A Swiss affair

This was our 14th visit to the Island of Mykonos. Things have changed quite a bit since our first stay, there's a Starbucks now, but the island manages to keep its charm. On this journey, we decided to try out Swiss airline's newly remodeled A330-300. We cashed in our United Airlines winnings from the Elite Choice contest and booked ourselves in First class. It had been a while since we had enough miles to fly in First so I was very excited about this trip. Swiss did not disappoint, in fact, I found the new cabin and service comparable to Singapore airlines. They don't serve caviar in First but everything else made up for it. We got a Bally dobb kit with La Prairie products in it, slippers and pajamas. The service was spot on and the food was plentiful. Most impressive was the new modern cabin.

We landed in Zurich with a few hours to freshen up in the First-class lounge before our flight to Rome, our stopover before Mykonos. We both took showers and Mr. M chose to take a nap in the dayroom while I feasted on nibbly bits.

The flight to Rome was short and uneventful; in fact we slept through most of it. In Rome we picked up our rental car, an upgrade to a BMW hatchback, and headed toward the Waldorf Rome Cavalieri. This is one of my favorite hotels in the world but I liked it much better when it was a Hilton. The rebranding has almost doubled the number of points required for a free night at this palace and has diminished the elite benefits. Nonetheless, we were upgraded to a lovely suite but had to pay a surcharge to have access to our beloved imperial lounge.

Our favorite restaurant, Myosotis, has gone out of business so we had dinner at Pierluigi's in Campo dei Fiori. The place is a total tourist trap and the meal was probably one of the worst I've had in Rome. I should have listened to my friend Shanone and gone to a restaurant in the Trastevere. Lezione appresa.

The next morning, we sunbathed at the lovely pool until noon and then headed off to the Prada outlet in Tuscany. The outlet was a dud but we managed to make a few forced purchases. I really enjoy the road trip and the stops at the many Autogrills on the way but have really been disappointed with the offerings at the outlet the past few times. I think this might be our last pilgrimage for a while.

Next stop Athens > Mykonos!