In October, my mom and aunt came to visit while Simon was still on Fall Break from school. And we all four took a ride on a short riverboat cruise.

We boarded the Riverboat Twilight early one morning, while the sun was still rising.

My Aunt Jeanne had told my mom that a riverboat ride on the Mississippi River was something she’d always wanted to do, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Our boat, The Riverboat Twilight, was built in 1987, but it was made to look like a turn-of-the-century riverboat.

We thoroughly enjoyed all the little details that made it feel older.

It was already fairly cold in October, but we managed to find the sunny spots on the boat, usually on the side or the back so we were out of the wind.

We also had a dining room table that we hung out at plenty. We were served all our meals and several snacks on the boat, plus we played cards a lot at our little table for four.

As we rode up the river from La Claire, Iowa to Dubuque, Iowa, the captain would occasionally come on over the loudspeaker and tell us some bits of history about the river. I had no idea what a huge industry there is around the river, so we learned about the millions of dollars that are spent sending goods up and down the river, as well as the folks who work 24 hours a day in order to keep the channels deep and clear for the barges.

The trees were beautiful all up and down the river, and we got to see several bald eagles’ nests, as well as eagles flying.

If the captain spotted one, he would come on and tell us where to look.

There were tons of comfy rockers on the boat to sit in. The front of the boat was the coldest spot to hang out, so these chairs were empty mostly, but I imagine it would be a prime spot to sit during the summer.

These cruises run from spring until fall, and we were catching one of the last ones of the season.

We went through a couple of locks on our way up the river, but the water was so high this fall that we didn’t have to wait long inside them.

I think they said the difference in the water levels was only about five inches.

After being on the water all day, after dinner, we arrived in Dubuque.

We got off the boat in Dubuque and took a short walk along the river to a hotel where we were staying.

Our luggage, which we’d dropped off before boarding that morning, was already waiting for us in our rooms. (Such a treat!)

Before we got off for the evening, Mom and Jeanne made their way to the bow of the boat and had a little Titanic moment.

You have to squint to spot them.

From our hotel room, we watched our boat cross the river and dock for the night.

We only explored Dubuque a little bit. We walked around before it got dark and then the next morning we went to the museum for the Mississippi River before we got back on the boat.

Our tickets to this museum were included in our cruise so we quickly ran through and saw the river habitats, some very playful river otters, an old dredging barge, snakes and a restored cabin that used to be in the woods by the river.

We sort of popped into the museum as an afterthought because we had time after breakfast, but it was actually super impressive and way worth visiting. It was spread out over several blocks right near the Riverboat Cruise docking area.

We were back on the boat before lunch, so Simon was happy. It seemed like they were constantly serving food on the Riverboat Twilight.

For most of our ride back down the river, we sat in the back of the boat, in the sunshine of course.

Occasionally we would get up to get a better look at an eagle.

I loved spotting their white heads. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many eagles before.

We also sat inside and played lots more cards. We had live music inside on the boat for both days, but the second day we stayed in and listened to most of it. Hearing someone sing Proud Mary while you’re rolling down the river is essential, I think. Even better when it’s played on a banjo.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Riverboat Cruise. Simon said it was his favorite part of fall break. I’m sure that was mostly because he got to be with Granjules and Aunt Jeanne. Super thankful to them for this fun fall adventure!

The post Snapshots of A Riverboat Cruise: A Ride on the Mississippi River appeared first on Alison Chino.

Y’all, the autumn was so beautiful in the little town we lived in last year.

In the morning, you would walk to town and the hills would have a Scotland-like mist over them,

but the afternoons were usually gorgeous blue skies

and incredible color.

I walked in the woods almost every single day.

That seems crazy long ago now.

Crazy far away.

All last fall, I collected bright colored leaves.

I took photos on the blue days and the gray days and all the days in-between.

And I’m so glad I did!

I know Tübingen is covered in color again now, as are lots of corners of the world, but we are not seeing much fall color this year so far.

I always have trouble choosing a favorite season,

but the colors of autumn make it one of my favorite times of the year to be outside.

If you’re ever looking for a dreamy place to spend autumn,

I highly recommend southern Germany.

It rivals New England and other classic fall destinations for sure.

And if you go to Tübingen,

be sure to wander through the Schonbuch, a nature park and forest near and dear to our hearts.

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Last week for Instagram Travel Thursday I shared Snapshots of Venice, which was the second to last city Mary Polly and I visited on our Mediterranean Cruise. Today I’m sharing…

Snapshots of Sicily

It was over a year ago that we visited our final port of call, the island of Sicily. Until this week, I never went through the photos we took in the enchanting town of Taormina.

I think there are a couple of reasons for this. One is that while I was writing about our cruise last year, we were making some life changing decisions that took over most of my brain, which kept me from getting through all of our vacation photos.

The other reason is that even though I followed all my own instructions about having a great port day which included getting off of the boat quickly and being on the first bus to leave the dock area, we had the unforeseeable misfortune of spending our one precious day in Sicily with a terrible guide.

I really am such a Pollyanna when I’m on vacation that it is difficult for me to talk about the things I encounter which aren’t perfect because I am so busy spinning them in a positive light to myself. I believe this attitude is a recipe for happy travel (and happy life!), so I am always looking for the parts of the day that are treasures. The moments for which I can be grateful.

On this day, our treasured moments were the ones where Mary Polly and I were able to escape from our guide, who was, in the immortal words of Buddy the Elf, a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins.

He was an older, disgruntled British gentleman with a sort of slurred, affected way of talking that left me trying to puzzle out whether he was attempting to speak with an Italian accent or if he was just a bit hungover. Either way, it was painful to listen to.

At the start of the day, I felt sorry for him. Because he was so hard to listen to, no one was paying attention to him so I began by making an extra effort to hear the bits (that I think were) about Sicily, a place about which I was (and remain) completely ignorant.

By the time our bus reached the town of Taormina, I was rolling my eyes right along with my 13-year-old daughter.

I asked how much time we had before we left for Mt. Etna, and Mary Polly and I ditched the tour until then.

Unfortunately, we could not ditch it entirely because in the off season you need either a chartered bus or a taxi (expensive) to get back to the cruise port.

So we spent our allotted time touring the Greek Theater, marveling at the brightly colored town of Taormina and stuffing our faces with pastries.

Needless to say, we were perfectly happy with our personal version of the tour.

But alas, we had to get back on the bus and ride the long way to the volcano to the sound of Mr. Muggins’ voice.  Also, to add insult to injury, the air con on our bus was broken and it was super hot. Again, those are details I would never have remembered had I not been already annoyed by the tour.

We stopped for lunch, which was lovely, and then made our way up to the Silvestri Craters, which Mary Polly had really wanted to see.

The ancient lava flows were very cool to see, but we still both would have traded the sight of them for more time in Taormina. In trying to see both the town and the volcano in one day, we did not realize that we were actually choosing to spend the bulk of our day driving.

Still, I wonder if I would have been bothered by this if the tour guide had been more interesting. Our drive to and from Rome was very long, but I was riveted and taking notes as we drove and the guide told stories. So, it is a bit of a crap shoot really. And you can’t win them all.

But now, over a year later, I find myself looking at these photos of our day in Sicily and most especially of our hours in Taormina and remembering how beautiful it was. I smile thinking about how Mary Polly and I laughed at our guide. How we stopped in more than one shop to buy pastries.  We ate gelato in the hot autumn sun and imagined what kind of perfect summer holiday it would be to spend a month in this town.

Looking at the yellows and oranges of Taormina while I am currently in the dark gray winter of Scotland makes me want to pack my bags immediately. I think I might even be willing to catch a ride with our same, silly guide, as long as at the end of the drive, I could be let free to stay in Taormina for a month this time instead of just a few hours.

I’m curious. Have you ever had a bad guided tour experience? I know a lot of people don’t like them at all, but I find that when I’m traveling with Mary Polly, she often prefers the bus and guide to my marching her all over a city. It can reduce the conflict between us to have someone else giving the orders.

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I have so many pictures from my trip to Europe with my daughter (which we affectionately refer to as Eurocruisazy) that it has been overwhelming to think about printing them.

I didn’t think I could begin to choose, so when InstaThis contacted me about reviewing some Instagram prints, I jumped at the chance to choose a few Instagrams to print.

I only had about thirty Instagrams to pick from compared to thousands of regular photos, so it was a little easier to choose.  I tried not to overthink it and quickly landed on a few favorites.

I LOVE how they came out.

InstaThis uses wood or acrylic to print your Instagram photos.

They are really different from any of the other photos I have in my house, which is fitting, since I think Instagram is an original digital art form in and of itself.

These prints represent our trip perfectly to me in that they are both dreamy and a little surreal.

The swirls from the wood grain make the sky even more lovely to me.

I am drawn to the deep blue on the gondolas, and I can almost close my eyes and be back there again, sitting at the edge of the water and looking out at San Giorgio Maggiore.

Ah, Venice. (Sigh.)

The prints came beautifully packaged.  I love those kinds of details.

Also, they might be the easiest things I have ever hung on my walls, with custom screws that the prints slide onto.  We had them up in a matter of minutes, again, a nice detail.

Right now you can get 15% off your InstaThis order with this code: ARBLOGGERS15

They are also running a Spring Break contest for a few more days in which 4 Instagrammers will get a Spring Break photo printed for free.  Enter your photos to win by tagging them with: #INSTATHISSB.

Disclosure: InstaThis provided me with free wood prints of my travel Instagrams to review, but all opinions of these lovely works of art are my own.

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A Visit to The Doge’s Palace in Venice, Italy

This post is part of a continuing series about a Mediterranean Cruise I took with my thirteen year old daughter in the fall of 2012.  After wandering the city of Venice for several hours, we visited The Doge’s Palace.

Overlooking the Grand Canal, Doge’s Palace was the seat of the government of Venice until it came under Napoleonic rule in 1797 and then in 1866, a part of Italy.  Before then, the palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice.

Today the palace is a museum and you can walk through the Doge’s apartments; stand in the large rooms where court was held, decisions were made and foreign dignitaries hosted; and tour the dark dungeon-like prison which you reach by crossing the famous Bridge of Sighs.

On a previous visit to Venice, I had not toured the palace, so I was excited to go inside.  It was around 3:30 in the afternoon when we went, and there was no entry line at all.  Also, it was relatively empty on the inside, a great relief from the crowds in the square.

We spent a long time just in the courtyard, walking around the grand staircases and looking at the facades.  These wells are from the 16th century.  I love how San Marco (St Mark’s Cathedral) is rising behind the palace wall.  The Doge had direct access to the cathedral, which was his personal chapel when it was first built.

You can take photographs in the courtyard and through the open windows of the palace, but not of the interior, so all our pictures are outside.

The light from the open windows made me want to take a picture out of each one.  So many beautiful views from the palace.

I loved seeing the city from a different point of view.

The outer walkways were floored with these beautiful mosaics.

In so many of our walks through ports in Italy, we found ourselves completely enamored with the smaller architectural details, like floors, windows and doorways.  Each one is a work of art in and of itself.

The courtyard columns fell into this category as well.  Rolling pink and white marble make the whole building look kind of like a peppermint candy.

Mary Polly and I never got tired of seeing brides and grooms getting their pictures made on our cruise.  This courtyard was one of many dreamy settings for bridal portraits that we saw on our trip.

The rooms inside the palace were as ornate as the outside facades, filled with paintings and frescoes, some by Tintoretto, including Tintoretto’s Paradise, which is reputed to be the largest painting ever done on canvas.

I mentioned that on my first trip to Venice, I didn’t see the interior of the Doge’s Palace.  I had lists of art I wanted to see in Venice on that trip, so we spent most of our time touring various churches that housed scores of the paintings by Titian and Tintoretto, two famous Renaissance Venetians.  I missed out on seeing Tintoretto’s palace paintings on that trip, so it was fun to get to include them on this visit.

In the armory, Mary Polly and I talked about how much the boys would have loved seeing the rooms full of old guns and swords, a history of weaponry of sorts.

From the armory, you walk through the tunnel that is the Bridge of Sighs.

When you cross the Bridge of Sighs to the prison, you can peek out at the canal and imagine a prisoner, sentenced to go to the dungeon, taking his last look at beautiful Venice.

All the people on the bridge below are photographing the Bridge of Sighs while you photograph them from the slots in the carved bridge.

After we finished our tour of the Doge’s Palace, we went around to the other side to get the opposite view of the Bridge of Sighs. From this direction, it seems like you could hardly see out of the windows.

The prison was another part of the tour we felt the boys would have enjoyed.  There have been so many scenes in books and movies that feature palace prisons like these.  It was just as you might imagine.

Dark, dank and cramped.

Very uninviting.

We were glad to emerge from the prison, with all its maze-like tunnels, and get back to the wide open palace courtyard.

We stopped one more time at this lovely staircase before we exited the palace. On the landing at the top of staircase, the doges in days past were crowned at the beginning of their rule over Venice.

Back in the square, we wandered under these columns and to the Grand Canal.

We sat on some steps by the canal to rest for a while and watch the boats and the people.

After a bit, the skies grew cloudy and a light rainfall drove us back under the columns of the square.  We watched the rain for a while on the square as the museums and shops were closing before we made our way back to our boat.

By the time we got back to the Carnival Breeze that night it was dark and the boat was all lit up welcoming us back for the evening, a magical end to our day in Venice.

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This post is part of a continuing series about a Mediterranean Cruise I took with my thirteen year old daughter in the fall of 2012.  Today I am talking about Venice!

You’ve seen Venice in movies, pictures and books all of your life, but still, there is nothing quite like stepping onto a boat in the Grand Canal and taking in the magical beauty of this place.

It is no wonder that Venice is such a well-loved destination.  The floating city lives up to all its hype.  You cannot help but take one million pictures, but you can also just sit and take it all in for hours without getting tired of watching the windows, arches and boats pass by.

The Carnival Breeze ports overnight in Venice, so we got to spend two days wandering the streets and canals. I think Venice is about the best place on earth to let yourself get completely lost for a day.

I’m just sharing a few photos today, because I have about a thousand.  These are some of our first impressions of Venice.  I loved watching Mary Polly see the city for herself.  I told her to wander on and I would follow her wherever.  It seems that all roads eventually lead you to San Marco (St. Marks Square), so we just moved slowly here and there for our first few hours in the city.

We stopped to take pictures of gondolas, windows, bridges and loads of cute little corners in the alleys.  Venice is busting with color and life and we were taking it all in.

We looked into shop windows at Murano glass and elaborate Carnival masks.  We sat on bridges when we got tired and watched people.

We were completely enchanted.

Next up: When we finally wandered into San Marco, we took a spin around the square and then decided to visit The Doge’s Palace. 

The Details, If You Go

The Carnival Cruise Port is near the bus and train stations at the edge of Venice.  There are several ways to get to the main sights of Venice from the cruise port.  There are water taxis and cruise excursions leaving directly from the port, which are the more expensive options.

We opted instead (on both days) to get on the People Mover that is just outside the cruise port.  It is 1 euro to ride it, and from there we walked easily into the city.  Walking quickly, it took us about 20 minutes to reach San Marco, but we were wandering through lovely streets the whole way there.  On our second day we caught the Vapretto #1 (like a bus on the water) at the station just after taking the People Mover.  Both ways were fun and we saw completely different sights each way, so we were glad we did both.

I think I would only take a cruise excursion if I were trying to see some of the other other islands near Venice.  Since Mary Polly had never been to Venice, we wanted to spend our two days there.  (More info about Carnival excursions on and about excursions in general can be found at the end of this Tuscany post and this post on Rome.)

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I am so in the mood for a little beach getaway.  How about you?

We are going skiing this month, which will be so much fun, as usual.

But still, I am a wee bit jealous of those who are heading south for Spring Break instead.

When we went on our Girls’ Cruise a couple of years ago, we went to this wonderful place in Cozumel called Nachi Cocom.  It was the most perfect beach day you could imagine.  Everything was wonderful.  The food, the chairs, the drinks and of course, the company!

On dreary days, I dream of going back there to sit in the sun under an umbrella with a book and  fruity drink.  Also I still dream about the coconut ice cream we had that day.

My friends, Whitney and Sarabeth,  have both previously blogged about our wonderful day in Cozumel.  I visit those pages often and sigh.

Where do you wish you were headed today?

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If you are planning a Mediterranean Cruise in the near future, you should know, The Port of Dubrovnik, Croatia is worth the price of your entire cruise.

So make sure it’s on your ports of call when you book.

Settled on the Adriatic Sea coast of Croatia, this little gem of a port city is one of the greatest examples of a preserved (and oft-restored) medieval city.

Old city walls completely surround the Old City.  Just over a mile long, you can walk the entire distance of the walls, which is the very best way to see the whole town.

We walked from where the Carnival Breeze dropped us to the Old City, which was an adventure of its own.  There are also buses and tours leaving from the cruise ships.

As we walked, we knew we were getting close as the surrounding buildings and walkways got older and more quaint.

By the time we arrived at the main street (stradun), we were quite warm from our walk, so we started our time in the Old City with gelato.  Never mind that it was 8:30 in the morning!  I loved that in Europe the gelato stands are open at all hours of the day!

After a little refreshment we were ready to take on walking the city walls.  I had read that this was an absolute must and that it could become oppressively crowded later in the day, so we snapped a few photos as we walked from one of Dubrovnik’s main entrances to the other to enter the walls.

All around the city are these statues of St Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik and he is always holding a model of the medieval city in his hand.  He is the protector of the city, and he is everywhere.  A fun activity with children would be to spend the day counting all the times you see St Blaise.

We took our time walking the walls.  We stopped for tons of photos of these charming orange rooftops.  We read all the information signs and marveled at how the city had survived earthquakes and bombings, rebuilding itself over and over again.

Though the strong fortress walls we walked survived most all the damage both man and nature could throw at them, the city’s buildings and especially it’s red rooftop tiles have been restored many times.

Most notably to me was the reconstruction after bombing in 1991 during the Croatian War, when 70% of the buildings were hit by bombs during the Siege of Dubrovnik.  One of my favorite exhibits in Dubrovnik was the memorial to those who lost their lives in this war, located in the Sponza Palace.

Even in late September, it was quite warm walking these walls.  There are several places to stop and rest along the way.  You can even buy a drink or something to eat.  The walls became considerably more crowded as the sun got higher, so we pushed on a little quicker through the latter half.

When you look over the sides of the walls, you can still see the spots where the torches were placed long ago to light the city up at night.

Here we are looking down from the city walls at the main street of Dubrovnik where just under an hour before we had stood and had gelato in the nearly empty thoroughfare.  We entered the wall at the lesser used city entrance directly opposite this one.  My guidebook said that the eastern entrance (Gate of Ploča) is a less frequented entrance, and that we would avoid a line to walk the walls by heading to that one.  We are standing here above the western entrance (Gate of Pila) and it was certainly gushing people by the time we reached this side of the wall.

On the western side of the Old City is the Fort Lovrijenac or St. Lawrence Fortress, often called Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar.

This impressive fortress and theater located outside the western wall feels like a setting for a fairy tale.

On the southern side of the wall, there was a lovely breeze from the sea.  It was wonderful to stand on the wall and look out over the sea.

You could also see where the sea kayak excursions started.  Several people on our cruise did this and it sounded really fun.

Though there were lots of people swimming, the sea was too cold for us Southerners.  By late afternoon, it was really hot enough to jump in though.

We also saw this school as we walked the southern side of the wall.  You could hear the students inside and I thought their basketball court all marked off by the city walls was so quaint.

When we got off the walls, we toured the Maritime Museum.  My favorite part was actually these huge anchors outside.

Mary Polly and I are slightly obsessed with anchors.

At the eastern edge of the city, near the monastery, you can walk out onto this pier.  There are even ladders, so you can swim in the sea.

It was a perfect spot to soak in the sun, breathe the sea air and rest after walking the walls.

The view of the city from the pier is also beautiful.  You can book one of these boats and do a sea cruise if you want.  Or there is a ride that takes you up the mountain behind the city so you can view it all from up high.

I think both of those options would be fun, but we wanted to explore more of the city on our first visit so we wandered back inside the city walls to The Sponza Palace.

The Sponza Palace, first built in 1516, is a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles, with late-Gothic windows on the first floor and Renaissance-style windows on the second floor. And, of course, there’s a statue of St Blaise nestled in an alcove.

The building has housed the mint, the treasury and the bank. Its official function now is to house Dubrovnik’s historical archives, containing over 100,000 documents, books and manuscripts.

We enjoyed walking through the building and its courtyard.  All these gorgeous arches!

Like I said earlier, our favorite part of the Sponza Palace was the Memorial Room that told the stories of Dubrovnik’s heros during the 1990s.

After the palace we saw the Church of St Blaise.

Then we wandered up and down many of the enchanting corridors in the Old Town.

There were lots of little shops and restaurants tucked here and there as you walked.  All the paths lead you back to the main street, so you couldn’t get lost.

We had a snack in a little cafe and then we found a bus back to the Carnival Breeze.

As we sat on the deck of the cruise ship and flipped through our pictures, we couldn’t believe how beautiful this little town in Croatia had been.

Amazing.

The sun set on this charming city as we sailed away.  I would love to return to Dubrovnik  one day for a longer stay and see the city at night, but this day really could not have been more perfect!

The Details, for if you go:

We purchased a Dubrovnik Card at a little tourist center near the cruise ship, which is good for riding the bus all day, walking the city walls and a few other museums.  However, in retrospect, since we walked into the city and one of the museums on the card was closed on the day we were in town (Rupe), it probably would have been better to just pay for individual tickets at each of the sites.

The cruise ship has a bus that you can ride to and from the Old City for a reasonable fare and I think if you are just wandering the city, walking the walls, visiting museums, you could certainly purchase this ticket and do everything else on your own.

Since we had the Dubrovnik Card, we really tried to see all the museums listed on it, which meant we missed a couple of sites that I really would have liked to have seen, most notably the monastery.

The walk from the cruise ship to the Old City was about 3 kilometers.  It felt like an eternity to Mary Polly, who wished we had ridden the bus, but there were so many people waiting for buses.  Plus I really enjoy walking around a new place and taking in the local feel of the town.

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The Lovely Port of Olbia, Sardinia, Italy

Olbia is on the northeastern side of the island of Sardinia.  There are several lovely beaches there, or so we heard.

It sounds ridiculous to me now, but after three days in Barcelona, followed by stops in Monaco, Tuscany and Rome, we were so sleepy.

Also, we enjoyed being on the Carnival Breeze so much that we took in as much of the nightlife as you can with a thirteen year old.  We saw the shows, we went to the Dive In Movie and Mary Polly participated in whatever late night offerings were happening in the Circle C (the club for her age).

So by the time I roused her to wander off the boat into Olbia on this gorgeous day, we just had a few hours to roam about the town, which we enjoyed very much.

With a view of the Mediterranean Sea from everywhere and sunny, blue skies, Oliba’s  pastel brickwork and lovely open air markets and restaurants felt like a wonderland.  We were still sleepy as we wandered about which contributed to our dreamy state.

We were abruptly awakened from this state, when we stumbled out of a gelato shop enjoying our treats in the sun and were suddenly surrounded by several policeman questioning us in Italian.  Mary Polly looked horrified as I pulled out my phrasebook and our passports, trying to figure out what they wanted.

At first I thought we were in trouble for eating our gelato outside, because picnicking is forbidden in some places in Europe, but then one policeman took our passports inside the gelato shop and a loud argument ensued between him and the proprietor.  He came back outside to ask us more questions we could not understand.

Friends, I wish you could have seen Mary Polly’s face.

I finally decided that he was asking us how much we paid for our gelato.  I could still be wrong about this, but we think maybe they were making certain that tourists weren’t being charged a higher price than normal for gelato?

Olbia was most certainly among the most welcoming ports we encountered.  The port provides a free shuttle from the Carnival Breeze to the town center, which runs all day so you can go back and forth if you want.  So perhaps the police are protecting the tourist industry?

Whatever the case, the incident served as an adventure for sure because we were detained for long enough to completely unnerve Mary Polly.  Also, we were making a scene.  Several people stopped and gathered around trying to translate.

When they finally gave us back our passports and sent us along our way, I was laughing hysterically and Mary Polly wanted to get straight back on the boat.  I think she thought we might still get in trouble.

Instead we walked down to the edge of the sea and sat in the sun for a while.  Laziest day ever.  It was beyond lovely.

You could see our boat from Corso Umberto, which is the main street of the historical town center.  Olbia, which means The Happy in ancient Greek, seems like the perfect place to spend a week or two on holiday.  I imagine one could be quite happy for a long time here.

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One Glorious Day in Rome!

(The Port of Citvitavecchia)

First stop in Rome, The Colosseum.

Pulling up to the Colosseum was one of those surreal moments you dream about when you are planning a trip to Europe.  We glimpsed it from our bus and then our guide let us off enough away that we could take in its full scope before getting closer and going in.

I had Mary Polly make a list of her top ten wishes for our Mediterranean cruise before we left Arkansas, and walking through the Colosseum was Number One on her list, so we were both super excited for the moment we would stand within its famous walls.

We stood on ancient stones and peered into ancient cisterns.

We pondered the moving of and building with giant squares of rock without modern equipment.

Then we climbed high and imagined the brutal scenes that had been played out below us centuries ago.

We were mostly dumbstruck as we wandered around the almost 2000 year old amphitheater, quietly pointing out places we found to one another.

At each window we could spot different angles of the surrounding monuments.

The Roman Forum

The Arch of Constantine

It was tempting to stop at every single window for a picture.  But we pressed on because as our infinitely knowledgeable guide reminded us frequently, we were on a tight schedule.

We walked a little more around the outside of the Colosseum and took in closer views of The Arch of Constantine before we were back on our bus.

Several sights we glimpsed only in passing.

This is the Archbasilica of St John.  It is the mother church of all the Roman basilicas, housing famous sculptures of the 12 apostles.

We saw many ancient Egyptian obelisks in various squares.

These monoliths were transported down the Nile and across the Mediterranean Sea during the Roman Empire.  The logistics of moving these obelisks such a far distance boggled my mind.

After many more spottings of famous buildings than I can even name we made our way to a lovely lunch spot.  Mary Polly and I sat with a precious couple from California who were on their honeymoon.  We enjoyed hearing about their day in Florence.  (Gasp! Was that just yesterday?)  And we drank lots of local wines, enjoyed pasta, bread and maybe the very best ever tiramisu I have ever had.  Ever. Along with a coffee of course.

Next we made our way down the most lovely series of streets to the sight I was maybe the most excited to see.

The Trevi Fountain!

There is a traditional legend that if you toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome one day.

I think almost every tour leaving our boat made a stop at this fountain, because of course, who doesn’t want to ensure another visit to the majestic city of Rome?

We certainly tossed our coins in along with the rest of the throng of tourists who had come to see the most famous fountain in the world. With mounting anxiety, I held Mary Polly tight while we pushed through this crowd to get up close to the fountain where we tossed our coins in.

There was a little more breathing room down close, so we sat for a minute and watched all the people.  We were guessing what countries people came from, and we watched a bride and her photographer try to negotiate the crowd to get bridal portraits.

We also spotted this sweet couple mid-embrace.  We decided they were Romans, ignoring the crowd and falling in love.  In their own little world, I thought they really embodied the magical feeling of being near the Trevi Fountain, even amidst the swarms of people.

Part of the facade was being restored while we were there.

For the final leg of our tour, we were headed to The Vatican City.  We passed a few more lovely places on our way, but by this time Mary Polly and I had taken in so much history of Rome that we were slowing in our absorption of details.

In fact, Mary Polly might have closed her eyes until we got to St Peter’s Basilica.

We got to walk down the street, approaching it from afar and marveling at its grandeur as we got closer and closer.  It’s impossible to feel how big it is from the pictures, but we were stunned.  So much so that I had trouble keeping up with our guide as he marched us around the line to enter through a side door.

We wound around columns and through barricades to get to the entrance and then,

Hallelujah!  We were inside the largest church in the world!

Our guide walked us through the Basilica telling us all about it and then set us free to explore on our own for a bit.

I had long desired to see this Pietà by Michelangelo.

Unfortunately, you cannot get very close to it and it is covered with bullet proof glass because a mentally disturbed man attacked the sculpture with a hammer in 1972.

Still, it is beautiful.  I love the way Mary is cradling Jesus in death as in birth.  I have been obsessed with Pietàs in art ever since I became a mother.  Mary’s sacrifice is not talked about much in the evangelical tradition of which I am a part, so the mystery of Mary, Mother of Jesus eludes me all the more.  Which is, I suppose, why I am drawn to her.

The dome of the Basilica, the largest in the world, designed by Michelangelo, was of course, amazing.

We built all day to this moment.  The one where we would stand under Michelangelo’s dome.

And it did not disappoint.

Bernini’s famous bronze baldacchino sits under Michelangelo’s dome and over the altar.

You can take as many pictures as you want inside of St Peter’s Basilica because all of the paintings are not really paintings at all, but mosaics.  They are enormous and you cannot believe they are made of tiny bits of colored glass or marble until you get right up close.

Our guide was particularly enamored with this meticulous art.  It takes years to perfect and most Vatican mosaic artists can only complete two or three of these masterpieces in a lifetime.  I found a fascinating article talking about the Vatican studio where people are continuing to learn this ancient art form.

Finally, it was time to leave St. Peter’s.  We had a few minutes to wave to the Swiss Guards who keep the Vatican City safe, in spite of their jester-like uniforms.  And another minute or two to buy a postcard, a rosary or any number of other small trinkets.

Then we waved Goodbye to Rome and hopped back on the bus.

It was a wonderfully exhausting day, and I think everyone on our bus fell asleep as we made our way back to the Carnival Breeze, where we sat on the deck and watched the sun set on our first ever day in Rome.

A Few Details for If You Go:

These are the boring kinds of details I was looking for before I went on this cruise, so I wanted to share them with you.  Please feel free to skip to the comments and tell me if you could only stop at once place in Rome, what would it be?

How can you possibly see Rome in a day?

You can’t.  That’s why there are 3000 euros tossed in the Trevi Fountain every day! You want to go back!

One night on the boat we ate dinner with a couple who had spent a week in Rome before flying to Barcelona to board the Carnival Breeze.  Then they stayed on the boat the day we ported in Rome.  I thought this was a wonderful idea for several reasons.  Firstly, Rome is the furthest place you drive to from the sea and at all the ports, you are so anxious to see everything that you don’t want to stay on the boat, but I am sure it would be lovely to enjoy a day on board while everyone else has left, especially in a must see stop such as Rome.

Alas, we did not have an extra week to spend in Rome, so we had to make the best of one day.

How do you choose your Rome excursion?

We chose our Rome tour based on the fact that the Colosseum was Number One on Mary Polly’s list of sights to see in Rome.  She had read and studied about the Colosseum and was very excited about seeing it.

Of the tour choices with Carnival, Rome At Its Best was the only one where you entered the Colosseum so our choice was pretty much made for us.

The highlights of this tour were the Colosseum, St Peters’ Basilica and the Trevi Fountain.  I was sad that we had to miss the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, but with only one day in Rome, you have to make some sacrifices.  If you want more than anything else to gaze at the Sistine Chapel, then you need to choose the St Peters and Vatican Museum Tour.

Our cruise director did a lecture on Rome excursions which I attended while I was figuring out our day in Rome, but I came to it with a list of what I really wanted to see.

In general, I found attending these lectures and reading Rick Steve’s Mediterranean Cruise Ports (which I carried with me) to be enormously helpful in planning our time in Europe.  This book and many others are available for browsing in the library of the Carnival Breeze, which is nice if you haven’t had much time ahead of your trip to plan your days on shore.

How do you move about with 50 people in Rome?  And how do you hear the guide?

I was curious about this, and like our day in Tuscany, was concerned that we would be waiting on other people all day. But we had a bus driver and two guides.  One guide walked in front and the other walked in the back and kept us moving.  The rear guide, David, was so super sweet, but very firm.

One time a lady in front of me stopped to look at a handbag for sale and he was all, No shopping ma’am! No time for shopping!

Her husband laughed and said, I’ve been trying to tell her that all my life!

At one point, Mary Polly and I had to find a restroom and he waited with us and then caught us up to the group because he was able to call the guide in front.

Our front guide, Marco, knew more about Rome than I can ever imagine knowing about anything.  Seriously, I know he does this for a living, but he was unbelievable.

We all wore these little radios with one earphone around our necks (Mary Polly is wearing hers in the Trevi Fountain picture above).  Marco would speak into his little microphone and you could hear him just like he was right next to you even if you were fifty feet back.  I loved this because he didn’t have to yell and you didn’t feel like you had to stay in such a tight pack with everyone.  As long as you could hear him, you knew you were in range of the group.  Plus if you fell too far behind, there would be David, smiling and reminding you to keep up.  Mary Polly felt free to just remove her earphone whenever she got tired of listening.

Also, Marco would give us time to roam on our own at each of the sights.  I noticed that when he did this, several people stayed with him and asked him more questions, which he was always glad to answer.

A word more about Rome

For every one person that visits Disneyworld, there are nine who visit Rome.  We were there at the end of September and it seemed mobbed to me.  However, every time we entered a major monument, Marco would look around and say, Good, not so crowded today!

And I would think, If this is not crowded, I certainly don’t want to see it when it is!

Also, even though it was September, it was quite warm.  Mary Polly and I both wore jeans and short sleeves and sweaters because your legs and shoulders have to be covered to enter the Vatican and the churches in Rome.  By late afternoon, we were quite hot , so it must be positively grueling in the summertime.  However, we did convince David to let us stop to grab some gelato.

Note to self: Return to Rome in January.

More info about Carnival excursions and about excursions in general can be found at the end of the Tuscany post.

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