We left for Italy on October 2. Two nights before, Pierce began running a fever. It persisted through Saturday and Sunday he was worse. It was hard to leave him when he seemed so miserable, but we didn't have a much of a choice, so we headed to the airport and my heart was heavy. We flew Lufthansa because they are a part of Star Alliance with United and we had beau coup points with United. We were able to use the Senator (1st class) lounge at Dulles International Airport, and it was nice to relax in comfortable chairs and have room to stretch out before the flight. Our flight left at 6:45, and our goal was to get some sleep on the way over, but dinner service took forever to complete, so we only got about 3 hours of sleep. JD was sleeping hard, and I heard serious snoring. I woke JD up to tell him he was snoring only to realize it wasn't him. Ooops! JD was pretty gracious about it, but I did feel bad. We can laugh about it now.
We had a short layover in Munich, and we were worried about our luggage getting to the plane. We landed 30 minutes early, and as we arrived at the gate, we were informed that there was a 30 minute delay due to fog. So, we had plenty of time to spare and we hoped this meant the same for the luggage handlers. On the flight from Munich to Rome, business class was exactly the same as coach class except there was a tray placed on the middle seat. We both thought that was funny. We also went through immigration in Munich, and since Germany and Italy are both Schengen countries, we didn't have to go through immigration again in Italy. Sadly, we don't have Italy stamps in our passports:-(
Here are some pictures JD took on the plane from Munich to Rome.
The Alps:
Me, after 10 hours on a plane:
We landed in Rome at 11:45 and grabbed our one bag (It made it!). We walked to the train station and arrived about 5 minutes before our train into Rome left. JD was all excited at our timing and we got in line at the ticket machine. Unfortunately, American credit cards do not have the new EMV chip technology used in Europe, and most European credit card readers no longer read the old magnetic strip, so we missed the train while waiting for assistance. We caught the next train and made it to Roma Termini at 1:30 pm. JD convinced me it was a good idea to walk to the hotel since it was only 0.75 miles away. I quickly determine that walking on cobblestone sidewalks with heavy luggage on 3 hours of airplane sleep was a very bad idea.
We did make it to our hotel, the Mercure Delta Colosseo around 2:00 pm. Our room was tiny but clean and neat. The hotel's rooftop restaurant and pool had a great view of the Colosseum.
The view from the roof of our hotel:
We had a short layover in Munich, and we were worried about our luggage getting to the plane. We landed 30 minutes early, and as we arrived at the gate, we were informed that there was a 30 minute delay due to fog. So, we had plenty of time to spare and we hoped this meant the same for the luggage handlers. On the flight from Munich to Rome, business class was exactly the same as coach class except there was a tray placed on the middle seat. We both thought that was funny. We also went through immigration in Munich, and since Germany and Italy are both Schengen countries, we didn't have to go through immigration again in Italy. Sadly, we don't have Italy stamps in our passports:-(
Here are some pictures JD took on the plane from Munich to Rome.
The Alps:
Me, after 10 hours on a plane:
We landed in Rome at 11:45 and grabbed our one bag (It made it!). We walked to the train station and arrived about 5 minutes before our train into Rome left. JD was all excited at our timing and we got in line at the ticket machine. Unfortunately, American credit cards do not have the new EMV chip technology used in Europe, and most European credit card readers no longer read the old magnetic strip, so we missed the train while waiting for assistance. We caught the next train and made it to Roma Termini at 1:30 pm. JD convinced me it was a good idea to walk to the hotel since it was only 0.75 miles away. I quickly determine that walking on cobblestone sidewalks with heavy luggage on 3 hours of airplane sleep was a very bad idea.
We did make it to our hotel, the Mercure Delta Colosseo around 2:00 pm. Our room was tiny but clean and neat. The hotel's rooftop restaurant and pool had a great view of the Colosseum.
The view from the roof of our hotel:
We dropped our bags, grabbed a shower, and headed out for an afternoon and evening walk. We took a cab to the Pantheon, then walked to the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. We had dinner at L'Antica Birreria Peroni (Via di San Marcello 19-halfway between the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain). As the name implies (Peroni), it's better known for its beer than food, but it was serviceable. We finished up with gelatto at the Spanish steps and then caught the Metro back to our hotel. We came out of the metro to a gorgeous view of the moon rising over the Colosseum.The Pantheon:
Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon:
Trevi Fountain:
In front of the Trevi Fountain:
The Spanish Steps. Can you find JD?:
Colosseum at night:
1 comment:
first of all, I don't know how you look so incredible after 10 hours on an airplane. second of all the picture of the moon rising doesn't even look real. you better blow that up and frame it!
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