Civitavecchia is the closest port to the city of Rome and we arrived very early in the morning tying up behind our old friend Norwegian Jade which was previously called The Pride of Hawaii. We have sailed on this ship a few times and have many happy memories.

Because we have spent some time in Rome on previous occasions we decided to take a tour in the Tuscan countryside.

We visited the medieval town of Tuscania which was quaint and very interesting.

Then we drove on and visited a real working vineyard called Valle del Marta Farm in Tarquinia. After taking us on a tour of the grape vines and explaining how the wines are made we were treated to samples of everything they make at this wonderful place. Samples are not the right word because everything came in full size glasses and was accompanied with bruschetta snacks.

Our daughter Sarah flew into Rome today but unfortunately there would not have been enough time to meet up and then get back to the ship before it sailed. We haven’t seen Sarah since May but hopefully we will see her later this month in the UK.