So its not even really worth me writing about today because I literally stayed in bed the entire day except for the times I crawled out of bed and went to the dining hall for food.

I took a couple really great naps and watched a few movies throughout the day.

I went and sat out on the deck for awhile trying to get the free internet that I had found the day before. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any. But there was some entertainment going on from the back of the ship. The coast guard was trying to bring someone on to shore after arresting them. The fugitive decided to jump out of their boat and try to swim away and escape. Needless to say he didn’t get away and they ended up having to bring an ambulance to pick him up once they got to shore because of the temperature of the water. It was a fun ordeal to watch.

After watching that I sat down with Ellie, the registrar for the voyage. We chatted for a good amount of time about life and her job and my school and such. It came up in conversation that I wanted to try and get on the Mt. Vesuvius trip for tomorrow and she said she had tickets. Not only that, but she wasn’t planning on doing the hike because there was something else in town that she wanted to do. From that she decided to give me a ticket for free which was really great. Now I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

Lindsay came back tonight and told me about her trip which was fun to hear about. She was also really tired so we just went to bed early.

Oh PS Happy 4th of July.

Today was a very eventful day.

It started out early this morning for a trip to Pompeii. I had my breakfast and then headed straight out to the bus to get on as soon as I could because there were a number of buses for this trip and I needed to get back on time or early so I could make my next trip.

I got on the bus that I needed to be on and we got on our way. It was only a 30 minute drive to Pompeii which was nice and our guide's name was Nancy. She told us to call her Mama Nancy. She was nice but I got annoyed with her and wished she would stop talking. We arrived and went straight on to the tour of Pompeii.

The group walked around as she explained different parts of Pompeii and their significance. We got to see houses and markets and bodies. But the best thing that my group got to see was the brothel. It was very interesting because there were Karma Sutra pictures all around the room that the sailors would point at to explain what they wanted from the lady. They beds were made of concrete and that was to keep them from being to comfortable. They men needed to be in and out as fast a possible to keep the business running.

We walked around for about 2 hours and then we had a demonstration at the Cameo factory. Since I had been to the factory before I stayed outside and got my souvenirs and a lemon slush. We relaxed for a bit before getting back on the bus and heading back to the ship.

Luckily we got back earlier thane expected which gave me some time to go and get some food before getting on another bus for my next trip.

I got back down to the bus and boarded for the City Tour and San Carlo Theater.

To describe the San Carlo Theater I have included an excerpt from the trip description. "Begin your walking tour and head to the San Carlo Opera House for a tour of the facilities. During this tour, experience a stunning example of the classic style of theatre space in which Grand Opera developed as a major musical and theatrical form. Observe the special environment provided by multi-tiered, horseshoe-shaped audience seating, and the elaborate stage technology that is capable of producing spectacular visual effects."

It was a pretty cool place to see and was very large and royal looking. Sadly they had just finished a "restoration" and what they meant by that was basically redoing everything including repainting everything. It basically was redone so it wasn’t that impressive to me because there was no history to it.

The rest of the tour gave me a better perspective of Naples and also changed my mind about how dirty it is. It is dirty and I don’t plan on coming back, but there were nice parts of the town that were lush and expensive.

After the tour it was back to the boat to eat some food and relax from my day.

Today was the last day with my family. We woke up leisurely this morning and then got ready for the day. I helped my mom pack all of their stuff the night before so she was all ready and much more organized than normal. We went and had breakfast like normal and then decided to go shopping.

My mom wanted to go find this street that she saw when we were walking around yesterday. Of course she was wrong about the street name but we went back to a street that we had seen that looked good. I decided that I wanted to go to a souvenir store to get my standard shot glass and post card. The store we found was great and had what I needed plus my mom was able to get Murano glass jewelry for her friends. I also found a calendar with statues that have penis' showing. Its going to look lovely on my refrigerator back at home.

After that we wondered the streets a bit and stopping at little shops and booths along the way.

Once we got back to the hotel we had about an hour to cool off and relax in the lobby until the taxi was going to come and pick us up. We had some good lemon sorbet and packed up the last few things that we got while shopping.

Then we all got into the same taxi and they drove me to the train station. It was sad leaving my family and I already miss them. They then took the cab to the airport to head to London.

I then had to get a ticket for the train to get back to Civitavecchia. I got in the line for the ticket office which had about 20 people in it. The stupid office only had one person working at a time so it took about 35 minutes to get to the front of the line. I finally get the ticket and ask what time the train leaves and she says that it leaves in 2 minutes and then the next one would be in an hour. Of course the platform that the train was leaving from was very far away so I missed that train. I went back inside the terminal and got some food and then waited for the next train.

I got on the first car of the train and to my luck it was air conditioned. It made the ride a lot more bearable. There was a child sitting across from me but he was very well behaved. I talked to his dad who was sitting next to him and they were from Norway. We chatted for a bit which helped pass the time. The other half of their family was sitting a row behind, mother, daughter, and son. All the kids were under 11 years of age.  They were going on a cruise in the Mediterranean and it was their first cruise. That should be an interesting time for them.

I finally got back to Civitavecchia and walked back to the boat. I had dinner and then just relaxed for the evening because I was really tired. That night after the ship left the port they decided to do a muster drill again. We have to do one once a month, and of course they chose to do it the night that half of the people on the voyage wernt on the ship. It at least made the drill seem to go faster.

We finally were able to go to bed around 11 because that when the drill and the announcements finally ended.

This morning was an early start. We ate breakfast at the buffet again and then hit the road. We left the hotel around 8:30 to walk to the Vatican. It only took about 15 minutes to walk there so we had to wait till 9:15 for our tour to start. Tours sometimes are really the way to go especially if you don’t have to stand in line because of it. We went straight on in and started the tour.

We spent almost an hour standing outside learning about the Sistine Chapel. They had posters outside with pictures of it because there is no talking allowed while in the Chapel. It was too hot for me to pay attention so I stood next to a giant pot that was producing some shade. Finally we went inside the Vatican museum to see all the art. My mom and I had been there before and nothing has changed, but it was still really cool to see. There were a few rooms that we went in on this visit that I had not seen before so that was exciting. My favorite things to see were the bathtubs carved out of a single piece of marble.

Eventually we made our way through the museum and then headed into the Sistine Chapel. Sadly things have changed in there since the last time we visited. They are no longer enforcing the rules like they use to. There are 3 rules in the Chapel, No taking pictures, No showing shoulders or knees, and No talking. I saw everyone disobeying those rules. Needless to say I felt very uncomfortable there. It was almost like there was a huge cloud of negative energy floating around the room. I wanted to get out of there as fast as we could.

Afterwards my family went into the Basilica while I waited outside in the shade. After that we headed to a restaurant to eat some lunch. We found a great place that had really good food and I got a 4 cheese cream sauce pizza. Sadly I bit down too hard and cracked the bone where my tooth was pulled. Caused me great pain. I'm so sick of these damn wisdom teeth.

Anyways after that we headed back to the hotel to take a rest.

After getting rested we headed out to the Piazza del Popolo to do some shopping. We went in a ton of stores but didn’t buy anything. So we found a place to eat dinner and rest for a bit. (Sure sounds like we need a lot of resting, but travel and heat can do it to you). Once we were done we went back to 1 store that seemed like it had some good stuff in it. We ended up shopping like crazy in that store and got me some great clothing to wear since I did not pack enough shirts.

Once we were done we went to sit in the Piazza and people watch. It was in the evening so it was cooling down and the sun was not beaming down. It was very fun to watch all the people, but we had to leave when the bugs came out and started attacking my dad.

We took our short stroll back to the hotel and had some drinks in the courtyard outside before going to bed for the night.

Today was another eventful day in Rome with the family.

The sleeping arrangements were Robbe and Dad in one room and Mom and I in the other. Of course my dad was up bright and early like always, but somehow forgot that our tour this afternoon wasn’t to start till 2:45. So instead of letting us sleep in he came and woke us up. 2 grumpy girls early in the morning can be a scary sight. I'm pretty certain that he will NEVER wake us up again.

We all got ready for the day and then headed down to the breakfast buffet at the restaurant. I was happy with the food because they had sausage links and soft undercooked bacon, my favorite.  My brother ate a ton of fruit, my mom a sunny side up egg, and my dad a glass of OJ.

After breakfast we headed back to the Piazza del Popolo to catch the bus again. The tickets for the bus here are valid for 2 days which is really convenient. Since we got to see every site on the bus tour yesterday, today we would use the bus primarily for transportation to different sites. We took the bus to Piazza Barberini where there was a pretty cool fountain in the middle.

Just down the street was the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks. It was one of the most morbidly beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. There were about 6 different rooms in the crypt just full of bones. Arranged in the most strange ways ever. Turned into lanterns and used and decorations, it’s a pretty creative thing to do with dead bodies. The church above the crypt was very beautiful as well and was completely empty. Its always nice to go in to really old churches with no one else being present.

After the church we walked down the street and found a bank. All we had were large bills of Euro so my mom went inside to exchange them for smaller bills. My dad and I waited outside next to a strange looking fountain. It was a giant shell with 2 bee/fly sculptures on it. As we are standing there we learn that this is one of the many drinking fountains in Rome. They all come from natural springs and have great cold water coming out of them. This fountain in particular was one of the oldest in Rome as well. My mom and brother finally came out of the bank and said that they had given up. Apparently the line was very long and there was only one teller working. She said she never moved in the line. Oh well.

Next we headed over to the Trevi Fountain which was just down the street. There were hundreds of people there but it was really fun to go and see. My mom through some coins in the fountain for the family and made some wishes. We took a good share of pictures  and then headed on our way. We took  a walk down the street and found a small market with fruit. My mom and brother shared a peach while I went to the gelato shop to indulge. Then we found a painter on the street who does watercolor paintings and I got one for my room which is actually 3 small paintings framed in one frame. My mom also got one of the Spanish Steps that is very colorful and nice to look at!

After that we decided to get back on the bus and head over to the Colosseum. Once there we walked up a street and found a quiet air conditioned restaurant to eat some lunch at. I had 4 cheese gnocchi which was the tastiest sauce ever. We hung out inside for a while because it was nice and cool and we had awhile before our tour.

Finally we decided to make our way to the meeting locations for the tour. We found it and relaxed in the shade until it was time for the tour to start. Our guide then moved us into the sun and talked about the history of the Colosseum and about the time when it was built. Of course it was too hot for me to handle and I was not able to pay attention at all. Eventually we moved into the Colosseum to see the inside.

It was pretty cool to learn about and see what is left after so much time. Learning that the Colosseum used to be covered in marble and bronze but was all completely looted was somewhat sad to think about. I can only imagine how magnificent it must have looked back when it was functional. We walked all through the Colosseum learning different tid-bits and taking plenty of pictures.

After the Colosseum, the tour headed over to Palatine Hill to see everything up there and then finally on to the Roman Forum. Everything there was magnificent and so amazing to see it still standing.

From there we were all so tired we decided to grab a cab and head back to the hotel. We all took showers and rested for a bit before heading to dinner. We asked the front desk for a recommendation and they told us about a restaurant only a couple of blocks away. It was a very nice restaurant and reminded me of a place I have been to in Sorrento. It makes sense since the restaurant was themed around Carpi and featured fish from Capri as well. I had a filet minion with a red wine sauce to die for. It was such a nice change to have good rich food like that again. Throughout the entire meal there was a man playing his guitar and singing traditional Italian songs. At the end of dinner my mom tipped him and asked him to play her favorite song. Of course my mom being who she is started to cry from the song. He did a really good job signing the song and put a lot of passion into it so Ill give her a break this time.

After dinner we started walking back to the hotel, but were stopped when we saw a gelato place with tons and tons of people coming in and out of it. So we decided to have desert. We each had different kinds of chocolate gelato which was really fun and great to taste each others. (When I saw We and I'm talking about desserts it doesn’t include my dad who just watches from afar).

Finally we made it back to the hotel and hit the sack for the early morning ahead!

This morning I woke up just as the boat was pulling into port. Its always very loud and shaky when we pull in so there is no way to sleep in. Then I had myself a nice breakfast before getting ready for the day. I packed the night before so that I would be ready to head to Rome right away today. We didn’t have a diplomatic briefing today which was nice, because they are pretty pointless. However since so many people would be needing their passports while in the country, they decided to call us by "Sea" to get our passports.

It didn’t take very long, but I was pretty antsy. I then met up with one of my friends to ride the train with to Rome where I was going to be meeting up with my family. We raced to the train station, got our tickets (€4.50), and hopped straight onto the train. It was only an 80 minute train ride, but it was pretty hot because there was no a/c and it was a very sunny day. Once we got to the station we parted and went our own ways.

I walked through the train station for what seemed like hours to the metro station. It was an easy ride to get to the hotel from the metro and it was way cheaper than a cab. It was a fun metro ride and really reminded me of Italy. There were 3 nuns on the car and a man playing an accordion. Have to love Italian music on the metro!

I got off the metro and knew I only had a few blocks to walk before reaching the hotel. Normally I am very good with directions, but for some reason Rome was throwing me for a loop. I felt like the whole city was backwards. I asked a man sitting on a park bench which way the street I was looking for was, and it was completely opposite of what I thought. Then I got to the street and wasn’t sure which way to walk on the street so I asked a nun who was walking down the street. I only had 2 more blocks to go and then I found the hotel.

I got to the hotel a few hours before my family was going to arrive so I was in charge of check in. Of course they didn’t have the room ready when I arrived so I had to sit in the lobby and wait. Finally after about 45 minutes the room was ready and the bell boy took me to the room. I didn’t even realize a hotel could have rooms under the lobby, but they took me down to the room. As soon as I walked into the room I was not happy. It was dark and dreary and not a nice room. I couldn’t understand how this could be a 5 star hotel. The room also only had 1 queen bed in it.

That’s not what my mother had booked at all. So I had to go be the mean one and go find out what the deal was. First off they were going to put our 2 rooms 4 floors apart on the hotel. And second, both rooms had 1 bed in each. We had reserved 2 double rooms, which in my mind, as well as my mothers, means 2 rooms each with 2 beds. As far as I know the word double means 2. Anyways that’s not what the hotel meant by double. They meant that there would be 1 bed in each. He told me the hotel was totally booked and there was no way for us to get 2 beds in the rooms. I eventually stopped arguing about that point and insisted that our 2 rooms HAD to be next to each other. He then told me I had to wait again for the room because it was not ready. So I moved back to the lobby where I waited for an hour.

Finally the room was ready and the bell boy took me to the room. I went inside and there was 2 beds in the room. I guess the guy at the front desk figured it out. The other room was to be right next door as well. Also this room was much nicer. It was not dark and not dreary, in fact it was a very light cheerful room. I was pretty tired, even though I hadn't really done anything, although I think the sun and heat just drains me of energy. I laid down on the bed and turned on 1 of the 2 English channels on the TV, CNN.  I ended up falling asleep for a nice little cat nap.

I woke up and my family was just arriving at the hotel. It was funny to watch them get to the rooms because they had sooooo much luggage, they looked like crazy people. It was really good to see them though!! I always miss my family. We all congregated and decided that the City-Sightseeing Bus Tour was a good idea. Our hotel was about a 5 minute walk from the Piazza del Popolo which was one of the stops on the tour. So we walked over there and got some food before hopping on the bus. The tour lasted about 2 hours and when we were done we took a walk around the Piazza del Popolo and did a little shopping before dinner. We also had gelato at some point during the day of course.

After all of that, it was getting dark so we headed back to the hotel and watched some futbol from the World Cup before going to bed.

We were back at sea today working our way towards Italy. Today is also being called "Italy Day." There was numerous seminars throughout the day that have to do with things in Italy. There was one mandatory event this morning that I watched in bed on TV.

Me and Lindsay have discovered how much nicer it is to watch these mandatory events on TV in the room. Its much more relaxing and enjoyable to do stuff in bed. And then I don’t have to get dressed!

The rest of the day was spent in the room relaxing. I need at least 1 day off a week to sleep, watch TV, relax, and recuperate for the adventures ahead. We bother ended up staying in bed and sleeping. We watched some Sex in the City and some other movies. We also left the room 2 times to get food!

Its really nice that we have a cabin steward who comes in and cleans our room everyday. Rey is our cabin steward and he is the nicest guy ever. He came into our room 3 times today to see if we were out of bed yet to clean the room, but each time we were still in bed. He thought it was pretty funny. He also brought us our trip tickets. Normally they will leave them on the door, but Rey knocked, let himself into the room, and handed them to us in bed.

We had a pre-port meeting tonight as well. But again me and Lindsay just stayed in bed and watched it on tv. It wasn’t very interesting of course.

Then we decided to go to bed for the night after such an exhausting day!