I am just Ms. Posty McPosterson today.

I was chagrined to see that Northwest Airlines, my usual airline of choice and the frequent flier program in which I participate, jacked up their prices to Rome. I wonder if that has anything to do with their whole bankruptcy thing. Anyway, in good news, American (with whom I also have miles, though not as many) is now offering a better price.

In general, I am in favor of the European Union. I think it’s done some very good things for some of the poorer countries in Europe (Greece, Portugal), and it’s nice to have a consolidated voice of reason in the western world. I am also crazy for the euro, though it would be nice if the dollar were stronger. One time, pre-euro, I was stuck in Dusseldorf on a several-hour layover, and I was very annoyed by the prospect of having to exchange my dollars to deutschmarks to just buy a damn bottle of water. Fortunately the Germans, civilized folks that they are, had free water in nice little cups at the airport.

So anyway, yeah, I like the EU. However, one little thing that saddens me a bit is that you no longer get your passport stamped when you go between EU countries. From the pages in my passport, you’d think I’ve spent a lot of time in Amsterdam and nowhere else in Europe in the last several years. But no! I have never even stepped outside the Amsterdam airport. I just connect there a lot because it’s a hub for Northwest/KLM.

So as I shop around for flights to Rome, I find myself thinking about what itinerary would cool up my passport the most. Right now American has three different routes to choose from: connecting through Brussels, through London, and through Zurich. I think Brussels is out (even though I’ve always wanted to try genuine Belgian pommes frites) because it’s a very short layover, and we’ll have to do customs and baggage control. Yuck.

I’d rather not do London, because I already have a London stamp, and since the UK doesn’t use the euro, I’d be stuck in that same Dusseldorf situation if I wanted to buy anything.

[Oh duh. I forgot about the international currency of Visa. But it’s almost as dumb to put a bottle of water on a Visa as it is to exchange for pounds sterling.]

So that leaves us with Zurich: exciting Swiss stamp on my passport, pretty short flight down to Rome, and a reasonable layover.

I really want to buy these tickets, but maybe I should wait a little longer to see if any price wars arise. Oh, the exquisite torture of travel planning.