Viva Italia - Day 1 - Rome

Almost a year ago David was approached by a fellow doctoral student - Nove Deypalan, a very talented conductor - and asked to write a choir piece to be performed at the Vatican. David wrote a beautiful piece that we later realized was very evocative of the creation. The choir debuted the number in Los Angeles in December and David was able to be at the premier. They treated him like a rock star, asking for his autograph and photos. It was a great moment for him. The choir invited us to accompany them to Italy for the tour and performance. We used my flight benefits to get to Italy and then our hotels, transportation and most of our meals are all paid for by the choir. How awesome is that?

I've often been asked which of all the places I've visited is my favorite, and while I love traveling and have loved several places, without a doubt, Italy is my favorite. It's beautiful, the food is good, there is history and art everywhere, and now that I'm married to an Italian speaking man - it's even better! David and I haven't traveled internationally for about 3 1/2 years. This is amazing when you take into consideration the fact that the last passport I had required extra pages to be inserted because I ran out of space for visa stamps. Our current passports are two years old and have never been used. 

We had quite the adventure getting here. We got to the airport early in Columbia because I knew there might be some complications. Well, the girl at the airport was really nice, but didn't really know what she was doing. It took her FOREVER, but we were there early, so there wasn't a problem. We checked our bags all the way to Italy, got our boarding passes and went to the gate where we waited for over an hour. At the very end of the boarding process, they called up David, but not me. We went to the desk and the lady said she had cleared all standbys and I wasn't on the list. We couldn't believe it. I showed her my boarding pass and my bag tag and she said there was nothing she could do. I told her we had been on the same reservation and she needed to call a supervisor. She said she wouldn't hold the flight and didn't have time to get a supervisor. I kept my cool, but told her it was unacceptable. I couldn't believe it! She ended up telling us to just get on and she would figure it out afterwards. Hugh sigh of relief!

Well, our flight ended up being delayed because of an issue with the oxygen masks and so when we got to our gate in Washington, everyone was boarded. We knew the flight was overbooked and I was worried that my reservation might have problems. I was hoping that at least David could go. Well when we got to the gate they said they had one first class or we could sit together in BusinessFirst (United uses three cabins). We couldn't believe it! We ended up sitting together in BusinessFirst. It was heaven!! We figured out it has been at least six years since we have flown BusinessFirst and the seats are waaaay better than they used to be, plus they lay flat like a bed. We had warm nuts, hot towels, appetizer, main course, cheese and fruit, hot fudge sundaes and later cheeses and cold cuts for breakfast accompanied by croissants. The t.v. screens are much bigger now and are like oversized computer monitors, plus they run on demand so you can pause, rewind, etc. These tickets start at $6,000.00 each. I was so excited, I didn't sleep. I watched three movies and probably five sitcoms on the 10-hour flight. (Sometimes I do miss my airline job...)

When we got to Italy, we discovered that our camera battery was dead. We were fortunate enough to find a computer/cell phone store that had the right battery, but now we can't get the pictures to download, so we may have to add photos later. We've already had Arranchata - David's favorite soft drink - and potato pizza. We mostly just sat on public benches and people watched since we've already done the touristy things and will be doing them again soon.

Some observations:

• Italians are not ashamed of making eye contact and looking you up and down.
• Italians sound like they are arguing even when they aren't.
• Italians are the most fashionable people on Earth which is made easier by the fact that you can buy amazing clothes from vendors on the street.
• If pasta makes you fat, why aren't there any fat Italians?

Tomorrow we are going to a Papal Mass. I'm pretty excited to participate in this unique experience. (We also have a Papal audience on Wednesday.) We found out where the local LDS church meets, but we won't have a chance to make it there and back because we have to stay with our group. That would have been great. In the afternoon, we'll be touring the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. Everything is taken care of by the group, so we just have to tag along. We will be here until Tuesday, then we spend a day in Assisi and a day in Florence. After that we leave the group and head to Milan to fly home. (They go on to Venice. We love Venice and are bummed to miss it this time, but David has to get back to start teaching on Monday.)

Our hotel in Rome - nicer than where we usually stay.

We were able to Skype with Jalen and Baylie today and I only got a little teary at the beginning. I'm so grateful that my sister was willing to come and watch them. I'm not sure I could have left them this long with anyone else.

We truly feel so blessed to be in Italy and know that Heavenly Father has helped us in so many ways to be here.