It is our last morning in Umbria as we bid our trip to Italy farewell today. Last night we tidied up the house and packed and arranged for Saverio to pick us up and take us to the train station at 10am. As a thank you we left him some chocolate shortbread cookies and a small jar of Truffle Honey from Vineria del Carmine on the table inside. Saverio has done so much for us during our stay and has gone above and beyond especially by driving us around.

As we were leaving we saw the neighborhood cat and I captured a snapshot of our home while in Umbria. It wasn’t until about 9:50am that I saw that our train leaving Perugia Ponte San Giovanni was leaving at 10:30am and I thought, “We should get there ok.” By 10:18am we were still in the car on the way and I thought, “God I hope we don’t miss our train.” We prayed for a delay and thank God the train was delayed 15 minutes because we arrived at the station right at 10:32am where we quickly got out, gave Saverio 200 euros (we had planned to give more but having to pay that taxi yesterday just to get to us we didn’t account for so we had to shift funds that we had planned to give to him.  In a rush to get out my mom left her purse in the car but before Saverio even pulled off he saw it in the back seat and was racing to give it to her (of course she was grateful and gave him a hug).

Thankfully we breathed a sigh of relief as a good number of people were waiting for the delayed train as well. On-board, we happened to sit across from 2 women who also spoke English. We found out they were from Ohio and one had been to Italy before. They were getting on the same next train that we were so we stuck together until then. One explained they were on their way to the airport but that their flight didn’t leave until 6am tomorrow but that they didn’t want to take any chances being far and having to take the train because a strike almost held them up one day while they were here.

We arrived at a our station Foligno where we’d have to transfer to the train going in the direction of Roma Termini. Our initial tickets had us transferring via other regional trains but since we were behind in time we decided that we would stay on the train and go straight to Roma Termini which was the last stop. We lost the other two ladies but when the train arrived we got on and enjoyed the hour and a half scenic route through Italy.

Once at Roma Termini we had to find the baggage storage locker that I reserved in advance for us. We had to walk a couple of blocks down and around the corner but we found it. Because we were delayed we were running behind for our audioguide Colosseum tour but we said, “If we could just get there.” We were about an hour behind and because taking the bus looked as though it would take the same amount of time as walking I suggested we walk to the Colosseum (which was an estimated 23 minute walk).

We finally arrived at the Colosseum shortly after 3pm and needed to be back at the train station ideally by 4pm since our train to the airport was scheduled at 4:20pm. We were working with very limited time and due to the security line to get inside we just opted for photo ops outside and around the Colosseum. We may not have gone inside but we can say that we have been there and that seemed to be good enough for the both of us.

We spent about 15-20 minutes onsite and then caught a local bus back to the train station. Once back at the train station at Roma Termini we went to retrieve our luggage from the locker and booked it back down the street to the train station (by now it was 4pm). Inside I tried scanning us through and we were told that that scanner wasn’t working and to go to another one. At another one no luck, so I went to ask someone at the information desk.

Now it was 4:18pm and we were nervous, (we didn’t want to miss the nonstop train to the airport). God was on our side where staff had a gate open on the side to just let people go ahead through (I guess since some gate scanners weren’t scanning, it was just easier). We raced to track 24 (where the train would be and saw no train but some people). We made sure we were in the right place and about 3 minutes later the train was coming in. It’s funny because another girl nearby seemed just as panicked as us thinking we’d missed the train. This ride would be about 30 minutes long putting us at the airport at 5:00pm for a flight leaving at 6:40pm (risky I know).

Checking-in at Norse’s counter was easy as there was no line and thankfully there was no line at security or passport control so we went through quickly. We made it to our gate hopping to sit for a moment and find food but as we arrived at the gate they were boarding our flight. I looked at a neighboring store but their food looked dry like it had been sitting out so we just boarded the plane. (I find it funny how over the last couple of days we had so much food and here today, we have barely eaten).

Shoutout to the sistas who told us to stand and go on with them because that helped put us a bit closer to the front of the line for boarding. It’s been real Italy, the next time I come back I’ll visit some new cities. We boarded and were enroute to JFk. The flight was long and we slept off and on throughout. We actually arrived back at JFK earlier than expected at 9:52pm. Going through Global Entry was a breeze. Since my mom’s flight doesn’t leave until 7am back to RDU and my train leaves Penn Station at 7:17am we were going to spend more time than expected in the airport. I’ll head out at 4:45am and she’ll go through security at 5am.

The flight deal that made this possible can be viewed at https://travelersmontage.com/2024/03/29/mama-were-going-to-italy/. Currently unsatisfied with Norse I will have to escalate my matter to the DOT because my mom and I were charged for baggage when we shouldn’t have been and are due a refund with Norse refusing to refund us. So in this instance I will file a complaint and protest Norse by not sharing any flight deals I find with them and I’m not buying any more fares/tickets with them until we get our money back (I don’t care how much of a deal it is, they should do right by people). Thankfully I only have one other trip booked with them but that’s not until May 2025. That situation and the taxi payment were the only misfits of this trip.

In a few hours I’ll leave New York heading to Philadelphia to hop on another flight (this time with United) to Georgetown, Guyana with my friend Kassandra. Yes, this is a back to back trip and my tired little self is feeling it. With a week in Guyana hopefully day 1 can be a rest day after traveling and we can make out what and when we want to do things on that day. This trip will be the last international trip for the year. I’ll catch up with you all real soon…