I Still Prefer the Destination

I love to travel. The exploration, adventure, & learning that comes from being plopped down in a new location is something I can only describe as one of my passions. The buildings, colors, smells, food, people, geography, flora, landmarks, and just the "feel" of the city beckon me to look up various airfare prices at least once a week so I can pick a new place to explore.

Growing up destinations were mostly domestic and travel was often completed by car. With the family van loaded up we'd trek out for summer camping trips in the National Parks, visit Colorado to see the aspen leaves quiver in the October wind, drive to Disney Land, or head north to Oregon to visit relatives. The travel days were part of the adventure as we would stop in cities along the way. Visit the quirky roadside touristy stops. Pick up fresh produce from the stand on the side of the road. Although the time spent in the car was often frustrating with 3 kids often bickering about something, a) it was always the fault of my brother or sister and b) it's part of the things that (now) make each of those trips special. The trips that required airplanes; Indiana/Ohio trip to visit family and friends, Cancun for Fanta e pan, Florida to catch the cruise ship after time spent at Disney World were not only exciting because of their destination but because of the airplane ride! Of course when back on the ground and loaded into the back seat of a car you either get 3 cranky kids or some of the best radio talk shows the world will never hear coming out of the Fanta bottle...but don't let me digress into family vacation stories.

But, oh airplane rides! They were different. How is that plane rides with your family or friends are always a million times better than a complete stranger? Is it because you're not afraid to spill over into their seat and use that shoulder as a pillow? Is it because you can agree on "time shares" for the window vs aisle seat? Because you're comfortable with passing out if you really are tired? Have someone to chat with when all the movies are lame? Someone decides that it's time to drink and your row single finishes all the red wine on board? Or you know, my personal favorite- playing truth or dare with the entire group your traveling with (all recent 8th grade grads) and get the "this is a reminder for those in economy class, that the service buttons should only be pressed if something is needed" announcement and then bursting into laughter as the other passengers try to settle in for sleep on a 16+ hour flight to Osaka, Japan.

Problem is, I'm becoming not so much a fan of the actual travel part...as in the traveling from your residence to your destination and don't even get me started on the return trip. As I sit here in the Munich airport waiting for my last connection flight of the day you can bet that it's really just these long transatlantic flights I'm talking about. Travel solo has it's perks- better chance of moving seats, not having to worry about someone else's eating schedule, but it gets boring. No Dad, this doesn't mean you should have driven up to SFO to keep me company while I sat there forever. First of all- I'm thankful that my return trip wasn't impacted at all by this week's storm. Second- I'm shocked that we've actually been early on both arrivals today. Third- I really do want to head home and I think that's what kills me. And if that fact isn't enough...I have to work in the morning. Yeah, not one of my more brilliant planning moves.

When traveling by train or car you really don't have the stop and wait torture. If you've stopped it's for the night, fuel, food, or a I-80E road closure (that was a fun road trip day). Well, when you're on a layover you're just there. There in the airport terminal with normally my luck the partial construction These over night flights are particularly the worse for me cause I'm ready for sleep when we are boarding (which is why I napped), then I'm being served food,  and just when I think I'm passed out for good... it's time for more food? I'm so confused and definitely not in need of airport food, not even a beer. Why did they serve me breakfast at 4pm local time? How come it was so hot on the plane I couldn't sleep? And why is it so dark? And why am I so grouchy? And tell me again why I agreed to book tickets with a 2.5 hour layover in Munich? The flight is less than 2 hours!

Ironic part? I already know I'll be looking for a new travel destination by the end of the weekend. BUT flights within Europe are so much less painful than this one. And don't let this talk you out from visiting me...it really isn't that bad I'm just super tired, anxious to get to Naples, & beginning to wonder if I can wait another 24 hours to pick-up Signore Nico.

My Adventure...HOME!

Thursday Night (in Italy)
2000: Nico was dropped off at "spa" where he was feeling rather brave all things considered. No growling, no meowing, no hissing...even with a little boy calling him "she" and really wanting my not so much a lap kitty to be a lap kitty. When the boy learned that I was going home to visit and he'd have my cat until Halloween, I was told "okay, go."

Giants won! And my internet was reliable enough to feed me the entire game via GameDay. Woohoo!

Packed. If you want to call it that.

Short nap.

Friday Morning (in Italy)
0300: Alarm went off. Expected Nico to tell me to get up. He didn't.

0400: departure from house because without Neeks there, it's just a really large boring place to be.

0500: Naples Airport- with lots of folks. Stuck on bus outside of plane due to system failure. Sweltering heat. AC turned on while it's raining outside.

Sprinted through MUC airport after bus with heat on dropped us off.
Quadripled screened by security as they are making their last call.
Made it to flight and the attendants accuse of me of having too big a smile of my face. "Hey, I'm going back to the states- what's not to smile about?"

FOREVER LONG FLIGHT. Lots of movies to watch. Lots, especially when you don't feel like sleeping more than 45 minutes.

Spotted a mini green lady in the water welcoming me to the USA.

Newark custom's guy told me the Giants got lucky; I told him we'd take it and oh, by the way? Grand slams aren't just luck as my stamped passport was returned to me.

Found gate.
Got in line.
Turns out it was the wrong flight...really there was no room for me on that one to get to SF a tad earlier?!

Friday Night & Early Saturday Morning (in Italy)
Slept from NJ to CA with the exception of hourly wake ups which I dealt with by eating a few Junior Mints before seeing what I could out the window. BTW. Huge body of water out there maybe one of the Great Lakes?

Landed in SF! Late. Because really, why would any of my flights be on time?

Found gate. Plane wasn't there. Listening the grumblings of folks around me they had all been "awaiting aircraft" for a while and also dealing with delays. Checking the board (again, for the 5th time) I saw the gate changed.

Found new gate.

Sat at gate. And sat a bit longer watching people rush up asking if the Monterey flight was boarding yet. Nope. No plane.

Plane finally shows up. Thank goodness it showed up before any fog!

Landed in Monterey and found my parents. Okay, they found me first, but I'd been up for really the past 30+ hours.

Got home.
And now I'm awake.
Why? Oh you know, it's my morning...in Italy.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

I arrived on schedule last night to two very happy parents, my brother and a freezer with several containers of peppermint ice-cream- I'm a happy girl. Of course I would be happier if Nina would show up right now but I can be patient. Sort of. If I have to. 


My flights were pretty uneventful on the way over here; minus some serious turbulence from Naples to Munich. It didn't bother me much though as I was (for some reason) thinking about just how much cilantro I could buy for $5 once in California. I know- random right? I guess I was still in shock that for the first time leaving Naples I didn't have to load a bus to travel 5 yards. (Did any of you know they did this?) 


The Munich to LAX flight, all 11 hours 22 minutes of it, proved to be not that difficult to stay awake. Granted, it may have been the fellow passenger a few rows back snoring so bad I still heard it over the engines but that was okay...I got to catch up on movies. I did get a few cat naps in because when I thought we hit more turbulence it turns out we were actually on the ground. Oops. Totally allowed though since my flight didn't leave Naples until nearly noon my grand plan of being on CA time didn't exactly play out since the bulk of my travel hours happened during day time in CA. (And starting my day Thursday evening in CA sure didn't help matters...)


Once in "enemy territory," through customs, and in my next terminal, I wasn't quite sure what to do. 


The lack of coffee bars, pizza, or panini places threw me off. 


Stores filled with USC, UCLA, Lakers, & Dodgers merchandise made my skin crawl.


People were dressed in sweatshirts and flip-flops wore backpacks. And, they spoke English. 


(Queue the culture shock.) 


I survived. How? I tracked down a Starbucks for my first (and way over due) peppermint mocha. I was thrilled to see it came in the skinny version, however they didn't have anymore of that mix but nothing was going to stand between me and that peppermint. The guy at the counter assured me that it's better with all the calories anyway. I didn't care. I'm not going to have a decent cup of coffee my entire stay here and I wanted that mocha. Bad. As in, just make it already and pass it over the counter. Grazie! 


With coffee in hand I found my gate. On the way though, the signs for Baja Fresh, CPK, and other various chains still overwhelmed. So I did what I any person would do- called home with the flight status and to confirm the fog was cooperating. Now I had to wait. Wait. Wait. 


When then waiting was over it was time to board. The plane was barely half full so we all spread out. That's a good thing because if someone had been next to me I would have driven them crazy. The less than hour flight was anything but restful. As my emotions went from pure panic, to anxiousness, to pure joy I saw my favorite coast line pass below my window. For a while I was playing guess that city but they sort of all look the same at night. 


Then I heard the engine noise change; we began our descent. Scanning anxiously the city below I gathered we were near Salinas and as the plane turned I knew we were over the bay. Still frantically looking for my landmarks- MHS, Del Monte Mall, the wharf I didn't see them. 


Then I spotted it.


Just off my side of the plane stood a round tree with blue and green lights. Knowing exactly where to look I saw my next tree of white lights on the Marriott roof. *Sigh* Sports Center. Check. NPS. Check. Taxing to the terminal I couldn't get off that flight soon enough but when I did there were my parents.Who apparently had been waiting there long enough to get the stories of other people also waiting in the terminal? I <3 the Monterey airport...my luggage made there before I could walk, that's right, walk to the terminal. 


Once home we caught up (since I was rather awake) over peppermint ice cream and homemade lemoncello from my landlady sent home for my parents. Sitting on the kitchen counter with my family (minus one) made my forever long day totally worth it. 

Operation Return Katie 9 July x 2

So I know I said I was going off the grid, but my brain didn't get the memo and has been going non stop over the last 22 hours of traveling. Although I've done a fair amount of international travel- it still catches me off guard at times just how different airports are!

Operation Return Katie started at the Capodichino Airport. (The one you all will fly into when you visit please.) I got there earlier than I needed to, but given the fact that Italy time is slower than America time and a protest outside the base had traffic at a standstill during the week I figured it was best to have the cab pick me up early. Arriving closer to 3 hours early, rather than the standard 2, I found myself at the place to be in Naples on a Saturday morning. People dressed to impress slowly toted suitcases behind them, stopping every few groups of people to chat. I got a few funny looks in my jeans, running, shoes and tank top but since I was leaving the continent I think my outfit was appropriate AND let's face it- I don't have a ton of options! 

As I sat waiting (and then waiting some more since we were delayed) I felt like I was sitting along the runway of a fashion show. Seriously. If I could name it- it would be dubbed "Shoes on Parade." There were sandals of every kind, heels that make it nearly impossible for their wears to walk faster than the pace of a 2 year old, and so many different bags/purses I found myself longing to go purse shopping. By the way- nothing screams American more in my opinion than wearing your backpack through the terminal. Did I do it? You bet I did with my lucky 4 leaf clover pin and Maasai beaded key chain.

Since the flight was delayed I was able to witness the Italian approach to lines first hand. Well, I mean to say "continue my observations on the lack of line etiquette." Eh, who am I kidding? If there aren't ropes for the line it's not a line...it's an amobea shaped glob with various arms feeding into the main mass. It was amazing. What killed me was the fact that we all were ticketed passengers WITH ASSIGNED SEATS! I ended up making friends with Daniel and Lara- headed to New York as well. Their accents gave them away before I even started talking with the older couple who just ended a vacation along the Almafi Coast. Daniel and I were standing next to each other for some time and he was shocked to hear I not only spoke English but that I was from California...and I thought my backpack gave me away.

This brings up a very fun game I like to play when traveling called- I'm not going to talk in length but I want you to guess where I'm from. (Yep Nina, this game did start with our Irish friend in England that summer...gotta love the guy for trying!)

We eventually had our plane roll up to the gate and we walked out (just like Monterey just way more planes!) and loaded on up. I slept the entire 35 minute flight, woke up, and dealt with the next airport (Rome) starting with cramming the entire plane on 2 busses. It cracks me up. There really is a lack of personal space in the Italian culture. Paired with the need to be super close to the exit and what you've got is a blocked entry way onto the subway/bus/tram. The time spent waiting for everyone to clear the doors would be easily saved if everyone would just take 2-3 more steps away from the exit. Yeah, yeah, yeah....I know it's the American speaking crying out for some more order and a logical solution to save a few seconds.

The Rome airport is large and set up like a shopping mall. Not your typical mall, more like an outlet mall where it's like a gallery. The sitting areas near the gates accomodate close to no one and heaven forbid seating areas are not in areas by the gates. (Again, back to the need to be as close as possible to their destination. They can do what they want, but I've got two legs and don't mind using them.) After some window shopping and walking laps to keep the knee from hating me tomorrow it was time to once again collect data on the line amoeba. It was even worse with this line...but whatever. I'm not going to fight it so I may as well go with it and push my way up to the front eventually. Side note- the people work at the Rome airport are beautiful. Well, the guys were- I wasn't really checking out the women.

Once on the plane I was next to two siblings. They were hilarious. I felt bad that I didn't switch seats with one of their friends, but it was on an aisle and I wanted to see outside my window. After that we kept chating- it was fun. They had just spent 10 days in Italy and were fascinated by the fact that I had just moved to Italy. The girl who was about to start her first year of college was thrilled to hear that I'm a CP grad since her boyfriend starts in the fall. Her slightly younger brother kept us both entertained by his food critiques. Which reminds me. Why does lasagna served on an Italian flight take like a potpie and haven peas in it? Yeah, I was confused just like you are now. 

The highlight of this segment was on our decent to New York after they cut off our video options and new blurbs in Italian appeared on the main screens. They kept showing them in Italian so we'd guess what they were saying and then test our translation skills when the English version appeared. We failed miserably on the heat advisory warning for certain regions and wanted to read just what Obama did in regards to Sudan. We never figured it out since they didn't want to show us the English version. The guy thought it said he played oboe. Yeah, I think it had to do more with politics but now 24 hours later, I can't even thing what our reasonable answer was. Even winding through the custom lines we tried to read the ticker on CNN to see if it said anything but it didn't. Hey, we'd been stuck on a plane for almost 8 hours...don't judge!

Going through customs at JFK I was immediately transported back to March when I was doing the same thing with all you CI tour folks. While waiting for my suitcase  I enjoyed the memories in my head. When I found out that I was headed up to Terminal 2 I smiled...it's where I had already spent several hours of my life this year and found my same spots to sit and wait. (Allegra you were missed...it's no fun waiting by yourself!) 

The gate that I needed to be at had about 4 other flights departing at the same time and mine was the last to load. Once on the itty bitty plane, we hung out on the tarmac for a while. Not sure how long since I was passed out as soon as they turned off the lights until they announced we were approaching Norfolk.

My suitcase arrived and I had Ravi's cousin, Cori waiting in the lot so I could once again feel the freedom that a car often brings. GPS locked in, country tunes on the radio, and AC cranked up I finally made it to the hotel where the nicest English speaking man checked me in. Only problem? My body thought it really was 7am. How I'm not sure but as soon as I hoped in bed I passed out...until 7am local time. 

It's strange. I feel like I'm home yet I've never been here before. The fact that I'm surrounded by friendly, English speakers just rocks. I'm here for a while so if you still haven't sent me suggestions for spending my off times, let me know soon please. For now I've got more exploring to do! Well, from the pool side.

Getting to Naples

I wanted an adventure so of course that's what I got.

When checking in at Monterey the system "timed out." Apparently this is when the system just doesn't want to work so it won't let them issue boarding passes. After a second of sheer panic and crazy thoughts that somehow the ghosts of NPS had messed with my reservation, the lady behind the counter asked if I had a visa. My response of yes made her day and I got a high 5 (Anna take note).  I showed her that lovely pic but spared her the story of how that visa delayed me nearly 2 weeks....boarding passes issued and line started to move again.

Monterey had never looked so beautiful to me than from the air. I'm sure I'll love the view next time I fly in, but as I flew over the zip codes that were the locations for so many of my memories over these years, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I made the right decision to take this job Yes, it was tough to leave but once I was in the air it felt like just the start of another adventure....a long one with my 3 suitcases in tow. 

Next stop- enemy territory (LAX). I met a nice guy headed to Bangladesh and a group of middle aged New Zealanders and Australians as we tried to figure out which bus we needed to get to the international terminal. They were entertaining, so I trusted them that terminal 2 was where I should be....and then took a nice walk to terminal B. (Stanley was happy to move some.)

After asking 2 more people for where I should be going I found my way to the departures and then security. Ha. I took up 3 bins and then had 3 things not in bins. They guy asked if I was moving- why yes,  I am! Well, turns out that my little carry-on wanted to shut down the entire security line since the computer kept wanting to scan it. No, they never did open it up but I was there for a while. Yep, I was that person.

I'm not exactly sure what took place from LAX to MUC- mainly because I slept. Before take off I had a quick flash back to my Kenya trip earlier this year when my fabulous roommate had to keep giving "how to" lessons to our row...I helped this guy turn off the over head light. Seriously, that's about all I remember. I started to watch the Tourist but woke up to credits. Oh, the landing into MUC was the most perfect one I think I've ever experienced- no loud noise, no force pulling me forward into the seat in front, no jolting.

After going through customs (another stamp from Germany---boo) and security where this time we actually got to sort through the green suitcase and get a secondary search...I rocked out in a fairly empty terminal to a play list prepared by Andie just for me. Luckily, my coworker's son had not yet figured out who I was...we didn't do that until the plane (he was across the aisle from me). Tried as I did, I wasn't able to stay awake the entire flight but what I saw was gorgeous! Lots of of rocky mountains, some still with snow, but in the late afternoon shadows it was a great view.

So yeah, eventually we landed and collected our baggage and then I was delivered to the my lodge. This place is seriously large---puts NPS to shame and that's only the little section I've seen of it in the dark. Tomorrow will be an exploration day but right now I just found a Giants game on TV so I'm going to stay up and show the guys I still love them a continent away.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for my trip! And yes, I've FINALLY left the 831 :)