Arrivederci Roma!

This was it! We had our last breakfast at the villa on Michele Mercati. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a relaxed family breakfast. Josh and I were up early packing up the last minute stuff like our phone, answering machine, and laptops. The kids woke up one at a time. Josh made the last trip to Stefano’s office to store the rest of our non-essential stuff. Then it was time to pack up the car and depart for our six-week vacation. Easier said than done – we had too much stuff! As we had planned, there were the three duffel bags full of clothes. But, there were also bags with shoes, bags with medicine and toiletries, a bag dedicated to Josh’s bicycle gear, yoga mats,four back-packs filled with books, toys, and electronic games, our down pillows, and of course, Josh’s bike. Asidefrom the driver, everyone had to sit with some bags on their lap.

Arrivederci Roma! I was feeling sad as we drove off, even though I knew we’d be back for a day at the end of the summer -- that would just be more logistics. This was really it. Our year in Rome had come to an end.

We had a short drive -- a little over an hour -- to Civitavecchia to board the ferry for the four hour ride to Sardegna. The kids were excited, as were we, never having been aboard such a large sea vessel before.Uncharacteristically, we left our villa at noon, and thus were ahead of schedule. The ferry was to depart at 3pm, and instead of arriving by 2pm as we had planned, we were at the port in Civitavecchia at 1:30pm. We were told the cars would begin driving on board the vessel at 2:20pm. That meant 50 minutes sitting in a car line-up in the hot, blazing sun, waiting. Or so we thought. It would have been 50 minutes if the ferry had been on schedule. I was becoming skeptical about this whole "quick and easy" exit to Sardegna by ferry as I sat roasting in the car with the kids for an hour and a half. But alas, when the Moby Ferry approached the port at 3pm, decorated with all the Disney characters, the kids perked up, and I thought "this can't be so bad".

We left over an hour late -- why had I even contemplated an "on-time" departure? This is Italy, afterall. We booked passage for the five of us, as well as the car and the bike. We also booked a cabin -- which is not obligatory, but we thought it might be nice for Avery (and Josh) to have a place to take a nap. Once we drove onto the boat, parked, and climbed the stairs five flights (the elevator was broken, but with all the people and pushing and shoving I can't imagine how well that would've worked anyway), I waited on a short line to get our cabin assignment. The cabins were surprisingly nice (or perhaps my expectations were set so low from our last experience – the overnight train in Egypt!) and consisted of a double bed, and single each with a bunk over it. We also had our own private bathroom with a shower along with soap and towels. All of this luxury, including the price for the five passengers and vehicle, for less than 100 euros!

The girls set off to explore the boat, while Avery, Josh and I stayed in the cabin to take a nap. Later, we all had plenty of time wander the decks. In the end, I was so happy we had our cabin. The ferry was packed and on deck it was a zoo. All the seats were taken, and people were even lying down on towels on the floor. The boat itself had alot of opportunities for entertainment. There was a stage at the front with three stories of a lounge and snack bar overlooking it; a kids playground; a sports bar with the world cup playing on TV's all around; and a swimming pool on the top deck which mysteriously closed towards the end of the sail.

In addition to our late departure from Civitavecchia, the passage took even longer than scheduled so it was 8:30pm by the time we arrived in the port in Olbia. The last half an hour we were treated to amazing views of the Northern coastline of Sardegna. It was much more mountainous and less developed than I had expected. Fortunately, perhaps due to our early arrival at the port in Civitavecchia, we were able to drive off the ferry quite expeditiously. In just a few minutes, we drove through Olbia and found the Hotel Panoramic where we would be spending our first night. The proprietor couldn't have been more welcoming of us and all our luggage. He helped us choose a restaurant and I took the kids around the corner to eat while Josh went to park the car. We ate well and then strolled back up the road to our hotel.

Charlotte overheard some locals in the street but she didn't know what language they were speaking. It wasn't Italian. No, it was Sardo -- the language of Sardegna. Another adventure begins.

We all enjoyed the luxurious comfort of our newly appointed hotel rooms. Olivia and Charlotte had their own room down the hall from Avery, Josh and I. We all enjoyed a shower or a bath inthe beautiful, modern, and large bathrooms before hitting the hay.