A week later John and Michael sat in their spacious seats in the first class cabin of their non-stop flight to Rome, Italy. Michael took a sip from his cocktail and looked over to John. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention to you that my fiancée Jennifer will be joining me. Her schedule was such that she's taking a later flight out today. She will join up with me at the hotel later in the afternoon, she's promised she wouldn't get in our way, she's got lots of sightseeing she wants to do. I've never taken her anywhere on a business trip before. She's worked on me very hard to go on this one and she's never done that before. This seemed very important to her."
John had been booked in a very large room on the third floor on the back side of the hotel while Michael and his Fiancé were to have a suite on the top floor on the front side of the hotel. They met up an hour later and sat in the hotel restaurant having breakfast and discussing the first day's activities that were planned. "John I will need you for today's meetings for sure and I may need you to inspect their production facilities day after tomorrow that will most likely end up being an all-day affair. You can sightsee or do some tourist shopping the days I don't need you, keep your cell phone handy in case I have a tech question I need answered. I'll try to bring you up to speed on the day's activities when I return to the hotel at night. And remember, use your company credit card for everything, we're covering all of this for you, even gift purchases."
The first day was mostly a lot of handshaking and business talk. A couple of times John was needed to explain some aspect of their product as it concerned production. When he arrived back at the hotel, it was after six thirty. He needed a shower and a nap. He thought he would get dinner after he got out of the shower but after lying on the top of the bed relaxing, he realized he was far too tired to go out for dinner, he figured it was jet lag so he ordered room service. After he ate he fell immediately into a deep sleep.
He woke up the next morning thinking about what he was going to do with a whole day to himself. He decided to check with the hotel Concierge and get information on tours he could go on. The Concierge looked to be in his late forties, salt and pepper hair and spoke very good English but with a strong Italian accent. "I would suggest that you take what is called a ride and walk tour first. It will provide you with the biggest overview of Rome and its history and main attractions. After that, I would suggest the Vatican and Sistine chapel tour. From there you can visit the Coliseum and the Imperial Forum ruins, both are within walking distance of each other." John took his advice and signed up for the ride and walk tour first.