Civitavecchia, Italy: Day 7 **Annie's Birthday!!

The Castle

Today the cruise suggested we go to Rome, but seeing as we were going back for 3 days, we didn't want to "waste" our time.  Instead we decided to stay near the port, Civitavecchia.  We planned to go to a castle about 15 minutes away, but had no idea how to get there.  So, we asked the bus company, who said to ask at the train station, so we asked the info booth about the train station and they said to try the bus system.  So we stopped asking people and decided to try the train station.  We headed in that direction, rather aimlessly.  Someone on the street asked us if we were interested in tours to Rome, but we thought nothing of it.  Then about 3 minutes later (stopped in almost the same spot we had been when he asked)  while huddled over a map, Pop turned around and asked the guy if he would take us instead to this castle.  He agreed and we had a guide. 
     So, the incredibly cute Matteo (and his dad) took us to the neighboring town where the castle was located.  They dropped us of at the main entrance and waited in the parking lot.  So, we wandered into the main courtyard area where we were surrounded by gorgeous brick walls, arches and flowers.  But, it was deserted.  A minute later Matteo came back and said that he had just heard that the castle was closed for renovations.  Glum and unsure what we would do, we wandered to the other side of the courtyard where we stopped in a pottery store, filled to the brim with every handmade decoration possible.  Outside the shop, I got a birthday present of gummy jolly ranchers(one of my favoite things) from my other set of parents back home :). 
     Our spirits slightly lifted, we went outside where Matteo said he knew something else we could do, but first suggested stopping down at the black sand beach.  We took the advice, knowing something pretty was in store.  On one side we saw the beach and the beautiful Meditteranean, and on the other, a view of the port 15 miles away.  We made our way down to the beach, careful to stay away from the waves rushing in as none of us had brought the proper "equiptment" for getting wet.  Everyone was on the other side of the beach and Mom, Caroline and I were making our way over to them when a huge wave came far up onto shore and got everyone wet(meaning Caroline, Mom and I as well as the innocent beachgoers).  Needless to say we were sandy and soaked all the way up to our calves and I was not wearing sandals.  So far the castle excursion wasn't going so well. :)  But, no worries, it was all uphill from here.  We made our way around the side of the beautiful castle, taking in the views of the ancient building until it almost felt to me like it was the 13th century. 
     When we were finshed exploring we went back to the van where Matteo told us we would be going to see some ancient Roman baths, where an emperer had once lived. It was an untouched gem.  We were the only people there and the baths were an amazing piece of history.  The town of Civiavecchia is very near Rome, and this spot used to be part of the Ancient outskirts.  The ruins were built during the period between 126 and 80 BC as a public area for bathing and relaxing as well as the home of some influential people. 
      Many of the areas seemed to be mazes of very small rooms whose walls had now crumbled down. Each had a completely distinct and gorgeous tile pattern on the floors.  The second area was made of much larger, more public rooms, some with large baths or pools that were fed by underground springs.  Amazing architecture completely surrounded us.  The last part was a more practical area, where people stored foods and possibly made homes.  We saw cellars and dwelling-type areas here along with a gorgeous garden, complete with olive trees, fountains, archways and beautiul sculptures discovered on the property.  After meandering around and taking it all in for a while, we were ready to go back to port.
     Matteo and his father brought us to a great little restaurant and said goodbye.  It wa sad to see our guides leave but we really did have a great day.  We all enjoyed a delicious "birthday" lunch(I had Spaghetti Carbonara, Caroline had Cacio Pepe, Theo had pizza, etc), during which Pop asked an accordianist to sing me Happy Birthday in Italian and we made friends with the waiter. After our lunch we made our way down to the water(right below the restaurant) where we (illegally) looked at the Coast Guard planes because someone told us we couldn't.  Back on the boat early, we enjoyed some swimming and relaxing before heading off to our dinner on the ship where I was serenaded by our waiters and given some extra pie.  It had to have been my most memorable birthday ever. :)

Some tiles at the Taurine Baths

Our guide, Matteo