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Days 28 &29 Rome
Bob and I were up early to catch the train to Napoli; we arrived at the station sooner than we had expected enabling us to catch the early train which then got us to the station to catch the early express getting us to Rome at 9:05 am. We started hoofing it to the coliseum, stopping for breakfast along the way. The lines for tickets and then entry were quite long so we decided to join a tour allowing us to skip the line, a very good move it turned out. I’m suffering from antiquity overload and there really isn’t much to see inside. The floor of the arena has been removed allowing you to see the chambers and hallways below, that was interesting; if you remember the gladiator scenes from Spartacus, lions would pop out from the floor and these chambers are where they came from.





Our tour included the Imperial and Roman forums, the guide for this was an American student and he explained a lot of the events that led to Rome going from a republic to giving Caesar near limitless power. When the tour was over the guide mentioned that they also offer a tour of the Vatican; Bob had hoped to see the Vatican, but didn’t think he would have time as he was returning to Skyelark in the evening.
We took a taxi to the meeting point area and as we had some time before the tour started we stopped at a sidewalk café for lunch. When the guide and the rest of the group arrived we walked to the Vatican and got a quick history lesson. From there we entered the museums that are inside; the guide explained the different artworks which had been collected over the millennia. One of the most interesting to me were these paintings on the ceiling of one of the great halls that looked like plaster casting, the shadows being painted in with great skill.



Believe it or not this is a painting

There were frescos and tapestries depicting scenes from the bible and the lives of Jesus and many of the more notable biblical figures. We finally got to the Sistine Chapel, following the “river of people” as the guide called it; there is no talking allowed inside so the guide had earlier explained many of the major scenes using a book as an aid. We spent about 15 minutes inside and it was pretty cool to see the actual paintings that are familiar to everyone.





A fresco and tapestry from the displays in the museums, no photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel

Our last stop was St. Peters Cathedral, a truly impressive place; the grandeur of it is overwhelming; gilded alters, marble statues, intricately painted decorations everywhere you looked.
We took the subway back to the railway station and had a beer at one of the nearby restaurants; then Bob left to catch his train and I went to check into my hotel, which was only a 10 minute walk away.
By night I checked out some of the nearby piazzas and illuminated fountains; I stopped at a nice restaurant for a full Italian meal including dessert and an after dinner cordial. I wandered the streets some more, I didn’t feel unsafe at any time as it was quite busy. I got back to the hotel around 12:30 am and had a cigar and some prosecco in the courtyard before calling it a night.
The next day I had the free continental breakfast at the hotel and then checked out, leaving my backpack in the luggage storage room. I spent the day just looking around the nearby areas of the city, it seems like there are beautiful monuments around each corner.



A little cafe outside a newer (for Rome) building



A stained glass window from one of the many cathedrals around town

I did have one mission in mind, to find the meat market and buy some lambs heads to roast onboard. I knew the area the market was supposed to be located in, but when I asked someone for directions they suggested I go directly to a butcher as there had been some problems recently with the meat from the market. They mentioned that it’s not run by Italians anymore so cultural bigotry may have played into their advice, but I wasn’t taking any chances as nothing would be worse than to convince everyone on board to try this delicacy only to have them all turn up sick. I found the butcher shop the gentleman recommended, however they were closed for the afternoon as are many businesses here.
Not having much time before my train back I headed back down to the train station and stopped for lunch at one of the many restaurants with tables on the sidewalk. It turned out to be a good choice as the offered rabbit cacciatore as one of the second courses.
everyone else was already onboard when I arrived back in Sorrento with the exception of Jim and Tina who opted to stay in Rome for a couple days and meet us further down the line. Bob met me at the marina with the dingy and once back onboard we set sail for our next stop on the tour, Sardinia.