Italy Travel 2023 - Day 1; Norfolk to Fontanellato

We last visited Italy in 2018, and were more than anxious to get back. Last time we visited, Florence and its surroundings, travel throughout Tuscany, visited Kathi‘s great grandmother‘s birthplace in San Marco D'Urri, and then finished along the Ligurian coast in Cinque Terre.

So this time we decided to explore the area around Northern Italy, the Dolomites, the lake region, the city of Genoa, and then visit, small seaside towns along the Ligurian coast that rival the beauty of Cinque Terre but without the mobs.

Part one of our trip starting in Milan and ending at Lake Como...

Part 2 of our trip, leaving the lakes and spending time in Genoa, and then stopping at towns along the Ligurian Sea.

First, we had to get to Italy itself (which proved challenging). Our friend Elena drove us to the airport for our midday flight to NY, connecting there to Milan. Thunderstorms were rolling through Virginia so the flight departure was delayed several times until we got off the ground but we were retaining hope that, with a full on dash, we could make our connection in NY.

In the air though, it became increasingly clear we would miss our connection. I tried valiantly to make it to our connecting gate, but we missed our flight so we nervously waited as the Delta team scrambled trying to come up with alternatives. They re-routed us through Amsterdam on KLM Airlines, but we would arrive in Milan 8 hours later than planned. So long Sirmione...

Kathi and I were split up on the plane. I had conversation with a young guy from the Netherlands. He was surprised I knew anything about the Netherlands or Europe for that matter, so I think I made a good impression. Conversely, there was an uber rude American in the seat in front of him, complaining incessantly about him extending his legs and "touching her feet". Ugly Americans - ugh!

We arrived in Amsterdam and waited until about 5pm to depart for Milan. We arrived in Milan and picked up our rental car. They gave us a diesel Mercedes wagon, which I said was a mistake, not economy class (or small in size) but they insisted it was no extra charge and since I paid for full insurance to cover theft or damage, I reluctantly accepted and we motored towards our hotel for the night. It was around 7pm.

We stopped on the autostrada at the Auto Grill for snacks - Kinder Bueno cookies, cheese, salami, etc. and then got back on the road.

We were headed in the right direction, but mistyped the name of our destination outside of Parma so upon arrival, around 10 pm, we deduced that we had another hour of driving to go.

In the pitch black, I ended up clipping some varmint skinking across the road. Never got a good look at it for a positive ID. Kathi thinks it was a stoat - a sort of weasel/minky looking animal. I hope he was OK.

We finally made it to our hotel "Villa" in Fontanellato by about 11pm, quickly checked in and went directly to bed after 30 hours of travel. The fun starts tomorrow!