Wednesday: July 9
Rome, Bears and Wombats
I had an interesting night last night. At one point, in the middle of the night, I woke up, and my first thought was that I wished Amy would stop tossing and turning so much. She was shaking the bed so much, that I was having trouble falling back asleep.
Then I realized that it wasn’t that Amy was tossing and turning. It was the boat itself that was shaking the bed.
I slept OK for the first half of the night, but I didn’t sleep that well for the second half of the night.
We got up early (6am) and got our usual breakfast. I checked at the reservations desk (yet again). The only opening we could find for the Chef’s Table was the last night of the cruise, so I made reservations for then. I checked later, and finally they did it correctly, and it showed up properly.
I got my stuff organized and went out first. I was due out at 7:40 and Amy was due out at 7:50. It turned out that we had, for whatever reason, a fairly new double-decker bus. So of course, I went to the upper deck, as it gave better views. The four front seats were (not surprisingly) occupied. They got the best view. I went further back. The bus was not nearly full, so I could actually jump from side to side to try to get pictures as we drove.
It turns out that we docked a bit north of Rome, so we first had to drive south along the coast for a few miles, and then hang a left and head inland to get to Rome. Around, Napoli (Napes), the terrain was very mountainous. Here, it is rather flat.
When we reached the highway, we stopped at a rest stop so that people could make pit stops or get something to drink. I didn’t want either, so I just reclined the seat and semi-dozed. When we started back up, there was no one behind me, so I again reclined the seat and semi-dozed all the way to Rome.
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Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain. We hung out there for a while, long enough for me (and others) to stand in line, go down to the fountain itself, take pictures, toss in a coin, and make a wish. I didn’t mind doing this as apparently the coins are collected and used for the poor. I think our guide said that it pulled in something like $25,000. I thought it was per week, but that sounds rather high.
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At one point, the guide warned us about pick pockets. She pointed out three people that she identified as a team of pick pockets. They looked to me like totally normal tourists (which presumably would be the idea). I would not find them threatening in the least, particularly the teenage girl.
We went past the Pantheon, but we didn’t go in. We ended up at a square with a very interesting fountain in the middle. It had four legs, representing the four (known) continents, and the major rivers from each. There was the Nile from Africa, and the Platte from South America. I don’t recall the other two.
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It was at that point noon, and the bells all over the place started going off.
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We went off to get lunch. About a block before the restaurant, we passed a store with a 6-foot stuffed bear in the entrance. I needed to check it out.
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I thought that they said that we were getting a pasta lunch and then tiramisu for dessert. They brought us out a plate of pasta each. It was very good pasta, with a tasty sauce, and pecorino cheese. I thought it was a bit odd that all we got was pasta, but when in Rome...
I didn’t think that we would have any free time after lunch, so when I finished the pasta, I told my table mates to grab me a dessert and hurried over to the store. They had lots of stuffed animals! This was the first place on the trip that had any stuffed animals to speak of. I saw a bear that was a remote possibility, but it didn’t really grab me. Then I found a wombat that appealed to me, so I got the wombat (to go with my German wombat) and left the bear behind.
When I got back to the restaurant, I saw a plate in front of my seat. But it didn’t look like dessert. When I got to my seat, I saw that it was ham, a small salad, and some potatoes! The pasta was just a first course, this was the main course! Of course, I was already fairly full from the pasta. After that, we got the tiramisu.
It was a good thing that I visited the store during the meal, because as I expected, when we finished the meal, we went straight to the bus, and then were driven to the Colosseum.
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It was a bit of a pain, as we had to go through security, and with my hat, camera, camera bag, and backpack, and with my ear-piece cord getting tied around everything, I found it rather a pain to get my stuff together to go through the x-ray machine.
We did sort of a half lap around the inside of the Colosseum, and then back again at the lower level. I’m guessing that you could get more expensive tickets and go to other areas, because we saw people much higher than we were. That would have been nice, but we didn’t have the time.
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After we left, we went to the edge of the Forum, which involved yet another trip through security.
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After that, we went back to meet the bus. An older woman and her son apparently skipped the Forum and went back to wait for the bus. Our tour guide was really, really hoping that they would be there when we arrived. If we got to the meeting place and they weren’t there, I think our guide would have had a heart attack. Fortunately, they were in fact there when we arrived.
As on the way there, I dozed for most of the drive back. At one point, I saw a lot of smoke ahead of us. I was wondering what could be making it. When we got closer, I saw that it was a large fire burning in an area of grass and scrub next to the highway.
When I got back, Amy was already back. She had had a quick drive through of parts of Rome, and then left to explore on her own for three hours. She had done a lot of walking during that time.
After I took a shower and changed into my evening clothes, Amy was hungry (me, not so much), so we straight up for dinner. I find the protocol in The Restaurant interesting.
There is sort of an old-fashioned politeness. They pull out the chair for the woman, then open up her napkin and present it to her. We guys were on our own. :-) Then when they pour the wine, the hold the bottle from the very bottom. Imagine holding your hand out flat, putting the bottom of the wine bottle on top of your palm, and then grabbing it with that hand. That is sort of how they hold it. I’m not sure why, but I do find it interesting.
Around 8:10, I reminded Amy that she wanted to see a music program at 8:30. I left, grabbed my iPad, and went up the Aquavit Terrace to start typing up the day’s events.
I’m a big fan of The Restaurant. The menu is similar to that of the river boats, where the right side is fixed, and the left side has a continuously varying regional menu. I like the food and the ambiance. Hence, I’m always surprised when I see a lot of people eating dinner in the cafe. I think to myself, “Why are they eating there when they could be eating in The Restaurant?” I suppose, however, that they might prefer a more informal style or something.
It was really nice outside. It was cool without being cold. With the low sun, I wasn’t afraid to sit in the sun. Unfortunately, I could only type for about 10-15 minutes, before I hurried down to the theater.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I heard some opera as I was approaching (I was about two minutes late). It turns out that it was 5 Opera Singers doing a bit of a show. The music was good, and some of it was a bit humorous. It was very well done.
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Afterwards, I went back up to the terrace to continue typing. The sun had set, but I got lots of pictures of the post-sunset. It was a bit cooler, and with the breeze, I was getting chilled, so I moved a bit further forward when the hull would block the wind.
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Unlike this morning, tomorrow morning should be much more relaxed. Amy doesn’t leave until 9:20, and I don’t leave until 10:25. We should have more than enough time in the morning. I plan to grab breakfast at The Restaurant, as it is one of the few times when I’m not rushed in the morning. Amy prefers the Cafe for breakfast, so I guess I’ll be eating by myself.
It will be interesting to see what the sea conditions are like tonight.