My last post left our flight from Dulles landing at the airport in Frankfurt on our journey to take a Greek Isles cruise on Jewel of the Seas.
Frankfurt Airport and Lunch
We were close to the front of the plane so got off quickly. I was surprised to see that we had minimal clearance to get into the country there was no line we went straight up and had our passports checked and off we were.
We had about three hours here so we were walking around and found our next gate (which ended up changing anyway). I also had to go to a service desk to get a boarding pass which didn’t print in San Diego.
It turned out I wasn’t ticketed appropriately by the San Diego agent but fortunately they could see what happened and get me a boarding pass.
We then decided to have lunch and found a restaurant I’d researched online named Hausmann’s.
I chose Wiener schnitzel which normally comes with warm German salad but I was able to change it to mashed potatoes and it came with a salad.
Steve decided to go with the spaghetti Bolognese.
It wasn’t exactly what he was expecting but still liked it. I loved mine meal; we both had water to drink although a lot of people were having mugs of beer.
Afterwards we found the new gate and spent the rest of the time waiting there for boarding. We were really tired and had already walked up and down the airport a couple of times.
Travel to Rome Airport
Boarding the flight from Frankfurt to Rome was interesting as it was a do it yourself boarding. Passengers lined up in no particular order and one by one scanned our boarding pass and went through a gate that opened to let us through to the jetway.
We had lost our original seat assignments during the rerouting and couldn’t get seated together. Steve was assigned an aisle and me a window. We switched seats to meet our personal preferences. He told me afterwards that the views were incredible of the Alps and coastline.
In the short flight (an hour and 45 minutes officially) we were served a sandwich and even had a choice of turkey or cheese.
We both selected the cheese option. It was better than it looked. They were also serving beer or wine for free or in the beverage service.
Before we knew it we were landing in Rome. It took a while to get to our gate but once we did we were straight off and easily found the luggage carousel.
Rome Airport to Civitavecchia
Once we had our bags we went out to the meeting point where all the trans-ground limo drivers were waiting for their rides and I found our driver. I had arranged pickup with Rome Airporter. They were easy to work with and I highly recommend them and will book them the next time my travels bring me to Rome.
We followed the driver out to where the cars are parked and remembered doing this our last trip to Rome. It was a seven passenger van so plenty of room for the two of us and all of our luggage and we sat back and relaxed the drive to Civitavecchia.
The driver dropped us right by our lodging for the next two nights, Hotel San Giorgio.
Check-in
As we are trying to get our luggage inside (there’s a revolving door entry) the bellman came out and said he would take our luggage. We went up the stairs to the front desk and checked in. The clerk was very kind and welcoming and told us where to have breakfast and asked if we wanted dinner reservations at the in-house restaurant, Bistrot 34.
We made reservations for 7:45 pm which gave us 40 minutes to freshen up. We also got the Wi-Fi code. Shuttle reservations are made/confirmed the afternoon before so we needed to wait until Saturday.
I had paid extra for a sea view but it was better than I imagined.
I’ll post a separate review of our hotel stay so more details to come.
Dinner at Bistrot 34
We had thought our reservation was for the outdoor terrace but were first directed to a table inside. It was too noisy in the small space for us so we asked how long the wait for be for a table outside. They said it would be about 10 minutes so we sat in comfortable lounge chairs and ordered drinks.
A waiter brought us complementary chips homemade chips with a cheese dip that was fantastic.
Before our drinks arrived a table became available and we were seated.
Steve had a jack and Coke while I had the Italian spritz. We shared a starter which was trio of carbonara .
It was classic, truffles, and honey mushrooms. I thought the classic was the best.
Steve order the hamburger after seeing it delivered to another table.
I went with the Seabass and vegetables which was fantastic.
We had a second round of drinks during dinner.
We had originally planned to order a tiramisu to share but after our meals had no room. The meal was very reasonable and I highly recommend the restaurant but make reservations as it was packed Saturday night.
At this point we are exhausted and with full bellies went up to our room. We turned out the lights at 10 pm and slept well all night!
If you missed the other parts of the recap the links are below.
Next Vacation: Greek Isles Cruise
Port Plans for Greek Isles Cruise
Jewel of the Seas: Pre-Cruise Travel Day
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