From Milan to Raleigh ~ A Long Trip Home!

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home

and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow."

Lin Yutang

Time to bid a very fond farewell to Bella Italia and head for home and family!  This will be a big travel day ... a walk to the Cadorna Train Station from our apartment with Palmer (his flight to Atlanta leaves about the same time as my flight to Paris), then the Malpensa Express train to Milan's airport, then an Air France flight to Paris, another Air France flight to Boston, and finally a Delta flight to RDU!  

The Malpensa Express was quick, easy and at 14 Euros, very reasonable!  We opted for it as soon as we found out the taxi fare from our apartment to Malpensa Airport would have cost 90 Euros!  Malpensa is a HUGE airport and Palmer and I parted ways soon after we arrived there - he for the Delta terminal, me for the Air France terminal ... which was a considerable distance from where the train deposited us.  (In fact all the airports I visited today were huge ... my STEPZ app logged a total of 5 miles, just walking through them!) 

Time for a tasty breakfast before heading to the gate ... my last Italian cappuccino and a delicious crisp waffle slathered with chocolate and fresh strawberries. (Good thing I was getting some walking exercise in between flights today.)

I lucked out and got a window seat on the flight from Milan to Paris' Charles deGaulle Airport and could see the ground the entire way.  Views of the Alps were spectacular ... at one point the pilot announced the Matterhorn was on the right side of the plane (my side!) and Mont Blanc on the left.  Soooo beautiful!

Another (37 minute) long walk through the Paris airport still allowed me enough time for a lovely Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch.  I've finally picked up my Kindle and have gotten into the novel (Elizabeth George's latest mystery) which I ignored the entire rest of my trip ... too much else to do!  Really enjoyed having something to read today with all the waiting and sitting around airports and on airplanes. 

Air France flight was MUCH more comfortable than the cramped Alitalia flight over in May.  More leg room, more seat room and I was fortunate to snag another window seat which always makes you feel less hemmed in.  Food was delicious ... we were even offered champagne before dinner ... which I happily accepted.  Smooth flight, on time, I slept most of the way.

Landing in Boston was smooth and easy ... great to be back in the U.S.A. and to hear all those wonderful Boston accents.  They have this new U. S. Customs procedure at Logan where you step up to a computer terminal and answer a series of questions.  Then they ask that you remove your hat and glasses and TAKE YOUR PICTURE which is then printed out for you to turn in with your passport to a Customs agent.  Yikes ... I looked REALLY exhausted in that photo!!  Retrieved my luggage and re-checked it for 8:30 pm flight to RDU.  

Sunset departure from Boston's Logan Airport ...
for the final leg of my journey home

Slept ALL the way through that final flight ... since my body was definitely still on Italian time and thought it was almost 5 am the next morning.  Sorry that today's post is just all walking, sleeping and eating ... but that's really all it was!

Allan was there at the curb to meet me at RDU - WONDERFUL to see him and to be home after a wonderful, wonderful five weeks in Italy ... my very favorite place besides home.  That old, familiar pillow on Calais Court felt just grand as I fell into a very deep, very long sleep!

Tomorrow:  Some STATS and some final reflections on the trip!