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!
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