Emerald Princess Rome to Barcelona September 26 -October 3 2015 in photos and video

[jlf1]

Norris,

 

Your inside shots of the churches are awesome. I can never get clear inside shots. What kind of settings do you use?

 

Judy

 

PS I'm already starved waiting for pictures of your first dinner.

Edited October 7, 2015 by jlf1

[Sturmin]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review. When I have time and waiting for this one, I'll have to check out tour previous ones.

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

 

Your inside shots of the churches are awesome. I can never get clear inside shots. What kind of settings do you use?

 

Judy

 

PS I'm already starved waiting for pictures of your first dinner.

 

Judy for ease of use and for time-in these churches you have to get the shots pretty quickly as there are people walking in and out of the shot constantly- I have the camera on auto, no-flash. Each one needs some fixing and I use Lightroom (adobe) for that. The shots you are looking at were fixed on the plane home via my laptop. I still have 1600 pics to work on (gulp).

 

If I had more time, no crowds and no fear of pickpockets and camera snatchers then I would use the manual settings and become better at using them. On my next cruise on the Silhouette there will be less crowds and 3 sea days so I hope to experiment more and as I will be shooting less I may do some shots in RAW rather than compressed JPEGS as these photos are. It's a learning process but a fun one if you can find the time to work on it.

 

I am glad you are liking what you see-these churches are not big draws like St. Peter's but that is a great part of their charm and Rome is full of their ilk.

 

First meal will be posted sometime today....and it's a classic.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review. When I have time and waiting for this one, I'll have to check out tour previous ones.

 

Welcome Sturmin and thanks for the feedback!

 

** If you read the Ocean Princess review and come across pics that say not available click on the X and you'll see them on Flickr where they live. CC doesn't know what the issue is.

 

Norris

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

Wow , just look at that crowd ! Was the pope speaking ? No , they just heard that Norris was in town had began another review !! Keep up the great work and - we're hungry for food photos . :) :D

Edited October 7, 2015 by scubacruiserx2

[Bimmer09]

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[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

Wow , just look at that crowd ! Was the pope speaking ? No , they just heard that Norris was in town had began another review !! Keep up the great work and - we're hungry for food photos . :) :D

 

Tom!! So glad you found this. I was just trying to catch up on your St. Petersburg Odyssey-so much to see there-those subway stations!!! They beat the graffiti dungeons that proliferate in the USA.

 

Ah- the food photos...such a big build up. Will they live up to the hype?

 

Watch this space...

 

Norris, hungry

[Bimmer09]

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I forgot to mention that in one of the previous photos there was a sculpture of Christ bearing the cross-by Michelangelo.

 

Time to move on and take a step outside....

 

Norris

Edited October 7, 2015 by Bimmer09
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[New York Nana]

Norris, I've been waiting for like FOR EV ER! for you and Carol to have done this trip so I can start each morning reading about it!

While I was stationed in Italy in the 70's, I always loved going into the churches - they are museums in their own right! Thank you for taking the time and effort in sharing these photos that bring back so many memories!

I am anxiously awaiting what's coming! (however, I leave on Saturday on the Regal for the NE/Canada cruise and will not be able to read it every day - so feel free to slow it down a bit! haha!)

Barb

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I've been waiting for like FOR EV ER! for you and Carol to have done this trip so I can start each morning reading about it!

While I was stationed in Italy in the 70's, I always loved going into the churches - they are museums in their own right! Thank you for taking the time and effort in sharing these photos that bring back so many memories!

I am anxiously awaiting what's coming! (however, I leave on Saturday on the Regal for the NE/Canada cruise and will not be able to read it every day - so feel free to slow it down a bit! haha!)

Barb

 

Barb, have a great cruise-a bucket list itinerary for us. I may have got us to the Emerald by the time you leave and you can catch up when you get back.

 

Great to see you here!

 

Norris, working on some video at the moment

[sawtooth]

Wonderful report. Thanks for taking us along.

I saw many pictures of terrible flooding in Nice and Cannes so I am not surprised to hear that the part stop was cancelled.

Deborah

[Bimmer09]

Wonderful report. Thanks for taking us along.

I saw many pictures of terrible flooding in Nice and Cannes so I am not surprised to hear that the part stop was cancelled.

Deborah

 

Yes Deborah, the Captain made a good decision-even though the worst flooding was the day after we were due to stop it would not have been pleasant to tender ashore in stormy conditions.

 

Glad you stopped by!

 

Norris, uploading first video to youtube.

[Bimmer09]

Ok, so we are back outside Sant Maria Sopra Minerva....

 

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While I was outside a man heard me and Carol talking simple phrases in Italian and came over to me talking in Italian and I was able to understand most of what he was saying without any mime-so I took his photo the way he wanted it. By the end of the day I realized I hadn't spoken English all day except to Carol and a couple from the USA I met in this square. I was in a funk over my Rosetta Stone exercises before I left home as little of it was sticking-but on the streets it came back to me. Good investment.

 

A block or two away is Sant Ignacio. That's a Baroque church (if it ain't baroque-don't fix it!) compared to the Gothic Maria Sopra.

 

From the outside

 

 

The Piazza it sits in

 

 

And the inside

 

 

This next "dome" isn't a dome...the ceiling is flat and this is a trompe l'oeil painting!

 

 

[Bimmer09]

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[Bimmer09]

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I'm thinking of doing my bedroom ceiling like this....

 

[ar1950]

I'm thinking of doing my bedroom ceiling like this....

 

It certainly would give you something to ponder on nights that you couldn't sleep. :cool:

Edited October 7, 2015 by ar1950

[Asha&Elli]

Another Aussie follower joining the review. Really appreciate the detail you go to in your reviews and the photos are amazing [emoji3] Feel free to take as long as you need to share your journey!

[Bimmer09]

The story so far

 

We've been in Rome for about 6 hours, taken a 90 minute nap, had coffee, walked a couple of blocks and visited some stunning churches. We still hadn't eaten a morsel since our breakfast on the airplane around 8 am...10 hours ago.

 

Rather than eat at 6 we pushed dinner off until 8 as between those two hours the sun would set and we wanted to see that. So the plan was to return to the hotel, get changed out of our jeans, freshen up and visit the fantastic rooftop bar that is the icing on Albergo del Senato's rich cake.

 

While we are walking back to our hotel here's the first video of the trip- the title says it all.

 

[YOUTUBE]R1g6pKf5RcQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

As it was now that time when what we call "Magic light" before the sunset we thought it time to get up to the bar, where I knew there to be beer.

 

Magic light

 

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I'll show you the rooftop bar in detail another time (we could enjoy it again tomorrow). On this evening it was packed with hotel guests-public not allowed.

There was just one empty chair near the bar and the man there offered it to me.

He had just come from a 2 week golf cruise along the southern coast of France and was a lawyer in Florida. When Carol arrived soon after me I gave her my seat and stood. There was a dark sky and threat of rain coming.

 

Some of the photos (maybe all of them) have flaws (shooting straight at the sun makes this a given for an amateur) but they will give you the flavor of the drama in the clouds.

 

 



 

[Bimmer09]

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Spits of rain were falling and the temperature dropping. We could see rain sheets falling in the distance and they were coming our way. It was time to get off the roof and make our dinner plans.

 

One last look...the dome you can see dead center, low in the frame is St. Peter's in the Vatican.

 

 

*** Some of these photos by Carol using a Canon Sureshot

 

Norris, having enjoyed the olives from the olive trees in the rooftop bar, now looking forward to a big Italian dinner....

[Bimmer09]

Another Aussie follower joining the review. Really appreciate the detail you go to in your reviews and the photos are amazing [emoji3] Feel free to take as long as you need to share your journey!

 

Hi-all Aussies welcome! I hope you don't mind my stereotype jokes in an earlier post (shrimps on barbie, corks on hat etc) but having sailed with many Aussies-there were 450 on our Emerald Cruise- I know you can take a joke.

 

Half of the smoker's tables at Tradewinds were taken by Aussies and with the help of some (many) adult beverages they were laughing up a storm. Great group having a great time regardless of the weather.

 

I knew going into the review that it would take a long time- the itinerary was just so rich I knew I would be taking a lot of photos. I know that the length will put some people off and my humor isn't to everyone's taste but it's something that is with me 24/7. People with no interest in Rome will stay away until I get to the ship and I'll cover that in great detail-when I get there.

This part now is for people who do have an interest in Rome so I'll offer as much detail as I can. Two days doesn't give you more than a snapshot-but what a memorable snapshot it is!!

 

Great to have you aboard again!

 

Norris

[p0240]

So glad to follow your trip again, love the detail you put into your story. We are in Rome next Sep at the conclusion of a 24 day cruise so am really interested in your Rome stories and as we haven't yet booked a hotel, your comments on your hotel and location will be valuable.

Thanks for your time.

Pat

[Bimmer09]

When you haven't eaten more than a couple of olives in 12 hours there's only one remedy-a nice hot dinner!

 

Carol has Rick Steves Italy on her phone and his choice for dining near Pantheon Square is Da Fortunato.

 

I asked Mauro at the reception desk for directions- it was less than 2 minutes walk away-visible if I stepped 10 yards away from the hotel. As it was now softly drizzling (which helped to clear the square of the hordes) we took a hotel umbrella after Mauro called the restaurant to make sure they had a table for us.

 

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Yes they had outdoor dining-our favorite-but as it had cooled and was drizzling we thought it best to play safe and sit indoors. We entered and announced ourselves (un tavolo per due accanto della fenestra). We'd like a table for two by the window. FREE Italian lessons !! LOL

 

All it takes is a few phrases and they smile big time and welcome you with open arms. I couldn't sit and chat to an Italian but in a couple of years I might be able to. I can order food and ask for directions which is a good place to start. I use Rosetta Stone which is a bit of a slog as there are no English translations but it means you end up being able to make up sentences to suit the situation. Carol uses Berlitz where you have to remember Italian sentences by rote.

Her pronunciation and big smile help make any waiter our new best friend. Choose ONE for a better Italian experience. If you are visiting Rome for a few hours on a cruise excursion then don't bother.

 

I'll show you the restaurant first (spoiler!) just to give you a lay of the land.

 

 

The first thing you see upon entering is this display which gets the taste buds working....

 

 

Seeing anchovies my heart started racing...having me some of those!

 

 

More later....

 

Norris

[ar1950]

Some of the photos (maybe all of them) have flaws ...................

 

Maybe it is just my computer screen, but, I looked a couple of times and I certainly didn't see them. Fantastic pictures one and all.

Edited October 8, 2015 by ar1950

[jimbri]

Wonderful review, photos are great. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[Woobstr112G]

Pictures are out of this world great. Thanks for posting.....:):):)

 

Bob