November 21 - Civitavecchia, Italy

Today because we were so tired from our trip yesterday, we decided to just walk around the town and see the sites of Civitavecchia.   The old town dates back to Roman Empire but most of the artifacts from that era have long since disappeared.  There is a defensive wall around the harbour which dates back to the middle ages, but most of it has been destroyed during the Second World War.

We stared our walk by going down to the harbour to see which cruise liners were in port.  There was a ship for the Costa and the Queen Elizabeth 2 was also in port.  There was also a three masted tall ship

During breakfast we talked to a couple, from South Africa who were taking that cruise to the Greek Islands and then to South Hampton. I can’t imagine what that cruise costs.

The old village of Civitavecchia is nothing ordinary, but interesting none the same.  There is a walkway along the harbour, which is very relaxing, as it spans the harbour and the fortifications that protected the town over the centuries.

Along the beach there is a statue of a sailor kissing a nurse which is a copy of a famous picture from Life magazine from VE day during the Second World War.

There is a shopping district, where Marg almost found a pair of leather boots that she liked. Unfortunately the zipper on one of the boots was defective, so we’ll look somewhere else.

We stopped at a sidewalk cafe where Marg had one of her favorites, hot chocolate.  This is the equivalent of warm chocolate pudding. It tastes great but it would put my blood sugars way over the limit.

After we got back to the hotel Traghetto, Civitavecchia was hit by a vicious thunderstorm  that dumped a lot of rain on the village.  Luckily it stopped before we went out for dinner.  The restaurants here don`t open here before 7:00pm, so it gave us enough time to rest before we went for dinner.

The concierge for Hotel Treghetto here has been fantastic.  He has told us where to find the best restaurants, how to get to Rome, and even lent us his umbrella to protect us from rain this evening.  He has been very friendly and is a cut above the normal hotel staff you will meet.

For dinner we  went to restaurant La Rocoa, This is a restaurant that is embedded in an old metal shop that is in ancient city wall.  The cavern is at least 500 years old. Here Marg had Tempura shrimp, Carbonara tuna and a mixed fish platter which she shared with me.  I had Octopus salad, along with Cabonara tuna and the fish platter.  We had two bottles of Piero Mancini Cacuione  wine for dinner, which was delicious
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http://www.vignetipieromancini.it/index.php?lang=eng.

For dessert Marg had a Grandmother Cake, which was amazing.

Alan, the head waiter, who as a child had visited Toronto and loved KFC, then took us  over to the new location for their restaurant which they hope to open next spring.  It is also located in the old city wall along its harbour.

Pictures from Civitavecchia