Stranded?

 Yes, I am back from the land of pizza, pasta and pane. To tell the truth, I wasn’t quite sure when I would arrive home. A little storm called “Sandy” kind of interfered in my flight itinerary.

I was all set to fly from Venice to Munich to Boston. I had taken the train the evening before from Trieste to Mestre (suburb of Venice). I was staying with friends in Favarro approx. 15 minutes or so from beautiful Venice. The next morning I was to fly fairly early. And then, the dreaded words appeared in my email: YOUR FLIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. I had a feeling something like that would happen. I had been following the Sandy news via Facebook and it wasn’t looking good.

Went to the airport to figure out what to do next. Me and 100’s of other people. We were told all flights to the USA were cancelled. Being that this was Italy, nothing was happening. No surprise there. So, while the line of American tourists slowly freaked out about where to stay, what to do and what to eat, the Italians in line made a fast exit and I went back to Favarro. Called the airline and secured the next flight out. Of course this flight was 5 days later. Oh my. What to do? Five more days in Italy. Such a shame.

Rainy Venice

I always say that when life hands you lemons, forget the lemonade stand and open a franchise instead. I had four more full days to plan and it was lovely. Spent a nice evening in Venice visiting with a friend. The downside to that was acqua alta. It was messy. Raining and rising waters. Even with high rubber boots I ended up soaked to the skin. But hey. Venice is beautiful even in the rain.

Padova

 I spent a wonderful day in Padova. In fact I fell in love with the old city. I could see myself hanging out there for a while. I made new acquaintances. It was a fine four days. I also ate much more than I should have. But it was OH SO GOOD!

 I was concerned with the events happening at home. Fortunately my house was spared with the exception of a few falling branches and a little water in the basement. Others were not so fortunate. Some are still without power and it’s been a week.

Pizza in Mestre

And so, on this election day, I am proud to be an American and very sad to leave Italy behind. I know I’ll be back soon. But not soon enough.

Have a good week all. And for those of you without power, hang in there. If you feel like coming to Boston, there’s a spare room and a hot shower and great coffee. Any time.