last day in Rome

It's hard to believe we are leaving tomorrow. The time has flown! It was another hot day but not as humid as yesterday. We'll take what we can get! We got a slow start to the day, not leaving our apartment until the late hour of 9 am. We bussed to a church to see Bernini's statue The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, one of Rebecca's favorites, followed by a quick visit to St. Susanna church. Then we hiked over to the Borghese Villa to view more Bernini statues (so cool) and lots of Caravaggios all in one place (also very cool).

By then we were famished and headed out to Costanza, a restaurant Rebecca had read about. It was a classic Roman restaurant with smartly uniformed menof a certain age waiting tables, and fresh seafood and other treats. Rebecca tried the carpaccio of octopus with red peppercorns (I never thought I'd order that!) and the risotto with zucchini blossoms. Dennis had the seafood salad and the classic Roman dish tonarelli cacio e pepe (pasta with black pepper and cheese). Julie had prosciutto and melone and then another classic, fettuccine all'amatriciana, all accompanied by a lovely house white wine.

We then passed through Campo dei Fiori market to pick up a few things (including figs and cookies) and bussed back to the hotel, trying to stay out of the hot sun as much as possible. Do we ever appreciate the excellent air conditioning in our hotel! Dennis took a bicycle trip to the Borghese gardens and Spanish Steps and to the Ara Pacis monument. Julie and Rebecca finally got to shop for a couple of hours, picking up a couple of lovely orange purses to commemorate the trip.

Then we hopped the little electric bus across town to San Giovanni in Laterano church, where we heard a group of Polish tourists on a pilgrimage to visit a painting singing some lovely hymns together. On an unrelated note, we were one again hungry. We always think we'll never be hungry again after a meal, but like clockwork we're ready to eat by the next mealtime.

So off we went in a taxi to try a pizzeria that was jam packed last night when we went by and that was written up in some article or another. It was a good choice. Salads and pizza all around! On our walk back home, we stopped to look at the facade of a church that advertised itself as a place to buy indulgences back in the day and looked over to see our sought-after gelato shop, il Gelato di San Crispino. And it was open! We had tried to go yesterday, but the sign said they were on holiday for two weeks (this happens a lot in Italy in August) so we thought we were out of luck. Surely it was divine intervention. There was much rejoicing and happy dancing. Maybe we'll have time for one more visit tomorrow morning before we leave. Gelato for breakfast doesn't sound half bad.

Now we are back realxing with our last bottle of Italian wine in Italy as we wrap up our trip. We should be back in Chicago tomorrow evening, barring any thunderstorms over Wrigley Field or the Sears Tower. Thanks for following along with us. We'll post a few more pictures from the past few days once we get back home. Anyone up for a trip next year?

Rome - the eternal city

Or as we call it, the eternal walking city. Dennis once again walked our feet to bloody stumps, but what else could we do since it was Luther's only day in Rome? We were off the boat by 7:30 to take the ship's shuttle to the mouth of the port. Then we schlepped our heavy suitcase six humid blocks to the train station. Suitcases down the stairs and back up the stairs to the platform and suitcases into the crowded train. Off the train in Rome to the city bus to a taxi stand to the hotel. Whew. Then we were ready to tour!

We started with the Pantheon, where we met our friends Emilia and Rossella who came down from Florence to spend a couple of days with us. On our way to view Caravaggio's Calling of St. Matthew and the martyrdom of St. Matthew at San Luigi dei Franceschi, we stopped at the famous Caffè St. Eustachio for a coffee. Then it was off to Campo dei Fiori to pick up some pizza and panini for a picnic in front of a palace. After our yummy lunch we took a bus to see the Colosseum and Forum from the outside. Not too many people were going in the Forum. It was too hot in that sun!

Back on the bus to the Vatican. Dennis played Ciccerone (Cicero), guiding us through the museum. He was especially happy to show the Sistine Chapel to Emilia, who somehow had never been there before. You'd think there'd be a law in these parts! After the Vatican, naturally we visited St. Peter's, always an impressive place to see.

Then it was back to the hotel to see our rooms, which hadn't been ready earlier. We are living high on the hog! We are in a building around the corner from the main hotel in an apartment with two bedrooms, a living room and small kitchen and two bathrooms, both modern and one with a jacuzzi. We have a laptop to use and fancy TVs in every room, and even a balcony. Very posh and in a great location.

We washed off a layer of sweat and dust and ventured out to Trastevere for dinner at a restaurant Rosella knew about from the theater company she manages. We tried some of the local Roman specialties - pasta cacio e pepe, baccalà, fried zucchini blossoms, hand-cut prosciutto. All excellent.

Then we were done. We dragged our exhausted selves back to the hotel and collapsed. It must be noted that Rebecca remains the Fill or Bust champion. Just thought I'd mention that. Of course, Julie and Luther did not have a real chance to challenge her due to extreme exhaustion.

Day two of Rome has been much more restful. We sent Luther on his way to the airport at 8, and jumped on a bus to where Rossella and Emilia are staying at Rosella's sister's house. We strolled down the hill, then went back to the apartment for a brunch that Emilia expertly prepared for us. We had a local buffalo mozzarella, made fresh this morning, a slad of bresaola and arugula (are you jealous, Lisi?), melon and prosciutto and a salad of frezzelle with tomatoes. Delizioso.

Julie, Dennis and Rebecca headed back to the Vatican for a tour of the Scavi, the tombs below St. Peter's church where they believe Peter's bones lie. We saw the foundations of the previous churches that were on the site, dating from the 2nd and 4th centuries. The tour has to be booked in advance and are restricted in number because the space is small. We were a group of 10, and didnàt see any other groups down there. It was very, very cool (the experience, not the temperature), and Julie wasn't even claustrophobic!

Now we are awaiting Emilia and Rossella to visit the Spanish Steps and find some gelato. Then get some dinner and say goodbye to our frends. May be we will get some Rome pictures up later.

Naples – our last port of call. We started the day with a trip to Pompeii to visit the ruins of the city that was buried by ash in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. Once again, it was a hot day and humid to boot. Our tour guide did a nice job at the site, taking us to a few highlights in the 2 hours we had. I had forgotten what a huge site it – way too much to see on a hot August day.

Then it was back on the bus to the port and a search for Neopolitan pizza. It was a Sunday afternoon so lots of places were closed, but we found Brandi – a place that has been around since 1780, according to the signs. The pizzas were excellent, just what we were looking for.

We hopped a cab up the hill to keep from getting worn out from the heat walking up to the Archeological Museum and checked out the huge collection there, including most of the important pieces from Pompeii. Then we hiked down the hill back to the boat and jumped in the pool.

We did the sailaway from the bridge again. Very cool to watch the action from up there. There were four other cruise ships in port today, all trying to leave at 6 pm. Air traffic control was busy. We followed three of the ships out of the port, passing Mt. Vesuvius and the island of Ischia on our way north to Rome.

We had dinner and packed and are ready to hit Rome hard tomorrow for Luther’s one day Grand Tour of the Eternal City. Our suitcases seem to have put on a few ounds over the last couple of weeks – rather like the rest of us, I fear. Oh well. That is a topic for another day. Rome awaits!

Rhodes, Santorini and a day at sea

The Colossus of Rhodes may be long gone, but the colossal heat of Rhodes remains. We took it easy in Rhodes, stepping into the old city inside the medieval walls built by the Knights of St. John. We saw the monument to the 1,640 Jews from Rhodes who were killed in WWII, and Dennis got his wish of getting lost in the old city streets. We think we were near the Palace, but we can’t be sure, and we were too hot to go back and try to find it again. Then we moved on to the new city for a snack and a quick look around before heading back to the ship for some time by the pool and to listen to Dennis’ presentation about Santorini. The Fill or Bust lead changed numerous times, with Luther hitting 100,000 points first, but Rebecca maintains the lead. Have you noticed that it’s only when Rebecca is in the lead that the score is noted?

Santorini day was delightful. We took the island by storm – on the first tender to port and the first funicular up the hill (opting not to take the donkeys) and immediately to the car rental agency to rent a Peugeot 1007. We took off for Oia (pronounced Ee-uh – duh, Kendrea). It is the most charming town ever with lots of cute galleries and shops and incredible views of the water from way atop the rim of the caldera. Then we drove to the black lava beach of Kamari on the island’s southwest side. The sand is so hot that you can’t go more than a few feet without your feet burning. We rented beach chairs with umbrellas and found the height of decadence – massages in your lounge chair on the beach. We all felt we must indulge. Heaven. The water was delightful as well, followed by lunch at a restaurant on the beach. Then it was back to Fira to return the car and take the funicular down the steep, steep mountainside to the tenders to the boat. No lunches were lost on the ride, but the donkey stench was powerful from the path next door. That was definitely a highlight day.

We ended the day with a viewing of Juno at a showing of Movies under the Stars, the first time we have done that. Very fun to watch the movie on deck with the breeze blowing by.

Today was a sea day, which we passed moving from our lounge chairs on the sun deck to the pool and back to our chair and to the pool again. You get the picture. We did get out of the sun for lunch and to listen to Dennis’ talk on Naples and Rome. He was very popular on his last speaking engagement aboard the beautiful Emerald Princess.

It was formal night tonight so we all put on our fancy duds for dinner. A couple of Dennis’ groupies asked ot have dinner with us. We were all entertaining. After dinner we watched from the top decks our passage through the Straits of Messina that separate Italy and Sicily by not much space. Very cool. Rebecca had a small wardrobe malfunction with her dress not wanting to unzip, but we have overcome that difficulty and are now enjoying fancy martinis in the Crooners lounge before posting this long in coming entry.

Tomorrow is our last cruise day. Naples is our port with a visit to Pompeii in the morning and a hunt for the perfect Neopolitan pizza in the afternoon. It’s hard to believe it’s almost over!