August 27th, 2012

And so.... the Plane Troubles Continue.....

Waking up yesterday morning to cloudy skies, I should have known that the terrible saga of plane troubles I’ve been experiencing pretty much since the day I purchased my plane tickets to Florence, would only continue. After arriving at Bradley International Airport and finally getting my tickets (which, by the way wouldn’t print because of all the issues we had been having with the airlines up to that point), I was finally beginning to feel a little optimistic. “Getting there is half the battle”, they say, but I knew when our first flight was delayed almost two hours that getting to Florence would probably be about 79.99999% of my battle. After finally touching down in Philadelphia 30 minutes after the departure time of our connection flight to Brussles, Alex and I found ourselves sprinting through the airport in the hopes that perhaps they had held the flight for us. Now, here comes the humor in this whole situation. While Alex and I were running to our gate, our friend Brandon (who was also on the same flight from Philly to Brussles) called us. So now you’re thinking, okay this is a good thing, maybe they were able to catch their flight after all! …. Well, no, not quite. Our flight was still on the tarmac, yes, but it had already departed the gate. So close, yet so far. SIGH.  So then it was time to make the trek half way across the airport to support services and hope we could find another flight to get us to Florence – preferably before the semester was over. The two ladies from U.S. Airways that assisted us with the biggest smiles, and best sense of humor, were a shining beacon in our dreary day.  After battling the horrible customer service phone line for about an hour, they finally were able to get Alex and myself on a flight to Frankfort, Germany. Determined not to let any opportunity get away from me, I thought I would strike up a conversation with the nice lady I sat next to on my flight .I’m kicking myself for not catching her name, but I must say, she has had quite an interesting life. She travels often: far and wide both with her husband and their two children and also for her work. She’s been everywhere from France to San Francisco, to Spain and Italy. A lovely woman, originally from Germany, and it seems she has had so many wonderful life experiences globe-trotting. We talked a little about my studies and what I hope to do after college, and after our long flight, we wished one another well.  And so that brings us to where I am as I write this blog: waiting for our flight from Frankfort into Florence. We’ve been here about two and a half hours already and have about an hour and twenty minutes left to wait until our flight leaves. I’m a mix of excitement, nerves, and uncertainty as I’m still not quite sure that it’s hit me fully that I will be living in Italy for the next three months. I find myself fantasizing about what my first taste of Florence will be like as I drive in the taxi to the hotel we are staying at tonight. Although I am certain this journey will prove to be a roller coaster of emotions for me, I only hope that I will remember that this is an opportunity not to let slip through my fingers.

P.S. Hi Dad and Liz! I miss you guys! LU!!

PPS. To all my followers, I love you too, but sorry guys, family are VIPs

PPPS. Promise this is the last one…. Only if you all promise to pray that our bags will be waiting for us when we get to Florence and not stuck in Brussels!!

la vita è bella!!