In a Flash

They often say that when your time comes your entire life will flash before your eyes. Never having met someone who had this experience and lived to tell the tale, don't know if it is true. However last night I had a flash moment.

Since leaving the job in June 2012, I have gone out of my way to stay far from the school I led for 12 years and from the neighborhood. I must say that when I meet up with former parents, students or teachers I do feel good about their analysis that "things are different " and "it is not the same".

Last night we went to Greenwich to a new restaurant. I made a reservation for 8:15 and we arrived on time. No sooner did we enter the place that I spotted J's brother, his wife and another couple. We exchanged pleasantries and were shown to our table. This was the best seat in the house and I knew that sitting in the front of the place by the open air window, I'd be susceptible to seeing passers-by who might recognize me as the guy formally known as the Principal of Riverside school. Little did I know that I'd hit the, look who it is, jackpot and that by the end of the meal I'd run into people who span the 35 years I have spent in the profession.

First I saw a R family leaving the restaurant, they came over, small talked and I found out that they had decided to move their daughter to another school because, " you were gone". Another couple did the same 10 minutes later.

As the evening wore on 2 couples came by who were very excited to see me and one of the parents made the entire restaurant aware of my presence. Once again we small talked and to the dismay of the waiter we delayed ordering our meal.

Later in the evening there was a flurry of pedestrians as the local movie let out. Sure enough somewhere between the salad and sea scallops 2 couples walked by. The women just happened to be the first two PTA presidents I worked with 35+ years ago when we opened the most progressive school in CT at the time. Unfortunately 35+ years later it still is!

So there you have it an evening in Greenwich where you might say I still have street cred, and the street  just happens to be Greenwich Avenue, where cred is pronounced CREDIBILITY, darling.

Moonlit dinner

Before we leave for Verona a word about dinner at the Pace Hotel in Sirmione.
Beautiful setting on the lake with terrific views at sunset.
Can't say enough about the wonderful food and service at the hotel. However Bellagio is still our favorite. As the sun set over the lake a Russian family sat at the table next to us. All beautiful, a young wife, 2 blond haired boys and a curly haired toddler with a dress that spins. Dad ordered wine bottle after wine bottle even though he was for the most part the only one drinking. The 10 year old boy inhaled his ravioli and dad ordered another portion. While professing to be hungry the little guy hardly touched the food, but hey we are on vacation so who cares about the $$$ or should I say euro.
Lots of Russians in this part of Europe followed by Germans and very, very few Americans. I guess the lousy exchange rate has scared them away. Example: 400 Euro= $525!

Tip: If you are near a lake, have dinner at the lake. Incredibly beautiful and it will score points with your favorite girl.

More tips- Weekend Warriers

Having had a stressful experience driving into Sirmione, I plotted my exit with every opportunity. As we walked the town I looked for an exit strategy. We drove out of Sirmione on a Sunday which was a good thing.

Tip: driving on the autostrata is easier on weekends, especially Sundays as there is no truck traffic on the weekends. There is a no driving ban on Sundays for trucks. GREAT idea. Whether through dumb luck or good planning the roads are very pleasant on the weekends, onto Verona

The Trip

It has been a week since we returned from our 18 day trip to Italy and France. over the next days I'll offer some tips for a successful trip.

 Landing at 6:30 AM limits your options, so you tend to go to the rental office, get your car and drive to your first destination. In our case Milan to Sirmione on Largo de Garda. Being sleep deprived from the 8+ hour flight, probably not the best thing to do. We did arrive in the charming village of Sirmione in relatively good shape, however once inside the walls of this 13th century village driving was tense and nerve wracking. My first Italian words of the trip were "I'm Sorry" as I didn't obey the traffic light that was well hidden on the side of a building.

TIP: try to land during the day, and get a room to sleep off some jet lag
TIP: make sure your GPS, the one you brought from home, works as a portable from the car rental is over 20 euros per day.

It's a Tough Job....

but someone has to do it. Throughout our trip to Italy we were faced with the dilemma of eating prosciutto and melon for breakfast and dinner. The is an abundance of this delicacy in the cities and towns of Italy and to help eliminate the glut we were more than happy to oblige and do our part. The Italians especially know how to serve this combo, 4-5 slices of melon totally covered with slices of paper thin sliced ham. In the States the portion is usually 2 slices melon, 2 slices prosciutto, but unlike air conditioning and deodorant, when it comes to this the Europeans have it all over their American cousins.

Imagine our glee when we were invited to tour a prosciutto factory in Longerino Italy, just outside of Parma. We were on a private tour arranged by a friend who has a connection. The facility was pristine and huge, with walls and walls of pigs hind quarters hanging from every imaginable hook. The aroma was sweet and our taste buds were salivating for just one slice off the vine on Prosciutto Boulevard, as the owner referred to the hall. But for some reason that I will never know we were never offered a taste. We were treated royally, had Prosecco and espresso, were ushered into the seductively lit tasting room but never got to savor the ham delight.

In the spirit of Sophia and Gina, the Italians are big teasers.

Bag man

Our bags did arrive on the 6:30 PM flight from Rome on Monday. However we didn't hear from them , or the airline with an update. I tried no less than 6 times to call the 800 # the friendly agent gave us on Monday as she said te luggage should be to us in 12 hours. All the while I'm sure she was saying to herself that no one at Alitalia answers the phone and a voice message tells me they cannot be reached. With that frustrating bit of news I was sure this was going to be a long ordeal that apparently lots and lots of people go through. So we went to bed at 11:00 having decided to drive out to the airport this morning to try and find our bags. At 11:30 pm, still feeling the effects of jet lag, we got a phone call from the company that was to deliver the bags to the house. Now the way the nice lady explained it Alitalia deals only with reputable delivery serbvices and we sohuld not worry about the luggage we would receive it. I'm thinking DHL, Fed Ex, instead the guy sounded like soem guy, with a checked past, who was going to make a drop. He said he would be to the house in 90 minutes or 1:00 in the morning! Where was he coming from and why at 1:00 in the morning. Luckily the Hapless Yankees were in LA so I got up to watch the game and wait for the drop.

As the van pulled up I noticed no markings on the van, just a van. I decided to go and meet the driver outside. He unloaded the 2 bags and told me he had come from Queens and was on his way to New Haven to drop off more luggage. Well thank goodness for small favors as those poor souls would be awaken at 3:30 AM to have their bags returned to them.

Why the bags could not be delivered during normal hours is beyond me but at least the bags are back from their journey and in tact.

So good, we decided to stay

While we returned from a wonderful trip to Italy and France our luggage decided to stay in sunny Italy at least one more day. While I doubt the two old bags would not see anything more than the tarmac at Rome Airport, they were lost in transit. But not to worry as we were told at the Alitalia office, located just a few steps from the luggage carousel at JFK. Seems like extended vacations for luggage requires an office complete with permanent signage. I'm sure other airlines have the same issue but an office with a constant staff of two people to handle luggage issues?

So we went home armed with the equivalent of a 2000 fax machine print out of our case and invitation to call  to check on the whereabouts of our luggage.
Well 24 hours later we still await confirmation that the luggage did return from Italy. Calls to the 800 number, 5 calls,  resulted in automated messages that they could not take our call. They were unavailable.

With no where to turn I called my travel agent who sheepishly answered the phone and said he had received my email 2 days ago. I was not happy then over a transportation issue and I continue to be not happy. He offered to help and so we await word on the fate of our luggage.

Recently an Italian asked me the difference between baggage and luggage. When it comes to customer satisfaction it seems that when dealing with luggage, Alitalia has lots of baggage.