26. On the Way Home

The early wake-up call on Friday was necessary to get a taxi and make our way to Fiumicino and the Leonardo Da Vinci Airport. It was an easy drive with little traffic so early in the morning. On arrival, there was already a long line for check-in, even though we were more than 2 hours before our departure time. We realized the reason when we made our way to the head of the line. Everything was delayed, since all the planes coming from the Northeast of the US were still being impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Our flight was expected to be four hours late, due to delayed arrival from New York. Actually it was 6 hours late by the time of our departure, so we had to be rescheduled for our New York to Richmond flight. Then we arrived at Newark after that flight had departed, so we were re-scheduled again for a late night flight to Richmond. However, the flight crew for that plane had not arrived from New Orleans, so we were delayed again. However, we were able to make it to Richmond, just before midnight. So we did arrive the same day we left from Rome. All is well that ends well. Krista met us at the airport, and had a cd of “Jerusalem, the Holy City” cued up and ready to play for us, as we exited the airport. A nice touch to keep the magic of the trip alive for us as we returned home! There was no trouble sleeping this night, as we were finally back in our own bed again! So our adventure winds down to a close. But surely the sights and memories will linger with us for the rest of our lives. Thanks for following along with us.