Uscita and Gratzie

All over Italy you see the signs reading
"Uscita". It means exit. It's very
simple, very succint and very easy to
follow, except when it came to leaving
Italy.

After walking out of the hotel at 5:30
am with 12 euros in our pockets, we
were met with flight delays in Rome
and Frankfurt and a missed last flight
in Chicago. We were facing a 14 hour
night in the airport with no cash, no
credit card, no ATM card, no drivers
license and had been traveling for 24
hours already. Our "adventure" was
heading South. But with some
cooperation from Amer.u Airlines, a
helpful hotelier and most importantly
the use of Jon & Mary Jo's credit card
(remember we had cancelled ours), we
got a room, a hot shower, breakfast
and a 9:30 flight home.

To anyone who might actually be
reading this blog, Cathy and I would
like to "publicly" thank my brother
John for his guidance for this once in a
lifetime trip.

John pointed out the highlights of each
city, how to get to them, hotels in
each city and tips, insights and pitfalls
to be avoided. For these and his
overall guidance, we are very grateful.
Gratzie.

Thanks too, to Cindy Bell for her advice
and travel books. In the Bell family
spirit of "paying it forward", we have
been furiously taking notes for Jon &
Mary Jo as they prepare for their
visit to Italy.

Ciao and thanks for reading and
allowing us to share this adventure.