We had a great time on our summer vacation to Italy. Hopefully I'll have time to write a second post about how great the trip was, but this post is about how ridiculous the actual travel was.
Given all of the craziness going on in our lives I wasn't sure it was a great time to spend 10 days in Europe, but I'm very glad we did. It was a great test of how the boys and I can travel (and survive airport irregularities) by ourselves. Kyle went on vacation with us, but since his travel was booked separately than ours, we ended up on different flights at different times. The scary part for me was changing planes in NY on our way out and in Toronto on our way back. I am a stressed out flier always trying to make sure that my kids and I are not the hold up at security and to make sure that we are where we need to be when we need to be there.
Unfortunately, the airports in question did not help us out! We landed in NY late so I was concerned about getting to our next flight on time. My ticket told me that we needed to be in terminal 4 (we landed in terminal 2). There is a quick tram to terminal 4 so I was headed in that direction when I stopped to ask a Delta employee which gate we needed to go to once we arrived in terminal 4. Very politely she told me that my ticket was incorrect and that all flights to Rome left out of terminal 1. Confused I asked every delta employee I saw on my long walk through a construction site to terminal 1. Every employee, equally polite and friendly, assured me we needed to be in terminal 1. Well, every employee expect for the employee in terminal 1 who just as politely told me we were in the wrong terminal and needed to be in terminal 4! We made it to terminal 4 just as our flight was beginning to board. The security employee (not quite as friendly as the others) let us go through a quicker security line and we made it to our gate just in time to get on board - phew!
We made it to Rome and met Kyle and were able to get to our rental car without too much hassle - it wasn't hassle free, just not too much hassle :)
Our week in Tuscany was fantastic. Relaxing by the pool, quick day trips to nearby cities Montelpulciano and Florence, and great food and wine and people! Truly an amazing time. Then we went on to Rome where we encountered a little navigation mixup that kept sending us in circles but eventually made it to our hotel. Rome is also great but very hot with lots of walking and far too many people to make it an easy place to comfortably walk around. However, we had a great time here as well. But, by the end of the trip I was ready to get back home and sleep in my own air conditioned bedroom. Again, the airports made it difficult.
We were able to get to our flight easy enough only to discover that the plane for our 10 hour trip to Toronto had no entertainment system and all three of us were in middle seats. I was very concerned that the kids were going to get restless and bother people around them during the flight because they didn't have enough to keep them busy. Jameson and Michael had already finished all of the books they brought to read and the power supply on the ipads was not going to get them through the entire flight. Some how they managed to stay entertained and only got restless at the very end of the flight.
But, then we landed in Toronto. This is where the stress level hit the roof. We were hot, tired and the boys were restless after spending 10 hours cooped up. Toronto airport is not friendly nor is it easy. We landed and got off of the plane. Stood in line on the runway to show our passports to security officers at the end of the runway. Then, we got in line again and went through Canadian customs. Pretty standard stuff so far, but then it gets interesting. We leave customs to get our luggage which is arriving on an overcrowded carousel. I have to push through people to finally get our luggage and then start the LONG trek to recheck our luggage - at least a ten minute walk which was very difficult for overtired boys pulling suitcases that are very heavy. We get to the location we think need to be at and see a sign indicating "WestJet customers here...all others here." Since we weren't flying WestJet we stood in the other line. Only, after waiting several minutes, to be told that we needed to leave that line to go to the Delta check in counter - apparently all others does not really mean all others. We manage to get three suitcases up the escalator (special thanks to the young Canadian women who stood at the top of the escalator and watched as Mike tripped over the suitcase getting off and simply watched as I followed him to a bottleneck at the top of the escalator. Luckily there wasn't anyone behind us and we were able to right the suitcases and get on our way.) After that I am in a ripe mood - stressed and annoyed! We get to the Delta counter and attempt to use the kiosk - which doesn't work (and, the last time I was in Toronto the kiosks did not work and the not-so-helpful employees told us we needed to keep trying kiosks before we could get in line. Forget that! This time I told the boys I didn't care if the kiosks didn't work, we were now running late for our flight and needed to get our bags checked. I went to the counter for help and was told that I didn't really need to be at the counter I needed to go through US customs. UGH! why aren't all employees ever on the same page! So, we make it through US customs (my favorite question at the customs counter - how long were you in Canada? Ummm, at this point at least an hour longer than I needed to be!), drop our bags on the carousel, and get in line for security. Now I think we are actually in decent shape because there are only 6 or so people ahead of us in line. WRONG! I'm not sure what intelligence the screener was working off of, but it took us 30 minutes to get through security. We get to the other side of security, collect our belongings and look at our tickets for gate information. MISSING! I start looking for a departure board for our gate listing and there is NO BOARD. WHAT? I find an employee, she politely tells us which gate and we are on our way. Phew! We made it to the gate and boarded the plane without incident.
Luckily our arrival in Boston was easy, our luggage arrived quickly and we got in our car and drive home without traffic! Sadly, my dream of sleeping in my airconditioned bed was squashed when I got home to a hot, humid house. Our AC unit is broken and won't be fixed for a few more days (an new system is required). But, we are home and ready to begin the process of packing up our house and moving our lives across the world!
In the end, I learned some valuable lessons on this vacation...
- The kids are at great ages for traveling. They are curious about history and cultural differences and still enjoy being with their parents (for the most part)
- Kids provide specific, if not obvious, signs that can't be ignored if we are to avoid meltdowns - after three hours walking around in brutal heat the kids are going to start saying they are hungry or thirsty, it is best to immediately find a cafe and sit. What they mean is they need a break. If we get to a resting spot quickly enough, the afternoon can be sacrificed. If not, we are likely to have cranky kids (and cranky mom to be brutally honest.)
- Airports generally SUCK. As long as we stay calm and keep moving we'll be fine.
- And #1 - NEVER, EVER, EVER fly through the Toronto airport. I would rather drive then go to the Toronto airport.
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