Mediterranean Cruise Day 5: Rome/Vatican City

We woke up early and got to the theater at 6:45 a.m., as our tickets told us to do. Unfortunately, there was some delay (maybe with the port authorities?), and we didn't get off the ship until 7:45 a.m., which meant we could have slept another hour!

Well, as soon as I got on the bus, I slept most of the 1.5 hours from Civitavecchia (the port) to Rome. I also missed most of the instructions our tour guide gave us, but Kristin heard most of them before she fell asleep as well.

We went right to the Vatican City, which if you didn't already know, is actually its own country. The line to get in wasn't bad, surprisingly, though based on all the ropes, it looked like it could snake for quite some ways.

Our new tour guide (different from the one on the bus) talked into a microphone, which we could pick up on our walkie-talkies (we tuned into channel 48 and used a headphone). She took us from one courtyard to another; the second had stations where tourguides could show and explan to tourists the paintings inside the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was unbelievable, though quite dark (not much light is let into it as to preserve the paintings). Also, you're not allowed to talk or take pics/video, so the guards have a busy task of monitoring for cameras and yelling "Shhhh!"

From there we went to St. Peter's Square, and I was just in awe, especially thinking of all the people that come to get blessed by the Pope, who by the way was at his vacation home in the south of Rome.

At this point I want to mention that there were three somewhat annoying people with us on this trip. The woman in the group was wearing a tanktop and shorts, and I said to Kristin that I couldn't wait to film the guards denying her entry into the Cathedral (because no bare shoulders and nothing above the knees are allowed). Unfortunately, some other tourists with us lent her (and another woman) a huge shawl that covered their entire body, thus granting them admission (damn!) into St. Peter's Basilica.

As the biggest catholic church in the world, the Basilica has many side "churches" inside where mass is usually performed (in fact, one mass was going on when we were there).

After the Vatican City we headed to a restaurant for lunch (it was included in this ~$269 excursion), but the service was super slow, so we were in the restaurant for almost two hours (you'll see why I'm mentioning this later). We shared a table with a Ukranian couple, who at first didn't seem like they wanted to talk to us, even after I smiled and said "hello."

Finally, the man broke the silence, and we discussed many things, including whether I thought Americans were happy living in America (he was curious). I asked what languages he spoke; he replied Ukranian, Russian, Spanish (he and his wife currently live in Spain) and English. He then joked that his wife "only" speaks Russian, but she gets by in life by pointing at things. (She never spoke the entire time, by the way.)

Back on the bus. Now we were headed to the Colosseum and the Forum. Unfortunately, since the lines to get into the Colosseum were supposedly1.5 hours-long, we did not have enough time to get in (damn that lunch!). I was pissed but dealt with it. Kristin and I walked the perimeter, plus we walked into areas of the Forum. This was simply amazing to see; it was honestly like going back in time. One area had what looked like new pillars, and we were told later that fashion designer Valentino put those pillars there and had a fashion show about two weeks ago--that must have been cool as hell to see.

That marked the end of that trip. I again slept on the bus ride back to port. On the ship, Kristin and I actually split up for dinner--sort of. I went to Chin Chin's again, except this time to its sushi bar where I ate 28 pieces of sushi! What can I say? I gotta get my money's worth. During this time Kristin worked out. After she cleaned up, I sat with her as she ate in the main dining room.

I think it was this night that we went to a lounge on the 13th floor in which we sat next to some super loud Americans. They were SCREAMING when they talked so that everyone in the lounge and the adjacent restaurant could hear them. Plus they hadn't bothered to dress up; one guy, for instance, was wearing a tank top, shorts and flip flops, and this was a pretty nice bar. I was about to kill one of the women in that group, but luckily they decided to get something to eat.

Only two more days!