The meal service is over … the flight attendant served our pre-ordered meals minutes after the aircraft reached flight altitude. I have a couple of hours to at least get started on today’s story.
The last port of call on this cruise. We had fun exploring La Spezia, which is in the Liguaria Region of Italy, but that’s not what we had planned to do. No, we were going to use this stop as the jumping off point for the Cinque Terre. But Mui pulled a leg muscle, so we decided it would be best not to aggravate it by going on a hike. Another time.
The only change to our port-day routine was a stop to see the concierge before we disembarked the ship. She had left a voice message saying she had information about La Spezia that might help us plan our day … nothing very useful, I’m afraid. But more importantly, she reminded us that if we gave her our flight information, she could print out our boarding passes. We gave her the info and said we would stop by later in the day to collect the passes.
The port facilities in La Spezia came as a surprise to me. I was expecting a small, fishing village atmosphere. Instead we found ourselves in a major commercial port lined with stacks and stacks of containers. Passengers were not allowed to wander through the area on foot. No problem … free shuttle service was provided to the small cruise terminal.
Since we changed our plans at the last minute and had no idea what the town might have in store for us, we spoke with the woman at the information kiosk before leaving the port. She showed us the attractions on a map, which we then received with the purchase of the city’s welcome card … just €3.
Passeggiata Costantino Morin is a pedestrian walkway that follows Viale Italia into town.
Buon Appetito … a series of posters with recipes for local delicacies lines the Passeggiata.
By 9:00a, we were following the palm-tree lined Passeggiata Costantino Morin toward Ponte Thaon di Revel … the city bridge that offers nice views over Golfo della Spezia, which is also known by the more romantic name of Golfo dei Poeti [Gulf of the Poets]. To entertain us — not really, but it seemed like it — a section of the bridge was raised while we were on it to let a small, tall-masted sailing boat through.
A glimpse of Ponte Thaon di Revel (the City Bridge) from the Passeggiata.
Two to Travel takes advantage of this scenic spot for a La Spezia postcard!
Panoramic view of the Gulf of the Poets and La Spezia from the city bridge.
Cheap entertainment … The guy in the lower left photo uses a small device to
raise the center span of the bridge so this small sailing vessel can go through.
Next we headed up Via del Prione — the main drag — stopping periodically to check out some of the sites marked on the map. One of the most interesting of these sites was the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, a 15th century church that is best known for an enameled terracotta panel by Andrea della Robbia entitled “The Coronation of the Virgin” … beautiful indeed. Perhaps even more beautiful, however, were the murals covering the wall and ceiling of one of the chapels.
 |  |
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta has a Romanesque Revival exterior…
with a clearly Renaissance style interior.
 |  |
Anthony, the patron saint of domesticated animals, is often portrayed standing next to a pig.
 |  |
Left: Andrea Della Robbia’s glazed earthenware “Coronation of the Virgin.”
Right: Looking across the altar into one of the side chapels.
From the church, we headed to the lift at Via Independenzia — two elevators really, with the second one in the form of a funicular. The first one took us up to Via XX Settembre; the second one to the base of Castello di San Giorgio, a fortification built high above the city.
 |  |
The Via Independenzia lift takes us up to Sacra Cuore di Gesu (Sacred Heart of Jesus), but the church is locked up tight, so We take the funicular up to the castle / Archaeological Museum.
Built and expanded several times between the 14th and 17th centuries, the castle is composed of two connected but independent parts. Today it houses an archaeological museum with exhibits featuring prehistoric, porto-historic, Roman, and mediaeval artifacts. The bad news — no photography allowed, except out on the ramparts. The good news — with the welcome card, we gained entrance to the museum and the terraces for €3.50pp … normally the price to visit just the terraces … a nice discount that paid for the card.
Finished at the castle, we headed back down to Via del Prione and somehow made our way to the fish market at Piazza Cavour. Actually, there was much more than fish being sold here — vegetables and fruits, flowers, cheeses and charcuterie, and more were all on offer. The place was hopping with locals doing their daily shopping. It was fun to wander around and check out the variety of goods being sold.
Mui is in cheese heaven.
The fish market at Piazza Cavour sells far more than just seafood.
By this time it was just past 11:30, so we thought we’d return to the marina and see if there was a ferry to Portovenere. Alas, the last ferry that would have been a reasonable one for us to take had already left. So, we decided to just stay in town and find something to eat instead.
Detail from some of the historic buildings we come across on our meandering stroll.
Under the impression that the welcome card offered a 10% discount at select establishments, we focused our attention on the listed cafés and restaurants. They were all casual places, which suited us perfectly. In the end, we chose to eat Italian street food at a place called La Pucceria di Mary & An. A treat this turned out to be — a big treat! Ordering at the counter, we made ourselves comfortable on one of the benches on the sidewalk and munched on sandwiches made with typical Pugliese bread … very similar to a pita pocket. I had a caprese; Mui ordered the ham and cheese one. Both huge. Both very filling. Sharing the benches and coffee tables with us were a bunch of local patrons — not a tourist in sight. Wonderful.
Turns out the place did not offer the promised discount unless the card had #27 printed on it — the designator for the property. But the woman at the counter felt so bad about the misunderstanding that first she gave us a free beverage, and later she sent out the dessert version of the sandwich … filled with Nutella. So we really made out like bandits.
 |  |
A Puccia — whether savory or sweet — is tasty and filling street food.
Afterwards, we headed to another church on the map — Chiesa Nostra Signora Della Neve [Church of Our Lady of the Snow] … designed in 1901. Unfortunately, the doors were closed and the woman manning the market stall closest to the church said opening hours were not reliable. Maybe another time.
Beautiful tile work on the exterior of Our Lady of the Snow.
It was still early, but the slow meandering had taken its toll. We both felt worn out, so we decided to retrace our steps along the passeggiata to the cruise terminal. A shuttle promptly whisked us back to the ship. I lost no time in making myself comfortable on the veranda to start writing this post. And now, as the ship pulls away from the pier, I can put a period at the end of this sentence.
Next Stop: Civitavecchia … 177 nautical miles from La Spezia.
I really would like to know how time flies so fast when we’re not doing much of anything. It’s a mystery that begs solving, but I have been unable to do so thus far.
Time might be flying, but I can’t say the same about the ship. Silhouette is traveling at a whopping 7-8 knots (8-9 mph / 13-15 kph) as we continue across the Med to La Spezia, Italy. That speed is up from the 3-4 knots (4-5 mph / 6-9 kph) we were traveling at when we left Ajaccio yesterday evening. I guess slow is better than arriving at our next port too early and making donuts there to kill time.
The NavChannel still shows us off the western coast of Corsica — across from Calvi on the starboard side. But at least we have now turned north towards the Ligurian Sea. Our direction will leave this side of the ship mostly in the shade — so I will actually be able to use the veranda this afternoon.
We had a day of changeable weather. Calm seas and sunshine this morning gave way to what I would call light seas and a brief rain shower as Silhouette made its way towards the Strait of Bonifacio … which separates Sardinia and Corsica. According to Wikipedia, this strait is “notorious among sailors for its weather, currents, shoals and obstacles.”
The ship was on approach to the dock in Messina, Sicily when we got up at 6:00a — still pitch dark outside, the twinkling lights of the city like stars against the inky darkness. A quick breakfast, and then we returned to the cabin to get ready for the day ahead.
To say that I am stuffed — mentally and physically — would be an understatement!
When I decided to join the small-group tour organized by my-newly-minted friend Janell [she’s the one wearing the green cardigan] I knew we would be doing some tastings along the way, but I had no idea there would be so much food. Nor that we would learn so much. And even better — that we would have such an overall fantastic day. A day that brings a smile to my lips as I write about it. A day that I will remember for a long, long time as one of the best shore excursions we’ve done in our 15-year cruising history.
Dinner is over and I am back on the veranda. It’s a bit on the chilly side, but tucked in against the divider that separates our veranda from the adjacent one, I’ve got enough protection from the wind to sit outside and write today’s post … as long as I am quick about it! Let’s start in Civitavecchia and go from there …
