Angie's Journal
It was quite a journey, but we got to see Rome! How exciting. I must say that despite Rome's awesomeness, it was a hot and miserable day. To get to Rome the cruise dropped us off in the city of Civitavecchia. The first thing we see is the sailor statue that Ray and I love, so we got our picture taken.
When we got off the metro into Rome we saw the Colosseum. That was quite a sight. We all just gasped a little seeing the iconic image of Rome.
There was so much to see and do in Rome, we quickly realized it would take longer than the 6 hours we had to see everything. We cut out some things from our itinerary, but we still got to see a lot of Rome. What really amazed me was how the Roman architecture was still very prominent throughout the building. I guess I thought that most of the buildings would be replaced throughout time creating a variety of architectural design, but I am glad to see I was wrong.
We found the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, but we couldn't find any gelato near the Spanish Steps which completely goes against our "have ice cream every day of vacation rule" (the free ice cream on the cruise ship didn't count lol).
Back on the boat we took Misty to a Dora the Explorer Dance Party, she was so cute :)
Ray's Journal
Woke up to my alarm clock today. That’s not really important to this blog, but I use it to make fun of Angie because it means that her nerves lost the battle with her exhaustion so I got to sleep in. As expected, Neil stayed out too late last night at the teen center. He suffered through the day on only about 4 hours of sleep, but did so like trooper! He never once complained, and even admitted it was his fault so why should others have to listen to him gripe. I am so proud of his adult attitude and sense of personal accountability (even if I am a bit disappointed in his decision making skills - but hey, they gotta learn somehow).
Had a wonderfully cool breakfast. Okay, the breakfast itself was just regular food, but Misty took hold of a glass with both hands and drank from it while only spilling a few drops! It was so cool to watch her do it (Angie and I have been trying to have her drink out of open faced cups all week instead of solely relying on her sippy cup).
Took a bus to get to the train (slow train not a fast mover...) to get to the subway in Rome. Long trip from a city less than 40 miles away. Longer still when there are 8 cruise ships moored in the same dock space and all of their riders want to go to Rome.
Got to Rome and the metro (the subway) dumps us out right at the corner of the Colosseum. We just had to cross the street and we were in the lines for tickets. Luckily for all of us, Angie had done a significant amount of homework on this one - she had pre-purchased tickets for us all and knew that we didn’t have to wait in line to get to the reservations desk. Ain’t she the coolest?!
The Colosseum was awe inspiring. I got impart some knowledge to the kids, and they returned the favor. I love my kids! Unfortunately, it was such a
hot and humid day, that we all needed some water
- and there is no food or drink allowed. So we soldiered through over half of the colosseum before deciding to leave.
Instead of finding some water stand, we decided to call it lunch. So we went to local Pizzeria (Le Gladiatore Ristorante). Their pizza was true Italian - a tortilla shell like crust with some very fresh toppings cooked to perfection. Their lasagna was incredible! What a good choice we made! With everyone’s fuel and water tanks topped off - we went back to Palatine Hill and the Forum. We quickly decided it was just ruins and we wouldn’t have time to see everything else if we dawdled, so we went to trevi fountain. The walk there was enlightening... They still use the old cobblestone streets first erected by the Romans - for driving! That stuff still works as a flat smooth road surface which handles weight!
The kids tossed coins into the very crowded Trevi Fountain so they could return to Rome someday. Then we went to the Pantheon, but somehow missed it and found the Spanish steps (which should have been the last part of our tour). This worked out in the end though, as we were well behind time to catch the second to last train back in time for the ship sailing. We almost missed it!
Got back to the ship and showered quickly so that we could make it to “Dance with Dora” for Misty. Did I mention Neil didn’t make it past the gangway with us? He was gone before any of us knew he had left. But the rest of us went to the velvet go-go lounge (I know right?!) to watch Misty shake it and sing with Dora the Explorer. I had dance around the question asked by Lexi of why would a bar have a bed with a TV screen above it? -yeah it was that kind of place! Who puts that on a FAMILY cruise ship?!!! Misty had lots of fun and I got some good shots of her and Lexi dancing and signing. Then we went to dinner and bed for the night (well, Angie and I did - the girls stayed up playing go fish and makeup and what not).
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