The Barnetts are off on another adventure! This time we are sharing the celebration of our 50^th wedding anniversary with our two children, their spouses, and 5 grandchildren.  Thanks to the wonderful help of the best travel advisor in the world, Leigh Berghane, we are all set for 2 weeks of fun.

Planning all this has been something like planning and organizing the D-Day Invasion. So many pieces had to fall into place….AND THEY HAVE! Transportation, hotel in Rome, cruise on Holland America’s ms Noordam and most Shore Excursions for our group are all set.  It has turned out to be way more expensive than we anticipated so Jim now says at the end of the trip we’ll have a lottery to see which set of children wins us as the take-home prize. He really is only kidding,  I think.

Our daughter Kathryn, her husband Will and their two children Christopher (9) and Ella (6) are flying from Nashville today through JFK and arrive in Rome early Saturday morning.

Our son Bill and their two oldest sons, Michael (17) and Jack (10) fly from Sydney early Saturday morning. They fly through Dubai and arrive in Rome Saturday evening.

Bill’s wife, Kate, and their youngest son, Ethan (7) fly from Charlotte tomorrow morning on a direct flight that arrives in Rome Sunday morning.

Jim and I leave tomorrow flying through Atlanta arriving in Rome Sunday morning.

Every group is being met by a Limo to transport them to the Hotel Mascagni in the center of Rome 

We are staying three or four night- depending on when folks arrive. It was really hard to find a place with connecting rooms for parents and children. European hotel rooms are smaller than rooms in the US so it took some looking.  Leigh found the Mascagni which had a Triple room for Bill and Kate’s sons that connects to a room with a “matrimonial bed” which is apparently larger than a double bed but smaller than a queen-sized bed.  Kathryn and Will will have two connecting rooms for their family also  including the strange sounding "matrimonial bed" size. The hotel is small with 40 rooms but the breakfast looks great…of course you can make anything look tasty in a photo so I'll let you know how how it really tastes.

Just praying for on-time airline departures and arrivals, safe airport pick-ups and early hotel check-ins for all so everybody can get a little rest before exploring the city. The Underground is a block away and many famous landmarks are within walking distance. 

I will keep blogging as the pre-cruise adventure unfolds in the Eternal City of Rome.