The Fabulous Ventura – Part 3 Rome

Following on from a very wet Corfu, we then had another day at sea whilst we headed through the straits of Messina, the stretch of sea between Italy mainland and Sicily. http://dawnonacruise.co.uk/the-fabulous-ventura-part-2-kotor-corfu/

This meant a full day at sea before arriving into Rome and the weather wasn’t fantastic.  Due to our cabin being on the starboard side, we did in fact miss the clear views of Mt. Etna and by the time we got on deck the cloud had become so low we was unable to see this famous live volcano.

There was some beautiful scenery though passing by

Today whilst at sea, we enjoyed the company of the people that we had already met throughout the week or our ‘stalkers’ as we liked to refer to them, Bill & Sandra. We had planned that on our next port stop we would stick together and explore Rome.  So between a few beverages and an ice carving display by Ricki, I headed off for a few hours relaxation in the spa with a treatment. The spa is beautiful and the costs are similar to those of very good salons for treatments, but now and then they do offer special offers and discounts. So today seemed a great excuse to pamper myself. This was my 1 hour 30 mins of bliss as I was pampered from head to toe with a specialised treatment.

As we had a day at sea, tonight was another formal night, we had opted for the anytime dining and decided to eat in the Cinnamon restaurant this evening. Low and behold on arrival we was placed at a table of 10 with our ‘stalkers’ Bill & Sandra and also another couple Peter & Marjorie whom we had had the pleasure of dining with on the previous formal night. The table seating was pure coincidence but made for a great evening, again with good company and food.   After dinner we went to exchange bar to participate in the evening quizz before retiring for an earlyish night before arriving into Rome.

The next morning after meeting with Bill & Sandra we headed off on the coach to the drop off point in the unsayable Civitavecchia port to head into Rome. Originally as a group, we had decided to get the train into Rome which takes approx. an hour each way, at a cost of around €14 return. Then on arrival purchase a city hop on, hop off bus at the sights we wanted to see. This didn’t quite go to plan as due to a local festival we was dropped from the port further away from the train station than expected and had just missed the shuttle to the station. After waiting nearly an hour for the bus that was due in 10 minutes (we are in Italy remember), we bumped into a group of 4 ladies that was looking to do a private excursion into Rome but needed an extra 4 persons to get the best rate. So after a unanimous decision and a bit of haggling with the price, we decided to pay for a private minibus with an English speaking guide. This happened to be the best decision we made as the trip was fantastic and worth every penny.

Our guide was Matteo from http://www.transfernewtour.com/ in a clean and very comfortable 9 seater vehicle we set off for Rome and was there in less than an hour. Matteo gave us lots of information about the surrounding area during the journey to Rome and his english was fantastic having spent some time living in London in the past. Our first stop was the Vatican, the day before had been the canonisation of two previous popes and the area was heaving. Due to an ongoing service we was unable to go into the Basilica until much later in the afternoon, none of us was to worried about this but Matteo gave us the option to spend as much time as we needed before we headed off for the next stop.

The next stop was the Pantheon and Matteo drove us and parked as close as you could get (as he did with all the attractions we visited).

Now I could bore you with the history of the buildings and main sights of interest in Rome, but I won’t, because if you haven’t been and wish to go then I recommend that you contact Matteo and let him show you Rome and give you all the facts you need to know.

Matteo then took us to a quiet back street and a superb place for lunch, as with any major city eating out can be very expensive and Rome is no exception, however when you have a guide that knows his stuff, you will be taken to the best place for the least amount of money and that is exactly what Matteo did. We had a beautiful lunch in a quaint little restaurant which in city terms was a cheap as chips. We all decided to have pizza and the food did not disappoint,  the wine was pretty good too. I think we was all enjoying it so much, that in the end Matteo had to come and get us as we still had so much more to see before getting back to the ship.

Matteo navigated his way around the city, using backstreets and short cuts which suited us, but still being able to stop at certain places to grab the ideal photo op, especially at roundabouts!!

Our next stop was the Colosseum, now you may know from previous blogs, the last time I visited Rome we was stuck outside here for 3 hours and this really was the only part of Rome I saw and because most of us had seen it before we only stopped for a short time before moving on. At the moment, the Colosseum is being sandblasted so most of the ruin was covered in scaffolding and tarpaulin, but you was still able to see the beauty of this magnificent monument most famous in Rome.

We then proceeded past the Maximus Circus, which I have decided not to load any photos of as mine do not do it any justice at all, before heading past the infamous Spanish steps and then onto the Trevi Fountain. Matteo managed to park so close, we nearly fell in!

It was so busy here and the amount of people in the small space where the Trevi fountain is located was overwhelming. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to get a selfie to prove I was there as too many people was jostling around me. I did manage to throw my coin in backwards and make a wish.

Matteo decided to take us on a surprise part of the tour before heading back to the ship, which he had guaranteed we would be back by 5pm. We climbed higher and higher out of the city and eventually stopped to see the most amazing view of Rome, unfortunately my photos just do no justice, so again, if you’re going to Rome contact Matteo and he will take you himself.

As promised we was back at the port by 5pm and I have to say although a long day, it was fantastic, not only because Matteo was a great guide and was funny, knowledgeable and easy on the eye, but because we had a great group of people on the trip too. Poor Bill being stuck with all us women!!

Today had been a long tiring day but worth every penny and although it didn’t start out as planned, we had the best day and I can highly recommend this tour if you don’t want to be tied to the cruise lines excursions.

After getting back to the ship and for myself checking out the Silverseas Silver Cloud ship that was docked near us, we had a quick drink, recapped on a great day and then got ready for dinner. We ate in the Beach House again this evening and the found yet again was fantastic, we then headed down to see the Opera Boys perform their second show of the week.  Again they was magnificent and if you are ever on a cruise ship and have them on board I highly recommend seeing them.

Our last full day was looming and we was heading in the direction of Corsica. If truth be told, I didn’t really seem fussed about our next destination, my mind was soon changed though…..

to be continued………….

Dawn x