now too and we see Antonio.

you can rent a bike too from their bike sharing program

Once back on board we get a nice big salad and sit outside – buffet is busy, but outside it is perfect.

We are asleep in the cabin soon after and sleep for two hours.  Just what we needed. 

No big plans for tonight but there are a lot of activities are happening around the ship.

Liar’s Club, Crab Shack, Diane Cousins in Princess Theater, Jeopardize Trivia, MUTS:  The Age of Adaline, Secret Assassins Murder Mystery Sign Up, Texas Hold’em players Meet, vocal entertainer Daniel Oliver, Who Sang What Beatles Edition and so much more. 

We ended up going to the Jeopardized Trivia in Explorer’s and joined our friends Barbara and George with Sue and Jim – who we sailed to South America with a few years ago.  Boy they are fun!  Surprise you guys!  We had fun at Jeopardized Trivia and didn’t too badly, but they didn’t do the final Jeopardy question which surprised us.

We then went up to Horizon Court for a quick meal.  We were quite happy to see our favorite cook there Soth (I hope I got that right) he was seeking us out to say goodbye.  He is getting off tomorrow and heading home for vacation.  He will be missed but hope he has a great vacation.

Again we are very happy eating up here and we even get the wine we had left from the dining room brought up with no issues.  Staff, food, setting are top notch, probably rates as high or a close second to the Royal.

After dinner we are down in Explorer’s for the Liar’s Club – Dan Appleby is up there along with Dan Riely and Doug Funk who were both entertainers on board.  Very funny.