Rome

Rome was one of the destinations I visited on a cruise of the Mediterranean on board P&O Arcadia.  The ship docked at the Port of Civitavecchia, located around 80km from the city itself.  If you intend to visit the city from Civitaveccia, make sure you plan how you are going to get there.  I travelled on an excursion organised by P&O, however if you are on a budget you may want to try the train which is much cheaper.

I took P&O's Introduction to Rome tour and I'm so happy I did.  Unless your a historian, Rome is a place best seen with a guide.  There is so much history here and it's great to have everything explained to you, although groups the groups are very big, so make sure you listen up! 

After the long coach trip into the Rome, the tour started at The Roman Forum.  This was the religious and political focus of the city in Republican and Imperial times.  Here you will see the ancient ruins which reflect 12 centuries of history, which created the Roman civilisation.

The Roman Forum

The Colosseum

Next up was the Colosseum, Rome’s finest amphitheatre, commissioned by Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD.  You can imagine how amazing it would have been in it's heyday, full to the brim with 55,000 people.  Colosseum Marketing, if your listening, I would love to see the inside of the structure brought to life on a visit with some lions and live actors!  The Colosseum is a must see.

The Colosseum

We then got back on our coach and were whisked away to the centre of the Roman Catholic faith, St Peter's Basilica - one, if not the, most famous cathedral in the world.  If you want to go inside make sure your dressed appropriately.   The building is immense and the interior has to be seen to be believed, it is truly impressive.  The crypts beneath the Cathedral interesting are too.
The afternoon gave us plenty of free time to explore Rome on our own.  We split the group at St Peter’s Square and had lunch, did some shopping visited the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps

Exhausting Day!