The Colosseum

We arrived at our hotel-Albergo del Senato in Pantheon Square (Piazza della Rotonda) at 9 a.m and Franco brought the bags into the lobby of this small hotel (66 rooms)

Check-in time was 3 pm but I had emailed the hotel months before and they said we could drop off our luggage before sightseeing.

Here's the hotel.

 It sits across from the Pantheon

We'll literally have to get back to the hotel later as we are just here to drop off the luggage and get started on our tour with Rome in Limo. While we were stopped at the hotel we decided to get an espresso. We found a busy coffee bar just a few yards from the hotel and went in. We were being ignored by the baristas but luckily Franco came in, saw the issue and showed us how it's done ("when in Rome..."). Unlike in the USA where you order  and then pay in Rome it is the reverse. You go to the cash desk first, order your drinks, pay and then take the receipt to the baristas and wait your turn.
Franco bought us our first coffees in Rome and they were fantastic! This ain't no Starbucks!

Suitably energized we got back in the Mercedes (which I will call CAR from here on in to make it easier) and set off through the tight narrow streets to our first scenic stop......

The most recognized building in Rome-the Colosseum.

We parked across the street under some trees to keep the car in the shade. Franco came with us to smooth the entry process. We already had tickets, bought months in advance via the Colosseum website so did not have to join the hundreds of people lined up in the sun. He spoke to the security guards at the entrance and was allowed in to lead us to where we needed to be to begin our self-tour.
This really helped as it was noisy and crowded and somewhat confusing in there with so many people going this way and that way. He showed us how to use the ticket-reading machines and then left us to return to the car, having first given us a cellphone to reach him when we were through with our tour.

Nothing had really prepared us for how big it was inside- it could seat over 50,000 spectators and each one had an assigned seat and a specific entrance to go through-features we would be familiar with in a modern stadium including toilets and food stands.

Part of the floor, where the action took place, has been re-created (bottom left of photo). The warren of holding cages for wild animals and gladiators, props and scenery is visible on the bottom Right.
There was a gladiator school near the Colosseum and  pens for the animals. Both gladiators and animals would enter the Colosseum on game days through underground tunnels and when needed for combat would be hoisted up through trapdoors on elevators via pulleys and ropes.

There were screens in use-the gladiator would be in the arena and half a dozen screens in various locations would pop up. A wild animal (sometimes of a kind never seen before in Rome, but brought from Africa and elsewhere) would be raised up behind one of them. But which one?

Long gone are the giant canvas awnings that were attached high in the amphitheater to act as shades to keep spectators cool on sunny days (which in Italy seems to be every day). They were hoisted by sailors from the Roman fleet who were familiar with block and tackle.

Walls were made of various materials and often a mixture of concrete (recently invented), red bricks and quarried stone brought from 17 miles away.

There's an interesting painting showing a cutaway view of the stadium in use, where you can see a wild animal has just emerged on the floor to meet a waiting gladiator (top Right).

Walls built to last...

To be continued....

Civitavecchia

Early morning in the harbor and other ships are returning to port. The ship with the black hull is a Holland America vessel.

There were some sailing cruise ships in port too. The 5 masts in the distance belonged to the Windsurf that we had seen sailing into Venice a week ago.

We had arranged an 8 hour tour of Rome with a company called Rome in Limo and we were to meet our driver at 8 a.m

We disembarked the ship at 7.30 thinking it might take a while to get through customs after picking up our luggage. As it was a small ship and many of the passengers were staying on for another week there wasn't much luggage in the luggage hall and so we had it in our possession within two minutes!

There was one customs officer at the exit but he was talking to a young girl and he waved us through without asking any questions. Brilliant!

We were outside now in the morning sun of Italy. We had 30 minutes to spare. As there was no seating outside Carol went back into the building and sat on a bench to make notes on her phone while I stood outside with our luggage, smoking a cigarette, so that I would see the driver if he pulled up.

I was expecting him at 8 but he arrived at 7.45: a man in a suit got out of a big Mercedes minibus and stood on the side of the road opposite the building. He held up a sign and I could read my name so I went over and introduced myself in Italian. His name was Franco and he insisted in getting all of our luggage across the street while I went inside to get Carol.

This is the Mercedes we would be touring in.

All of our luggage now loaded,we were free to begin our tour. Rome was about an hour away.
The video that follows is not our tour-it's just Franco pointing out historical buildings to us as we were driving to our hotel, near the Pantheon, as he thought it best not to leave our luggage in the car all day, in case of theft.

Franco spoke good English and was very friendly and witty so it was a pleasant and informative drive... (video) At the beginning he is talking about the speed of lava flowing from Vesuvius (300mph) as we had mentioned we had been there the day before...

Arrivederci Sorrento!

Sorrento was our last port and this was our last night on the Ocean Princess. The last night of our cruise and that is not usually a happy night for most cruisers who enter back into the real world on the next morning: the real world of buses to the airport where they may have to wait hours before take-off. Crowds of people, few places to sit comfortably. Waiting and waiting. Then a long flight home to America or Australia (based on the passengers on our ship) suffering from Jet-lag when they land.

Your luggage has to be packed and left outside your cabin by 10 pm on that last night so you have to decide what you will be wearing when you disembark and leave it out for tomorrow.

For us though, not such a sad night as we are staying in Rome for two days so we have another adventure to look forward to. No rush to an airport or sitting in an airport watching the clock hands countdown to our flight. Not tomorrow at least.

Here's a video of our leaving Sorrento...

The highlight of our evening ahead would be-you've guessed it- dinner in the MDR. Our last meal there and our last chance to thank our waitstaff for their service during our brief stay on the Ocean Princess. Although every passenger is charged roughly $11 to 12 a day to cover staff tips it is customary to give extra to the waitstaff if they have served you well during your cruise.

The biggest tip is usually reserved for the Room Steward who cleans your room and makes your bed twice a day. In our case Liuz from Mexico.

I tipped my bar waitress from the pool deck each time she brought me a drink. Marisol from the Philippines...

Said farewell to a couple of new friends as the sun went down

Now time to eat!!

This would be a crab cake

New York Strip steak

Seared scallops

I think this was a fruit tart with chocolate topping....

Our busboy stopped by for a photo opportunity

The last night's entertainment was a Crew Show where members of the crew sang-some of them very well and one even accompanied himself on the piano. This is typical on a Princess Cruise ship. There's a lot of talent among the Officers and crew. The audience gave them a great response.

I packed my luggage at the last minute- Carol's had gone into the hallway before dinner but mine didn't go out until 1 am and was the only suitcase in the hallway. It was still there at 3 a.m when I got up to use the bathroom, but luckily gone by the time our room service breakfast came at 6.30 a.m

After just five hours sleep I was awake and up to see us docking in our last port-Civitavecchia, the port of Rome.

Back to Sorrento

Farewell to Positano!

Here is a video clip from our wonderful lunch at Covo Dei Saraceni....

More photos through a bus window.

During the 30 minute winding coastal drive it was hard to stay away. The sun shining over the sea, the lunch, the wine and the fatigue after all that walking through Pompeii and Positano were taking their toll. Soon we were back at the dock in Sorrento and had said our goodbyes and given our tips to Maria and her driver. A tender from the Ocean Princess was our next step and we didn't have to wait long for a ride.

Taken from the tender...

Within an hour of boarding the ship hoisted the anchor and set sail for Civatavecchia-the port of Rome.

Lunch in Positano

Maria had already called the restaurant so tables were reserved and everything was laid out for us-wine and water glasses, cutlery etc all waiting so all we had to do was sit down and relax after our walk.

The view from our table

Our table

Across the table from us were some fine Australian folks from the ship and next to me a mother and daughter who had been on most of our excursions. The waiters were very friendly and efficient. We greeted them in Italian which of course brought a big smile.

The Covo is also a hotel and it's location, right on the beach, would make it my first choice for an overnight stay in Positano.

There were seats to relax in if one wanted to linger after a meal, with a cocktail or glass of wine.

We ordered our food, which was included in our excursion fee and I took some more photos while waiting for it to arrive.

While walking in Pompeii, in the heat and amongst the crowds of tourists I had visions of a glass of white wine waiting for me at lunchtime. Now it was before me...

It was perfect.

Then the first course of our meal arrived.

Just a simple salad-but everything so fresh and tasty-and THAT cheese!! A great start to the meal.

Then Veal Manicotti

Every bite sublime. Another sip of wine. A perfect pairing.

Branzino (sea bass) was my next course. Something I always order if I see it on the menu.

Remember this name....

We hope to return to Positano some day....

Lunch was superb. Simple food, cooked beautifully, served by smiling attentive waiters.
For dessert we both had a Rum Baba which I forgot to photograph. Delicious of course!
We began the long walk uphill to the garage where we left the bus over an hour ago.

Once we were all gathered back at the bus it was time to leave Positiano and climb back up to the Amalfi coast road for the ride back to Sorrento.

Bye bye Positano. We will never forget you!