Alas, all good things must come to an end. In protest of the conclusion of th is grand vacation, Jason set out for one final adventure by going for an early morning run through Florence. The hot air balloons were there to greet him.
It must have been glorious to have the sleepy city all to himself. Not that I'm jealous Sleeping in was glorious too.
We checked out of our Montespertoli home and set out for Milan via the scenic route. At first I thought the winding roads were making me nauseous, but in hindsight I think it was the falafel that didn't set well.
Taking a break to climb a random tower.
Everybody pile back in! By the end of the trip Annika didn't think her tiny little space was as cool as at first, so we took turns in the back.
We stopped off in Genoa for a late lunch, but got caught in that awkward gap when everything is closed between lunch and dinner. Everything except the cannoli shop, that is. No one complained.
At last we made it to our Ferno Bed and Breakfast, Fiori di Malpensa. I had reserved a couple of rooms here because it so close to the airport that they will shuttle you there for not much money. This let Jason return the rental car the evening before our flight. While Jason took the car back, the kids watched a movie and I took care of some SLCC coursework. The reality of going home was starting to set in.
When Jason got back, we concluded with one last Italian huzzah by walking to a great pizza joint. By this time Annika was able to manage her own pie with ease.
The next morning we made it to the Malpensa airport with plenty of time to spare.
It turns out that we could have slept in since our flight was delayed by two hours. At least we had Battleship to pass the time.
Annika would have gladly spent the extra time shopping for stuffies, but we reminded her that she had plenty waiting at home.
Because of the initial delay, we were two hours late landing in Newark. We still had an hour before our connecting flight, but the line for U.S. Customs was ridiculous. Once we finally snaked our way through, we still had to go through security all over again, By this time we had missed our connecting flight to Chicago. Fortunately they were able to rebook us on a flight to Dallas, but this meant sprinting the entire length of the airport before arriving at a gate that they basically were holding open until we got there. We were winded and exhausted as we flopped into our seats. The flight path through Dallas might be longer, but at least would still arrive that evening.
After a very lengthy day, we made it to Salt Lake around ten pm. Uncle Justin was super kind and picked us up in our trusty minivan. It felt so roomy! And yes, Annika's stuffed animals were happily waiting.
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