Arrivederci Australia

 A 23-hour-long test of patience, stamina and the ability to sleep (or not) while sitting upright in a narrow space, was the precursor to a long awaited trip to Italy for this small group of friends, family and some strangers. 

Our group of four comprised of two sisters and a combination of old and new friends, left Melbourne airport on a sunny Wednesday afternoon - the last day of April, 2025. 

Spirits were high and so were nerves, as we farewelled partners and stepped into the Departure tunnel where we were still to navigate the vagaries of security and passport control. An incident where one of our bags fell on top of another while traversing the scanner,  caused a slight delay and a few moments of concern as both bags were whisked away, much to the consternation of their owners, only to be rescanned and quickly returned and released. 

Passport control also caused some consternation, when incomplete instructions resulted in one member leaving her glasses on at the security gate, and, as a result, being called over to the window for further verification. Finally, we were all through and on our way to find our gate lounge and meditate on the adventure that lay ahead. 

After an hour or so of waiting, boarding finally commenced and we found ourselves all lined up in the centre of the plane, like four little ducks, in row 43, seats D through to G. Sheryl and I were at either end of the row, so obviously word had got out that the sisters might be trouble and they would be best separated! 

The first 14-hour leg to Doha was spent mainly interacting with the entertainment screen, as various movies and television series were chosen to get us through the long, cramped hours ahead. There was also food of course, at regular intervals, although not much was consumed by me, owing to the habit of airlines to lace almost everything with capsicum or chilli. The other girls were very generous with their bread rolls however, passing them along to keep me from starvation. 

We reached Doha at 10:30 pm local time, with a negligible amount of sleep recorded between us, had a wander, found a coffee bar, wandered some more, found our departure gate and settled in to wait for the next flight scheduled to depart at 2:35 am. I went for another wander and found our gate had changed, so I rounded up the girls and we all moved to the new gate lounge, quite a distance away, and settled in to wait again. Then there was an extremely long queue to board the buses that would take us on the even longer drive out to another part of the airport where our plane awaited us on the tarmac. 

I don’t remember the take off, so must have nodded off as soon as as my seat belt was fastened, but that was soon interrupted by another meal service, while I was left to puzzle over whether it was meant to be a late supper or an early breakfast. I did manage to eat most of the chicken sandwich without any ill-effects though, so those red flakes must have been sun-dried tomato. Thank goodness for that!  

I was across the aisle from the three little ducks this time, there being only a row of three seats in the centre and the couple in my block of seats, quickly settled into sleep, while I intermittently dozed, and read my kindle, gently pushing my sleeping neighbour’s elbow out of my ribs at regular intervals!  Before we knew it, 5 hours had passed and we were on the ground at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Border control was extremely efficient, much faster in fact than the process of returning to our own country, and after an anxious wait for Sheryl’s recalcitrant suitcase, we were out and looking for our waiting driver. 

We found my name before we found him, as he had left it sitting on the wall, while he had a seat and a chat to some fellow drivers. When we did locate Alessio, he grabbed two of our four cases and set off at a near run, to the exclusive parking area for black mercedes people-movers!  He got us to our hotel, equally as quickly and efficiently so that we were all checked in by 9 am and with our luggage secure, we set off to explore the local precinct, find some brunch and generally soak up some warm Italian sunshine and the vibe of Rome. 

Many photos of historic buildings, atmospheric cobblestone laneways, and quintessential Italian footpath cafes, plus one gelato later, we are back at the hotel, settling in to our rooms, attempting to refresh and revitalise ourselves ready to  welcome the remaining 4 members of our tour group who have flown in from sunny Queensland. 

Let the fun begin!