Vatican City, Italy – 2/14/2015
FEBRUARY 14, 2015 (Saturday)
Happy Valentine Day!
We got up early, went up to the breakfast buffet, and then left directly from there. We got on the shuttle bus to the port entrance, then paid 80 cents each to ride the Civitavecchia city bus to the train station. Once at the train station we got a 12 Euro ticket (per person) for all day train ride, all lines. (We figured it would even out as a one way fare from Rome to Civitavecchia is 5 Euro.) We got on the train with Shelly (our Cruise Critic friend from Florida), and Kim and Hien, our Cruise Critic friends from Washington state. We all talked and laughed and the little over an hour ride went fast. Once at the Rome Termini, we all went our separate ways.
The train termini was very crowded and we had to watch for thieves and pick pockets. We did ask a couple of nice people (who spoke English) how to get to the Vatican. Everyone we spoke with was very nice and explained things. One nice gentleman even took us to the place we needed to be and pointed out the train. Michael and I were very pleased with ourselves (but still don’t want to do “The Amazing Race” anymore.)
We got off the train when we were supposed to and walked and walked. We were surprised at how many people were out, and at how much litter there was. We stopped at a little corner magazine and candy type stand and bought “skip the line” tickets for 27.50 Euro each. We figured our time was very limited and we did want to see the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum. We had to be back on the ship by 4:30 PM. By this time it was almost 11:00 AM. The person in the little corner stand told us where to catch the tour, but it really wasn’t clear and we missed the 11:00 AM tour and had to wait for the 12:00 tour. While we were waiting I looked into little souvenir shops and then we sat on a big marble slab and viewed St. Peter’s Square and the Vatican. Very beautiful. We were, however, trying to figure out why it was so very crowded, almost like sardines, in the square. Must have been something going on because they had huge TV screens up, singing, and prayers going on.
Our tour finally started and we walked (and walked) to get to the Vatican Museum. We skipped in front of at least a thousand people. Once inside we were given our tickets and told where to go. We were then on our own. We knew time was not on our side so we headed to the Sistine Chapel, but had to follow the throng of people. Made it very unpleasant because it was so crowded and hard to move or take pictures. Once we reached the Sistine Chapel, we could not take pictures and had to be quiet. We felt like we were back in the mosque with all the rules and regulations. Getting to the Sistine Chapel, there were some beautiful things to see – huge old hand made carpets, sculptures, art work, ceilings – just gorgeous. We didn’t like all the people but we were glad we got to see the Sistine Chapel and the museum (even if rather quickly). If we had just waited in line, we would still be waiting.
We left the Vatican and found our way back to the termini. Michael was the navigator and he found where we were supposed to catch the next train to Civitavecchia, but it didn’t leave until 2:45 PM. We were getting quite worried we would miss the ship. When the train did move, it seemed to stop every five minutes or so and we didn’t get into Civitavecchia until 4:00 PM. We hurriedly got our bus tickets and took the bus to the shuttle, where we caught the last one back to the ship. When we got to the ship, one of the gang planks was already up, and all the other things were already moved inside the ship. I believe we were in a group of about eight that were the very last to arrive on the ship. So glad we made it and didn’t have to overnight and then make our way to Liverno.
We were so tired after all the walking that we went up to the Garden Buffet, had dinner, then went back to our room and crashed for the night. That was our day. Hope yours was great!