Friday 24^th April

Second day at sea and we are still being blessed with excellent weather ranging from 16° - 23°, calm sea and light breeze.

After another excellent breakfast of fresh fruit and omelette, we attended the third of Peter Donovan’s presentations on the ANZACs, “Stalemate”.

Lunch in the buffet followed by the 4^th instalment of Peter Donovan’s presentation “The August Offensive and Evacuation”.

After sitting for the best part of the day we got some much needed exercise walking round the promenade deck 4 times.

We decided to have diner in the “Bistro on Five” tonight, excellent soup followed by main of braised beef short rib for me and Mediterranean savoury crepe for Lynne, topped off with Spanish crepe with caramel sauce and banana.

Next stop was the theatre for this evenings show, Steve Larkins performing Freddie Mercuri from Queen.

Thursday 23^rd April

First day at sea, weather continues to be kind, with a low of 16° and an expected maximum of 23° with a light breeze blowing.

After a lovely buffet breakfast, we went to the theatre for the first of a 4-part presentation by Australian historian Peter Donovan on the history of ANZACs at Gallipolli. The first part was “Forging the ANZACs” complete with archive photos from the Australian War Memorial. Very interesting.

We walked out on deck just in time to watch as the ship sailed through the Messina Strait, separating Italy from Sicily, and had a very good view of Mt Etna, in Sicily.

After lunch we were back in the theatre for the 2^nd instalment of Peter Donovan’s ANZAC talks – “The Landing & its Aftermath”, followed by a dash up to The Reflections Lounge for a Cruise Express Cocktail Party (and free drink). Back to our cabin for a quick change into our formal gear for the 1^st formal night of the cruise, followed by another trip to the theatre for the Captain’s Welcome Toast (another free drink) and a musical production “iHollywood”.

Mt Etna from the balcony of our State Room

Wednesday 22^nd April

 Another early rise this morning as we needed to have breakfast and put our luggage outside our room for collection by 9:00am.

Weather in Rome continued to be kind with a low of 12° and a maximum of 23°.

We were to board the bus at 10:30am for the 1½ hour trip to Civitavechia, however, in typical Italian organization we did not leave until 11:30am. Delay was due to not being able to get the bus down the narrow street in front of the hotel and compounded by the lady organizing the bus arguing with all and sundry about where the bus was to stop and how the luggage was to be loaded. Eventually we boarded the bus and arrived at Civitavechia at 1:00pm.

After checking passports and paperwork we boarded the Celebrity Constellation, (inaugural voyage was May 2012, she is 965ft long weighs 91,000 tons and carries 2034 passengers) about 1:30pm and located our State Room on deck 6. Lynne took the mandatory photos and then we went to lunch while waiting for our luggage to be delivered.

The ship departed port at 5:30pm. Dinner was at 6:30pm after which we went to a show.

Views of our Stateroom

Tuesday 21^st April

Another early start, breakfast at 6:30am.

Weather was excellent, 10° this morning with an expected high of 23°. Clear blue sky again today.

The bus picked us up just after 7:00am for a tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is absolutely magnificent and was the highlight of our day. We also got some good photos of the Swiss Guards.

We asked to be dropped off the bus at Piazza Colonna, where we saw the spiral relief column of Marcus Aurelius that commemorates his military victories. We then continued walking along Via del Corso to the Monument to Vittorio Emanuelle II. The view from the top was great - overlooking the ancient Forum, and the colliseum, and we were able to have lunch at a lovely café at the top of the monument. We then walked the short distance to Piazza del Campidoglio on Capitoline Hill, which is surrounded be 3 Palazzos that house the Capitoline Museums.

We were feeling a little foot sore by now so decided to take a taxi ride back to the hotel. The taxi ride was an experience. The only road rule in Rome appears to be that there are no road rules.

Marcus Aurelius Column Piazza Della Colonna

View from Vittorio Emanuele II Monument overlooking the Forum

Monday 20^th April

An early rise this morning (6:30) as we had to have breakfast and be in the Foyer by 8:45am for a group guided bus tour around Rome.

Weather this morning was a little cool at 11° with an expected high of 23°. Wonderfully clear blue sky, which will be excellent for photos.

The bus left the hotel at 9:00am and our tour guide, Salome, said she was taking us straight to the Vatican in order to miss some of the crowd.

We joined the queue to enter St Peter’s Basilica at about 9:30am with what seemed to be half the population of Rome and finally got inside at 11:00am.

The basilica is very large and beautiful inside, also very crowded not helped by having to wait for about 10 minutes when a section was blocked off as the Polish Ambassador and his entourage were visiting the Pope.

Back on the bus for a drive through the city crossing over the Tiber River, (which makes the Yarra look clean) and past Castel Sant’ Angelo to the Colosseum for a photo stop.

On the bus again which dropped us off close to Piazza di Spagna. From there we walked to the Spanish steps and then onto the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was a little disappointing, no water just lots scaffolding and people carrying out cleaning and restoration work that will not be completed for about 2 years.

As it was lunch time we had pizza and a drink from a shop next to the Fountain then set off on foot to the Pantheon (one of the best preserved of Rome’s ancient buildings) built by Hadrian between 118- 128AD. It has a large domed roof that was designed with a large hole in the centre, so when it rains the water comes in. More walking saw us arrive at the Piazza Navona to see the Fountain of the 4 Rivers built in 1651, as well as the Fountain of Neptune.

Finally back on the bus arriving back at the hotel about 3:15pm.

We were a little hungry by then so we walked up the street and had coffee, tea & cake at the Americana Bar before going back to the hotel to change and be in the foyer by 6:30pm for a Cruise Group welcome dinner at Ristorante La’ Caravanine, (fours courses & wine). We were also entertained with some opera singing.

St Peter's Basilica Vatican

Sunday 19^th April

Landed in Rome at 8:10am and after collecting our luggage we met up with the rest of the Aussie contingent (about 100 people) and boarded a tour coach for the trip from Fiumicino airport to Rome. 

Weather was fine and clear with a temperature of 11°.

As we were unable to check into our hotel, Sofitel Villa Borghese until 2:00pm the itinerary was rearranged and we were taken to see Villa D’Este in the town of Tivoli which is about an hours drive south of Rome.

After a look round the Villa and its magnificent tiered gardens, we had a light lunch at a café in the town centre followed by a gelato, before re-boarding the coach for the return trip to Rome.

After checking into our hotel the first order of business was a nice hot shower and change of clothes.

As we were a tad weary we decided to have dinner at the Terrace restaurant on the top floor of the Hotel. Fantastic food and a great view, looking directly over the dome of St Peters Cathedral.

Gardens at Villa D'Este Tivoli

Saturday 18^th April

Left home at 11:30am to go to the airport.

Our flight was due to depart at 3:40PM, however, due to a technical issue with the emergency lighting in the cabin of the aircraft, our flight was delayed and we did not take off until 5:45pm. We landed in Singapore at 11:30pm their time. It was then a bit of a rush as we had to get the shuttle bus from terminal 3 to terminal 1 to board the flight to Rome which was departing at 1:30am. Both flights were in Boeing 777 aircraft and whilst comfortable we would rather fly in Airbus 330’s.

It's now only 6 days until we leave on the next chapter of our overseas  adventure.
Packing has been started and as usual there appears to be much more laid out to pack than will actually fit in the suitcases. So the challenge now is to decided on what to and what not to take.
We fly out on 18th April and after a 4 hour stop over in Singapore we arrive in Rome early on the 19th April (Rome time), where we will spend 3 days sightseeing. Lynne is endeavouring to lean some italian and it will be interesting to try communicating in another language.
22nd April will see us boarding the cruise ship Celebrity Constellation for a 13 day cruise stopping at Anzac Cove on Anzac Day, Canakkale, Istanbul, Athens, Santorini and Naples then back to Rome where we disembark on 4th May where we will spend the night before flying to Munich on 5th May for 7 days then on to Singapore for 4 days before heading back home on 17th May.