David has a yearly conference with this overseas assignment that seems to always take place in some amazing European location. Last year it was Malta, and we found a way for me to tag along. It required signing the kids up for camps and coordinating child care, and I said that I probably wouldn't do it again. And then, they announced that this year's conference would be in Rome. David and I just looked at each other and smiled. Yep, gonna make THAT happen somehow.
Getting to Europe from Manila is almost as long and exhausting of a trip as going from Manila to the East Coast. The first leg of our flight was to Dubai. By the time we got there, we were whipped, and we still had another 7 hours to fly.
They called us up to the podium right before our flight to Rome, along with several other passengers. I was so worried that we'd been bumped. I just stared in jet lagged incomprehension when the ticket agent exchanged my coach ticket for business class. We'd actually been upgraded.
The irony was that David and I were just talking about how we'd never, ever, ever get to ride in first class. (The U.S. government does not buy first class or business class tickets, no matter how far you have to fly. They'll give you a stopover break, but that's going to be it. It's understandable, but really long flights in coach will make you ache.)
So I felt like I had won the lottery when I sat in my business class seat. Seriously, I wanted to weep with gratitude. I was soo tired, and I was going to be able to lay down to sleep for 7 whole hours! It was amazing. This was just the beginning of what would be a trip that felt like a generous gift from God from start to finish.
I have discovered that I really like to take a walking tour in cities to get my bearings (when I'm not with my children). I've done it in Boston and in Malta, and it really helps me enjoy the trip so much more. I am a big history buff and a homeschooling mom, and I just want to know the stories behind what I'm looking at. Maybe I should consider becoming a tour guide in my post homeschooling life? Hmm.
Anyway, I'd been listening to a podcast called "The Bittersweet Life." It's hosted by a couple of ladies who are expats in Rome, and it's all about the joy and pain of building a life in another country. Anyway, I decided that American Tiffany Parks was my kind of Rome tour guide from listening to her voice as I cut up veggies in my Philippines kitchen. I emailed with her about scheduling a private tour for the day after we arrived. She gave me so much advice about what to see and do in Rome in her emails that I cut and pasted them into a document to take with me for reference.
Tiffany spent the morning with us in the heart of Rome, and her stories gave me a deep dive into the layer upon layer of history and change that is at the heart of the Eternal City. It was unseasonably cold and windy for April in Rome, but I barely noticed, and that's saying something since I am totally acclimated for a tropical climate. If you're ever in Rome, consider booking her for a tour. No, it isn't cheap, and I've never spent that much on a tour before, but her suggestions for things to see and do in "off the beaten path" Rome fueled my touring decisions for the rest of my trip. I chose her as a tour guide because I felt that she understood what I was looking for in a visit to Rome, so her suggestions were really on target for me. It was worth the extra cash to me for that reason.
