A Taste of Rome

The final stop for our Oceania Riviera cruise was Civitavecchia, the gateway to Rome.

We finished a delicious breakfast just as we were cleared to go ashore, so we proceeded down to pick up our bags and catch the complimentary shuttle to town.

We hadn't purchased transfers to Rome, and the drop off point is a mile or two away from the train station.  In the past, we have made the long trek, rolling suitcases in tow, but this time we caught a bus that happened to arrive at about the perfect time.

We soon had a full bus and seemed ready to go, but the driver wouldn't budge until he had packed in cruisers like sardines in a can.  Still, for two Euro each, we all just sucked it up, which is not that easy considering how many great meals we'd eaten on our cruise.

The train took us to Termini Station.  We had a good sense of where our hotel was located but unfortunately walked out of the terminal a few hundred yards too early, resulting in bouncing our bags along blocks of uneven cobblestone in the muggy heat when we could have stayed in the air-conditioned station.  Nonetheless, we made it to Hotel Impero without incident.

The early 20th century swank hotel had been well-cared for, making it feel like walking into the set for a Humphrey Bogart movie.  We loved the vibe.

The guest clerk, like a throwback to that era, insisted on personally helping us to our room, which was probably good because the route involved taking the elevator to a quaint sitting room, up some short stairs and down a hall.

The only sure elements in our general plan were to take a slow amble through Rome and catch a flight to Madrid the next day, but we decided to catch the Hop On, Hop Off bus, which we've never done in Rome, a city that's also great to explore by foot.

As frequently seems to happen with us on this type of tour bus, we just stayed on and looked at the sites rather than hopping off regularly, but eventually we were hungry for lunch.

Upon reaching the top of the Spanish Steps, we headed down to the plaza below to see if a restaurant we've eaten at before, Ristorante Leonardo, was still there.

We were happy to see it there, as on that hot day its cool interior with architectural features and murals giving the impression of being outdoors seemed perfect.


The host tried to seat us near the front, where the interior features we like best weren't as prominent.  Restaurant staff likes to fill tables near the front so other tourists see they are busy and assume that means they're good, but we knew the ambiance we wanted.

Once they had opened the back section for us, other guests were seated there too, so we had sort of done a public service by insisting on the best for our own table.

Red wine for me, Coke Zero for Julie, and of course our usual Margherita pizza.  With those choices, it's hard to go wrong, especially if you're in Rome.

After a relaxed lunch --- they never rush you in Italy, it seems --- we flashed our passes to board a red bus for another lap around the city, taking photos we'd missed the first time.

That evening, we went down to the lobby bar that seemed to have been preserved in amber like a pre-historic insect, though for not nearly that long.

The young bartender who seemed busy with other tasks in a back room was somewhat surprised to actually have customers when Julie and I took a seat.  I asked him what a good local beer was, which seemed to somewhat confuse him, but I soon settled on a Peroni.  Julie ordered a glass of Savignon Blanc, and after he looked around for awhile, he opened a new bottle just for her.

He served a dish of potato chips, which Julie eventually replenished with some Chex Mix she had in her bag.

It was really pleasant, like a scene from an old movie, when another couple arrived.  Being in Europe rather than the USA, we struck up a conversation with the strangers, as is the polite thing to do, and learned they were on holiday from Sweden.  We had instant rapport with Lisa and Conny (a man), soon telling each other about our wonderful children and past travels as people our age tend to do.

Their daughter was something of a loner, they said.  While they were in Rome, she was on her way to her favorite vacation spot in the Maldives, making us think of our nephew Brooks, who seems to have a lot in common with her.  She's a swimmer, and he's a surfer, but other than that they share similar interests, including educational podcasts.   As in China, a match wasn't destined to be made, although Julie does have their email address.

They said they usually take motorcycle vacations, and we learned that Conny was a heavy equipment operator in Stockholm.

When Julie asked me if we should head to Trevi Fountain as we'd planned, Lisa and Conny said they'd like to join us.  As we walked, Conny regularly consulted a map, giving Julie a break from her usual job as navigator.

It was the perfect night for an evening stroll through Rome with new friends, and we arrived at Trevi Fountain exactly where the map said it was.

We tossed a few coins in the fountain, which of course means we will return one day.

As we turned in for the night, Julie became concerned about RyanAir charging to print boarding passes, and she had a restless night.  When the alarm went off before dawn, however, I went downstairs, and the desk clerk printed them out for us from an email.  Problem solved.

The sun had still not come up as we walked to the airport bus stop, which for some reason we needed to take at an unreasonably early hour because of RyanAir.



Check-in and then boarding was a cattle call, and I'm not sure if it was because RyanAir was as bad as everyone seems to think or because everyone acts like RyanAir is terrible and so behaves irrationally in ways that are uncomfortable.

It is true that RyanAir will nickel and dime you for everything from checked bags to carry on bags to the aforementioned boarding pass printing, but they are very cheap.

Even paying for checked bags in advance (at the gate, fees cost more), the flights totaled just 131.78 Euro, which was less than a ticket for one of us on a regular airline the day before.  Essentially, what we saved by flying RyanAir paid for a lovely day in Rome.

Sure, RyanAir caused Julie a lot of consternation, but she maneuvered masterfully through the maze, while I managed to complete a few crossword puzzles of my own.