Ciao!
We have officially completed “the circle!” – Into Rome back in May and now back to the airport for home. But to begin at this morning…
First of all, as we always like to be early, we were up at 5 and ready to leave for the port in Bastia by 5:45 am – this for an 8:30 ferry to Livorno. Needless to say, the port was really officially “closed” and there were no ferry listings on the board, so we had no idea where to go. So, hung out illegally parked in front of the ferry terminal for about an hour. Then, voila! Our Corsica Ferries ship showed up – a different one from the one that brought us over. This one actually was announcing that there were cabins available if anyone wanted to rent one! Needless to say, I did! So, we got some croissants and cheese/ham/salami for breakfast, and then I got us cabin 128. Lovely exterior cabin with a view (porthole). Two nice, clean beds and our own bathroom. SO wonderful! For almost four hours, we got to nap, read and charge up electronics without having to listen to anything at all – no kids, no barking dogs, etc. With about half an hour to go, we were asked to leave the cabins (so the staff could clean and get them ready for the next sailing). Actually, this ship was nowhere even near full, and by 12:30 pm we were pulling off the ship and onto the Autostrada.
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| Our cabin with a view! |
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| Robert loved the blankets! |
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| And a shower even! |
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| A boat ?! in the harbor! |
It was a 3½ hour drive from Livorno to Fiumicino airport, and it went quickly. Summer has really arrived in Europe, and we saw some wonderful thunderheads in the distance, but managed to avoid any rain at all – but it was up to 31 degrees, which translates to 88 and very muggy! We managed to fill the car up at an automatic gas station and then zoomed into the airport.
There is a Hilton Rome Airport, and seriously, it is conveniently actually attached to the airport, not just nearby! Robert checked in and dropped the luggage in our room, and then came back down and we drove the (literally) 100 feet to the rental car check-in. As usual here, there wasn’t nearly enough room for incoming cars to park, but I found a space that worked (which meant that nobody yelled at me!) and left our cute little Lancia Ypilson. It was a very good little vehicle!
Hot and sweaty by the time we arrived back at the hotel, but seriously – we walked in, and it was chaos-free, and lovely and cool! Yeah!!! Up in our room, we both showered to wash off the travel schmutz, and then enjoyed a glass of wine and some munchies in the Executive Lounge. (Again, Hilary, thank you SO much for that fabulous advice about hotels!) They have two restaurants in the hotel, but the menus were not very extensive. R ordered a pizza which was really poorly done (considering where we are!) and I had a very good chicken Cesar salad. Then back upstairs for the great repacking.
I can only say that Robert has done an amazing job. I didn’t watch too closely how he does it, as I know I will be doing a lot of ironing when we get home – but everything fits and we are in great shape! So, settling in with a lovely bottle of Montepulciano and watching the Argentina-Croatia World Cup game – which is actually available IN OUR ROOM! Wow! What a concept!
So, folks – more later!
Lots of love,
m
xxx
Footnote: This is the close of a truly fabulous trip. Thanks to Margaret’s research and planning, we certainly accomplished what we set out to do – to get a better understanding of the Etruscans. But, in addition to the planned travels, we also had a great time just driving around the back roads of Tuscany. And finding the stele statues was a very pleasant extra. All along the way, our accommodations were great, again because of Margaret’s planning. Travel – especially foreign travel – can be daunting and I know I could never put an expedition like this together the way Margaret does. I believe I have always followed the first half of Newton’s First Law of Motion: “Bodies at rest stay at rest.” Thanks, though, to Margaret who gets me moving and show me the world. It is really great to have a personal tour guide! - Robert
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