Hi All,
Just got back about 2:00 am from London. My mind is still foggy, but will try to answer your questions.
I had I think the best server team. Sammyeer & Walter. If you can,ask for them. They were great, & couldn't do enough for us. Sammy actually cut the meat of my tablemates. We were wined dinned & pampered.
I did purchase the Internet package & so glad I did. I was able to email my DH & my Mom & Dad from the Magic, whenever I could. To me, this was priceless. I was even able to talk live (thru PM) to my husband. He was in NYC & I in Italy. Sometimes the Internet was slow, other times, it was not. I didn't down load any photos. I just used it to email, & print my boarding passes.
The weather was really great thru out the trip. No rain (until we got to London) It was hot, which I expected. The last sea day, was a bit cloudy & the boat rocked a bit. Didn't effect our fun & activities on the boat one bit.
The Day at the Farm excursion to me was one of my favorite excursion. I thought it was great for all ages.
We were picked up at the pier & loaded on the bus. We had a great guide who spoke terrific English, and was easy to understand. She spoke to us the moment we entered the bus, explaining everything to us. We were told to wear our swimsuits under our clothes, for the tour.
We toured the town before we made our way thru the Magnificent hills of Sicily. She pointed out to us, all the highlights of the city
& made sure our driver let us see where the god father was filmed.
We drove about an hour up the mountains. We stopped at a 5,000 year old cave near the top of the mountain. The weather was 104 degrees. The hill was very steep. I walk 4 miles a day & swim laps 3 times a week, & I had a hard time getting up the steep hill. It was hard on many people especially the seniors & small children. Where your sneakers!!!
After we drove further up the mountains, to a villa, where they welcomed our tour with wine, home made Sicilian pizza (it was unbelievable)they also seved thin slices of Italian bread mixed with small pieces of tomatoes sundries tomatoes, sprinkled with olive oil. It was really good. There was a man pouring us glasses of wine, & water. On the other side, there was a man, with a big belly pot, making homemade Ricotta cheese. He was letting the kids stir. There was another table, where the kids were making homemade pizza dough. They were making them in the shapes of Mickey mouse. Our group was
Socializing, while eating & drinking. The little ones where having a ball running around, & eating. Clean bathrooms. Just before we left, they handed up big white bowls, filled with warm home made Ricotta cheese. I never in my life had anything so good. The kids seemed to enjoy it too.
We then headed back to the bus, & climbed the hill to our next adventure. We ended up at the top of the mountain, & pulled into a lot, where there was a big beautiful built in swimming pool, over looking the mountains of Sicily. There was a baby pool connected to the big pool for the little one. Next to the pool, was a little patio, covered with a sheltered canopy of vines, that sheltered us from the sun. The patio had many bistro tables & chairs, for the people who didn't swim. I went in the water with my daughter & met many more parents. I will never forget the scenic site of the pool over looking the mountains of Sicily. The view will forever be in mind.
They let us swim for about a 1/2 hour. There were restrooms, & we were able to change them.
We were then seated in the restaurant for lunch. We had no ideal what to expect.They started with antipasto which was cheeses olives bread different Italians meats (salami & pepperoni & many other Itlaian meats) It was served with wine Italian soda & water.Next they served some kinda delicious quiche and side dishes of marinated artichoke hearts & eggplant.
It was so funny, because my whole table thought ok, it's time for dessert, but they just kept bringing more & more courses of food. It was really funny.
Next they brought out spaghetti. The sauce tasted like my
Nona, use to make real Italian It was so good. Next, eggplant with spaghetti sauce, followed by penne pasta with green sauce.
Believe it not they didn't serve us our main course yet. They finally did which was Lamb shanks for the adults with litte baked whole round
potatoes, vegetables. The kids got breaded fried veal (very thin sliced) with French fries.
Finally dessert, home made "HUGE" canollis that
were out of this world. They then bought bowls of fresh peaches. I put one in my purse & ate the peach late that night, on the Magic. It was as I excepted fresh & juicy.
We finally left the mountain, & headed back. Half way down the mountain we stopped at farm where there were sheep. They showed the kids how to milk the sheep. This part seemed a bit unorganized with sheep poop every where. It was really hot, my DD12 had no interest in milking the sheep. We just found a cool spot in the shade & talked until it was time to go back. The little ones seemed to enjoy this part of the tour, more than the preteens.
Many napped in the bus, on the way back to the ship. When we go into town again, the tour guide continued with giving us a tour once again, until we returned to the Magic.
This was my very favorite tour. It was charming & everyone seemed to have a great time. It did take a while to get to the top of the mountain, but there was so much to see. The bus had air, making it comfortable for us all. Coming back they let the kids watch Mickey dvd on the bus. There were plenty of pit stops, with toilet paper.
I am still jet lagged so, please excuse any mistakes.
Hope this helps
Patricia
