Rome is one of those locations, like Naples, that will be a regular stopover for characters in the cruise line series.

I loved wandering around Rome, thinking about the ancient history of this place. The history lessons we learned were real life here.

As with Venice, the locals were more than happy to correct my fledgling attempts at using Italian, and they did it with a smile. I very occasionally confused French or Spanish with Italian but was soon put right.

Catching a train at Roma Termine was an experience in and of itself, demanding lots of patience and a preparedness to ask for help.

We meandered around Vatican City, too, attended a Papal Mass and took great delight in being able to see, first hand, the wondrous masterpieces of the Sistene and St Peter’s Chapels.

Haiku:

The weight of history here
does not bend the back
of this iconic city.