7/26/2010We got up and grabbed a cab to Catelo San Angelo, just outside Vatican City. The castle was a beautiful museum to explore. 
This bridge to the castle had all these awesome angel statues lining it.   
At this point we headed over to the Vatican, St. Peter’s Square in particular. Roma Pass unfortunately do not apply here. We had to stand in line with everyone else. 
Of course, nobody is allowed into the Vatican unless their shoulders and knees are covered. We had a heads up on this from my friend Matt so we wore jeans and sleeved shirts for the day, even though it was hot as heck at 102 degrees again! 
The sign 
The Swiss Guard and a Nun. 
The outside of St. Peter’s Basilica… this was without a doubt THE highlight of our trip. There’s no way to describe just how mind blowingly beautiful it is… even the pictures do NOT do it justice… it is something everyone, regardless of religion, should see in their lifetime. 
Gold and marble everywhere… even the floors… 
Confession booth. 
The list of all the Popes buries in St. Peter’s Basilica. 
Getting from St. Peter’s Basilica to the Capela Sistena (Sistine Chapel) isn’t that easy, even though physically they’re right next to each other. You are made to leave the Vatican and then walk all the way around the outside wall and then enter at the Vatican Museums, winding your way through the entire museum before finally making it to the chapel. On our way around the wall, Jess and I found this little restaurant that had… gasp… AIR CONDITIONING!!! We had lunch there before heading to the chapel. 
The most gorgeous ceilings… 
When we finally made it to the Capela Sistena, we looked up, expecting the famous “finger of God” painting to fill most of the ceiling. Imagine our surprise when we saw it… just one among many paintings on the ceiling. 
Of course this photo doesn’t exist, even though it’s an iPhone non flash photo, since we weren’t allowed to take photos in the chapel. But then again, it’s possible I stopped in at a confession booth on the way out. ;-) Later
C
7/25/2010We woke refreshed and ready to explore! We had bought what’s called a “Roma Pass” at the Termini the previous day. The easiest place to get your Roma Pass is at Tobaci (tobacco) stores. The Roma Pass gives you 3 days of travel on all public transportation such as rail and bus, as well as free entrance to two museums and discounts at subsequent ones. The best thing about the Roma Pass however, is that there’s an express line for it at museums. This can save you a LOT of time at the Colosseum. We were having trouble figuring out the bus schedules in Italian the day before, so I made the command decision to simply cab it. It’s way less stress and besides, cabs aren’t that expensive in Rome as they are in the US. We got a cab ride from our hotel to the Circo Maximo (Circus Maximus) where the chariot races used to be held. The ride cost us 35 Euros. Now even though that is still pretty reasonable, I think we got taken a little bit on that ride. I’ll explain later. Back to Circo… This used to be a glorious structure that looked something like this: 
The Circus used to entertain as many as 300,000 raging fans in it’s hey day. I guess you could call it the Nascar of ancient Rome.  Nonetheless, there isn’t much left these days. This is about all that remains today.  
An aerial view of Circo Maximo and a ground view. From Circo we were adjacent to Palatine Hill where emperors such as Augustus had their palaces. Lots of awesome things to see here… 
The private arena inside the palace. 
Asklepios – 2nd century AD 
Filosofo (Philosopher) 170-180 AD 
After Palatine Hill, we headed through the Forum Romanum (Roman Forum) with a magnificent entrance. 
From there, the Colosseo (Roman Coliseum) was just a few steps away.  
There are lots of characters in uniform outside the Colosseum, like these: 
Be warned though… taking a picture with them is neither free nor cheap. 
Gladiator helmet  
The line INSIDE and then also OUTSIDE the Colosseum that we did NOT have to stand in, just because we had a Roma Pass!  
The maximum extent of the Roman Empire. 
We found this street performer: 
sitting still as a statue. In the 102 degree Roman heat, it was quite a feat in my book. We continued making our way over to the Vittorio Emanuele II monument. 
At this point, we were both hot and exhausted. The 102 degree heat was a major drain on a physical level. We had some more sights to see. We had about a mile hike to the Pantheon, followed by a half mile hike to Fontana de Trevi (Trevi Fountain) and lastly another half mile hike to the Spanish Steps. I wasn’t sure we could make that hike in the searing heat. I noticed a Taxi zone and headed over to a group of drivers chatting in a group. I opened with “Buon giorno. Pala inglese?” and found a driver, Fabrizio, who spoke decent enough English. We negotiated with him to drive us to our remaining spots, wait for us while we get out and take photos, and then finally drive us back to the hotel. I have to say, the most comfortable we had been in Rome, was in the cool air conditioning of Fabrizio’s cab! 
Unfortunately the Pantheon was under restoration… 
Next stop… Fontana de Trevi… 
On the way to the Spanish Steps, Fabrizio showed us the first newspaper in Rome. 
The Messenger 
We also stopped at the Piazza dei Tribunali. 
We finally made it back to the hotel. Of course my 15 Euro Ray Ban shades that I bought in Tunisia which as Mr. Wish (our guide) said: “For sure it’s a fake” didn’t survive the trip.  That’s OK. I just needed them to last a couple of days. I ended up buying some Ferrari shades the next day. 
We chilled at the pool that evening, soaking our tired feet and bodies and getting ready for Castel Sant’Angelo and Vatican City the next day. Later
C
We got to Ajaccio and Jess and I were both beat. As we looked out over the city from our balcony, this is what we saw… 
See anything worth exploring? Neither did we. So we decided to stay in, sleep, hang by the pool and recharge our batteries for Rome. Later
C
We docked in Civitavecchia, Italy this morning. Jess and I headed to breakfast before debarking to make our way to Rome. The good news is that I FINALLY found the cheese in the Ham and Cheese Omelet. See below… 
OK, OK, I only found the cheese because I put it there myself. I was never able to actually get a Ham and Cheese Omelet on the ship. It always turned out to be a Cheese Omelet instead. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our final ship bound breakfast and then debarked for Rome. We debarked with Wendy and Dale Rutherford, our new made friends from Scotland. The four of us made our way to the train station where we caught the train to the Rome Termini. The Termini is the central train terminal in Rome, kind of like a hub is for an airline. Now on our way from Rome to Civitavecchia we took a car. It ended up costing us 150 Euros. Taking the train saved us a bundle. Cost 9 Euros. The train ride was hot and uncomfortable, but we were chatting with Wendy and Dale so time passed quickly. Once we got to Termini, we were looking for an information station. There wasn’t any to be found anywhere. We walked up and down the terminal, but couldn’t find anything. Finally, we were so hot and muggy, we decided to get something to drink. There was a McDonalds right outside and across the street. I proceeded to stand in line to get a Coke and a milk shake. I had to check the name twice during the 10 minutes I was waiting for two drinks because the McDonalds I know isn’t that slow. Oh well… Finally, Jess and I decided to grab a cab to our hotel, the Cardinal Hotel St. Peter. Cost 20 Euros. We booked into our room. It’s a lovely room. We only wish we could keep the AC running to cool the room when we’re not there. See, the room is powered when your room key is inserted into a slot reader inside the room. When the key isn’t in the slot, the room has no power… but that’s OK… it’s green.  We spent the rest of the day next to the pool, planning our excursions for the next two days and recharging our batteries. We decided to do Ancient Rome the next day, followed by Vatican City the day after. Later
C
7/18/2010Ah, beautiful Genoa. There is so much to see here. We also found the shopping to be very affordable here. Again Jess and I headed out on our own. We saw the castle on the hill, the Castello D’Albertus, and hiked our way up there to go see it. We found out that its Monday today. Guess what. Museums are closed on Monday. Now why couldn’t we have docked in Toulon on Monday instead? Anyway, picture time… 
The castle. 
Narrow streets and alleys. 
The University of Genoa. 
Outside the castle gates. 
The castle, as close as we got to it. 
But the gates are locked and its closed on Mondays. 
Interesting “Elevator”… basically a tiny little box car subway. 
A real Italian monk. 
Back on board the ship, shortly after departure, we took part in the weekly emergency drill. Here giving me the peace sign… or is it something else?  
The coast of Portofino. Good bye Genoa. Next stop Ajaccio, France. Later
C
Hmmm… Toulon… Ummm… well… it’s a naval port. It’s the home base for France’s Mediterranean fleet. Other than that, it’s not really a tourist attraction in my opinion. Oh yeah. The French men might want to learn some manners. Generally speaking, when walking down a street, it’s good manners to yield to a lady coming the opposite way. Three French guys walked down the street, line abreast, and refused to yield, forcing Jess to step into the street. Of course, the do seem to yield to imposing, unyielding South African Americans! Anyway… photos… there aren’t many because as I said, it’s not really a tourist town. 
Approaching Toulon. 
Now THAT sailboat was almost a speed bump. The ship blew it’s horn to warn them and they just simply continued on their merry way. The ship did some course correction while blowing the horn in many short bursts denoting the urgency of the matter. Like a massive cruise liner is going to be ABLE to yield to you… Idiots! 
OK, we’re in France. 
A nice shot of our cruise ship. Well, that’s it for Toulon. Next stop… Genoa, Italy. Later
C
7/15/2010We visited Palma today. A beautiful city indeed. We chose to forego our excursion fees and do our own thing instead. Mostly this was because we didn’t want to be herded like sheep again, but we also needed to find Jess some tennis shoes since she forgot hers at home. From our cabin balcony, we could see the cathedral as well as a castle on the hill. Jess and I have a thing for castles. You could say its our theme. We decided, given the timing of the arrival, to have lunch in Palma. We went ashore with Wendy and Dale (new Scottish friends we made on the trip) and caught bus 31 to Centro de Palma. Wendy and Dale split off and did their own thing while Jess and I had lunch at a sidewalk cafe. We had also discovered that we docked right at the the start of siesta (2-5 PM daily) which the Spanish observe religiously. Most shops and stores are closed during this time, but a few were open. Definitely something to consider when planning your trip excursions. Nonetheless, we found an open shoe store and Jess was able to get herself a nice pair of Nike shoes. Observation of the day… -
Europeans don’t really accept plastic (VISA, Mastercard etc.) that much. They’re more about cash. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but back home, you can drop me anywhere with my VISA and I’d be fine. In Europe, you better plan to have cash on hand. -
I really LOVE this siesta idea. Taking a break (lunch + nap) from 2 PM to 5 PM sounds like an awesome plan to me. I wonder if we could import that back into the USA with us? :-P Time for pictures… 
I’m so excited… 
Palma in the mist. 
Lunch 
Yum… with olives. 
The shoe hunt. 
General architecture in Palma is beautiful. 
Approaching the cathedral. 
The cathedral in all its glory. 
After waiting at the bus stop, we finally managed to catch bus 1 to the castle. As it turns out, bus 1 is a tourist bus taking a route all around the city. If we had known that, we’d have taken it from the beginning instead of taking bus 31 first. The cost of the ticket is 15 Euro per person for a 24 hour period. 
The moat. 
  
Lots of wondrous statues. 
Welcome to my abode! 
The view of Palma from the castle is spectacular! 
Well that’s it for Palma. Next stop… France.
Later
C
7/14/2010We docked in Tunisia today. Jess and I are both disappointed that nowhere on our cruise, with the exception of our port of entry (Rome, Italy), are we getting stamps in our passports. Oh well. No biggie I guess. Anyway, Tunisia is the site of ancient Carthage… the home of Hannibal and the source of the three Punic Wars starting around 200 BC in Roman history. We were in another group outing today because we had already booked and paid for it, but we were lucky. We got Mr. Wish as our guide. A very knowledgeable and talkative guide. We had a great time ashore. Jess has concluded that she loves the barter system shopping of Tunis! Without further delay, here’s some photos: 
Ready for Tunisia. 
The site of ancient Carthage. The Romans completely destroyed the city after the third Punic war, but this was the site of the original city. It was later rebuilt by the Romans and thrived for centuries. 
Cannon balls!!! 
 
All of this is part of the sub floor heating system for the architecture of the day during Roman times. 
The sand stone is soft and is eroded easily. 
A piece of floor from the times. The richer the Roman noble was, the smaller the pieces of marble was that was used on their floors. 
A rendition of what the building on this site looked like at the time. 
Yes… Coke truly transcends worlds! 
Part of the Roman aqueduct system in Carthage that stretches for 127 miles… the longest known such system in the world. 
Mr. Wish explaining the pure perfume extracts. 
Mr. Wish explaining about the decorative doors in Tunis. 
 
With a carpet weaver.   
And the beautiful carpets they weave from camel hair, cashmere and silk.  
Lots of satellite dishes. 
 
 Falconeer!   
The beast stares at him… he stares at the beast… their eyes meet… locked in a depthless stare… OK, no poetry, but it is something else to stare directly into the falcon’s eyes. Such a deep penetrating gaze. You can clearly feel the majestic power of the animal.
Later
C
7/11/2010We are on the 3rd day of our Honeymoon and as always, we have LOTS of photos to share. Today we docked in Solerno, Italy. We got off the boat and headed for Pompeii. Wonderful site to visit. Jess and I discovered today that we don’t like to be hearded around like sheep. We were on a guided tour with a little Italian lady as our guide. The tour was for both Italian and English speaking passengers. So my latest observations: We love the cruise on MSC Lirica. I would issue a word of caution to potential travelers though. If you decide you want to be on guided tours, only book one day in advance. We believed the hype of “limited seating” and booked excursions for most of our days. We realized after the first, that is just wasn’t our cup of tea. We have too much of an exploring spirit to be led around in groups. We decided to keep the La Goulette tour but cancel the reset. We were told that, even with 48 hours plus notice, we were NOT going to get a refund on our excursions. Oh well. That’s a loss of 106 Euros in Palma de Majorca alone! Damn! So be warned. Trips don’t fill up as advertised and is more likely to be cancelled due to lack of interest than overbooked. Just book one day ahead. OK, OK, enough of that. Time for pictures… 
We were so excited that we were up before 6 AM. Jess enjoying our basket of fruit as we’re cruising into port. 
Sunrise! 
Misty cloud hanging over port 
Jess… shopping  
With an Italian Halberdier. 
A statue of Perseus slaying Medusa.  
With a Roman Legionnaire. 
Pompeii. 
Our "lolipop #27” :-D 
Grooves in the road from freight carts. 
Propaganda from an election being held in Pompeii at the time of its destruction. 
 
Water collection system of a house. 
The white marble pieces in the floor allowed for easier night navigation by candle light. 
A private street in Pompeii blocked off from commercial traffic by these blocks. 
So THAT’s where all the statue “parts” went! ;-)
Later
C
7/10/2010OK. It is day 2 of the honeymoon and today we’re boarding the MSC Lyrica. Of course being the technogeek I am, the first thing I did when I got on board was to get hooked into WiFi and test connection speeds. It turns out the ship’s internet is provided by a British provider. As you’d expect, connection speeds on a ship are quite slow. Here’s what we are getting: 
So what new observations have I made today? Here we go… -
It seems Civitavecchia beaches have no sand. -
Restaurants, including pizzerias do NOT open until 5 or even 6 PM. Europeans eat late! -
I haven’t seen a morbidly obese person yet. OK. I saw one, but I’m not sure she was Italian. -
The Hotel Borgo Del Mare (formerly the Hotel Bramante) where we stayed overnight, serves the best damn cappuccino I’ve ever had! -
Jess forgot all her tennis/comfortable walking shoes and I forgot my shades. They do NOT sell tennies on the ship. High heels and flip flops here we go. As for shades… starting at 90 Euro, I think I’ll just squint. ;-) OK, photo time… 
Civitavecchia beach. 
And again… 
See… no sand… 
Gas is EXPENSIVE! Consider 1.437 Euro per liter X 3.8 liter per US gallon X 1.28 exchange rate and you have almost $7 US/gal!!! Crazy expensive! That’s why there are no SUVs here. 
Notice how the dock is built to get you across the rocks and into the ocean. 
This looked like fun. A trampoline out in the ocean. 
Of course Jess just loved the “portable” Nutella… :-P 
And YES, this cat actually IS alive!!! 
Orange juice… not orange at all, but red. 
And ground floor, unlike the US is floor 0, not 1. 
Our boarding point. 
The view of our boarding point from our balcony. 
Jess looking lovely and happy! 
Why wouldn’t she be… especially with closet space like this! 
Each room also has a safe. 
And a nice big bed. 
The full size mirrors really make the room feel bigger. 
“Brilliant!!!” Having shampoo and body wash dispensers right in the shower. 
Of course the very first thing we did was to trace our Emergency Escape route and identify our gathering point… K2 
Full size theater on board. 
The harbor behind… 
Love birds 
and a BIG, BIG engine! 
A hallway that never, never ends…  
And dual (220/110) outlets in the room. BRILLIANT!!! 
The view as we depart… 
Leaving the beautiful Roman hills behind us, headed for Pompei tomorrow… now if dinner time (9:30 PM) would just hurry up and get here…
Later
C
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