CIVITAVECCHI, ITALY

ALMOST ROME!

Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 6 AM, Temperature 57 Degrees, 92% Humidity, W- NNW @ 1.2 mph

The great weather we’ve experienced continues! Although it has been cooler in the early morning, it’s sunny and warm by afternoon (mid-70s, almost too warm for us). We start out with a light jacket, but usually end up leaving them on the tour bus.

Rome was another city where crew members had a chance to take an Excursion. They were so excited when we saw them getting on their tour bus. We are so glad they had a chance to visit Rome, but we didn’t make it! We had signed up for an excursion that was cancelled because of the low response rate. Unfortunately, everything else we were interested in was full by then, so after walking around a bit, we opted for a Hop on Hop Off Bus in our Port City of Civitavecchia – not quite the same as the Eternal City. This is the day after Pope Francis had passed away. His coffin will not be on display until tomorrow, but cruisers who went to Rome said people were already “camped out” to be in line, and half of the Square was full of cameras and reporters. While we were walking around the city, we passed a butcher shop. Of course, John had to stop and take a picture. It reminded him of the time he spent in high school as an assistant butcher at Liberty Cash Grocery Store in Aberdeen. We also passed a small shady park. Later, we learned that the park was the location of the original center square of the city during the Roman Era.

Civitavecchia is a coastal town 37 miles northeast of Rome. The city was built in the 2ndcentury, and you can see remnants of the original Roman dock. There is also the 16th-century Michelangelo Fort. As usual, on a moving bus, it was difficult to take pictures! We passed the ancient Roman baths (Terme Taurine) and the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis of Assisi was an Italian mystic, poet, and Catholic friar who founded the order of the Franciscans. He was also known for his love of animals and is the Patron Saint of Animals and Ecology. We enjoyed seeing the countryside – it’s always nice to get away from the city, but when we returned from our Bus Tour, John couldn’t resist taking a picture of this cute little car for rent. We saw the same little cars for rent on the pier in Malta. Technically, they seat two, one person behind the other, but you’d have to be young, thin, and limber – John and I are none of those!