Day Nine--The way, way back!

Day Nine -- The way, way back After a 6:30 wakeup call, Katherine and I finished packing, sipped our last Roman espresso, and set off for the airport via the Ostiense train station--a 20 minute walk. We dragged our bags over cobblestone walks, hoisted them over curbs, pulled them across tram rails and finally arrived a bit heated at platform number 12.  Because we'd bought the tickets earlier, all we needed to do was validate them in the machine before climbing the steps to the platform itself, something that required lots of muscle and the help of a generous gentleman who took it upon himself to lend a hand with the bags.  Grazie!  The train was waiting, and we climbed inside the first car after hugging Anne far too quickly, but the doors were closing--closing on a fantastic whirlwind visit.

The airport was the last stop on this line, and we emerged 30 minutes later but hadn't walked far until we were confronted with five (count them...five!) terminals to choose from.  We were at the crossroads and needed to choose one. Which did we need?  Nothing on our tickets mentioned a terminal, but we saw from the departure tables that all flights to the US seemed to originate in either Terminal 3 or Terminal 5.  The two of them were off in the same direction, so we hauled the suitcases that way.

After confirming that Terminal 5 was our baby, we learned we had to hop a shuttle to get there, which we did without incident.  Once at Terminal 5, I checked my bag at USAir and we went through security.  But alas, another shuttle had to take us to our gate, Gate G, so we boarded another bus until we finally were able to relax a bit at Gate G5.  We were plenty early and eventually took  advantage of the loungers we found there.  I nearly fell asleep before our flight was announced.

We'd taken the USAir ticket agent's advice and secured seats in the middle of a 2-4-2 seat configuration.  Katherine was on one end of the four middle seats, and I was on the other end. Final result: no one in between, so yippee! Four seats for the two of us.

After a lunch of curried Thai chicken, I enjoyed watching McFarland, USA and then napped a bit. Very interesting how we had sun the entire journey, and those with window seats closed their shades to allow for more restful sleeping . Then I enjoyed Still Alice and Julianna Moore as an actress--something I hadn't appreciated before. We arrived in Philly on time, zipped through customs, enjoyed a beer and hopped the plane to Minneapolis--smooth sailing.  I could tell I was nearly home when my seat mate opened a copy of "Turkey Hunter's Handbook."  A bit of light reading.

After landing, luggage arrived without incident, and Katherine's hubby Joe met us at the airport to chauffeur us home. I have a travel-worn bag, two pairs of shoes that served me well (the Toms are nearly threadbare) and pictures of Rome that dance through my head--scenes of the city and the landscape and the food.  I also carry with me the warmth of Anne's hospitality and the treasure of the wonderful opportunity to discover Rome and environs while living in a regular apartment there in a quiet neighborhood.  Not veni, vidi, vici, but rather...we came, we discovered, we enjoyed. Celebrating life at its finest...