I remember being ten and eleven years old and reading every book on Greek mythology that I could find in the library in both the children’s section and the adult section. I was fascinated by the gods and goddesses and the country they called home. I knew then that someday, I would need to visit the birthplace of western civilization. After last year’s trip to Alaska, we knew we wanted to do another summer cruise, and a trip to the eastern Mediterranean, including two Greek islands and Athens looked like the perfect adventure!

Our cruise itinerary included Rome, Salerno-Amalfi Coast, Messina-Sicily, Santorini, Kasudasi-Turkey, Mykonos, and Athens. Being so full of different adventures, I’m splitting up the posts into multiple entries. The cruise port is in a town about an hour from Rome called Civitavecchia. As good cruisers do, we always arrive at least one day early so as to make sure you don’t miss the ship. Because it’s Rome we decided to give ourselves two days.

We arrived in Rome and were met by the hotel owners who got us checked into our room. This room is pretty much a door on the wall that opens to a set of stairs. There is no elevator and we’re on the second floor! It’s a very well furnished room with a double jacuzzi in the bathroom. Our place is about a block away from the major outdoor market, Compo di Fiori. We ventured over there and browsed the stalls of the market, trying to dodge the outgoing vendors trying to sell us their wares. We ate an early dinner of signature pasta dishes at one of the piazza ristorantes. A shot of limoncello finished the meal perfectly! Did I mention that it’s 96 degrees in the late afternoon? The selling point for this ristorante was the misters!!

After dinner we strolled through the Piazza Navona and then down a magnificent street called via dei Coranari which was beautifully lined with niche shops and restaurants. We stopped in a shop that sold venetian carnivale masks. I told him we’d be there for two days, and possibly would come back tomorrow…which we did and ended up buying two masks.

After a short siesta back at the room to get out of the heat, we found some delicious gelato and continued our leisurely walk up the Tiber River to the Castel Sant’Angelo. Janet loved the umbrella pines, and we both marveled at the statuary on the bridges and all the street vendors. We finished our five mile journey down the side streets back to our hotel. We’re tired but exhilarated by the sites and sounds of this fascinating city!

This is our second time to Rome so we’re trying to see things many tourists skip. This includes about five basilicas and churches as well as a baroque mansion/art museum. We were more tired than we anticipated and didn’t wake up till 9:30. When we left the room the temperature was already in the mid 80s. We journeyed over the Tiber River into Trastevere. We tried to eat breakfast but the invisibility cloaks we bought a few years ago really paid off as after 20 minutes no one seemed to notice we were waiting to order. We walked around the beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria then headed back over the river for more sites!

Leaving Trastevere we entered the Jewish Ghetto. It was 11:00 and since we didn’t get breakfast we enjoyed a kosher lunch of ravioli and fried artichoke. Afterwards we made our way through the Jewish Ghetto and passed by the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II and the Colosseum. With the temperature reaching nearly 100, I nearly lost Janet as we made our way to Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. But lots of water and a dose of gelato revived her and we were able to marvel at the structure.

I can’t tell you what a godsend it is that Rome has drinkable water fountains all throughout the city, many are adorned as works of art. We prodded on through the heat to Trevi fountain. It was not quite as crowded as I expected but still a mad house. We chose not to throw coins in the fountain as we’ve already booked another Mediterranean cruise for next year with a good chance of returning to Rome. We made our way on to Galleria Doria Pamhilj which was housed in a baroque palace. Exquisite works of art in a fairly cool place for the mid afternoon! One of the galleries was a hall of mirrors and reminded us of Versailles. After the gallery, we made our way a few blocks down the street to St. Ignatius of Loyala church which boasts a ceiling that rivals the Sistine chapel. Around the corner was the Basilica of Saint Mary of Minerva. It was dark but contained some of the prettiest stained glass windows of the day!

Our final church was Church of St. Louis of the French and it was astounding! One of the chapels is adorned with sculpted draperies. It’s hard to imagine that these are actually stone. Another chapel is known for housing famous works by Caravaggio. Having seen everything on my list, we headed back to the room for a short rest and respite from the heat. Later, we went and bought our masks enjoyed a dinner of Roman pizza and Aperole spritz. Our sightseeing in Rome is done, but what a fantastic experience. Tomorrow we’ll be heading to the cruise ship for more adventures!!