It’s easy to fall in love with Florence, Italy: the history, the architecture, the art, and of course, the food. Arguably no other city was as important during the Renaissance or to the shaping of the modern Italian language. I visited the city for the second time in February, spending a little over two days there; I can’t wait to go back.
Have you ever been running so late that you’ve missed your flight? I cut it very close the other day on the United Airlines 6:35pm departure from Newark to Milan. I wasn’t able to complete online check in because I was randomly asked to have a United Airlines ticket agent double check my passport before issuing my boarding pass. I got into a cab at 5:05pm – the middle of rush hour – and didn’t make it to Newark until 6:10pm, well past the one-hour-before-departure cut off for international check in. If I had my boarding pass it would have been plenty of time. But I still had to check in, so I quickly scanned the ticket agent faces and looked for someone who seemed friendly and potentially sympathetic. I found one and politely asked her if there was any way that she could get me onto the flight to Milan. She initially, with a lot of regret in her voice, said no, but then I asked the magic question which had me sitting on the plane 10 minutes later:
Venice is one of the most surreal cities on the planet. I took a day trip there in January and although it was my third time to the city, it’s so breathtaking that I fell in love all over again.
Milan is a gorgeous city in northern Italy. My recent visit in January for a long weekend was just the right amount of time to see “The Last Supper,” the Duomo, and Leonardo da Vinci’s horse. Sadly, it rained nearly the entire time but the clouds meant great lighting for photos.
