Our last day in Italy was one we would not forget.

Given our less than stellar ability to navigate between Rome and Praiano in the normal three hours it takes between the two areas, we left at 5 am for an 11 am flight out of Rome. Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport was our goal. I had asked my husband if we should top off the gas tank on Friday. He answered no. This will end badly.

We could drive the Coastal Almalfi road at this time of the day about as fast as you can drive a windy road with hairpin turns. Unlike American gas stations which might be open 24 hours, the ones we found are not open at 5 am. When we finally found a sign for gas, we pulled off the coastal highway and ended up at a gas station that only took it’s company credit card. None of the directions were in English, so we put € 20 in the machine. The pump we picked did not work. As we continued to panic about our gas situation, I walked around to other pumps and began pressing the buttons. One of the pumps came on. We were once again on our way to Rome.

Connor, me & Abigail on the ride home. ©Mike Howard

Since we did not completely fill up the tank, a second stop at a Shell gas station was necessary about two hours later. On the Autostrada we saw a sign that said “Aeroporto Ciampano” and I told Mike not to take that exit because we were headed to Fiumicino. Surely there would be a sign for our airport, too. Not. After another hour on the Rome beltway, we pulled over and found out we had to turn around. Of course, the person who told us to do that seemed unsure of himself. We were on the north side of the beltway. The airport is on the southwestern side of the city. Sigh. Did I mention that I will never rent a car in another country for as long as I live?

We finally pulled in to the airport garage where Avis was located at 9:15 am. The British family beside us was already out of there car and their young son had gotten sick all over himself. I quickly asked my kids to give them the bottled water we had left to help clean him off. Poor kid and parents. At least we didn’t have that to contend with.

Of course famous Italian customer service yielded another time waster checking in the car. The Avis employee never came over to us, so we went to the office. The office told us he should have checked us in but he just stood at his station. Send that guy back to basic training because he sucks.

After winding our way to the main terminal, we found it to be packed with travelers. Saturday is one of the busiest travel days for pleasure. We read the boards to find out which check in counter we needed: 500. Well, the counters only go to 499. What the hell? We turned around to see a sign that said, “To check in counters 500+” so we walked outside the main terminal only to get on to another bus. The bus, as was every single Italian bus we were ever on, was already packed. We managed to squeeze on with our 11 bags.

Please don’t judge us. This total included all carry ons and we’ve already got a new plan for our next international trip: same size suitcases for everyone so that each of us only has one suitcase and one carryon. Major lesson learned there.

We waited almost 10 minutes while the bus driver finished up his conversation with an attractive United Airlines gate agent. Yes, flirting stops for no one in Italy; even passengers trying to make an international flight out.

Luckily, there was no one in line at United Airlines. We checked our bags and proceeded to security then to customs where I experienced, yet again, an Italian’s famous “me first” attitude. As I was retrieving my passport, a male passenger was being escorted by an airline employee. I am sure he was running extremely late for his flight since he had a personal escort. In his haste to hand the customs agent his passport, he knocked mine to the ground. He never picked it up nor offered an apology. Who does that?

I will say this for Fiumicino Airport: It has extremely nice duty-free shops. High-end stuff if you want it, tax free. It was lunch time and we all wanted to grab something to drink and eat.

Our flight was delayed by 30 minutes and the gate personnel loaded us late so we missed our spot in the departure queue. Another 40 minutes strapped in to our seats on the tarmac and we were finally on our way home to Washington, DC.

I have dreamed of visiting Italy for years. But, when we landed in the USA, I was so glad to get home. I would not trade our vacation for anything. If I never travel out of the US again, I am content with our experience. Traveling is a privilege and we do not take it lightly. But there is something extremely special about coming home.

Due to our flight departure time from Rome and the three hours it takes to get there from the Almalfi Coast, we thought renting a car was the best option. Parking at our villa was free and we were not relying on public transportation. Strikes are common in Italy. But, we left Rome with no GPS (they were sold out) nor a country map. We had a map of Rome which showed Autostrada to Naples and the directions were simple: Get on the Rome beltway, take the exit for Naples and once you pass Naples, take the Almalfi Coastal Highway exit. Things always look so easy on paper, don’t they?

The town of Almalfi. ©Mike Howard

We load up the car and pile in. My husband hands me two maps, both of Rome and its surrounding highways and says “Navigate please.” What? Doesn’t he already know, after 21 years together, that I have terrible navigations skills even with a GPS? Doesn’t he notice that all the road signs are in Italian? I already know this will end badly.

The signs on the Autostrada do not prep the driver as we do in the US. There’s no warning about upcoming exits. Despite this, we manage quite well to get to Naples. It’s after Naples that the drama started when we missed, what we now know would be the only exit immediately south of Naples, to the Almalfi Coast.

We saw the correct sign but missed the exit because there were no warning signs. It simply showed up. Thinking that there would be more chances, we kept driving. An hour in to the mountains, we pulled over at an Autogrill (where you can eat and fill up your gas tank) and purchased a map for 7 €. I asked where we were: Campagna. As you can see from the map, this is no where near the water. The upside was that we got to see some Italian countryside.

After three attempts to get on to the coastal highway, we finally were on our way to Praiano….from the Almalfi end of the coast.

The coastal highway was jammed with Saturday transition traffic which makes for curvy and hairpin driving not on only stressful but long. But the scenery was just breathtaking; at every turn. We left Rome around 10:30 am and arrived at our rental apartment at 4 pm. This trip was only supposed to take three hours max. My advice: take the train to Naples and get in a taxi. It is not worth the expense nor hassle of renting a car. Just make sure you watch for pick pockets because this 1/3 of this city’s residents are unemployed.

The apartment was simply lovely. Given all the steep steps in the Almalfi Coast, we had quick access to the front door from the road. The local grocery store was a one minute walk from our apartment. They had a good variety of food options but the local produce…and I mean local, was simply beautiful. Any chef would love to cook here.

We enjoyed the balcony tremendously and watch the hills of Priano and the rest of Almalfi come alive as it got dark. We also experienced our first trip down to the water. A million steps and 500 turns later, we were there.

The never ending StairMaster - Almalfi Coast steps. ©Mike Howard

The water was relatively calm and chilly, but the kids enjoyed a quick swim. The walk back, all uphill, almost killed Mike and I. It was the Stairmaster that never turned off.

We slept well and awoke to 8:30 am church bells on Sunday.