From Israel To Rome To Possibly The Worst Traffic In History

Last Monday morning we packed our bags and headed to the airport to fly from Israel to Rome and then on to America.

Waiting at the airport.

The flight to Rome was pretty short and we entertained ourselves with the exceptional in-flight entertainment provided by the airline. 

In-flight entertainment

We landed in Rome, walked out of the airport and found a shuttle to take us to our hotel where we stayed during our 13 hour stop-over to get some shut eye before our early morning flight to JFK. Some of us were feeling a little restless after spending most of the day sitting in the airport and on the plane, so we went exploring.

The Mad Man, Timmy and I took a late night walk down to the beach where we could smell and hear the sea but not actually see anything. We stayed and enjoyed the cool salty breeze for a while before heading back to the hotel to get some rest.

Early Tuesday morning we got up and gathered our things to head back to the airport for flight number two. Having checked our luggage all the way through to our final destination, it didn't take long for us to get ready and we had some time to spare before the shuttle arrived so we walked back down to the beach to get a better look at the sea.

The Crazy Lady and I braved the sand and stuck our feet in the water. There was an older Italian man there that tried to tell us something or other but unfortunately, neither of us know Italian so we're not entirely sure what he was telling us. 

After enjoying the view for a while we headed back to the hotel to get on the shuttle and to the airport. 

It was a long and fairly uneventful flight to JFK. Getting out of the airport went pretty smoothly once we adjusted ourselves to the language. It's been a while since we've been in an English speaking country and it was weird asking for directions in English.

My uncle was waiting for us at the airport. He stowed our luggage in his car and then absconded with us kids, leaving my parents to find their way to the rental car place on their own.  On the way to the car we learned that a dump truck had caught fire under an overpass on the New Jersey Turnpike earlier that day causing some major traffic.

A drive that would normally take an hour and half ended up taking three and a half hours. As we sat in what the news report described as "possibly the worst traffic in history" we caught up on the Danziger's latest news. 

We also got a rundown of who would and wouldn't be at the wedding. As well as some helpful tips and tricks such as, who we should and shouldn't hug and how to differentiate between family members and the waitstaff. 

After the educational drive we arrived at the Danzigers and spent the next few days in NJ. Thursday morning we packed up the car and headed to Philadelphia where the festivities would be taking place on Sunday evening.

The wedding was beautiful and it was great seeing the family. I refrained from hugging the waitstaff so it was a success all around. We're hanging out in Philly until tomorrow morning and then heading back to the Danziger's in NJ.

Herein ends today's update. 

More updates to come. 

Maybe.