Civitavecchia to Fiumicino, Italy – 2/25/2015 – http://fulltimetimeshare.com/blog

February 25, 2015 (Wednesday)

Hated leaving the ship and knowing the time in Europe is coming to an end. So depressed but…I guess it’s time. We left our room early and had breakfast in the Garden Cafe. We were glad we were able to say goodbye to Jesus and Lenna.

We were in the group taking their own bags off the ship and had to be off by 7:45 AM. We got off the ship and took the shuttle to the area to catch the bus to the train station. Also in that area were people who had vans and other vehicles willing to take you wherever you wanted to go – for a fee. We were hoping that the bus that had been sitting there the last time we were in Civitavecchia, and that would only charge 20 Euro for a ride to the airport, would be back but it wasn’t. We were approached by several who were willing to take us to the airport for 50 Euro for both of us. We decided to go for it but had to wait in the van for a little bit while they gathered up more customers for the trip. We ended up waiting almost an hour.

Edie, so happy to finally get off the ship.

Her joy is on the verge of bursting out.

I stowed the luggage, she excitedly hoped on the bus. — I stowed the luggage, she excitedly hopped on the bus.

We wern't in a hurry so we shared a van, they just had to keep looking for folks going to the airport. Only took them a half hour or so. — We weren’t in a hurry so we shared a van, they just had to keep looking for folks going to the airport. Only took them a half hour or so.

Close. It was less than a hour and a half.

Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci. Pickup spot for the van to the car rental.

Once at the airport we waited near the fountain for the shuttle to the Gold Car rental place. Wasn’t long before we saw the shuttle and went to the car rental office (arrived there a little after 10:00 AM). I thought I had done such a great job in getting a cute little car for two days for only about 20 Euro. Turns out that was a con (I forgot we were in Italy) and we had to pay for insurance (something like $75.00 extra) and gas (something like $100.00 extra). They were so kind as to give us a discount on the GPS (only $9.00 instead of $18.00). I was pretty mad but could not get out of the contract so decided to just go with it and have fun. Besides now that we had the “premium” insurance, I didn’t care if or what I hit. (We got a discount on the gas when we got back to the United States.)

Pretty woman finalizing the rental...if it sounds too good to be true...it probably is. — Pretty woman finalizing the rental…if it sounds too good to be true…it probably is.

Little French car, pretty fun, diesel and zippy.

The original plan was to drive out into the country and explore the quaint little villages. What is it that they say about the best laid plans? Well, we had lots of time to kill before we could get into our hotel so we just drove around for a bit and went to lunch at a little restaurant. Good but not great food. We still had a lot of time before we could get into our hotel room so we drove into Rome. I do love driving in Rome. It’s like Nascar on steroids. There are no real rules and you can pretty much do what you want. The only place I know where they can make a six lane road out of two lanes. I only killed the manuel transmission once (pretty good for not driving one in a long time). We just drove around Rome for awhile and enjoyed the beauty (and chaos).

To Edie, in Italy, signs don't always mean exactly what they say. — To Edie, in Italy, signs don’t always mean exactly what they say.

Edie loves driving in Romee. She becomes possessed, a calm confidence takes over. She glides and blends, fractions of an inch away. She is exhilarated by the near death experiences. — Edie loves driving in Rome. She becomes possessed, a calm confidence takes over. She glides and blends, fractions of an inch away. She is exhilarated by the near death experiences.

The river goes on both sides of this island.

Later learned it is the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier. Ionic capitals.

Headed back out to the airport area, went by the high rent district..

Pretty woman is a natural driver in Rome, some gene...some ancient calling to challenge death and destruction without fear. — Pretty woman is a natural driver in Rome, some gene…some ancient calling to challenge death and destruction without fear.

For Lex, your brand.

We got hungry and stopped in Fiumicino where our hotel is located. Nice colors and style inside our restaurant.

Half fat, half meat. Didn't eat the fat. Chips were great. — Half fat, half meat. Didn’t eat the fat. Chips were great.

Very modern and nice hotel. We arrived for our two night stay.

We got to our hotel around 4:30 PM and were able to check in. The hotel was beautiful and ultra-modern. Loved it. The room was also very modern, so much so that I had to ask the housekeeper how to open the door. Very spacious and comfortable.

The lobby was full of really interesting art work of all kinds.

Really lovely art of many different mediums in the lobby.

Outside our door, this is the doorbell and signals to staff if you are in, if you want privacy, and if the door is locked.

Nothing works until you put your room key in the slot, then you have electric, lights, etc.

Speaker in the bathroom so you don't miss any of you TV show. — Speaker in the bathroom so you don’t miss any of you TV show.

Light switches, hard wired hair dryer and European electrical outlet near the mirror.

On the second floor, our patio looking into the local neighborhood.

Indirect lighting everywhere in the bedroom.

That was our day. Hope yours was great!