Our own John Lane is currently sailing onboard the Oceania Marina in the Mediterranean; the following is the latest in his ongoing series of blog posts:
Are shore excursions for you? Do you want to be part of a group? Today I experienced my third shore excursion, an 11 hour tour to Siena and San Gimignano. We left Livorno with our pleasent guide who talked about the area and what we would see. Then once we got to Siena, we picked up a local guide who was well versed on the area….and well versed she was. She talked about every brick and stone each building had. I just wanted the basics and she was telling me too much. We did get free time after her one hour tour and I ate lunch on the square in Siena …pizza and chianti. Siena is the Chianti region so I HAD to drink chianti. The tour director left us and then we drove to San Gimignano and guess who met us there?
You are right: the same local guide was going to tell us once again about all the bricks and stones in the towers. I kind of drifted to the back of the group and just soaked in the local color which I enjoyed and would have to say that San G. has been my favorite stop. So when you get to a port of call think about do you just want to learn the basics or want get the lengthy
detailed version of every brick and stone.
John Lane, MCC
Cruise Escapes
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John@CruiseEscapes.com
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