Day 3: Livorno/Cinque Terre/Pisa

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Port: Livorno

We both had a wonderful night of sleep…the seas were calm and we experienced no fog - which means no fog horn! Yay! Woke up to the alarm at 6:55 am – and peeked out to see we were already docked at the photogenic and beautiful port of Livorno. (This is sarcasm, dear readers – Livorno is the last thing from being photogenic or beautiful.)

The phone rings at 7:00 am on the dot, and it is Room Service telling us that our breakfast is on its way. Yes, the night before we ordered our breakfast and hung it on our doorknob. No more stale toast or lumpy oatmeal for Hubby. Free – but tips are appreciated. I hop up and put on a robe and sure enough, 5 minutes later, our delicious hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and pastries is delivered. We tipped Erhan $2.00 and then sit down to enjoy it on our balcony. Overlooking that beautiful scene in front of us. (sarcasm)

After breakfast, we get dressed and ready to go. The weather is partly cloudy with an expected high of 85. Gorgeous.

We walked down the gangplank at exactly 8:00 am to meet up with our tour group. Our group included 3 other couples that met through Cruise Critic and arranged our tour through Rome in Limo. We have Erin & Bryan; Laura & Chris; and Bill & Amy. (Their pictures are on the blog posting for Day 1 - Sailaway Party.)

We're at the port of Livorno. Livorno belongs to the region of Tuscany, which incorporates the west coast area of central Italy and includes the historic and culturally significant towns of Florence and Pisa. The people of Tuscany are noted for their charm, generosity and taste for good living. They take great pride in their art and architectural treasures.

Most people visit Florence when coming to Livorno. We have opted to save Florence for another visit. We feel we will be seeing enough churches, monasteries and monuments in Rome that we would like to do something different. Besides, hordes of barbarians storm Florence every day - we would like to avoid the barbarians today and go off the beaten path. So - we're heading to Cinque Terre - or "Five Lands".

The Cinque Terre is noted for its beauty. Over centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible "modern" development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach it from the outside. It is a very popular tourist destination - but NOT as popular as Florence.

Vincincio, our driver, is on the dock waiting for us and we hop into the spacious van to begin our tour. Our plan is to visit the five villages of Cinque Terre and then head over to Pisa to see the tower – not climb it. We don't have time - that will wait for a future trip.

It is a long drive to the Cinque Terre – we drive on the highway for at least 90 minutes. Hubby is sitting in the front seat by Vincincio; I have taken the odd seat in the back. I can hear Vincincio talking a mile a minute with Hubby but I can’t hear a word he is saying. I imagine that he’s telling Hubby all sorts of wonderful stories, interesting tidbits, and gold nuggets of information – and I will have to drill Hubby later to fill me in on all I missed. Later, Hubby tells me that Vincincio told him nothing of value – it was worthless information and told Hubby nothing of the area or what we were seeing. Vincincio was nothing more than a driver – he was not a guide. His job was to get us where we needed to be – but not tell us anything about it.

We finally arrive at Village #1, Riomaggiore, after driving down some pretty scary switchbacks on the side of a steep cliff. Vincincio explains that we are now on our own for a while. He helps us purchase train tickets and he then hands us a piece of paper where he has “mapped” out our itinerary for the day – giving us exactly how much time we are to spend in each village and giving us the exact time of the train that we are to catch at each village.

Before leaving to explore, Hubby has to use the restroom. There is a public restroom right by the Ticket Station, and Hubby comes back out with a strange look on his face, and calmly asks for the camera. I hand it over to him; he disappears back into the bathroom; and comes back out. Welcome to Europe.

Upon Vincinzio's advice, we explore Riomaggiore - -and then begin walking to Village #2, Manarola. The road from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore (roughly, "Lovers Walk") and varies in difficulty from an easy stroll to a rough and physically challenging hike. Along the way, we come across "Love Padlocks" - Love padlocks are a custom by which sweethearts affix padlocks to a fence or similar public fixture to symbolise their love.

Along our walk to Manarola, we see incredible coastline and stunning scenery.

We arrive in Manarola and admire the shops and the houses and the passageways and the “Italianess” of it all….(is that a word??!)

Manarola has a delightful little restaurant

that you could walk up to the counter and walk out with the most delicious focaccia.

And so that is what we did. Hubby and I got the pesto focaccia – and it was a 9.5 on my scale. It was to die for. Warm, gooey, cheesy, with just the right flavor of pesto. We came out with the bread & oil all over our face – no hiding it from anyone - and so the others in our group rushed in to get their own delightful focaccia. So much for having this guilty pleasure to oneself!

It is time to catch the train. We head to the station and go underground to punch in our ticket, and then wait on the platform.

The train comes speeding up and we all board and find seats – and we’re off – through dark tunnels – until we reach Village #3 – Corniglia. The ride takes all of about 3 minutes.

The train pulls into Corniglia station and we disembark, only to see a green bus where every other passenger from the train is now boarding. But why? Why would they get off a train only to board a bus? Should we board the bus, too? Does the bus cost anything? How much? Where is the bus going? What do they know that we don’t? Why doesn’t anyone in our group speak Italian? As we ponder these great mysteries of life, the bus departs….and leaves 8 confused American tourists standing there – realizing they are suddenly alone – and there is no sight of Corniglia. As we try to decipher this mystery, we see a sign – prominently lettered in Italian – but in smaller, English - stating that the only way to actually get to Corniglia from this point is to either take the FREE bus (which has now left us in its dust) or to take 386 steps – straight up the side of the cliff - or – walk straight up a long, long road that appears to be going uphill at about a 90 degree angle (I kid you not) and leads to who knows where. We all look at each other – realizing that although there may be 3 choices listed on the sign, OUR choices have now come down to two – either the steps or the road to nowhere.



We were only going to have 30 minutes in Corniglia anyway before we had to catch the next train to Village #4, Vernazza– and now having spent at least 10 minutes realizing the dire circumstances of our transportation issue – we make a group decision that we don’t have time now to do anything - other than to sit at the train station and wait for the next train.

And so that is what we did. We can say now that we visited Corniglia but never saw any of it. Wasn’t that fun?This is about all we saw of Corniglia. The road.

Don’t ask for pictures of Corniglia – we don’t have any – except some lovely pictures of the calf-killing, heart attack inducing 386 steps. Straight up. The Side of a cliff. That we opted not to take.

A little frustrated of our experiences in Corniglia, but feeling optimistic that we would not be fooled again, we eagerly boarded the train to Vernazza.

Our very informative driver, Vincincio, had told us that should plan on spending a little more time in this village, as well as the next one. This village was a delight – it had a small beach; cats everywhere; and a few more tourists than Corniglia.

Here's a photo of Vernazza from above - it's beautiful.

And we didn’t have to take a bus or a sidesplitting hike to get there. Oh, it was divine.

And – it had not one, not two, but at LEAST 3 gelato bars – oh, the dilemma of which one to choose! We settled on one and Hubby ordered a small cup of tiramisu. I ordered the chocolate, and the man behind the counter asks if I only want chocolate. And I stare at him in wonder….you mean, I could get more than one flavor in my cup???!! No one told me this! I have now died and gone to heaven! This is a photo of the man and his gelato bar who shared this revelation with me!!!

So – I see a delicious looking gelato that looks like butterscotch pudding (It really was pretty), and although I don’t recognize the Italian word for the flavor, it really is pretty…and so I order it, as well.

As we walk away, I take a bite of the pretty light-brown gelato – and recoil in horror.

It is cinnamon. I hate cinnamon. Argh. I wouldn’t even give it a 2. Hubby is an angel – he offers to let me eat half his tiramisu (I would give it a 5.2 – I’m not big on tiramisu), and he eats the dreaded cinnamon. I then eat the chocolate, but I have to be honest and say it only ranked a 5.7. It was too chocolately – it needed some orange or raspberry to break up the chocolate-ness of it all. Sigh. We’ll just have to keep on this quest to find the perfect 10.0 gelato. It’s hard to be scientific, but one has to do it in the sacrifice of research.

We still have a little more time before we have to catch the next train, so we explore the little shops….I find a delightful Italian perfume that smells like oranges (I must really have food on the brain all the time!) and I also find a lovely jewelry store where I purchase some hand-painted charms.

The train is almost due, so we all meet up at the station and hop the train for our last stop, Village #5, Monterosso.

This place is bigger than all of the previous villages and definitely more touristy. There is also a rather large beach.

We all take off to explore and see what there is to see – and Hubby and I find some beautiful, old churches that are open to the public. They were breath-taking beautiful on the inside. We take pictures and people-watch and poke into the shops. At one place, they have “cannoli” written on the menu board – OMG! I have to have REAL Italian cannoli. I eagerly rush inside and look for the cannoli in the window displays but don’t see it; I politely ask the woman behind the counter if they have any left, and she points to what looks like burnt, brown rolls stuffed with whipped cream. That does NOT look like the cannoli I get back home. Uh, no thanks. It was burnt….I don’t do burnt.

Eventually, Hubby and I walk back along the coast to meet Vincincio, and as we are the first of the 8 to arrive, Vincincio kindly points out a gelato bar 10 feet from where we are standing. Well, I don’t mind if I do. Research and all, you know. I step inside and decide to order mojito gelato….and I’m telling you, dear readers, that it gets a 9.3!!! Oh. My. God. It was sooooooo good. Very light – almost like a lime sorbet. Very clean and crisp on my palate. I would highly recommend it.

The others all arrive and we board the van for a very long ride back to Pisa. We get on the highway where Vincincio drives 140 kpm. I made a mental note to go back home and convert 140 kpm to miles per hour, because I didn’t know how fast it was, but I knew it was pretty darn fast. I thanked God that I was sitting in the back seat. But then I added a prayer for my Hubby who was sitting in the front seat; I thanked God that his life insurance was paid up because I was having serious doubts that we’d survive this trip.

We drove…and we drove…and we drove…and it was in the late afternoon…and it was sunny….and I had just had delicious gelato…and before I knew it – well, let’s just say, “How many Americans does it take to fall asleep in a speeding van through Italy?” Apparently, that answer would be 8. Thank God that the one and only Italian on board did not fall asleep as well, or we would be goners. Vincincio may not have been the best guide – and he may have had a lead foot – but he knew when it was important to stay awake. Bless him.

I don’t know how long any of us dozed, but we finally arrived at Pisa around 4:30 pm. Driving through Pisa was interesting – crowded, dirty, noisy – no fun. In fact, if Pisa didn’t have the tower, no one would ever visit it – trust me.

Anyway, we arrive at the tower – and we realize we aren’t alone. Huh. Apparently, every other tourist in a 200-mile radius has also decided to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa at the same exact time as we are! Who’d of thunk it? Didn’t these dear barbarians know that they were to be gone already and we were to have exclusive rights to the tower???!!! Oh well….

Vincincio gives us 15 minutes to go take photos – so we plunge into the masses of people (see the photos below if you don’t believe me) and we took the obligatory photos – including the photo of your loved one trying to “hold up” the tower so it doesn’t fall down.

I looked around on the grassy lawn and it looked like one giant Tai Chi class going on – I thought it was pretty funny – so I took a photo of the people taking photos of the people holding up the tower.

Maybe you had to be there, but it really was pretty funny.

We hop back on the van and it is now time to head back to the ship – we arrive back in the beautiful port of Livorno (sarcasm, dear readers) at 5:30 pm and get there right when 3 giant tour buses pull up, dispensing like Pez candy all of the barbarians on board. Yikes – we hurry and pay Vincincio and rush over to beat the people in line to get on board.

We actually now have almost an hour before dinner – amazing! – and so we clean up and then head over to the Concierge Lounge. My favorite bartender in the world prepares a Screwdriver for me, while Hubby gets his favorite red wine, and we partake in some delicious appetizers (crab cakes, grilled shrimp, quiche, candies, cookies, and so much more). We sit and mingle with others in the Lounge, hearing stories of people who actually climbed the Tower (no guardrails – and slippery marble steps. That is not a good combination in my clumsy world.)

Eventually, it is 7:00 pm and time to head down to the Minstrel Dining Room where our favorite tablemates and our favorite servers await. Tonight is “Italian” night, and so I have minestrone soup to begin with (very good – I could have just slurped the soup all night long) and then I have the Tiger grilled shrimp with rice for my main course. (again, very good – and Dejan was kind enough of de-skin my shrimp). During the course of dinner, the wait staff did a song and dance through the Dining Room where they serenaded us with their version of “Oh Solo Mia”. How fun. For dessert, I could not make up my mind – the warm, molten chocolate cake looked so good – but so did the raspberry gelatin….oh, the dilemma! I finally went with the Raspberry, and when Dejan brought out the desserts, he brought me a Raspberry Dessert – AND a chocolate cake – AND another raspberry dessert! I have heard of 2 desserts – but I now had 3 desserts sitting in front of me…this after a day of sampling 4 different gelatos. This cruise is going to kill me yet.

Our table always has a great time – and tonight was no different. We regaled each other with stories of our day, and our plans for tomorrow, and then we talked football, as I sat next to a 15-year old who roots for a team that I DON’T root for, so I had to give him grief. Very nice dinner.

When dinner was over, we headed over to the counter to tell Erhan that we wanted the same bat channel, same bat time for tomorrow night – but there is no Erhan. I see him talking it up at a table with 3 very lovely young ladies. Ehran sees me and I give him a knowing smile. When he walks over to the counter, I say, “Oh, Erhan – flirting?!” And he says, “I prefer to call it Guest Relations.” Loved it. Here's Erhan:

After dinner, I went to the Spa so I could sit in the Thermal Suite and heat the leg muscles up a bit – while Hubby walked the outside track. It is a beautiful evening – perfect temperature; no wind; calm seas. At about 9:45, I change into my gym clothes and join him – where we did about 15 laps around the track – at a pretty good pace – as I had noticed that my gym shorts were a little snug this evening. Hmmmm….wonder why that is? I don’t get it.

We did not go to the show tonight. It was supposed to be Andy Leach, a magician - who had two shows, one at 7:15 pm and another at 9:00 pm. I never heard if he was good or bad. Sorry.

We come back to the room and settle in. Tomorrow is Laundry Day – oh joy – so we’ll finally get some clean underwear. I gather up socks and underwear and t-shirts to stuff in a bag left for us by Alston – all you can wash for $25. Tomorrow is also my birthday. It will be so exciting to spend my birthday while in Rome….and while in Rome, we plan on doing what the Romans do. Including eating some spaghetti – and gelato, of course.

Tonight was 80's Night in the Disco - from 11:00 pm until 1:00 am - but we're too tired. We're getting old, obviously.

Still no sign of the “the Phantom” Alston, our cabin attendant. He has been in to turn down the room – and we have chocolates – but no towel animal. It will be interesting now to see how many days it will take before he shows his face and actually introduces himself to us.

Tomorrow: Rome

Day 4: Rome

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Port: Civitavecchia (Rome)

Another beautiful morning – after another calm night at sea. We are docked at the photogenic port of Civitavecchia at 7:00 am – and again, this is sarcasm, dear readers - the port is not very pretty from the ship.

We awaken at 6:55 am with the phone call from Room Service – who needs an alarm clock or wake-up call? – and a few minutes later our breakfast arrives. Hubby slips in my birthday card while I am not looking – yes, dear readers, today is my birthday. I turn 47 years young today. Yay for me!

After breakfast, we got dressed and ready to go. I am practically trembling with excitement. The weather is sunny with a high of 87. Warm - but beautiful.

The mysterious itchy rash that had begun on my neck has now spread to my left cheek, and I realize (in horror) that I have developed a case of poison ivy. Yikes! (Rest assured, dear readers - it came from my home in the States - and NOT from the ship. We had just purchased a new lake home before we left for the cruise). And I have no hydrocortisone cream! I make my way down to the Medical Clinic on Deck 2 (all the way to the front of the ship), but to my disappointment and frustration, they are not open yet – and we must catch up with our tour.

We exit the ship through Deck 2 and meet up with the same 3 couples from yesterday at 8:00 am. We have Laura & Chris, Erin and Bryan, Amy & Bill, and ourselves.

We're in Rome. Well, technically, we're in Civitavecchia - but for all intents and purposes, we're in Rome.

Rome, the "Eternal City", capital of Italy and the Catholic Church, is a modern, lively and fashionable city. The Tiber River curvs through the City and Ancient Rome is situated on the left bank, as are the original Seven Hills of Rome and the more modern shopping areas, while the Vatican City is on the right bank of the Tiber.

Many Romans today are employed in tourist related industries, as well as in government, film-making and some other small-scale industries. The citizens of Rome still enjoy a relaxed way of life, and live and love life to the fullest. It is believed locally that on the last day of the world the Romans will throw a great farewell party, a gastronomic feast with wine flowing from the City's many fountains - "La Dolce Vita!"

Salvatore, our driver, is on the dock waiting for us and we hop into the spacious van to begin our tour. Salvatore is from RomeinLimo, who have been absolutely wonderful so far in arranging our tours for us while in Italy. Our plan today is to see the highlights of Rome – culminating in a guided tour of the Vatican and the Sistene Chapel.

Salvatore begins the long drive from Civitavecchia, the port, to Rome. In normal situations, this drive would be an hour – but in heavy traffic days – which apparently it was for us, it was longer than an hour. Salvatore keeps us all entertained with stories and history of Rome as we make our way (slowly) to Rome. Patience is a virtue in Rome.

Finally, we arrive at about 9:15 am…. ahhhh….Rome. Our first impressions were of a lot of traffic – and a lot of scooters. The scooters are everywhere – apparently, cars are only for families, or tourists, or the ‘un-hip.’

We stop at a "mysterious" keyhole - Salvatore won't tell us what's behind the keyhole - we have to look for ourselves. The Secret Keyhole - one of Rome's most charming views - is found at the Piazz del Cavalieri di Malta, on the Aventine Hill southwest of the Colosseum. To find it, walk to the left of the church of Santa Sabina as you face it...continue to the end of the piazza and look through the keyhole of the huge door of the Priority of the Knights of Malta (No. 3). I will not ruin the surprise for any of you, dear readers - you just have to see it for yourself. What is beyond that keyhole???!!!

We drive around Rome for a while where Salvatore points out the great sights and monuments and statues – everywhere you look, there they are. We peer down on the impressive Roman Forum, the heart of the Roman Empire for almost 1,000 years. We cruise through Piazza Navona, where we are awed by the fountains, the buildings, and the throng of people, all enjoying Rome's most grand square.

We see the Circus Maximus, which at one point, was the largest stadium in ancient Rome. It could seat over 250,000 people! The famous chariot races were held here, with the last one being held in AD 579. Today, all we could really see was a lot of grassland – with a lone tree in the middle. Someone in the van commented on the lone tree, wondering what it was doing there. I said that was where the girl would stand, dropping her scarf, to signal the start of the chariot races. Remember that scene from “Grease”?

Well, I’m sure the Romans had their version, too. The girl would like, drop her toga, or something. And the chariots were off!

As our van heads over to the Colosseum, Salvatore shows us a book in the car that has overlays to show what the Colosseum probably looked like way back when. We arrive at the Colosseum at approximately 9:40 am and we had until 10:20 am to go exploring and take photos. Salvatore stopped and helped us buy our tickets, which allowed us to cut to the front of the normal ticket line, thus saving us 30 minutes of wait time. Well done, Salvatore. You’ve earned your tip.

We approach the Colosseum. And it appears from this photo that I am saying, "What Colosseum? I don't see any Colosseum?"!!!!!!

The Colosseum – what can I say? Simply stunning – one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. It was built between 70 AD and 80 AD; capable of seating over 50,000; and estimates say that over 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games. Because we were there early, we managed to beat a lot of the Barbarians – so it wasn’t really too crowded.

My one regret is that we didn’t have time to do an organized tour of the place – perhaps later. Hubby and I try to figure out how to get to the “top” of the Colosseum so we can see it better, and we manage to get lost. Only us. We have an innate talent for getting lost – we can get lost in our driveway at home.


"Uh...where the heck ARE we??!"


One note here: beware of the Roman “gladiators” dressed in costume outside the Colosseum. They will try to grab you for photos, and will then charge outrageous sums of money for said photo – Roman extortion at the Colosseum. We managed to avoid them, but had heard horror stories about their scare tactics.

Hubby and I finally figure out how to navigate to the top of the Colosseum, but we no sooner get to the top when it is time to head back down and meet back up with the group. After we load back into the van, we drive past other famous sites – the Palazzo di Venezia, where Mussolini had an office and used the balcony often for his stirring speeches; the place where Julius Cesaer was killed; and lots and lots of other monuments and statues and churches and plazas.

We head over to the Pantheon – where Salvatore gives us about 15 minutes to go inside and admire the beautiful architecture and frescoes inside.

The Pantheon is the best-preserved ancient monument in Rome, having been rebuilt in 125 A.D.

It's the closest you'll come to a perfect Roman building...and it is simply bellissimo! However, for so great a building, it's remarkable that no one really knows it's purpose.



It’s topped by the widest flattened dome in the world – exceeding that at St. Peter’s by about 3 feet. Light streams into the 30-foot oculus by day, and rain pours in through the hole in the dome. There are some drainage holes in the floor if you look carefully.

I found this amusing. Sorry.

We cruise past the famous Piazzza di Spagna, and the famous Spanish Steps, which are swathed with visitors...

We make our way to the Trevi Fountain at about 11:20 am - where every visitor is required to throw some loose coins over their shoulder, insuring a return trip to Rome. The fountain is crowded – but it was easy to make our up to the front where we could get some great photos. The Fountain was completed in 1762 – actually, one of the “newer” buildings in Rome. Salvatore gives us about 25 minutes to spend at the Fountain, which was plenty of time to throw our coins and take the photos.

When we get back in the van, Salvatore appropriately plays “Three Coins in a Fountain” recorded by Dean Martin in 1954 for the movie of the same name. The song won the Academy Award that year for Best Song – and we all croon along with Deano while sitting in the van. What a classy touch to the tour.

After the Fountain, we drive past Vatican City and the Square, as we arrive at a little restaurant for lunch. Our lunch was delightful – it had all been prearranged by Rome in Limo and we had an appetizer of prosciutto, then the main course of lasagna,
and then the meat course of veal in lemon cream sauce. All washed down with delightful red wine.

Ahhhh….when in Rome, one must eat as the Romans do….and this was heaven. There was also to be a dessert course, but we were all so full that we couldn’t possibly do justice to it, so we bypassed the dessert. However, we all did purchase a bottle of the house wine to take home with us a souvenir. I kept thinking of the song, “La Vie Boheme” in “Rent”, where the characters sing, “Wine and Beer!”

After lunch, Salvatore was there to pick us up and drive us the short distance to the Vatican.

Now - here's a tip. It's a hot day. The men in our group had worn shorts. BUT - the Vatican does not allow men in shorts. We solved this problem by having the guys in our group BRING some pants in their backpacks - left on the van all day - and they quickly changed out of their shorts and into their pants while us ladies all kindly looked the other way in the van. Very simple - very convenient - and solved the problem of "shorts vs pants" debate I've read so much about. Voila!

Outside the Vatican, we met our guide – Evan – an art major from Portland, Oregon who lives in Italy for the summer, giving tours. Here's Evan with Hubby.

He gets us our tickets to the Museum and we bypass the regular line – which is nice – and we invade the museum, along with 20,000 other Barbarians. Although the Vatican was amazing – and I wouldn’t miss it for the world – it was hot, crowded, stuffy and tiring. There is just so much to take in – and even with a guide – it was too much; we were on sensory overload by then. Plus, I think we were all still recovering from our delicious lunch and the wine. I was ready to nap – not fight the Barbarians.

We walked…and we walked…and we walked….through room after room of art, statues, frescoes, mosaics, etc….Evan told us what we were seeing, and although he did a good job, I couldn’t really write it down as it was all I could do to fight my way through the crowds. We took hundreds of photos - I won't post them all here.



Enough, already! Didn’t these barbarians know that I wanted the Vatican to myself??!!
The coffered ceiling of the Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, which is filled with beautiful 16th-century maps...

You would really need more than a few hours to see all that the Vatican Museum offers…I do know that we visited the Gallery of Tapestries, as well as the Gallery of Maps.



We eventually left the museum, with the intention of tackling St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Outside the Vatican Museums, there is a delightful drinking fountain with some very cool, refreshing water.

TIP ALERT: take bottled water with you while touring – it is allowed and you WILL need it. The Vatican is not air conditioned in most places, and with the crush of bodies, and little airflow, it will get hot.

We eventually make our way into the Sistine Chapel, where photos are not allowed and the guards strictly enforced this. If they saw you taking a photo, they would come over and stand by you, making you delete it off your camera. Evan gave us a very thorough background of the ceiling painted by the artist, Michelangelo. To go in and raise your eyes and see this work of art – words can’t describe it. Just sit back and soak it in.

After we leave the Chapel, we go through St Peter’s Basilica – and it is stunning. It really is the most beautiful church in the world. It’s just awe-inspiring and overwhelming – and I apologize if I sound trite – there really aren’t words in the English language that can describe what we saw that day.

It is now about 4:30 pm and time to meet back up with Salvatore and head back to the port. We spend a few minutes at St. Peter's Square.

We all doze as we make our way through the traffic back to the port – and Salvatore obliges us by playing some beautiful opera music and not saying a word. As we arrive back at the port, he plays “Arrivederci, Rome” – sung by Perry Como in 1966. It’s not a touristy song, but how fitting! We say our goodbyes to Salvatore, slipping him his payment as well as a generous tip, and go through the security line to get back on the ship – and the alcohol-bottle security force immediately confiscate our wine.

Ah, the joys of sailing with Royal Caribbean. Taking our bottles away from us. Drat.

As Hubby goes back up to the room to begin the clean-up process before dinner, I make my way to the front of the ship to visit the Medical Clinic. Perhaps I will have better luck this afternoon in getting my much-needed cream for the poison ivy. Yay – to my utter delight, I find them open, and after explaining (and showing) my problem to the lady at the front counter, she kindly offers me a tube of cream for a small price of $5.00. Relief at last!

I rush back to the room and Hubby has got the shower ready and going for me – I peel the sweat-induced clothing off and jump in to a delightful shower. Hubby is already peeling his own clothes off to get in the shower after I do….I had just turned the shower off and was putting on the robe when our doorbell rings. We look at each other – me in the robe and Hubby in his skivvies – and wonder, “Who could that be?” when we hear someone say, “Helloooooo???? I am Alston – your cabin attendant! I have come by to finally meet you!” Hubby opens the door, and hiding his almost-naked self behind it, says, “Hello, Alston – it’s really not a good time….can you come back?” Alston asks us to call him when we are suitable – which we graciously agree to do so.

And so – a little while later, we give Alston a phone call and he returns in 5 minutes. We invite him in and introductions and handshakes follow, and we then spend a few minutes getting to know him. He is from St. Vincent and has a 7-year old son back home whom he dearly misses. He is a delightful young man, very tall, with a beautiful voice. He warns us about being victimized in Naples the following day, recommending that I leave my jewelry (I wear several rings and bracelets of value all of the time) behind in the safe while touring tomorrow.

After we are both suitably cleaned and fresh smelling, we make our way to the Concierge Lounge where we get our favorite drinks of the evening and settle in to chit-chat and share the day’s adventures with other Loungers. Although the Lounge is full – I wouldn’t say it was crowded. The Diamond Lounge was up on Deck 13 the entire cruise, so it helped to alleviate the crowding.

Eventually, it is 7:00 pm and time to head down to the Minstrel Dining Room where our favorite tablemates and our favorite servers await. Tonight our table has grown to a full 11 people – all met through this wonderful CC. The crew is not happy that we have 11 people in our group – the table is only designed to hold 10 – but we squeeze everyone in. We wanted more people at our table, but the crew said no. That’s too bad – wouldn’t it be lovely to have larger tables so you can break bread with ALL of your friends? Oh well. The food was very good again, and the company and stories even better. I sit next to a 13-year old girl who said her favorite part of Rome was the shopping. Ah, to be young again.

We had just finished dessert when I hear a commotion behind me….as I turn around, I see our head waiter holding a chocolate cake with 2 candles on top – surrounded by our wait staff and a few others….they bring the cake to me and serenade me with a rousing happy birthday song! How delightful! Then, Hubby has ordered champagne for the table, and so we all have a birthday toast – which is even more fun. The champagne was very tasty!

I am presented with a gift by our dear friends Susan & Pete. They have given me a (rather) large pencil so that I may continue to write – even if my laptop should break down. How perfect and thoughtful! There is also a birthday card – which is a beautiful postcard of the ship.

As we are leaving dinner around 8:45 pm, I stop at Dave & Kerry’s table to see how their day went, and then I make my way (alone - Hubby has disappeared) to the front counter to make sure Erhan has our MTD reservation for tomorrow.

Erhan has already got us down for Friday night, and he gives me a big birthday hug – which is good “guest relations.”

I make my way back to our room and find Hubby already relaxing. He claims that he never saw me stop at Dave & Kerry’s table in the dining room, which is why he abandoned me – I guess I am an adult and can live with that.

Tonight's show was Steph Carse, a singer. He only had one show - at 8:15 pm - so we missed it, as we were still at dinner. Oh well.

It is now time for my 9:00 pm appointment at the spa where I have a Foot & Ankle Massage booked. I make my way down and arrive at the desk to check-in, almost interrupting a filming going on in the spa by the Cruise Director and the Activities Director. They are set up a few feet away in the Spa to film a “commercial” for the ship – and although I whisper to the desk attendant to check in, I can clearly hear my voice the next day when the spot is broadcast on the ship’s TV. Oh well – I can live in infamy now.

I get my paperwork to complete and make my way to the “Relaxation Room” at the very back of the ship – it is a little too dark to see the wake of the ship – and I sit and complete the necessary inquisition. Then, my attendant, Serena, shows up to take care of me – and she leads me to a room where I disrobe and get under the sheets. She then comes back in and places lavender-laced cotton balls on my eyes and then proceeds to give me one of the best 30-minute foot and ankle massages I have ever had. My feet have never been so happy after being so brutalized. Walking in Rome can do a number on your feet – trust me. TIP ALERT: Wear comfortable walking shoes in Rome – you’ll need them.

Serena is from Barcelona, Spain and so I practice my Spanish on her while she practices her English. We both admit to not being good at our second language but agree it is fun to practice.

After the massage, she disappears to allow me to dress and then returns with a flute of champagne for me – for my birthday! Ahhhh….I love birthdays and champagne. And spas. Life doesn’t get much better than this, dear readers.

Eventually all good things must come to an end and so it is time for me to leave the spa. I walk back to the cabin where Hubby is settling in. We have chocolates but no towel animals. But we have gifts! Woo hoo! Our C&A gifts have arrived and are on our beds – very large canvas tote bags and those lovely, scenic postcards. Ah, the joy.

We eventually get things settled and climb into bed. All in all, a very good birthday. Life is good.

Impressions: Salvatore was very good – besides the visual aids he used in the car (the books), he also played wonderful music at the appropriate times; he was a very good guide with lots of information and everything ran like clockwork for us today. Lunch, tours, guides, etc – all arranged for us and we were like “sheeple” just following along – which was nice, as we got to see so much and do so much. I would HIGHLY recommend Rome in Limo for future tours – and especially Salvatore. He was great!