20240909 Going to Bari: PART 1 – Got up about 7:00, had breakfast, loaded Marian’s car with my stuff, left for airport about 8:30. Fast check in. Was surprised I was not asked any questions when checking baggage, like whether I had packed it, was I carrying any prohibited items, etc. Met Alan at the gate for flight to Chicago ORD.
At ORD, very long walk from where we landed to the gate where our Rome flight was to depart from. Near as I can tell from my phone app, it was about a mile altogether. Very nice gate area with places to sit and eat at a raised bar. Alan went and got a sandwich. I went to the United Club and had a good lunch and espresso (double).
Flight boarded at about 3:00. When I settled into seat 6A, the man in 5A asked me to switch seats with him since his new bride was in 7A. Of course I did.
Before takeoff, flight attendant wanted to know my choice of entrée, and a second choice if she ran out of the first one. Now, days ago, I went on United site since I was supposed to be able to preorder my meal choice. Site kept telling me the preorder window was closed. Got an email from United a couple of days before flight inviting me to preorder. But, as with earlier, site said the preorder window was closed. Thus, to no surprise, attendant came back and told me my first choice was not available, but second choice was.
Flight departed on time at 3:50. Food service started at 4:45. Was a nice dinner…and the second choice of entrée was good. Now the Sun has set and it’s full dark outside. Only six-and-a half hours until Rome. And at 6:15 my time, not sleepy yet.
20240910: PART 2 – Got a few hours of sleep, not much. Nice breakfast. Got into Rome on time. Was a Byzantine walk of about half-a-mile to go through security, passport control, and getting from one terminal to another. Then it was a very long wait. So, arrived in Rome about 8 AM and our plane to Bari was supposed to depart at 1:30. Alan and I waited in a general area since the gate for our flight was not posted until 12:15. Then walked through the hordes to get to the gate. Met up with Alice and Anthony there. From this point on it was a zoo since not only was this a crowded flight, but it was late arriving and also it seems the jetway was broken. People were lined up everywhere. Luckily, given flying First Class, I was in a very short line. We walked down to the tarmac, got into a bus, drove about 25 yards, got off, went up stairs into the airplane. We ended up boarding at 2:30 and got off the ground around 3:00, which means at that time I have been up 25 hours.
In Bari, we got our luggage and went outside for a taxi. Took a long time before we could get two for the four of us. Then half-hour through traffic to Oriente Hotel, where I am in room 204. Nice room and hotel. Even has a balcony. Spent some time doing minimal unpacking.
At 7:45, eight of us met in the lobby and I used Goggle maps to guide us through town to urban l'assassineria, a place Alan had seen on a Stanley Tucci in Italy program. We had the spaghetti dish he recommended, which was different in that the noodles, once cooked, are put in skillet with olive oil and toasted to almost burnt. Really good, crunchy. Then walked back towards the hotel is a drizzle, stopped at a gelateria (of course), and then back to room for finishing this and minimal downloading of images. Now shower, shave, bed!
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