Friday, October 13, 2023, Hotel de la Reconquista, Oviedo, Spain

Erik and I have been in Europe for seventeen days.  We’ve covered a lot of ground so far.  Driving through Italy, then into southern France, up to the Pyrenees, and now we are in Northern Spain.  We have logged approximately 1,500 miles in the little black Peugeot we picked up at the Rome airport.  Future posts will highlight our stops along the way, but I thought I’d start with the beginning of the trip.

Our flight to Europe, London then to Rome, was delayed due to mechanical problems.  We sat at the gate for four hours waiting for the technical supervisor to clear the plane for take-off.  The gate agent’s announcements were helpful and slightly encouraging as we sat there crossing our fingers that we were going to get in the air that night to start our big adventure. 

Then the pilot himself came out to the gate and over the intercom proclaimed, “This plane is not safe enough for me to fly.” That was that.

We scrambled to the luggage carousel to retrieve our checked baggage along with three-hundred other frazzled passengers. 

Re-booking an international flight is not like re-booking a flight between Austin and Dallas on Southwest.  Erik and I were on the phone to two different airlines trying to sort through the best option.  We settled on an Iberia itinerary through American that would leave the next day to Dallas, then to Madrid and on to Rome.  We would be there a day and a half later than planned, but not miss the cooking class I’d booked or miss the opening of the Ryder Cup.  Disaster averted for the time being.

After an overnight at an Austin airport hotel, we were rearing to go the next day.  We were probably a tad too excited since we arrived at the airport by 1:00 for a 6:00 flight.  Since we were so early, there was no one in line at the check-in counter and two gate agents stood ready to help.  One of the agents, Barbara, recognized Erik from the night before.  She was at the American counter when the drove of passengers showed up to re-book after the very late British Airways cancellation.  People always remember Erik.  He is kind and warm even in the most chaotic situation like the night our flight was cancelled.   

That was a positive sign that the trip was back on the right track.  To the airport early, checked bags handled and security clearance a breeze. 

We landed in Rome on Tuesday, September 26^th at 4:30 pm.  Our luggage, however, landed in London. Blimey!

Before the trip, I had researched how to properly pack for an extended trip that would have us in multiple climates and environments over two months.  The millennials call this putting together a “capsule wardrobe.” I packed too much anyway. 

I couldn’t live without those five skirts, three dresses, four sweaters, five pairs of pants, fifteen shirts, six pashminas and twenty pairs of undies.  Oh, and the shoes. 

The big complication in the suitcase contents was the addition of golf-related apparel. We were going to be at the Ryder Cup for four days and that required a stylish golf outfit for each day.  That suitcase weighed sixty-two pounds when it was checked in.  Dang! I could have put another eight pounds into that bag!   

But now, finally in Rome, the emperor and empress had no clothes!

Undeterred, I went to the first day of the Ryder Cup in the same outfit I wore on the plane.  First stop RETAIL TENT.  Nine-hundred and forty-seven Euros later, I was fully outfitted to cheer on the Americans for the next four days, right down to the red, white and blue earrings and scrunchies. 

Unfortunately, the American golfers were unimpressed with my fashion statement, and didn’t win a single match that first day.  See picture below of us with our friends Mark and Marianne.

But I couldn’t wear my golf attire to dinner in Rome.  So that afternoon when we got back from the tournament, Erik walked me to the H & M in the shopping district near the Trevi Fountain.  The $39.00 dress I bought that night would become my evening wear for the next four nights. 

Our luggage did not show up until Saturday.  We’d been in Rome since Tuesday.  Do you think anyone noticed that I wore the same dress every night?  Nope. I love this dress.  Picture below. 

Erik had been tracking the luggage as it went back to Dallas from London, then to Madrid, and on Saturday, he got a message that it had finally arrived in Rome.  Frustrated and desperate, Erik hopped a cab to the Rome airport, in search of fresh underwear.  To our delight and excitement, he discovered the two bags that had arrived only an hour before, deep inside the bowels of the Rome airport baggage complex.  Picture below.

Despite the bumps in the road at the beginning of the trip, turns out all I needed was my Roman hero, Erik, a sense of humor, and a $39.00 dress. 

La Dolce Vita!  The adventure continues.