Andiamo: 11/6–Viterbo and back to Civitavecchia

TIM gets us to Viterbo easily, well, as easily as driving through small towns and villages and then messing us up in town trying to find the parking area. After driving down a road that I think said it was pedestrian only from 10:00 to 1:00pm (it was 10:10 when we got there, btw), we actually find the lot we chose to park in Viterbo. Phew. We’ve mapped out a route through town and some highlights we want to see, as well as a restaurant for lunch so we head into the walled old town to explore.

We had both mapped out the town – and I had found the parking lots, but had mistakenly marked the lot we were in further out of the city. It was a pleasant surprise to find we were already inside the walls and very close to the main square of Piazza dei Plebiscito with its huge clock tower, church and outstanding building facades.

Wandering up the main street, we window shop at all the closed stores – which is odd at this time of day on a Monday – making our way into the little warren of streets to make sure we could find the L’Osteria del Vicolo, our lunch choice, and that they were open. There was an Apierto sign so we figured we were good. Having successfully found the restaurant, we continued our exploration and stumbled on a lovely little piazza with pretty fountain, but even more interesting an old stone church stuffed in the corner of the square.

What looked like an ancient chapel from the exterior turned out to be a very modernized church on the interior. White washed walls were topped with a square “cupola” rimmed with beautiful modernistic stained glass and gleaming tile floor. Quite a surprise.

Back in the street, we headed to Piazza San Lorenzo, the religious center of the old city. This is a beautiful square surrounded by the Palazzo dei Papi, the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo and the Palazzo Comunali, the beautiful archway that connects the Palazzo dei Priori and Palazzo dei Podesta.

We could stand out here and take pictures forever! But we decide to go ahead and pay the 9 Euro entry fee to actually visit the inside of the Papal Palace, Cathedral and museum. The helpful ticket gal gives us English audio guides and gives us a brief overview, making us realize we’ve been pronouncing Viterbo incorrectly all along (what a surprise). At any rate, inside the Palazzo dei Papi they have some totally interesting displays, like the original papyrus hymn book and the original transcripts of the popes, which fascinate me with the beautiful, teeny controlled handwriting.

There are lots of interesting displays, the modern cross made up of small ceramic people with the pope in the center, the ornate frescoes depicting different coats of arms and the wonderful courtyard outside.

Probably the most amazing thing about this place is that this is the location where the Popes were selected, and in 1268 the Cardinals couldn’t make a decision. After 1 1/2 years, they still had not decided, so the ruling monarchs locked the cardinals in their conclave, reduced their rations to bread and water, and it still took another 1 1/2 years for them to select the next pope. How interesting!

Feeling time get away from us, we quickly visit the terrace for pictures…

….then leave the Palazzo and visit the museum attached to the Cathedral. Here we visit the Sacristy which has the most amazing painted ceiling. Depending upon the angle in which you view it, the ceiling appears to be concave, when in actuality, it is perfectly straight. It is simply incredible what these artists can do with paint.

The rest of the museum holds interesting relics and even bones in an archeological dig type area.

It appears to be undergoing some renovation with a bunch of displays being worked on or recreated, so there isn’t too much to occupy our time, which is good, since we are becoming a little pressed. We decide to head directly to the cathedral and then call it a morning at the Piazza San Lorenzo. The Cathedral is definitely worth our last stop – it is huge and phenomenal, with wood beamed ceilings, tall white washed walls supported by marble topped arches and lots of lovely domes and fantastic artwork.

It’s a fitting place for the popes, that’s for sure! Returning our audio guides, we walk back through the old cobblestone streets to L’Osteria. The sign is still out, but there is no one here – and when we walk in there is one guy working at the wood fired oven. We ask for a table for 2 and after some searching for the correct English word, he says they aren’t open until 12:30. Oh well, that lets us out. We can’t afford to wait that long and then drive back to Civitavecchia. Bummer. We transverse the streets again, back to our car, hoping we’ll find somewhere else to eat, but it is not to be. There isn’t a restaurant open anywhere, except one cafe on the square which we decide to pass by.

Back in the car, we just decide to head back to the ship. Worse case scenario, we’ll skip lunch – or just grab a quick salad on board. No biggie.

After a little bit of a challenge getting out of Viterbo, we are finally on the right track. We stop at the same gas station as we did when we drove this route last time, this time though, it isn’t manned and we successfully make the auto pay work (we’re getting quite good at this!).

Then its back on the connector road and down into Civitavecchia without issue. We dump the car, head to the shuttle, where we are lucky and get one that is leaving right away. We had noticed what we thought was increased military presence at the port and the shuttle drop off, but didn’t think much of it earlier. When we get to the port though, an Italian security officer boards the bus and checks everyone’s cruise card or cruise voucher to get on today. Hmm…something is going on – this has never happened. He checks everyone, and the people across from us give him their IDs or passports. He asks if they are employees and they must have said yes. He calls somebody and comes back and asks if they are full time employees or contract. They say contract. Again he calls someone. Meanwhile, the bus driver is backing up and out of the way of other buses. This is getting more interesting by the minute! Thank heavens we aren’t in a rush. We hear the guard talking and saying two names and going back and forth with someone. Finally he comes back to the couple, hands them back their IDs and says you are not employees, you are guests. Then repeats “guests” again for good measure. Think there was a little communication problem there. Sheesh – they must have been relieved though, once they figured it out, they did laugh, sort of in that relieved, embarrassed, OMG I’m glad that’s over way.

Security solved, guests on their way, we hop off the shuttle, walk through the transit doorway with the crew and are back aboard – now in our Grand Suite – in a jiffy.