The last time I was in Italy was 1995 and I have forgotten most of what I have seen or done, so this trip was a nice recap. My wife Linna put this trip together and invited her friend Xiuyun Jiang and her husband John Biltucci and a long-time friend of mine Mike Curry. Xiuyun did an excellent job of planning an itinerary for us in Rome and Florence, our two cities we rented apartments in.

We flew to Rome via a connection in JFK in New York on Delta Airlines and Italia Airlines to Rome. Note to oneself…skip the connection and fly direct to Paris and then bullet train down. Not only is JFK an old grimy airport, you end up flying two long legs. I will never fly Italia Airlines again, my Delta diamond status had no prominence with this Skyteam Alliance airline. It all started when I checked in and my seat all sudden went from a comfort plus up front to a cramped window seat in back with audio equipment utilizing all of my leg room. My wife Linna with no flying prestige was well situated with a four row seat all to herself, she was nice enough to ask me to join her. We were able to get some decent sleep on our way down to Rome.

Our group rented an apartment in the heart of Rome www.vrbo.com/1131096ha with all the beautiful amazing attractions surrounding us. Even though we were all pretty hammered by our flight we mustered enough energy to walk to the Spanish steps and found a perfect outdoor café for lunch and then shopped before we walked back our apartment. After a well-deserved shower we had dinner at a local café right below our apartment.