Off to Sea

We had our final half day in Rome this morning, so we took a stroll back to Piazza Navona. Crowds were a little lighter and the weather wasn't quite as pristine as it has been.

Next we walked two blocks east to the Pantheon, that we couldn't get near the other day. Today we walked right in and enjoyed the domed roof which is the oldest unreinforced dome in the world dating back to 202. The site itself began BC but had a couple of fires that required rebuilding. We took the famous tourist picture looking up to the oculus - open circle and therefore light source in the roof.

Because we had the time waiting for our driver Lorenzo to arrive to take us to the port, we stopped at a cafe and enjoyed another morning drink. This cafe was right beside the Pantheon and our female hotel concierge told us they had the best coffee in Rome. Dawn figures she might have been correct. Anyway, on the short walk back to the hotel we finally found the church that belongs to the wedding cake-type spire that we have found prominent from our roof top terrace.

Lorenzo arrived right on time at 12:00 and we bid adieu to Hotel Campo di Fiori. A bonus for Dawn and I was that Lorenzo's route out of the city was immediately past the front of the Vatican, which we didn't get to this time. It was, as usual, crawling with tourists. It took us one hour to get to the town of Civitavecchia and another ten or so minutes to get through town to where the Nautica was moored - one of 6 cruise ships currently in harbour. Our mooring was immediately opposite the historic Fort Michaelangelo.

Our drive from Rome cost us 130E plus a tip, which was a great deal when divided four ways. It would have cost much more and been a hassle to take a train, because from Rome it would be 1)taxi 2)train 1 3)train 2 4)taxi. As soon as we got on board, we discovered things were going to get interesting. Our first two stops were to be Sorrento (for Capri) and Amalfi/Positano. Weather forecasts had us not being able to anchor and tender in from either destination, so now we are going to dock in Naples for two days. The Capri excursions, for the most part, are still on - including the one we booked - but Amalfi/Positano is a bust. That's a shame, since for many this might have been a highlight. There's still a possibility of public boat from Naples to Amalfi. We'll see. So the first group action on board was a "Muster Drill" with life jackets. Since we're heading into Costa Concordia waters, this is not a bad thing.

We missed Happy Hour tonight, but did dine in Polo, where we all had fabulous multi-course meals. I think we may have been starving in Italy. The seas are already a little rough. We'll see what the night brings.