So today we had to disembark the Enchanted Princess at the port of Civitavecchia. We elected to self assist - which means we carried all our luggage off the ship ourselves.
We met for breakfast at 8 am (and perhaps the buffet closed at 8:30) but the shelves were wiped bare of things like banana bread, croissants and muffins. I guess people were taking food like that as they disembarked. There was still plenty of other hot food choices like oatmeal and bacon and eggs!
Our last breakfast and definitely still smiling!
We finished eating at 8:44 and returned to our room to collect our luggage. Shockingly, we caught an empty, available elevator down to deck six to swipe our medallions one final time and disembark.
We didn’t have to clear customs - as this cruise was still in the European Union. And so we walked to a shuttle bus that took us directly to the train station for a cost of 6 € cash. We purchased tickets on the 9:58 am train to Rome Termini for 4.5€ - cheaper than the five minute shuttle bus ride from the ship (which was worth every penny given the amount of luggage we were carrying and due to the fact that it was raining lightly).
Platform 4 required going under the tracks. We elected to take elevators with our luggage. The elevator was tiny and very slow. Probably 10 minutes later we found ourselves on platform 4 and loaded in different doors to the same train car. Seats were scarce and the luggage was tough to store given the absence of luggage storage areas. This was a full train and ME and I found a couple of single seats while JP and DG found seats across from one another. But many people were standing.
We arrived in Rome Termini station at 11:18 am as scheduled. We then navigated many flights of stairs with our luggage. We knew a taxi should cost 8 to 12 € so when we met with an unscrupulous driver who wanted to charge us 50€ we said no and walked till we found a driver that would charge us the metered rate. He charged us 15€ and we paid him 20 to get to our 3 bedroom apartment.
We unloaded our bags and walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We returned to the apartment and settled into rooms and had a little quiet time.
Then we decided to go for a walk towards the Trevi Fountain. Talk about crowds in August!!
But it is a landmark one cannot miss seeing in Rome. We shopped along the way, then went for supper at Il Chianti osteria Toscana. Delicious meal outdoors on a patio.
Then we walked to the Spanish Steps.
We made it back to the apartment a little after 9 pm. It is now 10:30 pm and I am ready for bed!!
Tomorrow we visit the Pantheon!
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