Liz, my travelling partner (also from Vancouver) and I are embarking on our trip to Italy today, October 9th,2023 (arriving Oct 10th) – first stop Rome! We got to the YVR airport nice and early and had no issues finding our way as both of us have been/are Green Coat volunteers at the airport. We were flying on a 777-300 plane to Toronto, which was still hot from its arrival from Sydney, Australia! I had very few issues boarding the plane and was able to convince Hugo, the In Charge flight attendant to carry my walker folded up on board the plane in one of the closets. We were seated in 12A and B in Premium Economy which is a change from Economy! Great climb out of Vancouver heading east and beautiful view of the Rockies as we passed over! Time for breakfast!
As Liz and I suspected, no Gluten Free Meal (GFML)was boarded us…which was bizarre as we had listed it out of Toronto to Rome on our Boarding Passes but not out of Vancouver, we are flying all segments on the same same reservation/ticket. Air Canada was perplexed as well! Nevertheless – Hugo to the rescue! He gave us some fruit and yogurt which passed the time. For those who know me well, I did spend the majority of the flight asleep, including before taking off! Liz read her book and watched a movie or two.
Fast forward to landing into Toronto – a little blustery however we got on the ground just fine! Arriving at the gate, I had a PERFECT view of the jetway moving up to the plane and then moving away, moving around, up to the plane and back for about 20 minutes. Finally, with all the passengers still standing in the plane and some who had pushed forward as they had tight connections to other flights, the captain came onto the PA system and announced that there was some construction at our gate and the jetway was temporary and being temperamental and some engineers had been called to assist. Sure enough, some “official” looking people were now down on the tarmac looking puzzled and MORE movement back and forth of the jetway. Finally at 45 minutes the captain came on the PA and provided yet another update which he prefaced with “I am almost scared to use the mic now” and said they need to move us back 6 feet and we all need to get buckled up in our seats with carryons stowed away before it can be done. Groan! So everyone got back in their seats (I had never left mine as the entertainment outside was amusing) and we were pushed back and the jetway connected and we were off the plane! Wahoo!
Now Liz and I had a NICE long walk to the International Gates. She was such a trouper putting up with me as I was not the fastest walker after sitting for 5 hours! However we made it to the International part of the terminal and decided to check out the Priority Lounge as we had been given entrance tickets by the travel agency. Line up for 20 minutes and as we were hungry and we both know what the lounge is like in YVR, we were expecting some sustenance. I have been in a LOT of lounges in my day and this is one I will never return to nor recommend to others – don’t waste your money or time! As there was no gluten free food on display except rice, I asked for some plain chicken. What was served to Liz and I neither of us could palate. I actually had to lie down as I was not feeling well after consuming it!
Now, it was time to go to the gate to board the plane to Rome – so off we went! I went up to the gate desk to show them our preboard status and the gentleman was dismissive to my early boarding request and told us to stand over there – which was where other people with wheelchairs were, to be scanned in. Not a problem. I asked a nice Japanese lady if I could board early due to my medical issues and she gave us the go ahead and allowed me the quiet space to do so. However, despite the gate agents being told to board the plane it was not ready. So Liz and I got to the plane door and the line up started behind us including a screaming baby and that caused me problems. The flight attendants were right on it though – they gave me earplugs and led Liz and me onto the plane and everyone else had to go back up to the gate as the plane now had a mechanical problem and boarding had to stop. So there Liz and I were on this 777-200ER with all the flight attendants for about an hour. They gave me a Coke Zero however could not provide Liz with the bottle of bourbon she jokingly ordered after all that stress! Not even a glass of wine either as we were still on the ground and the liquor carts were locked. Oh well. I messaged the company providing us with a ride from the Rome airport to our hotel and let them know that we were going to be delayed and then we relaxed!
Soon we were in the air (was supposed to take off at 8:45pm and left gate at 10pm) and dinner service began and low and behold there are our Gluten Free meals! For my dad: There was not mushroom in my dish for the chicken! Ha, ha. End of Dad comment. Had a good nap (so did Liz at this point) and woke up in time to watch a movie and have breakfast – again they provided us with little bags of GF treats to eat which was great!
Had the use of a wheelchair, through some confusion, to get to customs and baggage claim where our bags had arrived which was great to see! Now to find the transportation people who were “next to the train”. That took us an hour and a bit of walking in the 31-degree heat! Welcome to Rome! Finally, using my awesome data plan and “whatsup” app which is VERY popular in Europe, the lady came and rescued us from the entrance to the train station and took us to the transportation office where we had to wait for the next van into Rome. We had a nice chat with her during that time about gluten free food. At 2:30pm the van took us into Rome to the Casa per Ferie Domus Helena which is one of about 6 convent hotels that take in visitors near the Coliseum in Rome.
We each had our own rooms, and I had such a cute, little, single twin bed accessible room across the hall from Liz’s. Liz had the luxurious double bed and long washroom. My washroom was about a third of the size if Liz’s but built so that the shower doors collapsed so that a wheelchair could get next to the toilet or in front of the sink. I was VERY impressed!
We went for a walk that night to get our bearings and I went to become horizontal while Liz went for a longer walk by herself. We had a 10am walking tour the next day and despite it being early (about 8pm) it was time for bed for moi!
Unfortunately, the couple that were to meet us in Rome, and were to land about the same time if our plane was on schedule, did not fare as well. Anne and Richard departed Victoria to Calgary on WestJet and then were to fly Calgary to Rome, again on WestJet, but they missed the connection. So instead they ended up on a WestJet flight to Paris and then on Air France down to Rome. They got in at 5:30pm which was not that bad considering! We unfortunately missed our planned walk together however we made up for it the next day!
