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Rome, Italy and Transatlantic
  • Bobbi and Rod Reeves
Oct – Nov 2024

Rome, Italy and Transatlantic

A 21-day adventure by Bobbi and Rod Read more
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    October 28, 2024
    Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Rome, Italy and Transatlantic Cruise

    October 30, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We arrived in Rome, Italy, but our travel started on Tuesday, October 29th when we drove to our hotel outside of Newark NJ airport. We stayed there as we had an early flight out of Newark on Wednesday. Our wake up time was 4:15 am. We had to drive to the parking lot where we left the car for the time of our trip. A shuttle took us to the airport and it was check in and through security. Our first leg of our flight took us to Boston and then it was a 6 hour layover. Fortunately, we were able to make use of one of the airport lounges where we found comfy chairs and good food! Our flight to Rome left on time and was a 7 hour 45 minutes flight. It was a smooth flight. Going through customs was easy and our car service was on time. Our hotel, Hotel Smeraldo is a 35 kilometers from the airport and took about an 1 hour drive. Traffic typical of home going to work! Our room was not ready when we got to the hotel so they held our luggage and we walked to where our evening tour was meeting. We were meeting at the Castel Sant' Angelo Castle, a short 20 minute walk from the hotel.Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves
    Tiber River
    Church of DeathHome of the serial killer

    Day 1 of Rome, continued

    October 31, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Happy Halloween!

    After our walk to check out our meeting place for our evening tour, we headed back to our hotel, Hotel Smeraldo. We had a small wait until our room was ready. We took a short nap and then headed out for dinner and our evening tour. There's a nice restaurant around the corner from the hotel.
    The food was good, the service was great and the atmosphere was fun. The streets are all cobblestone and very narrow. Cars, bikes, motorcycles, and pedestrians all sharing a tiny space. After dinner, we walked back to the Castel Sant' Angelo to meet up with our tour guide for Ghosts and Crimes, a Rome Night Walk. Our guide, Allie (from Maine), started our tour with some history of the castle. It originally was a mauseleum for Roman Emperor Hadrian (around the late 139 CE) later turned into a Castel with a history of also being a prison. The prisoners died a gruesome death, and their bodies were thrown into the Tiber River, which runs along side of the castel. Legend holds that the Archangel Michael appeared atop of the Mauseleum, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of a plague in 590, which killed thousands of people. Our tour continued through parts of the historic Rome area, including the Church of Death (the bridge overlooking the church was designed/built by Michelangelo ) and the residence of a serial killer (a woman) who poisoned over 600 men. The priests from the Church of Death were called the Brotherhood of Death. They got their names because Pope Julius commanded that they take care of the dead. The gold colored cobblestones commemorate the Jewish people for fighting the resistance of Mussolini and Hitler. Believe it or not, it was a fun tour - one perfect for Halloween! Our evening ended with a stop at a Gelato shop. Yum!    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    A Day in Rome

    November 1, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today is All Saints Day, a holiday for many Romans with government offices and other businesses closed, which made it a crowded day of tourists.

    Our first full day in Rome was spent on a private golf cart tour, seeing many of the highlights of Rome. Our guide, Lucas picked us up in the golf cart and off we went - joining the crazy drivers of Rome going through many of the roads that are the size of an alley and have pedestrians at the same time. Our first stop was the Pantheon. Built by the Emperor Hadrian (who also built the castel we saw yesterday). The structure itself is interesting, with a concrete dome built almost 2 thousand years ago and still not cracks! It is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. It was built as a temple for all gods fairly plain but does have large granite Corinthian columns brought from Egypt.

    Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain. It was designed by an Italian architect and finished in 1762. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous in the world. There was an earlier fountain located here in the early 1600s. There was no water in the fountain as they were in the process of cleaning and repairing many of the monuments around Rome in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee. It was at one time one of the many aqueducts in Rome.

    On our way to the next stop, we rode by the president's house. It is huge! We were told that at least 20 of the White Houses can fit in it. Originally built for a Pope, it now has many of the national offices as well as the residence of the president. Each branch of military guards the doors in a 6-hour shift.

    The next stop was the Spanish Steps. These were built by the Vatican as Spain gave the Vatican a lot of gold, and in return, Spain asked that these 135 steps be built so they would have access to the Spanish church. The steps are made from travertine - taken from the Coloseum! Spain is the first country to have an embassy here. The Steps have been featured in many movies and TV shows.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves
    111

    Rome - part 2

    November 1, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We headed to Villa Borghese after the Spanish Steps. This place was acquired by the State in 1903 from the noble Borghese family due to them not paying their taxes to the State. It had been in the family for generations but has been turned into a public park. From here, you can see Rome from above.

    It was then onto the Roman Colosseum. This is where our tour ended and we were free to visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum on our own. Unfortunately, tickets for the Colosseum were sold out, but we were able to tour the Roman Forum. Guess we will have to come back! The Forum for centuries was the centre of day-to-day like in Rome. Elections, public speeches, criminal trials and gladiator matches took place here. The Roman Kingdom's earliest shrines and temples were located here going back as far as 8th century BC.

    On our walk back to the hotel, we passed Vittoriano, a national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honor the first king of the unified Italy. It is interesting to learn that Italy, as a unified country, is younger than the United States (1861). There are also approximately 980 churches in Rome - with more than the majority catholic .

    We dined at a local pizzeria and then walked to Piazza Campo de' Fiori (where our tour ended last night). For dessert, we stopped and got a gelato and later, profiteroles and aragostas. Yum!    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves
    1

    A sunny day in Rome

    November 2, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    This morning, we were off to see the Vatican. We did not bood a tour, so we did not get to go inside - the ticket line was way too long. We knew it would be this way beforehand, but we wanted to check it out. It was about a 25 minute walk. We walked through the Piazza Campo de Fiori, where we were last night, and there was an open air market with just about anything - fresh fruits, vegetables, pasta, seasonings, luggage and souvenirs. Our hotel seems to be about a half-hour walk to just about everywhere we want to see.

    The Vatican was packed, but you could walk up fairly close. The ticket line was very long and there were a lot of folks. The Vatican is a country of its own and became independent of Italy in 1929. Ruled by the Pope, it is the smallest country and the smallest population in the world. Vatican City contains religious and cultural sites such as St Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and a few museums. The Italian name of the city is Citta del Vaticano.

    The obelisk in St Peter's Square was brought here from Egypt in AD64 and relocated to its present location in 1586. The obelisk is the last visible remnant from the Circus of Nero, where it is said that Saint Peter was crucified.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    An evening in Rome

    November 2, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Tonight we did a cooking class! We made fettuccine and tiramisu. What a fun class - it normally has 15 participants, but there were only 7 of us, which was great! Besides Rod and I, there were 2 from Amsterdam, and a mom and her 2 daughters from England. Our chef's name was Jo - she was born in the Philippines but has been in Italy just about her entire life. Her English was very good. The class was at a restaurant, Trattoria Amici, which is located near the Spanish Steps. We first made the tiramisu as it has to chill for about an hour. Once that was done, we started on the fettuccine. Mixing the egg and flour, then kneading and then slicing. Once done, we were treated to dinner with the fettuccine and tiramisu - and a glass of wine. Dinner was friendly with talking from everyone about their travels. After dinner, we then walked to the Spanish Steps to see them at night. Our walk back to the hotel was....interesting. we ended up walking in the wrong direction (thanks, Google Map) but managed to find our way back...with a few extra steps! Today, we walked around a little over 10 miles (including this morning). It took us about 25 minutes to get to the restaurant, but an hour + to get back!Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    On to the ship!

    November 3, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Today is the day we board our ship. We hired the same driver that picked us up at the airport to take us to the ship, Odyssey of the Seas, which is at the port located in Civitavecchia, Italy. It is about an hour's drive outside of Rome. It was nice seeing another part of Italy - more green areas. Boarding the ship was smooth and didn't take any time. Cabins were not ready when we boarded at 11:00am, so we had lunch at Playmakers, a sports bar. Cabins were ready by 1:00 pm and our luggage came about an hour later. It was nice to unpack fully. Our cabin is nice and has a balcony - more on that later.

    There was a special reception for returning cruisers at our level. They had a band, hors d'oeuvres, and drinks. It was then off to dinner. We then went to the Welcome on Board Show. Walked around the ship to get our bearings, and then it was back to our cabin to rest up for tomorrow!    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    A day at sea

    November 4, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We were at sea today heading for our first port of call, Barcelona, Spain. It was a relaxing day - weather was very nice - warm and sunny but not too hot.

    We went to a morning lecture on astronomy- very interesting talk about the planets. The speaker will have additional talks throughout the cruise on our sea days.

    I got my walk in today - around 5 miles doing laps around the deck. There's quite a few passengers that either walk or run. The ship has a designated walk/run track on one of the decks.

    Tonight we went to one of the ship's production shows. It was an updated version of a show we had seen on a different ship. We also went to a talk that gave you a behind the scenes of one of their theater areas called the Two70. It's called that because of the floor to ceiling windows that give you a 270 degree view of the ocean. They also have very high-tech screens and robotic arms that move the screens. We were told the cost of that room alone was 34 million dollars!

    The picture of man playing the piano - he pops up in different places throughout the ship - even in the elevators. They call him the stowaway piano man.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves
    Statue of Christopher Columbus to the left of the building

    Barcelona, Spain

    November 5, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We arrived in Barcelona around 8:00 in the morning. The skies were overcast and temperature in the high 60s . We were fortunate that we didn't arrive yesterday as Barcelona had heavy pains with flooding, so we may not have been able to see much.

    The country of Spain was formed when 2 kingdoms were joined by marriage- Queen Isabella (of the Christopher Columbus era). There is a statue of Christopher Columbus in the town. The children learn 2 - 3 languages in school - Spanish, English and Catalonia (the native language). Barcelona is the 2nd largest city in Spain - Madrid (the capital) is the largest.

    Our tour today was the Montserrat Monastery. It is about an hour's drive from the port which gave us plenty of opportunities to see the country. Montserrat means serrated mountain, and you can understand how they got that name by the surrounding mountains. The area was once underwater millions of years ago, and so many of the rock formations have shells in them. Montserrat is a Benedictine monk mountain retreat. The panoramic views of the Holy Mountains is awe inspiring. There is a funicular that will take you to the top of the mountain with trails for walking.

    The history of Montserrat started in 880 when religious elders explored a grotto and found an image of the Virgin Mary. From thar moment on, the grotto became a holy sanctuary. A small monastery soon began, and visitors came to see the grotto. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Monastery became a cultural centre and a music school had begun. The monastery was abandoned in 1835 due to the French War. It was then restored only to be abandoned once again in the early 1930s but the government of Catalonia managed to save Montserrat.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Barcelona- part 2

    November 5, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    The monastery also has a world famous boys choir and school much like the Vienna Boys Choir. There are 50 boys - ages 9 - 12 who stay there Monday through Friday. They have a presentation at 1pm, which we were able to hear and see by viewing on an outdoor TV. Once the presentation was over, we were able to enter the church and look around.

    We toured the chapel where we were able to see the black Virgin Mary statue. It is called that because as time has gone by, the candles lit by the statue have turned the face black.

    Today, Montserrat has been modernized to continue welcoming visitors and those who make the trip on a pilgrimage. There is a hotel, museum, cafes and a small open air market.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Palma de Mallorca

    November 6, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today, we are in Palma de Mallora, also known as Palma. It is part of the Balearic Islands in Spain. We were scheduled to be in Valencia, Spain, but because of the severe rain and flooding they had, it was not safe to visit, so Royal Caribbean rescheduled our port of call here.

    Palma was founded as a Roman camp, and there are spots where you can see some of the Roman walls. There is a history of conquests and destruction from its beginning history, founded 123 BC. It is about a 6 hour drive from Barcelona. The island has basically 3 regions, of which 2 are mountains and 1 agricultural. It is considered part of the Mediterranean Sea area. It has gone through conquests from the fall of the Western Roman empire, the Muslim conquests, and the Byzantine period, Christian conquests, late middle ages to current times.

    Buildings were built, destroyed and the rebuilt by the new regime often on top of what was once there. There first place we visited was the Bellver Castle. This is the first circular castle built in Europe. It has a moat and drawbridge where the folks living outside of the castle walls could take refuge where there were pirates attacking or other raids. It was built in the 14th century and has been used as a royal residence, prison, and now a museum. It is built from local sandstone.

    Our next stop was the Royal Palace of La Alumudaina which is built over an earlier casrle in 1309. A river runs through the town of Palma giving the town 2 distinct areas - uptown (wealthy) and down-city (where mostly sailors and those folks that depended on the sea lived).

    Palma relies on tourism, where approximately 80% of its population work. It is alo known for pearls. Palma has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with average temperatures 65 degrees. January, the coldest month is around 60 degrees. Today it was around 70. The population is around 419,000    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Cartegena, Spain

    November 7, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Another beautiful day! The weather has been perfect for touring - around 72 degrees with a slight breeze.

    Our tour started with a very short drive to the city center. The ship was able to dock at the pier very close to the center of town, easily walkable, but because our tour included a panoramic view of the city, we had a bus.

    We were dropped off near the city center, passing by City Hall. The streets within the Center are different than Rome - 'cheap' marble and open to pedestrians and service vehicles. Since the early 20th century,many of the buildings have been designed with art nouveau. Cartegena is on a peninsula, and the area near where the cruise terminal is now is land. It is a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast , south-east Iberia. It was founded around 227 BC and has gone through many conquests from neighboring areas throughout its history. It has also gone through many wars, with the last being the Spanish Civil Wars from 1936 - 1939.

     Many of the structures discovered were by accident - when buildings were being torn down because of age or a new parking lot was being built. Our next stop was to a Roman bath. This area is still being excavated. It was then onto a Roman theater. This theater has completed its excavation, but the garden area behind it is still being worked on. There is a 13th century church located at the top of the seating area which is not park of the Roman Theater but is a great example of how buildings were built on top of older buildings, covering up what was once there.

    Our next stop was to the Punic Walls. These are the original city walls dating back to the 3rd century BC. 3 times Cartegena has had other countries try to take over and 3 times Cartegena has lost - this all happening in its early stage of becoming a city. The walls were two layers with a small space between. In its excavation, a crypt was discovered.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves
    Pablo Picasso' s home is the corner unitHome of Antonio Banderas (top floor, corner)

    Malaga, Spain

    November 8, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today's port of call was Malaga, Spain, the second-most populous city with around 579,000 people. It is located in the Southern Iberia on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) in the Mediterranean.

    Malaga is about 2800 years old, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Western world. It was founded about 770 BC by the Phoenicians. Much like Cartegena, Malaga has had changes of rulers - Carthage, the Punic Wars, and then Romans. The most important business sectors are tourism, construction, and technology services.

    Our first stop on our tour was to the botanical gardens, La Concepcion. The gardens were created in 1855 when 2 members of Malaga's high society families married. They brought and ordered plants and trees from all around the world and created a tropical oasis. We could not go inside the home, but we're able to see the courtyard and the wisteria arbor along side of the home.

    We then did a panoramic drive and stopped at a viewpoint, which gave us a view of the Harbor and a bullring. The bullying is still used for bull fights and also concerts throughout the year.

    Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, and we were able to see the home he was born in. There is a statue of him in the park across his home. You can tour the first floor of the apartment, but time would not allow us to do so. The actor, Antonio Banderas, has a home (apartment) in Malaga, which we walked by.

    The next stop was to visit the Roman theater, which dates from the 1st century BC, and was rediscovered in 1951.

    We were then given a short free time to shop and then headed back to our ship.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    At Sea

    November 9, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Today was a sea day as we're sailing from Malaga, Spain to Funchal, Portugal. Late last night, we passed through the Rock of Gibraltar strait.

    Today was a much needed day of rest. The weather was overcast and cool. We went to 2 lectures. One was given by the astronomer we heard a few days ago. His talk was about life on the ISS - the international space station - which was very interesting. The other talk was, unfortunately, not what we expected. It was to be on designing your home (more on designing the inside). She did cover it in a very indirect way, but still not what we thought it would be. Lunch was at Izumi's - a Japanese restaurant; dinner at the Sportsbar, Playmakers. There has been a variety of evening entertainment, and tonight was an entertaining magician.Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Funchal, Madeira (Portugal)

    November 10, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today is our last port of call as we make our way across the Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful day, warmer than expected - high 70's -, as they were experiencing warm winds from Africa.

    Funchal is the capital of Madeira. The population is around 105, 795, making it the 6th largest city in Portugal. Funchal relies on tourism, bananas, and wine. Sugar cancer is also a good commodity - in fact, at one point, it was called white gold. It was founded in 1419 by sailors but not colonized until 1425. Funchal's name was given because of all the fennel that was found in the valley by the sea.

    Our first stop on the tour was to a church in a small village called Monte to a church a little over over 1,500 feet above sea level. To get to it, you must climb about 171 steps up and 68 steps down. The original chapel was built in 1489 and had to be rebuilt in 1741 - 1743. We then walked down to ride the cable car that would take us to the botanical gardens.

    The gardens were established in 1881 by the wealthy Reid family and are now open to the public. It includes over 2500 plant species from all over the world and has a Museum of Natural History.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Funchal - part 2

    November 10, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Our bus met us at one of the entrances to the gardens and took us to the old section of Funchal, where we did a walking tour of the painted doors. These doors were an art movement started in 2011 to help bring new life to the area.

    From there, we did a wine tasting of the Madiera wines. It is more of an after dinner wine. A little shopping was done and back to the ship.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Easy day at sea

    November 11, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Our second day in a row for a sea day. That will be what we have until we get to New Jersey - sea days!

    We went to the morning lecture by the astronomer, Paul Cirillo. His talk this morning was about NASA's plan for the US to return to the moon.

    We then returned to our room and enjoyed sitting out on our balcony. Weather was nice in the morning and then turned slightly cooler as it became a little overcast.

    In the afternoon, the Captain made an announcement that there is a crew member that the ship's doctor has determined needs hospital care. We are making a slight deviation to go to the closest island, Ponta Delgado, where he can have the crew member taken off the ship and taken to a hospital. The captain also stated that this deviation will not affect our arrival date.

    Once again, we saw the stowaway piano guy. We rode the elevator up and down to enjoy his music. We got to talk to him yesterday as he was on our tour. We feel like we're friends!    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Somewhere in the Atlantic

    November 12, 2024, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Another day at sea! We will have those until we reach New Jersey.

    Today, we went to 2 lectures -- a good one and one not so good. The good one - the astronomer talking about the James Webb Space Telescope- the not so good one was about Antarctica, which should have been interesting. The topic was good but the lecturer not so good. Some people are knowledgeable but not good speakers - this was one of them, oh well! We did meet up with some folks that stayed at the same hotel in Rome as we did.

    Seas are not as calm as previous days - 6 - 7 foot swells causing the ship to rock a little. The day started out overcast but cleared as the day went on. Temperatures are slowly getting a little cooler.

    We went and saw the show, The Book, again. It was nice seeing it again as you could pick up on things you missed the first time.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Crossing the Atlantic

    November 14, 2024, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Another sea day...we have quite a few of those!

    We went to the lecture given by the astronomer, Paul Cirillo. His talk was about going to Mars. He is a great lecturer and keeps you into his lecture. For lunch we decided to go to the sports bar, Playmakers. The weather was nice so we sat out on our balcony. Tonight's entertainment was a comedian. He wasn't too bad.Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Feeling the motion

    November 14, 2024, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    Feeling the motion of the ocean! That's the motto of today with waves at least 15 feet and winds gusting over 40 knots! At one point, winds were gusting to 70 knots! Raining until late afternoon. We also turned south to avoid weather. During our crossing, the captain stated that we would not be near where the Titanic went down - we are about 120 miles south of its location and no ice bergs! They canceled 2 production shows due to the rocking of the ship. The restaurants could not pre-set the tables as they were concerned the dishes and glassware would slide off of the tables. Bars that had some bottles on the counter fell. We even had a few items slide off of our dresser in our room. The captain said that the winds would die down a bit, and it will take longer for the waves to calm down. So far, we have traveled 3544 nautical milesRead more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Calmer seas

    November 15, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We woke up to calmer seas (still a little rocky but nothing like yesterday) and sunny skies.

    Our usual lecture from the astronomer had technical issues with his PowerPoint presentation, so it ended up being a question and answer session - still an interesting session. The astronomer, Paul Cirillo, is a very good lecturer - his talk is very down to earth (lol).

    When we returned to our cabin, our certificates for crossing the Atlantic were in our cabins. It's hard to believe our trip is just about over. The production show tonight went on as planned - the captain slowed the ship down and made a slight change in the heading, so it wasn't too rocky for the singers and dancers.

    We have traveled a little over 4000 nautical miles. The depth of the ocean is approximately 16,000 feet.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    Last day of sailing

    November 16, 2024, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    Today's our last day of this sailing, and we woke up to a sunny sky and pretty much calm seas!

    We went to the final lecture on astronomy. What a great lecturer he is! We thoroughly enjoyed his talks. For the past couple of nights, we have turned our clocks back one hour each night, so we now are at the same time as home.

    This afternoon, the captain slowed the ship down as we were passing some whales. By the time I got out on our balcony, all I saw was the spray from one of the whales.

    We've sailed approximately 4500 nautical miles as of this writing. Sea depth is 150 meters. We've met some folks, exchanged some emails, and had a good time.    Read more

  • Bobbi and Rod ReevesRome, Italy and TransatlanticBobbi and Rod Reeves

    On our way home

    November 17, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    Debarkation found us up very early. Getting off the ship was easy and fast. We waited in our room for our group numerous (2) to be called. It was then a short walk, showing our cabin key, picking up our suitcase, and finally going through customs. All in all, it took about 15 minutes. We then caught a cab to take us to the Newark airport car satellite parking lot to pick up our car. All in all, it took us no more than 40 minutes to leave the shop and get the car. Travel home was good - no traffic and a little more than 3 hours.

    Our favorite port of call was Portugal. The streets of historic Rome are cobblestone and will always be that way because they are marked as a historic entity. It was interesting to see the narrow streets - alleys - with outdoor restaurants and people gathering.    Read more

    Trip end
    November 17, 2024
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