Day 5-Olbia

Today has been my favorite so far. Our tour today was SPECTACULAR.

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We were welcomed to port by a band and dancers. I huge tent was set up with all sorts of meat, cheese, wine and breads from the area. Olbia is beautiful. Bill Gates summers here on his yacht! We were all given free hats when we got off the ship and welcomed with open arms. Quite amazing! 🙂

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Today we had the “Train to Gallura” tour booked. A bit on the pricey side but worth EVERY penny of it! First we took a beautiful bus ride through the city. I can’t even think of words to describe the beauty. After about an hour on the bus we arrived at the train depot. The train is a classic wooden train. It was only three cars plus the engine. Very quaint. Little leg room because you sit two forward then two backwards. But it was okay! People were complaining that the windows were dirty (Well DUH the train is probably 60+ years old at a minimum!) but if you put them down and let the cool breeze it you could see perfectly! ((BTW: There were people complaining about a lot on this tour but we all felt it was very true to the description. )) Daddy took a lot of great pictures today.

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I enjoyed a quick snooze.

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Suddenly the train stopped. Everybody off!

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There were pavilions with wine, cheese, meat, bread, snacks, juice and water. It was amazing. The view was beyond fantastic.

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We were truly on the Emerald Coast! I ran around and munched on bread, picked flowers and threw stones into the water. I had some AMAZING pear juice too! 🙂 No stroller needed yet it was a pretty open space and very kid friendly.

I picked a LOT of flowers for people.

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Grandma Jo was happy. She LOVED the view.

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I found some rocks to play with too and kept Mommy on her toes while running around a LOT.

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Our stop lasted about 30-40 minutes and everyone was stuffed! Back on the train for more views of the beautiful countryside. I tried to nap again but it just wasn’t going to happen.

Soon we were at the end of the train ride. Amazing and magnificent. We boarded the bus (where several people delayed us because they wandered off… they were all found eventually!!). We went a short distance into a little town. This may have been the cleanest place I have seen in Europe so far. We climbed about 30 stairs and were near the center of the town. We all got a coupon for a free gelato! We did a small foot tour and visited a pretty church (it closed at 1pm (as do more things in this area, 1-4pm closed) so some people that went to gelato first missed it… but the city’s charm was not the church anyway!) Then we had gelato… fantastic as always.

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Mommy was amazed how quickly they shuffled people in and dished the gelato. The entire town seemed to welcome us. There were balloons tied to all the store-fronts and smiling people all over. We had some free time and enjoyed wandering the streets (stroller friendly, but again lightweight and bumpy) and bought a few pastries. YUMMY! Daddy managed to find another pack of diapers at the grocery store… so I should be set now! 🙂 hehe

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We met at the meeting point and all boarded the bus for the hour ride back to the port. I didn’t want to be still. I just wanted to run, so Mommy chased.

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and chased…
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and chased…
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and chased…
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and chased…
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Finally we all got together and got on the bus.
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They played a nice video with information on Rome and Civitechia. It had some cartoons in it too so I qas quite content. The bus got rather chilly onthe way back and a LOT of people took a quick snooze. Not me! I watched the cartoon. Oh yeah, they gave us another snack (olive toast crackers…YUMMY!).

Back at port (clean, beautiful and well-maintained) we stopped for some wine, cheese, bread, meat and snacks (ALL FREE! Thanks Oliba!) They even had little pastries. It wa such a lovely reception. This was a fantastic day! Mommy brought me in the ship so I could try to take a quick nap before dinner (which I am!!!). G’pa come onboard and went for a siesta too. Daddy and G’ma Jo took the free bus to town. that update will come later.

A few other things I have left out:
Our dinner service (except Palo) hasn’t been very smooth. Everything seems hurried and then comes to a grinding halt. Daddy finally complained and tonight we are sitting at another table. Hopefully things are more “Disney”.

The weather has been unseasonably brisk. Very windy, which explains the waves. It is bearable with a light jacket or by standing in the sunshine. I wont complain though, I love the cold! 🙂

After a quick nap after the amazing excursion we all dressed and headed for dinner. Tonight we were at Parrots Cay. Our “new” table awaited with a new service team. Dinner was amazingly better. The service we top notch, what we expect from Disney. The beverage server, Denis, even inquired as to wether I would like to be served before or with the grown-ups. A nice touch! They even cleaned the bread crumbs from the table and Alexander (the head server) made funny jokes and magic tricks! 🙂 I enjoyed strawberries and mickey shaped pasta with alfredo sauce. I behaved like a champ during dinner and danced to the island themed music. I even got to see Mickey Mouse dancing!
After dinner I had a bath and got my jammies on. We went and watched “Art of the Story”, the new cruise show. It was really great. It was a bit on the loud side so next time maybe we should sit further back in the theatre. towards the end I was getting tired and G’ma Jo was holding me and my binki ran away!!! Mommy took me to the top of the theatre (near the exit) to watch the last little bit and then brought me up to go to bed. Daddy followed a short while later with my shoes and my found binki. Thanks Daddy!

I was asleep by 10pm. Goodnight. Calm seas tonight. Almost can’t feel the ship moving. Quite a difference from the last few nights! Tomorrow is Civitvechia (sp?). The Rome port! We have nothing planned other than to wander the port. We have all been to Rome before (well not me, but I don’t have much say in the shore excursions!). Everyone will take advantage of the near empty ship! 🙂

6 thoughts on “Day 5-Olbia”

  1. mmmm gelato! From now on you have to list the flavors you have because my mom is drooling over here! So glad that you are having a nice time and my mom says she cannot wait for the pics!

  2. Thank you so much for the information. We are going 6-16 and will have a son age 2(will turn 3 in September) and so interested in the views of the cruise with a toddler.

  3. I’m sold. Just had Mom change our Olbia excursion from Costa Smeralda to Train to Gallura. Sounds very toddler friendly 🙂 I’ll be on the 6-16 June cruise as well!
    -Nico, age 2

  4. great weblog.. i work as tourist guide in sardinia (did the train tour 6 times)and had enourmous fun with the disney’s – i fact, the best clients i ever had in my job, particularly the kids. i love to read what is said about what guides to- to improve my own work. glad you liked what was presented!

  5. i just looked at the pic’s and i remember you!!! i am actually the hairy mess on the last photo with the disney lollipop no. 16… well, pictures can really tell you about bad hair – days!!!
    renata

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