Day 3 Cruise Gwen

Day 3 Cruise – 6:30 am still came early. Beth got up for her shower, I stayed in bed for as long as possible. We dressed and then headed up for breakfast with our belongings for the day. We then went to the Stardust Theater (the meeting place) and was informed that “meeting time” and “departure time” do not mean the same thing. After arriving 15 min early for our meeting time of 8:15 we finally departed about 8:45. Not too bad. We traveled by bus from Icheiavecia (the port city we arrived in) and took about a two hour drive to Rome. One of our tour guides, Felipo, a young Roman, gave us a small introduction to the area as we drove past. Beth and I decided that he was the perfect husband for her sister and took pictures to entice her to study abroad in Italy so she could meet her future husband. Felipo passed out the maps, and special radios we would be using on the tour. The radios were so our tour guide could talk at a normal tone and we could all hear from about 15 ft away. We didn’t look like tourists AT ALL. We also had a boat staff representative to help herd the tour group, Matt Lehrer, a performer from Second City comedy troupe (who we saw perform the night before!! ) We met our actual tour guide for Rome in Rome; her name was Gracia or “Grace” in English. Our first stop was the Coliseum. We had about 30 to 45 min here, learning about the history of Rome and the Coliseum itself. We were given 15 min free time...not nearly enough time to spend INSIDE the Coliseum but Beth and I took a jog around. We learned why there were holes in the structure: they needed the metal that was used to reinforce the concrete to make weapons. There were much more interesting facts, which I’m sure Beth will share with you, but there were a few that actually caught my attention.
After the Coliseum, we walked up the street towards the big castle that was dedicated to the first King (of 4) of Italy. We walked pass the Roman Forum and several other old monuments that many old had the foundations left. You could definitely say this city was a city of civil engineers and architects and I was in heaven. I think once we get a chance to post pictures you will probably notice I’m glowing. After this we walked back towards the bus in a different route, through some of the adjacent apartments near these archeological sites and last view of the Coliseum. The bus took us to lunch on the new side of the city. Lunch was a continued surprise. When seated at our table, it was set with two bottles of water and three bottles of wine with a basket of bread for each side. We were first served lasagna, which we all thought was lunch but much to our surprise it was the appetizer. Lasagna was followed by a very salty salad and a plate of thinly sliced pork in a very tasty sauce with green beans. For desert, we were presented with a bowl of tiramisu. I took two bites and shared mine with Beth. We filled up on water before leaving for the bus, which took us to the Vatican.
The interesting thing about this day was that we arrived in Rome on the day of the Epiphany. Those lucky people who went to the Vatican in the morning were actually graced with the presence of the pope and some also attended portions of the service. Our group however had the shortest lines ever into St. Peter’s Basilica. Because of the Epiphany, the Sistine Chapel was closed. L We did see some very beautiful mosaics and paintings. It was not crowded at all. There were nativity scenes both in the square and inside the Basilica. We had about 45 min to ourselves so unfortunately, no time to run to the Parthenon. This tour was definitely a taste of Rome and now I have to come back and give the city if not the country justice by spending more time here. Beth and I roamed around a bit before heading to the meeting place. I couldn’t leave Italy without having the traditional desert and because it was the end of the tour, I indulged. I had my own Pistachio Gelato. We walked back to the bus, fell asleep on the drive home before Felipo thought it would be funny to wake us up with a very loud rooster call over the intercom. I’m pretty sure I wanted to throw him off the bus after that. Beth and I boarded the bus, went to our rooms to relax a bit before a small dinner, which turned into indulging in the fresh crepe’s from the desert buffet. We went to the acrobatic and juggling show...where Beth almost peed in her pants because the male performer was trying to climb an unsupported ladder blind folded. Afterward, we went back to the room and found a towel animal on my bed with our mints! We were SO excited for our fantastic turn down service and took several pictures. We named him Humphrey, and placed him in a place of honor (on a top shelf in the room) and decided to order room service before going to Spinnaker to check out the scene. I became homesick and went down the room. Beth was thoughtful enough to give me some space before returning. We then spent the next 4 hours talking till about 2:30 am. We decided then....that it was probably wise to sleep in.