Day 7-BA5 takes the lead

Florian’s Cafe…Rome, Italy… We’re here!!!!

6/27/22. Tuesday

…and we head to the front of the airport, where dozens of cab drivers are standing. There are two cabbies holding two different placards, each bearing our last name: one placard has an “E” on the end of our name, and our last name is spelled correctly on the other placard. We almost get in the wrong cab, but recover. I guess none of us knows how to spell our own last name…

-It’s about a 90-minute drive to the Best Western Hotel - Art Deco, and we’re driving through Rome. The road is just like the 101 to the 126 - it feels very much like we’re in Palmdale, Ventura, or Tehachapi. I’m shocked at how blah it is. And there’s lots of graffiti and trash.

-The Best Western is meh. L and my room is way to small and our view is of a porno theatre, called Sexy Movies, directly across the street. We discover that it gets loud around midnight. Don’t people want to watch porn on their laptops, in the privacy of their own homes? Why do they come to the Sexy Movies theatre? L. and I have to share a bed BUT it’s so low to the ground that it’s actually a framed futon with springs. This might be part of the “Art Deco” aesthetic, although when L. or I roll out of bed, we roll right out onto the floor. For whatever reason, S. and M. got the suite, with separate beds - I think this room was actually supposed to be for L. and I - hello!! separate beds? - but my brother doesn’t seem to care, probably because he got the better room. I will say that the common areas of the hotel are beautiful and filled with Art Deco sculptures.

-L. and I discover that we need converters for our electronics - of course we didn’t bring any. Thankfully, Mom has an extra one for us.

-L. and I crash from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, then walk to a coffee shop called Florian’s Cafe. I get a Mont Blanc pastry; it tastes like a cream puff and is one of the best pastries I’ve ever had! I also order an Americano coffee and a glass of champagne. My Mom texts us and we tell her where we’re at and she meets us at the coffee shop. We finish our snack and walk back to our room.

-Around 7:00, we all go to Il Botticelli, a restaurant we spotted walking back from Florian’s, and the food is incredible. The restaurant is empty and we stay until 9:00/9:30 because in Italy, people linger. They don’t eat and run like Americans.

9:30-10:00-L. and I walk back to our room and get ready for bed. Our Tours by Locals excursion starts at 9:00 am tomorrow and Mom says she’ll meet us at our room at 8:00. My internal clock is messed up and I’m not sleeping well. This will be a recurring theme for the entire vacation.

10:00-I check my phone and still no message from A/C Clinic. It’s 1:00 pm in California, so I call First American, which means I call Gabby’s direct line - the number that she gave me a couple days ago - only to discover that it’s NOT a direct line at all! It appears to be a general voice mail for the employees and the outgoing message says “the person you are trying to reach is unavailable, blah, blah, blah…” I leave a message specifically for Gabby. She never calls.

I revert to the main line for First American. I’m only on hold for a short while until I’m transferred to a male employee. I explain everything AGAIN and he dutifully takes down my information then calls “Nick” using the super-secret phone number they have on file, but which nobody ever answers. When the employee returns, he informs me that the notes show that Nick did, in fact, submit the authorization to replace the condenser. Unfortunately, First American is categorizing this repair as a “modification” and I will have to pay for it. The cost is $1020.

Here’s the kicker: First American can NOT authorize the repair because I haven’t authorized the repair via A/C Clinic. BUT, I have NOT given A/C Clinic the authorization because A/C Clinic, aka Nick, has yet to call me to give me the estimate. Of course, by this time I will pay anything and I give the First American employee authorization but he says it doesn’t count; I have to personally give A/C Clinic the authorization. How can I give A/C Clinic the authorization when Nick refuses to call me? In addition, I’m outraged that First American continues to reject a full unit replacement and I say as much to the First American employee. As usual, I end the call with no time/date for the repairs because A/C Clinic is unreachable.

-“Meanwhile, back at the ranch”, T. later texts L. a picture of the two fans and the Artic Cooler in L.’s room where he is sleeping while he house sits, and pronounces it 95 degrees in the house.

-I’m very upset and I stay up late, finishing the Sedaris book.

-Nighttime routine. Bed.