We went over to Michelle's for pizza for lunch and watched the beginning ceremonies for the World Cup which happens every four years, like the Olympics. This is a REALLY big deal for the Europeans. After lunch we went home and finished some last minute things.
It was determined that the head gasket on "Greta" needs to be replaced so we took the car over to A.T.U. to get it replaced while we are away. We drove the car to A.T.U. then walked next door to McDonalds to get a drink while we waited for our taxi. It was hot! 85 degrees. Finally the taxi came and it was a woman. She was from Persia. She had a TV monitor and DVD player on her visor and she was watching the World Cup!
Quickly we arrived at the airport and traded out our Czech currency for Euros. We found our gate and sat waiting. There was a blonde woman who left her luggage not once, not twice but three times! And I noticed she did not ask anyone around her to watch her luggage. It made me very nervous. When the clerk finally came, I told him she had left her luggage unattended. He thanked me and said he'd keep an eye on her.
We were supposed to board at 6:55pm but because the plane was late we were late in boarding. I went to ask about connecting flights and the clerk said it would be a few minutes and, in fact, the plane arrived and we were on board quickly. We had aisle seats (which we like) and since my section was full and Ted's was empty, I moved over to Ted's section and he moved to the window seat but we didn't do it until after the plane had leveled off in the air. I no sooner got situated when the plane was ready to land! It was a wonderful short flight.
We flew to Frankfurt from Stuttgart and then boarded another flight to Venice. It was our first time at the Frankfurt airport. They have people movers like in the states and I saw a man riding his bicycle through the airport! That certainly was unexpected! We were in Terminal A and had to go to Terminal B. We had to go through a tunnel below us that had two of the longest people movers I've ever ridden on.
As we came up the elevator, there was our gate. Since we had more than an hour to wait, we decided to grab a sandwich and a drink. After munching on some food, I checked the free newspapers Lufthansa provides and YAY! There was a copy of USA Today. I had already picked up the Financial times at the Stuttgart airport, now I'll have something to read. As we sat and chatted, I double-checked the hotel reservation and then called them to verify our room was non-smoking.
The clerk complimented me on my Italian. The lady sitting across from me smiled and I started talking to her. It turns out she is a flight attendant for a private airlines and she lives in Northern Italy. All too soon it was time to go but lo and behold, my seat partner was none other than the flight attendant. We talked non-stop the entire flight until it was time to land. Meanwhile, Ted napped.
At the airport we walked together to the baggage. She only had one bag but she gave both of us a hug and wished us a good vacation. Meahwhile, we waited for our bags. It was interesting in that the baggage carousel looked like a roullette wheel! In all the flying we've done over the years, we have never seen anything like it.
After asking the Carabinieri where the departure area was, we grabbed our luggage and went upstairs outside to call the hotel and get a pickup. As soon as we walked outside we were hit with a blast of very, hot, very humid air and it made us very sticky. And it was going on midnight!
Soon enough the shuttle bus came to get us. At the hotel we checked in. After taking a shower, we just wanted to sleep but we could not, and I mean could not find the switch for the lights on the wall above the night stand. I even called the desk but there was no answer. We checked every switch in the room and could not find them. We finally resorted to unscrewing the light bulbs to turn them off. And now we could sleep and it was wonderful.
Friday 06/11/2010
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