My Thoughts on… Me, My Kid and Life

The adorable little child’s elephant rocker, in the below pic, was peeking through the glass at us as we wandered casually back toward the ship.

Perhaps the elephant represents Civitavecchia quite well. It’s old and simple, nothing too amazing but with a couple of unexpected surprises, and sometimes quite pleasant to look at.

We enjoyed this little town. Our tummies were full from gelato and the best hot chocolate Sophie has ever experienced. Our cruise was about downtime, taking it easy and relaxing. Civitavecchia offered us just that. No more. No less.

There is a tranquil walkway along the coast of Civitavecchia near the port. Sophie and I enjoy it very much. Civitavecchia’s coast is oddly poor with boarded windows where one would imagine the wealthy to live so one could see the beauty of the water. Instead, the buildings that line the water are either vacant or in desperate need of repair. The area has such potential for beauty, yet it stands… barely able to hold on to its facades with tattered shingles and peeling paint.

Cities are very aware these days of the economic gains available to them through tourism, yet Civitavecchia doesn’t seem to be aware of it at all. Our walk was quiet only periodically seeing another on the path. The gloomy state of the area reminded me of what Venice Beach, CA used to be like before the city gave it a facelife. Perhaps someday Civitavecchia’s boardwalk and adjoining buildings will have its own makeover and will be a delightful area filled with a joyous economic based from tourists and happy merchants.

No matter where you go in the world, there will be a place where you can buy a toy. On this day, we found these toys by the desolate coast of Civitavecchia.

While walking around Civitavecchia, Sophie and I came across this lovely old building which happens to be the local Music School in Civitavecchia.

An open air meat stand at the open air market in Civitavecchia Italy.

Civitavecchia has the best beef jerky I’ve ever had, maybe only rivaled by the beef jerky sold at stands on the side of the road in rural Texas where the cows were just slaughters and hung up to dry for passer-byers.

Open air markets tend to have rather creative displays which probably both lure in customers and make us smile… perhaps as well as break up the monotony of setting up one’s food stand on a regular basis. Civitavecchia was no exception.

Sophie and I thought this piggie was particularly cute.

It seems the little piggie below was carved, or molded, out of cheese. A rather specific medium for an artist to work in…

Civitavecchia has a rather large open air market with tons of sights for a tourist to see and munch on. It is not nearly as large as the open air market in Barcelona but plenty for a tourist to browse through while spending the afternoon in the Civitavecchia experiencing local culture.

We did not find many, if any, other travelers from the cruise line, as most of them probably headed straight to Rome. Therefore, we were able to just feel more of a local vibe as the necessary shopping was done by the faces familiar to the vendors in the small town of Civitavecchia.

Much of the street graffiti in Civitavecchia is rather primitive or basic. Nonetheless, as with much of the graffiti found throughout Europe, graffiti in Civitavecchia is used to convey political and social messages, as well as an artistic outlet.

The below is a wheelchair assess ramp. Imagine if it were graffiti-ed completely, as street art.

The below is loosely translated to ‘It is worth total chaos‘.

Civitavecchia is like most places I’ve experienced in Europe. It has both political and artistically-inclined street graffiti, as well as commissioned graffiti art.

Here is some graffiti art we found in a 24-hour vending super market in Civitavecchia Italy.