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Italia 1998

Prego is not just a spaghetti sauce!

Jvi
2004-09-14 11:16:14

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Sunday, October 4, 1998

This is our first trip on Iberia Airlines. They recently started flying to Madrid from Chicago and they had this great fare of $349. We couldn't pass it up. Flying on Sunday increased the fare and we were able to get to Milan for about $800 for two. We flew on a DC 10 and we had a lot more legroom than we are used to on a British Airways 747. Our 4:55 flight is delayed and we finally take off at 6:30 PM. The food wasn't bad but no drinks before dinner. That didn't matter since we do not drink much alcohol on an international flight. You feel better when you arrive and the jet lag isn't as bad. Arriving in Madrid, we had to walk and walk to get to the Milan flight. Madrid is a very big airport. I was looking for an ATM but didn't see any. I didn't need one but wanted to see if they were readily available. You now go through immigration in the first EC country you arrive in so there was a little delay. That meant we didn't have to go through immigration in Milan. Most passengers are EC residents and only have to show their passports so many people are pushing and shoving to get through ahead of the people who have to wait to get their passports stamped. Everyone is in a hurry.

Only a one hour and 20 minute flight to Milan Linate. They have since re-routed most flights to Malpensa, much further from the city. At Linate we took a bus, paid the driver about 4,500 lira each and went to Centrale Statione, a 30 minute ride. The bus link at the airport is clearly marked "STAM" and is right outside the terminal.

We bought our tickets for Milano to Varenna for 7,600 lira each and for the Varenna to Monterosso al Mare (Cinque Terre) leg (25,500 lira each) in the Milan Train Station as the train station in Varenna is not staffed. The total was 66,200 Lira for the two of us, about $40 US. Just remember, this was for tickets from Milan to Varenna and then from Varenna through ...