Thursday, October 12

It’s a comfortable flight, Air France is nice. I actually got some sleep, and so did Bill. I can’t say the same for Alitalia, that plane is very old but Paris to Rome is a short hop, with some nice views of the Alps.

A gelato on the way back to the hotel, and we’re both ready for an early bedtime. We have an early start in the morning.

Our guide noticed that there was no line to visit the crypts, so we ducked down there on our way into St. Peter’s. There wasn’t much of a line for the dome, either, but I opted out on that one. Way too many stairs. It really wasn’t bad going down into the crypt. We walked by several pope’s tombs, many of them quite elaborate. I saw a crowd of people off to the side, kneeling on the marble floor and praying, and I knew we had come to John Paul II’s tomb. It’s a very simple slab of marble. I did manage to get a quick photo before they hurried us past. You can only stop behind the rope.

They were clearly setting up for Mass in the Square. After asking around, one of us was allowed to approach the Swiss Guard. I went up, asked what was happening, and he gave me tickets to the event on Sunday, which turned out to be a canonization of four new saints, and to the papal audience on Wednesday.

Our guide suggested a small trattoria nearby for lunch, so we said goodbye to him and took off on our own. The restaurant was certainly an experience! We had really excellent lasagna, and lots of entertainment watching “Mama” order “Papa” around. Our waitress, the daughter, was the only one who spoke English (well, sort of) and she assured me that Mama made the lasagna herself.

Then back to the hotel for an afternoon rest, I was exhausted by then. Another evening walk, this time to the Trevi Fountain. And, of course, more gelato!

Saturday, October 14

Yesterday, the Vatican. Today, ancient Rome. We started with the Piazza Navona, a stadium originally built for Greek games but eventually filled in and now a large oval plaza with a Bernini Fountain, then made our way to the Pantheon, went out to the catacombs, and eventually made our way to the Forum. We walked through the Forum area, then around the Coliseum, had lunch, and went back to the hotel for my afternoon rest. This makes it sound like a short day, but it wasn’t! We left the hotel at 9 AM, and except for a few taxi rides, walked until 2 PM. It’s hard to describe all the ruins, so I’ll just post a few photos.

No photos were allowed in the catacombs. Our guide there was an older Italian nun, must have been at least in her seventies, but she bounced up and down all the stairs like she was in her twenties. We twisted our way through lots of turns, but she knew each little byway, and explained the burial system, and pointed out the artwork. We saw what she said was the first Madonna, and lots of other very early paintings, or remains of paintings, on the way. Fascinating, I’m very glad we took the time to go out there.

After a rest, time for our evening walk. This time we decided to go explore the Via Veneto, which, it turned out, starts from just a block from our hotel. We discovered that Rome is having its very first Film Festival this week, and today was opening night. There were parties all along the Via Veneto, including one at the top end with a large movie screen set up. Didn’t seen any stars, although several were supposed to be in town. Back down the hill, stop for our daily gelato, and call it a night.

Sunday, October 15

We got a taxi to St. Peter’s and arrived at the square about 8:30 AM. The crowds were already starting to build, but we were able to find two seats near the center in the front half of the seating area. People everywhere were wearing scarves and hats in the colors of “their” saints. Two of the saints were Italian, one was Mexican, and the other was a French nun who went to Indiana in 1840. Mass started at 10, and ran about two hours. I couldn’t see a whole lot, being vertically challenged, but the sound system was good, and they repeated a lot in English.

Next stop was to see them making Majolica pottery. We got a tour of the factory, then of course the obligatory shopping. On to Assisi!

Once again, the bus had to park at the bottom of the hill. Most of our tour group walked up, about a 15 minute walk, but four of us opted for a taxi to the restaurant. We had a typical Italian lunch of two pasta courses, one a fettuccine alfredo with chicken and the other spaghetti, then a meat course – a skewer of some kind of sausage, and some chicken and vegetables. Dessert was almost pure whipped cream with a dark cherry on top.

After lunch, we started our tour of Assisi with a local guide. We walked up – and up – and up – to the church of St. Clare.

Then up some more . . . we could see the fortress still way above us, but finally we went as far up as we needed to go, well below the fortress, and started back down to the church of St. Francis. And, of course, we had to walk back down to the bus!

Our first unscheduled day. We slept late, had breakfast, and set out to explore. First, back to the Via Veneto for a look at it in the daylight and a stop at a bookstore we saw. Then around a different way back, through an area that looked residential, without a lot of tourists.

It turned out that Rome's first film festival was being held this week - so the Via Veneto was "decorated".

The papal audience was in St. Peter’s Square.

After the audience, we walked back to the hotel, stopping for a nice lunch along the way, and some shopping. I was hoping to find a dressy blouse or at least a nice scarf for the cruise for formal night, but no luck at all. The pair of shoes I tried on didn’t fit, either.

An afternoon rest, a look at the guide books, and another evening stroll and gelato. There’s rain predicted for tomorrow, so we’ll make our plans for the day based on the weather when we wake up.

Since the sun is shining, we’ll leave early and head over to see the inside of the Coliseum. It’s just a short walk from the hotel, past the Trevi Fountain, down the Via Del Corso, and past the monument to the king who unified Italy. We spend some time looking at the other ruins in the area, and then head into the Coliseum. Rather amazing what they were able to build! The ticket is also good for the Palatine Hill, so we head that way.

The clouds are rolling in, so we don’t linger too long, but there is a lot to see, and some marvelous views. More uphill and stairs than I like, but it’s worth it. As the clouds get darker, we head out and decide that a taxi would be a good idea. And it is! We make it back to the hotel, and find a restaurant just a block away. After a good lunch, we make it back to the hotel just as it starts sprinkling. It rains the rest of the afternoon, but lets up enough in the evening for a quite trip out (more gelato!), our last night in Rome.

I have never seen anything quite like the Etruscan Necropolis before. This is a city of tombs, with streets laid out. Most of the tombs are bee-hived shaped mounds of tufa stone with vegetation growing all over them.

The rain came, hard, before we got back, and we boarded the ship looking like a couple of drowned rats. Never has a hot shower felt so good! The sun came out again, and the weather was beautiful when we sailed.

We sailed overnight to Naples, and we took a tour of the Amalfi coast. This is a drive from Sorrento south, along a beautiful rugged coastline. We stopped in Sorrento before starting the drive along the coast, and walked into the old town.

Lunch was at the Hotel San Pietro, perched high on a cliff above the ocean. We ate out on a terrace with the most incredible views, and sat there for almost two hours, eating, drinking wine, and admiring the view. But once again, the clouds started rolling in so it was time to go. We got back on our big bus just in time; it started raining hard about ten minutes after we left the San Pietro.

Back aboard, we decided against going back into Naples in the rain, and went and sat in the Jacuzzi. The show was a magician, who was very good, but a magic show just didn’t quite do it for me. Tonight is a singer who spent time as Raoul in the international cast of Phantom of the Opera, so that should be better. We sailed at 10PM, in the rain, so there weren’t a lot of good views of Naples on the way out.