Well today is it - we leave Rome for Prague. Our flight leaves at 3.30pm and takes about 1.5 hours so should be in Prague by 5.00pm (we are on the same timezone throughout Europe).
Dave our travel agent booked us into the smartwings lounge and suggested we get to the airport early and enjoy the comforts of the lounge rather than leave the travel plans till too late.
Never a truer word spoken!!!!!!
We had arranged to be picked up at our hotel at 11.00am for a half hour trip to the airport. Our 'chauffeur' also had to pick up another couple at the Sheraton Hotel and after about 20 minutes we finally finished up at the Hilton Rome Golf Resort. No one there waiting for a trip to the airport. We wait for about 20 minutes and then the driver gets the word that the people are waiting at the other Sheraton Hotel so off we go and 10 minutes later an Australian couple join us.
We are now about an hour from our hotel still half an hour to the airport but then again this is Rome - nothing happens smoothly but it does happen.
We finally get to Rome Airport (terminal 3 of I don't know how many, but this place is huge) - we search the board for our flight details and find our check-in counter is #361 and we go searching. Bay after bay of check-in counters until finally we get to the second last bay - counters 361 to 400, and we have just walked past all of the other 360, (and there is still at least one more bay to go that we can see). We check-in and then have to go through the gates to the departure lounge except they are down thenother end of the terminal so we start walking, walking, a bit more walking, still haven't got past checking counter 1 yet. Hang on here it is!! Now where is the gates, oh there is the sign about another 100 meters to go. At the departure gates they break you up into those traveling to USA, Russia, Spain & Israel go through on gate, everyone else through the other gate.
Let me give you a tip here and now - never ever ever ever ever ever and then some, leave your trip through the departure gates in Rome till the last minute. We spent over 50 minutes just trying to get through the metal detection/security just to get into the departure lounge.
We finally get through all that and get to the smartwings lounge where we only get 30 minutes to enjoy.
Our flight is called and we board the plane waiting for take off only to be told that the push vehicle that rows the plane to the taxi area has broken down. 50 minutes later we finally start moving - like I said, nothing happens smoothly but it does happen.
We are airborne, bye Rome here we come Prague. Smartwings is a budget airline, similar to Jetstar but the service is superb. We had a baguette, a bottle of aqua (no gas, will tell you bout that when we get home), and a scotch - all for 6 euros. This has to be the cheapest food and grog in Italy. We are thinking let's stay here!!!!
Anyway the plane is descending, we are in Prague.
The tour group met us and we had a private trip to the hotel - no one but the two of us and the driver on a 40 seat coach bus. Now this is the life..
Initial impressions of Prague on the 30 minute trip to the hotel - WOW !!!
The country looks amazing, and coming from Rome the city is so different. The streets are wide, smooth (not cobblestone) and trees everywhere and with the autumn colours coming through the city is very picturesque.
We check into the hotel and we are just blown away. The lobby of the hotel is about 9 stories high and the floor space of the atrium is about 3 to 4 tennis courts in size. Our hotel in Rome could have been built about 2 to 3 times in the lobby alone. It has 3 restaurants, a casino, a sports bar and specialty shops as well as rooms. It has 6 lifts servicing the guest rooms and about a hundred rooms per floor. Turns out we have an internal room (but it has views - the lobby area with it's massive chandelier and glass roof.) Not often I feel l am out of my class but initial impressions are sobering.
We went for a walk round the hotel and about 40 minutes later thought enough walking, time to eat. We went to the 'flash restaurant' of the hotel and although feeling slightly under-dressed enjoyed a sensational meal. Trenna had a spit-roast and I had goulash - Trenna was amused she had never heard anyone rave about goulash the way I raved about this dish but it was a sensational meal.