Sunday, October 31, 2010 – Civitavecchia, Italy – 50s - Rain

Distance traveled from Haifa:  1,330 Nautical Miles

The Equinox has returned to Civitavecchia and our Holy Land Pilgrimage has come to an end.  It is a miserable day in Civitavecchia – rainy and cold. 

The Equinox docked in Civitavecchia

We have transfers to Fiumicino Airport, from which we plan to catch a shuttle to our hotel in the town of Fiumicino.  We also have a late disembarkation at 9:45 AM so we don’t have to rush.  We decided to eat in the Dining Room – much more peaceful there on disembarkation day.  

Finally our bus number is called and we are on our way to the airport.  The ride takes about an hour and the guide on the bus is certain that the Best Western has a shuttle from the airport.

The Ride to Fiumicino – Tyrrhenian Sea in the distance

Based on instructions by agents at the airport, we drag our bags to the shuttle pick up area.  After some time – in pouring rain – I inquire about the shuttle.  As it turns out, the Best Western Shuttle only runs until 10:30 AM on a Sunday (we arrived after that so we would not have been able to use the shuttle anyway).  We ultimately decide to take a cab to the hotel (20 Euros).

The Hotel is OK but it is located right in the middle of a residential neighborhood a few blocks from the beach.  In the summer, this would have been a very nice place to stay.  But on a rainy and cold Sunday (nothing is open), not so much.  The room has a view of the water.

 

View from Room 407 – Best Western Riviera Hotel

We venture out to explore the area – hopefully to find a place to eat later on.  Everything is closed but some restaurants will open again at 7:00 PM.  Food from the ship will serve as lunch.  We did walk to the beach, where the waves were crashing.

Surfs up at Fiumicino Beach

While using the computer in the Hotel Lobby to print our boarding passes, we met a couple that was on the Equinox with us.  They were surprised to see me there (they had attended the lectures).

During our walk earlier, we had checked out the menu at Il Delfino’s Restaurant (just down the street from the hotel) and found the place to be expensive with no pizza.  The couple from the ship told us that the restaurant does serve pizza for dinner.  That would be our dinner destination.  We got there a little after they opened at 7:00 PM.  We ordered a Marguerita and Eggplant Pizza (7.50 Euros) and a regular (no diet available) Coke (2.00 Euros).  The Pizza was enormous and delicious – finished the whole thing.  When the bill came, there was a 5 Euro service charge – we encountered these service charges the last time we were in Rome but had forgotten (some restaurants in Rome attract diners by waiving the service charges).  That’s a generous tip!

Enjoying our Coke

Our lovely and delicious pizza

Back to the hotel after dinner – thought about walking but it was cold and windy and a bit dark.  There were also a lot of dogs in the area.  The Hotel room sounded like our best best.

We had prepaid our bill and set up our shuttle for the Airport for 9:30 AM.

Even though the hotel is pretty full, it is pretty quiet.