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Semi Live, Semi, amusing, Semi Fun Trip Report from Rome and the Epic!

AmR87

By AmR87,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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AmR87

AmR87

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Hello all!

 

I am a slowly seasoned cruise critic reader and cruiser. I began my cruising about two years ago and have been hooked since!

 

I am a really neat, really cool almost 30 year old. I typically travel with my husband. This time we took along his mom to cheer her up from the loss of her husband/ my husband's dad. What better way to cheer someone up...the secret is pasta!

 

Anyway, I am currently in Rome which is where the semi live part comes from. I will not be posting from the epic as I'm not paying the ridiculous charges to use the slow internet. The internet here is free. Free=good.

 

Pictures may or may not be posted along the way as I get lazy about uploading them.

 

Anyhow, here is day one. Have fun!

 

 

Trip report Italy 2016.

 

We left on a Thursday afternoon on a five pm flight out of Chicago. Our neighbor is an American Airlines flight attendant for the Chicago to Rome route and although she was not on the flight, she did tell her friends that we were on it. They treated us so nicely on the flight, which felt like it went a little faster. (Or so it seemed to me. Not my husband.).

 

We arrived in Rome early and navigated through everything very easily. I was so surprised how there were no forms or anything to do. I felt like we were literally able to walk right into Italy.

 

I had booked a two bedroom two bathroom apartment through air bnb back in January in the barberini area. Not really knowing what I was booking, I felt like I got very lucky with this location and owner. The owner set up transportation for us. We were picked up in a Mercedes with a very nice driver who told us some of his favorite things to do in Rome. He basically told us to eat as much pasta as possible. Which we've been doing so far.

 

I was worried about our arrival time as well as we were there at about 1045 and check in wasn't until 1. Worry wart me! Our driver called the owner to tell him we were in and what to do with us. He offered to let us drop off luggage at 1130 and in the meanwhile to bring us to a cafe. The cafe was right down the street, so we were dropped off there with our luggage and we grabbed a cappuccino while waiting. This was the beginning of my cappuccino obsession.

 

We walked up to our apartment right at 1130 where we were met with the keys. We were allowed to drop off our luggage and told to come back at 2pm when cleaning was complete.

 

We left to wander around and ended up at the street that leads to Trevi fountain. By this time we were starving and we stopped at wine and for something ( that's not the real name, I only remember that wine was in the title) for lunch. They had gluten free pizza so I was a happy girl. Our waiter was extremely friendly and told us where to go for the best gelato in the area. The pizza was fine for our first meal. Our bill came to 28 euros and we left a tip for our very nice waiter.

 

We then walked down to Valentino for gelato which was very good. I guess my first surprise was how much this area reminded me of Vegas. It's too bad that Rome lets these people sell selfie sticks and flying helicopters right outside of these beautiful historical monuments. I mean as awesome as those thing are and all... If people stopped buying them, maybe they would leave too. Anyway, we threw our coins into the fountain and began our walk to our home for the next five days. On the way back we stopped for groceries and got some breakfast items to last us for a few days.

 

We got to our apartment and were very happy with what we had. It was very nicely laid out and comfortable. The showers were tiny for me at 5 10 and my husband at 6 3. My only complaint was that they only gave us one towel each for the five almost six days. With the hot Roman sun and 98 degree weather which often required more than 1 shower a day, it made it difficult to have a dry towel each time. This was just a minor complaint though and did not obviously affect my trip.

 

We hung out on our balcony and rested for a little bit as we were feeling the jet lag. None of us slept on the plane, so it was getting hard to stay up. We ended up all taking showers to try and wake up. And although not customary Roman tradition, we left to find dinner at 5 as we all really wanted to go to bed early.

 

We stumbled on a cute little restaurant with gluten free food ( as I was starting to realize Rome is my new favorite place for gluten free food.) over in the barberini area. We each ordered a pasta dish, a shared meat plate, a salad and two bottles of the house wine. They even brought me gluten free bread to sop up my sauce with! The bill came to 120 with a tip, which I thought was reasonable for the quality that we got. We went back to the fountain to see it at night as recommended by other cc reviewers. It was pretty, but I was very much overwhelmed by the street sellers and gypsys(?).

 

I was also cranky from being up for 24 hours straight and I asked everyone if we could go back. Is slangry a thing? We headed back to our apartment around 900 and everyone went right into bed. And that was our first day in Rome!

 

Btw anyone know anything about Italian washer and dryers?

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AmR87

AmR87

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Enjoying your review so far!

Is the B&B reasonably priced (for Rome)..?

Gelato, cappucino, pasta, pizza, what's not to like?!

 

Thank you!!

 

Yes, I definitely hit all the typical food spots in my first 24 hours. :)

 

The apartment was 1400 for 5 nights/6 days. I'm not sure if that is considered reasonable or not for summer. When I compared it to hotels, it seems to be about the same for three people. At least the hubs and I have our own bathroom and bedroom here.

 

I may have panicked sharing a room with my mother in law...

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AmR87

AmR87

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Day two- exploring Rome

 

 

Well day two didn't start out too great. I woke up with a massive migraine (maybe two bottles of wine wasn't a good idea...) and my mil wasn't up either. I tried to sit on the balcony but I didn't last. I caved and took my prescription migraine pills and went back to bed. My husband played with his camera and left around 1030 with his mom to get cappuccinos. They came back around 11 and brought one for me. I drank it and by this time my headache was going away. The magic of caffeine and medicine. And the wonderful taste of these cappuccinos.

 

For today and Sunday I didn't make any set in stone plans. I usually have a general idea of what I want to see and then I go for it. I somehow have a great sense of direction. It must be my Viking heritage and I can find my way around, to and from any place we are at. My mil wasn't a fan of this though, but I finally got her to trust me when we ended up at the pantheon with no directions at all.

 

The pantheon, wholly moley guacamole. Pictures do not do this monument justice. We spent some time taking photos and just staring at everything. We then headed to piazza Navona. After going here, we headed towards the river to look at the bridge and get an idea of where the Vatican was at. I was a sweaty hot dripping mess at this point, so we stopped for some fruit and sat right by the river. What a wonderful aroma that river has. #sarcasm

 

We then walked towards another bridge and crossed it. Again, street sellers. I just started talking in Spanish which they seemed not as accustomed to for some reason. Or maybe it threw them off as I probably scream American. We kept walking and ended up by the historic theater, which was gorgeous as well.

 

I decided to go up a hill where we ended up by the monument for the first president of Italy. The colosseum was super close too, so it was nice to get a glimpse of that. We headed back towards our apartment with some stopping at churches in between. I got insanely hot at this point (I seriously didn't have to pee once which shows how much I was sweating) and I was dying for a cold shower.

 

We made it back to the apartment where I drank a gallon of water and headed back to our wonderful patio. Everyone was hungry so we showered and headed out for dinner around 6pm. Although Trevi is very touristy, we have Ben finding some good restaurants in the area. Tonight we went to pizza in Trevi which was very good. My family said they enjoyed their pasta three more than the previous night. I had a gluten free carbonara pizza, which was okay in my book. They did have gluten free tiramisu, which I about had a heart attack when I heard him say that. I of course had to order it. Now this was amazing. It was different than I remember tiramisu being, but it was rich, creamy, and full of espresso. Soooooo good.

 

We continued our night with some shopping as my mother in law really wanted a new purse. We were successful and got one for 20 percent off at one of the little shops. I again became overwhelmed by the amount of people yelling at me to come to their restaurant, buy their toys, or let me tell you about Africa and take this trinket because I'm 'nice'. I just wanted to go home. (Are those people the gypsies? I've read about their scam in giving you those trinkets and then they demand money?)

 

We came back, had some champagne and watched the fireworks in the distance. I thought I would be able to go to sleep at a normal time, but I was again up until 2 am. Will I ever adjust to the time?

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AmR87

AmR87

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We used the model number on the combination machine in our apartment to "Google" the instruction handbook. Easy after that.

 

 

Thanks,

 

I thought it was a combo machine and I guess it is not! Too bad.

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AmR87

AmR87

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Day three- definitely not adjusting to the time.

 

Well morning came as mornings usually do. I checked my iPad for the time, which was 334. I drowsily checked my math and said oh crud... Is it seriously 1030?!? At this exact moment my lovely mil barged in. Good thing I wear pajamas! She was wondering why no one had gotten up yet either, when I assured her we were working on it.

 

We made a small breakfast and over breakfast we decided to go to the collosuem. This was actually on our itinerary for tomorrow, but we changed it to today. We quickly cleaned up and were on our way.

 

We walked there, which took only about 20 minutes. Silly me didn't think about the massive amounts of people selling things. There is something about this behavior that drives me insane. "Do you have tickets, do you have a guide, do you want to wait in line, can I have your firstborn child?' I hadn't previously read about things like this, so I was completely overwhelmed.

 

I hurried to the entrance line for ticket holders, and we got through very quickly for it being mid day. We took in the vast beauty of this monument while also watching many others take their duck face selfies. Nothing like pouty lips in front of a historical monument!

 

We left and made our way to the Roman forum. Now this was one of my favorite places. We must have spent 3-4 hours walking around in here and I still felt it wasn't enough. It also could have been that I felt much more secluded in there. Very few people to bump into. I'd love to spend additional time there.

 

Our day was coming to a close as we all were hot, thirsty, and cranky. I convinced the clan to take the train back, which ended up being a disaster. I got into line to buy my three tickets. I only had 5 euro and everyone said I couldn't use that. I couldn't find change either. So my mil became impatient and said 'that's it we're taking a Cab.'

 

Ugh.

 

Up to the taxi stand we went. She asked how much and they Said 25. (That's ridiculous right?) I said that's a rip off and walked away, but my mil got in as she refused to walk back. Unfortunately I had to go too, which was the scariest ride of my life. This guy went 60kmh down these little side streets and never looked when turning left or right. Slowwww deep breaths....

 

We made it back safely and got ready for dinner. We wanted to go to that's amore, but they said they couldn't supply me with gluten free food. We ended up at a small place by plaza barberini and it was not very good. My al dente pasta was crunchy still. Our bill was also 90 dollars for two pastas, chicken, veggies, 2 sodas and a glass of house wine. I have no problem paying for food its its worth the quality, but this was not. Sad face!

 

We made our way back to coop to pick up more brunch items for the next three days. We have decided to sit on the balcony and enjoy the rest of our champagne here for the evening.

 

We have no plans set in stone tomorrow, but we may go and walk around the borgehese gardens. We will have to see where our feet bring us.

 

Side note- I will most likely add photos once at home on a desk top computer.

 

Another side note- sorry for the misspellings.

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AmR87

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Day 4

 

We began our day today at a normal time. This was mostly due to someone ringing our doorbell over and over again. I told my mother in law not to answer it because we are not expecting anyone. Finally it stopped, but it definitely woke us all up at a normal time.

 

We had our usual small breakfast and decided to walk down to grab some cappuccino freddos. Of course right after getting mine, I spilled it all over the floor. This should have been a signal of what was to come, but I didn't think about it too much.

 

We went back to the apartment and got ready to explore for the day. It is much cooler today at only 87 degrees. This seriously feels nice compared to the last few days of upper 90s.

 

We first headed out towards the Spanish steps. Since this is still under construction, it was very anticlimactic. However, the work they have done looks very nice. We then headed towards the borghese gardens for a break from people.

 

I really enjoyed this park. We walked around for some time taking pictures and enjoying the quiet. I did make the mistake though of messing with my water bottle while walking and I took a huge, embarrassing spill on the gravel. I definitely was bleeding from both knees, my wrist, and somehow my shoulder. I was also covered in dirt. But hey, no ripped pants, no crying and no broken bones! Just embarrassment of everyone staring at me! At least I'll be a story tonight to those families... I can just imagine.. "Mom, today at the park, this girl she fell bad!" I will most likely break a hip one day.

 

At this point I was upset, so we headed back towards our apartment. I was also insanely dirty and had blood all over, so it was probably smart to head back.

 

On our walk back, my mil said 'I think a drink would be good for you!' We stopped at a little cafe and grabbed a quick drink. I only had a coffee while she had a Cosmo and my husband had a tom Collins. Was I that bad that I caused my family to begin drinking in the early afternoon?

 

We finished our day at a little Italian deli type place. No one spoke a word of English, so it must be good right? We bought two sandwiches, a bottle of wine, a salad for me, and some pizza thing all to eat back at home.

 

We are now just lounging around the apartment for the afternoon, or until we feel like walking around again. I'm sore from my battle walking wounds, so we will see how I end up today. I've made reservations at hostaria romana, which looks like this tiny cute restaurant. Rick Steves also mentioned this restaurant in one of his books.

 

Tonight has been my favorite dinner. We loved it so much we made reservations for tomorrow night too. We each ordered a pasta, a shared house appetizer, a shared suckling pig, a bottle of house wine (7 euros!!!), Sprite and coffee for 85 euro. It was worth every euro. The pig was fantastic and I am hoping to order it again tomorrow.

 

Dinner was much later tonight and it is 10pm already. We have an early morning at the scavi tour and Vatican museums. Wish us luck, and no falling!

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tel2

tel2

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Following your review. We did the same trip in early May, when, thankfully, it was much cooler. We agree that hostaria romana was fantastic. Another really terrific restaurant, but a bit more expensive, was Roscioli, which we thought was by far the best meal we had in Rome, but I don't know whether they do gluten free or not.

 

We also rented an apartment - on campo de fiori -- with a terrace, which I wouldn't hesitate to do again. So nice at the end of the day to sit on terrace and watch people in square below while eating or having a glass of wine.

 

Not sure what else you have planned, but the highlight of our days in Rome -- and also our one really big extravagance -- was doing a night-time golf cart tour. It was like 4 hours and we saw all the monuments lit up. Guide spoke perfect English and it was wonderful.

 

We also did Bruno's Food Tour, which was a walking tour that stopped at 6 restaurants each for a different course. Also well worth it.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review

 

terry

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AmR87

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Following your review. We did the same trip in early May, when, thankfully, it was much cooler. We agree that hostaria romana was fantastic. Another really terrific restaurant, but a bit more expensive, was Roscioli, which we thought was by far the best meal we had in Rome, but I don't know whether they do gluten free or not.

 

We also rented an apartment - on campo de fiori -- with a terrace, which I wouldn't hesitate to do again. So nice at the end of the day to sit on terrace and watch people in square below while eating or having a glass of wine.

 

Not sure what else you have planned, but the highlight of our days in Rome -- and also our one really big extravagance -- was doing a night-time golf cart tour. It was like 4 hours and we saw all the monuments lit up. Guide spoke perfect English and it was wonderful.

 

We also did Bruno's Food Tour, which was a walking tour that stopped at 6 restaurants each for a different course. Also well worth it.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review

 

terry

 

 

Wow, it sounds like we had very similar ideas on fun things in Rome! I'll have to check out that restaurant on our next trip here. :)

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AmR87

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Day 5- so. Many. People.

 

We woke up bright and early and on time! Woo hoo! Someone was ringing our doorbell again though. So nice of them to do.

 

I was so full from dinner last night that I didn't eat breakfast. We left around 8am to get to the Vatican. We took a cab which cost 7 euros. Traffic was not bad at all in the morning. When we got there I wasn't really sure of where to go for our scavi tour. I'll write out exactly what to do for those worry warts like me. It would've been helpful to have read something like this ahead of time, but I could never find anything other than look for the Swiss guards.

 

Here's what you'll need to do. If you take a cab, ask to be dropped off at the basilica. When looking directly at St. Peter's square, take a left and walk along the columns until you get to the end. You'll see two Swiss guards and a security check point. Go through the security checkpoint, then give the guards your papers.

 

We made the mistake of coming a little too early. The guard asked us to leave and come back exactly 15 minutes before our tour, but we would have to go through the security check again. I asked nicely if we could just wait and he said fine. They let us through exactly 15 minutes before our tour. You will then walk past two large gates and go to the scavi office.

 

Our guide was a priest studying in Rome. He was awesome! He cracked jokes at the right times and taught us so much. I would highly recommend this tour. I learned a lot of history and it was amazing to see the artifacts and tombs.

 

At the end, the basilica was so crowded that he walked us a different way and we went in through the back, which was very nice of him.

 

But wow, holy cow herds. It was about 1045 at this point and this place was freaking packed. We barely saw anything because it was so overwhelming. We left and went into the store as my mil wanted some things. She purchased some items and then we left to grab a quick bite before our 1pm entry into the museums.

 

We walked around and found a cafe. They seated us and never came back to take our order. We ended up leaving after 20 minutes because it was getting too close to our ticket time. We picked up a juice and my husband and mil shared a sandwich from a street vendor. I brought along a protein bar, as I have learned to always carry one in case there's nothing to eat when I'm out.

 

We made our way to the museums and o.m.g. People. The line was out around and down the corner. The guides were very helpful though in assuring us to just go to the front, which is exactly what we did. We went through security relatively easily and picked up our tickets to join the cattle herd.

 

In my own personal opinion, I would steer others far away from the museums in peak times. This was my only little regret from this portion of the trip. There were just too many people and it was very hot on top of it. The guide groups overtook many of the rooms and no one moved anywhere. By the time that we made it to the Sistine chapel, I was about ready to lose my patience. Once in there, the guards were yelling at people left and right about where to move to and it just became unbearable. I felt like I did not get to appreciate or enjoy the museums at all. It was a huge let down.

 

We finally found our way back outside and grabbed a cab. The cab driver was a hilarious Italian man that spoke almost no English, but he somehow had us cracking up the whole time. The cab was higher this time at 15, but traffic was pretty terrible. I think he kept saying it was because tomorrow is a holiday.

 

We got back to the apartment and finished up our snacks from the week. We also put in one last load of laundry and finished a bottle of wine. I've utterly enjoyed having this rooftop terrace. I also think that when we go back to European countries that we will almost always get an apartment. I have very much liked staying in one!

 

Before dinner we headed to the Trevi area to pick up some last minute souvenirs. I wasn't sure what the Fco area would have on our last two days, so I decided to play it safe.

 

Unfortunately my mil didn't want to go to a 730 dinner tonight and wanted to eat at 430. We ended up going to the same restaurant that we had for lunch on our first day. Two pizzas, pasta, water, 1 wine came to 50. I was a little disappointed that this would be our final meal, but I guess you can't argue with someone's mom.

 

After dinner, we got some final gelato. I had pistachio, which the owner told me the nuts are from Sicily. It was very good. We walked around for a bit, gotsome final souvenirs and headed back. Time to pack up for the cruise tomorrow!!!

 

Now, for the next week I am going to write each day, but will not post until after the cruise ends. I believe I have internet again next Wednesday at our next hotel.

 

Bon voyage!

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AmR87

AmR87

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We will join you on the Epic on Sunday! I've enjoyed reading about your adventures so far and can't wait to leave on our own [emoji1]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

How fun! I'm the one with the husband and mil following along. :p

 

Have a safe flight!

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AmR87

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Anddddd, I'm back! Well, sitting in a hotel until Friday morning when our flight leaves. So I'll post where I left off.

 

Day 6. Cruising time!

I woke up so excited today because we finally get to see the epic! My husband and mil went out for cappuccinos and croissants while I packed up the apartment. Our driver was right on time at 10am. He was the same driver from Friday and we were excited to see a familiar face.

 

Unfortunately today was a holiday in Rome so traffic was horrendous. It took us over two hours to get to the cruise port. Luckily it was a prearranged fare! Other than the drive being slow, everything else went great. I really enjoyed the company of our driver as he was very personable. We were dropped off right at the ship, our luggage was sifted away and we were on the ship within 10 minutes.

 

We went straight up to the buffet and ordered our first round of drinks and got some grub. The buffet was very nice. It is probably one of the nicer buffets I have been on for cruise ships. After eating we went exploring and too lots of pictures since the ship was so empty.

 

We took a little power nap on the sun deck and then went to muster at 430. They said it was under 600 people that got on today. It definitely made for a smooth embarkation!

 

We then went to see our rooms and unpack. My mil was in a solo room, which I would highly recommend for solo travelers. Her room was very well appointment and came with the use of an awesome lounge. She really seemed to like it.

 

We had room 10324 which was an aft balcony room. It was a guarantee balcony room, which I booked after having originally booked an inside room. My inside room was the same price as this room as the dates got closer, so I went for the balcony. Overall, it is a nice room. I just wish it had more drawers.

 

We made it back upstairs for sail away and watched us take off. After this we went to Manhattan room for dinner. I don't think I'll have the same luck with finding a waiter on this big ship as I have on other ships for my gluten free needs. They sent someone over to take my order separately From our table. For tonight I had salmon, shrimp, and soup. It was all very good. For dessert I had a gluten free chocolate cake which was also yummy. The total for this meal came to 0.00 dollars.

 

We ended up splitting up at this point. My mil went to the casino and we went to the hot tub. We were back in the room by 10 though as our shore excursion meets at 8am tomorrow.

 

Because I like adult beverages, here's what I tried today. I'll rate them 0-5, 5 being ill definitely try to recreate this at home. 0 being I didn't finish the drink

 

Red sangria- 3

Prosecco-1

Mojito - 4

Resieling- 2

Cherry grey goose/ soda water-4

Grey goose cosmo-5

 

 

Time for a good nights sleep

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