Part 1 - Rome & Naples

We left Salt Lake City on October 22nd at ten o'clock in the morning on Delta with an intermediate stop in Cincinnatti. Destination: Rome, Italy, for the first day of a fourteen day travel cruise through the eastern Mediterreanean Sea. We arrived at Rome's Fumincino Airport the next day at about eleven in the morning. We picked up our bags and headed for the train that would take us to Rome's central train station and then on to the Metro for a short ride to the Domina Hotel on the outskirts of the city. The Domina is a very nice, western-style hotel with all of the expected amenities. We checked in and freshened up in our room before heading to dinner at a nearby restaurant. The Girasole on Via Appia Nuova was just a few blocks from the hotel and we enjoyed a sumptuous meal of ravioli and pizza marinara. Pizza in Rome is generally served on a thin crust and is very tasty. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and turned in early anticipating a full day. The next day, Friday, we set off to explore Rome and revisit some of the many sites that we had quickly toured during our last visit to the city. The hotel shuttle took us to the nearest Metro and we boarded the "A" line to the central station where we transferred to the "B" line which would take us to St. Peter's Square (there are only two lines on the Rome Metro). We arrived fairly early in the morning and the crowds were just beginning to appear. I noticed the Vatican post office in the square and sent some postcards back home. Vatican City does a thriving business in postage stamps, it is a major enterprise.

We wondered around the square for the next couple of hours taking photographs of the Basilica and other buildings, as well as, the Swiss Guard, the protectors of the Pope. We decided to walk from the square to the Colliseum along the banks of the Tiber River. We didn't realize how far we would have to walk, our map distorted the actual distance, and so after what seemed like several miles and numerous inquiries from passerbys, we arrived at the Colliseum. We purchased tickets and entered the magnificent structure. After roaming the various levels and corridors for an hour or so, we decided to grab a bite to eat at cafe across the street from the Colliseum. After a $30.00 lunch comprised of a cheese pizza and two cokes, we decided to walk to the Villa Borghese, Rome's Central Park. We made reservations to visit the Borghese Gallery on the day the ship returned to Rome. After a long day roaming the streets of Rome, we returned to the Metro and our hotel.

The next morning, the day of our departure for the Carnival Freedom and twelve glorious days on the Meditereanean Sea, we prepared to leave. Our plans were to spend the day in Rome since the ship wasn't departing until late that evening. We would take the shuttle, jump on the Metro, spend the day in Rome and then catch the afternoon train to Civitavecchia, the port of Rome. Ahh, the best laid plans. Unfortunately, a completely unexpected occurence changed our direction that day. I had jumped in the shower that morning and as I was getting out of the bathtub/shower, I slipped on a very slippery tub and catapulted straight in the air landing on the marble floor. I actually landed square on my lower back and right arm. The noise of the fall was deafening and Shirley rushed into the bathroom only to discover me laying on the floor in agonizing pain. My first thoughts were that I had managed to seriously injure myself and I wasn't certain whether I would be able to stand up or even move. Shirley suggested calling for help, but despite my tortuous pain, I envisioned people rushing to the room and seeing me laying on the floor buck-naked and quite honestly, I decided to suffer the pain rather than the indignities. After an interminable period of time, Shirley helped me get up and move to the bed where I lay in utter pain for most of the morning.

In order to get to the ship, we were going to have to take the hotel shuttle to the Metro; take the Metro to the train station; board the train for the hour and half trip to Civitavecchia and do all of this hauling a ton of luggage. I struggled to get dressed while at the same time trying to think of an alternative to what seemed an impossible journey. I hobbled down to the front desk and the clerk informed me that they could provide transportation to the port for the mere sum of $200.00. The next best alternative appeared to be taking a cab to the Rome train station thereby avoiding the long and painful Metro ride. So, we hailed a cab and took the $25.00 ride to the station and after arriving I managed to pull my luggage the several thousand yards to the gate where a most welcome bench was awaiting. A few minutes later another couple arrived who were also planning to take the train to the port. Vern from Jacksonville, Florida was a patron saint at that moment since he gladly hoisted our bags onto the train when it arrived. My wrenched back continued to cause me untold pain, but at least, we were heading in the right direction and the ship's doctor would be waiting.

We arrived at the port around three in the afternoon and shared a short cab ride with Vern and his girlfriend, Ella to the pier. The check-in process was very simple and within minutes we were in cabin 8249 and the comfortable bed that I immediately found. I slept fitfully that night unable to turn over and any attempt at getting up from the bed resulted in unbearable pain. We woke up early the next morning as the ship found its mooring in Naples. I decided that I would visit the ship's doctor before we left for a day at Pompeii, our planned tour. The doctor determined, as I suspected, that there was no major damage, but rather, a very severe bruising of the muscles. He prescribed some pain pills and a muscle relaxant and I returned to the cabin.

We left the ship and feeling some relieved, I found a kiosk that sold train tickets to Pompeii and off we went to the famous ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania. Along with Herculanean its sister city, Pompeii was destroyed, and completely buried, during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in AD 79. We spent several hours that day walking the streeets of Pompeii and envisioning what life would have been like on that fateful day in AD 79. It was an awesome sight and well worth enduring my lingering back pain. After we left Pompeii we took a brief visit to the Naples Archaelogical Museum which houses many of the artifact uncovered at Pompeii. A long day again and we returned to safe haven of our ship. Naples is a dangerous city, suffering an extremely high unemployment rate and an even higher crime rate. There was no reason for us to linger.