On to the Next Thing!

Sicily here we come! Only an hour’s drive to return the car, a shuttle to the airport, two flights and another shuttle before we get to our next destination – Taormina.

We needed to leave Greve by 7:00 am in order to have time to return our car and for Tina and Dave to check in for their 9:45 flight to Munich. Sounded early the night before, but at 5:00 am I was wide awake anyway, so that made it easier. Maybe all that wine last night helped, but I had a pretty good sleep.

So off we went, a few minutes before 7 and made it to the car rental place with only one wrong turn just before the end.

We were there in plenty of time, said our good-byes to our dear friends, and then Don and I had no trouble boarding our first flight with our overweight carry ons and two massive “personal items”. Even though, when we were waiting near a different gate, I saw several people made to check their items and be charged 65 euros to boot. I think it is very much up to the discretion of the flight attendants at the gate. Our lady didn’t seem too bothered.

That small kindness really helped us at our Rome connection, because then all we had to do was move from the gate we arrived at to the gate we were departing from without further ado. Which we did. And grabbed two amazing paninis on the way to eat later, since both of our puddle jumpers have no food service. Best airport sandwiches we have ever had – prociutto cotto e fromaggio.

We eventually boarded our flight to Catania, Sicily and are currently in the air as I am typing this part of the blog. We can hardly wait to land, grab the shuttle to Taormina, and meet up with our friends Joan and Mike, who are waiting for us at our hotel there.

We are definitely looking forward to four blissful days of no planes, trains, busses or automobiles.

As we were hurrying up and waiting for the second time today, we decided that future travel is not going to include connections on the same day. Wherever we land first, that is where we are going to stay. For at least three days. Then, we will try to plan a minimal amount of moving from one place to another for the balance of the trip. It’s just not that fun anymore. Though I do still get a thrill when we finally take off and are on our way.

After a bit of a rough start (I think Tina and Dave probably made it home before we got to Taormina), I think Sicily might be starting to grow on us. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.