We woke up on Sunday to a gray drizzly San Francisco morning, appropriate given that I was about to say goodbye to my husband for several weeks (seven to be exact). We had breakfast at the Seal Rock Inn, down by Ocean Beach, and then drove along the ocean toward SFO, without a doubt the most scenic way to get to the airport. I won't be seeing this ocean for a while!
We arrived at the airport about an hour before the check-in counter opened. At $1 for every 12 minutes of parking, we both decided that Chip shouldn't wait! So we said our goodbyes and, although I didn't think it would happen, I got rather misty as I watched him walk away, turning around for one last wave several times. I will miss him so much!
The check-in counter finally opened, and I soon learned that my two suitcases were a bit too heavy (this is an understatement actually!). The extra cost was outrageous (almost $500), but a nice woman at the Lufthansa counter told me that I could purchase a box, throw some of my things in there, and pay for an extra piece of luggage, which was substantially cheaper (about $100). Good thing I arrived at the airport with lots of time to spare. I really didn't plan to have to repack!
And suddenly I was on the plane bound for Italy (via Frankfurt). It was an extremely long (11 hours) but uneventful flight. The two passengers in my row were thankfully silent, which allowed me a lot of time to read and to try sleep. The seats were extremely small without much legroom (even for me!), but the flight attendants went out of their way to make the flight comfortable -- hot towels, free drinks, two full meals, and a couple of movies. Even so, the flight seemed unbearably long. We finally reached Frankfurt, and it was wonderful just to get up to stretch my legs. However, I had less than an hour before my flight to Florence left, so I had to hustle. I breezed through customs, which amounted to nothing but a quick glance at my boarding pass and an immediate stamp. I expected much more!
The flight to Florence was about one hour and ten minutes, and what a flight it was. I dozed a bit in the beginning, and when I opened my eyes, I was staring out over the Alps, completely covered in snow. I've dreamed my whole life of seeing the Alps, and to see them from the air like this was too spectacular for words. And a short while later, we were flying fairly low over the Tuscan countryside. It looked just like all the photos I've seen: the palatial villas, the vineyards on the hillsides, and those wonderful, graceful cypress trees lining curving drives.
And then we touched down in Florence. Everything was a breeze. I grabbed my luggage (all three pieces made it!), put it on a cart, and wheeled it right out of the airport to the taxi stand. I first had to go by the leasing company to complete some paperwork. The ride was an E-ticket ride (that's one of the cultural references that is soon losing its meaning, isn't it?). My driver flew down impossibly narrow cobblestone streets with only slivers of sidewalk, with other cars, bicycles, and pedestrians all vying for a position. We had several close calls, which frightened me, but didn't seem to faze anyone else involved. I know that soon I'll be aggressively walking down those same streets!
No comments:
Post a Comment