couscous

This is my very first attempt at writing a mileage run, so feedback will be much appreciated. This trip was initially planned to take advantage of an unused ticket that was about to expire and to maximize the 5X miles promotion that United is offering. I fulfilled the 10K requirement with a pure mileage run to AMS in January (only 20 hours in this beautiful city !), and I was looking to rack up as many miles as I could. I looked into going to SIN for a run but couldn't find an attractive fare, the six days minimum in place all around Asia and the impossiblity for me to go for that long made me consider another run somewhere in Europe. At first, I was planning a quick run to LHR or a two days run to CDG (my two brothers live there but Miss Couscous surprised me by hinting an interest in coming with me to introduce herself to this new lifestyle. I then started looking into different destinations in Europe as her three favorites cities she hadn't gone to where in order : Venice, Rome and Sevilla. Around the same time, I received a free weekend stay part of a Starwood promotion to use before April so I decided to make this an extended mileage run with a romantic touch (those French people, they never miss an occasion !!). Sevilla was taken out very quickly even though it was my sentimental choice. The flight schedule was a pain, and this hotel award was not good with category 6 hotels. The Alfonso XIII was a big reason why I wanted to go there so I will have to wait a little longer to experience Andalucia. So Rome or Venice ??? I decided to finalize the dates before making a final choice. The weekend of March 19 to 22 was the ideal choice as my beloved would be done with her bar exam a couple of weeks before and would need a weekend of pampering and la dolce vita. I called Starwood and there was space in both cities... tough choice. I must now add that I'm somewhat a soccer fanatic and I never miss a good soccer game wherever I go. A quick check on the internet revealed that the anticipated derby in beetween the two Roma clubs AS Roma and Lazio Roma would take place that very same weekend. Jackpot !! Roma here we come !!! A quick call to Starwood and I reserved two nights at the Excelsior, made a request for tickets for the game. Another call to United and I finalized reservation for both of us. Agent was very pleasant and even suggested me to stay an extra day to save $150 on my fare. $562 all in round trip for a V fare. Ok, I'll stay until Tuesday the 23rd !! I called back Starwood and used Starpoints for an extra night. With a couple of old tickets plus some vouchers, this turns out to be a very cheap gateway. Only negative is that Ms Couscous and I are on a different PNR. She has no status with United so clearing the upgrade list will be difficult. Still got us E+ seats in the meantime and got us waitlisted both ways for upgrade using paper SWU expiring 3/30.

Friday 3/19

I'm always very anxious before a long flight due to anticipation plus the fact that neither of us has cleared the waitlist and the flight is oversold in coach. I'm wide awake at 445am even though we don't have to leave our house until 945am. I try to get back to sleep but cannot so I decide to walk to my local Starbucks to get my morning coffee and read the newspapers. I go online to check my itineraries and there is a red annotation under my outbound flight : "schedule change, please call united". Humm, what happened ?? A quick call to the 1K line and I'm told that my upgrade has finally cleared. I'm given 13D. Ms Couscous is still waitlisted and from the agent's comments, it doesn't look good. Bummer.
After a couple of hours relaxing in a comfortable couch at Starbucks it's time to go back home and pack. I love packing at the last minute and have become quite good at it. Don't forget anything !! We have decided to take BART to the airport, they have a long term parking system very easy to use where you go online, choose the station where you would like to park, select the days, and if there is space, you can pay online and print a permit to display on your windshield. cost is only $5 day and the weekends are free. The Dublin/Pleasanton is just 10 minutes away taking the back roads and soon we are on our way to SFO. I love taking BART there as you are dropped a quick walk from the United Checkin.
Used the dedicated 1K line where we had to wait 10 minutes due to a couple checking in tons of luggage including skis. Check in was very pleasant, she processed my upgrade and comfimed that it would be tough for Ms to clear. For some reason she couldn't print my FRA-FCO boarding pass and asked me to ask the Red carpet lounge to do so for me as her system wouldn't let her. Security was a breeze considering all the amateur flyers turned back for not having a boarding pass and the language barrier beetwen the TSA staff members and some asians passengers. the usual folklore.. Stopped by the Red carpet club for a drink and tried again to get a boarding pass for my connection but was again unsuccessful due a lockup in LH system ? Whatever.. Went to the gate 30 minutes before boarding and tried to facilitate the upgrade of Ms Couscous, tried and tried but did not succeed. I offered to split time in C and she offered another compromise : keep the seat but I get a pair of nice shoes in Rome (I must add that Ms Couscous will soon have as many shoes as the entire Marcos family !!). Who I am to refuse such a settlement ?? Time to board..

SFO-FRA
UA 900
N799UA - Boeing 777
dep. 225pm
arr. 945am
seat 13D - C class
seat 19A - E+

Plane was 99.5 % full in E (this plane was economy plus configured) and completely full in F and C. Pre departure drinks were offered and coats were taken away within 5 minutes or boarding. We ended leaving gate 94 a few minutes early and made our way around the airport to runway 28 R right behind another 777 this one from Korean and just before the LH 747 also going to FRA. We took off after a 5 minutes wait to faciltitate the landing of a couple of aircraft and took off majestically in the beautful azur sky. Weather was beautiful and visibility was great, we got cleared to 15000 feet and direct to Sacramento with a schedule flight time of 9 hours and 35 minutes, the fastest I have never flown to FRA !!!
After the usual aperitives, dinner was served, here is the menu :

To begin
Spiced shrimp and Parma ham
Cocktail sauce and fresh lemon

Main Course

Filet mignon with applewood smoked bacon demi-glace
Roasted red potatoes and green beans with yellow pepper
or
Chicken in Moselwein sauce
Mushroom cream sauce, buttered spatzle and sauteed spinach
or
Coriander crusted halibut with lemon beurre blanc
Basmati rice with chives, asparagus and carrots batonnets

Dessert

International cheese selection
Stilton and black diamond cheddar cheese

Eli's apple crunch pie


I choose the filet mignon and I was glad I did. It was juicy, perfectly cooked and the portion was just right. The vegetables were a perfect complement. The entire meal was really good and the service was magnificent. The FA were all very senior but not the matron kind. They were all very attentive, always smiling and displaying a passion for great service that I hadn't experience aboard an United aircraft in quite some time. Service like this will bring people back and build loyalty for life. It's good to catch my favorite airline doing everything right !! My water glass was never empty and they poured bottled water the entire way (at least I hope they did !)

The wines for this flight were :

Champagne
Brut, Pol Roger NV
Grande reserve, Baron Fuente NV

White wines

Louis Latour St Veran "Les deux moulins" 2000 chardonnay
Leon Beyer Alsace 2002 pinot blanc
Allan scott vineyards Marlborough sauvignon blanc 2002
Trinchero family selection Napa valley sauvignon blanc 2001

Red Wines

Chateau d'orsan cotes du rhone 2000 Grenache blend
Chateau Escales corbieres 2001 grenache syrah carignan
Jindalee Murray Darling Victoria Shiraz 2003
Lambert ridge Sonoma county Merlot 2000

I didn't have wine as I was still feeling the Glenfiddich I had at the Red Carpet lounge !!

One hour and a half before touchdown, we were served a breakfast, here is the menu :

Continental breakfast featuring a fruit appetizer, yogurt, breakfast bread and fruit preserves
or
Baked potato with eggs, cheese and hollandaise sauce
Pork sausage and oven roasted tomatoes

I choose the continental breakfast, being a sweets kind of guy. I officially request United to install espresso machines in all airplanes (To Europe first), coffee served, while Starbucks, tasted everything but coffee, truly awful.

We flew from San Francisco to Sacramento then Spokane then just north of Minneapolis then even more north to La grande, Kuujjuaq into the Davis strait, barely touched the southern tip of Greenland, this was the most southern route I have flown to Europe from the West coast. We made the "turn" towards Europe way south of Iceland and officially touched European soil above Northern Ireland then Belfast, Manchester, La Hague and Frankfurt.
Our cruising altitude was 36000 feet, strong winds in our back gave us a speed of 585mph to 610 mph. The ride was rather smooth besides minor turbulence above Canada. I'm going to start this debate again: why do they allow newborns or young children in C (or F for that manner), this poor kid on row 14 behind me was miserable and therefore we got quite a concerto during most of the flight. Mom was very busy trying to keep him quiet and was obviously feeling bad about the situation. Dad slept thru it all.... go figure !
10 minutes before touchdown, we are placed into an holding pattern and we end up turning around for 30 minutes before starting our final descent. Weather in FRA is overcast with some rain showers. Overall a very pleasant flight with superb service.

After arriving in FRA at gate C12, we make our way to terminal A, I have to pick up my boarding pass for FCO and being so early, I want to try to get into the earlier flight leaving at noon rather than our scheduled 145pm departure. After a very interesting wait at the transit desk (lots of lost people with dramatic problems and what seemed life or death situations and completely clueless and unresponsive agents !!), I nicely ask to be put on standy on the earlier flight. The agent checks the flight load and it is wide open, he then calls some kind of support desk and after a passionate conversation in german, tells me that due to the fact that we are travelling on a V fare, heavily discounted, we cannot get into this earlier flight. The only thing he can do is reussuing another ticket ; cost $200 !!! I said thanks but no thanks and decided to walk to the gate and try again there... after much typing I'm told the same thing and now I'm getting a little hot. I debated the stupidity to let a frequent star alliance flyer wait an extra 2 hours at the airport when you have plenty of seats in an airplane leaving in 30 minutes but my anger doesn't result in anything. I HATE LUFTHANSA !!!! Off to the LH business lounge to kill a couple of hours (imagine all the shoes Ms Couscous could have bought... maybe this is a good thing !! NOT). The positive was the view of the airport with same great airplanes from well known and not so well known airlines, got a look at : Emirates A330, Gulf air A340, Turkmenistan 757, Cyprus A321, Royal air Maroc A319 ?, Tunisair A320, AA 777 and 767, Us Airways 767, Iran Air, Thai 747-400 Spanair A320 (Star Alliance livery), Air Portugal A321, Air Canada 747-400 and A330, and of course a multitude of LH aircraft in all forms and shapes.

Saturday 3/20


FRA-FCO
LH 3846
Darmstadt- Airbus 321-100
Dep. 145pm
Arr. 320pm
Seats 11E and F

We boarded from gate B5 which is up and down and around escalators !! seriously, FRA is quite a maze. Gate was extremely crowded and flight completely full. Aircraft was parked on the other side of the airport so we took a bus there. Boarding was in typical European fashion, first come, first serve. I fell asleep before takeoff and woke up right before touchdown. Flight time was 1hour and 15 minutes, we got served a deli plater with a roll.

ROMA

Airport is about 45 minutes from the airport. We took a taxi both ways and the fare was 50 euros including the tip. Make sure to take the whites cabs, especially at the airport where all kinds of people will solicit you for transportation downtown. Roma is simply breathtaking. History surrounds you and walking around the town, you can imagine what life must have been at the time of the Roman empire. We walked a lot and I recommend walking to really soak up the beauty of the city. I'm not going to detail our visit - guides will do a better job - but we were able to see all the importants sites (for us). We had an accelerated visit of the Vatican (St Peter's, the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel in 3 hours and saw all we wanted to see. Of course, you could spend days there. We didn't go inside the Coliseum, preferring to walk around it. Beauty is everywhere, enjoy it. What we enjoyed the most though, besides the architecture and the monuments is the way of life, going down to the neighborood cafe in the morning for breakfast and listen to the conversations, walking down the crowded street and enjoying the constant live fashion shows walking down the street. Life is good...
Shopping needs will be taken care of around the Via del Corso and the adjacent streets. Restaurants are plenty everywhere and we didn't have one bad meal. I recommend the Bar Bramante, via della pace 25, near Piazza Nevona , we had a great meal there and met another Flyertalker Arcolaio99 with his girlfriend there for desserts and drinks and had a very good time. Ms Couscous got a taste of her first italian soccer game and roman derby and it was a special one !! Game was stopped due to escalating violence beetween the supporters and the police. After the game, there was a full riot going on around the stadium until 6am the next morning. Ms Couscous got her first taste of tear gas, I'm very proud of her !!
Two quotes to finish ; both heard in the streets of Roma. First one in between two older Italian ladies, one asking the other ; "Italiana ??" and the other responding proudly: "No, Siciliana."
The other overheard around the Coliseum from an American teenager: "Dude, this reminds me of that movie, uh, what's it called . . . Ben Hur." Very funny . If you have never gone to Roma, don't wait, go for a taste of la Dolce Vita.


Hotel Westin-Excelsior
Via Veneto

The hotel is situated right across the street from the American embassy. Very majestic with an architecture reminding me of the Hotel Negresco in Nice with the big cupoles. The red and yellow uniforms of the doormen tell you right away that this is a very nice hotel, member or the luxury collection. Check in was pretty typical with photocopy of the passports, credit card imprint. No mention of my Platinum status and as usual in all luxury hotel, no amenity points.
We got upgraded to a junior suite on the fifth floor. Little terrace outside, no much of a view besides of the hotel across the street and the street itself. Room was nicely approinted. Red and gold tapestry on the walls, little seating area, beautiful desk, two beds put together as a king (Heavenly beds, a little on the hard side), very nice lights and fixtures. A huge closet that could serve as a studio in New York, with a safe. and the bathroom all in marble with the Heavenly dual showers and very nice Westin amenities. Overall, I was pleased by the room. As a welcome, we had a basket of fruits and a box of Godiva Chocolates. The hotel has a business center with three computer stations (very slow internet connection) and the other usual equipment, very nice spa and beautifullly ornamented commune rooms with enough gold and precious carpets and marble to make you dizzy. Staff was very professional but not very warm. Special brownie points to the concierge for getting us tickets to a sold out soccer game. I would recommend this hotel if you go to Rome on business but as a tourist, it's a little far away from everything.

Tuesday 3/23


FCO-FRA
LH 3841
Airbus 321-100
Dep. 1020am
arr. 1210pm
Seats 24E and F

Check in was a breeze even though I had to convince the agent that my carry on was suitable for cabin luggage. I had to satisfy her and take my computer from bag one to bag two and we were on our way. Security was a little too relaxed for my taste. Agents weren't really interested and even though I beeped, they told me to keep going... scary. Our aircraft was at gate B9 and after some last minute duty free shopping we proceeded to it. Check in was the usual pandominium, we boarded 20 minutes late with no explanation from the gum chewing, phone talking agent and when it was time to board, the pushing and shoving match started. Being so experienced on the subject, I had parked ourselves close to the gate and we were the first to board. We were assigned the exit row, quite roomy and comfortable. We took off 20 minutes late due to the delayed boarding and were served a deli platter with a roll, cheese and ham. a yogurt and a croissant with butter and jam. Flight was uneventful and we slept until we landed in sunny FRA. We parked at gate A16. Took the train to terminal B and waited in the very long security line before being brought to the beginning of the line by a staff member who had called for the San Francisco bound passengers. Security was much more tight than in Rome with everyone being pattxed and checked thoroughly. We still had to wait 20 minutes to pass thru and made our way to gate C7.
I still had the Lufthansa boarding passes given to us in FCO and proceeded to the podium to inquire about our upgrades and to get an United boarding pass. Was "helped" by this lady whose name I won't say here but she was a supervisor. I inquired about our upgrades and she replied very coldly that we had very little chances to make it. I told her that I was told yesterday on the phone that my upgrade had gone thru and that I was just inquiring about my fiancee's. She became very irritated and proceeded to punch her keyboard while puffing and humming. She finally gave me a boarding pass in C and one in Y (bulkhead) for my fiancee. I asked about her chances and she pretty much told me to get out of her face !!! Very pleasant lady.. They didn't finish processing the upgrade list until very late resulting in them moving people around after they were seated and delaying our departure by 15 minutes. What happened to the legendary german efficiency ??? It sure wasn't displayed this time. After another 10 minutes delay due to ATC, we finally left the gate, half and hour late... Once again we are separated. I'm in for another pair of shoes !!

SFO-FRA
UA 901
Boeing 777
Dep. 230pm
Arr. 505pm
Seat 8E in C
Seat 17C in E+

Another completely full flight in all classes. Spring break is synonymous with good loads across the pound for UA. Very senior flight attendants. Not as pleasant as my outbound flight but nice and professional enough. We took off to the East and climbed slowly in the overcast skies above Germany. Captain annonced a flight time of 11Hours and 29 minutes, Ouch !!!!. Strong headwinds will make this flight a very long one. Our route today took us to Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, we zigzagded our way thru the North sea at 32000 feet to the Fareoe Islands then up to 35000 feet above Iceland, Greenland pretty far north, then made our turn southwest towards Canada entering above Fort Mc Murray then Edmonton, Spokane, Point Reyes and the Woodside turn towards SFO and the airport.
Menu for this flight was as follow :

To begin

Sliced smoked duck, mozzarella cheese and tomato
Arugula, balsamic vinegar reduction and olive oil
Garden salad
Classic Caesar dressing

Main course

Filet mignon with honey barbecue sauce
cheddar mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach
or
Filet of salmon with a horseradish crust
Bouillon potatoes and broccoli florets
or
Mushroom and spinach ricotta ravioli
Tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese

Dessert

International cheese selection
Gruyere and Brie cheese

Almond tart with creme anglaise

The wine list was the same as the outbound flight. Scroll up for your reference. I had the filet mignon (again) and it was very nice and perfectly cooked. The mashed potatoes were excellent. The tomato and mozzarella platter was a perfect start, very refreshing. Didn't have the almond tart as I fell asleep at the end of my meal !!
An our and a half before landing we had another meal :

Chicken, bacon and mozzarella bruschetta
Roasted potato wedges
or
Cheese plate with fresh seasonal fruit
Brie, Chaumes and Cheddar cheese

I choose the bruschetta as I felt pretty hungry after almost 6 hours of sleep. It was a perfect choice, very tasty, good portion, just everything I needed We landed on runway 28L and parked at gate 93. We cleared immigration and customs in 5 minutes !!! First time in a long time that I'm not selected by customs for a search. 10 minutes later, we were on BART making our way back to the East Bay. Good to be home ?? Yes and No.. The life of an immigrant... Never fully happy wherever I am... Looking forward to another mileage run in 3 days... this time domestic to CVG and back, for the EQM miles and the 5X promo. This hobby is contagious... watch out..

Thanks for reading.

Raf

Great report.
Unfortunatly LH ground staff seems to be extremly "strict" in respecting tkt.rules.
I had the same situation in Madrid last time (flying on M@M miles ticket). Thre was NO F...G CHANCE to put me on earlier flight on sunday morning. So... I waited 5 hours in MUC. Good will in this case is unknown in LH.

Fliar

great report couscous - thanks for that.
And...I too hate LH!!!

Bretteee

Alitalia have the same policy as Lufthansa. If u are on a discounted ticket they will not let you travel on an earlier flight. Makes no sense to me. What difference does it make if they have seats.

onedog

Great trip report!

I have stayed at the Excelsior Rome and I thought the location was excellent (although I have also stayed at some hotels closer to the central train station than most folks on this board would subject themselves to!) and was upgraded to a great room on the 2nd floor overlooking the American Embassy.

I miss Rome and can't wait to go back.

aw

Thanks for the wonderful report. Rome is indeed a beautiful and spellbinding place. I have no doubt that the Westin in Via Veneto is a fine location but it is a bit too commercial for my taste. When I was there I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Minerva next to the Pantheon and that is a perfect location IMHO. It is more centrally located and the surrounding area is full of restaurants.

In general, airlines in Europe will not let you standby for earlier flights if you have purchased a very discounted fare. Period. When in Rome, do as the Romans!

couscous

Thanks for all the nice comments... much appreciated. Looks like I'm not the only one disliking LH !!

airlinemileswhore

Nice trip report!!!! Now slightly off topic, on my trip to Roma last fall, renting an apartment was the way to go (IMHO). Much cheaper than a hotel plus we were in a residental neighborhood (got to see what daily life was like).

Arcolaio99

Thanks for the good wod CousCous and I enjoyed myself as well. I was able to hail a cab in about 5 mins after hitting off the Bancomat. Hope to meet up sometime again in the future. Good luck with the job.

NorthwestCRJ

Great Report- I just got back from a week in Italy (Florence and Rome) and Rome sure is a great city, shame there is so much graffiti and taggers around.

Patrick

MRSTARALLIANCE

Gee what service from the FRA agent, I would be right into writing a negative comment in her profile.

Dave

couscous

I did, she really was awful... still can't believe she is a supervisor...

mario33

Great report ^ !

A very detailed report on the journey but I was hoping to read more on how you spent your time in Rome .

We were also staying at the Westin Excelsior Rome from 19th to 21st March and we thought the location was great for tourists.

We were initially allocated 2 rooms on the 5th Floor with a small terrace facing Via Veneto , but found the red wallpaper (green in the other room) a little too heavy for our taste . We subsequently changed to the Grandluxe rooms on the 3rd Floor facing the American Embassy which is more spacious but doesnt have a terrace.

A section of Via Venetto infront of the American Embassy was closed to traffic on Saturday due to some protest march going on in Rome on that day. Fortunately our taxi drver managed to drop us off on the opposite side of the road when we returned to the hotel after a visit to the Vatican City.

You didnt mention the Pantheon. We found the Pantheon, almost as impressive as the Vatican City and a must-see for Rome. There is just so much to do and see in Rome, and I will definitely be back one day .

couscous

Funny that we were at the same hotel at the same time !!! We were lucky to arrive right after the demonstrations on Saturday, the road was cleared. The pantheon is spectacular, I agree with you. We did so much during our short time in Rome that it would take me too long to explain..