How hard can it be?

Lots of websites to check deals to Italy. Recently, I had been seeing reasonable fares but, of course, when you plan for high season, the fares skyrocket. The options considered were to Florence, Pisa, Bologna or Rome from Atlanta. Also considered was flying to London, Zurich, Amsterdam or Munich from the US and then taking Ryan Air or a similar low-cost European airline into an Italian city. Additionally, on the burner, flying to a city and taking the train to Italy. Luggage and time were issues to consider with these alternatives.  


In the end, I discovered that virtually all flights to Florence et al involved a change somewhere, often in Paris, and a layover to boot. Yes, the price was less than a nonstop Atlanta-Rome trip but would you rather spend 9 hours in the air with a squirmy 9 month old or 17 hours en route with a tired AND squirmy 9 month old? Charles De Gaulle is not easy without a baby and definitely not appealing with one! Unfortunately, flight time back is 11.5 hours but still less than 17 or more. We can only hope that he will be exceptionally tired when we come home in seven weeks. Then there is always Benadryl which parents probably don't give babies anymore.


To the rescue came my personal White Knight ( and husband ), Paul, with his cache of Delta miles. He agreed to give us the miles for a nonstop flight from Atlanta to Rome. We now had the shortest amount of time to soothe a busy boy, would arrive in early morning saving an additional day in Rome and could book ( for a small extra fee ) the new Delta Economy Plus seats with extra room, more beverages and extended reclining seats. Quickly, I picked the two seats together option near the galley where we could walk Rider a bit to break up holding him. My sister, Lesle, who flies for Delta agreed to bid the trip and maybe get to travel with us. Hopefully, she'll hold the trip and provide extra hands to play with Rider. Hooray, all is good.


Note to others traveling with a 'child in arms': you are required to inform the airline of that fact and may have to pay a ticket fee for the baby though technically the baby doesn't get a seat. Of course, you can buy a full price ticket and reserve a seat but that was out of the budget for us. It would be fabulous if (a) the flight isn't full and we can snag an extra seat or (b) we get bumped up because of my medallion status. Neither probably is going to occur but one can dream.


The child must have a passport as well...a fairly recent US law.  Rider already had his passport from a previous trip to Mexico and the requisite, notarized document from his father allowing his mother to take him out of the country. I'm not certain if this letter is needed for Italy but was imperative for bringing him back to the US from Mexico. You can Google to find an example of the letter you might need. We found it on the US State Dept. website as I recall. Unless the child is traveling with both parents, the letter is necessary in some countries. Grandparents should take note and have this document as well as a medical permission form from the parents if you are taking a grandchild on trips. Even at home, it's a good idea to have the medical consent letter for those times you are babysitting minors. A hospital or doctor can refuse to allow you to make decisions about medical treatment without permission from the parents.


Being who I am, I think of as many continuities as I can. It must be a hold over from running a school for so many years where my job primarily was to "put out fires" from the unexpected vagrancies of life. What have I missed at this point? Hopefully, nothing and we are booked on a great flight to Rome. It was time to plan sightseeing in the Eternal City. I've been to Rome in the distant past but it will be Betsy's first visit and we need to hit the "must sees" while working around a baby's schedule. Could be tricky but definitely worth it as long as we plan in a lot of gelato shops.