Italy Day One - Civitavecchia

Today we are in Civitavecchia. This is the port for Rome. There are some interesting looking ferries here!

We've both already visited Rome and seen all the main sights, so didn't choose to do a tour there today. Instead, we chose a morning tour out into the countryside. We saw lots of farmlands, mostly with typically Italian houses, and surprisingly lots of sheep.

We drove for about an hour, to the town of Tuscania. A very old town, with a medieval wall surrounding it.

We had some free time to wander around the town, through many narrow streets. Apart from us, the town had mostly locals going about their daily business on this sunny Easter Saturday. Most houses and shops had a front door that open straight onto the street. With each door, we would look in and either see a shop or someone's living room or kitchen.

Next we drove to a nearby farm, which makes its own wine and olive oil. Here we were given a light tasting of both and a demonstration of how they shake the trees to remove the olives ready for pressing.

We returned to the ship around midday, where we had lunch. The day was now sunny and hot, at around 24 degrees. I went ashore to wander around Civitavecchia while Helen stayed on board.

Last time we were here, we were coming off the Noordam cruise ship and finding our way to Rome. So we didn't look at Civitavecchia at all, we just went straight to the train.

Today I was able to explore a little. The waterfront area is very nice, there is a big fort here which was guarded by military so I assume it's active. I was able to wander around it, but not inside.

Here's a nice panoramic shot of the Mediterranean.

Around town there isn't much to see. Most shops were closed, and where were mainly hawkers trying to flog cheap souvenirs to cruise ship folk. I wanted to find a supermarket to get some water and other non-alcoholic drinks for our cabin. I followed some signs to supermarkets, but they lead me on a wild goose chase. Eventually I found some shops and got what we needed.

By the time I returned to the ship, I had walked 12km according to my Apple Watch.

I then took the opportunity to get some blogging done. To cap off the day, we went to the dining room for a lovely meal and then went to watch a rock music show.

So far all is going well and tomorrow we're in Napoli. Chio for now!