Cervinia, Italy
Recap
Cervinia, Italy Recap
Seventeen people left O’Hare airport from the SAS center. Security was tight, but
nothing we couldn’t handle. Two hours was plenty time to pass through all the extra
security. We landed in Stockholm, Sweden and promptly got on our flight to Milan, Italy.
There we were met by our driver, Martin, from Innsbruck. We had a real nice, large coach
for the 17 of us.
The ride to Cervinia was about 2
hours, the scenery was breathtaking. Or was that the pollution in Milan? Oh, well, it was
very nice anyway. We arrived at the best hotel in town—the four star Europa. And,
yes, that is where we stayed. Swimming pool, sauna, and everything.
The hotel checked us in promptly and
we went to our rooms which were very nice by European standards—small, but
comfortable. We met Barbara, our bartender, very shortly afterward. She was also the
daughter of the owner. Very efficient in every respect except when the cigars started
coming out. She told us in so many words, Italian and English, that they were allowed but
she didn’t like them. Seems when we were smoking, the drinks were smaller, or maybe
it was just my imagination.
Cervinia is a small town and there
were a lot of Brits. They say that this is one of the few ski areas that is still quaint.
Not overcrowded and still affordable. Something like Whistler used to be. There were 17
bars in the town and the first one we visited was the Yeti, where we watched the Bears get
their asses kicked. So much for Chicago sports teams.
Snow conditions were ok in the
respect that they could have used a little more snow, which we got in the middle of the
week. We skied Cervinia and Zermatt. The lift equipment in Italy was something akin to
horses and buggies, where Zermatt, Switzerland was very up to date. The only thing that we
had to worry about every day was the high winds, which shut down the Ariel lifts. Then we
depended on the surface lifts to get us around—T-bars, pomas, and such. Very tiring.
Seems Europeans don’t mind these as much as the Americans do. Their cars show it
also—all standard shift. I don’t think I saw an automatic transmission the whole
time we were there.
We then bid Cervinia arrivderchi. We
boarded our bus and Martin took us to Florence for the next 3 days. On the way to
Florence, we stopped in Pisa and saw the leaning tower. Yep, we must have gotten about 300
pictures of various people holding up the tower. Very touristy. We stayed there about 2
hours and then proceeded to Florence, where Martin got lost and stuck on the narrowest
street you could have gotten this bus down. We had to go down a one way street the wrong
way and make a very tight turn to exit. Not as simple as it sounds. You had to be there.
We checked into the 4 star Hotel
Croce de Malta, which was walking distance to many popular sights. Again, very
European—rooms small but comfortable. There, we met Vincenzo. Guess who he was?
That’s right, the bar tender.
Florence is a beautiful city with
many museums and things to see. Our favorite was David, as in David and Goliath by
Micaelangelo. Breathtaking. Restaurants were all good and there were many of them.
Martin picked a few of us up the
next day and we toured the Tuscany region, where we visited the Chianti region. The
weather was fantastic. Shirtsleeves were in order and the sun was shining. We visited 2
wineries where we tasted a bunch of wines. Nobody told us you were supposed to spit out
the wine and then go on to another. By about the 4th bottle, we were all buzzed. That was
just the 1st winery. We bought wine, olive oil, and honey. At the second winery, we saw
the biggest black iron cock in the world. You had to be there. We had lunch in a small
village Castellina di Cianti. One of the best meals I’ve had in Italy.
The only fiasco of the trip was the
trip home. We had to leave Florence at 4am to make our plane in Milan, 5 hours away. We
arrived in Milan to some of the worst fog I have seen in my life. We went to the SAS
counter who told us that the airport in Copenhagen was closed due to high winds, but not
to worry they would get us out on an Alitalia flight direct to Chicago. This seemed great,
but the flight left in 30 minutes. They told me that they would hold the flight for us.
They lied. Eight of us got on that flight, which was empty, and the others got on a United
flight to D.C. and then to Chicago. All in all, a few of us got in a little early and a
few of us got in 1˝ hours later than they were supposed to. Not too bad. |
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Boyne Recap
The Boyne trip was a
great time for 33 people. We started by meeting at a new location—the Marriott on
Higgins & Cumberland. We left on time and had a fun bus ride with new and old members.
Chuck remembered to bring his suitcase this time. The trip leader, Rosann, took care of
everyone for dinner—Subway, chips, and a homemade peanut butter chocolate cookie. Al
Tkac took care of providing the Jaeger for his Birthday. We made it to the hotel quite
late. El Presidenté had to relieve the trip leader of her duties.It was a case of a
uexpected coma.
Saturday we skied Boyne Highlands.
The conditions were 100% perfect. Everyone had a great time finding their own fun, right
Chuck? “Go make your own fun.” To add more fun to our day, Kellogg’s
marketing team was sponsoring chocolate Pop Tarts—very yummy. Many of us got into the
games and came home with stuffed animals and Tony the Tiger race cars. Jay can add that
“5 star” to his toy collection.
A pool party was in order upon
arriving back to the hotel. Beagle came through for supplying the beer for the “no
beverages allowed” hot tub party. Most everyone jumped back on the bus to go to the
bowling alley for dinner and fun. The only problem was the bowling ally closed 2 years
ago. Now it’s a casino. Instead, Hugh drove us to saloon in Boyne City where we
danced, and of course drank. Some folks can’t remember how they made it back to their
rooms after the ride home. Let’s just say that the party doesn’t end until we
say it ends.
The morning brought fresh snow. We
went to the Clock Bar—I mean Boyne Mountain—where it snowed all day. Your
clothes were dry only if you never left the bar. Deitz is the most experienced member,
thus having dry clothing and a good buzz. We made it back to Chicago in record time after
stopping for another keg. Imagine that! Another good trip for Grand Prix. |
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