Rome and off the ship

The off loading of the ship was easy and our driver was waiting for us. Alex and Roger chatted in the front seat and the drive into Rome was quick and painless. Alex pointed out some of the sites and we arrived at the location to pick up our keys before we headed to our apartment. We didn’t get access until three so we dropped off our bags, washed up and wandered out. We ended up at a restaurant and enjoyed our first meal in Rome. The Risotto was excellent. We just have to remember to split meals as they are very large and the look at you funny if you ask to pack up your meal.
There was a group at the next table that seemed to know what they were doing so we chatted with them. They were from Texas and just finished a mission at an orphanage in Croatia. They had mixed feelings about that, but had lots of tips about their time spent in Rome.
We headed to a park where we enjoyed the atmosphere and some water and ice cream. We arrived a bit early to the apartment and it was not quite ready, but we slipped in and Doris, Roger and Joyce were asleep in minutes. Once the cleaner left I passed out to.
Joyce is hungry and wants her wine so Roger, Tracy and I wandered out. We found a Vietnamese and a Chinese market and a small corner store before we backtracked from a woman carrying a big bag of groceries. We found it. I immediately stuck a Euro in a shopping cart before trying to find just a basket on wheels. We had a great time picking out cheese, crackers, butter, wine, dessert, milk, cereal and such guessing at ingredients. I must go back with a camera to take a photo of the horsemeat baby food and the bottle of McDonalds Ketchup. Filling lunch for five was 51 Euros. Groceries for five for several meals were 39 Euros and that includes two large bottles wine.
Rome is hot and somewhat muggy but much cleaner than Naples. We continue to get major warnings about pickpockets. We had a fellow come in the restaurant to ask for Roger's pizza. The waiter headed him off and asked him to leave. The apartment is great; it has a little lift that holds maybe three normal people. You must remember to close both elevator doors otherwise it will not move. Joyce and Doris have a bedroom with twin beds, we have a room with a large bed and Tracy's bed is in the common room. The kitchen has a clothes washer, gas stove and basically what we need. There are fans in each room that are not in the best of shape, but they do work.