Day 3 A cruise ship should not be this difficult to find

Day 3 A cruise ship should not be this difficult to find

So day 3 starts with coffee and tea which Judi suggested I order so she did not have to go down for breakfast at 8am. So drinks on the balcony watching the sun rise over Rome. The breakfast when we eventually arrive is very good and thoughts of “this is what it will be like in France when we eventually give it all up” come to mind (although not sure the waiters will be included). Checkout around 9:45 and the bill has only two errors on it. No 32 euro charge for yesterdays sun lounger mattresses so all is fine. We plan to leave the cases at the hotel and use their shuttle bus to drop into town as I want some linen shirts as it is still very hot. Bus leaves at 10:30 (very civilized) wander down town looking more for shops than sights however we do pass by the Trevi Fountain again and I think it is even busier than yesterday Today is Monday so not sure why there are more tourists. The Centurion is still there this time on his mobile phone, Typical Italian waving his arms around and making gestures even though the caller cannot see him.

try a couple of shops without success even Massimo Dutti does not have much to offer then we spot a couple of shops and bang 4 shirts later we are back on the street. Judi would not let me buy the white linen trousers, she said they were a little too trendy what ever that means. We stop for a coffee on a corner by the Tomb on the unknown soldier and opposite the balcony Mussolini used to rant to the crowds (Google him). Nero said that to control Rome you needed to control the Mob which is the locals, Mussolini knew exactly how to do that.

Time to go back to the hotel and really start out holiday. Today we have to find our boat. The port is a little over an hour away so we are getting a taxi. The shuttle is waiting at the pickup point and we take our seats as we spin one more time past St Peters basilica and out of the old town. A point to note is that they do not allow any new buildings inside the city walls so no skyscrapers or funny shaped glass and steel places. The city has history on every corner and you really need a guide book or you will just wander past something which is 2,000 years old which would be a shame.

Into the taxi and sped North (I think) through some pleasant countryside. Not beautiful but good enough and slightly discolored with all this sunshine. An easy ride along the motorway. When I worked here I drove myself and it was in the days before GPS so navigation was “interesting”. I remember getting on one road when I was going to a friends for dinner. I was following the signs and after about 40 minutes had guessed I had taken a wrong turning. The sign probably said “The Road To Rome (is not this one)” anyway it was a toll road so the first stop was to pay. Trying to explain I needed to turn around the guy motioned an opening just past the toll. I of course had to first pay to get through then pay the same guy to get back across on the other side of the road. Very funny these Italians maybe he was on commission. We can see all the cruise liners at the port as we crest the last rise. Our ship (not boat please) is quite small only 700 passengers. Some of the big ones now take 2,500 to 3,000 so ours should be cozy as Judi puts it. Down into the town we go and head for the ships and there are lots of them. This is a ferry terminal as well as a container port so around the docks entrance it is chaotic. Our taxi driver is not quite sure where he is going and we have to steer him away from going on to one of the car ferries however at this level we seem to have lost all of the cruise ships. Now you would think that would be difficult but not so. Given all the ferries in the way we can not actually see where our craft is. Judi is only panicking mildly. It is 3pm and the ship sales at 6 so we actually have lots of time although the meter is still running. We suggest the river stops and asks but he is a man (they don’t like to do this) and an Italian as well ( really don’t like to do this) however our persistence pays off and he stops at a small cafe and gets directions. We are in the right place but there is a very small side road to take, whilst it is a small road it is quite long so a couple of kilometers later there we are in front of the Royal Princess. A tiny ship amongst it’s bigger cousins.

Now here is an interesting conundrum we all know Judi likes to be early in fact “likes” is probably not the right word. Well let me tell you boarding started at 1pm and Judi had planned not to get here until 3 pm. Why I hear you ask as you climb back onto your chairs, well the bottle neck created by everyone arriving for a 1pm check in is more than she can stand. So she reasons that by 3 pm the crowds will have died down and there will be less hassle. She is correct of course (and you ever doubted it, I thought not). We are the “ONLY” people checking in at this time. The only hitch is they plan to keep our passports which makes both of us nervous. We have our passports close to hans all the time and have done for about 10 years. Someone saying they will look after them for a couple of weeks makes the heart race a little especially when you think we are visiting 4 more countries along the way. Ok deep breath its part of the process so we toe the line. Onto the ship greeted at every doorway and every elevator shown to our cabin which is not bad at all. Judi thinks it is too near the lift but we shall wait and see. We got an upgrade to this one from a cabin with restricted views (The lifeboat blocks the window) so probably best not to complain about it. Test the emergency drill which is compulsory and Judi’s drill which is an orientation of the ship so we know where everything is. Back to the cabin and unpack. Everything gets unpacked and there are even enough hangers for both of us.

All that is left is dinner. We are on a fixed table and it is always interesting to see who your fellow diners are. There is a couple from Billarickie he works in freight forwarding (what ever that is) and a couple from County Down in Ireland. He used to train horses and she is a school teacher. Everyone seems to have traveled a lot so think this might work out ok. The dinner was better than expected with decent steak and fish. I had a Crawfish and Black Mussel Cajun dish with pastry on the top not what I expected but never the less very good. I do need to watch out as it was listed as a “a specialty dish” and you know me and “I’ll have the special” it normally gets me into somewhat of a pickle.

So now our holiday has actually started. I am really glad we took the time in Rome it really was nice and it reminded me why I think it is my favorite city (european edition) Tomorrow we should dock in Sorrento for an excursion to Pompeii. A 7:30 leave so a 6:30 wake up and I though this was a holiday. To cap it off Judi has booked me in for the 8 am Yoga sessions for the days when we are not on excursions, you got to love that girl.

Yesterday I forgot one of the dress code violations. Down at the pool there was a guy not sure of the actual nationality however he was short with light red hair. Taking off his shirt revealed freckles and a pasty white chest which may never have seen the sun before. The real problem was that he was wearing speedo’s and not just any speedo’s but white ones which made his flesh even that much duller. Now the sight of this was fearful enough but the thought that he might get into the pool was even more terrifying as the swimsuit might turn translucent. I have no idea what the manufacturer was thinking but the shop assistant is also to balme how can you sell these to someone with pale flesh and freckles no,no,no.