Day 2 - Arrival in Italy

Our overnight flight landed in Munich.  I enjoyed Munich so much in 2010 that I really wish we could have stopped over here for a few days, but since we only had a few hours, we just headed for our gate upon arrival.  Because we were arriving from the States, we had to go through passport control, so our passports have another German stamp in them now!  It was surprisingly easy - no customs forms to fill out or anything.

Our final flight was probably the easiest, or maybe it just seemed that way since it was the shortest (only an hour).  When we landed in Milan, we grabbed our bags and made our way to the rental car company (apparently flights within Europe are not "international enough" to require a passport check - so no Italian stamps for us).  Hubby's company had booked a car for him, but the rental company would not allow us to take it as we did not have a credit card (only credit-card branded debit cards).  Hubby called a coworker here who suggested we try Avis.  They were happy to accept our debit card, and we were on our way (well, after installing the car seats for the kids and struggling to cram all of our luggage in the car - another note to self:  pack the minimum you think you need and then take half of that out - it's not worth it to mess with multiple bags to have a large variety of wardrobe options - just plan to stop at the laundry mat a couple of times and bring half what you think you'll need).

A couple of wrong turns and backtracking maneuvers later and we were headed toward Arona.  It was a beautiful drive as far as I can remember, but I was so sleep deprived that I struggled to stay awake to keep hubby company.  We finally reached Arona and saw the tourist office on the way to our hotel.  We tried to stop but could not find an open parking spot, so we continued to the hotel where we were given a hard time about our booking (hubby's company booked a single room).  After a bit of discussion and explaining on both ends, they agreed to let us stay and brought an extra bed for our preschooler (at a premium rate, I might add).  He was so excited that his bed matches ours with the same comforter! 

Our room has a balcony with an incredible view of Lago Maggiore.  Little man went to use the restroom.  I did not think much of him going alone, as he is able to go and wash his hands (using a stepstool) by himself at home.  When I heard water running, I figured he had either found a step or something to climb on or had climbed up onto the counter.  He returned quickly, quite satisfied, saying, "I used the little sink!"  Um, there is not a little sink in the bathroom, honey, so maybe not use that "little sink" anymore.  I forgot that bidets are commonplace in Europe.  Ha!  Kids are so funny!

After unloading our luggage and settling in a little, we loaded back into the car to drive to the tourist office.  We finally secured a parking spot only to find that the tourist office had closed ten minutes earlier.  We decided to try to find a place to eat and walked around for a while before settling on Osteria con Pizza, where we had lasagna and pizza and discovered "il coperto" firsthand.  (In Italy, the restaurants charge a "cover charge" for dining in the restaurant and bringing a basket of bread and/or crackers.)  I had also forgotten that water is not served complimentary in Europe - if one wants a glass of water with a meal, a bottle of water must be purchased.  Dining here was going to cost much more than at home!  The meal was unremarkable, the children cranky, and the walk back to the parked car long.  We were happy to return to the hotel to call this VERY LONG day (recall that we hadn't slept the past two evenings) a night!

Day 1 - D-Day (Departure)

With little preparation time for this trip (a week!) and husband's long hours at work recently, we did not finish packing until the early hours of our departure day.  So we got very little sleep before heading out.  And sleeping on an overnight, transatlantic flight is a luxury I suspect only those traveling without small children enjoy.  Note to self:  if this opportunity presents itself again, and the packing is still remaining the night before the trip, don't stay up packing all night; instead, just bring empty suitcases and purchase a new wardrobe upon arrival.  The sleep is far more important than the clothes.  Suffice it to say that the three flights to get here with a three-year-old and a six-month-old were not at all fun and little sleep was had by anyone.  At least the children were considerate enough to take turns crying (for the most part).  The upside is that we were able to sit near each other on all of the legs (and thanks to a sweet passenger who gave up her aisle seat on the long flight, we were all in the same row for the 9 hour leg).  I was so thankful that we were able to travel on the same flights as hubby (though I suspect he wishes he had been on another plane!).  I cannot believe I even considered traveling by myself with the boys to meet hubby later - what was I thinking?  Glad my reality check came with help!  Thankfully, even when it seemed the 18+ hours of traveling would never end, eventually we did reach our destination. 

Oh, and USAirways (as well as Lufthansa) had amazing customer service!  We were so pleased, especially with the representatives at the initial check-in and at the gates.  Highly recommend for traveling with children (much friendlier than any other airline we've flown with a child).  Even when they were not able to accommodate us with seats together, at least they were helpful, appeared to sincerely try to get us together, and were very nice about it.  Two thumbs up!