DATELINE: Rome

First, let me say that the WiFi at this hotel is very unpredictable so I may not be able to write much.  Just to let you know we're here after a long, long day of travel.  The flight from Rome was delayed 2+ hours out of Atlanta and we almost didn't get seated.  When we checked in we were #6 and 7 on the StandBy list.  An hour later we were 11 and 12 with 13 sears available.  We hoped that a covey of Delta employees didn't show up to unseat us.  We were cleared for seats, got in line and at the last moment were called up to the podium.  There had been a report of a broken seat on the plane in which case we would have been bumped.  We had to wait another half hour but were finally allowed to board in the aft cabin, last two seats.  That really didn't matter; a seat is a seat.  Finally took off at a little after 6 PM, arrival in Rome due at 9:30 AM Rome time (6 hours difference).  As I said, long flight.  Watched a movie ~ Les Miserables with Hugh Jackman ~ and tried to doze, unsuccessfully I might add.  From Fumiccino by train to Termini in Rome then by taxi to our little hotel.  It is a one-time convent on a tiny side street accessible only on foot.  Tiny, monastic room with two of the smallest beds I've ever seen, and a shower that, if I were one inch taller or one pound heavier I could not fit into.  We immediately went out to find a market to buy bottles of water, checked out the area for eateries, went back to the room and slept for several hours.  At 7:30 we venture to Teo's for dinner - I'll go down there and take a photo ~ of big plates of fettuccine with mounds of porcini mushrooms.  Absolutely divine.  Then back here and lights out at 9 PM. That takes care of day one.

This morning we have breakfasted in the hotel's beautiful dining room which was, in convent days, the chapel, complete with a pulpit, very high ceilings, various niches with statuary.  Again, will photograph when I find camera!  Today we are going to find a tourist bus to see the city, find a bank to get another wad of euros to replace the wad we've already spent, and then plot some tourist-y things to see and do.  We are in the Tastavere section of the city, an area very conducive to walking and browsing.  It's time to get going.

dateline: ATLANTA

Coco and her best friend, Jeff

 We made both flights yesterday, but barely.  On the Sacramento - Minneapolis leg we were the last seated in the last row, but "seated" is the operational word here.  On the second leg, MSP to ATL, again we made it, but barely.  Jeff met us and took us on a short tour of the city and then it was home for some rest before a late dinner.  By 10 PM it had cooled and we moved out on to the large back porch for a long, lovely dinner filled with lots of good talk.  We finally turned in around 11:30, absolutely exhausted from a long day that started very early.  Right now it's still cool and lovely, the household is still quiet since the rest of the folks stayed up until around 2:30, the talk was that good!

The Rome flight leaves at 4 PM so we'll head to the airport about 1:30.  Now it's time to amble downstairs for some coffee, a visit with Coco, the gorgeous (but not too bright) German Shorthair Pointer, and a glance at the paper.  I have just a few things to repack and I'll be ready to move on.

Next bulletin from Rome, if the Seat Gods are with us.

the airless traveler

 My friend MS over at No More Commas Period asked me about the travel bags I mentioned yesterday.  They are by Pack Mate and are available at Amazon (well, what isn't?).  I don't remember if I bought them there, but these look like what I have.  Mine work a bit differently ~ they're 9 years old and you know how fast technology changes ~ but the end result is exactly the same.  All the air is compressed out of clothes and they are, essentially, vacuum-packed.

Packed and ready to toss into the suitcase

side view

medium size on top of large size

This is what it looks like when all the air has been pressed out - all pruned up!

The amazing thing about these bags is that clothes really don't wrinkle as badly as you would think.  Too, if you can remember what you put in which bag you don't have to plow through the suitcase looking for things, thus appearing to be very organized.

This will be my last post from CA.  The shuttle  picks us up at 4:30 AM tomorrow morning to catch a 6:45 flight to MSP, then on to ATL to spend the night with friends.  The flight to Rome leaves on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 and arrives in Rome at 7:30 AM Thursday morning.  Next post will be from Atlanta.  Ciao.

packing [for] heat

I spent two hours on Friday laying out all my clothes for the fast-approaching trip.  Pants, sweaters, T-shirts, shoes, undies, etc.  I carefully folded everything, slid it all into vacuum packing bags, pushed out all the air and sucked them up into flat but bumpy wafers.  Two nice bags that fit neatly into my suitcase with plenty of room left for odds and ends.  Then I decided to check the weather in both Rome and Florence.  Yikes!  Between 80º and 90º for the next two weeks!  So it's back to the staging table this morning to unpack all those warmies and substitute cool cottons and a pair of sandals.  I remember, too, that it was very warm in Paris in mid-October in 2010.  Now I'm packed for (almost) anything.  The only item I'm missing is an umbrella; I left my really good, small but strong one on a flight from Minn/St. Paul to JFK on the same aforementioned trip to Paris.  But I know just where I can buy one in Florence, if need be.  I'm now considering myself as packed and I'm not checking the weather again.

Rome and the Finished Sofa

Sounds like a great novel title, doesn't it?  Intrigue ~ is something sewn into the new cushions?  Suspense ~ will the new sofa ever reach its intended owners now living in Rome?  Will Fabio seduce Francesca on the new sofa as he has so nefariously planned?  Enough fevered plotting.  Nothing quite so mysterious.  I now have all the parts to the new sofa; side bolster cushions arrived in one delivery  and the throw pillow covers in another.  The new sofa is now complete and I am very happy with how it all turned out.

As for the Rome part  in the above title, I finally decided to forge ahead with a hotel reservation for the presumed day of arrival.  Daughter Cait assures me we'll make the flight from Atlanta to Rome next Wednesday (arriving early Thursday) so I consulted all my notes and picked one in the Trastavere section.  Double with breakfast for four nights.  I also did a pile of reading on getting from Fiumicino  airport to Termini train station in the city (a fast train called the Leonardo).  I'm way over prepared!  But since we will have been flying all night and we've never been there, I want to have some idea of what to do next.

Of course, first we have to get to Atlanta next Tuesday.  I think that's going to work nicely, too.

sox

Along with sharing the genes of our parents, my sister and I both have an almost obsessive love of sox.  I have to be vigilant when shopping someplace sox are sold.  When cleaning out her bureau I found about 50 pairs of sox of all colors, lengths, materials.  My heirs will find the same, I fear.  These little beauties, all from Target® (the BEST sox at the best prices) will go on our trip.  If all one is packing is black, one needs some oomph somewhere.  Might as well be a pair of inexpensive, snazzy sox.

"Life Style Lift"

The "den" has gone from this . . .

to this . . .

to this!

Finishing touches will be the two pillows that lean up against the arm rests and four throw pillows currently being made.  The only thing I'm not really happy about is I think the print should have gone the other direction, but I'll get used to it I'm sure.  I love the color and it certainly livens up the room.