05/22/2022: The joys (not) of travel

We awakened at 4:30 a.m. for last minute packing and putting the apartment in order. Our eCab was waiting for us at 5:30 as scheduled and off to the airport we went. At that time of day traffic is very light so it only took about 15 minutes to get to the airport. Our flight from Malta was to Rome and then from Rome on to JFK in New York.

Once in the terminal it was pandemonium. The queues for every flight departing that morning we’re lined up. You have to look at a big board showing what line you’re supposed to be in and about 20 flights were all in the same row. There were hundreds of people. We waited patiently in line and in about 45 minutes we were at the check in counter. We were told that we had to retrieve our luggage in Rome and re-check in with Delta. Rats!

We left Malta pretty much on time. For the first few minutes it was lovely seeing Malta, Comino and Gozo from the air. Then we settled in for the flight and landed in Rome in about and hour and 20 minutes.

If I thought the Rome train station was confusing, the airport is worse. Arrivals come in Terminal 1. It seemed like we walked 5 miles to get to luggage pickup. Along the way, you have to scan your passport and then go through immigration where you again get your passport scanned which opens a little gate and then you have to stand on a marker and get your photo taken which then opens another little gate that allows you through. Christine had a little trouble with that and was stuck in between the gates for a while until the camera got a good photo. We collected our luggage and then couldn’t figure out which way to go. Fortunately, we were able to snag a trolley to tote our luggage. We managed to find someone to ask how to get to departures. He kindly pointed us in the right direction with very specific directions that he made me repeat back to him. Off we went outside terminal 1 towards terminal 3, another long walk.

As you would expect, the Rome departure terminal is huge. Again, you look at a big board to find what check in row you need. At least it was by airline and we found Delta where a couple hundred people were queued up. We joined the line. During the wait they had agents asking for the COVID test report and checked passports so that by the time we got to the counter, the check in and luggage drop off was relatively easy. So that went okay and we were off to security. What a confusing mess that was! There were no clear instructions anywhere so we weren’t sure how to proceed. Some lines had agents yelling at everyone; our line barely had anyone to ask what the protocol was. And all the bins for putting your stuff in were jammed up in a long line. Of course, because we travel with computers and iPads, all that has to come out of backpacks and into bins. It was hot and frustrating, but we finally got through security and into the departure terminal.

And of course, right into the duty free shops, which I swear was the biggest, longest duty free I’ve ever walked through. Once through that, it was another 5 mile walk to the gate area. Our backpacks weigh about 25 pounds and so with those slung over a shoulder or on a back, it gets very tiring. We decided to take a break and have a cup of coffee and something to eat. We found a place where there were tables but all the chairs were taken. I managed to snag one chair and sent Christine off to get our food and coffee. Everyone was doing what I was doing, looking for chairs. As soon as it appeared someone was leaving, a swoop of people rushed over. Fortunately, the people right next to me started to get up and I asked that when they stood up, could one of them push their chair in my direction. Nicely, they did just that and Christine and I had a cappuccino and a little nosh, both seated.

We then walked another long way to find our departure gate, E22, of course at the end of the concourse. At least we got our exercise for the day. Our Delta flight to JFK was scheduled to leave at 12:30 with boarding starting at 11:45. That time came and went with an announcement that departure time was pushed back to 1:30. Then another announcement that departure time would be 2:30. Then another announcement that departure would be 3:30. Uh-oh! Not a good omen. Finally, an announcement came that the flight was canceled. Yikes, now what?? I had a Delta app on my phone and had received a notice about the cancellation and it gave me an option to re-book. I saw that there were several available options the next day so I knew we could probably get to NY tomorrow. The bigger issue was where to stay tonight.

I have a Hilton app on my phone so I quickly started looking for Hilton hotels near the airport. Within a couple of minutes, the Hilton Garden Inn was booked up. The other Hilton brand options were not near the airport, but there was a Hilton right at the airport. I quickly made a reservation via the app. So with a room reserved, I then re-booked our flight.

We had to go pick up our luggage, but didn’t know where, but knew it was probably at baggage claim. Christine had heard something about carousel 10 so that’s where we headed, another seemingly 5 mile hike. We had to once again go through entry immigration into Italy since we were leaving the secure area of the airport. Once at baggage claim, confusion and pandemonium as everyone was kind of in the same boat of fretting about hotel rooms, re-booked flights, and where’s my luggage. Christine spotted our bags, fortunately. So, we had luggage, a room (hopefully), and boarding passes for a flight tomorrow. So now we had to get ourselves and our luggage and backpacks to the Hilton, which supposedly was a 5 minute walk (not). Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a trolley so we had to set off pushing and pulling our luggage with backpacks on. A consultation with Google maps gave us an idea of where to head.

Along the way, I did spot a trolley and quickly ran over to retrieve it. That made our trek to the Hilton a lot easier. Of course, the airport doesn’t want their trolleys to leave the premises, so there are barriers along the way. We decided to try and navigate our way through many parking ramps and managed to get lost and turn the wrong way. Christine flagged down a car coming out of a ramp and a very nice guy pointed us toward the Hilton, which we could now actually see. The parking ramps all had exit barriers bars and were just at the height to block the trolley from going through. We finally figured out that unloading the cart enabled us to get the trolley under the bar by lifting up the front of the trolley and pushing the back down under the bar. Scofflaws we are! We did this a couple of times and finally raced across a busy street to get to the Hilton entrance. We did have to abandon the trolley at the edge of a parking lot on one side of the street before our dash across, but we arrived at the Hilton where, as we expected, there was a queue for check in. I wasn’t 100% sure our reservation would actually get us a room, but thank goodness, it did. We were so very relieved, totally exhausted, very sweaty, and pleased as punch to be at the Hilton (I’ll fight with Delta later to see if they will reimburse at least something for the high Hilton room rate). We even got a coupon for 2 drinks at the bar, complimentary bottles of water, and free breakfast in the morning. Nice!

A funny thing is that sitting in the airport waiting for our departure to JFK, I had just clicked check in to our Hampton Inn at JFK when they announced the flight cancellation. Since I was already checked in, I couldn’t change the reservation on the app. I tried calling the hotel from the airport, but the connection was bad and all the number prompts weren’t working and I couldn’t hear what was being said. Once in the hotel room at the Hilton, I called again, and after a little finagling, I managed to get the Hampton to switch our reservation to Monday night. Hopefully, we’ll get there. I also was able to change our Megabus reservations to Tuesday from Port Authority to Binghamton. Let’s hope all the new arrangements come to fruition.

We rested a bit and then went down to the restaurant for dinner. It was quite busy and so we had our drinks in the bar waiting for a table. I think Hilton is very smart to have limited seating in the restaurant and asking everyone to wait in the bar until a table is ready. I’m sure they make quite a lot on their bar business by doing that. Hilton prices are pretty expensive, Christine’s Aperol Spritz was 13 Euros and my bottle of Schweppes lemon was 8 Euros. Good thing we had a coupon for complimentary drinks. We had a nice dinner and shared a Greek salad and lasagna, the smallest portion I’ve ever seen, but very yummy.

So what a day of challenges. I’m very happy that I had a working cellphone, thanks to an Orange Holiday SIM card that has carried me through the entire trip even though it was all in French and I had a French phone number. But it worked and Google Translate got me through all the messages and instructions for making the thing work. Traveling means having to put up with things happening and adjusting. But, it’s all my fault because early this morning I said to Christine that we had been relatively lucky with our travel and that with very minor exceptions, a couple of missed trains and the delay in getting into the Naples train station, everything had worked out well. Then I said, I shouldn’t have said that because I probably jinxed us. Indeed I did. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.