By Bob Sparrow
I’m not sure if all roads lead to Rome, but ours did last Tuesday, prior to getting on our cruise on Thursday. We had decided that because we had been to Rome on several previous occasions that we would only spend about a day there before boarding our cruise. In retrospect, probably a mistake, as Rome is such an amazing city, it deserves as much time as you can give it.
Our driver picked us (the Budds & Sagers) from the airport and drove us to our hotel, Sina Bernini Bristol, which was conveniently located withing walking distance of several of Rome’s main attractions. But first, as we waited for our room to be ready, we had lunch at Arte e Sfizio, not sure of the spelling but it was fantastic. We were welcomed by the owner, Johnny like we were old, long-lost friends (well, we were old!). He brought us out an appetizer tray that was killer! It was a wonderful way to be welcomed to Italy – great hospitality, great food.
After lunch, our rooms were ready, so we checked in and went to the rooftop bar to enjoy some great Italian wine and a spectacular view of the city. Like the tourists that we were, we decided to walk to two iconic Italian sites that were close by, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Both just a short walking distance from our hotel and both were very crowded but were still enjoyable to see. We were stuffed from lunch, but by dinner time, we decided to head up to the rooftop restaurant and enjoy some ‘little Italian bites’ which happened to be more like little Japanese bites and some more wine. We finished the evening with a short walk from the hotel to an amazing Gelato place. There is nothing like Italian gelato! A great way to end our first and only day in Rome.
The next morning, we had about an hour and a half drive from our hotel to the ship, but it seemed like just minutes as our driver was a singer and he sang some great Italian and American songs all the way. We of course joined in, making the ride seem like only a few minutes.
The ship was magnificent. It is Oceana’s newest ship, Alura, which just turned a year old this month. It has a rather small capacity of 1,200 passengers. One couple in our group, the Helmles, got a room on the ship like I’ve never seen before. It was at the aft of the ship and the room, which was 2400 square feet, went from one side of the ship to the other – simply unbelievable!!! We became regular guests there!
First stop, the Amalfi Coast. We had arranged for two vans to pick up the ten of us for the picturesque and often life-threatening ride up the mountain. It is truly one of the most picturesque coastlines in the world. It just so happened that our driver was also an opera singer, so we were serenaded with both Italian and American classics through the entire trip. We were dropped in the middle of Amalfi and did some shopping and had lunch (amazing spaghetti bolognese) before returning to the ship.
Travel tip: If you’ve never been to the Amalfi Coast, shame on you – go!! And try to find a driver that sings Italian operas!
Our last stop in Italy is on the island of Sicily in the port city of Catania, where the still active volcano, Mt. Etna is an iconic landmark. We did a food/walking tour of this home of many of Italy’s famous artists and writers. We had two guides take us through a huge fish market and throughout town stopping for . . . I don’t know what we ate, but it was all good. We finished the day back on board at the Asian specialty restaurant for a delicious dinner.
Next stop: Greek islands on Thursdays post.
