Rome, Italy

On Wednesday Mom, Pat and I met in Philadelphia and flew to Rome.  We spent a couple days there before starting a Mediterranean Holy Land Cruise on Saturday.  We had a fun couple days in Rome seeing some of the sights via the Hop On-Hop Off bus.  I have seen these tour buses before but never used one.  We found that it worked out very well for us and the price was reasonable for a 2 day pass. 

We arrived in Rome about 2 hours late Thursday morning but other than that the ride was ok.  Once we got settled into the hotel the first order of business was to go to the Colosseum.  It was my main reason for wanting to spend a couple days in Rome.  It is #6 for me of the new 7 Wonders of the World.  Perhaps silly to some , but it's been a little goal of mine for a couple years to see all seven.  Now Machu Pichu is the only one left!

After our visit to the Colosseum, it was getting to be dinner time, so we hopped back on the bus and got off at the stop conveniently located by the Hard Rock Cafe.  We had dinner there and I picked up a t-shirt, then we headed back to the hotel.  We were all bushed after not getting too much sleep on the plane.

On Friday we got up and headed to St. Peter's Square.  Mom and Pat had been there before but not me.  The line was almost literally a mile long to get into church so we skipped that and went straight to the shops!  We all bought our share of souvenirs and then rested for a few minutes while enjoying a gelatto.  We hopped back on the bus and headed for Trevi Fountain.  It was packed there as well and it took our expert photo skills to get photos that made it look like we were the only ones there.  After that we had to stop for a mid afternoon snack and enjoyed some pizza at an outdoor restaurant.  The feet were pretty tired by then so we got on the bus and headed back to the hotel.  After a little rest Pat and I walked to the train station near the hotel and looked around.  It was there that I finally found the one and only spot in Rome where I could find a lemon slushie!  We walked back to the hotel and had dinner in the hotel restaurant with Mom. 

Saturday morning Pat and I walked around the streets near our hotel for an hour or so and then it was time to get the bus to go to the pier.  It was a nice drive and we got there and onto the ship with no problem. 

Yesterday and today have been sea days.  We've gone to the port talks and lectures and shop sales and wandered around the boat.  Tomorrow we get to Alexandria, Egypt where we will spend 2 days.