Last day... Siena to Bologna to Frankfurt to DC to Denver!!!

I set the alarm the night before to wake us at 4:30 AM so that we could get going to the airport. We had packed pretty well, so it didn't take us long to get up and out. We tried being quiet, but probably woke at least our downstairs neighbors, if we had any!

Jeanette paused for a few minutes to appreciate the view outside the window. In the early morning, the fog appeared as thick smoke and obscured much of the landscape. The knowledge that she was looking at her last cityscape in Siena was enough to make Jeanette happy.

We left from the door on our floor (the 3rd floor) and walked out onto the street. There was one woman in front of us who was returning home from some late night party. Even at 5:00 AM we had to dodge a car or two in this 'pedestrian only' city. Funny.

It took us forever to find the damned car in the parking garage after we paid (e)24 for 12 hours of parking (ouch). The cashiers are NOT open at 5:00 AM. We got on the road and actually had to take it at only 90kph for most of the way to Florence because of the terribly thick fog. Some maniacal Italian drivers were still going along at 120-150kph. Like that was a surprise.

The sun eventually came out for our last early morning in Tuscany. The cloud shrouded cities around us looked quiet... Tuscan! Just like the old masters' oil paintings. Jeanette wanted to beg a bed from some farmhouse... wishful thinking!

We wrapped around Florence and approached Bologna, stopping at a rest stop to fill up and get some coffee. The stop was mobbed by 5 or 6 tourist buses with northern European tourists and some annoying little Asian women who kept trying to cut into line. They seemed surprised that we kept telling them to take a hike. We got two of the specials -- coffee, danish, and spremuta (mixed juice) -- and were on our way. The rest stop actually had an extensive local foods grocery that they force you to pass through on the way out. An excellent possibility for last minute shopping for the tourist.

When we got to the airport, we turned in the broken rental car and got in line for tickets. The line was really long, with only one little Lufthansa person, but they eventually opened up a couple of other counters and we got through in about 45 minutes. Jeanette did postcards while we stood in line... I had finished mine previously. After finding out that the flight was delayed an hour due to air traffic conditions in Frankfurt, we went downstairs to look for extra postage, but were out of luck on Sunday morning. Instead, we decided on a sandwich, some croissants, and coffee at the same place we had supped at upon arriving in Bologna, the airport deli.

Eventually, we made our way back upstairs and through security. I had to turn over the wine opener we bought in Barcelona because I forgot to remove it from my backpack. No biggie. We got to the gate and found that people were already lining up so we got in line, took a bus to the airplane, and got on board. We got a couple of papers and read those while chatting with an American bicycle tourist who was sitting next to us. About 50-ish, he described their vacations as blurry 100 mile bike rides through beautiful country, eating every night and morning at the hotel, and being too tired for sightseeing. I'll pass.

While reading the paper, I noticed that that morning had been the daylight savings switchover in Europe!!!! We were operating thinking we were an hour earlier than we were. Lucky I'm a worrywart and got us up early!

We took off and had an uneventful, but 1.5 hour late flight to Frankfurt. We got off the plane and had to hustle around rude American tourists, through a passport check, and through a security pat down to just make it to our also-delayed-2nd-flight. Luckily there was about a 1/2 hour delay so our bags made it too.

The flight to DC was long. Long. I chatted with the man next to me who was from Houston. Nice guy who works for Dow chemicals and has 6 kids and a German wife. We watched the terrible Zoro 2. Yuck. Jeanette and I split vegetarian and kosher meals that were much better than the US Airlines varieties. It was also great that we had ordered special meals because we got served first, and by that time we were starving! We also took plenty advantage of the free wine and beer. J even got to try some sparkling German variety that tasted a bit like a Riesling.

In DC, we passed uneventfully through passport control and customs, moved our bags to the check-in area, and found our gate. Our 3rd flight was delayed as well, so we fought the crowds in the really poorly designed terminal to get two sandwiches and drinks. I figured we'd better eat because it was nearing dinner time on the East Coast and that might help us adjust to the time change.

The last flight felt even longer. I had picked up the Sudoku book from France earlier on the 2nd flight and begun playing with it. Now, exhausted, they were a bit more challenging. I decided to not sleep however and watched Harry Potter 3, while Jeanette crashed out. We finally arrived into Denver, got our bags, and hopped the USAirport Parking shuttle to the car. We were exhausted.

When we got home around 8:30 PM, we petted the kitties, unpacked enough to settle in, then called it a night, a little bummed to be back to reality, but happy to be back in our own bed!