On the cruise we had a total of four days at sea.  So what did we do on a day at sea?

We passed by active volcanoes.

Of course on sea days – we sat by the pool, or when we got up to late to get a seat deck 12.  And when you sit by the pool, you must have a drink!

We also did one of my favorite things – Climbed the Rock Wall!

One night the cruise had a “White Night” where everyone was supposed to wear white and they had a “White Party” by the pool.  And of course they had a yummy buffet!

The ice sculpture was not a phallic symbol, it just appears that way in the photo.

Along with the “White Night” they had a “Disco Party” in the Centrum one night.  Unfortunately my pictures didn’t really come out.  There was singing and dancing and a performance by the Village People, also known as the activities staff, cruise director, photographer and guest relations.

Our first and third days at sea were also the formal nights.  We had a total of 3 formal nights but Kenny and I only went to two.  Here we are at the first one.

And here we are at the third one (we skipped the second one).

Oh and in case you were wondering which was the lobster night, they don’t do the lobster anymore, they do jumbo shrimp.  Kenny was very disappointed.

As you may or may not be able to tell we are at a table for 6 and we are sitting alone.  Don’t be sad!  We originally had a British honeymooning couple at our table.  On the third or fourth night we noticed they were missing and we thought they had just eaten dinner somewhere else.  Then on the formal night they weren’t there, but I knew I had seen them getting photos.  We soon found out that they had made friends and had moved to another table.  Which was a-okay with us because he was very annoying and we liked having all the attention at the table.  The food was not as good as we expected.  Although I was a very big fan of the cold fruit soups.  (For some reason I crave cold fruit soup at home a lot.  And the cruise was the first time I had actually had it.)  Strawberry with mint was my first, Kenny swears it was just strawberry daiquiri mix.

Remember the champagne and cupcakes?  In addition to those we also received canapes on the first formal night and petit fours and chocolate covered strawberries.  A treat to us from us!

Our last treat to us from us (Royal Caribbean Romance Package) was breakfast in bed.

The Best French Toast Ever!  Sorry Mimi!

Every night there was a different show – and surprisingly they were really good.  There was a magic act, singers, dancers, a Motown group, the Rat Pack and so on.  We treated ourselves to “bar service” every night.  On the last night the waiter looked at Kenny and said “jim beam and coke, right?”  That’s when I realized it was probably a good thing we were going home the next day.  These are pics from the last night.

Unfortunately for me this is the only non-blurry picture of the two of us from the night.

The stage – we were big fans of the balcony, it made getting out easier

Gordon – our cruise director

The captain, cruise director, singers, dancer, chefs, room service, etc.

Day 4 on the Brilliance of the Seas Mediterranean Cruise – Rome.  Once again we did not dock in Rome, our port of call was Civitavecchia.  And once again Royal Caribbean offered an excursion where you could be bused to and from Rome.  And once again we decided to go the cheap route and take the train.

The ship lets you off at the port and then you take a bus to the edge of the port/town.  From there you turn right and walk down the main road until you get to the train station.  Our train tickets were 18 euro – over $150 in savings.  I think the train is definitely the better move.

We walked from the train station to the Colosseum.  It was about a 30 minute walk.  Around the Colosseum is so much history and ruins, so we spent some time exploring while avoiding the gladiators.

From the Colosseum we walked towards the “Spanish Steps”.  I put it in quotations because later in the day we learned they really weren’t the Spanish Steps.  Whatever it was, it was beautiful and we got some great photos.  Oh and we got in trouble for sitting on the steps – security started blowing a whistle at us – troublemakers!

Kenny was the planner for our day in Rome and he really wanted to go to Villa Borghese.  It was one of the few places I hadn’t been to before in Rome, so I was up for the ride, the really long, feet hurting ride.

Along the way we detoured to the Trevi Fountain.  It was unbelievable how many people were there – craziness!

Lunch in Rome was very momentous.  That is where Kenny had “THE BEST PIZZA EVER” (can you hear the trumpets, cause we can).  It was a Quattro Formaggio pizza, which is basically a cheese pizza.  And it was the best pizza ever.

At most of our meals wine and beer were cheaper than a soft drink, so of course we did a little mid-day drinking.  We generally got a bottle of water, still no gas, as well.  We loved sitting outside for lunch and people watching.

After lunch it was time to continue on to Villa Borghese.  Please keep in mind that we had been walking non-stop for 3 days straight, my legs were in total agony, I did not think I had it in me.  But I knew Kenny wanted to see it so I pressed on.  After climbing the mountain or hill, depending on your point of view, up to Villa Borghese we were welcomed with this amazing view of Rome and St. Peter’s Basilica.

Villa Borghese reminded us a lot of Central Park.  You could rent bikes or carriages or you could enjoy the walk, which we did.

I then reached my breaking point and insisted on a train ride home.  Kenny got us to the closest Metro Station and for a euro each we took the metro to the Train Station.  Then we had to climb 10 sets of stairs with the crowd to get from the metro up to the train.  And when we finally made it back to Civitavecchia, I was rewarded with gelato.

Later that night on the ship we enjoyed an AMAZING sunset.

Tomorrow – At Sea

Day 3 on the Brilliance of the Seas Mediterranean Cruise – Port of Call – Florence.  Ok, so the port of call was Livorno and from there you could explore Pisa or Florence.  Obviously we chose Florence.

Florence is about an hour and a half trip from Livorno.  Royal Caribbean offered an excursion where they would bus you to and from Florence, it was about $200 for two people.  We decided to go for the cheaper version, the train.

We got up nice and early and were one of the first people off the boat.  We walked pass all the expensive buses towards the taxis.  We ended up sharing a taxi to the train station with a group of 5 people and it ended up costing us 5 euro a piece.  The train tickets cost us 26,80 euro for two, round trip – much cheaper than the excursion!!!!!  (Italian Trains and Ports)

The train ride was about an hour and forty-five minutes.  When we arrived in Florence we checked out the schedule to get an idea of how often trains went back to Livorno, which turned out to be every 30 minutes.

Our first stop was the Duomo.  We got there so early it hadn’t opened yet, so we weren’t able to go inside.  We stopped back by on our way back to the train station in the afternoon and were able to go inside.  Tip: Ladies have to have their shoulders covered or they make you wear paper dresses.

The exterior of the Duomo is unlike anything else.

I once again relied very heavily on the City Maps 2Go iPhone app to get us around Florence.  From the Duomo we headed to Piazza della Signoria.  Where we saw a few very famous statutes.

Neptune Fountain

David part due – The original is in the Accademia and we only had time for one museum and I chose the Uffizi because really the only thing to see in the Accademia is the David.

Heracles and Cacus

Perseus and Medusa

I know it is demented but I absolutely adore this statute.  The detail and emotion that is conveyed is unbelievable.  The grotesque display of guts hanging from Medusa’s neck and from her body just sucks you in.  I am in awe of the craftsmanship and beauty of something so deplorable.

We found a little cafe off the Piazza della Signoria for a morning snack.  Kenny was very impressed with how quickly Italians would come in for an espresso, stand at the bar, drink it, and move on with their day in about 5 minutes.  Kenny wasn’t ready to completely conform yet so we grabbed a table for a coffee and a hot chocolate (my favorite) and this yummy little donut.

After the gnash we headed towards the Ponte Vecchio – which is the famous bridge you often see in pictures of Florence with all the buildings on the bridge, that look like they are barely hanging on.

Kenny wanted to explore the bridge and I was very surprised because I knew all the buildings were jewelry stores, and I thought he knew that too.  I was starting to think he wanted to get me something sparkly.  I should have known better,  because half way across, he asked if all the shops were jewelry stores.  Clearly he had missed the memo.  If you get the chance though, it’s pretty impressive window shopping.

After the Ponte Vecchio we headed to the Ufizzi.  I had purchased tickets online, which basically allows you to reserve a time and then you pick up your real tickets the morning of.  I would definitely recommend purchasing tickets to the Ufizzi online because at 11 the line was already pretty long.

The Uffizi is made up of primarily religious art.  My favorite paintings were Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera.

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My favorite thing about Italy – GELATO!!!!!!  I had read in one of the travel books that the best gelato was at Gelateria Vivoli.  So of course we had to go.  I consider myself a gelato connoisseur and the way that I determine the quality of the gelato is by having strawberry flavored or in Italian- fragola.  The Gelateria Vivoli had the best fragola gelato I have ever had.  It was unbelievable!!!!!!

Part of the gelato thrill is seeing the amazing displays.

Throughout the trip there was this ongoing issue with converting money.  A couple days before we left we realized that our credit card company was going to charge us a conversion fee, about a dollar, for every transaction.  So we decided we would convert more cash and just pay with cash.  Well when I went to Bank of America, they informed me that you have to come in early and request the foreign currency and then they will have it in the bank 3 days later.   We didn’t have 3 days.  So we figured we’d convert at the airport with Travelex – what a ripoff?!?!?!  We converted and then did the math and got our money back.  They ended up being 10% lower than everywhere else.  On the cruise ship the exchange rate was about 70 cent for a euro.

While in Florence Kenny saw this hole in the wall (literally) that offered a really good exchange rate, so he went for it.

You can see why I would be concerned about the authenticity of the euro’s we were given.  We spent them and no one questioned us so I guess it worked out.  We also used a hole in the wall exchange place (Cambio) in Naples that gave a really good rate.  So the moral is go to your bank early, the ghetto fabulous places have good rates, if all else fails the cruise rate isn’t that bad, the airport exchange is robbery!

Here is my moment of honesty, I had a second gelato before the train station.  And this one Kenny declared the best gelato.

The flavor was Kinder Chocolate.  I’m guessing most of you are like, what?  Kinder is a brand of chocolate in Europe and one of their specialties are Kinder Eggs.  They are chocolate eggs that have a little prize on the inside.  Yes the prize is fun, but the chocolate is so unbelievably good.  Kinder Eggs are very difficult to find in the states (choking hazard) although I have been able to a time or two.  We brought Kinder Eggs home to Kenny’s niece and nephew and for my brother.  My brother is a very big fan.

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And that is pretty much our day in Florence.  Tomorrow – Rome