Thoughts on our visit to Rome

 February 7, 2024

We’ve boarded the Viking Cruise Ship Saturn for the next portion of our trip. We arrived in Civitavecchia, the port from which the ship sails, about 12:30 p.m. and were onboard very quickly. After eating lunch, our room was ready so we are now unpacked and ready to go. The ship sails at 8pm. Below a view from our balcony.

A commentary on the taxi drivers that we experienced: All the taxi drivers drive fast but our driver taking us to the ship? Well he was the first driver that I was not happy with. While most of our drivers spoke English, some didn’t. For example we took a taxi from The Pantheon to the Borghese Gallery, the driver did not speak English but that didn’t stop him from telling us all sorts of stuff in Italian - pointing here and there. We picked up a word occasionally but mainly just agreed with him and nodded. He was happy to share. 

Our driver to the port this morning - not so much. He seemed grumpy from the beginning and didn’t speak to us at all, which is fine; however, at the last toll booth, when we were heading into Civitavecchia, he didn’t slow down that much (and there was a gate) and when he realized the gate was not going to open in time, he slammed on the brakes. A bag of items purchased, which was sitting between us on the backseat, went flying to the floor (fortunately nothing broke) and not a word of “sorry” or “are you okay” from the driver. Nothing. He just had to back out of that lane and go through a different one. Perhaps he’s unhappy with his job.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Rome and are so glad we came ahead to get adjusted to the time zone and have the days to see the sights. 

Let me share some observations. 

The cars and motorbikes - not only driving but so many parked along the side of the roads. I would see them and think there was a traffic jam but no, it was just a line of parked cars. And they squeeze in any which way - amazing. 

We were staying on the opposite side of the Tiber River from the old city of Rome. As one of our tour guides explained, parking and driving in the old city is very limited so that is why so many park on the other side. But even walking and crossing at intersections you would occasionally have to walk around and through parked cars to find the sidewalk again. Guess you better be good at parallel parking in this city.

We did lots and lots of walking. Always felt safe, even at night - and were we out of our comfort zone? Maybe a little but I’m happy we pushed through. I did find it hard to follow my GPS when walking so it was much easier to take a look at the route and then find it on our own. We only got turned around a couple of times and it was always when we were in a block or two of our hotel - so silly.

Old stuff - yes everything is so very old although to the people of Rome, anything from the 1800’s is considered relatively new. But, for instance, sitting and having a bite to eat right next to the Pantheon is so crazy. I remember sitting outside the York Minster in England years ago with Tim and Kate and thinking the same thing. The same feeling approaching the Colosseum - so hard to believe you were actually standing there in front of it.

Lots of people - tourists, residents, business folks, walking, riding bikes, riding scooters, motorized bikes, motorcycles, smart cars, small cars - zipping in and out of traffic. Everyone going somewhere. A good number of school groups - whether it was high school or older (hard to tell sometimes). But again, as our tour guides explained, this is nothing compared to the high season (April - October) when the areas near the iconic structures are wall to wall people.

The weather was so very kind to us. Most of the days were sunny and blue skies and up into the 60’s. Even the cloudy days were warm - so thanks for that!

And driving to the port we were able to experience some of the countryside - lots of green and farmland along with small towns dotted here and there. If I ever return I would definitely want to see the Amalfi Coast or perhaps northern Italy.