L'ufficio uggetti smarriti

Malpensa airport is not overrun with gypsy thieves as some travel guides had suggested. It was here that I made my first attempts at speaking Italian, to ask where the lost baggage office was. As my Italian phrase book suggested, I asked someone, "Sa dove l'ufficio oggetti smarriti?" They had no idea. Or they didn't speak Italian. Or, most likely, *I* didn't. Anyhow, I found the office on my own, and fortunately the people there spoke English. I would come to find nearly everyone at the airport spoke English, but I kept trying my Italian out when asking for simple things or just to say 'grazzie'. The woman behind the counter and I did have to do a bit of charades and repetition to get our point across, but the resulting story was that my suitcase, in all likelihood, would arrive the next day. She surprised me when she said they would deliver it to my hotel. Still, I was concerned I would be spending the next few months living with only the things that were in my carry-on.

I went from there to an ATM where, for the first time in my life, I used my bank card to withdraw foreign currency - a request for 150 euros produced three 50 euro bills. I walked out of the airport and found a group of taxi drivers leaning on one of their cabs talking to one another. Not nearly as aggressive as other airports. I asked if anyone could take me to Somma Lombardo, to the Hotel Tre Leoni. One of them unenthusiastically took my bag and loaded it into his cab, a small white station wagon like most Italian taxis. Somma Lombardo is only about 4 km from the airport, but that was a long enough ride to discover the excitement of Italian roadways. Motorbikes and mopeds are as common as cars, and they weave in and out of traffic at will, often passing between to cars on the freeway by driving straight down the dividing line.

My hosts at Tre Leoni were very kind, but their English ranged from very limited to none at all. The reservation I had made online helped get past the initial paperwork. After that, whenever I wanted to do anything, like order food at a restaurant, I had to study my Italian dictionary a bit first. I was soon able to pronounce the words more correctly and get done what I needed.

But, I'm running way behind in my journal, (I'm actually typing this in Damascus), so I will have to skip the Italy part and save those stories for when I get home. Long story short, my luggage reappeared and I had a great time. I took lots of pictures, hopefully they come out ok. Next installment, Damascus.