A funny thing happened on the way to Tarquinia.....

Since we have been to Rome before, we decided to once again independently explore the region around the port Civitavechia (ch-vit-a-veck-e-a) - the port for the beautiful city of Rome - about 1 1/2 hours drive north of Rome.

We had mentioned to Carol and Randy that we were planning to go there - and they said that they were too - so we decided to venture out together. Carol’s daughter has a friend who knows the area and she recommended a visit to Tarquinia - a beautiful fully walled city almost 3000 years old, in the countryside about half an hour by local bus. She had sent very detailed instructions to catch the bus - and so - full of confidence - we set off. The instructions warned that ‘ this is Italy, so don’t expect the trains and buses to be on time’.

The museum

Central Municipale Piazza and fountain

Instruction 1 - buy the ticket from the newsagent on the corner - Carol was smart so she had asked the Italian guide from her tour yesterday to write down - “ we want to buy two bus tickets to Tarquinia” in Italian - and she handed the note to the shopkeeper  - what’s this  - he just shook his head and pointed up the road, speaking in rapid Italian - didn’t the note give him a clue that we didn’t speak Italian??? We headed up the road - and spied another newsagent on the next corner - Ok - so this must be the right one - handed over the note - another shake of the head - and the only words that we clearly understood were Casa De Gelati as she spoke in Italian- why would you get bus tickets in an ice cream shop - Ok this is Italy - so we followed her finger as she pointed back down the street to where we had just been - back out to the footpath - and around the corner - Casa de Gelati is right beside the original newsagent we had been to - so back we went and as we walked in the door - a young boy behind the counter asked - in perfect English  - “do you want bus tickets to Tarquinia?” huge smiles as we nodded - no need for the note here.

Instruction 2 - the tickets will cost you 2 euros each way - the young boy agrees - ‘it is 2 euros each way - that is 16 euros for four persons’ - Ok so far so good - he takes out a large pile of tickets - sorry, we only want four return tickets  - no problem - but he only has 14 one euro tickets and we will have to buy 2 tickets for 1.20 euros, cause that is all he has left - you need 16 tickets for 1 euro each - no problem - so we handed over 16.40 euros and headed to the bus stop with our 16 individual tickets!!

Instruction 3 - the blue bus to Tarquinia is scheduled at 9.00 am, 9.15 am and 10.00 am. - so we rush to the stop in front of the cathedral - no problem - it is 2 minutes past nine, but we figure that with the number of people waiting at the stop, the bus hasn’t come yet - another couple from the ship confirmed that they had been waiting since 10 to 9, so we were definitely on time for the 9.00am. bus - mustn’t lose sight of the fact that this is Italy - we wait until 9.25 when the blue bus comes along with a sign on the front window - TARQUINIA - yippee - this is it - wait a minute - he is holding up his hand and speaking animatedly as he stops everyone from getting onto the bus - an Italian lady who is also waiting for the bus interprets for us - he has to take the bus to the garage - of course, this is Italy remember - but another one is coming - maybe it will be the 9.15 scheduled bus, a little late. 

Sure enough, five minutes later, another blue bus arrives with TARQUINIA in the window - we pile on and breath a sigh of relief - we are on our way - but remember THIS IS ITALY - we are driving along and I see a sign for Tarquinia and an arrow pointing in the opposite direction!! We continue and suddenly turn into the bus depot - the driver motions for us all to get out and points to another bus - confused - we ask the driver as we get on - Tarquinia??? - and he nods - he can’t speak cause, of course, he is on the telephone - suddenly he gets up - and the young girl from the first bus takes over the driving on the new bus. She revs the engine and is just about to move off when driver 2 runs up to the window and hands over a card - I joked - oh look, he has given her the credit card - everyone laughs - too soon - she then tries to get the bus into reverse for more than five minutes - I kid you not - this is Italy - until a chivalrous male walks up the aisle - and offers his help. Finally, we are in reverse and off to Tarquinia - silent cheers erupt as we look at the other passengers and smile- off down the road - around the corner - wait - another detour -  into the service station - where she hands over the credit card to the guy who comes out to pump the petrol - of course - another delay - remember, this is Italy - he takes the card inside to verify before he fills the tank.

Finally, after filling the tank, she reverses the bus out onto the street again, carefully avoiding the traffic - why reverse, I hear you ask - obviously, the space between the cars parked over the driveway in front was too small for the bus to fit through - and finally - exactly at 10.00 we left Civitavechia bound for Tarquinia - ah ha - we realised that this was meant to be all along - we were on the scheduled 10.00am. bus exactly on time!!! After all, this is Italy - and we love it!!

2500 year old beautifully decorated burial chambers where whole families were buried underground -
 only discovered in 1968

Superbly decorated coffins

Going down to the underground chambers

We had a wonderful day exploring this quaint town - the finest example of Etruscan excavations - where the buildings date from the 9th century BC - an interesting necropolis and museum - I love just wandering around absorbing the atmosphere - although it was a very hot day. The Etruscans made very elaborate sarcophagi for their family members, where a statue of the deceased was placed on the top of the coffin, and the life story was carved onto the outer walls of the coffin.

Pottery which is over 2500 years old found in the Tombs - buried for the afterlife

Etruscans winged horses - very famous statues

We had another thin crusty pizza and Caprese salad in a  small family run cafe - the smooth creamy mozzarella cheese is nothing like anything we have at home - it just melts in the mouth after tantalising the taste buds - yummy.....

......and so we celebrate another fabulous day in this beautiful country. Tomorrow, we are off to Cinque Terra - another fabulous Italian area - from Livorno, the port which serves the Tuscan region.

Cheers