September 23-24, 2019

September 23-24, 2019

Our Italy Adventure has come to an end. One thing we all noticed in northern Italy and especially Milan is how fashion conscious Italians are. It seemed both men and women were competing to be the best dressed. A related phenomena is the selfie. Everyone was posing for pictures to post on social media. I want to know where people today learn to pose professionally.

Now we need to start the long process home. We took the express train to the Milan Airport, just barely dodging a bullet. The train union had a one-day strike yesterday. Unlike France, the Italian unions plan their work stoppages and publish the dates to minimize confusion. Dealing with strikes is an inevitable part of travel in western Europe.

This time we decided to break the exhausting journey home by stopping overnight in Miami. Our 10.5 hour flight path takes us northwest over the French Alps that form the border between France and Italy. They seem impenetrable. This physical separation of cultures is one reason relatively small Europe has so many languages. While it was mostly cloudy, We could see snow-capped Mont Blanc, Europe’s tallest peak, rising above the cloud tops.

The Miami Airport Hotel is super convenient. It is in the terminal, mere feet from the customs exit. With a good night’s sleep, we are up early for our dawn flight back to Tucson, of course with a stop, this time in Atlanta. On our way west, I am amused to see this banded cloud formation. A Meteorology course I recently watched gave me some insight into the cause. These clouds reflect the rippled pattern of the wind flow across the country. It's also the reason we had turbulence as if we were flying over over a washboard.

Once over west Texas the sky cleared and strange repeating landlines drew my attention. Since we are over oil country I presume these are wells of Texas’ Permian Basin. The fracking revolution has multiplied the number of wells needing to be drilled. This new technology has made America energy independent once again.

We land in Tucson before noon happy to be home.