auguroni

It's only fitting that my 100th post be the first of a new year and so I say buone feste e buon anno to all! (Happy holidays and happy new year!)

We're settled back in Milan after a whirlwind December that saw far too many flights through Heathrow on the way to other destinations but happily also saw visits to and from many of those we love most. There were travels to Miami and Chicago - with a stop at Heathrow in both directions. And there was a visit to Newcastle (UK) with a stop at Heathrow again in both directions - with the added drama of diverting into Paris on the way home due to a medical emergency on the plane.

With all the talk of flying, and Heathrow, my belated gift to you this holiday season is our "December 2006: Travel Findings and Tips" highlighting just a few of the things we've concluded during this well-traveled month. The photos of Milano awash in holiday glow should get us back into the holiday spirit.



Number 1: Do not fly through Heathrow.

Really. We've come to the conclusion that the extra expense of avoiding Heathrow is well worth it. The place is a crazy mash of too many people, too many terminals, too many duty free shops, and too many perfumes for sale in the aforementioned duty free shops. Plus, for those of you who are geographically challenged let me remind you that Heathrow is located in ye olde England. And England uses the pound. And right now the pound is whomping on the dollar at an average rate of 2 to 1. The problem with this little equation is that it means you can't afford anything in the approximately 2 million duty free shops at Heathrow, and you certainly can't afford any of the food in the restaurants. So you will be tired, aggravated (because you've probably missed your connecting flight as we did on the way back from Thailand in October), and starving (the previously noted "can't afford the food" problem.) You will inevitably break down, use your credit card to buy a $7 sandwich in a little plastic container, fight the throngs for a place to sit, and then wonder why you didn't just pop for the direct flight. Hell, the difference in ticket price is probably pretty close to the meal you're buying at Heathrow anyway.



Number 2: Citrus Shred is a liquid.

Now, I'm all for security. 100% without a doubt a fan of rules and regulations. But I'm still irked that we couldn't bring in our carry-on bags the one English product my husband had been craving. Sure, I had guessed it would happen. And in my heart I think I knew that jams and jellies might not be what the Department of Homeland Security wants to see showing up in your carry-on, but I had held out hope that the citrus shred would make it through the x-ray. It didn't. It got chucked into the oversize plastic tub filled with orphaned full-size hair mousses, tubs of moisturizers, and half-finished bottles of water. So word to the wise - if you're not checking your bags, don't bring anything that's over 100mL unless it's solid as a rock. And even though the very same authorities insist you can only bring one butane lighter aboard the plane, if you'd like to bring a few more then simply point into the abstract distance beyond the metal detectors saying that the extra one is for your "brother" and you can bring as many lighters onboard as you'd like. So remember, no jelly... but lots and lots of lighter fluid.

Number 3: Do not eat BA food.

British Airways has a habit of serving terrible food. Maybe you can order a special meal -- vegetarian or kosher or something else someone has put a half a second of extra thought into -- but the regular stuff is just not going to work. At 7am there was an attempt to serve us a sausage and onion relish "sandwich," the use of the word "sandwich" being a little optimistic. It was a split bun that had a split grey sausage laying along the cut. Under the grayish tube was a speckling of brown which I assume to be the relish. This is what I gleamed from the people across the aisle who must have been starving because they actually ate it. There were so many sandwiches handed back to the flight attendant that I'm sure the plane did not need to restock for the next flight. It's a tough call to say whether the grey sausage was better than the cheese+cheese+butter sandwich that we had been served on an earlier flight. I haven't eaten either. I appreciate that BA is trying to be a cut above the rest by serving food and drinks during the flight without an extra charge. But I'll also point out that BA's fares are far more than a Southwest Airlines or an Easy Jet ticket. So there should be food. And right now, I'd assert that there isn't.



Number 4: The English are a fine people, uniquely suited to in-flight conversation.

Despite having an airport I wish to never see again and a currency I can't very well afford the English have provided the finest in-flight conversation we've found. There was the British oil worker returning home from an oil rig in the Caspian Sea who had a unique perspective on family and work. He has one month "on," working 16 hour days, and then one month "off," when he visits his family and catches up on lost time, taking the kids to school, tying their shoes, and trying to get away for visits to Italy with his wife. We also met a woman heading to New Zealand to visit her son who has started a new life in a new country. She was excited to see her grandchildren but had felt very guilty leaving her own ill father behind in England. She also insisted that Charles will never be King because he just isn't the right type, what with the Camilla Parker Bowles affair and all. These people really added a perspective to our visit to England that you can't get bopping about on the streets on your own. I may despise Heathrow, and feel abused by the pound, but I'll have a chat with a Brit on a plane any time.



Number 5: Bring your running shoes.

And get out there. Nothing beats having a run, or a walk, in a different place. You'll feel the pace of a city as you run your way through it; you'll feel the sun, the shade, the showers. You will run past houses and rivers and egrets and squirrels. You'll stumble through history and happenstance and see what kind of grass grows in which kinds of places. Miami will be warm and cold in the morning, and Chicago will be snowy and biting, and Newcastle will strike you with gale force winds along the Tyne. But you will know these places better for your efforts - you will have mental pictures that go beyond a tourists snaps. All for the space of a shoebox in your suitcase.

Bonus Tip Number 6: Go.

You must shake it up. You must leave the norms in the dust. If you don't get up and out, you will never know what it is you love most about where you are. And you will certainly never know what you're missing.

And on we go into 2007.