"Stuck" in Rome, waiting is hard to do!



Greetings from Rome, Italy!

My wife Darcy and I are stranded in Rome, hoping to get back to Denver ASAP!

We have been traveling throughout Italy since April 7th. We are the publishers of Wine Country International magazine and also produce the Denver International Wine Festival. This year, we decided to attend the VinItaly show in Verona, which is the second largest wine show in the world, with 154,000 attendees this year. We also visited several other cities to produce stories and radio podcasts about travel, wine & cuisine. On this trip we visited Florence, Lucca, Castello Banfi in Montalcino, Perugia and Rome. We have been in Rome since Wednesday, having the time of our lives.















Darcy on the terrace of room 501 at the Hotel Hassler

For our first night we stayed at the Hassler which is found in the book "1000 things to do before you die!". Mr. Wirth the owner treated us like royalty. Our room #501, was one of the best locations in the hotel with an amazing birdseye view of the Cathedral and The Spanish Steps.















Ancient Rome

We were booked to fly back to Denver today on Lufthansa Airlines (Saturday) but like everyone in Europe, we are in limbo as no flights are taking off due to the volcanic ash activity.

It has been a little difficult getting information, but fortunately Lufthansa Airlines is providing the most up to date information via Facebook (a lot more info than Lufthansa.com). As a journalist who writes about travel, wine and cuisine, I have learned that optional travelers insurance is a great value. I am very happy that we purchased travel insurance from Travel Guard. We are covered for up to 5 days for flight interruption/delays.

I am attaching a few photos from our trip to Rome. For now, we plan to make the best of our extended trip here in Rome. Today we visited the Antiqua Attica section of Rome and visited the Catacombs of Domitilla. The catacombs are located about 25 minutes outside Rome, but are easily accessed by a bus. Our handy "Frommers Rome Guide" and "Lonely Planet's Rome City Guide" have provided fantastic inside information.

I will blogging from Rome until I get on a plane for home. It may be several days or weeks before flights resume. The volcano is still spewing ash.

Christopher J Davies


Tags: Europe, Rome, Italy, Flight delays, Volcanic Ash, European flights, travel blog

Comments

ClaireWalter said…
There cerrainly are far worse places to be stranded! Imagine, for example, people stranded on this side of the pond, eager to get to Rome! Happy wining and dining in the meantime, and safe travels once the planes start flying again.

Claire @ http://www.culinary-colorado.com
April 18, 2010 at 7:10 AM
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