Sicily to New York City

 

Nun Playing On iPad at Airport

April 8, 2014

Conclusions

Mt. Etna winked a pinpoint of light to say good-bye as we took an early morning ride in the dark to the airport in Catania. We were fortunate to be sitting on the land side of the plane. By the time we took off it was light enough to see Etna in all her glory: snow-

capped & fuming steam.

We slept on the flight to Rome, said our good-byes to Judi, & prepared to shlep to our terminal. Since we were flying Alitalia all the way, we didn't have to re-check bags. We didn't realize it until we got to our gate, but Judi was leaving from the same terminal a few gates away. She was switching from Alitalia to United so it took her longer, but we had a brief reunion before we had to board.

When I saw all the movie & TV options I was concerned the flight might not be long enough to watch everything I wanted to. Not to worry. We had 165 mph headwinds & arrived late. The flight was made longer by a family with four young children across the aisle from us. The baby (maybe five months old) cried for at least two hours nonstop. The poor parents were passing him back & forth. I held him once when their four-year old boy slithered out of his seat while sleeping & landed with his head in the aisle. His mother was nursing the baby so his father retrieved him. He never woke up. Then their eight-year old daughter threw up...a lot… into a clear plastic bag.

They live in Israel & were staying in New York for three weeks to be with family during Pesach. The wife had a sense of humor. When we landed, she said to her husband, "So, do you want to do this again soon?" It's a good thing they have three weeks to recuperate. Through it all, I must say, they were very patient & tender with the children. I never saw so much as a hint of annoyance. The passengers understood & we all felt sorry for the parents. There was nothing we could do to help.

The family had ordered kosher meals. Before meal service, the flight attendant explained he'd have to open the seal to heat the food. He asked if one of them needed to supervise. They didn't. Very thoughtful & good training. I, on the other hand, wished for a kosher meal. Our breakfast/lunch would make any Italian cringe with shame & defamation of their culinary skills. It was a thick piece of white bread onto which was pasted a thin layer of egg & green vegetable substance. I took one nibble & couldn't eat it. Consequently I ended up eating a lot of breadsticks thanks to Judi who had bought them several days ago.

We had a surprise at customs. We didn't have to wait in line. Our new passports have a computer chip in them. We were told to go to a computer kiosk where we quickly scanned the passport & it gave us a customs slip with our photos on it. We didn't even have to fill out the customs form we got on the plane. Then we skipped immigration & went to get our baggage.

Now to answer a question I asked many people before we decided to go to Sicily. If you've been to Italy, is Sicily enough different to warrant a separate trip? Most said "yes." I say "Maybe." The towns are similar to most medieval towns in Europe. Big cities are big cities. Churches are churches. The food is not too different. The history overlaps. But Sicily has a raw edge to it. There's less sophistication & more rusticity. It's the difference between visiting the U.S. & seeing L.A. & New York then going to Ohio.

We didn't buy anything special for ourselves while there. No art or rugs, or jewelry. But I did bring back a souvenir. I have red spots on the right side of my face & shoulder. I sleep on my left side. Remember the mosquitoes I told you about? Got me! At least I hope that's what it is.

We're staying one night at the Fairfield Inn near JFK. Nancy Arnold & Jerry Faria met us for dinner & returned the clothing we'll need for the PFLAG Gala. We ate at a Greek place. Lovely to have gyros instead of pasta. We transfer to the Marriot Marquis in Times Square tomorrow & will return to Akron on Saturday, the 12th.

Toby