The Famous Orient Express Train Is Back in Italy-Here's What It's Like on Board

"The shower wasred marble, moodily lit. How long I spent there, scrubbing away airplane grime and jet lag with a bar of Guerlain soap, I have no idea. By the time I'd arrived in Rome and checked in to my suite at the Orient Express La Minerva, the magnificent flagship of the brand's new hotel portfolio, time had melted like a Dalí clock."

"It usually takes about nine hours to fly from Washington, D.C., to Rome. On this trip last spring, it had taken me 32, thanks to a perfect storm of maintenance problems, crew time-outs, and actual storms. Around two in the morning, a sympathetic pilot (our second of the evening) had finally leveled with us over the loudspeaker: "I don't know what they're going to tell you at the gate, but there is no way this plane is going to Rome tonight.""

"My shower was halfway resurrecting. A frothy cappuccino on the sun-warmed terrace of La Minerva's rooftop restaurant, Gigi Rigolatto, did the rest. Seven stories above the city, it smelled like citrus and jasmine, the fragrance carried on a breeze that raced over the terra-cotta roofs and rustled the tassels on the sun umbrellas. I ordered another coffee. I ordered spaghetti alle vongole. The fury of getting to Rome faded into the glory of being in Rome."

A transatlantic trip became a 32-hour ordeal because of maintenance problems, crew time-outs, and storms, culminating in a late-night announcement that the flight would not reach Rome. Arrival in Rome led to recovery at the Orient Express La Minerva, where a marble shower and Guerlain soap began the restoration. The rooftop restaurant Gigi Rigolatto offered fragrant cappuccino, sea-scented breezes, and views over terra-cotta roofs, turning travel fury into delight. The stay connected to the relaunch of Orient Express services in Italy, including the La Dolce Vita train, promising a revival of dignified, low-stress travel.

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