Off to Italy

Thursday, July 21, 2016--Berlin to Milan

Dieter and I were up at 5:30.  I showered and got dressed while he prepared a small breakfast of toast, cheese, cold cuts, and jam.  We ate and visited.  Then we headed out to catch the bus to the airport.

After a change of buses, we arrived at Berlin Tegel at 7:30--1 1/2 hours before my scheduled departure.  I was worried when we couldn't find an Air Berlin flight to Milan at 9:00.  Had they canceled it?  Inside we went to the information counter where a young lady of Indian descent explained that the flight is operated by Alitalia.  She told me the check-in counter numbers and the gate number and indicated the direction I should go for those.  I told her I am a volunteer information officer at our airport and that she had done a great job--that she was totally professional.

I was glad to know I was flying Alitalia when I saw the long line of people waiting to check in with Air Berlin.  Just beyond there was the Alitalia check-in station with 3 representations and NO ONE in line!!  I checked in and then walked back outside with Dieter to wait for his bus and to thank him for everything.

By 8:00, I was through the security check and at my gate.  I read from my novel as I waited.

On the flight, I sat beside a young man of Iranian descent.  He lives in Canada now where he graduated with degrees in applied mathematics and economics.  He is in the process of developing a web page and an app for an idea he has to connect people for various travel reasons--to share rides, to join groups headed to the same place, to match people to get together so that travelers meet local people and vice versa, etc.  I shared some of ideas for what would be nice to have within the app.

I waited 3 hours in the baggage claim area for Wes to arrive.  I spent the time reading the news, reading from my novel, etc.  It really flew by.  Then he walked right up to me.  Unfortunately, though, his bag didn't arrive.  He completed the paperwork related to that, and we left for our hotel--Hotel Dover.

It was HOT in Milan: 92 degrees F/33 degrees C.  It was miserable being outside, but today was our only day to explore Milan.  We walked to the center of town from our hotel and saw several of the major sights:  Milan Cathedral, La Scala Theater, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza Mercanti, Cinque Vie historic district, and Via Dante.

We were so tired that we bought sandwiches and brought them back to our room to eat.  Wes had flown overnight (spending his birthday yesterday on planes) to get here, so he took a melatonin tablet and went to bed at 8:30.  Since I got up early, I followed him to bed about 45 minutes later.