Arrivederci!

As they say all good things must come to an end and so it was with our Culinary hike through Tuscany. Today's word of the day was really a hand gesture. A pointed finger and the shake of a hand that means - No way, or Not gonna happen. It would be useful later on as you'll see. We boarded the bus that would take us to Florence and waved goodbye to three wonderful guides - Miguel Goodpasture, Lorenzo Toffano and Irene Fronteddu.

The bus took us to Florence airport and that's where the real Fiasco began. I probably shouldn't bore you with all the details but sadly, if it could go wrong it did. Good thing travel isn't always like it was after we were dropped off or Jeff would never go anywhere with me again. Three days later we finally made it to our next destination - Germany. Here are the gruesome details.

• We were too early to check our bags so we had to wait about three hours until we could check in

• Once checked in we waited in the lounge for awhile and had a bite to eat

• Shortly before the time to board our flight we went downstairs, only to find a mob scene of people waiting to board flights.

• We opted to have a glass of wine while waiting but they were out of clean glasses so that took awhile. At the time I thought we'd miss our flight before having a chance to drink it - little did I know ...

• We waited for about 2 hours and finally they were going to board the flight. Then the gate agent made the announcement that they could only take 67 people. Imagine the chaos as everyone swarmed to the door. We were first class so luckily we were able to board the bus that would take us to our plane. A few minutes later the police appeared at the gate because it was like a brawl with everyone fighting for one of the 67 seats. Then someone came to the bus and said they canceled the flight.

• We waited on the bus and were eventually taken to the terminal to get our bags. We went upstairs once we retrieved them in order to ticket a new flight. There we found another mob scene with only one agent who quickly left to find her supervisor. I called the nearest Marriott and we took a cab at there at about 10PM Friday nite

• We had a quick dinner before the kitchen closed. I was on online chat until 1AM trying to rebook our flight out of Florence to Frankfurt where we were supposed to leave from Saturday at 5PM to go to Muenster. Meanwhile we missed our pre-reserved stay at the Marriott in Frankfurt where we had been upgraded to a suite

• I was cut off while on the chat so I fell asleep and woke at 4AM to try again. By 6 AM I was cut off again and still without a replacement flight. Then I got an email saying we were now rebooked on a flight out of Verona Italy to Munich (WHAT??? - we were two hundred miles from Verona and trying to go to Frankfurt not Munich). So we had a quick breakfast and made our way back to the airport.

• Truly another mob scene as hundreds of people were attempting to get on a flight - with 3 agents working the desk. Fortunately because we were business class our line was significantly shorter. The agent found a flight, ticketed our bags, sent them off and then when she went to write the info for us found that the flight she was putting them on was already oversold. So she called them back and we were to go downstairs and retrieve them so we could book another flight.

• There we waited in another line for an hour and a half while one person tried to find missing bags! Some people there had lost their bags on a flight from Barcelona three days earlier where the entire plane's cargo was lost! Finally, we got our bags and returned to check in AGAIN.

• So this time we were actually ticketed ... BUT to get to Frankfurt we had to go from Florence Italy to Zurich Switzerland, and from Zurich to Venice Italy and from Venice to Frankfurt Germany. We would get there alright but we would miss our flight from Frankfurt to Muenster, Germany. And Jeff had to be on Stand-by for business class since they didn't have enough seats.

• We were told to come back at 12:30 and get his ticket then. When we did we were told to come back at 1:30 - so we did. Finally, just before the flight was ready to board the agent was involving her supervisor in trying to get him a seat. FINALLY, we got the ticket - he'd have to sit in economy but at least we were both on the plane. They were already boarding after we raced to the gate. I was told "Because I was late, they wouldn't have a meal for me" Like I care?! All I want is a seat.

• When I got onboard half the seats in business class were empty - Covid rules still apply so only every other seat was filled and I couldn't sit next to Jeff even though we sleep in the same bed at night. Crazy. When I asked for coffee I got it in a paper cup while the lady across the aisle got hers in a china cup - I guess that's cuz "I was late"?!?!? Oh, well.

• After the three flights we finally made it to Frankfurt. Because we had missed our connecting flight to Muenster we were just going to take the train. It would be a 2 hour trip and would get us in by midnight Saturday. The train station is conveniently located at the airport so all looked as though it would work out. Nope, not going to happen! Time for that hand gesture .. Our bags never appeared on the carousel. Of course, they were lost and we stood in another line to file a claim.

• So, I reserved a room at the Marriott - same one we were supposed to be at last night (but we were lucky to be upgraded). Took a shower and slept in our underwear. We'll catch a morning train.

• With the little German that I know we were able to buy a train ticket - although finding the track where the train would be was another challenge. We did it though, just in time (finally something went right) and got to Muenster on Sunday, after two missed flights, two taxi fares, four hotel rooms paid for for only two nights - because we missed two, and three bags lost somewhere in Venice.

• Oh, the Joy of Travel