Unplanned Workout
Well, here I am in Palermo waiting for my turn to jump in the shower and scrape off a layer of road grime!
The overnight flight from Toronto to Rome afforded me very little sleep thanks to the baby three rows ahead who seemed to want the attention of the entire plane. Adding to the irritation of him screaming was his mother’s continual “Sh,sh, sh, sh”as she tried to quiet him down ( Imagine a steam locomotive getting ready to leave the station)🤦♂️
The flight was a little under 9 hours and due to a late departure it landed in Rome a good 40 minutes late. That left us 16 minutes to go from one terminal to another ( about 1.2km) before the gates closed for the Rome to Palermo leg. Signage informed us that it was a 14 minute “walk” so we booted it as fast as our old foggey legs could carry us, arriving at the gate with about 2 minutes to spare. That also included a stop to clear customs so, to say the least, it was a tad stressful.
Customs was fully automated with a flatbed scanner to read the passport followed by a facial scan. Luckily I didn’t break the camera but it took a few attempts before it decided I wasn’t a terrorist and finally opened the barrier to let me continue my mad dash to the gate.
The flight to Palermo was just under an hour and amazingly our luggage managed to arrive on the same flight.So kudos to Alitalia. If we’d flown Delta we would probably be waiting till tomorrow for it to show up.
A 30 minute bus ride (6 euro) dropped us within 100 metres of the hotel, the Mercure Excelsior, which looks to be about 100 years old but, age aside, looks clean and comfortable.
Our room, on the first floor ( 2nd floor to NorthAmericans) would have had a nice view of the street if not for the branches of a large tree which completely block the view.
By any standards our room would be considered spacious and is furnished in a style that has me checking to see if “ Mussolini was here” is scratched into any of the surfaces.
My only complaint is the bath/shower combo which has so many taps and settings that an engineering degree is probably required to operate it without fear of being boiled alive.
With the clock ticking towards 5:30 pm I’ve just logged 27 hours without sleep. It’s a little too early for dinner and a little late for a power nap- decisions, decisions!
And in case anyone is wondering, the title is “Unplanned Workout” although in the script I’m using it looks like Wonkout! Whatever that might be!
The overnight flight from Toronto to Rome afforded me very little sleep thanks to the baby three rows ahead who seemed to want the attention of the entire plane. Adding to the irritation of him screaming was his mother’s continual “Sh,sh, sh, sh”as she tried to quiet him down ( Imagine a steam locomotive getting ready to leave the station)🤦♂️
The flight was a little under 9 hours and due to a late departure it landed in Rome a good 40 minutes late. That left us 16 minutes to go from one terminal to another ( about 1.2km) before the gates closed for the Rome to Palermo leg. Signage informed us that it was a 14 minute “walk” so we booted it as fast as our old foggey legs could carry us, arriving at the gate with about 2 minutes to spare. That also included a stop to clear customs so, to say the least, it was a tad stressful.
Customs was fully automated with a flatbed scanner to read the passport followed by a facial scan. Luckily I didn’t break the camera but it took a few attempts before it decided I wasn’t a terrorist and finally opened the barrier to let me continue my mad dash to the gate.
The flight to Palermo was just under an hour and amazingly our luggage managed to arrive on the same flight.So kudos to Alitalia. If we’d flown Delta we would probably be waiting till tomorrow for it to show up.
A 30 minute bus ride (6 euro) dropped us within 100 metres of the hotel, the Mercure Excelsior, which looks to be about 100 years old but, age aside, looks clean and comfortable.
Our room, on the first floor ( 2nd floor to NorthAmericans) would have had a nice view of the street if not for the branches of a large tree which completely block the view.
By any standards our room would be considered spacious and is furnished in a style that has me checking to see if “ Mussolini was here” is scratched into any of the surfaces.
My only complaint is the bath/shower combo which has so many taps and settings that an engineering degree is probably required to operate it without fear of being boiled alive.
With the clock ticking towards 5:30 pm I’ve just logged 27 hours without sleep. It’s a little too early for dinner and a little late for a power nap- decisions, decisions!
And in case anyone is wondering, the title is “Unplanned Workout” although in the script I’m using it looks like Wonkout! Whatever that might be!
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