I too am hoping to read more, but I do realize this is a very busy time of year. When you find time,please tell us more of your trip!

Good Evening You all. It was busy all weekend and I'd like to Thank everyone who prayed for me and the business it worked.

We finally get to the san marco dock, we go into a tourism office to get directions to our hotel. the woman working there marks it on my map, but we can't find it and some how get turned around and mixed up, the streets are not marked and it's very confusing. my husband goes into a restaurant to get some help and out comes the waiter with him and walks us to the hotel. we are so thankful and my husband tells him we'll be coming to see him later for dinner. tourism lady gave us bum directions, that dirty dishrag. the hotel is beautiful and new. the lobby is all marble and glass. the colors are black red and white, very cool. the front desk staff are very friendly and welcomes us to the hotel. we have double rooms reserved and they comfirm it and the rooms are on the third floor and next to eachother. the bellhop and the 4 of us get on the elevator (that fat eddie my customer would never fit into) to the 3rd floor. we tell the parents to meet us in the lobby in an hour. our room is fantastic, we have a bed that is not 2 twins pushed together and my husband is very happy about that. we have 3 windows and 2 over look the canal, cool. the bathroom is huge and it's all done in tangerine orange marble. the tub is big and the shower head is the sunflower type, but no shower curtain, it will be a mess when we get in there. the room has all the high tech stuff and my husband loves that. plasma tv with wireless keyboard, fax/copy machine and 3 phones. it is filled with anything you could possibly need personal wise. we are really impressed. We get cleaned up and go downstairs to check out the bar and breakfast room. there is a usa today in the lobby and i'm happy to have one to read later. his parents come down and off we go.

It is freezing outside, i'm wearing 3 layers and the wind goes right through my jeans and my legs are freezing. we walk around for about an hour and go to the restaurant for dinner. the waiter is happy to see us again and seats us at the window and proceed's to give us excellent personal service. the food was great and they have a seafood bar with snapper, clams, oysters, mussuls and huge flounders. i beg my FIL to have mussuls with me but he still isn't feeling 100 %, and i think the train and boat ride were too much for the day.
we eat the usual stuff and really relax and enjoy ourselves. we leave about 2 hours later and it's bitterly cold outside, we go shopping in the little streets and i'm so cold i'm shivering. we stop by a little coffee shop and order cappacino's and desserts and now the locals and tourists have packed the restaurants and cafe's. the streets get busy and it's a younger crowd than it was earlier. the inlaws are tired and ready to go back to the hotel, but they want to stop by the san marco square on the way back, the beggers are out everywhere and won't leave you alone or accept no thanks. we run out of there and say we'll see it in the morning. we get them back to the lobby and in their room and we take off into the night.

We get back about midnight and the streets are still busy and people are out partying. and the italians are late night people. My legs are numb. my husband feels them and gets worried and draws me a hot bath with bubbles, and it feels so good, in the meantime he goes down stairs and asks the front desk about cappacino's near by and 10 minutes later he's back with hot chocolate..YEA your my hero honey, so i take a long bath read usa today and hot coco. I ask him later why he didn't just call room service, he didn't know how to work the phone, either could I.

I wake up to a woman screaming, i stumble out of bed trying to figure out where i'm at. i hear these voices coming from the bathroom and my husband is in there with the window open and watching the action, i ask him what the &^*# is going on. it seems that the lady is mad at the men and yelling at them like an alley cat. my husband is wishing they were on this side of the canal on the sidewalk, he told me we could fill the bathroom garbage can with cold water and dump it on them and i could video tape it. if only. some old man comes out of his house and starts screaming at them in italian, he tells them f fon goul (we understand that italian) and get out of here i called the poliza, well the fighting 3 start yellin back while walking away. the voices echo through the canals. we can't fall back asleep and watch cnn into the morning.

We called his parents room when we get up and no one's there, they must be at breakfast already and they were. we ask them if they heard all that stuff going on last night, nope they didn't hear anything. i'm shocked.The breakfast is really nice. we plan on visiting all the sights and getting a late check out and taking the late train back to rome. it is really cold and it had rained most of the night. the wind was wicked and i was so cold, but didn't say anything and just kept walking around. my feet were cold and i could feel the cold concrete right through my boots. we go through most of the streets and finally end up back going through marco square, and it's flooded. they have risers set up to go into the church there. and the church is flooded and the poor priests were doing their best to clean up but i think it was hopeless. confession is going on, i'll pass on that one. and we get outside the church and the birds are all over the place, gross, and there are dead birds all over, and birds dying on the ground, i mean laying there dying, flapping their wings trying to get up on their feet, and then they'd just stop and after a few minutes get enough strength to try again, this was just pitiful. i was horrified by it. i was ashamed of making the bird flu a joke earlier in the week, what was up with the birds laying there dying or dead? that just really grossed me out. i didn't eat lunch cause it just make me sick. my honey and his parents got a sandwich at a little store for lunch, i passed. by noon it was raining pretty steady and cold, my husband asked if anyone wanted to go back on the train earlier or stay until late? we all say let's go back to rome now and we take off for the hotel and inform them were leaving now instead of later. we grab our stuff and run out to the boat dock to catch the 2:30 train back to rome.

The boat dock is busy, i don't care but i want my MIL to have a seat inside of the boat, but as you might guess, when the boat gets there people just start pushing to get past you to get on the boat, i have my MIL's hand and push my way right along with the rest of them, i get her inside and no one wants to move over and let her sit down, i pick up a man's bag he has on the seat so no one can sit next to him, and i hand the bag to him and tell my MIL to sit down, she does without looking at the man. these benches can sit 3 people, 4 if you want to squish in, but 2 people would sit down and set their bags, purse and whatever down so you can't sit next to them. Hey we are like rosa parks and we ain't standing up for the man. my FIL comes inside after awhile because he is cold, but not my husband he stands outside on the deck trying to talk to the guy maning the ropes and videoing the ride. what a tourist, and i love him, it's cold and rainy and he don't feel a thing and has this huge smile on his face. when my FIL came inside i gave him the seat i pushed my way into and went outside to see what that grin was on his face was all about and he said he was so happy, his dad told him what a great time he and mother were having and venice was beautiful and they got some good pictures and can't wait to get them developed. He felt like he did what he came here to do, make his mother's dream come true.

First class is sold out but there are seats in first class for the 4:40 train. nope i don't mind going back 2nd class earlier and either does anyone else, so we get our tickets and have 35 minutes to spare. there is a cafateria in the venice train station and they have some yummy looking food too. Mashed potatoes, chicken, beef, pasta's, veggies, salads and desserts, it all looks good, but the bird thing still sticks in my head and i pass on the food. they also have a coffee bar there and a pizza joint which is hopping and the cook is throwing the dough up in the air and making a great show. we are all very impressed and when you bought a piece of pizza they were huge, my inlaws couldn't resist and got a piece and loved it. i ended up going to a little snack store there and getting M and M's and crispers for the train ride. i went to the register and paid for a coffee too and went up the coffee bar with my reciept and no one would wait on me. i was wondering what the big deal was, finally this guy grabs the paper out of my hand and tells the other guy what to make and he turns around and gives me this dirty look and i can't figure out why they were being so rude. i get my cappacino in cup with a saucer and the man throws the spoon down on the saucer and glares at me, i start crying really loud with my hands over my face, i make a 10 second scene and really make a loud crying sound, i had my head down while doing it. when i stopped and looked up both of the men behind the counter along with the other people working are looking at me with their jaws on the floor, i smiled took my cup and walked away to stand at a table and drink it. needless to say it was really quiet for awhile. when i got done and approached the counter to set my empty cup down they all turned thier backs to me and i set the cup down and walked away. when i went back to the cafateria my husband and his parents were sitting there and my husband asks me what have you been up too? i tell him, not much. he asks did i get coffee already i told him yes, and he was thinking of getting some too, i told him he'll have to go get it himself, and didn't say another word about it. that little act has come in handy for me plenty, but that's another story.

The train ride is crowded, our seats are not together but the seat next to mine is empty and i fall asleep right away. my husband and inlaws are worried about me, and wake me up to ask me if i'm ok. what, you fruitcakes, why'd you wake me and when they tell me that i want to pull a THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN. we just have about 2 hours left to the ride into rome. it's dark and you can't see much, but we do see alot of christmas lights and my MIL is thrilled. The train is no longer busy and there only about 10 people in the train car including us. 2 young ladies sitting next to us are americans and they are traveling by train through europe, i envy them and tell them this is the time of your life ladies enjoy it. they ask us if people have been rude to us. NO, NOT HERE IN ITALY.

Rome is Fantastic and it's warm and the stars are shining, what a change in 4 1/2 hours. The train station is a madhouse, it's rush hour and this place defined it. when we pulled up to the track to get off the train it was crazy, all the way out was a job. we decided to go out the exit to our right when we get off the train, the cab stand is there too, and it's mass chaos. we try to cross the street and it's almost impossible. my husband is leading this time and he's a freight train getting us through the crowd. but it's a beautiful night and when we get to the back streets it's peaceful. we ask the parents if they want dinner and they say no we just want to go rest and maybe we'll go out later to the fruit market. that's great, now we'll have sometime alone. we get back to the hotel and the staff are so happy to see us and the hotel is decorated for christmas, it bright,warm and cheerful. we are back earlier that they expected us. we gave the handsome Simone our plans. we told him we wouldn't be back until after midnite and leave the key under the matt. that was a doozey trying to explain that one to him. we say goodnite to his parents, go to our room and shower and change. free at last.

This is really the first time we have vacationed with anyone since we were married. in the last 10 years we have had the blessings and pleasure of traveling to warm tropical places and have been spoiled by the fact we were always alone. and we are loners like that so this is a huge shock for my husband,not me,i travel with teenagers at least 2 times a year. not just a few, last time i went with teens was in august, there were 73 of us. 15 adult sponsers and the rest kids. so i'm used to moving, getting the masses there and in a timely manner, but my husband is on a whole new trip. he has a hardtime dealing with getting everyone together, going in a group and working around other people's habits and timing. he keeps thanking me for dealing with all this and it being his family and all. I'm loving every minute of it and he justs wants to be alone with me. I suggest we make plans to go to cancun asap, he looks at me and says did you bump your head? i thought i had him at a soft spot and was trying to take advantage of him, but dang he busted me.

We really want to go to henry cow for pasta it was so good, and the service was good too. so we walked over there and AHHHHHH they are closed. now what? we know it's our last chance of being alone in rome for along time. we decide on walking around and look at menu's. we find a cute pizza place. salad's and the pizza is good. we leave and walk back to the hotel. it's warm out, we can't get over the temp. here in rome.

We made plans the night before to hire Stefano the man from romecabs to take us sightseeing. this is our last day in rome and we want to see place that are unusual and unique. I make my man get our of bed early and enjoy our last breakfast together alone for a very long time. we go downstairs and have coffee watching the locals going to work and parking like idiots. we catch a glimpse of the breadman making a delivery to our hotel, i go outside too peak in his truck, he's got it parked right out in front with the back doors open and he's getting the bread together to take in, i walk up and say good morning and he smiles and says good morning back, he speaks english and i tell him how much we enjoyed the bread while having breakfast in the mornings here. He appreciates the compliment and trys to give me some bread. no no no, i just wanted to say thank you and let you know how good the bread was. and the bread this dude had on the truck my customers would fight over. he had so many differnt kinds and all i needed was a stick of butter and get out of my way.

Stefano was right on time. He took us to see the church we stopped at the first night, my MIL was too tired to enjoy it and she wanted to go back. we stayed there along time. it is amazing and the grounds are beautiful and the roses are in full bloom. we go to the keyhole. i had read about it and i was interested in checking it out. we took pictures through the keyhole and they came out great. Stefano asked me if there was anywhere special i wanted to go. I told him i wanted to visit the place that has the stairs that jesus walked down after being condemned. they are the stairs from pilate's house and they were brought to rome. He knows exactly what i'm talking about. We go there and You are supposed to get on your knee's and go up praying step by step. there are old ladies on their knee's going up the stairs. i get right in there and do the same thing. i am really moved by this and tears are rolling down my cheeks and i'm praying the rosary to the top. Stefano and my family wait outside pateintly for me. We wander around rome in the van with stefano giving us a great tour. it's been cloudy all day but the sun is starting to peek through the clouds. Stefano bids us a see you at 4:45
am for the ride to FCO. it's our last night in Rome.

More later. it's late and this waitress has to be up and go at it early. God bless everyone. Have a great night and hold onto your loved ones, they are only here for a moment.

I love your report and your enthusiasm for life, Theresa!

Just love the report. Obviously you have many talents and writing is one of them.

Theresa,you are such a good sport, I laughed so much reading your trip report.
You know something, I grew up in Rome and never did La Scala Santa, just watched from the outsite.
San Giovanni in Laterano is my church, I was and all the members of my family including my two older children were baptized there.
Keep up the good work..
Ciao,

Theresa, thanks for your funny and wise report! We'll be in Rome in February and look forward to using some of your tips, including Henry Cow (great name).

absolutely wonderful report. did you ever find out what was wrong with the birds? that's so sad.

I'm sorry if I missed it, but what hotel did you stay in in Venice?

Any chance you'll be posting your photos somewhere?

The incident in the snack store over your purchase of a cup of cappucino...I don't get it.

You probably have given this a lot of thought (I know I would). The way you write about the incident, you appear to have been passive, not aggressive. Did you cry because of the treatment you received or were you just plain exhausted from the trip?

That wasn't a pleasant way to end your trip, if I may say so.

Venice hotel was Palace Bonvecchiati

Sorry about this misunderstanding on the crying thing. I pretended to cry. I put my hands over my face and just pretended to cry, i let out a small wail and the men were horrified. When I suddenly stopped and looked up the look on their faces was priceless. I just picked up my coffee and walked away. I was just trying to mess with them.

More of Rome later. duty calls.

That's our girl!

Hello everyone..My day off. I am not even leaving the house today. This is PJ day as me and wicked wendy (one of the cooks) would call it. Staying in your PJ's all day doing nothing. We have about 5 inches of snow out my door and it's snowing right now. My husband called me and said they are a little busy at the restaurant, and it's quiet without me there. Though i have been home since Dec 1 from Rome, I still have stuff to put away and wash. Any working Momma out there understands all about that.

Our last night in Rome, very sad. How I Have been scheeming and plotting on finding a way to stay for another week alone with my husband. Hell, even if his parents want to stay another week that would fly with me. I was dreaming of going to Paris by train and spending a romatic week alone. Showing him the beautiful city and the not so pretty side. I was there 2 years ago, and actually got home sick. Paris was so romantic, and other than Italy, I have never scene so much making out in public. I was not bothered in the least by all this public affection and all I wanted was my husband there to make out with too. but I was with a group of french/spanish students and none of that would be going on. I called my husband from Paris and told him I found the city of Love. And i have been talking about it for 2 years and i was now within a train/plane/automobile ride from Paris. I was trying to come up with the best case senerio. I knew my employee's would have no problem with Me staying another week and them running the show, I knew the customers would shreed me to pieces when I got home, but I can handle that. The cost, well I would come home and work my butt off everyday to pay for it. We could eat really cheap and i would find a deal on hotel or apt. on the internet. My husband isn't a big Art Fan so we would't have to buy Museum tix's. I already looked up airfare to Paris and I was sure we could just go home right from CDG a week later same day same time. But the problem was France. My husband didn't want to have anything to do with France because of the disrespect that Air France had shown Him and His parents. Yea I take offense too, but I'm not a hater, and I only hold the people responsible for their actions, not the whole, But that's not the way the Marino's are feeling so that is out the door, no paris or another week in Rome, everyone wants to go home. Could I have stayed another week? No, My Daughter is having her first baby and the Baby (Alyce Simone) was due Dec 19, but they moved the date to anytime between Dec 19-Jan 3. So I didn't think I should take a chance. This is our only child and she is 28, Happily Married, and have a home. All the requirements I drilled into her from age 10 till last year when she got married. I'm going to be a Situ/Mamaw very soon and my husband and I are over the moon about it. So I will thank God for what I did get to do, Be in italy for almost 2 weeks, and determined to get back to paris somehow someday.

We call Henry Cow's and the man who answers the phone does not speak english very well, but we understand eachother pretty well, and i ask what time are they open today,he said until midnight, no closing during those hours? he says no. Great we tell the parents were meeting at 5 in the lobby and taking them to try the pasta like grandma marino used to make.

We take a nap and start packing. where did all this stuff come from? did we really pack all this stuff, we have 3 big suitcases and 2 carry on's and we have them stuffed silly. I am checking my carryon this time, and i have to sit on it to be zipped. The maid has left us tons of bath products through out the week, and the turndown maid the night before had left a big bag with products. and i really want to take them home and give it to the Woman's shelter we help support, and these are perfect large size travel bottles. so my carryon is stuffed with bottles. This is great, we are doing christmas boxes for 2 shelters and these are perfect for them. We get all our stuff packed and change for dinner.

We walk the long way to the restaurant to check out these little shops we admired the other day, but were too tired to walk in and browse. my MIL buys one more tea cup and they bubble wrap it the size of a football. my MIL starts using my phrases,She says to us this sucker ain't gonna break, we all crack up. I splurge and buy a tshirt with sequiens on it and my man likes it. Now I'm hungry and it's time for dinner, we get to the restaurant and the owner is there, he figures out it was me that called earlier, and we all laugh about it. He speaks a better english now, hmmm. He seats us and tells us the waitress will be here any minute, and as he's telling us she walks in and it's U the girl from the other 2 times we've been there, she comes right to the table and asks if these are his parents and she introduce's herself and tell them to call her U for short. that makes us all giggle. We get 2 bottles of water and cokes, and she tells us the cook won't be in for an hour, but we can have pizza salad or bruschetta. But if we want pasta we can wait an hour. She goes to get us bread and breadstix's which I am now addicted too. And i say let's wait, we have all evening and it's just now 6 pm. So we order salad and bruschetta and we'll wait for the cook. The waitress is so happy, she thought we would leave, no way. We are the only customers and the waitress sits down with us and we talk. She is from Albania and is going to Law school in rome and has 2 years left of school. She is going into labor law, and of course I have 100 questions for her about exactly what labor law means in Europe, and what made her take that subject. She is very smart and speaks 4 languages. She has a boyfriend and he was coming there to the restaurant for dinner, and she wants us to meet him. she met him in college here in rome and he's albanian too. He's becoming a doctor. By the time we eat the salad's the cook came in, i have a feeling they called him in early. and not long afterwards 4 huge plates of pasta with meatsauce comes out of the kitchen and on our table. it is hot and good, and even my MIL was suprised her son liked this sauce because it was chucky. They all agree it's as good as grandma marino's. I am so full i can't move. In the meantime locals start coming in and drinking and eating. The owner wants to buy us coffee and dessert, no we can't eat another thing. It's getting late and we have to go to bed soon. 3:30 am was coming soon. U's Boyfriend comes in and we meet him and the two are standing there with their arms around eachother just blushing to the most beautiful red. They were in Love and it shows. My husband asked me do I still feel the same about him, I DO.

Get back to the hotel, make out all the thank you cards for the staff, and take them to the front desk. The handsome Simone is off until the next evening and I won't get to say thank you and good bye in person. oh well. We set our phone alarms for the ungodly hour to wake up, and lay in bed talking about rome...

We are up and out the door at 4:30 am. Stefano is outside trying to get into the lobby, when we realize the front doors are locked. no one is at the desk, but as soon as he knocks 2 of the desk staff come out and open the door for him. We bid the staff goodbye and it's a very quiet ride to FCO. Stefano told us the ride to the airport for the others in our family was a madhouse. But it shouldn't be bad today, it's thursday, and when we get to the airport it's not bad at all. we thank Stefano for all his kindness and walk inside to figure out what line to get in. first we stand in the wrong line and I walk around trying to make sure this is the right one, Wrong, we need to go to another line. I didn't know Air France, NWA, Delta and Aitalia are somehow all one company. So we stand in Aitalia line for the Air France flight to CDG. we stand in line which is not long but it's taking the counter staff forever to check people in, His parents approach the counter and as the lady is going through the tickets, the boarding pass from Rome to CDG is missing. I explain that we missed the connection to rome and the Air France customer service had to change our tickets. The lady said they took the wrong boarding pass (what a shock) so we had to go to the Air France customer service counter to have another boarding pass issued. Great this is not looking good. I take My FIL over to the service counter and we are the next in line, I explain to the lady what happened, and she issues a handwritten boarding pass, and we run back to the line, and wait right where the lady told us too when we got the new boarding pass, she is waiting on someone else with a family who has a problem with their boarding pass as well, I can see the look on my MIL and husband's faces, but i try no to look at them, I know it's going to be OK, our plane doesn't leave until 7:20 am and it's just now getting to be 6:35 am the poor man infront of us inline has to take his family to the customer service counter and I feel awful for him. now it's our turn and we get all this straightened out and off to security we go. I need coffee, real bad, I can smell it, I know there are shops open in the terminal. Security takes only a few minutes and I see many shops open and we go into a little restaurant and have cappacino's and fresh hot crossiants, I'm alive...

On our flight are there is 35 Nuns, Old nuns. Where their headed I don't know, but I did see them in line with us. They are just adorable and I want to talk to them so bad, but all I can do is say hi and smile and they all smile back at me. These nuns can't be over 5 feet and all seem to be in their 60's and all in full habits. It's funny because when we board the plane some are in first class and the rest are back in coach. The Air France staff are very nice, and when service started up they stood there and talked to us for a while. 2 of them have been to detroit and we talk about the city and basketball. I tell the one Man who is so gay and cute about our incident at CDG on the way there, He tells Me He is very sorry that happened. I ask did He think it would happen again, No NO NO he says, and goes to check what gate were at when we land. He comes back and tell us the gate and that we would have plenty of time to make the connection to Detroit, well I want to believe him, but my common sense say NO WAY. We land at CDG 20 minutes early, before we deplane onto the dreaded buses, the crew show us the printed up sheet of connections and tell us we are early and to go right to the gate and the other crew know several of us are making that connection. We get on the bus, go to the terminal and there is this huge line to go through customs, people start freaking out and start yeling they are going to miss their flights, even the Nuns are letting them have it, in Spanish. Some how we figure out this is the wrong line and we must go up these stairs and go to Terminal E, we haul up the stairs, run to customs where 2 jerks are taking their sweet time checking passports, he has to run my passport 3 times through the computor, I'm really getting antsy. Finally he stamps it and off I go to the gate. It's 10:00 am it's taken us 40 minutes and we have 20 minutes until the flight takes off. Now where's my family.

I get to the gate and as I run up there are 5 Women of Air France standing there, when I show them my Boarding pass all 5 turn their backs to me and start talking in French, one of them turns around and says, You are too late to board this plane. WHAT, no way I am here 20 minutes before take off, and the other Air France crew assured us Your waiting on My family and the others connecting to Detroit. My Family and many other start to arrive too. I tell her this is Unacceptable and I demand to be boarded along with My family. She tells me (by this time the other 4 Women leave) what did I expect when I was holding a discount ticket and She wanted NO DRAMA and my family and i should go over to the Customer service office and change our tickets to a later flight to DTW on nwa. Now I'm pissed, I mean really mad, she treated Me with utter contempt and had a tight smile the whole time. I was furious but refused to stoop to her level, though I wanted to take her outside and beat her up detroit style, but I know God has me right where he wants me and I can't change it, what else could I tell myself to calm down, because now everyone is on the band wagon of yelling and want to know why are standing here wasting time when we could be boarding? I knew we weren't going anywhere now. There is no bus to take us to the plane that we can see, and it sits there another 20 minutes at least while all this Drama is going on. I walk to the customer service counter and ask for a manager,there is no one else in this line. and I start to have my ticket changed while the other 30 people were yelling and arguing. A woman Manager comes over to talk, and explains, there is no way they can board us, we Missed the flight, and who ever told us they'd be waiting is Wrong, and there was nothing they could do. She started to give me the whole story about why they can't hold the flight and how it would put all the other planes on hold and cause this big problem with times on the runway, I understand, but I don't care. I tell her that her company has no business setting up flights that are impossible to catch. She say's We don't set up those flights. How's that? Your company does not know who is coming from where and where their going and we have assigned seats, and our name is on the boarding lists, how is it your company didn't set these times and connections? this is a waste of my time and energy, and I step back and let my Husband and a business man who is pissed that he missed this connection to DTW and was on his way to a business meeting in Chicago, and He DID NOT HAVE A DISCOUNT TICKET. This man was so upset, i felt bad for Him, His cellphone was out of battery and he had no way of calling his clients or his wife to let them know what was going on. It was a mess, and get this, our luggage we there at CDG and would be on the new NWA flight to DTW in 3 1/2 hours. Oh fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride boys.

Theresa, this scenerio wit Air France is like deja vu to me. Exactly what I went through with my family, we were all yelling and the staff was all being very curt with the tight smiles, the whole bit. It was at this point I decided never never to fly Air France again. They have many sociological problems!

Love your report, can't wait for more!

It's a mess at CDG, several people are in the customer service line and my husband and the business man are still talking to the Manager, and getting no where, were all just going to have to sit down and wait for the next flight. My husband asks the Manager for an upgrade to first class for the 4 of us, that's the least they can do in the fact that we got bumped for the second time. the manager insists that it is impossible, and my husband says, nothing is impossible, so they are going around and around. My FIL gets in the action now, it's not pretty either. I had asked if we could get 2 meal vouchers for my inlaws, I didn't need one, and i knew my husband wouldn't either and the lady said NO, we don't give out food vouchers when YOU MISS YOUR FLIGHT, that's all it took, it was a free for all, everyone was yelling, I was just standing there just listening about ready to melt into the crack on the floor, when the Manager hands a complaint form to my FIL and I still can't believe my FIL said it, he says really loud "and I'll wipe my a** with that complaint form too. I was just floored. of all the good bad and ugly in 13 days this took the cake. I have known my inlaws for close to 30 years and I never,never ever hear my FIL swear. I was totally speechless. My MIL says SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM, I can't believe you said that, and tells him to apologize. I tell my FIL don't you dare. She deserves worse that that. The manager flips, she is as shocked as the rest of us, and the manager yells to all of us "this converstion in over" and tries to walk away, but hey, we aren't the only people upset about this "missed" connection, and each and everyone of these passangers inline wanted to tell the manager their story too. Me and my MIL walked away and went into the bathroom to get away from this mob scene. My MIL is hot, she is mad at my FIL for using such filth. I try to explain that I felt otherwise, but she didn't want to hear it. After about 10 minutes hiding in the bathroom, we come out and the 2 marino men are still standing at the customer service counter along with the business man and several other men.

After the Guys figured out they were getting no where with these hags, they sat down. Now we sit there in silence for a very long time. My husband had offered the business man his cellphone to call home. For some reason the man could not get a signal on his cell to call home, so he used my husbands. I felt just awful for this Guy, he was trying to be very mature and proffesional with air france, and he just barely held it together. after calling his wife and having her make calls from detroit to chicago he was relieved, and thought he'd just go home when he got to detroit, if and when that was.

I'm hungry and I tell my husband i want to get a sandwich and coffee. He and the rest refuse to spend any money at CDG. I feel otherwise. I walk over and get a salami sandwich and coffee. I eat alone at the bar looking at my family sitting there mad and frustrated. I know what I have to do. go make them laugh somehow. I get done eating and walk over kiss each one of them on the cheek, and say it's ok, god does not want us on that plane, and we just can sit here and sulk, or try to come up with why he's got us here. They all look at me like I'm a freak. I raise my voice really loud and say THIS CONVERSATION IS OVER and make the same gesture with my arms as the manager and that did it. they couldn't stop from laughing if they had too.

Most of the people who missed the connection hang out in the same area. There are kids running around and being cute. I wish i could be like them too, not a care in the world. about an hour later 2 women and a man from security come over to us and ask if we are the Marino's. oh oh,I'm thinking to myself, are we in trouble? Did we go too far with the complaining? did they hear my FIL say he'd buy a large drink just to through on the computors at customer service. The 3 of them ask us to come over to the desk in another area of the terminal and asked for our passports, now i'm getting scared, but i ain't about to even show that, but i must say i was getting worried. we stood there for at least 10 minutes and the man asked to talk to each of us. Me first, great...He asked did i have a copy of my itineraty? yes, i do. He wants to see it. asks where have i been since leaving detroit. Then he asks where is your luggage, i say air france says it's here and it will be on our new flight to detroit. he asks, did someone else pack your bag or did you? did anyone ask me to bring something back? no. what color is my luggage and how many bags did i bring? and did i leave my luggage anywhere unattended. i answer all his questions, and he still has my passport. I ask him why is he asking me all these questions as a van pulls up with 2 other women that i can see as he's talking to me, i'm thinking great were going to jail in freakin france. They ask me to sit down and wait, I ask what about my passport? they will give it back to me when their finished. And i sit down while he gets my inlaws. then the 2 other women who came in from the security van talk to my husband, i can see the look on his face as he gets up to go with the women, i'm really worried now.

After 30 minutes or so the Man of the security group wants to look in our backpacks, so we oblige. My MIL of course reminds him to be careful she has teacups from rome and they are fraigle. He doesn't find whatever he's looking for and goes over to talk to his possee. after a few minutes he comes over and hands us each our passport with a yellow sticker on them, great were marked. are you doing this because i'm an arab? no i didn't say that. It was no time for jokes and i knew it. I really wanted to say in the middle of his talk to me this conversation is over, but i held myself. He tells us there is a high security and that is why we are being questioned, and do not remove the yellow stickers, or we may not be able to board the plane. all this time i have been doing the rosary that was in my pocket. so when he let us go back and sit down i was thanking jesus and his momma.

They were taking everyone from our flight from rome to talk to also. Later on the flight home, the flight attendent who sat across from us told us that nwa didn't think air france was tight on their security and after all the switching of passengers they just wanted to double check all the passengers for safety reasons, now she didn't come right out and say it like that, but that's what she wanted to say, but was trying to be discreet. but i got it.

Finally it's time to board our plane, we could see 2 gates down our air france hosts from when we first arrived to our missed flight gate and they looked misreable, I'm thinking to myself, it's time for them to be rude to the next plane of passengers, and for a fleeting second I felt bad for them, and then it passed. were getting on those crappy buses to go out to the airplane. it took forever to get off the bus and board, they would only let 10 off at a time to board. but once we got on and the friendly crew welcomed us aboard, I knew it was all going to be OK.

Guess who was on our plane to Detroit? the mother and daughter we met in rome at the 110 bus stop. It seems that this was their flight to oaklahoma, they change planes in detroit and onto Oakl. We are shocked when we see the plane is 1/3 full, and the impossible 1st class had about 12 people in there, we were in row 10, can't use the bathroom within 2 feet of our seats, first class passengers only. but no seats ahead of us, other than the jump seat for the flight attendent. my husband and i were sitting infront of his parents. after the flight took off, people were able to sit anywhere that was open and several people streched across the 4 seaters and slept. god bless em, i was jealous, i would love to sleep all the way home. The service and food on the plane were great. The flight was so long, and all i kept thinking is i will be in my own bed god willing by 10 pm.

I have been debating about whether to write this or not, but it's the truth.
As the crew of nwa was preparing to take off, and the french airpot crew were exchanging paperwork with nwa crew, then a truck pulled up along side the exit door at our feet. we could see that they extended a boom of some type, and a airport employee was knocking on the exit door window, the crew did not hear them or for that matter was expecting him, my husband got up and told a crew member, and she looked out the window and was shocked (by my opinion) that there was a handicap passenger in a wheel chair. After a moment she and another crew member got the door open and there is a very good looking man in the chair. it seemed to me that no one told the crew to expect a wheelchair bound passenger. I was humilated for the young man. after much exchange and a place to seat him and put him into a plane wheel chair and transfered to his seat and get his chair stowed it took too long. I mean i think that it should have been handled better. The man is at the mercy of others, He was a good sport about it, maybe he was used to it or something like that. A nwa employee did come over and say yes, your from california (that's the last stop for the plane) she said she was from a city near where he lived. so they were expecting him, but i don't think they expected him in a wheelchair. this is just my thinking, but that is a total lack of communication on someone's part. I will never complain about my feet hurting again, i can walk to where i need to go, and i thank god for this body that pretty much is still working good.

Thanks for all your posts. the good the bad and the ugly. If you ever in detroit look me up....Theresa

Oh Theresa, what a trip you have taken us on...I had chills reading your last post.

A Merry Christmas and wishes to you and all your family for a beautiful 2006. May you have many more trips..and ones without a lot of problems.

BRAVO!!!!!!

absolutely lovely report - thank you so much for writing it. Please tell us the name of your restaurant - we would love to visit if we're ever in Detroit!

Theresa,

Thank you for the wonderful "Trip to Italy" report. I really enjoyed reading every word. Each day I looked forward to reading more. You are a wonderful person and a terrific story teller. Please... tell us the name of your restaurant in Detroit.

YES.
Fantastic report. We are off to Italy next Sept. and have taken notes, especially Henry Cow.
Thank you for all the time you devoted to this.
Joanne