We got to the airport an hour and a half early. Plenty of time, so we thought. We walk in and find at least 100 people crammed around the Lufthansa check in area. It appeared there was no line nor system. Whoever could edge their way up to one of the 2 open ticket counters could check in. This could be a problem. We waited for about 30 minutes without much progress. At this point, the people in front of us saw the kids and said, "You should just go to the front." What?? We first said no, we felt bad, and they insisted that is what people do. Apparently, if you have small children you can go to the front and no one cares. So strange, but we finally did it and I am not sure we would have made the flight otherwise!
Lufthansa is great with kids. They gave each child a small toy when we got on the plane, then offered to move us to a whole empty row so Cade could have a seat. They even helped move all our junk.
Cade was a happy traveler.
It was a beautiful flight over the Alps.We arrived in Milan, got our bags, and headed to the train platform. The airport is about 30 minutes outside the city. Our plan was to take a train into the city, and then get on the subway to the hotel. We got on the train with one minute to spare. All was well. The train ride was fast, and we got off and headed down to the subway. We got our tickets, but couldn't find where to get on. There were gates down everywhere. We roamed around for a bit and then I found some police officers. They didn't seem to speak much English, but I got out of them that the subway was closed. Seriously??? This was not in our plan!!! We wandered around for a few minutes, staring at maps and bus routes. The smart thing at this point would've been to get a taxi, but that takes all the fun out of it, right?
We walked a couple of blocks and got on a bus. We weren't really sure where it was going, but Larry thought it was the right direction. We got off and were close to a different subway line that appeared open. Hooray! We got on the subway and thought we were home free, until it only went one stop and the driver made some kind of announcement and everyone got off. So, we went back up to the street. We found another bus that would take us almost to our hotel, so we got on it. Only, at this point, it seemed buses weren't coming by very often. There were way too many people trying to get on. We crammed on there with our luggage and kids. By now, it had been about 2 hours since we got to Milan. We had lunch, but the kids were tired and cranky. They were both crying, and I was about to join them. Strangers begin offering food and I took it, trying to keep the peace. We weren't sure where to get off, so we just picked a stop and got off. Larry figured out where out we were - only a few blocks from the hotel. Finally, 3 hours after arriving in Milan, we made it to our room. Thank you, Lord!
At the hotel, we found out that there was a transportation strike, hence the shutdowns. There was going to be service between 3 and 6, so we decided to take advantage of that window of opportunity. We headed to the Duomo.
We came up out of the subway and stumbled upon some kind of car race.....
We watched for a bit before taking in the Duomo - isn't it amazing?
We walked a couple of blocks and got on a bus. We weren't really sure where it was going, but Larry thought it was the right direction. We got off and were close to a different subway line that appeared open. Hooray! We got on the subway and thought we were home free, until it only went one stop and the driver made some kind of announcement and everyone got off. So, we went back up to the street. We found another bus that would take us almost to our hotel, so we got on it. Only, at this point, it seemed buses weren't coming by very often. There were way too many people trying to get on. We crammed on there with our luggage and kids. By now, it had been about 2 hours since we got to Milan. We had lunch, but the kids were tired and cranky. They were both crying, and I was about to join them. Strangers begin offering food and I took it, trying to keep the peace. We weren't sure where to get off, so we just picked a stop and got off. Larry figured out where out we were - only a few blocks from the hotel. Finally, 3 hours after arriving in Milan, we made it to our room. Thank you, Lord!
At the hotel, we found out that there was a transportation strike, hence the shutdowns. There was going to be service between 3 and 6, so we decided to take advantage of that window of opportunity. We headed to the Duomo.
We came up out of the subway and stumbled upon some kind of car race.....
We watched for a bit before taking in the Duomo - isn't it amazing?
It took 600 years to build, and it is not surprising!.
There were signs saying no photos, but others were taking them, so we decided it was okay to take a few. See the red dot at the top of the picture above? A nail, purportedly from the crucifixion, is kept. A priest brings it out for 3 days each year. Chelsea was quite fascinated with this.
Our time was ticking away, so we left the Duomo with plans to come back on Saturday. We took a gelatto break before heading back to the hotel.
After a rocky start, day one ended well! Stay tuned for day 2....
wow...love the flight pic over the Alps..breathtaking!!
ReplyDeleteThose Italian transportation people must go on strike a lot!!! I distinctly remember having a similar issue in Pisa. It was slightly crazy...albeit not as crazy as if we had kiddos with us too!! haha!
Keep having fun!! :)
Welcome to Europe. You never know when they are going to strike. It's always an adventure for sure. We always try to check in online and print our boarding passes if possible. Sometimes there is a separate line to drop off bags if you already have your pass.
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