Hi All. Well we went to Florence today via Eurorail. It was a high speed train (200 km/h) which got us there in about 90 minutes.

We walked everywhere in Florence – it’s not that big after all. Went to Uffizi Gallery, Accademia and various sites and churches. The Uffizi is the main attraction – many paintings from all the great Italian painters (Botticelli, Rafael, Da Vinci, even Michaelangelo). I didn’t think I was all that cultural, but it was surprising what I appreciated and again what I saw. 2 main ones for me – Botticelli’s (don’t know if I spelled that right by the way) Birth of Venus and Da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi. That was amazing.

Accademia, however, had only one main attraction – Michaelangelo’s David. Worth every penny to see that for real. Maybe even worth the admission to Italy – it was that breathtaking.

We got kind of lost heading back to the train station, but eventually found our way and took the train back to Rome. From the station, we hopped on the Metro and went to the Spanish Steps. It was already dark, but it was extremely crowded anyway. Took some interesting night shots… Then we wandered around (Did I mention Rome’s streets are kind of confusing, and the GPS doesn’t pick up a signal ANYWHERE in Rome?) until we found the Trevi Fountain.

Seeing the Trevi Fountain at night was another of those worth-every-penny moments. Took lots of pictures there too, and again it was packed.

Then we kind of got lost heading back to our hotel. It was at least 4km to the hotel, so we should have known we’d get turned around somewhere along the way ;). Finally made it tho, and saw some sites we didn’t plan to if you know what I mean…

OK, so we’re off to the ship tomorrow – can’t wait to put my feet up (Mare too) and watch the world go by instead of the other way round. Till then….

Another day in Rome, and we got as much done as possible!

Started with a nice breakfast on the roof of our hotel (provided). The rooftop terrace is very nice, and it was a beautiful morning. We had fruit, yogurt, some meat and cheese, pastries and of course italian coffee. Filled and fueled us up for a busy day.

First stop, the Metro and Trenitalia for tickets. One for the Metro – a day pass – which is the inter-city transit. 3 more tickets for the Train – Trenitalia – 2 for Firenza (Florence) and one for Civitavecchia for our last day to get to the ship. Nice surprise that they only took cash – so we also got to use our first Roman ATM ;).

Then, we jumped on the Metro for the San Pietro stop – St. Peters. Man was it crowded. And hot. Squished up next to each other for 6 stops, then everybody got off. We should have clued in there – they all got off at our stop…

Walked to Vatican City from there, and what do you know – very very crowded, big lineup to get in. That could only mean one thing, apparently: a Papal visit. A very nice surprise to the day. So we went to the Vatican, and the Pope showed up ;). Spent a couple of hours watching him address the crowd in many languages, then headed to the Vatican Museum for our scheduled tour.

The tour was amazing – I have lots of pictures, and I really can’t describe it without them. Suffice to say that there was a lot to see and a lot to learn. Went through the Sistine Chapel as well, which words couldn’t really describe. I’ll try at some point, but since we could not take pictures (or even talk) when we were in there we could only stand in awe. From there we went to St. Peters and climbed the Dome for a stunning view of Rome. The climb was a lift halfway and then 320 steps to the top. Steps that got narrower and steeper, with the Dome wall closing in on you from the left (going up) and the right (going down). It’s a dome, after all. But again, well worth it with many pictures to show.

After the Dome, we went through the Basilica and took many pictures of what can only be one of the most spectacular churches in the world. Headed back to the Metro from there, with a thunderstorm heading over us. We had a quick bite at a cafe (pasta of course) and headed back on the Metro to the Colosseum.

The Metro stop is directly across the street from the Colosseum, so it was the first thing we saw when we stepped out. Again, stunning. It’s big – very big. We went inside and toured around, even climbing to the second level for some great shots. Well worth the time, even if the storm dropped in and rained on us ;).

After that, we had a distant look at the forum (with the rain and the miles we’d done, it was pretty much all we could handle). Headed back to the hotel for a rest and then back out for an italian multi-course dinner. Now it’s late and Mare is poking me to finish this and go to bed ;). See y’all tomorrow after Florence – lots to tell you I’m sure.

Hello all, yes we’ve made it. In fact we’ve been here for a bit, got a harrowing drive from the airport to the hotel (yes, italians apparently do drive like that) and went for an authentic pizza and bottle of wine. Now we’re back at our hotel and definitely ready to sleep. It may be 1pm there, but it’s 10pm here. And it feels like 2am, funnily enough. Anyhow, crashing for the night and then tomorrow we see the sights. Until then…