When in Rome……

Early on Saturday morning we berthed in Civitavecchia which is the closest deep water port to Rome.  After nearly missing our pre booked train (!) we got to Rome at 10 o’ clock.  The first of our three chosen points of interest, and the one nearest the train station, was the Colosseum.

The photos will do most of the talking but it was absolutely amazing.  Bigger than we’d thought and far more impressive than could ever be imagined.

Finding a ticket booth (next to the gateway to the Forum 100 yards away) we bought tickets and got straight in rather than joining the hour long queue to purchase tickets inside the Colosseum!

It’s difficult to take in that this structure is over 2000 years old.  The hypogeum (the underground bit!) has been partially covered with staging to help give some of the original effect.

The size of the arena is enormous when you look as size of the people in this pic.  The building was designed to get 50,000 to 70,000 people in and seated within a few minutes.

The corridors and rooms in the hypogeum were used to house the equipment, animals and men for the games. It had 80 winch operated lifts to raise things up and onto the stage.

This is the best external view of the Colosseum with the best remaining parts of the structure.

Walking to our second place of interest, the Trevi Fountain, we passed the Roman Forum which you pay to go into but can see quite clearly from the Via Dei Fori Imperiali.

Alas, the Trevi Fountain was covered in scaffolding and as dry as a bone!  It has been for almost a year and will be for the next year at least.

However, we threw a coin onto the concrete in order that (as the saying goes) we will return to the city again.

Not to be outdone for a good fountain we popped across to the Piazza Navona where the middle fountain of the three in the square is most impressive ……

……… and where chaps in pink shirts hang about for their photo to be taken.

Our third and final destination was St Peter’s Basilica and our first view was from the Pont St Angelo across the River Tevere.

Walking across the bridge you get a fine view of the Castel St Angelo.

St Peter’s Square and the Basilica is all that it is supposed to be (and more). We were told that the Basilica was enormous and it didn’t disappoint.

A close up of the Pope’s balcony.

Inside “breath taking” is one description but it was much more than that. The enormity of the place has to judged by the size of the people again.

The main Altar directly under the dome ……

…….. which is awesome like everything else.

 

Beneath the main Altar is the tomb of St Peter – shown lit down at the bottom is the Gallus Trophy and below that is the Apostle’s tomb.

Probably the most inspiring and evocative works of art in the Basilica is the marble sculpture of Mary holding the body of Christ.  It was created by Michelangelo when he was just 23 years old and is said to be the only one of his works to be signed by him.

A panorama shot inside the Basilica showing the left, central and right naves ….

……. and, to bring us down to earth, a selfie outside with St peter’s Square in the background.  Very bright sunshine!

We walked a lot of miles and had the most amazing day but we’ve only just scratched the surface of the beautiful city.  Maybe the coin in the fountain will work?

More Champagne and Barcelona

Wednesday evening was a hectic time for us.  We were invited to two Champagne parties. Firstly with William and Michael (sadly we have no pics!) and secondly with Pam and Geoff.  Here we are with Geoff, Pam, Fran and Glenn.  

Oh - and James was there as well!  After the two Champagne parties we were invited to dine with two of the ships officers.  Without doubt we had a wonderful evening all round. (again forgot to take some pictures)

Thursday saw us in Barcelona (again!) but this lovely city never ceases to entertain us.  We took this panorama pic as we walked over the bridge from the cruise terminal.

A zoom pic from the same bridge shows the magnificent skyline of the city much better.  The “Mirador de Colom” (the Columbus Column) is on the left with the towers of Cathedral (centre) and multiple towers of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia (right).

The sun shone very brightly on us as we entered the city via the Port Vell area.

The Columbus Column took our fancy this time around and we were soon paying the very reasonable 4 euros to go the 60 meters to the top (in the very thin lift!).

The viewing gallery (we were the only ones up there) is just above the coronet and is nice and cosy being enclosed in glass.

There views are wonderful, as expected, and the Cathedral and Sagrada Familia (behind) are easily picked out.

A bit further round and we had  a great view of the famous tree lined “Las Ramblas” as it snakes off into the distance.  It’s a big city which now stretches virtually to the mountains in the distance.

 

In the other direction is the port – this view is towards Port Vell and the marina.  Sadly QM2 was berthed too far round in the cruise terminal and was hidden behind a building so we couldn’t take a decent photo.  One day we’ll be able to get a proper pic of her.

Here’s Doug in the column viewing gallery, and although it wasn’t that windy, we could feel the column swaying slightly.  The lift operator (who left us alone at the top and told us to ring the bell when we wanted to be fetched back down!) told us that in windy conditions it moves so much that people have to hold on to the rails when they get to the top.  He’s also used to dealing with panic attacks!

We spent the rest of the day roaming around and enjoying the ambience of this lovely place.  Las Ramblas, and the city in general, was much quieter than when we were in Barcelona in early December and consequently much more enjoyable.  (Who’s that bloke with the rucksack?)  The Captain gave us a surprise bonus of a very late sail away so we were able to enjoy some Barcelona night life until almost 11 o’ clock.

We have a sea day ahead of us before we get to Civitavecchia where we’ll use the train and visit Rome for the first time.  Excitement indeed!

Into the Med and the Sunshine at last!

We’ve had a very good crossing of the Bay of Biscay with “light airs and a slight sea” as the ship’s log tells us. Life goes on brilliantly aboard “QM2” as the weather is getting warmer and warmer.

On sea days we are often up on deck playing Quoits or, in this case, Shuffleboard.

Almost as often as deck games we get invited to Champagne parties – in this case it’s the Captain’s Cocktail Party (we had one only last week but someone has to do it!)

We arrived in Malaga on Wednesday morning and, although we love the sea days, it was good to get off for a proper stroll.  We started with a long walk along the beach where Doug took advantage of the free Wi Fi while sheltering from the sun under the palm trees.

Meanwhile James took advantage of the numerous exercise machines along the promenade.

With QM2 in the far distance we took a break at a beach cafe …….

……. where we basked in the wonderful sunshine.

After the beach it was off for a bit of culture with a walk into the old part of the city.  There are some beautiful and impeccably kept gardens under the shadow of the impressive Alcazaba (the Moorish Palace).

Doug is enjoying some of his favourite flowers – this is Bougainvillea, in front of the Moorish Palace.

The stonework of the 11th Century Moorish Palace is very impressive …….

……… and, from the terraces of the palace, you get and good view of the fabulous architecture of the Town Hall.

Due to the hazardous road at the front of the Town Hall, we took a pic. of the side of the town hall.   It’s just as interesting as the front ……..

……. with some amazing detail.

Our time ashore was very enjoyable but we had to return to the ship by 4:30 for a 5 o’ clock leaving.  However, maintenance work to the ship overran and delayed us leaving until 8 in the evening - so we could have spent more time ashore but never mind.

However, all was not lost as we entered a deck quoits competition (which James won!!!!).

We are busy taking advantage of all the entertainment on offer – there have been some really good lectures so far and, on sea days especially, we make good use of the fantastic spa on board the ship.  Apart from an enormous spa pool with water jets and bubble beds there are many different saunas, steam rooms and foot spas and, when you’ve finished with all those, you can relax with refreshments in the lounge area.

James is also back in action with a new camera.  Although the temporary Samsung we bought in Las Vegas is ok we’ve now got a new Lumix TZ60 to replace the broken TZ40. With a better zoom and other bits and pieces it’s a bit “cleverer” than the old one and James had better not bust this one!

Atlantic Crossing Complete

Early on Saturday morning we docked safely at Southampton after a great crossing from New York.

But before that, on Thursday we had the usual but still wonderful “Chefs’ Parade” where we show our appreciation to these fantastic people who keep us all fed and watered 24 hours a day.  Then we urge them to return swiftly back to kitchens!

On Friday we completed our week long “Trans-Atlantic Olympics” which had included such strenuous things as hoopla and table tennis.  The last event was a swift power walk twice around the ship.  The start line was a shambolic affair!

In the afternoon we had a Champagne enriched prize giving ceremony where the joint winners (with another team) were ‘yours truly’! Here we are with Brett and Vitor, our slave-driving organisers.

Here’s Brett and Vitor very happy at the end of such a strenuous week with all of us.

Friday evening had us teaming up with Celia Imrie (actress and all round good egg) and her friend, author Fidelis Morgan.  Two very witty and charming ladies who we had tremendous fun with for an hour.

Dinner on Friday evening was “the Last Supper” with all our friends and cruising buddies.  The meal ended with a napkin folding competition!!

As was mentioned earlier we docked in Southampton early Saturday morning with a sad farewell to all our friends on board as we’ll be staying on for the first leg of QM2’s world voyage and finally disembarking in 20 days’ time in Dubai.

However, Saturday was a day for us to remember as Cunard severely bent it’s rules and allowed us to have our dear friends Ann and John on board for lunch and a tour of the ship.  We can’t say thank you enough to Cunard for their help and organisation to make this happen.  James, Ann & John in the Queen’s Room.

Ann with Doug in the Art Gallery.

……  in the Grand Lobby.

……the Commodore Club.

Lunch in the Britannia Restaurant ………

…….. and later, outside the Planetarium.

Just before Ann and John left we were privileged to see, through the windows of the Queen’s Room, “Queen Elizabeth” edging her way into port 9 hours later than she should have been – due to extremely bad weather in the North Sea.

Saturday was a strange day as only 80 of us were in transit, with 2000 or so getting off and the same amount clambering on.  It gave us the full and uncluttered run of the ship to enjoy for a good while and it was a moment we’ll treasure for a long time. 

However, QE was in time to swap a few passengers with us before we left Southampton at 6 o’ clock with a wonderful Firework display and the British Imperial Military Band playing on the quayside for QM’s 2015 World Voyage.