I realized while in Fort Lauderdale a few days ago, that it had been almost three months since we had been in our own country. What a trip we have had!
It has also been almost five years since we had sailed in or out of Ft. Lauderdale, the last time being November of 2018. Before that, we were pretty regular Caribbean cruisers on Celebrity Cruises so we could get out of the winters we experienced in the places we were living at the time.
Today my thoughts were recalling not only places and people we have experienced on this trip, but a significant number of big events that we have experienced in our lives since that 2018 visit to Ft. Lauderdale.
The first happened during that cruise, when my Dad passed away after spending a lengthy time in the nursing home suffering from Alzheimer’s. This was truly a blessing but still a big life changing event. Over the coming years we would also see Kristine’s Dad pass at age 94, our fellow cruiser and brother-in-law Lyle lose his battle with fibrosis of the lungs, see both of our next door neighbors die of Covid (they refused to believe in and get the vaccinations), have a dear friend in Bend die totally unexpectedly of a massive heart attack, and losing my brother Lynn to Covid before the vaccines were available. Family and friends have always been very important to me, and even with all the new and exciting things we have seen on this trip, I know those influences are with me daily.
So many reminders that we need to make the most of our limited time here on earth.
We also found ourselves, by choice, relocating from snowy central Oregon to the coast, where we now enjoy the ocean every day we are home.
Winding toward the end of this trip, I have no regrets. I have seen and experienced things that, before we left, I never thought I would. I have learned so much about myself and feel I have a better perspective on our world. Given the chance there are places I would come back to, but maybe more than that, it has made me realize how many more places there are that I would like to see. Time, health, and money will determine how much of that happens.
Also, I have been reminded often that most days I am uncomfortable in large crowds of people, and this is made worse if it is a noisy crowd of people. I think my hearing has worsened, which does not help that situation. I continue to enjoy, very much, great conversations with a small group of people, or one on one situations. I also learned that there is still a lot of room for me to grow and learn as a human being.
So, we went to Cartagena, Colombia yesterday, which will put us yet on another continent. Then two days to and through the Panama Canal, and we will truly be on the downside of this great adventure.
Our seven sea days passed uneventfully. We had a couple of days where the ship was rocking and rolling, however neither Brian nor I are affected by the motion of the ocean. I used the time to get caught up on my blog. The combination of seven ports in a row, very slow internet, and being under the weather, meant that I had gotten further and further behind.
Fort Lauderdale would be the end of the cruise for those folks who started the trip in Fort Lauderdale. That meant about half the passengers where busy packing and saying goodbye to friends who were continuing on to Los Angeles. We did get about the same amount of new passengers boarding for the last segment of the cruise. They are demographically younger and there are more kids. I think there were 5 children on the world cruise.
Saturday, April 22, was the passenger talent show. Brian participated and was very well received. He sang “You’re My Home” by Billy Joel in front of about 600 people.
We had to say goodbye to new friends we had made. We will miss Darla and Sandra very much. They are really good people and live in both Michigan and Florida. We’re all dressed up for formal night.
One of the couple at our dinner table were leaving, too. Carmen and Steve will be very missed. However, since they live in Riverside, California and have grandchildren in Oregon, we’re very hopeful we’ll meet again. The are standing by Brian in the back row. Also in the picture are Karin and Michael, who live in the Phoenix area. They are also sailing on to Los Angeles, so we get to enjoy their company a little while longer.
It was very busy on the ship when we docked in Fort Lauderdale. Room stewards had to clean the rooms of the 800 people who disembarked and get them ready for the new passengers. We told our room steward, John, just to forget about taking care of our room that day. He did do our nightly turndown of our room, though.
The Princess cruise port is very close to shopping and is not difficult to leave on foot. Brian and I left the ship in search of Mexican food for lunch. We had to get off the ship in any event. All passengers were required to leave the ship and go through customs. We headed off about 9:30 and fifteen minutes later we were starting our walk. Our destination was about a mile away. The walk was quite easy but the weather was hot and humid.
We stopped at a coffee shop for some cold ice tea and sat for awhile to cool down. Brian called his daughter, Keeley, since we now had phone service. The restaurant we had picked out to eat in, La Bamba, was not open until 11:30. We knew there were shops around it, so we headed in that direction. We killed some time by exploring the local Total Wine and More store and went into Publix supermarket to purchase some snacks for ourselves and our dining room waiters.
La Bamba opened at 11:30 on the nose and Brian and I got there at 11:28. It was cool and breezy in the shade and we didn’t have long to wait. Our meal was everything we had hoped it would be. I had a grilled chicken quesadilla and a passion fruit margarita, while Brian had fajitas with beef, chicken, and shrimp along with a couple of beers. Notice the steam rising from the fajita meat in the photo below. Everything was great and we left the restaurant very happy.
From the time we sailed away from Kauai on January 25, we were sailing to places that were new to us. During the last two weeks of this amazing cruise, we will have been to all the countries we are going to dock in. There will be a couple of new ports, but we will be back in familiar territory. Our trip of a lifetime is winding down.
Our last ports of call, before we headed across to Atlantic Ocean to Fort Lauderdale, were two very different islands. We hadn’t been able to book and shore excursions for either one. They had been sold out for a long time.
The photo above is the view from our balcony in Lanzarote. We were nowhere near the town and it was about a 25 minute shuttle ride to get there. In light of that, we decided to remain on board. I was still tiring easily and a day on a quiet ship seemed wonderful. Brian and I were able to easily get our laundry done and, all in all, it was a relaxing day.
The next morning we woke up in La Palma. We were docked right in the middle of town.
It was very easy just to walk into town to explore, so that was exactly what we did. We wandered up and down the main streets in town, looked in shops, and visited a church. Brian even found an optician who could fix his misaligned glasses!
We walked down a road that was paved like this:
It wasn’t very comfortable to walk on!
We had some euros burning a hole in our pocket and, since this was the last port we were going to where euros were the currency, we decided to find a place to have some lunch. Our restaurant is in the photo below. It’s at the end of the street on the right.
We sat down at a table outside and, two hours later, we were done. Our meal consisted of two tapas, two pizzas, two beers, and three small glasses of wine. The food was not gourmet food but it was perfectly fine bar food and we really enjoyed ourselves. The owners were working really hard to serve all the tourists who were there. There were two cruise ships in town today, so the place was hopping. Check out the individual pizza cutters that came with each pizza.
Back in the cruise port, I noticed this very interesting mermaid statue.
It was an enjoyable day. La Palma is a beautiful town and the weather was wonderful. We boarded our ship knowing that we now has seven sea days until we reached Fort Lauderdale.
Today was our long awaited trip to Marrakech. We didn’t see much of Casablanca, only what we saw through the bus window. The drive to Marrakech was around 3-1/2 hours, so we had a very long day. It was exciting to be in Africa.
Some background information: when you go on a ship sponsored shore excursion, you are asked to gather at a specific time in a specific place on board the ship. As you enter the venue, a colored sticker with a number is put on you to wear. The sticker indicates which bus you’ll be on for the day. Unless you show up with travel companions, the folks you travel may or may not be known to you. It’s basically the luck of the draw. We had bad luck this trip. We toured with the complaining-est group of people ever. We were warned by the shore excursion crew (via a long letter left in our cabin) that Morocco, and specifically Marrakech, would be a strenuous tour and that we all should lower our expectations of what to expect during the tour. Evidently, some people didn’t take that warning to heart.
We began our trip to Marrakech with a short drive through Casablanca. It would already be dark when we came back. These are street scenes from both Casablanca and Marrakech.
This sign uses the three languages of Morocco, Arabic, Berber, and French.
On the road to Marrakech (I had to say it), we saw cell towers disguised as palm trees.
This is how you make use of what you have to keep your car cool:
In Marrakech, our first stop was to see the outside of the Koutoubia Mosque. Built in the 11th century, it’s minaret is one of the tallest in the world. Our Muslim guide, Abdel, certainly knew his stuff. He shared a lot of interesting information with us.
Our tour, so far, was going well. Everyone got back into the bus and we headed to the old center of Marrakech. Now, things began to go downhill. As we parked to get off the bus and begin walking, the man in the seat behind us said “What a shithole!”, referring to the town. That was the start of the negative attitudes and complaining. Also, in most of our our large group tours, guides had used a whisper system. Each member of the group had a receiver and earbuds and can hear the guide’s commentary even at a distance. We did not have these here. I think this was part of the “lower your expectations” section of our letter.
In my experience, when you are exploring a busy, crowded place that was full of narrow streets and quick turns, you might want to keep an eye on your guide so you don’t get lost. We had people wander off on their own to take pictures and then, when they were finally reunited with the group, start yelling at our guide and blaming him for losing them. The happened frequently. Abdel never got upset or lost his cool. This was amazing to me because it was still Ramadan. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since sunrise and wouldn’t break his fast until sunset. I would have chucked some of these people off the tour!
We wandered through the marketplace. This is not the pretty, clean tourist section. This is where the locals really shop. The winding aisles were hot, crowded and full of the smells you might associate with live animals being butchered. I had to take pictures as I walked. Stopping would get you lost.
We did walk rapidly almost every place we visited. There are numerous pickpockets around, so we really didn’t loiter anywhere to give them an easy target. As we headed to our next stop, I enjoyed the sights.
We were headed to the Bahia Palace. Built between 1894 and 1900, it was the home of the Prime Minister in Marrakech. He was known as the right hand of the King. We saw lavishly decorated rooms, courtyards, reception halls, and even the bathhouse or hammam. I learned so much about Arabic and Muslim art from Abdel. Yes, the palace was crowded and you did have to keep your eye on him.
When our visit here was concluded, we began our walk to the restaurant where we were having lunch. Again, more complaints from people who had wandered off and had to hurry to catch up. I should mention that Abdel was dressed in a blue suit and had on a red fedora, red shoes, and carried a red messenger bag. He did not blend in.
Our lunch was at a beautiful restaurant.
All of the Princess bus tours to Marrakech had lunch here. Our private room was elaborately decorated. We sat at a table for 8 and our fellow diners were on their best behavior for a change. We were entertained by dancers and musicians. The food was wonderful! We had wine made in Morocco on the table and we were served a variety of salads, lemon chicken cooked and served in a tagine (covered clay pot), couscous with vegetables, and a yummy dessert. The food was beautifully spiced and delicious.
Happily full, we began our walk to a large, open square near the souk. This lively place was Djemaa-el-F’na, which means Assembly of the Dead. If there was an explanation as to why the square was named this, I missed it. Besides being full of tourists and locals, there were snake charmers, dancers, people with pet monkeys and spice vendors. I didn’t get any pictures of any of these for various reasons. I was going nowhere near the snakes, photos would cost a few dollars each, and I didn’t want to loose sight of Abdel. This was a huge square. Abdel even had to break up and argument between one member of our group and one of the entertainers. Evidently, our guy didn’t want to pay the entertainer what he felt he deserved.
A few more pictures from our walk:
Our final adventure was a tour of the souk and an adventure it was. If we’d have used the whisper system here, we would have been easily been run over by one of the ubiquitous motorbikes. In Morocco, a person does not have to have a license to drive a motorbike. All you need is a helmet. Now, the souk is a warren of twisting and turning narrow streets lined with shops and crowded shoulder to shoulder with people walking every whichway. Add to that lots of motorbikes, delivery carts and food vendors and a person needs to stay alert. You really need your hearing, and earbuds would have hampered that.
Soon after we entered the souk, a few people decided that didn’t want to continue the “death march”, so Abdel instructed us to wait while he found a safe and cool place for them to stay. When he returned, the rest of us carried on. It was difficult to really look at everything while keeping one eye on our guide. There were so many people in the souk, it was easy for him to get ahead of us. That said, this experience was a feast for the senses. The honking of motorbike horns, cries of the vendors and the scents of the spices are something I’ll always remember.
We picked up the people who hadn’t gone into the souk and were given about 45 minutes to shop. Brian and I were very hot and really didn’t need any more souvenirs, so we went to a restaurant for cool drinks. We were able to use their wifi and nice bathroom. This is the restaurant:
After the shopping time ended, we were ready to head back to Casablanca. Abdel had picked up some food so that he and our driver could break their fast after sundown. It was a quiet drive back, and we could hear Abdel and our driver pray over their meal before they ate and drank.
Back in port, Brian made a point to apologize to Abdel for the behavior of some of our fellow travelers. Abdel said it was part of the job and Brian told him that it still didn’t make it right. He appreciated Brian’s apology.
This was such an interesting day. It was hot, long, and busy, and the territory was unfamiliar. I think to really experience Marrakech, you need to be there more than one day, come with an open mind, and expect things to be different and, maybe, uncomfortable. I don’t think a large tour group is the ideal way to go. However, that’s what we had and we made the most of it. Marrakech will remain etched on my mind.
As I’ve been writing my last few blog posts, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to to decide what to write about each port. I don’t know if it’s because we had 7 port days (with excursions) in a row or if it’s because these cities have felt familiar in some way (all Western first world countries) or if it’s because I was not feeling 100%. The more exotic places we’ve been have been easier for me to write about. It’s probably a combination of all three with a little cruise weariness thrown in. None of this, however, has affected how much I’ve enjoyed visiting these European cities. Each one has its own unique feel and today’s visit to Malaga was no exception.
After a much needed sea day, we were taking another independent excursion with some of the same people we went with on our Villefranche tour. This was going to be a half day tour seeing the highlights of Malaga and ending with wine and tapas at two bars. Leaving the cruise port, we drove through the city on our way to El Castillo de Gibralfaro, a Muslim fortress built on the top of a hill in the middle of the city. It was a beautifully clear day and the view from there was lovely. We could even see the bullfighting area below. It made climbing all those irregular steps up to the wall worth it!
We left the fortress and traveled into central Malaga. I admit, I like looking at the scenery.
Once we reached our location, we left the van behind and began our walking tour of the city. I soaked up the sights and sounds of this lovely place.
Malaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso and, in addition to seeing his works in a museum, you could have your picture snapped sitting next to him on a bench.
I hadn’t expected to see more Roman ruins today but we did. This is El Teatro Romano, built in the 1st century BC.
There are wild parrots here, too.
According to our guide’s schedule it was now 11:00 am and time for wine and tapas. Evidently, the two taverns we were going to didn’t have that schedule. They weren’t opening until noon. We now had some free time to wander around the area. Brian and I found a pharmacy where I got some more cough drops and sanitizing hand gel. We also found a bakery that sold the most delicious cookies. We bought an assortment for cabin snacks and managed not to eat them all at once!
Noon arrived and we headed to our first tavern. Each of us got to order one tapa from their menu and could have wine, beer, or a soft drink. We sat at a large table on the sidewalk in the shade. The day was really lovely. Before we headed to the next tavern, I took a look inside this one. Charming!
A couple blocks away was our second stop. This time we sat inside and followed the same procedure: pick a tapa and choose your drink.
We returned to port relaxed from the wine, having thoroughly enjoyed our day. We rested to in the afternoon. Tomorrow we’re going to Marrakech!
I was feeling better today and Brian and I were going to be heading out on a Princess sponsored shore excursion to see the highlights of Barcelona which included a walk in the Gothic Quarter, the center of old Barcelona.
Once we all were loaded on the the bus, we took a drive up to Montjuic Mountain Park, a large green space overlooking all of Barcelona. The views were exceptional as seen in the photo above. The large building in the center is La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s amazing masterpiece. We would see it in more depth later in the day. Here are a few more photos of the park.
We continued our sightseeing tour with a drive through the city. Most of these pictures were taken through the tinted window on the bus.
This is Barcelona’s old bullfighting arena. Since bullfights are outlawed in Barcelona and the whole Catalonian region of Spain, it is now a shopping mall.
There are wild parrots here.
Our destination was to the site of La Sagrada Familia. This church was designed by the architect Gaudi (as well as one of the building pictured above), and has been under construction since 1882. It’s scheduled to be finished in 2026. No one knows the exact cost of the construction because all the construction early documentation was lost during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.
La Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family) has to be one of the most fantastical places I’ve ever seen. I loved it! Our tour did not include a visit inside and it would be worth another trip to Barcelona just to do that. One side of the church depicts the Nativity of Christ and the opposite side show the death of Christ.
Our bus was meeting us a few blocks away right next to a dog park. We also walked past a building that had a most interesting mural painted on one side.
Now we were headed to the Gothic Quarter to see the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia. The streets, once again, were narrow and winding. We walked past medieval buildings and saw the ruins of a old Roman wall.
Our visit to the cathedral was not long. Our guide explained its historical significance and was excited to show us the baptismal fount where three indigenous people from the Americas were baptized when they were brought to Spain by explorers. They were the first people from America to be baptized because, in Spain, everyone had to be Catholic. I, personally, found this to be disturbing. It reminded me of the forced assimilation of the indigenous people in America and the loss of so much of there culture, all in the name of God and westward expansion. That said, the cathedral was, of course, beautiful.
We exited the church by way of the cloisters. This garden area was where priests and nuns would come to pray and meditate. Today there is a flock of geese that live there. Today, workers were doing some repairs on their pond and they were herded into a corner. There was a lot of noise from the workers and the geese didn’t seem to know what to do. They were very quiet which was unusual for them.
There were also old graves under the walkway. Inscriptions in the stone tell about the people underneath. Graves with a skull and crossbones were victims of the plague.
Back to the bus we went with a few of our tour members staying behind to take a walk down Las Ramblas, the main shopping promenade in Barcelona, where they would meet the shuttle bus to take them back to port. We were heading back to the ship for some much needed rest. This tour also had a few people who didn’t want to do any walking. They were not allowed to stay on the bus, so they were asked to wait in a bar or cafe until we got back. Sometimes it took a little time to round them up. That said, while annoying at times, it didn’t affect our enjoyment of the day at all.
I went to my doctors appointment in the morning and I came back to the cabin with this handy portable nebulizer, some very expensive bronchodilators to use with it and really foul tasting throat lozenges. I was to use the machine 3 times a day. However, with shore excursions planned and the fact that the medicine left me very shaky for a long time, I would only use it twice a day.
The ship was incredibly quiet and we enjoyed our relaxing day. We wandered off the ship once to see if there were any shops in the cruise terminal. There weren’t, but we were told that there were shops across the parking lot. A Viking Ocean cruise ship was docked across the way and, after much wandering and confusion, we finally found the shops hidden next to the other cruise ship.
The shops were a kind of market stalls set up outside on the dock. We did find a couple of treasures. Brian purchased a Marseilles baseball cap and I found a beachy tablecloth in Provençal colors. Besides the memory of the nebulizer, we would at least have souvenirs from Marseilles!
Our port today, Villefranche, was the jumping off point of our tour of the French Riviera. We were on an independent tour with two other couples to travel to Nice, the Principality of Monaco, and the mountain village of Eze.
Gregory, our handsome French guide met us just outside the cruise port. He had a luxurious van with a built in speaker system which meant we could hear his explanations wherever we sat. We loaded in and headed off to Nice located right next door to Villefranche. The drive was not long at all, and I enjoyed the scenery along the way.
After we arrived and parked in an underground parking garage, Gregory led us into the town square, pointed out some sights of interest, and set us free to wander on our own for a short while. Brian and I wandered through the square, down some streets and explored the flower market. The market operates six days a week and, in addition to flowers, you can find meats, cheeses, desserts and crafts.
It was time to meet up with our guide. Unfortunately, none of the six of us understood/remembered where we were supposed to meet Gregory. I think it was a combination of his accent and our lack of attention. Fortunately, soon we saw him patiently waiting for us where he said he would be and we were ready to continue on our way to Monaco.
Gregory stopped at a couple of scenic viewpoints from which we could see the entire French Riviera. One of the stops came complete with ruins.
Our drive into Monaco became quite problematic. There was bumper to bumper traffic starting a few kilometers before we got there. Gregory knew a shortcut, so we were able to make up some time. All we could figure out, was that there was a large professional tennis tournament in Monte Carlo and lots of people wanted to go. Of course, there are also just a couple of ways into the city and I imagine that was a factor, too.
As we drove into Monaco, Gregory explained some of the sights we could see and this time, when he dropped us off, he had very clear instructions. We were to meet at a specific time at the Oceanographic Museum by the yellow submarine.
We all headed out in separate ways to explore. Brian and I wandered down by Princess Grace Park, walked up and down the narrow streets, saw the Palace, and shared a panini as we explored.
Even the trash cans by the public toilets were pretty.
The yellow submarine was the perfect meeting point and, from there, Gregory led us way underground to where the van was parked. I guess that, in towns built on cliffs, there is no other place to put a parking garage.
Before we left Monaco, Gregory drove us on the Grand Prix racecourse which was already being prepared for the race next month. Of course, we didn’t go nearly as fast as the Forumla 1 race cars do. Leaving the country, we reflected that in the last two days we been in the two smallest countries on the planet. Vatican City is the smallest and Monaco the second smallest.
The final part of our tour was a trip up into the mountains to visit the medieval city of Eze. The city is perched on the top of a mountain and there is a steep path to the top. My cough had been bothering me again and I knew that the climb was something I’d not be able to do. So, I sent Brian on his way and I found a cafe a the base of the city where I could sit on the patio, enjoy a glass of good French wine, and people watch.
Brian thoroughly enjoyed his hike up the mountain. He brought back a lot of pictures and, from them, I could really get an idea of what Eze was like.
Our tour ended back where it started—at the cruise port. Brian and I weren’t ready to head back onto the ship so, after finding an ATM to get much needed euros, we went to explore the harbor front of Villefranche. We enjoyed a gelato and did a little walking around. Villefranche looks like a wonderful place to spend time.
Back in our cabin, I decided that I should go see the ship’s doctor again about my cough. It was not getting better and I’d started wheezing again. I called hoping I could get an appointment the next afternoon. We were going to be docked in Marseilles, and we had an excursion planned to Aix en Provence in the morning. Unfortunately, the only appointment to be had was at 9:15 in the morning. Reluctantly, we cancelled that trip. Brian stayed behind with me to rest. We had many more excursions coming up and we were tired.
Civitavecchia is where the cruise port for Rome is located and today we were taking a ten and a half hour tour into Rome so do some exploring. The bus ride into Rome was about an hour and a half and, once there, we were going to visit some catacombs, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, and have lunch. The day was packed and included a lot of walking (nearly 6 miles) and lots of people since it was, again, a holiday (Easter Monday).
The first place we visited was the Catacombs of Domitilla, which are outside the walls of Rome. Yes, Rome is, yet again, another walled city. Photos were not allowed in the catacombs. However, I did get some photos of the grounds.
Inside the visitor center, we were handed over to an expert guide and we were led down several flights of stairs to an underground church. While we sat on benches, our guide explained what the catacombs were and began our introduction to early Christian burial practices.
We then started walking down into the catacombs. The hallway was dark and narrow with niches carved into the wall which once held bodies. All of the bones from the catacombs were scavenged by early grave robbers and, most likely, some of the bones were sent to churches as relics. We stopped in a room (one of many) off the hallway. All of the walls had niches cut out and was probably a family tomb. There is nothing ostentatious about these graves. The richer people might have a fresco painted inside, but most were very simple. After an early Christian died, their riches would be found in heaven. We spent some time following our guide as she lead us through the maze-like tunnels and then back out through the underground church and into the sunshine. I find that when I go to places like the catacombs, I come away with a better understanding of how our ancestors lived and how customs that are still used today developed.
Now we were going to head through the city gates and into Rome. It didn’t matter where I looked, history just smacked me in the face.
Now the major walking portion of our tour would begin. Here’s some advice for you: when the shore excursion ticket describes the tour as “strenuous”, believe it! We had a few members of our tour who were very unhappy so much walking was involved. We heard variations of “Are we there yet?” and “When are we going to be done?” throughout the day. Buses cannot park in the center of Rome so, if you take a bus tour, you must walk to where the bus is. Of course, I don’t think there is any better way to see Rome than by walking.
When we reached the Colosseum, we were handed over to our new guide, Vincenzo, who would be with us for the rest of our visit to Rome. Our bus guide walked behind us to pick up stragglers.
The Colosseum will take your breath away. It is certainly an engineering marvel! So much of it is still standing. Of course, some sensitive restoration has been done to bring back its glory. There was originally two circular walls around the building. You can see below where one is partially gone.
Our tour included tickets that allowed us to go into the Colosseum and get a view from the ground level. After that we headed up a lot of stairs to the next level to look down into the Colosseum. I took a lot of pictures.
Some of the original entry gates still have the gate number visible. All those lessons I had in elementary school on how to read Roman numerals came in handy here.
This is a good view of the remnants of the rooms beneath the floor of the Colosseum where gladiators waited and wild animals were kept before matches. According to Vincenzo, by 2025 the floor will be restored to its original state and the only way you will be able to see these rooms is with another ticket. Even today, you need a ticket to go down and explore but a least you can see them from above.
There was a remnant of a fresco showing a map of the old city of Jerusalem.
Leaving the Colosseum, we started walking through the old Roman forum. We saw ruins juxtaposed with street performers and vendors, along with many Romans just out to view the beautiful day. Some of these pictures may not be exactly in the Forum proper but we’re close.
This small building (not the one with the dome) is the old Roman senate. It is much smaller than I had imagined.
Continuing our walk, we passed the Victor Emmanuel II Monument.
To reach the Trevi Fountain we passed through the square where the Vatican University was located.
Eventually, we made it to the Trevi Fountain. There was a huge crowed there, so we couldn’t get close. This is what we saw:
There was no way we’d get close enough to toss a coin into it. One couple on our tour decided to take the time to try. The rest of our group waited 20 minutes for them to return. Our guides were searching for them and they eventually returned oblivious to or not caring about all the complications they caused for the rest of us. Unfortunately, we have gotten used to this behavior. It doesn’t matter if you are on a ship sponsored tour or an independently arranged one, there are often people who think the schedule doesn’t apply to them. While frustrating, we try to shake it off and not let any upset spoil the rest of our day.
We were now heading to our bus which was still a ways away. The street was uphill at times and the roads were crowded.
We were now headed to lunch at a very nice restaurant. Unfortunately, I seem to have taken absolutely no pictures of this at all. It was a very good plated meal of pasta, chicken or salmon with vegetables, and dessert. Prosecco and wine were provided to drink along with water. It was nice to sit for awhile and rest before we headed to our final stop of the tour, Vatican City.
Again, the parking garage for us bus was a few blocks away from the Vatican. There is a simple metal fence dividing Italy from Vatican City. We were now in another country. I have seen so many pictures and videos of St. Peter’s Square filled with people waiting to see or hear the Pope. In fact, some of our fellow passengers heard him speak that morning. He addresses the crowd from the window of the Pope’s official residence. However, Pope Francis doesn’t actually live there. It was too fancy and big for him, so he has rooms at a hotel run by nuns just next door. We were not able to go inside St. Peter’s as the lines were way too long and we would only be there a relatively short time. The Vatican has magnificent architecture and was, all in all, very impressive.
We even got to see the Swiss Guards.
There was a recent (2019) sculpture in the square dedicated to migrants.
Also, the Vatican has its own mailbox.
We said “Goodbye” to Vincenzo and headed back to the bus. We did a little more sightseeing as we drove out of Rome to head back to Civitavecchia. One of the pictures is of the Tiber River.
You really do need a lot of time to see Rome properly. This short visit made us both eager to return one day. Our return list is still growing!
Easter Sunday found us in Naples, Italy, not Sorrento as scheduled. My impression is that, because it was Easter Sunday, Sorrento would not be able to handle our docking needs. While this was certainly an unwelcome change for those who booked independent shore excursions out of Sorrento, it didn’t change our plans at all. We were going to Pompeii on a Princess excursion!
I never get tired of driving through the countryside of the countries we’ve visited.
As our bus of about 40 people drove neared our destination, we were told we’d be picking up an additional guide in Pompeii. There is a size limit to tour groups exploring Pompeii, so we’d be divided in half. Our half of the bus was assigned to the new guide, Guido. We were very blessed to have had him as our guide. Guido was as older man who had been guiding for years. He loved his job and it showed in his humorous commentary. Our bus now divided, each group headed into Pompeii in opposite directions.
This was my first view of a place I’ve wanted to visit since I can remember.
The city of Pompeii was destroyed in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. In about two and a half minutes the entire city and all of its population of about 25,000 was destroyed. Most of the population was vaporized, but some of the people were encased in lava. When they were found, there was nothing left except the outlines of the people. Archeologists were able to use plaster to make very accurate casts of these unfortunate people and they can be seen in Pompeii today. I was uncomfortable taking pictures of them, but photographs can be easily found on the internet.
The first part of our tour took us to the archeological museum where there were displays of statues, frescos and the casts of victims of the eruption, including a dog and a pregnant woman.
There was even some ancient graffiti of a gladiator fighting a wild animal.
Exiting the museum, we were finally entering the city proper. This was a big, bustling city and we saw ruins of temples, forums, and houses. We also saw lots of other tourists. It was a holiday after all.
We went into the ruins of a home of an upper class family. Every room had different mosaic floors.
There was so much of Pompeii that we didn’t have time to see. This is not a small site. It was so easy to imagine what the city must have looked like with the residents going about their daily lives.
After we returned to our ship, we decided to take the afternoon to rest. My cough was still bothering me and we had four more port days in a row. Tomorrow, I was finally going to go to Rome and I wanted to be rested up. Consequently, we never made it into Naples, but we were content with our decision. We’ve learned that you can’t do everything!
The Macs’ Big Adventure 