Noordam 2013 - Day 16: Disembarkation in Civitavecchia and the first day in Rome

Our last Noordam Eggs Benedict, French toasts and Waffles for a while. We were in group Brown 2 and around 8 am it was our turn to leave the ship. 

Civitavecchia Cruise Port

Our suitcases were already waiting for us. Our ride with Click Airport Transfer was scheduled at 9 am, but the driver arrived early. It was Sunday, so not very crowded at the highway to Rome. We asked the driver to stop at a Rome metro station so we could pick up our 3-day travel cards (Biglietto per 3 giorni BTI). He did not only stop, but showed Joost where the vending machines were. Great guy.

We will stay for three nights at the Crowne Plaza Roma San Piedro where we stayed two years ago. Bak then we were on the good side of the cruise, a few days in Rome before sailing with the Noordam. Our room at the hotel was already available, so we had a whole hour extra in Rome. Our room overlooks the pool, so that is a safe thought when the girls are swimming.

Crowne Plaza Rome

The hotel offers a shuttle to the city. We actually used it two years ago, when it was free. Now it is just as expensive as the public bus stat stops right outside the hotel. With the public bus we have a direct connection to two metro stations, to St. Peters square and to the northern part of the old Rome. So we thought that public transport is more flexible and got our BTI-tickets for three of us. Rhodé is young enough to travel free.

We took the bus to the city and got off just at the Tiber river on the other side of Castel Sant’Angelo. We crossed the Bridge of Angels (Ponte Sant'Angelo) that goes back as far as 134 AD. The angels are showing the Instruments of the Passion (like the cross, the crown of thorns, the holy sponge and many more).

Castel Sant’Angelo

Bridge to Castel Sant’Angelo

The Passetto as seen from Castel Sant’Angelo

Bridge over the Tiber

Bridge from Castel Sant’Angelo

The Castel itself is a maze with small rooms, steps and art. On our way up we saw the Passetto, the wall that runs from the Castel right to Vatican City. It provides an escape route for the Pope. Of course it also played a crucial role in the book and movie Angels and Demons, as did the Castel and a lot of other Rome sights. 

Inside Castel Sant’Angelo

Inside Castel Sant’Angelo

Inside Castel Sant’Angelo

Inside Castel Sant’Angelo

Inside Castel Sant’Angelo

On top of Castel Sant’Angelo

The absolute highlight for us was the view from the top. You can see all of Rome from the roof. We are so glad that we are going to be here for two more days. One short stop from Civitavecchia would have been way too short.

Vatican City from Castel Sant’Angelo

Vatican City from Castel Sant’Angelo

View of Rome from Castel Sant'Angelo

Panoramic view of Rome from Castel Sant'Angelo

After two hours in the Castel Sant’Angelo we were thirsty and hungry. No Lido buffet, but lots of restaurants in the city. We found a restaurant that looked nice at Piazza Risorgimento just north of The Vatican. Unfortunately the pizza had a hard bite and was way overpriced. We have to kick-off from cruise food that is inherently great. Better luck next time.

Tram 19 was waiting for us at Piazza Risorgimento. We took the tram up to the Galleria d’Arte Moderna and walked up the steps to the Borghese park. At the end of the park we once again had again a great view of the old city.

Borghese park

Kim at Borghese park

View from Borghese park

View from Borghese park

The park is a lot higher than the rest of the city (hence the tram). That led to another advantage. We did not have to climb up to the Spanish Steps that were close, but we walked down. A lot easier in the heat.

Spanish Steps

On the Via dei Bobuino we walked to Piazza del Popolo. We filled our water bottles in the public fountain. The water is drinking water so no risk there. We love Piazza del Popolo with the twin churches, the fountain and the obelisk. The famous Santa Maria del Poppolo was still closed, so we had a refreshing lemon drink (unfortunately not Napolitan Limoncella). Afterwards we could visit the church and the Chigi chapel.

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo

We had a little trouble finding the bus stop to Piazza Risorgimento, but from the square it was a short walk to St. Peters Square. The girls had to wind their shawls around their legs because shorts are not allowed in St. Peters Basilica. We were prepared for that. St Peters Basilica is overwhelmingly great inside. It was Sunday, so not all corners of the Basilica were open to visit.

St Peters Basilica

 St Peters Basilica door

 Inside St Peters Basilica

 Inside St Peters Basilica

We went to check if the previous Pope was already named on the list of all Popes, but he wasn’t. Perhaps they do that only after his death and of course he is still a Vatican resident.

St Peters Square from the Basilica

After that we were quite exhausted. We went back to the hotel. The pool was still open, so Kim and Rhodé decided to cool off and swim. Afterwards we had our diner in the restaurant in the hotel. The restaurant had a piano man. He was good, but was not even close to the amazing Stryker at Noordam (that by now will be sailing away from Civitavecchia)…

Noordam 2013 - Day 15: Naples, Italy (Vesuvius and Pompeï)

Here we are, our last day cruising the Mediterranean. The suitcases are in the hallway to be picked up for debarkation. Always a strange feeling. aside from some minor inconveniences like cold showers we loved the Noordam. But first let us tell you about our day in Naples, Italy. Arguably the best day so far.

Panoramic view of Naples port

Outside the cruise terminal we took a taxi to Pompei. At the internet site of Consorzio Taxi Napoli we had seen that you can get a fixed price with the driver. A visit to Pompei is 90 euro's including a 2 hour wait at the site. We told the driver that we wanted this price, but we would pay half at Pompei and the other half after our safe return. We still had the taxi drivers in Palermo in our minds. The taxi driver reacted a bit wondered: 'no no, you pay afterwards'. That gave us a safe feeling.

The taxi driver, Nicola, turned out to be a great guy. He drove like a true Napolitano (as he was one). Indeed as Rick Steves said: traffic lights are merely suggestions. Nicola asked us if we wanted to go up Mount Vesuvius. We had thought about it, but it seemed a bit much for one day to do both Pompei and Vesuvius. We wanted to decide after getting back from Pompei if we had enough energy to climb Vesuvius. Nicola warned that around that time the temperature would be really high, making the climb very strenuous. So we decided to go up to Vesuvius first. So glad we did that. It was great!

Nicola told us everything about Naples and its surroundings. All the way the road with many, many hairpin-shaped curves led up to the mountain that buried Pompei almost 2.000 years ago. He dropped us off at the parking lot of Vesuvius National Park. The next one-and-a-half hours it was up to us: hike to the crater and back. It is a very steep hike and it took us little over half an hour so we had enough time to walk along the crater as well. Of course the way down took less time, and we were back just in time. All the way up and down we had great views over the Bay of Naples, Sorrento, Capri and everything in that area. We waved at our Noordam, from here a very small ship in the far distance. Really a not to miss sight.

View of Napes from Mount Vesuvius

View from Mount Vesuvius

Crater of Mount Vesuvius

Crater of Mount Vesuvius

Kim at the crater of Mount Vesuvius

Rhode at the crater of Mount Vesuvius

Path along the crater of Mount Vesuvius

Path along the crater of Mount Vesuvius

Once we were down we had used all the water we brought with us. It was very hot. We bought more water so as not to dehydrate. Just a little pit stop at the Dixie’s and Nicola took us down the mountain. We have had nice drivers on our travels, but Nicola is the best. He was very nice to the kids and even made a photo stop… at the highway in the middle of the road. Only in Naples…

Arriving at Pompei

We arrived in Pompei at the Porta Marina Inferiore. Nicola gave us his cell number, just in case we would get lost. Well, we were lost for a moment. We prepared for our visit to Pompei off course and had maps and a Rick Steves podcast-tour. What we didn’t know was that Porta Marina Inferiore is not the same as the Porta Marina Entrance. We entered Pompei at an Amphitheatre. That was on our map, but this was another theatre then the big Amphitheatre. So we were lost in Pompei for a while. Fortunately we found our way after a few minutes and we started halfway in the Rick Steves tour.

Pompei entrance at Porta Marina Inferiore

Main road in Pompei

Pompei

Pompei

We visited the House of Faun, old lead pipes used for water supply, Verri’s house, the Baths, the Aqueduct and the house of the Tragic Poet. We also saw the famous cases with the remains of two Pompeiians. When Vesuvius erupted, their bodies were buried in volcanic debris. The bodies then decomposed. The archaeologists found these hollow spaces. They filled them with plaster so they recreated the Pompeiians. The plaster is mixed with their ancient bones. Very impressive.

Statue at the House of Faun

Pompei

Pompei

Lead pipes in Pompei

Pompei

Kim in Pompei

Pompei

Plaster Pompeiian

We were amazed how large Pompei is. We understand that you can spend an entire day here, even more. The most impressive point was the Forum. Not only because of its size, but because of the view you get at mount Vesuvius from there. Just a couple of hours earlier we were on its summit. Actually just below it because the summit is gone. From down here you see how mighty the mountain is. You get cold shivers just imagining how the Pompeiians must have felt. Looking from the Forum tot his giant mountain spitting lava and ashes…

Pompei Forum

Pompei Forum with mighty Vesivius in the back

After a visit of the Marina we walked on the main shopping street (at least it was until 79 AD) back through the theatres towards the gate where we had entered Pompei.

Pompei

Pompei theater

Pompei theater

We were a little late. Two hours simply isn’t enough for Pompei. Nicola walked up to us and said being late was no problem at all. As a surprise, Nicola took us just behind the tourist shops to a local Limoncello factory. We got to taste the real Limoncello where it is made. Not only the classic Limoncello, but also one with cream in it and several other kinds with chocolate and melons. They were very generous so we enjoyed one drink after another. Of course we bought some Limoncello to take home and think back to this perfect day.

Kim, Rhode, taxidriver Nicola and Joost

Before we knew it we were back at the ship. We said goodbye to Nicola. He gave us his email address so we can contact him when we return to Naples. We will definitely return!

Just one more dinner separates us from leaving the Noordam. The traditional Baked Alaska dinner. The baked Alaska was great, but the rest of the food was a bit disappointing. That was really strange. Perhaps we just had the wrong picks of the menu: egg rolls and very dry turkey breast. We just thought back at all the great diners we had and enjoyed the Baked Alaska that tasted great.

Kim and Rhodé (informal photo shoot HAL)

Photographer John had our package ready, including the DVD with all our pictures. Then we put our last laundry in our bags and put them outside… But: still three full days in Rome left!