Marseille which was once a crossroad of Mediterranean civilization and bastion of the ancient Greeks, is the second largest city in France with over one million inhabitants. In the past Marseille had a bad reputation but it has recently undergone a rejuvenation especially in the Vieux (old) Port area, resulting in Marseilles being designated one of 2013’s European Capitals of Culture. Our hotel was located close to vieux port which is very picturesque. The por...

On our previous visit to Rome we missed the Sistine Chapel due to the 3 hour wait to enter so this time we skipped the queues by booking online. We felt sorry for the tourists in the line which stretched around a kilometre as we entered via the expess lane but once inside we were caught up in the press of almost shoulder to shoulder slowly moving visitors shuffling along the corridors on our way to the Sistine Chapel. The artwork & frescos in the corridors ar...

Ostia Antica is the ancient port of Rome situated around 30 kilometres from the city at the mouth of the Tiber River. It dates from around 400BC and became the main port around early 100AD with the rise of the Roman Empire. The port was used to unload all items shipped to the city prior to being repacked on barges for their trip to Rome along the quite shallow Tiber river. The port was quite a large city with around 100 thousand residents in its heyday but due to...

Our cruise was a very relaxing way to enjoy the many ports around the Mediterranean, Adriatic & Aegean Seas, with stops in Greece, Croatia, Montenegro,Turkey, Italy, France, Monaco and Spain. It was a wonderful 5 weeks traveling on a very beautiful and modern ship with great company, good food and outstanding weather. Our cruise started and finished in the coastal city of Civitivecchia the port for Rome Italy, a very nice coastal area with a very busy port b...

Rome Arrived in Rome about Wednesday 9pm after a flight from Bordeaux. Our hotel room is huge compared to others so far. Next time we come we will opt for apartments for all stops. Much nicer to have more space but the upside with hotels is you get to meet more people which has been lovely. Lots of Aussies staying at our Rome hotel. Maybe only outnumbered by UK group on a tour. Tour guide was barking orders at a few dawdlers at breakfast yesterday. Really funny a...