After 30 days, my first-ever trip to mainland Europe is almost over. Just a final early morning breakfast coffee in Trastevere, then my nephew carried my suitcase down the wonky steps for me while I hurled my duffel down from the top!
The driver from Welcome Pickups was on time and got me to the airport with plenty of time to spare. My first flight is Rome to Hong Kong and is expected to take 12-13 hours. Then I have a long layover at Hong Kong airport before my 8-hour flight to Perth—I’ll get there late tomorrow night.
Tip for anyone using the lounges at Gate E in Terminal 3 at Rome airport: If your departure gate is E31 or higher make sure you leave sufficient time to get to the boarding gate, which is a LONG way and a short train ride from the British Airways lounge (Cathay doesn’t have its own lounge in Rome; instead it uses the British Airways one).
In other news, my first flight avoided all the hotspots (the US had bombed Iranian nuclear installations just a few days before and Iran had retaliated hitting a US base in Qatar, Israel and Hamas were still at it in Gaza, and the war in Ukraine continued on).
Early morning in Trastevere
leaving Italy
The flight path avoided all the hotspots
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 
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