Cruising the Mediterranean

The Jolly Hotel Leonardo da Vinci is positioned very close to Piazza del Popolo at the north end of Via del Corso in Rome. Walking on Via del Corso will get you to nearly all of Rome's major sites, so this puts the hotel in a reasonable location for tourists. The hotel is a short walk from both the Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo. The longest walk you will likely face is to the Colosseum and Forum area, which will take approximately 25 minutes.

While this Jolly property ended up being convenient location-wise, the overall experience was lacking. From the start the desk service was useless. We spent a night at the hotel at both the front end and back end of the cruise, and unfortunately the service didn't improve for the second visit.

Both rooms that we spent a night in were small, but clean and comfortable. The hotel also provides a complimentary breakfast for guests in the restaurant, located next to the lobby.

Overall our 2 nights at this hotel were a decent experience, but don't expect much more than a comfortable place to stay at this property.

Being that pizza and gelato were the only meals we bothered to eat in Rome, we had to give Pizzeria da Baffetto given its popularity. For roughly 15 euros we were able to get two personal pizzas.

Upon arrival we waited for approximately 5 minutes for a table. Once we were seated, we shared a 6-person table with a group of 3, as there were only 2 of us. We were fortunate enough to be sat at one of the few outside tables so we could enjoy the scenery.

The pizza at da Baffetto was very good, and the price was fair for a decent meal. If you're looking to try pizza while in Rome, it's certainly a good choice and we would recommend it.

We were fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to tour the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters the morning of our boat departure. Initially we didn't feel we would have enough time to see the Sistine Chapel on our own, so we jumped at the chance to get everything in during a 4 hour tour.

The tour itself was fairly ordinary, most companies seem to take a similar route to get you to the Sistine Chapel in reasonable time. The biggest benefit was not having to wait in line to eventually get into the museums. The nicest thing about the tours is that you're provided with a personal radio and ear piece so you can at least hear your guide amidst all of the commotion.

Following a similar tour route as many other reviewers, we were led through a wing full of sculptures, into the tapestry room, and through the room of maps. We were then given 15-20 minutes on our own in the Sistine Chapel to attempt to take everything in.

Though brief, approximately an hour and a half or two hours in the museum, we were able to get a feel for the massive collection of art housed here.

Following the Sistine Chapel we were led out of the museums and into St. Peters Basilica where we toured for an additional 45 minutes and were given time to wander the square.

For those who are in a time crunch, or aren't interested in waiting in line to get into the museums, a similar tour is a good option. It will cost you for your time savings, but with so much else to see in Rome, it can be worth it.

What can be said about The Colosseum that you haven't already heard? Our experience was much like many others, but fortunately, thanks to a little bit of reading here and other travel sites, we went a little better prepared than others.

We were amazed by the difference in lines at Palatine Hill and The Colosseum itself. We followed the tips by many of the reviews here and picked up our tickets at the Palatine ticket booths. There were only about 3 couples purchasing tickets at the time. When we arrived at The Colosseum the line was enormous as expected, so the advice was definitely most valuable.

The interior of The Colosseum is interesting from a historic perspective, but for my money, the exterior is far more impressive. The one sight you absolutely do not want to miss before leaving Rome is The Colosseum lit up for the evening.

When we returned to The Colosseum for sunset on our last evening in Rome, there were a large number of wedding parties being photographed in front of the site. We couldn't even imagine having such a backdrop for wedding photos, but in a city of such history, this must be commonplace. It definitely puts everything in perspective.

There are several spectacular sites within the ancient city of Ephesus. The excavation site contains the reconstructed Library of Celsus, which is absolutely spectacular. Though a large portion of Ephesus is reconstructed, it paints the picture of what life was like thousands of years ago. This excursion from our cruise was definitely worth the time and money.