...the joys of jet lag...

After needless concerns about a winter storm  along the east coast, we made it out of Buffalo with no problems...other than the fact that our plane was an Embraer 145...also known as a propellered tin can.  It was SO noisy and cold !  We were in the first row...which sounds good, but faces backward so that you are staring at the passengers opposite you.  You also have to work out a plan for your feet...after some friendly negotiations, we reached detente and landed successfully in Newark...

A couple of hours later, we were on the flight to Milano !  This time we had a fairly new 767 with individual TV screens on the seat backs.  Did you know that United does not provide free wine or beer on international flights any more ?  What is the world coming to ?!  I just "happened to mention" to our flight attendant that it was our 45th wedding anniversary, and she gave us a half bottle of red wine for free...nice ! (the food on board...not so nice, but the wine definitely helped...)

We had a 4 hour layover in Milan, then finally boarded Easyjet for the final leg of the trip - to Palermo...the Easyjet process resembles a huge cattle call, but I just "happened to mention" to the gate attendant that I thought I had paid for Easyjet Plus which allows you to board first...she gave me a roll of the eyes, but let us go to the front of the line !  I figure we have diplomatic immunity here....

...nice Ape (pronounced ah-pay)...the go-to vehicle in Italy...

...note a glimpse of the beautiful Alps in the background at the airport...

Upon landing in Palermo (after having the stereotypical screaming baby behind us all the way on the flight), it was on to Hertz for the rental car... (Chris just tossed the blog keys to Joe)  The Hertz attendant, a middle-aged man, was all bored and business-like, until we started mentioning Alfa Romeo.  He told us he owns one now and has owned several. I showed him photos of our Alfa (which I conveniently have on my phone) and he brightened up.  When I showed him the SOLOSOLE (only sunshine) license plate, he burst out laughing.  He loved it!  Immediate change of attitude.  Funny the things that connect us. 

We get a lot of smiles (and shivers) from the locals by showing them photos of our house in Lancaster buried in snow.  Its such an amazing sight for these people of the Mediterranean.  I don't know if that makes them feel sorry for us or not, but they always warm up to us after seeing the photos.  Its always good to have photos of your house, kids, etc.  It also helps to at least try to speak a little Italiano.  Although the more we learn the more it seems we don't know.

Our beautiful apartamento awaited us in Castellammare del Golfo  (pictures in the next post), and we had just enough energy left to walk around the corner for our first true Sicilian pizza...and by no means the last !

Time for a good night's sleep....