Eleven

Yes, dear readers, Butterblogger is off, again, to Italy. This is his 11th trip, and this time he is going with his old friend, G. At the moment we are at JFK airport watching the many planes taxiing for our amusement. We both really like the livery of Egypt Air.

To recap my prior trips to Italy:

With Dad. We flew military space available to Sigonella and visited the cousins in Sicily and also visited Rome. We had to sign a waiver in order to fly with Category B explosives.
With P. Rome, Florence, and Venice. Many aspects of this trip are ingrained in my mind. It was a February trip, but we still sat in front of the vaporetto in Venice, nearly freezing to death
With Mom and Dad. Again to Rome, Florence, and Venice. I have a striking photo that looks like Dad is peeing in a fountain while mom looks discretely away
A conference in Sorrento took me to Italy, so I went early and visited Bologna, then drove down the boot to Sorrento. This was my first trip to Bologna, and I fell in love with the city instantly.
I used miles for a free flight to Bologna. In the interim I discovered my family in Sicily and added on a quick visit to Palermo. There is nothing in the world like family. The trip ended in Florence, finally culiminating in a day trip to Lucca, where I discovered a comic book convention.
Another conference – this time in Salzburg. I was just across the border, so took the train and visited Bolzano. So much fun. The city is an interesting cross between Austria and Italy (although the locals would deny the latter). Notably, this is the first blogged trip!
Another flight to Bologna with a visit to the family in Palermo and then up to Torino. This is the trip I fell in love with espresso.
Yet another conference. This time in Florence, with a visit to Bologna and day trips to Modena, Ravenna, and Verona. Finally the trip ended in Rome
One more time to … Bologna, with L and B. I took cooking classes and visited Ferrara. On the way home disaster, in the form of gastroenteritis, ruined my overnight stay in Madrid
With D I visited Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Paestum. The latter is simply humbling in its age.

As you can see, I often visit some of the same places, but always mixing in a balance of new experiences, sights, and cities. This trip is no different. We will start by getting settled and recovering in Milan, then off to Rome for a few days before returning to Milan and some local day trips. I expect the trip to be glorious, or possibly a disaster. If the latter, I am confident it will be a glorious disaster.

This trip started with an upgrade for the flight to NYC. Which means I got my choice of snacks, and I chose ….