FRA to BLQ to Ravenna

The flight from Frankfurt to G. Marconi Airport in Bologna (BLQ in airport code) was on Air Dolomite, a subsidiary partner of Luftansa.  It's the equivalent of Horizon Air to Alaska Air or American Eagle for American Airlines.

We got the royal treatment for 20 minutes as we were the only ones on the plane.  We even got serve pastries that no one else got.

The flight was routine - I think - I fell asleep the moment we lifted off and came awake when the pilot was doing his pre-approach speech.  I did hear him say that temperature in Bologna was 38 C.  That works out to be a nice round 100 F!!!!

When we checked in with Luftansa at gate A4, the gate agent was not real sure what to do about Scott's scooter.  We had sent all the info to Luftansa ahead of time and received permission to fly with the scooter - so I showed her the email confirmation.  Well she proceeded to create a luggage tag for the scooter, plus a "deliver to aircraft" tag.  The front of the scooter looked like more like a lampost that people kept putting tags on.  

bottom left (orange) Singapore Air Tag
middle PRIORITY tag for FRA-BLQ
top "Deliver to Aircraft" tag from Luftansa

As you can imagine, none of this worked.  The Air Dolomite crew watched Scott go up the stairs to the aircraft in Frankfurt.  As we landed the attendant told us to remain in our seats while the other passengers left - which we did, expecting it to take a few minutes to deliver the scooter.  Rather than let us go down the stairs, we had to go to the back of the aircraft and onto a wheelchair lift.  Overkill we thought.  We expected it to just lower us to the ground, where we could get the scooter.  Oh NO!  He turned towards the terminal... delivering us to an area behind the baggage claim area, where another guy waited with a wheelchair for Scott.  We were trying to explain that we didn't want that, we wanted his scooter.  

Long story short, after multiple phone calls and after all the other baggage had been picked up his scooter arrived.  

I had used the webpage visitravenna.it to request a car and driver to take us to Ravenna. We could have reached Ravenna by monorail to Bologna Centrale train station and taken a local train - but that would have meant schlepping the bags multiple times and rolling them two blocks from the train station to the apartment.  

All the misadventure with the scooter occured inside the secure area (we had not yet cleared customs) and, of course, our driver was waiting in the arrival hall.  Finally he cought up with us.  His first concern was that we had too many bags - they wouldn't fit in his car.  He had a nice Mercedes, and we showed him a few packing tips that got everything in without damaging his car.  

I asked the driver if it was any cooler in Ravenna because it's on the coast.  No he said.  

The autostrada between Bologna was bumper to bumper (this was after six - a bit late for rush hour).  It was strange to have that much traffic and be looking out at rolling farmland. As it turned out a truck had gone off the road... once we cleared that location traffic sped up. I looked over and our driver was going 143 kmh - that's 88 mph.  He was really ready to be done with this trip.  He dumped us off right in front of the door, while I was getting the keys out of the lock box.

We made it to our air conditioned apartment in Ravenna at 8 pm just as the sunset.  Lugging bags the 40 feet from the curb across the courtyard had us hot and sweaty.   (Imagine if we had gone with the original plan of coming by train!)

By an hour later we were asleep!  Two days of travel caught up with us.  

Frankfort

We were asked to wait until Scott's scooter got delivered to the plane, which took a few minutes.  When we got to the gate (B48), we were greeted by wheelchair assistance - after a few minutes explaining that we had his wheels, he started to go away.  But when another gate agent found out we were connecting passengers and had to clear customs, they called him back.  He ended up being a life saver.  

We had to go to a different floor, get on a bus, and go up two different elevators to the floor where customs was located.  He used his all access pass to not only get us there, he put us in the priority line and we cleared customs five minutes after getting there.  With the new European system, they gather biometrics... well they got our photos, but we never did the fingerprints, so this may haunt us later on.  After all that, he walked us to the departure gate (A4) for our connecting flight.  I wish I could remember his name - I'd send a big thank you to Frankfurt Ground Services (FGA)!

Since we had more than three hours before our flight and had lounge priviliges, we headed off to find Luftansa's Business Class Lounge.  It was near gate A26, so by the time we reached it, I was ready for a nap.  We found a nice lunch - weiners for Scott and a chicken salad for me. One thing I noticed, these lounges use creative means for presenting things.  Here's my pannacota with cherries and shaved chocolate in a little glass, and cute little serving of trail mix in a glass bowl.  

Back to Gate A4 we went, only to discover that it's on level three and passengers have to walk down two levels to get to a bus that would take them to the aircraft.  There is an elevator for the four gates in the area, but Luftansa gate agents are not allowed to use it.  So she had to call FGA.   Next thing we know, a nice lady is guiding us one gate over - to the elevator - and down to the tarmac.  We boarded a bus and started going around the airport on all the service roads.  (Deja vous.  We both started wondering whether this was like our aircraft at JFK.)  

We finally pulled up alongside our aircraft, at what we learned was gate V111.  We could literally see the end of one runway and the airport fence.  This was a flight on Air Dolomite (a partner to Luftansa, kind of like American Eagle serves American Airlines).  We were the only ones on the plane until our departure time.  Then, finally a bus pulls up with the remaining 30+ passengers.   

the view from the plane -
see how far away the terminal is!

you thought I was kidding - 
this is the view as the airplane turned onto the taxiway

Singapore Airlines

For a long while Singapore Air has been one of the top airlines in the world, so, when the chance offered itself, we jumped at it.  It seemed strange to be flying from JFK to Frankfurt, Germany, but the flight actually was going back to Singapore... it just stopped long enough to drop a few passengers off.   

They are known for their food...

The first course was Hudson Valley smoked trout in a radiccio cup with a light vinigrette.

My main was lamb chops, while Scott chose chicken.

We both chose the same dessert, fresh strawberries in ice cream with chocolate shavings.  And then one of the attendants came around with a tray of chocolates... yum!

not quite Primrose strawberry fluff!!!!

The female Singapore Airlines attendants wear an ankle length traditional garment called a Sarong Kebaya.  It's amazing to watch how they do all the elements of their job without missing a beat or tripping over it.  This includes moving the seats to set up or take down the beds (which look like they weigh more than some of these girls).  We had two female attendants assigned to just our aisle of the cabin.  It was almost as if they could read your thoughts -- and were right there before you started to reach for the attendant call button.  

 

It had taken 10 days, one 40 minutes one one phone call and a series of more than five emails to get permission from Singapore Air to accept Scott's scooter.  Once we got to the airport, we were greeted by the supervisor, and it took only a few minites to check in.  And they did everything right.  They even provided a big plastic bag to encase it, because it was threatening to rain.  

It did rain... we were watching from the Capital One lounge and you could see a squall come across the airport.  We actually pushed away from the gate ahead of schedule, but then got into a crazy pattern of taxiing ALL around the airport.  Actual take off - one hour and 9 minutes after our scheduled departure.  (I know they add in a buffer around departure and landing times, but this was ridiculous.)  It caused us to be 45 minutes late getting to Frankfort.  

JFK -- What's in Your Wallet

Flying out of JFK is always an adventure... wall to wall people, everyone wanting to be where you are, and not worried about being vocal about it.  When we got there at three no Singapore Air Desk was visible.  Security told us it would be 4 pm before they set up.

We had pre-arranged with Singapore Airline for permission for Scott's scooter, but still had to provide additional information.  Everything came together and we got through in about 20 minutes.  Since Singapore is not a primary tenant at JFK, as business class passengers, they invited us to go to the Capital One Lounge... the same one where Jessica says "I could get used to this." and, of course, the tag line "what's in your wallet?"  

What's more New York than bagels, so right inside the door is a coffee bar with fresh bagels and an assortment of schmears.  That was our first stop. We might packup one for tomorrow's breakfast when we get to Frankfort. (They have all sorts of "to go" foods and these cute little Capital One bags saying "Indulge.")

Then, exploring more we found an assortment of treats.  

left to right:  marscapone & bluberry crostini,
creme brule croissant, gaspacho, and deviled eggs 

They had a cheesemonger, hot food you could order online and have delivered right to your table, a full bar, light refreshments, fresh fruit, a business center, etc. etc. etc.  If you have to wait at an airport it's a pretty good deal.  I even liked their WiFi password -- LoveYourLayover!

We're two hours away from boarding.  Time for another prosecco and maybe another cookie.

Time to Unwind

 Our time in Connecticut has been short, but it allowed us to reset to Eastern time which usually makes the transition "across the pond" easier.  We fly out today from JFK.

We've been visiting Scott's niece, Tammie, at their camp near Stafford Springs (near the border with MA, just south of Springfield, MA).  It was hot and muggy when we got here, but about three o'clock in the morning we were awakened by a downpour.  It rained most of the day Monday, then we have had two gorgeous sunny days with much less humidity.

This part of CT is mostly rolling farmland:  Farm stands at the end of driveways with fresh corn, tobacco fields and the old long tobacco barns where they dry the leaves, small towns with their church (with a steeple) at the center of town and their historic graveyards, rolling horse farms, a huge barn with a banner proclaiming it's 200th birthday, and all the red, white and blue decorations still up from last month's 250th birthday celebrations.  One town had banners celebrating local veterans - Korean War, WW II, and Revolutionary War.   We who live in the west forget the history that New England states display so proudly.  (And of course by the time we get to some of the places we are going they will laugh at us for our little 250 years of history... theirs goes back to ancient times.)

In stark contrast to the farmlands, right near the Hartford Airport is a three story Amazon Prime center and to the north, a Brooks Brothers factory.  Many of the bedroom communities for Hartford try to mimic the old saltbox houses or the New England style farm houses with their detached garages attached to the house via an enclosed breezeway.  It's funny to see the old being new again.

It's been several years since we did any "shun-piking" (staying off the turnpikes), so this was a very relaxing time.

It's a three hour drive to NYC...  off we go!

A Tale of Two Airports

With apologies to Charles Dickens, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

Ted Stevens International

On Friday when we went to pick up the rental car at 5:15 pm the car rental center was like a ghost town - no waiting in line.  So imagine our surprise when we arrived at 4 pm when the place was so packed that there we lines almost out the door to the entrance to the train station.  It became clear that at least two cruise ships had returned and all those passengers had been deposited at ANC at the same time.

Fish boxes everywhere

The problem was even worse in the check in area, because not only the cruise passengers, but all sorts of people finishing up their week-long fishing trips on the Kenai were overwhelming the bag drop area.  Fish boxes were everywhere, and the line to drop bags was all the way from the AK Air area back across the lobby almost to the security checkin point.  It took almost an hour to get through check-in (and we were in one of the shorter lines).  Thankfully we were 4 hours ahead of our flight.

rack for cell phone or Kindle

The flight was long, and the seats were VERY uncomfortable.  We did have the new seats, though, and they had the phone rack and cup holder.  Turbulence over the Rockies, and several other places, made for a long night... you'd just be drifting off and they would ring the bell to make the announcement that they were turning the seat belt sign back on.

Boston -- Logan Airport

lots of grass, no bunnies for entertainment

We arrived early, only to come to a halt out on the runway taxiway.  The pilot announced that we had to wait for a plane to clear our gate.  Then he announced that that plane was having mechanical difficulties, and we were going to shut down the engines at wait.  And we waited, and waited, and waited.  An hour and 30 minutes later they fired up the engines, and moved towards the terminal, only to get into a holding pattern while 8 aircraft had to clear before we could get to our gate.  

If we had been on time, we would have ben able to get our rental car promptly, but all the delays put us getting to the rental car area with at least three bus loads of people.  There had to be at least 50 people in line, and only 2 agents on the counter.  By 11 am they finally had 5 agents and we cleared the counter by 11:30, only to get to our assigned car space to discover the wrong car was in there.  (The guy in the garage says that summer travel is way up and their system is not prepared.  DUH!!!) 

The guys in the garage sorted it out, but as we drove out I began to wonder whether the transponder for the toll roads that I had paid for was on this car.  We went down the toll road anyway.  And finally got to our destination - after discovering that a moulding on the car was flapping in the breeze.

Matanuska Glacier - I'd never seen it from the air!

Sunset, somwhere over Canada

Winter Happenings

Moving to the city gave us more flexibility for getting around, but it meant that we had to give up opportunities to see wildlife and the northern lights.  Or that's what we thought.  

We looked out one day recently, and found we had new neighborhood tree-trimmers.

They stayed around for about 3 hours, moving among the villa backyards and bedding down to rest.

The past couple of months there have been spectacular aurora alerts going out -- and we seemed to be missing most of them due to clouds and city lights.  We did see some red aurora back in November, but we had to go to the edge of town to get away from the lights.

This week we lucked out.  This was one of the strongest fingers of energy I've seen -- overcoming even our neighborhood lights.

moon set and a heart-shaped aurora