It's not Pan Am, but.......

It's not Pan Am, but...



Having flown primarily domestic flights for the past few years, you tend to forget that international flights are a different animal.  Once you get past the cattle car experience of going through security, you enter a different world.

We flew on Alitalia.  The first thing that hits you is that now YOU are speaking a foreign language - English!  It throws you a bit off-balance.  Hearing the rapid-fire Italian makes you realize that you've left Kansas.

Next, a blanket and a pillow on your seat.  It seems almost decadent.

After settling down and about an hour or so into the flight, it's time for dinner.  Not a chicken pesto wrap.  (Which, by the way, set me back $8.99 back at O'Hare.)  HOT ENTREES!  Beef or fish.  Served on an honest-to-goodness airplane tray with all the side dishes in little rectangular box, arranged like one of those sliding number tile puzzles.

I wish I could say that the food was as impressive as the presentation, but I  can't.  Sort of like an airborne Lean Cuisine.  But for a brief moment, it was as close to the romance of air travel alluded to on Pan Am.

One thing that was unavoidable on this flight: the remaining six + hours that remained in the flight.  Finally, we were served a light breakfast and we landed at Fiumuciono Airport.  WE WERE IN ROME!

HAVING A GREAT TIME

In Florence, the first place with reliable internet.

Between wifi problems, and being on the go from morning to night, haven't had the time to write the blog.

Trip has been fantastic so far.

Talked to Steph today. Her tour group is stuck in Greece becauae of the general unrest.

The Trip

Colleen, Stephanie & I have been fortunate to have visited Italy once already.  That was in 2000, when Colleen took a class for her MBA at Loyola's John Felice Center located on the outskirts of Rome.  Steph & I flew out after the class was over and the three of us then spent almost two weeks visiting Rome, Florence & Venice.

Now Colleen & I are returning, but this time Stephanie is studying at the Felice Center for the entire fall semester.  She's now a junior and was fortunate to be one of six Ricci scholars selected for the 2011-12 school year.  http://www.luc.edu/ricci/pdfs/RicciScholarBroch.pdf.  In between her studies, she's been trying to accumulate as many passport stamps as possible on weekends.  (Check out her blog (http://pizza-potstickers.blogspot.com/) to find out her adventures.)

Our good friends Helen and Kevin will be joining us on this trip.  We'll visit some of the same sites as we did in 2000, but will also see some new places. 

And we'll hook up with Stephanie along the way.  (Her one request?  Bring some Ranch dressing!)

I look forward to sharing our adventures with you, depending on WiFi availability and the 20-minute daily Internet limit imposed by Colleen!