Cruise Day #4 - La Spezia, Italy

Good morning from La Spezia, Italy! 

The banana pancakes were really good today!

We’ve been continuing to explore different venues around the ship. One of our favorite spots on all Princess ships is the International Café. In the mornings, they serve breakfast fare, then switch to lunch and snack items at 11 a.m. On every other ship we’ve sailed, the IC is located on Deck 5, but on the Sun, it’s up on Deck 9. The coffee baristas are here all day and stay open until midnight—on some ships, they even keep it going 24 hours a day!

On all the older ships, the laundry room machines required tokens that you purchase from a dispenser. They’re now converting the machines to a token-less system—just scan your Medallion, and the charge goes directly to your onboard account.

We’ve been to La Spezia before, along with the popular sightseeing spots accessible from here—Florence, Pisa, Portofino, and Cinque Terre. Each of those destinations involves about 90 minutes of travel each way, so this time we decided to stay local and get some exercise instead. We walked into town and back, a three-mile roundtrip.

Once we returned, I tried out the taco station on Deck 17 (the pool deck), where the servers make tacos to order—it was quite good! 

Debbie opted for the salad station, where the servers do the same. She was very happy with her salad and even stole a few of my tortilla chips!

When we got back to our stateroom, our steward had left me a birthday surprise! 

We’re now relaxing in the Sanctuary Club, which is nearly empty—perfect. Tonight, we’re having dinner at The Catch by Rudi seafood restaurant. I’ll update the blog later tonight with dinner photos!