“Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.” Al Gore

“Musings de Mexico and Beyond” now travels internationally. It seems like we‘ve been traveling for two days and well, we have. So it begins … Guadalajara to an overnight airport hotel at LAX. There, optimal use was made of our free morning before our late afternoon flight to Europe. David’s always got his lists, so …

Our friend, Cyndi, volunteered her day off to spend time with us. A carb loaded IHOP breakfast got us started and then she drove us around to nearby Inglewood stores. There, David ran a few errands; needless to say enough to fill a suitcase. Fortunately, Cyndi plans meeting us on our return for the booty handoff.

I’d searched high and low to get a good routing from United Airlines, but when you’re booking a flight with mileage points, you’re at their mercy. They prefer to fly you around the world with multiple connections and long layovers. Such was what they originally offered:
Guadalajara > Panama City(Panama) > Istanbul (Turkey) > Venice; the return added an extra stop Madrid > Istanbul > Bogota (Colombia) > Panama City > Guadalajara. Egads! That was over 36 hours of flying!

With time, patience and perseverance, luck struck with a 10 hour Swiss Air flight from L.A. to Zürich, then a short 45 minute hop to Venezia. Grazie to the travel gods.

However, we faced a scare the actual day of flying with a morning text from our traveling companions, Steve and Leyta. Their Lufthansa L.A. flight to Munich was suddenly cancelled due to an upcoming labor unrest situation. A flurry of anxious phone calls and texts followed, looking at immediate travel options. Luckily they were able to jump on a flight to Frankfurt (two hours earlier than planned). Scare averted. Oh what a relief and more thanks.

From the moment we boarded our Swiss Boeing 777 everything ran on the famous, precise Swiss time, down to the millisecond. We were seated in a two row business cabin (10 seats total) located between first class and a larger business class section. It felt like we were flying private – it was extremely quiet and had almost no foot traffic. The cabin service was Swiss perfect: precise, attentive and professional, but with friendly, great smiles, and an aim to make you feel genuinely welcomed.

Steve and Leyta arrived 4 hours earlier to Venice than us, so they took the vaporetto taxi boat from the airport down the Grand Canal. Quite an introduction to our European virgin, Steve. For us it was the quickest way – the airport bus to Venice bus station. We then began the shlep, laden with luggage, through the narrow, winding and seemingly aimless streets. Of course we got lost for a bit. Around every corner there’s a marvel to look at.

Tired, we crashed at our Venetian Airbnb, where the only quaint amenities is the century old timber beam roof secured with metal cross bars.

Tomorrow the adventure begins.

​On the Menu …..​IHOP earth grain pancakes, pretty tasty airplane food (oxymoron): appetizer of smoked salmon, potato salad, small salad and cheese plate; Cod for dinner with a ginger sauce, bok choy and tea rice; lemon tart; but the kicker ~ a cup of freshly brewed espresso after dinner. Breakfast: a selection of pastries, fruit, yogurt and juices and a cappuccino.