Mamma Mia! The Jersey Shore Cast Heads to Italy

How do you say "gym, tan, laundry" in Italian?

The cast of Jersey Shore is heading to Italy for season 4 of MTV's hit show, the network announced Tuesday.

"While the stateside Jersey Shore locales have become iconic for our audience ... Europe is a fresh spin on a show that continues to reach new heights for us," MTV's Chris Linn said in a statement. "The cast is headed to the birthplace of the culture they love and live by. We can't wait to see what erupts as a result."

Amid their inevitable shenanigans, the gang – which in season 3 includes Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Paul "DJ Pauly D" Delvecchio, Jenni "JWOWW" Farley, Vinnie Guadagnino, Ronnie Magro, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola – will leave "the boardwalk behind for the piazzas," "trade gorillas for Italian stallions" and, according to the statement, drop in on Vinny's Italian relatives for a famous Guadagnino family dinner.

"Ohh I Love Italy This Time A Yeahhh," Pauly D Tweeted Tuesday.

Adds Snooki: "Just heard the most amazing news!"

With a whole new country before them where they can create embarrassing moments, one thing we'd love to see is how The Situation's abs stack up compared to the classic competition of Michelangelo's statue of David, on display in Florence.

The next season is set to begin production in the spring in Europe and will air later this year, MTV says.

Windows of the World:Highlights of Our "Enchanted" Escapades Cruise

Back in August, I had the pleasure to sail on a 12-night "Enchanted Escapades" cruise onboard Nautica from Rome to Athens with visits to Portofino/Santa Margherita, Monte Carlo/Nice/Eze, Livorno/Florence, Amalfi/Positano/Scala/Ravello, Sorre...nto/Pompeii, Naxos/Taormina, Valletta, Santorini, Rhodes and Delos.

Below are "highlights" from our vacation:

My Dream has Become a Reality!

Hi Friends!

After a 17-day hiatus while I enjoyed a cruise vacation to Italy, Monaco, France, Malta and Greece, I am back to work and "back to reality".

I have thousands of pictures to sort through before I can put together a photo album or two of the wonderful memories for what has been the best cruise I have ever experience.

But, I can't wait much longer to share with you one of the most memorable highlights of our cruise. It was the day I FINALLY got to see MADONNA! Yes, that's right MADONNA!! Like in Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Penn Ritchie!!!

It happened on Monday, August 17th (the day after Madonna turned 51) in the beautiful port of Portofino. As we were touring this lovely port, we saw a reporter and cameraman walking along the port and overheard them say (in Italian) her name, Madonna. Then our tour guide mentioned that a rumor had been circulating throughout town that Madonna had reserved an entire floor at the Hotel Splendido, but had not yet been seen.

Well, we did our tour through Portofino and the later Santa Margherita, which I must say were the two most picturesque Italy ports we visited.

Upon our return to Portofino, on a water taxi, we noticed a large crowd right along the shoreline of Portofino, and I immediately concluded that Madonna was there. I walked as fast as I could to the crowded area, and started to snap away with my hand and camera over the crowd to see if I could capture any pictures of my Idol!

Here's what I captured:

Madonna (wearing black straw hat) amongst the crowd.

Lourdes walking through the crowd.

I noticed a boat was waiting for Madonna and her entourage, so I did the logical thing and moved closure to shoreline to see if I could finally get a glimpse of Madonna...and I did. She was with her family Lourdes, David, Mercy, Rocco (who I did not see) and her man of the hour, Jesus Luz.

Here are the pictures to prove it:

Madonna carrying David on her lap, with Jesus Luz beside her.

A "family portrait" of Madonna with Jesus Luz and her two youngest children, both adopted from Malawi, Mercy and David.

So, in addition to having a great cruising experience, I also had the distinctive pleasure of finally meeting the one and only Madonna!

Ciao for now!
CharlieCruiser