1.
Last time we did this, something like 11 years ago, we followed the advice of some seasoned travelers who recommended staying up all night before the flight so that we’d be so exhausted that we’d sleep on the plane and wake up ready for a new day when we touched down in Paris. It didn’t work. We stayed up the night before alright, but none of us slept on the flight, and by the end of our first day in Paris we had been awake for 36 hours straight. We were zombies for several days.
This time we just slept (somewhat) normally the night before. And the fair and industrious Trudy packed jet lag pills that we took every two hours while en route.
Trudy was unable to sleep. But I did a little. And in the event, we did pretty well on our first day in Rome, although we were mighty willing to lay ourselves down to sleep before 9:00pm.
2.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
“It’s 6 o’clock!” Trudy grumbled.
The cleaning staff was knocking on our door at an obscenely early hour.
“We’re still in here,” I shouted (not having any Italian phrases for such an occasion).
We chuckled at their diligence, turned over and went back to sleep. Well, Trudy did. I lay there for a while and then got up to see what Rome looks like as the sun comes up.
I pulled back the first set of drapes. I pulled back the second set of drapes. I opened the double-paned windows. And then I pushed open the shutters.
3.
A hot breeze blew in.
The bright Mediterranean light made me squint. Cars and scooters beeped in the streets. People were walking quickly down the sidewalk. This was clearly not morning in Rome.
I looked at my phone.
“It’s not 6:00,” I mumbled. “It’s 12:30.”
“What!?” Trudy said, sitting up in bed.
“It’s 12:30. We slept thru the first half of our second day in Rome.”
Let’s just say that we didn’t use the jet lag pills on the return flight home.