Hello! Tarah here - I finally arrived yesterday around 3pm. What a whirlwind of a day. I left home around on my flight at 7:30am (5am for the shuttle) - I literally was given the last seat on the plane. Then got to Philly and was told the Rome flight was full but Venice had room. I called Jason and he said that the next days flight "was in the red". Ok, headed to Venice then! So thankful I bought the first class upgrade as that was amazing. The seats recline all the way into a bed. They feed you dinner (I had cantelope and proscuitto for an appetizer, iceburg lettuce and blue cheese salad, seared sea bass and then dessert. Not to mention 3 glass of pinot grigio, hot tea and bottled water. Then when I woke up they gave me yogurt, granole and berries along with hot tea and juice. Oh and I watched 2 movies on my personal movie player. It was great. I slept for a bit of the flight in hopes to acclimate to the 9 hour time difference.
Once we arrived I chatted with my first class neighbor about Venice as I wasnt sure how to get to Rome in an efficient way. She suggested the train for the scenery (6 hours though) or a flight bu she thought they would be spendy. Once in the airport I manuevered my around, all signs have english so that helps. I found the exit, I found information, I foun the ticket counter... Come to find out a flight to Rome and then to Napoli is 124 Eur and the train was 112 Eur. I took the plane due to time. My excitement to see Jeff squashed my sense of adventure a bit. Thinking back I should have taken the train as I could have seen so much more but I am so happy to be here with Jeff as
I missed him! He has grand plans so I'll be seeing quite alot!
I caught a cab and he zoomed me through the narrow streets of Napoli (they are so narrow and people are just in the way but manage to move out just in the nick of time). Right when he pulled up to the hotel there was Jeff - waiting at the cafe with a bottle of sparkling wine waiting for me. It was so great to see him! We caught up and drank the wine and then I insisted I had to shower - the 4 flights I just experienced needed to be washed off.
After cleaning up we headed out and just wandered the city. Napoli is a bit dirtier than I expected but it holds many old buildings and monuments that were interesting to see. I didn't take many photos just yet so you'll have to wait for those. Sorry.
We had pizza for dinner which was delicious! Then gelato and espresso - of course. I was dead tired so we finally made it back to the room and I crashed hard.
Now we are off to explore. More later. Ciao!!
Sometime, somewhere, I would absolutely love to meet up with either Jeff or Tarah or (better yet) both of you in some far away place. Not an entire epic trip together, but a few days meeting up and exploring w/ either or both of you would be awesome. I bet you'll find Rome more "clean." I don't know...I'll be curious to hear your comparison. Flying was WAY cheaper Lisbon-Barcelona and Barcelona-Madrid than the train, but I missed some scenery there, too. As trade-offs go, those are nice choices. In Rome, I have just 1 recommendation (because I know you'll fill your days and nights w/ any variety of great sights, food, and experiences)... Go to Trastevere neighborhood, and find On The Rox. A bit of a Danish influence in Roma. They treated me so well, I just owe them my recommendation.
ReplyDeleteHave the time of your lives where ever you go.
Well I am glad you finally made it ok and are having a great time. Keep us posted on the blog and have a safe trip.
ReplyDeleteLove, Dad & Linda
Right on man. Glad ya made it. You totally scorced getting that flight to Venice. Glad the gate agent mentioned it. I would have, but I thought it was one of our once a week destinations. Good that she was on the ball. First class transatlantic totally kicks ass doesn't it? I've done it on about half my trips home from Europe.
ReplyDeleteYou guys have fun. Looking forward to reading more adventures. Wait till you see Florence!