Exploring the Mediterranean Along the Italian and French Rivieras

 Some readers of my blogs may remember my tale of anguish in February of 2020 as the Covid pandemic was rampaging across Asia, and I was sailing around the South China Sea onboard the beautiful Crystal Symphony hoping that one day a port would agree to let us dock.  We eventually disembarked safely in Singapore.  I had been so enamored with the ship I was on, that I booked additional cruises, including a World Cruise planned for 2022.  While I returned home to wait out the pandemic in isolation, the cruise industry (along with other tourist-intense businesses) suffered significant losses.  Crystal declared bankruptcy, and my anticipated future cruise deposits were lost.  I recovered some of my money through one of my credit cards, some through the bankruptcy court, and some as future cruise credits issued by the company that ultimately purchased Crystal’s two ocean ships, in an attempt to lure back Crystal’s former passengers.

In September of 2025, I was finally able to book a cruise that interested me and would use my credits.  I boarded the Crystal Symphony in Civitavecchia (the Italian port nearest to Rome; pronounced as chee·vee·tuh·veh·kee·uh) after an overnight stay in the airport town of Fiumicino (fyoo·mee·chee·no).  

The Tiber River and the riverfront restaurants in Fiumicino

Some renovations had been completed on the ship, including the conversion of several staterooms to “solo” cabins (one of which I had booked), but much of the ship looked just as I remembered.  Once on board, I enjoyed a couple of hours strolling around and recalling the people I had met and the venues I had enjoyed on that 2020 voyage.

In preparation for this cruise, I looked for tourist information about the ports we would be visiting, but found limited resources.  When I found a book on Amazon titled “The French & Italian Rivieras,” I ordered it, thinking it would be the perfect companion for this trip.  However, when it arrived, I discovered that it was a reprint of a book originally published in 1924!  According to the back cover, the book had been reissued as a “culturally important” work, now in the public domain. 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this tourist guide, by Helena L. Waters, actually contained a wealth of information about several of the places we would be visiting.  In the introduction, Waters wrote: “The discomforts of long railway journeys after the Great War of 1914-1918 induced the owners of private motor cars to undertake a six days’ motoring tour to reach the Riviera. . . .  When comfortably settled on the Riviera, the car was still in requisition to take the happy owners to enjoy the magnificent mountain scenery, which could not have been visited with the aid of horses alone. . . . A new world has been opened up:  villages, hidden away in quiet corners . . . forgotten for centuries, has once again been brought to the fore.”

In her travel guide, Waters highlighted about 150 towns and villages along the southern coast of France and the northwestern coast of Italy, from Marseilles to the towns collectively known as Cinque Terre.  While her detailed descriptions of the roads she traveled were of little use to me, the historical perspective she provided was interesting, and, of course, the ancient town walls, cathedrals, and castles she described are still on view.

As I discovered on the cruise, this region along the Mediterranean Sea is known for its beautiful beaches and mountain ranges.  Sometimes there is enough land between the ocean and mountains for a town, but in many places, the mountains meet the sea and villages ascend the mountainsides.  But before reaching those scenic villages, our ship visited two Italian islands:  Sardinia and Elbe.

Our first port of call was the town of Olbia, on the island of Sardinia.   About a million and a half people live on Sardinia.  The island’s crystal-clear turquoise waters and white sandy beaches were “discovered” by Prince Karim Aga Khan (a European spiritual leader of a Shia Muslim sect).  He developed the area as an alternative to Monte Carlo, with many expensive resorts now lining the beaches.   

Rather than visit one of those beaches, I elected a shore excursion to a vineyard in the mountainous center of the island.  The current owner of the Pietro Martini vineyard, Lara, took us on a tour and then treated us to a tasting of her wines, accompanied by large platters of local cured meats and cheeses.  Lara’s father was a local dentist who decided to close his practice in order to follow his wine-making passion.  The Martini’s grow two kinds of traditional Sardinian grapes:  the Cannonau grapes produce a red wine that is light and fruity; and Vermentino grapes make a lovely white wine.  Lara told us that the grape harvest would begin the day after our visit.  The winery produces about 1.3 million bottles a year.  I asked about purchasing a couple of cases to be shipped home, but, alas, they are not equipped to do that, so I had to settle for a bottle of Cannonau and one of Vermentino to carry home with me.

My shipboard friend, Pat from England (top left) and me (bottom left) at the vineyard.  Grapes and wines produced here.

On the second day of the cruise, we anchored off of the island of Elba. You might remember the name of this island, as I did, because Napoleon was exiled here. He arrived on the island with a retinue of 400, his carriages, etc. and was given free rein on the island.  It wasn't a terrible exile, as he was only here for 10 months before escaping in order to again fight in France, where he was defeated at Waterloo.  His next exile, on the island of St. Helena, was more restrictive. He was held there for six years, until his death.  While on Elba, he improved the roads, planted vineyards, and had canals constructed to rid the capital city of Portoferraio of sewage.

Elba, a mountainous island with a population of about 30,000, is one of seven in an archipelago that is part of Tuscany.  The islands are protected as the Tuscan Archipelago National Park--the largest marine park in Europe.  

The shore excursion that I selected took a group of us up into the mountains to visit the hilltop village of Capoliveri (elevation 1,355 feet) and back down to visit a second one, Porto Azzurro. According to our local guide, Elba is a great favorite of mountain bikers and triathletes.  Walking around Capoliveri, I enjoyed its medieval architecture, narrow streets, charming town squares, and views of the surrounding bays, cliffs, and islands.  The main industry of Elba has been mineral extraction.  We visited a small mineral museum in Porto Azzurro.

Top left photo is of Portoferraio, capital city of Elba; bottom right is the tender we took from our ship to town; bottom center photo shows some of the minerals extracted on Elba; the remaining photos are of the town of Capoliveri

Our exploration of the Italian Riviera began in the port city of La Spezia.  This is a jumping-off point for visiting the towns known as the Cinque Terre.  My intention was to take an express train to visit the towns since I have not yet done so.  However, the skies were threatening rain and I was feeling lethargic, so I gave myself a “ship day.”  I enjoy days like this when most people are off of the ship.  I slept in, took a few turns around the promenade deck, did a load of laundry in the self-service launderette, went to the gym for a workout followed by some time in the sauna, participated in an art class, and suddenly the day was gone. Evenings on board begin with cocktails, then dinner, and finally a show—Broadway style singing and dancing or a guest performer.  There are late-night activities on offer, but I prefer heading to bed by then.

The Crystal Symphony (center photos), bottom left show the promenade deck, top left is from one of the shipboard lectures by a former White House correspondent for the New York Times.  Right photo is from "White Night," to be described later.

The next day I was up early for a shore excursion.  I had booked “a scenic cruise to Camogli” (pronounced ka-MOW-gli).  According to my pre-trip research, the village of Camogli was described on one website as a “fantastic Cinque Terre alternative, popular among Italian tourists.” 

We dropped anchor outside of the fishing village of Portofino and took a tender ride to the dock.  The wind was blowing and our transfer was a bit rocky.  We were met in Portofino by tour guides who herded a group of about 50 of us onto another boat which would take us around the Portofino Peninsula to Camogli.  The winds continued to buffet us, making for a very unpleasant hour.  While several people were seasick, I managed to hold on to my breakfast.

We got close enough to San Fruttuoso, to take photos, but did not attempt to dock.  This is the site of a still-functioning monastery.  According to my 1924 guidebook, the octagonal tower was built around 400; “the fishing village can be reached by sea or a winding mule trail down the 1,830-foot mountain.”

Portofino.  The top right photo is of the boat we took on our shore excursion around the pennisula.  Right center shows the Monastery at San Fruttuoso.

Arriving in Camogli, I breathed a sigh of relief to be on terra firma.  Like many Italian mountain towns, Camogli is built along the shore and up into the hillside.  The multistory buildings are close together and painted in a range of pastel colors.  The guide for my group’s walking tour of the village said that the arrangement of structures was for two reasons:  available land is limited and this area was beset by pirates so having houses close together provided a defensive barrier.  She said that many of the buildings are painted in trompe d’oiel so that the smooth surface looks three-dimensional. This fooled me into touching the walls of more than one building, and sure enough, the surface was smooth.  Taxes were levied based on the number of windows a building had, so some owners avoided taxes by painting on windows.  We stopped to look at a wall decoration of “Our Mother (Mary)” surrounded by sea shells.  The sailors and fishermen of the village would stop here to pray before heading out to sea.

Camogli:  descriptions are contained in the text.

We had some free time to explore before getting our boat back to Portofino, so I walked up to some of the higher parts of town.  The Crystal ships have one night on each cruise called a “white night.”  The central atrium of the ship is draped in white panels and decorated with white balloons, and the guests are encouraged to dress in white.  I had brought nothing white with me, so stopped in several little shops looking for something suitable.  The shopkeeper of one tiny little shop spoke no English, but she managed to help me find something white that I would actually be able to wear for more occasions than just the white night on the ship.

Our next port of call was at another Italian Riviera town, Savona.  Again, I booked a shore excursion to mountain villages, and again my 1924 guidebook provided me with helpful information.  Our first stop was in the village of Finalborgo, which Waters had described as a medieval village with old walls standing along the riverside.  The town gates were erected in 1452, and the Church of Santa Caterina was founded in 1330.  The town we visited was exactly as she had described it.

Left photo is of the gate into Finalborgo.  Top center is the church of St. John the Baptist and the center bottom photo is of Santa Caterina, now a museum.  Inside St. John, the marble work is exqusite as shown in the photos on the right.  Even the "tablecloth" is marble!

Our bus took us back down the mountain to the seaside village of Noli.  Again, my 1924 guidebook provided some interesting information such as that the town claims to have been founded by a nephew of Noah after the flood.  I’m assuming that this is apocryphal, however, there is evidence of Roman occupation dating back to at least 300.  The author Dante spent some time in this village, and the 15^th century navigator who discovered the Canary Islands hailed from here.  He was known as Antonio de Noli.  During our free time, I hiked up to the castle on the hilltop to enjoy the views.  

Bottom photos show the terraced vineyards of the countryside and the town of Noli from above.  Across the top are the gate into Old Town, a painting in the cathedral depicting the seafaring nature of the city, the road up the hillside to the castle, and having a coffee in a local cafe.

As I walked around town, I took a series of photos of Italians going about their daily lives: chatting, visiting a bakery, walking their dogs, and watching the world go by.

As we continued to sail along the Italian coast, I spent some time re-reading sections of my 1924 guidebook.  In it, Waters wrote:  “It is now hard to realize that the French Riviera from Nice to St. Louis Gorge (the current border between France and Italy) was Italian, with Italian-speaking people, and Italian names down to 1860.”  The region between Nice and Genoa was studded with castles.  Waters goes on to say that “In Liguria there were at least 450 noble families decorated with titles and possessing vast estates.”  One of the noble families of Genoa was the Grimaldis.  Napoleon I gave the Principality of Monaco to Grimaldi as a reward for his valor and service to France.  The line of princes of Monaco descends from this Genoese family.

Our ship spent three days in Monte Carlo, in the Principality of Monaco as it was the end of one cruise segment and the start of another.  On the first day, I took a shore excursion to the town of Nice, about an hour away.  As we drove along the Middle Corniche road, we passed by the town of Eze which is perched on a steep, isolated, rugged rock.  (There were shore excursions offered to Eze, but I did not take one.  Those who did said the views were amazing, but the hike up to the village was very challenging, as the bus could only go partway up.)

Nice was originally a Phoenician port in 542 BC.  At various times it was ruled by Spain, France, Genoa, Austria, and the Turks.  According to Waters, the cathedral in the old town of Nice was built on the site of a temple to the Roman goddess Diana.  Nice has a decidedly Italian flavor, including an opera house built to mimic the one in Milan.  Guiseppe Garibaldi, the general credited with uniting the modern state of Italy, was born in Nice in 1807.  The United Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861.  In return for the help given by the French, the county of Nice was handed over to France at that time.

In Nice, we strolled along a lovely promenade, where we browsed through colorful flower and vegetable markets and local boutiques.

Nice:  A view of the harbor from above, the beach, the promanade, the opera house, and fruit and flowers in the market.

For our second day in Monte Carlo, I gave myself another ship day as the change in passengers took place.  Crystal is one of the ships that encourages solo travelers, and I have met a number of interesting women who, like me, travel by themselves.  (There are a few men who travel solo, but in my experience most solo travelers are women.). Each evening the solo travelers are invited to gather for cocktails and dancing with the “hosts.”  Two of these men were very patient and tried to teach me some basic dance steps, but mostly I just enjoyed talking with other women—from the US, Britain, and Germany--and watching the dancers.

In addition to the standard buffet, informal grill, and sit down restaurant, Crystal Symphony has three specialty restaurants.  My favorite was Umi Uma, a Japanese restaurant.  On my second night in Monte Carlo, I dined here and had the best meal of my cruise.  I thought it was so beautifully presented, and delicious, that I took photos of each of my courses.

From the top right:  edamame starter, tempura lobster appetizer, wild mushroom soup (eat the mushrooms with the chopsticks and pour the broth into the little cup to drink), black cod and a side of rice, small dessert cookies and a creme brulee sampler with ginger tea.

Monte Carlo, famous as a playground for the rich and famous and for its casinos and Grand Prix racing, was of little interest to me, but I did take myself for a long walk on my third day in port.  I walked up to the old palace, built on “the rock” overlooking the bay.  The oldest parts of the palace date to 1215.  Unfortunately, the palace itself was closed for renovations, but the Oceanographic Museum was open.  

Monte Carlo--city and yachts in the harbor.  Top right shows the palace on the rock from a distance and bottom right shows it up close.  Center bottom photo is of the Oceanographic Museum.

The museum was founded more than a hundred years ago by the current ruler’s great-great-grandfather, Prince Albert I.  It purportedly features more than 6,000 species, from Mediterranean octopuses and moray eels to tropical sharks and sea horses.  I had a marvelous time and must have photographed at least 200 of the sea creatures on display. Here is a small sampling of my photos:

The top row of photos in this collage are of an octopus.  Others show a seahorse, varities of starfish, jellyfish, and green moray eels.

Next up was a stop at Cannes, “the pearl of the Riviera” according to Lord Brougham of England who was quarantined here in 1831.  He loved the city so much that he bought an estate here as a winter residence.  His statue holds prominent place in a square near the sea.  I joined a walking tour of town, along the old harbor, past elegant sailing yachts, and by the site of the famous Cannes Film Festival.  A mural painted on the side of a building in the Old Town celebrates Cannes as the birthplace of film because the local Lumiere brothers invented the film projector.

The home of the Cannes Film Festival, some handprints from the walkway, and a mural of the Lumiere Brothers.

Miscellaneous scenes around Cannes.  Top center photo is of the staute of Lord Brougham.

Our final port on the French Riviera was at the ancient town of Toulon, originally a Phoenician settlement with a bay protected by two limestone precipices.  It was occupied in turn by Greeks and Romans—the remnants of the Roman wall still stand.  In more recent times, it was an important French naval base.  My shore excursion here was on board a tourist tram that took us through the city past the historic Fort St. Louis, through gardens and along beaches.

Toulon:  Our tram, naval base, walls of the fortress, the beach, and Old Town

People of Toulon

Although I took some ship days on my own, there was only one sea day on this 15-day cruise, so it was packed with activities.  I went to three lectures, took a samba dance class and an art class, and went on a bridge tour.  My photos are about the bridge tour.

The captain and the first officer are from Croatia as was the guest shown in top left photo below. (The guest lives in California where he is a longshoreman.)  The second photo shows some of the many information/control panels. The ship's engines were set for 10 knots per hour, but due to currents, we were actually traveling at 10.8 knots per hour. In the screen on the left, you can see two tiny blips. Those are sailboats in the vicinity of the ship.

The second officer explained the stabilizers to a few of us. (See the top three photos on the right in the above collage.) The stabilizers protrud on either side of the ship, just below the water (red) line.  I didn't fully understand this, but there are water containers on the stabilizer. Controlling the amount of water in each is what keeps the ship stable in moving seas.  The center right photo was a taken when the ship was in dry dock. The white tube is the stabilizer.  On the foreward bow, there are extra propeller blades and a shaft to be used in case of a needed repair. This part of the ship also serves as the crew's recreation and pool area (bottom right photo).

Outside is a large covered panel that the first officer called the barbeque grill.  (Bottom three photos.)  When opened, the "grill" contains a set of operation panels to be used when the captain is docking the ship.  The view of the ship is the one the captain has when docking.  A local pilot comes on board to get the ship into port, but the docking of the ship is always the responsibility of the captain.

Our ship sailed on to Spain for our final few ports.  A few months ago, I had been on another ship that docked at the town of Palma on the island of Mallorca.  On that visit, there were thousands of passengers in town from other ships, and I was left behind by my tour group at the very crowed cathedral.  Having no interest in re-visiting that madhouse, I booked a shore excursion that was to take a ride on an historic 100-year-old wooden train “to the charming village of Soller.” We actually rode a bus to Soller, but after visiting the village, we took the train back to Palma. 

Scenes from Soller and the train ride back to Palma.

The highlight of this excursion was a visit to Ca’n Det, a traditional 16th-century olive oil press.  The house and mill (bottom right photo in the collage below) have been owned by the same family for 400 years.  We watched a film about the process of making olive oil, visited the mill, and then sampled the product. Light and delicious!   

Here is the process, starting with the top row of photos:  Start with olive trees that are between 300 and 1,000 years old.   Shake the olives from the tree onto cloths on the ground and then pick up the olives. (This mill takes olives from all the families in the area and returns a proportion of the oil to them. Pressing green olives results in a stronger, green-tinted oil. This mill waits until the olives mature and turn black to make a lighter golden oil.)   Wash the olives.    Then crush them under large rolling cones.   The mashed olives are placed on mats, 25 layers of smashed olives and mats are stacked.   The stack is compressed to extract the oil.   The oil is separated from any remaining water and spun in a centrifuge to remove impurities.   The result? Liquid gold.

The ship next anchored off of Castellon, Spain, but again, I spent the day on the ship.  The next day, we docked in Barcelona.  I have been to Barcelona several times before and couldn’t really think of anything I wanted to do that I hadn’t already seen.  I did get off the ship and take the shuttle to town where I wandered around for a while.  It was hot and crowded (six ships in port!) and a bank holiday, so I didn’t stay long, returning to the ship to pack and prepare to disembark.

Until this trip, I have been eager to explore the various towns where the ships have docked, but the cities are beginning to have a sameness to them so they are less enticing to me.  I do still enjoy being on a ship, participating in the various activities on offer, or just enjoying time to relax.  I definitely am not bored, but neither do I feel the need to be an active tourist every day.  I guess that is a sign that cruising is “in my blood” now, and I am often cruising just for the joy of cruising.