Day 20, August 22: I actually started writing in the journal a few things I learned while I was here and figured that would be all for this day. I had no idea that our trip home was going to be so eventful.
The train ride to the airport was speedy, 30 minutes. Jason still wanted to yell at those guys pretending to sell train tickets. The screen listing departures lists more locations than the signs above your head. There is Terminal A and B or 1 and 2 but there is also an N that doesn't have signage to it. That's where they put all the American flights. I just happened to see a sign outside across the street with the N terminal on it. So we had to fight with everyone one more time to hop on a bus to get there.
After that, we were in line with a lady who noticed Jason's backpack from his last company. Turns out her husband, or soon-to-be ex works there. She was travelling alone and obviously lonely because she started sharing way too much, like how she was going through a messy divorce. Jason shut off at that point.
When we got to the front of the line and watched this lady chat up whoever she was next to, we learned our plane was delayed coming from D.C. to Rome. Because D.C. was dealing with the hurricane, they couldn't leave on time. That delays our departure another hour. Okay, not bad. We can't book a different flight because everything else is tied up too.
So we wait. 12:50 instead of 11:40 departure. But then they delay it further. Then the plane finally shows up but they have to clean it and apparently that takes an hour. We finally take off and don't arrive in D.C. until 6:30, 2 hours after our connecting flight left. So we wait in a line to get rebooked. We get lucky! There is a flight leaving at 8:57 PM to SFO.
We get to the gate after getting some food and wait. We will be leaving at 9:05. Perfect. They get us on the plane by 9:15. They lock the doors and the pilot comes on saying he noticed a bolt under the right wing is not the same as the others and may affect aerodynamics. So they need maintenance to come out and fix it then enter it in the log. 20 minutes go by, still nothing. Finally, 40 minutes later, someone comes to fix it. Now we just have to wait for ground crew to come push us out. Apparently, there's no one around or they're not in a big hurry. By the time we back out, it's 10:20.
Now we're off! Wrongo. We taxi 50 feet and come to a halt. Everything shuts down. The pilot comes on again and says, "Folks, I cannot believe how this night is going. I haven't had this many delays in a long time. But there is a rag on the tarmac and I don't want to suck it up into our engines so we need someone to come out and get it off the ground before we proceed." Seriously?! The girl behind me said she would get out of the plane herself to get it since it would probably be faster.
Fortunately, someone came out in a truck in a few minutes and we taxied for 5 minutes just to get to the runway and take off. So we didn't arrive in SFO until 12:30 AM. That made it 9:30 AM in Rome. That was the time we arrived in the Rome airport the day before. We were beyond ready to crawl into our own bed when we got home. Ah, home. Finally.
So after this three week trip, here are things I learned:
- Staring is a common and accepted practice. Get used to it. Stare back.
- Toilet seats are optional in public bathrooms. So is toilet paper. It's B.Y.O.TP. Squatting is a survival skill ladies.
- Service charge at a restaurant is per person, not per table.
- Service charge includes bread that could be horrible but you still have to shell out €4.
- Water is never free unless you get it from a natural spring, which is surprisingly refreshing. You can actually pay €4 ($6 US) for water.
- Farther from tourist areas = better and cheaper food.
- Toilets are not always free either. It's good to have a little change handy.
- Taxi cabs charge more at night (in Italy it starts at 10 PM). Day rate starts at €2.50, night rate, €5.
- Gondolas are cool but pricy. Rate changes after 7 PM.
- The Metro trains finish running just before midnight. 24 hour service is a silly notion.
- Women will wear a bikini no matter what age or size they are. Go girls. Just get something that supports your... girls.
- No such thing as forming a line. It's a free for all, so grow a pair and jump in. Politeness here means nothing.
- Green figs are a tasty fruit.
- Public water taxis in Venice are a reasonable way to travel. Private water taxis are a rip off.
- Women don't care about their undergarments matching their clothes. Tackiness is acceptable.
- When in Florence, buy a double ticket for the Uffizi and Accademia. It will save time instead of standing in line all day.
- People love their cigarettes as much as they love their wine in Europe.
- There is always someone trying to make an extra buck off tourists.
- The words "No thank you" do not exist at the Italian dinner table.
- Strategy and pacing is important in dining with the Italian family. Leave a bite of food on your plate if you don't want to be offered more.
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