We arrived at FCO without incident, stowed my bag below and I went inside and brought back a coffee for Ettore. He's a very nice man. Mid-50s, stocky and with a giant brushy mustache. I hate to say it but he kind of looks like one of the Mario Brothers. Good thing he doesn't wear overalls and a cap. He thanked me for the coffee as I went back to await my clients.
My sinuses being plugged up have been creating havoc for days now. It has definitely gone into my throat and chest. I had a coughing spasm in the Arrivals hall and freaked people out, including myself. I could not breathe and could not stop coughing even though no air was coming in. I turned a few shades of red – possibly blue – but it was scary. I may also need to start wearing Depends until this crap gets out of my system. Was that too much information?
Suffice to say, an airport employee showed me the way to the farmacia in the Arrivals hall after choking. After a consult I purchased the two recommended medicines, an expectorant syrup and a throat spray. I want this stuff gone, pronto.
My clients arrived, the bags arrived, I led them out to the coach. Avanti! Let's get the show on the road. On the way down, I gave the opening speech about bus etiquette and all the other boring stuff. I asked each one what they were most excited to see on the tour. All the getting to know you stuff. Halfway down to Sorrento we stop at a travelers rest stop. Gas, toilets, coffee. It's a quick stop, and mainly for Ettore. I am particularly keen on rounding up the ducklings before they go full-throttle into “oh my gawd look at this” mode that seems to happen once you are let loose from the airplane into this country. Yep, everything is different, everything is foreign. Get your totally different bag of chips and get back on the bus please. But what I'm most concerned with is making sure nobody gets left behind. One of my favorite Italian movies is “Pane e Tulipane”- Bread & Tulips, you can Netflix it. Go ahead, I'll wait right here until you do.
A woman gets left behind at one of these places on the autostrada (mind you, her neglectful family totally doesn't realize she's missing) and she ends up in Venice on a very liberating journey of self-discovery. I like the film not just for the location, although I am proud to say I can pick out where every Venice scene takes place. Two thumbs up from Kris, check it out.
We arrived in Sorrento on schedule and checked everyone in to their rooms. They had an hour to freshen up and meet me on the terrace for a welcome reception. I have 25 people on this tour, ranging from 23 to 78. Eleven rooms of two people, couples or twin beds, and three single supplements. Nine of these people are a family from New Jersey – a brother and sister and their spouses, their adult children and their spouses, and one adult child who has no spouse. It's not Jersey Shore, it's not Real Housewives, it's just a regular family. Apparently the patriarch who was born in Naples passed away last year and this trip is in honor of him and spending the inheritance together. That's a cool idea.
One of the Jersey fam approached me and had a question about the itinerary. “Yeah, so we're only going to see the important stuff right? And the interesting stuff. Because I'm not interested in the non-important and non-interesting stuff. Are we having that?” Excellent conversation starter. In my most diplomatic way I let her know that the tours are specially designed with a broad audience in mind, and each thing we see will be important and interesting to at least one person in the group. Our private tours are specifically tailored for the clients' needs, but this tour gets a little of everything in there. I hope that dazzled her enough, she was quiet afterward.
Called home to wish my Dad a happy birthday, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the hay.
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