Mediterranean Cruise and Rome

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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Ponte Vecchio and the Cathedral
July 29, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
Our favorite sites were the Ponte Vecchio and the Cathedral, especially seeing the Duomo and learning about the Medici family. Although we didn’t do an official Cathedral tour, it was massive and there was an incredibly long line to enter. The piazza where it was located was lined with cute cafés, restaurants, and shops. Clearly jewelry and leather are the hot items in Florence.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Our favorite hobbies
July 29, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F
Shopping and eating! We found the cutest restaurant called Amalfi, and chose it because the placemats reminded us of our time in Positano and Sorrento. We enjoyed a wonderful Margherita brick oven pizza and local white wine.

Then it was off to Massimo Leather where I am having a custom leather jacket made!!! This was on my list of things I wanted to accomplish in Florence. We loved getting to meet Massimo, and hear about his story as well as enjoy the smells of fine Italian leather. I went a little crazy in there and will be so excited when my jacket and purses arrive back home.Read more
TravelerLooks like a great trip. Can’t wait for our identical cruise leaving August 27. Enjoying your pictures.
7/29/22Reply
TravelerYou will have an amazing time!
7/29/22Reply
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Goodbye Princess, hello Rome
July 30, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
Our cruise ended in the Rome port of Civitavecchia which is about an hour away from Rome. Sydney has met some new friends and pulled an all-nighter on the last night and captured a Roman sunrise for me. She crashed on the 1-hour ride to the luggage storage place before we got to Vatican City, with our first tour at 10:30 AM at St. Peter’s Basilica.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
The Vatican Museum
July 30, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F
Amazing sculptures, tapestries, mosaics, relics, paintings, and more at the Vatican Museum.
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
More from the Vatican Museum
July 30, 2022 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F
So many things to look at and our guide was wonderful at sharing the history behind these pieces. There were so many more that she could have talked about, but these were the ones she focused on.
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
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More Vatican Museum and 🍕
July 30, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F
After a long morning touring St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel (where pictures weren't allowed), we were famished! We began the 30-minute walk back to Trastevere to find the AirBnB and retrieve our luggage. Again, we stumbled upon a Pizzeria and enjoyed our second suppli.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Stow Your Bags
July 30, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F
Who knew luggage storage all over the city was the norm?!? I couldn’t check into the AirBnB after disembarking the ship until 3 PM, but also wanted to maximize our short time in Rome; so I was referred to a company all over Rome called Stow Your Bags. Thankfully, we found a place 0.3 miles from the AirBnB, but I have to say, a little misleading on the size…a Max size says it will hold 4 bags, so I reserved one locker. When we arrived this morning, I was shocked to find that their Max size would only fit 1 of our bags 🤦‍♀️ Thankfully I had the ability to book on site and booked 2 more lockers so we could get to our tours.

It was pretty comical hauling our 3 large suitcases and 2 backpacks all over the “san peitrini” streets which resemble cobblestones. On the walk to the luggage storage we passed some nice al fresco dining places, shops, and cafés.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Trastevere - the perfect location
July 30, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F
After much research, I decided to stay in an area called Trastevere because it was within walking distance to Vatican City and the Colosseum area. This has turned out to be such a fun area in the few hours we have ventured out. The AirBnB is in an awesome location and there are side streets with restaurants, bars, wine stores, and shops lining the streets. We found a local pizza and pasta place and everything we had was delicious, especially Sydney’s dish, which was a lemon linguine with goat and ricotta cheese. It’s like nothing we had ever tasted before. Afterwards we made our way to the Ponte Garibaldi to catch the sunset and saw there was a street market just below us along the Tiber River. We tried to make it to the Mouth of Truth, but it was already closed. We caught some musicians who had drawn an audience in one of the piazzas and roamed through the busting streets filled with all sorts of people.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
The Colosseum
July 31, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
Another WOW to add to this trip! As we walked through the Colosseum, all I had were pictures of Spartacus and Gladiator in my head trying to imagine that kind of environment here. There is a lot of restoration going on. Great views of the Roman Forum and the Arch of Constantine.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
July 31, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
Another HOT day as we walked through the Roman Forum and climbed up to Palatine Hill. We didn't realize that the Roman Forum was the collection of all the buildings and kept walking all over the area thinking the it was just one building. LOL! So much history in this area filled with temples, town squares, and government buildings.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Paninis and Gelato
July 31, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F
After all the walking, we worked up an appetite! Since this was our last full day in Rome, I had a list of sights I wanted to check out. We found a café on the way to the Trevi Fountain and had these HUGE paninis…seriously, we could have split one! The owner twisted my arm to try a local beer, from Ferret Burrow Brewery, an APA, which I was surprised that I liked, since I’m not a huge fan of the IPAs.

From here we made the short walk to the Trevi Fountain that was packed with people throwing their 3 coins, per the legend. My sister had mentioned a gelato shop that was in Eat, Pray, Love, that was nearby. We found Gelato di San Crispino and enjoyed one of many gelatos we have had on this trip. We didn’t have any change for the fountain, so I got some coins 🪙 for Sydney. After that, we had seen a sign for a rooftop bar overlooking the fountain, so we enjoyed some time out of the sun and were happy to meet up with our new cruise friends, Karen and Dennis.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
The Pantheon and Parione Area
July 31, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
Knowing the Pantheon was sort of on the way back to Trastevere, we made a quick photo stop there and then made our way to the Parione area where we came across more piazzas, churches, and palazzos. We found a popular outdoor market at Campo de' Fiori and bought some truffle pasta which smelled amazing even though it was still wrapped in plastic and an array of local spices. Of course, before we crossed the bridge over the Tiber River, we made one more gelato stop.

We were so sweaty and decided to take showers before we headed out for sunset and dinner.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Chasing our last Rome sunset 🌅
July 31, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F
I got a book called 101 Fabulous Things to do in Rome and read that another great sunset was at a place called Janiculum Hill where the Garibaldi Monument is located. Along with alleyways, sunsets are my thing! There were vendors, music, and what looked like a small café at the top of this hill. It was quite the hike to get there, but well worth the 360 degree views of Rome. We identified some of the major sights like the Basilica, Pantheon, and Roman Forum. The sunset was beautiful and we stayed a little after to watch the skies change colors on either side of the monument and shaid cheers to our last Rome sunset.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
Last dinner and last café in Roma
July 31, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 82 °F
As we were walking back to the AirBnB we passed a place called Pasta e Vino Osteria with a woman rolling out pasta dough to make different kinds of ravioli, linguine, and tortellini. I could have watched for hours. We decided that this had to be the place to eat dinner after the sunset. This place was hopping and was the only restaurant we passed with a line, so we figured we had hit the jackpot. Everything was so fresh and delicious and the manager who was also a sommelier suggested all the dishes we needed to try. Definitely our best meal in Rome! 🍝

The next morning, I had a few places I wanted to visit before our flight back home. I had yet to have a morning cappuccino at a street side café, so I went to the San Cosimato Market that I had wanted to check out, and found Il Siciliano where I grabbed a cappuccino and may have interrupted a Mafia meeting, LOL! I sat around taking in the quiet streets and watching the market get set up. I still had time to get to the Jewish Ghetto to get some crostata, a cherry and ricotta breakfast treat that I had heard so much about at the Pasticceria Boccione. Along the way, I passed more churches so I had to pop inside. It's always interesting to see what these churches have inside.

Taking my last stroll back to Trastevere, crossing over the Tiber River, I am in awe of how this area changes from the night time with all the bustling crowds and tables set up in the streets, to just a few people on the street; most sweeping up last nights crumbs to prepare for the day.Read more
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Mediterranean Cruise and Rome Traveler
FCO - what an airport! ✈️
August 1, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
We made it to FCO aka Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, but is it an airport or a luxury, mega-mall??? Every top designer had a store here. Thankfully our flight wasn’t delayed too much, otherwise I would have been broke! We did get to enjoy the Capital One Venture X perks and hung out at the Plaza Premium Lounge, the BEST airport lounge I have been in. Sydney took full advantage of the buffet and I loaded up on the cappuccinos. ☕️Read more
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Trip end
August 1, 2022