e-Tickets in Hand
It turns out that Italy is a go. We've shortened the planned stay to just three weeks. We'll leave in the middle of September and return during the first week of October.
Method of Purchase
Rome is one European city to which no charters fly from Vancouver. Whereas summer flights to London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and even Paris are cheap, we had to search through regularly-scheduled flights to Italy.
We called around to different travel agents and found nothing less than $1600 per ticket! If one has the time, it's easy to keep trying on Expedia. Over the course of many days, one just keeps plugging in different dates and times. Travel agents in this day and age may be able to only offer deals known to them. Unfortunately, for many itineraries, they are as nearly in the dark as a potential customer.
I found that it is generally four or five hundred dollars cheaper to leave from Seattle. By trying different days of the week, I hit upon a special deal. When clicking to price, a special notice popped up and advised, "We found a better price for your selected flights!" As it turns out, for a bit over $820 each, we can fly round-trip from Seattle to Rome. That's almost half the price quoted from YVR. Of course, there's the additional hassle of getting down there in time for the flight. Even after adding in hotels near Seatac for both the departing and arriving flight and the airport shuttle bus, we still come out saving hundreds of dollars. It showed a strange routing:
Going:So, last night, when all travel agents around here were shut, I entered credit card and passport numbers, and voila! We are now confirmed to FCO and back. Don't tell me the Internet hasn't affected how we conduct business nowadays!
Seattle to New York on American Airlines
New York to Rome on Delta Airlines
Returning:
Rome to Los Angeles on Alitalia
Los Angeles to Seattle on Alaska Airlines