We made it overnight to Civitavecchia, the port of Rome, from Salerno.

Rome is about an hour and half’s bus drive down the freeway from the port. So it is a big chunk of the day taken up in travel, cuts in to sight seeing time. Allthego and Homealone have been to Rome before for short stays but have never made it to the Vatican to have at look at St Peters Basilica or the other sights.

So we decided to face the drive and see what we could see. These building are just so unique and irreplaceable, they need to be seen if one is able. The drive in went fairly well but we encountered some traffic snarls along the way, not unexpected.

The excursion was divided into four parts. The first was through the Vatican Gardens, then into the Museum Galleries, followed by the Sistine Chapel and then St Peters Basilica.

The guide managed to get through this in about four hours. Photos could be taken everywhere without flash, except in the Sistine Chapel. Silence was expected in the Chapel, but there was constant hum requiring periodic PA announcements to keep quiet! Quite remarkable experience.

After this we had some free time looking around St Peter’s Square trying to avoid the souvenir shops and street hawkers that abound. After a nice lunch in a side street we headed back to the bus for the trip back to the port. Managed to get two postcards in the mail!

Back on the ship we had a light dinner and then enjoyed the sounds of ‘John & Paul’, a rather good Beatles tribute group from Liverpool.