Travel Days

It is crazy to think that just over twenty four hours ago I was getting up for a run and getting ready to start my trip (after I voted of course). The Frankfurt airport was interesting. First, I get off the plane and am greeted by what else but a German pretzel stand! I have to get my passport stamped and renter security and I was told to go to a security line of which I was not certain since I don’t speak German. I guess I was in an acceptable line, whether or not it was the right one I will never know, and proceeded through. Of course I get stopped and frisked by the German police woman. A couple odd things about the German airport: 1) There was a gumball machine in the bathroom (Dad I think that could be a new market for you) 2) There was a door to the men’s room from the women’s room…not sure where it went but it was weird and 3) There were employees riding bikes around the airport.

In the Frankfurt airport I listened to a replay of McCain’s concession speech and some of Obama’s speech in Grant Park. It was very interesting to see how captivated the rest of the world seemed to be by our election. Two German couples sitting behind me on the flight cheered when the pilot gave an update of the results. The whole world really is watching!

The flight to Torino was short and a little bumpy due to flying over the Alps. It is pretty cloudy here so there was not much to see on the flight. I landed and was greeted by Natalia who works in our affiliate office. I walked right out with my bag without going through customs so she was very nice and helped me make sure that I wasn’t going to get my passport revoked. The person at the information desk told her that since I had gone through customs in Frankfurt I was fine. The last thing I need is to get thrown in the Italian clink for skirting customs.

Natalia dropped me off at my hotel and said she would meet me around 1800 for a short tour of Torino before dinner.

I realized after reading the instructions that the converter I purchased would NOT infact work for smaller voltage appliances like the Best Buy guy said. I know this because of the sparks that were emitted when I tried to plug in my computer. I decided then to go in search of a smaller voltage converter and set out to shop in the city center which was not far from my hotel. I walked for awhile and didn’t see anything that looked like it would have a converter so I stopped in at the Pharmacia to get some help. They directed me to a store down the street. The store owner at that store did not speak English but did speak Spanish so he directed me to a “gigante” electronic store. I found my way thanks to my ability to speak Spanish only to discover that this store did not carry the converter. He directed me, in English, to a store down the street…again with no luck. The store owner did not speak English so he walked me down the street to the gelateria where they directed me to another store. As I was walking I thought that I was getting close to my hotel (thanks for the great sense of direction Dad) and sure enough the electronics store, which is more like a hardware store, is a block away from my hotel. Finally, after four misses I found the converter! If only I had used my brain and walked by the store ealier!

I’m going to try and brush up on my Italian while watching their version of what looks like Law and Order!