Trip to Italy

Wow. I been here in Italy for just over a day and I feel that I have already learned so much. My Italian, which prior to coming I thought was good, has already taken a step forward as well as my overall view and knowledge of all things Italian.
I guess I will start from the beginning:
On Saturday I had my farewell party in Frisco with my family and closest friends which was a huge success. It was  great seeing everyone for one last time before leaving for a year.
The next day we drove down to Denver to drop me off at the airport, but before that we enjoyed a pleasant meal at Olive Garden. My thought was, "After a whole year of great Italian food, I might not ever want to come back to Olive Garden. I might want to enjoy it for one last time in my life." This philosophy got shut down when Mafy, the Italian girl staying at my house, said that it was very good.
After American/Italian food, they dropped me off at the airport and at the security gate refused to leave until they saw me get through. So pretty much what this did for me was not really knowing which time I turned my head would be the last. At the time I felt like that was not a good thing, but I was not going to keep on standing in line without turning my head for that could be perceived as rude. Now, though, I appreciate that because it symbolically shows me that they will be with me throughout this journey, or at least as far as they are allowed to go.
The plane ride to Frankfurt was nice and long. Especially since I barely slept. I did have the good fortune though, of getting a beneficial seat change. My assigned seat was definitely an aisle, as I had asked the girl at Lufthansa check-in, but it was positioned in probably the worst possible spot. To my left was a very nice-looking couple accompanied with one of their parents that was on their way to Germany to visit family. Under any other circumstances this would have been a perfect set of people to sit by, but unfortunately they carried along an 18-month old baby that was already crying before the plane had even left the gate. This babyt was soon to lead to a better situation. Accross the aisle from me was yet another couple with a baby. This baby seemed younger and definitely not much of a crier. But still, a baby. In the seat behind me was a very large older man. Not grotesquely obese, yet definitely large enough where the person in front would feel that in reclining the seat, one would possibly crush this poor old man. Oh, and if I forgot to mention, in front of me there was a wall. Yup, this means that I would have no place to put my backpack with all of my necessary belongings for the flight (iPod, book, etc.) and I would have to put it in the overhead compartment which the only open spot was about seven rows back, how convenient. Luckily the stewardess came over before departure and asked the couple beside me if they had booked a flight for the baby. Although they do not require it, it is reccomended for security purposes. Since the flight was not full, they asked me if I would mind relocating to somewhere else. Without even thinking about it, I accepted. The baby got a seatbelt, and I got a nice, reclinable, quieter, and equiped with a personal entertainment system seat about 15 rows up. I was very happy about this, especially the fact that my spot remained an aisle seat.
The flight was long. Very long. The food was mediocre at best. Nah, not even mediocre. And the drinks they served us were very small. Below is a picture showing how small the Sprite they gave me was.

My drink in comparison to my iPod

But I actually had a pleasant time. I sat next to a German girl that was actually on her way back home from visiting a girl that her family had hosted through Rotary two years ago. It's a small world. We talked about Youth Exchange and on my lack of any German language skills. To me, they all sound like curse words. I also barely slept; probably less than two hours on the whole flight. It was decent though, I read the rules for the exchange, the letters from all my friends and family, and actually saw a movie as well. A chick-flick actually, but I thought that since I was going to Italy I might as well see "Letters to Juliet". I had nothing better to do.
Frankfurt is a very large airport. In size it might not be bigger than DIA or other large American airports, but usually you do not have to walk through every terminal in its entirety to get to your gate. I did. But with six hours to spare it was not all that bad. I ate some bad German airport food, which reassured to me that I had chosen what country I wanted to go to correctly (at least in the culinary field). Below is a picture of my putenschnitzelkracher.

My putenschnitzelkracher (breaded turkey sandwich) in the Frankfurt airport.

After waiting so long in Frankfurt (where I actually got about an hour of sleep on-and-off) I got on my flight to Venice. I have never been pampered so much on a plane in my life. This flight which is only a 55 minute commute, was impressive. Upon arriving on the plane by a mobile gate (the only down-side), a Lufthansa representative helped us and our baggage up the stairs and into our seats (or respective over-head compartment). Before even taking off a flight attendant was already offering us complimentary juices and soft drinks (and beer and wine and champagne). During the taxi they offered us free editions of the German and Italian newspapers for that afternoon and also an Italian magazine which seemed to be the equivalent of Time or Newsweek. Then they came around with bruschette (which, for those of you who do not know, is the plural form of bruschetta, or bread with olive oil and garlic. They then offered us drinks again. Best service I have ever had on a plane. I would hate to be a Lufthansa flight attendant. The man never quit working. Well, almost never. For about five minutes when the plane has to make a big U-turn to land at the Marco Polo airport in Venice, passengers of the plane get an astonishing view of the island of Venice with all of its canals. It was amazing and the plane was silent. All was breathless except for the low hum of the engines.
After landing they then helped us (and our luggage) off the plane. I picked up my baggage from the carousel (which by the way is not a good name for such a contraption - a baggage carousel is in no way as much fun as it sounds) and made my way out the door that said "Nothing to Declare". I had cleared Immigration in Frankfurt and was on my way into Italy.

I am really sorry to leave everybody hanging on this one, but it is past midnight here in Italy and I must go to bed because tomorrow I am going to visit Padova early in the morning. Expect more in the next couple of days.