I made it!

Well, it was an interesting trip to say the least. Thanks so much to Scott and Rachel, who were able to be super flexible when my Volvo brokedown on the NJ Turnpike about 25 miles south of the Newark airport... We had to get a tow to a mechanic, leave the car there, take a cab to the airport, and they had to rent a car to get home... :( So much for an inexpensive trip to Italy.

Then, it took me about 45 minutes to check bags, and despite repeated calls to Continental to clarify their quite murky luggage policy when it comes to transporting bicycles, cost an extra $50 each way... That was about enough to put me over the edge!

However, I finally did get on the plane and made it here... My new friend Dennis met me at the airport, which was awesome. Of course, he only speaks Spanish and Italian and I, being a good American, basically only speak English... So, my broken Spanish is the extent of my communication with him and his wonderful family! (Pics to come later) He lives just outside of Milan in a cool little Italian town that I hope to explore this afternoon a bit. Not sure that I'll get into Milan itself today, although I'll probably try. Juan and Mario arrive tomorrow, and then we'll take a train (with my ridiculous amount of luggage) to Venice to start the adventure! Looking forward to that...