Rome, Italy
By Dan Dominguez
9/26/2000 -- So here we are, Rome Italy, as we make last minute preparations to depart Europe and enter the Orient. We arrived to one of Rome's smaller airports (LIRA) this Tuesday after a short flight from La Isla de Mayorca. We departed LESB under IFR at FL010 as our route took us over several airspaces over the Mediterranean Sea. Departing Spain, we flew below 1000AGL over farms, fields and small countryside towns hidden from the pressures of a large city. White houses with orange tile rooftops and thin winding one-lane country roads made up most of the towns as the shiny Aerocommander overflew them at 200mph. Once over the Mediterranean, we were switched to Barcelona, and Marceille Control which conrolled most of our Airpace. We were afforded the opportunity to overfliy the Island of Sardinia, which from 10,000 ft, one could still see the bottom of the ocean around the small island. Amazingly so, the water was a clear turquoise as one might find in a travel magazine or paradise advertisement. On the seas, a lonesome sailboat with full sails was the only vessel in sight. I looked out the left window, then the rear window, until I could see it no longer and for a moment closed my eyes wondered what it might be like to visit there on a lazy afternoon with nowhere to be. Unfortunately, we had to press on to the ancient city of Rome. Unable to descend due to congestion, we were finally let down 15nm from the airport. With a 1200ft/min-descent rate on the localizer, we had a final approach speed of over 210 knots. Once on the ground, we were told to follow a small yellow vehicle, which would show us where to park and take us to customs. After clearing customs quickly we met our host, Romano, a Rotarian from Rome, who took us to our Bed and Breakfast right next to the Vatican City. It’s now past 11pm and I'm sitting in the kitchen with one of our Laptops (donated by Soyata.com) overlooking the beautiful Saint Peters. When we first started planning the trip over 4 years ago, Chris and I knew we couldn’t see everything the world had to offer in under four months, and one of the most difficult has been the ability to see many things and share them with the world. Rome itself has been around for thousands of years, and to see and learn even a bit of its history would demand an entire lifetime of study. With a 1957 aircraft that requires incessant attention, and flight planning, weather and handling and accomodations done on our own, much of our time is devoted to the coordination of the flight, both in the field and by Jen in New York. This removes some of the attractive comforts sought by conventional tourism and travel, however being aviators at heart, we feel right at home. Deep in the heart of Rome, it's hard to ignore the ancient architecture now housing a city of millions within its boundaries. Hidden with the ancient stone walls among the myriad of back alley streets, the heart of Rome beats strong with hundreds of tiny restaurants and cafes housing some of the most exquisite food. For breakfast, a croissant and coffee will usually do. Rome cafes become packed with people standing at a "bar" inside or sitting in small tables in or outside while they eat their pastry and coffee. Outside, parked on the street is a cavalry of mopeds, waiting to invade the streets in the coming hour. As they take to the streets, so do the armed forces of compact-vehicles. Some aren’t wider than a kitchen stove, or longer than a mattress. It’s amazing to see these cars in action, racing down the streets, pressing on, around the corners as fast as they can go, then trying to find a parking spot. At the same time, the mopeds, like mosquitos, take to the streets and their distinguishable humm reminds you to look before changing lanes. After breakfast, we briefly met the Rotary District Governor of Rome and then headed out to look for a few things before we arrived in the Orient. We had fresh pizza and calzones from a very small food store on the street just outside the Vatican. I’m not sure if it was the atmosphere, the perfect seasonings, fresh ingredients or just the chef’s big confident smile overlooking us as we ate. We traveled throughout the city, met with the Rotary Club for a dinner at the highest point in Rome where we watched the sun set on a city which once controlled everything under the stars. Someone once wrote that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather, the understanding that something else is more important. Like Marco Polo once before, tomorrow we will have left this paradise in hopes of reaching Old Constantinople some 600 miles to the East. Our trip won’t become a trade route, a means of brining back goods, but rather--we hope it will motivate students around the planet to pursue their own dreams, find their own routes, whether charted or uncharted--and share with others the wealth of discovery, education and adventure