I enjoy towns on the Italian coast, and then my around-the-world adventure comes to an end

I have spent a total of four weeks of my life in Italy - one of them on a school trip at the tender age of 15. But somehow, after so many ports over that past four months that seemed far more foreign, arriving in Civitavecchia (the port that serves Rome) felt like coming home.

The Poesia offered multiple excursions into the big city to spend a few hours seeing the usual sights - the Vatican, the Forum, the Colosseum etc. But all of my ship friends have spent time in Rome on previous occasions, and none of us felt like doing the tourist drive-by.

So we - Josie, Virginia, Tilka, Ed and I - just walked off the boat and wandered through Civitavecchia itself. And it was a wonderful way to spend the day.

There are Roman fortifications and other ancient bits of architecture.

And we convinced Ed to steal us a few kumquats.

Then we strolled the bustling market which had a large section devoted to tourist clothes and trinkets - it's funny how markets catering to tourists are so similar the world over - as well as fabulous food stalls. This one had me questioning whether I can stick to my decision to avoid red meat - mortadella is so delicious!

Then we had lunch at a sunny table overlooking the sea.

It all felt so comfortable and familiar in a European fashion, even though I had never been to Civitavecchia before.

The next day we landed in Genoa, another beautiful, pastel city I have never visited.

The five of us took a bus trip to three Italian port towns along the Ligurian coast.

The first was Portofino which we reached by crowding 40 of us into a small minibus - large vehicles cannot make the trip - and taking a hair-raising trip down the narrow and winding road that leads to the village.

I climbed the hill to the beautiful cathedral that overlooks both the town and the sea where I was able to get this panoramic shot.

Then I gingerly scuttled back down the steep slope where I found Josie in the main square.

Then it was off to Santa Margherita where we again had lunch in the sun. I was very happy with my pesto lasagna.

And finally we stopped at the Porto di Camogli, another fishing village. It was a long walk down from the cliff to sea level - and many steps back up. But the town was the epitome of quaint.

Back on ship, I joined John, Judy, Jane and some of the other British and Americans at a sail- away party on the top deck. It was the last night I would spend on this beautiful ship on this incredible journey around the world.

I spent the next hours saying my goodbyes. I can tell you there were many hugs and lots of tears.

These people - both passengers and crew - became my family over the four months we were on the ship and I know that I will never see some of them again.

We reached Marseille on Tuesday morning - 118 days after I boarded the ship in January.

I disembarked for the last time with Ivan helping me get my 150 pounds of luggage to a cab. Then headed to Marseille's old port area where I have a hotel and where the next phase of my trip has begun.

I will blog a bit about that as the spirit moves me. And, in the next couple days I will write an overview of my full around-the-world experience.

For now I am just processing it all. But I can tell you there is not one day of the last four months that I would take back.