Keeping with the theme of our first day in Italy, the second and third were HOT. Like mid-90s hot.  “Walk on the side with shade,” became our constant refrain.

For Rome, we decided to do a day on our own – no guided tour. The highlight of the day was the Capuchin Crypt, a museum that tells the history of Capuchin monks and showcases the bones of more than 4,000 of those monks in artistic forms. Sounds creepy, but was an eerily beautiful memorial. We weren’t allowed to take pics but I downloaded one from the web to give you a feel for it. There were 5 or 6 dioramas – all made with bones and they told a story of how the monks lived and their beliefs about mortality. A really nice tour and – bonus – it was air conditioned!  The rest of the day consisted of a bit of the hop on/hop off bus, a less than inspired pizza and drinks in our favorite piazza in Rome, the Piazza Navona, and a walk back to where we picked up our transportation back to the ship.

In our port stop of Sorrento, we had signed up for a “make your own pizza” excursion that would take us to Naples. The tour was less than interesting, but the pizza was pretty good and we had a great time during the hour or two we were left to our own devices. A little drinking, a little shopping. The hydrofoil trip back across the bay of Naples gave us spectacular views of Sorrento as we returned.

The next day was “at sea,” and we made the most of it by totally relaxing.  After lunch, we wandered to the casino where we were told there was a blackjack tournament. There were just six of us signed up so the tourney was a quick seven hands. 15 minutes later, guess who was the winner? One Kristi DesJarlais. $180 richer, we wandered back to our room to sit on our balcony and drink the fabulous bottle of Chianti we purchased on our wine tour in Tuscany. Total relaxation. Later that night, after dinner, we teamed up to play trivia with the Aussies we had met at dinner a few nights before. Against about 10 other teams, we came in first place. A winning day for the DesJarlais!

I haven’t mentioned it before, but this cruise line – Oceania – is exceptional. The ship is about the same size as one of the really big ones – maybe a few fewer floors – but there are only about 1,000 people onboard. So it makes for a really open, uncrowded feel. All spaces – staterooms and public spaces – are bigger and more luxurious than any other ship we’ve been on. And most everything is included so it feels really easy and great. All in all, a fantastic experience. Can’t recommend Oceania enough.