Our trip to the Mediterranean (February 10, 2015)
We have been looking forward to this trip for months and the day finally came. We had booked the 21-day back to back cruises on Norwegian Jade starting February 14, western and eastern Mediterranean. Our plan was to spend three nights in Rome before boarding the Jade which would give us some time to explore this city again. The last time we were here was in November 2012 when we cruised on the MSC Splendida and NCL Jade. It's always more fun to be traveling with families, and this time we have DC's family and ET joining us even though the four of them would only be with us for the first leg of the cruise.
Turkish Airlines (TK 0010)
We were going to redeem miles for our flights to Rome using US Air mileage. To make a long story short, we had to cancel those bookings because of the constant changes and cancellation of Iberia without consulting or notifying us first. We then grabbed some seats on Turkish Air when they had a promotion going on some months ago. Yes, we had to fly further out and then backtrack to Rome but it was worth it! No more uncertainties and headaches! Our flights would take us from Los Angeles to Istanbul for a short stopover and then change plane to Rome.
We had been on Turkish Airlines in 2013 when we took a Turkey land tour. We were quite impressed with the quality of service and food provided so we kind of knew what to expect.
Checking in for our 6:45PM flight at LAX.
Enjoyed a late lunch at the food court before our flight.
That's our plane waiting for us!
Or should I say we were waiting for our plane?!
I did not get to take pictures of the inside of the plane.
Nice amenities provided even for economy. Menu was also given out.
Meals were similar to what we had last time.
First meal--Shepherd's salad, white eggplant salad and chicken breasts, prime beef burger with herbed butter, grilled vegetables and potato puree or Penne with tomato parmesan sauce/grilled zucchini/fried eggplant, cheese cake. I chose the prime beef burger which was very good!
Second meal before landing--Seasonal fresh fruits, assorted cheese, scrambled eggs, turkey and cheese toast with sauteed tomatoes/grilled green pepper, ovenfresh bread selection with butter/jam.
This was OK, as you can see the egg was a little runny. My biggest complain was actually the bread. On all the flights, the bread was inedible, dried and hard. Overall, not too bad for airplane food in economy. Seemed like their homemade lemonade was only available when flying out of Turkey.
We arrived IST after flying for 13 hours. Our connecting flight for Rome would leave at 9:15PM Turkish time on TK 1361. Finding the correct gate for the connection could be a problem because they do not post all the flights on the boards around the airport until about an hour before the flight (except on the main board). Everybody was standing and waiting around the board for their gate numbers which was quite irritating. Suggestion: check the main board near security check, which shows all the flights and gates.
We found our gate (211) and was able to wait comfortably for our next flight.
This time we were on an Airbus A319 jet. Our seats were right behind business class.
Dinner was served on this 2-hour flight--Shepherd's salad with white cheese, Grilled chicken breast with mixed vegetables and potato puree or Rigatoni with tomato parmesan sauce/fried eggplants/cherry tomatoes, walnut pear tarte and bread selection.
Here I had the grilled chicken breast, not bad at all. And, this time I got the homemade lemonade. Yum!
When we arrived FCO, just like at IST, we had to take the shuttle from the plane to the terminal.
After retrieving our bags from baggage claim, we walked out straight passed custom check and met our pre-arranged driver who took us to the apartment in Rome.
By the time we got to the apartment it was almost midnight. We checked in with the manager who was waiting for us upstairs. This apartment is on the fourth floor of the building. Fortunately there was an elevator, very tiny, but worked fine. We booked this apartment (the Bubble House/Vespasiano Apartment) through RentalinRome.com. We thought it was quite a bargain to have a 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment that sleeps 7 for around 376 Euros for the three nights. Beats staying at hotels.
Looking out from the apartment window the next morning.
The building across the street. This apartment is in close proximity to the Vatican.
The spacious living room...
and the functional kitchen.
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