Dan has to be in Rome for a three day conference and encouraged me to tag along for grins. I’ll be on my own while he’s in meetings, but that will still leave us a few days to explore together. Dan has done some research on things to see and do, so the plan is to play it by ear once we are settled in.

Close call: My ticket was upgradable in the hopes I could use miles to move from coach to business-first. This scheme has worked many times, however this coveted cabin must have been in high demand for this particular flight because the upgrade did not come through. In preparation to sleep sitting up, I packed my blow up neck pillow (thank you Barb), headphones (thank you Matt), sleeping mask, and ear plugs. The Greek goddess of good fortune, Tykhe, was smiling on me because one seat opened up and being number
one on the wait-list I got it! Thirty minutes before we boarded. Talk about a good way to start the trip!

The eight hour flight was smooth and uneventful. We took full advantage of our business-first seats and enjoyed cocktails followed by a smoked salmon starter, then salad followed by our choice of a main course (I chose salmon on barley with greens), sundaes, cheese and grapes, and then after dinner drinks. I made it dinner-and-a-movie by watching a comedy while dining. As soon as we were done we reclined our coveted seats and slept for four hours. Dan passed on the light breakfast, but I dug into the yogurt and fruit not knowing what the day would bring.

We set our watches ahead six hours and mentally moved from 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. just as the sun was rising over Italy. It was beautiful from the air. A van and driver were waiting for us and one other conference attendee, so as soon as we all had our bags we were delivered to our hotel, A. Roma, located in the southwestern side of Rome. We have a beautiful, modern mini-suite with a bath and a powder room, small balcony, sitting room, and bedroom.

The skies are clear and there’s a soft, cool breeze. We have the day to ourselves.