Well, the Romans and Egyptians probably had civil wars of one sort or another. That's my story, anyway.
Boarded the Royal Princess at Civitavecchio, on the coast and cruised to Sorrento, across from Naples and from there took a tour to Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried in the ashes and lava of Mount Vesuvius. It's sad to think that in order to really see how people lived, it took a calamity like this to see it. The same for shipwrecks.
We then toured the Amalfi Coast, one of the most beautiful areas in the world. When you see those Mediterranean cities perched on the side of a mountain leading down to the Mediterranean, this is it.
We then had two days of cruising until we arrived at Alexandria, Egypt, June 18th. We then took a van to Cairo and saw the King Tut exhibit at the Egyptian Museum, the mosque that President Obama recently visited, and, of course, the pyramids and the sphinx.
The last two places, we encountered the Egyptian mosquitoes, the name our tour guide called those people of his country who are extremely intent upon sell stuff to tourists. They are a real experience.
THE FIRE
Thursday night, June 19th, the engine room of the Royal Princess caught fire. Fortunately, the crew was able to contain it and we didn't have to abandon ship, but that was it for the rest of our cruise. We didn't get to go to the Holy Land or Athens.
For more details on the fire, see my travel blog at http://roaddogsroadlog.blogspot.com.
Now, We Think of the Civil War as Being Old, But This Is Real Old. --B-R
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
