This was our farewell day, which stretched for about 24 hours over Sunday, May 6 and Monday, May 7.
Being in Italy was wonderful. Flying to, and from Italy, and navigating the airports, was not. There’s no other way to put it.
I’m not really sure who designed these airports, or whether there was ever a rhyme or reason to them before they began adding on willy-nilly. But suffice to say that none of them are conducive to gracious travel. It’s more like trying to get through the cattle chute or perhaps the immigration center at Ellis Island. The crowds are too many, the twists and turns and long hallways are ridiculous. Going through security and customs seems to be something you have to do at least three times in each airport. Which makes no sense.
I don’t think I want to go to Milan airport again. It reminded me of the Philadelphia airport on its worst days. This is not a complement you understand. We’re kind of spoiled here in Orlando. For the most part, the airport is very traveler-friendly. Although I have noticed something that I’ll add near the end of this post.
One of the things that we had to do at the airport in Milan was to make a claim to get reimbursed for some of the money that we spent when we did our shopping. Why you can’t do that when you’re shopping, I have no idea. Wouldn’t that seem the logical thing; one stop shopping, including whatever reimbursement comes because you are from out of the country. But no. Instead, you have to go up to a large vending machine, and follow the instructions to a T, and that will get you the piece of paper that you need to then give to some real person, so that they can process that. The line at the vending machines, which there were three that we could see for the whole airport, were rather long. As was every point along the way in this airport. Long long, long long long lines. We waited our turn. We had a little bit of a portent of what was to come because we watched the people in front of us having trouble making the machine do what it was supposed to do. The same was true for us. I am sure that the steps were absolutely clear to the person who designed the machine, and to which I say that person should have to go out to the Milan airport at eight every morning and stay there, repeatedly using the machine, until five at night. Like something out of "Metropolis" (as in the vintage silent film, and not the city where you would find Clark Kent).
The flight across the Atlantic was long. I got caught up on some of the latest-release movies on the way. I think I saw five. There weren’t too many other ways to pass the time.
Then we arrived at JFK airport in New York City. Once again, long lines, here, there, and everywhere else. And I have to say, I think I’ll avoid JFK if I can in the future. The whole process makes one very envious of the people who can charter a private plane and go willy-nilly wherever they wish to go. Not for the glamour side of it, but for the convenience side of it.
Well, as Sunday turned to Monday, we waited for our plane to Orlando. I think we had a four hour wait. Which is better than having 45 minutes to schlep from one place to another. Indeed, though we were eager to be home, the relative, quiet of waiting was a relief after all the lines and crowds. And then the relatively short flight back to Orlando.
We like the Orlando airport and we’ve flown in and out of it so frequently that it really does feel familiar. However, they’ve just recently opened the new terminal C. I haven’t looked up to see who the architect was, but like the person who created the sales reimbursement vending machines in Milan, the architect should have to repeatedly navigate terminal C, and get back to the main terminal and then go out to terminal C again over and over, of course, having to access the gates at the furthest end of the terminal. For what you have when you get off your plane is a curving hallway. It’s nice and broad. But it curves just enough that you really can’t see the end of it. So as you trudge along you don’t know whether you have a short distance, middle distance, or, a long distance to go. You have absolutely tired feet after traveling for such a long time. It is so unlike the other Orlando terminals, where even the furthest gate really isn’t that far away, and you can see ahead of time where you’re going. Terminal C feels interminably terminal, an experience for the traveler that is one of frustration. At least it was for me.
Oh, there’s some attempt at mindbending art on the curved walls to help relieve the long, curving walk, but truthfully, that doesn’t do it. They could’ve repeated the design of terminal A and terminal B when they did terminal C. It would’ve been much nicer for the traveler.
Just as she had taken us to the airport at the beginning of our trip, Annie came to the airport to pick us up. It was great to get hugs and to climb into her car, and sit back and relax as she drove us home.
All in all we enjoyed being in Italy, and with the group that we were with, both our extended family group, and the larger tour group. We made a lot of memories, and every once in a while we will see, or hear some thing that takes us back. For example, anytime, I hear the song, “Come Back to Sorrento“ I am transported back to Sorrento. And it seems every other advertisement or promotion has some glamorous-looking people on a boat, and in the background is the arch cave-like opening at Capri. I wonder how many times I saw that before our trip but didn’t realize what I was seeing.
We are glad we had the chance to go. We are glad we went in the late spring, because it turned out this summer has been even more crowded than it was when we were there, and truly, I couldn’t believe the crowds. The weather has also been much less pleasant as the Italian summer has dragged on.
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