Mary_Fran, well people in the greater Seattle area will certainly get the Ballard joke.

I said it back up the thread I just don't find ~$1,000 for a good itinerary on a goodd airline out of the ordinary.

I live in the Seattle area and I always use www.travelteam.com, which is based in Seattle - they are consolidators and I get the best fares through them. (so does Rick Steves).I just booked SEA to FCO for $450+ tax. Last year I flew nonstop on SAS to Copenhagen/Paris for $700.