Misfortune On A Roman Subway

A day full of bad timing and worse luck almost turned this dream vacation into a nightmare by Blythe Lowe, Calgary

- Blythe Lowe, Calgary

After graduating from the University of British Columbia in 2011 in civil engineering, and then doing four additional years of training and acquiring experience, my daughter Emma was awarded her designation as a professional engineer in November 2015. It was a big deal. When she first started at university, I’d promised her a nice trip to celebrate this coming accomplishment, so we had been anticipating this trip for about six years before it became a reality.

Finally, in October 2016, it was off to Europe. Emma had never seen any of the classical, ancient archaeological sites in Italy or Greece, so we decided to take a Mediterranean cruise to see the sights. It was a 12-day adventure beginning in Barcelona and ending in Venice, hitting all of the famous venues, and then some.

After a bumpy start—losing Emma’s luggage in Barcelona, and barely retrieving it in time to board our ship—the visits to southern France and Florence and Pisa in Italy were magical. We especially enjoyed climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa and getting a different slant on the outside world.

Next, it was off to Rome. My husband Andrew and I had travelled to Rome three years prior via a cruise ship as well. Instead of taking a cruise tour, we had travelled the roughly two-hour trip into the city ourselves from the cruise port, via the regional train and subway systems. So, when Emma and I planned our visit to the Eternal City, I recommended the same procedure, since I had done it before and we had managed just fine. What could possibly go wrong?

The early part of the day was wonderful. The transportation plan worked well getting into the city and we visited the Colosseum, Forum and Pantheon as well as the Trevi Fountain. The problems began on our way back to the cruise ship.