Livorno

Aug 18th
Livorno

For my second time in Livorno (not counting the detour to La Spezia last cruise), I was able to get on a tour that took me through the Tuscan countryside to a bed and breakfast for wine tasting. This estate produced their own wine on site, so the tour included us a showing of the facilities in addition to the tasting. It was a nice relaxed tour with a great drive to the area, taking us by Pisa where I could see the tower again, and the opportunity to sample wines with traditional Italian cheeses, breads, and cold cuts was great. The Tuscany region was absolutely beautiful as well, not to mention it was nice getting away from a major city and going into the more traditional rural areas. Then we had two shows to play for the American Drifters, which were OK, nothing too exciting.
On a different note, today was my one month anniversary of signing onto the ship. This means that the contract I’d negotiated now goes into full effect and I no longer have the option to leave without being penalized. So a quick reflection after a month: It’s been a lot of fun. I don’t know that the novelty of living on a ship has worn out yet or if it was even there to begin with, I’ve just simply been having a great time. It’s a different way of living though, I’m so over stimulated with experiencing these different cultures and trying to absorb as much as possible that much of my energy gets expended on processing this info. The shows are generally simple, to an extent mindless sight-reading, but not so easy that I can zone out. The big band/combo sets are a nice departure from the shows, but there’s enough variety from day to day to maintain some level of interest. And the 2 week cruises means nothing gets repeated till the next 2 week period. But the cruise, like most things, is what you make of it. I make sure to have fun during the shows and get off the ship every chance I can, I’ve been meeting a lot of people and coming in contact with cultures I’d never find at home. So the excitement remains after the first month, and the next 5 I’m sure will be great as well. In a week, we cruise to Ireland, and then start our Scandinavian cruise after that. There’s a lot to be excited for, and as long as I keep sight of that, this contract will fly by. Thanks for reading and keep in touch!