Italy in the Time of Covid

We began our day at CLT around 5a. When I set my alarm, I thought our flight left at 7a, not 7:50a (rookie mistake to not confirm departure time!) and in the olden days, 2 hours would have been plenty of time. However, since we were unable to check in at the kiosk we had to get in the International Departures line to talk to a live agent. I was VERY happy to have that extra time! The airport was already crazily packed for the early hour.

In the CLT international departure line, we had to show our Covid vaccine paperwork, passports (Thank God we have plenty of time before they expire unlike the lady next to us whose passport expired in less than 3 months!) and our completed VeriFly app. We did not show our printed European Authorization Form.

When all was verified, the agent printed our JFK boarding passes but mine was no longer showing I was Precheck so I gave her my Global Entry card to re add it.  PRO TIP: Do not step away from the agent if you are Precheck and it does not say PRECHECK on your boarding pass!

We proceeded through the security Precheck line. PRO TIP: We only brought carryon bags in case we had to do sudden last minute destination changes. I always bring a small lightweight extra duffel inside my bag in case I go crazy on the souvenirs.

Once the boarding agent gave us our seats on the first leg from CLT, our second boarding pass printed. We were going to need that priority card to get into JFK since we were flying into LGA.

Once in New York, we took an Uber to The High Line, a rail road that has been converted into a greenway, complete with purple cone flowers, daisies and magnolia trees! When we were tired, we stopped and ate at little pub called The Hawthorn . We split a delicious burger and a watermelon feta salad. But I also HAD to order the butter pecan bread pudding because that combined by husband's two favorite desserts!! Fun fact: Our charming Irish waiter is actually a purser for American! Small world. (And yes, he was thrilled Italy beat England lol)

We walked to Penn Station and hopped on the train to head into JFK. It took about an hour from The High Line area. We already had our priority cards, so we breezed through the Precheck line and were back in our third airport of the day.

Our trip was off to a rocky start. After barely making it onto the very first flight out of CLT to LGA as the top two D1s, the 7:20p flight to MXP was now on a rolling delay because a First Officer couldn't be found. So we paid around $60 each to relax in the Admirals Lounge to wait -- and so Carry could do some work. After a few hours, we came down to the gate for our seat assignments and to check the status of the flight.

We got Business Class seats out of JFK but when we were FINALLY pushed back from the gate and were number EIGHT in line to take off, the captain came on the PA and said we'd been called back to the gate. The new FO wasn't Covid-approved for Italy!!! I'm pretty sure that's an actual nightmare I've had before.

Thanks to all things holy, at almost MIDNIGHT we pulled into a gate next another international flight and swapped FOs!!!  You can bet there was cheering and clapping when we heard that!

Once we arrived in Milan, we deplaned at a hardstand onto a bus. The hubs and I ran once off the bus. There were two passport stops. We had clipped our Covid vaccination papers into the inside of the passport and they looked at that too. We didn't have to wait on bags so we walked out the exit passed all the others waiting. We went immediately to exchange euros. Then we purchased 2 train tickets for 26 euro to Milan Centrale. Ticket agent said the train was leaving in 9 minutes and to be sure to validate our tickets here in the airport. We were stopped once more for a random passport check by the Guardia Di Finanza.  We validated our tickets at the top on the moving sidewalk and ran to the Milano Centrale train. We had one minute to store our bags and sit down! The quiet ride is a not very scenic 50 minutes.

We missed our (paid for) scheduled 2:45p Italo train by 30 minutes. We each used the public restroom for a euro (I think there's a change machine but having euros available facilitates things) then we bought new seats (right in the station where some nice agents helped us in English) on Trenitalia leaving 30 min after we arrived. Sadly this train was not as fast as the one originally scheduled and took an hour longer. When we got off, we found an Italo rep who informed us we could only get a refund BEFORE we left Milan.  Lesson learned.

PRO TIP: know the train schedule so you book your train at the station at one of the many booths. You may not get the exact seats you want but at least you wont be burning money due to delays or cancellation. Our business class seats on Trenitalia were 126 euro for two. Juice and a tiny snack were complimentary. No full bar or meals due to Covid.

We found the announcements on Trenitalia to be confusing. PRO TIP: Wait until you cross WATER before you get off the train. The cab ride from Venezia Menestre to the correct station was 23 euro to correct that mistake. Are you keeping a tally of my expensive mistakes?!

If you make it all the way to Venezia Santa Lucia (the stop you are SUPPOSED to get off of),when you walk out the door of the station the bus stop with be directly outside. Ok, it's not actually buses. Its Vaporettos because you can not drive on the paved streets of Venice and the other streets are waterways. Vaporettos are literally water buses. The Vaporettos have posted schedules and arrows showing what direction each goes in. We bought a 3 day pass each for around 30 euro -- each day is 24 hours so depending on what time you time stamp your first use, you may actually get 4 days out of your pass.

There are also water taxis in Venice but they are quite pricey. Venice is easily walkable and Vaporettos are a lot of fun. Right now, all mass transit in Italy requires a mask and that does include these water buses. Italians are not playing. Put your mask (not scarf or balaclava) on or get kicked off.

We rented an adorable, off the beaten path, apartment in Cannaregio that had charming antique furniture and a balcony overlooking a quiet waterway. Our first full day we had a cooking class with the charming Julia in her very Venetian, recently renovated, top floor apartment. We made pasta and tiramisu. My husband loves pasta (has often said he was going to make some by hand) and he was the personification of joy in class.

We also booked a tour in English to see the Doges Palace and Saint Mark's Basilica. I LOVED the political statements and beauty of the Doges but wasn't feeling well enough to continue the tour. PRO TIP: Wait to book any tours. While the Doges tour guide was lovely, I just wasn't feeling up to the entire tour so that was more money wasted. Right now, Venice is not packed. Go soon to be able to enjoy not having to book things very far ahead. Sometimes just being outside walking around was easiest - you have to wear your mask in all public places and in July is was HOT.

We ate ourselves sick. Seafood and cichettis are the specialties of Venice. Do not expect decent bread (i.e. this is NOT Spain). The bread was so lame everywhere we went! Shocking. The pasta and pizza are very good but that is not what they are known for.

We also did a couple of loads of laundry while we were there since we had only brought enough to fit in a carryon and had sweated through everything. Clothes dried nicely on the line. Italians do not run air conditioning all day so we were asked to turn it off if we were going to be gone more than a couple of hours. Even so, it was 10 degrees cooler in Venice than Rome so we didn't suffer from that request.

When took a (very long and loud) Vaporetto ride to Murano to watch the glass being made. We ate at a little place along the water. My Italian being pretty basic (mille gracie, due cappuccino, due Aperol spritz, bon giorno...) I accidentally ordered TWO sea food dishes! And my husband received a pizza we devoured and were down to two slices when the waiter popped up to say it wasn't our order! OMG the poor German family watching us demolish their pizza look sad and maybe shocked. My husband ordered them a round of Aperol spritz so we wouldn't be 'those' Americans. They were so pleased! But then the waiter brought out our originally ordered pizza!! Two meals each was just insane.

We were so tired we wanted to catch a taxi back to mainland Venice but none were forthcoming so we ran and caught a Vaporetto. Thankfully, this one had a much more direct route than the one we had taken over!

Our last night we spent 100 euro to take a gondola ride with the informative gondolier, Alex. It was dark, peaceful, and romantic to cruise silently along side canals where Venetians live and were having private dinners. To hear his HOI! as we came to the corners to make sure someone else wasn't there, and the soft lapping off the water on the paved shore line, was something from another era. Alex told us it was 500,000 euro to have your own gondola license so he had to work for someone else because Covid has the city hurting for cash. I tipped him 10 euro like I would any tour guide and he was emotionally grateful.

I went online and purchased Italo train tickets to Verona. I could just has easily done this at the train station, but I like being prepared. We took a Vaporetto to Ferrovia station to catch the train. We had due cappuccino and split a very American sized breakfast just next door to the station.

Each train ticket will have what coach you are in and your seat assignments. When you book your ticket, you can verify where your seats are prior to paying. I chose Prima or first class seats on all trains because I am a transportation snob. I want nice seats, fewer kids, better snacks and more space. But, if you are short on cash, the other cabins will get you there just fine and at the same pace. The seats on Italo are side by side (depending on the train, you will travel forwards or backwards). On Trenitalia, you might share a little table between the two of you but that means one will travel backwards. Wifi can be spotty but it does exist.

We were only staying one night in Verona so the hubs picked as an apartment in an INCREDIBLE location, one street over from the Arena! The hostess recommended we attend the opera and we spontaneously agreed! We bought our tickets across the street from gate 61 at the ticket office. It was about 200 euro for two tickets in the Puccini area (mid elevated section) of the Arena. If we had bought tickets on the floor we would have had to shop for fancier clothes!

Before the opera we sat in the plaza with all the other (fabulously dressed) opera goers and had Aperol spritz, olives and snacks and generally people watched. The poor waiter was doing the best he could but I guess the whole world is globally short staffed. Although it isn't the custom in Europe to tip because waiters make actual salaries, we tipped him a euro because we didn't want to wait for change. He also was very grateful. It was a little heart breaking and endearing all at once.

We saw La Traviata, drank Prosecco, raced down huge gladiator stairs on the breaks to the restroom... and I bawled at the end. It rained a little but even God knew the opera was too amazing to rain out. Italians were prepared with umbrellas and I had mine! But it was only a spritz that ended quickly. The opera let out at midnight and went for a light pizza and white wine dinner. I felt 22 and out with my boyfriend all over again.

We walked all over Verona on our one day there. But importantly, we had to find a place that did rapid Covid tests so we could get back into the US on Sunday. Most places are not open on Sundays so I knew that it was important.

We went into a Farmacia and asked Scuzi, parla inglese? Then we asked if they did Covid tests and she sent us to another location. That location required appointments. So we scheduled our appointment for 9:20a the next day since we weren't leaving until after lunch. When we got there the next day, we checked in. paid 24 euro for both tests, got in a short line, and were swabbed gently. We waited 10 minutes with a few other people for the results, printed in English as we requested. These charming people were actors who were going to perform Romeo and Juliette live all over the city the next day. We were sad to miss it.

We took the funiculare for 2.50 euro each up to see the view from Castel San Pietro. I am sure you can walk it but my janky knee required I at least pay to come DOWN. Do not miss this iconic view! We ate along the Adige river at a restaurant I will NOT be recommending although the cheese platter was lovely. We crossed Scaliger bridge and toured Castlevecchio which has an incredible armory and an amazing view of the Adige. If I ever go back, I definitely want to kayak or raft down the Adige. It looked so inviting. So much to see in this lovely city.

We caught our Italo train back to Milan where we stayed at the magnificent Excelsior Hotel Gallia as a special treat to ourselves. It was SO close to the train station but it would have been a closer walk if we had gone out of the correct exit which is Piazza Duca D'Aosta. We ate dinner at the restaurant the concierge suggested and then caught an early cab the next morning to go back to the airport to check in. PRO TIP: If you aren't planning on seeing anything in Milan, you can stay in the Sheraton at Malpensa airport to be more conveniently located to your flight.

We were at the front of the check in line but other non revs had clearly gone to the airprotWe got main cabin (a whole row to ourselves) on our return which was fine with me since we try to stay awake to get back on the correct sleep schedule. The last flight of the day from JFK to CLT was completely full so we rolled over to the morning flight and I booked us a room at the FABULOUS TWA Hotel which is located on Terminal 5. We were at Terminal 8 so once we figured out the AirTrain it was only two stops.

The morning flight was oversold by 4 but 9 non revs ended up getting on and there was one open seat when the door closed! Just shows that you should never leave the gate until the plane pushes.