Cruise - The end

We were docked back in Civitavecchia when we awoke.  I didn’t want to have to rush off the ship and race to the airport so we scheduled our flights for the next day.  Our only task today was to get to the hotel near the airport in Fiumicino.

Once off the ship we quickly found our luggage and boarded a bus to the port entrance.  From there we walked to the train station.   Both kids did a fabulous job with their suitcases the whole trip but this walk was quite a distance.

We let the local trains go buy and waited for the express train that was non-stop into Rome.  There we changed trains and took a second one out to the airport.  From the airport we took a taxi to the Best Western.  We selected this hotel because it had “family” rooms with beds for each of the kids and good reviews.  It was descent, but it certainly didn’t compare to the flat we stayed at in Rome.

After we checked in our first mission was to find lunch.  The front desk attendant recommended a restaurant and off we went.  Because Mike is a more adventurous eater than the rest of us, he loved lunch.  The kids and I had a harder time.  They had discovered on our trip that they liked fried calamari so when they saw it on the menu, they both jumped at it.  Unfortunately what they were served still had the tentacles attached.  I ordered seafood pasta.  I expected Red Lobster type seafood that doesn’t look like it used to have a life.

We took the long way back to the hotel from the restaurant and headed down the coast.  There were few people on the beach as it wasn’t quite swimming weather.  The beach was dirty and I had no desire to take off my shoes and walk in the sand.

We stopped at a Gelato shop for one last Italian treat.  We can guess at some of the translations of the flavors, but most of the time we just pick based on color.  When Samantha ordered the woman behind the counter looked at us and asked for clarification as if to ask “Really?”  So I asked “No?”  She managed to get out in English “alcohol”.  Oh, I see.  No wonder she was asking us if Sam really could have that flavor.  She picked another…but I picked that one.  It was good.

After our walk, we plopped down on the bed to watch a movie together.  For the first time this trip, Samantha called out “I want to sit next to Dad”.  The rest of the trip it had been mom she wanted to sit next to so I knew that she was adjusting to my leaving in her own way.