Day 9,

and we are going to Rome,

a early start so no breakfast, 

off of the boat and into the waiting coach,

we caught the usual traffic jams,

but were soon passing the Colosseum,

we continued past it as we would be actually going there in the afternoon, 

we actually ended up here, 

a delightful square, 

with huge ornate fountains,

well I just had to!

a bit of building work going on at the rear of the square, 

we found a café for breakfast/lunch, 

and cooled off with a couple of ice lattés, 

it was so nice and relaxing, especially as just behind Diana a gentleman was playing a hammered dulcimer, it was just so delightful,

we ordered our meal,

I am not sure what Diana ordered but she said it was delicious, 

I ordered a salmon sandwich, it was huge, but then it was €16.00!

eyes down, 

and tuck in,

this was the dulcimer player, 

he was so gifted, Diana made a short video of him, 

and here it is, it was just so nice looking at the people in the square and listening to him,

a selfie from Diana, we joined the coach, 

and here we are, 

the queues were enormous, 

but we finally made it inside, 

what sights this archway must have seen,

I was soon busy snapping away,

a quick stop,

then start again!

after a couple of hours looking at the buildings surrounding the Colosseum, we made our way back to the coach, 

and back onboard the ship,

as we had some time before our meal,

a few games of cribbage, 

no looking at my cards!

as I went for some liquid refreshment, 

the miles this cribbage board has travelled, 

a walk around deck,

to build up our appetite for our evening meal, starters, 

for both of us, 

and a 'Cheers!', with a white wine for a change, 

on to our mains, 

both of which were delicious, 

Diana rounded off the meal with a cocktail before the evening show, after which a nightcap and we were off to bed. Back to today, in the morning Diana had a driving lesson, I took a few rays in the garden, after dropping Diana off to work I tried to buy our rail tickets for tomorrow, it is cheaper to buy them in advance of the day you travel, but of course the ticket office at Beckenham was closed as usual, one for the Internet tonight after I pick Diana up from work, also I tracked down a firm that removes asbestos, to conform with new fire regulations everyone in the building has to have their front door replaced, but ours has a sheet of asbestos on the back of it, the door company can not remove that so I had to find a company that could, and then arrange for our new front door to be fitted, which brought me nicely up to my smoked salmon salad that Diana had left for me, after which it was feet up for,

 

 Battle of Britain, released in 1969 a real boys own gung-ho war time movie, from one reviewer of the film who reviews the film:

"From the very start of the film, Guy Hamilton's direction and the great musical score left me spellbound even when I knew how the story ended. The casting was flawless. Olivier looked like Dowding. Trevor Howard could pass for Keith Park's twin brother and I swear Goering himself had a small part in the film too. I've always wondered if Robert Shaw's role of the squadron leader "Skipper" wasn't patterned after famed RAF pilot A.G. "Sailor" Malan. If it was, Shaw looks a lot like Malan. "War in the Air" is one of my favourite pieces of music and it flows beautifully through the film. Great acting by Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, and one of my favourites, Edward Fox makes this movie a must see for any WWII buff",

next I started on a Midsomer Murder, during which it was time to pick up Diana arriving home it was a Have I Got A Bit More News For You, as we are up early tomorrow for a day out, we were then off to bed.