Europe

We were up early this morning to get organised for the drive to Zurich airport to catch a flight to Rome.

We got downstairs to the restaurant at around 7:15 am, and enjoyed a very nice breakfast.

We were on the road just before 8:30 am for an easy hour-long drive to Zurich Airport. We dropped off the car and made our way into the terminal to check in, after which we headed to the lounge to relax.

We boarded on-time, around 12:30pm. Shortly after we were due to push back, the captain announced that, due to traffic, there would be a short delay. But, to make up for it, he said he would come through the cabin and hand out chocolates. And then he appeared with a big basket of chocolates! We told him that we thought he was joking when he said he’d be handing out chocolates, to which he replied “The Swiss do not joke about chocolate. Or mountains!”

We took off about 15 minutes late but made up a little time on the way, and we disembarked in Rome just after 2:30 pm.

We were quickly reminded that we were back in Italy, when it took 45 minutes for our bags to appear on the baggage carousel. With bags in tow, we set off for what should have been a short walk to the Hilton Hotel at the airport. We consulted Google Maps to find the walking path to the hotel, and it duly provided us with a route that required us to drag our bags through a multi-level car park and then along roads that had no footpaths! We found our way back inside and ended up at the train station. We backtracked from the station and eventually found signs directing us to the hotel. Somewhat exhausted, we finally got to the hotel, checked in, and went to our room.

As expected for an airport hotel, our room was pretty basic. But we only wanted a bed for the night, before heading off tomorrow morning to join our cruise ship. We had chosen to stay at the airport to avoid the extra hassle of going right into Rome. But, with no fixed plans for the rest of the day, we decided to grab a taxi and head into Rome anyway! On the way in, we decided that we might as well have just booked a nice hotel in Rome for the night, rather than spend hundreds of dollars on taxi fares in and out. C’est la vie!

We directed our taxi driver to drop us at Piazza Navona, where we alighted.

It was clear as soon as we got out of the car, that Rome is extremely busy at the moment. There were people everywhere. It turns out that we had arrived in Rome right in the middle of the week-long 2025 Vatican Youth Jubilee, in which a million people are expected to descend on the city. And it sure felt like it! The streets were crazy but the atmosphere was very upbeat and fun.

We decided that our first stop would be for an early dinner. We headed just a few minutes from Piazza Navona to Piazza di Pasquino, to our favourite little restaurant in Rome, Osteria Pasquino. This is a very typical little Roman restaurant, and was a favourite of ours when we came as a family to Rome and stayed in an apartment in Via dei Leutari. We used to look out our second-floor apartment window to see how busy the restaurant was before going across the street to eat there (which we did many times!).

We had a very nice pizza and spaghetti. Not bold dinner choices, but very fitting and very reminiscent of our many meals there as a family.

After a simple, but thoroughly enjoyable dinner, we went for a nice walk. The scale and grandeur of the ancient Roman buildings is incredibly impressive, and even though we’ve seen them before, it’s impossible to not be awe-struck by them.

We decided to finish off our walk at the Colosseum. On the way there, we passed by the incredible Victor Emmanuel II National Monument. This monument was built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy. It is an amazing building.

It was just after 8:00 pm when we got to the Colosseum. We stopped for a few photos, and admired the beautiful structure in the changing hues of the setting sun.

From the Colosseum, we caught a taxi back to our hotel at the airport, and retired to bed.

Tomorrow, we’re heading to the Civitavecchia, to board the Regent Splendor, on which we’ll spend the next ten days cruising the Mediterranean.