I don’t think I lose all credibility (OK, maybe just a notch) for not knowing that arranging a flight into one airport and flying out of a completely different one is called an an “open-jawed” flight. I literally thought the term referred to some sort of dental procedure. But that is exactly what we did.
This key decision was the backbone of this and all future trips across the pond. Our lodgings, transportation, attractions, meals were all dictated by what city we flew in and where we would fly out of. This was however, far from an easy exercise. If we flew into Madrid on this day and at this time, could we get to our lodgings at a reasonable hour? Should we find someplace to stay that was closer to the airport but further from the attractions that we wanted to visit? Should we just stay in one country or did we want to visit others? Is it cheaper to arrive earlier or later, on this day or the day before/after? Should we stay a day or two in the city where we plan to fly back home from, that way we could familiarize ourselves with getting around and not miss our flight?
In the end, we decided to take Alaska Airlines Flight 446 from Sea-Tac Airport to LAX (Los Angeles Airport) arriving at 6:55PM on August 1. We would then spend the night at a nearby hotel and catch American Airlines Flight 110 the next morning at 9:30AM (August 2) and arrive at Fiumicino (Leonardo Da Vinci) International Airport in Rome Italy at 9:25AM (August 3) in the morning. Our homebound flight would be out of Frankfurt Germany on August 19 at 9:20AM on American Airlines Flight 71, stopping over at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport at 1:30PM (August 19) for connecting Alaska Airlines Flight 667 to Seattle at 7:50PM (August 19).
TRAVEL TIP: Our planned itinerary was not the cheapest nor the most direct but it worked for both of us. Granted, we had to incur the extra expense of an overnight hotel room before our flight but we woke up the next day clearheaded and refreshed, ready for the long flight to Italy. Compromise, spontaneity, and flexibility are crucial for independent travel, whether it is forgoing an expensive meal for a picnic lunch from the corner grocery store (to have money for other things) or at the last minute decision to not go up the Eiffel Tower because you would be in line for most of your precious vacation day. Strangely, I looked forward and still do to the compromising and even the heated arguments because I knew the outcome was that I would be creating memories with the one I loved.
