IntrepidFromDC

Subway in Rome. If you zoom in on the second pic, you can see the tracks on the next level down.

On the bright side I can shave and poop at the same time now.

Tonight around 1230am I bought my ticket to the cruise port using one of the kiosks. It was super easy and in English... oh and cheap, less than $5.

I just went to double check I wasn't mixing up the misplacement of toilet (aka, porcelain altar or throne, depending on your posture, conditions and needs) and barbaric bidet, yup no bueno...

The hotel exterior and lobbies...

In-flight meal was eh, train station was organized chaos. I don't check luggage, so I walked directly from my gate at Rome Airport to the stazione in 10 minutes, bought an express train ticket to downtown Rome for $14, boarded the waiting train, walked one block from the train station to my hotel (Hotel Mediterraneo, which I recommend despite the bidet having prime bathroom real estate while the toilet languishes, cramped behind the sink). Do bidets gross anyone else out? From deplaning to checkin was only 45 minutes due to the efficient plan of not checking luggage, knowing where the train station was and how to buy tickets ahead of time, plus choosing a hotel near Roma Termini Stazione.

Been on the run, walk, HOHO bus, train and transatlantic flight the past 30 hours or so with only 3 hours rough sleep in the aisle seat, but I'll catch up over the next day and a half...

Very smooth flight so far, no turbulence at all. I hope it stays this smooth after we liftoff.

It's almost perfect... almost.

It's huge and digital everything. I guess that's Newark out the window...

Never flew from or to Newark Airport before. It puts all 3 DC airports to shame, endless shopping, bars and restaurants, both high end and fast food/ crap

Chicken shawarma and chickpeas at airport were good. Taking off!

My flight leaves in a few hours, layover in Newark for an hour and I'll probably drink a few more than usual so it knocks me out for the trans-Atlantic flight even if I have an active neighbor. I originally had a window so I could sleep the whole trans-Atlantic flight and wake up refreshed when I touch down in Rome in the morning, but when the canceled my flight I could only get an aisle on the rebook. Dinner first night in Rome... Menu - Laltra Cheek (laltraguancia.it)

The only reason I had to get tested is Greece and both Greece tourist page and Carnival didn't make me feel comfortable about Antigen vs. PCR, generally they just said it has to be a test type Greece approves without specifying. So I got both. I took the Lab PCR at local CVS on cruise-3-days (Thursday) and the rapid antigen this morning at another CVS. I just got negative results from both tests in the past half hour.

I'm still waiting for covid test results... In the meantime, in today's installment of "Things I Love About Italy", consider their counterpart to our big chain sub and sandwich shops like "Subway": Bono - Bottega Nostrana which has several stores near my hotel in Rome, plus more near Piazza Di Spagna and other famous Roman landmarks I'll be visiting my first two days of the trip. I challenge you to scroll down the list and photos of sandwiches and panini this place offers and not salivate. Actually I challenge you to scroll down the list of sandwiches all the way to the end! Panini Menu — Bono - Bottega Nostrana

September 11, from Rome (Civitavecchia), after half tomorrow, all Saturday, half Sunday in Rome.

Hi, kelkel2, I should have added "live" to the Topic but left it out. Yes it'll be live. I'll talk about the day and post some pics each day. I'll also be happy to answer some questions. Of all the destinations, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Turkey, Olympia, Parma, Pisa and Cinque Terre will be firsts for me. I've been to Venice, Rome, Bologna, Taormina, Positano and Pompeii before and love all of them. Also been to Capri and Sorrento and felt too rushed and like they were tourist traps.

As of now, I'm still going... english | deutsch  Dear customer, We have rebooked you, as your flight cannot take place as scheduled. Please accept our apologies. We have rebooked you on the following alternative flight: Flight / date: UA510 / 09.09.2022

Cinque Terre ("five terraces") has been on my list of must-see places for over ten years. Most of these five small fishing villages are relatively new to tourism and not accessible by road (only train and ferry) and many of the fishermen still go out to catch fish just to sell to the villagers daily. Each village is small, when you see photos of them you're seeing a big part of the village. They look like the same place at first glance, but each is unique. Here are photos of Manarola and Vernazza: While many people would probably be thinking about Santorini and Mykonos as the places highest on this itinerary, I am charmed by Cinque Terre (which I have not been to) similar to how I'm charmed by Venice (which I have been to five times). There's just something about medieval/pre-medieval towns without cars...

This is a three-and-a-half week trip I had scheduled in 2020 but covid closed down cruises, Italy, etc. The trip will include a 10-day cruise and 13 days training around Italy: Rome - 2 days Cruise - 10 days - Naples (I'll do Positano, Sorrento and Pompeii small group guided tour excursion), Sicily (Mt. Etna climb and Taormina excursion), Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Olympia, plus a port in Turkey that Carnival has changed twice and who knows if they're done. Pisa - 1 day Cinque Terre - 3 days Parma - 1 day Bologna - 2 days Venice - 3 days Pre-covid negative tests are still required due to Greek restrictions. I have been on 21 cruises, all Carnival (Caribbean and Alaska), and I have been to Europe nine times but never for this long. For this trip, I have done extensive research and so my days at each port are packed as are my days in Italy. For example, I'll be eating at the TripAdvisor #1 and #2 restaurants in Rome, having secured reservations months ago. I am a foodie and thank God the Pride has a Steakhouse restaurant because I can only stand so much MDR food and Lido is hit or miss too. I am really looking forward to that orange habanero sauce at Blue Iguana, though. Speaking of Steakhouse, the one on the Pride is "David" and some time ago they placed a fig leaf over David's "monkey" and I'm wondering if it's been removed for the less conservative and more artsy Europeans. As if the stress of covid tests combined with non-refundable trans-Atlantic airfare wasn't enough, this email I received an hour ago is an example why so many say never book your flight the same day as your cruise: english | deutsch Dear customer, Your flight LH417 on 09.08.2022 from Washington, D.C. to Frankfurt is cancelled. Please accept our apologies. We are currently looking for alternatives for you and will be in touch shortly. You can check the actual status online at... Tick tock, Lufthansa...

Wow, THANK YOU. No wait at all on a holiday???? As Spongebob would say, this is the "Best day ever"!

Will someone please remind me of the number to call for Player's Club/casino booking questions? TIA.

Hopefully he'll follow instructions and post a selfie on that webpage with the pandaduck.

Wishes DO come true! 😁🏴‍☠️

Suddenly an air of forlorn melancholy surrounded St Greg, I think someone is missing Manhattan. But no need, you packed it in and did in a couple days what some visitors would do in a week or more!