This holiday season comes with many strange feelings for
me. It’s the first time that I will not be spending Christmas with my
family. In October I decided that since
my office undergoes a holiday shutdown from December 23rd through
January 3rd, I might as well take advantage of it. So, I thought,
where should I go that I could get tickets affordably and also not be
completely alone? Naturally, the answer was Italy.
Hours spent looking at frequent flyer tickets I realized
no flight the day before or the day after Christmas was going to be available
with miles, or would be too expensive, leaving on the 27th or 28th
wouldn’t lend me enough time for a Europe trip because I couldn’t use vacation
days after the break is over given our crazy meeting schedule that resumes the
day work is back in session. So I opted for a 30,000 mile and $25 fee ticket
with a long trip duration, getting me to my beloved Bologna by 5:30 on Wednesday,
December 21st. YEAH!
Anticipating my trip, but also feeling sad about being a
loner wandering around Italy while I could be home eating 7 fishes with my
favorite family members, going to church, eating Nonna’s lasagna, and watching
movies with Uncle John, my departure date finally arrived!
Thankfully my cousin Juliana came and brought me to the
airport, so I did not feel so disconnected from the family. She was so nice! It
really made a difference being left by her J
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| Sunset view from Logan, Terminal B |
Departing Boston at 5:30, connecting in Montreal and then
again in Brussels, my total travel time would be nearly 18 hours, with a 6 hour
layover in Brussels. I tried everything I could, called United, bothered people
at the ticketing desk to try and get me on the Lufthansa flight, BOS ->
MUNICH -> BLQ, or BOS -> FRANKFURT -> BLQ, that both arrive a number
of hours earlier, but it’s Christmastime, no luck. Everything was booked. So I
resigned myself, and decided not to worry about it, besides I had all these
United Club passes that I could use at the fancy lounge when I got to Brussels
and I’d have all this time as an excuse to enjoy being in airports, blog and
read my book.
I say that now as I’m drinking a shitty cappuccino that
came out of a automatic machine that I had to pay almost 4 euro for because,
yes you guessed it, the Star Alliance does not ally nicely when it comes to
utilizing beautiful perks like the “Air Loft” lounge in the Brussels Airport.
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| Airport vitamins |
But hey! I’ll still try to look on the bright side of
things. This long journey has allowed me to think about how bummed I am that I
am not spending Christmas with my family and friends at home, but it has also
got me very excited when I look at my crazy (non relaxing) itinerary for this
vacation. While I might not be with my American family and friends, I have a
unique opportunity to spend 12 days during the beautiful holiday season to take
in Europe and visit with friends made during my time in Bologna, our family
friends the Grillos and my beloved host family who I stayed with 6 years ago in
2010 during my term abroad in Florence. How lucky am I?
My itinerary goes like this:
My itinerary goes like this:
Wednesday, 5:30 arrive in Bologna – EXPLORE
Thursday – Bologna/Forli to visit Lina for dinner
Friday – Bologna/Modena to visit a family friend of my
mom and dad
Saturday – Monday – Firenze to spend Christmas with my
host family J
Tuesday – Back to Bologna
Wednesday – Torino to visit with the Grillos
Thursday – Sunday – Chamonix with Serena and amici
Monday – Tuesday – ROMA, the back to Boston.
What I am most looking forward to is spending time with
all these people I see so rarely, and turning my Italian switch on for a full
12 days.
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| Set up shop, not at the lounge. Cappuccino from a machine |
Additionally, Italy during the holidays is such a magical
sight. I can’t wait to step off the plane in Bologna and feel that charm envelope
me and take me in. Christmas markets, aperol spritz outside under heat lamps,
lasagna alla Bolognese, streets lined with holiday lights, Christmas trees in
every main square and the smell of chestnuts being roasted on every street
corner.
I know that Bologna will have also changed so much since
the last time I was here, so I can’t wait to see what new shops, restaurants
and bars I come across. And I know one of my first stops when I get chilly will
be my cioccolata fondente calda con panna
from Grom on Via D’azeglio.
If only I could’ve convinced my mom and dad to join me!
BRING IT Italy! I’m ready! [Just 3.5 more hours until I
depart from Brussels!]
(I also hope travelling alone will get me back in to Blog
mode, I want to put more of my time into my blog in the new year, and I owe
Toni a post on our trip to Italy last March, salutero’ Nonno <3)