We arrived in the port city of Civitavecchia, which is about an hour train ride away from Rome, at 8 in the morning. The first thing we did was get off the ship and head to the train station where we caught the first available train to Rome. Once in Rome, jancee kandice and I headed to the Vatican. Luckily, I kind of had an idea where I was going since I was there 3 years ago. We got to the main square without any trouble and they had huge screens set up to watch the mass that was going on inside the basilica. Last time I was in the Vatican, the pope wasn’t. So I was really excited this time to be able to see him on the screen during mass. After wandering around the Vatican for a while, we went to go eat some pizza. That pizza happened to be the worst pizza I have ever had in Italy. Sad, but it was only the first day so there was time for improvement. From the Vatican we took the metro to the Trevi fountain. Of course, we could hardly move because of all the people there. Unlike last time in Rome, there was no crazy man swimming in the fountain.
We threw our coins in the fountain in hopes of returning to Rome again some day, and went in search of some gelato. Of course, there are gelateria’s on every corner so it took all of 2 minutes to find some. After gelato, we went to a liquor and pasta store where we had a limoncello tasting. We then returned to the metro and went to the colosseum. We took a guided tour inside, and even with it being my second time to see it; I was still completely amazed by it. 
Then we walked through the Roman forum. While walking through, we saw people heading to a wedding inside the forum. It was the cutest thing ever. At this point, we were exhausted. We had been walking around Rome since 10 in the morning and it was definitely over 100 degrees that day. So we sat down and had dinner and then took the train back to Civitavecchia to stay the night. .
The second day in Italy, I went on a trip to Siena to see the preparations for the il Palio festival that is held twice a year. It is a horse race, in which 10 horses and riders dress in the colors of the contradas they are racing for. There are seventeen contradas, or neighborhoods, in Siena. They each have a different mascot. There are the snails, the geese, the forest, and the giraffe (which is the neigborhood we toured). While walking through the streets there are flags hung everywhere with the mascot of the neighborhood you’re in. 
We saw where the horse stable for the giraffe contrada was, and then went to see the main square where the race track was being prepared. Sadly, we were there 2 days before the race so we only saw the preparations for it. The town of Siena is probably one of the most adorable places I have ever been. It looks exactly as I would imagine a renaissance Italian town to look like. 
The third day in Italy, I went to Orvieto. It is a tiny little town in the Italian countryside. There is a beautiful church in the main square, and very quiet streets. We went underground to see the old Etruscan caves, and then walked around for a few hours before heading back to the ship. The last day of this port, we went to an Italian cooking class at a farm in tarquinia. This farm is a completely self-sustainable farm with a restaurant and hotel on it. We learned how to make homemade pasta and tiramisu. We had free time to have wine and swim in the infinity pool, then saw down to eat the meal we helped cook. It was absolutely amazing. 
That night we returned to the ship, and the ship left this port and headed to the port in Naples!
Then we walked through the Roman forum. While walking through, we saw people heading to a wedding inside the forum. It was the cutest thing ever. At this point, we were exhausted. We had been walking around Rome since 10 in the morning and it was definitely over 100 degrees that day. So we sat down and had dinner and then took the train back to Civitavecchia to stay the night. .
The second day in Italy, I went on a trip to Siena to see the preparations for the il Palio festival that is held twice a year. It is a horse race, in which 10 horses and riders dress in the colors of the contradas they are racing for. There are seventeen contradas, or neighborhoods, in Siena. They each have a different mascot. There are the snails, the geese, the forest, and the giraffe (which is the neigborhood we toured). While walking through the streets there are flags hung everywhere with the mascot of the neighborhood you’re in. 
We saw where the horse stable for the giraffe contrada was, and then went to see the main square where the race track was being prepared. Sadly, we were there 2 days before the race so we only saw the preparations for it. The town of Siena is probably one of the most adorable places I have ever been. It looks exactly as I would imagine a renaissance Italian town to look like. 
The third day in Italy, I went to Orvieto. It is a tiny little town in the Italian countryside. There is a beautiful church in the main square, and very quiet streets. We went underground to see the old Etruscan caves, and then walked around for a few hours before heading back to the ship. The last day of this port, we went to an Italian cooking class at a farm in tarquinia. This farm is a completely self-sustainable farm with a restaurant and hotel on it. We learned how to make homemade pasta and tiramisu. We had free time to have wine and swim in the infinity pool, then saw down to eat the meal we helped cook. It was absolutely amazing. 
That night we returned to the ship, and the ship left this port and headed to the port in Naples!
arrived in Naples, we were super excited to go exploring. Little did we know that Naples was pretty disgusting. Jancee, Kandice, and I walked around Naples for a good two hours, but did not see anything impressive. Later on that day, I took a city tour of Naples, which wasn’t very exciting, but I did get a picture with Naples and Mt. Vesuvius in the background. This picture makes Naples look a lot prettier than it actually is. The second day in Naples I was sooo excited to get to the island of Capri. It was even more beautiful than I was expecting. We took the 45-minute ferry there and when we arrived we went to the top of the island, called anacapri. We had amazing views of the crystal clear water below, and then had lunch at the top of the island. 
Once back down at the bottom, a few people and I rented a boat from a guy who made us call him pizza man. He drove us around the entire island for about 4 hours. We had a couple bottles of strawberry wine, which is extremely good, and took off around the island. We stopped at a couple of places to swim in the blue water. At one stop, we swam into a cave, which came out on another side with a little beach. We swam for a little while, then got back to the boat to head to the blue grotto. Once at the blue grotto, we had to pay to get into a smaller boat that would actually fit into the cave opening. Depending on how high the tide is, sometimes the cave opening is completely submerged in water. Luckily, there was still a little opening, but we still had to lie down in the boat in order to clear the entrance. Once inside, the water was absolutely beautiful. The sun shines in through the very small opening of the cave and illuminates the water inside the grotto the most beautiful electric blue color you could ever imagine. 
After we left the grotto we went back to the shore and had dinner and proceeded to the beach to meet about 100 sasers. Since it was 4th of July, we felt the need to celebrate. With our 6-dollar bottles of wine, we partied for a couple hours, sang the national anthem, and tried to herd everyone onto the last ferry back to Naples. Best 4th of July EVER. The last day in Naples, Emily FINALLY returned from her tour of Italy and we decided to try and find the best pizza place in the world, pizzeria da Michele. This is the same pizza place mentioned in Eat, Pray, Love. With our excellent world travelling skills, we ended up right in front of the pizzeria. There are only two options for pizza at this place, so we ordered the margherita pizzas, a couple beers, and a coke. Since we were sitting right next to the brick oven, we watched our pizzas being made and were so excited when they arrived at our table. I can’t even describe how delicious this pizza was. It might be the single, most amazing food I have ever tasted.
Of course, we ate our entire pizzas and were too full to even function afterwards. Once back on the ship, they were having a 4th of July barbeque for us, complete with burgers, ribs, hotdogs, and apple pie. Sadly, we were too full to participate. We left Naples that night, and were excited to see what Croatia had in store for us.
Once back down at the bottom, a few people and I rented a boat from a guy who made us call him pizza man. He drove us around the entire island for about 4 hours. We had a couple bottles of strawberry wine, which is extremely good, and took off around the island. We stopped at a couple of places to swim in the blue water. At one stop, we swam into a cave, which came out on another side with a little beach. We swam for a little while, then got back to the boat to head to the blue grotto. Once at the blue grotto, we had to pay to get into a smaller boat that would actually fit into the cave opening. Depending on how high the tide is, sometimes the cave opening is completely submerged in water. Luckily, there was still a little opening, but we still had to lie down in the boat in order to clear the entrance. Once inside, the water was absolutely beautiful. The sun shines in through the very small opening of the cave and illuminates the water inside the grotto the most beautiful electric blue color you could ever imagine. 
After we left the grotto we went back to the shore and had dinner and proceeded to the beach to meet about 100 sasers. Since it was 4th of July, we felt the need to celebrate. With our 6-dollar bottles of wine, we partied for a couple hours, sang the national anthem, and tried to herd everyone onto the last ferry back to Naples. Best 4th of July EVER. The last day in Naples, Emily FINALLY returned from her tour of Italy and we decided to try and find the best pizza place in the world, pizzeria da Michele. This is the same pizza place mentioned in Eat, Pray, Love. With our excellent world travelling skills, we ended up right in front of the pizzeria. There are only two options for pizza at this place, so we ordered the margherita pizzas, a couple beers, and a coke. Since we were sitting right next to the brick oven, we watched our pizzas being made and were so excited when they arrived at our table. I can’t even describe how delicious this pizza was. It might be the single, most amazing food I have ever tasted.
Of course, we ate our entire pizzas and were too full to even function afterwards. Once back on the ship, they were having a 4th of July barbeque for us, complete with burgers, ribs, hotdogs, and apple pie. Sadly, we were too full to participate. We left Naples that night, and were excited to see what Croatia had in store for us.
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