This was by far the longest travel day my family has had as a group without some sort of airline delay.

• Las Vegas to Chicago
• Chicago to Paris
• Paris to Rome

Somehow everything ran on time, but from leaving our house to arriving at our airbnb at 252 Via di Repetta, we were 23 hours. The kids were troopers. Michelle held it together on promise of wine. I just didn’t want the whole thing to come undone and leave me stuck putting pieces back together.The first right decision we made was booking Premium Economy on an American Airlines 787 from Chicago to Paris. For anyone considering it, we strongly recommend the choice. It is very similar to domestic first class. We received two meals each, endless supply of drinks, plenty of space and amenity bags containing blankets, pillows, and headphones. It wasn’t significantly more expensive than a coach ticket, but it was far more comfortable. I fly international business class a few times a year in the lay flat seats and this was a very close second place to that. Strongly recommend it.The Alitalia flight from Paris to Rome was unique. First, apparently Alitalia is out of a terminal so far from the American Airlines terminal that I was wondering if we were just going to walk there. Thank God we could handle the two mile walk. Second, for anyone who thinks learning a second language is hard, spend more time in Europe. I always feel like a jackass when the first person who can speak to me in flawless Italian, then French, then English makes me feel guilty by knowing my language when I haven’t learned theirs. I know things are different in the US, but we should be better about making a real effort. Literally everyone else we met today spoke English almost as well as we did and we have no clue how to speak Italian. Finally, the pilot decided to showboat on the landing and try to get it done only on the left rear wheels. He was almost there when he decided he should use the others too. Quitter.But the highlight of the day was Danielo, our driver. Great guy with a perfect looking Mercedes Diesel station wagon. We had plenty of room, and it swallowed our luggage and carry-ons with ease. After a few minutes in the car I realized that this wagon must be brand new because based on his driving it would be unrealistic to think he’d had it more than a day or two without marking it up. That said, I did get a few driving tips:

1. The breakdown lane is actually a travel and occasionally a high speed passing lane.
2. Motorcycles and scooters only have two wheels, therefore you don’t have to stop or even yield. Half the wheels means they dont matter.
3. It’s perfectly acceptable to make a right hand exit from the left most lane across 3 lanes of traffic with less than 100 meters of room.
4. City driving is the same as the freeway only with less space and bumpier streets.

All that being true, he was amazing and got us through traffic perfectly and without incident.Sometimes you really lose out when you pick an airbnb. Not this one, it’s a palace. Three bedrooms will keep the girls happy and out of each others faces while recovering from travel. It has all we could possibly need and more. A quick stop at the store and we had everything we need for breakfasts on the run.Dinner tonight needed to be quick and easy. Literally across the street from our place is PizzaRe, a family from Naples owns and runs this pizza place and it didn’t disappoint. The crust was amazing, and with a wide range of toppings there were lots of choices. Rylie even got to learn about the difference between peperoni (super spicy Italian pepper) and pepperoni (American processed meat product with an Italian sounding name). Fortunately that happened before she finished ordering thanks to yet another savvy bilingual individual. Michelle and I enjoyed a half liter of house red wine, which she loved but quite frankly could’ve been Prestone cut with Smuckers grape jelly and we likely wouldn’t have known. The highlight of the meal was the waiter embarrassing the crap out of Ry, and having me as a dad, she took it admirably. Love that girl.On our walk back we went the long way and strolled through Piazza del Poppolo just up the block from our place. All the streets were closed with military vehicles (we dont think it was for July 4th, but you never know) and we walked on in. The plaza is broad and surrounded by a series long architecturally interesting streets. Chloe asked what the “mini Washington Monument thing” was in the middle. I responded with an offhanded “it’s an obelisk” only to find out later I was right. It was a gift to Italy from Egypt many years ago, complete with hieroglyphics. Who knew?Now, everyone is crashing. But that’s okay. Our day starts at the Vatican at 7:30. If I don’t post tomorrow night, you’ll know that the lightening strike I fear when around catholic churches was real and fatal…