The alarm sang its cheerful song early this morning but we had no choice but to get up and get the show on the road. Showers, a quick run at the buffet for breakfast, last of the stuff into our carry-ons, and we were ready to go.
More hurry up and wait. We got to the meeting spot for our disembarkation tour with time to spare, but as luck would have it things weren’t ready on shore for us yet. Wait wait wait. Carm running to the bathroom at the last minute. Me freaking out that he’s gone off. He’s back in time for more waiting. Finally our row is called and we are on our way off the ship into a warehouse full of suitcases. Find our suitcase. Leave the building. Find our bus. Carm runs away to the bathroom again leaving me with 2 suitcases and 2 carry ons, plus the shoulder bag and my camera. Struggle to load into bus. Don helps. Find a seat on the bus. Wait. Carm returns. Wait some more. Trouble with bus. Wait. Finally all is settled and we are on our way.
The countryside on the 1 ½ hour drive from the port to Rome was beautiful. Gentle hills dotted with olive trees, and fields of cut hay, made a bucolic picture. We moved along at a good clip until suddenly we ground to a stop and it was ‘stop and go’ the rest of the way into Rome.
Driving through the city was amazing. The buildings are so old and there are statues and frescoes and big trees everywhere. Even orange trees. And the traffic was out of this world. Cars everywhere and scooters/motorcycles in every available spot, zipping in and out between the cars and busses as if they were immortal.
Our tour this morning was the Vatican.
Of course we couldn’t take photos of the Sistine Chapel so I’ll have to say a 1000 words instead. But actually it left me speechless.
Once the tour was over we reloaded onto the bus for the drive to our hotels. The driver took the long way there and seemed to drive us past every statue and memorial in Rome. It was fantastic.
Checked into our hotel then wandered off to look for a late lunch (it was after 2 by then).
Now I’m exhausted and ready for a nap (Carm’s snoring beside me), but I wanted to get this off before I forgot more than I already have.
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