Arrivederci, Italia
Tuesday, April 29, 2025, was a travel day to the Milan airport for our flight home on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
Well, it’s over. Two weeks in Italy. Lots of new adventures. Lots of unique experiences.
Marie and I left La Spezia at around 10 a.m., Tuesday to travel by train to Milan’s Malpensa Airport. What was to be a four-and-a-half hour trip ended up being five hours because they had to repair the track somewhere before Genoa.
By the time we reached our hotel, the TRIBE Milan Malpensa, it was close to 4 p.m.
Before leaving for the airport, we had the idea we’d get settled in the hotel and take the train back to Milan to explore. That plan was shelved because it takes the train an hour to travel between the central station and the airport. And we were exhausted. Riding the rails isn’t as romantic as the movies make it.
Marie and I decided to just relax at the hotel, which was very modern and comfortable. We had coffee and cocktails in the courtyard before having a nice dinner in the hotel dining room.
We got back to the room and went to sleep so our body clocks won’t be too out of whack when we arrive back in the United States.
Up at 5 a.m., Wednesday and we arrived at the airport by 6.
The Milan Malpensa Airport is really big. The hotel shuttle dropped us off in about the middle of the terminal. We had to take an elevator to the second floor and then walk to the far end to reach where the Delta check-in desk was located. Once there we were greeted by a long line of travellers who must have gotten there at 5:30 a.m. or earlier. They were waiting for a Delta agent to allow them to proceed down a long hallway to the check-in desk.
The agent was checking flight times, and since mine was 5-plus hours after Marie’s I had to say goodbye to her there. It was a quick hug. Kind of sad since we spent the last two weeks going everywhere together.
Marie’s flight was at 9 a.m., so we bid our goodbyes at the check-in corridor, as they would not allow me to check-in early for my 2:20 p.m. flight.
I went back into the terminal to pass the time until I could check in at 11:25 a.m. I sat. I walked around. I got something to eat. I spent the time catching up on emails and reading. And I sat around some more. I didn’t want to fall asleep because I was landing in Tampa near midnight and wanted to beat the jet leg. I’ll let you know how that turned out.
When it was time to check-in I made my way to the long hallway leading to the Delta desk. They’ve been having computer problems for the past two days because Marie nor I could check-in via our phone. They only had one guy checking in on a laptop. He worked his way through the line of flyers as quickly as he could until another started to check in people. It wasn’t too bad of a wait.
Finally received my boarding pass and was told to go through security then proceed to the gate.
Of course the security was at the other end of the terminal and the gate after that. Onward I went.
Italian security is similar to the TSA securities I have been through in the United States.
Finally I headed to the gate, passing the duty-free shops of perfume, liquor, and handbags. Passed that I had to go through a gauntlet of food, souvenir, and snack shops.
Passport control was automated until the end when the officer hand stamped my passport. Easy-peasy.
The gate area very open with plenty of seating. It was another two-hour wait for boarding, but when it did come it went very smoothly.
Found my assigned aisle seat. Row partner not very talkative, so watched Bob Dillon biopic, A Complete Unknown. I’ll give a review at a later date.
The cabin crew served dinner about an hour into the flight. I asked for the chicken, thinking it was fried or backed, but it was a curry and I didn’t want to upset my stomach with an eight hour flight ahead of me just to New York’s JFK and another three more to Tampa.
Arrived in New York JFK around 5 p.m. and spent hour standing in long, long line to go through passport control, then off to claim my luggage only to walk around the corner to recheck it again.
It was another long line to get through TSA security check and a long walk to the gate.
Marie texted she arrived home in Pittsburgh around 4:30 p.m.
Sat around for about two hours waiting for my 8 p.m. flight to Tampa. What was to be a three-and-a-half hour flight, ended up being two-and-a-half. It feels like the twilight zone.
Anyway, I’m back home. Sad the trip is over, but ready to get back into routine.
I’ll probably do a wrap up blog within the next couple of days, but this is the last for now. Hope you all enjoyed Marie’s and my adventures with Patty Ann.
Ciao.