Italy 6/12/2014

Our trip officially begins today.  We were up unusually early for retired folk but we felt the typical excitement and anticipation one experiences before fighting traffic in order to meet a flight schedule. Coffee seemed a little less important to get the body in motion. 

Our town car to the airport arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule so we didn't need to wait long to depart.  The traffic wasn't as bad as it can get but, for non-commuters, seemed heavy. The car pool lane saved us a lot of the frustration that the other lanes must have felt. 

Plenty of spare time at the airport allowed us to clear the TSA and supplement breakfast with our customary Screwdriver and Bloody Mary.  Before long it was time to head to the gate.  

The first leg of our flight took us from Seattle to Toronto, Canada aboard a Embraer 190.  Pleasant and uneventful.  

The approach to the airport in Toronto had us circling the entire city and surrounds before the final approach.  It gave us a nice overview of the area.  It seemed as though the population, at least traffic density, was a small percentage of the Seattle area.  It looks like a nice place to visit one day. 

We arrived a few minutes behind schedule and realised the time remaining to reach our connecting flight was frightfully short.  

When trying to "dash" off of an airplane to make a connecting flight, it seems as though the people ahead of you have substantially more trouble retrieving their grand pianos and shoe collections out if the overhead bins.  Time was ticking away while we waited, forcing us to truly have to rush to make our connection.  Naturally clearing customs helps make this a seamless process.  We were soon sprinting down the moving sidewalks is search of Gate E27. 

We arrived at our departing gate to find the boarding process underway. It was just moments before we were walking down the jetway to board the A300-300 that was to take us to Rome. 

Spending an entire  24+ hour day compressed into a 15 hour period is kind of interesting.  You eat, drink, watch a movie, read a little and try to catch a few hours of sleep at just the right time, trying to awake on approach, rested enough to function for the remainder of your new day in you new location.  We'll see how well we have managed our time.