Day 15 - Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia

This morning we woke up and drove the car over to Camp Darby where we would leave it while on the cruise. The hotel on base had no problem with us leaving it there and we knew it would be much safer there than in a garage at the port, and it was free! We parked the car and then got a cab to take us to the train station, where we got on a train to Civitavecchia, which I have no idea how to pronounce. This is the port near Rome where the cruises stop to access Rome. The train ride was about three hours and we got in first class, which gave us a little more room and comfort. Italian trains, at least not this one, are not nearly as nice as German or Korean trains. I was glad we did first class after seeing second class and how full it was. We made it to the train station and the hotel was less than 2 km from the train station so we decided just to walk there instead of getting a taxi at the station. We seriously underestimated the heat here and were hot and sweaty by the time we made it to the hotel. Thank God this room had AC, and it was turned on and functioning when we got there. This actually turned out to be the best hotel we’d come across in Italy yet. The room was very nice, desk clerk more than helpful and it actually matched the online description very well. After cooling down a bit and resting up we headed out for some lunch which was a huge adventure. Colin fell asleep in the stroller so we were happy to have a peaceful quiet lunch with him passed out. It is Assumption Day in Italy, a religious/national holiday and many of the restaurants were not open. The one we did find that was open turned out to be a gem. The waiter came over and seemed scared because he didn’t know much English. He explained in very few words that today was special set menu for the holiday. It was all fish only and 30 Euro per person. We said ok (we didn’t have a whole lot of other options) and waited to see what kind of stuff would show up. This turned out to be our best (and cheapest) meal in Italy so far! He started off bringing out two glasses of prosecco, then the antipasti of fried calamari, fried anchovies and some kind of fish and cheese pate that was fried. We devoured everything but the anchovies and eagerly awaited the next course. After that came some mussels and bread. Next was a salmon ravioli dish. At this point we were full but it was such an exciting adventure because we had no idea what was coming next or what the heck we were really eating, but everything was incredibly delicious. After the pasta came a broiled fish fillet that had some cheese and herbs layered in between the fillets. It was divine! Lastly came some dessert and espresso and the bill which amazingly was 60 Euro for the two meals and 13 Euro for the bottle of wine we ordered. No cover charge, or service charge or any other hidden charges that we’ve found Italy to be notorious for. Best meal yet and best deal for sure! After lunch we headed back to the hotel to change and head to the beach. The beach here was a pebble beach, very rocky and no real sand. Colin was ecstatic to throw rocks in the water and play in the shallow water. We could see from the beach that they were setting up fireworks for something that night and there would be some kind of street festival later too. When we finished at the beach we went back and changed clothes and wandered back to the beach area to where the festival was and had some pizzas for dinner. Later on we took Colin to ride the carnival rides set up for the festival and then watch the fireworks at 11:30. It was a late night but we figured we’d relax tomorrow on the boat. Excellent food, Italian beach and fireworks…I’d call that a good day!