Part I: Flying, Rome, and Civitavecchia

Greetings and Arrivaderci, friends and family, miei amici e famiglia! I have decided since no one likes reading 15 billion paragraph blog entries, I’d break up our trip into parts so you can read them all at your leisure.
Thursday as some of you who have flown internationally may know, was exhausting! However I must say that flying first class was amazing, definitely worth the extra bucks, and it makes the 8 or 9 hour flight much more bearable! We arrived Friday morning at around 9am Rome time (we are 6 hours ahead of East Coast time – those of you elsewhere, I trust you can do the math), and caught a not-so-cheap taxi to our hotel which is situated in what I’d call the suburbs of Rome – up on a hill, pretty cool view. We all took much needed naps, and then caught the 4pm shuttle bus into the city center to do a little exploring. A wonderful map and an even better map reader, Poppa D, made our self-guided exploration fun and easy. We explored the area around the Vatican, saw Castel Sant’Angelo, an adorable street market where I had an excellent “granite” which is the equivalent to a 7-11 Icee but WAY better. Then we crossed the Tiber and meandered through some more piazzas, finding our way to Piazza Navona where we had our first delicious taste of Italian gelato and dessert at Tre Scalini, a restaurant which had been recommended to us by some friends. Definitely delicious! And of course we took some awesome pictures by the 4 rivers fountain and the obelisk and other gorgeous fountains in the piazza. Those of you who saw Angels and Demons – this square, church and fountains were a part of the so-called “Path of Illumination.”
Next we found our way to Ristorante di Angelo, complete with scooter parking in the front and adorable tables on a covered patio – see pictures. Mum and I ordered the world famous Fettuccini Alfredo – and when I say world famous, I mean that this restaurant, which has been in its exact location since 1907, was the INVENTOR of Alfredo sauce!!! It was easily the most delicious Alfredo sauce anywhere in the world that I have tasted Alfredo sauce. Even Blacksburg. They even prepare it in front of you – super thin home-made noodles, mixed with melted butter and amazing fresh thinly grated Parmesan cheese, stir, and serve. I can’t explain how rich it was, you just have to trust me.
The next morning we made our way via expensive taxi to the port town of Civitavecchia (yes yes say it out loud again, it’s so fun), which is about 40 minutes from where we were staying outside of Rome. There were about 10 other cruise ships docked there, and we have discovered that we are traveling on a similar cruising path with quite a few of them! Once on board the ship, we did a little exploring and getting to know our home for the next 12 days. Our room is very nice and the balcony is excellent; also I have never slept on such a comfortable sleep sofa in my life, it’s really quite remarkable – and quiet with ear plugs J That night we set sail, as it were, at 6pm, took refreshing naps again (I’m loving it, work is going to stink with no naps!), had our “Muster Drill” where they have you put on the life jackets and line up by the life boats and get information about emergencies and whatnot. Always our favorite part of cruising – check the pictures. Then went to the 9pm dinner seating, which we have the whole time. Our dinner-mates are wonderful. Two couples from California who are traveling together, and one single woman from England who is giving this trip to herself as a gift or something. They are all really quite delightful, and of course the food is superb. I love the concept of having all the food included because if we don’t like something it’s so easy to just order something else! 2 appetizers, 3 desserts, it’s all the same price! And no guilt! Except for the calorie intake, but whatever.
Speaking of calorie intake, there is a wonderful gym on board with awesome massive windows which allows for wonderful views while jogging or using the elliptical! They also have pilates mats and exercise balls which is also a big plus. So anyways, to sum up: Rome is beautiful and I can’t wait to get back after the cruise. The ship is wonderful , there are minimal annoying children, there’s great food, bars everywhere, and we are loving it. Tomorrow we are up the coast to visit the port town of Portofino!