Whilst Scotland were busy debating and voting on whether the country should stay forming part of the UK or not (which they ultimately did choose to hang on to it) and Malta was rather ironically busy preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence from the UK, we were busy making our way to Gatwick airport at 2am, in the midst of a freak 10 minute thunderstorm which was promptly timed with our exit from home. I just realised that I rather abused the word busy here, but in fairness each of these activities does indeed deserve the title. And it turned out to be an ever busier weekend...
The trip to Italy was prompted by the invitation to a wedding of 2 Italian friends of ours - one of the great things about London is that most of your friends are actually not British and you invariably participate in such events all the time. Admittedly, I had been to this part of Italy a number of times, and my wife likewise (have both been to Venice alone 3 times each), but alas never together and have been there already had its advantage: it was to be a rather chilled holiday, not racing against time and trying to see every bit of the city but immersing in the city's life and enjoying every moment. Or actually not having to visit only the obvious sites but stay off the beaten track and discover some of the hidden gems the city has to offer (and this particular city has a lot to offer). Having said that, visiting Venice is always an enchanting experience and I must say, even in the light of my limited world travels, it must be my favourite place in the world. And it is one of those unique places where the city was formed centuries ago and, contrary to other cities, largely stayed as it was then due to its obvious physical constraints. Each building, each stone (I was going to write each street but..) and each canal has a story to tell. Few cities have the honour of being frozen in time (Valletta is another case in point, but lingering on this point would be a tangent).
The stay was brief but quality reigned over quantity (having an SLR in Venice for the first time was a bonus) and we then moved onto the mainland just outside Padova in another of the Veneto's unknown secrets, Montegrotto Terme, where the wedding was to be held. A thermal spa resort, housed in a superb Art Nouveau 1920s building, complete with lift in a cage and iron post beds but immaculately kept and with 7000 odd square metres of pools, jacuzzi and all the other well being perks and treats which I never experienced before. It amazes me how the Romans were able to develop such commodities and leave us all the architectural and cultural heritage but, at the same time, be so barbaric: crucifying thousands daily, feeding men to lions for their entertainment and so on...keeping to a positive note, they were truly 2 days of refreshment, which I wish I had the chance to enjoy in more troublesome times...
The wedding itself was splendid: good food, good wine and good fun, concluded by night-time swims in the heated waters! One minor detail was that every evening was characterised by distant thunder and lightning displays, whicn we nonetheless ignored, given that they were too far even to be heard. I even thought them to be quite spectacular!
Come the last day and we headed back to Venice for a last half day of sightseeing under a very strong sun. As soon as we landed in the airport terminal, the sky turned black and an intense thunderstorm kicked off, with all vengeance. It was slightly worrying knowing we were flying in 2 hours' time given my phobia of take-off and so on; the flight was invariably delayed. We soon found out that the plane was diverted to Bologna, 20 minutes away. After a quick bite and 2 hours waiting, we were told that the plane was on its way to our airport, which was a relief. More reassuring was knowing it landed - safely - and that the rain had stopped. But soon a saga kicked off. The staff said there were no coaches to take us from the gate to the plane, a few metres away, but against security to let passengers walk on the runway (because at times the Italians really know their legal obligations). Then there was no staff to unload luggage and load the new luggage (which I guess was limited anyway, given it was an easyjet flight). And then, most importantly, there was no staff to refuel the plane. It was the end of the staff shift, we were told, and because some few people did not do an extra half hour worth of work, a plane-full of people had to wait overnight till the plane could take off the next day. In the next available slot, i.e., the next afternoon, or 17 hours later to be precise.
No café or restaurant was open at that hour and no hotel was available to accommodate us, albeit the offer to seek accommodation which would be refunded. We "slept" on the seats in the gates, which were surprisingly plentiful, only till the sun rose at 6am or so and the scheduled flights kicked off with the usual persistent accompanying announcements and movement of people, making any sort of attempts to sleep impossible.
To cut a story short, we boarded at 12.40pm, a flight which was scheduled at 9.45pm the night before, having slept 9 hours in total in the previous 2 days (I forgot to mention the wedding ended at 2am or so and we were up by 9am for breakfast). Just to add insult to injury, there were minor problems with the trains between the south and London, meaning we got home at 5pm or so, exhausted and with just one desire: sleep in a bed.
At the end, it was the best flight of my life: I never was as excited to get on a plane as that day, perhaps only more in September 1989 when I flew for the first time. Or perhaps in September 2007 when I moved to London for the first time (incidentally it was my 7th anniversary of moving to London). After a good sleep of 11 hours, it was back to work and then catching up with the celebrations in the homeland, which made me feel proud to be Maltese and grateful that the generations of the past wisely chose better than the Scots to seek independece from a then dying superpower, diversing the island nation's economy from solely based on foreign military activity to a thriving one that it is today. But this is another story...
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