Wednesday 24 September 2025
After a relaxing evening and a restful night at Hotel Diana near the center of Rome, we awakened early to partake of a very quick breakfast before checking out, storing our backpacks, and asking to have a taxi summoned for a ride to The Vatican. As a result of our travel misadventures the last two days, we missed our early morning comprehensive guided tour of the Vatican yesterday. In consolation we were able to get last minute tickets for a Skip-the-Line: Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Admission with Audio Guide. St Peter’s Basilica was not included. As usual our “Skip the Line” tickets meant that we waited an a shorter line to wait for admission and the “Audio Tour” meant that we could listen to recorded narration room by room on the POP Guide app on our phones. The only problem was that we didn’t understand how to access the narrative for the particular room that we were in. After a little while we pocketed our AirPods and just joined the flow of visitors moving through the museum. We marveled at the amazing works of art and the elaborately decorated rooms snapping pictures but never getting the opportunity to stop and study any one thing. The tour finished in the Sistine Chapel where we were cautioned to refrain from photography and to maintain silence as we admired the legendary frescoes of Michelangelo Buonarroti and others. We lingered a little while standing and craning to admire the details of The Creation of Adam on the ceiling while sharing the space with hundreds and hundreds of other pilgrims and tourists. After that quiet contemplation we made our way out onto the streets of The Eternal City. As we dodged raindrops we searched for a place to fill the hole in our tummies with some Italian cuisine. Sumptuous ham sandwiches with gelato as a delicious finish at Ristorante Da Paolo Vaticano fueled our next endeavor, a trek in the direction of our backpacks at the hotel. However about halfway there the opportunity for a taxi ride was just too tempting to resist. But then soon enough with packs on our backs we were headed to Roma Termini train station. We didn’t prebook this one so we blithely checked the board for the next train to Civitavecchia (chiv ah tah veck ee ah) then approached the ticket vending machine. Not heeding the fact that the two customers ahead of us failed to get tickets we attempted a purchase and we also failed. Plan B. We went online and purchased tickets on a iPhone and proceeded to the gate where the QR reader let one of us through but then refused to play nicely for the second ticket. Too much time delay. We saw what we thought was the train pull out on time. Plan C. We headed to the Trenitalia ticket office, got a number, and stood not exactly in line but just gathered around waiting for our turn. Eventually we purchased paper tickets and learned that the platform for the Civitavecchia train was much further away than we thought. Roma Termini is a big big station. So we hiked out to Platform 29, boarded the train, disembarked in the heart of the port town, and hot footed it to B&B Piazza Fratti where we opened the shutters to let in the breeze and flopped on the bed. Soon enough we were up and out of there looking for sustenance which we found nearby at an outdoor table at My Lord restaurant where we got a bit adventurous and ordered some local specialties. And delicious drinks. After dinner we walked the little town and partway out the pier where we will board Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas tomorrow for a western Mediterranean cruise. A lovely evening in a seaside resort town and not enough time in Rome but fortunately we have plans for another short stay when the Allure delivers us back here next week.
Rome, don’t blink or you’ll miss it, huh? Contemplate a return to just Rome!
Would love photos of even your quick meals!
Indeed we scheduled another post-cruise visit to Rome. Will still be too brief but give us a bit more opportunity to drink in the history and savor the cuisine.