12 Days Greek Isles Cruise - Day 13-14 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

Date: November 21, 2007 (Wednesday)
Place: Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy (羅馬/奇維塔韋基亞, 意大利)
Day 13

there is nothing to see in Civitavecchia.. we have to take shuttle to Rome & explore on our own..

since this was our last day of the cruise, we first check-in our hotel upon arriving at Rome..
our hotel in Rome, Eurostars International Palace (Via Nazionale, 46), is a very nice, clean, & modern hotel..

after checking-in, we took subway @ Repubblica Metro Station..

buying Integrated Daily Ticket (4 Euros each)

the moment we set foot on the metro, we started to feel the "danger".. Rome is the city of crime.. & i assure u that it is!! a cruise friend of ours said the people in Rome would try to steal/grab your wallet in broad daylight (光天化日之下, 大街大巷, 當眾搶手袋)... pay special attention to the Gypsy 吉卜賽女人, as they usually come along with kids, using the kids to get your attention & then the women would steal from u.. be careful!!

Colosseum Metro Station

Roman gladiators

..who were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals.. these combats were attended by the poor, the rich, & frequently the emperor himself.. as gladiators fought, vicious cries & curses were heard from the audience around the Roman Colosseum..

Colosseum

Colosseum was built with its 80 arched entrances allowing easy access to 55,000 spectators, who were seated according to rank..



Arch of Constantine
..a 25m high monument built in AD315 to mark the victory of Constantine over Maxentius at Pons Milvius..

Piazza Navona
..possibly the square that better represents the "bombastic" Baroque Epoch in Rome..

street performers in Piazza Navona..

many artists in Piazza Navona..

we had Lunch at Caffe Bernini @ Piazza Navona..

(left) Pizza Ai Funghi (mozzarella cheese pizza with sliced mushrooms) (9.5 euros)
(right) Spaghetti All'Amatriciana (spaghetti with tomato sauce with delicate "pancetta" bacon, onion, & pecorino cheese) (10 euros)

Vatican, the smallest state in the world, based in Rome in Italy..

..this is where u can stepped on two countries at the same time.. (one foot on Italy & one foot on Vatican)

many many visitors every day..

we walked through this tunnel to go to Trevi Fountain from our hotel..




the famous yet always crowded "Trevi Fountain", inspired by Roman triumphal arches, is the largest & most famous Baroque fountain in Rome.. the central figures of the fountain are Neptun (God of the sea), flanked by two Tritons.. one struggles to master a very unruly "sea horse", the other lead a far more docile animal.. these symbolize the two contrasting moods of the sea..

visitors were still throwing coins into the water trying to make a wish..

street stalls near Trevi Fountain
..look closer to the right one.. it used Pop Cans/Tin to make those artwork.. very creative..

Piazza di Spagna (a.k.a. Spanish Steps)
..the square & the church are connected by the monumental Spanish steps, built between 1723-1726 (designed by Francesco de Sanctis)

Dinner @ vineria IL Chianti
(left) Spaghetti alla Carbonara (9 Euros)
(right) Ossobuco Cremolato con Sformatino di Riso Carnaroli (Creamy marrowbone with rice "Carnaroli") (10 Euros)




Dessert: Tiramisu





Day 14

Sunrise in Rome
we took a taxi to Rome Fiumicino Airport very early in the morning, flying back to Toronto..

snacks on the flight.. we had German Beer & sandwich..

our return trip was even worse.. we were supposed to fly from Rome to Germany, then directly to Toronto.. but then the flight got delay in Rome & we missed the connecting flight.. so we had to take another flight to London in order to fly back to Toronto..

Lufthansa Airline gave us some vochers as compensation.. we used them for a "McDonald Party" with some fellow cruise-passengers (there were 6 of us).. we had salad, LOTS of fries + 20 pieces of McNuggets..




Germany Frankfurt Airport

London Heathrow Airport

well.. in a way, we got the chance of "visiting" one of the most busiest airports in the world.. London Heathrow Airport was very busy.. it really had many many passengers..

it's definitely one of the most unforgettable vacations, with baggages lost & missing flights.. but overall we still enjoy the cruise.. i personally like Princess more than Royal Caribbean because of the choices of food they offered.. hee hee..