Thursday 14 April 2016

Come Fly With Me

This time last week I was packing for a short break. Harry had a couple of spare days and decided to book a long weekend in one of Italy's fair cities. As we were only going for three nights we elected to take carry-on luggage only, instead of our usual suitcase or two. We had nothing suitable so, armed with the carry-on rules from the airline's website, we took a trip into town. By the time we got to the third store it was apparent that the airline's allowance was smaller than most other carriers' and suitable baggage was impossible to find. 
Tiny!

We didn't want to buy an odd size just for one trip anyway, so Harry said we'd just buy the standard size, he was confident that the airline wouldn't even check it. I had read the airline's guide that said the rules would be strictly enforced and over-sized bags would have to go in the hold at excess baggage rates, so I wasn't happy with that decision. Harry wouldn't budge and the ensuing argument was not pretty. I left him to choose the cases while I moved away a bit to regain my composure. 

He hadn't made his choice when I returned so I thought it was worth having another go, in a more moderate manner. I told him he may be right but why take the risk of having to put two small bags in the hold at a cost of 90 euros, when we could take a full-sized case in the hold for 15 euros each way? Harry agreed the logic in that so off we went home, no hard feelings. Nonetheless, you know what happens to naughty wives who argue impolitely don't you? I didn't get spanked though. Before we left for town I nipped back to our bedroom for something I'd forgotten and saw that Harry had arranged the bed for a 'good girl' treat. I hadn't been a good girl, so I forfeited that pleasure. Harry left the bed as it was and it stayed that way until I re-arranged it when I went to bed. I got the message. There was a reset the next morning and a 5 o'clock the day before we left, so I wasn't entirely without attention of the spanky sort.

You'll probably not be surprised to hear that Harry was right; the airline staff didn't even glance at all the standard sized carry-ons passing through the gate.

We had a really interesting weekend, not exactly relaxing, there was so much to see. The highlight had to be standing on top of the cathedral roof, nearly 100 metres above the ground, looking out over the city. Of course, we couldn't visit Italy without sampling the wonderful gelato. I just had to take a photo of this glorious confection. The shot doesn't do it justice, I'm not used to taking photos of food. Mine was based on raspberries and summer fruits, you can just see Harry's yummy death by chocolate in the background.




All too soon it was time to get online to check in for our homeward flight and what a performance that was! Harry tried on his iPhone, my iPad and for more than an hour on the hotel's laptop the next day, only for the procedure to crash at the same point each time. Not only could we not download our boarding passes but we couldn't check in our suitcase, which meant it would be charged at the excess baggage rate!

We had an hour to spare between checking out of the hotel and leaving for the airport, plenty of time to squeeze in just one more ice cream.






Rosie





15 comments:

  1. Rosie,
    Traveling with your man is always an adventure. I love the gelato part. A short trip to a beautiful place .............. sweet! Resets work wonders! Right?
    Meredith

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    1. Meredith,
      Nothing restores my equilibrium quite like a reset. I don't think we'll be using that airline again though.
      Rosie

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  2. Hi Rosie, ooh nice ice cream. Glad you had a good trip, all this online stuff always is a pain though :(
    love Jan, xx

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    1. Hello Jan,
      The ices were yummy, too good to resist. I was happy to 'hear' you've been getting some spanky action recently, I bet you feel much better now.
      Love, Rosie xx

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  3. Love those pictures - I even had a small cone when we went off a while back. I'll never feel like an experienced flyer. I hate it, well not the flying part - but the drive to the airport, finding parking, checking in, finding the gate, and then, of course the luggage. I've always managed but I don't like it! I'm glad you eventually got what you wanted.

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    1. I've never had ice creams like those before. It was a good thing for my waistline that we were only there for a few days. Harry always handles the travel arrangements and they usually go smoothly. This time, anything that could go wrong did! We enjoyed our time away though.
      Rosie xx

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  4. Ooh Rosie...those gelato look super yummy! Travel is just not as much fun as it used to be is it...no matter who you travel with. We're lucky that we don't get penalized for not checking our luggage in prior to arriving at the airport. Hope you've since received a lovely GG. ;)

    Hugs and blessings...Cat

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    1. There seemed to be a gelateria on every other corner. How Italians manage to stay thin is a mystery. I'm happy to say I did get a lovely GG the day after we got back home, with Champagne on the side.
      Rosie xx

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  5. Oh..I love gelato, but never had one that looked like your pics...yummy. I am getting ready to fly off to see 2 of the grands...the flying part is never relaxing...but the payoff..those 2 grinning faces waiting for grandma.
    hugs abby

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    1. I like flying but it is pretty boring, apart from takeoff and landing. Have a wonderful time with the grands, something I have yet to experience. I guess you'll have to make up for missing a Maintenance Monday when you get back but I'm sure it's worth it to see those smiling faces.
      Rosie xx

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  6. Loved how you described the exchange of words while out shopping. Just 2 minutes of arguing about such a decision is enough to lose the connection. Yes, a "reset" was just what was needed before your trip. Glad you both had a good time!

    Hugs Across the Pond,
    Ella

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    1. Yes, the reset put my world to rights as Harry knew it would. He's come so far from the spank-no he used to be. I was pretty angelic during the trip, not even a swat - though that could have been because Harry's 'clap' test sounded like a pistol shot...
      Hugs back at you,
      Rosie

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  7. Sorry you missed out on the gg treat! What a punishment to have to see it all set up and not get it :( Sounds like you had a great long weekend!

    Hugs,
    Clara

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Clara, it's good to see you back. The reset the next day worked wonders and I had a lovely GG when we got back. We really enjoyed the break, so much to see and all that lovely Italian food to sample. Looking forward to visiting your blog again.
      Rosie xx

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  8. Rosie,

    Yummy ice cream. Happy you had a good trip.

    I know different airlines have different allowances for carry on luggage. Mine is a little bigger than Ryanairs but so far not had any trouble.

    Love,
    Ronnie
    xx

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