We arrived in Verona on Thursday (happy birthday to me!) around 3pm Italian time (9am EST) after two flights and a long bus ride. The group went through Logan together, which was nice since I was really nervous about flying again and having to do it on my own. Of course, my carry-on bag got pulled out at security because I forgot to put my brand-new bottle of face wash in my checked luggage. I had them throw it out rather than check my second bag. Now I know for next time.
Before getting on the plane I bought a roast beef & cheddar sandwich with a bottle of water. It was delish. And I have generously provided a mouth-watering professional-looking photograph of it for your stomach's viewing pleasure (You'd better enjoy it. I looked super silly taking it in the airport):
We took Aer Lingus from Boston-Dublin first, which was very enjoyable! I was so excited to feel the plane take off, and I loved watching out the window! I think I was supposed to have a window seat, but I wasn't sure, so another person in my group, Pat, sat near the window, and we switched during the night so I could lean on the wall to sleep, haha. The first thing I did after we took off was browse the TV and movie listings, and I finally watched The Artist, which I greatly enjoyed! I kept thinking that the drinks should be shaking, or pencils rolling off the tables depending on what the plane was doing at the time. Then I would remember that I was watching a movie.
I took notes mid-flight, so I'm going to write them down for you. The TV screen in front of me also had the flight details, which I thought was really cool!
Wed, May 23rd.
Aer Lingus at 9:45pm EST (2:46am Dublin time). 3 hrs left to go. -77 degrees F outside. 569 mph ground speed. Either 11277 miles or kilometers high [I forget]. Good airplane food. Had chicken and rice [so hot that Pat burned his mouth], tiny salad, cheese and crackers, roll, brownie, coffee or tea. Met several more people. Pat is dying-no ESPN, can't watch the Celtics game. Finally watched The Artist! Most of the movie selections are rated R-weird? and disappointing. Started watching documentary on coke franchise, then remembered that I should be sleeping or trying to expand my severely limited Italian vocabulary [yes, I actually wrote that in my short-hand notes. And no, I have not been studying]. Did you know that coke is sold in more countries than are part of the United Nations? They claim they reach 90% of the world's population [also taken directly from my notes]. Trying to sleep now. Goodnight family. Goodnight Zach. Ciao! [P.S. Saved brownie and cheese & crackers for later, but I didn't trust the cheese after being in my backpack for the next few hours. I had the brownie for breakfast].
These are pics from the first plane ride from Logan to Dublin! You can see the clouds, and then the Irish farmland when we got lower! On the second flight to Milan, the view was even better, but I was two seats away from the window, and didn't want to be rude. The best part? We flew over the Alps in broad daylight, which was magnificent!
Before taking off from Logan, our plane needed some kind of repairs, so we left almost an hour late. It didn't seem to be a problem, but when we landed in Dublin we had to run through customs as fast as we could to catch the plane to Milan. And customs made me throw out my water bottle. I was really thirsty already and the Dublin-Milan plane ride charged 2 euro for water. Should I have bought the water? Probably. But I would have finished my bottle before customs if I had known! Besides the charge for everything, the second flight was on a smaller Aer Lingus plane, and so cramped that I can hardly imagine someone bigger than myself sitting comfortably! You probably want to know if I slept on either flight, right? Well I am happy to report that yes, I did fall asleep for an hour on the first flight (and was awoken with orange juice for breakfast!). The second trip was a different story; Being so cramped, I couldn't get comfortable, so I laid my head on the dinner tray which worked well until the person in front of me (my professor) reclined their seat into my head. I also had a terrible ear ache from the change in pressure-first in one ear, then the other. I could feel it for several more hours when I opened my mouth. I was glad when that flight was over.
This is the view out of my window when we arrived at the Dublin airport (in case you couldn't tell where we were)!
We got off the plane, went through the Milan airport, grabbed our luggage and then took a 2ish hour (or more, I lots track of time) bus ride from Milan to Verona. This was my favorite part because (1) we had the bus to ourselves and could spread out, (2) the seats were more comfortable than either plane, (3) I could sleep (if I wanted to) and (4) the countryside was beautiful! Bright red poppies grow everywhere in Italy, or at least where I've traveled, and buildings really do look like the stereotypical, pastel colored, 3-4 story houses with iron-rail balconies, potted plants and red tile roofs! Also, I finally made those Italian flashcards.
This is my first view of Verona! Cool, huh. All of these pictures are taken from inside the bus. I live just a minute's walk away from the bridge we are on (notice there are no boats on the water. That will be very important in a later post).
P.S. This is posted May 27 @ 11pm (23:00) Italian time
