eternally grateful

The long day of hurry up and wait commenced this morning at 7am… we should have tried for another hour of sleep but you know how it is! Too many ants in my pants! We had lots of time to finish up last minute chores, including getting the old sofa from the trailer onto the road for large item garbage day! It seems like longer than a year ago that we wrestled it out

Pat came last night so that she was settled in. She and Carm watched a few gory shows while I dozed… I am not sure why, but I am exhausted these last few days which puts me on the back foot going into a vacation… I don't think I will have trouble sleeping on the plane tonight!

Now we are waiting for our first flight… we've had half of our sandwich and some treats from Tim Hortons… boredom and I am so tired I need to eat to stay awake. I'm not starting off on the right foot :-(

It's 12:47am home time… the horizon is turning orange… we are at 35,000 feet and just went through some cloud, or perhaps chemtrails! Ha ha! Two and a half hours to go till we are in the Eternal city!

My legs are twitching and my back is spasming… ugh! I can't imagine how I managed the 14 hour leg on my two trips to NZ.

2:45am just finished passing over the Alps. Of course the sun is up! 45 minutes to go!

Carm just met his cousin who is sitting one seat over from us! We only see him a few times at weddings and funerals but I thought he looked familiar. It wasn't who I thought it was though - but his almost look-alike brother! How crazy is that!

We made it! After a hair-raising cab ride from the airport we arrived at the airbnb just past 11am, too early for check-in but our host let us drop off our bags. We couldn't stay as the cleaner was still busy so we wandered around, getting lost… the roads go every which way making it impossible to get any sense of direction! Google maps is our friend although it did take us through a narrow passage way to get to where we were wanting to go. We hit up Piazza Navona, cruised Campo Fiore, popped into the cool quiet of a gorgeous church, darted through crowds in front of the Pantheon, and finally found our way back to our digs. The crowds are wild! We could have come earlier in April.

Have I mentioned that it's an absolutely gorgeous day with bright sunshine and a warm breeze. Glad I packed my sandals.

We are resting for a few minutes and then will hit the streets for some food :-) As if we need more food… ha ha. Yesterday/today/travel day was a sugar filled extravaganza - we started our trip with apple fritters and sandwiches. Then once we got to Montreal there was the rest of the sandwich. In the air we had airline food, plus dates with chocolate, a chocolate bar, a sweet yogurt and some sort of cake for breakfast. I need some REAL food soon!

Awesome!

“getting there” 

“view of the Alps”

“ROME!”