Holy Rome

Okay, this is how it is gonna go - I am dividing the pictures up into the various ports throughout the cruise. That way, there are not hundreds of pictures to view all at once. So, here is goes:

First, we start with "Holy Rome," which is the excursion we did as soon as we landed in Rome. So, we left Pittsburgh at 1pm and flew to Newark. We left Newark at around 5pm or so, and landed in Rome at about 7-8am. Needless to say, we were exhausted and not expecting the intense heat or the intense crowds at the Vatican.

We went through the Vatican museums, through the Sistine Chapel, ending with St. Peter's Basilica. I think due to the heat and exhaustion, I slacked on the pictures here, so I apologize for the minimal amount.

It was an amazing experience. I had been there before, but it is still truly magnificent. However, when I was last there (granted it was 14 years ago) the crowds were not nearly to the extent as they were on this trip. Actually, there were hardly any crowds at all 14 years ago...I was amazed with all of the people there.

The one thing that really annoyed me was the disrespect of other tourists. For expample, upon entering into the Sistine Chapel there were signs and guards indicating to be silent and that there is absolutely NO PHOTOGRAPHY! So, as we were admiring the work of Michelangelo, I kept catching people sneaking pictures...it got to the point where I started putting my hand in front of their cameras. I mean it - what made them so special that they felt that they had the right to disregard the rules. Unbelievable!

After the excursion in Vatican City, we loaded a bus which took us to Civitavecchia, where we got onto the boat.

Below is the link to my "Holy Rome" pictures:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=238544798/a=40662473_40662473/t_=40662473