Rome and Livorno

Hello All, we had two days at sea for a great recovery time, although the seas were very bumpy, as the Captain says.  He also says roly poly which I am sure is a nautical term we don't use nearly enough.  The first night out, we rolled, pitched and banged our way around the end of the boot on the way to Rome. Finally, I got up and took a seasick pill, actually I took two, and then I spent the rest of the night and the next day sleeping.  True, I finally woke around 5 for dinner.  Mike and Janice told me they had been instructed to never take more than one pill in 24 hours!  I survived, and the rolling the second night didn't bother me at all.  Jim woke on Dec 5 at the Rome port with a little nagging tickle in his throat.  We went off for the marathon trip to all sites Rome, including the Colliseum, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, Basilica of St Peter, the Trevi Fountain, other fountains, and sights.  We were exhausted after that, my knees were giving out, and we woke this morning with Jim in full cold mode and me dragging around after him.  So, we skipped Florence.  It might seem like we made a bad decision, but the day would have been just like yesterday because they are cramming everything into one day, and Jim would have infected everybody in the van!  We need to come back to Italy on a land trip to poke around Venice, Rome and Florence.  I didn't think I would want to do that, but after this short trip, I am sure there are lots of things to see in more than one day.  I got the information I want: I need to come back to Italy.  Anyway, we are hoping to feel good enough tomorrow to go to Cannes and Barcelona the next day. 
We continue to meet interesting people.  I asked Jim what he was giving me for our 50th anniversary and he suggested a round the world cruise!  So, since then I have been asking everyone if they have been on any of those kinds of cruises.  Yesterday a gentleman from Surry, BC, told me he had met a woman who went on a leg of Round the World and she got an extra trip to Alaska because Holland America was trying to outbid Princess on the deal.  Looks like we'll be doing some real bargain shopping!  Before we set out on the world trip, we have to get across the Atlantic and we have to cross the Pacific to Hawaii in the spring.  I may not like long sea days; we'll see.  Anyway, our 50th isn't until 2016 so we can do some planning.
We learned so much yesterday.  It makes sense, but I did not know we have two US ambassadors in Rome, one to Italy and one to the Vatican City!  Also, the Knights of Malta have their own independent state here in Rome, a property close to the Vatican and to the Egyptian embassy ( to the Vatican). Michaelangelo had a very ribald sense of humor, too.  More later on that.  Signing off for now, The Whidbey Wagners