Trip Home...

Well, I left Italy on Sunday, but of course, there is always adventure in flying...

Maggie, Ray, Tony and I got to the airport around 7:50a.  They were flying to Chicago at 10a and I was headed to JFK at 10:20.  The line for check-in was enormous!  To quote Ray, "There is nothing glamorous about travel."  About 15 minutes later, they called all the people flying to Chicago.  They got checked in and within another 15 minutes, we said our goodbyes (with hopes of meeting in the gate area for coffee) and they were on their way.

I stayed in line... for a very long time!  At 9:30 I was still standing in line (along with about 25 other people going to JFK), looking at a board that said they were starting to board my flight... hmmm.  I think it finally hit the Italians that they needed to get us checked in.  At 9:45 I was on my way to security.  People were trying to make them understand that our flight was boarding... security shrugged and said, "You were late."  Ahh, patience.

I cleared security, which by the way, is much more lax than in the states and started trotting toward my gate.  I waved at Ray and Maggie's gate as I ran by (they were on board by then) and finally found my gate.  Ahh, the line to board the plane wrapped around the waiting area.  A nice lady held my spot in line while I ran and bought her and I a water for the flight.  By about 10:10 I was on board... no coffee and no breakfast... boo.

After everything, the flight didn't pull away from the gate until 11:10!  Oh well, we took off and landed safely at JFK a whopping 9 hours later.  I got my bag, cleared customs, rechecked my bag and headed to the gate for my final leg home.  Thank God, there was a Starbuck's in the concouse!  After being up for 15 hours, I was ready for some caffiene!  Wasn't as good as it was in Italy, but it was welcomed!

I made it back to Orlando, safe and sound.  My friend Lisa swooped me up at the airport and depositied me and my luggage at my front door... gotta love her!  I went and picked up Elsie (the pooch), came home, had some popcorn, unpacked the bags and headed off to bed a full 24 hours after I got up in Italy. Let me tell you, my bed never felt so good!