Take-offs and Landings, Ups and Downs.

Whew! We just made it to Rome and are blogging from our hotel room. Getting here was not easy. Our flight from Salt Lake was delayed by about an hour, so we pulled into Atlanta ten minutes before our international flight was due to leave. Unfortunately, that plane was on the opposite side of the airport. And, oh yeah, the Atlanta airport is the largest in the world.

We were running down the corridors, booking it up escalators, and lugging our backpacks from concourse to concourse. We ran up to the boarding desk just as they closed the door. They absolutely refused to let us board. 30 seconds earlier and we would have been on our way.

You'd better believe there was a fight.

Anyways, when all was said and done, we were put on an AirFrance flight to Paris with a connection to Rome that was leaving immediately. Isn't it interesting how blessings come in disguise? It turned out that the AirFrance flight was only half-booked, so we had the opportunity to stretch out a bit. And not only was the food exceedingly good (for an airplane, of course), but all the little extras were complimentary (not at all the case on the Delta flight). So we each had a glass of champagne and watched the movie of our choice (Emily = Sex and the City, Christopher = La Dolce Vida). Sleep was hard to come by after the stressful time in Atlanta, so our short time in Paris was not an eventful one. But soon enough we were back on our last plane to Rome.

Rome is beautiful beyond description. The people, the buildings, the language... Our heads were spinning as we climbed the steps up from the subway to see the Colosseum. A short walk and we were at our hotel - Royal House, directly across the street from the Colosseum. There will be some pics posted soon - we have a completely unobstructed view of it from our bed.

The room is fantastic. A huge tiled bathroom, hardwood floors, wooden-beam ceiling, and the friendliest staff we've ever dealt with in any of our travels. Now it's just time to wash up, clear our heads of the jet lag, and we're off to see the Eternal City!