Arrival in Rome

It was not a pleasant trip on Alitalia. The plane was ancient, still in the style of the 1980s without smoking. The departure card would lead you to believe that smoking was possible. On my card there was a burning cigarette in the corner, without the prohibition sign.

The seats had so little room that my knees touched the seat in front of me and I'm only 5'3". I wondered how the tall people managed. The only other time I have seen so little room was on Apple air going to Jamaica.

The food was inedible. If someone flew Alitalia thinking they were going to get a good Italian meal they would be very unhappy. If they had never had a meal in Italy they would also have a bad impression of the food, if the only experience they had was on this airline.


The plane departed more than an hour late, making everyone nervous about making their connecting flights. Luckily I didn't have that problem.

I took the train to the Rome central train station, which cost 12 Euros. A cab costs 40 rupees and 3 people can travel at that rate, but you have to pay one euro each for your luggage.The shuttle costs 25 euros per person.

Then I needed to make a call in order to get the keys, but my phone didn't work, and neither did the telephones at the railway station. Now I know what you're thinking. Maybe you just didn't know how to use the telephones. Ah ha. I asked two people to help me and they couldn't get it to work either. Finally I asked an elderly man if I could use his cell and paid him what it cost him.

I broke down and took a taxi from the station to my apt. Wow. The apartment is really nice. But a bit too big for me and my hubby. And I am alone for a week. The bathroom has a six foot tub. I laid in the water and felt like I was in a pool. There is a bar to sit at and have breakfast. There is a table that pulls out and sits eight. There is a tv with only BBC as the English station. I can watch Italian stations, and I even get most of it. But I was so tired today that I sat and watched the race in New York. It is sort of like watching paint dry.

I wanted to eat lunch, but I thought I'd take a short nap. Needless to say I slept until the restaurants closed for the afternoon. I did go for dinner this evening. My meal was simple: green salad, spaghetti with clams and really small muscles in white wine. (a favorite of number 2 son.) Two glasses of wine and a sorbet al limone. The sorbet was so cold, that my tongue stuck to the spoon. It cost 15 Euros. I will try a few more dishes before I recommend the place.

I am really tired, so I think I will go to bed.