By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

One day in July, Antony Garza, myself, and three incoming college freshmen; Davin Broadhurst, Jason Benyousky, and Ethan Spencer, hoisted our backpacks and headed for Rome.

We should have heeded a hobbit’s advice: “It’s dangerous business going out your door. You step into the road and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” We knew where we were headed, but not what challenges awaited.

Plane Cancellation

Our trip started with a tedious trip to Chicago in pouring rain. We ignored the dour American Airline’s warning about severe weather in Chicago though. Not us, right? Check-in went smoothly. Security was quick. We arrived at our gate with an hour to spare. The airplane sat at the gate ready to go.

But, 15 minutes before the official boarding time, we heard an announcement. “So sorry folks. The mechanics have determined that the flight was hit by lightning coming in. We will be needing to find another plane. There will be a short delay.”

Out of the enormous picture windows, thunderclouds gathered. The sky turned that shade of warning green that would make you refuse to let someone ride in your car. The announcer returned. “Folks, looks like our delay will be longer than expected. Don’t worry. We’ll let you know when we hear which airport our new plane will be arriving from.”

Everyone pulled out their phones and began chatting with customer service. For us, this was the beginning of a two-hour chat. One in which the agent accidentally canceled our original tickets in the process of trying to find another flight. “Sorry,” she texted. “Just a moment while I find something else.” Then she disappeared. Suddenly we had no backup tickets either.

Luckily, I had been standing in the physical customer service line at the same time. The poor woman behind the desk looked shell-shocked from all the previous unhappy people she had served.

By now hundreds of flights from Chicago had been cancelled due to a tornado touching down outside. Our flight had been delayed 24 hours to the next day. The airport halls were clogged with people shouting into their phones.

“I can offer you a hotel and some vouchers if you’re not local?” The customer service woman’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. But the computer told her we were local. At least our flight originated in Chicago.

I showed her my passport address from Indiana. I smiled and didn’t move when she apologized, looking at the angry person behind me. After a moment of me smiling and not moving, she got her supervisor, and he rebooked our flight, approved a hotel, and handed us some $12 vouchers.

Tip – don’t buy a $19 margarita with your voucher unless you want to skip dinner.

Meanwhile, one of our party, a newly minted 18-year-old named Davin, had flown from Dulles Airport by himself. No longer would the four of us arrive before him in Rome. Now he would have to find his own way on the train from the airport to town, meet the Airbnb person to check in and spend a night by himself in a foreign country. Spoiler – Davin sent us a picture of himself having conquered a grocery store and a pizza in Rome.

Train Strike

Once arriving in Rome, we read the news: one-day train strike. Hundreds of trains sat still in their berths while workers negotiated. Davin arrived just before the strike began. We arrived just after it ended. Thousands of people weren’t so lucky.

Tip – Pay attention to the news.

Weather

Tornadoes aren’t the only problematic weather. By the time we arrived in Rome, a severe heat warning had been issued. Severe meaning heat indexes over 100 degrees.

Tip – Getting an AC is not an optional Airbnb feature in July in Rome. You’ll be walking. A lot.

Water

Because you’re walking everywhere, bring a collapsible water pouch or an empty water bottle. Rome has water fountains with lovely cool water from the mountains everywhere to refill those bottles. Download the app “Water Nearby” to find them easily.

Tip — Hold your fingers over the spout and water will spurt from a hole on top creating a stream to drink from.

Lost Passport And Backpack

Are there pickpockets? Of course. Are there thieves? Absolutely. Keep pictures of your data somewhere. Keep credit cards and cash in more than one location. Tuck an apple tag into the pouch with your passport and with your luggage so you can find them.

While we waited for a train to Milan at the Rome Termini Station, Davin’s backpack disappeared. The one with all his clothes and his passport. Yep, his passport. Ouch.

We made a quick decision — get on our train to Milan (end-destination Switzerland) and worry about a replacement passport when we arrived somewhere else.

Tip 1 — Don’t sit near a corner or wall where it’s easy for someone to hook their arm in your stuff and get away.

Tip 2 — Watch for another article regarding our future experience in Paris at the American Embassy to get another passport.

MISSING TRANSPORTATION/BUSSES – While we were in Rome, Formula 1ran a race. Thousands of people massed to watch. Taxis and buses left their regular routes leaving lots of us stranded. We found out why later.

Lots of European countries have amazing public transportation options. Rome is inconsistent. Sometimes your app will say a bus is delayed. And delayed again. Or oops, it just left from the other side of the street. Or a bus might just plain be invisible. Because of this, we nearly missed a market-tasting experience at the Trionfale Market. The three incoming college freshmen with us ran. We took a taxi. The market host graciously found us even though we arrived fifteen minutes late. The prosciutto and cheese and wine and pastries made up for the panic.
TIP – When you’re booking experiences, pay attention to if they are cancelable or non-cancellable. Because of our rebooked plane flight, we were able to move our experience and not lose out (except for those fifteen minutes).

Sure, stuff goes wrong while traveling. Sometimes you get lost. Sometimes you lose your luggage. Sometimes you get hungry and thirsty and exhausted. “I’d do it again,” we all said, looking at each other. “I’d do it again twice.”