Venice-The Finale

As the long weekend was coming to an end, we were both exhausted. We were physically sore from all the walking, and not excited that we had to get up at 5 am to catch our plane home.

We headed downstairs to check-out, and we had the clerk check the bus schedule to see if one would be heading to the train station soon. Unfortunately, since it was Sunday, the buses were on a limited schedule, and there wouldn't be a bus until it was too late for us. We would have to catch a cab to take to the train station if we were to catch our bus to the airport on time.

The clerk called a cab for us, and informed us that it would be 30 euro for the 6 minute ride to the station. We were shocked and appalled, but we had no choice if we wanted to make it to the airport in time for our flight. When the cab arrived, Allie was immediately suspicious. This wasn't a normal white cab with the typical taxi signs that help tourists recognize genuine taxis so they won't be ripped off. We asked the driver if he had a meter, and he said no, it was a fixed price to the station.
We went back into the hotel and asked the clerk what was going on. He said this was the only type of taxi that would come out to the hotel, and it was perfectly normal. We argued for a while, asking why he didn't call the white taxi, and why it would cost so much to go such a short distance. His English was not very good, but he kept insisting we would be fine, and that this was the type of cab they usually use, and a white taxi would cost not much less. We were unconvinced, but being unable to call a taxi for ourselves, we had little choice but to pay the outrageous fee for this short ride.
After arriving at the airport, we were checked very thoroughly at the entrance to the gates, and Charles was reprimanded by a security guard for having a small pair of scissors in his carry-on. We had actually taken those scissors on several flights (actually unknowingly) and had yet to find trouble, but the guard gave him a stern look at said, "Not possible." That careful and meticulous guard surely thwarted a terrorist attack by throwing out our scissors, but whatever.
The flight went off without a hitch, and in fact, we landed a whopping 20 minutes ahead of schedule! Unfortunately, when we landed and everyone was preparing to deboard the plane, the captain made an announcement that there was a bomb threat on the airport and we would not be allowed to leave until it was secured. So we waited. As it turned out, it was not really a threat, but someone had left a bag unattended, and so the airport security had to blow up the bag before anyone would be allowed to come or go. Finally, we were free.
Of course, we weren't home yet. Outside of the airport we had to wait for a bus to take us to the Ciampino train station so we could get to Zagarolo. And as I said before, it was Sunday. We waited, and waited. Finally we were able to get to the station and get home. Luckily Dante had agreed to pick us up at the station, so we didn't have to walk home or wait for yet another bus.

After we had finished eating a frozen pizza lunch, we calculated the time it actually took us to get home, a mere 5 hours. That is approximately the same time a train ride from Rome to Venice takes, and you can bring scissors the size of your head onto a train and nobody cares! We decided that we are done with the hassles of flying, despite the cheap cost, and we will be utilizing the trains for all of our trips within the country from now on.