Italy September 11 - 14 2009

Lucy Renwick was our travel agent for the trip taken by Lorene and me to Italy. She did an efficient job including ordering wheel chairs at the airports.

My agent and good friend that I have been associated with for years, Barbara Collins, has moved to Montana. Barbara planned each of my trips day by day so that everything went smoothly with hotel reservations, plane flights, tour guides and all the small details that can make a trip a pleasant experience or a disaster. We worked closely together on planning my many trips. Barbara is a good friend and even though she now lives miles away, I hope to keep in contact with her and her husband, Bob, and get advice from her on any future trips I might take.

9-11-09 Friday
We were driven to our overnight by Lorene’s daughter, Dolores. On the way we stopped to eat at the Poodle Dog restaurant in Fife. We had made our reservations at the Motel 8, across the street from the airport. Because our American Airline flight left at 7:30 AM. we had decided to spend the night before in the motel.

9-12-09 Saturday day 1
Our wake up call was for 3:30 AM. At 4:00 AM the motel shuttle bus dropped us off at the airport. After checking our bags and getting our American Airlines boarding pass, we were taken to our departure gate by wheelchair attendants. The wheel chair ride saved me from a long painful walk with my cane and arthritic knee. At the boarding gate we had time to get a sandwich and coffee. Our boarding time was 7:15 AM. We flew to Kennedy airport in New York. Again wheel chairs were provided to take us to our boarding gate for our flight to Rome. The flight over the Atlantic was tiresome. We were worn out from the many hours in the air. When we landed in Rome it was 7:30AM.

09-13-09 Sunday Day 2

Arrive Rome, Sightseeing
The wheel chair attendants were waiting and took us through the baggage claim and customs much easier than if we had done it with out their assistance. After clearing customs, they left us with the large Trafalgar group with tours traveling in many directions. We had to make sure we boarded the right bus. The destination of our bus was an old hotel, the Adonis, in the center of Rome. A Trafalgar agent gathered our group in one area of the lobby. We were given a welcome drink. Then our tour guide, Tony, gave us room numbers, baggage tags, and an introductory talk on what we could expect to see and hear on our tour of Italy and Sicily. He sent us in the right direction to find our rooms. Our room was small and old but kept in good shape. It had a shower, toilet and, like most hotels in Italy and Europe, a bidet. Comparing to our American motels and hotels, the Adonis wouldn’t rate very high.

In the afternoon Tony took us on an optional tour at a reduced rate of 10 euros. We took it but my knee was hurting so I couldn’t keep up. Tony took us to a large plaza and said he would be back to pick Lorene and I up about 9:00 pm.
We walked around the plaza, took pictures, watched a clown perform and had ice cream cones. The plaza was large with two fountains decorated with life sized hand carved marble statues. There were crowds of people of all ages. At one of the fountains a man offered to take our pictures. When Tony returned at 9:00, we were sitting on a bench eating our ice cream cones. We were soon on the bus and back in the hotel.

When we returned to the hotel, I told Tony I would use my cane on Monday when we went to the coliseum because I didn’t want to miss any more of the sights just because I had a sore knee.

9-14-09 Monday day 3
Rome sightseeing and at leisure

The 6:30 AM hotel breakfast was substantial with cold cereal, scrambled eggs, cold cuts, fresh fruit, toast, fruit juice and coffee. When the door to the breakfast room opened, people seemed to come from all directions and all the tables were soon occupied. One woman brought her thermos bottle which the waiter filled. It gave her enough coffee to last the day. We said good morning to some of our fellow travelers.

Our morning tour included the Coliseum, where we walked over the tourist designated paths outside and inside. Clive and Annie, the couple from Australia, helped me from our tour bus to the entrance to the Coliseum. With my right hand I held my cane and Clive took my left hand to steady me. I was much impressed with the size of the Coliseum. It was designed to hold thousands of spectators. The arches were beautiful. Even though the marble facing had been stripped off through the years to be used in newer buildings, the area below the main floor was exposed and showed the many passageways and rooms where the gladiators, Christians, and man eating animals were kept in readiness for their appearance before the blood thirsty spectators seated on the marble seats of the arena.

Next we visited the Basilica. Lorene was a big help. She held my hand as we walked from one place to another and on the many steps we had to climb. We also visited The Sistine Chapel and some fountains. The paintings by Michael Angelo and many other famous painters were beautifully done and well worth the pain in our necks from looking up at the vaulted ceilings where the paintings were done.

I used my cane and walked slowly. Our fellow tourists were sympathetic and an to help. Annie and Clive were especially help full. Tony was a little doubtful at first, but finally decided that as long as I was determined, he could work around the problem of my holding up the group. This was our last day in Rome. In the evening we went on an optional tour which included a dinner and entertainment. It included a lot of walking which I was able to handle with the help of my cane and Lorene holding my hand. The evening was a pleasant success.