Rome
Trip Start
Jan 05, 2011
1
51
56
Trip End
Apr 26, 2011
Civitavecchia, Lazio, Italy
Thursday, April 14, 2011
We found Civitavecchia to be enjoyable. It is about 45 miles northwest of Rome on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Civitavecchia is the port city for Rome. The drive time to Rome is approximately two hours. Most of the ship's passengers took bus tours to Rome or the surrounding area. We have spent several days there in the past, visiting the Vatican and some of the historical sites. Several days are not long enough to enjoy the city. Kathy reported that the Sistine Chapel was crammed with kids. There is just too much to see and to experience. Instead we elected our own walking tour of Civitavecchia.
The shuttle took us to the Port entrance and from there we walked into the pedestrian area where the shops were located. We found it a pleasant relief form squeezing on to a tour bus with forty people and being lead like a flock of sheep by someone holding a sign or umbrella. It was nice to be on our own to leisurely enjoy a cappuccino and finally a lunch of Margarita Pizza and wine.
Mary wanted a Nativity Scene. We couldn’t find one after scouring the shops. A sign on the corner of a building read "Frank’s Souvenirs" with an arrow pointing into an alley.
"He’s got em," Mary said.
“No way,” I said.
We found the store and sure enough he had them. It took only a couple of minutes and she had her Nativity. Francisco – that was his real name – found a box to put it in then as we paid for it he mumbled something about the Italian government taking most of his money.
Our Guide in Greece had a different take. “We don’t have any money. We don’t have any jobs. We decided not to be a producing country years ago. We decided to just be consumers. Everything comes from somewhere else. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Please tell your friends to come visit here. It’s our source of income.”
