Our driver arrived to take us to the airport at 4 am. I wanted to leave early, because my guide book said the drive to the airport would take an hour. Actually it took much less time than that, probably because there was absolutely no traffic. We learned that it was not an advantage to arrive at the airport before 6 am, because the airport personnel in Milan don’t go on duty until then.

The walk from the entrance of the  airport to our gate took 4,200 steps! At our gate, we leaned that the flight was delayed. We waited. And waited. I found a bakery among the shops and got my final marmalade filled  croissant, and I loved it. It would be back to oatmeal for breakfast at home. Our plane’s passengers were mostly Americans, but there were many Italians, too.

We arrived at JFK at 7:30 pm Milan time, and 1:30 pm in New York. The walk from the plane to customs took 3,000 steps. There have been changes to make the wait at customs shorter. It used to be fun to get my passport stamped, but  stamping  has been replaced by having one’s picture taken, and sometimes, fingerprints, too.

At home we discovered that we had both lost a few pounds. With all the eating we did, how was that possible? In Italy portions are smaller (including  gelato), the food is always fresh, never processed, and everyone walks whenever possible. After dinner, there is the passagiata, a walk  that is a social event during which locals catch up with their friends and enjoy their surroundings.

Nick and I will always be grateful  that we met Jose-Maria and Agnès 50 years ago and that  the four of us  have remained friends through that time. We agreed that this had been one of our very favorite trips.

Next week we will be traveling to Montreal and Quebec City to meet up with our adult children, Nicholas and Carla. There will be a blog and photos, but we won’t start posting them until we are back  home.

8,000 steps