Rhonda Bracey: At Random

La Goulette is the port for Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Because I had no clue if my phone and EU SIM would work in Tunisia (it didn’t), we’d booked a shore excursion from the ship today instead of trying to arrange cars, drivers, etc.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable (he’s a published historian), spoke 6 languages and flitted in and out of each language depending on who he was talking to. We went to some of the sites of ancient Carthage, visited Roman ruins, and then stopped for an hour or two at the pretty blue and white village of Sidi Bou Said (full-on tourist trap with SOOO many people, 80 [!!] tour buses, etc.). At the palace in Sidi Bou said (no longer used), the ship had arranged a nice lunch for those of us on the various shore excursions that included this pretty little town (there’s an ulterior motive in providing food and drink, I’m sure—the last thing a cruise ship needs is for a gastric bug to spread throughout the ship, so by providing us with lunch they could control what we ate and drank, to a large extent). It was very hot, so the ice cold lemon juice drink was especially welcome.

Then it was back to the ship for a welcome dip in the pool followed by a fabulous dinner and great conversations with the two wonderful people (M&D) we’d met on our second night.

Our cruise route so far – Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Trapani, and La Goulette

Roman ruins near Carthage

View from the palace at Sidi Bou Said

Ceiling detail at the palace at Sidi Bou Said

Iconic blue and white of every house and building in Sidi Bou Said

We arrived in Trapani on the western tip of Sicily this morning, caught the ship’s shuttle bus into town, but no-one seemed to know where the town centre was. There was no guidance from the bus driver or anyone else, so we followed some other people. Bad move!

We spent an hour or two in the heat wandering about some quite deserted streets to the tip of the point, back past the fishing fleet, then decided we’d seen enough weeds, dead plants, dirty streets and dog poo, so headed back to the shuttle bus. Fortunately a fellow passenger waiting there told us we’d gone the wrong way and the main part of town was about 3 streets over from where we’d started… in the other direction! And so it was.

It was radically different from where we’d walked. Clean, long pedestrian mall, nice shops, lots of cafes, not too many people etc. We spent an hour or so there, then went back to the ship in the early afternoon.

Fishing boat harbour

Long, almost deserted, esplanade heading towards the tip of the point (too many rocks for swimming)

Near the tip of the point there was a pebble and rock area where some people were sunning themselves

Main street, which was a pedestrian mall, with lots of nice shops, cafes etc.

The array of pastries in a cafe where we found a loo!

We opted to use a private car service recommended by a friend to take us to Positano, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast and avoid the tourists at Pompeii.

Ha! I think the tourists all went to those two places too. SOOO many people!

Such a beautiful coastline that reminded me of Big Sur (California) but with many more boats, steeper hills and drop offs, more lemons, and windier roads. Magnificent scenery. Positano is very steep and hilly and the paths past the tourist traps to the water are long, steep and often with steps (we’re getting used to those now), but it’s not at all comfortable in >36 C weather. Sorrento is quite flat and more a commercial centre than Positano.

We were going to drive through Naples too, but decided one of the ship’s many pools was a more attractive option, so cut our trip short and gave the driver some time off.

Positano: One of the few shaded areas in the streets heading towards the water

The road runs right along this magnificent coast. The geometric shapes on the curve below are sun shades/lounges for the tourists who will flock to the beach.

Amazing views of the turquoise Mediterranean Sea along the Amalfi Coast

Roadside stall selling lemons, oranges and their products, such as granita and freshly squeezed juice

The original purpose of our trip to Europe was to do a Mediterranean cruise, and today was the day that part of the journey would start.

However, it was a bittersweet day for me… I was so excited to be starting a new adventure going on a cruise with my sister (her first, my third), but I was also dealing with the devastating news that one of my bestest friends ever passed away today, on her 69th birthday. I was in constant contact with her husband and another friend as her condition deteriorated until finally her body say ‘Enough!’. That certainly cast a shadow over the day.

Back to the cruise…

We were able to board from noon and it was as seamless a process as you could imagine. One of the crew on the shuttle bus even carried my duffel for me—I was to see him many more times serving in the various restaurants and we always had a little chat.  Our first task was to have lunch then explore the ship. Around 2pm we were told the suites were ready and so the next task was to take photos of our cabin before we wrecked it, then unpack, watch the safety video, present to the muster station, then wander about some more, exploring. We left Civitavecchia around 7:30pm, headed to Naples.

For those wondering, the ship was Explora II and is the second ship in the Explora Journeys line, which is a new luxury line from MSC that started in about 2023. Explora III is due to be in service from mid 2026, with Explora IV to follow in 2027.

These ships are classed as a ‘luxury hotel at sea’. Each has no more than 920 passengers, with a passenger to crew ration of 1.25 to 1. Our travel agent recommended the line because she knew we liked the idea of smaller, luxury ships, with a more adult crowd, not the behemoths that some ships have become. While it was expensive, almost everything (except shore excursions, spa treatments, one very top-end restaurant, very top-end wines and spirits, casino stakes, and purchases from the shops on board) was included—tips, drinks of all types, and fast internet (with up to 3 devices per person). Every cabin has a balcony.

Other observations:

• Wonderful staff everywhere and at every level, from maintenance crew to captain.
• Lovely food everywhere we ate (4 main restaurants + Emporium Marketplace, plus cafes, bar food, etc.). I especially loved the way they do ‘buffet’ at Emporium, which is not really a buffet at all as passengers never handle or go near the food; great food handling practices.
• Beautiful decor—it really is a ‘luxury hotel at sea’
• Entertainment that we went to was mostly good, though the band sound sometimes drowned out the singer. Nothing was bad, but nothing was ‘OMG, I must see that performer again!’ either. This matched my expectations based on my 2 previous cruises, both of which were also on smaller ships.
• Seas and winds were calm throughout the entire 14 days—my sister was very happy with that as she gets seasick.
• The Journeys shop had a very limited range, and mostly well overpriced for what it was. Limited range of promotional clothing (e.g. no t-shirts with Explora Journeys on them that I saw). Everyday things like deodorant and toothpaste are available, but are almost hidden at the end of one of the counters in the 2 rooms (why 2 rooms??) and in limited quantity – certainly not on display for impromptu sale, which is a missed opportunity, in my opinion.
• Other shops were very high end (e.g. Cartier, Rolex) and we didn’t set foot in those.
• Lots of pools and whirlpools, with not too much ‘lounge hogging’ except on ‘at sea’ days. However, trying to get out of the direct (and very hot) sun was an issue for many of the outdoor pools, where shade was limited. The Conservatory pool offered the best options here, but didn’t have a lot of sun lounges available undercover near the windows. There were plenty near the pool, but they were often in direct sun. Some people loved that, of course, but as an Australian who had WAY too much sun when she was a kid/teenager, lying in the sun all day is not my idea of fun.
• There was a tiny casino, but we never went in there either. Possibly because it doesn’t open until the ship is a certain number of nautical miles from land, and that was often late at night—we didn’t leave some ports until 10pm.
• There was a gelateria and creperia near the Conservatory pool—we certainly sampled a few of those!
• Despite the all-inclusive nature of alcohol etc., in our two weeks on board I didn’t see anyone who was obviously drunk and being a nuisance. On another cruise I was on, where you had to pay upwards of US$40 per day per person for a drinks package, I certainly saw a lot of drunk people who seemed to want to get full value for the money they’d spent. On our ship, alcohol, cocktails etc. were all included, so I wonder if people drank just as much as they wanted but no more. Also, this certainly wasn’t a ‘party ship’, where alcohol and wild parties in the pool seem to be the norm. Thank goodness… There wouldn’t be enough money in the world that you could pay me to go on one of those ships. Or on one that had thousands of people on board.
• Wonderful people—we met several through the trivia competitions and formed a couple of lovely teams over the two weeks. Another couple we met because we were seated right next to them at one of the restaurants and got to talking, and never really stopped until they disembarked at Barcelona (we still talk in our little WhatsApp group).

We had such a nice and relaxing time that we’ve already booked another Mediterranean cruise with Explora again in 2026. And with luck and some good planning, the couple from our WhatsApp chat might join us!

Below are some photos of the ship and our cabin (before we unpacked); remember, many of those who were already on board from Barcelona were out and about in Rome that day and we were early arrivals onto the ship, so there are lots of empty spaces. That said, it never felt crowded anywhere at any time, even on the ‘at sea’ days. I think that each cabin having its own balcony helped—I know some people preferred to relax there some of the time in preference to the public areas of the ship. Also, we only had about 850 passengers on board, not the maximum 920.

One of the several pools on board

One of the several whirlpools on board

Sun deck near a pool. Note the shower in the foreground for use before and after the pool

Conservatory pool—the largest, and it has a retractable roof if the weather is inclement. The big screen is used for movies, and they even had the Canadian F1 race on one day

Sakura, the Asian themed restaurant

Our cabin on arrival. Note the large vinyl sheets on the beds to protect the linen from suitcases and suitcase wheels while you’re unpacking – nice touch!

Our lounge area, with bubbly on arrival, metal water bottles for us to keep, some sweet treat. Also included (but not shown) was a fully stocked bar fridge and bottles of wine and spirits to our liking

Our balcony, with 2 chairs, a table and a day lounger

Dressing and vanity area, with lots of hanging space, coat hangers (they give you more on request), robes, and the top drawer is shallow for jewellery and small things and has a glass top so you can’t miss anything. Above the hanging space is a storage area for hats, bags etc., also with a glass bottom so you can see your stuff up there.

Full size bathroom with a full length vanity area and a small fenced area above for extra storage. The towels were wonderfully large and very fluffy, and the floor was heated

The end of the shower recess had a ledge where you could put things or sit, and it was out of the splash zone of the shower, so nothing that went there got wet. Yes, it was a very long shower space!

Part of the shower furniture. Not shown is the large rainhead above. The grab rail was in a good position and the toiletries were out of the way of elbows etc.

At the stern is the small infinity pool, a heap of sun loungers and yet another bar

Conservatory pool at night after they closed the roof

Today’s adventures involved 2 train trips: Siena to Grosseto, a bit of a wait, then Grosseto to Civitavecchia, the port for Rome.

So, when does a paid for seat reservation on a train not equal a reserved seat on a train? When you get onto Coach 3 and look for your allocated seats of 9A and 10A only to find that 10A exists but 9A doesn’t! Fortunately, the train guy found us 2 other seats in the same coach that he said weren’t listed in the reservation system. Not ideal but at least we were in the same coach as each other and our luggage.

These were my last train trips in Italy and overall the experience has been great. Every train has been on time (I wasn’t expecting that), all trains had working air conditioning, and many were newer rolling stock, with only a couple perhaps made in the last 20 years (nothing earlier). Checking tickets (Eurail Pass in our case) has been hit and miss—I think our tickets were checked maybe twice on the first 5 sectors. They must be losing a lot of money because of this (someone on Facebook did mention that the fines for no ticket are VERY high in Italy [EU200 or more?] so it’s a big risk to travel without one). And train travel is certainly the best way to get from A to B in Italy. Even the regional trains are in good condition, though some stations were better than others (2 of the elevators to the platforms at Siena didn’t work the 6 times we used that station, twice with luggage). Luggage can be a bit of an issue—some carriages have luggage racks, but many don’t. Some train doors open flush to the platform, but many have several steep steps you have to negotiate quickly with luggage (typically the train is in the station for maybe 2 minutes and in that time you have to find your coach [1st or 2nd class and your reserved seat, if you have one] and get yourself and your luggage up the steps and onto the train). We found that one of the most useful pieces of travel kit we purchased were retractable luggage locks—we used them to tie our luggage to a railing or a bike or luggage rack. They removed the worry that if our luggage was out of sight, as it often was, that someone might take off with it, or that it would roll about the floor being a hazard to everyone.

We arrived in Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) late morning and spent a lazy afternoon wandering around the waterfront area, finding where we had to go to access the cruise terminal, having a bite to eat (we shared a carbonara and salad), then cooling off in the air conditioned apartment watching a couple of movies and doing laundry. A slow afternoon/evening to take the edge off all the recent travel and activity.

Tomorrow we start the next part of the adventure!

Locking our luggage to racks with retractable locks was a terrific idea, and they were well worth the purchase

Civitavecchia waterfront a cruise ship in the distance (not ours)

We went to the medieval walled town of Montepulciano today. It was really lovely, but I’m quickly learning that ‘medieval walled town’ in Europe invariably means a bloody big hill, often with no accessible roads, and typically with LOTS of steps and cobblestones/uneven ground. Also, often with LOTS of tourists (and yes, I’m well aware of the irony/hypocrisy of making that statement when I was there as a tourist too!) and tourist-trap shops. We took the train to Montepulciano station from Siena (there are only a couple of regional trains a day on this route), then a bus to the bus station below the walled town. What no-one told us was that there’s another little bus that takes you from the bus station up and up to the town. We found that out after we’d climbed the steep hill… Yes, it was hot.

There was also a little tuk-tuk type vehicle up there that took you around Montepulciano for EU10 – well worth it in the heat and with tired feet! It has several pick up/drop off points, with the main one being in the piazza.

After we were done with Montepulciano, we walked back down to the bus station. We weren’t going to be able to catch a bus that would make the 2pm train back and didn’t want to wait for the 3:30 train, so we decided to take the bus to Siena. And it was here that we discovered that the bus routes take you through the backroads and stop in all sorts of small places. At least the bus was air conditioned (as were all the trains we travelled on)!

The bus dropped us at the Siena train station and instead of taking a cab back to our apartment as we’d done previously, we thought we’d take a local bus into the city centre, spend a bit of time at the Piazza del Campo (yes, that name will be emblazoned in my memory forever!!!), then walk or cab back to the apartment to pack for our early start tomorrow.

‘Take the bus into the centre of town’, they said. ‘It’s much cheaper than a taxi.’ ‘You just have to go across to the shopping centre over the road, then go down below and all the buses are local and will take you into town.’ Problem was, that info was wrong and we caught the WRONG bus!!! We caught the bus that had Piazza del Sale on its sign, and I assumed that was the piazza in Siena (20 July 2025: I’ve just looked this up and the Piazza del Campo in Siena is sometimes referred to as the Piazza del Sale!!! Quote: “The Piazza del Campo, Siena’s main public space, is sometimes referred to as Piazza del Sale due to its historical function as a marketplace.”)

After we’d passed the outer walls of Siena and headed into the beautiful Tuscan countryside, we realised we were probably on the wrong bus. Fortunately, the young couple sitting opposite us spoke good English and they confirmed our fears. They advised us to get out at the next stop, cross the road and catch the next bus back to Siena. The bus we were on wasn’t going to the piazza in Siena at all, but to the piazza in Grosseto, some 75 km away!!!

We got off on the outskirts of a tiny town (Isola d’Arbia) some 15 km out of Siena, walked across the road and consulted the bus timetable (in Italian, of course) posted at the stop. By this time it was well after 4pm. On a Saturday. In the Italian countryside. And I think I mentioned it was hot. From what we could read and interpret, the timetable indicated that the next (and last) bus *might* come around 7:15pm… Mild panic set in—we had reservations to catch trains from 8am tomorrow to be in Civitavecchia to embark on our cruise!!! I called the only taxi company in Siena (I hadn’t had a good run with them but it was the only option). Fortunately, the person I spoke to spoke good English and told us a taxi would be there in about 15 mins, but that we’d have to pay the fare from Siena and back. At that point I didn’t care what they’d charge!!!

After about 20 mins the taxi arrived, thank every god under the sun! Yes, it WAS expensive, and yes we did get dropped off at the Piazza Del Campo where we’d originally intended to go an hour or two earlier. We wandered about for a bit then had a long cold drink and a well-deserved pizza, before heading back to pack for our early taxi ride to the train station tomorrow. Never a dull moment!

Looking over the Tuscan countryside from Montepulciano

What colour leather would you like?

The tuk tuk was able to go up the narrow streets of Montepulciano

Piazza del Campo – at last!

Able to laugh about getting on the wrong bus! A mojito and a shared pizza helped, as did my linen dress and cool sunnies from Florence.

Florence today…. and 16,775 steps (almost 11 km) registered on the pedometer app! Train to Florence early this morning to beat the crowds at the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio bridge, which worked well, then wandered around quite a bit. By the time we got back to both places, it was pretty packed. And it was hot and humid. I gave in and bought a light linen dress (Eu100) and immediately felt more comfortable. More wandering about, trying an Italian gelato (fig and mascarpone for me—delicious!), eating real bruschetta, watching through a restaurant window to see how the pasta dish, cacio e pepe, is finished in the wheel of cheese [memo to myself: MUST try this in Rome!!]. And of course, a visit to see the David.

Things that caught my attention about trains in Italy and Switzerland:

• Northern Italy is well-served by trains. There were at least 30 train journeys per DAY just between Siena (population about 53,000) and Florence (about 360,000), a driving distance of about 80 km. Where I live in Australia, we had 2 trains per day between the city near where I live (80,000 population) and Perth (2.6 million); distance about 160 km. When I say ‘had’, they stopped the trains a few years ago to do major works further up the line near Perth. Rumour has it that they will have 5 trains per day once the service restarts late in 2025 (I wish!), but that’s nowhere near the frequency of the trains between Italian towns and cities.
• High-speed trains are brilliant. They go fast, there are no road crossings where trains or vehicles could possibly meet, and they are relatively cheap compared to hiring a car, using a taxi etc. Not as cheap as buses, but they go much faster than buses and don’t stop everywhere.
• Most smaller train stations have an elevator to go below the lines to reach platforms further away. But these elevators don’t always work (e.g. the elevator for the platform we arrived on in Siena was out of order, and we had no choice but to lug our heavy luggage down the steps—fortunately, the elevator at the other end to go up to the terminal was working, and even more fortunately, one of the staff from the train was also heading down the steps and helped us with our luggage. Don’t expect this—there’s often no staff around at all.)

The Duomo, before the crowds

Pontevecchio Bridge – jewellers’ shops before they opened and the crowds came

David’s hands are HUGE and his bum is very nice!

Twirling the pasta in the pecorino cheese wheel for cacio e pepe

We opted for the easy way out of hilly Torno—via the ferry. But to get my large and heavy suitcase down those 40 steep steps, I had to do a rethink. I’d packed a foldable duffel so it was time to get it out. I put my packing cubes containing only clothing into the duffel—nice and soft and nothing breakable, which meant my hard-shell suitcase was a lot lighter. I then threw that duffel down the steps! Between us, we helped each other get our suitcases down. Getting out of Torno was much easier than getting in. We took a ferry that went a bit later than the commuter ones so that our luggage wasn’t going to be an issue, and found a place to sit inside (it was raining again) where we didn’t have to take our luggage downstairs.

We knew Como was flat, so we meandered from the ferry terminal through some of the piazzas, stopping for coffee/breakfast, but always heading towards the train station. There was an unexpected hill to the station, but we did it! We avoided the steps and dragged our suitcases up the footpath next to the road.

The first leg was a local train from Como to Milan (about 30 mins), then a bit of time at the very busy Milan Centrale station, before catching the high-speed train which went to Florence and Rome and terminated at Naples. But we weren’t going that far—only to Siena. As with all high-speed trains, seat reservations are required if you have a Eurail Pass. Most seat reservations cost us between EU10 and EU20 each, and seemed to only be required for the high-speed trains. And they are certainly high-speed—I think this train did up to 300 km/h.

We knew that the Siena train station was outside the old city walls, and that we’d have to get a taxi to our accommodation. I think the taxi driver realised we were raw tourists as he took us the long way around the outer walls. We paid about EU40 for that trip, whereas all other taxi rides we had to and from the station were much quicker and cost about EU15 to EU20.

Even though it was late afternoon, it was still quite hot when we arrived in Siena. Our accommodation only had one big step to get into, and no more than 2 steps within, so that was a relief!! As were the nice hot showers we had.

Some months ago I’d heard about a restaurant in Siena called La Taverna Di San Guiseppe. But they didn’t take online bookings, so I got our travel agent, who speaks fluent Italian, to call them one night last March and book us for the last night they were open before they took a break—the same night we arrived in Siena. Fortunately, the 300 m distance to the restaurant was only down a steepish hill and not down or up some of the really steep hills in Siena we spotted later.

We had a fabulous meal at La Taverna Di San Guiseppe—no photos because they came out blurry, sadly. We shared our two meals—an absolutely delicious osso bucco (the sauce was to die for and the meat fell off the bone) and their version of spaghetti carbonara, using wild boar (I think) instead of bacon. Just brilliant. I’m so glad we went there. The food was wonderful as was the impeccable service. By the way, there was a very deep wine cellar inside the restaurant they said dated back to 300 BC. Speaking of wine, my sister spotted a EU3,800 bottle of wine on the wine list, so I think they take their wine very seriously!

My sister’s first-ever sfogliatella, in Como

Array of pastries, Como

The high-speed trains all have these very aerodynamic noses (Milan station)

Just down the road from our accommodation was a little hole-in-the-wall place that sold all sorts of stuff, including very fresh and ripe fruit

The hole descends into the wine cellar via some very steep steps (La Taverna Di San Guiseppe, Siena)

The prices at La Taverna Di San Guiseppe weren’t outrageous

The thing about unplanned days is that any vague plans you had can change. So it was today…

We’d planned to go up to Menaggio on the fast ferry from Como (it doesn’t stop at Torno), but you can’t prebook the fast ferry, except on the day. Because tickets sell out quickly, we got to Como fairly early, but we didn’t read the time in the (Italian language) timetable correctly—the ticket seller said that the 11am time was only for feast days/holidays, but we could take the 12.15pm ferry which would get in about an hour later. We asked for a return ticket only to be told that we could only get a one-way ticket and that we couldn’t buy the return ticket from Como, ONLY at the Menaggio ferry ticket office. He asked when we wanted to return and we said we had to be back in Torno around 5pm as our friend was getting picked up to go to Milan airport. He said that the 3:30pm ferry would be pushing it as we wouldn’t get to Menaggio until close to 1:30 and that would be the earliest we could buy the return ticket and they’d likely be sold out by then. Who runs a service like this?????

Anyhow, it was way too risky, so we decided to stay in Como for the rest of the day, and contribute some more to their economy, catching the not-so-fast ferry back to Torno in the afternoon!

We said goodbye to our friend this evening—as she has a 10am international flight out of Milan (160 km away) tomorrow, she decided to NOT risk getting a car and driver to pick her up at a very early hour from Torno, instead choosing to get picked up late this afternoon and staying overnight in a hotel close to the airport. Knowing the local terrain and inaccessibility of the town much better now, as well as my own risk profile, I’d have done the same!

My sister and I leave the Lake Como area tomorrow, catching several trains to Siena, so we needed to pack too.

Photos are of various food displays in stores we walked past…

We spent the day in Como. Short version: Como is flat with no steps! We contributed well to the local economy, even me! Weather was but mostly pleasant, with low to mid 20s temps.

Top tip: Never assume the pier your ferry came in on is the same pier as it will leave from several hours later… there’s a (breathless) reason we know this!

Recommendation: Italian gelaterias are just wonderful!