Tuesday 17th September

Anyone for Abseiling

The noise from aircraft was not as bad as expected and when we flung the curtains open to catch a glimpse of the new day we were amazed to find we missed out on the ‘sporting equipment’ in the room.

There it was not one but two self descending life lines and an anchor point, adjacent to a portable fire extinguisher. Seems you use them in case of an emergency (would much prefer the fire stair if it was an alternative). Just pop on the harness , anchor up and throw yourself out the window – mmm…. from the 10th floor. One would hope that there was enough rope – would hate to be hanging there like a marionette well short of the ground.

That aside it was a balmy morning and after a sumptuous breakfast with a melting pot of guests and air crew, where most  pilots looked no older than 16, it was onto the shuttle headed on another circuitous trip around the perimeter of the airport. Looks like the Korean version of Lando Norris from last night slept in and it was with a lot less haste.

With no luggage, other than a backpack, we were soon through and up into the Lounge. 

Was supposed to be a lazy and relaxing time in the Lounge but my Apple bag tag suggests my luggage is still in Sydney and Jane’s is here. 

Not much we could do other than hope it’s had  a conniption and the bag was snuggled up against Jane’s somewhere in Incheon.

Onboard it was the same excellent food and service albeit in a much older plane.

Decided to have the Korean version of lunch rather than Western option. It was yummy and I was politely reminded that the frozen white thing was not to wrap food in – it was a hand wipe.

I think I have found a new favourite dish with their lettuce wrap with special paste, vegetables and beef ribs.

It was washed down with a superb German 2018 Ice Wine- a gem for those blessed with a sweet palate.

Watched the latest Ghostbuster’s movie which was interspersed with more messages about typhoon generated turbulence. The next two movies (A Mothers Instinct and Dream Scenario ) were weird and to make matters worse the turbulence was upgraded to severe.  

When we finally did arrive it was just we two and another 3 Caucasians alighting the plane , with me still sweating about that bloody Apple  Tag – not a good look when walking through Customs. An exchange of a bit  Buena Sera with the officer and we were through. 

Was just a mere 13 hours to find out the answer to the puzzle – whizzing off the turntable in the first group was my bag.

Grabbed bags, fathomed out ticketing machine and jumped on board the Leonardo Express to Rome Termini. 

Within 5 minutes of arriving we were standing outside a metal roller shutter with what looked like graffiti emblazoned across it, but it was in fact the logo of our hotel.

A few frantic phone discussions with the owner, with the aid of a local shopkeeper,  resolved the issue  of ‘ no booking’ and we entered via an adjacent door and took the 2 person elevator to our floor. 

Room turned out to be quite pleasant and that’s all it needed to be with a flight change meaning we would be in it less than 10 hours.

We ditched our plans for dinner and walked the 2.5 Kms to the Trevi Fountain and along with hundreds of other tourists  cast our 3 coins into the fountain with the obligatory wish. 

At 10pm the area was packed with locals and tourists and the ristorantes and gelateria were standing room only. 

Our dinner was a cup of gelato from the renowned shop with 150 different flavours. Selected our 4 flavours and licked our way through the backstreets passing the Pantheon and a plethora of other sites as we trod the backstreets back home- some so dark and dingy you wondered whether we were headed in the right direction.

Back amongst the crowd near the Termini we found the hotel and flopped into bed for what was likely to be a fitful sleep – hoping the alarm would go off in the morning.

There endeth the arduous part of the journey to get here in Europe,. Now for the fun part, where legs will be our major form of transport.