Italy - Stranger Danger! An Engagement! And an Aborted Takeoff!

Trip Occurred: September 2012 Blog Written: August 2020

Hello!

Before we begin on our trip to Italy, a few things - This was a very special trip where some really exciting things happened but also some not so great things happened. Italy is a beautiful country full of friendly people (minus the Venetians) but there are a lot of aspects of this country that are not my favorite. One of them, oddly being, their very relaxed attitude. This same attitude is what makes the Italians so warm but ultimately it drives me mad. There was just a very casual attitude towards everything. When we were being taken around Rome, between the old streets and tourists, there wasn't a lot of room for cars but our driver continued to drive somewhat recklessly (my sister-in-law closed her eyes at some point) and when our van hit side mirrors with another van, our driver simply pushed it back out and continued on like nothing had happened. I mean, he's correct. Everything's fine...but is it?

Anyway, this was also the trip that taught me the importance of pre-purchasing tickets. I understand some people like spontaneity and I'm not saying don't do that BUT, unless you are in the off season (and this was September so it was a shoulder season), you should pre-purchase tickets to the larger attractions. Pre-purchase tickets AND go early! There was a certain amount of this trip that was just us waiting in a line.

Also, this was a large family trip that included my parents, my brother and his then girlfriend (now wife who I will refer to as my sister-in-law throughout this blog) and myself. Given this, this was the trip I began making PowerPoint presentations. Normally, when I plan for a trip, I just use Excel; however, for this trip I thought it was important for everyone to see what we would be doing so they could give input. I always ask before I begin planning if there's anything someone really wants to see BUT PowerPoint gives a really good idea for what the trip should be and helps create a nice double check.

OK! Let's get to the actual trip now and the pretty, pretty pictures.

We got transportation from Sacramento to San Francisco. Because there were five of us, and the limo company was worried our baggage wouldn't fit in a standard limo, our transportation car became a stretched limo SUV. Not gonna lie, it was a pretty cool limo and a fun way to start the trip.

We arrived at the airport, got through security, stopped at the British Airways Business Class Lounge, boarded the plan, and arrived to our Business Class PODS! I love the pods! For long flights, the ability to put your feet up and get some sleep is fantastic but I also just love that you get personal space. Seems every year there's less and less space on planes.

Once we got to Rome, via London Heathrow, we discovered that my bag had not made the flight. This meant we had to wait 2 hours until the next flight from Heathrow arrived. Also, the bathrooms in this part of the Fiumicino airport were disgusting! When I walked in, I could easily tell it was gross but I thought, "No! I'll be brave (even though others had turned away)"! I walked into the stall and not only was there no toilet paper, the garbage can in the stall was overflowing with bugs flying around. I decided I'd rather hold it (before I realized I would have to wait for my bag to arrive) and washed my hands only to discover that the rotating towel rack was completely soaked. Needless to say, I Purell-ed when I got out of the bathroom. Also, interestingly, when we flew out of the airport, the bathrooms were totally clean. Not sure why these on arrival were so bad. Either way, not a nice start and also a heads up for those of you who haven't been. Hopefully, they'll be fine for you but I know next time I'll be sure to make a bathroom stop at Heathrow.

Our driver/guide from Rome Cabs waited for us throughout the delay and then still took us around the city to do some sightseeing. He was great and the city was beautiful.

After sightseeing we arrived at our hotel, the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese. I really liked this hotel. It was very comfortable and the staff were nice and helpful. My sister-in-law and I both blew out our straighteners and they were able to direct us to a salon that sold them. I would stay here again BUT in all honestly, I'll probably try to stay somewhere a little closer to The Spanish Steps when I return to Rome one day with my husband. That's the only complaint I had about this hotel, location.

After we checked in, we walked down the street and found a little restaurant for dinner. WARNING - There are a lot of people in Rome that will try to sell you something. The annoying thing about outdoor dining is that they will still come up to you. This night we experienced someone leave a rose at our table and then come back and ask for money. It's a very annoying thing.

Day 1

Today was our first full day in Italy.

We woke up early, had breakfast at the hotel, and then walked over to the Villa Borghese, which houses the beautiful Galleria Borghese. You're not allowed to take pictures and they make you check your bag, which lead to a funny look when my sister-in-law handed over her furry purse.

This is a not a very large museum, so it's easy to get through, but is full of beautiful sculptures and paintings. Highly recommend going.

Next, we headed over to the Colosseum. It was PACKED!!!! I can't remember how long we waited but people were coming around offering a tour to get in right away and we jumped on the opportunity. The tour was actually for the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill.

The tour guide for the Colosseum was horrible. Just insanely boring. We should have just ditched her after using her as a way to get in. My actual recommendation is to pre-purchase your tickets and avoid all of this. Oh! And go first thing! We went to the Galleria Borghese because of how close it was to our hotel but we should have flipped the day and gone to the Colosseum first.

We then ate lunch at an obvious tourist trap of a place (read: not very good food but conveniently located) and then headed back for our tour of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

Before I go into this tour, I have to say, we waited out in front of the Colosseum for our guide and I think most of us were starting to notice the size of the group, which was rather large, and getting a little curious about how this was going to work. The guides showed up and broke us up into groups of 20-30 people. I think there ended up being about 3 different groups. One man became enraged by this. He said that whoever sold him the ticket swore the group sizes would not be above 10. The guides there tried to calm him down and say that's not true but he was not having it. As he was walking away, and I think towards the tour company's main office, he loudly yelled, "This is bullshit"! My family still quotes that to this day. I can't remember if he threw something, as there is a hand gesture that goes with our mockery of this man. I get his frustration but man, it was hilarious!

The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are very interesting but really annoying to walk when it's hot (and it was). This was unfortunate as the guide for this tour was fantastic but at some point, you'd just give up on standing in the sun listening to him and go sit in the shade until he moved on to the next stop.

Oh! You may be wondering why the pictures above include a random woman lying on the ground. In all major cities in Italy (Rome, Florence) there are beggars, which we do have here in the States, but these were particularly aggressive and/or dramatic beggars. In Florence, we would watch one woman walk up to obvious tourists, stick her stomach out, and beg for money. If that didn't work, she'd stand straight up and walk just fine to another group of tourists and start the whole thing over again.

That night we had a very nice dinner during sunset on the roof our hotel. What a beautiful end to our first day in Italy!

Day 2

Today was an all-day tour of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.

Our first stop of the day was Pompeii. We had a driver with us for this trip but when we got to Pompeii and independent guide met us and took us around the sight. To say he was incredible is an understatement. He obviously LOVED Pompeii. He goes there in his time off and walks around looking for old coins. THAT'S how much he loves it! And that enthusiasm just makes the whole tour that much better.

I found Pompeii beautiful, and fascinating, and sad. I recommend this trip for anyone visiting Italy as it was probably my favorite thing we did (outside of Taormina itself).

After our Pompeii tour finished, we headed to Positano and had lunch. The views were beautiful and the food was fantastic, particularly the bruschetta. They gave us all a shot of limoncello, which I had to psyche myself into doing. It was no joke. Not sure I'm a limoncello person but I do recommend trying it. Especially if you're visiting the Amalfi Coast as it's where it originated.

Our final stop of the tour was Sorrento where we just walked around a bit. Sorrento wasn't as nice as I thought it would be (though I'm not sure what I was expecting) but those ocean views are spectacular. I think if I ever stayed in the region, I would stay in Positano but I'm not 100% sure without doing more research.

Day 3

This day we woke up and headed over to the Vatican Museum. This was another day I learned that you should pre-purchase tickets and go first thing in the morning. There were WAY too many people here. It was suffocating! And smelly! Despite that, this place is VERY impressive and I highly recommend a visit. The works of art in here are something else. And the Sistine Chapel is larger than I thought it would be. Again, impressive!

After the Vatican Museum, we headed over to St. Peter's Basilica. We were going to go inside but after the chaos and crowd of the Vatican Museum none of us had the patience to wait in the long line. I actually don't think the wait would have been too bad and I regret we didn't just stick it out BUT I remember how tired and frustrated I was at the time. I also thought I would be able come back on the last day of our trip but that ended backfiring - More on that later.

Next, we wandered over and took pictures of the Castel Sant'Angelo, we did not go inside, and then walked over to the Pantheon. This is a very impressive building. I mean structurally. I couldn't build this now; I can't imagine how they managed it then. The Romans were remarkable.

We stopped for some ice cream and then continued on to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Rome may not be my favorite city in the world (it's crowded and a little dirty) but man do they have some pretty impressive architecture and sculptures. It's like the entire city is an art museum.

Day 4

We left Rome for Florence taking a train. This was interesting experience as there are people who hang out at the train station looking for tourists and offering to help them with their bags. I had wandered off with my sister-in-law in an attempt to avoid these people only to turn around and see my parents talking to them. One of the guys ended up helping with some of our bags and my dad gave him a 25 Euro tip and the dude had the nerve to ask for more. Sigh.

This day we mainly walked around and took in the different sights of Florence. We saw Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge full of shops, mainly jewelry it seemed. We also saw the Piazza di Signoria, which is beautiful and full of statues. Finally, we visited The Uffizi Galleries. I highly recommend this gallery but also PRE-PURCHASED TICKETS!!!! We waited two and half hours to get in. They do 30-minute bursts here, which means you're mainly standing there and then have a big burst of people who get in every 30 minutes. It was horrible.

That night we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. I think we actually did this twice while we were in Florence. I think the first time I liked the American food but the second time I was like this is gross and we shouldn't go here anymore.

Also, I'm going to skip over the hotel here. We had a hard time finding a place to stay in Florence so we ended up at a just OK hotel. However, given everyone there was professional and the rooms were exactly as they were advertised, I don't want to say anything negative against them. It was a perfectly fine hotel, but next time I visit I will probably stay somewhere else.

Day 5

Inspired by the long line we waited in at the Uffizi, we started the day at the Galleria dell'Accademia to see the statue of David. Interestingly, this line still did bursts in 30-minute increments but we got through it in an hour. Not bad!

I have to say, the statue of David is AMAZING. I wish I had pictures (they don't let you take any) EXCEPT I don't think it would do it justice. It is huge! Also, so freaking lifelike. The real give away (you know, except obviously being made of stone) is the hair! But the rest of the statue is so real looking you swear it is about to move. There are other art exhibits at the Galleria dell'Accademia but David is the star of the show.

After David we stopped by the Duomo, formally called the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. We somehow got in the line to climb up to the top of the dome. My parents didn't go and my brother and sister-in-law ended up turning around but I was determined to make it to the top despite my fear of heights.

When you get to the top, right before you step outside, it actually does get a little scary as there are some steep steps. I had to literally pull myself up them. I also somehow received some black and blue marks during this climb (though I can't remember why).

I do recommend taking the time to do this. The views are INCREDIBLE!!! However, a warning if you are afraid of heights. I pushed through but my sister-in-law turned back because of the heights and claustrophobia. So just be aware cause it's 463 steps.

Our last stop of the day was Santa Croce, my favorite place in Florence. This a gorgeous church that reminded me of Westminster Abbey in London. Buried in this church are heavyweights like Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo.

A funny story. My dad and I were walking around Santa Croce and an older man came up to us and asked us a question in Italian. For some reason, I said, in FRENCH, that I didn't understand him. He then, totally logically asked me if I speak French. Given that I speak very little French I said, "petite peu". The man now looked really confused and then said, "English"? I said, "Yes"! And then he asked me where something was and, after all that, I had to tell him I didn't know where that was. It was just the most awkward encounter. For some reason, answering in English felt rude. I have no idea why. But that instinct to answer in French just lead to a lot of confusion. Thought a funny story.

Oh! You may notice I included a picture of the dress code for the church. This is VERY common in Italy. You cannot have exposed shoulders or knees. Basically, if you plan on visiting a church in Italy, dress modestly. Some of the churches have coverings they can give you but some may deny you entry so take note!

Finally, I have to call out my favorite restaurant in Florence, Ristorante Buca Mario. We went here two nights in a row for dinner it was that good. They remembered us from the previous night and gave us all aprons to take home. The food was fantastic and service beyond that. When I return to Florence, this will be high on my list of places to visit.

Day 6

Today was a cross off of an item on my brother's bucket list, Museo Ferrari. While I'm not a big car person it was a pretty cool museum. They also take you in a shuttle along the Viale Enzo Ferrari in their factory and onto their Fiorano track. It was pretty cool. You can only take pictures in the museum, which is why I don't have photos of the factory or the track.

On our way back from Modena, we stopped in some small town to look around and taste some Chianti. It was a very cute town. I wish I remembered the name of it.

Finally, our driver (yes, we had a driver that day) took us to an outlook over Florence called Piazzale Michelangelo. I wouldn't say this is a must but they are great views of the entire city.

As this was our last night in Florence, I just have to take a second and say, I love this city. I did not particularly care for Rome or Venice or Palermo but Florence is heavenly. Very nice people, clean city, and beautiful. When I go back to Italy with my husband, my quest is to get through Rome and Venice as quickly as possible so he can see them and then spend a nice amount of time in Florence and the Italian countryside.

The pictures above are of a statue of a wild boar in the Piazza del Mercato Nuovo. The idea is to put a coin in the mouth and let it fall through the great below and then rub the snout. The money is for luck and the rub is to return to Florence one day.

Day 7

We got up early this morning, hoped on a train, arrived in Venice, and then was picked up by a boat and taken to our hotel. This hotel was beautiful. Nice rooms and a pool on top that offered spectacular views of Venice.

Normally, I would call out the hotel, since I did like it, but as I will later describe an extremely weird even that happened here sooooo I'm just going to skip over their name.

Let me start all of this off by saying that Venice is a beautiful city. I completely understand why people from far and wide visit. I also understand why the residents are annoyed with all the tourists. We were there in the off season and it was still filled with people. And the HUGE cruise ships that go through the city (see the previous set of pictures) are gross and I don't think they should be allowed. Having said all that, the people of Venice are the rudest group of people I think I've ever encountered. Also, be aware of them nickel-and-diming you for EVERYTHING. Double check your bills and make sure they're accurate. Also, if you go to sit in the Piazza San Marco a lot of the restaurants have what they call a music listening charge. The restaurant we stopped at was 8.50 Euros. If you actually order a full meal, they may not include this cost but I'm not 100% sure. I only caught it because when we were walking up an American family was leaving and the guy was saying, "I have to pay for my kid's college!". I was just assuming he was an ugly American and didn't think much more of it until we sat down and the waiter turned all our menus so the same page, pointed, and walked away. Then a memory of paying attention in Venice started tingling in my brain and I read what we pointed at, my parents both just flipped to the drinks page, that's when I noticed the music listening fee. We ended up leaving.

We also had an encounter where we stopped in a shop and bought takeaway drinks (water, soda). We did sit for a second and was then immediately were told to leave. Now, I completely understand we bought takeaway and therefore the store was correct we were supposed to leave BUT we were literally the only people in the store. Anyway...

Like I was saying, Venice is beautiful. After we checked into our hotel, we caught a boat and headed to the Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace. I loved the Doge's Palace and highly recommend you go inside. It's been a beautiful house, a seat of government, the Bridge of Sighs, and a prison.

From there we went to the Basilica San Marco where we barely got in. I would say it was beautiful but not remarkable, though it's one of the best-known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture so I would say it was unique and different from most of other churches I've seen.

Finally, we walked over to the Rialto bridge, which included narrow streets and throngs of people. Again, Venice is beautiful but...man just a lot of people.

The best thing that occurred on this trip was my brother proposed to his then girlfriend. This required my parents holding on to the ring until we reached Venice, which was about halfway through the trip, and then trying to hand the ring to my brother WITH ME DISTRACTING MY SISTER-IN-LAW!! It was hilarious and ended up totally working. As you can see, he proposed on a gondola that day while my parents and I ran around taking in the sites. We were all obsessively checking our phones all day wondering if my brother had proposed yet.

That night we went to Harry's Bar for a nice dinner. As I was getting ready, we still hadn't heard anything from my brother, and then I heard a loud scream in the hallway and realized my brother and future sister-in-law had returned and my sister-in-law was showing the ring to my parents. It really was a great, and unforgettable night.

Day 8

Today we slept in and then headed over to the island of Murano. It was a little weird because the hotel took us to the dealer, they have a connection with. The dealer then shows you two glass techniques and then follows/shows you around their showroom. The first showroom, the glass work started at 40,000 Euros! Things got more affordable as we went. After we were done looking around, we were offered a boat trip over to the tourist side of the island but at this point in our trip we were all pretty tired and asked to be taken back to our hotel.

Later that night, our whole group met down in the hotel lobby for dinner. About halfway through my dad started to feel sick and he decided to head up to his room. The rest of us stayed and had dessert. This led to one our still referenced bits in my family (that's the second one from this trip after the man at The Colosseum who yelled, "This is bullshit!"). My brother, sister-in-law, and I all tried one of the red currents that came on our ice cream. They were tart as hell for those of you who haven't had one before. We all kept trying to get my mom to try one but she refused based on reactions when we ate a berry. While my sister-in-law and I kept trying with her, my brother casually said, "what about these berries?" referring to more red currants. For some reason, we thought this was the funniest thing EVER. Seriously, still referenced to this day.

Once we were done with dessert, my mom and I decided to head back upstairs. We separated to our rooms and within 5 minutes or so there was a knock on my door. When I opened my door both my parents were standing there. I immediately knew something bad happened. This is when my dad starts to tell the story that when he returned to his room there was a man coming out. He was wearing a short white jacket (that imitated what a hotel worker would wear) but it was not actually a uniform of the hotel. The man asked if my dad was enjoying his stay (and other small pleasantries), handed him the Do Not Disturb sign, which had fallen to the floor, and left. My dad entered the room to find nothing missing or touched; however, he did find a pillowcase on the TV stand that had not been there before. My dad later reported the incident to the hotel and they were shocked and verified no on who works at their hotel dresses as the man was dressed. He had slipped out a back staircase where I'm not sure there were cameras. It could have been a coincidence that he happened to be coming out of my parent's room when my dad arrived OR it could have been someone from the lobbying warning him that my dad was heading up. We will never know.

We all slept uneasy that night (hence the picture of the makeshift warning system my brother and sister-in-law created). STRANGER FREAKING DANGER!!!

Day 9

After not getting much sleep because of Stranger Danger we caught an early morning flight from Venice to Sicily. Taking a boat in the early morning darkness to the airport in Venice was a very cool, very odd experience.

When we got to Palermo, we discovered that my brother's luggage had gotten lost, though fortunately they found it quickly. Yes. This was the second time on our trip we had a missing piece of luggage; however, different airlines. The airline that lost my luggage was British Airways. The airline that lost my brother's was Alitalia.

What the pictures above and the next paragraph should demonstrate is that Palermo is quite the hodgepodge of cultures and styles. Having lost in a number of wars you can see the influence of all countries that touch the Mediterranean. While Palermo is not my favorite city (it felt just like a baby Rome), it is very impressive and unlike any other city I have ever visited. Truly unique.

We were picked up by a driver, who was also our guide. He drove us around Palermo showing us key sights. This included the Cattedrale di Palermo where my sister-in-law had to wear a paper shall to cover her shoulders. This church is rather large and done in the Norman, Moorish, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical style. We saw the Quattro Canti, the Chiesa di San Cataldo, and the Fontana Pretoria a gorgeous fountain that my dad heard stories of from his grandfather who was born and raised outside of Palermo (my dad would not stop taking pictures of this fountain). We went inside the Chiesa del Gesu a church I don't really know how to describe. It was both beautiful and way too much so that it was kind of ugly...and then it would swing back to beautiful. The last church we visited on this day was the Cattedrale di Monreale, in the city of Monreale right outside of Palermo. This church is a great example of Norman architecture. You are allowed to climb up to the roof and I was able to get great pictures of Palermo and the sea.

One of our stops on this trip that I have no pictures of is the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. These catacombs are not like the catacombs of Paris. They began, as the name suggests, with the mummification and embalming of Capuchin monks. This expanded to the general populace and it became a status symbol to be buried here. The last burials occurred in the 1920s. The people here were preserved in their everyday clothing, some of which has lasted to this day...as well as some of their hair. Some of them are just bones and others are not. When we first walked in, I caught the smell of death, which I had never experienced this before. This quickly passed and I found the place sort of fascinating. My mother and sister-in-law spent maybe 5 minutes in there. My dad, brother, and I lasted maybe 10-15 minutes. We wandered to the back where a two-year old girl was kept. She was embalmed in the 1920s and to this day looks like she is sleeping. The embalming formula and procedure used was a mystery for a long time. When we got to her is about the time the creepiness, uneasiness, and the smell of death started to kick back in and we basically ran out there.

I honestly go back and forth about this one. It was definitely a unique and macabre thing to visit but it also felt rude and disrespectful...though it's not like they were dug up and put on display...I don't know. The people of Palermo are a bit split on it themselves.

Day 10

This morning we woke up, packed, and had a driver take us to the town of Ciminna, about 30 minutes outside of Palermo, where my great-grandfather was born. It is a very small town in the hillside, that had a man selling fruit from his truck through the use of a blow horn. My dad really wanted to see it so our driver drove around a bit, talked to some of the locals, and showed us the center part of the town. Sicily is a very interesting place for many reasons one being that they speak different dialects of Italian. Our driver was from the East side of the island and Ciminna is on the West side. This meant that when he talked to the townspeople he occasionally had to search for a different word when they didn't understand them.

The main goal of today was to visit Agrigento, specifically the Valley of the Temples. This is just another example of why I love Sicily! We spent the day looking at Greek ruins in Italy.

We had a small wait when we arrived as our guide seemed to occupied but it all worked out as we were able to eat lunch before our tour of the ruins. I will say that despite the impressive images above, I did not think Agrigento was as interesting as Pompeii; however, I believe this is the fault of the guide who sounded as if she was reading from a book. She did provide some interesting details (such as the Greeks never sacrificed cold blooded animals to the Gods and it was usually bones and fat (parts they weren’t eating) that were used). A very cool thing to imagine was back in its heyday, the Valley of the Temples would have been covered with white temples, all in a row, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.

From there we continued on to Taormina, which was beautiful. The hotel, the San Domenico Palace, was gorgeous! When we arrived, we were told they had upgraded our three rooms to a sea view. We were all right next to each in a back corner, which was nice as it made it feel like we were in our own section of the hotel. It was hands down the nicest place we stayed throughout the entire trip, with the best view. When I return to Italy with my husband, I'm not 100% I want to take an additional plane trip to Sicily BUT Taormina, and our time at this hotel, makes a strong argument to put in the extra effort!

Day 11

Today we toured Mt. Etna. This was one of my favorite days of this trip. Our driver took us to Zafferana Etnea where we stopped at a small shop called Dolceria Salemi. Dolceria Salemi sells a cookie called Foglia da Te (or Tea Leaves). I LOVED these cookies. I need to take the time and actually make these at home. We bought two packages and I'm pretty sure we ate them both that night. We got some from another shop in Sicily but they were nowhere near as good. Next, we stopped at a shop called Oro D'Etna, which had lovely honey and olive oil tastings.

It was now time to go out up the mountain. Etna is like being on the moon. We visited a crater and saw various old lava flows. Etna was smoking the entire time we were there, which I believe is common. Our driver told us a story about seeing a play at the Greek theater in Taormina and he felt so bad because while the actors were doing the play, Etna blew and everyone started watching the volcano (though not with concern) instead of paying attention to the play. Amazing to live that close to that active of a volcano.

After running around the mountain, we had a 4-course Sicilian lunch at a local winery called Barone di Villagrande. You can actually get their wines shipped to the U.S. We fell in love with one of their wines called Fiore, which I've actually had shipped to me a few different times, but they sadly don't make it anymore. Anyway, this was a lovely and delicious lunch with great food and great wine.

Like I said, I really ended up enjoying this day. I think it's because we were able to experience a lot of local businesses and shops that I wouldn't have even have known about if it wasn't for our local guide, Roberto, who own and operates Taxi Taormina & Sicily Tours.

Day 12

Today was a free day in Taormina. I slept in and then hiked up to the Greek Theater (Teatro Greco) with my Dad. It was only a 15-minute walk but the heat and throngs of cruise ship groups made it a lot more strenuous than it needed to be. The walk back down was better. We took our time and the streets seemed to have emptied of the cruise ship mobs. I bought two tank tops and an easel decoration for my mom’s birthday.

That night the group reconvened and had a nice dinner at the hotel for my mom’s birthday. It was an amazing dinner at my first Michelin starred restaurant (after meeting my husband it would not be my last), Le Soste. This was my favorite meal of the trip. Actually, I liked all the food in Sicily better than mainland Italy (probably because it's less tourist-y overall). We could also see the moon over the beautiful Ionian Sea as well at Mt. Etna, smoking away throughout dinner.

Day 13

This is the day that wouldn’t end. I don't have a lot of pictures of this day. I've included our last sunrise in Taormina, the weirdly outdated safety pamphlet on Alitalia (I mean...a Discman? A Game Boy?), and the airport...Speaking of the airport...

Our flight from Catania to Rome was supposed to leave around 11AM. We onboarded like normal, pulled away from the gate, and then just sat there. We'd had some long tarmac waits this trip so I didn’t think anything of it at first and then WE WENT BACK TO THE GATE! We were told there was an electrical problem and they would try to fix it. After about 15 minutes, they said they had fixed the problem and we could take off. We were all a bit nervous, especially as most of the information was being said was, naturally, in Italian but we were excited to be on our way. We started taxing down the runway, like normal, but as we speed up like you normally would for takeoff, right about the time you begin to lift off the ground, the pilot slammed on the brakes and aborted takeoff. He went back to the gate and we were all forced to deplane, get our luggage, and go back upstairs for the airline to book us on another flight. Fortunately, we were able to get on a 3 o’clock flight to Rome.

Once we got to Rome, we discovered that my brother's luggage had, once again, been put on the wrong flight. This caused us about an hour delay. We also discovered our transfer driver, from the airport to the hotel, had been cancelled.

When our flight was cancelled, we called the hotel, Aldrovandi Villa Borghese to let them know. As we did not know what time our new flight would be arriving, we told them we would call them back. After the airline was able to redirect us, we called the hotel to tell them our new flight information, they seemed to know all about it (though I wasn't sure how they could) and they said they would be at the airport waiting for us. My mom continued to tried to give them our new information, and they said it was all taken care of. Upon arrival, we received an email from the hotel saying that since our flight was cancelled, they cancelled the driver (apparently, they were confused and thought that our flight was delayed originally, as opposed to cancelled, even though we called them to tell them our flight was cancelled). After taking two taxis from at least one very begrudging cab driver, we arrived at the hotel and were taken to our average looking rooms. Honestly, there's nothing really wrong with the rooms (other than the beds seemed well used). I mean, they were clean, but for the price of this hotel I expected more. I kept feeling like I was in the basement and above me was some swanky hotel I was being excluded from. After unpacking we went to the bar area for food (we were starving) and it was horrible (bad service, bad food). The vegetable soup was literally vegetables thrown in water (no salt or pepper or flavor). Later my parents tried to order a pizza, which was on the room service menu, only to have reception call back and say they no longer make that. The only thing that went right was that the next morning our transfer to the airport (which the hotel arranged) was there on time (though we never received the wakeup call we requested).

Individually, these are all very small offenses but overall, they greatly added up and considering it was the most expensive hotel of the trip, I was not impressed by either their rooms or their customer service. Adding even more to it, it has fantastic reviews on TripAdvisor and I've seen it on "Best of" Rome hotel lists. Maybe we just had a particularly bad experience, I don't know, but I will never stay there again.

Overall, not how I planned the last day in Italy to go. But you know, we didn't die in a fiery plane crash so, perspective.

Day 14 – Home

The next morning, we got up and started the long trip home.

The flight from Rome to London was THANKFULLY uneventful. I was able to see Beachy Head on our descent (see the blurry picture to the left) and considering how tired, crappy, and generally over it I was it was amazing how England has the power to rejuvenate me. I could have stayed there for two more weeks. I was excited to go home when I was leaving Italy behind but I was reluctant to go when I was leaving England. This remains true. We took a trip to Ireland a year ago, and same thing.

So that's all folks. Like I said, this was a very weird, eventful, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I do look forward to visiting Italy again and one day showing my husband. I feel I learned a lot on this trip that I'll be able to apply for an even greater experience the next time I go. I went back and forth on keeping some of the negative things in this blog, reading complaints isn't fun, BUT as I learned a lot, I thought maybe I could share that part with you with you too and not just sugarcoat it. Hopefully, this means you too, if you've never been, can also take away some insight. Arrivederci!

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