Outta Here

Outta Here

With the end of summer came the onslaught of fall travel.  We started with a two-week trip to Europe, which United almost scrapped for us in its infinite ability to always surprise you negatively.  I had booked and paid for two tickets from Dulles to Athens, then Venice to Dulles.  I had all kinds of receipts including notes from United telling me what videos would be on the flight and an invitation to check in online.  However, when I tried to check in they said I was not booked and suggested I call an 800 number.  After many hours on hold, yes, hours, I finally got through to someone who said I hadn’t paid for the tickets.  I tried in vain to demonstrate that I certainly had paid, but to no avail.  I called Chase, who issued the United Mileage Plus Club card, and they confirmed that I had paid and the money had been taken from my bank.  I asked them to call United, which they did in a three-way conversation but they didn’t do any better than I did.  I ended up having to pay again and then contest the double payment. What a way to run an airline.

Got to Athens without too much hassle and we were met at the airport by a driver sent by our friend Catherine, who owns a preK-12 private school near the airport. The driver took us to one of her apartments on the water in Glyfada (south of Athens) where we walked, went out for dinner, and hit the sack. The next morning it was on to her school for a day of conversations and consultations, followed by an exceptional dinner that evening with Catherine. On Sunday our driver came for us and took us to the Athens docks where we boarded the Crystal Serenity for a one-week cruise to Venice.  This had been, for us, a very last minute deal set up by our friends the Harkins.  The ship was larger then we were used to, about 1000 people, but only 800 on board so it was never crowded.

We met the Harkins and their friends Annie and Paul and got to know each other over a lovely alfresco luncheon on the pool deck.  The seven days flew by with stops in Greece, Albania, Croatia and then Venice.  The cruise is offered on an all-inclusive basis and the ship is very attractive. It has a wraparound promenade deck, which was a real blessing allowing us to get lots of miles while taking in spectacular views.  The food and wines were all topnotch and the only thing that disappointed was the dancing opportunities.  Since we mostly cruise for the sole purpose of dancing, we had hoped for more options than the nightly dance session with a sextet of Philippine entertainers who managed to play tangos, salsas, cha-chas and rock all with a foxtrot beat! There was no disco, just some karaoke, which is certainly not dance music.

We had a full day in Venice before departing the ship and it was just picture perfect. It has been more than thirty years since we lived in that area and yet it was as though we just left.  We walked through the old quiet neighborhoods, with their cafes, hanging laundry, open air markets and small mom and pop restaurants and snack bars.  We did what you are supposed to do in Venice, walk until you get lost, find a canal and follow it until you figure out where you are and then walk more. We had a great lunch of squid in its own ink pasta, a specialty of Venice, washed down with some local wine.  Pure heaven.

The next day we said goodbye to Annie and Paul who had to return to New York.  I walked up the road to Hertz where I had arranged a car and then Cindy and I, along with the Harkins, were soon heading to Bassano del Grappa, as sweet a little Italian mountain town as you’ll ever find, which we almost didn’t. For some reason I forgot to print the map for the location of our hotel. While Cindy did an excellent job of navigation to get us to the village, I had no idea where the hotel was and there were no signs. Cindy wanted to stop at a large hotel and ask, but I was convinced I could find it and I made the near-fatal error of entering the walls of the old city with its one-way narrow streets. As it turns out, it was the weekend of the festival of the chestnuts and the town was filled with tourists from all over the area and there was NO parking anywhere. We drove and drove, around and around, passing the famous bridge no fewer that four times, until we found a place to pull over and call the hotel. Their directions got us close but no cigar and as we were heading to Trento, we pulled into a gas station and called again, this time with remarkable results. We finally pulled into the parking area of the hotel and turned off the engine with hopes of never having a similar experience again.  Boy did lunch taste good!

This town has not changed in thirty years and it is still one of the most stunning places in the Veneto. Surrounded by snow-capped mountain, decorated with stunning chestnut trees whose colors were brilliant and basking in a brilliant sun, we felt transported to the middle ages, except for the motor scooters which were constantly trying to maim us.  We enjoyed three days with lots of great walks punctuated by stops for coffee, wine or food, all of which were wonderful.

One day we drove into Vicenza where we had lived twice in the early eighties. The outskirts had certainly changed a great deal but the inner core of this ancient city remained exactly as remembered. This is the city that Palladio built, and master architect that he was, he built it well.  It is a glorious place to wander and the key is to always look up since that is where some of the great treasures are to be seen. Mosaics adorning the underside of vaulted ceilings; angels taking wing atop churches; horses prancing on angled roof tops - truly a magical city.

The trip was over too soon and United did its very best to make sure that we had other things to consider than pleasant memories. The flight from Venice to Frankfurt on Lufthansa was full but pleasant and short, with grand vistas of the Alps. The flight from Frankfurt to Dulles was truly one of the worst I’ve taken. A full 777-200 due to a canceled flight earlier in the day made for very little room, despite our being in what is called premium economy.  On United this means three more inches of leg space, period.  The toilets never were cleaned or serviced and the flight attendants must have been part-time magicians since they all knew how to disappear. As we waited an hour for our luggage I was able to plan all kinds of ways never ever to fly coach international and never to fly with United again, well at least until Thursday when we fly to San Diego!!

Ciao, Cindy and Wm