“Are you ready kids? Aye, aye captain!” Our captain will definitely ask, and we will respond in the affirmative. We are ready to go! Haha, oh the irony. I’m sure there are some folks reading this that will have no idea what I’m referring to, but the kids will get it. Maybe you need to live in a pineapple under the sea 😉

Okay, we are all boarded and about to leave the gate. We managed to get the students shuffled around the cabin and sitting with their friends for the most part. We are situated mid-plane, right above the wing. Hopefully I’m able to get a good shot of the sun coming up as we zip across the ocean toward Europe, chasing the dawn. After I get some sleep that is. Right now it is stifling hot in here, but it will definitely cool down when we get to altitude. We are starting our taxi, so I’ll check in after supper…I wonder what we’re eating?

Well that was interesting. I was absolutely starving when we finally got our food, as it is now 10:10 local time and I last ate at 1:30. So we had the option of chicken or pasta, so took the chicken. Besides the entree, we were given a small container of potato salad, bread, butter, cheese and a brownie. It wasn’t terrible, but certainly not filling. The chicken was some sort of pot pie? that included potato, corn and peas; it looked awful and was heated to the same temperature as the surface of the sun. Thankfully my seat buddy, Kim, gave me her bread and butter, and scammed me another cheese. And then I ate an energy bar too! So I feel better now, and hopefully can get some shut eye. See you in the morning. 

Good Sunday morning kids, or more appropriately, Buongiorno Ragazzi! It’s now 9:00 local time and we are currently over the UK. I mostly slept after supper, which is a good thing, so I feel remotely human, though you need to be a contortionist at times. The accommodations here in steerage class leave much to be desired. So, quick update, we are now almost at the Swiss border as I had to take a break to brush my teeth and eat breakfast, which consisted over a yogurt, croissant and water. Better than nothing I guess, but I never object to a yogurt. We will be landing soon, since we’re supposed to arrive at 10:45. The flight seemed to go by very quickly, and we are eager to hit the ground in Rome, though I could really go for a shower.

It’s now 5:00 local time and I finally have some time to sit. After we landed, we had a bit of a journey to get through customs, collect our bags and meet our Tour Director Kent in the concourse. Then we boarded a bus which brought us downtown for a walking tour of Rome. We started near the Ponte Sant’Angelo to the Piazza Navonna, where we stopped for a bite to eat. From there it was to the Pantheon, which was built during the Roman period and is the longest continually used building in the world. Then it was off to the Trevi Fountain, which was an absolute zoo, since it’s Sunday and there was plenty of people out and about. Now we’re waiting for a pizza supper after quite the hike from the fountain.

At the hotel now, showered and changed. Sweet Jesus that was one of the best showers of my life…I feel like a new man! I’m sitting in the lobby right now as I wait for the first of many chaperone meetings where we’ll have a chance to discuss today’s events and plan ahead for tomorrow before we do rooms check to make sure the kids are all settled in for the evening. I’m still beat though, as that was a lot to take in for two days. My feet are still killing me, so hopefully they feel better by the morning. 

On a good note, I’m full. Supper was awesome! I’ll have to get the name of the restaurant (Trattoria Polese), but the pizzas were fantastic and they brought as many as you wanted with salad. The margarita was okay, but I particularly enjoyed the prosciutto. Fingers crossed the meals will continue to be this good the rest of the trip. Anyway, I should wrap things up for today so I can be fresh for tomorrow’s adventure, which will take us to Ardeatine Cave and the Roman Forum and Colosseum. Until then…