September 18, 2022 Pre-cruise

    Packing is underway, we have plenty of N95 face masks, some of which will be placed in our backpacks. Italy requires the European equivalent FFP2 face masks on all public transportation including planes. We also have some Rapid COVID Antigen Tests so that we can do our own COVID tests for boarding the ship, to show that we have tested negative. We do not need to find a pharmacy to administer the test. The weather in Rome’s port city Civitavecchia while we are there is forecasted to be sunny and have highs around 23°C, while it will be seven degrees cooler at home.

   The flight from Calgary to Rome is estimated to be just over 9 ½ hours arriving about noon. We will be landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, in the municipality of Fiumicino, Rome. The airport is about 32 km southwest of  Rome’s center, near the Italian west coast. The airport is about 65 km southeast of Civitavecchia. We have arranged for a car service to pick us up and drive us to Civitavecchia which should take a little over an hour.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

September 25 Ajaccio, Corsica

Image
    The Edge travelled across the Tyrrhenian Sea overnight passing through the Strait of Bonifacio then proceeding north along the west coast of the French island of Corsica, to the island’s capital city. The Edge was docked in Ajaccio at Port Tino Rossi which also is home to a marina capable of berthing almost 300 yachts and small boats. Passengers could start exploring Ajaccio (pronounced Ah-JAK-see-oh) leaving the ship before 8 a.m. Ajaccio is the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte. Napoléon rose to the rank of Brigadier General during the French Revolution in the 1790s and went on to declare himself Emperor of France in the first decade of the 1800s.    We ate breakfast in the Elite category designated breakfast restaurant, Le Grande Bistro on deck 4. We were the only guests in the restaurant until a woman came in as we left.   Our waiter informed us that the ship was less than half full at just over 1,250 guests. The ship’s double capacity is 2,918 and f...
Read more

September 26 Portofino, Italy

Image
   The Edge rounded the northern tip of Corsica to travel through the Ligurian Sea (arm of the Mediterranean Sea) to Portofino, on the northwestern coast on Italy. Before dawn the sky exploded with sheet lightning and rain. We had a good view from our balcony. We made sure that our umbrellas were packed in Larry’s backpack.   By 7:30 a.m., the Edge was anchored in Portofino Bay. We climbed to Deck 14, just two flights of stairs, for buffet breakfast in the Oceanview Café. Today passengers were tendered to the fishing village of Portofino, Italy to explore the region.     Portofino, which is on the Italian Riviera, was the favourite of the rich and famous during its 1950s heyday. The bay houses many different kinds of leisure boats including large yachts. The capital of the region is Genoa. There are luxury goods outlet shops from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Pucci plus hotels and restaurants lining the piazza of the horse shoe shaped bay.   Our excursio...
Read more

September 30 Palma de Mallorca

Image
     There were dark storm clouds in the sky as Celebrity Edge approached Palma de Mallorca, Spain as the sun rose. Today’s forecast calls for 55% chance of scattered morning showers. Just after we docked, there was a rainbow over the distant hills.   Breakfast was up at the Oceanview Café buffet, since we needed to be collecting our Sóller train tour tickets at 9 a.m. in the theatre. We took photos from Deck 14 of the landmarks around Palma’s port and city. Fortaleza San Carlos, named after Carlos Coloma who was Viceroy of Mallorca from 1611 to 1617; 14th-century Bellver Castle; two towers and the Cathedral of Mallorca. The style of architecture of Cathedral of Mallorca is Levantine Gothic. It was built on the site of a former mosque. The tombs of some of Mallorca’s past Kings, James II and James III, are here.    A quick check on the stateroom’s TV for a weather report showed a temperature of 16°C on the navigation channel. However, trying to read headl...
Read more