"I don't really feel any closer to Rome"
- Adrienne, after sitting in a plane, on the tarmac, at JFK for 2 hours
Well, we're off to a bit of a slow start. We couldn't print our boarding passes from home in Toronto and we thought that this meant the flight was oversold. Luckily, this whiff of disaster did not pan out and our flight from Toronto to New York (JFK) went smoothly.
However, there was trouble at gate B22 at JFK for the next leg of the trip.
Unfortunately, a part on our plane was broken. There was no replacement part so the spare bit had to be flown into Laguardia, transported to JFK, installed and then tested. So, we planed, de-planed, and then re-planed. This translated into an extra 2 hours spent waiting on the plane and an extra three hours waiting at gate B22. Of course, discovering this problem in NY is better than discovering it over the Atlantic. Still, day one was kind of shot.
We were further delayed at Fumicino airport by Alessandro at the Hertz rental car window. While nice, it was not only Alessandro's first day on the job, but apparently it was his first day on planet Earth as well as his first day interacting with other human beings. He got our entire reservation confused, needed help from a colleague at each stage of the computerized check-in, overcharged us, could not read our Canadian licenses at all and then did not give us the GPS we rented even though he physically had it in his hands and then wrote the serial number on our rental agreement. In addition, he did not give us the sleek Lanica Delta we reserved but a Ford Focus station wagon. Let's just say Rome is not a city where you want to be driving a land boat ("lanes" are optional rather than mandatory and everything is very, very narrow).
All this to say we didn't reach Sandro's (where we're staying) until 5:00 pm. The day ended much better with great gelato, a fabulous dinner and a sighting of the world's smallest car.
We're a bit behind but not defeated: the tabs of fun are not so easily thwarted. Hopefully we'll have some more interesting material tomorrow!
Well, we're off to a bit of a slow start. We couldn't print our boarding passes from home in Toronto and we thought that this meant the flight was oversold. Luckily, this whiff of disaster did not pan out and our flight from Toronto to New York (JFK) went smoothly.However, there was trouble at gate B22 at JFK for the next leg of the trip.
Unfortunately, a part on our plane was broken. There was no replacement part so the spare bit had to be flown into Laguardia, transported to JFK, installed and then tested. So, we planed, de-planed, and then re-planed. This translated into an extra 2 hours spent waiting on the plane and an extra three hours waiting at gate B22. Of course, discovering this problem in NY is better than discovering it over the Atlantic. Still, day one was kind of shot.We were further delayed at Fumicino airport by Alessandro at the Hertz rental car window. While nice, it was not only Alessandro's first day on the job, but apparently it was his first day on planet Earth as well as his first day interacting with other human beings. He got our entire reservation confused, needed help from a colleague at each stage of the computerized check-in, overcharged us, could not read our Canadian licenses at all and then did not give us the GPS we rented even though he physically had it in his hands and then wrote the serial number on our rental agreement. In addition, he did not give us the sleek Lanica Delta we reserved but a Ford Focus station wagon. Let's just say Rome is not a city where you want to be driving a land boat ("lanes" are optional rather than mandatory and everything is very, very narrow).
All this to say we didn't reach Sandro's (where we're staying) until 5:00 pm. The day ended much better with great gelato, a fabulous dinner and a sighting of the world's smallest car.
We're a bit behind but not defeated: the tabs of fun are not so easily thwarted. Hopefully we'll have some more interesting material tomorrow!
4 comments:
Glad you finally made it!
How's life with the Ford Focus?
I wouldn't know. The Focus is perma-parked until we leave Rome! It was "fun" enough driving it in from the airport!
Sorry to hear about the delay - that is major suckypants. Glad you finally got off the ground though!
And wow, that IS the world's smallest car!
GLad to hear your having a good time. When you came across the burning trash can, you should have toasted a marshmallow or something. If you meet the Pope for a beer or a glass of RUFFINO OR SOMETHING.... askhim why he's not answering you Granny's missives. Let him know she's getting pissed.
Post a Comment