Surfing lessons and Fragene beaches

Now for the saddest day of the cruise: disembarkation day. We only had backpacks left in the room as all our luggage was sent down last night which made getting out of the room pretty easy. We showered, dressed in our sweet corn Disney cruise shirts, and headed upstairs to Cabanas for breakfast by 8:00 am. Even Cabanas was pretty limited on food options but the kids still got their sugar fix with pancakes and whipped cream and sausages. We ate out on the back deck overlooking the Mediterranean.

We then met up with everyone else on the 3rd Deck with our key to the world cards and we were off the ship. All of our luggage was in the port terminal and we found it easily before heading out to find our drivers. The kids were very jealous of the people already lining up at the door to board their cruise this afternoon though we were glad not to sit outside in the hot weather for the next 3 hours before they started boarding again!

Due to flight timing, we opted to spend one more day in Italy instead of in Chicago - my one contribution to the trip planning. The car service took us to the town of Fragene which is a beach town about 15-20 min from the airport. The 50 min drive from the port took us from the port city of Civitavecchia through the countryside where we saw corn, hay and almond fields to the coastal town of Fragene. We were a little unsure when the car stopped in front of our hotel but it turned out to be lovely. It has a great pool and garden area, the rooms are nice and large, and a friendly staff.

Fragene is a town where people from Rome come to get away for a weekend. There were several groups of old Italian ladies around the pool area who I’m sure were not ready for our loud, American kids, but they smiled at our crazy bunch and seemed unbothered. After a bit of swimming, it was time to head down the road to the beach. There is a very nice walking and biking path that runs parallel to the sea. All of the beaches seem to be privately owned and require paid access for beach, chairs or umbrellas.

We had about an hour a 20 min walk to the beach club we were going to for surf lessons. However, in the sun and heat it felt like an hour! We finally made it and were surprised to see the sand was black which, as it turned out, made it unbelievably hot. Even with sandals on, the sand that got kicked up would scald your feet.

The Parin and the kids went to play in the water while Keely and I tried to find our instructor and Mom and Dad got setup with chairs under an umbrella. We filled out lots of paperwork that was only Italian and then we were on our way to surf!

Our instructor, Eugenia, was exactly how you’d picture an Italian surf dude. We started on the sand learning how to paddle, takeoff, and balance. Once we had it down on the sand, it was time to get in the Mediterranean and try it out. The kids all went first and in a surprise to no one, Odin and Ainsley crushed it! Liam and Lillian also got the hang of it as did Sydney.

The adults were a different story. The water was a bit too shallow for Peter who would hit bottom quickly. Peter and Arin would both dismount gracefully while Keely and I would fall and cash awkwardly if we were off balance or lost the wave. It was so fun! By the end of our hour lesson, we all had the hang of it. Liam, Odin, and Lillian seemed to enjoy it the most and would love to come back!

While we surfed, Griffin and Whitaker played in the water and the wet sand which seemed more tolerable. We surfed for about an hour with Eugenia and then he turned us loose for another 10-15 min. Then it was time to bring the boards back in and make the long walk home. We were again reminded by how terrible sand was as it stuck every where and after three beach showers we still couldn’t rid ourselves of it.

On our way back we stopped for a quick lunch even though it was mid-afternoon. The restaurant we wanted to eat at had closed but we found some takeaway pizzas and sandwiches and ate those instead. Back at our hotel, the Kayla’s family joined us for more time in the pool before finally packing away the swimsuits.

None of the nearby restaurants, including the one in our hotel, start serving dinner until 8:00 pm which was too late for this crew of very tired kids. Peter and Arin went out to find Italian pizza for one last meal. We all ate together in the garden area on a very pleasant evening. The temps had come down and it was a very enjoyable way to finish up the trip.

Tomorrow we fly home and the car service will be here early once again. Pizza, surfing and swimming - a perfect way to end this amazing European adventure!