En Route Home from Rome, Italy

            Saturday, 30 Mar 2024 – Departures from the hotel to the airport were staggered, depending on flight times.  We were in the last group and were picked up from the hotel at 9:30 AM, along with our tour guide, Tini.  In the FCO, Rome airport, again with no wheelchair, but finally someone asked Sally if she needed one – and she jumped at the opportunity!  Our flight departed Rome at 12:50 PM.  During the flight, we were served lunch and dinner, with wine.  Jesse enjoyed watching movies, while Sally mostly tried unsuccessfully to nap.  We arrived in Atlanta at about 7:00 PM, and was met by a wheelchair attendant.  We said our good byes to the other Ivys at baggage claim.  They were all in wheelchairs this time, including Camille!  Going through customs was easy for us, since Sally was in a wheelchair and we both had Global Entry passes.

Our flight to Sioux Falls was scheduled to depart Atlanta at 9:10 PM, but was delayed until about 10:15 PM.  Kids were playing on the floor at the airport during the long wait.  Scott picked us up from the Sioux Falls airport, and we got home at about 1:00 AM.  Sally was so tired that she could barely find the things she needed before climbing into bed.

The entire European venture required a lot more walking than Sally would have thought she was capable of doing these days! 

 We arrived home just in time to celebrate Easter Sunday!

Rome, Italy

           Wednesday, 27 Mar 2024 – After another excellent breakfast, we placed our luggage outside our hotel room a little before 9:00 AM.  Then, we met in the hotel lobby at 10:00 AM for the bus ride to the airport.  We used a cart to transport our luggage to the ticket counter.  It was a fairly good distance and Sally did not have a wheelchair this time, but she made it okay.  We flew from CDG, Paris to the Leonardo da Vinci-Flumicino (FCO) Airport, Rome, departing at 2:05 PM.  After arriving in Rome, a wheelchair attendant noticed Sally struggling and offered he a ride.  Then he found wheelchairs for other members of our group that needed them.  He was extremely helpful in picking up our luggage and getting us to our bus.  Tini suggested that I give him a good tip!

First, we went to our hotel (which seemed very far from the airport).  Our hotel in Rome was the Aparthotel Colombo.  We ate dinner with the Ivy group in a nearby pizza restaurant.  The bill was so confusing that Wilbur decided to pick up the tab.  Thanks Wilbur!  Our room was on the second floor, and was a little larger than the one in Paris, and had a small refrigerator.  It was even harder here to find any TV station with English there!

            Thursday, 28 Mar 2024 – An excellent breakfast was spread in a small, compact area, but plenty was available.  We asked for “coffee-with-milk” which was made behind a counter and brought to us.

At 8:45 AM, we departed for a “Sightseeing tour of Rome.”  We soaked up over 2,000 years of Imperial Roman history as the tour guide narrated the sights, including the Arch of Constantine, the Arch of Titus, the Baths of Caracalla, and Platine Hill with the Circus Maximus where ancient Romans raced chariots.  We stopped at the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater of the Roman Empire.   There, we meant a guide who escorted us on a tour of the Colosseum.  It was a lot of a lot of walking!  The Colosseum was followed by a tour of the Roman Forum.  We were already tired, so we waited for the guide at the entrance, while our guide took the others to the Forum.  Sally sat on her cane seat.  After several minutes, Tini returned and walked us back to the bus.

For dinner, the Ivy group decided on a local restaurant, Cotto e Magnato.  The hotel clerk had described its location as “across the street;” however, we had trouble finding it.  We finally realized that it was located on a side street.  We enjoyed a very tasty Italian meal.

            Friday, 29 Mar 2024 – We had to enjoy an early breakfast, as our optional tour of the Vatican departed the hotel at 7:20 AM.  The Vatican was definitely not handicap accessible; no one used wheelchairs.  Once the tour started, there was no way out, so we had to continue through the entire tour.  There was a great deal of walking required.  Sally sat on my cane seat every time we stopped for 45 seconds or more!  Although very tiring, the Vatican was just as beautiful as it had been when we toured it in 2006!  During free time after the tour, Jesse bought rosaries for our neighbors at one of the gift shops.

Our farewell dinner was at the exclusive Tanagra restaurant, with entertainment by opera singers at various times.  There was a very large group of young people at the restaurant who were dressed in formal wear, even though many were wearing tennis shoes on their feet!  Everyone was served the same family-styled meal, which was multi-course and very good.  During the final show, the female singer selected Jesse to “dance” with her at one point, which helped to make his night!  After dinner, our bus returned us to our hotel, as we sang several songs led by the driver! 

Paris, France

            Sunday, 24 Mar 2024 – Wheelchairs had been requested for everyone in our group, except for Jesse, Earl, and Camille.  When we arrived, we were told to stay aboard the plane until the wheelchairs arrived.  There was no jetway into the airport; instead, we were required to descend a mobile stairway down to ground level.  There was not enough space on the transport for the non-wheelchair passengers, so they were told to board a bus to the airport.  There was one passenger onboard that was unable to descend the chairs, so the bus had to wait for about 45 minutes or so, until a lift arrived to lower that passenger to the ground.  After the plane crew boarded the bus, we departed for the airport.  The group was finally reunited, as the rest of the group had been sitting and waiting for at the airport entrance!  We then had to wait until the wheelchairs arrived to take us through baggage claim and passport inspection.  Finally, we exited the airport where EF Go Ahead Tour personnel were awaiting!

            We arrived at our hotel, the Mercure Montmartre, at about 9:00 AM.  The only problem was that check-in time was not until 4:00 PM.  Our tour guide was Tini, a tall, attractive, Italian woman, born in Venice, lives now in Barcelona, and has been working as an EF Go Ahead guide for 14 years.  She suggested that we explore the area until check-in time, but our group mostly sat in the lobby and dozed all day; however, we did go to the hotel restaurant with Julia & Camille for cappuccinos, and Jesse walked down the street with Camille to an ATM to withdraw a few Euros from our bank account.  Others in the Ivy group also arrived:  Dolores & Wilbur, Ella V., and friends of Ella V, XXXX & XXXX.

Our room was on the second floor, with twin beds that Jesse pushed together.  (Jesse later realized that this room was really supposed to be for Julia & Camille!)  On TV, we could get CNN with English subtitles.  At 5:00 PM, we attended a welcoming meeting on the first floor; we had wine and hors d’oeuvres.  Then, we walked down the street about 2 blocks to a local restaurant for dinner.  We (being last to get there) sat with a mixed couple from Virginia, part of our group:  Earl, his wife Tina, & Sidney (his niece).  On TV, we could get CNN with English subtitles.

           Monday, 25 Mar 2024 – Breakfast at the hotel was expansive, various meats, eggs, bread to slice, pancakes, yogurt, juices, coffee-with-milk from machines.  We had an excellent breakfast.  Today we took a 1.5-hour “Sightseeing tour of Paris.”  A very knowledgeable man gave us a running history of the city as the bus crisscrossed the Seine River.  Sights included the Eiffel Tower, the Place de la Concorde, and the Arc de Triomphe.  The city was preparing for the Summer Olympics, so lots of construction was in progress and some of the roads were blocked.  When we got back to our hotel room, Jesse realized that he left our mobile phone on the bus.  He contacted the tour guide, and the bus driver said he would bring it back to the hotel on Tuesday morning.  Later, some members of the group went out by themselves to see more of Paris, but we stayed at hotel.  For dinner, we went up the street to Clichy’s Tavern and sat upstairs with Dolores & Wilbur, and Julia & Camille.  We shared a salad, Calzone, and beer.

          Tuesday, 26 Mar 2024 – We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel.  Many members of our tour group had signed up for the optional morning tour of the Versailles Palace & Gardens.  We had opted not to participate and spent the day in our hotel room.  However, Jesse did go down to the lobby a little before 9:00 AM to pick up our mobile phone from the bus driver.  Tini thought that I should tip him, and loaned me €5.00, as he had not brought any cash down with him. 

Tuesday evening, we boarded a bus at 9:00 PM for an optional “Dinner in Paris & Seine River Cruise,” that included a night cruise of the Seine River, the only “new” thing that we did there.  First, we ate dinner at a typical Parisian bistro, Le Mesturet.  We sat at a table with Kathleen & Tina W.  (There were two Tinas in our tour group.)  We were served wine, soup, salad, and dessert.  Sally had the fish entre and we both had crème brulé for dessert.  Afterward, we took the bus to the Bateaux Mouches and boarded the ship for the night cruise on the Seine River through the center of Paris.  It was raining and the ship was very crowed, with lots of young people who annoyed us by constantly moving from one side of the ship to the other to take photos.  We couldn’t see the sights very well through the crowds, and our “night” photos were not very good.  Although the dinner was excellent, we both preferred seeing Paris in the daylight!

En Route to the Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France

             Saturday, 23 Mar 2024 – We just embarked on our first organized overseas land tour!  This tour was planned originally for December 2020 by Jesse’s sister as a tour of South Africa & Kruger National Park, with an extension to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  The destination was changed and postponed at least twice, due to the Covid 19 pandemic and health concerns.  We had been to both places – in fact, we spent 4 days in Rome with my son Mark & his wife in 2006 and have seen everything there, but didn’t mind visiting again.  We’ve been to Paris several times, too, on short visits and had seen most of the highlights there.

            Sally’s son, Scott, dropped us off at the Joe Foss Field (FSD) Airport in Sioux Falls, SD, for our 11:05 AM Delta Airlines flight to the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport, St. Paul, MN.  Sally was taken by wheelchair to our departing gate to the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, Paris, France.  We arrived rather early, as our overnight Delta Airlines flight was not scheduled to depart until 5:25 PM.  A few hours later, we were surprised by the arrival of several members of our tour group from Memphis:  Verna, Earl, Julia, Camille, Dorothy, and Brooks!  It seemed like a flight to Atlanta would have been more direct, but what do we know!   We were served dinner and a light breakfast during the flight.  Sally tried to nap, while Jesse watched movies and dozed, frequently.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Debarkation, & Return Home

         Thursday, 11 Jan 2024 – The ship was scheduled to dock Buenos Aires at 8:00 AM.  Jesse had sat the alarm for 7:00 AM, but Sally was awake well before then.  We had intended to finish packing and take go to breakfast in the Terrace Café with our carry-ons and personal items in tow.  However, since we were already up anyway, we went to breakfast earlier than planned.  Jim & Pat arrived at the same time, so we sat with them.  We ate light, since neither of us were hungry yet.  After breakfast, we finished packing and checked out of our cabin a little after the 8:00 AM deadline.

Every elevator that stopped on our deck was already full.  Finally, a group of us decided to board an empty elevator going up; that seemed to be the only way to get on!  On our way back down to deck 5, we apologized to the other passengers that couldn’t get on with us!  After finally reaching deck 5, Jesse stopped by reception to get a final cruise receipt, since we hadn’t received one.  Then Sally sat on one of the atrium steps, while Jesse stood, and waited for our group number Blue 2 to be called.

After disembarking and picking up our luggage from security, we boarded our Blue 2 bus to the famous Michelangelo Legend Restaurant.  That was one of the options given for passengers with flights leaving after 8:00 PM.  The restaurant is located in downtown Buenos Aries and is walking distance to many local restaurants and tourist sites, so it was a better place to spend the day than the airport.  The restaurant also served complimentary snacks and beverages.  Wi-Fi was also available at the restaurant, so Jesse spent the day online!  Many of the passengers took walking tours around the city; there was also a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus available.  Around noon, they passed out menus from the restaurant next door.  We had been enjoying the complimentary snacks, so we weren’t the least bit hungry.

At 6:00 PM, we boarded a bus for the airport.  Passengers with earlier flights had been picked up at 5:00 PM.  Jesse snapped a few photos of the scenery as we rode to the airport.  Our checked bags were waiting us at the airport.  Several young baggage handlers were there to help passengers with their bags.  The only problem was that we were flying on American Airlines, whose ticket counters were at the far end of the airport.  Although we had requested a wheelchair for Sally, we still had to walk to the ticket counter.  About halfway there, we realized that we had left one of our bags at the drop-off point.  We gave our name and a description of our missing suitcase to the baggage handler, and we waited while he literally ran back to retrieve it.  Once we got to the ticket counter and checked our bags, we sat and waited for Sally’s wheel chair.  Going through security was much quicker than for most passengers, since we were TSA prechecked and Sally was in a wheelchair.  We also boarded the plane early due to Sally’s wheelchair status.

We had aisle and window seats.  We were glad that Benjamin, from the cruise, was sitting in the window seat on our row.  We talked with him a lot during the first part of the cruise.  We learned that he is 23 and works as an endoscopy technician.  He would like to study to become a physician’s assistance, but has been reluctant to start the rigorous training requirements.  Although Oceania had booked seats for his family, none of them were seated together on the plane.  Also, Benjamin and Joshua were on different flights from Dallas to Seattle than their parents.  Jesse was extremely uncomfortable in his seat during the 10-hour flight.  It appeared that the seats were much closer together than usual.  Jesse made several trips to the lavatory, where he enjoyed much more legroom.  He was much more comfortable after he finally decided to stow our laptop bag in one of the overhead bins.  Although our flight departed at 10:30 PM, we were served a choice of chicken or pasta for dinner; we ordered one each, but neither was very tasty after enjoying 39 days of delicious Oceania cruise meals!  Towards the end of the flight, we were each served a light packaged breakfast, along with coffee and juice.  Since neither of us were hungry, we saved our packaged breakfasts for later.

Friday, 12 Jan 2024 – After exiting the plane in Dallas at about 6:30 AM, Sally boarded a transport cart, and since seating was limited, Jesse was asked walk to the customs with our carry-on bags.  We were told that a wheelchair would be waiting for us after we got through Global customs; however, we were flagged for extra random inspections and were escorted to another area.  We didn’t realize how far we had to walk until we left the area.  Sally had difficulty engaging the escalator with her carry-on bag and came close to falling, but Jesse barely managed to steady her and her carry-on bag during our descent.  Afterwards, we told the escort that Sally was supposed to be in a wheelchair.  He said that was unfortunate and helped Sally with her carry-on bag the rest of the way.  Once we finished our “extra” baggage inspection, our escort took us to a desk where we could order Sally a wheelchair.  We were very lucky that our escort was so helpful!  After that, it was smooth sailing – so we thought!

Out flight to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport (MSP) was scheduled to depart from Gate D38 at 11:30 AM.  While waiting for our flight, it was announced that flights were being delayed due to high winds.  Jesse checked the monitor and saw that our flight was being delayed until 12:00 PM; however, he did not notice that the departure gate had changed to D2!

Although we had eaten our packaged breakfasts, Sally was still hungry; so, we walked a little way to McDonalds and ordered lunch.  During our walk, Jesse finally noticed that our departure gate had been changed to D2.  After finishing our lunch, we decided to walk to Gate D2, rather than calling for a wheelchair.  The walk was much longer than we anticipated and Sally was exhausted when we finally arrived.  Our flight was not posted on the gate’s board.  When Jesse asked about it, we were told that our departure gate had been changed to D20!  This time, Jesse requested a wheelchair for Sally.

A transport vehicle soon arrived and whisked us back to D20, where passengers were already boarding.  Since Sally was a wheelchair customer, we were allowed to cut in line to board.  The flight to MSP was much shorter and Jesse was much more comfortable.  The man that was sitting in our row in the window seat was as large a Jesse, so Sally was a little bit squished.  He was a biomedical engineer and had been working in the Dallas area and was returning home to Minneapolis.  We were served juice and snacks.

A wheelchair was waiting for Sally at the gate, and the attendant wheeled her to baggage claim.  While waiting, we retrieved some of our warmer garments from our carry-on bags and donned them for our trip to Kirsten’s house.  After picking up our luggage, we headed for the exit.  Thankfully, a local airline passenger directed us to the Uber pickup location.  We had to take an elevator to the lower level, transit a tunnel underneath the roadway, then take another elevator back up to ground level.  Jesse then ordered an Uber, which was only an hour away.  While boarding the Uber, Jesse realized that it had not been very wise of him to only pack dancing shoes and sandals for the cruise!  The ride to Kirstens was about 30 minutes.  Kirsten was still at work when we arrived, but Artem helped us get our luggage inside the house.

We spent three nights at Kirstens.  There, we enjoyed great meals with Kirsten & Artem.  On Saturday night, they took us on a tour of their investment properties; then to dinner at the Jasmine 26 Hot Pot Restaurant & Bar in Minneapolis.  There, guests enjoy cooking their own personalized meals in simmering pots filled with a variety of high-quality broths, including traditional and unique flavors.  It was a wonderful experience.  Afterwards, Jesse commented that the numerous tables with built-in hot plates must have been a significant investment!

Luckily, Monday was a holiday (Martin Luther King’s Birthday), so neither Kirsten nor Artem had to work.  Kirsten went online and checked the roads, and they appeared to be clear all the way to Sioux Falls, even though temperatures were still sub-zero.  So. after breakfast, we loaded up our vehicle and said our goodbyes.

Our vehicle started up right away; however, after about 30 minutes, we realized that the heat was not working.  At one point, we stopped by a Jiffy Lube; but they said we would need to visit a full-service auto repair shop.  It was extremely cold in the vehicle, and we stopped a few times to warm up.  About halfway home, Sally felt that she had reached the end of her endurance!  Then, Jesse had an epiphany and decided to check the controls.  He found that the controls were not set properly.  After resetting them, we had heat!  We turned the heat up to 80 degrees and enjoyed the warm temperature the rest of the way home!

Anyway, it’s great to be home again!

Montevideo, Uruguay

            Wednesday, 10 Jan 2024 – The ship was scheduled to dock at Montevideo at 8:00 AM.  Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay.

Jesse had set an alarm for 7:15 AM, in order to do a little laundry.  We could have taken our dirty clothes home, but we both prefer to return home with mostly clean laundry.  The laundry room wasn’t scheduled to open until 7:30 AM, but when he arrived, the washers and dryers were already filled.  However, it wasn’t very long before two washers were available.  Instead of returning to our cabin, Jesse stayed in the laundry room and conversed with other passengers.  He met a woman from Malaysia who shared some of their political problems.  There was a man and woman there, who were both recently widowed.  They had both taken advantage of one of the newly added “Solo Traveler” bookings.  The woman shared information about the ship’s 10-day internet outage.  The passengers had assumed incorrectly that the outage was due to a lack of satellite coverage; however, that was only partially true.  Apparently, the ship had been scheduled to be the last Oceania cruise ship to be retrofitted with a new Wi-Fi system, but they were extremely behind schedule.  Anyway, the previous Wi-Fi contract expired at the end of December; hence no internet!

When Jesse returned to our cabin, it was about 9:00 AM.  Some of the laundry was still damp, so Jesse hung it in the bathroom to finish drying.  Sally was already awake, so we went to breakfast a little earlier than usual.  Since today would be our last day to have a substantial breakfast, in addition to our usual breakfast, we loaded up our plates with bacon and waffles, covered in maple syrup!  When we returned to our cabin, we retrieved our luggage from under the bed and started packing for our return trip home, while Sally lay down and rested a bit.

We hadn’t gotten very far with our packing when it was time to leave for our excursion.  We had booked ‘’Highlights of Montevideo & Tango.”  Our tour guide was Mercedes and our driver was Henry.  We rode through central Montevideo as Mercedes narrated the sights. The city was full of monuments.  We made a photo stop at the glorious Legislative Palace built from over 50 varieties of marble.  We rode through the tree-lined Prada neighborhood, dotted with turn-of-the-20th-century mansions.  We drove past historic Centenario Stadium, built in the 1930s, where Uruguay and Argentina battled it out in the inaugural FIFA World Cup championship.  We made a photo stop at a larger-than-life bronze oxcart sculpture.  The sculpture was cast in France, and supposedly, when Mussolini saw it, he was so impressed that he forbade them from shipping it to Montevideo.  After negotiations, he finally agreed to release the sculpture.

Our final stop was at Plaza Independencia, the central square.  It is towered over by the iconic Palacio Salvo, once the tallest building on the continent and still an Art Deco stunner.  The Plaza Virgilio’s monument to Fallen Soldiers of the Navy for commanding city views.  Our time at Casona Mauá proved to be the high-point of this excursion.  This impeccably restored venue once belonged to the visionary banker responsible for printing Uruguay’s earliest paper currency.  The Baron knew good taste.  Original 1870s beveled glass, Carrara marble, and magnificent floors, ceilings, skylights and moldings were captivating.  There, we watched a breathtaking classic tango performance by a male and two female dancers.  At one point, the dancers invited a few guests to dance with them, including Jesse!  We were also served complimentary drinks in shot glasses, for individual toasts with the dancers.

After getting back to our cabin, we resumed our packing.  Although we had promised to meet Ed & Alicia for dancing, we were unable to make it.  At 7:30 PM, we decided to break for dinner.  On our way to the Terrace Café, we ran into Jim & Pat and took a photo with them.  They wanted to eat outside on the terrace, so we didn’t sit with them.  We preferred to eat our last dinner in Maribeth’s section!  Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and resumed our packing, finishing a few minutes after the 10:00 PM deadline.  When Jesse set out our luggage, none of the bags had been picked up.  Jesse checked in for our flights before retiring.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

            Tuesday, 9 Jan 2024 – At 8:00 AM, we were scheduled to anchor off the coast of Punta del Este, a city and resort in southeastern Uruguay.  Uruguay, officially Uruguay’s Eastern Republic, is located in the southeastern region of South America and is home to an estimated 3.45 million people.  With an area of approximately 68,000 square miles, Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America, after Suriname.

Although Punta del Este has a year-round population of about 9,280, the summer season greatly adds to this number.  Punta is known as “The Hamptons of Uruguay” – a place where celebs and jetsetters may outnumber the surfers, yachts are plus-sized, and elegant residential high-rises rival those of South Beach. It’s also renowned for its outstanding natural beauty, a resort city rimmed by miles of gorgeous beaches.

We had our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café, then returned to our cabin.  From our balcony, we had a wonderful view of the city’s very impressive skyline.  For the first time since 30 Dec 2023, we were finally able to download our e-mail.  Sally started looking through the hundreds of e-mails that were downloading.  She eventually tired from that task and lay down for a nap.

We had booked an afternoon excursion, Highlights of Punta del Este & Car Museum, scheduled to meet on the pier at 1:30 PM; however, when it was time to leave the ship, Sally said she was too tired to participate, so Jesse went on tour without her.  As we were waiting on the bus, Jesse realized that the tour guide was waiting for missing passengers, and told her that Sally would not be coming.  Two other husbands did the same, which accounted for the missing passengers.  So, we began our tour.  Our tour guide was Karina and our driver was Juvial.

From the start, it was evident that tourism was Punta’s main industry.  As we rode along the coastline, we saw rows and rows of high-rise condominiums, which, according to Karina, are mostly empty during the winter months.  The public beaches along were all filled with scantily-clad swimmers and sunbathers.  Our first photo stop was Casapueblo, a one-of-a-kind cliff-hugging complex built over decades by a Uruguayan artist who was famously averse to right angles.  We rode through elegant San Rafael and Beverly Hills, and the trendy La Barra de Maldonado, a neighborhood approached by an undulating hanging bridge.  The bridge resembled a roll-a-coaster.  According to Katrina, some of the locals use to speed along the bridge for a thrill before law enforcement cracked down on the activity.  Our final stop was the Car Museum, where several meticulously restored automobiles from various eras were on display.  The display also included an ancient suit of armor that seemed to be out of place.  Also on site, was a private Catholic church, which they opened for us to visit.

By the time Jesse returned to the cabin, Sally had finished going through the e-mail, most of which was junk mail.  We quickly dressed for dancing in the Horizons.  Ed & Alicia were there also.  They had a dinner date in the Polo Grill, so they didn’t go with us to the Terrace Café.