We had breakfast on the terrace and enjoyed a leisurely morning in beautiful surroundings.
We left the hotel about 11 AM and drove several miles back to the Autostrada. The traffic was incredibly heavy with hundreds of trucks. In some places, there were four lanes of traffic in our direction. The speed limit varied, but was 130 KM (78 mph), and lots of maniacs were exceeding that dramatically. We had about 120-miles to go to Milan Malpensa Airport. Ron stopped for a break after about an hour, and commented that this drive was more stressful than yesterday's through mountain passes. They were both harrowing to me - I am a "white-knuckle" passenger.
I had made note of a local restaurant with a shuttle service, but with the Lounge benefits, we decided not to leave the hotel. There were free beer and wine and all kinds of snacks served throughout the day. Our rate also included breakfast in the lounge or in the restaurant (normally a hefty 22 Euros ($25) per person.
And so, our last evening in Europe was spent in an American hotel chain. The room was spacious, wood floors, and good efficient, cold a/c. Everything was comfortable except for the tub, which Ron declared the most dangerous we had encountered - very high and very slippery, and nothing to hold on to.
Tomorrow brings a new experience - our first flight on Emirates, which last year was rated number one in the world (but has slipped to three or four in 2017).
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| Breakfast on Terrace |
We had chosen the Sheraton, as it is the only hotel in the airport terminal, and we had seen how easy it was to access when we took Tom and Val there. Unfortunately, we did not know how enormous it is, and how far you have to walk to everything. From where you come up in the elevator, there is a long expanse of open foyer to reach the wing where the lounge and our room were located. Our room was on the Club Level, and Ron dropped me at the Executive Lounge while he went with the bellman to the room.
He came back and had a snack and Beer before setting out on his next unpleasant chore was to return the rental car. As it was a lease buy-back through Renault, he had to have an appointment to meet someone at the airport to transact the return. He arranged to meet the person at 3 PM in front of Arrivals #17. All went smoothly. He also checked with the Emirates desk to see what time we could check in (noon) and if the lounge would be open (yes).
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| Executive Lounge |
He came back and had a snack and Beer before setting out on his next unpleasant chore was to return the rental car. As it was a lease buy-back through Renault, he had to have an appointment to meet someone at the airport to transact the return. He arranged to meet the person at 3 PM in front of Arrivals #17. All went smoothly. He also checked with the Emirates desk to see what time we could check in (noon) and if the lounge would be open (yes).
I had made note of a local restaurant with a shuttle service, but with the Lounge benefits, we decided not to leave the hotel. There were free beer and wine and all kinds of snacks served throughout the day. Our rate also included breakfast in the lounge or in the restaurant (normally a hefty 22 Euros ($25) per person.
And so, our last evening in Europe was spent in an American hotel chain. The room was spacious, wood floors, and good efficient, cold a/c. Everything was comfortable except for the tub, which Ron declared the most dangerous we had encountered - very high and very slippery, and nothing to hold on to.
Tomorrow brings a new experience - our first flight on Emirates, which last year was rated number one in the world (but has slipped to three or four in 2017).
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