The following information regarding baggage limits and restrictions for Northwest Airlines, our air carrier for all legs of our trip, was taken directly from their website.

International Travel

BusinessElite and Full Coach (Y) Fare  Travel

*For Coach Class travel, Checked bags within the allowance that weigh more than 50 lbs but less than 70 lbs will be assessed a $90 Heavy Bag Fee. WorldPerks Elite and SkyMiles Medallion members are exempt from this fee.
Checked bags within the allowance whose dimensions exceed 62 inches will be assessed two excess baggage charges.
For travel between North America and Asia, checked bags within the free allowance whose weight exceeds 70 lbs will be assessed three excess baggage charges.

Here’s the Schedule for the Trip to Rome and Florence:

Oct. 20 – Rome: We are met by our tour guide and transferred to the City.  Enroute we stop to visit the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls – there we will have Evening Prayer.  We will be then taken to our hotel to settle in and have a “welcome diner.”  (Overnight Rome)

Oct. 21 – Rome: This morning we will join the people for a Wednesday General Papal Audience with the Holy Father.  (Probably this will not be a Mass; but an opportunity to see and hear him and receive his blessing on us and on any religious objects we have with us.)  In the afternoon we will visit St. Peter’s Basilica and the many treasures of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.  Evening free for some “Rome by night sights” on our own.  (Overnight Rome)

Oct. 22 – Rome: Today we will take a guided tour of ancient and Christian Rome, the center of Western civilization and the heart of modern Italy, the “Eternal City” where three millennia of Mediterranean civilizations co-exist.  We will see the Roman Forum, tour the Colosseum, drive through the many famous piazzas  and see many of the “larger than life” monuments; including visits to the Basilicas of St. Peter, St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran, the nearby Holy Stairs, and the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.  (Overnight Rome)

Oct. 23 – Rome: This day is intentionally kept free from any guided tour so that we might have time to explore further (and with leisure! – so as not to wear ourselves down) the many places we saw on the tour and/or other places of interest.  (Overnight Rome)

Note: This trip has been purposely planned so that we might not have to do too much traveling or spending time in the bus.  But, to add something a little more, we will be driving through the beautiful Tuscany valleys to Florence, where we will overnight twice, and then back to Rome the Umbria territory with a stop at the hilltop town of Orvieto.

Oct. 24 – Tuscany & Florence: This morning we will depart for the scenic rolling hills of Chianti in the Tuscany area of Italy, on the wine road between Florence and Siena.  This is the land of the black rooster, symbol of the Chianti Classico consortium.  We will visit the Vicchio Maggio, the villa where the model for Leonardo de Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was born, now owned by an Englishman.  We will have a leisurely lunch and a wine tour of the estate before coming to Florence.  (Overnight Florence)

Oct. 25 – Florence: After breakfast we will depart for a tour of Florence: including The Cathedral of Florence (Duomo), its bell tower and baptistery.  In the afternoon we will be free to explore some of the great museums, including the Academia (home of Michelangelo’s David) and the Ponte Vecchio bridge with all its shops.  (Overnight Florence)

Oct. 26 – Florence to Orvieto to Rome: We depart Florence this morning and drive through Umbria to the hilltop town of Orvieto, famous for its wine and the Cathedral, considered one of the most beautiful in Italy.  We take a funicular (cable car) to the town, where we see the “dodecagon”, a rare and unique twelve-sided figure, at Sant’ Andrea Church on Piazza Republice, in the form of a twelve-sided bell tower, visit the Cathedral, celebrate Mass and have time to explore the town, before settling down to an early dinner with local wine and traditional food – Orvieto is famous for its food and boasts some of the best in Italy.  (Overnight in Rome near the airport.)  

Oct. 27 – Rome to USA: Transfer to airport for flight home.