Hello everyone,
We are now in our Rome hotel. Our flight was fine, but very loud and cramped. Not sure why, but Molly and Dad agreed.
We were met at the gate, just as we got off the plane, and taken to Immigration. Not sure how this guide got through all the security to get right to the gate, but it was nice. Then he took us to the Diplomats line at passport check. In Italian, he told the guard that Dad was 91 and standing in a long line (and it was a very long line) would be too much for him. The guard looked at Dad, said something to Ilea (our guide) that showed he was not convinced. They went back and forth, and finally the guard stamped Dad's passport. I told Dad he needed to try looking feeble! Or at least look his age.
He stamped my passport without ever looking at the picture. Very different from Russia. Getting into Russia took a long time due to each person spending 5-10 minutes at the counter. Getting out still took 3-5 minutes per person. They are very diligent there. :))
Oh--I'm going to take a detour. The 3 of us have shared a room all along. One day Dad mentioned that the shampoo felt like it had grains in it. I went in and got my tube of Jeju Sea Salt face cleanser and asked him if that is what he used. Yep. And he liked it so much he used it for soap too! I tell him he looks younger every time he uses it.
Back to today. We got to our hotel. It is very European in that you have to ring a bell to get in. The lobby is not a huge thing--actually it's a desk and a couple of chairs. There are 2 rooms off of it with lots of easy chairs and sofas. To get to our room, we walked outside and around the corner. Then got into an old fashioned elevator. You get on (and the 3 of us barely fit), close the big door, close 2 little doors, and then it goes up/down.
Starting with the walk to the room, I was thinking--where are we going and why are we out on the street? Then we got to our room. Well, actually our 6 rooms! It is an apartment, complete with living room, kitchen (even a dishwasher), 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms. And an entryway, but I didn't count it as a room. The fridge is stocked with every imaginable drink from Coke to juices to wine to beer to little airplane size bottles of alcohol. And it's all complimentary.
We are here 4 nights and it is a nice way to end the trip. All the hotel rooms have been very roomy, but this surpasses 'very roomy' by loads. We decided to go to a grocers and get cheese, bread, salami and some veggies for dinner. Luckily Molly went too since Dad and I were completely lost on the walk back to the hotel. Both of us thought we should go in a different direction. Good thing we know how bad we are about directions, and listened to Molly.
As Dad said in his journal--from the time we got off the plane until now, they made us feel very special. Tomorrow we see the Colosseum, Basilica of St. Peter, Arch of Titus, Circus Maximus, and some other sights. Dad's cold is much improved, he is back to his old self. :)
amy
We are now in our Rome hotel. Our flight was fine, but very loud and cramped. Not sure why, but Molly and Dad agreed.
We were met at the gate, just as we got off the plane, and taken to Immigration. Not sure how this guide got through all the security to get right to the gate, but it was nice. Then he took us to the Diplomats line at passport check. In Italian, he told the guard that Dad was 91 and standing in a long line (and it was a very long line) would be too much for him. The guard looked at Dad, said something to Ilea (our guide) that showed he was not convinced. They went back and forth, and finally the guard stamped Dad's passport. I told Dad he needed to try looking feeble! Or at least look his age.
He stamped my passport without ever looking at the picture. Very different from Russia. Getting into Russia took a long time due to each person spending 5-10 minutes at the counter. Getting out still took 3-5 minutes per person. They are very diligent there. :))
Oh--I'm going to take a detour. The 3 of us have shared a room all along. One day Dad mentioned that the shampoo felt like it had grains in it. I went in and got my tube of Jeju Sea Salt face cleanser and asked him if that is what he used. Yep. And he liked it so much he used it for soap too! I tell him he looks younger every time he uses it.
Back to today. We got to our hotel. It is very European in that you have to ring a bell to get in. The lobby is not a huge thing--actually it's a desk and a couple of chairs. There are 2 rooms off of it with lots of easy chairs and sofas. To get to our room, we walked outside and around the corner. Then got into an old fashioned elevator. You get on (and the 3 of us barely fit), close the big door, close 2 little doors, and then it goes up/down.
Starting with the walk to the room, I was thinking--where are we going and why are we out on the street? Then we got to our room. Well, actually our 6 rooms! It is an apartment, complete with living room, kitchen (even a dishwasher), 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms. And an entryway, but I didn't count it as a room. The fridge is stocked with every imaginable drink from Coke to juices to wine to beer to little airplane size bottles of alcohol. And it's all complimentary.
We are here 4 nights and it is a nice way to end the trip. All the hotel rooms have been very roomy, but this surpasses 'very roomy' by loads. We decided to go to a grocers and get cheese, bread, salami and some veggies for dinner. Luckily Molly went too since Dad and I were completely lost on the walk back to the hotel. Both of us thought we should go in a different direction. Good thing we know how bad we are about directions, and listened to Molly.
As Dad said in his journal--from the time we got off the plane until now, they made us feel very special. Tomorrow we see the Colosseum, Basilica of St. Peter, Arch of Titus, Circus Maximus, and some other sights. Dad's cold is much improved, he is back to his old self. :)
amy
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| Half of our living room |
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| The other 1/2 of the living room |
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| Kitchen (duh) |
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| Garden |
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| Steps up to the rooms |
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| One of the 2 hotel lobby rooms |
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