Map of Italy
A birthday gift from Alice
It was my birthday last year when I was surprised with Alice’s offer to fly us Business Class to Italy. Due to her business commitments and scheduling we decided the best time to go would be the month of May. We finally set our specific dates from May 23rd through June 23rd. One month in Italy. WOW! The plane tickets have been purchased and we are flying Air France to Paris, then a plane with 1 hour layover time to Venice Italy. We are a bit concerned about the short layover time. We are assuming if we miss the connection, Opps, lunch in Paris and we take the next flight.
I have never in my life flown first class or business class. I smile at the SNOBS in the front seats as I clank people on the head with my luggage as I am passing by. Alice tells me they want you to fall to sleep on the plane as we fly over the “big pond.” Here is a photo of what the business class seats look like on Air France. Oh Alice, where are you?
Air France Away…
When the lights go out the bed goes down. Oh flight attendant, where is my cognac?
Amenities of flying business class
Some of the amenities of flying Business class on this airline include: socks, an eye mask, a tooth brush and Clarins skin care products. We will be offered a multi course meal designed by a rotating cadre of top chefs. Starters include things like lobster or shrimp, foie gras, hot bread and of course French butter. Alcohol is complimentary. I think we will be drinking wine and a cognac after dinner.
Time to plan
As of September 12th last year (my birthday) we have been planning our agenda. Alice has been to Italy two times in the past, last time being about 11 years ago. I have basically never been out of the country except for cruise line ports in most of the Caribbean. I have never been to any country in the Eastern Hemisphere. Go figure, my heritage is German and Swiss. Where do you think I got my blue eyes and blond hair from? Yes I have most of the features of a handsome German man — NOT.
Alice the master planner
Let me introduce you to a planner…… Alice. She has diligently spearheaded our agenda including flights, cities to visit, hotels, tours, etc. Of course she has included me in every decision. Take a look at the stack of books and brochures Alice poured over to plan this trip. If I move that stack of books I get the “don’t move those books.”
Just a subset of all the books, periodicals, internet queries (GOOGLE) and of course Rick Steves video series
Lets buy some luggage
Of course we needed matching luggage. I just hope there will be enough room for my Nikon ha ha.
New luggage arrived just in time
Tri Rail test ride
We decided to try using Tri-Rail from the Delray station to the Miami Airport. In our planning mode we decided today to test the theory. We love it. The train takes about 1.5 hours, just a few steps to the shuttle which takes just a few minutes to the airport. All in it takes 2 hours from the train station in Delray Beach to walking in to the airport and checking our bags. I highly recommend this! Here are a few photos of our Tai-Rail planning day:
Cities we are staying in
Venice, Verona, Florence, Naples, Sorrento (Amalfi Coast), and Rome.
Some of the tours we have already booked
Tours we have already scheduled: Vatican and Saint Peters, Colosseum and underground Rome, cooking classes, Pietrantoni Palazzo Colonna and others.
Ilian Rochev - an amazing artist and talent!
I also plan on meeting my friend and fantastic artist Ilian Rochov in Rome. I hope to be shown many of his great works. He is also going to help coordinate a few hours with a model in Rome.
I will be bringing my Nikon mirrorless camera with just a few lenses and flash. Alice is concerned about what fashion to bring, I am concerned about what camera gear to schlep around the country. I plan on taking many fantastic photos and writing and sharing my blogs with those photos as much as I can. Stay tuned for my next blog which may be the day we leave.
Read all my blogs
You can read all my blogs in reverse order as I have created them. I am always amazed when I run into people who I never knew would read my blogs but have been all along. Just follow the link air the bottom of each blog to the previous blog. This makes me very happy. Support me with some encouragement and you will see some great blogs with photos on our trip of a lifetime to Italy.