Wednesday April 9, 1997
Again with the crack of dawn stuff. It seems like the only time I get up this early is on vacation. Mom is still limping around, but doing OK. We made our way over to the airport without breakfast. Those Lender’s bagels are sure coming in handy. I tried to spend all of the Czech money I had at the airport (Which by the way was undergoing extensive renovation and looks fab!). The flight to Paris (I love Air France – they use Paris as a hub city to connect everywhere in Europe.) was mostly empty and I got a much needed break to write in my journal. The crew was there usual Parisian best.
We arrived at DeGaulle Airport with plenty of time to make our connection to Rome. Now remember Mom has a sprained ankle and is limping badly, but, alas, there is no French with Disabilities Act. So we had to go up the stairs and down the stairs and up the stairs and down the stairs and up the stairs and then down the stairs to the bus to take us to the stairs to get on the plane. I managed to pick up a mini-Eiffel Tower, an Air France die-cast metal 747, and 2 Kit Kats for a meager US$20 – gotta love Airports. I did notice that as I boarded the plane to Rome, that yes, I love Paris, and can’t wait to visit again – hopefully seeing Nathan again.
Flight to Rome was not as good as the flight from Prague. It was full, warm and a bit smelly. Not really the fault of Air France, but the many Italians on board who looked like they needed a shower. I got a somewhat blurry photo of Mount Blanc and another of Lake Geneva from the plane. Once we arrived at Rome’s DaVinci Airport, we walked (well mom limped) another mile from the gate to the taxis. Emerson Fitipaldi’s nephew was kind enough to take us to our hotel, which according to my sense of direction, seemed to be the furthest point from the airport without leaving Rome. Our room was nice, but there was a distinct stink from the sewer (as I like to say, Musky, yet not unpleasant). The guy who runs out hotel is named Guiseppe. He gives me a bad time about being a Catalfo, and not knowing any Italian.
We decided to take the “Rome by Night” tour which included dinner. The tour was fun. Mom unfortunately didn’t see much of the Trevi Fountain or some of the other sights because she was lagging behind. Dinner at the White Elephant restaurant was good. The pasta was excellent, though some of the later dishes were a bit too much drenched in sauce for my taste, but everyone else seemed to enjoy.
We had a great time with the people at our table: Dick and Jeanette from New York (reeeal Italians) and Miguel and Inma from Valencia, Spain. Miguel and Inma didn’t speak much English and since I had two years of high school Spanish, I was nominated translator. I sure wish Mr. Cabanero was here. He would do a MUCH better job. After getting a little liquid inspiration, we got the Italian guy on the stage who was doing a funny job doing Karaoke, we had him perform “My Way” and “New York, New York”. Dick and Jeanette suggested the Macarena, which was a hoot with all the Italians looking at us like we were psychos. We returned to the hotel and crashed hard – not sure what our plans our for tomorrow.
