Going Home

Written By: Kim - Aug• 28•11

Our last day in Italy was one we would not forget.

Given our less than stellar ability to navigate between Rome and Praiano in the normal three hours it takes between the two areas, we left at 5 am for an 11 am flight out of Rome. Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport was our goal. I had asked my husband if we should top off the gas tank on Friday. He answered no. This will end badly.

We could drive the Coastal Almalfi road at this time of the day about as fast as you can drive a windy road with hairpin turns. Unlike American gas stations which might be open 24 hours, the ones we found are not open at 5 am. When we finally found a sign for gas, we pulled off the coastal highway and ended up at a gas station that only took it’s company credit card. None of the directions were in English, so we put € 20 in the machine. The pump we picked did not work. As we continued to panic about our gas situation, I walked around to other pumps and began pressing the buttons. One of the pumps came on. We were once again on our way to Rome.

Connor, me & Abigail on the ride home. ©Mike Howard

Since we did not completely fill up the tank, a second stop at a Shell gas station was necessary about two hours later. On the Autostrada we saw a sign that said “Aeroporto Ciampano” and I told Mike not to take that exit because we were headed to Fiumicino. Surely there would be a sign for our airport, too. Not. After another hour on the Rome beltway, we pulled over and found out we had to turn around. Of course, the person who told us to do that seemed unsure of himself. We were on the north side of the beltway. The airport is on the southwestern side of the city. Sigh. Did I mention that I will never rent a car in another country for as long as I live?

We finally pulled in to the airport garage where Avis was located at 9:15 am. The British family beside us was already out of there car and their young son had gotten sick all over himself. I quickly asked my kids to give them the bottled water we had left to help clean him off. Poor kid and parents. At least we didn’t have that to contend with.

Of course famous Italian customer service yielded another time waster checking in the car. The Avis employee never came over to us, so we went to the office. The office told us he should have checked us in but he just stood at his station. Send that guy back to basic training because he sucks.

After winding our way to the main terminal, we found it to be packed with travelers. Saturday is one of the busiest travel days for pleasure. We read the boards to find out which check in counter we needed: 500. Well, the counters only go to 499. What the hell? We turned around to see a sign that said, “To check in counters 500+” so we walked outside the main terminal only to get on to another bus. The bus, as was every single Italian bus we were ever on, was already packed. We managed to squeeze on with our 11 bags.

Please don’t judge us. This total included all carry ons and we’ve already got a new plan for our next international trip: same size suitcases for everyone so that each of us only has one suitcase and one carryon. Major lesson learned there.

We waited almost 10 minutes while the bus driver finished up his conversation with an attractive United Airlines gate agent. Yes, flirting stops for no one in Italy; even passengers trying to make an international flight out.

Luckily, there was no one in line at United Airlines. We checked our bags and proceeded to security then to customs where I experienced, yet again, an Italian’s famous “me first” attitude. As I was retrieving my passport, a male passenger was being escorted by an airline employee. I am sure he was running extremely late for his flight since he had a personal escort. In his haste to hand the customs agent his passport, he knocked mine to the ground. He never picked it up nor offered an apology. Who does that?

I will say this for Fiumicino Airport: It has extremely nice duty-free shops. High-end stuff if you want it, tax free. It was lunch time and we all wanted to grab something to drink and eat.

Our flight was delayed by 30 minutes and the gate personnel loaded us late so we missed our spot in the departure queue. Another 40 minutes strapped in to our seats on the tarmac and we were finally on our way home to Washington, DC.

I have dreamed of visiting Italy for years. But, when we landed in the USA, I was so glad to get home. I would not trade our vacation for anything. If I never travel out of the US again, I am content with our experience. Traveling is a privilege and we do not take it lightly. But there is something extremely special about coming home.

 

 

More Serenity in Praiano

Written By: Kim - Aug• 23•11

After an early morning trip to the local grocer, I decided once again to stay around the apartment. The weather was overcast anyway. I read two books and played a lot of Scrabble on my iPad.

©Mike Howard

Mike took the kids, in the late afternoon, to LaPraia beach. This beach quickly became their favorite because many local children were there and interested in teaching our kids about cliff diving. Yes, I said cliff diving. They both partook eventually and enjoyed hanging out with the locals.

Since I did not want to forget any part of the trip, I typed iPad notes at the end of each day. While we were in Praiano, I did it from our balcony and generally in candlelight. Ok, it was really a bug repellent candle, but does that really matter? What inspiration, looking out on to the sea recapping our day.

I hear strains of “Strangers in the Night” playing. What a perfect, serene way to end another lovely day on the Almalfi Coast.