Back From Barcelona... (and Milan!)

Yep!

Milan...

(Or as we "sophisticated travelers" like to say, "Milano.")

(*GRIN*) (*CHUCKLE*)

O.K., folks... here's the story:

As we were waiting to board AA # 152 (JFK-BCN) on Friday (Dec. 3) night rumors were swirling around that our flight would be canceled. The word was that there was a wildcat Spanish Air Controllers strike going on. Flights to Spain out of EWR had already been cancelled. According to news reports the military had taken over control of Spanish air space.

Well... the reports of a wildcat strike were true... the reports of the military taking over air traffic control duties were true... but nevertheless, American Airlines boarded us on time, we taxied away from our gate only 10 minutes late or so... and then it was announced that we were to be held on the ground for perhaps 45 minutes.

While we were happy to be on the plane and away from the gate, obviously we were worried that the situation would deteriorate and our flight would be canceled. Luckily for us, this was not to be! After sitting on the tarmac for a brief time our pilots and crew were given the green light to depart and by 9:45 p.m. we were in the air - departure taking place less than an hour behind schedule.

Fast forward to Saturday morning...

Spain is six hours ahead of U.S. eastern standard time. It's a seven hour flight. We were originally due to land in Barcelona at 10:35 a.m. local time. At approximately 9:00 a.m. local time - 95 minutes out of BCN - the plane's captain made an announcement:

Ladies and gentlemen... we're sorry to have to tell you this, but we've just gotten word that all Spanish airspace is closed and we've been instructed to divert to and land at Milan international airport.

Well, obviously we passengers had no idea what this would mean for us. Thing is... the crew seemingly knew as little as we did! This was a new situation for them too!

Apparently our pilot and American Airlines corporate had wanted to get us on the ground as close to Barcelona, Spain as possible; this would have meant putting us down in France (Marseille)... but believe it or not, the damned Frogs wouldn't let us land there!

Well... screw the French. Viva Italia! At 10:30 a.m. or so we landed in Milan!

Folks... American Airlines handled the action like pros! Within minutes of landing they were getting us off the plane, whisking us past a perfunctory immigration and customs check, retrieving our checked luggage, and leading us to waiting buses upon which we were taken to the Hotel Novotel Milano Malpensa!

During the time between the in-flight announcement of the diversion and getting us off the plane we passengers had been speculating on what our next move would be, what our options were. Would they bus us from Milan airport to Barcelona airport? Not really feasible... it's at least a 12 hour bus ride! Train? Nope. Apparently the Italian and Spanish regional railroads use different gauge track and so combined with customs issues the train was out. A ferry? There is apparently one from Rome to Barcelona... but that would have meant getting us to Rome from Milan. Bottom line, with labor negotiations ongoing in Spain, the decision was made to park us at a nice hotel, provide us with lunch, dinner, and breakfast, and hope that come next morning Spanish normalcy would have returned to the skies of Europe and we'd be able to depart for and arrive at BCN on schedule... plus 24 hours.

In fact... this is exactly what happened!

(*WINK*)

Yes... we "lost" one night in our beautiful 5-star hotel in Barcelona, but we gained a free side trip to Milan, Italy!

It was great...!!!

Let me tell you, folks... we didn't waste our time in Milan. When life gives you lemons, if you're smart you'll make lemonade.

(And we're no dummies!)

The moment we arrived at the hotel our "handlers" told us all to stow our luggage in an empty conference room and head to the dining room for a complimentary lunch while the hotel staff prepared to check us all in. So... it's now noon and Mary and I are lunching in Italy!

After lunch (veal... pasta...) we picked up our room key and went up to our room - where we could gaze upon the glorious Alps from our window!

Next a couple of quick showers and... er... experimentation with the bidet.

(*SNORT*) (*LAUGHING OUT LOUD*)

From there it was back down to the lobby to explore the hotel and quiz the front desk staff on how to get to Milan city center. It turns out... we were 40 minutes out of Milan proper by train!

No biggie, though! We made a few phone calls (courtesy of American Airlines!), sent a few emails (courtesy of a fellow "stranded" passenger with a laptop!) rounded up a crew of like-minded adventurers and off we went in the complimentary hotel shuttle van to the nearest train station (located at the airport) and... onward to Milan...!!!

We had a great train ride in. I had rounded up a group of seven of us and we had a train compartment to ourselves except for one solitary Italian businessman who as it turned out was fluent in English and ready, willing, and able to share some restaurant recommendations with us!

From our initial regional train we switched to the metro and straight to Duomo Square we went!

Armed with a fistful of euros from the first bank ATM I came across the Barkers graced Italia's most extravagant city!

Folks...

(*SIGH*)

I'm a "loyal" New Yorker and I love St. Patrick's Cathedral, but...

(*SIGH*)

You ain't seen a Cathedral till you've seen Milan Cathedral! I mean, folks... browse the internet for "cathedrals" and while it's true you'll find some larger and some older, you'll find none more magnificent than Milan Cathedral.

Anyway...

We "hung" with our fellow free spirits from our "orphaned" flight for awhile, but awhile Mary and I ended up going our way while they went theirs. (They were interested in the shopping... we were interested in the dining...)

As previously mentioned, the gentleman we met on the train into town was kind enough to offer two specific restaurant recommendations and one we ended up at was Ristorante Bagutta. (See also: Direct to English)

Not cheap! Great place though!

Explore their website and you'll get a glimpse of what I mean. That said, considering the exceedingly warm, friendly, festive and welcoming atmosphere and service and the beauty of the interior (especially as decorated for Christmas!) I was quite happy to "splurge" a bit - including a 45 euro bottle of wine - and to break Italian tipping etiquette by knocking our waiter's socks off with a "standard" Barker tip of 20% plus.

(*WINK*)

Hey... not only did our waiter steer us towards excellent food and wine selections, but on behalf of the house he extended to us a complimentary visit to the restaurant's bountiful appetizer buffet - a meal unto itself!

Following dinner and dessert it was time to retrace our route "home" to the hotel. Back on the metro... back on the train... back to the airport we went. Our instructions had been to call the hotel upon our return to request the shuttle, but upon heading to the pick-up spot we noticed that a neighboring hotel's shuttle was already there and waiting, so... me being me... I simply grabbed Mary's hand, walked up to the shuttle driver, and said, "Hello my friend! We're back from our night in Milan! We're ready to head back to the hotel!"

(*CHUCKLE*)

The shuttle driver had no idea that we weren't staying at his hotel (the Best Western) so when we arrived at the hotel I simply pretended that we were going to take a stroll prior to retiring for the night. He wished us a good night... I slipped him a few euros... and off Mary and I went in the direction of our own hotel a scant 100 yards away or so.

(*HUGE FRIGG'N GRIN*)

Anyway... off to bed... up the next morning at 5:15 a.m. in plenty of time for a quick complimentary breakfast prior to boarding the chartered buses back to the airport at 6:00 a.m. and after being met at the airport by American Airlines personnel our entire group was priority escorted to the counter for baggage check-in and ticketing and then off to the departure gate where our same plane was waiting. We enjoyed some further morning refreshment (marocchino & pastry) while waiting for the pilots and crew and by shortly after 9:00 a.m. we were boarded.

Back in the air around 9:30 a.m., we landed at BCN (Barcelona International Airport) at right around 10:30 a.m. - a mere 24 hours later than originally planned!

(*GRIN*)

* Next up: Barker's Barcelona Vacation!