Our journey finally ended when we arrived home at 0215! What a day, what a trip. It is certainly going to be one we will not soon forget. Now it is back to work and everyday life. I hope you will continue to read this blog as I will carry on sharing my impressions of daily life. Finding the fun and meaning of just plain living.
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Incommunicado
BA, no one will ever accuse you of over communicating! Once we figured out our plane was delayed the fun really started. I went to the desk to find out why we were delayed and the agent said “something to do with the weather in London” He then asked if we had eaten anything. We said “yes we just had a bite to eat at the cafe”. He then advises us that if we take our boarding pass to the same cafe they would feed us for free. That’s helpful since we just ate at the same place and paid a fortune because there was no announcement of any kind to inform you of this offer. The gate board now showed that our scheduled departure time was changed to 2045 with a boarding time of 2005. Back to the lovely, comfy, freezing, metal chairs in the non heated boarding area. At 2000 we checked the gate board to see that our BA info was gone and a flight to Algers was now departing from our gate. Up to the desk again to find that they moved our flight to the next gate over. The info on this board still displayed the same boarding time of 2005, since it was now 2003 our confidence was and patience were hitting an all time low. Finally at 2050 we saw movement and the forming of a queue near our gate. No announcement yet again but there was definitely something happening. As we pass under the gate board it stills reads departure at 2045 or 5 minutes ago! One major item was missing from the gate…a plane. Instead of a plane at our gate there was a single bus. Onto the bus and we have to wait again. This time in below freezing temperatures. A good 10 minutes goes by, Pam has lost the feeling in her extremities and I have lost the will to live! At last the doors close and we are whisked just over 500 feet away to our plane. All we can think about is regaining the blood flow to our vital organs. Off the bus, up the first step and progress has ground to a halt. The BA staff are greeting each person at the door and pointing out their seats like it is a balmy day in June, not a sub zero night in Rome. Using my cane to climb the last few stairs I have visions of wrapping it around the head of the first person who tells me to have a nice flight!
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Not leaving so fast…
Okay, so when I last logged off we were on our way to the airport under beautiful sunny skies. We arrived no problem, we check in no problem, we wait for our boarding time with only 10 minutes to go before the gate opens and guess what? Yes, problem! We notice that there seems to be a distinct lack of BA staff. To such an extent that on one has even turned up to open said gate. A quick check of the info board and suddenly our departure time has morphed from 1845 to 2045 with absolutely no reason. I guess one way to avoid having to deal with upset passengers is not to put any staff at the gate! I go online to check the BA website and there is still nothing to tell me why we’er still sitting in Rome instead of being in he air on the way back to the UK. So, we have survived the snow, slush and ice only to be tripped up at the last hurdle by God knows what.
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Rome is waking up
This morning we woke up to lovely sunshine and much milder temperatures. Rome was also waking up from its forced hibernation. Mother Nature’s impact can still be seen. There is snow on the ground and hanging in some of the trees, but overall Rome is getting back to normal. Shops are open, horns are blaring and traffic is racing around (which can be more dangerous than usual as the ice is still on the side streets and in shadowed places). The flights are back on schedule so it looks as if we will be leaving as planned. We have not had the opportunity to see so much of Rome’s beauty but I think you can interrupt this in one of two ways, in my past I would have said this means we’re not meant to see Rome, however in my new life, I choose to think this means that we are meant to return to Rome to experience it all over again. What a trip it has been! I have intentionally left out one fact about our trip…until now. On day two while we were trudging through the 5+ inches of snow in our non snow proof shoes, Pam slipped off of a hidden curb and twisted her ankle. She has been a trooper! We got back to the hotel and once the cold wore off her ankle blew up. We had to go and find some boots to help stabilise her foot. Since then she has been wearing her flight sock to keep the swelling in check. It is black and blue and puffed up today and we have to travel home. We never do anything by halves!!
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Fried custard??
Stayed local to the hotel for dinner tonight as choices were limited because it is Sunday which is the most common day for resturaunts to close. We went to a pizzeria across the street (I did say we stayed local). Our starter was frito misto which in my previous experience has meant a mixture of fried seafood, however in this case it was a literal translation of “fried mix”. It was a battered and deep fried adventure! We encountered fried courgette leaves, fried stuffed olives, fried calzone, fried mini pizza and even fried apple slices. All of which were nice and very different. Then came the biggest surprise…a fried cube of custard!! Pam and I both tried it (because I was not going to be the only one). It actually was very nice but after just chewing a fried rice ball it was truly a unique taste experience.
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After seeing some pictures of my team (Leicester Tigers), playing their match in the snow, I decided I’d better check that the airports were not affected by the snow. Guess what I found? All flights from Rome to Heathrow after 3:00 today were cancelled! Online check in opens in just over an hour and I’m sure hoping we don’t have any problems tomorrow as our hotel is fully booked! Watch this space to see if Pam and Donna’s adventure gets any more exciting…
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Today Vatican City
This is what you call being stopped cold! Today Vatican City…
Yesterday’s snow was frozen solid this morning. Walking was treacherous yesterday, today it was lethal. We took a taxi to Vatican City and found that the Sistine Chapel was closed. Next stop was St. Peter’s Square. The church was open so through the metal detectors and across the square to the church. Cobblestones and ice what fun! Walking like a couple of new born penguins we finally made it into St. Peter’s. I was not prepared for the visual onslaught of beautiful statues, paintings and sculptures. I wished my head could do a 360 to take everything in. The other thing that surprised me was how connected I felt being there. After so many years away from the church I thought it would be awkward or as if I was trespassing in a place I no longer had the right to be in. That certainly was not the case. Pam, was raised Church of England, mentioned how comfortable she felt inside the church. Once back outside we left the square to find a coffee and just relax. We found a little cafe just outside the wall of the Vatican. After enjoying a rest and cappuccino we were going to head back to the hotel. As we were leaving a man from the cafe said “Hurry and you can see the Pope if you go now!”. Back across the road and to the square, that had been nearly empty when we left it, was now packed with thousands of people! We were literally in the cafe for no more than 40 minutes, we could not figure out how all of these people suddenly appeared in the square. Then we hear this voice, first in Italian then in English, it was the Pope giving a blessing to the crowd. A blessing of healing. Here we were receiving a blessing from the Pope and yet we had no clue that it was about to happen! Okay, so maybe the Sistine Chapel and Colosseum were closed but how many can say they were in St. Peter’s Square for a blessing by Il Papa? Talk about being in the right place! I guess today’s moral of the story is good or bad every experience is still an experience and what may seem like burden can suddenly change into a blessing. In our case the latter being a literal blessing. -
Fibro 0 Me 2
This is what can happen to you just looking for a place to eat! Fibro 0 – Me 2
The snow has turned to ice but the intrepid travellers went out in search of food. Not before finding a lovely shop that was selling Italian leather boots. Two pairs purchased and we make our way back to our new favourite family owned eatery. The men welcome us with open arms and kisses on the cheeks. The food was out of this world and the wine a perfect companion. Fast forward 2 1/2 hours and we are drinking complimentary Lemoncello. Time to call it a night so more kisses ensue before the door closes behind us. Back on the frozen terrain we set off for a skate back to our hotel. -
My original motivation for starting this blog was to have a place to “vent” about the nasty nature of living and more importantly working with Fibromyalgia. Many people don’t understand or even believe in Fibromyalgia. Most days I don’t understand it either. Just when you think you’ve got a grip on the varied symptoms and have a working plan to deal with them…you get hit with something completely new and it shakes your confidence that you can stay in control of this mysterious foe. This past week has been a case in point. I started to get a few new and yes irritating symptoms that I have never before had to deal with. So just when I’m ready to begin that feared decent it self pity my lovely, kind and beautiful partner encourages me to tackle walking through Rome in the snow and slush. Out we go to find vey few souls are on the streets and even fewer shops or cafes are open. No problem, we still make our way across the city to the Spanish Steps and see the small piazza covered in a blanket of fluffy white. It is a beautiful sight made even more spectacular because we walked here. We did not take a bus or a taxi or any other transport. If you had asked me this morning what I I thought I could do today (considering my level of pain) I would have said “I probably can’t go very far”. Enter Pamela to kick me into action. 3 hours later we return!
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Rome in Snow
Rome in its finest white coat Rome in snow!
Hello from Rome, Italy
I have finally made it to see one of the most famous cities in the world. Although I have been to Italy several times I have never before made it Rome. Now here I am and I have the chance to see this glorious city in a way 99% of its past visitors will never be able to say…I am in Rome in the snow!
I actually saw a snowman in front of the Colosseum…no gladiators only a lone snowman. Most all the places you want to go in Rome are closed but who cares when see palm trees and orange trees laden with snow. It is a truly awesome and unique view of Rome.
Ciao!
