Big Cashew is Back in the Blog Again - Italy 2019

Well, it has been awhile since my last post from our previous trip to Italy in October '18.  I had actually written a couple drafts of our trip to Hawaii earlier this year, but I had laptop issues.  So I went out and bought a new laptop and now I have to christen it for your entertainment.  I figured it was about time to take up the pen in hand anyway and literally bore the socks off of what constitutes my list of followers.  That number varies greatly, even starting and ending at zero.  But I digress.  On with our Italian travels.

We are here in Bacoli, Italy.  That little town outside of Naples, right on the Mediterranean, where Chiara's family is from.  We will be here for over 3 weeks, taking in the sites, sounds, and tastes of the region, and all the pot holes I can drive into.  Yes, the infrastructure is crumbling, but what do you expect after two or three thousand years.  The food is great, the gelati is to die for and its nice to just sit around enjoying the views of the land and sea.  Now we just arrived yesterday after the usual all night flight, so we were just full of energy and ready to take on all comers.  And if you believe that, then I still have a bridge in Brooklyn that I can sell you.  There is not much to enlighten you on at this point, since we are just getting started, but the trip in does provide some insight into what I am sure will transpire to make this another "trip of a life time".

We did things a little differently this time around.  First, we did not fly from Philly.  We left from JFK (NY), which is about 2 1/2 hours or so from home, depending on NYC traffic.  JFK came into the picture when I discovered that the cost to fly from Philly was $1400 plus, while JFK was $800 and change.  Since it was (initially) the two of us, that was a savings of over $1200, which would cover the car rental and the parking at the airport with some leftover.  It seemed like a reasonable decision so that is how it came about.  As it turned out, I timed the drive to almost perfection.  We left at 11 AM for 4:45 departure time.  The drive is about 120 miles.  Traffic was light to moderate until we got to Queens, NY.  At that point it was bumper to bumper, but that was the last 15 miles of the trip.  We parked the car at an off-site lot (Jiffy Park), were immediately loaded onto the shuttle van and taken to the correct terminal. Taking into account the check in, security review and walk to the specific gate, we arrived at the correct gate a little after 2:30, so our waiting time was reduced.  Since we were traveling with a baby (more on the later) we needed to keep her from getting too antsy which this accomplished. We did have a hiccup as we were getting ready to board.  I was called up along with 30+ other people.  I was hoping for an upgrade but that was not the case.  They needed to see my passport (again) as something was not set up properly on their end.  I waited almost a half hour as they were so slow at the counter.  I gave up and got out of the line.  I then forced the stewardess to handle it as I was boarding the plane.  Still not sure what the issue was since when we checked in, everything was fine.  This caused some confusion and I forgot Chiara's jackets and hat, but Keila took care of them so no harm no foul. Such is life.

Getting back to the baby, as I noted, we were originally a twosome.  That changed when both Nello and Maria decided they wanted to go to Italy with us to see the family and show off little Chiara like they did 2 years earlier.  Suddenly we had a 5-some, with 6 people.  Sounds a bit strange but that's the truth!  As it turned out, Keila and little Chiara made reservations that matched ours.  Then Maria, decided she had to come and pooled her vacation time, and some she didn't really have, to splice 11 days together.  She then scheduled a flight, out of Philly by the way, to Rome, set to arrive 2 hours after we get in.  She will return on 5/31, out of Rome at 11:30 AM.  As it turned out, her flight was delayed and we had an additional 2 1/2 hour wait for her.  That was a tough break since we were already tired from our overnighter.  So Maria was the 5th person in our group.  But she was not the last.  Nello decides that he will make the trip also, but with different flights and times than Keila and baby.  He arrives Sunday, May 26 into Naples airport, so we become a 6-some for 5 days.  He stays until June 9th, leaving at 7 AM .  Guess who gets to drive them both to the airport for their separate departures?  I will need to put paper clips in my eyes to keep them open, I will be so tired!

I think that's enough for one day.  Watch for future updates in the coming days.  Until then!!!