10-11 Rome (Civitavecchia)

Up and out way early today! We’ve joined with a group of Cruise Critic folks to take a chartered bus into Rome for the day.  The bus was supposed to pick us up at 7:15 – so we all dutifully met in the Piazza at 7:00 and headed out to the dock. Unfortunately, there was a little miscommunication and the bus didn’t actually get to the pier until 7:45.  Oh well – for us – it was better.  Our plans were to go hike the Appia Antica, then have lunch at the Hosteria Antica Roma – so for us the extra half an hour wasn’t an issue.

When the bus did arrive, it was very nice.  Leather, new, clean.  Smooth ride into the city – didn’t take but a little over an hour.  Marcello, our “guide” – or more like the bus chaperone – gave us a quick little tour of the city before letting us all loose near the Barbarini square.

We headed out to the metro station a block and a half away – and hopped the first train to Colli Albani, the stop closest to the Appia Antica.  Again, timing was impeccable – the train came within minutes of our arrival and deposited us quite quickly at the Appia Antica station.

We wandered down the street, getting our bearings, looking for a place for cappuccino and WC.  There was a very busy pasticceria on the corner that was a bit too busy for us – but we did spy a grocery store nearby we planned to hit on the return trip.  We headed to the park – which was only a few blocks away – and stumbled upon this cute little local bar for our rest stop.  Reasonable as all (85 euro cents for cappuccino) and clean WC.  Can’t ask for more!

From there, we walked to the park – stopped at the information   booth and got a map.  The subway stop takes you to the back end of the park – to get to the actual Appian Way, you need to walk through trails and the “natural” part of the park. It was totally different than how we arrived the first time to the Appian Way, through the main entrance from the city.  It was a great way to  enter the park, a beautiful sunny day, a walk through fields and trails, with tons of Romans walking, jogging and riding their bikes through the park alongside us. 

Took us about 45 minutes to walk to the cobblestone road.  From there we headed up onto Appia Antica, skirting the catacombs, taking a side trip to see the goats and sheep making an inordinate amount of noise on the side of the road.  We walked a good distance, but not so far as the old large cobblestone section of road we rode our bikes through on the last trip. 

We tried to time our walk so that we would arrive at the Antica Roma at 12:30 when they opened.  But, we were a little over cautious and ended up cooling our heels in the lot by the “reserved for Harley riders” signposted tree.  Around 12:20, a large family arrived and went into the restaurant, so we decided to follow.  Paolo, the owner and Harley Davidson devotee, greeted us, and put us in a table in the main section of restaurant under the walls of the old catacomb. 

We soaked up the atmosphere – with the party on the other side of the large outdoor room – and waited for Paolo to bring us menus and specials.  As we waited, other guests came in, one group that had a reserved table for “americanis”.  They were from Seattle on a tour, and their guide had brought them here – not unusual – sort of how we got there the first time.  Paolo regaled them with his Harley tales and stories of his visits to the US. 

He is quite the personality and a great host.  He made us feel right at home- and while he didn’t remember us (how could he? with everyone he meets) he still made us feel right at home, like friends  The food, as usual was superb. Ed had the antipasto buffet for a starter (and I sneaked a few things off of his plate!).  Then I had the lasagne bianco (white lasagne that Paolo says is an ancient recipe made during the original Antica Appia days).  Ancient or not, it is absolutely awesome!  I had been waiting for it for months now!  Ed had linguine vongole – and of course loved it. 

We had beer and wine – I actually ended up with a whole bottle somehow – which I couldn’t finish so I corked it and took it with me in the back pack!  We hung out as long as we could without rushing back to the subway. As we were leaving Paolo gave us another bottle of wine as a gift – instead of the usual poster with the restaurant depicted (since we already have those – one of which is hanging on the filing cabinet in Ed’s office).  Definitely worth the repeat stop, and probably more visits if we return to Rome again.  It’s just too great a place to miss!

We wandered back through the trails and the sun to the subway stop. Of course, by the time we got there, the grocery store was closed, which we sort of knew would happen. Siesta time of course – 13:30 to 15:30 – have to watch out for those hours and retail in non-tourist areas.  But no matter, we didn’t really need too much and knew we’d have a car the next day in Tuscany to help fill our larder.

Back on the subway, back to Barbarini, back to the bus stop with time to spare.  We kind of nebbutzed around the little shops right there on the road, found a great wine/spirits store where we sampled limoncello and melon liqueur which we ended up buying.  Ed had mentioned getting limoncello when we were in Praiano, but I had said no.  Didn’t know when we’d drink it. So when we tasted it in Rome and it was right there – we decided to go ahead and get some.  We’ll have tons of supplies for Sanibel and beyond!

The bus arrived, a little early actually, so those of us who were there boarded (or collapsed – depends on your viewpoint) and waited for the rest of the crew.  We had to circle around once before the 4 remaining folks we were missing showed up – but once aboard we headed out of town without delay. 

About an hour into our drive – we were close to Civitavecchia, but still on the highway, and the bus started smoking up a storm. We had smelled this noxious rubber burning smell earlier, but no one seemed to mind, and we kept on driving. Well, now it’s smoking and it’s coming in the bus. The driver stopped at a rest area – got out – looked in the engine, while we fanned the smoke away out of the passenger area – shut the engine door and drove off.  It was a fan belt or something we guessed, and obviously not too concerning – but still – we are not having luck with busses lately (remember the St. Petersburg debacle!).  But, we did make it back to the port on the bus and in time! 

Normal ship routine – then to bed to get ready for Livorno and Tuscany!