Griffin in Italy - Day 1 - June 27, 2026
One interesting thing about our grandkids is that no two of the four are alike. Reagan is a swimmer, her brother Carter is a hockey defenseman. Esme and Griffin both play soccer but she’s a goalie and he’s a striker who job it is to make the goalie’s life miserable. While there’s more to life than sports, I think participation at their level does affect their outlook on life. They are different kids in many ways.
And so with each grandkids trip, we wonder what to expect from each kid as we hit the road. Now that we’ve done Day 1 with all four, we’ve found one point of commality: they are all good travelers and fun travelers to travel with. Griffin, by my count, uttered only two words of complaint: “I need water” and “I need gelato.” Both were completely justified, as you’ll see.
The trip over went well. Kevin got us to the airport, we fixed a seating kerfiuffle with ITA and we were grazing at the Lufthansa business class lounge by 2 PM. They had to send out for emergency deliveries of Mac and cheese and Rice Crispy bars after Griffin hit the buffet. On board and settled into our business class seats, we pushed back pretty much on time. The flight was bumpy but otherwise uneventful. We touched down on time at 7 AM.
“What will Griffin eat?” Was a big concern we all, including Grifin, held while planning the trip. He had a full three-course airline meal - pasta, a beef and potato dish and chocolate something or other for desert. Ate a full breakfast too. Me? I’d apparently, in a fit of virtuosity, signed up for the salt-free option. It wasn’t all that bad but I’ve yet to see my first red sauce.
Passport control and customs wasn’t too bad and we were in a cab by 7:45 AM and at the hotel by 8:30 AM. Since none of the “what ifs” we’d allowed time for came true, we were way ahead of schedule. What could go wrong, given our great track record so far? Let me enumerate.
Max the Story Teller whatsapped me that he had food poisoning and was handing us off to his colleague Iris.
We suggested meeting at 10 to beat the heat. She couldn’t get there until 11.
Ordered an Uber to take us to the Pantheon to kill time while waiting for Iris. Driver got within 2 minutes of our hotel and stopped. Fifteen minutes later he texted us that he’d had a flat tire and had to cancel.
Decided to skip the Panthon and go direct to the Piazza di sant’apollinaire. Hotel staff said taxis weren’t available today. Ordered another Uber. That car came promptly and after a 20-minute drive, dropped us at the side of the road and said “sorry, about leaving you here.” We didn’t know what he was saying but soon discovered that we were further away from our destination then when we started. Uber refunded us roughly a third of the fare for the inconvenience.
We decided to hoof it rather than try a third Uber. It was hot. It was up and down hill. It took almost 45 minutes. But finally we met Iris.
Iris was a very nice lady but she had been living in Rome for only three years. She was knowledgeable but spoke with a strong Spanish accent; what we understood was interesting enough, but a true story teller she wasn’t and given that we’d signed up with an outfit called “WithLocals,” she fell a bit short.
And our walk with Iris was hot, up and down hill and three house long.
We stopped for ice cream once and ate it in a shaded nearby park. But we saw lots of famous landmarks, including the Pantheon, the Roman Ruins, the spot where Brutus and 20 other senators did in Ceaser, and the outside of the Colusseum. At the top of the Capitol Hill, viewing the stretch of ruins with the Colusseum in the background, I said, “Griffin, this is what I dragged you all this way to see.” Mission accomplished.
We ended our tour a seven minute walk to the Grand Hotel Palantino where we checked in, got Griffin’s bed delivered, showered and crashed for a two-hour nap. All that remains is hitting the pizza and pasta joint a block down the street for dinner. It’s highly recommended since it’s less than a block from our hotel. The food? What could go wrong.
Tomorrow will be a less strenuous day. All we have to do is get a ride to the train station (a 20-minute walk), find our train to Florence, change trains to Monetecatini (23 minute connection), find our hotel and meet the Road Scholar group for the welcome banquet. No stress. What could go wrong?
