Sunday, October 25, 2026
Day 20/50
Civitavecchia, Italy
65F, Sunny
TK and Janie are not doing a very good
job in the ports that we do not have tours in. Today was a prime example—two Americans
roaming around aimlessly.
We made the decision not to go to Rome this
year (1.5 hours one way) since we have been there multiple times and it was a
Sunday. I particularly liked the two tours we did in two different years about
early Christianity in Rome (Rome in Limo tour company—excellent). We did a food tour one year, and we have
visited the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel multiple times. Several times we toured
the Coliseum and the Forum too, as well as most of the other well-known Roman
sites.
So, Civitavecchia it was. A major seaport on the Mediterranean, it is
considered a primary cruise hub and is referred to as the gateway to Rome. Today there were four cruise ships in port,
which translates to about 17,000+ people trying to find their way to Rome or
wandering around like us.
Civitavecchia has an estimated
population of approximately 51, 359 people and functions as a major port city
on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the Lazio region of Italy, located about 35 miles
west-northwest of Rome. The city has
ancient Etruscan roots and saw major expansion under the Roman Emperor Trajan,
who built the historic port.
Since apparently Princess thinks everyone is going to Rome, the ship’s personnel did not provide a map of the port area. A shuttle from the port area dropped us off at an unnamed area, which as it turned out, we never saw again. We have remarked that street names are scarce to non-existent in most of the cities we have visited, which makes wandering around even more interesting. We did find a map at the shuttle drop off, but it was not marked as to where we were at the time.
To top it all off, TK seems to have
lost his navigational ability—in the past he was able to direct us to wherever whenever,
but not so much now. I hope that ability
returns soon because we have a gazillion more ports to see!
Ever onward… My stated goal today was to find a patisserie with sfogliatella, my all-time favorite pastry. We sauntered along, finally reaching a populated area with restaurants, cafes, bookstores, souvenir shops, clothing stores, and gelato. It was sort of a mix of old town and new, with families, teens, dogwalkers (lots), tourists, and others out for a Sunday stroll.
Aside: For better context about this Italian favorite: The word sfogliatella means "small, thin leaf/layer" - describing its distinctive shell-like layers. The classic version, with hundreds of crisp layers, is shaped like a seashell.
The filling is creamy, lightly sweet, citrus‑fragrant, and firm enough to hold its shape, contrasting with the crisp, multi‑layered shell. This balance of textures is central to the pastry’s identity. Sfogliatella fillings consistently center on ricotta, semolina, sugar, and citrus aromatics, forming the classic Neapolitan flavor profile. In the U.S. some call it a "lobster claw," but fresh baked is hard to find. Art's Bakery in Erie does sell a lobster claw, but the pastry shell is premade and NOT the same as "freshly baked." The pastry dates back to the 17th century and the Amalfi Coast.
We could see our ship, so we kept
walking in its direction. Finally, we walked along the road to the Cruise
terminal, about 50 miles from where we started. To be more honest, as I write,
I have almost 14,000 steps and TK has 15,000 (he gets our coffee most
mornings). It’s a darn good thing we can
do that, or we would be stuck in Civitavecchia for a long time.
