Emerald Princess Rome to Barcelona September 26 -October 3 2015 in photos and video

[Bimmer09]

G'day Norris (and all) from the merry old land of Oz. Been looking forward to your review Norris, and booted up this morning to find it's here! :)

 

Welcome back LC!!

 

Gidday!! I'll throw another shrimp on the barbie, pop a Fosters,put on me old hat with the corks hanging to keep away the flies and toss another wallaby on the fire

(oh, maybe not politically correct -a lot of wallaby lovers these days)

 

Still-you have to stay warm.

 

Yes the review IS here, thanks to the cat waking me up at 5 a.m.

 

There is a vast wealth of photos awaiting-some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I haven't watched even a minute of the video yet so I am not sure what I have to show you.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Norris

[Izabelle]

Following along with you is an understatement....you have me there with you, eagerly waiting in anticipation for my journey to unfold.

[littlekid58]

We are following along lol thank you for doing this as we will be on the emerald princess Dec 27..

[JenRonn1104]

Awesome review so far. Can't wait for the rest. DH and I are booked on our first Mediterranean Cruise in the spring. Looking forward to getting some ideas from your review. Already made note to get Rick Steve's money belt. Thanks!!!

[MGnut]

Hi, Bimmer. a great start and wonderful photos.

 

subscribed :)

[Bimmer09]

After a deep intense, dead to the world nap of 90 minutes we were awake and energized...well not quite as there was one thing missing. COFFEE.

 

On our first visit to Rome our RIL tour guide drove us past a coffee shop near the Pantheon and said it was "the best coffee in Rome". It had a line outside of it.

 

We decided to go there anyway even though we don't like lines.

 

It's called SANT EUSTACHIO in a small square of the same name.

 

No line at 4 pm

 

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There were no free tables when we arrived. It costs more to sit at a table and be served but we wanted to sit and people watch rather than do the Roman thing of standing at a counter inside and sucking it down briskly. The table charge is about 8 Euros. You can't go in and get the coffee yourself and then take a table- I saw people doing this and they were rousted in under a minute!

 

I asked the waitress (who is also the opening manager) in Italian if we had to put our name down for a table but as we were talking a couple got up and tapped us on the arm (I can't remember which arm-I've forgotten already) and bingo! we had us a table.

 

 

The waitress came to take our order. "Vorrei caffe-espresso doppio per favore!"

A double espresso and for Carol a double cappuccino.

 

 

A rich, deep flavored satisfying cup of coffee with a crema that had to be eaten with a spoon. Glass of cold water-nice touch, reminded me of Germany and Austria.

 

Watching the people go by. Parking haphazardly in small Euro cars but a few BMW minis seen. Also some original minis from the 1960's. Stylishly dressed Italian women getting out of them. Big E Class Mercedes trying to squeeze past the people out strolling or standing in the middle of the street talking. Several cafes in a tiny square, waiters in aprons hustling back and forth from the bar to the outside tables. My kind of scene. Look up and there's a church spire there. There's another just over that way. Pistol carrying police officers stop in their little cars to drink a quick espresso. Parents walking their kids and small dogs.

 

Another? I asked Carol. Si !!

 

The table was cleared and wiped and soon we had round two...

 

 

The bill (il conto) was 20E or @ $22. A 1E tip suffices. No 20% tipping...

 

Carol had found a couple of churches nearby on her laminated folding city map.

She already had Rick Steves Audio Tours for them on her IPhone.

I am not a religious person but I do like the peace and quiet found in churches. They are also usually beautiful and my camera insisted we go visit....

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Following along with you is an understatement....you have me there with you, eagerly waiting in anticipation for my journey to unfold.

 

Thanks for coming on board Izzy!

 

Keep checking back in.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

We are following along lol thank you for doing this as we will be on the emerald princess Dec 27..

 

Glad to see you here!

 

You will enjoy the Emerald and get to try the new Curtis Stone restaurant that is replacing Sabatini's.

 

Thanks for the response!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Awesome review so far. Can't wait for the rest. DH and I are booked on our first Mediterranean Cruise in the spring. Looking forward to getting some ideas from your review. Already made note to get Rick Steve's money belt. Thanks!!!

 

Thanks for joining in!

 

I hope I cover some of your Med ports in this...

Which ship/itinerary?

 

Yes the money belt offers peace of mind. I wore mine on the flight over to Rome just to get used to it.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Hi, Bimmer. a great start and wonderful photos.

 

subscribed :)

 

Howard-Very happy to see you here!

 

Hope you are both well and have a cruise in the pipeline.

 

Norris

[LaraTiara]

Norris, were you and Carol in Sabatini's on the last night? My friend went round to another table to give one of her "Tradewinds" friends a hug, after the crew had sung Happy Anniversary to them.. Was that you??

[MGnut]

Howard-Very happy to see you here!

 

Hope you are both well and have a cruise in the pipeline.

 

Norris

 

Doing fine. We are doing the Island Princess FLL to Vanc. 18 night Panama Canal in April. Along with 6 friends and family. Can hardly wait!

[Bimmer09]

Norris, were you and Carol in Sabatini's on the last night? My friend went round to another table to give one of her "Tradewinds" friends a hug, after the crew had sung Happy Anniversary to them.. Was that you??

 

Alas no. We had two free dinners and did the Crown Grill on boarding night as we didn't think it fair to Sabs after eating in Rome. The CG was so good that we went again on Friday night- the Headwaiter there went out of his way to get us a prime table (window) each night and the food was superb.

 

We did have breakfast there on days when we weren't on a tour bus at 7.30 a.m.

 

I was at Tradewinds every day and could use a hug right now as my cruise is just a memory...(sigh)

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Doing fine. We are doing the Island Princess FLL to Vanc. 18 night Panama Canal in April. Along with 6 friends and family. Can hardly wait!

 

Howard-great itinerary!

 

We can only do 7 nighters, alas. Panama canal is on bucket list.

 

Norris

[JenRonn1104]

We are going to be on the Royal for the 14 day Mediterranean Medley. We are very excited.

[rdsqrl]

This is bringing back some very happy memories for me of my cruise. I just adore Rome, the del Senato, and I think the Pantheon is one of my favourite buildings in the world. Plus you're going to Herculaneum . . . ! It's making me wish I could take that TA ex-Rome all over again.

 

Looking forward to a long, leisurely review . . . . err on the side of too many photos!

[G&Gcruisers]

Following and looking forward to some great reading. The photos so far, already have me blown away.

[Mary Ann 2]

So fun to remember our trip on the Emerald Rome to Barcelona this summer with you as you journey along. We stayed very near here in Rome too and loved this area. My husband was in heaven with Sant Eustachio's!

 

Can't wait to read the rest. Lovely job!

[Bimmer09]

This is bringing back some very happy memories for me of my cruise. I just adore Rome, the del Senato, and I think the Pantheon is one of my favourite buildings in the world. Plus you're going to Herculaneum . . . ! It's making me wish I could take that TA ex-Rome all over again.

 

Looking forward to a long, leisurely review . . . . err on the side of too many photos!

 

Annie-great timing as you'll notice I haven't put any food pictures up yet.

 

The first meal in Italy happened on the first day but we went without food from the breakfast on the plane until dinner at 8 pm- 12 hours without eating. Not by design, rather just too excited and amped up on coffee. When we did eat we ate the best Italian meal we have had to date. The photos from that meal will appear later today. They are pure unadulterated XXX FOOD PORN and I expect a loud knock on my door tomorrow morning from the FBI and that will be goodbye to the computer and my life as a free man. Que sera....

 

Del Senato-well apart from being beautiful and well placed the people who work there are truly 5 star. I'll get to the Hotel in more depth later.

 

I don't expect everyone to enjoy my landslide of photos. For instance not everyone is interested in old churches or museums even when they are in Rome but each to his own. I know there are some people who will look at every photo and maybe look at some intensely and have their imagination fired.

Some will log into this "review", see no Emerald Princess and come back much later. There are short reviews and long reviews. I like to read the latter.

 

I'm happy to see you here, as always, but moreso knowing that much of what you will see here may be familiar and remind you what a magical experience traveling in Italy can be.

 

We are living proof that you don't need to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain (coming up later) to ensure a return to Rome...

 

Ciao!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

So fun to remember our trip on the Emerald Rome to Barcelona this summer with you as you journey along. We stayed very near here in Rome too and loved this area. My husband was in heaven with Sant Eustachio's!

 

Can't wait to read the rest. Lovely job!

 

Thanks for joining me here Mary Ann!

 

Sant Eustachio is just a very good coffee shop and I love good coffee! I am not into disguising poor coffee with hazelnut, almond, caramel etc which made Starbucks a global empire for people who don't like the naked taste of espresso.

What helps draw me to Sant Eustachio are the tables outside on 2,000 year old square cobblestones and the rich variety of people who pass by.

 

Carol always has a plan for the day and everything organized and when she asks what I would like to do the answer is often "I thought it would be nice to just sit outside at a cafe for an hour or two". In Germany the answer is always "Beergarden". I am glad she gets me into the museums and churches as they are good for the soul and the mind.

 

I have a bag of S.Eustachio beans sitting on my kitchen counter.....

 

Churches coming up...

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Following and looking forward to some great reading. The photos so far, already have me blown away.

 

Thanks G&G for the photo compliments!

 

You'll soon see that they are not all perfect but I have to use some less than stellar ones (sunsets in Rome) as I can't go back and re-take them (sigh)

I hope they serve their intended purpose though- to share what I was lucky enough to see.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

We are going to be on the Royal for the 14 day Mediterranean Medley. We are very excited.

 

14 days in the Med....I can only dream.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thanks to Carol taking great notes I will be able to identify the 2 churches less than 5 minutes walk from the Pantheon.

 

We leave our base camp at San Eustachio and stroll to our first church in Piazza Minerva. Here are a few shots from along our route....

 

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We pass the back end of the Pantheon...

 



 



 

And enter Piazza Minerva

 

[Bimmer09]

We are in this square to visit the church of Santa Maria Sopra which dates from 1370. I'll show you the exterior at the end when I am back outside.

 

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Let's go in. No flash photography-which suits me fine as I never use flash. As we enter Carol puts in her earphones and is guided by Rick Steves.

 

 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

I love the calm quiet respect shown in these churches. There's no elevator music playing-what genius came up with that idea?? No cell phone yakking- "yo-wassup? Nuttin much-same old same old. Where ya at? I'm in the men's room in a bar-how's the reception?"

 

No selfie salesmen! Yes! I like it in here and-wow! is it beautiful !!

 

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