8 September Friday - Arrivaderci, Roma!

Last night we had a parade of chefs and dining stewards so we could thank them, but it was very brief, nothing like the old parades with the baked alaska and singing their goodbye song. We also didn't get a Cruise Log, a shame because it's always fun to see the nationalities on board, the miles sailed, etc. etc.

This morning I was in the Lido at 6.00am for breakfast, finished packing my cabin bag and went to sit in the showroom to wait for my group to be called. We left the port around 8.30, with a very loud guide, Max, with a heavy Italian accent. He talked about lots of stuff and then we pulled into a rest stop because we were told a couple had been put on the wrong bus and we had to wait for them there.

The Civitavecchia area has lots of agriculture, wine, olives, vegetables, but only for the local area, to Rome. The vines were heavy with grapes, which will apparently be harvested and the white wine ready in time for Christmas: different from our concept of aged wine, I guess.They also have the umbrella pine tree, the pinecones giving them pine nuts. 

All of my pictures from Rome, except for St Paul's Basilica, are taken from the moving bus window, with its limitations. Looking back to the cruise port, at least five cruise ships:

When we got to Rome, Max told us that Pope Francis doesn't live in the Papal appartments; his opinion was that because Pope John Paul I only lasted 33 days, Pope Francis would rather be in the safety of his Vatican City hotel, with lots of other people around (nuns, priests, etc)! We went past the place of the "open mouth in the wall" where Gregory Peck put his hand in Roman Holiday. 

A pretty street and other landmarks. 

Although the description of the tour said we would have 30 minutes at St Peter's, in fact we only caught a glimpse for a picture; I wasn't the only one disappointed. 

We did stop at St Paul's Outside the Walls for fifteen minutes and I had a quick look and a prayer inside. Even though this is a magnificant church, it was very disappointing to miss St Peter's. I'll just have to go back one day!

I was at the airport by 1.00 pm, with 9 hours till take-off: not much to do about that, as the airport isn't anywhere near the town. So I worked on this blog and sorted the latest pictures, did some knitting and reading, etc. I was able to charge the laptop and the phone, although there was only one little charge station in the pre-check-in area. I was able to get the first spot in the queue once my flight opened, about 4 hours before the flight, so I was able to get rid of my suitcase at last; security was very crowded and took about 20 minutes but then I was through.

The flight from Roma was a 777 and I had one of the back 2-seaters, on the window, so there’s space between the seat and the wall for putting stuff and stretching your legs. We left Roma four minutes early and touched down four minutes early; however, it took quite a while for the doors to open. We walked down the stairs to tarmac buses and it was eventually 45 minutes after we landed that we arrived at the terminal. It was very quick through security and the gate was only a couple of minutes away. So I spent quite a while walking around the shops to stretch my legs, got a Costco coffee (pretty good too) and brushed my teeth. I was feeling surprisingly awake at 8.00am Saturday Dubai time, having had only a couple of hours’ sleep. I didn’t realise the flight would be only 5 hours.

The A380 was very comfortable; I was in the front Economy cabin downstairs, which is fairly small. The only problem was that during the 13 hour flight we had 3 young children (pre-school) who alternated in yelling, screeching, or talking very loudly the whole time. Consequently, it was impossible to get anything like a good sleep. The attractive young girl on the window was German and on her way to Sydney for the first time to work as an au pair, living at Manly Beach – she will have 2 pre-schoolers and a baby to look after! The young man on the aisle was Irish, lived here for 4 years and had been back for a wedding; he also lives in Manly!! When we got to Sydney airspace, we circled until we were all dizzy – at least 20 minutes! The Customs hall was absolute bedlam, with 7 flights arriving almost simultaneously.

It was a delight to have Yvonne waiting for me in the Arrivals hall: very special to have someone there to greet me! We had a cuppa when we got home and then she headed off. Suddenly I’m back in the peace and quiet of Engadine. The trip was superb, everything that I had hoped for, abounding in God’s gracious gifts, but it’s also nice to be home sweet home!