And so it begins...

(Actually May 24, but posted a day late due to wireless problems)

With a quick trip to Dulles International Wednesday, we've started our Italian 2018 adventure. So far, it's been exhausting (our middle names are not JetLag), but we're looking forward to spending time in this beautiful country with family and friends.

We flew for the first time on Aer Lingus and, overall, it was a pleasant experience. We didn't know what to expect, especially after seeing some very negative reviews on trip sites from recent passengers. Our experience was different. Customer service was helpful and friendly and the way they boarded the Transatlantic leg was great. Priority boarders went first, followed by those who needed assistance and then they boarded from the back of the plane to the front. Since were row 40 out of 41 total, we were on in a breeze.

One complaint though. When we went to put our carryon in the overhead bins, the bins immediately above us were filled with blankets and other items used by the crew. Not a big problem because we were able to find s spot nearby, but it was annoying.

The flight went seemingly quickly with us getting to Dublin at 4:45 a.m. their time or about 11:45 p.m. Ship time. We didn't even really have to hustle to make our connecting flight which started boarding about 5:50.

The leg to Rome did seem to take forever, even thought it was actually relatively quick. Jetlag was hitting, but not nearly as much as when we had to wait nearly two hours to catch the train into Rome and then the train to here in Naples.

So far, so good. Tomorrow we meet up with my brother and sister-in-law for our train trip through the countryside to Taormina. More to follow.

A quick note from Ellen: I had a cannoli! For some reason, I've never had one before, and, on this exhausting night, I saw some amazing looking ones at the Naples train station pasticceri (Ecceilenze Costiera) so I got a pistachio one. Amazing! I could be hooked ...