Here is the entry I wrote while on the plane...
So this morning I thought everything would be easy with no worries as we were staying in a hotel right near the Rome Airport (FCO). It was not to be.
First, our journey to the hotel. We explored Pompeii and Herculaneum yesterday, and after Herculaneum, we made our way back to Napoli Centrale (the train station). We picked up our bags and bought our tickets for the train to Rome. We had about 40 minutes to spare, so we decided to take advantage of Mc Donalds again, and managed to have our last Italian meal be Micky D’s, so fabulous, I know. In any case, we ate dinner there, caught our train, and had a nice 2 hour ride.
We got to Termini (the main train station in Rome), and had to figure out how to get to the airport so we could get to our hotel. Sadly, we called Marriot, and they said that the last shuttle from the airport was at 920, and as our train got in from Napoli at 920, we figured we were going to miss that one. So I wandered around, bought our tickets, and then found a Leonardo da Vinci express to the airport leaving in less than 15 minutes. We ran with all of our luggage over to the train, with some time to spare. We hauled our luggage up into the car, where there was one other person. Unfortunately, as we waited to gain access to the luggage rack, she stood there fiddling around, doing nothing productive that we could see. Finally, we gave up, pushed our way around her, and got to another luggage rack and some seats. The ride was once again uneventful.
So we arrived in the airport and then had to find a mode of transportation to our hotel. First though, we needed to find an atm. I was out of cash and LC was almost out, so I pulled out 40 euro after searching for a good 10 minutes and finding that maps in the airport lie. We then made our way down to the arrivals, and caught a shuttle to the hotel. We were told it would be 20 or 25 euro for the two of us, but it ended up being 30. In other words, we could have taken a cab and it would have been cheaper, but at that point we were tired and didn’t want to argue, so we let it go and walked into the hotel.
The most amazing thing about the hotel was the ability to shower and wash off all of the volcanic ash and dust that we were covered in from our afternoon in Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was a fabulous shower, probably the best since I have been here, and I promise I appreciated it. Sadly, the designer of the shower miscalculated how much water would spill over and we had a mini flood, but it all worked out. We had to pay 12 euro for internet (thanks dad!), but were able to check in, update the blogs a bit, and take care of some email.
This morning we got up around 820 for our 9am shuttle to the airport (my flight was at 1120). We got downstairs a bit before 9, checked out, and were told the shuttle was gone. We were a bit surprised by this as we were not told we had to be downstairs before 9, and on top of that, we got downstairs before 9 and did not see the shuttle. So that was frustrating, especially as the next shuttle was not supposed to arrive until 940. At this point I was trying to take it in stride, but we couldn’t afford a taxi, as it was 12 euros for the two of us to take the shuttle, and if we counted that plus my change, it would have been about 17 euro. So we sat there hoping to leave early, which thankfully we did (if 930 counts as early).
We arrived at Terminal 5, the new terminal for United, Delta, American, US Airways, and maybe a couple others. The main point is that it is for travel into the US on US carriers. We got in, walked through the first checkpoint where they asked about bags, and then on to check in. This is where LC and split up and the real fun began.
The line was maybe 20 people deep, so while I was concerned about the time (it was 950, boarding was at 1035), I wasn’t too worried. However, as time passed, it was increasingly annoying. The people in front of me had on average 5 pieces of luggage and there were only 2 people doing the check in business. On top of that, another attendant (not sure what else to call her), was helping big groups (who were behind me in line) by printing their boarding passes and taking them up to the front to one of the two check in ladies, making the process even longer.
Finally, I got up to the front around 1010/1015, so excited and sure it would take no time at all to get through the process. I was mistaken. First, my bag was overweight, and as I didn’t have a lot of time to move stuff around, I decided to pay the exorbitant fee and get moving. Then, the machine wouldn’t print the tag for my luggage. The woman sat there and played with it for a couple of minutes before it finally printed it out correctly. Finally, the woman couldn’t figure out the next step in order to charge my credit card. She must have sat there staring at the screen for a good couple of minutes before the light bulb went off and it all worked. No one was in a hurry here, and there were a bunch of people who were on my flight in this line. I swear I have never been in a slower check in line, or a less efficient one. It must just be the Italian way.
In any case, it was on to security, which was quick and easy, no problems. From there you have to hop on a shuttle to take you to the actual terminal you will be leaving from. This is all well and good, except when you are in a rush and they are waiting for the shuttle to fill up before leaving. We finally (finally!) pulled away, and drove over to the terminal. From there, my gate was of course the farthest away, so I rushed over, keeping an eye peeled for a snack shop to pick up some snack and finish up my eruos. It was not to be and I arrived at my gate at 1035, as they announced boarding.
One would think this would mean the adventure has ended, but it hasn’t. They announced boarding would begin in a minute, and proceeded to call individual people to the desk for another 10 minutes. After this delay, they made an announcement that boarding would be delayed another 10 minutes. Then it was the most disorganized boarding ever, as 15 minutes later they let Groups 1, 2, and 3 on together, I guess to speed it up. I was group 2, so I hustled on the plane, got my seat and settled in by 1110, only 10 minutes before we were supposed to take off. Once I was settled, a couple who was split up asked me to switch with one of them so they could sit together. I agreed, deciding it was my mitzvah for the day, and hoping in my head that the plane wouldn’t crash as I am now not in my assigned seat (fingers crossed).
We were all loaded on by 1130, still with no real reason for the delay besides the fact something needed to be taken care of. We taxied forever, and took off at about 12 for our 9 hour flight, only 40 minutes late, for still unspecified reasons.
Alls well that ends well, and as I am on the plane now, I suppose I cant really complain.
Quite the adventure all things considered. I think now I will enjoy my pretzels and coke, and read a book. When I get tired of that, I will work on a post for the past couple of days in Southern Italy.
PS: Flying over Sardenia was super cool :-)
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