ROME, THE ETERNAL CITY #57

After visiting and working in Naples, Rudy and I drove north and accessed the modernized section of the Appian Way to Rome, at Capua. The original Appian Way, was built in 312 BC to move the Roman Armies South, parts of which are still in use today and have many important historical landmarks. All of Italy is full of history going back many centuries before the birth of Christ. Although Rudy and I were going to Rome to finalize the arrangements for the Auto Owners groups, I was certainly going to take time to explore more of the city. I had been to Rome in the summer of 1962, when I had spent a couple of days there with the family on a European vacation, including Holland and Greece.

The drive to Rome took us along the coast and through the Appian Mountains. It took us about five or six hours before arriving in the city and driving down the Via Vittorio Veneto to the famous Excelsior Hotel. We were happy to learn that the hotel was providing us with a two bedroom suite. Shortly after checking in, we received a phone call from Antonio Del Balzo, who identified himself as the Sales Manager for the Excelsior; he was welcoming us to the hotel and invited us to dine with him that evening. We met that evening in the cocktail lounge. Del Balzo had brought along Dr. Alberto Scialenga, Director of Marketing for CIGA Hotels. After a cocktail, we had dinner in the dining room. I was a little amazed how the staff attended us, even the chef came to the table to be sure we were happy with what he had prepared. Dr. Scialenga spoke about the history of C.I.G.A. Hotels and about how many American guests stay at his hotels. They were represented by H.R.I., a large firm in New York, and had booked a few groups from some of the U.S. travel agents that I knew. He was a very interesting gentleman who had travelled a great deal in the States. He was very likeable and I was sure that he liked his job very much. He made us both seem very welcome. Del Balzo, on the other hand, seemed happy to let Alberto do the talking. After our very special dinner, Rudy made an appointment with Del Balzo for the next morning to discuss the needed rooms and agree on a rate. We were talking about fourteen hundred people, so Rudy was expecting a very reasonable rate.

I left the hotel negotiations to Rudy as it was up to him to give Auto Owners a land package price, per person. I had already given them my price for the KLM charters. I wanted to visit the Le Grand Hotel, the sister hotel to the Excelsior. Although the Excelsior was a deluxe category, the Le Grand was even a more traditional, old world, luxury property that catered to the very wealthy, titled and celebrated clientele. They never took groups, no matter how important they were. I met Sr. Mario Miconi, who I found out also managed the Excelsior. He arranged to have one of his staff show me the hotel. I spent about two hours visiting rooms, suites, dining rooms and sitting rooms. I even got to visit the back of the house, kitchens, and housekeeping. At the time, Richard Burton and Elizabeth were staying at the hotel with all their cats. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet them. I was very impressed with the property, I'm sure the artwork and oil paintings alone were worth a small fortune.

After a coffee and snack at a sidewalk café, I went to St. Peters and spent the rest of the afternoon admiring this great Basilica's art treasures. I even got into the Vatican treasury which is open to the public. I have no idea how many millions of dollars are represented by the gifts from all over the world, for centuries, to the Popes. They were comprised of gold statues, bejeweled vessels, paintings and art; some had been gifts from the very poor, some from the wealthy or from world leaders. I also managed to get down into the catacombs under St. Peters, where a number of Popes are buried. There was so much to see, so much to learn. From St Peters I took a taxi to Trevi Fountain, where I tossed in a coin to assure my return to Rome. When I got back to the hotel, Rudy told me of his visit with Del Balzo and the rate he had obtained. It was not as low as he wanted but he felt that eventually he could get it down and would later make some calls from his office when he got home. In the mean time he had his blocked room space. We had dinner at a local restaurant on the Via Veneto, a night cap at the hotel bar, and retired. On the following day, we would take a flight to Amsterdam and a connecting KLM flight to New York.

AN INTERESTING FLIGHT TO ROME #56

Yugoslavian Airlines were not quite up to KLM standards but Rudy and I had no other choice flying between Zagreb and Rome. The flight was jam packed with Italian oil workers from oil fields somewhere East of Yugoslavia; they were returning to Rome for vacation time. Seats on the aircraft were three abreast and Rudy and I got the last two middle seats in different rows. In my row, I had a burley oil worker on each side. We were hardly off the runway when the workers started to pass a bottle of whiskey back and forth in front of me. It was obvious that they had already consumed about half the bottle before landing in Zagreb. They tried to talk to me, but I didn't speak Italian and they knew no English, so they decided to communicate in sign language. Smiling broadly, they pointed to the bottle and then to my mouth. I shook my head no, but they were quite insistent; looking at their size, I thought that rather than create an international incident, I would take a swallow. This was followed by a couple of more swallows; I don't know what I was drinking, but after a couple of swigs, it didn't taste too bad. They finished the bottle just before landing at Rome's airport. Getting up to disembark they shook my hand and slapped me on the back. I didn't understand a word they said, but it sounded very friendly.

After clearing immigration, we proceeded to the baggage claim area. Unfortunately my suitcase was nowhere to be found. It was a mob scene in the terminal and any one could have picked it up, perhaps by mistake; maybe they didn't load it on the plane in Zagreb, although Rudy and I were the only two passengers getting on that flight. My bag was an almost new two-suiter and besides all my clothes, toiletries etc. I had my camera and pictures. The baggage supervisor called Zagreb, but they said that it was not there. I have a picture in my mind of some Arab riding a camel wearing my Brooks Bros. suit.

We rented a car and took off for Naples; we wanted to see the Excelsior Hotel where the Automobile Owners groups would be staying. We also wanted to look into local activities that the groups could do during their two day stay in Naples, before their trip to Rome. The Excelsior Hotel was a member of the C.I.G.A. chain of deluxe properties. It sits overlooking a beautiful bay and the harbor of Saint Lucia. It was built in 1909 to be fashioned after the Ritz of Paris, the London Savoy, and The Le Grand Hotel in Rome. My daughter Karen stayed there when she was in Naples, touring Europe. The rooms either looked out over the bay or the now dormant Mount Vesuvius. That evening we had a wonderful dinner, a drink at the bar, and then retired early as we had lots to do and see in the morning.

After a hearty breakfast Rudy and I set off to visit Pompeii, the famous city that was buried for centuries after Mt. Vesuvius erupted, in AD 79. It was mostly a forgotten city until the 18^th century when it was accidentally rediscovered. Ever since, there have been extensive excavations. It's fascinating to walk the narrow streets and think of the Roman chariots that once traversed those roads. A number of buildings have well preserved frescos on their walls. A small museum has many artifacts dug from the ground, including petrified remains of people and animals preserved in the lava that they could not escape. This was going to be one of the day trips on the A.O. tour, for sure.

Naples has many small restaurants and bars with lots of local charm and color. Rudy wanted to plan one dinner in a local restaurant, but we couldn't find one that would seat 200 plus people. After visiting one restaurant and speaking to the owner, but deciding that it wouldn't do, the owner came running after us crying out that he would build one for us. Rudy decided that we would just have to use the hotel dining room at the Excelsior. It was a beautiful room with opulent décor, walled in long mirrors, hung with white glass chandeliers and draped in pure silk. A wonderful room, elegant, but it was still a hotel, and Rudy wanted to give the group some local color.

We had the opportunity to meet with Massimo Rosati, the Hotel Manager. Rudy had to sit down with him and negotiate the rate per night, the meals, and any extras that might be needed. I excused myself as I didn't want to be involved in Rudy's negotiations; he would fill me in later. I used the time to walk around the city and take in as much as I could of the local atmosphere. I know that there was a lot of destruction during the war when the American Army invaded. There were still signs here and there, but the city had survived and was very much alive. The first morning we were in Naples, I had taken off and done some early morning shopping. I still had a few things to purchase, including a suitcase, so I put the time to good use.

Tomorrow, we would drive up the Apian Way to Rome and the Excelsior. I was looking forward to exploring Rome