Volare…Flying to Italy
Today is the day! The long awaited day. It is now Monday, July 11, 2016. We woke up with a sense of anticipation. One last breakfast at our friends’ Eve and Ken’s house, then packing up our remaining belongings into our suitcases.
Their daughter, Grace, was very kind to offer us a ride to the airport that morning. We had said good-bye to Ken the previous evening as he works in Chicago and had left very early that Monday morning. Eve rode with us, so we were able to say good-bye to her before Grace dropped her off at her work as it was on the way to the airport.
A hug for Grace and best wishes to her as she was also starting her own adventure later that week. She was moving to Austin, Texas to start her new career, having just graduated from college.
We have now arrived at the Madison airport with plenty of time to spare. We breathed a sigh of relief as our suitcases were all under 50 pounds! That was one of the biggest challenges we had in preparing for our trip. We had four suitcases with enough clothes, shoes, toiletry items to last several weeks, plus cords and various other items. Then, we had our four carry-on bags (one personal, plus one carry-on each). In total, eight pieces of luggage. Once we checked-in using our American passports, we proceeded to the TSA Pre-Check boarding area, went through security and waited to board the plane.
Without any delays, we boarded the plane that would fly to Chicago O’Hare airport. This was a short flight and we arrived in the early afternoon.
Navigating through the O’Hare airport was manageable. In times past, we generally had to go to the opposite terminal weaving our way throughout the airport. This time, we arrived in the same terminal as our departure to Madrid, Spain would be, so it was only a matter of walking to the end of the terminal. On our way, we checked the departure times and our flight to Madrid was scheduled to leave on time.
It was now 4:15 pm and we were ready to board the plane to Madrid. This would be the longest flight, just over 8 hours of flying time. Throughout the flight, we checked the monitor to see the distance we had flown and how many miles we still had to go. The flight was smooth, with a few spots of turbulence.
It was now Tuesday morning, July 12, 2016, and we had just landed in Madrid, Spain. As we took the shuttle bus to the terminal, we noticed that this airport was quite strange. We all had to walk quite a distance up many ramps that went through glass-encased corridors. Besides the passengers, there really wasn’t anyone else around, including airport personnel. It was such a strange feeling.
We then exited into a large room where we saw groups of people waiting in the customs line ahead of us. As we approached, an airport security person said we should go left since we were Americans, but to her surprise, we showed her our Italian passports. One of the benefits of dual citizenship! We were then told to go right through the expedited self-check-in kiosks. Figuring out what to do was a bit challenging, but Larry and I managed to get through it with no issues. We were then told to board the train to terminals HJK.
When we exited the train, we checked the monitors for the departure time and gate for Bologna, Italy. We noticed that only terminal K was listed without a gate number. When we enquired, they said it might be K93, but they weren’t sure. Since we had plenty of time, we made our way to terminal K, which was on the other side of the airport. The airport was not very crowded, was colorful and had an airy feeling due to the extremely high ceilings and glass windows.
We reached our “supposed” gate number K93 and waited. The departure time had come and gone. We wondered if we were in the right place. Finally, the airline staff announced the flight and we started boarding.
Next stop, Bologna, Italia!!! We smiled as we saw the “Benvenuti a Bologna” signs, welcoming us to Italy. As we got off the plane, we made our way to the baggage area and the place to pick up our rental car.
In the meantime, I had put in the Italian SIM card into my iPhone that I had used last summer when we had visited Parma. Our friend and Airbnb host, Valentina, had topped it up with 20 euros so I could use it temporarily until I would be able to get a permanent cell phone plan. I then called Valentina to say we had arrived in Bologna and would arrive later that day in Parma. Next, I contacted Marco, the father of one of my relatives. Marco lives in Bologna and we had previously arranged to meet for lunch upon our arrival in Bologna. Marco arrived in short order by scooter. It was so nice to see him again. He then took us to a nearby restaurant where we had a pasta lunch.
Now the last leg our our journey. We drove to Parma, which was an hour’s drive from Bologna. We were feeling a bit tired due to the seven-hour difference in time, and we had not slept much on the planes.
Soon we were in Parma at the same Airbnb apartment we had stayed at last summer. Our friend, Valentina (who owns the apartment) welcomed us with hugs and kisses! We really appreciated her hospitality. She knew we would be tired from our long journey, so she had waiting for us all the fixings to make a simple pasta meal.
After resting a bit, I prepared our first meal: pesto pasta with salad, treccia (braided mozzarella), prosciutto and fresh baked bread. I went a bit heavy on the pesto, as Italians only use a scant amount, but I love pesto! To my surprise was the treccia (pronounced TRAY-cha). I had grown up in Watertown, Connecticut and my family would make antipasto before a special meal. It usually consisted of treccia, provolone, and a variety of meats (prosciutto, mortadella, salami), roasted red peppers and olives. When I moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1980 to go to graduate school, I was dismayed to learn that a local Italian deli did not offer treccia. In fact, they did not know what it was! When I mentioned this to my family, my father and sister also commented that they had not had treccia in the USA since moving from Connecticut. So, what a nice surprise to see treccia again after 36 years!
The next morning, after a restful evening, Larry and I walked to the local grocery store to buy few a items for our breakfasts and lunches. And, I had to smile when I saw I could buy treccia on a regular basis now!
