Me and Mom arrive in Florence
Mom and Kelly had quite a journey to get to Florence! Planes, trains, and automobiles, galore! They left at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning and flew to St. Louis, then to JFK, then to London Heathrow, then to Rome, where I met them for the train ride back to Florence. There are easier ways to get here depending on where you live and what you are willing to pay. My brother, Paul, Kelly’s husband works for American Airlines, and his benefits include flights for his wife and mother, however, American doesn’t fly to Florence, so that’s why the connections.
Anyway, it was undoubtedly a couple of very long days for them, but the trip went smoothly aside from the two pieces of luggage that were late in arriving to Rome. I took the train from Florence to Rome in order to be at the station close to the time I thought they would be arriving. They landed in Rome at 1:30, but had to go through customs and immigration and get transportation to the train station, so I arrived at 3:00.
On the train ride to Rome, I had a couple of missed calls on my cell phone, which worried me. The cellular service on the train is not very good and you pass through many tunnels, etc. I did not recognize the number that was calling, but it was in Italy.
I arrived at the train station and begin to look for them in the meeting place that we had designated. My phone rang, and it was Kelly saying they had arrived in Rome, but some of their luggage had not, but was on the next plane which would arrive at 4:40. That was in about an hour. They had decided to wait on it, which was a good idea.
I found a place to sit and worked on my homework while I waited. The train station is not a place that you can get bored! Rome has a very large and busy station, so there are lots of shops, bars, and people to occupy your time. Before I knew it, it was time for them to be there. I went to the train which I thought they would be on, and scanned the cars for their blonde heads, which in Italy, are easily recognizable.
I had a luggage cart to assist with their bags. I couldn’t believe my eyes, when the train stopped and in the car directly in front of me I saw Mom and Kelly standing up and gathering their things to get off the train! The emotion I felt was really unexpected, but it is not like I haven’t burst into tears before, and that is exactly what I did! With tears streaming down my face, I rushed to the train and banged on the window close to where they were standing. They saw me, and I don’t think we could all get to each other fast enough. Suffice it to say, there was quite a scene with crying and kissing and hugging and trying to pull bags off the train and stay out of peoples way!
We finally composed ourselves and had just a little while before catching the train back to Florence.
Mom and Kelly left today, and I am busy thinking about all the fun we had, and writing about some of the experiences. I am already missing them, even though it has only been hours since they left, and am sad because it will be a while before I see them again. I am so thankful for their visit and the wonderful memories we made. I can’t wait to share them with you,
No comments:
Post a Comment