This post is a bit late in coming but as you will see, the days that followed were somewhat hectic to say the least. This represents the las bit of my travel with my sister, our re-connection with Jill and our subsequent cruising around Italy (and beyond).

Having hopped off the ship in Southampton, Karin and I found ourselves with about 9 hours to kill before our late afternoon flight back to Amsterdam. So the day was spent poking about (with our big bags) just hoping to find a comfortable place to hang out so that the many hours could pass as painlessly as possible.

This was made even more annoying when upon landing in Amsterdam they alerted us to smoke on the airplane. As soon as we were alerted, both Karin and I came to the same conclusion, that the group of Russians on the plane (who had ignored or disregarded every other rule or instruction) had been smoking in the toilets.

This saw us getting off the plane to a few fire engines and some boys in breathing apparatus. And while they checked out the plane, we sat for about an hour and a half, waiting for our luggage to finally be cleared and removed from the plane. This made a late (ish) arrival a very late arrival, cutting down our dinner options to almost nothing…McDonalds…which in hindsight was worse than nothing. We ended up paying almost $50 for a really crappy burger and a few chips.

The next morning we were up early and on a bus to the airport, on the flight and off to Rome. Upon arrival we collected our luggage, met Jill, and cabbed it to our accommodation in the heart of town (right near the main train station (Termini). A quick bite to eat at out closest restaurant and off on an afternoon exploration.

The first thing to do was to grab a 3 day train pass (all you can ride) and hop on the metro (a short walk from our hotel) for the Colosseum. Jill had pre-booked us an all inclusive pass into the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. The booking had us milling about for quite a while (there are now assigned time slots when you can enter). Being punctual people, we were early for our guide, who was early for the appointed time, and the guard were anal on the time that you could enter.

So in essence we sat around in some crazy crowds, for over an hour, rebuffing the approaches of the incessant touts offering us tickets, water, travel batteries and the like. And this continued, and continued, and continued until we were finally allowed to enter the Colosseum. On the up side, last time we were here, the whole thing was covered in scaffolding and the photos sucked. But this time the place was pretty much scaffold free and the photos were good.

The other big change, the first time that we came (and entered the Colosseum) the arena was closed to the public. But as of now, the Arena has been reopened and you can stand on the ground level while getting fantastic views of the sub-floor. This includes the trap doors where lions etc were set upon unsuspecting gladiators. To say that this was seriously cool is a massive understatement.

A bit longer in the Colosseum checking out the various levels and our day could continue.

After the Colosseum it was off to the Roman Forum, Circus Maximus and Palatine Hill. But after an early start, some waiting around on hard surfaces and a healthy amount of walking, this ended up being a rather abridged exploration. But this took us back to a magnificent meal near the hotel and an early crash before yet another big day tomorrow.

As it turned out, we picked the worst possible weekend ever to be in Rome. Our arrival on Friday (and the Saturday) happened to coincide with the arrival of thousands of pilgrims. Don’t get me wrong here, modern day Rome is so much busier than on our first few forays, but our weekeend had the pilgrims arriving Sat/Sun. On the Sunday the pope was hosting a mass in St Peter’s where he was to name another 20 new saints (hence the pilgrims) and on the other side of the river was the Rome half marathon.

Anyway, day 2. We were up early for a breakfast (coffee, juice, omelette, toast and pastry for 10 Euros) and back on the metro to St Peters. The main square was a mess (pilgrims and setting up for the papal mass etc) so we got a few happy snaps and headed around the corner for the Vatican Museum tour (including the Sistine Chapel).

Same as the day before, we were early, the tour guide allowed extra time, and the lines were crazy long. So we spent the better part of an hour and a half on our feet before we had seen anything other than a brick wall. But eventually that all passed and we got moving…sort of.

Because you only have a few minutes in the Sistine Chapel, and no photography is allowed, you pull up in the above courtyard where there are a series of 3 photoboards. These photoboards show all of the images and paintings contained within the Sistine Chapel, and without the time restrictions, the guides described each of the images in a varying degree of detail.

Our guide decided on extreme detail. So we stood in the sun for 90 minutes (well Jill did) Karin and I took photos of the 3 boards, found a seat and followed along with the audio commentary from about 30 meters away. Eventually she finished and the tour continued with a maze of corridors and religious bling.

Statues, carvings, ceilings, paintings, you name it, it is in here. I will refrain from comments about national debts, poor and starving people, but looking at suck lavish displays of overt wealth, it really does make you wonder.

After the Sistine Chapel we got held up in a corridor and got to witness the changing of the Swiss Guards (in their ludicrously coloured uniforms) but, you guessed it…no photography. From here it was down into St Peters Basilica for a poke about and some photos.

On my first foray here I climbed to the top of the base and then climbed the dome to overlook the papal gardens. The thought of doing this in modern times seems impossible. Maybe it was our crazy weekend choice, or maybe it is just the massive increase in human traffic in the area. This is quite simply the busiest place I have ever been (and it didn’t use to be this bad).

Getting about modern day Rome is akin to getting out of a major sporting event. You grab your possessions, enter the human traffic flow and just shuffle your feet until you eventually achieve your goal or find your way to a clear path.

After our early start (a recommendation for anyone who wishes to visit) it was mid afternoon and everyone was pooped. So it was back to the hotel for a rest, before a nice dinner and yet another early start the next day.

We were up early on the Sunday morning and made sure to go nowhere near the Vatican and Papal Mass. So it was on the Metro and off to see the Trevi Fountain. A bit like the Colosseum, last time we were here it was being cleaned and was covered in scaffolding. But not today, and our early start meant we had the place basically to ourselves.

A bit further on and we were in Piazza Navona (where our other sister (Lynn) used to live and her son was born). Some happy snaps and a wander about before heading down the alleys to find a statue of the monk Bruno (Lynn took an amazing photo of it back in the day). But on the day we were there it was surrounded by a busy and bustling Sunday market. Our chances of recreating the photo was nil.

On our way back we stopped at Piazza Navona so that Karin could have her gelato (a tick box for her). We arrived just as the first runners (African) in the half marathon came sprinting past. And I mean sprinting. These guys had been going for an hour, but were at full tilt as they went past us.

We set up in the cafe, had a coffee and Karin had her gelato, while we cheered on the runners as they went past.

Did you spot the mistake?

We were now in a cafe with the running track between us and where we needed to be. In the beginning there was plenty of room to cross between runners. But by the time we had drunk our leisurely coffees, the also-rans were coming and there was a wall of humanity, that we had to cross. We managed to make it out of the cafe and got a few blocks away, but…you guessed it…the metro station was blocked by the track.

This became the story of the day. And for the next two hours we tried to find a way to get to the metro station (any metro station), while avoiding what had now become a massive fun run field, with zero gaps to cross. I darted across at one point, while a policeman screamed at me, (leaving Jill and Karin a window to cross) while I waved my arms about saying no habla. He was unimpressed.

Karin was the last to cross and rather than the crab move she tried a more direct route. This led to a squark, some waving of arms and now it was her turn to be yelled at in Italian.

Anyway we were across, and the metro station was in sight. We had walked (and jogged) way further than we had intended, but we were done. We made it back to the hotel, Jill and I packed our bags (we would leave Karin here for a couple of days) while we headed off on a cruise (more to follow). In the mean time Karin would keep exploring Rome for a couple of days before heading on to Barcelona.

Naples

We had both been to Naples before, Jill raided the kitchen of a pizzeria (Naples is the home of Pizza) to get the secret to making the perfect base (which they were happy to share). And after a general amount of wandering about town we also spent a day on the train to visit the nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The first thing that you see when arriving at the port is the Castel Nuovo is a medieval castle directly in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall (Palazzo San Giacomo).

On our way up the hill we came across one of the flashiest shopping malls that you will ever see (Galleria Umberto) sitting directly across from the San Carlo opera house. Which is the oldest continuously active venue for opera in the world, having opened in 1737, decades before either Milan’s La Scala or Venice’s La Fenice.

Directly beside the opera house is the Royal Palace of Naples that fronts the Piazza del Plebiscito (named after the plebiscite taken on 21 October 1860, that brought Naples into the unified Kingdom of Italy under the house of Savoy.

We kept climbing the hill, following Jill who had a plan of where the best pizza could be sourced, After about an hour of uphill walking, past dog turds at every turn (apparently picking up after your dog in not a thing that Italians do) when the heavens opened. We found shelter at an overpriced (but dry) café where some coffee and nibbles briefly staved off the drowning that would eventually follow.

After a period, it was clear that there would be no let up to the rain and that our only options were to brave it. This saw Patrick spending 10 euros for the worst umbrellas that were ever made (did not even make the day), Jill had her Fluro pink rain jacket (which ended up leaching the colour) and I just got soaked. But we made it down the hill and into a pizza joint, for some pretty spectacular pizzas.

Messina

The next stop for us was a new one, we had made it further south (in Italy) than ever before and made it to the southern island of Sicily, more particularly the town of Messina. As seems to be the case for all of the coastal Italian towns, they are all built on the side of a damn mountain.

There is a beautiful seaside, some nice piazza’s and buildings and then a damn cliff that needs to be climbed to see some more cool old buildings.

In Messina the thing to see (perched high on the hilltop) is the Temple of Christ the King. But on the way up the hill, we came across another fairly impressive shopping mall.

But of course, the main event was at the top of the hill and was the “Tempio di Cristo Re”. It is an ornate 11th-century Catholic church and war memorial with some pretty fair views of the harbour. Thankfully there was also a nice little café that served refreshments.

The trek down the hill took you past some pretty cool sights that were much more enjoyable after the aforementioned refreshments.

Back in the main square and we found ourselves in front of the Cathedral of Messina and more importantly, its Astronomical Clock. The bell tower of the Cathedral contains the biggest and most complex mechanical and astronomical clock in the world. Designed by the French it was installed in 1933 and is the city’s main attraction going off at noon each day.

Into the banking district for a bit, a bite to eat (and some more refreshments)

At the base of the stele, there is the Latin inscription ‘Vos et ipsam civitatem benedicimus’ (We bless you and the city), a phrase that sanctions Mary’s perpetual blessing on Messina.

La Spezia

Le Spezia was our last port of call in Italy. Usually most people use this as a launching point to do day trips to either Florence or Pisa. But as I had already been to both, and the idea of sitting on a bus for hours to see a poorly built tower did not appeal to Jill, we stayed and explored La Spezia, which was actually really good.

The port and docks were stunning, as were the parks and the regular markets. On the day we were there (on top of the regular markets) , the streets turned into a maze of massive open air markets.

So we explored. Our enjoyment was furthered by one of the best days we had received since leaving Rome, blue skies, warm sunshine…just lovely.

We found a nice spot for a light lunch and just generally had a great day.