Atlanta, Georgia to Rome
10-11 October 2016
I am at the gate at ATL waiting for my flight to Rome, which is scheduled to leave in less than two hours. The plane is also at the gate, so I assume everything will proceed on time. Today's flight is free (frequent flyer miles), but I paid the small amount for an upgrade to Economy Comfort.
Going back to earlier this morning . . .
I awake after a refreshing steady sleep and head for the included buffet breakfast downstairs. There is lots of fresh fruit and the hot foods (e.g. a vegetarian quiche) are very hot. I avoid the proffered plethora of carbohydrates (breads, muffins, pastries), but I do have a bowl of corn flakes, with a side order of bacon and sausage. The server was very nice, but she is the only person on duty and is being run ragged by customers. (The hotel really needs to step up).
An hour later, I am on the hotel shuttle heading back to the terminal. The shuttle drops me at the domestic terminal, but the Delta people are very helpful in checking my bag, finding a wheelchair and getting me through security and over to the farthest opposite end of the airport, to the international terminal.
The overnight flight with aisle seat in Economy Comfort provides some extra legroom and padding. Early evening dinner is good, with three choices of main course: vegetable ravioli, hot chicken, grilled cold chicken over salad--all accompanied (squeezed onto the smallest tray possible) by a small shrimp cocktail, tossed (lettuce) salad, small roll and slice of cheese. Dinner is topped off with a salted chocolate brownie--no ice cream tonight.
After one beer and a sleeping pill I drift off to la-la land very quickly. There is a selection of movies and TV programs, but not very interesting. I have my iPad--currently being used to write this--with access to a large selection of my music.
We are awakened at 4:45am (Rome time), for a light breakfast since we have sped up through the night and plan to touch down at 6:20am rather than the scheduled 7:00am. Unlike the well-organized wheelchair dispatching at ATL, here at FCO it is all chaos. I decide to walk on my own (the distance is relatively short and there are free carts for luggage). Once out through customs, my very movie-star-looking driver (in very expensive suit and tie) is waiting with my name on his placard.
It is less than an hour's drive from the airport to the town center of Civi (the only spelling I shall now use). The small hotel with a grand name, the Alibindi Palace, is not yet open. My driver telephones the number posted on the door to let the concierge know that I have arrived and takes me two doors down the block to a small, unpretentious cafe, "Gigi Bar Sas," where I enjoy a typical breakfast of fresh coffee and croissant. We have really good croissants from Costco at home in Tucson, but somehow the smallest European bakery's croissants far outshine American imitations.
Soon enough the hotel concierge (a very young man, Angelo), arrives to check me in. The Albidini Grand is in an old palace building; the inside is dowdy but comfortable. I have a large bedroom with wrap-around balcony and fully re-modeled
bathroom. The hallways and public rooms exhibit the grandeur that must have been the norm here in the 19th century.
I plan to get out and wander rather than nap, so I will end this posting here and give you more of my adventures in "Civi," after I board the Koningsdam tomorrow. And I hope to start adding photos as well.
10-11 October 2016
I am at the gate at ATL waiting for my flight to Rome, which is scheduled to leave in less than two hours. The plane is also at the gate, so I assume everything will proceed on time. Today's flight is free (frequent flyer miles), but I paid the small amount for an upgrade to Economy Comfort.
Going back to earlier this morning . . .
I awake after a refreshing steady sleep and head for the included buffet breakfast downstairs. There is lots of fresh fruit and the hot foods (e.g. a vegetarian quiche) are very hot. I avoid the proffered plethora of carbohydrates (breads, muffins, pastries), but I do have a bowl of corn flakes, with a side order of bacon and sausage. The server was very nice, but she is the only person on duty and is being run ragged by customers. (The hotel really needs to step up).
An hour later, I am on the hotel shuttle heading back to the terminal. The shuttle drops me at the domestic terminal, but the Delta people are very helpful in checking my bag, finding a wheelchair and getting me through security and over to the farthest opposite end of the airport, to the international terminal.
The overnight flight with aisle seat in Economy Comfort provides some extra legroom and padding. Early evening dinner is good, with three choices of main course: vegetable ravioli, hot chicken, grilled cold chicken over salad--all accompanied (squeezed onto the smallest tray possible) by a small shrimp cocktail, tossed (lettuce) salad, small roll and slice of cheese. Dinner is topped off with a salted chocolate brownie--no ice cream tonight.
After one beer and a sleeping pill I drift off to la-la land very quickly. There is a selection of movies and TV programs, but not very interesting. I have my iPad--currently being used to write this--with access to a large selection of my music.
We are awakened at 4:45am (Rome time), for a light breakfast since we have sped up through the night and plan to touch down at 6:20am rather than the scheduled 7:00am. Unlike the well-organized wheelchair dispatching at ATL, here at FCO it is all chaos. I decide to walk on my own (the distance is relatively short and there are free carts for luggage). Once out through customs, my very movie-star-looking driver (in very expensive suit and tie) is waiting with my name on his placard.
It is less than an hour's drive from the airport to the town center of Civi (the only spelling I shall now use). The small hotel with a grand name, the Alibindi Palace, is not yet open. My driver telephones the number posted on the door to let the concierge know that I have arrived and takes me two doors down the block to a small, unpretentious cafe, "Gigi Bar Sas," where I enjoy a typical breakfast of fresh coffee and croissant. We have really good croissants from Costco at home in Tucson, but somehow the smallest European bakery's croissants far outshine American imitations.
Soon enough the hotel concierge (a very young man, Angelo), arrives to check me in. The Albidini Grand is in an old palace building; the inside is dowdy but comfortable. I have a large bedroom with wrap-around balcony and fully re-modeled
bathroom. The hallways and public rooms exhibit the grandeur that must have been the norm here in the 19th century.
I plan to get out and wander rather than nap, so I will end this posting here and give you more of my adventures in "Civi," after I board the Koningsdam tomorrow. And I hope to start adding photos as well.
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