Calabria: Southern Italy’s Heartland Day 8

Day 22-8 - October 11, 2015 - Sunday - Transfer to Naples; Flight to Paris; Direct to Salt Lake City; Transfer to Denver

The alarm went off at 3:30 am and we had asked for a hotel wake up call but it did not come. The group met for one last time at 4:15 for our shuttle to Naples and the airport. Several others said they had not gotten their call either, but as usual, everyone was on time.

The rain continued but our driver, Luigi had made the trip many times and within 45 minutes we were at the Naples International Airport. There was only one terminal so after we received our boarding passes we went directly to our gate.

The flight was not full and when all the ticketed passengers were in their seats, we were able to take off about ten minutes early. Our flight to Paris was only two and a half hours but the layover was only an hour and twenty minutes so we were happy to leave early.

We read and Gennie was able to take a few photos of the impressive snow covered Alps as we passed over the border of Italy and then over France. Paris was cloaked in a haze, but we could still see the bustling city below.

The Charles de Gaul International Airport is huge and well signed and we found the E Terminal without any problems. Our gate was at the very end of the concourse but they had not begun the boarding process when we arrived.

The flight was called at 9:40 and we settled in for our ten-hour flight to Salt Lake City. Just as we were ready push back from the jet way, the pilot told us they had called the maintenance crew to repair an electrical problem.

Our 10:30 flight took off at 11:20; hopefully, the crew will be able to make up the time as we have another tight layover in Salt Lake.

Because we had not slept well the night before, we snoozed a little. Lunch was served and we tried to get comfortable for the next 10 hours.

The pilot was good on his promise to make up the delay in Paris. We started to worry about making it for our 3:00 flight to Denver. Several of the flight attendants also had 3:00 flights to San Diego and told us not to worry- easy for them to say!

We managed to be one of the first in line to leave the aircraft. A Delta representative got on and told us he had some bad news; the baggage system broke down in Paris and only 20 bags made it on the plane.

Our first stop was at the Global Entry kiosk and then we went right through to the carousels to see if we were two of the few to get bags. No such luck, so we turned in our Global Entry forms and hustled to the gate on the other side of the terminal.

The flight was loading but Delta had notified the crew that we were on our way so they kept the door open for us. Gennie called our son, Eduardo to let him know we were back in the Good Old USA.

Flying from Salt Lake to Denver, one gets a feeling of just how barren that part of the country really is. We touched down in Denver at 4:20 and because we had no bags to collect, we got right on the shuttle to Pikes Peak Parking.

After a quick stop at King Soopers on the way home, we arrived to find our cat, Buddha very happy to see us. Twenty-two days was a long time to be gone and as we always say – we love to travel but getting back to Elephant Rock is always a wonderful feeling.

Thank you for following our Sicily and Calabria adventure. We appreciate your comments and love to have you along for the ride!

We look forward to January when we fly to the end of the world and visit Antarctica, our last continent. Pack your warm clothes; we will be off to visit the King Penguins soon.