That is not to say these two bedraggled travelers haven't maintained a hum of excitement throughout the journey. In fact, I would go so far as to say the positive energy between us is unflappable. But that doesn't mean the universe hasn't tried throwing a couple curveballs--and one incredibly loud, unrelentingly piercing breaking ball--our way.
I'm not sure where to start, I guess I could go back in time a bit and regale about our preparations, but who wants to read about other people packing for vacation, arguably one of the more tedious, albeit exciting, tasks of traveling. Some of the more pertinent parts of the planning process for me included a truly exhaustive search for the best travel clothing, downloading map apps of cities to be visited, dealing with attempted identity theft mere days before our departure, and of course, looking up Air France's in-flight movie options (duh).
Without going into too much boring detail, I'll mention the results of my clothing and map app quests first. Full disclaimer about my fashion knowledge, or lack thereof. Faithful readers of this blog know full well that I generally fall into that category of people who prioritize function over form. Heavily prioritize function over form. Style ain't my game. Though my days of I would be lying if I said there wasn't a teeny part of me that chose dentistry because I wouldn't necessarily have to wear a suit all the time. But alas, for the sake of posterity and my beautiful traveling companion, I felt a duty to seek out those garments that would enable Maddie to take photos with me sans embarrassment while also keeping me comfortable. This led me to what I'm currently wearing, a pair of Mission Workshop Division Chinos. In short, yoga pants meets chinos. They shed water, resist stain, are durable and they STRETCH. Do a little research into performance fabrics, and you'll be inundated with subreddit feeds and blogs detailing these garments made with the active commuter in mind. I won't rehash what's already out there, but for those totally new to this type of clothing, check out Mission Workshop, Outlier, Outerboro, Ministry of Supply, and Bluffworks, to name the handful that I narrowed my search to.
As for map apps, I have yet to use them as of this writing, but I went with my buddy Rick Steves on his recommendation, CityMaps2Go. I actually like the app interface, and I had a great time inputting points of interest in preparation for leaving. The search function isn't a fraction as useful or helpful as google maps, but I just used google maps to help me locate some places and drop pins in the corresponding places in the app. Not terribly efficient, but it worked and I'm excited to use the maps. Indeed, we're putting it to test right out the gate by trying to navigate to our BnB in Venice at night!
As for that pesky attempted identity theft...sigh. It was on my way up the 5 freeway to San Francisco when I stopped for gas in Coalinga. As I tried to fill up at pump #8, I was prompted to go inside to pay at the cashier. In retrospect things seemed a little off, but it was 106 degrees and I wasn't really in the mood to be suspicious. As it turns out, someone did try to charge stuff to my debit card, and I promptly cancelled the card. Wells Fargo told me they couldn't get me a debit card sooner than 7-10 business days, so that left me without a means of withdrawing cash from an ATM, a fairly useful transaction capability when traveling abroad. Hours of phone calls and requests to speak to managers later, and we find out they can, in fact, rush ship a debit card. Lies. Even more fuss later, and I'm waiting for a telephone call from a delivery person on the morning of our departure to hand me my new card. We explicitly noted in the rush shipment request that the delivery person call at the gate to the apartment, as our doorbell doesn't work and we have difficulty getting packages. As I sat down to my breakfast, still waiting for a call, I decided to go check the mail for the heck of it. Lo and behold, I find a note on the door. As I frantically call the bank and talk to one of a seemingly endless stream of managers, I notice the time stamp on the notice: it was only 6 minutes ago. I hang up the phone and was out the door in my pjs and running shoes sprinting around my neighborhood, circling a good 10 square blocks before spotting a FedEx truck 5 blocks away. Game on. I chased the truck for another 4-5 blocks down the busy street before finally flagging him down. Entirely exhausted, cranky, and panting, I profusely thank the driver for stopping, finally asking him if he had a note to call me when he got to the gate. "Nope." As I walked back to my apartment, my frustration barely outweighed by my triumph for hunting down my card, I called the manager back. In a calm voice, "I really don't want to be the customer that ruins your day and yells at you, but I just want you to know how disappointed I am with the service I've received. It's been incredibly disjointed, and there's a major communication gap between you and the carrier service that needs to be resolved." Another meager apology. But that's okay. I thank her anyway, hang up, sit back, and smell the roses. Besides, I got my morning workout in without even planning on it!
Debit card in hand, I picked up a couple of items from the tailor (Eddie of Taraval Tailors is great, by the way), came home, and set about packing. And the rest of the day was as you would expect. Last minute check lists, paranoia about forgetting to include stuff on the check list, etc.
At the airport, everything started to feel more real. Our first big trip together not spent inside a tent! We each devoured a mediocre personal pizza and made our way onto the plane. Last minute goodbyes, snapchats, and bitmojis. Don't know what that last one is? Ask my parents.
My plan was to watch as many movies as possible on the plane. International flights have always provided a great opportunity for me to binge watch all those movies I wish I could have seen in theaters, or those I wanted to see but wouldn't be willing to pay the steep prices to see in theaters, or even those I have only the most remote desire to see (I'm talking to you, Night At The Museum 3). But alas, my better half persuaded me to join her in an attempt to sleep. And one movie (Insurgent) and one Benadryl later, I was in the that uncomfortable semi-paralytic state that is unique to flying economy on a transatlantic flight under a sedative. Not ideal, but the fact that time sort of whizzed by told me that I was getting at least some valuable rest. This is all despite the two--not one, but TWO--wailing infants flanking us. A couple notes on this scenario, I joke and complain, but it is no one's fault. I do not blame the child, or the parents, I just shake my head in a sort of such-is-life sort of way and laugh it off. I will note that the father didn't lift a finger the entire flight to help the mother with their only child. I was blown away. Nevertheless, I managed to struggle through some marginally restful moments. Only once did I get up to stretch, and before I knew it, we were landing in Paris!
We easily found our next gate, waited, boarded, and promptly took another nap, Maddie's head in the crook of my neck. So peaceful. The last 25 minutes was spent reading our Florence guidebook. On our arrival in Venice, we disembarked and were met with the realization that we were both doing this on our own for the first time. Foreign country, foreign language we promised we'd learn 8 months ago but never did, foreign currency. It was so exciting! Without too much trouble we navigated our way to an ATM, then the bus stop, then the water taxi, and finally our BnB. It was a bit dark, and scattered passersby meandering the streets kept the city from feeling eerily deserted. The lack of car traffic lends a comparatively deafening silence at night to other cities. After briefly settling in and contacting our folks, we set about a brief walk back to the water. I can see how easy it is to get lost, but our map app is solid! The silence in some alley ways was so palpable, even a whisper felt a little abrasive to me. It was so dramatic that the roller suitcases sounded thunderous to the point that I opted to carry both of them all the way from the water taxi stop to our BnB. But I love it. I'm trying to soak in every detail, savor it, and it's great to have Maddie with whom to share it. Well, and you guys I suppose.
And that's a wrap! Gonna get breakfast in the morning (in our room! Whaaaaat?!), and get an early start on what is looking to be our only sunny day here in Venice!
No comments:
Post a Comment