Blogs from Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe - page 10

Up early for a delicious buffet breakfast with both European and American fare available, we were ready for a full day ancient Rome. Our tour guide led use through the streets of Ancient Rome taking us first to the Trajan Forum and Markets. From there we walked to the Roman Forum wondering the streets and looking at the ruins of the buildings that were once the Heart of the Roman Empire. The forum contained the most important political, religious and municipal buildings. Among these are the Arch of Septimius Severus, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the House of the Vestal Virgins. Moving on from the forum we entered the Colosseum, a functional stadium that featured entertainment by animals, slaves and gladiators. During the Middle Ages the stone was used for building, thus the missing ... read more

I set my alarm for 8am as that was the time Janine's flight from Melbourne was landing. Showered then headed off to walk to the Termini to meet her - it was hot already at 9am! As I had down the same trip into the city from the airport that Janine was going to do today, I was able tim give her a few tips but also to organize a meeting place, in case we couldn't get in touch. I arrived at about 9:25 and sat near Lush as arranged. I was keeping an eye on the arrival times of the trains from Fiumicino and would then watch for passengers coming off the train. The 9:40 came and went - no Janine. The 9:55 came and went - still no Janine so I decided to get ... read more

Woke at 7:30 this morning to get organised as I needed to walk to the local train station, get a ticket and catch the 8:30 train to Zurich airport. Manuela had already left for work by the time I got up. So grateful that I was able to stay the night at her house and wish it could have been for longer. Got to the train station without it raining and after a bit of hit and miss, I think I bought the right ticket. The train arrived on time and I only had to travel to the next station. From this station I could get a fast train to the airport. I only had a 10 minute wait and then the train arrived. It was about an hour to get to the airport and even ... read more

I had a deja vu the morning we left for Rome. As in I've been to Rome before, just not with this husband. Jack had been to Rome prior to this day as well. This was an in-between day for the cruise line, passengers leaving Encore in Rome and passengers coming onto Encore in Rome. Jack and I decided that we'd spend the day off the boat and away from the snarling logistics of the onboard folks. We'd make no "plan" for sightseeing in the eternal city other than the we would try to discover the paintings of Caravaggio and to eat gelato. We were dropped off at St. Peter's Square and from there went by taxi to the French Cathedral St Louis to see the Caravaggio of the Selection of St Matthew. Then, we walked ... read more

Today is our last day before we join our Trafalgar Tour at 5:30 this evening. After a very restful sleep we headed off to another fantastic buffet breakfast. Today we slept in a little so we did not eat until 8:30! Another meal of salami, ham and melon for me and yogurt for Cathy. Of course I had my espresso and a cafe americano for added zip and off we went. We headed out again to our prepaid on/off bus and headed for adventure in the Roman Capital City. Our first stop was not as planned. We heard that there was a house underground that was once owned by Emperor Nero. It is said to be lined with gold and open to the public, sometimes. It is somewhere near the Colosseum. So we took the bus ... read more