Our Amazing European Adventure! Navigator of the Seas & Norwegian Epic Review w/pics

[ShellDil]

 

Ok.....finally a chance to get back to the story! I want to definitely do a summary of the Epic, and I suppose some type of comparison of the two cruises. But I think I'll save that until the end so it doesn't break up the trip in general. I also have some tips as far as things we did to prepare for the trip and planning tips too!

 

Wednesday, June 26th

 

Today we are leaving the Epic and heading to Rome! I’m so looking forward to returning to Rome! We had just a short visit when we began this journey and now to end there will be perfect. This time we're renting an apartment. So far every part of this trip has been just as planned, hopefully it will continue! Fingers crossed!

 

I met Mimi and G-pop at Taste for our last breakfast on the ship while the kids and Keith slept in for just a little bit longer. Breakfast was pretty good. Nicer than the buffet, not so much because of the food, but because there was no crowds. We talked about how we enjoyed all of the ports we'd visited on both cruises far and how wonderful the cruise portion of this vacation had been.

 

We again decided to do the self disembark. Since my parents were on a different deck, we told them we’d meet them off the ship right by the walk way. We had no problems walking off and found them with ease. As I mentioned before, most people seemed to board in Barcelona so in Rome it seemed to be mainly people going into Rome for the day. Sure some people were walking off with suitcases but most seemed to be going on day tours. Also, the day tour people exited at a different deck I believe.

 

 

We had arranged for a private transfer with Walks of Italy and our driver picked us up promptly at 8:30. He called the owner of our apartment for us to let her know we were on our way and she met us right at the curb to welcome us. Prior to our trip she and I had spoken on the phone and she let me know that since we were arriving a bit early the cleaning crew would still be there. We could come in and drop off our luggage and go out for a few hours, then come back and get the tour and apartment instructions. I told her that would be perfect, as long as we could make it to our 12:30 scheduled tour of the Colloseum we’d be set!

 

So we arrived just as planned, she took us up to the apartment which was right at Largo Argentina and she showed us where to put our bags and where we could lock up any valuables that maybe we didn’t want to carry around the city (money, passports, etc). We got a whirlwind quick tour – to be done more in depth when we came back. She told us to come back in 2 hours. Alessandra, the owner was very kind, and very thorough. She asked us if we would like a map, or directions to a café?

 

By the way, the apartment was absolutely stunning! We’ll get back to that when we have our full tour and instructions, but we rented through Sleep in Italy and the pictures on the website were accurate and we were thoroughly impressed. This would be the perfect home for us for the next three days!

 

So we headed out, towards really the only place we knew we could go and get back in our time frame, based on our past visit, the Pantheon area. This is where our hotel was on our first night in Rome. We knew it was a short walk and we could stop and get a quick snack and just sit for a bit. Although it may be totally overpriced and touristy – it was fine for our two hours we had. We sat at one of the restaurants in the Piazza della Rotunda and had a light early lunch/snack and just felt so happy to be back in Rome! We enjoyed the time here sipping cappuccino, people watching and finishing it off with a Nutella crepe for Megan and I and a churro for Alex!

 

Remember I told you Alex would go through sunglasses on this trip? Note the crack in the frame above his lens! This pair was about to go....the lens would pop out during this meal! Good grief! How can one teen go through so many pair of glasses in 3 weeks? Again we were on a quest for sunglasses!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who knew you could get a churro in Rome?

 

[ShellDil]

We strolled back to the apartment, of course taking some time to check out the cats at Largo Argentina, which we would do every chance we got. We’re big cat people, having four of our own at home!

 

Our apartment is on the 5th floor, but there is a “lift” so we were happy about that! Of course Alessandra told us to only put 3 of us at a time in it – is she trying to tell us something? Nah…it’s old and creaky!

 

We got back and the apartment was sparkling clean. I was apparently elected as the one to take in the incredible amount of instructions. I followed her around from room to room as she went through everything from how to open the windows, turn on the lights using the remotes, the a/c, the wifi, the trash and recycling (aghhhh!), the laundry, the double key system on the locks on the doors, she showed me the terraces – yes – we had TWO terraces! It was a speed class in how everything in this apartment worked! She knew we had a deadline and didn’t want to make us late for our Colosseum tour, so she went fast! Thankfully she had placed signs everywhere with her instructions written up so I didn’t have to memorize it all!

 

 

The apartment was gorgeous. This was the absolute perfect place for us to spread out and relax (ha ha! – did I say relax?) on our last days of our vacation!

 

The lower terrace

 

The front of the apartment - the "terrace" goes all across the front of the apartment with access from the living room, bathroom and bedrooms.

 

 

View from the upper terrace

 

 

The upper terrace

 

 

Looking down at the lower terrace from the steps going up to the upper terrace

 

[ShellDil]

 

And now the inside!

 

The living room

 

Yes there was free wifi - so there was a lot of catching up with home going on here by the kids and myself!

 

The other side of the living room - the windows could tilt open, lift up, or swing open from the side - that was part of my lesson!

 

 

Dining room - I have to say, we didn't use this room!

 

 

 

The parlor bedroom - this was the room Keith and I got! It opened to the terrace!

 

The master bathroom (I don't have any pictures of the master bedroom - but it was nice!)

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

The kitchen, which we didn't cook in, but did use to prepare small breakfasts - think European style - cheeses, meats, fruit and pastry! And we used the refrigerator. Think WINE! And of course Alex's San Pellegrino water etc!

 

 

Another view from the front of the apartment - off the living room I believe

 

 

The kid's bedroom - so nice to have twin beds!!!

 

 

I don't have pictures of the 2nd full bathroom and actually there was also a 3rd bathroom that was small, but there was a shower/tub in it. It was just very tiny! There was a huge foyer area too. And a little kitchen table sitting area. As well as a large laundry/pantry area. I used the washer and washed all of our clothes before we went home, but could not for the life of me figure out the dryer - even with the instructions! She had several drying racks there and there was enough room in the laundry room to set them up to dry a full load of clothes at time.

 

We stayed three nights and found the rental price for the 6 of us to be less than most hotels in that area for a quad room and a double for that same period of time. We loved it there!

 

The front door! Oh the property is in a building with office space as well as apartments. I think it's mainly offices. After I think 6:00 pm the front door is locked and you need a key to get in.

 

[Tokyo Mom]

Love the views from the apartment. We, too, stayed in an apartment in Rome - a much better value than hotel with a family of 6. Looking forward to hearing about your final 3 days.

 

:) Michelle

[mrsfecura]

OH MY. That apartment is amazing!!! What a great way to end your fabulous vacation!!!

[ShellDil]

Have you ever tried Adobe Lightroom? I wouldn't use Photoshop to edit any pictures like this. Lightroom is an amazing program and I usually run my pictures through there to make adjustments. The thing I also love about that program is its ability to export the pictures in a really small size yet it doesn't even compromise the quality! Also, you just make a watermark and upload it and viola, you never have to manually put one on yourself, the program automatically adds it to every picture you upload (you can uncheck the watermark box if you don't want that on pictures you would send to family members, etc.). You can also set the dimensions so all photos are equal in quality and size. I would suggest trying Lightroom 4, a new one just came out so I'm sure you can find a good deal on 4 and it is not even expensive from the start! :)

 

Photography is just awesome, you rock at it!

 

Ok Mike - if you happen to check in (if not I'm going to post on your Allure review!!) I just installed Lightroom - now do you have any recommendations on where to go for some advice on using it? I can probably play around with it a bit and do the basics, but it seems to be fairly specific in it's capabilities. How did you learn Lightroom? Online tutorials? Lightroom for dummies type book? Any suggestions????

 

Thanks!

[ShellDil]

So, we wrapped up our tour of the apartment, and now that we had the lay of the land so to speak, on where we were staying, we knew we didn’t have enough time to walk to the Colosseum for our 12:30 tour with Walks of Italy. So, lucky enough our apartment is right at a taxi stand area. We jumped in a taxi big enough for six and off we went! We found our meeting spot and our guide right on time! Again – I love when a plan comes together! We chose their VIP All Access Tour which includes the Underground Access of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

 

Our guide’s name was Juvita and she was originally from Poland. She moved to Italy 13 years ago. She was fantastic! We started the tour with a brief overview of the outside of the Colosseum and the surrounding area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we walked to the Roman Forum. On the way there we passed some current excavations in progress!

 

 

[ShellDil]

We walked into the Forum and she told us about many of the buildings and what life would have been like during the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

This is the memorial to Julius Caesar, it's where he was cremated! There are fresh flowers here every day!

 

 

Which by the way, the ruins in front of our apartment, at Largo Argentina, is where it's believed that Julius Caesar was killed! Right there out our window are the ruins of Pompey's Theater!

 

Anyway...back to the Forum!

 

 

 

 

It doesn't really come across in the pictures, but the size of some of these buildings is massive! It's amazing to me just how huge these areas must have been in their time!

[ShellDil]

Next we stopped at the Arch of Titus and learned a bit about the arch and the carvings on it....wish I remember what she said!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

After the Forum we went to Palatine Hill. She explained the history and told some stories, showing us the major sites.

 

 

As we were at Palatine Hill a huge black cloud started coming over head. This was actually the first sign of bad weather on our entire trip. But is was dark and it was looming.

 

 

 

 

 

We started seeing some lightening strikes in the distance. The group voted to start heading towards the Colosseum where we’d be out of the rain and unfortunately our time here was cut a bit short.

 

We walked quickly through the what we could and got an abbreviated a tour of Palatine Hill!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

The wind was picking up quite a bit! As we walked towards the Colosseum, we stopped at the Arch of Constantine. Here there was so much dust blowing around! It was a serious dust storm! You can't tell too much from the picture, but you can sort of see the dust blowing around a bit...

 

 

I love the sky in this picture!

 

 

Getting a little artistic here!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

We made it inside the Colosseum just in time! The rain started just as we got undercover! Once again we were thankful to be there with a guide tour where we had previously arranged tickets. The line looked long and it was now raining! We walked right in!

 

 

We started our tour at the arena level. Juvita told us about the Colsseum and its history. Walking out onto that platform was just phenomenal! You can just imagine the crowds and the battles! We had time for pictures and to just take it all in. And wouldn't you know - our luck continued...just as we walked out onto the platform, the rain let up!

 

 

 

This the the area where the elevator shafts were (or maybe are??) where they would have brought the Gladiators up from the underground area.

 

Alex is really "feeling" that Gladiator aura here! He's ready for battle!!

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we went down below the arena. Here you had to have an employee of the Colosseum take you down, there is a locked gate that has to be open by her. This is where the animals were kept and the gladiators were sent to wait for battle. We saw the shafts that the elevators would have been that were used to bring the animals and gladiators up to the arena to fight. This was fascinating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we got to go all the way up to the top tier of the Colosseum. My dad didn’t climb all the way up. They said there was an elevator for those who couldn’t walk up the steps, but it was broken. He didn’t want to climb up with his knee. We had a great view of the Colosseum as well as of the surrounding area of Rome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

This tour by Walks of Italy was fantastic! All in all it was about 3 ½ hours long.

 

After the tour we walked back to our apartment. We walked past quite a few street vendors and people posing for pictures. It really was a fun way to get a feel for the city.

 

 

Piazza Venezia

 

The Victor Emmanuel Monument

 

 

 

 

Trajan's Column

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

For dinner we went back to Pizza Re, this was one of the places on the Food Tour we did on our first night of our trip. Once again, it did not disappoint!

 

 

And actually, after our waiter took our picture - he took our picture again, and put their menu in the picture - and said "make sure this one gets on facebook"! He was quite funny!

 

 

Views from our apartment balcony at night....

 

 

 

Another fantastic day!

[cjcruiser27]

Excellent photos!:) Still here reading;) you have certainly put ALOT of time into this!

[HighlandGirlEB]

Excellent photos!:) Still here reading;) you have certainly put ALOT of time into this!

 

 

Yes indeed she has, having met you on the Navigator it makes this review all the more "real" for me :)

 

Ive become addicted to checking to see if youve updated and then sad when you havent, yet dreading when you get to the end and its over. I and hungry for the next installment yet dont want it to end !:rolleyes:

 

Loving all the info about Rome, Going to use a lot of it when I visit next year. :)

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Well I'm finally caught up on this amazing trip! Your pictures are fantastic!

I really like the one with the blue shutters for some reason. What a lovely time you had making memories with your family. Thanks for doing this.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[gbntmom]

I agree with all the others - I look forward to reading your updates daily and am sad that this is soon coming to an end. Your photography is beautiful & you have given all of us great information. I know how much time & effort this is taking, so THANK YOU, from a grateful follower :)

[worldbound30]

Love this review! Definitely the trip of a lifetime.....thanks so much for sharing!

[ShellDil]

Yes indeed she has, having met you on the Navigator it makes this review all the more "real" for me :)

 

Ive become addicted to checking to see if youve updated and then sad when you havent, yet dreading when you get to the end and its over. I and hungry for the next installment yet dont want it to end !:rolleyes:

 

Loving all the info about Rome, Going to use a lot of it when I visit next year. :)

 

Awww thanks! :)

 

I'm kind of dreading ending this too....it's been so much fun sharing our adventures with everyone here! You really can only tell your "real life" friends so much about your travels before their eyes glaze over.... But fellow travel obsessed people here - we seem to just thrive on other peoples experiences don't we! Not only do we learn so much about planning our future trips, but I think we genuinely enjoy living vicariously through one another! I know I do! I love reading other travelers trip reports and seeing photos of where they've been!

 

I'm glad you're getting some good info for when you go to Rome next year! If there was any way I could fit it into my budget, I'd love to head back there again next year too! Another visit to Rome would certainly be on my list!