Europe 2010 – Getting There
As some of you may know Derek and I embarked on a whirlwind tour of Europe, thanks to him having to go with work, back in March. Everyone has been asking how it went, what our favorite places were, etc. so over the next few days (baby allowing) I am going to write about the highlights of the trip.
I’ll start with the day Derek was supposed to leave. His flight from Buffalo to Newark was canceled due to weather and we got an extra night with him. He ended up getting to Madrid a day late and had to go right into work after his 7 hour car trip to Newark (didn’t want to chance another cancellation) and then 8 hour plane ride to Madrid. I don’t know how he did it, but my man is awesome!
This of course made me even more nervous about getting to Europe on my own, but fortunately for me all my flights were right on time! I have a difficult time sleeping on planes, so even though I did close my eyes a bit on the way there, it was a very loooong flight. Especially for someone who has not flown anywhere in at least three years. Thankfully, Derek had pre-paid for a ride for me to our hotel from Milpensa airport near Milan. They would be waiting for me with my name on a sign right outside the baggage claim.
Unfortunately for jet-lagged, no sleep me, that person never showed up. Also unfortunately for me, I only know a few “key” phrases in Italian, AND had no clue how to use my international cell phone yet. So when the taxi driver came up to me and asked if I needed a ride, I went into a whirlwind of English explaining my predicament. He did not speak English. BUT very close by there WAS someone who spoke English and he not only helped me try and find the person I was looking for, for 25 minutes, but ended up driving me to our hotel.
Sandro was a wonderful guide and kept me awake by asking me all sorts of questions about the US and where we live. It did take us about two hours to get to the hotel because traffic was extremely heavy at that time of day, but it was an enjoyable ride!
By the time I got into the hotel room I was simply exhausted. I worshiped the shower for ten whole minutes and then fell into bed for a four hour nap. Next thing I knew, Derek was back from work and we were off for some sightseeing!
To be continued……..