20220503 Taormina and Greek Theatre: We are winding down our cruise. Given all the excursions we have been on and enjoyed, glad that the last three days (yesterday, today, tomorrow) are just half-day in the AM.

Got up in time to see us coming into port in Messina. Leisurely in-room breakfast and down to check in at 8:00. Around 8:15 our bus left the port and we returned around 1:30. Drove south for about an hour to Taormina, our destination for this excursion. Walked uphill from where the bus was parked and onto Corso Umberto, the main street of the city. In 2015, I had been at the opposite end of the street from the perspective of coming from our hotel. Went to Piazza IX Aprile, a big, open square with views over the sea and down to Naxos.

Then we continued on Corso Umberto to near its end and turned to go to the entrance of the Greek Theatre. This is a huge theatre with views over the bay from its top and of Taormina. Also, if the clouds don’t cover Mt. Etna (which they were today), you can see the volcano. The theatre is a wonder and we spent as much time as we had walking up and down and around taking images.

We needed to meet the guide at noon, so we headed back down and onto Corso Umberto where I bought some chocolate from Modica, a city in Sicily where I had been in 2019 at “the source” of the chocolate from there. It’s really good. From there, we walked to get great gelato (pistachio/almond and cassata Siciliana). And back to the bus and back to the ship for lunch at La Veranda on Deck 11. Our walk from the bus to the gangplank for our ship was LONG and by some huge cruise ships. Just what we needed after walking three miles on the excursion to Taormina.

In our suite were disembarking instructions. We have to have our luggage tagged and outside our suite by 11PM. So, we will get into our robes, stuff our last belongings into our luggage and stick it outside. In the morning of the 5^th, we will grab a bite at one of the restaurants that are open on the ship and leave the ship at 8:00. Oh, and tonight, we will send out all of our laundry so we have as many clean clothes as we need until we, hopefully, fly home.

This afternoon I got telephone service on my iPhone and took care of two vendor issues that had been hanging since the beginning of the trip. One had to do with a conflict between the cc they were charging to and what their website showed as the correct cc. The other was just forgetting the service call they had scheduled. Ah, first-world problems.

Pulling out of the port of Messina, it was golden hour and we got nice images of Sicily as well as the Italian mainland which is pretty close.

Went to Chartreuse, one of the specialty restaurants onboard. This was our second meal there, the first on 4/25 our first night. Our waitress, Fely, not only remembered our names but also what we had eaten last week! Fun. Then back to the suite and put out our laundry to have it back tomorrow for packing. Did a Facetime with Anna to wish her an early happy birthday.

20220505 Disembark-Rome-Colosseum: Got up at 6:30. Anbu brought breakfast around 7:00. Waited in the room and then in a lounge on Deck 4 until, about 8:10, our color/number was called (purple/2) corresponding to the tags we put on our luggage last night. Then off the ship, to the luggage claim area to the Purple 2 site, collected our baggage, went out the exit where our driver was holding a “Bud Hirsch” sign. Took us about 45 minutes to come in from the cruise terminal to the 47 Boutique Hotel.

Room was not ready…it was early. Sat in the library. Our room, 410, is nice and the largest on the floor. Good view of some of the monuments nearby. Had lunch on their rooftop restaurant. Afterwards, we walked for about 25 minutes from the hotel to the entrance to the Colosseum. I had bought tickets that allowed us to go to a special area at one end really right above the underground area. Took lots of images! Then went up a level and walked 360 around shooting more. As with much of what we have experienced this trip, it’s hard to describe what we saw even with the pictures that we will post.

Then we walked over to the entrance to the Roman Forum and wandered around that huge area. Hard walking on uneven stones. Not great for my heel. Altogether, we were in the Colosseum and Forum for almost three hours. No way we were going to walk home. Took a taxi.

Around 7:00, we took a taxi to Taverna Angelica, a restaurant Sandy recommended. Unique cuisine with many extras thrown in between courses. Was an eating experience. Taxi back to hotel to work on computers and go to bed. Tomorrow we have two tours with private guides!

20220504 Pompeii: Got up at 6:30 so we had time for breakfast before needing to check in for our excursion at 8:15. We are in a pattern of what we order every day for breakfast. Pretty much it’s scrambled eggs, fruit plate, pan au chocolat, hash browns, and, for me, two doses of double espresso.

Today we are anchored in Sorento and have to use tenders to get ashore. It’s the only “anchor port” on this cruise. Ashore, we met our guide, Angela, and headed toward Pompeii. Lots of traffic. She got tickets and we proceeded into the site. I was here in 2019, but entered from another entrance altogether and what we saw today was 95% places I had not seen then. Also, in 2019, we were on our own guiding ourselves around with a map and some travel book knowledge. Today we had an excellent guide who really did a great job giving us history and explaining as we went along. I stayed as near to her as I could since the wireless receiver with an earbud so we could hear her was problematic for me since I already had something in my ear…hearing aids! Spent a bit over two hours. Lots of crowds all over. She pretty much avoided them, however.

Van drive back to Sorento, sort of a long walk from the bus stop to where the Regent shuttle was parked. Down to the shore and tender to the ship. When we entered our suite, there was a Bon Voyage blanket on each of our beds along with our luggage. Guess that was a hint to pack up and get off!

Jeff pretty much immediately went to the spa for his scheduled massage. I went to Deck 11 and ate at the Pool Grill. Then back to the suite. Worked on images, talked to Marian, and Anbu brought our afternoon canapes about 5:15. Had a cheese plate and drank some of the extra bottle of champagne that has been residing in our fridge. Anbu has, over the cruise, brought us a different plate of canapes each day. I think we’ve been through the whole list of the savory ones. And Anbu also brought us our laundry. Now we have enough clean clothes to last us through May 9^th.

We asked and Anbu told us the chaos that goes on as we depart and another set of passengers boards tomorrow. They strip the room of everything that is not a piece of furniture or an appliance. That includes not only things like pillows, sheets, blankets, but also any dishes, glasses, soaps, lotions, shampoos… Then they fog the room as per current protocols before reassembling things for new the new folks coming aboard. As part of this, we have to vacate our suite no later than 8:00 (which is the time our car should be waiting for us at the dock anyway).

Jeff and I went up to Deck 12 and took images of Sorento as the ship left the bay to head to our final port tomorrow. Went up to Deck 11and Sette Mari for a nice supper. Returned to the suite to find out we actually could get breakfast in the suite…so we are. Now it’s time to pack and get luggage out into the hall. Tomorrow it’s Rome and a new adventure starts.

20220506 Jewish Ghetto and Vatican: Had breakfast here at the hotel. Walked a few blocks to the Great Synagogue where we met our guide Micaela Pavoncello of Jewish Walking Tours, who is terrific. We spent from 10 to 1 with her. First, it was the Jewish Museum. Learned that Jewish women were good at mending seams so they didn’t show and were valued by the Christian women to make and mend dresses for them. In the museum were dozens of Torah covers that came from all these dresses including one from the Queen of Sweden. Fascinating. There are parts of several early synagogues in the museum. And we found out that the lineage of the Roman Jews is directly from Jerusalem thousands of years ago instead of coming to Rome from other countries.

In the synagogue itself, Micaela really filled out the history of Jews in Rome and how they were treated by the Romans and the Popes. Lots of what we see as coming from the Nazis in what they did (e.g., book burning) was going on for centuries in Rome under the auspices of the church. Met Emmanuel Di Porto, a 91 Holocaust survivor. Michaela recounted his story and how he avoided being captured by the Nazis.

Then we walked through the Jewish Ghetto where Michaela pointed out the progression of the Jews in the area, where they lived. Ended up near the Jewish school where Michaela waited for two of her sons to get out for the day. Had lunch at a kosher restaurant near the school.

Took a cab through bad traffic to the entrance to the Vatican Museum in the Vaticanwhere we met our afternoon guide. While we had thought we’d have a Jewish element to the tour, it was mostly about her giving us details of how the Sistine Chapel was painted and details of each panel in the chapel. Ended up being long and, at a point, just too much. Finally, we walked through all the galleries that lead to the chapel itself and into the chapel. It’s lovely, especially after being fully cleaned from centuries of soot. Stood with the hundreds of others looking up.

Went down several flights of stairs and out onto St. Peters Square where we parted out our guide. Jeff and I went across the square and got in line to go into the basilica itself. It’s huge and open with chairs only in the side chapels. No surprises here since we’ve all seen it on TV over the years.

When we emerged, it was raining pretty hard. Found a taxi where our guide had told us to go and went to Colline Emiliane, a wonderful place Sandy Levin had told us about. It was wonderful. Back to the hotel, tired and foot weary. Need to be up tomorrow to meet our guide at 8:30.