Thread: Rome if you want to, Rome around the world....(Blog reposted from old site)

Thursday April 17
I flew a Northwest Airlink CRJ-200 from IND to LGA and then took the bus down to JFK. My seat was 4B
The next flight was an Alitalia 777-200 to FCO. I was in the middle at 38D but had the whole row to myself.
The service was normal coach service as in drinks just after departure, meal, more drinks, sleep/movies, we'll wake you for breakfast, and then finally arrival.

Friday April 18
The arrival procedure in Rome was quick and I was soon on the Leonardo Express into the city. I went to my Hostel, the Hostel Beautiful, which was across from Termini rail station. It was too early to check in but the nice host let me shower and leave my bag there. By 8am, I was outside the Hostel waiting for my friend from California. She arrived about 20 minutes alter and we were off to see the sites.
We took a "hop on, hop off" bus around the city and took lots of photos. The first place we hopped off at was Vatican City. We spent a good four hours there inside both St. Peter's Basilica and The Vatican Museum. We then headed out to eat lunch. It was a nice little Italian place near the American Embassy. I wish I could remember the name. I had some awesome four cheese ravioli! After lunch, we were out seeing the Colosseo. In the evening we went to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We enjoyed some gelato and then parted ways. I went back to the hostel at about 7pm and got checked in. I was sharing a room with a girl from Stockholm and a girl from Poznan. They were real nice and we went out to get some shawarma to eat. They were tired from partying the night before and I was tired from my daytrip to Rome, so we all headed back to the room to sleep.

Saturday April 19
I awoke early, at about 5 am. My flight was not until about 10am but I did not want to have any hassles. I took the train back to FCO airport and was there at about 8am. Good thing too because I was about to have a problem.
I went to the check-in zone for AZ628 to Chicago. There were about ten people in line in front of me. I was surprised that there was only one agent working the counter. I could not hear what was being said, but each time a passenger went to the counter, I could tell something was amiss. It was finally my turn and I felt sick when the agent told me that the ORD flight was cancelled. I asked him how it looked to nonrev on Alitalia's other flights to BOS, JFK, EWR, or MIA. He said I had a shot on the BOS but also that American had a Chicago flight leaving soon also. I had a ZED ticket so I told him that I would try AA first and if I did not make it then I would be back for the BOS flight. American told me that their ORD flight did not look good but their JFK flight was manageable. I told them I would take the JFK flight and they sent me to the gate.
The immigration line was long and of course, my line was moving the slowest! I finally arrived to the gate with about 30 minutes to spare. They called my name and I was on to JFK! It was an American 767-300 and I was in seat 38H.
I was not impressed with the AA service, being that there is no PVT and no free booze, but I was thankful to them for getting me home! They did have some good music to listen to though!
The AA flight was smooth and quick. The arrival process into JFK moved a little slow but within an hour, I was outside and heading over to Terminal 4, for the Northwest flight to Detroit. I was supposed to be in ORD so I had no idea how this flight looked and if I would get on. The agent listed me and told me it does not look good at all but to go to the gate because you never know. I waited at the gate as the time ticked down. It was only about 5-10 minutes from departure.
The agent told me and the other nonrev to go ahead but all of the sudden two runners came up. The agent now said that there is only one open seat and she said "Jeremy, you have more seniority, so you are on" The other nonrev jokingly said "you suck Jeremy"! I settled into the first class seat and was off to DTW onboard an NW DC-9.
I knew I would be in the same situation in DTW with that flight being overbooked also. It did not take too long for the agent to call my name. She said all that was left was first class and I said I'll take it! I sat down in seat 3A on NW 1015 from DTW to IND. This flight was another DC-9. I sure do love those classic DC-9s! By 10pm, I was back in my house, exauhsted from my latest nonrev adventure.

I thought Rome was nice but I like Lisbon and Paris better. The weather was fantastic! Sunny and warm. The exchange rate was murder! I think I will avoid Europe for awhile.