Our Adventure Begins

Well, it's been a month since we've gone and come back from Italy, and I haven't really written a word about it yet. I think some of it is because it's been such a busy month. And some of it is because I didn't really walk around during those nine days thinking of things in terms of my blog.

It might make me a bad blogger or a bad writer, but we really and truly lived every moment being fully present exactly where we were. It was wonderful. 

That being said, I do know there are some folks who read this thing who might like to know a little more about how the trip went. So here we go: let's start at the beginning.

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We woke up Saturday, October 29 anxious and excited. After making sure the last of our things were safely tucked away some friends whisked us to the airport where we checked in, made it to the gate and waited. And waited. And waited. 

Turns out the first of our adventures was going to be simply getting to Italy. A major storm was dumping the earliest snow in years in New York City and a ground stop was ordered at all airports in the area. It was beginning to look like we'd have to go home and come back the next day - losing precious time in Rome. 

And here's where I give you some traveling advice: if you have to fly anywhere in the world, pack lightly. 

This is everything we took for nine days - a small, carry-on suitcase, a backpacking-style bag and an actual, school-style backpack. Taking only what we could easily carry was the best thing we did. We could switch flights in a heartbeat without worrying about whether our checked luggage would make the transfer, and once in Rome it was easy to keep track of what we had with us as we traveled by taxi, metro, bus, train, ferry and more.

And here's my second piece of advice: fly Delta if you can. We had a great experience with them. The second our flight to New York was canceled, the Delta staff was figuring out how to get us to Italy as soon as possible. It turned out the best way to get us there was to fly from our city to Atlanta.

Then in Atlanta we boarded a flight for Madrid, Spain. Nothing like adding an unexpected country to your passport. Yes, we were in Spain for all of two hours. And yes, the most we saw of the city/country was the highway on the bus from one terminal to the next, but we were there nevertheless. And it was beautiful and it was fun.

 From Madrid we made it to Rome, getting to our hotel just six hours after our initial arrival time. I'd say we did pretty well.  We checked into our hotel, then ventured out to find some dinner (fresh tomato and mozzarella sandwiches...yuuum) and wander the streets a bit, finding the famous Trevi Fountain. 

After oohh-ing and aahhh-ing over the prettiness and tossing a coin over our shoulder into the water, we made our way back to our room and collapsing into bed at 7:00 p.m. - exhausted after over 24 hours of travel. We slept for 12 hours before waking refreshed and ready to get on with the adventure.

And that's where we end today. To be continued.